Got treasured family recipe? (cheap gift idea, with a gift for you!)

Make last-minute gifts! I even did most of the work for you. I came up with this idea the ump-teenth time someone asked me for my mom's banana bread recipe -- a make-your own kit!  Since people are bound to have the wet ingredients -- eggs, oil, and an old banana -- it makes this work pretty well. I just went by the recipe, split the dry ingredients into two steps and packaged them -- with instructions labels.

Then, I tucked the baking instructions into these cute little casserole pans, (available at Michael's for under 2 dollars each!) . . . 

tucked the recipe in back, . . . 

and wrapped with cellophane, cute ribbon, and matching gift tags.

And, since I made all these little templates, I'm willing to share! I haven't figured out how to attach a download (and since a PDF wouldn't let you put in your own recipes -- or name -- into the gift tags. I'd love the credit but it wouldn't help you all much), so leave your email in the comments and I'll send the files, if you so wish :) This could be done with breads, cakes (using mini-cake pans), cookies (using little cookie sheets? or just a cute basket), or even things like warm casseroles. And all it costs you is the container it's in, some ingredients, and whatever ribbons and bits you want to use to accessorize. It'll last longer than the actual baked good, be usable upon craving, and probably be cuter. I make delicious stuff sometimes, but it's rarely pretty. I'm working on that.

By the way, here's the most efficient method I've found for cutting out a million little circles:

Cut the bottom curves.

Loop around the end and cut the top curves. 

Then cut away the little remaining bits. 

Gold Star to anyone who may have found out what they're getting for Christmas from this post :)

The much-belated advent of the Christmas crafts

If you'll excuse the wordy title....I got a little carried away. But this post is about a very belated advent -- an advent calendar! I made this little treat full of parental appreciation to celebrate December. And I promise, the post is much more belated than the actual project. And even though it's a little late to do this project for this year (bad blogger!), I think there are some other applications that will still make it relevant. Plus I love to share!

A pennant pocket advent calendar! I loved making this (a great usage of my mom's quilting scraps) and coming up with sweet notes to put in it. And it does have some applications I've dreamed up beyond Christmas decor. For one, it could be a way to store little craft bits (like buttons and fasteners and whatnots). For another, it could be a month-long goal banner! It's rather ambitious, to plan little goals for each day of the month, but I'm thinking it could be a good tool. 

Anyway, on with the tutorial!

Sharing is caring

When I  found this post I knew I had to share it! However, that feeling is entirely based upon my love of cloche hats (collection currently at 4). But anyway, its a great tutorial to make your own lovelies (with a free pattern! always a plus).

http://wkdesigner.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/cloche-hat/

Gold Star to all the twenties wanna-bes.

More fun with chiffon!

Finally...

Cut approximately a 2-in strip (to create a rose about 4 inches in diameter) about a yard long. Use a quilter's rule and rotary cutter for precision, and, frankly, ease. 

Finish the outside edge. (the cleanest edge you cut). I used a contrasting zig-zag stitch and a pinking shear. Set your machine 4 for length, and 5 for zig-zag width to match a set of standard pinking shears. Or, you could sew a straight stitch and pink or scallop. Or for simplicity you could either fray-check the edges or just leave it. I kind of like the frayed look (see my 1/4 yard of chiffon example below). 

Then, run a basting stitch along the other edge and gather for all its worth. A basting stitch is the biggest straight stitch your machine can do. It's meant to be loose and easy to pick out -- it's often used to hild things like pleats in place until the final seams of a garment are sewn. It is also used to gather ruffles. To gather, leave long tails of thread after you've run the stitch. Then pull one of them gently - being very careful not to break the thread, until ruffles form. Then gently push these ruffles down the seam until you reach the end, and continue until the whole strip is ruffled.

It'll start twisting, and end up looking like this fluffy little worm. Use the twist to form layered circles, and hot glue in place. Then use the hot glue to attach a barrette, or a flat pin back to the back. Or glue to a headband, stitch to a scarf or cardigan -- use your imagination. 

Voila!

For extra fun, create the center of the flower from a button or fancy bead (made with the infamous floral chiffon). 

For a more Rosette-type shape, taper one edge down to about a half an inch. I accomplished this with the blue one by tucking while I glued, but a more of a spiral would happen if you actually changed the shape of the initial strip.

Gold star to the flower children.

Top it off

So, on my newly designated accessory wall, I have run into the problem of hats. I have a growing collection felt cloches, which are really impossible to store -- well, no longer!

The best part? All it took was some clothespins, ribbon, and some nails (or command hooks would work splendidly -- however, they refuse to stick to my paint job).

Take your ribbon (I used a simple white one-inch satin) and tie it around the hooks (or around a clothespin -- enough so it won't slip). 

Then, adjust ribbon length until you get the length and drape you want (remember to calculate for the weight of your hats). Then apply the hooks, or put one BROAD-HEADED nail through the back tine of the clothespin (the pins will probably crack some, so the broad head secures it -- since this won't hold a lot of weight, just making sure the pin is held snug should do).

And voila!

For a more colorful version, you could paint the clothespins, or use binder clips to get a more utilitarian effect.

Gold star for all those times when its just too easy :)

Getting Settled

So, now that all the hubbub of August nears its end, I can finally begin moving into my room. My family has been planning and painting all summer, but in the middle of my massive hubbub, all my belongings got dropped in a chaotic heap in my new home-space.

But now, the hubbub has resided and I can start unpacking and adding personal touches, and I'm going to share one easy project I did in approximately an hour.

This jewelry frame is an easy and cute way to display and organize pins, earrings, and etc.

What you need:
a picture frame
some sort of screen (I use the plastic-coated door screening, partly because its on hand for repairs)
staple gun with 1/4" staples (or tacks can work as well)
hot glue
paint for color

I started with this tacky gold frame that had a redeeming shape (and of which I unfortunately forgot to take a before photo).

 

With your frame upside-down, cut a piece of the screen to fit. The back of the frame (the part that goes behind the picture to stabilize it) serves as a great pattern. Then fit the screen into the frame.

Staple the screen down at major points like corners and middles. To get good tension across the screen, staple one length and one width, and then push the screen towards the edge of the frame, as pictured below. WARNING: do not staple within an inch or two of where your fingers are placed. In lieu of a staple gun, you can hammer in tacks to achieve the same purpose. You may want to cushion the underside of the frame with towels, to absorb some of the shock.

Your staples will probably be sticking out. If you have a good wooden frame, you can probably hammer them down a little bit with a small hammer. However, if your frame is flimsy and cheap (like mine) hammering the staples down will only split the frame. You can secure the staples with a glob of hot glue, and then glue along the frame to secure the mesh. 

 

Then, paint your frame (spray is best), attach a hanger if needed, and display your beautiful jewelry!

As my room takes form, I'll share more bits and pieces of it -- including my wondrous wall of accessories.  I'm really excited to see the finished look. 

Also, I DO plan on continuing my series "what do you do with a quarter yard of chiffon," I'll be getting all those tutorials up later this week. 

And, also look forward to all the inspiration I alluded to in my previous post ;)

Isn't it grand when life catches up to you at the end of the summer?

Gold star to everyone with so little time and so much creativity. I get you all more than you know :)

A Completed Endeavor

I'm going to make it a habit to post the little projects I'm working on here, mostly because that holds me to actually finishing them. My endeavors are not all work related, after all. 


As stated before,  I possess a list of projects (as Clockwork Lemon puts it, my "Things I would rather be doing than studying"-- procrastination is a strong motivator, in its own way.) So here's one I've actually finished. Excuse the quality of the pictures -- my camera has mysteriously disappeared, but I refuse to let it deter me.


Endeavor 1:


What can you do with a quarter yard of chiffon?

I picked this up for the first project, but it was far too pretty to throw away when it got reduced to scraps, so I just kept making and making. So over the next few days I'm going to share just what you can to do use up the little bits. 


Project 1: Sandal Update


I bought these sandals on a Payless clearance for a Renaissance Faire outfit, but haven't been able to apply them practically to my wardrobe. So i devised a plan to bring them back into the fold before they met the Goodwill bag. I had inspiration, however, I can no longer find the picture responsible...

But here are the sandals at the start... lacking a little personality for my taste.

First, cut three-inch long strips to the length you want your ties. These will make 1 1/2 inch ties, which were about as thick as I could get away with and still make it through the holes in my sandals. (I used a double length of the fabric, so four strips in total) 

Next, sew the strips together along one end.

Then, iron the strips in half, with the seam on the outside. (I did this incorrectly in the above photo, in other words....) 

Then you sew up the raw edges to form a tube.

To finish it off, turn the tube inside out, and tie knots in the ends. You can also turn the ends to the inside and topstich across the end, but I kind of like the unfinished edge. Replace the old lacings, and congratulations. You've started to finish off your scraps. Its a long and arduous journey, I know.  

And here is the finished product, modeled by my lovely feet...

And as for the leftovers, well, you're going to have to tune in to find out. 

Gold Star to anyone else who bears the "burden" of a quilting mother.