Next Project Night

Come Thursday night, the 26th, at 8ish o'clock. Saddlebrook Clubhouse. Start blog stalking and see what you want to make and bring me some good eats. I'm excited to see you all!

Victoria's quilt

I finally finished Victoria's quilt, so I thought I would post some pictures to share. It was a pretty easy quilt to make and she is thrilled to have it. The back is just a solid blue flat sheet. I bought a sheet set for her and sewed the flower material onto the pillow case to match.

What have you guys been making all summer?

Girls Night NEEDED!!

What do you guys think about girls night on the 26th of this month at the saddlebrook clubhouse? It is available. Any takers? Any ideas on a project?

Fundraiser Pictures

Thank you so much everyone! Your kind and giving hearts are much appreciated. I loved seeing all the items everyone made and thought you guys would like to see them too, so below is a boat load of pictures. Enjoy!

Whew.... I hope I got everything.

Fundraiser

I have signed up to participate in a fundraiser and I would love for you guys to help.
My Home Teacher (who is really an amazing guy) was recently diagnosed with cancer that is growing on his face and neck.
On July 29th some friends are holding a silent auction to help raise money for him.
I thought that seems as how we our little sewing/crafty group is in a little funk that maybe you would be willing to donate your time and fabric to this cause too.

Some ideas that I thought would be good for us to make:

Aprons

Purses

Baby kit (wipe container, nursing cover)

Blankets

Skirts

Super hero shirts

Birthday kit (chair cover, pillow case, banner)

Etched glass-I have the glass etching stuff-

Vinyl lettering signs

Paintings

Jewelry 

Hair accessories
Food

What ever your skill/passion is right now then I would love for you to make something and bring it.
I would like to get together on July 8th and pump out some projects. If you can't be there on the 8th then you can make something on your own and I'll pick it up or if you have fabric we can use then that would be fabulous too.

The Avimor office is always open to us, but I know most of you would rather it be in Star, so maybe one of you can reserve and open the Sattlebrook club house for us to use.

Let me know if this is some thing you can or can't do at this time.

Mother's Day Corsages

Are you guys needing a break from sewing night or are we good to go for May6th?

I am thinking of making these mother's day corsages. 

They both will be low cost and a fun gift for moms

This one is felt

This one is left over fabric

I put a link to the how to's on the felt and fabric if you are interested. 

Also- Kathy Simpson made a super cute dress that I want to make. :o) Maybe she can write out instructions and/or help me do that too??? I could also show you hour to make super hero shirts. Oh, I have the directions to take the cute twirl pants.-it is a Capri pant with a skit on it. I'll bring a pair for you to look at-

Thursday Night

Hey everyone, Sounds like craft night is going to happen tonight at Avimore. What is everyone planning on working on? Any ideas? I should just bring an unfinished project and work on it but I'm open for any suggestions. It's so fun to start a new project! :)

Jessica's Skirt

I finally finished this skirt. Hurray!

The girls love it, but it is a little big in the waist and I think I am going to add more ruffles to it....  Eventually... Maybe... If I decide to make the attempt in fixing it... Ok, so it might not happen, but that is Okay!
 -I''m good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me! :o)-

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I've made these before but I really like the seasoning I found at Our Best Bites.

2 medium-sized sweet potatoes
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1 t parsley
fresh ground pepper (about 10 turns of a pepper mill)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray. You want them right on the cookie sheet.

Slice your sweet potatoes into french fry shape and size.

Put the spices in a big plastic bag. Shake to mix. Add olive oil and sweet potatoes to the bag. Shake again to coat.

Place the fries on the baking sheet - not touching.

Place cookie sheet in pre-heated oven.Bake for 15 minutes. Flip fries with a long spatula. Bake for another 15 minutes... or until they are a nice, golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Yogurt Creme (Kathy Wilkins- Chelsea's mom)

Strain 1 quart of plain yogurt (I use a wire strainer lined with cheesecloth) for about 18-24 hours. You should strain out about 1/2 the volume...so you'll have about 2 cups of pretty firm yogurt cheese. Thin the yogurt cheese with milk (about 1/4 cup) a tablespoon or two at a time. It'll get nice and soft and fluffy. Then add about 1/4 of frozen OJ concentrate, vanilla to taste (I use a lot - about 2 tsp), and about 1 T honey (optional, to taste). You'll end up with about 2 1/2 cups of yogurt creme. My NOTE: I don't use milk to thin it, I use almond milk. You could use rice milk too. Then I get some blueberries and that pumpkin flax granola from Costco and layer it. YUMMY!

Purses for April!

The lady at artzy-crafty babe had a really cute purse tutorial. -I linked the tutorial and also her website if you want to download the directions before April's sewing night.- (I can't seem to copy her picture to post on the blog- sorry)

It calls for:
2 coordinating fabrics; 1/2 yard of each.
1/2 yard of interfacing
You will also need snaps
Snaps come in a 3 pack so we might want to buy them together and split the cost.
(it would probably cost about 50 cents per snap)

Also because the first Thursday of April falls during spring break we decided to make sewing night the second week of April.


So to recap: Sewing Night  
                    April 8th -8pm 
Purses will be the craft of choice

Skirts Gone Wrong?

Okay, so these skirts aren't really what I had in mind but after ruffling for a night, I decided I had had enough and quickly finished them for Valentine's Day. Oh well, the girls loved them and that is all that really matters anyway.

I finished the skirt!

And McKayla loves it!

I added an extra tier for length, shorted the width quite a bit, and cut the chiffon in 3 inch strips. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough chiffon so rather than having two layers of chiffon, I used tulle for the layer next to the skirt and chiffon on top. Turns out I would have had enough chiffon because I didn't gather it as tight as the pattern said. You can't see it in the picture, but I sewed a 1/2 inch sheer ribbon on top of the chiffon, right down the middle on the gathering stitch. Someone stopped me in church to tell me how much they liked McKayla's skirt and if I could teach them how to make one... so that makes it all worth it!

How did your skirts turn out? What did you do differently? What would you do different on any future skirts? Please post pictures! I can't wait to see!

Book Wreath

I found this while blog hopping and thought that this would be a fun no-sew project. It takes an old paperback book (or one you get one at a dollar store), a wreath and a lot of hot glue. It is really easy and fun. Is anyone interested?

Cake Pops

CAKE POPS
1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

You can get creative and use any combination of cake mix and frosting. I made mine with white cake mix, homemade cream cheese frosting, and white almond bark that was tinted pink. I then stuck sticks into the balls to make them look like suckers.

Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies

1 cup Butter- soft

2 cups Sugar

2 Eggs

1tsp. Vanilla

1 cup Sour cream

½ tsp. Baking soda

4 tsp. Baking powder

5+ cups of flour

½ tsp. Salt

o   Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

o   Cream butter, eggs, sugar, and  vanilla until light and fluffy

o   Add in sour cream

o   Sift in dry ingredients

o   Add flour to batter until it isn’t sticky- which for me is usually another 1- 1 ½ cups

o   Dump dough onto plastic wrap and wrap it up

o   Refrigerate dough for an hour

o   I like to roll out my dough to be about ¼ inch thick

o   Bake cut out cookies for 12-15 minutes (mine take 13 minutes to be perfect)

o   Yields around 6 dozen

Frosting

 *my coveted recipe*

1lb. Powder Sugar –which equals 3 ½ cups

8 oz. Cream cheese- Soft

2Tbl. Evaporated milk- you can use regular milk too-

1 tsp. Vanilla

Orange zest to taste

o   Combine all ingredients in your mixer.

o   I like to sift my sugar to break up the clumps

o   Be careful with you milk because too much will make it too runny and it is hard to get it to equal out again without making it taste like powder sugar.

o   The secret is the evaporated milk. It makes it have creamier taste. Using milk will still taste really good though.

o   Add any desired food coloring

o   I also like to pipe the frosting onto my cookies. I find it easier and less messy.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs (or Cocktail Sausages)

I got this recipe here at ourbestbites.com

1 12 oz jar Chili Sauce
1 16-18oz jar grape jelly*
2lb frozen meatballs or 2-3 packages cocktail sausages

*note that you could use the smaller jar of jelly instead, I think it's more like 10oz. I like the sweetness of the 18oz jar, but you could make it less sweet with the small jar if you prefer.

Combine jelly and chili sauce in a crock pot an stir until smooth. Heat the mixture if needed to combine. Add meatballs or cocktail sausages and set temperature to low. Cook for 2-5 hours on low. Serve with toothpicks.

Chiffon is In!

The chiffon is in and we are so excited to play with it.

This Thursday is our craft night. Even if you aren't making a "group" project you should come and enjoy being out with the girls. 

Our recipe swap this month is valentine recipes. 

See you Thursday at 8pm!

Soft Cloth Baby Shoes

I saw these and thought they were SO cute!! Since there are a lot of babies being born right now I thought it would be fun to make these. Any takers? You can make them with fabric or leather soles. Here's the link to the tutorial. Baby Shoe Tutorial

Valentine Pouch

I was blog hopping today and found a tutorial on these fabric valentine pockets. I thought they looked like fun. The instructions tell you to buy a 10x10 layer cake and a roll sets. You get like 24 pouches.

Any takers on doing this???

We got the 24 pouches covered- so this one isn't available anymore. :o)

Materials for Turkey Dressing skirt

Skill Level: Easy to Intermediate

Pattern Size: 8 years old (adjustable sizes for ALL ages below)

Needed:

* 1-2 yards of cotton fabric

* 1-2 yards of NON-FRAY Nylon Chiffon in various colors (online store link listed below)

* 1 inch wide elastic

* Sewing machine

Average Sewing Time: 2-3 hours

Chiffon link

*Also if you want to order the chiffon together we could probably save on shipping. Get online and pick your colors and leave a comment so we know what and how much to order. The directions say that this website has a great variety and is the least expensive*

*Chiffon orders are due January 22nd. I want to have 2 weeks to allow delivery. Also, in buying the cotton fabric, I would probably buy a cotton that is matching your color of chiffon. Example; I am buying the pinks and so I bought a bright pink cotton. The picture in the pattern are shades of brown and so she bought a chocolate brown cotton. :o) Any other questions feel free to ask in the comments or email me directly*

I got the pattern!

I broke down and bought that cute skirt pattern (I am kicking myself for not copying it when it was free- like I usually do, but oh well), so I say we make them in February.

Chicken and Salmon Recipies

Here are some recipies I thought I'd share. My SIL gave them to me. Soooo yummy!

Southwest Chicken Marinade
2 T. olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 t. chili powder
1 t. dried oregano leaves
1/2 t. salt
1 lb. chicken
combined all ingredients, coat both sides of chicken. Marinate in fridge a couple hours or just go ahead and grill on the spot if no time.
make extra and freeze some for later.

Lemon Chicken
3 T. lemon juice (fresh is always best)
3 T. olive oil
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 t. oregano
1 lb. chicken
Marinate chicken overnight. Grill chicken ans use with salads, pastas, pizza, or whatever.

Honey Glazed Salmon
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. soy sauce plus 2 T. soy sauce
3 T. fresh lime or lemon juice
2 T. water
1 T. plus 1 t. Dijon mustard
1-2 T. olive oil
4 6oz. Salmon fillets
Preheat broiler. Brush Salmon with 2 T. of the soy sauce. Place on a baking sheet and broil salmon for 10 min. or until it is cooked through. in a small bowl whisk together honey, soy sauce, lime juice, water and mustard. Heat a small non-stick skillet, add honey mixture to skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a glaze-like consistency. Pour the glaze over salmon. yummy with brown rice!

Next Month & Show and Tell

Our next get-together is Jan. 7th. For recipes, how about either desserts or something really healthy? Like a favorite vegetable side dish.
How do you girls feel about making some "It's My Day" things to use for upcoming birthdays, etc? I know a few of you girls have some great traditions for birthdays or other special events (like the balloon wreath that I've seen on Maria's front door or those triangle banners). Here are a few things that I've been wanting to make FOREVER.

I REALLY want to make a plate for special occasions. If we cut vinyl with Jessica's Cricket and put it on a red plate, do you think we could still eat off it? Could we wash it? Or would painting it be best? Do we have an expert on such things in the group?

I saw this chair cover over at nannygoat.
Post any other tutorials you guys know of or we could do that cute skirt that Jessica posted as well. :)

Now for the "Show and Tell" portion of this post.
The kid's have loved doing this advent calendar. Thanks again Jessica for sharing the Cricket with us and spending the entire evening cutting out letters for us.

This is my mom's new scripture case. She likes it simple.

Now on to the quilts. I used the same 12 fabrics for all three quilts but did three completely different patterns. This first one was similar to the patch baby quilt that I have done in the past... only I cut the squares bigger and bound it with ric-rac


I saw this quilt on the sugarnspicecreations blog and after spending way too much time doing simple math I was able to change the pattern to the size I wanted. I'm still not sure about binding it in brown, maybe white would have been better but that doesn't keep it from being my favorite of the three quilts.


This last quilt was me attempting to recreate a darling quilt that I've seen at Jill's house. I like it so much I think I'll make McKayla the same type of quilt to go on her bed.


Which quilt is your favorite?
It would be great to see some of the handmade items you all have been making posted on this blog as well.