Monday, October 28, 2013

Happy Halloween Week - No Linky Party This Week

If you're like my household - there's a lot of focus on Halloween this week.  Let's all enjoy a week off the party this week :).

Just wanted to share this pic - can't resist.  Here's my kiddos enjoying some time at the local Pumpkin Patch.  Baby Aya's first trip to the patch of course.  And as usual the boys had a blast there - petting zoo, train ride and of course pumpkins!


Have a safe and super [spooky] Halloween!

Broccoli Love

A little while back I posted about my lonely little broccoli harvest.  Well proud to say that I was able to harvest enough for a whole meal - for our entire family of 5 :).

Kids loved it, we loved it.  Don't know if it's worth all that space in our little garden but the results were definitely yummy.  I have been reading a lot about broccoli [side] shoots, so I have left the rest of the plant in tact and hopefully we get some yummy side shoots to eat as well.


Saturday, October 26, 2013

WIP - Just a Whole Lot O' Sewing

Just wanted to drop a quick note - I'm still alive...just a little busy piecing up some quilts.  Some personal, some for the shop.

Good times :) - have a great weekend everyone.  Be productive and don't forget to get some fresh air - that's what I keep telling myself at least.




Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Made By ME #101 Linky Party and Features

Hi everyone - thank you so much for joining in another week of the JAQS Studio Linky Party.  It was great looking through the projects from last week and I LOVE using Inlinz - super easy to use and I got a lot of good feedback on the tool.  So thank you!

Onto the party!  Here are some highlights from last week's party and scroll to include yours to this week's party.


  CRAFTS & DECOR
 Halloween Decor on a Budget from Lizalou Loves 

 FOOD
 


SEWING AND KNITS

...and onto this week's "Made by ME" Linky Party.  
Happy Linking everyone! 
... and don't forget to visit our fellow bloggers :)
  

Friday, October 18, 2013

Fried Foods At Home

We're a fan of fried foods in our household.  We don't do it that often, but when we do we go crazy - mostly because we have a big pot of oil and it's not good to waste right? ;)

A family favorite are fries.  We usually bake it but, face it there's nothing like real fried fries.  And this time we even topped it with garlic, parsley and cheese - on the 'adult' side.  The kids had their side without the garlic.  Yum!!!


I don't think fried stuff is all that bad - just make sure your oil is a proper temperature so your food isn't just sitting there soaking up the oils.  Our foods usually comes up quite nice and not greezy at all.  If you can - invest in a thermometer.


What's that cooking in the oil?  Onion!  Not quite onion rings, but yummy none the less.  General recipe - season with dried garlic, salt and black pepper to taste.  Coat with flour, coat with egg white, and then with flour again (flour-egg-flour, let rest for a few minutes in between coatings).  I find that it works better if you like the first coating of flour sit for a while before applying the egg white.


Here's a new one for our household.  After numerous trips to Krispy Cremes doughnuts, we thought it might be fun to make some at home.  I didn't go for the 'from scratch' approach (shocking I know).  Instead, I saw this super quick and easy recipe HERE and thought it's worth a shot. Just break open a can of ready made biscuit dough, cut out of center and fry up.  Almost like cheating, it's so easy ;).


The hardest part of making the frosting, which I had the kids stir up while the doughnuts were frying

 
Okay these weren't as nearly as good as 'real' doughnuts but it wasn't bad for such a quick meal.  Will make again when the boys want a little treat as their breakfast.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

A Bathroom REDO

Our downstairs bathroom was workable.  It wasn't too old but we needed a bathtub - badly.  So to accommodate for a tub in the new place, we got bids from contractors and scratched our heads trying to decide how to put a tub in our place without breaking the bank.

Our solution - convert the downstairs shower into a tub.  Sorry I don't have any before pictures - but here are some pics of the "after".  I wanted an modern meets retro feel and I think we accomplished that quite well :).

The reason for the remodel - to put in a tub.  Ain't she beautiful?  Now I have a place to bathe the two little kids.   Aya was outgrowing her little plastic baby tub so this was finished just in time.


One of my favorite new things in the bathroom was the flooring.  We ripped out the old linoleum flooring and had tile put in - retro-inspired black and white Hex tiles.  Love it! 


I am thankful we were able to keep almost all the other items in the bathroom.  Everything in this picture was original - except for the flooring...and wall color.


We'll see how long we could keep it this neat and clean with 3 kids.  So far, so good.

BTW - don't pictures make spaces look big? 

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Made By ME #100 Linky Party and Features

The BIG 100!  Too bad it's been so busy around here I haven't thought of a fun and cool way to celebrate the big 1-0-0.  Does changing my linky tool count? :)  Yep that's right, I'm now using inlinz - let me know if you totally hate it and prefer if I go back to the other format.  I find that this new tool a little easier to use and used more often with other linky parties.  Worth trying something new right? :)

Let's give it a try shall we?  Without further ado - welcome to the JAQS Studio's Linky Party #100 - of course please scroll to the bottom to include your project this week.  Here's some favorites (and absolutely awesome) projects from last weeks' party.


  CRAFTS & DECOR

 FOOD


SEWING AND KNITS



...and onto this week's "Made by ME" Linky Party.  
Happy Linking everyone! 
... and don't forget to visit our fellow bloggers :)
  


Sunday, October 13, 2013

A Custom Quilt

A couple of months ago, I was asked to make a custom quilt based on a quilt I made a little while back.  A simple, but beautiful quilt with flannel squares alongside soft colored prints.  After weeks of finding the right prints and putting together this quilt, it is finally ready to show (and already shipped to it's new home).


I love making this quilt - colors like this put together always reminds me of a care-free spring day.


Don't be afraid to mix blues with pinks, greens with oranges, polka dots with checkered and flowers with hounds-tooth.  Together they are all beautiful.


The back is kept simple with one of the prints from the quilt top design and a matching large print flower print - an element of surprise :)


Binding is soft and matches perfectly without distracting from any of the prints.


And the softness from the flannel off-white color is so cuddly and plays well with all the different prints.


I hope this quilt will be loved for many years to come.  Thank you for letting me have this opportunity to remake one of my favorite quilts :)!

Friday, October 11, 2013

Pillows!

I love pillows.  For the bed, for the couch, for the floor, to carry around...can't get enough of them.  It's a wonder why I waited so long to carry them at the shop.  Strange huh?  Well, it's here!  Pillows of course.  I'm starting with a few - adding more as I get a chance to photograph them :)

Pillows!

 

All pillow covers are made with concealed (aka "invisible") zippers.  Super easy to remove the pillow cover and wash because life happens (re: KIDS in our household).


Inserts are not included but I do have a TON of them available for purchase if you are interested.  Just let me know and I'll setup a listing for you.  Shipping is FREE for the insert (insert itself is $12) when purchased with a pillow cover.

Pillow Inserts - Available Upon Request - $12 FREE SHIPPING with Pillow Cover (U.S. only)

I think my kids want to keep them all as they stare at each one.  Don't worry, they have their own little (BIG) collection of pillows already and I'm sure they'll have me make more for them as well :).


Well, thanks for your time as I introduce my latest creations from the shop.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

WIP - Quilts In The Making

A few quilts all underway in my little sewing area.  Here's a peak on what's going on...

One of my favorite quilts to make - soft colors block quilt with off-white blocks.  A few more steps then this is ready for quilting.


A new quilt approach for me - a staggered stripe/block quilt ... more on this one...


Crossing my fingers I'll have some completed quilt pictures soon of these 2 quilts :).  Happy sewing everyone!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Made By ME #99 Linky Party and Features

Gorgeous!  Love love love the projects popping up from the party last year.  Here are a peak of a faves from last week.  Scroll down to the bottom of this post to add yours this week :).

 FOOD
 
SEWING AND KNITS


  CRAFTS & DECOR
 


...and onto this week's "Made by ME" Linky Party.  
Happy Linking everyone! 
... and don't forget to visit our fellow bloggers :)
  

Monday, October 7, 2013

First Broccoli In the Garden

For all you mighty home gardeners out there, this picture may not seem that impressive  However, it makes me smile because it is my very first BROCCOLI!  EVER.  And as my husband says, it might be my only. 


Do you see it?  The broccoli crown is only about 3" but based on what I've been reading online, I needed to harvest it because the florets were beginning to 'loosen'...if you know otherwise, please let me know so I don't prematurely harvest prematurely again. 

Why is it my only?  I started to see bunnies [along with the usual other critters like aphids, squirrels and million birds, etc] starting to invade my garden.  I sprayed soapy water for the aphids, put up little barriers for squirrels and now bunnies...sigh.  Hopefully the other broccoli will survive this small zoo we're creating in our yard.

Crossing my fingers we will have more than one broccoli to harvest before it gets too cold around here.

Happy gardening everyone!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Chevron Coral Quilts Completed

A quick picture update on 2 new baby quilts.  Beautiful corals and a modern design.  Love the way these turned out.  Each is about 36" square.


One of the reasons why I made these quilts is my love my the quilt backing.  It is from Michael Miller's Les Amis collection found here and I have been trying to a reason to use this fabric...and I am super happy with it in these quilts...and LOVE backing :)


For the binding I used an old favorite I had leftover from a few quilts ago - the colors matches perfectly and the slight print on it is just enough contrast to the quilt top.


I made 2 of these to add to the shop.  They are neatly folded and ready for a new home :)



Quilt Information:
Coral Chevron Quilt
Front: 100% Cotton Prints
Batting: Warm & Natural 100% cotton
Backing: 100% Cotton Print 
Completed Dimension: Approximately 36"x36"
Quilting Method: Free motion
Binding: Machine Stitched for extra durability
FOUND HERE

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Made By ME #98 Linky Party and Features

Welcome to another week of sharing beautiful projects :).  I don't know about you, but it's probably true for most of you out there...the realization that it's almost the year-end holidays is hitting me hard.  The idea of hosting about half a dozen (and counting) parties/get-togethers/dinners in the next couple of months is beginning to make a little nervous...and tired :).  But it'll be a lot of fun as well.

Of course I have great inspirations and ideas from all my fellow bloggers out there.  Love the projects popping up and it gives me comfort to know that there are so many of us out there gearing up for the holidays as well.

Have fun, share your ideas and wonderful creations!  Take a look at some great ones from last week and add yours at the end of this post.  Have a fun and productive week everyone!

SEWING AND KNITS

 FOOD

  CRAFTS & DECOR


...and onto this week's "Made by ME" Linky Party.  
Happy Linking everyone! 
... and don't forget to visit our fellow bloggers :)
  

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