Kelsey's Quilt

I don't believe I have ever shown off one of my quilts on my blog, but I am also a quilter! (Actually, I learned to sew quilts before anything else.) After a really tough Spring semester my sophomore year of college, I sold back all the books I could find from the first two years, went straight to Walmart, and bought the only sewing machine I could afford. That summer, I taught myself to quilt.I made baby quilts for my nieces and nephews, but the pre-quilting era kids have been skipped. So, for the girls, I have been making larger quilts for their 12th birthdays. Kelsey’s was just a bit overdue. I started it in April of 2009 and I just finished it. The piecing went really quickly! Basic nine patches in light blue and lilac, set on point with a cream background.

(The backlight from the window doesn't show this off the best.)

See, it took so long because I like to hand quilt motifs on the open squares. This intricate flower one was totally my own design and each block varies.

I like how the colored thread stands out against the cream fabric.

I put a few butterflies in there, too. I really punished myself with this one, and it would sit for months at a time with me having no ambition to work on it. However, I use washable crayola markers to draw on my quilting lines and after nearly 2 years, it didn't want to wash out! It took a lot of washing and soaking and OxiClean to get most of it out.

This is a terrible cropped in picture, but I designed a little motif to put her name in it that coordinated.

And of course I mitered the corners, too. I handstitch my bindings on around the back. (And that is some of Baby#5 under the green shirt there- makes a nice photo prop!)

I try to embroider a special message on the backs of these, and this one included Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.

So there is my first quilt show-off. Expect more of these because I am trying to catch up on some new baby nieces and also trying to use up lots of quilting stash before I move my sewing table and hubby sees how much I have jammed in there! :)

Buttercup Bag

I am trying to use up fabric quickly. I have to move all of my sewing stuff and fabrics to another room before Baby #5 comes! Then my husband will see just how much stash I have crammed into that sewing table, there! EEK!
I saw the Buttercup Bag sewing pattern (Free! YAY!) and wanted to make one for myself. However, I need it a little bigger than that, so I enlarged the pattern. But, before I waste the beautiful fabric I have waiting for my own purse, I thought I would try out the original pattern and make one for my 5yo.

She LOVES stars and I had 1/4 yard of this fabric in pink and a little less of the same in purple that I used for the lining.

I had a little pink left over (trying to use up fabric here!), so I wanted to embellish the bag a bit. I made one of these cute fabric flowers from the directions here.
It is an adorable little bag! The flower is actually a little heavy, since it is unlined. I will definitely make mine lined with interfacing and fusible fleece. Still, a very cute bag!

Sneak Peek in the Studio Friday #1

I have been awfully busy this week! I got a lot of craft projects completed that I had started, although I now have some more started that are not completed. Hmm...

First, the finishes...

Decoupage Easter eggs (I wanted to make these last year, but never got around to it)

"Blessings" embroidery- I tried a different technique painting the frame.

A BIG finish for me - well, almost... It took me two years to do the hand quilting on this beauty, but now my quilting lines I marked won't wash out! Here it is soaking in OxiClean (again). That is what I get for procrastinating, I guess.

Now, the started projects...

I can't decide on how I want to do the face for this bunny.

I have to finish the liners for these baskets, but they are still drying.

I made this CUTE Buttercup bag for my daughter, but I want to embellish it somehow with the wee bit of scraps I have left over. I also enlarged the pattern to make a bigger version for myself, I just have to get some magnetic snaps first.

And while I was being productive, my kids were productively messy with things like THIS!

I am linking up to StudioJRU's Sneak Peek in the Studio Friday party!

Orange Julius

Well, so much for making up school days! President's Day was a snow make-up day, but we got MORE snow so it was cancelled. So, I used up all my daily ambition first thing in the morning and made a nice breakfast for the kiddos. One of their FAVORITES is Orange Julius. I have also made this for brunch showers and the like and I get many requests for the recipe. So, here you go!

Orange Julius

6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate (I use half of a standard 12 oz. can)

1 cup water

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla (OK, I just dump this in- I never measure vanilla cause I saw Martha Stewart just dumping it in once)

10-12 ice cubes (I just use a whole tray)

Put all ingredients in your blender and combine (I usually use the ice crush mode) until smooth.

I would love to know if you try this- it is DELICIOUS!!!

Decoupage Recipe Box

My brother is in the United States Army. He is a do-it-yourself kind of guy. He can build things, fix things, and now, probably because he is sick of fast food and microwave pizzas, he is learning to cook things. A looooooooooooooooong time ago he asked me for some recipes. Well, I just can’t do anything simply. I wanted to make him a recipe box, too. I finally got around to it and here it is:

TA DA!

I decoupaged fabric onto a cheapy $1 recipe box and touched it up with some paint. Here is how:
I measured VERY carefully and cut out a piece of fabric to wrap around the bottom, plus a little overlap, and a piece for on top with the corners cut out so it could come down over the sides.

Then I used ModPodge to glue the material to the box. It didn't go as smoothly as I thought because it is very hard to watch the edges of all four sides at once and get everything straight. So, there was a little bit that didn't cover.
So, I just got out some Country Tan paint that matched pretty nice and looked like sandy dirt, and I used a sponge brush to paint the inside and smudge some here and there and all over the edges to give it a grungy effect/cover up my mistakes. In hindsight, I wish I had pained it FIRST, because some of those stripes show through (with the digital camo it is OK) and it would have been easier to cover up some of those mistakes.

Finally, I added some cute labels on top. I typed these on the computer using stencil font and printed them out. I have heard that a regular ink-jet printer will run when using ModPodge on it, so I put a strip of clear tape over the lettering. If nothing else, it kept the paper from wrinkling up where the tape covered when applying the glue.

So, now I can give him all the secret family recipes I want. Except we don't really have any.

I think, though, that doing recipe boxes like this could be really nice bridal shower gifts. The fabric could match their kitchen or wedding colors. I might try it again. If you make one, I would love to see it!

Soup Recipe and Money Saving Tips

This post will be part recipe, part frugal food tips. I think a lot of people are trying to cut corners wherever they can, so I hope this is helpful information. Here is how I made Ham Bean Vegetable Soup yesterday:

2 cups sliced carrots

I used baby carrots because they were buy one get one free and what I had on hand. Although more of a pain to chop, they will be eaten more easily by the kids than big slices of carrot.

2 cups diced, cooked ham
When I boil a large ham, there is usually an excess of meat, so I cut it up and freeze it in smaller quantities to use in recipes later. This is a great idea if you can get a big ham on sale around holidays, like Easter. If you don’t have the freezer space for a big ham- cook it right away and make a big pot of ham pot pie or ham and green beans (typical PA Dutch foods), freezing the rest of them ham for later. You can get several meals out of it this way.

2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
Potatoes are a big food staple in this house. We grow a lot but we need a better way to store them…

2 cups sliced celery
I didn’t have any so I skipped this, but it sure would make the soup prettier!

1 pound navy beans
Remember to soak your beans the night before! Dry beans are really cheap and they take up less space in your cupboard than canned ones.

6 cups chicken brothInstead of canned chicken broth, boil some chicken and save the broth. The chicken was used in zucchini casserole, but other than casseroles, I sometimes use the meat in chicken wraps for lunches, too. I boil the broth down to condense it sometimes, then freeze it in old margarine or sour cream containers. Another great way to take advantage of a good sale on chicken, or better yet, get your meat directly through the farmer- you will cut out the middle man and save! If you want it to be lower in fat, you can let it cool and then skim the fat off of the top.

Combine all ingredients in a large crock pot and cook on low 8 to 12 hours.
It was pretty good. Next time, however, I might try to use ham soup base instead of chicken broth. I am used to my regular ham bean soup with that good, smoky flavor. Bacon would really make this, too. :)

Baked Ziti Freezer Meals

I thought I would take a break from Christmas preparations for a minute and share one of the Christmas gifts that I am making. I am putting together homemade frozen dinners for my grandparents. I know that Grandma LOVES my baked ziti (she is half Italian after all!) so I made a batch for them. (Note: it is not cooked in this picture- just ready to freeze!)
One of my batches makes 3 8” square pans or 2 9”x13”cake pans. Not only is this a great gift, it is just nice to have some frozen dinners on hand for those unexpectedly busy evenings- and it prevents a fast food splurge, too! So I thought it would be a great idea to share here. Without further ado, the recipe:

Baked Ziti
~2 pounds loose sausage (Optional- I actually like it just fine without meat, but Hubby and other meaty guys I know like it better. Oh, and you can use hamburger, too.)
~6 cups spaghetti sauce (I used a quart and a pint of what I canned this summer and added a little tomato paste to thicken cause my sauce is always runny, but I had some left over, so if you are purchasing jars from the store get less)
~1 pound ziti pasta
~32oz. Ricotta cheese (Stock up when this is on sale!)
~6 cups mozzarella
~½ cup parmesan

Brown sausage and drain grease. Add tomato sauce to pan and heat through. Meanwhile, boil ziti just until tender- do not overcook! Drain. Mix ricotta and 3 cups mozzarella and stir in cooked ziti. Put a layer of sauce on the bottom of each pan. Top with ziti and cheese mixture, splitting it evenly between the pans. Spread remaining sauce on top of ziti. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella evenly on top of each pan and then sprinkle heavily with parmesan.

Then, you have two options- bake now or freeze! (I like to put these in two cake pans to make one right away for dinner and freeze the other for later.) If you are baking it right away, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top is bubbly and begins to brown. If you are freezing it, cover with plastic wrap, then foil. (If you are giving it as a gift, be sure to label and include heating instructions.) When you go to bake it, remove the plastic wrap and put the foil back on. Then bake at 350 degrees until it is heated through and the cheese is bubbly and begins to brown on top- I really forget how long it takes.