Pinching Pennies

Because of the snow and my laziness, I have been busy shopping the internet this weekend.  I am almost done with my Christmas shopping and I have had ZERO shopping stress.  I am not sure I EVER wanna head out to a store again for Christmas shopping. 
WELL it has been months since I determined I needed a SERGER,  but have of yet decided to look seriously ORRRR put out the money for one.  WELL last night as I was hanging out on Amazon,  I "happened" to type in sergers and started reading reviews.  I have finally made a choice!!!!  MY DECISION....AFTER Christmas (when money is no longer flowing out of my life like water), I am going to start saving.   I am NOT a great saver, actually I am not even a pretty good saver, but that is what I am gonna do.  Good old fashioned Penny Pinching so that THIS little baby can come over to my house and play.

I read reviews until my eyeballs were about to fall out....and this is the winner.   I am not a professional sewer, so I didn't wanna go broke.  PLUS I have never used a serger before.  This sounded like the machine for me....Does anyone know anything about it????  I would love to hear a review from a real person.  OR do you have a machine that you love that I should look into????  Otherwise....I kinda love this one.  I may not eat for a few months, but I will be smiling and saving (and not leaving the house because it will be NEW BABY TIME!!!!)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!!!  I am so excited to eat turkey today....words cannot even describe it.  It was down to the wire and for SOME reason I decided that Emersyn needed Thanksgiving attire.  SO I went back to a tutorial that I had seen a while back (by someone who plans ahead better than me).  I used the tutorial to make this little Turkey shirt for my Little Turkey. 

Of course nothing is complete without a matchine skirt:)  I just used two strips of fabric that were already cut and didn't even trim them down.  I just sewed them together, added an elastic waist and hoped it was close to the right length....lazy I know.  I think with some leggings it will all work despite my laziness. 

The tutorial was simple and cute...I know it is toooo late for this year, but if I were you I would bookmark this one for next year.  SOOO fun to have a turkey shirt for Turkey Day!!! 

Have a great great Thanksgiving.  I am SOOOOO Thankful for all of my blessings, I wouldn't even know where to start to list them.  Enjoy your family (and food) today on this special day!!!!

Apron-y Goodness!!

I found another use for my extra vintage fat quarters.  APRONS.  I cannot say how much I love aprons.  They are cute and fun and add a little GIRLIE to a day filled with poop, and sweat, and cleaning supplies.  I wish I could tie an apron around my big ole' pregnant self right now....but I cannot.  SOOO after making a cute little vintage-y yellow-y apron, I decided to put it into the shop.  Maybe someone NOT pregnant can enjoy it:)

I bought the box pleated trim at JoAnn and NOW I wanna buy it in every color.  SERIOUSLY....EVERY color!!!

I also made another version with lace and ribbon.  I like the more traditional look, and think it looks like my gramma's kitchen:)  I might need to try another picture taking session....looks a little pale, but in real life it is pretty cute!!

I planned on making a BUNCH more, but then Thanksgiving Week happened and my sewing (and cleaning, and cooking, and living) have been on hold for a while.  Maybe tommorrow I will make some Parade watching aprons!!!  Happy Thnaksgiving Ya'LL!!!

Princess Envy!!

Is anyone else SUPER excited about this whole Royal Wedding thing???  I cannot help but be interested in the whole thing.  I think it is the idea of somebody BECOMING a princess.  What a fairytale idea:)  PLUS April 29th is the day after Emersyn's birthday....not really a coincidence, but fun!!  The whole thing kinda makes me wish we had royalty in America....just so we had some interesting people to watch.  I HATE hearing about what Michelle Obama is wearing, but if she were a PRINCESS...I might give a hoot!!! 

New for the shop

 

  

If you have ever been to my etsy shop you know that I have lots of different vintage sheets and fabrics.  What you may NOT know is that I have never sewn anything with ANY of them.  Crazy huh??  I just started finding sheets that I LOVED…Listing them….Selling them….and never stopped to create.  SOOO I decided it was time I tried out my own product.  I LOVED 3 particular fat quarter prints I had, so I chose them and thought…..hmmmmm placemats.  So I got sewing and a few hours later…..I had placemats and napkins.  All cute and coordinating and fun.

I am not gonna lie….I kinda love them A LOT!!!  It was soo fun and easy to sew with the vintage fabric too.   No problems.  It is so nice and soft and already worn in….it is just what I want a fabric to be like.  It wasn’t too fragile or delicate and worked great.  And my favorite part….ONE OF A KIND.  I love that nobody else can just go to the fabric store and get the same fabric as me…..is that selfish??  I guess technically if they really wanted to fabric stalk me they could head to the thrift stores and try to find the same ones, but  REALLY??? 

I decided to go a little bit reversible for more options, so both the napkins and placemats have more than one option.  I love options, I love change, I love moving things around.  I guess that is why I love thrift shopping…..you pay so little that you can change your mind more often.  Like on my last trip I got two purses that I LOVE!!!  6 bucks apiece….for real leather and SUPER cute.  Now even if I only use each of them for a week (or 15 years) I will have gotten my moneys worth…..I am way off topic though.

PLACEMATS….Oh yes…..I tried them out on my table.  I WISH my table looked like that at dinner time.  I actually had to scrub play dough (from a week ago), marker, and finger paints off of the table top just to get a NON-rainbow table in the picture.  Since I will not be using fancy napkins (or real plates) on my table any time soon I put these in the shop.  Now I think I am on a mission to make them in every color of vintage print I can find……after I take a little nap that is:)

100 quilts for Christmas!!!

Because I do not have enough projects going right now (said with dripping sarcasm), I have decided to join this quilting cause.  I stumbled across this terrific idea by accident, and you know me....I cannot NOT join a charity event.  SOOOO here is a quick rundown of what is happening: Over on THIS blog they are running 100 quilts for Christmas.  They want people to make and donate 100 quilts to their local community charities and then link the quilts up on their blog.  They will be having giveaways galore and helping out charities in the process.  I am not sure what I will be making, but I will keep you posted.  HERE are all of the details and requirements, plus an explanation of the drawings involved (since I know all you sewers wanna join up too!!!!).  I love giving stuff away and cannot wait to be ONE of the ONE hundred quilts.....I wanna be number 87....just for fun!!!

Switch it…Change it….Rearrange it!!

 

I am still a little backed up from not having my computer for 2 weeks.  So here is a much belated Halloween post.  Since Halloween was on a Sunday, I wanted Emersyn to have a dress that fit the occasion.  SOOO I used something I had on hand and made a Halloween dress.  BUTTTTT I figured Halloween is only one day a year, and I wanted the dress to be usable AFTER Halloween.  SOOO I made THE EXCHANGEABLE DRESS.  Confused???  This is what I did….

I had this black dress that I bought at the thrift store for a dollar.  It was just plain and sad looking, but I bought it thinking it could still have a good life.  SOO I went onto E-bay (saved myself an expensive trip to the craft store) and bought a spool of orange tool, a bunch of velcro, and 2 yards of orange polka dot ribbon and got started.

First, I took my tool (it was 6 inches wide) and folded it down the middle.  Then I turned up my tension to 9, increased my stitch length, and ran a gathering stitch. 

 

I came up with a super long piece of tool that was kinda a mess.

 

I then took my messy tool strip and sewed one half of my velcro (I chose the soft side) and sewed it onto the tool.  I had to keep straightening up the tool as I went so that it was a ruffle and not all bunched up.

I used a zig zag stitch because the tool was shifty and I wanted to make sure and catch it.

 

Ta-da…..look at that crooked row of stiches:)  Good thing it was going on the INSIDE of the dress huh???:0

Then I just sewed the other half of the velcro onto the inside edge of the dress. 

Last but not least, I used black embroidery floss to make loops on either side of the dress to hold the ribbon. I didn’t get a picture of that, but it was pretty easy.  I just threaded my needle with floss and tied a knot in the end. Then I put the thread through where the skirt met up with the top of the dress on the side seam.  Then I left the loop a little bigger than the ribbon so it would not bunch up, put the needle through the same spot and tied another knot on the inside of the dress.  Pretty simple.

Now I can just pull the ribbon out, switch out the orange tool and have a new dress.  ORRR  leave the tool on and find another matching ribbon.  ORRR….well you get the idea.

  I already have big plans for the exchangeable dress for Christmas, Valentines, Saint Patrick’s Day, you name it.  I will keep you posted on the life of this little dress….it still has a lot of life in it:)

Just a little reminder...

I really thought that my day COULD NOT possibly get worse when I woke up this morning to aching sinuses, a pounding headache, and the beginnings of what promised to be a killer cold.  I WAS SOOOOO WRONG!!!  It was not until a while later that I realized that the NEW low point was getting my pants wet.  NOT wetting my pants----that would be awful, but I could just count that off as another pregnancy related mishap.....NO you read it correctly.  I got my pants wet.  My two year old (who had already worn every shred of my sanity down to the wire) came and snuggled with me on the couch....told me I was the best....continued watching her thousanth episode of Calliou (remember me being sick and not feeling the need to entertain)....and then apparently too engrossed in the life of a Canadian four year old proceeds to pee ON THE COUCH.  Just sat right there and peed.  Un-be-freakin-leavable!!!  As if that is not weird enough, she doesn't tell me or even take her eyes from the t.v.  It is not until I realize that I am wet, warm, and uncomfortable that I realized there was a problem.  I ruled out my water breaking and me wetting my own pants and discovered the problem.   PURE LAZINESS.  I asked her if she peed and she said YEP!!!  I asked her why and she said "I was just watching cartoons."  Because that is what people do when they are watching t.v. right.   Thank goodness for leather couches.  GRRRR!!! 
HOWEVER...that also proved to be a false alarm in the low point department.  The REAL low point of my day came much later.  After 3 more potty accidents (one on my kitchen chair cushion) and a rough day all the way around I realized that life COULD in fact go farther down hill.  When I was trying to explain that BIG GIRLS go potty in the toilet and if we continued to pee all over mommy's house we would have to go to the store and get diapers I got hit in the face by yet another false alarm.  Em looked up at me and said "Yep I do need diapers AND we need to buy me some baby bottles too."  Talk about backfiring!!!  So I made a noise that was loud and may or may not have sounded a lot like a very naughty swear word....AND that folks is when the real bottom fell out of my day.  I got the big puppy dog two year old eyes pointed right at me and THEN it happened.  Emersyn said "mom....you just need to be more patient." I sat there with my mouth open and my eyes unblinking thinking....Who the heck taught my kid that word and how does she know how to use it????  Then she hopped off the potty (we still pretend she is gonna use it once in a while) and ran into her room.  And this folks is the moment.....she sat in her rocking chair with her blanket and said....."mommy, sing me a song about Jesus." 
There is nothing like a big plate of humility handed to you by a two year old in pee pants with a water colored face that reminds you of the big picture.  SURE my house has pee on EVERY available surface.  SURE you cannot see my floor through all of the toys and goldfishes on it.  SURE I would rather be sleeping than up 3 times in the night trying to convince my kid that HER bed is just as warm and good as mommy's bed.  BUT along with the thousand low points and the moments of wondering where the closest fire station drop point is to my house, there is always at least ONE hight point.  Today that came as I rocked my dirty child in her rocking chair and sang to her about Jesus.  Tomorrow is another day.....I hope I remember the lesson that He (with a little help from HER) taught me today.

yum yum….ready for Thanksgiving recipe

 

Did anyone think I had fallen off the planet???  Just my computer did.  It has been in the shop for TWO WEEKS----yikes. Anyway…I am back to life and back in this century (how did we survive without computers??). 

Last week I decided to try some of my mom’s old recipes---you know those favorite things we ate growing up???  Well I had lots of them and sadly I did not know how to make ANY of them.  So I got out of my Taco and Spaghetti rut and tried some new things.  Some were successes and some were edible, but either way it was NOT another night of pizza:) 

Any guesses on what I made first????  Yummy delicious Stove Top Casserole.  Am I the only one who believes stuffing is the BEST food around???  I could even do without the turkey if I could have the stuffing!!!  Anyway….I found a few recipes out there, but none that sounded JUST RIGHT!!!  You know…how momma made it:)  So I mixed and matched and made up my own.  Here it is….

Stove Top Casserole

You will need:

• Chicken (3 or 4 large breasts)
• a couple stalks of celery and a couple carrots
• cream of chicken soup—1 regular can
• 1/2 can (from soup) of milk

Pre-heat your oven to 350.

FIRST, start off by boiling your chicken.  You could use a full chicken or leftover chicken or turkey, but I used chicken breast because that is what I have around.  You want enough to fill the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish.  I used the 3 HUGE breasts and it was the perfect amount.  Put your chicken in a large pot to boil with salt and pepper to taste.  Then while your chicken is boiling, cut up some carrots and celery. (I used 3 or four of each, but again---to your liking).  I cut mine into pretty small pieces because I did not want HUGE chunks in my finished casserole. I cannot eat chunks in my jello either---no bueno!!!  ANYWAY….Throw your carrots and celery into the pot to boil with your chicken. 

While boiling your chicken, prepare your stuffing as directed on the box. 

After your chicken is well boiled, shred it.  I use 2 forks and pull in different directions.  Your chicken should just fall into pieces. You could also just cut your chicken into small cubes, but I am a fan of shredded chicken:)  Fill the bottom of your baking dish with the chicken.  Then strain your broth and keep out your vegetables.  Throw the carrots and celery on top of the chicken.  You really could use any vegetable you like here, I think broccoli would be good, or peas.  I liked the carrots and celery because it added some texture and NOT a lot of taste.  Plus, it is nice to know there are a few veggies hiding in ANY meal right???

Next, mix your milk and soup together in a bowl.  When it is well mixed, dump it evenly over the chicken and veggies.  When your stuffing is done, dump it right on top of everything else. 

Bake for about 30 minutes (you want to soup to be bubbling).  Voila.  yummy stuffing goodness!!!! 

This is a great recipe for after Thanksgiving because you already have the turkey cooked and probably have leftover stuffing.  Just throw it together and have a new meal----because you can only eat cold turkey sandwiches for SO many days right:)

  By the way… these pictures were all graciously donated by the internet….my food was not so pretty, nor did it stick around long enough for photos!!!