Mini Ruffle Curtain

One of the things I love about our new house is the door that leads from the master bedroom to the deck. It is so pleasant to be able to step out in the mornings and sit on the porch swing.

But there was a slight problem- a window in the door that is not frosted. It has been very creepy to think anyone can just see in when it is dark. So I made a mini- ruffled curtain for the window.

I found a sample panel at Menard's that was very long and skinny, but wide enough for the little window. It was only $2! What a steal. It is a chocolate suedish material and I love the way it looks.

I followed the tutorial I found here at A boy, a girl, and a pug. Then I miniaturized it to fit the dimensions I needed. Love having it and love not worrying about walking from the bathroom to my closet after a shower anymore!

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Pie and Preparing for the Holiday

Last weekend we had some pre- 4th of July fun with family, food and even fireworks!

I did make the pies that I mentioned last post- strawberry pie and lemon meringue. They were both delicious!!

It was hard to find a strawberry pie recipe that didn't call for jell-o or pre-made strawberry glaze. So I just made up my own based on a few recipes I found.

Strawberry Pie

4 cups hulled strawberries

5 Tbsp cornstarch

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Mash strawberries so juice is flowing. Mix cornstarch and sugar together to eliminate lumps. Heat strawberries, sugar, cornstarch , and lemon juice until boiling. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Add to unbaked pie crust. I did a lattice over top of mine and baked at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Yummy!!

For the Lemon Meringue Pie I used a recipe from Eggland's Best Eggs.

Mile High Lemon Meringue Pie

4 eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups sugar, separated

5 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Combine 1 cup of sugar, cornstarch and cream of tartar- mix to eliminate clumps. Add to medium saucepan. Whisk in water and milk, stirring while heating over medium heat. Bring to a boil.

In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks. Whisk 1/2 cup of the milk mixture in and then add back to the saucepan. Simmer over low heat 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat add butter and lemon juice and pour into prebaked pie crust.

In medium bowl beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Spread meringue over top and let bake for 12 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees F.

For both recipes I used the "Alan's Pie Pastry" from my BHG magazine (I think it was November 2010 edition).

I didn't have sour cream so I subsituted plain yogurt and I miscalculated the time I needed to prepare the pies so I didn't let them chill the full 2 hours. But the crusts turned out wonderful, chewy and flaky. Yum Yum.

Alan's Pie Pastry

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 cups cold unsalted butter

2/3 cup ice cold water

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 tsp vinegar

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter with pastry blender. Add water, sour cream and vinegar to flour mixture. Stir to mix, don't overmix. Refridgerate for 2 hrs or overnight. Makes 3 single crust pastries.

This week has been just getting ready for traveling this weekend and having family over for the fireworks celebration on Sunday. Just trying to make it through work until then!! And hopefully be able to get a few sewing/stitchy projects done!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Finished Painting and PIE!!!

I just finished painting the back bedroom at our new house- It went from a lavendar to Lazy Daizy- a buttery yellow color. I like it a lot so far, even though the process took a lot longer than I wanted. I am hoping to get it swept up and some furniture moved into it tonight.

I am also going to start on the process of making pies tonight. We have a family celebration on Saturday and I am going to make two pies....

Strawberry Pie- photo from Weight Watchers

Haven't found what recipe I am going to use yet.

and Lemon Meringue Pie

photo from Woman's Day

I am going to use the recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie from Allrecipes.com

I will probably only make the crusts tonight and then make the pies tomorrow. Hopefully they turn out as pretty as the pictures!

Thanks for stopping by and everyone have a good weekend.

What's a girl to do....

When her husband is out fishing...

Well make some quilted wall art of course!!
Rock out to these lovely ladies- girl power!!
St. Vincent
Tegan and Sara
Joanna Newsom
and Eisley (I guess there is some gentlemen in there too).

I had come up with this idea after seeing several tutorials of putting plain fabric in an embroidery hoop and using it as wall art.

I thought I would do this with some crazy quilting. I tried to do the crazy quilting but I didn't really feel comfortable with all of the wonky angles.

So I decided just to do straighter lines with some embroidery thrown in there. It was a really fun project-

1. Embroider what you want- I just used DMC floss on some tan fabric. I did mine to look a little countryish, but you can make it whatever style you want.

2. Cut fabrics in to strips, long and short- this would be a fun project just to use you scrap stash on because you don't have to have exact amts.

3. I didn't measure or pin anything on this because I wanted it to be a little imperfect- I let some of the selvages show too.

4. Lay out the fabrics the way you want and start stitching.

5. Once you have filled the size of hoop you want put it tight in the hoop and cut off the excess. Hot glue the extra overhang to the back of the hoop. You are done!!

I am going to use this as part of a gallery wall of plate, cross stitches and paintings in my kitchen- hopefully get it hung up soon!

I had some left over fabric strips so I made this bow for my niece- it may be a little big, but if she wears it above her ponytail it will be cute.

Happy Crafting!!

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4th of July Shorts

I have been wanting to make some clothes for a long time- so I decided to make a pair of shorts for my niece. I would like to sew clothes for my future children- so I need to start practicing now! I used the tutorial on Dana's website MADE. I had also seen a lot of blogs with people recycling old t-shirts so I decided I would try that too.

I started with this shirt- about 10 years old, never really have worn it a lot----

Pattern template from MADE- altered to make girl shorts.

Finished shorts- the star is just a piece of old navy blue t-shirt and sparkly tulle sewed together and appliqued on.

Since I made these cute shorts I decided to make a cute hair clip to go with it. I used the tutorial from Disney's Ruffles and Stuff blog- so easy and so cute.

I plan to make a tank top with some ruffles on it to match for Marley to wear on 4th of July. I had her try them on today, they were very tight, but should fit well enough to wear on the 4th. When I make more shorts I am going to make the pattern template bigger!

And since the flower was so easy to make- I made another pretty pink one- Marley loved it!!

Happy Sewing and Stitching to all!!

New House Pictures

Hadn't posted any pictures of the new house yet- Here are some showing my favorite parts!! The dogs are loving it here too!

Roman Blinds for the New House

Yesterday I finished my first project for the new house. I made the roman shades for our living room windows. I love the way they turned out. I used the tutorial from Jen's What's New blog. The tutorial was wonderful, the only thing I would add to it would be some information on spacing for longer blinds (the tutorial was for much shorter blinds than I was doing). I ended up getting the spacing too close at the top- 3"- and it bunches a little funny. If I make them in the future I will probably keep it at least 4" apart.

The project all laid out- sewing the rings on the back.

The middle blind pulled up, you can kind of see the trim I put at the bottom.

All three blinds pulled up.

Two down, one up- you can really see the fabric here. I was dying to go with a more floral design, but we decided on something less girly (husband's words, not mine). I love the circles and I love all the maroons, greens and golds I can pull out of it to decorate with. I even have a bunch of fabric left over to make pillows with.

A close up of the detail. We think we will eventually make a valance to go over top, but that wont be right away. Off to do some yoga now!

Goals for June

Start of June- Trying to get back on track with my crafting!!

This weekend my goal is to finish the roman shades for the living room- they are all stitched up and about half of the rings are tied on to the back. This afternoon I will run by JoAnn's to get the rest of the rings (didn't buy enough the first time). After that it is mainly just installing the hardware and stringing the cording.

Another plan for the weekend is to paint the craftroom so we can get it all set up and organized. We picked out a sunny yellow that will be so pleasant to look at while I craft. Already got my "new" craft table cleaned up and all I need to do is glue the new casters into the bottom.

Can't explain how jealous I get looking at everyone else's projects on their blogs- just want to be to the point where I can devote at least some time to crafting!

I have been doing pretty well with my eating and exercise lately, which does take time. I started a new exercise routine to incorporate more strength training and yoga, instead of just running. I have been doing good with sticking with it and I know that benefits me too. Now to find a balance between time spent preparing healthy foods, exercising and crafts (and of course spending time with my honey and our dogs)!