Easy Art and Updated Storage

I adore this idea from Nesting Place blog today.  Wrapping shoe boxes with paper, fabric, etc. to make art.

Here's the picture from Nesting Place:

 

houzz

Love that!

This weekend I did something similar - not to make art but to update some ugly storage on our desk.  Months ago I took a cardboard box and covered it with masking tape, hoping that it would just be a nice, unnoticeable beige.  It looked like this:

Not the best.  And why I chose to write in such big letters in the middle of the box is beyond me.  Though it used to be oriented a different way so the words weren't sideways.

So I turned it into this:

Here are my steps to updated storage:

1.  Cut out a piece of scrapbook paper so that it is approximately 1 inch larger on each side than the box top.  Glue on to top of box using Tacky glue.  Put extra glue on all four sides, approximately one inch from the top.

2.  Fold down extra paper so that it sticks to sides.  Repeat on the bottom.

3.  Put glue on one side of box.

4.  Cut out piece of scrapbook paper so that it is the exact dimension of the side that is glue and lay over glue, smoothing it down.  Repeat on all four sides.

Much better!

Easter Basket to Anytime Basket

Last Easter I was feeling pretty blue.  We weren't able to go to church because my hubby couldn't be in big crowds yet (and church is always crowded on Easter) and we couldn't visit our families either.  Two awesome things happened though: we watched an amazing live church service from Mars Hill Church and Pastor Mark Driscoll, and my husband surprised me with an Easter egg hunt that culminated in this special Easter basket filled with treats:

After 6 months admiring it and being reminded of my Easter surprise, I decided that I needed to do a little updating to make it match our decor a little better. 

First, I un-threaded the orange and gold ribbon that ran around the middle of the basket.  It actually wasn't even glued in so it was very easy to do!  Then I pulled out my set of craft paints and painted over the butterflies and the pink strips.  It took multiple coats (and a very small paint brush) but this is the end result:

And now for a close-up:

I love how it matches my bookshelf and that I can now enjoy it in all seasons!

I'm still not sure what to do with the extra baskets sitting inside of it - and I'm hoping to make some fabric flowers to put in that vase... eventually!

Heart Onesies

Last weekend I taught my friend some basic sewing skills - it was such a great time!  For our project I taught her how to add applique to onesies (she has some friends' baby-showers coming up).

I originally learned to do this from Stitch by Stitch - and it really is simple!  Here's our final product!

$1 Bookcase Re-do

I found this bookcase on the side of the road last week!  I've been wanting one of these for a while now and then poof!  There it was!

I rescued it right before heavy rain started to fall.

It's made out of particle board but the back on three of the squares was really cheap cardboard.  So I ripped it off.

 

 

Which left this:

It might be less trendy than the original, but I don't really like trendy things because they go out of fashion too fast for me to keep up with.  This way it's more of a classic bookshelf that will always be in fashion.

To spruce it up I added many thin layers of $1 "oops" paint from Home Depot.  We bought it a while back for another project and had half a can left.  I really like the color and me and the hubby thought it'd look great in our bedroom. 

The first few layers were applied with a small roller brush.  Then I used a tiny craft brush to fill in along the edges.  I chose not to sand it at all before painting since it is particle board and I didn't want it to start disintegrating, but it did make it hard to get the paint to stick.  I ended up applying my final layers with a foam brush which gave me more even coverage.

 

And one more time without books...

Total cost?  Less than $1!

Recipe: Café Olé

I love a plain cup of coffee, but some days it's fun to put a little something extra in it.  I've been making Café Olé for years but I have no idea where I got the name or the idea... which probably means my sister taught it to me at some point!

Ingredients:
Coffee
Cream
Sugar
Cinnamon
Cocoa Powder

Pour yourself a cup of coffee and prepare it to taste like you usually would (cream, milk, sugar, Splenda... whatever you like).  I always use Half n' Half and sugar.

Stir in some cinnamon and cocoa powder to taste.  I don't measure mine but I probably use about a 1/2 tsp. of each.

That's it!  One of the great things about Café Olé is that it's fast and flexible.  Some days I only use cinnamon or only cocoa powder, and right now I'm drinking a mug full made from yesterday's coffee.  Normally I hate leftover coffee but we're out of coffee beans and when I turn it into Café Olé I can't tell that it's not freshly brewed!

See Kate Sew Sew-A-Long

I'm pumped!  I was checking out See Kate Sew today and saw that she released a free tutorial with pattern pieces for her "Sweet Scallops Tote".  AND she's creating a link party so that anyone who makes one can link up and possibly be featured on her blog!  Look how cute this bag is!

I think I'll accept the challenge. 

To put my own spin on it, I'm going to use all scrap fabrics that I have.  I have so many scraps that I think it will be really doable.  Especially if the straps are made from the khaki I used in my reversible tote.  Maybe I'll even try to add a fabric flower to it - I've been wanting to learn to make those for a while now.

I'll let you know how it goes.  Anyone else going to make one?

Tutorial: Sweater Scarf

For my mother-in-law's birthday I made her a scarf from one of my husband's old sweaters and one of his old t-shirts.  We thought she would enjoy the sentimental value of a "hug" from 5 hours away!

I considered making an infinity scarf using this tutorial from Vixen Made, but ended up just using the idea of a two-sided scarf since I thought it'd be too bulky made from a sweater.

 Here are my steps:

1.  Cut long strips of sweater material - the width should be equal to the width you'd like the scarf to be (plus a seam allowance).  Mine were 6 inches wide.  The strips should add up to the length you'd like the scarf to be with a couple inches extra for overlap.

I planned on using the bottom of the sweater for the ends of the scarf, to take advantage of the texture.  After cutting out two strips I realized that the scarf wasn't going to be long enough, so I cut two more strips out (but only ended up using one).  Then I evened up the strips by laying the thinnest over the widest and cutting off the extra.

2)  Pin the strips of sweater together.  I had three strips so I put the shortest in the middle and the longer two (which had the textured ends) on the sides.  I put the middle strip right-side up, then laid the side strips on it right-side down with raw edges touching.  Since my sweater is striped, I had to fuss with where I attached them a bit so that the stripes would be even all the way down the scarf.

Sew strips together using a half-inch seam allowance.  Trim extra fabric and finish seams with a zig-zag stitch.

3)  Cut out strips that are equivalent width and length to sweater pieces from second fabric (I used an old t-shirt).

Repeat pinning process and sew seams together.

Finish seams with zig-zag stitch and iron flat to reduce bulk.

4.  Place fabric and sweater strips together, right-sides facing.

5.  Pin strips together.

 6.  Sew along one short side and both long sides using a straight stitch.  Then finish seams with a zig-zag stitch.

6.  Turn scarf right-side out.

7.  Iron scarf flat.  Pin open end closed, tucking raw edges under.  Sew around all four sides of scarf using a 1/4 " seam allowance.  I used matching thread on the sweater side and contrasting thread on the t-shirt side.

8.  Admire scarf!

Recipe: Easy Chicken & Rice Soup

We've been feeling pretty under the weather lately and have turned to an old staple to battle our colds - chicken and rice soup.  Not feeling up to going to the store for lots of ingredients I decided to use what I had on hand and ended up with something pretty yummy.  I've been making a big batch each Sunday night and we reheat it for meals throughout the week.  My hubby usually hates soup, but he actually likes this one!

Easy Chicken & Rice Soup

Ingredients:
Cooked rice (I use a mixture of white rice and a brown rice/ whole grain mix from Trader Joe's)
Shredded chicken (I boil and shred this in bulk and keep it stocked in the freezer most of the time)
water
poultry seasoning
black pepper
dried bay leaves
onion powder or onion flakes
salt
optional:  sliced veggies such as carrots, celery, onion, etc.

Directions:
Fill a large pot 1/2 full with water
Add shredded chicken and rice
Add seasonings to taste - more poultry seasoning than anything else (I just eye-ball it and use caution.  I add salt to taste in individual servings.)
Bring to a boil, then remove lid and let simmer until soup reduces to desired thickness. 
Remove bay leaves.
Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top if desired.  Olive bread makes a great accompaniement!

This really is a no-fail recipe.  I never measure anything - I just sort of add it whatever amounts I have of the rice and chicken and the approximate ratios of seasonings that I prefer.  And since I like veggies in my soup but my hubby doesn't, I put in really big chunks of carrots that he can easily pick out.  That way everyone wins!

My Favorite Books

From time to time I update my Favorite Books page - and I just finished writing about one of my favorite authors, James Harriot.  If you love animals, or books, or know someone who is or wants to be a vet, check it out!