November 17th, 2011
Anyone on your gift list can use a new kitchen towel, I promise! Let’s face it, kitchen towels are extremely functional, but have constant turn over… so, why not make them fabulous too? Hi, Janell here for another idea for a quick and thoughtful gift–make one for your own home while you are at it.
I am sewing with Jen Allyson’s fabulous Christmas fabric line: Holly Jolly from Riley Blake.
Materials:
- Fabric for decorating towels
- Towels to be embellished
(helpful hint: when possible pre-wash and dry your fabric, especially when using dark colors to prevent them from bleeding color onto your towels)
- Additional trim such as ribbon, lace or rick rac
- Scissors, sewing machine, measuring tape, thread and straight pins
Steps:
- Measure the width of the towel. Cut the fabric strips the width of the towel, plus one inch. I like to layout my towel with the fabric and trim so I can see what the over-all effect will be.
- Measure trim the width of the towel plus 1/2 inch and cut.
- Turn under 1/2” on each long edge and press with your iron. Turn under 1/2” on each short edge and press.
- Load your bobbin with thread that is the same color as your towel and the top thread the closest color to your trim and fabrics. You may need to switch colors for the same towel, but keep the bobbin thread consistent.
- Pin your fabric and additional trims with straight pins onto your towel. Now you are ready to sew!
- Start with the fabric and edge-stitch along front pressed edges of strip, through all thicknesses.
- Decorate with more fabric strips and embellish with coordinating ribbons, lace, or ric-rac.
Pair your finished towel with your favorite bottle of hand soap and you have a wonderful gift that you’ll be proud of giving and the receiver will be pleased to get!
November 11th, 2011
Happy November everyone! Can you believe we’re already back to short days and early sunsets?? The short days are hard for me, but I try to get out during the day as much as possible to soak in the sunshine – either running errands or just walking the dog.
For my project this week, I made a fun and simple Ribbon Wreath in fall colors. I used the Stella & Rose Mabel “Little Lady” trims.
Here’s the other supplies I gathered: a foam wreath, a spool of brown satin ribbon and the MME trims.
I used Scor-Tape to secure the satin ribbon to the wreath and started wrapping!
I covered the wreath with the brown satin, the orange grosgrain, and the aqua twill. I think the aqua gives a modern edge to the standard fall colors.
I stamped a Happy Thanksgiving greeting and attached it with ribbon, then tied a bow with the aqua twill. The stamp is from Hero Arts.
Here is my wreath hanging on my front door!
November 4th, 2011
Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin cheesecake. Pumpkin muffins.
Pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin fudge.
Pumpkin….I can’t get enough of it!
In case you haven’t figured it out, I LOVE pumpkin! 
Thanks to my good friend Pinterest, I came across a delicious
pumpkin pie dip that will NOT disappoint!
But first, let’s think about presentation.
{I need to give props to Mindy of Best Energies Best Affections for the idea. Thanks Mindy!}
Maybe it’s just me, but I do enjoy food presentation.
I’d much rather eat/serve chips out of a bowl, instead of a bag.
I’d much rather eat/serve caramel, dips, salsas, etc out of bowls,
instead of the containers they came in.
So, when I wanted to put together a little treat platter to share at work,
I wanted it to look nice.
1. To start off, you need fun bowls!
While in San Francisco for a work training, I got to shop at Anthropologie!
{There isn’t a store located in Iowa. Sad, I know!}
Because I can’t afford the clothing, I went and looked at the House & Home items,
because that stuff rocks!
In the end, here’s what I came home with.
Aren’t they awesome?! {I now wish I would have gotten more!}
2. Next, get some sort of big platter, tray, etc. Thanks to Mindy and her grand idea,
I used a vintage round cake pan.
This isn’t just any cake pan. I found it my Grandma’s attic.
So it does have some meaning behind it.
3. Decide what you want to put in the bowls for dips and dippers.
I decided to go with honey wheat pretzels, honey graham crackers, and grapes.
I would have used apples as well….if I had some on hand.
I served honey crisp apples with this during a craft day, and the ladies loved it!
4. Now for the dip!
Pumpkin Pie Dip
{Original recipe found here.}
My version of the recipe….
Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2.5 cups powdered sugar
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1+ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1+ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1+ teaspoon vanilla
Preparation:
Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add pie filling, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla, beating well.
Cover and chill.
Serve with favorite dippers!
5. Enjoy!
It not only tastes delicious, it looks great as well!
Another fun idea would be to use clear/white/solid colored bowls,
and add the fun to the pan itself.
Just line it with some scraps of material, scrapbook papers,
or one of your favorite cloth napkins.
Obviously, I didn’t think about that ahead of time. But I will next time!
I just wanted to use my new bowls!
This idea originated from Mindy as a veggie tray.
She had assorted veggies in different bowls, with a Ball jar of dip in the middle.
With the holiday season upon us, have fun with your treat/snack/dessert/drink presentation.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box! You very well could be the hit of the party!
November 2nd, 2011
Every year during the holidays our family and friends will get together many times. Each couple or family is responsible for bringing a part of the meal. My family almost always brings a hot dish to share. I had been searching for a way to transport a hot dish that keeps the dish hot/warm but also keeps the inside of my truck fairly clean. I love this round casserole carrier. It fits a covered 2 qt round pyrex, a 8×8 square and a 2 qt rectangle pyrex. 
There are many online tutorials, books and patterns to follow to make a casserole carrier. I have a book called One Yard Wonders where I found the basic pattern for a round casserole carrier. I like the simplicity of the carrier and after measuring your favorite dishes you can tailor the pattern to fit any of them. Simply measure the diameter of your dish plus the height and add 3″. That will be the diameter of the circles you will cut out. I layered the bottom circle with Insulbrite and the top “doughnut” circle with cotton batting. The outer fabric is Lost & Found Pink Damask. The lining fabric is Lost & Found Pink Round and the binding is Holly Jolly Gray Dots. I love that Jen’s fabric lines mix well and I love that I can use a Christmas line of fabric year round.
October 28th, 2011
Living in the great Midwest, I get to experience all the seasons at their best!
My favorite season of all….FALL!
However, I like to call it HARVEST!
This is why….
Usually every fall I get to spend a few hours in the drivers seat of the combine.
However, this year, I just sat in the passengers seat for about an hour.
It has been a busy season of working my real job and my fun job {plus, it’s a ‘new’ combine…and I didn’t want to wreck it!}.
I did get to haul some corn back to the home site, which just added a few more minutes to my already dozens of hours of tractor time.
{My fun job….I often drive a tractor for the hayrides on the weekends at Center Grove Orchard.}
So, due to being busy and some traveling with my real job, in addition to the extra hours I’ve put in at my fun job, on top of being sick for the past week, my post has changed a little.
In honor of my favorite season, I have done some Pinterest searching for fall/autumn subway art.
Subway art is the rage these days. It is an easy, cheap, and fun addition to any home decor.
I thought about making my own subway art at one point, but with all the freebies out there, I took the easy way out.
Over on Pinterest, I made a board of Fall Subway Art.
Some of the links have other free fall printables there as well.
Here are a few of my favorites.
{Each picture is linked directly to the website it was found on via Pinterest.}
Once you find some art that will work best for your home, either print it off if you have a nice printer, or send it off to some place that can print it for you. I have printed things like this at Walmart, Target, local print shop, etc.
To finish off the look, get yourself a nice frame from Hobby Lobby {or the store of your choice}. I always go to HobLob, because 1) it’s local; and 2) if I don’t get things 50% off, I wait for the 40% off coupon.
As the seasons {or your mood} change, so can your subway art…and on the cheap!
