I came across this post on facebook by my dear friend Cody Morris, and thought I would share.

I just had to share this really cute tutorial I found today on SwirlyThoughts.  She shows how to make padded envelopes using reclaimed materials. 

It is such a wonderful idea.  So many possibilities!

I have been been doing a lot of playing around with magazines lately.  I saved a rather large stash from the trash at work last week.  So as you can imagine there has been lots of cutting, folding, rolling and gluing (non-toxic) going on.  Needless to say, it has been an interesting challenge coming up with different ways to reuse them all.

For the most part I have had great luck in making jewelry out of them.  Earrings, bracelets and beads have all been fun.  I’ll post about them later though. 

Today however, I am very pleased with a tea wallet that I made.  I love my tea, and always have a bag or two in my purse or pocket.  Christy’s Creations had a great Tea Wallet Tutorial that I thought might be a fun way to reuse the magazines.  The image I chose was a little small, but I love how it came out. 

Surprisingly durable and very cute.  I have been taking it to work all week, and absolutely love it.

I am so happy about all the rain we have been getting lately.  It isn’t much, but I am looking forward to seeing green (not brown) hills again this spring.  Despite my personal gratitude for the rain, it can be hard to keep spirits up in a constant gray.

I wanted to do something bright and cheery today to perk up everyone here.  That did not want to work today, My Love is at work and the little ones are painting.  So the best thing to do on a day like this is cook something special.  These are great to snack on, bring to parties or just eat. 

Antipasto Loaf

Prep Time: 25 min
Total Time: 1 hr 25 min
Makes: 25 servings, one slice each

1 French bread baguette (12 oz.)
1 tub (8 oz.) Cream Cheese Spread
3 Tbsp. pesto
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup drained marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
2 Tbsp. Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 cups baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped

CUT baguette lengthwise in half. Remove soft insides from both bread halves.
MIX cream cheese spread and pesto; spread evenly onto insides of bread shells. Fill evenly with tomatoes, artichokes, Parmesan cheese and spinach.
REASSEMBLE baguette; wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Cut into 25 slices to serve.

 
Make-Ahead Spinach Phyllo Roll-Ups

Prep Time: 30 min
Total Time: 55 min
Makes: 5 logs, 6 slices each or 30 servings, 1 slice each

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
1 cup Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese
1 tub (8 oz.) Garden Vegetable Light Cream Cheese Spread
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
15 sheets frozen phyllo sheets (14×9 inch), thawed
1/3 cup butter, melted

MIX egg, spinach, feta cheese, cream cheese spread and onions until well blended. Set aside.
PLACE 1 of the phyllo sheets on a clean work surface. Brush lightly with butter. Top with 2 more phyllo sheets, brushing more of the remaining butter between each layer. Place remaining phyllo between sheets of plastic wrap; set aside.
SPREAD 1/5 of the spinach mixture along 1 of the short sides of the phyllo stack; fold in both long sides, then roll up, starting at 1 of the short sides to make a log. Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets and spinach mixture to make 4 more logs. Brush with remaining butter. To prevent phyllo from cracking, score logs at 1-inch intervals. Place in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bags or wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
FREEZE up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove desired number of logs from freezer. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, several hours or overnight until thawed. Place on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 375°F-oven for 25 min. or until golden brown. Cool 5 min.; place on cutting board. Cut each log into 6 slices with serrated knife to serve.

I hope you enjoy and have a happy and inspiring day!

I came across this great utensil holder project made from paper bags, over at  Machine d’amour. 

All you need is a paper bag, some vinyl and a sewing machine.  It is really quite simple.  Check out her instructions here.

This would also work great with magazine pages and left over paper scraps. 

I have some extra vinyl laying around, maybe the girls and I will make some pretty placemats for when it’s warm enough to eat outside again.  :)

We are ready for Valentine’s Day! 

Jade and I made some very cute Valentine Fortune Cookies for her to hand out in class.  Each with a fortune and a chocolate heart.  She insisted on adding lucky numbers, as it is not a real fortune cookie with out them.  She had a hard time deciding between counting by 2’s or counting by 5’s.  In the end she decided on using the date.

She also had to make a special Valentine for a secret pal in class.  Her secret pal turned out to be a boy, so she tried to make it not girly.

Check out the how to we found here.  The only changes we made were to use foam sheets instead of felt (a better texture), and hot glue as we had trouble with regular.

All and all, a really cute and simple project.

Hope your V-Day is a Happy one!!!

My little Jade came up to me after finishing her homework and asked when I would finally teach her how to sew.  I have  to admit I was a little surprised by her question, so I asked her what she had in mind.  She answered by pointing out my knitting project, the crochet needles and my sewing machine.  Then she went on to explain she wasn’t sure witch one would be best, she just wanted to learn something new.

As a mom, who could say no!  Well my little Rain didn’t want to be left out.  So we decided to go with the sewing machine as it seemed the easiest for both of them.  We grabbed a bag of clothes that Rain had grown out of and started plotting.

After much talking and planning Rain decided to make a bag out of her strawberry shortcake shirt and Jade went for a doll out of an old dress.

Rain loved her project and it was a great one to start her on as it was very easy and fast.  I sewed the bottom of the shirt and she went to work on cutting off the sleeves.

It turned out pretty cute and she has been putting everything in there since.  I am so happy she likes it!!!

Jade’s project took a couple of days to finish, but she did a great job.  First we measured out the skirt and used a piece of news paper for her to draw up a design for her doll.  She made a few patterns before she found the one she liked.

After it was all cut and pinned, she got to sewing.  Jade was really excited to use my machine.  She had a blast, and did a great job.  I hand sewed the eyes for her.  She did the seams and the mouth.

Stuffing it was a really fun part for her.  She wanted to make sure it was super soft and cuddly, so she kept hugging as she went, just to be sure.

All and all her doll turned out very cute.  Jade is thrilled and has been telling everyone she sees that this is her favorite doll and she made it out of her old dress.

I think she is very proud. 

 So am I!

Happy Day!!!

My Mom loves her earring holder.  It turned out really nice, and matches her room beautifully.

Here are the pictures I promised.  Sorry about the delay.  Let me know what you think.

I backed the image with cardboard trimmed in black to add some depth and better frame the earrings.  Also I applied a matte finish to complement the satin ribbon.

Mom and I have been in the mood for chocolate lately.  She found this recipe yesterday for a Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake, and we just had to try it tonight. 

The cake turned out wonderful.  It was really easy to make.  The whole family gave it thumbs up.  So I thought I would share the yummy goodness with you. 

Hope you enjoy it!!!

Have a wonderful day, and may all your chocolate be fabulous!

I finally finished the scarf for MamaBear! 

It took about a month and a half.  The scarf turned out to be a nice size at 62 inches long and 6 wide.  I think I am starting to get the hang of knitting.  It is still a bit strange after being so use to crocheting, but I guess that happens. 

I am really happy with how it turned out.  Too bad I don’t get to keep it!!  Oh well.

I also finished one of the aprons for SadieDey’s Cafe.   I hope they like them. 

Let me know what you think.  The flash is a little off, but you get the idea.