Been Too Busy to Blog

Well I haven’t been blogging since thanksgiving, haven’t even kept up with the few blogs I follow. The last months of the year are a very hectic time for my family. Not only do we have the holidays with big family meals and xmas presents to make or shop for, but we also have 7 birthdays between the end of Nov. & the beginning of Jan. (including my own). Since I’ve gotten back into sewing and crafting, this year took a real toll on my time. I was totally wrapped up in crafting gifts, xmas shopping & shipping presents out of state. I neglecting my Etsy shop, my blog, and my xmas tree – it had lights on it for almost 2 weeks, finally got ornaments on Christmas eve. Just got the last birthday gifts off in the mail today, so things should slow down again. Now I’ll be posting a few pics of the gifts I made.
These 1st pictures are of sets of coasters I made mostly from my husbands photos, but a few photos are mine too. I found boxes of 6 coasters at the dollar store that had tacky touristy maps on them. I then had to crop all my photos to the right dimensions, print them, laminate them & glue them over the maps. I also glued a thin sheet of cork on the back of each one. I made 3 different sets, one for my brother, one for my brother-in-law & one for my niece’s husband.

Celebrating Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is almost here. We usually have a huge family dinner here at our house because we have the biggest dining room. For a few years now, my husband has been making a Maple Brine Turkey (it marinates for 3 days) So Good...But our oven has croaked and we are in the beginning stages of planning a major renovation to the kitchen. We only have a microwave to cook in, so we’re still waiting for the rest of the family to make a plan. Perhaps we’ll go out for once. But I’m sure either way my hubby will still be baking the traditional pumpkin pie (from the Halloween jack-o-lantern) and his delicious cranberry pie. Guess his mothers traditional squash casserole will have to wait till xmas.

Photo credit also goes to my talented husband.

P.S. as requested, here's the Cranberry Pie Recipe:

1 double pie crust (Pillsbury crust is good, and easy. It’s found in the refrigerated section at the store, usually near the cans of crescent rolls and cookie dough.)
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
12 oz. Cranberries (one bag, fresh or frozen*)
1 orange (about 1 Tbls. grated rind and ¼ cup juice)
½ cup golden raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, (optional)
1 tablespoon water (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Fit one crust into pie plate. Mix sugar and flour and sprinkle ¼ cup of mixture evenly over bottom crust. Coarsely chop about half the cranberries. In a large mixing bowl, combine chopped berries, remaining whole berries, grated orange rind, orange juice, raisins, nuts, and butter. Mix thoroughly and pile mixture into pie plate. Sprinkle remaining sugar/flour mixture evenly over filling. Place top crust on pie and seal edges. If desired, brush the crust with a wash made by beating together the egg and water. Cut at least one vent hole near the center of the top crust. Place on a baking sheet in the center of the oven. Bake at 375 F for 50 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbling. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*If using frozen cranberries, DO NOT thaw them. Use a food processor to chop them or leave them whole.

Upcycled Laptop Bag

My husband needed a bag to carry his new laptop and he wanted a few pockets for the cord, mouse & other accessories. So I went through his closet and found an old pair of jeans with nice large pockets.

I picked out a quilted fabric piece for the inside lining and wanted the case to be padded, so he brought me some foam sheeting.

After sewing the lining I wrapped it in the foam sheets.

I used portions of the jeans legs to make handles and a closing strap. I also added a piece of fabric inside the fly to make it into a zipped pocket.

After all the layers were put together it was quite thick, so I had to choose another lightweight fabric scrap to make the binding around the top edge. Wasn’t sure my little sewing machine would handle it, with the pockets and such there were quite a few layers. He’s very pleased with the way it came out.

EtsyBlogger of the Month

This months featured Etsy Blogger is The Fab Miss B aka Becky Kazana. Oh what a prolific blogger. Not only does she blog about her two wonderful Etsy Shops including how to’s, but she also has sweet stories of her family life and travels. Her one shop is full of vintage finds, check out her blogs about gifts for her friends, she has quite a stylish eye. Her other shop if full of her own artwork, she really is creative.


You have to give her a visit.

http://thefabmissb.blogspot.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/thefabmissb
http://www.etsy.com/shop/beckykazana

Rebecca’s eBook

My friend Rebecca wrote a nice little eBook on how to make a Princess Choker. It’s available to download for just $5.00. I saw the choker and it’s so lovely. She also has lots of other great stuff in her Etsy store, Moonwise Jewerly.

DIY Halloween Décor

Although they seem to be available almost everywhere now, about 10 years ago I made my own headstones to decorate the yard for halloween. They are a bit old and worn now as you can see in the photo, but you get the idea of how they look. Here’s the how to:

Materials
Foam insulation sheets (they go behind drywall - I bought mine at home depot)
Scrap pieces of thin wood molding, plant stakes, metal rods, etc. approx. 8” long (use whatever you have on hand)
White painters caulk
Box cutter or large kitchen knife
Black, Silver and/or Gray paint
Thin paint brush
Letter stencils or paint free hand

Assembly
1) Cut the panels in half to make two 2’ panels
2) Place the stakes or rods so about 6” extends below the panels, this is to stake them in the ground.
3) Use the caulk to glue the 2 pieces together. You need to be cautious about what kind of glue you use to sandwich them together. Some industrial panel adhesives will melt the Styrofoam.
4) Draw out the shapes of your gravestone and cut them out with the knife. There are many shapes you can use, but if you use the cross, then you only need one stake in the bottom.
5) I used a faux marble painting technique to paint mine. I just used a fine paintbrush and did small diagonal veins in gray paint. Experiment with other techniques if you like.
6) Then paint on the epitaphs. I did mine freehand, but feel free to use other methods. There are plenty of ideas out there for funny or scary sayings on the headstones. My husband even has a book of strange real ones from the 1800’s.

I have also recently added a gate to the graveyard. I got two short scrap pieces of plastic fencing that someone tossed out. I spray painted them black. I found some thick plastic chain and attached it between the fence panels, this prevents people from traipsing through the graveyard (The first year I put them out, some were stolen and we found them in a yard around the corner, the mom made her boy come apologize to us) I guess that’s one advantage of DIY, you can always spot your own stuff.

The Honey Pot Bag

My friend is planning to go to a Halloween Party as a Bumble Bee. She wanted something to use as a small purse. She brought me a small remnant with a bee print and a small plastic food container and asked how she might make something that looked like a honey pot. So I drew the diameter of the container on the fabric and cut a circle with seam allowance. Then I sewed a drawstring pouch and gathered it slightly to the circle. I taped it to the bottom of the container so it would stay in place & then added a black shoe string for the drawstrings. She is thriller & it seems pretty sturdy with the plastic liner. I may have to make a few more bucket pouches now.