Things I'd Like to Make: King Duvet Cover

This week I had this idea for a duvet cover, and I love the idea, but I'm not sure I'm actually going to make it. The reason is that I'm not yet sure it will go with the rest of what I have in mind for my master bedroom. So I thought I'd go ahead and share it with you in case I never end up making it.
My inspiration comes from this fabric by Anna Maria Horner:

I've always loved this print and made a dress for Ava from it. But it's not the proper scale for making a full duvet with. So I thought I could customize the print to whatever color and size I'd like, maybe something like this (try to imagine this covering a bed):

Here's how I'd do it. I would buy 2 white cotton sheets for the sides, and cotton fabric in each of the desired colors for the middle. I'd then cut strips of the colored fabric to the appropriate length and sew them all together. Then I'd lay the two white sheets out with the color strips in the middle and pin it down and sew all the edges under (somehow). That part might take a little messing with to get it right. So there's the top and I think the rest would be fairly self explanatory. And it would be pretty darn cheap to make too. I'd love to see this as a final product, I might just have to do it. Pin It

DIY Father's Day Treats

This week it was my task to come up with a Father's Day idea for some of the young women in my neighborhood. So of course I scoured the web for ideas and modified a couple of things I saw to come up with this:

And these are the templates I designed for the collar and tie and top tag. Click HERE if you'd like to download the PDF. (There are 2 style options for the necktie).

I usually just recycle my baby food jars, but this seemed like a great way to repurpose some of them, since we had a small budget. You could also use mini mason jars, but you'll want to enlarge the collar and circle tag on the top.
Here are some instructions:

Supplies:
clean, empty jar and lid (use Goo Gone to remove any sticky residue)
Reeses Pieces candy
solid white paper
solid colored cardstock
patterned scrapbooking paper
piece of thin ribbon or a strip of the patterned paper
tape or glue
craft circle punches-: 1&3/8" and 1&3/4"

Fill jar with candies. Cut out white collar piece and fold over on dotted line.
Trace necktie pattern onto patterned paper and cut it out. glue or tape it (hiding the tape) under the collar flap of the white collar paper.
Wrap collar paper around your jar and glue or tape it on the overlap.
Using the larger circle punch, punch a circle out of solid colored cardstock. Use smaller circle punch to punch out the "love you to pieces" label. Using tape or glue, attach them to the lid of the jar. Wrap the ribbon around the lid and secure it with glue or tape.

Enjoy!





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Stroller Makeover

I have a nice stroller, but I still generally prefer the $15 umbrella stroller for most occasions. When my daughter was born I had bought the only available one at Target one day, because I needed one and didn't have time to shop around. I've never cared for the fabric print on it, and now that my little boy is the passenger it's even worse. So finally I got around to making a new seat for it.
This took about 2 and a half hours total, even with a few interruptions from the kiddos. I just took off the old one, unstitched a few threads, traced around it and put the new one back together. I just wanted to get it done without another trip to the fabric store, so I used what I had on hand. The fabric is from IKEA (given to me by a dear friend) and is the heavy duty canvas-y type. The orange binding is all I had at home, and probably wouldn't have been my first choice if I had been at the store. I think a simple thinner black would have been better, but anything is better than my boy riding in pink strawberries.
Obviously the before photo was taken some time ago. I knew if I waited I would forget to take a before photo.

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The Letter "A"

Oh dear, where have I been. Making a few things and not posting. And exercising. I declared 2012 as the year of exercise, because I'm tired of being out of shape. So my other creative endeavors have had a little less attention. So sorry my dear friends.
On with the show. About a month ago I made covered this letter "A" with fabric for some wall decor in Ava's otherwise barren room. You can see her bed and duvet cover here. The walls have been painted a very light yellow. The front "mulberry" colored fabric is by Joel Dewberry and the side fabric is by Moda. The letter is about a foot and a half tall.

It has a light layer of batting under the front layer and the sides are smooth and flat. I just used a hot glue gun to make it. And an iron.

Yes, the right arm of it really is lopsided. It was the only one they had at the craft store though. That will probably always drive me crazy.

This last photo probably has the most accurate coloring, at least on my screen.

I've just finished painting a nightstand for her as well, but I haven't gotten a new handle for it yet. Once that is in place I will post a couple more photos. She still need curtains and a dresser, among other things. All in good time (I hope!) Pin It

P.F. Changs-Style Chocolate Mousse Dessert Shooters

A couple of weeks ago the hubs and I had dinner at P.F. Changs and had the chocolate mousse dessert shooters for dessert. And I decided that I could make that deliciosity myself, for an upcoming occasion. And my copycat is a pretty good imitation, if I do say so myself. Remember though, quality ingredients are key to a quality dessert. Don't buy cheap chocolate.

For the shooter cups I used 2oz clear plastic shot glasses (bought them at Zurchers for about $3 for 50). For the mousse I used this recipe, but here's my compilation of the whole dessert:

Chocolate Mousse Dessert Shooters

Cake base:
1 brownie mix, prepared according to cake brownie directions

Mousse:
2 c chilled heavy whipping cream
4 large egg yolks
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet (not semi-sweet) chocolate, chopped

Ganache:
1 c semi-sweet good quality chocolate chips
2/3 c heavy whipping cream

Garnish:
Sweetened whipped cream or the canned stuff
chocolate shavings (I used a potato peeler and shaved a chocolate bar)

Crumble the brownie into shot glasses, about 1/4" deep.

Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla.

Melt bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a glass bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power 3 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.

Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly. 

Spoon over brownies into shot glasses until a little more than 3/4 full. Tap glasses on the counter to help settle the mousse into the cup evenly. Cover and chill at least 1 and a half hours.

Heat 2/3 cup cream on medium heat until it just quivers on the top. Pour hot cream over the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl. Let sit for a minute until chips begin to melt, then whisk in the middle until chocolate incorporates and is glossy, then stir in the rest until incorporated. Let cool until it's a pourable but not hot consistency. 

Pour ganache over mousse in shot glasses until just below the rim (about 1-2 Tbsp.) Chill for at least an hour or two. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

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When to Plant???

I just came across this website, Sprout Robot, via Pinterest and I think it's the coolest thing since sliced bread. Being the amateur gardener that I am, I'm never quite sure when I should start planting my seeds. On this website, you type in your zip code, and it tells you what to plant when! How cool is that? Obviously I think it's pretty darn cool.


Since I grew four 50 lb pumpkins last year, I must have done something right. But eventually my beginners luck will run out and I will need some actual knowledge to back me up. So this is a great start! Pin It

The Origins of "Keep Calm"

Doubtless you've seen something with the Keep Calm and Carry On slogan, or some other play on the slogan. Well now you can read up on it's history. I knew it was a WWII poster, but didn't realize that they were never actually released. Find the article here.

Flickr photo by mediafury. 

 I love learning the history of such things. Do you? Pin It