This is a dish I started making years ago. It is best on the grill in a tin foil pouch, but you can fry or broil it and it will still be good.

A few weeks ago I attended a baby shower. As usual, I made a little hat and booties and the night before the shower, I went online for inspiration on how I would wrap the gift. In my search, I came across BOBO wrapping scarves. Apparently, there is a tradition, that comes mainly from Korea and Japan, of wrapping gifts or things that need to be transported in scarves. I loved the idea and immediately realized that I could whip up a baby blanket and wrap my gift in that. I went to work and here is the end product:

I used fabric remnants for the blanket, which ended up being a 34" square. To make the polka dot border, I used a tutorial from Saltwater Quilts. The border is bias tape that I made following a tutorial by Prudent Baby. I used the same method in my Page Bindings Tutorial to attach the bias tape. I didn't use any batting as it wasn't really necessary. It is a light blanket that is great for the summer.

I found some really great, sturdy boxes at Michael's in their gift wrap section, which is what I used here.

For ideas on how to wrap your gift, BOBO provides some great tutorials.

Alright, so I know I have been a little heavy on the sewing projects lately, but I promise in the next few weeks to have at least 1 knitting project and 1 crochet project. As for now, I am posting a beach bag I made last week. We started swim lessons and I realized the day before that we did not have a proper bag to take to the pool, so I rummaged through my fabric remnants bin then looked to the internet for inspiration. I basically followed the directions provided by Say Yes To Hoboken for the Purple Striped Market Tote, of course with a few select changes to make it mine.

Materials:
* At least half a yard of fabric for the outside, preferably a canvas or other durable material
* 3/4 to 1 yard of fabric for the lining and the straps, I just used a basic cotton, you may want to buy straps by the yard, in which case you will need 3 1/2 yards and only 3/4 yard for the lining and pockets
* Sewing machine, thread and pins
* Fabric tape measure

Instructions:
* Prewash and iron all fabrics
* Start by folding your fabric (for both the lining and the bag) in half and cut along fold, then cut the sides to straighten them out
* Use your tape measure to determine the length of your straps (mine were 60" each), then cut strips this length and 4" wide (you may need to piece together a few strips to get the right length)
* Fold each strip, right sides together and pin, then sew shut with a 1/4" seam allowance
* Turn straps right side out and iron flat
* Place each strap on the appropriate bag piece where you want it to determine where the top of the bag meets the strap and mark with a pin, then using the width of the strip, pin that distance above the pin you just placed, repeat for the other side of the strap
* Fold each strap in half width-wise starting at the most recent pin and going around to the other side, pinning as you go, then sew the strap sides together
* Do a zigzag stitch where you started the straight stitch to secure it
* I did a decorative stitch along this new fold to give my straps more structure because I used such flimsy fabric, if you use a heavy weight fabric or get straps by the yard, that would be unnecessary.
* Measuring from the bottom center of your bag, place and pin your straps to the bag (my straps are 2.5" from center to edge of strap)
* Measure down from the top of the bag about 2" and mark with a pin
* Starting at the bottom of the bag, sew the straps on, but only go to the pin placed in the previous step
* Match up the sides of the bag along the bottom so the straps meet, then pin with right sides together
* Sew along sides and bottom of bag with a 1/4" seam allowance

Lining:
* Cut four rectangles for the pockets, the size doesn't really matter just that the edges are straight, I think mine were about 5" x 6", but I didn't measure
* Pin two of the rectangles with right sides together, then sew along sides and top with 1/4" seam allowance, repeat for remaining two rectangles
* Iron each pocket flat, then fold up the unsewn side 1/4" and iron
* Match the center of one lining piece with the center of one pocket and place the pocket about 1 1/2" from the top of the lining piece, then pin the pocket in place with the ironed up side facing in
* Sew around the sides and bottom of the pocket to attach
* Repeat previous two steps for remaining pocket and lining piece
* With right sides together, pin the lining pieces, marking off a 4"-6" section in the middle of one of the sides
* Sew along the sides and bottom with a 1/4" seam allowance, but when you come to the marked off section, back stitch, then baste through that section and back stitch again when reach the end of the section, then continue sewing
* Iron the basted seam, then unpick it
* At the bottom corners, match up the side seam and the bottom seam to create a triangle (with right sides together), then mark 3" from the peak of the triangle and draw a line (refer to picture), pin and sew along the line, then cut the excess fabric about 1/4" from the seam just made
* Repeat the previous step for the outside of the bag
* With right sides together, place the lining inside the bag and pin along the top, matching up the seams
* Sew along the top with a 1/4" seam allowance being careful not to catch the straps in the seam
* Pull the bag through the hole left in the side of the lining to turn them both right side out
* Sew the opening shut along the iron marks you made before unpicking the basting stitches (if you were to properly do this you would hand sew, but as it is a beach bag and I didn't really care, I took it to the machine)
* Iron the top to flatten out the seam, then top stitch along the top to secure placement
* Reinforce the straps by sewing a box and X in the unsewn space left near the top
* Head to the pool/beach to show off your new bag!

PS. The best part is that you can just throw it in the wash with like colors!

I worked for a number of years at Banana Republic and, as a result, aquired quite a wardrobe of work attire. Well, now that I spend my days with my little one, I don't really have a need for these clothes. So, just after Christmas, I finally went through the stacks and mailed most of it to my sister, who graduates law school this May (Congrats!!!). Anyway, as I was going through the clothes, I found a couple of pairs of pants that the lining was torn and I figured I could turn them into skirts, since that is what I'm needing these days anyway. Below is the result.

This is a pretty simple project, especially since most of the hard stuff is already done, like the pockets and whatnot. I tried mine on a bunch throughout the process to make sure that the skirt fit the way I wanted it to, I kept thinking that I really should just sew in my underwear...

Materials:
* Dress pants
* Seam Ripper
* Sewing Machine and thread
* Marking Pencil
* Scissors
* Pins
* Ruler or straight edge
* Iron and ironing board
* Sewing gauge

Alright, here is the process:
* Start by unpicking ONLY the inseam of the pant legs
* Turn the pants inside out and match up the fronts of the pant legs with right sides together
* Using a straight edge, create a line from the zipper flap to the fold of the unpicked seam, do the same for the back sides of the pant legs
* Starting about an inch or so of the top seam that has not been unpicked, sew following your line and going further down the leg then the length you want the skirt to be, repeat for the back side
* Try on the skirt and determine the length you would like the skirt to be and place pins, then subtract an inch to account for the ruffle and the bottom hem
* Try on the skirt again to determine if you like the fit. At this point, you could skip to the hem and ruffle, but since these were wide leg pants and I wanted more of a 40's style fitted skirt, I turned them inside out and brought in the front, back and sides a bit

Now for the hem and ruffle:
* Turn your skirt inside out and, using your sewing gauge, fold up and pin 1/2" from the bottom
* Repeat the previous step
* Sew the first fold shut
* For the ruffle, cut 4" strips from the left over pant legs and 2" strips from the lining (The length is determined by how "ruffly" you want it to be, I used 2 strips from each leg
* Sew the 4" strips together and the 2" strips together
* Fold the strips in half lengthwise and iron
* Pin the lining strip ontop of the pant leg strip, then fold in half and in half again lengthwise and mark the folds (you will match this up with the respective seams)
* Zigzag stitch along the top of the strips to prevent fraying
* Baste along the top of your strips about 1/4" down, pull one thread to ruffle the strips
* Turn skirt right-side out and, starting in the back of the skirt, pin the ruffle, right sides together along the bottom of the skirt leaving about 2"-3" of the ruffle at the beginning and end to sew the ruffle together
* Sew ruffle to the skirt, starting and stopping about an inch from the back hem
* Pin the edges of the ruffle together and sew, then zigzag stitch the edge to prevent fraying
* Fold hem along the iron fold you made earlier, turning the ruffle right-side out and folding it into the inside of the skirt, sew about 1/4" from the edge
* Try it on and bask in the accomplishment!

About a year ago, I was looking for quick easy recipes that were actually good. I stumbled upon this one on the Food Network website  and now I make it at lease once a month, if not twice. It is one of those "quiet meals" as in it is so good you are too busy eating to bother conversing. The best part is that it is pretty healthy, granted there is butter involved, but I feel like that negative is cancelled out by the other good-for-you ingredients. Plus, it has pleased a couple of very picky little eaters who even asked for seconds. I made a few alterations, mostly to go with what I usually keep on hand.

Chicken and Couscous
4 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and pepper
15-20 petite carrots or 4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 cup couscous
2 cups coarsely shredded rotisserie chicken (I find it easier to at least pull the chicken from the bones
whiled it is still warm so that the fat doesn't get all gelatanous and gross)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1/2 cup Craisens
4 scallions, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
Greek yogurt for topping

Directions:
Bring
2 1/2 cups water to boil (do NOT substitute this with broth) and add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and the ginger, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the carrots and cook until tender. Drain, reserving the liquid.

Combine couscous and chicken in a bowl with a lid or have plastic wrap handy. Stir in 1 cup of the reserved liquid then cover and let sit while you finish the recipe.

Melt butter over medium-high heat. Add almonds, Craisens, scallions, and the 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Fry stirring until the almonds are browned. Removed from heat and stir in cilantro.

Divide chicken and couscous into bowls top with carrots and some of the reserved liquid. Sprinkle almond mixture over top. Add a dollup or two of yogurt and serve.

I love to shop the remnant bins at fabric stores. I generally get inspiration of what I could make by rifling through the neatly wrapped bundles. Such is the case for the Canary Dress. About a month ago I found the gray polka dot and the yellow flowered fabric and immediately decided it needed to be a skirt for my daughter. About a week later, my niece showed me her Easter dress and I thought, "Hmm. Perhaps that yellow and gray skirt I was thinking of should really be a dress." So, when I got home, I went through the fabric remnants I had been collecting and found a plain yellow cotton and a yellow lining fabric. I threw them all in the washer and began drawing up a dress for Easter.

So. Here is the deal with this dress. I really wanted to post a tutorial on it, but, quite frankly, I had to make A TON of adjustments as I went a long. However, if you are interested in making a similar dress, I will tell you where I looked for tutorials as well as the basic construction. I do have a few progress pics, but it is somewhat limited as I realized pretty early on that this would not be a good project to post as a tutorial.

Materials:
* At least 1/2 yard of each of the fabrics (more if you plan on making a diaper cover with ruffles)
* About 12" of the fabric for the ruffles on the skirt
* 1/2" double fold bias tape
* 3 buttons

Ok, to begin with you need to make a pattern. Hands down, the best website to go to for instruction on this is Shwin & Shwin. Essentially, you will draft a pattern from an existing dress or top that fits well. For the smocking, I added 3" to the middle of the front. For the button flap, I added 2 1/2" to the back. I did a lining for the bodice, but not the skirt. For the sleeves, I did a longer version of the sleeve that the Shwins used on the Yellow Dress. For the skirt, I used the width of the bodice and added 4" to each side for the front and the back, then I drew the petal front. Below are pictures of the cut fabric, first the lining, then the bodice, then the skirt (I really should have ironed better...):

I began with the bodice. For the smocking, I refered to Tumbling Blocks for the Honecomb Smocking tutorial. There are a lot of steps, but overall, it is pretty easy. I cut two strips to iron my pleats, one 1/2" wide and the other 1" wide, which I cut from an empty cracker box. I started by lining up one side of my 1/2" strip with the center of the bodice and worked one direction, then pleated the other side.

Ok, now that the decorative part is taken care of for the bodice, assemble it. Iron the smocking a bit to make it more manageable. Sew the front lining to the front bodice piece only at the neck line, then make small slits along the curves, being careful not to snip through the seam. Finally, top stitch on the lining side only, to create a rolled edge, making sure to catch the excess fabric from both the bodice and the lining. Do the same for the back pieces. Fold over and iron all. Attach the front to the back only at the shoulders.

I apologize, I don't have a pictures for the sleeve steps.

With right sides together, sew the sleeve to the lining along the bottom of the sleeve, then make snips at the curves and top stitch as you did around the neckline. Fold over and iron. Once right side out, make a basting stitch around the shoulder of each sleeve and ruffle to make it a puff.

I found in multiple places a nifty little trick that takes the headache out of attaching sleeves to the bodice. The best pictoral representation is by Especially Creative Broad. Most patterns have you attach the front and back bodice at the sides then "fit" the sleeve into the opening and you are left with the incredibly annoying task of trying to sew that with your sewing machine, thus the headache. So, how you will do it is you will pin the sleeve in place leaving the bottom of the sleeve and the sides of the bodice unpinned. Sew in the sleeve around the shoulder. Zigzag stitch the excess fabric to reinforce the seam and prevent fraying. 

Next, I ripped 3 strips of my gray fabric at 3" wide, then I cut 3 lengths for the front and two backs of the bodice. I folded these strips in half and ironed them, then pinned them to the bottom of the appropriated bodice piece. Then, pinned and sewed the bottoms of the sleeve and the sides together.

Now to the skirt. I attached a bias tape along the bottom in an effort to use less fabric. To do this, unfold one side of the bias tape and line it up the edge with the edge on the wrong side of your skirt piece, then pin. Sew this to the skirt along the fold. Then fold the bias tape over to the right side of the skirt piece and line it up with the seam just made (red dotted line in the picture) and you can either do a straight stitch, zigzag or decorative stitch to attach this side of the bias tape to the skirt. Do this for all of the skirt pieces, including the petal overlay.

Again, I apologize, I do not having progress pictures for the next couple of steps. I guess I got caught up in the project and forgot to take some... sorry.

I attached the remaining strips of gray fabric together (I would suggest doing a 45 degree seam here, I didn't and regret it), then I did a quick rolled hem, which I learned from Grainline. Fold this long strip into thirds lengthwise (it doesn't have to be exact since you will ruffle them anyway) and cut along folds. Place a pin in the top center of each strip, then do a basting stitch along the top and pull one of the threads to create a ruffle from each strip. Line up the center pin of one of the strips with the top center of the front skirt piece and pin the ruffle along the top then sew together.

Next line up the center pin with of one of the remaining ruffled strips with the top middle of the bias tape and pin along the top of the ruffle, periodically lining up the bottom of the ruffle with the top of the bias tape. Again, because this is a ruffle, it doesn't have to be perfect. Then sew along the top of the ruffle.

At this point, you should have two ruffles sewn to the front skirt piece, one at the top and one almost at the bottom. Now, to attach the remaining strip, center it vertically and horizontally as best you can then pin and sew along the top.

Position the petals on top of the ruffled front piece, then with right sides together, place the back piece on top of that and sew the sides.  Place a pin in the top center of the front and back skirt pieces. Ruffle the top of the skirt for the front and the back separately and using the same method as the gray strips.

The next step is to create the flap for the button. Fold and iron 1" of the flap side of one of the back pieces, then fold over 1" again and iron. Place a pin in the top and bottom to hold in place. Repeat for the remaining back piece. Mark and sew button holes. Overlap the flaps and pin.

With right sides together, fit the skirt to the bodice, adjusting the ruffle as you go and pinning. Sew bodice to skirt with a straight stitch, then zigzag over the excess fabric to prevent fraying.

Place and hand sew buttons.

You could be done here, but I took it a step further and made a ruffle butt diaper cover. I followed a tutorial by Made for the diaper cover, then looked to Daydream Believers for the ruffle part.

About a year ago, I came across the picture below, via Martha Stewart. I had been looking for an idea to brighten up our tiny entry and this seemed like the right move. Of course, it wasn't until I made the wreath in my last post that I was pushed to actually do it.

So this is really a story of taking all the wrong steps before finding something that worked. To begin with, I headed to Ikea for 16 cheap frames then to Home Depot for some wood joiners. I wanted to connect the frames in an effort to limit the amount of holes I put in the wall. When I began, I thought, "This will be easy, a little hammering and presto!". Boy, was I wrong. I connected all of the frames, but when I hung them on the wall they bowed out almost a foot from the wall. So, it was back to Home Depot for a better solution. I remembered seeing some metal straps that I thought would work, so I purchased a few along with some short, fat screws. When I got home, I was further discouraged by the fact that the screws just tore up the cheap particle board that the frames were constructed of, so, again, it was another trip to Home Depot. This time I spoke to a worker to get suggestions, he said to put super glue in the hole before installing the screw. This worked, however, the frames still bowed out from the wall. The main problem was that the back was held tight but the front wasn't. So, at my husband's suggestion, we tore the frames apart and I went back to Home Depot, bought wood glue and clamps. This did not work either because the frames are painted. With the ridiculous amount of time I had already spent on this stupid thing, I didn't want to go and sand down all of the surfaces so that the wood glue would work. I took the issue to the internet, where I discovered Crafter's Pick, The Ultimate. This product is a water based super glue and claims to work on painted surfaces. After hitting two Michael's, I finally got my hands on some. I glued and clamped the frames together and left them for at least a few hours, but when I came back and un-clamped, a few minutes later, much to my dismay, the frames fell apart. Alas, I had to resort to sand paper. But, success was to be mine! The frames now hang proudly in the tiniest of entries and are accessorized with the lovely wreath I made. Oh, I bought the hook at JoAnn's.

Click on a picture below to download the backgrounds for the frames. You will need to cut them down to size.

Over the holidays I started looking for wreaths I could make for my door. I came across a lovely plum colored wreath, which linked me to the Simple Statement Wreath and my search ended. At first I was planning on it being a holiday staple, but I soon changed my mind and felt it needed a permanent place in my home. The major change I made was the edging. I did a ruffle instead of the eyelet surround that the original suggests. I also added some felt flowers and leaves and I used 5 strands of worsted weight yarn in lieu of chuncky.

Materials:
* 2 Skeins Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Charcoal Grey
* 2 Skeins Loops and Threads, Impeccable in True Gray
* 1/2 Skein Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in Dark Chocolate Brown
* Size N Crochet Hook
* Styrofoam wreath form
* White and Green Felt (I felted old sweaters)
* Various Buttons (for flower centers)
* Glue and Glue Gun
* 2" Ribbon (for hanging)

Abbreviations:
* SL = Slip Stitch
* SC = Single Crochet
* CH = Chain
* DC = Double Crochet

Instructions:
Pull from each skein of yarn so you will be working with 5 strands.

Start by using the method outlined on the tutorial for the Simple Statement Wreath up until the wreath form is covered, then SL in the first stitch. The number of stitches you have needs to be divisible by 3. Push the single crochets toward the back of the wreath as shown in the photo below

Ruffle:
Round 1: CH1, SC in first stitch, SC around, Sl into 1st CH
Round 2: CH1, SC in first stitch,CH3, *skip 2 stitches, SC in next stitch, CH3, repeat from * around, SL in the first CH
Round 3: SL into CH3 space, CH2, 7DC in CH3 space, 8DC in all remaining CH3 spaces, SL in CH2, Bind off and weave in ends

For the flowers, I found tutorials for all but two of them so below are tutorials for the two I did and a list of the tutorials I found.

Spiral Rosettes from Little Things Bring Smiles

Poppy from Positively Splendid, I just did the inner most layer.

"S" Flower from the Fickle Pickle

8 Petal Flower:
Cut 8 circles with a 2" diameter

Fold one circle in half and, with the fold facing down, pull a needle and knotted thread through one of the corners

Repeat previous step with remaining circles

Pull thread once more thorugh all petals, then pull the thread tight to draw the petals close together and tie off

Add a button to the center

3 Layer Flower:
Cut 6 circles with diameters of  2" and 2.5" (disregard the smaller circles, I was going to do 4 layers and decided not to)

Cut 7 circle at 3"

Fold one of the 3" circle in half twice and put a pin in the corner of the folds for the center

Open up the circle and place a piece of double sided fabric tape to one side

Fold another 3" circle in half once and place a piece of double sided fabric tape to one side of the fold and next to the edge then remove the backing of the tape and secure the fold in that spot and attach to the first 3" circle

Repeat the previous step with the remaining 3" circles pinwheel-ing them around the original 3" circle

Pin the petals in place with a needle and knotted thread

Repeat the the previous three steps to create the remaining 2 layers

Add a button to the center