Mik Knits, Crochets & Quilts, Too!

Nook Tablet Cover, not a pattern, just my measurement notes

2012-01-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make myself another cover for my Nook Tablet, just like I saw on Etsy.com. I didn't want to buy one, nor did I want to pay for a pattern. The challenge is in figuring it out by myself! Here are the measurements of the fabric pieces I need to make the covers. Not a pattern, just my notes so I can make more.
Nook Tablet Cover

Inside:
2 pcs - 6.5" x 9.5"
4 pcs - 3.5" square, pressed in half diagonally for corners
1 pc - 11" x 9.5", pressed in half with 9.5" ends together for pocket
1 pc - 2" x 9.5" for closure loop

Outside
1 pc - 12.5" x 9.5"
If using a pieced front cover, make 2 pieced pieces 6.5" x 9.5" and sew along the 9.5" side
Batting of choice 14" x 11.5". I use fusible fleece.

Optional
1 pc - 11" x 9.5" for chipboard sleeve
1 pc chipboard slightly smaller than 11" x 9.5"

Knitting & reading

2012-01-05T12:26:00.001-08:00

I've never read Charlaine Harris until now. I thought all her books were about vampires. Dopey me. Her Aurora Teagarden mysteries are of the cozy genre and revolve around a part-time librarian, mystery buff. I read her third book first on my new Nook, borrowed free from my local library via .pdf download. I couldn't get any others this way but found the 2nd, 4th, & 5th in paperback @ my library. I'm enjoying them so far. I love being able to download free books from our library system! This is why I wanted a Nook or Kindle in the first place. I've had both the Nook & Kindle apps on my phone & computer for awhile now and like that I can read on them but my eyesight isn't so good anymore and the small print on my phone was killing me.

New Nook Tablet, New Quilted Nook Case...yippee

2011-12-29T22:01:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you get a Nook Tablet for Christmas but you don't have a case to put it in? If you're like me, you order one then turn around and make one until that one arrives! Please excuse the crappy cell phone pictures but I couldn't wait to post about this!

Front of cover

I made this cover from two mug rugs that I made and hadn't yet given away. So glad I put them to great use! I just love the Japanese prints!

The mug rugs were already quilted and bound before being sewn together. That means that each side has three layers of batting to protect the Nook. I am so very pleased with how this project came out! My neighbor saw it and wants me to make one for her daughter's new Kindle. I hope I can recreate it!

Inside of cover with two extra layers of quilt batting under the micro fleece liner

So glad I added a zipper to keep my Nook safe!

Back of cover with elastic to hold the Nook in place while I read.

Another knit slouch hat - not so slouchy version

2011-12-19T22:44:00.000-08:00

Not a pattern, just my personal notes so I can make another one just like it.

Lion Brand Tweed Stripes - Caribbean 3 oz., 144 yds
US sz 7 16" circular needles for ribbing
US sz 10 16" circular needles for body
Stitch markers
Row marker or safety pin
Yarn or tapestry needle

CO 96 sts with smaller needles
Work K2 P2 ribbing for 2"

Increase 16 sts evenly by *K5, M1, K1* 16 times = 112 sts
Change to larger needles and knit in stockinette until entire piece, including ribbing, measures 7 inches.
Place stitch marker every 14 stitches
Decrease row: K1, K2tog, knit to last 3 sts, K2tog tbl, K1
Knit 1 row even
Continue decreasing until there are 2 sts between markers
On last row, remove markers as you K2tog between markers.
Cut yarn leaving enough for sewing up top. Thread needle and run through all remaining stitches twice, run through all stitches in the opposite direction and cut yarn. Weave in starting tail. This hat uses almost all of the whole skein.

Basic knitted slouchy hat notes...non-pattern

2011-12-18T00:19:00.000-08:00

Good basic (very) slouchy hat knit with Lion Brand Tweed Stripes yarn

1 Skein, 3 oz., 144 yds

Size US7 and US10 16" circular needles

CO 96, PM before 1st stitch to mark beginning of round

Work K2 P2 ribbing for 2 inches

Increase 16 sts all around by: *K5, M1, K1* 16 times = 112 sts

Change to larger needles and knit every row until piece measures 8" including ribbing

PM every 14 sts to mark decreases

Dec round: *K to last 2 sts before marker, k2tog* around
Knit one round even between decrease rounds

Decrease in this manner until 1 stitch remains between markers

Knit remaining stitches while removing markers. 8 sts remaining

With tapestry needle, cinch up remaining stitches, draw yarn through opposite direction and cut. Weave in ends.

Mistake Rib Cowl In The Round

2011-11-27T23:25:00.001-08:00

Lion Brand Hometown USA - Super Bulky Yarn
US Size 11 circular needle - Magic Loop Method

CO 56 sts

Round 1: *K2, P2* around
Round 2: P1, *K2, P2* around

Continue rounds 1 & 2 until desired height, then BO

Top Down Knit Slouch Hat - just my notes, not a pattern

2011-11-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

I just finished knitting a slouch hat for myself and wanted to post my notes so that I can make more of them just like it.

Top Down Knit Slouch Hat

Hat body US size 10 circular
Hat ribbing US size 7 circular

KFB=Knit in front and back of same stitch
YO=Increase one by doing a YO. **On next round, knit all YOs through the back loop to avoid making a hole.

Knit using either magic loop or two circular method

With larger needle CO 8 sts: CO 2, PM, CO 4, PM, CO 2. Put half of total number of sts on each needle and proceed with magic loop or 2 circular method.

Round 1: *KFB* around. 16 sts
Round 2: Knit
Round 3: *K1, YO, K2, YO, K1* around. 24 sts
Round 4: *K1, YO, K4, YO, K1* around. 32 sts
Round 5: Knit
Continue in this manner: *K1, YO, K X number of sts to last st before marker, YO, K1* until you have 120 sts total.
Make color changes as desired.
Knit until you have 8 1/2" from crown to needles.
Decrease round: *K3, K2tog* around. 96 sts
Change to smaller needles for ribbing. Knit K2, P2 or K1, P1 ribbing for 1 1/2 inches.
BO loosely. Use starting tail to sew up hole at the crown. Weave in ends.

*Edit: Not quite sure I like the 4 increase sections. Might try 8 so that it looks less square from the top.

Our Friends' 25th Anniversary in Phoenix

2011-10-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend my husband and I drove down to Phoenix to attend our friends' 25th anniversary with the renewal of their wedding vows. My husband was to be their best man 25 years ago but because of his overseas deployment with the Army, he was unable to attend. It meant so much to them that he was able to be their best man this time, and I was their matron-of-honor. While things didn't go precisely as planned, it was very touching, beautiful, and emotional. One of the highlights for me was to see the slide show, in which they included pictures of my husband from 25 years ago. I asked for copies of those pictures and was assured I'd get them. My husband and I have been married for only 21 years so seeing these pictures was a treat for me. It was also particularly poignant because they included pictures of their parents, all of whom are now deceased. In fact, the last time we were both in Phoenix together was for the wife's father's funeral 3 years ago.

Babycakes Cake Pop Maker

2011-10-24T18:49:00.001-07:00

Just got this gizmo yesterday from Kohl's. It's the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker. I will admit that I paid more than I wanted to. I got it for $27.00 when I should have waited and bought it from Bed, Bath & Beyond, which has it for $19.99 and I could have used a coupon for either 20% or $5.00 off. I just couldn't wait! First, I made a batch of Funfetti pops with white chocolate coating. Sorry, no pictures of those. Then today I made a batch of strawberry pops with dark chocolate coating. They're nothing at all like traditional cake pops that are made with cake mixed with frosting then rolled into balls. I find those to be sickeningly sweet. These, however, are just little balls of cake, light and fluffy, dipped into chocolate. I was able to get about 6 dozen balls from one cake mix. These balls are smaller than the ones I usually make, which are about 2 Tbsp. I believe these are closer to 1 Tbsp. The wells of the cake pop maker are easily filled by loading a zip lock bag with batter, snipping off one edge, and squeezing the batter into the wells. After a little practice, you will be able to see how much batter is required to get perfectly round little balls. The machine also comes with a little rack on which to cool and then decorate the balls. It only took about 3 minutes per batch to cook. I sprayed the nonstick machine with cooking spray before the first batch just to be safe and didn't have to do it again. I'm hooked! Not as sweet and very quick to make. I still have a couple of dozen balls in the freezer that weren't dipped because I ran out of chocolate coating and didn't want to open another bag just yet. Recommendation? Definitely give the machine a try. Do your homework and read other reviews on Amazon.com. See if you can get it cheaper, though.

This is just a small sampling of the cake pops I made today. I gave a bunch away to a friend and also to a neighbor. Everyone loves them!

2011-10-19T16:28:00.001-07:00

Halloween Cake Pops

Halloween cake pops

2011-10-18T16:39:00.001-07:00

Going to a party tonite and I offered to make these cake pops. My friend, Laura V hadn't heard of them before so I asked her to come over and help. What fun! The best part is having to "dispose" of the deformed ones! Also, dipping orange wedges into the leftover chocolate wasn't half bad.
These are made from a triple fudge cake mix, vanilla frosting, and chocolate candy melts with Halloween candy sprinkles. Yum!

More mug rugs today

2011-10-01T01:19:00.001-07:00

These things are addicting. They are great for trying new patterns and techniques in an immediately gratifying way. So small, so quick and very cute. I've wanted to try the braid pattern for a long time. Went into my scrap bag and pulled these fabrics out. They don't go together at all but I didn't want to waste good fabric if it didn't turn out. I'll use thinner strips next time. These were 2.5" wide. I especially like the hexie one. I started making some English paper pieced hexagons a couple of years ago, not having a grand plan for them. Glad I could use some here. The Dresden plate one was to practice my echo quilting more. The floral with the green & black borders was made to see what one looked like without binding and the others were to reacquaint myself with sewing bindings. What will tomorrow bring? If I don't join a mug rug swap, at least I've gotten a start on some Christmas presents :)

New mug rug

2011-09-30T00:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the crappy picture. I took it with my phone because I was too lazy to get my camera out. I've been admiring a bunch of mug rugs on Flickr and felt to urge to whip one up today. This 6" x 9" mug rug was made of a bunch of "firsts" for me: first applique, first dresden plate, first echo quilting, first single fold binding. Since I've never done a dresden plate before, I didn't have a template so I just made my own. It was a rather large size but it was okay. I think I made it 1 1/2" at the bottom x 3" at the top x 5" tall. Now I know that most dresden templates are usually much narrower but I don't think I did so bad on my first try. I really wanted to try my hand at echo quilting and had read about using a single fold binding because it is less bulky on such a small project. I will definitely do the echo quilting again but I felt that this type of binding was more fiddly than a double fold binding and wasn't any easier to do. In fact, I felt it was a bit harder and I wasn't happy with the corners on the back. Oh yeah, I tried a new end joining technique on the binding which worked well. I'll have to try it again! I should have put a little pocket on the mug rug for either a spoon or a tea bag. Next time! I love using up scraps this way. I used hardly anything at all.

Not sure if I'll keep this one or save it for a gift or swap. I really am proud of it even though it's not very much of anything...except a bunch of firsts. Dang it! I'll probably keep it now!

Wool dryer balls

2011-09-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

I didn't even know about wool dryer balls until the other night. Apparently, they're supposed to replace fabric softener sheets in the dryer, speed up drying time, and fluff up your laundry. They might even reduce static cling unless you live in a dry climate (like Las Vegas!) and don't mix synthetic and natural fibers. There are a few sellers on Etsy that offer them. I was looking to join a swap on Craftster.org and kept seeing these pop up in the swap packages. My curiosity was piqued. I got out a skein of good old Red Heart acrylic for the core and 100% wool for the outer balls and started winding. I wrapped the core to 7" in diameter, cut that yarn and then started winding the 100% wool until each ball was 9" in diameter. I then took the yarn end, attached a yarn needle and buried the end deep inside the ball. I managed to get 6 balls out of my wool. I put the first ball into the toe of a knee high stocking and tied a knot close to the ball. I continued like this until I got all 6 balls into that stocking. They went into the washer with a load of laundry on a hot/cold cycle with some detergent. It took 3 cycles for them to felt to my satisfaction but now the yarn is completely felted and won't unravel at all.

How are they in action? I think they're neat! I think they've cut my drying time by 20 minutes. They made my towels and blanket fluffy. They may even help get wrinkles out but I'll have to test this theory some more. I don't know if I'm 100% sold on not using fabric softener. I miss the smell. I did try one load of clothes without fabric softener and it came out just fine. I also read that you can add essential oil to the balls and I may try that sometime. I know for sure that I'll be making these as Christmas gifts!

Unpaper towels

2011-09-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of unpaper towels? I had but didn't pay much attention until joining a frugal living swap this weekend on Craftster. Some of the swappers in previous swaps gave these as part of their packages. I don't think we go through a large amount of paper towels but I have been giving some thought to cutting back and have been using my dish towels to clean more things where I would have grabbed a paper towel in the past. There are some things I refuse to use cloth to clean up (pet poop). I did a Google search and was amazed at how many people are into this! I just ordered some birdseye cotton from a seller on Etsy so that I can make a bunch of these.

I made a few of these last night using cotton flannel on one side and unbleached cotton muslin on the other. I just wanted to try out the concept. I am even thinking that these will make great casual, everyday napkins! The only downside? They're so cute that I don't want to get them dirty! I already have more cut out and ready to sew in a brown/cream/black batik and black flannel. Can't wait to get started on those!

DIY Plastic bag dryer rack.

2011-09-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

I've been coveting one of these for a little while since I saw it on Amazon.com
I even asked my husband to make one of these for me.
I couldn't wait. I'm baking a loaf of bread and wanted to reuse a plastic baggie to store my bread in. I knew my husband had some dowels in his workshop and I just helped myself to two of them. I don't know what their diameter is (they're about the same diameter as pencils) but they were 3 feet long. I knew I needed them on the long side to stick into a vase I got as a gift so I cut them in half. Voila! A plastic bag dryer that didn't cost me a dime! My husband said that because they're coming into contact with food containers, I should finish the dowels with a foodsafe wax or oil. I'll let him do that for me. He is the woodworker in this house, after all.

I know...it's not rocket science but I love it when I can get what I want without spending anything, or very little. It's like a game. Wanna play?

So much to show, but I can't :(

2011-09-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

I've been busy crocheting potholders for my Christmas stash, knitting cable cup cosies for my Etsy shop, sewing lavender filled dryer sachets and recycled t shirt shopping bags for myself, doggie poo bag holders for my sister, singed edge satin & organza flowers for an upcoming wedding, and a few more things I can't remember. Only problem is that I haven't taken pictures of any of them yet.

Yesterday, after sewing and filling 10 lavender dryer sachets, I noticed a twinge in my left shoulder/rotator cuff that turned into much more than a twinge by the end of the night. It's very painful and I type this very slowly while wearing an ice pack.

I'll try to get pictures of these goodies up as soon as I can.

Tazo Shaken Iced Passion Tea Lemonade for 25 cents????

2011-08-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

One of the things I fell in love with during our trip to Hawaii this summer was the Tazo Shaken Iced Passion Tea Lemonade from St*rbucks. What I didn't fall in love with was paying over $3.00 for an iced tea and since there were two of us, that was over $6.00 for iced tea. I just had to drink them when I got back home but, you know me, I had to do it cheaply. I figure it now costs me about 25 cents for my 24 oz version of this drink. Here's how I do it:
Brew a 10 oz cup of the Tazo Passion tea with my Keurig
Pour it over a full 24 oz cup of ice
Add some simple syrup and some pink lemonade Kool Aid syrup (1 pkt pink lemonade Kool Aid, 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar)
Put on a lid and shake. Add a straw and enjoy.

So simple...why pay $3.00 ever again?

Today's tea cozy

2011-06-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

I saw one like this on Etsy (look here) and wanted to make one for myself. Mine is a little different but I think I've used the same stitch pattern. I can tie it up higher like on the Etsy one but I wanted the knob on my tea pot to show. I've added a drawstring on the bottom of the pot, unlike the Etsy one. It was an easy knit and I may make another one. Only thing I don't like is that the cables have a hole in the center and I think it needs a liner to keep the pot hot longer to really work. That'll be my next project.

Pattern stitch: multiple of 5 + 2
Row 1: P2, *sl 1 as if to K, K2, PSSO, P2* (repeat from * to *)
Row 2: K2, *P1, YO, P1, K2* (repeat from * to *)
Row 3: P2, K3 to end
Row 4: K2, P3 to end

Make 2 on US size 8 needles

For my 3 cup tea pot I CO 42 sts, knit 2 rows in garter stitch then worked each piece until I had 10 rows of completed mock cables. I finished with 2 rows in garter stitch then cast off. I made two long chain drawstrings and wove them in and out of the eyelets made by the mock cables in both the top and bottom of cozy. I also seamed up the sides, leaving room for the spout and handle. Worked in ends. Done!

Oh yeah, I did finish the other knitted pleated cosy. It's the turquoise/lime green one in the back. I'm making a third one now. Maybe my sister needs one for her naked tea pots! I'll make sure to bring some knitting along to Hawaii with me. Maybe I'll finally be able to make it to an Aloha Knitters knit nite this time.

Soooo homesick right now!

2011-06-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

Now that my little one is out of school, I am so looking forward to going home to Hawaii for the summer. His older brother will be in summer school and football practice so he can't go. My poor hubby has to stay here and hold down the fort while we're gone. He also has his own football clinics to attend. We'll be home for 6 whole weeks! It'll be great to see my family and friends, go to the beach, shop, eat all of those foods I miss so much, shop some more and eat some more. I've got to pay more attention while my mom cooks all of my favorite foods so I can make them myself. We leave in a week. I can't wait!!!

New tea cozies or new tea cosies, however you want to spell them.

2011-06-03T17:26:00.000-07:00

I just finished the tea cosy in the rear left today and the red cabled one yesterday. I'm getting ready to start another one like the puffy one on the rear left. It's called Knitted Pleated Tea Cosy and it's a free pattern from the Bernat site. I've seen many of these all over the web and on my favorite UK TV murder mysteries. Finally, while watching season 15 of Midsomer Murders on Wednesday, one of them appeared in an episode. I said, "that's it, I have to make one NOW!" and cast on right away. It's so easy once you get the hang of the floats on the wrong side. They're what make the cosy so thick and COSY! I'm getting ready to cast on another one...my only dilemma is which colors to use.

The cable knit one in the front is made without a pattern. I've been making so many cabled cup cosies that the cable is second nature to me now. I just CO 39 sts per side on size 8 needles and made two identical pieces just a bit taller than my pot. There are 3 purl sts on either side of the 9 st cable. I made a series of 5 buttonholes on the top before casting off to run the tie through, seamed up both sides, leaving room for the spout and handle, and done. So easy!

Reuse your Keurig KCups and Save Money!

2011-05-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

I'm tight with my family's money. I'm cheap when I need to be and strive to be a lot more frugal because I want to remain a stay-at-home mom. However, I love my coffee and tea. My husband and I love our Keurig but I don't love how much those little K Cups cost and I really enjoy drinking my own coffee. I'm lucky enough to have some great Kona coffee that my friends brought to me from back home in Hawaii. So what's a tight, cheap, and frugal woman to do? Reuse my KCups, that's what!

Since I first got my Keurig coffee brewer, I was on a mission to figure out how to enjoy it more cheaply. I started off by rinsing out the used coffee grounds, letting the filters dry, then refilling with my own coffee and covering the top with Glad Press N Seal or the My-Kap lid. The My-Kap leaked all over the place so that was disappointing but the Glad Press N Seal worked wonderfully until the filters finally failed. Now what? Figure out a way to make a new filter. I actually got the idea of paper replacement filters on the My-Kap web site. They give full instructions on how to do this with Melitta cone filters. I made up my own method using regular basket filters that I've already posted about on this blog. However, these filters sometimes failed resulting in coffee grounds in our cups. Not acceptable!

For a couple of years, I have been using reusable cotton muslin filters, that I created, to make tea. Why couldn't I use this same idea to make reusable filters for my Keurig? Why not! So I did! I've been using them over and over for a couple of months now and am so excited that I couldn't keep the idea to myself. I wanted to give them a chance to fail so I could fix them before I released them, but so far I haven't had a single problem at all! In fact, they're working so perfectly. No grounds in my coffee, the needle that punctures the bottom of the KCup does not puncture the cloth, the coffee isn't weak, the filters are so easy to use and clean. These filters have also given me another opportunity to try the My-Kap lids in conjunction with Glad Press N Seal with very satisfactory results. I've also tried using them with just the Glad Press N Seal and a polyurethane hair elastic band with great results as well.

Oh, and they work wonderfully with the My K Cup attachment that Keurig sells. A lot of people complain that this attachment makes weak coffee because of the way the filter basket is made. The coffee is forced out of the sides of the basket rather than down the center like the original K Cups. My filters solve this problem, too! In fact, because you don't use the filter basket, only the cloth filter, you can put more coffee into the attachment, the coffee is forced down the center of the cloth filter, resulting in stronger, more flavorful coffee!

I've listed my reusable K Cup filters in my Etsy store. I hope this helps others who want to reuse their K Cups, too!

New reusable tea filter/infuser

2011-05-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it's taken me this long to put these up in my Etsy store but they're finally there. I have been using them for a couple of years now and they're great! Very inexpensive to make or buy, so easy to use, easy to clean, portable, eco-friendly, and make really great tasting tea. Sure, disposable "sack" type filters work well but I'm glad I don't have to worry about running out. I love the idea that I can use these over and over. I'm going to try and make coffee in one, too. Not the same one I make tea in, mind you.

Every time I see little tea balls or spoons, I can't help but think that even though they're cute, they don't make the most of the tea leaves that are put into them. They don't have room to bloom and impart their maximum flavor. These cloth infusers give the leaves so much room to move, it's almost like they're swimming around in my cup. It's so cool to see how big, open, and fluffy the tea leaves are that come out of them when I'm done brewing. Ooooh, I need a picture of that! Okay, I'm back. Had to get a picture of that! LOL I know I'm biased, but they're great!

One of my older filters...they're prettier now!

Before - 2 tsp Abundant Berry loose leaf tea

After

mrhodes702's photostream

2011-04-06T12:32:00.001-07:00

mrhodes702's photostream on Flickr.

More tea cozies!

New tea cozies!

2011-03-06T23:51:00.000-08:00

The first tea cozy is knitted out of Noro Kureyon, 100% wool. I love the colors of Kureyon but don't like to make anything that touches the skin because it's so scratchy, therefore, a tea cozy was the perfect use for this yarn. It felts wonderfully but I was too lazy to make this one felted. It fits my Old Amsterdam 6 cup teapot perfectly.

The second one is crocheted out of an acrylic yarn from Hobby Lobby called I Love This Yarn! It is so soft and a pleasure to work with, unlike Red Heart. It fits my 3 cup pot.

Lastly, is a crocheted cozy based on one I saw here. I must admit that I didn't follow her instructions, just the concept. I watched videos on YouTube and had a demonstration of the stitch by Marta from my knitting group, Las Vegas Knitters. I kinda worked it up as I went along. The colors weren't planned but I just grabbed what yarn I had handy at the time. You see? I am a lazy crafter!

TeaCUP Cozy!

2011-02-17T01:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, your teapot is all warm and toasty in it's sweater and teapot cozy. You pour yourself a nice hot cuppa and now what? It just sits there getting all cold!!!! Yuck! Not anymore! This cute baby of a tea cozy fits perfectly over my teacup and keeps my tea warm longer. There is nothing worse than tepid tea. I'm so excited! I'll be doing a test run of these in my Etsy store very soon...like maybe tomorrow. I just had to test it out tonight. BINGO!

Cozy Teapot Sweaters

2011-02-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd call these teapot sweaters because that's what they remind me of, a cozy sweater for your teapot! I now have both versions for sale on Etsy as a test run. There are several Etsy sellers who make very similar cozies but they were too cute for me not to make myself.

Tea Cozies!

2011-02-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

I've been going crazy making tea cozies! They all fit a 6 cup pot, except for the knitted one, which I made especially for my 3 cup pot. I'll be putting some up on my Etsy shop soon! I've met a lady, Louise, who owns a local tea business and she'll be selling them as well. Her business is called Tea-rrific Teas. She will also be selling my tea wallets. It's nice to see someone get excited about things you make, isn't it?

So sad today.

2011-01-10T09:35:00.000-08:00

The more I learn about the shooting in Tucson, Arizona yesterday, the sadder I get. Christina Green was only 9 years old, born on 9/11/01. Such a pretty little girl who was taught about the significance of her date of birth and wanted to grow up and have a life in public service. I can't imagine what her parents are going through. My heart bleeds for them. I don't consider myself overly protective although I think I'm moreso than many parents around. My youngest son will be 11 this week and I still watch him walk to school until he's no longer in my sight. I worry every time he goes out to ride his bike, calling him or making him call me when he arrives at his destination. My eldest is 18 and he doesn't understand why it's so important to call me the moment he gets "home" when he leaves here to go back to his college 3 hours away. Just thinking about not being able to see them or call them is bringing me to tears. May God bless the family of Christina Green and, of course, the families of the other shooting victims. I hope justice is swift and harsh for the shooter.

Keurig K Cup Rack! So excited!

2010-12-08T15:10:00.000-08:00

Look at what my very talented husband made for me! I was so excited! Then my friend and fellow Keurig owner, Erika, stopped by and saw it! She reminded us that it was her birthday so she is now the proud owner of this new K Cup rack. Bernie didn't want me to give it to her because he said it is just a "prototype" but I loved it and so did she. I will soon be listing these in my Etsy shop for $25.00 with FREE personalization of up to 11 characters. If people don't want it personalized, he said he can fit another row of K Cups on it for a total of 18 cups.

Remember that I re-use my K Cups? I think I've finally found the method that works for me. I rinse out the coffee from the used K Cup and after drying, I fill it with my choice of coffee. I then cover it with a single sheet of Glad Press N Seal and wrap with a tiny hair elastic (not rubber band!). After the internal filter has failed, I make my own filter, again top off with Glad Press N Seal and then secure with a tiny hair elastic band. They work great! What a great way to have wonderful coffee and save money, too!

My homemade filter inside the white K Cup.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

2010-12-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry I don't have any pictures, but I just wanted to list some of the leftovers that we had from our Thanksgiving dinner. We had both turkey and ham with the usual fixings so there were plenty of leftovers.

Turkey:
1) Turkey sandwiches with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mayo. A local sandwich shop calls this "the Bobby".
2) Turkey salad sandwiches. I put everything I normally put in chicken salad into these.
3) Turkey & spinach Alfredo with angel hair pasta

Ham:
1) Ham & eggs
2) Ham slices, collard greens, & rice
3) Split pea soup

I fed what was left of the turkey to the dogs but still had enough ham for about three more meals. I used my Seal-A-Meal and separated the ham into three bags, including a very meaty ham bone. For sure I'll make some red beans & rice for one meal and definitely more split pea soup. Maybe some baked macaroni & cheese with ham for the last meal. They all sound good but I have to wait for awhile before I can eat more ham. I still have another bone-in half ham that I bought before Thanksgiving because it was only $0.77 per/lb.

Between us, I'm so over Thanksgiving leftovers...we had PIZZA for dinner!

Re-using K Cups - Part Deux - Make your own filters!

2010-10-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

I love re-using my K cups, especially since I've purchased the My-Kap lids. The only problem with using these is that after awhile the lids cause the filters to detach from the K cup rendering them useless. NOT ANYMORE! I always wondered how I could make my own filters to get more life out of my K cup and now there's an answer. The folks at My-Kap.com came up with a solution and I just tweaked their instructions a little so that I could use my old Melitta basket filters instead of going out and buying Melitta #4 cone filters that they suggested and with my method, there is no template required! Now it's even easier to re-use my K cups because I just lift out the used filter and replace it with a new one! Here we go:

Cut the basket filter in 1/2 to make 2 filters

Fold this piece in 1/2 with the opening on the right

Fold the tip up

Fold the open side over 3-4 times

Form into a cone and place into clean K cup

So easy to use and much easier to clean than rinsing out the used K cups. It literally takes just seconds to assemble a new filter. I hope all the Keurig lovers will try this.

**EDIT 10/27/10** This method is not foolproof. If you don't roll the edge up tight, it might fail. Also, if you're re-using your K cups, I've found that it works better if you don't use a regular drip grind. It's too coarse. Something between the drip grind and an espresso grind works well. Also, in all honesty, I prefer using the Glad Press N Seal to using the My Kap lids because it's a tighter seal and there is no leakage or dripping from the sides of the coffee maker like there is when you use the My Kap lids. The re-usable lids, however, are more convenient and once you buy them you don't have to buy anything else...other than more coffee!

**UPDATE 12/30/11** Since this post, I didn't give up trying to find a better alternative to the paper filter and I found it. I have created little filters out of unbleached cotton muslin. I have been using them for several months and they have NEVER failed! Here is the link to the post I made about them back in May.

Magic Box

2010-09-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

Pat asked me to make a Magic Box for her. I just wanted to show pictures of the finished box. I don't know the recipient but I hope she will enjoy it.

New project - Everyday Cardi from Crochet Today!

2010-09-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

This is my latest project on the hook right now. I love the look of this cardigan and thought it was really easy until I got to the point where I have to start working the fronts and back. I find the instructions very confusing and have had to put it aside today because I was getting frustrated trying to figure it out. I'm not a novice crocheter and that's what makes it even more frustrating that I can't figure this out. I'll jump back on it tomorrow and if I can't work out the instructions, I'll finish it on my own.

I'm using Caron One Pound in Claret. I started off with another yarn but didn't have enough to finish it. I'll post a picture of my cardi if/when it's done.

Never Forget!

2010-09-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Latest crochet project

2010-09-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

My truck has been in the shop for a couple of weeks. I was feeling a bit stranded, even though I've been taking my husband to/from work and have his truck, and had the urge to crochet something just to keep me busy. I started off with a coaster/scrubbie set and my friend, Mel, suggested that since I'm stuck at home that I should get a start on some Christmas gifts. Great idea, Mel! While searching Etsy.com for ideas, I came across a pattern called Oma House Slippers and thought they were the cutest things. I've made 4 pairs so far and have many more to go. They're very easy although the pattern isn't easy to memorize since every round is different. They're also quite comfortable!

How to brew tea with your Keurig

2010-09-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

Sorry, nothing earth-shattering here. A good cup of tea still takes a bit of time to make. With the Keurig it's a little faster thanks to the rapid heating of the water, but you still have to let it steep. I bought some Celestial Seasonings Iced Black Tea K Cups yesterday and the ingredients listed were black tea and tea extract, which, I'm assuming, is why you can brew a cup of tea so quickly if you use these. However, I thought the tea that it brewed was too strong and bitter. I wasn't thrilled. Here's how I do it: I use my Finum tea brewing basket and the appropriate measure of tea. Select the cup size I want and brew. Let it steep 3-5 minutes. Drink as is or pour over ice. Not hard. With this method, I can't brew directly into a cup of ice but I don't really mind. Did I say I tried putting tea into a used K Cup the same way I make coffee? Ha! Light brown colored water that did not taste at all like tea.

How to re-use your Keurig K cups

2010-09-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

Meet Hans, our new Keurig B66 coffee maker. After trying one out last week at the tire store, I could see that my husband wanted one. What I liked the most is that he could make a cup of coffee...BY HIMSELF! My friend, Pat, picked it up for me at Sam's Club for $129.99 and it came with the water filter and 72 K Cups. Having already done some research on it, as I usually do with any big purchase, I had already found ways to save money by using my own coffee. Two of which involve re-using the K Cup containers themselves and the other involves using Keurig's My K Cup. I've already ordered the K Cup Kaps on eBay but until they come, I've found a way that works wonderfully. It involves one of my favorite household items...Glad Press N Seal! All you have to do is peel the foil off a used K Cup, rinse it out, then fill with your favorite coffee (about 1 TBSP). Place two 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" pieces of Glad Press N Seal over the top and press them down all around the cup to seal well. Place it into the Keurig and try to align the existing puncture with the needle in the housing (it's not hard to feel) and brew as usual. Easy! I've read that you can re-use each K Cup at least 10 times! How's that for being frugal! Another tip: My husband and I like our coffee on the mild/medium side and we typically drink our coffee in 16 ounce mugs. My Keurig has 3 settings: 6 oz, 8 oz, & 10 oz sizes. To make our coffee the way we like it I place the K Cup in the Keurig and brew an 8 oz cup. When the machine says it's ready to brew another cup I just lift the lid as if I were going to place another K Cup into it but leave the old one there, close the lid, then brew a 6 oz cup. This leaves room for the abundance of cream we like in our cups.

Gift card holder

2010-09-11T02:08:00.000-07:00

I made a couple of these gift card holders for my son's teachers at the end of this past school year. I took a 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of cardstock for the card base, a 4" x 5 1/2" piece of carstock for the card holder, and just size and print my sentiments on the computer. Score then fold the 4" x 5 1/2" CS at 1" intervals on the 4" side. Measure the gift card then center and cut a slit along the 2nd fold line to hold the gift card. I used a small glue dot to keep the gift card stable. Affix the card holder to the card base and attach the sentiments. These were very simple yet not too "girly" for his male teachers.

Chris-ism for today

2010-07-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

My son, Chris, is 10 years old. Some of the things that come out of his mouth amaze me! I've decided I'd better keep track of some of the better ones so I can perhaps use them later (like when he's an adult). So, here's today's Chris-ism:

Me: Son, Mel's coming to pick us up to go shopping. You'd better change your shorts.

Chris: Why?

Me: Those are too tight.

Chris: No they're not. What makes them too tight?

Me: They're hugging your butt.

Chris: Mom, my butt deserves to be hugged!

**********************

He got to wear the shorts! I was lauging my ass off too hard to argue with that one!

Quick Tomato Salisbury Steak

2010-06-22T01:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I needed to make dinner quickly after getting home from Chris' Tae Kwon Do around 8:30 pm. I was way too lazy this afternoon to cook dinner. I had 2 lbs. of ground beef but didn't think I had time to do a meatloaf. I looked in the veggie bin and the pantry and came up with this version of Salisbury Steak. I thought it was pretty good and wanted to jot it down so I'd be able to re-create it later. Here goes:

Tomato Salisbury Steak

Beef mixture:

2 lbs. ground beef
1 egg
1/2 c bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 - 2.8 oz can French's French Fried Onions, crushed
salt, pepper, garlic powder

Gravy:

1/2 green bell pepper, diced
5-6 button mushrooms, sliced
1 can tomato soup
1/2 soup can water

Form beef mixture into patties and brown on both sides, not cooking all the way through. Remove beef from pan. Saute bell pepper and mushrooms in a few tablespoons water to deglaze pan. When bell pepper starts to get soft, add tomato soup and water to pan, return beef patties to pan and turn to coat with gravy. Spoon gravy over top of patties. Cover and simmer on medium low for 20 minutes. Tilt lid to let steam escape if gravy gets too watery. Enjoy over mashed potatoes or hot rice.

Tea Bag Folding

2010-06-04T23:28:00.000-07:00

Pat and I were practicing our tea bag folding yesterday and we made these "flowers". We started with 3" squares and followed the instructions we found on http://www.paperprintables.com/. Three inch squares, when folded, create a flower that is about 4" across. Kinda big for a card but too pretty to waste, so here it is on the front of your basic A2 sized card. We figured that 1 1/2" squares resulted in a flower that was good for treat bags and 2" squares created a flower suitable for a card. You can get several of these flowers from a 12" x 12" piece of paper, but this is also a great project for scraps. Watch out! It's addicting! Of course, YouTube is a fabulous place to start and this link takes you to a video by RubberStampRosie that is wonderful! Who would have ever thought to use the inside of security envelopes for this project. Great recycling project as well.

Hershey's Nugget Box & Dove Chocolates Box

2010-05-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

I want to thank Beth Warner for her great instructions for making little boxes that can hold 3 Hershey's Nuggets. I've been seeing them on people's blogs but found her instructions yesterday and just had to try it myself. They are super cute! My only issue is the use of the dreaded 16th inches! Argh! I just bought the Martha Stewart scoring board last week and have been trying to scale up/down patterns because there are no 16th inch increments on that or my Fiskar's paper trimmer. Beth was so kind to post her instructions and I tweaked them to suit my "16th-inch-a-phobia" and here are my measurements on the score board.

Box: 6" x 4 1/2"

With the 6" side against the top of the board, score @ 3/4", 1 1/2", 4 1/2", & 5 1/4"

With the 4 1/2" side against the top of the board, score @ 3/4", 1 1/2", 3", & 3 3/4"

Top: 5 1/2" x 3"

With the 5 1/2" side against the top of the board, score @ 3/4", 2 3/8", 3 1/8", & 4 3/4"

I then followed Beth's instructions for assembly and it turned out great! Then I got to thinking, what other candy can I put in the box? I had some little Dove chocolates but they were too big soooooooooo...

Sized to fit 3 Dove chocolates:

Box: 5 1/2" x 3 1/2"

With the 5 1/2" side against top of the board, score @ 1/2", 1", 4 1/2", & 5"

With the 3 1/2" side against top of the board, score @ 1/2", 1", 2 1/2", & 3"

Top: 4 1/2" x 3 1/2"

With the 4 1/2" side against the top of the board, score @ 1/2", 2", 2 1/2", & 4"

Follow the assembly instructions for the Hershey's Nugget Box.

Treat bag template

2010-05-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

So much to write about today but I don't know if I can get it all in.

Pat and I have been looking at all sorts of treat bag patterns & templates pretty much since we got our Cricuts. We've tried making a few and I have been pretty pleased with what we've done so far but I keep seeing more that I'd like to try. Pat's limited to the size of the bags she can cut with her Cricut as she has the Create so this one will be right up her alley...no Cricut needed! After seeing some projects online, I tried making my own template but I haven't yet tried to draw it out in Word so you'll just have to look at the pictures I took. I think you'll get the idea and the score lines are written on the template. I specifically wanted to be able to use my Martha Stewart Scoring Board. The treat bag is made using an 8 1/2" x 11" paper or cardstock. I like the look of the rounded edge on my topper flap but it would look great if you use a border punch.

The finished bag measures 4 1/2" H x 3" W.

A couple of treat holders

2010-05-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite sources of inspiration is Dawn Griffith of Dawn's Stamping Thoughts on YouTube. As I am meeting a couple of friends for lunch today, I wanted to bring them some goodies. I came across this video and thought these would be perfect to make. I, however, don't have the Movers & Shapers die that she used so I had to cut my scalloped oval on my Cricut using the "09 Kutups" font and my SCAL. Otherwise, I used her instructions and simply embellished the front with a strip of paper and a small flower made using the EK Success punch Pat gave me. Thanks, Pat! I still have to add the clear bag full of candy to the treat bag to complete it but I'm sure you can get the idea.

Dawn also made some gift card holders in a little purse design. Pat and I have been playing with these little purses since buying our Crafter's Companion Ultimate, so these weren't new to us. I did, however, change it up a bit by making the purse into a treat holder instead of a gift card holder just by playing around with the scoring lines. Oh yeah, today I used my Michael's 40% off coupon to buy a Martha Stewart score board. The CCU is great but I wanted something with more scoring lines. I am enjoying it so far.

Speaking of Michael's, I'm so glad they accept Joann's coupons as well because I used my 40% off Joann's mobile coupon from the Mobiqpons app on my iPod Touch to pick up a K&Co paper stack. Poor cashier didn't know what to do when I showed her the coupon on my ipod and got nervous when her manager walked past but she accepted it anyway. I had a paper coupon in my purse as a back up just in case.

In case you're interested in the specifics for the purse treat bag, here they are:

Using SCAL and my Cricut, I cut the topper shape using the "09 Kutups" font. I made it 4.25" at the widest point and made sure to keep proportions when sizing. (I maybe should have made it a tad wider) Score 1/8" on each side of the center point of the topper along the 4.25" width. Using my CropADile, I cut a hole in the center of the score lines towards each end using the 1/8" size hole for the purse handle. Cut a length of ribbon, thread through holes and tie a knot on each end to secure.

The paper for the body of the purse is cut at 5.5" x 8.5". It is scored at 3.75" and 4.75" for the bottom of the purse. To make the purse shape, score a little tic mark 5/8" from each of the 4 corners on the top and bottom (short sides). Place card on trimmer aligning the tic mark and the first score line on the bottom of the purse, centered in the cutting groove, and cut. Repeat 3 more times.

Attach back of purse to back of topper using glue runner. You will need to use some type of closure of your choice such as Velcro or glue dots. You can get the general idea of how to put it together by watching this video by Dawn.

A Little Bit of Sewing! A Purse Organizer!

2010-05-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

I can't blame this one on YouTube for a change! I forgot how much I wanted one of these until I saw a late night commercial for one. There are several tutorials online and they are pretty much the same. As usual, I couldn't sleep until I'd made one so here are the ingredients:

2 pcs fabric of choice - 10" by width of fabric
1 pc heavyweight interfacing - 10" by width of fabric
Marking pencil
Ruler
Usual sewing supplies

Lay fabric pieces right sides facing and lay interfacing on top. I've used a 5/8" seam allowance. Pin all around and sew up both of the long sides, leaving a 3" space for turning. Measure 36" and cut. Sew up both short sides. Turn right sides out. Tuck in ends of turning space and pin closed. Topstitch both long sides. Flip bottom long edge up towards top long edge, leaving a 1" space. Mark the following measurements from left to right: 3.5", 3.5", 4.5", 5", 5", 5.5", 6" to create pockets and pin in between to keep everything in place. Sew from top of pocket to bottom and backstitch at both top and bottom for strength. Sew up sides using a small (1/8") seam allowance and you're done! Enjoy your new purse organizer!

I've based my measurements on the large Purseket, although mine fits nicely in my pretty smallish purse. The website very generously gives you measurements for all of the sizes of their Pursekets.

And finally, I made a little dust cover for my Cricut using one of my husband's old t-shirts. He wears a 2XL shirt. I slipped it over the Cricut and eyeball measured how much to cut off, including seam allowance. Since it's a tube, all I had to do was sew one seam. It's not pretty but it works very nicely.

Toilet paper roll mini album

2010-04-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Oh boy! These little things are so much fun! I saw these on YouTube and had to make my own. My first album is so very basic and not nearly as embellished as some of the beautiful ones I've seen but for my first, I'm happy. Besides which, I made it at 1:30 a.m.!

As the title states, these are made of the inner cardboard core of the toilet paper roll. In this example I've used 4, though the way my family goes through toilet paper, I've saved enough for about six albums so far. First you have to flatten the rolls. This is harder than you'd think. These things have memory! I tried using a bone folder and even ran it through my Cuttlebug! This is the flattest I've been able to get them. I then covered the rolls with scrapbook paper and some little scrap embellishments I had been playing with earlier that evening. I tried to make things match but I was tired and just wanted to see what one looked like all done up. Apparently, not all toilet paper rolls are the same size but to make these I cut my paper at 5 1/4" x 6" and covered the rolls with 1/2" extra on each end to tuck inside the tube to finish the edges. I found it easier to do if I cut notches out of each side. Then I punched holes and inserted eyelets in the ends of the rolls for the book ring to go through. All that's left is your pictures, journaling (if you do that), and tags. I cut my tags on my Cricut using the SCAL program but you can easily just cut them out of cardstock by hand. I think mine measured 2 3/8" x 4". Just make sure you don't cut them too small or they'll fall right out of your album. I took two tags and glued them together for stability.

When I showed this to my husband, he thought they'd be great graduation invitations for our moms. He's so smart! That's why I married him!

I found great paper at my LSS in a masculine style in my son's school colors that I'm going to use. I think I'll make him one, too, since he's leaving for college shortly after graduation. I want him to remember what we look like!

In my next post, I'll show how I'm now making these without using the actual toilet paper rolls! It's not recycling, but I do like them better since they don't take any more work to make and they are flatter than the toilet paper rolls! You will be able to make a 4 tube album using only 2 pages of cardstock and 2 pages of scrapbook paper - 8 1/2" x 11" or 1 page each if they're 12" x 12". Even better!

Old Settler's Beans

2010-04-22T16:06:00.000-07:00

The other day I was looking for something to cook for dinner and I happened upon a recipe for Old Settler's Baked Beans. It looked good but I wasn't so sure the family would go for it. It called for a lot of sugar and other than chili, everytime I tried to feed my lot some beans, they refused. Still, I was sure I wanted to try anyway. I tweaked the basic recipe and wanted to put down what I'd done so I don't forget for next time. There will definitely be a next time as my husband exclaimed twice (after having two servings) that they were really good.

Old Settler's Beans
2 lbs ground beef
1/2 lb bacon
1 lg onion, diced
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 - 15 oz can butter beans
1 - 15 oz can pork and beans
1 - 15 oz can chili beans

Brown bacon then add onion and ground beef. Drain. Add remaining ingredients except beans and stir until combined. Add beans and stir well. Transfer to crock pot and cook on low until ready to serve. We ate ours over hot rice! Yum.

Homemade paper flower embellishments

2010-04-22T15:37:00.000-07:00

You know I'm new to this whole papercrafting thing, but I still get excited every time I see flower embellishments like the Prima flowers. Especially the Prima flowers! Only problem is, I'm too cheap to buy them and they're so expensive! My solution (as usual) is to make my own. I found a wild rose .svg template, to cut out on my Cricut, on Etsy by a seller named triciapeever. I loved the way her flower looked but when I tried to make it myself, I wasn't too happy with my efforts. I perservered, however, and even though mine don't look at all like hers, I'm very pleased with myself! All of the flowers in this first photo were made from the triciapeever template. I can get two flowers from one 8.5" x 11" piece of cardstock! The pink one was my first attempt a couple of weeks ago that I was only lukewarm about. The two yellow and two white ones were made today using a new technique, which is a combination of techniques I've been seeing on YouTube. I am so ecstatic about the results! The white one on the lower left was sprayed with my homemade pearl glimmer spray and the yellow one on the upper right was sprayed with my homemade glimmer spray in champagne. The other two were left natural.

The green flower was made using a dingbat font and cut out on my Cricut. The font is called 09 KutUps and I use it for almost all of the shapes I use for cardmaking. The cardstock started off white but I sprayed it with my homemade glimmer spray in a metallic green.

This little purple carnation is made from a page from English Home magazine. The paper feels a bit heavier to me than your typical American magazine. I punched out 2" circles and pinked the edges. I think there are 7 layers. I scrunched all the pieces and then pinned them together in the center with a mini brad. I then misted the flower with my homemade glimmer spray in a lavender color and when it was completely dry, I touched up the edges with Stickles.

The rest of the pictures show another tea bag holder card that I made and what it would look like if embellished with the flowers instead of the ladybug. I may just have to show pictures of the steps used to make these so I don't forget what I did!

Oh, of all the YouTube videos I saw, this one by Tracylovestoscrap is the one that made me want to try again.

Baby Girl Tri Fold Shutter Card

2010-04-17T00:24:00.000-07:00

I'll be flying down to the Phoenix area tomorrow for a baby shower. This will be for the daughter of a family friend. I found these perfect K & Co stickers at Michael's this week for 40% off and the Imaginisce paper from http://www.kyandyland.com/, my LSS. It is made on basic cardstock from Joanns with a sentiment I found on Scrapbook.com. I love the way it turned out! It was so pretty that I didn't attach the gift cards to the front like I originally planned, so I attached them to the back of the card instead with homemade glue dots. I used a strip of the non-stick paper from a package of Zots and made little dots out of Aleene's Tack It Over & Over that I had to buy from eBay, since I can't seem to find it here in Las Vegas. I let them sit until they turned clear and they are perfect! So economical, too!

Tea Bag Holder Cards

2010-04-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

My friends laugh at me now whenever I open a conversation with, "I was watching YouTube..." because it gets me into so much trouble (of the best kind) because I see so many things I want to do and usually don't fall asleep until I do them (at 2:00 am).

Well, I was watching YouTube last night and saw these tea bag holders by Dawn and thought they were the cutest things! I did, however, make mine a bit differently and here are the specifics:

Tea Bag Holder

Cover:
7 3/4" x 3 1/2" (the extra 1" is for the flap I added)
Score at 3 1/8" & 3 5/8" then flip and score 1" from the other end and round the flap corners.

Insert:
5 1/2" x 6 1/2"
On the 5 1/2" side, score at 2 1/2" and 3"
On the 6 1/2" side, score at 3" and 6"

I follow Dawn's directions for assembly except that I glue the insert inside the cover rather than tie together with ribbon. I cut decorative paper and cardstock to cover the front and the flap then seal with glue dots.

I can see I need to do a better job of gluing the inserts as it looks as though the blue one is coming undone.

More homemade glimmer spray...even easier!

2010-04-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

Making more glimmer spray has just gotten easier! Can you believe it is cheaper to buy these little travel sized hairsprays than an empty spray bottle? I picked both of these up at WalMart. In case you can't see what they are very clearly, on the left is a 2 oz. bottle of Dove extra hold hairspray and on the right is a bottle of Plaid Folk Art Metallic Christmas Green acrylic paint. All I did this time is pour out about 1/3 of the hairspray and add enough paint to cover about 1/4 inch of the bottom of the spray bottle. This cardstock started out beige and the spray gave it a nice light even coat of green. I, again, dried it with my blow dryer on low. The rose was made with scrap beige cardstock and I used the same brown glimmer spray I made earlier, which was a blend of alcohol and Ceramcoat Spice Brown with some pearlized medium.

Tri fold shutter cards

2010-04-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

I saw one of these cards and fell in love! I just had to make some. I found tutorials for different styles on The Craftiblog and then saw many beautiful examples on Splitcoaststampers.com. What makes me happy about these is that I used my Crafter's Companion Ultimate, my Cuttlebug, and my Cricut for these. I was complaining to my husband that I really hate doing the math involved in measuring all the matting pieces so after our friends went home the other night I used my SCAL program to make a template to cut out all the pieces for these cards except the card base, which is just a 5 1/2" x 12" piece of cardstock. I can now whip one of these up in just a few minutes and don't have to measure a thing! I have chosen not to embellish these yet, except for the butterflies and the rose on the embossed one as I plan to keep a bunch on hand for when I need a card in a hurry. I have some sentiments for all kinds of occasions on my computer that I can just print out from Word and then mat and adhere to the cards quite quickly. Oh yes, as you can see on the butterflies, I fell in love with Stickles!

I covered this flower with my homemade glimmer spray! I used the clear pearl color but could have easily done the fuchsia pearl as well. This card was particularly easy since it wasn't double matted. I cut the pieces out on my Cricut then ran them through the Cuttlebug.

I have one more version of this card that I'd like to try and will post pictures later.

DIY Glimmer Spray

2010-04-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

Boy, where to begin? Since my last post, I have received my Crafter's Companion Ultimate and love it although I can now see that it has some limitations compared to the Scor-Pal for some things because it doesn't have as many score lines but I love that you can make so many projects without really doing much thinking. The measuring has already been done for me! I don't know yet if I'll ever use the embossing templates that come with it but like that they're there anyway.

I have also bought a Cuttlebug from HSN.com and love their exclusive raspberry pink edition. It came with so many embossing folders but I still have my eyes on a couple of others. This is an invaluable tool in my burgeoning card making endeavors!

So, now on to the DIY Glimmer spray! I found a cool little scrapbooking store in my neighborhood. Literally! It is a 1300 sq. ft. house in my neighborhood that has been converted into a store but you'd never know it from the outside. Anyway, I took a Cricut class there and got to experiment a little with some Glimmer Mist. I wasn't too sold on it then but when I researched it a bit I got more excited, especially when I found out how to make my own. This stuff is pricey at around $7.00 per 2 ounce bottle!!! So far I've made 4 colors but plan on expanding my collection and also trying other recipes.

How I made mine:

Fill a 2 ounce spritzer bottle about 2/3 full of rubbing alcohol

Squeeze in some pearlilzed acrylic paint (or regular acrylic paint with some pearl medium added to it)

That's it! Shake, shake, shake to keep it mixed as the pearl settles to the bottom and will clog up the works very quickly. I shake then spray, shake then spray and generously cover my item. I then blot with paper towels and dry with my blow dryer as I haven't bought a heat gun yet. This mixture costs just pennies compared to Glimmer Mist and your colors are only limited by your imagination. I chose to use rubbing alcohol rather than water because it dries faster, I think.

I would like to try a recipe I saw that combines alcohol, alcohol inks, and Ranger's Perfect Pearls. I just bought some Perfect Pearls and saw that my LSS has some Adirondak inks so I'm good to go.

Exploding box

2010-03-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

This morning I was watching some HSN that I'd taped on Monday because it's National Craft Month. I saw the Crafter's Companion Ultimate Craft Tool with Boards (item #264-023) and just had to have it! I've been wanting to make some of the exploding boxes I've seen all over the place. I even considered buying an SVG template for the Sure Cuts A Lot but now I'm glad I didn't. They're so easy and cool as heck! I kept watching the video over and over and went to my crafting area and made this box. The scalloped circle and flowers were cut on my Cricut and so was the digi stamp. I saw the coolest video on YouTube that showed how to do that. The box is a 12" x 12" sheet and the top is an 8 1/8"x 8 1/8" sheet. EASY! I can't wait to get my tool box! I'm just amazed at how quickly the projects come together. If you're interested in getting it, make sure you order #264-023 and not #364-395! They look identical but #264-023 has 54 more embossing templates and is only $5.00 more!

What's going in the box? I made some Apricot scones and some Iced Maple scones this morning and called two of my friends to come pick some up. They got two scones in each box. I wrapped the scones so that they can re-use their boxes if they want to.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

2010-02-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

These were the goodies my honey gave me for Valentine's day. He knew he'd be on duty so he arranged for these to be delivered by ProFlowers. How sweet. Since we haven't seen eachother since we went to sleep Friday night, I thought I'd make a special dinner for him tomorrow night. I'm sure it will have something to do with steak since he's a big steak lover...easy peasy!

My friend, Laura, and her kids were over last night. While they were on their way, I knew I wanted to make them a little treat for Valentine's day so I put some cookies in the oven and got out my Cricut. I made them little cookie goodie bags that I think turned out really cute. I created a little 4" wide scalloped rectangle and a 2" x 1.6" heart using Sure Cuts A Lot, folded the top of the treat bag over, placed the folded rectangle and heart over that, punched holes through them and tied it all together with some ribbon and tulle. If I were a stamper, I'm sure I could have added a cute little stamp to the mix.

These are three Valentine's banners I made with my Cricut.

New electric tea kettle and artisan bread...woohoo!

2010-02-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I met my friend, Pat, at Michael's to look for some crafting supplies. I was actually looking for some adhesive to use on my Cricut mat to make it sticky again (but that will be another post). We stopped into Ross next door but I had already made up my mind that I didn't want to spend any more money. We tend to look for teacups and teapots while there but I had no idea I'd find a Capresso H2O electric tea kettle! I tried talking myself out of it but thought I'd better carry it around in case someone else saw it. I've been coveting this tea kettle for quite awhile but didn't want to spend $60 for it. How much did I spend? $40! I love it! It's so pretty and I love the fact that it's glass instead of plastic but most of all I love the speed at which it boils water. Of course, as soon as we got back to Pat's house we had to test it out. We filled it up (48oz) and it probably took no more than 3-4 minutes to come to a boil! No off odors or tastes that some reviewers complained of, thank goodness!

Now, about the artisan bread. I borrowed a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois after getting interested in refrigerator bread doughs such as that mentioned in one of the Tightwad Gazette books I read years ago. This book gives a master bread recipe that requires no kneading and can stay in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. The longer it remains refrigerated, the more of a sourdough flavor it takes on. I was interested in the "no kneading" aspect of the dough as well as being able to take a hunk of dough and bake a loaf of bread with only 40 minutes of rising time as preparation. Now, my loaf didn't exactly look like the one on the cover of the book, but it really reminded me of something I'd tasted in a restaurant. It was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, like ciabatta. The hardest part of all was doing what the book instructed and waiting until the bread had completely cooled before cutting it. The only thing I don't like is that the recipe seems rather salty to me. Next batch, I'll decrease the salt and see if it affects the outcome at all. With another portion of this batch I'll try the Sticky Pecan Caramel Rolls. Yum! Can't wait.

Homemade "clotted cream" a la Alton Brown

2010-01-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

There's nothing I love more on a scone, a bagel, or on a spoon than clotted cream. After doing a search to see if I could make it at home, I found this technique by Alton Brown.

I know this technique doesn't produce real clotted cream but it's a very good substitute! I usually buy Luxury Clotted Cream from the Devon Cream Company but have to drive about 20 minutes to get it and pay about $5.00 for a 6 oz jar. Now I can have it whenever I want! I used pasturized (not ultra pasturized) heavy whipping cream ($1.99/pint). I tried making it in a small strainer with a regular basket coffee filter with very poor results. I then made it in a small cone filter atop a coffee cup with much more satisfactory results. I found that if I stirred the cream to loosen the thick parts every few hours, I got more "clotted cream" left in the filter. Alton says that the whey strains through the coffee filter leaving the "clotted cream" but I found the stuff that strains through more like a thick half and half cream than whey and poured it back into the carton to use in coffee. This is the result of my endeavors:

A couple of Thank You cards done

2010-01-10T21:54:00.000-08:00

It's funny how a spark of creativity comes out of nowhere. Here I was, happily surfing when I got the urge to make a couple of Thank You cards. Bernie says, "you always need Thank You cards!" After watching Robyn at The Pink Stamper blog, I was inspired to do these:

Okay, please don't laugh! I'm new at this, having just gotten my Cricut Expression for Christmas! Thanks to my friend, Pat, I'm not totally without supplies. She very generously shared some of hers with me, although I can see how easy it is to get addicted to buying them! I think this is exactly why I never got into scrapbooking...one more addiction! I do love how easy it is to just whip them up whenever you need 1 or 10. LOL

A very un-Domo-kun

2010-01-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

Chris and I love Domo-kun! I decided to try and make our very own Domo but the result wasn't very satisfactory. I think I made his head too tall. I really didn't think his contruction through very well. I'll try again but in the meantime he's hanging around the house. Not even the dogs will play with him.

Watch Domo 7Eleven Slurpee Episode 1 in Animation

View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Happy 20th Anniversary, My Love!

2010-01-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary. I love this man more today than I did back then. We have challenges like everyone else but in my heart I feel so much peace. I know that no matter what, he'll take care of me, he'll be the strong one, he'll be the tough one, he'll be the level-headed one, and he'll be the smart one. He sits back and watches me make mistakes and then laughs so hard that it makes me laugh. We call eachother "stoopit" (stupid, but in a kind way). We give eachother room to move. He is my rock and I make him feel cared for. He holds the weight of the world on his broad shoulders and we feel sheltered. I love this man of mine!

He wanted to take me out for dinner for our anniversary but because I am still getting over the flu, I thought it would be a waste since I can't really enjoy it. I decided instead to make dinner for us at home and leave him to his video games in the living room. My friends who know him would think it's funny that he asked me out to dinner since they all know he hates eating out. When I ran into a friend at the supermarket she said I should have gone, sick and all, because I never know when it will happen again! Isn't that the truth! That's okay. I am where I want to be right now.

What else exciting happened on our anniversary? He got to take apart the pipes under the kitchen sink! Before I left for the store, I went under the sink for something and noticed it was wet. Oh no! I took everything out and wiped everything down but couldn't locate anything dripping. I reminded him that the sink was backing up whenever I ran the dishwasher so he took everything apart and cleaned all the gunk out of the hoses and we were back in business. No more backup when I ran the dishwasher. Woohoo! Poor guy, he would never have made it as a plumber...too big to fit under the sink! I told him it's almost like plumbing by Braille since he can't see everything he's doing.

Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

2010-01-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I don't know about you, but 2009 was a pretty good one for us. We love eachother, we were healthy, we were together, we had a roof over our heads, the kids were happy, we had more than enough to eat, we had no family spats, we have the companionship of good friends, we have the unconditional love of our family pets, and my husband has job that he loves which allows me to stay home. As far as I can tell, we don't have a whole heck of a lot to complain about. We are anticipating some big changes in 2010 but as long as we're united we can get through anything.

I wish you all a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2010!

Easy Christmas Cookies

2009-12-15T15:19:00.000-08:00

(Sorry for the poor lighting!)

These cookies are the result of my baking so far today. I've made about 16 dozen of these cake mix cookies: Devil's Food Chocolate Chip, Milk Chocolate Chocolate Chip, & Snickerdoodles. Each batch takes 1 box of cake mix, 1 stick of butter, 2 eggs, and 1 tsp vanilla. The chocolate chip cookies each have 2/3 cup of chocolate chips and 1/3 cup of chopped pecans. The snickerdoodles were rolled in 1/3 cup sugar and 3 tsp cinnamon before baking. All were baked at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Easy peasy!

Next I'd like to try an iced lemon cookie or an oatmeal raisin carrot cake cookie. I'll let you know how that goes.

Instant masala chai

2009-12-04T08:50:00.000-08:00

This morning I was texting one of my friends before she went to work. She has an Indian step-mother and is a big chai lover like me. I told her that I'd have a travel cup of chai ready for her if she was inclined to do a drive-by at Mik's Cafe. She was so inclined! This got me thinking...I had made up a batch of my chai masala for her but she's usually too tired to go through the whole process of boiling the water, tea, milk & spices at the end of the day to make it. What if I whipped up a batch of instant chai mix for her? She could even take it to work and make herself a cuppa whenever she wanted one?

Here's what I came up with:

Mik's Instant Masala Chai

1/2 cup dry milk powder
1 1/2 cups non-dairy creamer (try vanilla flavored creamer if you don't have vanilla sugar)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vanilla sugar (vanilla beans left in a container of sugar)
1/4 cup honey powder (found at a local Korean market - may substitute with sugar)
3/4 cup unsweetened instant tea
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp cardamom
dash ground nutmeg
dash black pepper

Use 3 rounded kitchen teaspoonsful (not measuring spoons) per 8 oz boiling water. I'm not sure how many servings this batch will make.

Please let me know if you try this and what changes you make to suit your taste.

Enjoy!

Turkey & Wild Rice Soup

2009-12-01T21:56:00.000-08:00

This is a really easy recipe and a great use of leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

Turkey & Wild Rice Soup
2 Tbsp. butter
1 carton fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 large onion, diced very small
1 1/2 cups chopped, cooked turkey (or chicken will work, too)
1 box Rice A Roni Long Grain & Wild Rice mix with spice pouch
3 cans chicken broth
2 cups water
1 cup 1/2 & 1/2 cream

Saute mushrooms and onion in butter. Add chopped turkey, rice mix, spice pouch, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer until rice is cooked and starts to curl. When ready to serve, add cream and just heat through.

Homecoming 2009

2009-10-13T21:34:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of my son, Anthony, his date, Kelly, and their friends this past Saturday. I'm sure they all had a great time, especially since they won their game the night before against Chaparral High School by a score of 56-6! I don't know if this is just a Vegas thing, but their "party bus" had a stripper pole in it!

Yay! My water kefir is fizzy!

2009-09-27T22:56:00.000-07:00

I must have brewed 4 batches before I started on the right track. There is so much conflicting information out there. Most people say that water kefir needs to breathe, just like kombucha, and should be covered with a cloth or filter, whilst others say you need a sealed container. My previous batches were not fizzy at all so, at the risk of exploding my container, I sealed my jar and wrapped it in a towel. I even put it cabinet under the sink just in case. I left it there for two days and checked it this morning. Voila! Fizzy cranberry flavored water kefir! The fizziness only lasted a few seconds but it was good while it lasted.

Shhhhh...Kombucha is sleeping!

2009-09-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, but my kombucha brewing environment was so good that I was bottling way more than I could drink. I was doing the continuous brewing method with two batches (1 gal & 1.5 liter containers) and they were both ready to bottle within 2 days after the last bottling. I decided this morning to put one of my SCOBYs to sleep. It was the larger of the two, the one in the 1 gallon jar. That batch was particularly quick to reach drinkable stage. I found that I only had to leave the bottles out for second fermentation for one day as they reached my desired level of carbonation by that time. I was also able to find a 3 liter glass sun tea jar (plastic spigot not optimal but seems most readily available) at my local grocery store and transferred the 1.5 liter batch to the larger container, which I topped off with fresh tea/sugar solution. The pineapple is still my favorite flavor but I do enjoy a splash of guava nectar in it.

As far as my new foray into water kefir brewing, I am not sure it's going well. I got my live kefir grains in the mail on Thursday and brewed my first batch that day. I let it sit for 48 hours as was suggested. The water got slightly opaque, which is normal, I think, but not carbonated at all. I bottled it and hoped it would progress into the fizzy, soda pop-like beverage everyone is raving about, but it did not. I hate to say but I tossed it. It didn't have much flavor at all. Sortof a flat, very weak lemonade. I brewed my second batch and it, too, grew slightly opaque and looks like it's getting fizzy, but I'll see tomorrow. So as easy as it is to brew, compared to kombucha, it seems as though I'm a better kombucha brewer!

Pineapple Kombucha. Yum!

2009-09-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

I have been doing the continuous brew method so far for my two different kombuchas. I have already made three bottles for second fermentation that I've flavored differently. One black tea kombucha has cherries & ginger. That is quite good. One black tea kombucha has blueberries. Also quite good. My favorite thus far, however, is the green tea kombucha with pineapple. Yum, yum, yum! They're all slightly sweet and fizzy.

Because the SCOBY baby had gotten thicker and opaque, I decided to bottle what was left in my container and start a fresh batch instead of continuously brewing that batch. I read that new babies don't form when you're continuously brewing (not sure if this is true) and I want to build up a supply of a couple of SCOBYs before doing more continuous brewing. Also, I'd like to get myself a 1-gallon sized container to do this in, preferably something with a spigot but the only ones I've seen have either plastic or metal spigots. I've just been ladling it out a bit at a time so far and that has been working.

Just to show how quickly the baby forms, check out these pictures of my green tea SCOBY over a three day period. The last picture shows the much smaller mother culture and the new, larger baby above it.

Next up will be my foray into water kefir, which is also a probiotic loaded drink. I've just ordered some live water kefir grains from an eBay vendor and will document the process here as well.

UPDATE: While doing my grocery shopping at my local Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, I found a 1 gallon glass "cracker jar" container for under $6.00. It was just what I was looking for and the cheapest I've seen thus far. They had sun tea jars with spigots but they were plastic, so I passed on them. After washing thoroughly, I put my green KT in it and topped it off with some fresh brew.

New way to order @ McDonald's! Love it!

2009-09-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

My Kombucha!

2009-09-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure how I got interested in kombucha again. What is it and why should I drink it? The last time I brewed my own kombucha was 15 years ago when a classmate introduced me to it. She had problem skin and was told it would help clear it up. I don't remember why I was interested enough in it to make me want to drink it. What I do remember is that I made it in a large Tupperware bowl (not recommended anymore!) on top of my fridge and that I didn't have any instructions other than how to make it. The internet was new to me back then and I didn't think to look it up. However, with a 2 year old at home and me going to school full-time, it fell by the wayside. Back then, my friend gave me a nice big healthy SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) with which to brew my kombucha, but this time I didn't have one of those.

I started my first batch on 9/2/09 with some sweet black tea and a 16 oz. bottle of High Country Original Kombucha I purchased at Whole Foods. By this time, I had ordered a small SCOBY from a vendor on eBay, which I received on 9/6/09. I started the second batch that day with some sweet green tea. After 7 days, my first batch has formed a small SCOBY on the surface. It's still quite thin, getting a bit opaque, and has a couple of chunks of culture that were in my bottle of prepared kombucha. The smell is wonderful! It is still on the sweet side with a slight tang. The color has also changed from a typical black tea to what looks more like green tea. I need to let it go for a couple more days probably before I decant it. I'll let it sit on the counter, capped, for a couple of days further to let it develop some fizz (hopefully). I'm just afraid it'll explode!

The second batch (with the purchased SCOBY) still has a way to go. The SCOBY is resting on the bottom of the container and little chunks of a new culture are forming on the surface of the tea. It doesn't have the wonderful fermented smell yet, but it's young. I can't wait to taste the difference between the black tea and the green tea kombuchas.

I also want to try putting fruit and ginger in my tea when I decant it. I have some cherries, blueberries, and cranberries to add. Maybe even pineapple? I really love GT Dave's Kombucha drinks, especially the Synergy line. I'm especially fond of the Guava Goddess. I can see blending the homemade kombucha with some guava juice to get the same effect. Yum!

I'll post more on this later.

New QAYG Table Runner

2009-08-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to try another QAYG (quilt-as-you-go) quilt but I'm settling for a table runner at this point. I couldn't decide which method to use but decided upon the one that uses sashing strips for the front and back, and makes a completely reversible quilt. I decided upon autum colors and found a lovely batik and a fall leaves print. I'm using blocks that finish to 6" and are not pieced, just quilted. Hopefully I can finish it by Sunday as I'm kinda busy this weekend. I chose to hand sew the sashing strips down on the back side and I'm sure I'm happier with the result than I would be had I sewn them down by machine.
It goes together pretty quickly once all the pieces are cut. Bigger blocks would have been good, too. I will put a traditional binding on it in the burgundy colored fabric, which matches both sides. The sashing strips are cut to 1 1/8" for the front and left flat and 1 3/4" for the back and are pressed in half lengthwise. I found many sites online with instructions and here is just one of them from quilterscache.com.

Cutting hexagon templates faster!

2009-08-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many other hexie enthusiasts are cutting their own paper hexagon templates, but I wanted to share how I do it. I have been using Robyn's 2 inch hexagon template. Thanks Robyn! What I do is cut her template sheet apart in rows and then take 1-2 sheets of plain paper and accordion fold them to fit the size of the hexagons. I then put a staple in the center of each hexagon to help maintain the integrity of the template while cutting through several layers. Then I cut around each hexagon shape. This will net me around 170+ hexagon templates per template sheet! Now, if I could only sew them together that fast!

Yep, I'm back to sewing them together by hand rather than machine. It was a great experiment but I enjoy having some hand-work to do while watching TV and prefer the way hand-pieced motifs look more than machine-pieced. I still don't have a grand plan but right now it's all about the journey rather than the destination.

Back from Hawaii...

2009-08-06T01:10:00.001-07:00

and trying to get back into the swing of things. It's hard to do when I've been gone for a month! My body is still on Hawaiian time, which is 3 hours behind Nevada time. I had very limited access to a computer while I was there since I didn't bring my own. I have loads of pictures to go through. I'd like to create a little photo album of our trip, which I've never done before.

The crocheted pot holders and hot pads were a big hit. Now I want to get more sewing done. I have a couple of apron patterns to try. This one, by Mary Mulari, is the closest thing I've found to the aprons worn on my beloved Korean dramas! I wanted to buy one but couldn't find any and didn't want to take my mom's apron from her. She offered but I resisted! My sister-in-law brought it back from Japan for her and it's too cute. If it turns out all right, I'll make one for her. As it happens, she really liked the cap I made for her to wear over her curlers and wants me to make her more in various colors. I've got to get working on that! Gina wants one in purple so she can wear it while on her new purple Harley! I bought the pattern from a seller on Etsy and it was very easy to make but I was looking for something a little more fitted, somewhat like a doo-rag. I guess I'll have to draft my own pattern.

For as long as I was there, there are a few things I failed to do. I really wanted to bring home a bunch of fabric but decided to wait until my last day to go to Fabric Mart. In the end, I had so much to do that last day that I forgot to stop at the fabric store. I wanted to bring home some food but didn't get to that either. I did manage to bring home a few little goodies for my friends and some shirts for Bernie. In the end, though, I think he's just happy to have me home and finally get some home cooked meals. It feels good to cook! I didn't do any cooking at my mom's house and since I didn't want her to feel pressured to cook for us, we ate the majority of our meals out. I'm afraid to step on the scale! Time to get back on an exercise regime and eat better!

Picture taken by my friend, David of (from L to R) his mom, Cora, my BIL, Jeff, my sister, Gina, me, my friends, Tom & his wife, Julie

EPP by machine getting easier!

2009-06-30T23:51:00.001-07:00

I think I like it! This little piece, which I think will be turned into a table mat, took me about 5 hours to complete. That includes cutting and basting all the hexies, piecing the flower motifs and then sewing them all together with the border. I don't think 5 hours is so bad for this.

Once I got the hang of it, it went much faster. **Note to self: Next time, graph my design out and piece in strips rather than flowers.** In this machine pieced method, I think it would have been much easier to assemble that way. It's just so much fun, though, to see a bunch of flowers put together. I'm glad I now have an alternative to hand sewing my hexies. I still prefer the look of the hand pieced, but if I have to make a quick gift, this is the way to go.

I don't think the stitches are as noticable as they appear in the photo. I think the light from the flash just picked up the monofilament thread. I tried using cotton thread in a sample piece but it was too noticable. I could match the thread to the petals but when it came time to sew around the center yellow hexagon, the colored thread was too much, so I decided to stick with the clear monofilament.

Please let me know if you try doing it this way. I'd love to know how it worked out!

English Paper Piecing By Machine

2009-06-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

Today I received my copy of English Paper Piecing By Machine by Julie Higgins. I bought it from an Amazon.com I have no idea why this book is selling for up to $170.00! I was fortunate enough to buy a new copy for less than $10.00!

Anyway, given my new obsession with hexies, I could not wait to get this book. Like me, although this author liked to English paper piece by hand, she wondered if it could be done by machine. I really like the projects shown in this book and I went to work right away to see if I could do it. She happens to whipstitch the pieces together with right sides facing, just as you'd do it by hand, except she does it on her machine. I didn't like the way mine looked because with this method the thread was very visible. I tried it with monofilament thread but because I had to remove the piece from the machine after sewing each joining seam, the monofilament unraveled.

In the end, I decided to assemble the flowers my own way, which is not covered in the book, by butting the pieces together and sewing them flat with a narrow width (2.5 to 3.0) zig-zag stitch with a length of 1.4. I tried them with both right sides facing up and wrong sides facing up. I prefer to sew them with right sides facing up so that the monofilament is coming off of the spool and the regular cotton thread is in the bobbin. This produces the result in picture #4 and in the flower on the right-hand side in the examples below. The flowers on the left-hand side were assembled by hand, the traditional way.

The result was just satisfactory but I did enjoy the speed by which I could put a flower together (about 20 minutes). I will have to experiment more. I think the book is very inspirational and the projects are certainly do-able with this method.

The Tiger Who Came To Tea

2009-06-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Football camp then Hawaii, woohoo!

2009-06-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

My oldest son left for football camp in Utah this morning. He will come back on Thursday and then Friday night we head for the airport for our early morning flight to Hawaii. I'm not getting excited yet. I usually don't until I start to pack, which I always leave until the last minute. I try to make a list ahead of time so it's just a matter of gathering things together, then I pack my list in the suitcase so I don't forget to bring anything home with me. My mom has requested that I bring her some Chicharrones from a Mexican meat market or carniceria that she likes here. Yes, they make Chicharrones in Hawaii but they are more expensive and she wants a bunch. In fact, my cousin, John, who came here and made me some pinacbet, has also requested I bring some for him, along with dried cherries from Trader Joe's. It seems that they are hard to come by (or are too expensive) in Hawaii. A friend at work makes cookies with them and he wants her to make some for him. At least he promised to let me taste them!

I know Anthony is just less than 2 hours away but I miss him. Chris is excited because he gets me all to himself. This is Anthony's last high school football camp and I'm pretending that this is how I'm going to feel when he leaves for college. I don't like this feeling! Can you imagine that he doesn't want to go to Hawaii with me? He wants to hang out with his friends here for the summer. I told him that any of his friends would love the chance to go to Hawaii and that he's only going to be there for 12 days before he has to come home for football practice. This may be the last time I can get him to Hawaii with me as I don't know where he'll be after graduation. I'm hoping he can get accepted at the University of Hawaii so I can make more excuses to visit my family, yet if he goes to the University of Nevada, Reno or even University of Nevada, Las Vegas, I'd be happy to get to see him more often. I just hope he gets in somewhere as his grades aren't the greatest and he hasn't taken the SATs or ACT yet so we don't know what scores we're dealing with. Oh my son! Sometimes I want to smack him for not taking school more seriously! Now that he's going to be a senior he can see what we've been trying to drill into him for years, but I'm afraid it's too late. I know I'm not fun to be around sometimes as I usually get on the subject of school and then it turns into lecture hall, but as a mom, I only want what's best for him.

On the needles/hook? I've been crocheting more pot holders as this is so relaxing to me at night. I've been trying to set more time aside to work on my hexies but the crochet has been winning out. I even went to my opthalmologist to get a different contact lens for my right eye so that I don't have to wear my reading glasses so much anymore. I'm used to the change in vision that the two different lenses cause temporarily. I used to feel a bit nauseous when I first put my lenses in but now I don't. It's great.

Weenie Hut Jr.

2009-06-17T21:28:00.000-07:00

The other day, the kids and I were watching Spongebob Squarepants and this episode came on. I remarked how much my little one, Chris, looked like one of the fish in the Weenie Hut Jr., the one with the braces and glasses. Of course, he took offense, and I don't blame him. I think it's pretty cool. I love my Chris!!!!!!!

Hot Pads

2009-06-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

I saw these two hot pad patterns and just had to try them. They both look way more difficult than they actually are. In fact, once you make one of each you've basically memorized the patterns.

Here is the pattern for the flower shaped Starburst Hot Pad.
The assembly video is a must see as the pattern is not well written.

Here is the pattern for the Crochet Flower Hot Pad.

If you are a Ravelry member, you can see more great examples of both of these!

Richard Armitage is bringing sexy back!

2009-05-27T00:22:00.000-07:00

Found this fan vid on YouTube, of course!

I first became aware of Richard Armitage from watching the final two episodes of the Vicar of Dibley, which was one of my favorite British comedies, starring Dawn French as the vicar. I then saw him in a BBC miniseries called North & South. He is one very handsome man! Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so. He looks like he coule be the UK's answer to Hugh Jackman. His fan base is kindof freakish in their demonstrations of admiration as evidenced by the following clip. Enjoy!:

Whack-A-Kitty

2009-05-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

Have a great weekend!

Canned and good to go!

2009-05-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

After doing my research on canning/preserving, I ran out to the store this morning and bought some 1/2 pint canning jars, which I think are a much more manageable size for my marmalade. I reheated the marmalade and sterilized my jars and rings, etc. I followed the instructions here. The coolest thing is hearing the little "popping" sound the lids make when they seal as they're cooling. I knew I was on the right track then. The only bad thing is that I think I lost some of that pretty pink color (it darkened a bit) when I reheated it. I'll do better next time for sure. I canned 5 jars and put the remainder in the fridge to enjoy now. All I have to do is figure out who I'll share these goodies with.

Pink Grapefruit Marmalade

2009-05-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to find a jar of Elsa's Story Pink Grapefruit Preserves at Home Goods. I think I paid under $6.00 for it. It was amazing! I was hooked and immediately wanted to make some for myself. Only problem was that I had never made preserves or marmalade before and didn't know how to proceed. I Googled for recipes and when I found this one on Recipezaar.com, it sounded too good to be true. Too easy! I figured I had nothing to lose but a couple of grapefruit and some sugar. I happened to be watching the final season of Ballykissangel on DVD and one of the episodes involved a jam making competition. That was the impetus I needed to get off my butt and make the marmalade. Since I altered the recipe and process a little, I'll post the recipe here so I don't forget what I did.

Pink Grapefruit Marmalade

3 red grapefruit
1 kilo white sugar
6 tbsps. Realemon lemon juice

Place grapefruit in pressure cooker and add enough water to cover fruit halfway. Cook on high pressure 40 minutes. Release pressure and remove fruit to a large bowl with a large spoon so as not to lose any pulp. Cut fruit with a fork and knife into small pieces. Add lemon juice. Pour cut fruit into a large pot and add sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. If you have a thermometer, bring to jel stage or 220 degrees. I did not have a thermometer so I just had faith that it would turn out.

Since I made this marmalade on the spur of the moment, I didn't think enough ahead to get some canning jars so I made a quick dash to the store and bought some pint containers. I figured that whomever I gave the marmalade to would just have to consume it all within 3 weeks or risk food poisoning. I was assured by one friend that this wouldn't be a problem and after tasting it, I am sure it won't be!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

2009-05-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

Glue stick basted hexagons

2009-05-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I blogged about this already but I guess it must have been a dream. I've been making my hexagons like this lately for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's much faster than basting with needle and thread and secondly, my eyesight isn't what it used to be. I've realized that I need reading glasses to see what I'm doing, especially since I am making such small stitches and using needles with tiny eyes. Also, I don't see too well when I'm up at 2:00 a.m. trying to sew! I don't sleep well at all these days. In fact, I have to be completely exhausted in order to fall asleep and stay that way. I'm thinking it might be the dreaded "change of life". Anyway, back to the glue stick basting...in case you're concerned that it will be difficult to remove the papers once the hexagons are sewn together, don't be. They release just fine! I honestly haven't come across a reason not to do it this way, especially since the glue will come off in the wash and the glue sticks are readily available in any drug store and are very inexpensive! Try it, you'll like it.

My new computer

2009-04-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

My husband thinks he's pretty slick. He went behind my back and bought me a new notebook to replace the one that died. It's pretty nice but as with any new computer, you have to get used to a different keyboard.

I'm having fun playing with it. I still haven't looked at the manual, so I don't yet know what I'm missing.

I'm still plugging away at my hexagon flowers. I am now up to 3 colors, purple, pink, and teal. They all have the same yellow centers so although they're different, they work together. I only have 22 flowers put together so far but I've been steadily making at least 2 per day. I'm also testing the washable glue stick method of basting. Much faster but I don't know how great it will be when it comes time to remove the papers. The glue really sticks!

I also made a little zippered wristlet upon which I've appliqued a teacup. I just wish I put in a layer of batting or interfacing to give it a little structure, but then again, I really didn't think it would turn out.

My first Tim Tam and a tuna casserole recipe

2009-04-21T00:48:00.000-07:00

OMG! These biscuits are to die for! Steph and I stopped by the British Grocers store on Decatur/Twain this afternoon for a look-see as we had never been there before. We were used to getting our stuff at International Marketplace but were curious. They had all kinds of goodies but we found the prices of their products to be quite high. I understand that as a small store they can't buy as much as International Marketplace and keep their prices down. I did love their selection, however, and will be back. They carry frozen bangers, crumpets, scones, and other yummies as well as dry goods. Having heard about the delicious Tim Tam biscuits, I just had to get some. I also bought a couple of small bags of Smokey Bacon flavored crisps for Chris (whose favorite food in the world is bacon).

If you don't like tuna casserole, please look away now.

What do you do when you look at the clock and realize it's 7:30 pm and you haven't cooked dinner yet? I made tuna casserole!

1 16 oz pkg elbow macaroni
1 10 3/4 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 10 3/4 oz can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 soup can full of milk
2 6 oz cans tuna
2 cups shredded cheese (I used Fiesta blend)
salt & pepper to taste

Cook macaroni according to package directions, though I like to cook mine a little longer. Drain and set aside. Combine the rest of the ingredients except the cheese. Stir to blend completely. Add cooked macaroni and stir. Add cheese and stir to blend completely. Serve as is or transfer to a greased casserole dish, top with crushed Ritz crackers and melted butter and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until bubbly. I didn't have crackers on hand and we were to hungry to wait for that anyway. I served mine with homemade dinner rolls. A salad would have been good, too.

Framed hexagons - quilt-as-you-go

2009-04-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my fabulous husband made me a couple of Lexan hexagon templates. Okay, I hounded him until he made them to shut me up.

I saw some projects that people made with this framed hexagon technique and just had to try it, particularly since it's quilt-as-you-go. I found the instructions and templates at OzQulits.com. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't have patience to wait for things and I especially didn't want to wait for a couple of templates to come all the way from Australia. Besides, for what purpose is my 3-car garage filled to the hilt with power tools of all sorts other than to make whatever I desire? Ha! (and that's not exactly what he'd say if I told my husband that!) Anyway, the templates for sale were 5" and 7" but I wanted them to be 6" and 8". "No problem", he says, and these are what he made for me. In fact, after seeing the completed hexies, he offered to make me a 10" template. See why I love him?

He made these templates from 1/8" Lexan (similar to plexiglas) so I can just position them over my fabric and rotary cut them. So quick! Also, because they're clear, I can fussy cut the fabrics if I want. I may offer a set on my Etsy shop to see if anyone else wants one.

I must tell you that like any sewing project, pressing is absolutely essential. I tried to do one without pressing and it was not pretty. Also, I found that for me, a small (1.8 L X 3.4 W) zigzag stitch was much easier for me to handle than a straight stitch. I really didn't have the desire to hand stitch these. I will, however, whipstitch them together by hand when I'm ready to connect them. I can get 8 of these hexies from one fat quarter for the front motif. I'm not sure how much of the backing fabric I've used. This is a fun little project and I can see these turning into a table runner. On their own, they make cute coasters.

Hexagon quilting - English paper piecing

2009-04-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

The other night I saw some hexagon quilts and found them to be so pretty. I don't really want to undertake that kind of endeavor at the moment but still want to make something with these pretty little English paper pieced hexagons. I saw that some people turned them into coasters, purses, placemats, etc. I also wanted some handwork to take with me while hanging out with my friends at our weekly get together. These were perfect to work on! I adapted one of the little wallets I made into a mini sewing kit. It held everything I needed: templates, scissors, needles, pins, bobbins full of thread, and fabric strips. So neat and tidy and takes up as much room as my cell phone. Since the picture was taken, I have added a magnetic strip up the middle to hold my pins and needle while I'm sewing. I have lost one needle in Bernie's keyboard already and almost lost a needle a couple of times while sewing in my recliner. That wouldn't have ended well.

I appliqued one of the flowers to a hot pad but in a moment of "not-so-brightness" used monofilament thread! Yikes! I can still use it but have to turn it over and put the hot object on the back side so as not to melt the thread. Can you say, "Duh"!!?? I plan to make coasters as well as a table runner. These projects are very quick and so satisfying. I've seen the flowers appliqued to tote bags and jeans as well. Now I just have to figure out how I want to back them and I'll be good-to-go.

I also wanted to show the method I use to baste and piece these motifs. Some people pierce the paper when they baste. I do not. This way, I can reuse the same template several times. This example is the fourth motif I've made with the same set of templates. Thrifty or lazy? I found these templates online but I have since made my own using Microsoft Word. I tried printing on cardstock because I thought they'd last longer, however, I think I like regular printer paper instead for ease of removal. Keep watching to see where these little flowers end up!

Computerless!

2009-04-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to blog for awhile now but I am on my husband's desktop. My laptop is dead. I had a Gateway that was about 4.5 years old and was working just fine, especially since Bernie wiped the hard drive for me and we re-installed all my stuff. It ran so much faster without the extraneous crap on it. I went to turn it on a week and a half ago and the "on/off" button was stuck. We called the computer guy who came and fixed Bernie's laptop a couple of weeks earlier and he couldn't get the cover off while at my house so he took it home. Long story short: it would cost about 1/3 of what he thinks it's worth to fix it. No matter that we paid $1300 for it when we got it. He thinks I can find a comparable one for about $400. Maybe, but who wants comparable when I can get BETTER! In fact, I saw one the other day for about $600. Wow! I had no idea what is out there for the price! I'll be getting another laptop soon, when I can be assured the purchase won't leave us hurting, after the mortgage, bills, groceries, and other necessities are paid for. In the meantime, I can use Bernie's or Chris' computers.

What have I been working on? More potholders in that double-thick crochet pattern, some reverse applique coasters, padded paperback book covers, magnetic bookmarkers, and small bifold wallets. I even made myself a new tea wallet tonight. Sounds like a lot and it is, but I've been having fun. I love my book covers! I used to make them years ago, before I knew my way around a sewing machine. They were ugly but functional. I used to make them out of quilted placemats back then. The new ones are so pretty, especially with matching bookmarkers. The bookmarkers are quick and easy and I can dig into my scrap bag and find enough fabric for several. I've given a few as gifts already. I have really enjoyed the reverse applique coasters. I've been wanting to teach myself the different techniques for applique and this one was first. I found a tutorial on The Sometimes Crafter and they looked so easy I just had to try them. Mine turned out just too cute! I have already given away two sets. One set I liked in particular because I used Chris' old blue jeans as the main fabric and appliqued a hawaiian print to them. They were a gift to a friend who loves Hawaii. I'll make those again! Too bad I didn't get pictures of those! I think for my next foray into applique, I'll try this technique from A Few Scraps' blog. I don't use disposable fabric softener sheets anymore but I saved some of my used disposables for just this purpose. I hope to be able to post pictures soon.

Saturday morning tea

2009-03-22T01:09:00.001-07:00

Double thick single crochet potholders

2009-03-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

This past Monday, a very nice lady approached me when she noticed one of my crocheted flowers. I gave one to her and in exchange she showed me a stitch I had never come across in my 35+ years of crocheting! It is made by crocheting into the back loop of the current row and a loop of the previous row at the same time. This produces a single crocheted piece that is double in thickness compared to a regular single crochet. She then gave me 3 potholders that she crocheted this way. How nice! I was happy to share my treasures with Leah and Steph. Unfortunately, mine now sits next to my chair, partially dismembered because I forgot how the potholder was made by the time I got home. Thank God for the sample because now I can share it with you!

Mine is made with a size "H" crochet hook and two colors of Lily Sugar 'N Cream cotton.

Chain 26. Turn and single crochet in the 2nd ch from hook and in each ch across, which makes 25 single crochets. At the end of every row, ch 1 then turn.

From here to the end of the potholder, put hook into the back loop of the current row and the corresponding loop from the row below. Make sure you continue to have 25 sts every row. I found the last stitch to be the most difficult to make because the stitch from the previous row is a bit tight.

When the piece is of the desired length, you will put the hook in the the two loops as usual, however, you will make a slip stitch instead of a single crochet. This will finish off the top of the piece nicely. Create a hanging loop if desired by chaining 7 or 8 and attaching next to beginning chain. Chain 1, turn and single crochet into the loop. Fasten off and weave in ends.

I did some baking this weekend and this potholder was sufficiently thick to protect my hands from the heat.

Sewing on Friday, yippee!

2009-03-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have two kids at home sick? Well, I spent a few hours sewing! The big kid had an upset tummy and the little one is getting over the flu. They were both parked in front of their TVs and didn't even notice I was in another room.

I've been wanting to make something out of these quilt squares I bought last summer when I was back home in Hawaii. The obvious thing would have been a quilt but I wasn't in the mood to devote that much time and I really have been wanting to make a runner for my coffee table anyway. I chose to make it very simple, using just three of the five prints available in my pack, backing it with microfleece and choosing to turn and topstitch rather than sew a binding on it. Also, as far as quilting it, I chose to machine tie it. I thought it might be neat to tie buttons on every intersection but it would have created an uneven surface upon which to rest a drink and I didn't want that.

After I finished with my table runner, I decided to make a little runner for the boys' bathroom to place their toiletries upon. Anthony vetoed it but as soon as he's not home I'll get my way!

Next, I wanted to treat myself to what was left of my Mary Englebreit fabric. I had made some pads for my Etsy shop out of it and always loved it because of the teacups and teapots, but hadn't made anything out of it for myself. I had just enough for two new pads and a matching zippered pouch. I love them! I swear, next time I see this fabric, I'm buying a few more yards of it and treat myself to a few more things.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

PG Tips Commercial with Monkey & Al

2009-03-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

Love this commercial!

How about those outtakes?

Wallace & Gromit for PG Tips

Keeping my tea warm and a new round ripple

2009-03-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

I was reading Steph's Cup of Tea today and in a previous post she asked if people drink tea at work and how they do it. That post reminded me of Betty, a very lovely, older British lady I used to work with. She made tea in her favorite rose covered cup several times a day and stashed her biscuits in her desk. As far as I can remember, she was our lone tea drinker. I was a coffee drinker in those days but I still loved watching her drink her tea. Betty resembled Maxine (from Hallmark cards) in both appearance and demeaner, but I liked her and she liked me. It was an honor as she didn't like a lot of people.

This got me thinking about how I used to keep my large mug of coffee warm at my desk and that I tried keeping a pot of tea warm like this awhile ago. However, I forgot the most important thing about keeping a pot of tea warm...preheating the pot! Very important! So, today I got out my two little warmers (one is for candles and the other for keeping food warm) and redid my experiment. After over an hour, both the pot and lidded cup's contents are at a nice drinkable temperature, not too hot. I didn't want to waste the water from my tea kettle for preheating the pot, so I filled it with tap water and heated it in the microwave for 3 minutes with a chopstick in it to prevent superheating. Superheated water is a pheonomenon where water is past boiling temperature but hasn't actually come to a rolling boil. This is extremely dangerous as it can cause 3rd degree burns to whichever body part happens to touch the water. Watch it here and here.

I just posted a picture of my new ripple over at the No End In Sight Ripple Along site. Geez, I haven't been there for a long while. I'm making it for my friend, Leah. It won't be a secret from her for long as I will be working on it in front of her on Monday. If you haven't already guessed, she's the same Pittsburgh Steelers fan I made the flowered hat and scarf for a little while ago. I hope she likes it.

Starbucks London Fog Latte & Hat/Scarf Set

2009-02-15T00:57:00.000-08:00

I have a love/hate relationship with Starbucks. I think they are way overpriced for what you get but I do enjoy a Green Tea Frappuccino on a hot summer day (I'd rather not know what is really in it). I get some satisfaction knowing how people learn to make their own versions of Starbucks favorites, which is what I tend to do because I can't stand spending $2.00 plus for a cup of tea from a bag and $4.00 for a cappuccino that I can make at home for pennies! Call me cheap, I don't care.

Take their London Fog Latte. All it is is a double-sized Earl Grey teabag, steamed milk, and a few pumps of vanilla syrup. How did I make it at home? I feel stupid explaining it as it's too easy. I steeped a cup of Earl Grey tea double strength, frothed some milk with my espresso machine and added some of my homemade vanilla bean simple syrup. I've also renewed my love affair with my Breville Cafe Roma. For the past two nights, I've been using my stove-top Bialetti Mukka Express to make my husband and me cappuccinos after dinner. I made the mistake of saying something about making them on the stove and he asked why, since he bought me this expensive machine that I haven't used in awhile. So this morning I decided to make myself a cappuccino with my machine. So easy to make, so easy to clean, very yummy! This is how I got to thinking about the London Fog Latte. Although I like Earl Grey well enough, I wonder what other flavored teas would taste good like this? I have a Caramel tea and a Blueberry Maple tea I'd like to try.

I know the Super Bowl is over, but I have a friend who is a big Steelers fan. I don't get to see her very often and we miss seeing eachother at our bi-monthly knit nites. I made her this set plus a beret in a very soft periwinkle blue yarn. Hope she likes them.

Now I can get back to watching the BBC series Ballykissangel on Netflix via XBox Live. Being able to watch movies and such instantly from Netflix is so worth the monthly fee. I consider this is what I'm paying for and getting my movies in the mail is just a 'bonus'.

Everyday Dal

2009-02-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Being new to Indian cuisine, I wanted to start making the most basic foods first. I tried a yellow dal, eaten with roti and rice when I had lunch with my friend Melanie. Even though we had a couple of chicken dishes, one of which was chicken korma, my favorite was the dal and roti. I've been wanting to make it ever since. The dal recipes I've seen are either made from lentils, split peas, mung beans, kidney beans, or a combination of each. In my Filipino culture, we have something that is very similar to mung dal called balatong. Besides pinakbet, it's one of my favorite meals that my mom has to cook whenever I'm visiting her. Dal is a good substitute until I can get my next balatong fix.

I found this recipe for Everyday Dal in My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King

1 cup red lentils (masur dal), husked split pigeon peas (tuvar dal), or mung beans (mung dal)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp (or more) salt
1 onion, quartered (optional)
1 green chile (optional)
4 cups (or more) water
1 to 2 Tblsp ghee or butter
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 Tblsp finely chopped onion or shallot (optional)

Pick over the dal to remove stones and chaff. Rinse the dal and transfer to a pot; add the turmeric, 1/2 tsp salt, quartered onion, and chile, if using, along with at least 4 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, partly covered, until the dal is tender. (Masur and mung dals soften in about half the time it takes to cook tuvar dal, which needs a good 45 minutes to 1 hour.) Watch out for overboiling, even with the heat down. It's no big disaster, but it makes an awful looking mess.

When the dal is soft and mushy, pass through a sieve or a food mill, or liquefy in a food processor or with an immersion blender, which saves you the trouble of pouring and transferring. The texture of the dal should be thick, smooth, and pourable. Taste for salt.

To finish, heat the ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. Sizzle the seeds, garlic, and onion, if using, until the garlic begins to brown around the edges and the seeds start to crackle. These sizzling seeds and garlic are known as vaghar in Gujarati, tarka in Hindi. Tip the vaghar into the dal and stir.

I found another good looking recipe with photo here.

Sensa

2009-02-01T22:28:00.001-08:00

I've been battling my weight forever and have tried many diets in the past. I got to the point where I just gave up and said to myself that this is the way I am. While I finally felt free of the stress of dieting, my weight was like having an elephant in the room. Everyone can see it but no one is willing to address it. My friends are so sweet and many of us have the same problem. Usually, we support eachother but sometimes we're eachother's worst enemies since we all like to eat and we enjoy socializing around food.

Last week, I was watching HSN and they were introducing a new product called Sensa. Honestly, it sounds too good to be true but at their introductory price and their 30 day money back guarantee, I felt like I a) had nothing to lose but weight and b) I had to prove it DIDN'T work! I'm hoping that with the use of Sensa, I can still enjoy going to lunch with my friends but I'll have a secret weapon.

I just received my kit and started today. I can already tell that my biggest problem will be to remember to use it. It somehow works with the brain to trigger the sensation of satiety. All I'm supposed to do is sprinkle it liberally on my solid/semi-solid foods and over time I'm supposed to feel full faster and eliminate the need to snack. We shall see!