Lucky Banner

So, we made another banner for March today. Same idea as my Valentine's banner, just changed the shapes and the color scheme.  Buzz Lightyear helped me stencil the letters.  If you look at the picture closely, you can see a few places where he "helped" too much.  But, I didn't want to take the time to make new stencils, so I am living with the goof ups.  They will just be sweet little reminders of the time I got to spend with my adorable son.

Blarney!

I finished one of the words that I have been working on this week!  Blarney.
I wanted a word to add to my St. Patty's Day decorations. According to the dictionary it means skillful flattery and originates from the blarney stone, a stone in Blarney Castle, near Cork, Ireland, held to bestow skill in flattery on those who kiss it.

    

I cut the letters from 1x6 pine boards with my scroll saw.  Then, I sanded the edges smooth.  Next, I stained the edges and backs with a walnut stain.  I decoupaged the front faces of the letters with scrapbook papers. Finally, I added shamrock shaped embellishments and green and black ribbons. 

Blarney's home is going to be here at the top of one of my kitchen cabinets. 

Friday Fashions #8, Pink Pencil Skirt

So, when I realized my sewing machine was broken this afternoon just an hour an a half before my date with Mr. Right, my initial panicked thought was that I wouldn't have anything to post for FF (Friday Fashions) today.  I don't have any loose beads or jewelry items on hand that I could whip up into an accessory.  I briefly thought about making a hairbow, but I just wasn't in the mood.  I was too darn mad that I couldn't sew my shirt. Right when I was getting ready to just give up on the idea of a post, I remembered this skirt.

My mom and I started this pale pink pencil skirt more than a year ago while I was home visiting. We finished everything but the hem.  Well, life got busy and I never did finish the hem.  Spring came and went, and the idea of finishing a spring pink skirt during autumn just seemed too out of season for me.  Well, a few weeks ago I finally hemmed this skirt.  It is now in my closet begging for me to go shopping for a cute blouse and cardigan with which to pair with it.  I haven't even worn it yet, but I can't wait. 

The front is so demure and no nonsense.   

But then the back has the cutest little kick of pleats. 

Love it!

 Most likely I will wait to wear this until Easter Sunday since I really want to pair it with white heels and I just don't think that I could wear white shoes before then. Can't you picture a skirt like this with a very soft, feminine blouse, pearls, and white heels?  Very Audrey Hepburn. 

Sewing Machine Malfunction!

I can't believe it.  I. AM. SO. BUMMED!
My sewing machine isn't working, will not create a single stitch.  I threaded and rethreaded my needle and bobbin.  I changed fabrics.  Nothing.  Zip. Zilch. Nada.
AAAAaarrrgh!  This makes me so frustrated!  Of course, I am in the middle of several sewing projects (like always) so this is a terrible time for my sewing machine to be outta commission.

 I had my cute purple tee all cut up and ready to sew for today's Friday Fashion.  Of course I started working on it today, right before my self imposed deadline.  Why wouldn't I?  And now, I will not be able to make it for today.  So, so bummed.  And I am in the middle of sewing a green shirt, a skirt with godets, curtains and bedding for my master bedroom makeover, reupholstering an awesome vintage chair, and Lucky burlap banner... My list goes on and on.   Now everything is on hold...indefinitely.  I will take my little machine in to the shop tomorrow and see what they have to say.  Hopefully it is an easy and inexpensive repair and I can get back to sewing soon.   In the meantime, I guess I will just have to finish up some other projects.

Berry Chocolate Flan

I had my Relief Society (women's organization of my church) Recipe club last night.  Our theme for March was "Coming to Terms with Cooking"  We had to make something with a cooking term or ingredient that we weren't familiar with and share it.   My sister recently gave me a chocolate recipe book and I have been dying to try something from it.  Almost every recipe calls for "superfine" sugar.  What is superfine sugar?  I didn't know, so that was my term.  Superfine sugar is granulated sugar is finely pulverized so that it dissolves much more quickly than regular granulated sugar. Bartenders use it for its dissolving properties, and it is often called for in light or uncooked desserts such as meringues, mousses, and soufflés.  It comes in a little box at the grocery store if you are lucky.   I wasn't.  So, I made my own by running granulated sugar in my food processor until it was a little powdery.

I made a berry chocolate pudding that was delicious for mature taste buds that like a dark chocolate.  All of the women last night RAVED about it.   I had a little extra that I made in little custard dishes for the boys so that they could try it too.  Their taste buds weren't mature enough and they hated it.  So, this recipe is great for adults, but it isn't very kid friendly.  But doesn't it just look scrumptious?  

Berry Chocolate Flan

Pie Crust:

1c flour

¼ c unsweetened cocoa

½ c confectioner’s sugar

Pinch of salt

6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 egg yolk

Filling:

1 ¼ c heavy cream

2/3 c blackberry or raspberry jelly

8 oz semisweet chocolate chips

2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Sauce:

1 lb 6 oz berries (blackberries, raspberries, strawberries in any combo)

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp superfine sugar

2 tbsp berry syrup

Sift the flour, cocoa, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Place the butter and egg yolk in a center and mix into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter.  Knead lightly and form into a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hr.

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out dough on lightly floured counter. Place in a 12x4in flan pan (or similar sized pan). Prick with a fork. Bake 15 minutes.  Set aside to cool

To make the filling, place the cream and jelly in a saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate. Then stir in the butter until melted and smooth. Pour mixture into pie shell and set aside to cool.

 Place about 6oz of the berries onto the cooled chocolate filling. 

Then put the remaining berries, lemon juice and superfine sugar in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the berry syrup.   Drizzle over the top of the berries and filling.

Serve the flan with the remaining sauce on the side.

Cull Lumber

I don't have any finished projects to share even though I promise I have been spending my naptimes and evenings crafting.  Yesterday and today I have been busy drafting patterns and then subsequently cutting out letters on my scroll saw, sanding their edges and then staining the backs and sides with walnut stain.   I have cut out a total of 30 letters and all of them are now stained and ready for me to mod podge.   I can't wait to show you the projects ( but I don't want to spoil the reveal).  Just be patient.  I might have a word done by tomorrow night.
Do you know what cull lumber is?  At Home Depot go to the back of the lumber section.  There is a pile of wood there called cull lumber.  When people buy planks and have them cut them, any extra pieces that they don't want are put into this pile.  It is the clearance lumber.   There is usually a ton of it and the store sells each piece for $0.51.  A regular 6 foot 1x6 pine plank might be about $6.  But, I can generally find a couple of 4ft lengths in the cull lumber pile.  For my crafting purposes these are perfect!  Theses pieces might be slightly warped or have lots of knots or maybe cracks.  That's why they weren't wanted by someone else. But for me, I can cut around the cracks, knots and warping.   So, I end up being able to buy a lot more wood for a lot less money.
Now I know that most of my readers probably don't have a scroll saw, so you aren't able to copy a lot of my scrolled letters. But, here is something you could do.  There is always a ton of 2x4 wood in the cull section.  You could have that wood cut into blocks and then you could stencil letters onto it, or buy the premade letters at the craft store, modpodge them and then attach them to the wooden blocks.   Next time you are at the hardware store, walk down and check out the clearance lumber.  You might just be surprised at what you can find!

Friday Fashions #7, Watermelon Pink Tee

I decided to make another embellished tee this week.  

 I found these cute tees on clearance for $1 each while I was running through walmart this week.   I decided I wanted to try vertical ruffles similar to Sachiko's shirt on Tea Rose Home.  I made my strips thinner.  The larger strip was 1 inch and the smaller was 1/2 inch thick.  Then I pinned them down the length of my shirt.  Buzz Lightyear finished watching his afternoon movie (Toy Story 3, what else!) before I was finished pinning.  So, he decided he wanted to help me a little.

 He was so proud of himself!  

 As you can see, the strip he pinned is a little wonky.  I had to fix it while he wasn't watching ;)

 Here it is after I sewed on the vertical ruffles.  I loved most of it.  The outside and middle strips are the same length and the short ones are 5" shorter.  I altered the alignment of the pink variegation for interest. 

I didn't like the neckline. It just seemed a little unfinished. 

 So I made an additional strip that I pinned around the neckline.  One strip wasn't quite enough, so I made a short 5" strip for the other shoulder.  That way, the variegated pink color was symmetrical at the shoulders.  

I kept a little space between the 2 strips for fabric flowers.   Again, I got the idea from Sachiko here.  I made 3 sets of circle with 3 sizes each. 

 Then I folded the circle into quarters. 

And sewed over the tip.  Then I unfolded a little, and made another little bunchy seam. 

This is what they look like unfolded. 

Then I hand stitched them to my shirt.  I am done!

My shirt is complete and ready to wear!