Tutorial Tuesday: Car Caddy

Have you seen the cute as a button matchbox car caddies floating around on the internet? Homemade by Jill has a great one. I used her measurements, but changed it up a bit to make it a little bit easier. I will include my directions here. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the process, but I think that it will be pretty clear.
Directions:
1. Cut two rectangles of fabric measuring 11 1/2" by 8 1/2". (I used one piece of corduroy and one piece of a cotton flannel car print.)
2. Cut one rectangle of fabric measuring 11 1/2" by 6". (In some of my caddies I used the corduroy for this step and in others I used the flannel.)
3. Press the 11 1/2" by 6" rectangle in half, wrong sides together, creating a 11 1/2" by 3" rectangle.
4. Place your pressed piece, pressed edge up, on the right side of a 11 1/2" by 8 1/2" corduroy rectangle. (Line up raw edges on the bottom and sides.)

5. Stitch through all three pieces of fabric in the middle of the set. Stitch two more rows 2 3/4" to the left and right of the middle. 

6. Cut 3" by 11" rectangle out of black felt for the road. Cut yellow gross grain ribbon into five 1" lengths for the center line of the road. (I adhered fusible web onto the ribbon before cutting it.) Sew the ribbon pieces down the middle of the felt.

7. Stitch road 1/2" from the top of the stitched set.

8. Place stitched set on top of remaining 11 1/2" by 8 1/2" rectangle, wrong sides together.

9. Serge around entire rectangle through all layers.

10. Cut two 12" lengths of 1" wide belting. Finish off the edges and sew on the top and bottom of the patterned piece for handles.

Updating Peachy's Room

A while back I stumbled across this picture from the Real Simple website.

Isn't that a great way to jazz up a nursery room dresser? 

I had to give it a try in Little Peachy's room. 

Here is Peachy showing us the before.

Here is the after with new knobs and ribbon. (I ran out. Bummer. Don't worry I'll buy more and finish the project soon.)

Here is a close up of the ribbons. (I decided to cut mine shorter than the RS picture out of sheer practicality.)

Here is what Peachy decided to do while I switched out the knobs and added the ribbons. Yes, she is stuck in a wooden close rack. Yes, she removed the items that had been drying on the rack. Yes, I got my camera and took pictures before rescuing her. Yes, she amuses me too.

Foodie Friday: Fiesta Chicken and Rice

Grilling season has begun! Woohoo! I have been taking full advantage of the warm, sunny days and grilling up a storm. We had this yumminess the other night for our supper. It was deliciousness on a plate.

Ingredients:
-4 chicken breasts
    Marinade:
-4 T olive oil
-4 oz rum or tequila
-2 T lime juice
-2 T chili powder
-1 T garlic powder
-1/2 t salt
-1 T cumin
   Rice:
- 4 c cooked rice
-1 tomato chopped
-1 t lime juice
-2 T chopped cilantro

Directions:
1. Mix marinade ingredients. (I first mixed everything except the oil, then I slowly whisked the oil in.) Pour marinade over chicken and allow to marinade for about an hour.
2. Grill chicken over medium heat until it reaches 160 degrees.
3. Mix rice with the remaining ingredients.
4. Cut chicken into strips and serve over a bed of rice.

Up, Up & . . .

Peachy has mastered a new skill. Can you guess what it is by the title of this post?

Yes, she can now pull herself to a standing position.

Apparently she would like to start a blog of her own.

The Perfect Solution

Remember this skirt?

I decided that it would be the perfect skirt for Easter. The $78 price tag? Not so perfect. Thankfully I had the perfect solution.

That solution came in the form of an envelope from McCalls Pattern Company with the number 5431 on it. After a quick trip to JoAnn Fabrics, an hour of cutting, one phone call to my mom, and an hour of sewing the perfect solution looked something like this:

Did you notice that the yoke on Peachy's dress matches my skirt? I actually made her dress first. When I went looking for fabric for myself I found the piece again and decided we could pull off a little matchy-matchy.

Peachy's dress is from the New Look patten 6878. The fabric was also purchased at JoAnn's.

Tutorial Tuesday: Crayon Rolls

Over the past few years I have rolled out close to 100 of these crayon rolls. They are a favorite gift of mine for children. I also have had many people ask to buy them from me.
Here is the stack that I am currently working on:

The tutorial I use can be found at Chocolate on my Cranium. The only change that I have made is to eliminate the ribbon closure for an elastic loop and button closure. (The top picture has the elastic loop and the bottom picture has the ribbon.) I think that the button closure is a bit more child friendly and neat, but the ribbon works just as well.
Type of Tutorial: Sewing, Child
Skill Level: Beginning Sewer

My Style

I am working on updated my style. I am aiming for a classic, comfortable, and easily put together look. Here are some are my inspiration boards.

A) Hanna Anderson B) DownEast Basics C) Boden D) DownEast Basics E) J. Crew F) DownEast Basics

A) Boden B) Boden C) Old Navy D) Old Navy E) Hanna Anderson F) Gap G) Boden H) Boden

A) Boden B) Boden C) Old Navy D) Old Navy

A) Hanna Anderson B) Hanna Anderson C) Title Nine D) Title Nine E) Title Nine

Now I just have to get out there and find these in my price range!

Foodie Friday: Best Granola in the Whole Wide World

Even if granola isn't all that healthy for you, it still is yummy!! Here is a recipe for some yumminess that I found over at 33 Shades of Green. Hope you enjoy it as much as we are!

Ingredients:
-3/4 c canola oil
-1/2 c honey
-1 c sugar
-1 T vanilla
-1/2 t salt
-8 c rolled oats
-1 c sliced almonds
-2 c dried fruit

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare two rimmed baking sheets. (I sprayed mine with cooking spray, but would suggest using parchment as the sugar got pretty baked on.)
2. Combine oil, honey, sugar, vanilla and salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until sugar is dissolved.
3. Combine oats and almonds in a large bowl. Add the warm honey mixture to the oats and stir until well coated..
4. Spread the mixture evenly on the baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Once mixture is cooled, add the dried fruit.

**Granola will keep in air-tight container for a couple of weeks.

Junking It!

Trash or Treasure?

I recently picked up these two wire baskets at junk day at a variety store near my parents' house. Currently I am planning on using them on the front porch as flower pot holders. Not only will they add personality, but they will also keep the pots from blowing over.

Isn't it funny how what probably was garbage to someone else became something that I was willing to pay good money for?

These weren't the only items that I nabbed. I will share my other treasures in future posts.

Here are some pictures of my mom, my sister Shlebly, Little Peachy and I junking it up.

Tutorial Tuesday: Hip Mama Diaper Bag

I have decided that I am going to feature a tutorial on my blog every Tuesday. It may be a tutorial written by me or it may be one that I have discovered in my blog surfing. I will try to try them all out and let you know what, if any, changes I made when I used it.

The first tutorial I will feature is for the "Hip Mama Diaper Bag." I found this tutorial over at "A Mingled Yarn" when I was looking to buy a pattern to make a new diaper bag for myself. I was having a hard time finding a patten that wasn't your standard issue smallish rectangular bag with two side pockets for the bottles. (You know the type, I'm sure.) This tutorial offered everything I was looking for--and it was free. The bag is a good size. Not too big and not too small. I liked that it has a variety of pockets to keep my stuff and Little Peachy's stuff organized. (I not only use my diaper bag for baby stuff, but also as a purse.) 

Tutorial Rating-- (I will use a three point scale to rate the tutorial with three being excellent and one being poor)

Accuracy of Tutorial: 3

Written Directions: 3

Visual Directions: 3

Type of Tutorial: Sewing, Baby

Skill Level: Intermediate Sewer

I made several minor changes to the tutorial. I only put velcro on the side pockets, not the front. I added stroller clips and a key clip. I decided to use three fabrics rather than two. I also added some ribbon and ric-rac embellishments.

11 Months of Fun!

Little Peachy is now a big 11 month old! She is less of a baby and more of a toddler everyday. (However, she still lacks the one true toddler characteristic--toddling. I am more than okay with that, too.) For a while there, her big developments seemed to be at a stand-still while she honed what she had already learned. These past few weeks have changed that. While she has yet to crawl on hands and knees, she still gets around. She is quick and doesn't let much get in her way. (I love watching her little butt stick up in the air and her little feet kick, kick, kick as she gets up and over.) She had tuned into quite the talker. Today at the grocery store she was literally yelling. I had to keep telling her to be quite and whisper. (Yeah, that did a lot of good.) While she has been saying mama and dada for a while now, I wasn't sure if she was actually referring to us or just forming the sounds. Lately she has very clearly been saying "mom" in a fashion that does seem to refer to me. I am this close to declaring her first word to be mom, this close. And boy does this little girl come with a personality. She is constantly amusing me with silly little things that she does. She can get quite upset and stubborn about things that she wants, but what soon to be one-year-old isn't? She has been demonstrating an understanding and obedience for the word no as of late. (We'll see how long that lasts, huh?) While she has been sitting unassisted for months, she just recently began sitting up on her own. One of my favorite new tricks is that she has learned to clap. Seeing her little hands precisely come together is so much fun. (I have some video I will try to remember to post later of her clapping for cheesecake. Yup, she is my little girl.)

Mama and Dada love you, Little Peachy.

Foodie Friday: Cheese Burger Roll-Up

I keep thinking of the song "Cheeseburger In Paradise" as I write this. (You're welcome for getting the lyrics stuck in your head as well!!)

This recipe is adapted form a KraftFoods.com recipe. (Were you as sad as I was when they started charging for their magazine? I just won't pay for something that used to be free and is really one big ad. At least they don't charge for their website.)

Ingredients:

-pizza dough (I used my regular recipe.)

-1/2 pound ground sausage, cooked (We had this in the fridge and it needed to be used, otherwise I would have used ground beef.)

-1 c shredded cheese

-4 T dill pickle relish

-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

-ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce for dipping

Directions:

1. Roll pizza dough into about an 8 x 12 inch rectangle.

2. Sprinkle with meat, cheese, and relish.

3. Roll dough and toppings into a loaf.

4. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. (I covered mine about halfway through when the top was golden brown. That way the middle could continue cooking without burning the top.)

5. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Cut and serve with dipping sauces of your choice.

My Goober

In a few short days I will be turning 31. Not such a big deal. In a few short weeks, my baby will be turning ONE! Huge deal. I will be posting her 11 month post soon, but until then here are some pictures of my crazy, fun, lovable, sweetheart of a daughter.

Monagram Magnet Easter Gift

Did you scoop some of these monogram magnets up when they were at the Dollar Spot at Target? (You may remember that I have a little obsession with the Target Dollar Spot.)

(Gee, with the amount of times I reference Target in this blog you would think that I am getting paid to promote them. Well, I am not, but if any of the Target big-wigs are reading, a Target gift card would be a nice gesture!)

They were too cute to not put in my cart even though I didn't know exactly what I would do with them. Well, they made their way to my sisters as an Easter gift, but not before a little make over.

You would hardly recognize them, would you? I simply Mod Podged them with scrapbook paper. I chose the paper to coordinate with some notebook/paper sets to complete round out the gift.