Elephant applique

There's more to come. I'm just trying to figure out how to share templates.

For a boy and girl

My sister-in-law had twins in December. This is how behind I am. I wanted to make them something kind of matching, but with them being a boy and a girl, it made a bit of a challenge.

I decided on these cute elephants that I found in an 80's era applique book that I found at a thrift store a while ago. The fabric is some kind of Amy Butler scraps that I had, but I don't remember the name of the design. Anyone recognize it? I think they turned out so cute!

Also, I didn't do a tutorial, but I could if anyone is interested in one.

V-day (or anyday) Towels

I made these kitchen towels today in about 30 minutes. They are super easy and I love how they turned out! The pattern is from Kleio's belly.

Snowman Candy Bars

I was walking through the grocery store and saw the big Symphony candy bars on sale for $1. Actually, they weren't the biggest of the Symphony bars, but they'll work. I instantly thought of these great Snowman Wrappers and thought they'd be great gifts for my kids' teachers. And since my kids only go to school Monday through Thursday, and tomorrow is their last day before Christmas break, I needed something that I could throw together at the last minute.

I used fleece for the hats and homespun cotton for the scarfs.

How To Hem Jeans...

the easy, non-obvious way. Did you know that I'm short? I'm not super short, but being 5'3.5" makes me too tall for petites and not quite tall enough for regular lengths. I hated having my pants hemmed because I hate the obvious look that you get when you just chop off the bottom and make a new hem. And I always buy jeans on sale so I never want to pay anyone else to hem them for me. I don't remember where online I first learned about this method, but it really works great. By keeping the original hem, you end up with jeans that look like you bought them that length.

First, figure out how much you need to cut off and measure it with your little hem ruler. I measured up 1-1/2", which means I was cutting off a total of 3". Be sure to double whatever your measurement is.



Then pin the heck out of it.


Next, sew all the way around the bottom. I used my zipper foot so that I could get as close to the hem as possible. Be sure to remove your pins as you go.


Stop to take a picture of a cute kid.



I finished mine off by serging off the extra and making a nice finished edge. If you don't have a serger, you could cut it off with scissors and use a zig-zag or overlocking stitch to finish the edge.


Here's the final project. You really can't tell they're hemmed unless you look really, really close.

Funnel Cake

Six dollars! Six dollars is what they charge at the carnival for funnel cakes! They are basically deep fried pancake batter for six dollars! Did I mention that they cost six dollars?!

In my hometown, the last weekend of July is the Ski-Hi Stampede. There are rodeos, parades, dances and a big carnival. We took the kids to the carnival this afternoon to ride the rides and of course they wanted food. Food that is so outrageously expensive that we don't buy it. Six dollars for a funnel cake! After a while, it started raining so we decided to go home (and we walk because all of this happens about 1/4 mile from our house) and MAKE some funnel cakes.

I found this site that has a bunch of different recipes for funnel cakes. I made recipe #6, which was a pretty big batch. There were a lot of us, though, so it was about right. I was missing a few key things, like a FUNNEL, but I made do. I put the batter in a gallon size bag and snipped off the corner. And since I didn't have the funnel to measure with, I just kind of eyeballed it until it looked right. Secondly, I didn't have a thermometer or an electric skillet or a fry daddy, so I didn't have any idea how hot the oil was. I just used a deep skillet and did some trial and error. I think the hotter the oil is, the better, because they don't seem to get as oil-logged if they don't have to cook as long. And I had to turn mine over to cook both sides. Some of the recipes say to do that, and some don't. I did.

All in all, they turned out great and my kids think I'm a hero. And I felt better feeding them to my kids because carnival food is just kind of gross. Who knows when the last time they changed their cooking oil was, or washed their hands, or...I think I'll stop there.

Homemade English Muffins

Have I told you about my resolve to feed my family better? In a nutshell, I'm trying to stay away from processed foods as much a possible, so that includes cutting out high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artifial sweeteners, and as much extra additives as possible. Plus, I recently got a Nutrimill grinder and have been trying out new recipes.


I used this recipe for English muffins and I am pretty impressed with how they turned out. They weren't very holey like store bought muffins are, but it might be because I used fresh ground hard white wheat flour to make them a little more healthy. When I added the amount of flour called for, it made the dough a little more stiff than I think it should've been, so you might want to add a little flour at a time. Even without the holes, they are delicious and I've been eating them for breakfast along with peanut butter and strawberry freezer jam. That combination of complex and simple carbohydrates, plus protein is enough that I really am not hungry again until lunch time. Love it!


Also, if you aren't going to be using these up within a few days, you should store them in the fridge or freezer. Mine started molding after about 5 days and I was annoyed! Then I realized that they aren't preservative laden like store bought and I felt better.