Sunday, January 30, 2011

Twin Silo's?



  Actually these are two loafs of bread freshly baked!
Recently while reminiscing about my childhood, I told my husband about how we never had store bought bread, unless we were visiting grandma & grandpa or at a church pot-luck.  Mom raised four kids on her own, so we grew up on welfare.
  Anyway, mom only had two loaf pans for making bread, and as you can imagine that wasn't nearly enough.  So she used whatever she could get her hands on.  It just so happened that we would receive commodities once or twice a month.  And there would always be a can or two of juice.  Mom figured if a metal loaf pan would bake bread, why not a metal juice can?
  We would all fight over who got to have the heels!  Imagine kids nowadays doing that!  LOL NOT!
Anyway long story short, my husband promptly went to the store and bought two cans of juice.  When he came back home he said "Honey, look what I bought.  Will these work?  Yep, they sure did!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

swap meet


  Here is the item I am swapping on the Sew Many Ways blog weekend swap meet.  This piece of fabric has been washed.  For some reason I could not get the second picture to load anyway other than sideways. (sorry)
  This piece of fabric measures 77 inches long by 44-45 wide.  The background is white, and there are children, sail boats, dogs, clouds, etc. in blue on the white background.  I think that this is a cotton blend fabric but I am not sure.
Item location: Colorado
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/2011/01/swap-meet-weekendjanuary-29th-30th.html

Friday, January 28, 2011

flower pot candy jars

  Looking for a unique candy jar?  How about one made from a tera cota flower pot and a small round vase, or fish bowl.  That is what these candy dishes are made from.
  The lid is made from the saucer for the pot and a ball knob, (used for the handle).
The decoration is cut out pieces of fabric that has been decoupaged on to the glass (dish part) and also onto the base.
  To make these you will need:
1 flower pot & saucer
1 glass bowl
1 ball knob
fabric pieces
craft paint
decoupage
E6000 glue (or a similar type glue)
clear coat (for spraying finished base)
1 screw (for attaching ball knob)
NOTE:  Make sure that your saucer has a hole in it, or you will have to drill a hole to attach the handle.
  Paint your base and lid any color of your choice, let dry.(you will probably have to use two coats)
Paint the ball knob a contrasting color ( to make painting easier place a small craft paint brush inside the hole in the bottom of the ball knob)  
Next, apply your fabric pieces.  Use a small craft paint brush and paint on the decoupage in a thick coat.  Then apply to the base of your candy dish, and also to the glass bowl if desired.  Once you have applied fabric, paint over the top of it with more decoupage.  Allow to dry.
  After decoupage has dried, spray base, lid, and handle with clear coat.  Set aside to dry.  When the lid is dry take a screwdriver and attach the ball knob (handle) to the lid.  Now you need to attach the glass bowl to the base.
  To do this turn your flower pot base upside down, apply glue liberally to the base of the pot.  Tracing around the outside edge and then covering the rest of the base too.  Now center your glass bowl on the base.
  Place something heavy (like a dictionary or thick book) on top of the glass bowl. 
Check your glue for the required amount of curing time.  When the glue has set and cured you can add your candy and put your lid on!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Fleece blanket sale !!!

  There is a sale going on in my eBay store on my handmade fleece blankets!  Starting at 6:30pm mountain time on January 26th and running until the same time on January 31rst.
  Reversible double thick blankets that are two yards of fabric, approximately 72x 62. 
  I use one of these for kicking it on the couch when it is cold (its always cold here in the winter).  Check it out, for a super deal!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

reversible grocery totes




  This is my latest project!  These are great for a whole lot more than grocery's, use them as a craft bag, toy bag, book bag, etc.  There are actually only two bags here, they are reversible.  So if or when you get tired of one print, just turn your bag inside out and voila, you have a totally different bag/tote!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

craft caddy for the car

  Today I decided to make some monkey bread, but for some reason the dough just wouldn't rise properly.  My yeast was good so that wasn't the problem.  I think that it was to cold in my kitchen.  It was only around 63 even with the oven on. 

  It still tastes good but it didn't look very nice since it didn't rise.  So I decided to post a picture of the cup holder craft caddy I made this evening instead!
  To give credit where credit is due I found the instructions on another blog, you can find them here..
http://sewmanyways.blogspot.com/

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Blue Jean Teddy baby quilt


  Just  finished this Blue Jean Teddy Baby quilt!  It it turned out really cute if I do say so myself! 
Started with a quilted panel and added some jean fabric to make the binding and then clipped it to make a rag border to frame the teddy bear.  The jean fabric was two different colors brown, and blue.
  I will be listing this in my eBay store sometime Sunday January 23rd..

Thursday, January 20, 2011

International sale

  WOW!  I am so excited,today I shipped a purchase to the UK!  This was my first customer from that part of the world.  So far my international customers have been from Canada, Sweden, and now also the UK.
  Most of my customers are from the good ole USA, but it is so exciting to check my sales in my eBay store and see a international sale!
  Maybe some day I will be able to quit my day job and just work from home!  That is my goal!  So one sale at a time! :)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Fabric covered journals GALORE!

  So Sunday was a very busy day indeed!  After doing the usual house work it was time to get busy in my craft/sewing room!  (a little me time)
There was a stack of composition notebooks (22) awaiting my attention.  The fabric had already been cut the evening before in preparation for this moment.  Also the cereal box grade cardboard for inside the front & back covers had already been cut to size.
  With fabric adhesive and disposable gloves (because the adhesive is quite sticky after a short time) in hand I prepared to conquer the stack of notebooks.
  About two thirds of the way through I ran out of the fabric spray adhesive. so had to stop and make a quick trip to walmart to get another can.  That accomplished, it was back to the task at hand. 
  21 fabric covered journals later I stood back to survey my handiwork!  After stopping to fix dinner, it was time to type up the buy-it now listing for my store.  Upon getting the listing typed up and inserted it was time to get some things that had sold packaged and and ready to ship.
  All in all it was a very productive Sunday.  See a journal that you can't live without?  They are all for sale in my store!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Cheddar,English muffin bread recipe




  This morning after enjoying my cup of coffee it was time to get busy putting the beans in the crock-pot for dinner.  And of course that meant some homemade bread was in order too!
  So after a little debate the Cheddar,English Muffin, green onion bread won out.  This is a favorite around here, it always disappears at a rather quick rate!  This bread is very easy to make and goes great with a variety of soups, and beans too!
  Recipe:
3 Tbsp. cornmeal
6 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1 pkt active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups milk
1/2 cup water
6 oz extra-sharp cheddar cheese,shredded; (1 1/2 cups)
  Lightly coat two loaf pans with nonstick spray.  Dust each with 1 1/2 Tbsp cornmeal.
Mix 3 cups flour, green onion, yeast, salt, sugar, red pepper flakes and baking soda in a large bowl.  Heat milk and water until warm (105-115) degrees.  Stir into flour mixture, then stir in remaining 3 cups flour and 1 1/4 cups cheese.  Lightly mix together.
  Divide dough evenly between your two loaf pans.  This is a little hard as the dough is very sticky ( see 2nd pic)  Lightly coat a piece of wax paper with nonstick spray and then invert over the loaf pans. 
  Let rise in a warm draft-free place 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Bake loaves 20-25 minutes or until golden.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake another 5 minutes longer.
  Cool on wire rack in pans for 5 minutes before removing from pans to finish cooling.  (I can never wait until it is all the way cool, so it gets sliced and buttered while still very warm)  Yum!
Store at room temperature for 3 days or in freezer for up to 2 months.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Manicure

  What better way to start off your weekend than with a little pampering?  I can't think of any! 
  Went to the salon after work today and had a manicure.  An hour and a half later bejeweled with blue glittery fingernails, I was ready to start off my weekend! 
  It was so nice to sit and relax and be pampered, after a long hard week at work!  And the best part is, that it was FREE!  This was a Christmas gift from my son's girlfriend. :) 
  Thank You Eva!!!
This is only the second time in my life that I have had a manicure.  Definitely need to do this more often.  If I made New Years resolutions, this would be mine, do something nice for myself at least once a month!
  If you have never had one (manicure) you should treat yourself!  You wont be sorry :)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

eBay auctions

  Every Tuesday in "The Happy Rooster" store there is a game called "The Penny Ante Game".  (It used to be played on the eBay blogs every week, until eBay shut down their blogs)  Sellers get together and list an auction starting at one penny!  Each auction is for 7 days.  There are always great deals to be bid on!  You never know just what you will find. 
  So if you are a buyer on eBay be sure to check out  all of the great deals to be had on the Penny Ante Game!
If you are a seller, be sure to join the game each week by listing a penny auction yourself!  (its a great way to attract new buyers to your listings and maybe your store too.(if you have one)
  Be sure to check it out either way, because you never know what you might find that you just can't live without!
Or maybe its just such a great deal it just can't be passed up!  You can find the game here...


                     http://stores.ebay.com/The-Happy-Rooster?_rdc=1
  Happy eBaying!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Brrr its cold

  It is 3 degrees here in my neck of the woods!  It was windy all day too.  We had a high temp of somewhere in the twenty's!  Guess we better leave a facet running tonight.  Haven't heard if it is going to be warmer tomorrow or not.
We had some snow yesterday but not much!  We are supposed to get some more in the next couple days.  They are predicting that we are going to get into the negatives overnight!
  Going to bed where it is toasty warm!

Friday, January 7, 2011

eBay store sale

  Check out my eBay store for great handmade items, new and used items also!  10% off sale on select items going on from today January 7th through the 16th.  Happy shopping!