DIY--Easy Pillow Slip Covers

I’m dedicating this post to my good friend, Justin, who first encouraged me to start a blog. I’ve really been enjoying all aspects of blogging, from thinking up and doing posts, to designing and redesigning (and redesigning again lol) the look of my blog. I’ve really been striving to carry out what I originally stated as my blog’s purpose: to stop just being a wannabe and actually do some of the things I’ve been wanting to do. I’m not perfectly there; I definitely have some big areas that I want to start making waves in (namely being more organized at home and getting rid of the mess haha), but I’ve been pleased with my progress so far. So, thanks Justin; I gave you the blame when I first started this venture, and now I’ll give you the praise! :)

I LOVE being crafty! Really, I love being crafty with a purpose. There are a lot of simple craft ideas out there…..but a lot of them are things that I would never use. I don’t like to make a project that I ultimately won’t use just because I want something to do. So, I look for ideas that I think are useful or practical. My recent pattern has been to search Pinterest after I finish my Facebook time to see if I can find any good ideas. Which is how I found the project I’m blogging about today.

I think pillows are wonderful. They’re fun décor that add warmth to furniture. When I’m at a store, I could spend quite some time just looking at all the pillows. The only problem with them is that they are expensive! “You want HOW much for this pillow?” I feel like asking. I just look at them and know that I can’t really justify the expense, nor would my husband appreciate me spending that kind of money on pillows. So, I was really excited when I came across the tutorial for these easy pillow slip-covers.

The best part about these (other than being easy to make haha)? I was able to get 4 pillow forms for just over $20 total, plus approximately $10 for fabric…..voila! Four pillows done for around $30. Yay!

I followed this tutorial here. However, I'm also going to blog this tutorial myself.

To make your own:

Gather a pillow form, 1/2 to 1 yard of fabric (depending on how many pillows you'll be making and the size; I made 14" by 14" pillows and used about 3/4 of a yard for two), thread, and your sewing machine.

Wash and iron the fabric. Cut the fabric two times the width of the pillow form plus 6 inches by the height of the pillow plus 1 inch. For example, for a 14" by 14" pillow, the width would be 34" by a height of 15".

Iron and sew a rolled hem on both short sides of the fabric.

Place the pillow form in the middle of the fabric, right side up. Fold one side of the fabric over the pillow until centered and then fold the other over until snug around the pillow form. Pin the fabric together at the top and bottom.

Carefully remove the pillow form and repin all three layers of fabric. Sew the top and bottom edges with a half inch seam allowance (I cut my fabric a little larger than I meant to, so my seam allowances ended up being more like 1 inch each; if this happens to you, adjust the seam allowance as necessary).

Turn the slip cover right side out and poke out the corners with a point turner (or whatever pointy type instrument you happen to have on hand lol). Insert the pillow form, and you're done! You're very own homemade pillow!

Banana Almond Smoothie

Recently, my husband and I have begun to endeavor to eat a little healthier and to work out to lose a bit of weight and get into better shape. Towards this end, I decided to stop eating cereal for breakfast and to start making fruit smoothies. Which also means that I have to be a bit more motivated to get up and get things done in the morning; not a bad thing, even if my bed is incredibly comfy haha!

I have been enjoying my berry fruit smoothies in the morning, but that’s not what I’m going to be sharing in this post. While on Pinterest, I came across a pin for an Almond Energy Shake that looked de-lish! So, I picked up a couple extra ingredients when grocery shopping for the week and whipped it up. I can say that it lived up to expectations grandly! It has a fairly light flavor at first taste, but the more you drink, the better it gets. I think that I’m going to enjoy alternating this smoothie with my berry smoothies in the mornings!

(UPDATED 1/31/2013) Gather the ingredients:

     1 1/4 Cups Almond milk

     1 banana, sliced and frozen

     2 tablespoons almond butter

     ½ teaspoon (approx.) cinnamon
     1 scoop vanilla protein powder

     4 ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. This updated recipe makes 1 serving; pour it into a large mason jar and enjoy! Note: with the updated recipe, it won't fill a large mason jar to the brim like in the picture below. It's still yummy though!

Baked Chicken With Creamy Mushroom Sauce

A lot of my cooking repertoire comes from my mother’s recipes. There’s just something about a mom’s cooking! But I’d have to say, one of my favorite recipes of my mother’s to make is her Baked Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce. Not only is it an extremely easy dish to prepare, but it’s also extremely yummy!

This recipe has quickly become one of my husband’s and my favorite meals to make. One of the reasons that I love to make it is that every time that I cook it, the chicken always turns out perfectly done and delicious. It’s one of those fail-safe recipes that you can’t go wrong with.

So, grab the ingredients, mix and bake, and enjoy yourself some yummy chicken!

Gather the ingredients:

     4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

     4 pieces uncooked bacon

     1 can cream of mushroom soup

     1 Cup sour cream

     1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

     ½ teaspoon garlic salt

     ½ teaspoon black pepper

Wrap chicken breasts with bacon strips and place in a baking dish. 

In a small mixing bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and black pepper. 

Spoon sauce over chicken and spread until evenly covered. 

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours. Enjoy!

DIY--Stay-Put Kitchen Towels

I enjoy being crafty, and I like to use my sewing machine when being crafty, because it gives me the knowledgable--"Look, Ma, what I can do!"--kind of feeling haha. But sometimes it's hard to find something that I'm inspired to make because it's too time-consuming, too high an experience level, not something I'd really use, etc. But when I came across a Pinterest post referencing Stay-Put Kitchen Towels, I thought, "Perfect!" They seemed fun, easy to do, and I could make some just in time for Christmas gifts!

They did turn out fun and easy to make, although making 6 at one time was a bit more time consuming than I had anticipated. But it was well worth it, and the towels were well received gifts. They were also the gifts I was most proud of, other than a microwavable neck warmer I made for my husband.

To see the tutorial that I used (and perhaps make your own Stay-Put Kitchen Towels), click here. I decided not to add the decorative strip of fabric at the bottom of the towels like the tutorial shows. Echoing another blogger who also made these towels from this tutorial, I felt that it decreased the usable towel space a little too much. Enjoy!

Happy 2013!

We've made it into another year! 2012 was busy, busy, busy (in a good way haha), and I don't expect this new year to be any different. But who wants to have nothing to do anyway? Boring!

The best thing that happened to me in 2012 was that I got to marry my best friend. Every day, I'm thrilled that I get to be with him, and I'm excited to finish out our first year of marriage in 2013 and see what more God has in store for us. First up will be a cat! I'm excited to add a furry member to our family. Coming soon!

My husband and I kept our New Year's Eve celebration quiet this year; we just returned from a whirl-wind family tour  haha and were pretty tired. But I had enough motivation to whip up some yummy bruschetta which we ate throughout the evening, and then we enjoyed some mint chocolate chip ice cream before watching the NY Times Square ball drop on TV. All in all, it was just perfect. :)

Feta Bruschetta

     1/4 Cup better, melted
     1/4 Cup olive oil
     1 French Baguette, sliced
     1 (4 oz.) package crumbled feta cheese
     2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
     1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
     1 tomato, seeded and chopped

Place baguette slices on a baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil; brush onto both sides of bread. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Combine the feta cheese, garlic, and basil; sprinkle over the bread. Top with tomato. Bake 8 - 10 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve warm.

DIY--Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

Like a lot of other people, I seem to have a fascination with mason jars. In fact, I like them so much, I used them in different sizes as vases for my wedding. 

In addition to this, though, I love all the different types of projects one can do with them. I’ve taken to pinning my favorite ideas to Pinterest for future use.

One of the ideas I came across but didn’t actually pin was for a Mason Jar Soap Dispenser. We had been leaving our large dish soap container on the counter because we didn’t have a nicer looking container to put the soap in, so when I initially came across this idea, I thought it was a great idea and hopefully a simple enough project to put together.

I searched several different websites while looking for a good (and easy!) way to make a mason jar soap dispenser. Some were definitely too complicated, but I finally found directions that were doable! It took me a month or so, but I finally gathered my supplies and took a half hour to make my new soap dispenser. Success! I LOVE the way it looks. Happy days!

To make your own:

Gather a medium sized mason jar (found at your local craft store or grocery store), a pump from an empty soap bottle, a hammer, a nail, and craft glue.

With the lid on the mason jar, place the nail in the center of the lid. Hammer until a hole breaks through the center. Continue to hammer the nail into the lid around the center, widening the hole until the soap pump fits into the lid.

Place the soap pump into the lid. Carefully lift the pump slightly and apply glue to secure pump to lid. Allow the glue to dry overnight. Add soap, and Voila! Your very own mason jar soap dispenser!

Snow!

Last week we had our first snow of the season! Now, I'm much more of a summer/fall type person; not so much a fan of the winter because it gets soooo cold. But I do love the snow. Especially for the Holidays!

We were actually surprised by how much accumulated being that the forecast was for a mix of snow and rain. And of course, a week later, the snow is already gone. But I was so inspired by the beauty of the falling snow that I had to have a snow adventure during my lunch break at work. Enjoy the results below. :-)

"Snow Flakes" by Emily Dickinson

Snow flakes.

I counted till they danced so
Their slippers leaped the town,
And then I took a pencil
To note the rebels down.
And then they grew so jolly
I did resign the prig,
And ten of my once stately toes
Are marshalled for a jig!