29 out of 40's not bad!

September is here.  The kids are all back in school, the apple decorations are up around the house replacing the beachy ones, and I'm starting to think of all sorts of apple desserts to be made.  It has been a year since I started this blog and the challenge to myself to finish 40 projects.

When we moved from what had been my house as a single mom, into what now belongs to Phil and me, I realized the incredible amount of crafting supplies and UnFinished Objects that I own.  That's when I decided on my "40 by 41" challenge.

There are only 29 completed items in the Project Gallery, (38 if  you count all of the Ribbon Wreaths individually rather than as a group) so I didn't quite make my mark.  However, I did cross off eight projects from my UFO list and used up quite a lot of supplies that would have otherwise languished in the Crafting Oasis for who knows how long.  I also had a lot of fun working on the projects, and certainly enjoyed being able to give special gifts to special people.  I did meet the challenge of reading 40 books, but I'll write more about that in another post.

The year of my 40 by 41 challenge is over, but I still have lots of projects on that UFO list.  I intend to keep working on quilts and stitchings, but I am terribly far behind in my scrapbooks.  The last album that is even partly completed was from 2011.  That was even before I met Phil!  I have the wedding album to finish, a school album for each of the kids, and catch up on the past few years.  I am going to start by doing an album for this summer and go backwards.  We had a lot of fun and took LOTS of pictures.  Even though I am no longer a Creative Memories consultant, I think I might organize a crop or two with some good friends, who are undoubtedly as behind in their albums as I am.  It's always more fun to work on a project while chatting with friends, and doing some scraplifting from them too. Guess it's time to make a new board on Pinterest and start pinning some page ideas!

What projects will you work on this year?

Busy as a ...Ladybug

The bees around our house have nothing on the lady bugs this summer.  No, we haven't been infested with ladybugs, at least not real ones.  Yet, I did finish two quilts with ladybugs as the focus.

Five years ago, I had six friends who were pregnant.  One was a two-for-one-deal with twin girls.  I made the tops for two baby girl quilts that were really quite cute.  But like so many other projects,  I never got around to quilting them.  The unfinished quilts were at the top of my pile when I moved everything and got a good sense of what was still languishing in the Oasis.

But it didn't feel right to give the girls baby quilts when they certainly aren't babies anymore.

When I saw the video that inspired the Lime Green and Hot Pink quilt from the last post, I thought that it would be the perfect way to make the twins "big girl quilts", and then when I saw an adorable lady bug pattern that came in yellow and green, all the pieces fell into place.

I chose a several yellows and greens to go with their respective lady bug print, and then reds that would go on both quilts.  I particularly liked the red with black polka dots. 

Using the method of sewing over the squares, the two quilts came together nicely, and quickly. After a lovely lunch out with my friend, she reported that the girls love them.

Knowing that the twins had their blankets, I didn't want their original baby quilts to go to waste.  I have a colleague who welcomed a baby girl to his family in January so I was delighted that I could finish off one of the quilts and present it to her dad.  There is a mix of baby patterns with pale pink checks and polka dots.  This was the first quilt I ever used the satiny binding from the store rather than a fabric from the quilt and I was so glad that I had.  I felt like it added a touch of sweetness to the quilt. And, that's another project crossed off the UFO list!

When I saw the Fourth of July ribbons on sale at the local craft store, I grabbed a few and raided the ribbon buckets in the Oasis for more red, white, and blue.  The result was two more ribbon wreathes.  I gave one to my sister-in-law and kept one for me.

This is the one I gave my sister-in-law

 Finally, I made a quick gift for some friends.  Every month, I get together with a group of women and we play BUNCO.  We eat, drink, chat, and win prizes from each other.  They were bridesmaids when I married Phil.  It just so happens that three of them turned 49 this year.  The occasion definitely needed to be celebrated, so I made them "Forever 49" wine glasses.  All it took was three wine glasses and some glass/ceramic paint pens.  I am not much of an artist, so I just drew some swirls and shapes, and of course, some dice.

Being a crafter brings me a great deal of joy. Knowing that I am creating something for a friend or family member makes it even more special.

Happy crafting!

NOT another UFO!

When I was a single mom, I had an army of baby sitters.  Each one was wonderful and the boys loved them all.  One of the girls who babysat lived right next door to us.  We were pretty close with the whole family (and still are - and we miss running next door to hang out with them) so Monica seemed more like a niece than just a sitter.  She graduated from high school this year.  Two weeks ago I decided that I would make her a quilt for her graduation present.

In the past, this is exactly how I would get myself into trouble.  I would decide to make something for a friend or family member for a birthday or Christmas, new baby arrival, or some other momentous occasion.  I would tell myself, "I can get it done by then!" and the project became one of those items on the UFO list. 

But not this time!

Her graduation party was this past weekend and she was so excited when I gave her the (finished) quilt.  I was pretty excited too.

How did I do it in two weeks?!

First, I had a simple yet adorable quilt pattern.  A good friend post this video from DIYDish on Pinterest a few months ago.  I thought it was awesome and used the idea to make matching quilts for twin girls.  (You'll see those quilts in my next post).  It's a "quilt as you go" pattern, so that cuts down on a lot of time right there. 

For this quilt, I wanted something that suited Monica who is gorgeous, bright and sweet.  When I saw this fabric in the store, I knew I had the focal fabric.

I love the combination of hot pink and lime green and the little bit of sparkle that runs through the pattern.

I chose a light green flannel for the backing and then used a variety of hot pinks and greens that I found in charm packs and fat eighths.

After washing all the fabric, the next step was cutting 5x5 inch squares.  (As the women in the video say, the great thing about this quilt is that you can chose whatever size suits your desired outcome.)  I had purchased four yards of the green flannel. I basically just cut it in half so that the blanket would be about 2 yards long.  

Layering the two pieces of flannel with the batting in between can be a little tricky.  Even though the flannel came from one piece, it stretches and moves.  I think the next time I make this kind of quilt, I'll trim the top piece a little so that it will be easier to have the three layers line up.

After getting the three layers all set, it's time to lay out the squares. I used my ruler to help.  It's really up to you as to how far apart you place the squares, and then you'll probably have to adjust to get the amount of rows you want to fit.  These were set about 2 and a half inches apart.

Here's the whole thing laid out and pinned together.  One thing I learned from making this quilt (and this was the third time I did it) is that you want to pin in between the squares to help baste it and keep the flannel from shifting. 

Next, use a marking pen to mark straight lines from one end of the fabric to the other, a quarter of inch (or a half if you'd rather) across the squares, so that when you sew them down, it leaves a edge that will fray.

I discovered that it was easier to sew down the right sides of the squares with the majority of the square to the left of the pressure foot because that helped hold it in place. Sometimes, the square would get stretched "out of square"

And that's all there is to it. Start from the middle and work your way to the edges and you'll be finished in no time!  I bound the quilt using the focus fabric and threw it in the washing machine.  The more you wash it, the more the edges fray.


It was lovely to be able to give a finished quilt to someone!  Two questions follow - what should I do with the leftover fabric I bought for this one, and what fabric could I use to make the next one?  Goodness knows that there's enough scraps down in the oasis to make about six like this.  I hope you'll try one like this too!

Happy sewing!

Teacher Gifts x 2

I cannot believe that it is already July 1st.  The end of the school year is always such a whirlwind, and this year the kids didn't get of out school until June 25th, which seems much later than other years.

Having been a teacher and worked with teachers for years, I know how much extra effort they put into their work and the love, care, and guidance they give to our children. This is why I put a lot into the gifts the children give at Christmas and the end of the school year.

Sam is in middle school, so I simply baked the Orange Chocolate Chip cookies for his teachers, put them in plastic containers, stuck a thank you note on top, and delivered them to the teachers' mailboxes.  I didn't want to embarrass him by having him deliver them, but he had a fabulous year, and I wanted to make sure his teachers felt appreciated too.

For Brooke and Vince's teachers, I found two clay flower pots in the Crafting Oasis.  I got the idea from my local Jo-Ann Fabrics which had a display of Pinterest inspired crafts at the front of the store, and one was a pot that had been painted with chalkboard paint.  Perfect for a teacher!  I still have a lot of chalkboard paint left from the Chalkboard Ornaments from Christmas, so I was able to use what we already had. Brooke and Vince picked out mini-roses to go in the pots and then wrote their "sentiment" on the pot.  Brooke's says "I had a great year!" and Vince wrote "I loved being in your class."


For Max's classroom teacher and his band teacher (with whom he shares a birthday) I decided to make cookie tins.  I had made some for Max and Sam's teachers years ago, some for some friends, and had intended to make a few more.  I still had three of the tins in the Oasis.  I gathered the two that were in the best shaped (one some how got dented) and the rest of my supplies:

12 x 12 Red card stock
12 x 12 School themed paper
12 x 12 Music themed paper
Straight trimmer
Circle punch
Assorted Ribbon
Mod Podge
Paint brush

First, cut the red paper in half and then punch a hole in the

corner to accommodate the handle.

Second, paint the tin with the Mod Podge.

Place the two sheets of red card stock around the tin

(You may have to trim about a half an inch off the short ends)

Line up the holes that you punched.

Make sure to apply the Mod Podge thoroughly to where the two papers meet

Next, rip the decorative paper into two four inch strips. (You could cut them straight too, but I like the ripped effect, and on a paper like the "Music Time" it creates it's own border).

Now that your strips are ready, paint over the red card stock with the Mod Podge. Place the decorative strips on the tin, centered so that the red creates a border.  Paint over again with the Mod Podge, smoothing as you go. The Mod Podge creates a shiny look, and almost guarantees that the paper is not going to come unglued from the can.  It also dries clear, so you can see where you are slathering it on as you're working, but then it disappears.  

I wanted to use the chalkboard labels I had, but since the black label wouldn't show up on the black paper, I chose to put the label on the lid for the music teacher. I cut the circle of red paper, used the Mod Podge to adhere it, and then quickly put the label on, smearing the Mod Podge around the the edge of the label with my fingers so that it won't come off, but not so that the chalkboard surface is covered, which would make it useless.

For the classroom teacher, I put the label on the side over the school paper.  

After the tins were all dry, I tied some ribbons to the tops of the handles, and I filled them with cookies.  I hope the teachers enjoyed the cookies, and will get good use out of the tins too. 

Have you given homemade gifts to teachers? I'd love for you to share!

My Famous Orange Chocolate Chunk Cookies (and bonus Honey Cookies)

I have loved to bake cookies for many years now, and I always like finding new recipes to add to my repertoire, but there are some cookies that I am known for - the orange chocolate chunk cookie is one of them.  I made a batch this week to take to my nephew's high school graduation and I thought this would be a good time to post the recipe, as so many people have asked for it.

I originally found the recipe in Mrs. Fields Best Cookie Book Ever.  I bought it years ago from a book vendor - the kind who comes to schools and leaves out some cool items for a week - so I don't even know if the book is still in print or not.

Many people have asked if I use orange chocolate.  No - here are the secret weapons for this recipe:
Orange extract and orange peel.
Here's the recipe as printed in the book with my notations in parentheses:

Orange Chocolate Chunk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened
(I only ever use buttered flavored Crisco when I bake)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract
8 ounces semis sweet chocolate bar chopped.
(a bag of chocolate chunks or chocolate chips is fine too)

- Preheat oven to 300 (I usually do it on 350 and cut the baking time)
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt and orange peel.  Mix well with a wire whisk and set aside/
- In a large bowl, blend sugars with an electric mixer at medium speed. Add butter and beat to form a grainy paste, scraping sides of bowl if necessary.  Add eggs and orange extract, and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the flour mixture and chopped chocolate. Blend at low speed just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookies sheets, 1 1/2 inches apart to bake.  (Here are two of my secrets to baking success - I always use cookie scoop, like the ones from Pampered Chef, and I always use parchment - it means I can sweep the parchment and baked cookies off the baking sheet, and sweep another sheet of parchment with dough right on and back into the oven it goes.  The cookies come out nice and even and it saves a lot of time)
-Bake for 18 to 22 minutes (if baking at 350 ten minutes or so will do) until the cookies are slightly brown along the edges.  Transfer cookies immediately to a cool surface with a spatula.

One warning - the dough is fantastic even before it's baked, but don't eat too much!

Another cookie that I baked for my nephew's party is what we call Awesome Honey cookies.   A few years ago, we were studying the Beatitudes in our Sunday School. ONe of the Sundays, the kids made several different kinds of treats with honey, we sold the treats, and then used the money to buy two beehives through Heifer International.  This is one of the recipes we used, although I have no idea now where I found it.

I usually double the recipe to get a good amount of cookies.  I also discovered when I baked this week, that it's a good idea to put the batter in the fridge while there are some in the oven.  The first few sheets came out great, and then the cookies were flatter and really thin at the edges.  They still taste great though, which must be why Sam ate a dozen of them when he was home alone.

Here's the recipe as I first found it.  Sorry, I don't have pictures, but they got gobbled up so fast!

Awesome Honey Cookies
1/2 cup of butter (again, I used Crisco)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Heat the oven to 375

- Beat butter, sugar, honey and egg.
- Add the rest of the ingredients
- Drop spoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets (I used the smaller cookie scoop)
- Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. Cookies will still look shiny.

Well, there you have it, two of my most asked for recipes.  I hope you enjoy them too, and remember, don't eat all the batter!

Love in Every Stitch

   This spring, bumblebees set up housekeeping under the overhang of our dining room window.  As the drive way is right outside the dining room, this can often make more mad dashes to the car by the littlest members of our family.  When the windows are open, I can often hear their buzz as I work on projects at the dining room table.
   And I have been working!  I am so happy to be able to cross several items off the UFO lists and enter their photos in the project gallery.

   First, I finished Sam's football quilt.  How fortunate that I did not start and finish this one all at once, as the boy kept on growing! The "Big Guy" is about to turn 13.  (He calls me "Shorty" much to my chagrin, but somewhere my mother is laughing because I'm pretty sure I did the same to her).   I can't believe how the time has flown and how much he has grown up, particularly in just the past few years. I hope that his football quilt will be something that he will use for years, and always know that there is love in every stitch.

Here is a detail of the hand sewn swirls in the border.
The rest of the it was machine quilted in the ditch. 

 Second, I finished the Fall Log Cabin that I had started before Sam was even born! Originally, I wanted to hand quilt leaves in the large border with metallic gold thread.  Not being able to find the leaf shaped cookie cutters I was going to use as a pattern, I looked at other leaf shapes and realized that they were very detailed for a quilt (translation - too time consuming) so instead I drew swirls - like an illustrator would use to indicate the wind had blown something - and quilted it with gold floss.   At the beginning of May I had a minor, elective surgery (nothing big!) which afforded me a few days of "down time".   Spring had finally sprung, so I took the quilt outside on our back porch and sewed while soaking up the fresh air, and listened to Siri read the newest Nora Roberts to me from my Kindle (I love that feature!).  I am rather pleased with how it turned out, and I already know the perfect place to display it this fall.

The third UFO that I can cross of the list is called Life's Treasures by Gail Bussi from the March 2010 edition of Cross Stitch and Needlework.  The living room in my old house had a "cottage" look to it - all pastels with cream and gold accents.  This piece seemed to suit the color palette well, and I thought the four words: Love, Family, Home, Friends, summed up four of the most important things in life for me. I found a nice distressed gold frame that will complement, not overpower the gentle picture. Now it will sit in the living room or dining room of our new home.

The fourth project I finished recently was not a UFO.  My winter coat is brown and blue so when I saw this gorgeous blue fuzzy, soft, yarn I grabbed two skeins (the color is not as grey in real life as it came out in the picture).  I must have started this scarf about four times - I couldn't find a pattern that I liked.  I tried several, like ribbed and seed stitch, but because of the thickness and the super fuzzy nature, you could never really see the pattern.  Finally I just did stockinette with it reversed at the edges for a little border.  I will block it to make it lay flat before I use it this winter. Maybe I'll track down another skein or two and attempt to make a hat to match!


Whew! Four things to cross of the list. That puts me at 22 projects completed, more than half way to my goal.  I know there's not a lot of time left until I turn 41, but I'll give it my best shot.  The end of school is just around the corner, so soon I'll be working on the teacher gifts I have planned.  They involve terra cotta pots and chalkboard paint.

See you soon!

Easter Cards

I hope you all had a wonderful, blessed Easter.  We went to church in the morning, which was a fantastic service, and then Phil, the big boys and I took a two hour bike ride in the afternoon before dinner.  Now that its nice out (hopefully winter is REALLY over) and we can go on family bike rides, I am hoping it will help me drop some of the weight that crept on too easily while I sit at a desk all day long at work.  Unfortunately, reading, quilting and cross stitching don't count as aerobic exercise.

To help celebrate Easter, I wanted to send cards to family and a few friends.  My card making process starts with perusing the cardstock in the Oasis to see what would work.  I found half a pack of a beautiful yellow and an assortment of pink and green scraps.  Perfect.

I looked through my stamp sets trying to find something that would work for Easter.  Nothing really stuck my fancy, so I headed to JoAnn's and Michael's.  (They are right down the street from each other, which makes it convenient when on a crafty run)  I couldn't find any stamps or stickers that would work, but I did come home with 15 yards of fabric!   (More on that in another post)

Back to my stamp sets I went, and selected one I got years ago from Stampin' Up. While not typical Easter fare like a bunny, basket, or eggs, there two good possibilities in the set.

So here are all of the paper materials, a set of markers, an eyelet border punch, and an oval shape maker from Creative Memories with two different blades.




First, I cut the yellow paper in half to make two cards per sheet.  Then I used the eyelet punch on the right side of just the front of the card.

Next, I cut the pink scraps to fit the length of the card and using the matching ink (I think they were both Perfect Pink) I stamped the flower shape. so that it gave the pink paper a subtle pattern.  Then I cut a white oval with the blue blade and the green paper with the green blade, so that the green would make a nice frame for the white. 

For the stamp, I tested both the butterfly and the flower.  The flower filled the oval space better and gave more of an opportunity for color.  I used the thick end of the markers to color the stamp and then stamped each white oval. It seemed a little blank still, so I made a border of dots with the fine side of the pink marker. 

Here's how it all came together:

For the sentiment inside, I printed out the first and fourth verses of my favorite hymn, "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee":

Joyful Joyful we adore thee,

God of glory, Lord of love,

Hearts unfold like flowers before thee, 

Opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;

Drive the dark of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness,

Fill us with the light of day!

Mortals join the happy chorus

Which the morning stars began;

Love divine is reigning o'er us,

Binding all within its span.

Ever singing, march we onward,

Victors in the midst of strife;

Joyful music leads us sunward,

In the triumph song of life!

I have loved this hymn since I was a child, partly because you can't help but sing it at the top of your lungs.  I think that singing Henry J. van Dyke's words and Beethoven's beautiful music are the perfect way we can celebrate Easter every day and shout the Good News: 

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Happy Easter, my friends.