Staining Wood

I spent most of Monday visiting my grandparents which is always a great way to spend the day. Especially because they have allowed me to set up a painting studio in one of their extra bedrooms. Since I quit my job back in June I've been really unmotivated when it comes to painting but Monday was a good day. While painting I found a blank wood panel that I decided that I was going to stain for my next project... so I did! And since I had already set up a little working station it was the perfect time to finish up a project that I started way back in March. There is still some work to do on the chair but at least I made progress!

I love how both of these projects turned out! I can't wait to finish them up.

Before

In progress

Now the second half is ready for painting and staining.

  

And here's a picture of my poor cat who was so hot because our AC was on the fritz. He spent the whole day staying low to the ground when he usually likes to be up so that he can see out the window.

Busy Weekend

Here's some snap shots of my busy weekend!

I finished up this blanket which was started last week. http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/windsor-ripple-throw

 

http://www.cookingonthefrontburners.com/2013/07/lemon-blueberry-bread.html 
This was delicious! I would definitely make this again.

Set up a sewing station in my bedroom.

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/11/healthy-stuffed-green-peppers.html

I made this for my grandparents who loved these stuffed peppers.

http://craftystaci.com/2012/08/27/gathered-shoulder-altered-t-shirt/

One of the sewing projects that I finished.

Since I have lost 50 lbs over the last year, I've decided that I need to alter some of my t-shirts so that they fit my new body. Here is the first one that I tried there will be more in the next couple of weeks.

 

Recent Crochet Project that I worked on.

Dying some of the t-shirts before I alter them.

 

Adventures in Baking

Lately I've been baking a lot. While I enjoy cooking, baking is definitely where my passion in the kitchen emerges. I'm always willing to try new recipes and techniques. So here are some of my recent adventures plus a fun little story that happened along the way. Also links are at the end of the post for the recipes that inspired me.

Peanut Butter Truffles with either coco powder, powdered sugar or sprinkle coating

Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream for Icing and Fruit on top

This was quite the adventure. Last week when I wanted to try a new baking recipe. I had already gathered all my ingredients and had turned on the oven to preheat it. When I finished mixing everything and was getting ready to put it the pan I realized something was wrong when the stove started to smoke. Now my mom had recently cleaned the kitchen so my first thought she had cleaned the oven wrong somehow. I checked in the oven and found nothing... but the fire underneath the oven seemed a little bigger than it should be. Finally I realized she must have put something underneath the oven that had caught on fire. Sure enough I pulled open the under the stove drawer and found burning plastic and paper cups. I searched around for a fire extinguisher to no avail and eventually just dumped water on it. Once the fire was out I cleaned for another half hour before I could finish baking what I had started. In the end the Lemon Cake bars were worth all the drama.

After a lot of cleanup

What started the whole adventure

Lemon Cake Bar with Whipped Strawberry Icing

http://www.bakerella.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-truffles/
http://www.cupcakediariesblog.com/2013/06/strawberry-lemonade-cookie-bars-guest.html

Birthday

My 25th birthday is tomorrow. No real plans since money is pretty tight this year, but I did manage to scrap enough cash together for this....

 

Hopefully I will have time tomorrow to make my favorite dessert Molten Lava cakes and when I do manage to throw them together I promise I will take pictures.

Recent Crochet Project

I finally finished making this lap afghan (that I have been working on and off for something like 4 years) and my cat has already claimed it. He seems to like most blankets but has a preference for crocheted ones.

Pillows!

When I was buying fabric for my vanity bench and to cover the boxes, I stumbled upon pillow forms that were on sale. Since I remembered seeing a tutorial on All Things Thrifty I snatched them up. Here's the final result. I didn't get progress pictures because my mom and I made this while visiting my Grandma since I don't currently have regular access to a sewing machine.

And here's the link to the turtorial for making your own!

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2009/10/why-you-should-make-your-own-pillows.html

Fabric Covered Boxes

I've been sick on and off since the beginning of this year which has been making it hard to get anything done. Now that I'm finally starting to feel better I've been busy crafting all kinds of things. The first thing on my to do list was covering my old shoe boxes in fabric. I know there are tons of tutorials for this and I looked at quite a few before starting, but in the end I just went for it.

To start I measured the sides of the box and added at least 1/2" to each side. After cutting the pieces I used spray glue to attach the fabric.

Next I cut a square out of the bottom and cut a diagonal on the side that would be tucked into the box. This is to help the fabric lay flat and make a nicer corner.

 

I used tacky glue to glue down the sides. You can keep using the spray glue but I found that it was getting too messy for my taste so I switched to tacky.

Here's a shot of the inside corner...

And here's how the box looks with the two sides finished.

 

The next step is to cut a piece the is the width of the final side you are going to cover and the length of the entire box with 1 inch extra on both sides. Spray the bottom and sides making sure none of the glue gets on the finished sides. Having a inch extra allows you to have some wiggle room when laying the fabric down at this point. Then just glue down the excess and any part that looks like the glue missed.  

 

 Repeat the process for the lid and you are all done.

I have made a couple of these so far and I'm very pleased with the results. Since the are shoe boxes they won't last forever but they should last until I decide to completely redo my room again.

After

Before