Give Your Medicine Cabinet a Facelift!

 I know this is not really super crafty. But I am so Excited about this project!! I really wanted to do this a while ago, but had to hunt around for wallpaper/contact paper to use.

So here are the details-

That polka dot stuff in the back of the cupboard is contact paper from Big Lots. It isn't the greatest stuff, a bit thin. But it was a fun pattern, a bit retro and matched the bathroom color scheme! I have had my eye out for wallpaper, old or new for some time. It was just way over my budget, or didn't come in big enough pieces. I thought about painting a design on with a stencil or stamping or just painting it a fun color. But that never happened, which was a good thing! It took about ten minutes to put up. The shelves are permanently in place, so we just used three pieces of contact paper. The nice thing was the contact paper was the perfect size width wise. All we had to do was cut it to heigth. It helps immensely to have another pair of hands! It is also very helpful to use all those wallpaper tricks, like only peel a small part away at a time and smooth it bit by bit.

It is amazing how it brightens and opens up the cabinet! And the best part? I have a whole roll of it still! So I can do the cabinet in the new house and drawers and maybe a shelf? And the linen closet could match too!



Snow... Texas Style!

Ok, I know most of you who read this blog live in a world where snow is nothing to get excited about.  But here in Texas any little bit of snow shuts down everything.  And this snow storm is not just a little bit of snow!!  So I wanted to show you some lovely pictures of my snow day.

First we took the pups out to play!

Kip is built for the snow... Whiskers not so much!

 

 

Then it was snow man time!!

 

Kip and Whiskey enjoying the snow!

Lovely view of the yard.

Now it is time to curl up with some hot cocoa and knit!
I hope you enjoy your snow day!

Sweater Update- Heide's Sweater Finished!

 Yes it is done!! There is always a certain satisfaction about finishing a project. It also makes we want to cast on three more projects, I get so motivated!

Overall I would have to say I am satisfied with this sweater. The different dye lots aren't really noticeable, especially from afar. The only thing I am not happy with is the fit under the arms. It doesn't show up in the pictures too bad, but it tends to bunch under the arms/high chest area because of the pleats.(If I don't button it, it is not too bad.) I was reading notes on ravelry and it was suggested that knitters size up to avoid this problem. Of course, I didn't read this until after I was in the middle of knitting!

 The pleats are so pretty. I love them!

Oh, and the buttons I picked up at the fabric store because I loved them and they where on sale. Even though they don't match exactly, I think they go well. This sweater was all about not matching!

 Very generous pockets for carrying the day's necessities.

And the back view. You can see there is a bit of swingy-ness to it. I have not as yet wore it anywhere. Too cold out for a cotton sweater! But I am looking forward to its debut and planning what it will go with in my wardrobe!

Sweet Valentine.....

Happy Valentine's Day!

A new cookie/cake recipe I just tried and a Valentine's message from our sweet Auntie in NM! Doesn't the little pup look right at home on there?

As I mentioned before, this was the first time I made this recipe. Oh my goodness! What we have been missing! At first I was so sad I couldn't make my favorite soft sugar cookies. I looked through my Baking Companion by King Arthur Flour and found these amazing scone-like cookie! They really don't even need frosting, but that was one of the reasons I was making cookies!

These cookies are amazingly soft and chewy because they have yogurt in them! Isn't that cool? The dough is kind of spongy in texture because of it.

Half and Half Cookies
because you dip half of them in chocolate

1 1/2 sticks butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
In a mixing bowl cream shortening and butter with extracts. Beat in sugar and then eggs one at a time, beating well after each one.

4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup yogurt or sour cream
Whisk together flour. baking soda and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients alternately with the sour cream or yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Roll out dough 1/4" thick and bake at 400 until lightly brown on edges, about 10-11 mins.
 

Happy Heart Day

Just had to share the love...

It brings some Spring into our frozen season.

Crazy Cat Placemats

Sometimes fabric just jumps out at you to be taken home, even if you don't know what you are going make. When I saw this bundle of hilarious kitty prints, I knew I needed to make something for my aunt, uncle and their family of cats.

It was also a nice small project to try out modern quilting as I was inspired by the book "Sunday Morning Quilts" by Amanda Jean Nyberg and Cherly Arkinson.

I love the color saturations she uses and the very geometric shapes, also the concept that the quilt is not made up of little blocks, its more like they are pieces of a big painting. When you quilt with this thought in mind, I think you are more able to study the fabric and work With it rather then snip it up and turn it into something different.

After feeling the inspiration build for a few weeks, I began playing with fabric and folding it into shapes that fit together, sewing as I went. I chose one fabric that I wanted as the focal point for each placemat and went from there. Yes, I did tear out some as I went but thats ok.

It didn't take long to have a placemat! I made four in all and trimmed them up to be the same size...relatively. When I put the batting and backing together with the top I then decided to be even more daring and learn about machine quilting. I am very hands on, so instead of reading up about dropping your feed-dog or adjusting the tension, I just started sewing. Since this was a small project it turned out great. I did learn later on a big quilt that it helps to make some adjustments.

Instead of adding a seperate binding, my sister suggested I simply fold the backing up and around the top of the quilt. It was a good idea since a placemat will be washed a dried a lot more than a quilt and less pieces to come apart.

Ready for dinner to be served... Fun idea, if you make some placemats you can stitch a pocket on one side to the silverware in. I like how each placemat turned out differently but they all go well together.