Angela – Page 56 – Grocery Shrink

Doll Bassinet or Moses Basket Tutorial

By Angela on December 11, 2012

Wouldn’t a little girl you know be delighted with a new dolly and a basket to carry her in?

For an experienced seamstress, this project takes about 2 hours. Plan a little more time if you are new at this.

You will need:

1 dollar tree basket. This one is about 11 inches long by 7 inches wide (just slightly smaller.)

An 8-12 baby doll fits perfectly. My doll is 12 inches and is from Big Lots. Just perfect for my 18 month old niece. This one or this one would also be perfect.

3-4 fabrics. I chose one for the mattress, and 3 for the basket cover. 1/4 yard of each is plenty–or just scraps.

A small amount of poly stuffing

1 1/3 yards of ribbon

Normal notions: thread, pins, scissors, etc.

Mattress Pattern Piece

1. Mattresss: Trace the pattern with a pen onto your mattress fabric.

2. Fold fabric in half and stitch on the drawn line, leaving an opening for turning.

3. Trim excess fabric leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

4. Turn right side out and lightly stuff with a small amount of poly stuffing.

5. Slip stitch the opening closed and set aside.

For the basket cover: Cut 1 oval

2 rectangles 6 x 31.75 inches for the lining

And 6: 3 x 31.75 rectangles for the outer ruffles. I cut 2 each from 3 different fabrics.

1. Sew each 6″ wide rectangle into a loop using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. (I used a serger to keep it tidy, but you could zigzag the edges if you don’t have a serger.

2. On one 6″ tall loop of fabric only, run 6″ long swaths of gathering stitches on opposite ends from each other.

3. Divide both the oval and the loop of fabric (that you just put the gathering stitches in) into fourths. Pin them rights sides together, matching the fourths and putting the gathering stitches around the oval ends to help everything fit well. Stitch with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, then finish the raw edges.

4. Slip your liner inside your basket and mark each side of the handle with a pin. Be sure to get the widest part where the handle meets the top of the basket.

5. (Note: Before I did this step, I serged around the top of both loops of fabric so on step 6 the hemmed edges would be finished.)Pin your second 6″ tall loop of fabric to the top of the basket liner, right sides together. Stitch with a 1/4 inch seam leaving two openings for the handles between the marks you made with the pins.

The ends will have cute little gathers like this on the inside.

6. Press the seam allowance under on the openings left for the handles and top stitch all the way around to hem the edges.

7. Make 3 pairs of loops for ruffles, by sewing 2–3″ wide strips of fabric right sides together on the short ends, 3 times. Then hem both long edges of each loop. You could do it the hard way by double pressing narrow hems and top stitching or by using a rolled hem stitch on the serger. I used a rolled hem foot on my sewing machine, tutorial below.

a. First start your hem by pressing a small double turned hem about an inch down the strip of the fabric. (since it is hard to pull a seam through a rolled hem foot, I waited to sew my second seam until after the pieces were hemmed.

b. Then slip your fabric into the foot so the raw edge fits into the guide. The portion you previously pressed under is ready to go under the needle for a perfect (in theory) start. As you feed the fabric through the foot be sure the raw edge is always fed into the guide correctly. A little practice with some scraps will have you a pro in no time.

c. It’s a challenge to go over the seam, you may need to use some gentle pressure to pull the seam through the foot. While you have your hemming foot out, hem the bottom edge of the basket cover too.

I had a rough start on this ruffle. But once I got the whole thing put together it wasn’t very noticeable. So relax and have fun with it.

9. Now that your ruffles are hemmed. Divide them into fourths with pins, then run a single gathering stitch around the top. (Hint, if you tighten your top needle tension as tight as it will go, the ruffles will gather themselves as you run the basting stitch. You will see be able to adjust them to fit as you go.)

10. Divide your basket liner in fourths too and pin your ruffle in place, matching the fourth markings and drawing up the gathers to fit. Pin the ruffle so the bottom edge of it lines up with the bottom edge of the basket liner. This was easy to do when the liner was actually on the basket. Then top stitch the ruffle in place stitching right over your gathering stitches.

This is pretty adorable just like this. So if you want to, you can stop here. Or add the next two layers of ruffles the same way, overlapping each row just a bit and lining up the top row with the seam line on the basket.

Almost Done!

12. Use Fray Check or a candle to seal the ends of your ribbon. Then pin in place centered on each side of the gap left for the handles. Stitch in place along the same stitching line you hemmed with.

13. Tie your bows, insert the little mattress and the dolly. Stay tuned tomorrow for the matching quilt tutorial. You’ll be amazed how fast you can piece, quilt and finish it. Great for last minute gifts.

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Bustled Table Cover

By Angela on December 6, 2012

My old buffet was the wrong style for my new dining room. But with so many projects pulling at our budget, buying a new one didn’t even tempt me. I found a few yards of white fabric in my stash (That I have been saving for 10 years! gasp. And that my mother bought many, many years before that.)

I made a simple table cover for the buffet by hemming the fabric into a huge rectangle. (That way I can still use the fabric to sew a gorgeous blouse one day–like I have been meaning to do for 10 years, grin.) The only problem was that the corners pooled on the floor–a tripping hazard and not very attractive either.

Maybe it was the white fabric that inspired me, but I instantly thought of a wedding dress bustle and applied the principle here. Here’s what I did:

1. Fold the corner in half and find the center of the length.

2. Bring the center up until the corner end just graces the floor.

4. Cue the dancing baby while you tack the bustle in place with a needle and thread. (Which is totally removable so you can still make a blouse.)

5. Accessorize and admire :).

Here’s a side by side before and after shot:

I can’t decide which part of this makeover is the best. That it only took 20 minutes or that it was free. Okay, now that I say that out loud–the free part is the best :).

Christmas in My Living Room and the Sky

By Angela on December 3, 2012

Did I ever show you my when my furniture came in and then my new rug? How about my garage sale curtain brackets, finials from the scrapped Queen Anne Setee upholstery projecy, and bargain plain curtain rods from Lowes? I finally put them all together and hung my Target curtains and love it!

Of course, I still haven’t painted, or done moldings, or found any art for the walls. But with a tree like that to look at, I can wait :).

Last week we went to Christmas in the sky. It’s a fireworks display choreographed to Christmas carols on a local radio station. We parked nearby and turned up the car speakers. Lots of cousins were there and everyone danced and laughed. But not many children actually looked in the sky.

Darren laughed that we could have just put a boom box in the yard and had some cousins over and had the same good time without the long drive. And he was right, but somehow stuff like that never seems to happen without scheduling it in like the city did.

And I would have missed Dub pretending to create the colorful explosions with his arms and fists. That still makes me giggle. But very quietly in case my boy with the fragile ego might hear.

OOh, did I tell you about my new love of the Dollar Tree? Oh please don’t tell me it’s all from China. La, la, la. I can’t hear you. Everything in this display was off the dollar tree shelves and I love it. Unfortunately Grant does too. He can’t keep his pudgy hands off it.

I also finished my dining room floor. The shiny poly totally makes the streaky finish okay with me. I will move in my
dining room table tonight. But will wait a bit before the big reveal. I have a bunch of DIY to do still and it’s going to take some time.

So I’ll leave you now with one final shot of my tree. Ah. Isn’t she lovely?

Envelope Pillow Cover Tutorial

By Angela on November 27, 2012

I’ve had fabric and pillow forms hanging around my house waiting for me to be fabulous with them. I had dreams of invisible zippers and piping. But at this stage in my life (you know–6 kids including 2 toddlers and 4 jobs besides taking care of my home and family) fabulous just isn’t in my repertoire. I modified my expectations and got the job done in a few hours.

This is about as easy as you can get for home decor sewing. If you don’t feel like sewing you can buy these covers on etsy for around $15. I don’t sell them personally, but have seen the same prints I picked out floating around there. The pillow forms have no zippers or piping to slow you down, but are still removable and washable and look fantastic thanks to a simple overlap on the back.

I don’t miss the piping at all–and part of me thinks that piping would have given these an uppity feeling that I wasn’t going for at all. These are so easy that you could sew special covers for every season and switch them out on a whim.

I ordered my fabric from fabric.com with a coupon. I love that they have great customer service and free shipping on orders over $35. (They are not a sponsor..I’m just a happy customer.) If you have a piece of fabric that you want to fussy cut so a special part of the motif is centered on your pillow, order twice as much fabric. (If your motif is very large like the one below. If it is a small motif you can order less than that–but too much fabric has never been a problem for me :).)

Pillow Cubes is a great place to save money on pillow forms. I recommend feather pillows, because they fluff up well and never get permanently flatten.

The other 5 of the pillow forms were repurposed from pillows I had lying around. A few I bought at a garage sale for $.50 and just throw them inside whatever cover strikes my fancy. I will say that I knew the owner of the sale and trusted her cleanliness. I don’t think I would buy second hand pillows from just anyone.

Here are the basic sizes to cut your pieces: Please note that these measurements make a cover 1/2 inch smaller than the corresponding pillow form. This gives a nice full appearance to the finished item that makes it look more luxurious. I use 1/4 inch seam allowances since I do this on my serger. If you don’t have a serger, then stitch with a straight stitch and then zigzag over the raw edges to keep everything from raveling. These measurements give a 4″ overlap in the back which is enough to keep the overstuffed pillow from gapping but not so much that the pillow form is hard to insert. All measurements are in inches.

Start by Cutting 3 rectangles. Match the measurements to the size of your pillow form.

10″ pillow form: 1 piece 10.5 x 10.5; 2 pieces 10.5 x 7.5

12″ pillow form: 1 piece 12.5 x 12.5; 2 pieces 12.5 x 8.5

14″ pillow form: 1 piece 14.5 x 14.5; 2 pieces 14.5 x 9.5

16″ pillow form: 1 piece 16.5 x 16.5; 2 pieces 16.5 x 10.5

18″ pillow form: 1 piece 18.5 x 18.5; 2 pieces 18.5 x 11.5

20″ pillow form: 1 piece 20.5 x 20.5; 2 pieces 20.5 x 12.5

22″ pillow form: 1 piece 22.5 x 22.5; 2 pieces 22.5 x 13.5

24″ pillow form: 1 piece 24.5 x 24.5; 2 pieces 24.5 x 14.5

Step 1: On each of the two shorter pieces hem one long edge by pressing under 1/4 of a inch twice and top stitching next to the edge. Time saving tip: If you haven’t learned to eyeball a 1/4 inch hem, try sewing a line through a single thickness of fabric 1/4″ from the edge and pressing on the thread line. After you turn the second time the thread line will be on the inside and completely hidden.

Step 2: Place the larger square face up on a table. Lay the two smaller pieces face down on top of it. Lining up the raw edges around the outside and letting the hemmed edges overlap in the middle. Stitch or serge all the way around the outside of the piece. If you are serging this, using your regular machine to reinforce the stitching at the overlap, since this area will receive the most stress. And use fray check on the corners to keep the stitches from unravelling. If you do not have a serger, stitch with a straight stitch and then zigzag over the raw edges to prevent fraying.

Step 3: Turn right side out, use a corner tool or chopstick to make crisp corners. Then stuff with your pillow form and fluff.

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Amazing Black Rice Chicken Salad

By Angela on November 24, 2012

Amazing isn’t a strong enough word for how delicious this salad is! I used black rice because I saw it at Costco one day and thought I would try it. It’s cheaper than wild rice and is a change of pace from my usual brown rice. It cooks up a deep purple color and the rinse water turned purple right away. I’ll admit that the first time I opened the bag, it looked like I had bought 3 lbs of mouse turds. But that’s the last time I will mention that.

This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, egg free. 🙂 And definitely fitness plan friendly.

The recipe is for one serving, but you can multiply it as many times as you like for additional servings.

Black Rice Chicken Salad

1/2 cup cooked black rice

2 oz cooked chicken, flaked

1/2 small avocado, cubed

1/2 oz chopped almonds

3 baby carrots, sliced

2 Tbs chopped celery

2 Tbs green onion, sliced

2 tbs chopped bell pepper (red would have been beautiful)

2 Tbs craisins

dash salt

1/2 tsp stevia blend

1 Tbs lime juice

Toast almonds either in a skillet or for 90 seconds in the microwave on high. Stir everything together and enjoy. I ate mine right away, but I imagine it only gets better chilled.

1 recipe has 498 calories; 25 g fat (from the almonds and avocado);26 g protein; and 34 net carbs (11 grams of fiber!) You can reduce the calories by halving the amount of almonds and avocado. Replace the volume with fresh copped veggies. This saves 187 calories and 11 g of fat.

P.S. I’m still working hard at my Fit Yummy Mummy nutrition and exercise program–but while the busy holidays are upon us, I’ll just highlight the best of the new recipes I’m creating–instead of writing down everything I eat. I think I’ll go back to that eventually since it really does help. I do tend to eat a lot of the things I enjoy most over and over.

Best Ever Protein Pancakes

By Angela on November 23, 2012

I’ve seen several recipes for these floating around pinterest and decided to try my own version. They were amazing! My protein pancakes are different because I used whole eggs, levening, and a little stevia for flavor. Also added a little almond milk to make it easier on my blender. It’s little known that the egg yolk contains almost as much protein as egg whites. Yes, they have fat and cholesterol, but they also have folate and lots of other vitamins too. A little fat in the diet is essential for healthy skin, hair, nails and balanced hormone production. And the lecithin in the egg white works with the cholesterol in the yolk to neutralize the negative effects. When God made eggs, He made the perfect food!

The small amount of leavening in this recipe makes the texture just like a regular pancake. My kids gobbled them up. They even thought they were white flour pancakes–not bad for 100% whole grain. For my gluten free friends, if you get gluten free rolled oats–these are perfect for you. I have to watch my dairy–lactose makes me miserable, but cottage cheese is cultured enough that it doesn’t bother me. If you have a dairy protein allergy or an egg allergy, then these aren’t for you.

Here’s the recipe:

In a blender or food processor combine:

1 cup rolled oats (or quick oats but not instant oats)

3 whole eggs

1 cup 1% cottage cheese

2-4 Tbs milk (I used almond milk) enough to get the blender flowing

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbs stevia blend (I used stevia in the raw.)

Blend on high until a thick batter forms. If your eggs were bigger than mine, your batter may be thin–but it will thicken upon standing. Oats soak up a lot of liquid. Cook these on a griddle preheated to 350 degrees. It makes 9 3-4 inch pancakes. 3 pancakes has 20 grams of protein and 243 calories. Add 1/2 cup of applesauce or other fruit for a perfect 300 calorie breakfast.

Bummer–Streaky Floor

By Angela on November 20, 2012

It took me 12 hours to do the floor yesterday. 2 hours alone on just the perimeter. The first swath looks wonderful,just like I want it to. After that I was emtionally done. My back hurt, my knees hurt. And it shows in the rest of the floor.

Darren is being so awesome about it. He says, “It’s temorary. It looks way better than it did before. The table will hide the worst of it.” I decided to believe him.

I will put the first coat of poly on this morning after I take kiddoes to school and then hopefully to the chiropractor. The poly should go much faster!

Let the Floor Begin!

By Angela on November 19, 2012

I’m laying the Faux Leather floor in my dining room today. It is scrubbed and ready to go. You can see a tutorial for the floor here: Illustrated Guide to Faux Leather Floors

While I work, I’m praying for my young friend Lauren White. She is 13, has cancer and is in the hospital with pneumonia. Today some critical decisions will be made on her behalf. Will you pray too?

This room is a LOT bigger than the two bathrooms I did two years ago. It has been 4 hours and I’m almost 1/3 of the way across. I’m starting to feel overwhelmed.

Darren comes in every hour or so to give me a pep talk.

In this next shot you can see the strip next to the wall starting to dry and show the veins. I love this part.

I’m using water based stain this time in coffee. It is working well and has no odor. I love that. And if I get a bit on the baseboard it wipes right off with a baby wipe or cotton swab.

I have 30 minutes before I have to go pick up kids. So it’s back to work for me.

Christmas Wrapping Organizing Tip

By Angela on November 17, 2012

Many years I have been up late Christmas Eve frantically wrapping gifts. It ruined the magic of the day for me. So now I wrap gifts almost as soon as I get home with them. There’s less chance that children will sneak a peek of their surprise this way too.

But sometimes I forget what is in the package when it isn’t opened for over a month. I implemented a simple numbering system to help.

I write a small number in the corner of the gift tag, then have a sheet of paper with a guide to remind me what I wrapped.

I write the recipient’s name and a short description. Then to keep it safe, I put it in a special envelope.

It should be safe in there :).

Not a Swimming Pool

By Angela on November 16, 2012

But I’m excited. Here’s a before shot:

This is actually a picture of the twin closet in the adjoining room. But they were set up the same. I painted it ultra pure white, even the ceiling. It helps reflect the most amount off light in the windowless space, and shows the clothes in their true colors.

And After:

I’d like to make cute labels for the baskets. But for now I’m just putting things away. RugsUSA.com is hinting at a nice black friday rug sale and I’m thinking about getting one of these for the closet floor if they go cheap enough. Do you have a favorite?

I also plan to look for an affordable large framed mirror for the end of the room. Old Time Pottery usually has somethig fantastic at a good price.

I snagged this one on second discount from Big Lots:

It’s too girly for them though. I hung it in the Living room already even though I still need to paint. You can see a smidge of the new paint color peeking to the right of the mirror.

It’s a light taupy gray and looks awesome with white trim. I used it in the bottom half of my dining room.

She’s already to lay the paper floor over the ugly vinyl. I’m so glad I made a detailed tutorial on how to do this a few years ago on my blog. It’s been so long, I need a refresher. Caleb is holding his breath for me to finish it, so he can have his birthday party. He was 11 October 22nd and still hasn’t gotten his cake or presents yet! Whatever I do for his party, it better be good. The saying goes, “Good things come to those who wait.