Saturday, July 31, 2010

Jalepeno Cornbread

The other day I made a delicious Cilantro Lime Chicken and I needed a side dish.

After looking through my pantry I settled on cornbread.  As I was mixing it I was struck with some inspiration.  Why not throw a jalepeno and some shredded cheddar cheese in there?



I used one jalapeno (diced very finely) and two handfuls of cheese and folded them into the cornbread batter.  I baked according the the directions on the package and voila.



Delicious and easy.

PS - If you don't have enough batter to fill all the cups in a muffin tin, pour some water in the empty cups.  It helps the muffins cook evenly.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

How to Shorten a Sleeve

I am a server, my uniform is ALL black.  Needless to say it gets really warm while I am working.  I found a great shirt a few months ago for work, but it had long sleeves.  I decided to shorten them so I am able to use it over the warm season as well.

This project took about ten minutes, and I didn't even have to break out my sewing machine!!

First off put the shirt on to get an idea of where you want the sleeves to end.  Mark the shirt, take it off and measure where you should make the cut. 



Cut both sleeves.  Remember, measure twice and cut once!  I was careful with this project but there have been many times I haven't measured twice and boy did I regret it!!



To secure the hem I used Steam-A-Seam.  This paticular one comes on a roll, so I just attached it turned the hem and ironed it into place.



Ta-da:



Now I have another work shirt that I can wear in the heat!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Another Table Lamp Revamp

I dressed up this lamp shortly after I finished this one, I just haven't gotten around to posting about it yet.  (Bad blogger!) 
I found this lamp and the shade at my local Goodwill.  I don't remember exactly what I paid for each, but I think I got the whole thing for less than ten bucks. 





I taped the lamp off and started spraying.  For this project I used Krylon in Leather.  The trick to getting good coverage is using a good spray paint and spraying lots of light coats. (that's what works for me) 



While waiting for the paint to dry I covered the shade in fabric.



I love the way it turned out!!

I am linking up to:
Making

Friday, July 16, 2010

Fun Frame Makeover

I have had this frame forever just sitting in a box. 
If I had known it could be this cute I would have started earlier!



Here's the down and dirty:

I sprayed the frame a sunny yellow.  I didn't prime or sand so the wood grain/stain whatever showed right through.  Luckily, I lurve that look so it was perfect!  I didn't have the glass or backing for this frame so I had to come up with something.  Enter corkboard.



I cut the cork to fit snugly and hot glued it in place.  (cork cuts really easily with a razor blade, make one pass with the blad and then 'break' it apart)



I added some colorful ribbon to hang it with and stood back to enjoy my work.  It was missing something.  I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with it so I walked away. 

I started going through my fabric stash and inspiration hit......add a couple of fabric flowers to the corner.



The flowers were super easy, I just put a glob of hot glue in the center of a circle (cut from whatever fabric you like) and kind scrunched up just the center of the circle.  As it dries you can pull and press it to make sure it lays the way you like it.  To finish it off I just added a matching button the to the center of each flower.



Perfect.



Exactly what it needed.


I am linking to:

Bunch of Scrap








and





 

and

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Princess B

The other day I had the great pleasure of taking some pictures of the adorable Brooklynn.  I slapped a 'B' on a onesie that justh happened to match a tu-tu I made while practicing my technique for the Tu-Tu Drive over at Samster Mommy.  These photos will be a great addition to my portfolio.







Bailey showing some sisterly love:

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Berry Pickin' Fun

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend.  Isn't it the best when those holidays actually fall on a weekend?  It just seems like everyone has more fun!

I haven't been up to much crafting lately, but I do have some projects in the works.  One is for a guest post I will be doing later this month!!  (SUPER excited about that one!) 

One of the best things about living in the Willamette Valley is the amazing produce that grows locally.  Today was a hot one at about 95, we decided  leaving early would ensure that we had picked out bounty before the heat really hit.  Blueberries were the main goal for our trip today, but just a mile up the road is a great raspberry farm so we decided to stop by there as well. 



The blueberries were HUGE, and there were lots of them.



We picked just over 4 lbs of blueberries and grabbed some fresh peas (still in the pod!) for a grand total of $5!

The raspberries were just as plentiful, though the best berries are always hiding under the foilage so it takes a little searching. 


Again, we were amazed at the size of these raspberries! We took a picture of one next to a quarter to show the huge-ness of them.





We found about 4 lbs of berries and paid only $5!  I love that we are able to go to local family owned farms and pick our own produce.