Papper Snoflingor Creations

Papper Snoflingor Creations

My friend Kristen recently started an Etsy store and I am in love with what she is doing! She creates these paper snowflakes with no pattern and each is completely unique and different. I purchased one for my mother for Christmas:

This one I purchased for myself:

They come mounted and framed--a perfect and unique gift! Go check her out. No really do! click here!

Thanks Kristen!

Embroidered House Project

Embroidered Pillow

I've never embroidered anything before in my life. But I saw this tutorial on Pinterest and decided to give it a go. Our good friends Kari and Steve moved to Kentucky after living in a gem of a building in Chicago. It was their first place together and despite the 3rd floor walk up, mixed-matched kitchen, grody shower, uneven floor, super tricky parking, and wind like you would not BELIEVE, I know they miss it. Therefore, I decided Kari and Steve's old place was going to be my guinea pig for this project. I snapped these photos of their house, converted them to black and white using picmonkey.com, and printed them on computer paper at home.

I then traced the main building lines with a Sharpie and then re-traced the whole thing onto another piece of paper, creating a pattern. I tried to incorporate some of their building's special features to aid the identification process, which brought me here:

(I later tweaked the tree trunk, obviously)

It was then lightly traced onto a piece of muslin, and I went to town with my embroidery floss and hoop! Added a border and backing and this project was finished!

I used all scraps so this project was a big ol' f-r-e-e!

Better yet, I think she liked it. :)

Go check out Kari's blog: www.karicorsi.blogspot.com

Best Thrift Store Find EVER!

Yelloware bowls are special in my family because my grandmother made her bread in them everyday for years. They are perfect for my family's beloved rice pudding recipe because you can bake it in the same bowl you mix it in. My mother gave me one of her smaller ones when I got married but I always am on the lookout for more at antique stores. I recently debated over one that was being sold at an antique mall for $45. Ouch.

Meandered into my local Goodwill here in Chicago and stumbled across this beauty. It was hiding under an ice cube tray in the knick-knack department and I literally gasped and asked aloud "is this for real?" because I was SO excited.

Looks remarkably like this one which is being sold on ebay for $116! Want to know how much I paid for this beauty: $2.25!! That's right; two dollars and twenty-five cents. What's that verse about how every good and perfect gift is from above? ;)

Beyond pumped. This is why thrifting has me hooked--you never know what's around the next corner or hiding under an...ice cube tray!

*insert happy dance

Sweater Quilt

Sweater Quilt

Saw this tutorial via Pinterest to make a wool sweater quilt and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to try something like it. My sister Jenny loves quilting as much as I do, but rarely has time to do it, so I decided to give this one to her. The tutorial called for wool sweaters, but I wanted to keep this gift reasonably priced so instead I headed to my local Salvation Army thrift store and found this selection of cotton-blend sweaters in brown, gold, white and tan:

After a thorough wash, I cut out all the seams and laid out my collection.

 Then I just sewed the blocks into strips and strips into rows.

I seriously considered leaving it as it was but then decided I wanted a bit more completed of a look. So I backed it with flannel (mmmmmm), turned it right-side-out (like a giant pillowcase), and used brown yarn to create a double-blanket stitch around the edges. I sewed the few buttons left on the quilt from the back to the front to attach the layers together.

Jenny loved it and was touched that the only quilt I made all year was for her! :) Mission accomplished. Overall this quilt cost about $30--extremely reasonable and one of a kind! Perfect for a car quilt, cabin quilt, or everyday quilt!

Another Tin!

In 2008 (ish) my family started doing an annual Cookie Baking Weekend Extravaganza. I didn't have any cookie tins at the first gathering, so my sweet mother gave me all the tins that she didn't particularly enjoy. Some of them are a bit...outdated and none of them are really me except the sleigh scene pictured lower left. So last year I decided to start collecting my own tins. I am so pleased with how this collection is coming!

In July I stopped by the CUTEST little antique store in Saugatuck, MI where I spotted the red beauty in the bottom right corner:

Better still I talked them down to $3! I'm already on the lookout for the next additions to my collection of sleigh tins. If you spot one, let me know! :)

Summer Salad

Summer Salad

This salad represents the epitome of summer to me. Major yum. Goes great with BBQ, Indian food, or on its own as a healthy lunch!

One large ripe tomato
One large ripe cucumber
1/4 red onion, sliced and chopped
1/3 cup Italian dressing

Mix all (vary the proportions if you'd like). Chill several hours before eating to let the flavors meld. Tastes even better the next day, although you can eat it right away if you can't help yourself.

iPhone Trick for Mama's with Squirmy Kiddos

Smart people probably already have this figured out but I didn't until my daughter was about 7 months old. We all have photos that look like this:

She looked at the camera and smiled right BEFORE this photo was taken. It will now be deleted because the shutter speed on the iPhone camera is too slow to catch the movement and it's a bit blurry. THERE'S A SOLUTION!! Take a VIDEO of your child and try to get them to smile at the camera. Focus on keeping the camera centered on the kiddo and do whatever it takes to get that baby to look at you and smile. Notice the high-pitched talking and face-making that goes on in the below video to get her to smile...if possible:



Then after you've taken the video view it but pause it instead of playing it. Use the cursor at the top of the screen to navagate the video and find the perfect spot where your child looks cute. Then tap the screen once to get rid of the cursor. Now take a SCREEN SHOT by holding down the center button and the power button at the same time. Your new photo will go the end of your camera role. This is the photo I got from taking the above video:

 It's not as high quality of a photo as it could be, but your baby will look cute! Now a little tweaking on picmonkey.com and I've got a pretty nice photo (for an iPhone with a slow shutter speed)!

So to recap, (1) take a video (2) pause the video in the perfect spot (3) take a screen shot. Enjoy!