No Sew Fleece Blanket

Got 90 minutes and a pair of scissors??

Then you can do this project!!! I know I'm always sewing and crocheting but there are those of us out there that are NOT crafty. I’m making this for a BT to give to a “friend”. Sometimes I think I’m not as in charge as I think I am of this relationship. So here we go..

What you need
1 pair or scissors
2 yards each of 2 different fleece fabrics (you can get this at Joanne’s)
1 piece of paper
1 ruler (you can estimate too)
A cleared space on the floor (I used the kitchen floor)

Lets get started

Lay down one of the fabric’s wrong side up (if you pick a solid color it doesn’t really matter.

Lay down the 2nd fabric right side up on top of the first fabric that you already laid down (if it’s a print one side will look a little clearer than the other but that’s about the only difference)

Match up the edge’s the best you can. My print was actually a lot bigger than the solid so I matched up two edges and the overhang was on the other two.

Now you want to cut off the selvedge edge (this should be located on the two longest sides) and the excess fabric from the overhang. Now the selvedge looks different than the short edges it has little dots on it (its so the fabric doesn’t pull apart).

Now get that piece of paper and cut out a 3inch x 3inch Square.

Place the square piece of paper on the corner of your fabric and cut it out

It should now look like this

Repeat the remaining 3 edges and you should have something like the diagram below

Now you want to fold the edge over on one edge so you have a 3-inch overhang from one edge to the other.

Next you want to cut 3inch x 1-inch strips all the way down the other end.

For the final step you want to take the front and back strip (i.e. the solid and the print strip) and double knot the strips all the way around the blanket

TADA your done!

Scarf-o-RAMA

Ive been in the Crochet mood lately with finishing up some xmas stuff I had time to do some extra scarfs for etsy. So here they are and they are available for purchase too!

Mystery Bruise Post 1

So I have a problem. I get these bruises but I don't exactly know where they come from (I probably ran into something or Poodles beats me up long distance who knows). So since I have a blog and no one reads it I'm going to post the mystery bruises as they occur.

Mystery Bruise 1 Back of leg upper thigh

Flower Power Snowflakes!

Today was an amazing day. I got up went to the gym went to the indiescaramento trunk show. I got lots of good ideas for what I would like to make next and possibly going to it the next time its around and taking some of my stuff. I even met Pimp Stitch and Pepto Girl thanks to my crafty coworker who was there with her husband. It was like meeting stars who have no idea how much they inspire me on a daily basis. So with that inspiration it was home to crochet a scarf to finish up the Xmas gifts...yes I know I'm done!!! officially done!!! Which means now I can focus on this and etsy. I also thought that it was time for a change in the bathroom good by pumpkin and leaf hello Flower Power Snow Flakes!!! Now this was easy so let me show you how!

What you need:


1 Square piece of paper
1 Pair of scissors 1 Pencil
So here we go

Here is my Square piece of paper (I used some origami left over paper I had)


Fold paper over so you have a triangle. To do this just match up opposite corners and make a fold. (the edge is where my thumb is)



Fold the triangle to make another smaller triangle. Take the corners of the longer edge and match them up to make the triangle.


Now here is where it get a little tricky. You are going to make it look like this.


So take one of the corners of the long edge and and pull it down so it looks like this and make your fold line.


Take the other corer and fold it over what you just did...you should have something like this.


Get your scissors and cut off those tales so you have a really tall triangle.


Now its time to get out your pencil and start the design. You want to put a half circle at the top of your triangle and then 2 arcs on one of the longer edges so it should look like this


cut on the line


unfold...and smile!


Here is another snowflake tutorial...it might be a little better than mine

Its Warm and Fuzzy

I finally finished a project that isn't Xmas related. No I'm not completely done with Xmas but its getting there. Its not exactly for me but it's for Poodles so really its for me! He is moving up here in January and with it being this cold I decided to take some scraps from another quilt put it together to make a lap blanket. And Vuala! We have my new blanket for those cold nightes at his place!

Now this blanket was tricky with the piped trim that I made which I got the tutorial from HERE! Maybe one day I will get motivated and do a tutorial on it. I think this weekend though I will be posting a new tutorial on Water Bottle covers!!!

What I Learned Today...

Well today started out SLOW...yes I know I shouldn't admit this or be a show off but I asked for extra work! And it was graciously presented to me later in the afternoon (at lest I have something to work on tomorrow). But I learned something nifty today too. One of the girls at work is a CR AFTER!!!! I know I was under the impression I was alone in this world (okay I know I'm not alone). She has a great little blog HERE, and she is showcasing in the Indie Sacramento . Which I will be attending on Saturday after a little gym action. What I also learned is PIMPSTITCH is local to not only Sacramento but Davis! Yes small world. Its good to know I'm surrounded by people who are crafters. I'm actually a little sad on the inside that my crafting bug hit me after college cause it would have been great to get a start then when I had time to craft.

Oh Well...I also learned today that you have to do a dpo to access your po but like your interested in that nonsense

Burr..

It's officially cold! And of course my pilot light somehow blew itself out so im stuck using this...

Yes the oven and it works! Kids dont try this at home please have adult supervision...and adults make sure its an electric oven like this one!

Dinner under $20 buckaroo's

I'm taking it old school today. Back to college (I know I just left that place 2 years ago) when I was poor (what am I talking about I am still poor) and busy all the time with school, work, water ski team, and well general debatury. This is one of MY FAVORITE meals to have in college and now! It has changed over the years but its great for any time of year and any size family. I make it and it last for a week and can be re heated and eaten many different ways which ill explain a little later. And you want to know the best part it cost under $20 bucks to make!!! See why I ate this so much in college? It's also a NAB 30 Minute Meal (sorry Rachel but I've got meals that take 30 minutes too)

So lets get started!

Poor College Students Dinner (PCSD)

Ingredients:

~1lb Lean Ground Beef/Turkey

1 package of Taco Seasoning

1 can black beans

1 can red kidney beans

1/2 bag frozen corn

2 Yellow Bell Peppers

You will also need a Stock pot and some PAM/olive oil just a little

Note: After you see how this is made you can change up the ingredients these are just my favorite. Its also good with some diced tomato's but it makes it a little more like chili than Mexican.

1. Heat up the pan spray with some PAM or add 1tsp. of olive oil.

2. Add meat to the pot and follow the directions on the back of the seasoning packet (it should say to brown the meat, drain the excess oil and liquid, add the seasoning and 2/3 cups of water and let simmer for 5 minutes)

3. While your meat is cooking dice up those Yellow Bell Peppers and drain your beans.

4. Once your meat is done seasoned and all add the 1/2 back of frozen corn and let cook for about 2 minutes (stir occasionally)

5. Add your bell pepper and allow to cook for about 3-5 minutes

6. Add the beans and allow to cook until warm (about 5 minutes)

7. Remove from heat your ready to serve!

Now for the serving there are many many many different ways to do this and here are a few of them:

1. Take the PCSD place in a bowl and add cheese, salsa, and some sour cream and stir together and serve

2. Serve the PCSD over some greens (like I did with spinach), add some salsa for a kick!

3. Serve in flour/corn tortillas with some veggies on the side.

Now you will probably have left overs (like me) and I like to take it and make quiche! Yes this is gonna cost you a little more money but its not terrible especially if you are feeding a family/friends

All you need is

Pastry puff (its a sq version of pie crust you find in the freezer section)

8 eggs

1 cup or more of Cheese (if you please)

2 cups of the PCSD or more if you like

Quick spray of PAM

Pie tin or a 9x9 casserole dish

And the Directions....

1. Pre-Heat Oven 350 degree's

2. Grease your pan

3. unroll your pastry puff (it should be defrosted) and place in pie tin/casserole. You will probably have some overhang of the dough so cut it off add it to the sides to make a larger rim or trash it but you know me waste not want not.

4. beat your eggs in a bowl add the cheese and PCSD and mix together (note the PCSD may need to be microwaved to kinda loosen it up)

5. Pour the egg mixture in to the pastry puff

6. Throw in the oven for about 30 minutes (you should be able to take knife and insert into the center of the quiche and it should come out clean)

7. Take out let cool for 5 minutes and serve (I like to put some salsa on top)

Its quick its easy it PCSD.

Giving Thanks

Well I'm back! Yes I know you missed me but I'm Back for at least 3 weeks in which I will be a busy BEE! Finishing up last minute touches on Xmas and getting ready to go home for 10 yes 10 days I don't know what I will do with myself besides be lazy!!! But that's the future what about the here and NOW? Well Thanksgiving went off without a hitch! Woke my butt up at 4am to get to the airport for a 6am flight. The best part about the flight was that the student assistant that helps out around my office was on the flight and sat next to me so we chatted for a while. And the best part of all was for the first time ever on a southwest flight we got in early and by early I mean a whooping 20 minutes!!! Who would have ever thought I guess it makes up for my flight being about 20 minutes late to leave LAX on Sunday.

So DAD picked me up for the airport and took me home because it was apple pie baking time! I also checked out my room and found my new projects waiting for me with open arms...SCARFS. you know I Crochet so I decided what do I got to lose make some for some special people for xmas and then post the extras on etsy.

The Turkey was in the oven (yes we eat early and by early I mean 4pm) making the house smell amazing and I was up to no good peeling apples. Now the best part about this pie is the Toffee strussle that you make to put on top before closing it all up. I know I should have taken pictures but I was in a rush to finish to go back to bed! So after making a mess of the kitchen the pie was in the oven under the constant supervision of my mother who as we all know is a Home EC teacher so that's probably why it came out perfect. The crust was so flakey and crunchy not mooshy or soft but perfect! But that was later of course.

After a 2 hour nap...

So 4pm rolled around the family was in the house around the table eating and gossiping. My cousins brought there significant others. The Boy Toy on the other hand was up at his parents waiting for me to get up there to meet some of his family but more on that later. Dinner flew by as usual with everyone gabbing and laughing at stories. Clean up was pretty simple my DAD took care of that! My brother was off to a movie my mom and dad were gonna lay around the house and "rest there eyes" AKA napping.

I on the other hand was off to meet the Boy Toy's family and yes I put up a fight. A very good fight in deed that ended up with me getting a Fun Fetti Cake at the end for my good behavior! Yes well it all started with the BIL (boyfriend in law) AKA Mrs. Boy Toy making it known it was time I meet the family. Now its not that I'm afraid of his family its that they all scared me with stories! So the deal went as follows: To get Me to go to the Thanksgiving Dinner there would be some kind of payment in the form of cake...I went through with my part of the deal and the BIL went through with hers it was a win win situation! But to be honest she could have gotten me to go without cake! but shhh don't tell her that I haven't met the rest of the family yet maybe I can get some cookies next time!! The Boy Toy's family was nice (which most are when you first meet them) he has little cousins which were fun to mess with and had mini covo's with the adults but mainly sat back and watched. By the time we left this shin dig I was pooped!! We went home and I crashed HARD! And the next day we had to get up a little early to go the the Getty Villa for some culture and lunch!



This is what BT considered Culture...making funny faces







The Villa...What can I say about this place. First off AMAZING architecture and a great lay out. I do love architecture so that was the best part for me and the gardens! As for the rest of it it was Greek and Roman/Etruscan pottery and statuary. Its not that I don't love these periods its just gets a little monotonous. Same thing over and over wet drapery, kuros, Controposto poses, fresco's, mosaics, naked men with to many muscles, the stories of the gods. Yeah its a bit much but it is interesting. And on another note those Greeks and Romans sure did have a thing for alcohol and nakedness and there obsession with certain body parts (gotta keep it clean for the kiddies). I do have to say its a great place to go if you are studying ancient art history they even have some pieces that you will see in a general art history book!

But for lunch we went to this little pizza place in Venice/Santa Monica. Wild Flour. It was very good I highly suggest it. We were also on a Boot Hunt for the BT (Boy Toy) sister. We were not very successful in that area! But after the search we went home to start the movie marathon! Which was a lot of fun because we got to watch a few movies I hadn't seen. And the best part was we sat around in our PJ's and ate dinner and Fun Fetti Cake while watching the movies. Not to say that I was not productive I did crochet some stuff and then I fell asleep on the couch! I'm pathetic I know but what's a girl gonna do!

I woke up the next morning ready to tackle the day. Okay I rolled over and went back to bed and didn't get to the gym till almost 10am. I know BT is a bay influence after he dragged me from bed the day before. Well after the gym I went home for some family time where we went to a Los Angeles Kings Game (not to be confused with the BBALL team up here). That was a lot of fun fights and food and hot boys (sorry BT but it had to come out). Yes I used to LOVE hockey and then it kinda died but I think its time to get back into the game!



We sat up really high so everyone looked like midgits...
Okay not really we had amazing seats close to center ice and up high enough to see everything...that was just the half time entertainment

Family Photo OP for Xmas cards....dont worry they wont disapoint (and if you dont know my family or should I say my father he always comes up with creative cards)
After this it was down time mom and I went shopping then hung out at the house. all in all we were not very productive. Which as you all know is not really my style but oh well I guess we all get off schedule time and again. So the day flew by like a blur of light.

Sunday has now rolled around and it was time to head back to Sacramento. Back to the cold and gloom. It was a good trip and I'm ready to go home in 3 weeks already. But until then ill have to sit back and keep going on the Xmas stuff and hopefully make some money on etsy. After Xmas its back to the grind where I'll be studying for the GMAT. I know that sucks even more!

CHANGES

Yes it was that time again. Time for a Change in the Look of the Blog. Its December what do you expect? No more pumpkins! Now its winter wonderland time. Although it doesn't look like that here its more overcast and foggy than anything else...boooooo. Oh well hope you guys like the new looks it makes me want to cuddle up in front of a fire place. The fireplace would be my oven right now since that is the only form of heat I have at the moment.