Projects Archives - Page 151 of 213

Kellie’s Baby Shower

December 3, 2011 jennifer Entertaining

Honestly, it was a miracle that this baby shower happened at all. With the stomach flu making its way through our family all week I was amazed that no one was sick on the day of the shower. Somehow I got a few Christmas decorations up and the main floor was clean and sanitized.

Most of the things on my list for the shower were crossed off, undone. The bare essentials were all I could offer. While I’d envisioned much better, it all worked out fine. Everyone had a nice time, a lot of people came, the mother-to-be was happy, and because the Christmas decorations were out it still felt festive. I suppose this should be a good reminder to me that even without all the extras I have swirling around in my head, a party can still be a party.

Kristen and I decided to serve a light lunch. We each made a pot of soup. Along with that we had rolls, a veggie tray and mini-cupcakes. Simple but nourishing. Kristen made a delicious chicken noodle soup. I made a vegetable chowder. It’s a recipe I’d forgotten about but now that I’ve re-discovered it I’m sure it will make it’s way to my my table a lot this winter. I’ll share soon.

I had planned on making homemade rolls. It seemed like the least I could do with such a simple menu. But when the big day arrived I realized it wasn’t the best idea so instead I purchased a few dozen different kinds of rolls and offered a variety. This, too, was a good reminder to me that it’s ok to just buy something and call it good. They tasted great and people seemed to like choosing their own.

We served oyster crackers with the soup. They were pretty in my urn vase.

The veggie tray helped to round things out and Kristen saved the day by baking some miniature Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes . They looked so cute with a little kiss of frosting on the top (thanks to my daughter. She’s getting pretty handy with a bag of frosting!).

It was a light but nourishing meal, which many women seem to like. I’m so glad we did it, and I particularly enjoyed hosting it with my sister. She’s really amazing.

Now, on to the rest of December!

Hopeful Homemaker

Christmas Flannel Rag Quilt

November 29, 2011 jennifer Christmas, Quilting and Sewing

While many people were out shopping early Friday morning, I skipped the Black Friday action and treated myself to a few hours of sewing. I managed to put together this Christmas rag quilt for my family to snuggle under for the next several weeks.

This quilt is made entirely with flannel prints from a Christmas collection that was available two or three years ago, of which my favorite print was the one pictured above. I’m sorry to say I can’t remember the name of the collection or the designer. I cut the pieces last year but never quilted them or pieced them together. This year I quilted each square with a star in the center and then pieced the quilt. You can faintly see the star quilting above.

At the last minute I decided to turn the squares on their point. I’m glad I did because it gave me an opportunity to practice working with triangles, something I want to get better at. I think it adds a bit more character to the quilt. The seams were then snipped and the quilt was thrown into the wash.

The edges frayed nicely and I’m happy with it. I haven’t made a rag quilt for two years, and while I usually prefer a traditional quilt, it was the perfect project for this fabric. I’ve also learned that sometimes people are afraid to pick up a nice quilt and snuggle under it, but I’ve never seen anyone hesitate to grab a rag quilt (especially a flannel one) and use it. I have a few quilts I’m careful with, but I really believe that there’s no point in making a quilt unless you love it and, therefore, use it. Rag quilts just seem to beg people to use them, and I’ve yet to meet someone who won’t oblige.

This one went directly from being photographed to being loved, which made for a happy quilt, happy Mom and happy kids. It’s been constantly in use since then.

Do you have a favorite quilt you snuggle under?

Jennifer

7 comments Christmas, quilting

Felt Rosette Pomander

November 25, 2011 jennifer Christmas, crafts & activities, DIY, Felt

While going through my felt for this project, I discovered some red felt in my stash and couldn’t help making a bunch of flowers with it. I got out a styrofoam ball I had on hand and decided to see how long it would take me to cover it with red felt rosettes. This was a fun and easy project.

Here’s what you need to make one:

Mine was a four inch diameter ball. I used about a quarter yard of felt, or approximately 45 rosettes to cover my ball. The circles I started with ( using this tutorial ) were about 2.5 to 3 inches across. In addition to the ball, felt, and a glue gun, I also used a length of ribbon to hang it, four little faux suede leaves cut from May Arts ribbon (you can find some here if you’re interested), a straight pin and some little pearl beads.

To begin, I arranged the four leaves and the ribbon to attach to the top of the ball:

Then I stuck a straight pin through all of it.

A drop of hot glue on the foam ball and then I stuck the pin down into it to hold the ribbon and leaves in place. My reason for adding the leaves was to have more than just a white ribbon sticking out of the top of the ball.

Then simply start rolling up the flowers (again, you can find a tutorial for that here ) and gluing them to the ball. I started by attaching the first rosettes right next to the ribbon.

The first four flowers surrounded the ribbon, creating the top I wanted. I love how the green leaves stick up like the top of a strawberry.

Just keep rolling and gluing until the ball is covered with flowers.

Then, if you wish, glue a small pearl in the center of each flower.

This ball ended up being about 6 inches in diameter when I finished it, so it’s a good-sized ornament or decoration. It’s also my first Christmas project of 2011, and I’m excited to decorate!

Tell me, do you decorate for Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend, before Thanksgiving, or do you wait till December to deck the halls?

Have a great day!
Jennifer