Wordless Wednesday – The one I don’t want to throw away the minute I find it on my doorknob!
July 28th, 2010 
Shelly 
To Do List Tuesday!
July 27th, 2010 Shelly I am testing out some daily themes, I don’t know if I will keep this one, but we’ll see. I am just going to go with it and see how it feels.
This is my list for today, nothing too spectacular on there, just another day at home!
I don’t really have too much to post about today. I pulled something in my back yesterday and it hurts really bad today. It’s kind of in my shoulder just under my shoulder blade and it hurts when I move my shoulder or turn my head too far to the left. I hope it doesn’t last too long because it’s very annoying!
I am afraid that I am quickly becoming addicted to these mason jar fraps! I ended up making 2 yesterday afternoon. I am going to have to start buying skim milk and low fat liquid creamer for them!!
They are really too tasty to resist! I just make a full pot (5 cups) of coffee in the morning and then put the leftover in the fridge in a cup with a lid and use that in the afternoon.
I am doing another swap on Flickr. This one is the {Urban} Home Goods – A Modern Swap, it’s run by the same girls that do the Hexie swap that I have been doing. They do THE best swaps on Flickr and I am super excited to be doing this one for the first time. This is the mosaic that I made for inspiration and to give my partner and idea of the things that I like
1. crown & stars linen art journal cover, 2. Urban Circus, 3. {Urban} swap – finished!, 4. 105.365, 5. Hexagon’s framed, 6. Custom ipad cover for Julie – Front, 7. Olives String Quilt, 8. Progress, 9. the summer bling quilt, 10. Joy, 11. { urban } home goods – done!, 12. gathered clutch, 13. MMmmm.. Orla Kiely, 14. Pillow {Talk} Swap…Received!, 15. Mermaid Mini Quilt, 16. Pillow Swap – A little bird, 17. blumenkorb, 18. Happy Birthday Fan pillow, 19. SHUT the DOOR!!!, 20. Bubbles 7.0 Created with fd’s Flickr Toys
You can click on any of those links to see the full pictures.
Well, I gotta run so I can get started on that list!
Weekend Wrap Up
July 26th, 2010 Shelly I don’t know about you, but I had a busy weekend. Not really doing anything fun, but I did get a lot of work done! I finished my first book on my new Kindle. I LOVE it! I thought that I would miss the feel of the book and all that, but really I don’t. I love having the next book there and ready to go when I am ready for it too. I have a pretty nice collection started. Most of them are free ones and free classics, but there are a bunch that I have been wanting to read for ages, but never really wanted to buy. I have never read a Jane Austen book! I know, shame on me, but I believe that all of her books are free classics, so I have started a collection of those. I also have gotten an H.G. Wells book, The Time Machine. They did an episode of Warehouse 13 about H.G. Wells, a very inaccurate portrayal I am sure, but it did peak my interest so I got that book. I have a pretty long wish list started on Amazon, I want to get at least one this week. I will have to limit how many I buy or I will end up spending a fortune on books! Maybe I can use them as incentive for weight loss…
I don’t know if you know this, you probably do, but I LOVE coffee…really love it! I have a cup in the morning and then most afternoons I will make another cup, but I am so busy working that I drink about half of it and then I have to keep heating it up because it gets cold fast. Well, I never really liked ice coffee too much, but one of my friends on Facebook posted a link to this recipe the other day and I tried it yesterday and it is going to be my new afternoon pick-me-up! It’s super awesome and if you like iced coffee and you want something easy to make at home you need to try it. It’s also WAY cheaper than Starbucks!
This is something else you may not know about me, I don’t like to use regular cups at home for cold drinks. I prefer to use throw away cups…I don’t know why! It’s weird, I know. And what’s weirder is that there are certain places that have cups that I like better so I keep them and I will wash them out and use them for weeks until I go back and get a new one. My most recent favorite cup is from a BBQ place here in town called Billy Sims. It’s a clear plastic cup, like Starbucks or McAllisters (only not as big). Why am I telling you this? Well, one problem I have with these clear plastic cups is that they sweat and get water all over my work surface and I could put a napkin under it, but that’s just gross when the napkin gets all wet…I solved my problem yesterday with these
They are coasters that I made with scraps that were cut off the ends of the blocks for a quilt top that I made a long time ago. These were pretty basic, I just quilted some fleece onto them and then sewed the back on, flipped them the right way and stitched around the edges. Then I was thinking, I have tons of scraps from quilt projects so I started digging and I found the scraps left from the string quilt I made for Jenna. I had started to make some smaller blocks to put on the back and decided against it, but I still had the foundation pieces with the pink strip ironed on so I just cut them down and made these 2 coasters
I put some pretty pink fabric on the back and some batting in between and did some straight line quilting. I am going to do a black binding around these still to finish them. I am going to do 3 more of these I think so that I have a nice set. I was thinking that these would make really nice gifts…so if you are reading this and you are family just act surprised if you get some from me in the future!
I posted last week about my Kindle sleeve fiasco, how I made one and it didn’t fit, yada yada yada… Anyway, I didn’t want those pieces of quilted linen to go to waste so I cut them down to make a sleeve for my BB Curve. I have the ones that I have made with the flap, but was always annoyed by the flap, so I made this one just like the sleeve and I have to say that I love it and I am actually using it!
One last thing before I wrap up. I am having a sale in my store until midnight on the 31st. Everything is 10% off, so if you have been wanting to order something now is the time!!
Pizza Night!
July 23rd, 2010 Shelly We haven’t been doing this as much as we used to but everyone in my house loves pizza night! I make whole wheat pizza crust (2 batches) and separate the 1st batch into 3 portions and the 2nd batch into 2 and then we all have our own pizza and we have make it the way we like it.
This is what mine always looks like when it’s done
Here is the recipe I use for my crust
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 – 1 Tbsp minced garlic (to taste)
- 2 tsp yeast (or 1 package)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
- 2/3 cup hot water (120-130 degrees F)
- 2 tsp Olive Oil
In a 2 cup measuring cup add your sugar and yeast to the hot water and stir until dissolved, set aside to proof.
In the food processor combine the flours, seasoning, salt and garlic and pulse a couple times to mix. When your yeast gets a little bubbly add the olive oil to it and mix it up.
Turn your food processor on and slowly add the yeast mixture. If it’s too sticky just add a little flour, process until it forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead a few times. Now is the time you want to cut it into portions if you want personal pizzas. Form into balls and put on a floured surface, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap that you have sprayed with cooking spray. I also cover mine with a towel. Let them raise for about an hour. **You can use quick rise yeast, if you do you only have to let them raise about 20 minutes.**
Here is how I cook my crust…
Preheat oven to 475*. Roll out the crust and put it on a cookie sheet and prick it all over with a fork…ALL over the whole crust or it will bubble up. Put it in the oven for about 8 minutes. Check it to make sure it doesn’t burn, it will depend on how thin you roll it out. Take it out of the oven and top it how you like. Then put it back in for your cheese to melt. I just watch it really close at this point. I also take mine off the cookie sheet and put it straight on the rack so that it’s crispy on the bottom.
When I am preparing my toppings I will saute all my veggies in a tiny bit of olive oil for just a bit, I still like them a little crisp, but I don’t want them to be raw when my pizza is done.
I like to put a little sauce, fresh baby spinach, pepperoni, red onion, green pepper, baby portabello mushrooms and Italian cheese on mine.
This will surely become a family favorite in your house like it is in mine! My kids love to pick out their own toppings and have their own pizzas!
Enjoy!
My new “baby” is here!!
July 22nd, 2010 Shelly 
Naturally I had to make a pretty sleeve for her, or is it a him?? I have an online friend who just got one recently and she has named hers Snow White…I will have to think on this a bit and see what I want to name it! So, ever the impatient one I had to make the sleeve this morning before I actually got the kindle and it was a tad small, I could get it in there but it was a pretty tight squeeze and it stuck out the top like just under 1/4” and I couldn’t have that! I made sure that when I stitched the hexes on that they would be easy to rip out if I need to, lucky for that! So I adjusted the pattern a tad an now it fits perfectly and it will live in this sleeve when I am not reading it.
I had to use my Robert Fish and my Eric Gnome of course! All the rest of the hexes except maybe 2 were from my swap partner (even the Eric). I quilted the linen before I sewed it together so the inside isn’t quilted. I lined the original one with some kitty flannel I had left from the pajamas that I made for Bailey a few years ago, but I didn’t have enough of that left so this one is lined with Robert Kaufman skull soft corduroy. If you are interested in getting a sleeve like this for your e-Reader you can order one here in my store. I can also do them for the Kindle DX and the IPad, they are a little more because of the size difference.
Not too much else going on, another full day of sewing today and I have a KILLER headache. I have gotten 4 purses, a gadget pouch, a camera strap and technically 2 Kindle sleeves done so far this week. Tomorrow Jake is taking the kids swimming so I will have some time alone so I want to get this house cleaned up good and then I am going to work on some smaller orders, accessories, a nursing cover, small things then on Saturday I have a big DSLR bag to work on. I also need to work on my schedule for next week and see what I need to be working on then.
Have a great evening…I am going to go watch Bethenny have her baby in about an hour!
Pineapple Orange “Julius” Smoothie
July 21st, 2010 Shelly 
My husband used to work at Orange Julius way “back in the day” (when he was in High School, maybe the beginning of college).He used to make these for us all the time when we were dating. I haven’t made one in ages, but we just recently started making them for the kids again. I bought a fresh pineapple at Wal-mart yesterday for $1.98 and when I cut it up today it was delish, so I popped some chunks in the freezer and added them to my Orange Julius for a nice change.
Here is how I made it
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 cup of OJ concentrate
- 1/2 cup of sugar, but really with the pineapple added it didn’t need this much
- about 1 cup of chunked pineapple frozen (I just spread it on a cookie sheet so they freeze individually and not in a big chunk)
- Ice
Blend up all the ingredients but the ice first, then add ice until it’s icy enough for you. I put about 3 cups of ice in mine. This filled my blender to the top so about 7 cups, which made enough for my 3 kids and I with about 1.5 servings left over. I just poured that in a large ziplock bag and stuck it in the freezer for later.
You can make these with any type of frozen juice concentrate, we do them with just fruit juice concentrate and the kids like that better than the orange.
I am almost a BlogHer Blogger!
July 20th, 2010 Shelly I filled out an application probably 6 months ago even though they weren’t taking new applications at the time. I figured I would go on a waiting list and would get there eventually. I had forgotten about it until I got an email last week saying that even though they weren’t accepting new blogs they saw my application and thought that my blog would be a good fit. I filled out all the information and sent it in and got a response back yesterday. I filled out all the forms and W-9 and sent them back in and now I am just waiting for them to send me the code to add to my blog! I don’t exactly know what all this will entail, but I am excited about it for sure.
Well, I started this post at about 9am and it’s not almost 9pm and I think I may actually finish it up! We went to town to get groceries and do all my sewing errands and by the time we got home it was 2:00. I finished up the purse I was working on an started cutting out the next one. I am going to have a FULL day tomorrow since I didn’t get as much done today as I wanted to.
I have been hem hawing around lately about getting an e-reader. I wanted a Nook to begin with then one of my on-line friends got a Kindle so I stated re-searching the Kindle and realized that I wanted that one more. Really for the money, Kindle is the way to go in my opinion. I wanted 3G access, which is standard on the Kindle 2. On the Nook, the one with 3G was actually $10 more than the Nook. I know on the Nook you can “check out” from libraries, but our library doesn’t have e-books so that was not a draw for me. Anywho, I ended up getting the Kindle with free 2-day shipping. I should have it by Thursday, I can’t wait! I will be working hard to pay for it though. I had a 10% sale this weekend, hoping that I would sell enough to be able to get it. I ended up extending the sale until today for a couple of repeat customers and ended up doing pretty well…I am going to be VERY busy making all these bags for the next few weeks!
Ok, I am getting tired and I want to go watch Warehouse 13…so i am going to call it a night!
This week has flown by…
July 16th, 2010 Shelly I have been so busy this week that it has just flown by! I can’t believe it’s Friday already. Jake took a 4 day weekend this weekend so it actually seems like the weekend started yesterday, maybe that’s why it feels like the week went so fast!
I have stayed home pretty much all week. I did run to town on Wednesday to the fabric stores and to pick up a few things for orders. Jakes parents took the kids swimming and to eat lunch so we were able to get some errands done and eat lunch with no kids for the first time this summer! Other than that I have been home working. I have a camera bag to finish today and 2 wallets to get done to get this order shipped then I have a Diaper Bag to make and I am done for the week. Once those are done this is what I will have completed this week
- 2 diapers bags
- 2 camera bags
- a 3 pocket shooter
- 3 wallets
That’s a pretty decent week for me! And I was able to finish my last book from the Millennium Trilogy and then last book from The Darkest Powers Trilogy that I had borrowed from the library this week. This is the first time in months that I don’t have any books checked out from the library. I am starting on the next Terry Goodkind book in the Sword of Truth Series, Faith of the Fallen. I have had this for ages and I decided that it’s time to get caught up on this series so unless I get a notification for one of the new books I have on hold at the library, I will be working on this series. I still have 6 to go, I think!
I have a new addiction, I think!
I have been drinking one Rock Star Energy Drink a day and I am LOVING them. I don’t know how much energy they give me, but I know that I get something! We had a bunch of coupons to get them free at one of the convenience stores here so Jake got me a bunch of them. I only have 2 left then I will have to start buying them so we’ll see how much I really want them then! The one in the photo is actually my least favorite of all the ones I have tried. Something about the guava aftertaste… My favorites are the Cola and the Fruit Punch.
Oh, I scrapped this week too!! Just one page, but it’s a start!
Isn’t she a DOLL?!!
Well, this camera bag isn’t going to sew itself so I gotta get to work!
Is it Monday again…already?
July 12th, 2010 Shelly UGH…I don’t know why, pretty much all my days are the same so Monday is just like any other day. I guess it’s because the minute I turn on the computer and get on Facebook on Monday mornings there is a plethora of “I hate Monday” posts, so it rubs off! I guess if I have a normal job I would be the same way though!
I have lots to do this week, but that’s not any different from any other week this year! I have been pretty much busy non-stop since I got my first order this year. I have not been completely caught up since then, but I love it. It means that more and more people are seeing my bags, more people are carrying them and more people want one of their very own! I still think it would be easier if I had an assistant, but until I am actually making more of a profit, that would just be insane. I wouldn’t mind having my own Max Meisel though! I mean, come on, how awesome would that be?! I don’t know if I would get more work done though so it could just defeat the point entirely.
This is what I have on tap for this week as far as work goes
- Claire Diaper Bag
- DSLR 2.0
- Trina DSLR
- Key fob
- 3 wallets
- DSLR 2.0
- 3 pocket shooter
- Hanna Diaper Bag
I don’t know that I will get ALL of this done this week, but that’s the plan anyway. It would make a huge dent in my workload!
I still need to get some laundry going and figure out what we are going to have for lunch today. We have been grilling a lot lately, that’s one thing that I love about summer!
I thought I would have some pictures to post, but they are all bag pictures and I will just save those for my Pink Punk Blog so they aren’t up 2 times. I really need to start taking more everyday pictures! Oh, I do have a couple I forgot about…
I was able to finish The Girl Who Played With Fire on Thursday night just in time to go get The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest at the library. We also watched The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo on Saturday night. I really enjoyed it, even though we had to read 2.5 hours of subtitles, I don’t know if Jake liked it as much as I did though!
This is for another wall project that I am going to start working on this week…hopefully.
It’s an 18” embroidery hoop, my mother in law found at a garage sale on Friday! It’s a pretty old one too, it’s really cool. It’s going to be the center piece on my hoop wall. I have been buying the new ones in different sizes and I am going to start filling them with fabric and patchwork projects and even some actual embroidery! It’s something I am going to start working on when I am watching TV in the evenings. I have a cool pattern printed out for one that I want to start working on tonight. Hopefully I can start getting it all put together soon, I have a big empty wall in my kitchen/dining room/ sewing area that I need to fill!
Well, I gotta get to work now…have a great Monday!
