Checkbook Covers

THIS was a great fast project!  And the best part, it helped me clear out some of my scraps.  I found this project for Checkbook Covers at Sewplicity.  The tutorial was clear and simple.

My girls were off to Six Flags New England for the day and I snuck this in late in the afternoon.

Ready, Set, Sew

I started with cutting all my fabrics.  I made TWO.  One in pink quilting cottons.  The other with a 'french country' flair but I used home decorators fabric on the outside.  It made the project thicker but more durable.  Elizabeth took it like a champ!

Sewing inside pieces together and pressing the seams.

I basted the inside pieces to the big inside piece.  Then sewed the outside to the inside and 'flipped' it right side out.

Making sure to poke those corners out nice and square!  Then, HOT STEAM.

Almost there...time for topstiching

Outsides

Insides

But wait! What is THAT?

My first label!!!

I would highly recommend this fun project.  I got quick results and it is already in my purse with my checkbook in it.  

Fabulous Friday: Roasted Chicken

Ever since we purchased a convection oven - I love to roast chickens.  It usually takes just over an hour.  I LOVE that!  We had some great cool weather (70 degrees while the rest of the states were broiling)  so I was able to turn on the oven.

There really is nothing more 'fowl' than raw chicken so I apologize for the photos.  I invest in the best quality chicken I can find/afford.  Which is not always easy to do.  Today I am roasting TWO to save time.

First thing I do is place sliced lemon and rosemary in the bird cavity.  Sometimes I throw onion in too - today I had none.






Then I lift the skin and add coconut oil under the breast skin.  However, my coconut oil is liquefied right now so I used pats of butter instead.  Crushed pepper and sea salt on top - and they are read to roast!


325 (convect) for 1 hour 15 mins... and they are DONE!


We had sliced cold chicken for dinner tonight.  We will have: chicken salad, chicken divan, and chicken stirfry.  When all that good chicken is picked off - I will make STOCK (another post for sure) and we will have a huge pot of soup.  The girls have been asking for Chicken Noodle.

It helps to stretch those pricey chickens for a LOT of meals.  

Of course - knowing that I am making a healthy choice for my family helps too.  During Soccer Season I find this is my best dinner to serve.  I roast them during the day - then depending on who eats before or after late practice - I know they are getting a good protein meal that won't weigh them down.

New England Day Trip

Remember the story of the First Thanksgiving?  Did you study the Pilgrims or the Mayflower? Ever wonder what life was like back in the 1600s?

Guess where we went!

Plimouth Plantation

It is not the first time I have been - but I can assure you I was on a school bus with 60 of my closest friends at the time and I am sure I was wearing polyester pants!  Lulu and I did this one while Coco was at camp.  We enjoyed the company of close friends which made the day even more special.

This was a great day trip.  There was a large focus on the Wampanoag tribe so it was nice to see the comparison between the Native Americans and the Settlers.

The actors are in traditional dress and spoke with British accents - going on about their daily lives.  When we arrived one woman (in a full on wool long skirt) was doing laundry in a tub.  Lulu was able to help spread the linens out to dry on the field.

There were so many textures and things to see and touch.  I took a LOT of photos- ENJOY!!!

Insided a home: 

Not exactly the Viking 6 burner gas range!

A HUGE stack of wood!

My favorite Rooster - running around the yard

Lulu asking a 'laundry' question

View of Massachusetts Bay

Then we found the Children's Playroom which offered dress up clothes (and comfy chairs & AC for the adults)

Playing the 'Goodewife'

  

We did not make it onto the Mayflower 2 for a tour - however we found THIS place in downtown Plymouth:

Insanity at its finest!

Notice there is one missing?? That was an Oreo Cookie Cupcake.  And I can assure you there indeed was a creamy white filling inside!

Scrapbook Magazine

Ohhh!  Look what arrived today!  AND it's Halloween!

Prepping for a Sewing Store Trip

How do you prepare for that big sewing store trip?  My Joanns is a solid 25-30 mins away and I do not make that trip often.

I can sit online and search ideas all day long.  I love to 'bookmark' them all.  Eventually, I sit down and decide what I will make next.

THEN figuring out what I need is the most overwhelming part.  I finally have found the perfect tool for this task.

Evernote has saved the day!

 It is free too!!  

Since l loaded this onto my laptop and iPhone - I always am prepared when I head to the sewing store.

It is really cool... I open it on my laptop and create a new Note and name it.  Then in that note I save a picture of what I am making, the link for it and then I can copy and paste the materials needed for the task.  Exactly as they are written online.  No mistakes here!  It also has this great check box system where I can check off items that I have in my shopping cart.

Once I have all my Notes written and ready to go - I sync it with my iPhone and like magic I have it all with me on the go all the time.

It has saved me a lot of time and energy.  I can also ask for advice by showing the pictures of what I am planning or where things are in the store.

The BEST part is - I can spend my time focused on picking my fabrics and not worrying about all the little details.  I think we can all agree if you pick the wrong fabrics - the project is a fail!  I could honestly spend 3 hours looking at fabrics!


Since I have started shopping this way - I am so happy.  It also helps keep me on track for making sure I have all the items I really need and not to get distracted by 'pretty' things.


SO if you have an iPhone I suggest giving it a try!


I also use this for all kinds of other lists - especially as a girl scout leader, school library coordinator, school enrichment chairperson... you get the idea!

 (Notice my new iPhone cover! It's Lily!!)

They are Here

It is official!  

I have my own sewing labels.

Now the pressure is on to get some great ideas going for the Fall!

(Note: these were purchased from Jennifer's Jewels on Etsy)

Alphabet Bean Bags

Here is a little project I took on.... Alphabet Bean Bags.  I found this FABULOUS tutorial at Chez Beeper & Bebe.

 I was looking for a gift to sew for our 5 year niece/nephew twins - this is perfect!

I spent days cutting muslin squares (26 to be exact), coordinating rainbows of my scraps, and cutting letters.  BUT I finally did it!

I

After that it was an assembly line at the sewing machine.  I had Coco and Lulu filling the bags with beans as I sewed.  Sew a bag, fill a bag, seal a bag.   It was great!

Then I made a drawstring bag to store them all in.  (no photo..sorry!)

My final notes on this project: This is a GREAT use of scraps! I also wish I had doubled up the vowels yet I did not think of that until I had it all cut. 

These turned out to be a bigger hit than I thought.  I am thinking of doing MATH bean bags as a follow up...