On the first day of Handmade Christmas, Holiday Coasters!

These holiday coasters are so functional, so cute, and so easy to make! I just picture them wrapped up with a mug and some tea bags. What a great gift! Here’s how you can make them.

Step 1: Cut out two squares of fabric 5 inches by 5 inches. You can use the same fabric or two coordinating fabrics. I like to use two coordinating fabrics for some variety. Cut out 1 square of Insul Bright 5 inches by 5 inches. Insul Bright is the stuff that keeps the heat & cold out. You can find Insul Bright in the interfacing section in your fabric store.

Step 2: Layer your three pieces in the following order:  Insul Bright on bottom, first fabric (right side facing up), second fabric (wrong side facing up). Pin in place. See below for illustration.

Step 3: With a 1/4 inch seam allowance, stitch completely around the square, leaving a 2 inch opening on one side. Clip corners being careful not to clip the corner seams.

Step 3: With a turning tool, working in between the two fabric layers, turn the fabric inside out. Press, making sure you press the opening in as well.

Step 4: Topstitch around four sides of coaster, making sure to sew the open end closed. I used a decorative stitch for this step, but any stitch will work.

Enjoy your coasters!!

12 Days of Handmade Christmas

I’m so excited about this little project I have underway. I am going to give you “12 Days of Handmade Christmas”projects. For the next 12 days, I’m going to give you one handmade project a day. Each project will be Christmas themed or at least worthy of Christmas gift giving. I’m doing this so early in November to give you plenty of time to finish some of these projects for all of those special people on your list. The projects maybe be sewing, cooking, or crafting of any kind. So sit back, unleash your creative juices, and enjoy!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors. I look forward to Fall  so I can sample all of the pumpkin pies, breads, and other sweets offered this time of year. I came across this recipe for Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, and I could not pass it up. I remember my mother used to make us chocolate whoopie pies when we were little.  We didn’t have them very often, so they were a very special treat. Mom says she got the recipe from this lady in our church named Lizzie.  I’m not sure what her real name was – I’m guessing Elizabeth. Still, I love the fact that my mom got a whoopie pie recipe from someone named Lizzie. Over the years, Mom lost the recipe. About a year ago, I came across another whoopie pie recipe, the chocolate version. My husband loves them. This week, I tried  the Pumpkin Whoopie Pie recipe from Bon Appetit. These little pies are fabulous, especially if you love pumpkin. I made them smaller than the recipe called for, and it made about 20 pies.  I took one box to my friend, one to my coworkers, and we scarfed up the rest of them ourselves. What a great Fall treat!

Orange Sorbet

Last week, I accidentally bought a gallon of orange juice just to find an unopened gallon already in my fridge. Fearing that it would spoil, I tried to find a way to use my excess orange juice. I found a recipe for Orange Sorbet in the September 2007 issue of Cooking Light. It calls for fresh squeezed orange juice. I used my 100% pure store bought orange juice instead, and I think it turned out great. This is one of the easiest sorbet recipes I have ever made. If you have an ice cream maker, you must try!! It is so good. It reminds me of the old Orange Julius drinks you could get in the mall. There is NO way you can eat just one scoop!!

Fabric Givaway

Isn’t this the cutest fabric ever?? You can win this by posting a comment at Lila Tueller’s blog here! I love her designs. I’m crossing my fingers that I win!!

Lip Balm

Friends – I have so many things to blog about. I just can’t seem to find time to sit down type it out. On top of the crafty & foodie topics I have lined up, my husband & I are getting ready to embark upon a 12 day trip to Italy, Greece, and Turkey. We’re calling this our “pre-children” vacation. I will try to do some blogging during our trip of all of the great things I know we’re going to see.  Also, I know it’s National Sewing Month, and I have certainly been doing my part to celebrate. I have made a few bags, softies, more crayon rolls, and (drum roll), my very first dress. More to come on all of those. 

For now, I must tell you about this fabulous lip balm recipe I have come across.  I ordered some inexpensive lip balm tins several months ago, and I’ve been in search of just the right recipe to fill them since. I found this one at chezlin, and it worked like a charm. Beeswax, oil (I used olive), and essential oil are all you need. Heat it all up, and pour into the tins. I cut out labels for the top of tins, and I handed them out to my friends at work the next day. I was thinking these would make great party favors or even stocking stuffers. I am going to make some more in a different flavor very soon.

Tiramisu

I mentioned in my last post that we were responsible for salad & dessert at the Labor Day bbq. I must tell you about the dessert. I made Tiramisu because I feel like most people like this dessert and it’s not that hard to make, at least not the recipes I use. On that note, I have never used the same Tiramisu recipe twice.  Well, I found a winner. This is the best Tiramisu recipe I have tried so far.  The recipe serves 15, so I cut it in half with no problems. I will use this one over and over again. I found this Tiramisu recipe here!

Labor Day Strawberry Spinach Salad

We’ve been trying to catch up with our neighbors for several months now. We finally committed to a bbq on Labor Day at their house. We were responsible for the salad & dessert. I’ve seen many variations of the salad below, and I drew from all of them to come up with this one. I added strawberries to the salad, but you could add any fruit. Pears or raspberries would be great too. This makes a really pretty salad, and it’s tasty. I made my own sugared walnuts and used this recipe I posted last year. I used  store bought Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing, but I noticed some recipes use balsamic vinaigrette instead. That sounds great too.

Labor Day Strawberry Spinach Salad

Baby Spinach

Sliced Fresh Strawberries

Sugared Walnuts

Feta Cheese – Crumbled

Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing

Layer spinach, strawberries, feta, and walnuts in a really pretty bowl.  Serve with dressing on the side.

Zucchini

Can you believe this zucchini my coworker brought me? Yes, that’s a regular sized peach next to it. I joked that I could slice it & make zucchini steaks. Looks like there is some zucchini bread in my future.

The Original Pancake House

Last weekend, we took a much needed mini vacation to Chicago.  In preparation of our trip, I went through the usual restaurant diligence I always go through when planning a trip. I came across a glowing review for The Original Pancake House. It was just a couple of blocks down from our hotel, so we were able to get there easily. Now I must tell you, this isn’t the “original” Original Pancake House. In fact, the original was actually in Portland, Oregon. Still it seems to be a favorite in the Chicago area. We got a little nervous when we walked up & saw the long line, but it moved fast. We were seated within 15 minutes. They are famous for their Apple Pancake and Dutch Baby. I went with the Apple Pancake. It was w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l! It was a lot to eat too! I’m glad we went here on our first day in Chicago. It kind of set the weekend off right!