Fancy'in Up The House! Pillow Tutorial

 I've said it before and I'll say it again.

 I love to decorate and bake and give and sit in the sparkle.

 Decorating the house is a lot of fun....and I found the easiest, most funnest, super simplest tutorial that looks AMAZING when they're done..... SPROCKET PILLOWS!!!

I made a few for gifts last year, and when I pulled out mine to add to our festive decor, I *knew* I had to share the joy of making them. Even if you're not a strong in the sewing area; this is a super easy project to make.

This tutorial is courtesy of the AMAZING Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew.

Her photos and step by step instructions make everything easy and understandable.

Sprocket Pillow Tutorial HERE.

The bottom centre one is Mine. :)

Happy Sewing & Decorating!

Handmade Homemade Christmas Traditions Pt 2

I love to do a handmade Christmas.

 I mean, let's face it. We all of us mostly have everything we need.

And these days, if we need something, usually, we can just run down to the nearest big box and grab it.

And handmade or homemade gifts, well, they're just that extra special touch for the holidays.

I remember as kids; my next door neighbours always made trays of cookies, treats and  handmade ornaments for the trees for us.

And I remember 'helpin' in the kitchen as Mom made up her homemade gifts for the neighbours & church Christmas bazaars.

 So these past few years, I have tried to make a few homemade items to mix in with my storebought treasures.

NONE of these recipes require anything fancier than you can get in your own local grocery store!!

Here are a few of my Go-To Holiday recipes, treats & tricks from some of the coolest Bloggers out there. All the below recipes I have made and had great results. Again; read everything through before starting!!

Homemade Salted Caramels: Tried and true recipe at "Inspired Treats. A great recipe with video. Patience pays off for these melt in your mouth treats.

Macarons - ......Read THIS first. Oh gosh. They're tricky but again, take your time. Patience pays off!

Candy Cane Whoopie Pies - My teenaged nephew inhaled these. They're pretty darn good!

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies  - One of my favourite Bloggers of all time; Sally @ Sally's Baking Addiction. So many recipes, So little time! She has an awesome cookbook too. It's on my wish list.

Crisp & Chewy Molasses Cookies - I like this one, also a favourite is Moravian Molasses Thins.

Homemade Spice Rub - My own Creation! Great on chicken, pork & beef!

Classic Chocolate Chip - I use the same batter, just double or triple the recipe, divide it up and then  switch out the chips; I change out Peppermint Chips, Butterscotch Chips & Peanut Butter Chips to make a super easy master recipe. 

 (I have to confess that Sally's recipe has replaced my Grandma's recipe. Ssh. Don't tell.)

Home Made Spice Rub!

Here's a little sumthin' that I like to whip up for the cooks in my life.

Super easy, VERY affordable, and looks great when you're done.

Head to your nearest Bulk Barn or equivalent - any Bulk food store will do.

Next trip, any local Dollar store to pick up fancy labels and jars.

Similar ones to this were THREE for $1.25

You can get fancy labels to peel & stick, too! 45 for 1.25! 

Photo credit: Spruce Up Organization

This is the mix I use, and the approximate amounts of each. You can adjust and tweak away to suit your tastes! The entire take home price was just under $20.00 for all the below ingredients.

You can do gifts for almost 8 people (depending on size of the jar) for less than $30.00!!

Ingredients:

Chili Power, Ancho Chili Powder, Smoked Paprika, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Black Pepper, Kosher Salt, Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Cumin & Turmeric.

Uses: Use as a dry rub for chicken, beef & pork. Slather on your favourite BBQ sauce overtop for an extra yummy bonus. Great as a marinade, just add lemon juice!

In a big bowl, I mix: 

1 Cup each of:  Chili Power, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder

Half Cup each of: Ancho chili powder, black pepper

Quarter Cup each of: Kosher salt, basil, oregano, Cumin, Turmeric

2 Tbsp Smoked Paprika

3 Tbsp Flour (Can be omitted)

Using a  wooden spoon, mix up all your spices. Taste test and adjust accordingly.

Spoon into glass jars, add some ribbon or trim, and voila. 

Cute, functional and affordable Christmas gifts.

Different ideas for how to wrap!

Screeching Halt..........

I would like to say that I LOVE my Janome. I've had Precious for just about two years now; and she's been an absolute dream.

The more I learn the craft of sewing, the more I discover what she and I can do together.

Each discovery of 'foot' and 'plate' is super exciting to me.

Here she is. I love this machine.

Is it weird that I consider my machine (Precious) more than just a tool; more like a co-worker?

Well, sometimes co-workers get sick or just have an off day.

Precious is going to the doctor today - the tension has gone completely wonky. And now, the thread is catching on something and burrs up, and ...snaps.

I did all I could do. Cleaned, oiled, adjusted bobbin, thread, and needle.

Then last night I had a revelation....what has recently changed. What's the variable in the equation that is different....

A few weeks ago I had wrecked my 1/4 inch foot.

 (Don't ask.)

SO I went to my local sewing shop, where my Precious came from - to replace the foot. I was given what I thought was the same....but oh no. No it wasn't. The place where the needle goes in was NARROWER than the one I was using.  You can see how technical I am here.

The problem was; when sewing over seam intersections; the needle would sometimes 'move' to the right slightly and then BAM!! All sorts of sounds and sirens would go off - and my machine would freeze. The needle was hitting the foot. And jarring the whole system back up through the tension disks....le sigh. You can see where this is going.

So all day yesterday I was fighting with the tension on my machine. An entire

quilt top has had to be re-sewn together. I had to pick out half of the FMQ design on a custom order for Christmas.

The silverlining is: I went back to the Singer store, and the guy was like, NO problem. Bring your machine, bring the foot, we'll switch it out, tune up your machine, make it right. (There is a cost involved, but I figured, two years, I'm due for a tuneup.)

So .....no sewing today. Working on some scarves instead.

Gah. Tis the season!!!

On a happier note; I decorated the house for Christmas this week!

The annual "Which Damn Bulb is the Burnt Out One" game

All done! Pretty lights.

Night time shot.

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