Pinterest review-Easy Pistachio Bread

Here's another Pinterest review.  This time I tried a dessert.  Well, a bread actually.

It was incredibly easy.  This is the pin for the Easy Pistachio Bread.  It uses yellow cake mix, pistachio pudding, and sour cream.  The batter turns out a little thick and sticky, which makes it hard to pour and spread, but doesn't seem to affect it at all.  The recipe called for a topping of cinnamon, sugar, and crushed nuts.  I opted not to add the nuts and it turned out fine.  Excellent, in fact.

This is a must do recipe; simple and quick!

Not to mention delicious!  Enjoy!

Julie :)

Pinterest review-Crockpot White bean and ham soup

So, after Easter, what do you do with all the leftover ham?  Or the ham bone?  Well, if you're like me, you turn to Pinterest!

I pinned this post for Crockpot White Bean and Ham soup and really wanted to give it a try.  Super easy to make, all you need is:

1 lb. ham, ham bone, ham hocks
1 lb. dried great northern beans, rinsed and sorted
medium onion, diced
3 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken stock (or 43.5 oz)
pepper
parsley
oregano
salt (if needed)

I added carrots (about 4 diced) and used a yellow onion.  Season to your taste; I did the "oh, that's about right" by sight method.  You put it all in the crockpot...

 ...and cook on low for 8 hours or high for about 6.  The whole house smelled amazing as this cooked all day.

It was ready to go when my husband, William, got home.  Just don't forget to remove the ham bone if you used one.  I asked William to test the soup for seasoning and he said it was perfect.
I have to agree; it was delicious!

The hardest/longest part of making this soup was dicing the carrots and onion.  Love it!  Can't wait to make this again.

Here's the finished product...

Perfect for a cold, snowy or rainy day.

Try it out!

Julie :)

Happy Easter!

I'm hoping you all have a wonderful Easter and get your fill of ham and eggs!  We celebrated yesterday evening and had a fabulous dinner.  My sister, Heidi, made cheesy potatoes, corn pudding, and an amazing crockpot peach cobbler.  It was so good.

Today I'm just relaxing and working on a birthday project for my sister, Jennifer.  Can't believe April's almost over.  Where has the time gone?

Next month I have a couple birthdays and a graduation party to plan.  May will be busy.
Stay tuned for the posts on those projects!

Julie :)

Only in Wisconsin...

So, last week I wrote how wonderful the weather was and posted a couple pics of my nephew, Jeffrey, enjoying the weather.  This weekend it turned cold and rainy.  Yesterday, was horrible!
I woke up to this...

You can't tell from the pic but it was snowing and blowing.  Just miserable.  High was 35 degrees.  And I ended up having a graveside funeral service to attend.  Not ideal.

Today it's cold, 31 degrees so far this am, but the sky is blue and it's sunny out.  Snow is melting slowly.  I'm hoping this is the last of the winter weather until Fall.  I'm ready for summer!

How is it in your "neck of the woods"?

Julie :)

Dreary day and garage sale haul!

While it's a cold, rainy day here, I still went to a garage sale which advertised FABRIC!  That, my friends, is all it takes to get me there.  I love fabric, especially when its cheap.  Remnants are my favorites, but garage sale fabrics are a close second.

I made an awesome haul; got nine different fabrics.  Anywhere from a yard to 2 1/2 yards.  And priced at $2-5 dollars each.

The three fabrics on the left are jersey knit.  The rest are wool blends, polyester, etc.  No cottons though.  They plan to have a couple more sales coming up and will be adding to what they have so I'll definitely go back.

Can't wait to start playing with my new fabrics!

See any you like?

Julie :)

Spring has FINALLY sprung!

Finally we have been getting spring weather here in Wisconsin.  It's been a tough winter. To celebrate the warmer weather and blue skies, here's an couple adorable pics of my nephew, Jeffrey, playing outside.  

Isn't he cute?  He's obsessed with being outside and I have to say, with this weather, I am too.

Have a great week!!

Julie :)

How do you DO that?

Several people have asked me how I make my bags/pouches, or even hats.  Honestly, I just make it up as I go.  I will most likely never post a tutorial because I rarely use a pattern, plus I never make the same item the same way.  If I do use a pattern or tutorial, I'll include the link on my post so you can easily find it.

Basically, I go on Pinterest and do a search on an item.  Anything really.  I pin those that I like.  If there's a tutorial or pattern with, great.  If not, I just use the pin as inspiration.

Then I search youtube.  I search for tutorials on anything I'm not sure how to do.  For example, how to insert a zipper into any bag or making a basic beanie.  Those videos I save in my favorites on my youtube channel.

Sometimes I use graph paper to make a diagram of what I'm thinking of making.  It will have the measurements for the item and any details I plan to add.
Like this...

Then I just make it.  Spend plenty of time sitting and staring at my fabric or a picture too.  Just thinking about how I plan on going about making it.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  If it doesn't, then I have ideas on how to improve it and make it work.  I just keep trying until I get it how I like.  Then I'll make several to practice.  

And there you go... 

Luckily I have lots of friends and family that are willing to use my duds or will be guinea pigs for me.  And they help me think of new ideas to make as well.  

Julie :)

Mail Sack bag

Well, I finally finished it.  My first project that I made off an actual pattern.  Whew... 
Wasn't that bad but I definitely need to practice.  I bought this pattern at my favorite sewing store Life's a Stitch (I know the owners).  I followed the mini mail sack pattern and this is what it looks like....

I really liked this bird fabric I found at Joann's Fabrics.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it again.  Should have bought more.  

I used a fusible interfacing to make it more sturdy but I'm not exactly liking it.  It's a pain to sew with.  I had some problems with the lining because I used a smaller seam allowance (like an idiot) than the rest of the bag. Oops.  So it was bigger than the outside and, therefore, harder to add.  But from the pics you'd never notice.

Have a pocket inside that is split into two medium sized pockets and a small narrow pocket for a pen or pencil.  

Overall, cute bag.  And pretty easy to do.  I want to try making one without the interfacing and see how it turns out... oh, and use the right seam allowance for the lining, too.  

It measures approximately 12 inches wide by 11 inches high.  The strap is approximately 36.5 inches long.  I'd like to make the strap longer for me as it is too short for a cross body as it is.  
This is what it looks like on...

My son's beautiful girlfriend, Brittany, is modeling the mail sack.

Julie :)

Evergreen Guild Quilt Show

Last weekend, March 29-30, was the Evergreen Guild Quilt Show here in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  It was held at Ashwaubenon High School and is one of our biggest.  So I went with my grandma and aunt on Sunday.  One word... unbelieveable!  Amazing to see the beautiful work people can do.  I was in awe.  It sparked a lot of creative energy within me.

I took a ton of pictures so I won't post them all, but just highlight some of the ones I liked the best.  This one had beautiful free motion quilting elements and I like that it isn't a typical "quilt."

Next...

I loved this cat quilt.  Colorful and original.  The quilter stated that she had several cat patterns and created this quilt to merge them all together. Here's a couple close ups...

So cute, right?  The work that goes into these quilts is mind blowing.  

Here...

...are two quilted wall hangings.  They look more like paintings.  The one on the bottom with the fish won an award and actually had beading in it as well.  

I noticed that several quilts had 3D effects.  Loved the look.  This bird quilt wall hanging below was so adorable and the leaves on the branch were a nice touch.

This quilt was more traditional and looks like something I may be able to replicate.  It received an honorable mention.

 Here's a close-up.

Besides the quilts on display and being judged, there were booths with local quilt shops.  Of course, I had to check them out.  I hadn't heard of most of them.

This booth was for Silver Thimble Quilts and displayed some quilting kits they offer.  

I, of course, loved the dog pillows.  The fabric they offered was wonderful.  Needless to say, I'll be visiting that store here in Green Bay.

There also was a table with handmade christening gowns on it.  This one was my favorite.

The details on it were amazing, especially the flowers on the bottom.

Gorgeous.

This post is getting really long so I'll just finish up with a couple more pics.  I can't wait to visit some of the quilting stores I found and to try out some of the ideas I saw.

There's a Shop the Top Shop Hop coming up I plan on going to.  It's May 2-10 and is located in the upper peninsula of Michigan. You can purchase a "passport" for $5.00 at any shop on the tour and it entitles you to 20% off your fabric purchased at each shop plus a different holiday pattern from each shop.  There will also be door prizes if you visit all 10 shops.  If you are local, I highly recommend going.  Here's a list of the shops:

Alley Kat's Quilt Shop-Marquette, MI

Ben Franklin-Marquette, MI

Country Garden Quilts-Ishpeming, MI

The Fabric Patch-Ironwood, MI

Jeri's Quilt Patch-Norway, MI

Pine Street Quilts-Marinette, WI

Portage Quilt House-Houghton, MI

Quilter's Haven-Menominee, MI

Quilts 'n Stuff by Glenna-Escanaba, MI

Sew Irresistible-Houghton, MI

More details can be found by following the link for The Fabric Patch.

Can't wait for Summer!!!!

Julie :)

Flowered zipper pouch

I have another zippered pouch to show you all.  This one is my favorite one so far.

I used Pellon fusible fleece interfacing which gave it a more quilted feeling.  The zipper turned out great and I made a little tail on the end.  I didn't really use a long enough zipper, which would have made it easier to sew. Oh, well.  I'm still learning.
  Here's the inside...

  And here's a close up...

I love the lace embellishment. I've got tons of ideas for different pouches so I won't post all of them.  Just the ones that turned out the best.

This weekend I plan to finish up the "mail bag" to show you and I will post pictures from the Evergreen Guild Quilt show I went to last weekend.  It was amazing.  Hope to see you back here for that!

Julie  :)

Couple matching zippered pouches

Really liked this fabric and decided to use it to practice my zippered pouches.  I'm getting the hang of it now and found out how to square off the zippered ends nicely.

Take a look...

I used both of them for our spring break weekend at the Wilderness in Wisconsin Dells.  The one standing up has a boxed bottom with more rounded zipper ends.  Here's a close up...

The inside is a pretty turquoise with a flower pattern.  Hard to get a good pic but here it is...

 I really enjoy making these pouches.  My idea is to make a bunch to sell at craft fairs.  Thinking of having little kits to go along with them.  Just a thought.

Julie  :)





Pinterest review...Cottage cheese eggs

I've decided to share with you, not only my current craft projects, but also my comments on things I've tried off pinterest.  Here is one now...

So I was intrigued by this pin Egg and Cottage Cheese Scramble
I tried it.  Now, my pic does not look anything like the pin's pic but I didn't exactly follow the directions.  I mean, how hard can it be, right? 

 

Soooo... not appealing, is it?  Didn't taste too bad.  Has the consistency of bread pudding.  In case you have issues with textures.  I had a bagel with cream cheese with this so I must have had a good protein boost for the day. 

 

Here's the big question:  Would I make it again?  I hesitate to say for sure, but probably.  Maybe it would look better if I had followed the recipe or microwaved it. 

 

If you decide to try it, please comment below and let me know what you think!

 

 

Julie  :)

I'm baaaack......!

Sorry everyone!  My computer bit the dust.  I took it in to be fixed and it took them almost 4 weeks to find out it can't be fixed.  The motherboard is shot.  So I had to purchase a new computer. 

And here we are.  I'm back in action and have tons of stuff to share with you. 

New pouches, a sling bag, Quilt show... stay tuned for lots of new posts.

Julie

Got a package in the mail... NEW Gina K paper!!

I'm so excited!  Yesterday I received my package from Gina K designs!  I ordered on Friday evening and got it by Wednesday.  Quick shipping.  And it was heavy.

Okay, what I got....

Paper and FREE STUFF!

I got 2 packages of heavy base weight card stock (120lb weight) in white, 2 packages of layering weight card stock (80lb weight) in white, then one package each of heavy base weight card stock in ivory, dark chocolate, edible eggplant, and kraft.  That's 8 packages of paper!

Soooo.... I was on youtube and found a video on copic marker coloring (can't find the video now).  The presenter recommended Gina K designs pure luxury paper.

I've been coloring with copics for a while now but just can't seem to get the shading and effects I want.  From this video I learned it was most likely because of the paper I was using.  I've been using a cheap brand/type of paper from Walmart or Office Max and the copics were bleeding through.  I decided that if I wanted a higher quality of cards, I needed to get the higher quality of paper.  I went on Gina K's website and found the paper that was recommended...

and was pleasantly surprised at the price.  It was $6.95 for 25 sheets.  Stampin Up! paper is $7.50 for 40 sheets and I was recently told by a relative that their quality has gone down.  Plus you pay shipping.

The best part about Gina K's website is that if you spend $50, shipping to the US is FREE.  Oh, yeah!!  You got me with free shipping.  Plus.... if you spend $25 you get a free item.  This is what I received...

and it's a larger stamp.  About 4-5 inches long.  Pretty cool, right?
Then, if you spend $50 you get another free item.  I got...

which is the one I really wanted.
 So I got $50 in paper, free shipping, and TWO free stamps!  AWESOME!!

Check back for my review of Gina K designs paper.

Julie 

Third times the charm... New sewing project!

Ok... this is the THIRD time I've attempted to post.  I keep getting hung up trying to download my pics.  Let's hope this works.

I'm behind on my posting... SORRY!  Life sort of happened.  But I'm back on track and ready to share.

Here's my new sewing project I completed today.

Little zippered pouch.

Yay! It worked! I digress... onward.

Made this little zippered pouch using a pattern from pattydoo loves to sew.  Love her blog!  Her site is in German but she has some tutorials in English.  The video goes through each step clearly and is easy to understand.  Since the video has English subtitles, I often will mute the sound so I will read the text and not watch her talk. Yup, I'm weird.  Turned out pretty good. Especially this being my first time sewing a zipper and making box pleats.  The pleats were easy; zipper challenging.  But it's done.

And here's what I learned.  Being a beginner at sewing, ALWAYS stick to the pattern!  And if the pattern calls for a zipper in a size not carried in my local stores, opt for the LARGER size.  Do not take the smaller zipper (7 inches, in this case, because it was cheaper) and then try to adjust the pattern to fit it.  Not smart.  In hindsight I realize I should have got the larger 9 inch zipper and just cut it to 8 3/4 inches.  Live and learn.
Next, when the pattern calls for Pellon #987F interfacing fleece, use that and not another type of interfacing EVEN THOUGH it seemed thin enough.  Yeah, really made things a lot more difficult by using a medium weight craft fusible interfacing.  Ugh.

From the pics it doesn't look like much is wrong but the ends of the zipper are a little wonky.  And I had to stuff it with fabric to get it to stand up (should have boxed/squared off the corners).  But now I know what to do for the next ones.  And I will be making more of these.  They're SUPER easy and so much fun to make.

What do you think?

Julie 

The first day of my blogging life!

Today I am starting my blog.  I hope that you enjoy it as much as I will! Please bear with me as I learn and grow...


Julie :o)