Apron Tutorial :: Sally's Angelworks

Thank you so much, Claire, for having me over here at your sweet blog! My name is Sally, and I blog over at Sally's Angelworks! I'm a wife, mama, musician, and a quilter!! And one of my latest obsessions is aprons! I am in love with aprons right now. It feeds my desire to play with fabric in a practical way. We all want something we can use in the end, right?

 So today, I'm bringing you a fun, quick tutorial on how to make a darling little apron with embellished pockets!! Join me! Let's start by grabbing our supplies...

Supplies:

6 fat quarters of your favorite fabric! (I used Stephanie Roth's Modern Roses from Moda!!)

34 1/2" x 21" piece of backing fabric (I used premium muslin, but you could add two more fat quarters to your pile of fabrics and use them for your backing!)

Cutting:

from each of 4 FQs -   one 9" x 21" strip

1 FQ - cut 4 - 4 1/2" x 21" strips (for waist ties)

1 FQ - cut 2 - 6" x 14" rectangles

Cut out two flowers from two different FQs

Let's sew!!

Sew your 9" x 21" together on the long sides to create a big rectangle (the main front of the apron)

Place your back lining (backing) right sides together with the front. Match the edges and pin, pin, pin! Those pins are your best friends!! Sew it together on the sides and the bottom, leaving the top open.

Turn right side out turning the corners and iron the seams.

Sew the short ends of your four 4.5" x 21" strips together forming one big long strip. Press your seams open.

Place the long edges right sides together and sew along the long side making a big tube. Turn the tube right side out. Press the tube flat with the seam in the middle. 

Fold the pressed tube in half longways to find the middle of the strip. Fold the main body of the apron in half and mark the middle of the raw edge of the top. Match the top of the main body middle with the waist tie middle folded over the raw edge of the main body. (see picture above) Pin, pin, pin!!

Sew the bottom of the tie all the way across the top of the apron...

Go all the way around the top of the tie folding in the ends and finishing it all the way around.

Sew top stitching from the top of the apron to the bottom 1/4" to the left of each of the seams on the front of the apron. This keeps the layers together!

Take your pocket pieces and fold them in half right sides together. Sew them together leaving a 2" opening on the bottom of the piece.

Trim the corners and turn your pocket right side out. Press.

Place your cut out flower and sew it onto your pocket. Do this for both pockets! I used free motion quilting to sew my flowers on.

Grab your fun button bag and grab two vintage buttons.

Hand sew your buttons on!

Pin your pockets where you want them. **Hint: put the apron on and see where you want to reach for that cell phone!

Sew a double seam on the sides and bottom of the pockets to secure them.

Voila! You have an apron!!

You can add other embellishments if you'd like. Embroider your name or your word of the year! Hand sew other buttons all over the apron or sew flowers all over the apron. 

Thanks again to Claire for letting me play over here!! If you'd like to join in on more frolicking aprons, quilts, and other wildness, join me over at the blog, Sally's Angelworks

Thanks again to Claire for letting me play over here!! If you'd like to join in on more frolicking aprons, quilts, and other wildness, join me over at the blog, Sally's Angelworks

Blessings!!

10 Ways to Brighten up your Winter :: La Caseta de Paper

Let me start this post with a huge HI to all the readers of Live Love Create, my name is Laura, and I blog at La Caseta de Paper. I'm so happy to be guest posting here today! When Claire asked if I wanted to do a guest post, I quickly knew that I wanted to post about something cheerful and happy. I don't know about you, but for me January and February are the saddest months in the calendar. Christmas and its lights are gone since days ago, and Spring is still pretty far away. That's how I came up with this post: 10 Ways to Brighten Up Your Winter. I hope you'll like it, and you find some inspiration in it to fight the winter blues in it. 

10 WAYS TO BRIGHTEN UP YOUR WINTER

1. Who said that gardening is for Spring? Start an herb garden in your kitchen, you won't need much space for this! Buy little tins, or even better, recycle some you already have at home, and plant herbs that not only you can use for cooking, but that will also purify the air inside. Some ideas include rosemary, lavender, basil or mint.


2. Talking about gardening. What about cheering up those boring terracota pots you have for the balcony and garden, painting them in bright colors? In that way when Spring comes and you get them out again they'll be original, cheerful, and pretty. And meanwhile you'll have lots of fun with it! 


3. Even if usually our clothes during winter have darker colors (grey, brown, black, dark green...) cheer up your wardrobe using bright accessories. Are you wearing black today? Cheer it up using a fluor scarf!


4. If there's a tree near where you live that has lost all it's leaves, or that is all covered in snow now, you have the chance to start a wonderful project: take a photo of it every two weeks, and keep doing it for the next months (with the same tree). At the end, put the photos together: you'll see the evolution of the tree through the seasons, and believe me, that's something amazing!


5. Put up together a cute package for a friend that lives far away and surprise them sending it. You don't need to send anything expensive (bonus points if what you send is handmade), but pay lots of attention in the packaging: wrap it all up with lots of love, decorating it all in a way that they'll feel bad even unwrapping it. You'll have lots of fun putting it all together, and it will totally make your day when they contact you to say that they received it, and that it was totally amazing and unnexpected!


6. What's that skill you always wanted to learn? Play the guitar? Knitt? Learn to use your photo camera in manual mode or the sewing machine? Then winter is a great chance for it! We spend more time home because of the bad weather, and there's a bunch of good tutoraials you can find online for almost anything. And if you can get a friend to learn with you, even better, in that way you'll motivate each other in the process and it will be less likely that you give up on it.


7. Use colorful covers in your pillows and throwns. Brightening up a room with color won't cost you a fortune (you can even make the covers yourself i you know how to sew), and the visual result will for sure bring your mood up. 


8. Create a playlist only with happy cheerful songs... and listen to it every day! Songs have that amazing power to change our mood in a matter of seconds. Take advantage of it!


9. Plan a themed party! If you are a social butterfly and you love to invite people over at your place, Winter is a good excuse for a themed party. There's not much to celebrate during these months (unless it's your birthday), which means you can make up any kind of party you want. You'll have lots of fun planning it, and people for sure will appreciate it.


10. Don't forget about getting natural sunlight. Even if most of the days days are foggy, or rainy, or snowy, whenever you catch a sunny day and you get the chance, get outdoors for a while, that's one of the best antidepressants known. Do the same inside the house: sit near a sunny window to read, and let the curtains open to let as much sunshine in as possible.

Happy Winter!

Blueberry & Kale Smoothie

 

 Hello! I'm so happy to be here! Thank you, Claire, for letting me share one of my favourite recipes from my Radiate program. 

 If you want an easy smoothie recipe that helps curb sugar cravings and also gives you enough energy to start your day, this one is for you! This is also perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up if you're tempted to reach for junk food. By replacing that one bad habit (eating candy or chips in the afternoon) with a whole foods smoothie, you'll create momentum because you'll feel so good that you won't want to go back to being a slave to processed food. Depending on the season or how much "good fat" your body is craving, you can use coconut water (for warmer weather, lighter days) or coconut milk. You can use coconut milk in the carton (or homemade) which is more watery or full fat coconut milk from a can. Listen to your body, are you craving something creamy and rich or something lighter? If you have leftover kale, make some kale chips!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup fresh/frozen blueberries

1 cup coconut water or coconut milk (in a carton or full fat canned)

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon ground flax or chia seeds*

Handful of kale

Splash of vanilla extract

Pinch of cinnamon

1 tablespoon raw, local honey, coconut nectar or stevia to taste (optional)

Ice (optional)

• NOTE: If you use chia seeds, let them sit in the milk for 10 minutes or longer to "plump" up and expand. You can also just let your smoothie sit already made for 10 minutes and then consume.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Add ingredients to a blender and blend!

Tip: If you're giving smoothies to kids (or adults!) that are afraid of anything green, blend the kale (or whatever leafy green you're using) with the milk/water base first so there are absolutely no little leafy pieces, it just looks like green juice. Then add the fruit and other ingredients and blend. Enjoy!

---

Terri Ingraham is a wife, mom and holistic health coach that helps exhausted women live a more radiant life. She's a big believer in simplifying your diet and getting rid of clutter.

You can find her on her Website | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter or sharing photos on Instagram.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Hearts

As I recover from my surgery, I invited  some lovely bloggy friends help me out by guest posting !! Thank you so much !! 

Hi! This is Kristen, sister number two from Six Sisters' Stuff! We are so excited to be sharing one of our favorite Valentine treats with you today - Peanut Butter Chocolate Hearts!! They taste absolutely amazing, and make an adorable gift all wrapped up!

 

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Hearts Ingredients: (6 oz) of peanut butter 1/4 cup butter softened 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar 12 oz chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)   Directions: Mix the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and powdered sugar together. Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave using a microwave safe bowl, stirring every 45 seconds. In your heart tray place enough chocolate in the heart to cover the bottom. Then add 1 to 2 teaspoons of your peanut butter mixture on top of the chocolate.

 

 Cover your peanut butter with more melted chocolate until the heart is full. Stick in the refrigerator or freezer until hardened. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them. If you have extra peanut butter filling you can roll them into 1 inch balls (not any larger). Stick the dough into the refrigerator until cool. Next dip them into the melted chocolate. Set the chocolate coated ball onto wax paper and cool. Keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat them. Makes about 12 hearts, but it really depends on the size of your mold.

You can find the heart mold HERE for a great price!

 

September Blog Hop ~ Kiwi Lane Designs

I am really excited to be part of the September Blog hop, hosted by Kiwi Lane Designs !!!

I was sent these awesome templates to work with ..

Source 

These templates are called brackets and there are 4 in a pack and come with a ring, which makes them great for storing..

This is my first time using templates and at first i was a little unsure of how i would use them in my projects, but once i started using them on my paper the ideas started coming..

A couple of things i like about Kiwi Lane templates, firstly the shapes are detailed enough, without being too detailed that makes cutting out impossible, secondly the templates are see through, so if you would like to "fussy cut" you can easy do that and lastly they are great for layering!!

I made 2 projects with the Bracket templates, here they are ...

I love to layer, and working with the templates makes achieving that look so easy, i think they look great together.

For this tag, I stuck with the idea of layering the templates to make some fun accents, by fussy cutting my paper. 

I will definatley be using the templates on my future projects..

Here is the line up for the Blog Hop!!!

1. Kiwi Lane http://kiwilane.com/here/blog/
2. Staci Jones http://scrapbookingischeaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/
3. Tammy Smith  http://lifeupdownandsideways.blogspot.com/
4. Erin Colby: http://oursliceofcheese.blogspot.com
5. Deborah Johnson  http://scrappinthelittlethings.blogspot.com/
6. Kristy Mackeen: http://mamasanity.blogspot.com/
7. Scrappin' Madge- http://www.thescrappinlounge.com
8. Claire Hartburn http://lemonpaperdesigns.blogspot.co.uk
9. Leslie Prinkki http://www.scrapsofmine.blogspot.com
10. Melissa Dehne http://www.abitofscrappygoodness.blogspot.com/
11. Charissa Miller http://www.akihasmommascraps.com
12. Roselyn Riley http://prettylittlepackages.blogspot.com

A lucky winner from one of the participating blogs will win this awesome prize .....

please note : paper will only be awarded to US or Canadian resident and if a winner outside of those areas wins a $25.00 gift code to the Kiwi Lane shop will be issued in replacement.

give-away closes : Thursday 12th September

To enter, Stop by the blogs participating in the hop and leave a comment , one winner will be drawn at random !!

Good Luck