February 12, 2014

A Hankering For . . . Fresh Baked Bread

Good Morning!

Warm, soft bread fresh from the oven . . . slathered with butter and honey is a treat I remember from my childhood days.  A truly blissful experience.

I don't know about the rest of you but I can't remember the last time I've baked bread from scratch.

Sometimes I try to cheat a little and purchase frozen loaves of bread to bake.
It's good, but somehow lacks the perfection of bread made from scratch.

Seeing as I'm sorely out of practice in the bread making department, yet still hankering for it all the same.  I've been pinning away on Pinterest recipes to try my hand at.

Thought I'd share what I've come across just in case there are a few of you out there hankering for some freshly baked bread also.

Miracle Bread - only takes one hour to make, start to finish! They don't buy bread anymore.  (she said she's made the whole wheat version, and her family loves that one too!)


EASY Homemade French Bread for about $0.25 a loaf- make 4 loaves in an hour.


Peasant Bread ~ The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make... It’s a no-knead bread. It bakes in well-buttered pyrex bowls and it emerges golden and crisp. It's spongy and moist with a most-delectable buttery crust


Artisan bread fro 40 cents a loaf from theitaliandishblog.com. We love our bread! I'm going to have to give this a try.


60 Minute Rolls


English Muffin Bread!  The EASIEST bread you'll ever make...and the BEST TOAST  you'll ever EAT. :-)


They all look so tasty don't they.

Which one would you try first?

Robin

February 11, 2014

Simple Pillow Cover

A few nights ago I had an itch to break out the sewing machine.

Tried to ignore it . . . But it didn't go away.

So instead of going to bed like a good little girl I started scrounging around in my bin of scrap fabric to see what I could come up with.

Here's the newest addition to my collection of pillow slipcovers.


The case itself is just a simple envelope style which are a snap to put together.  I have a tutorial, here, if your interested.


I am obsessed with hand crocheted trim of late.  

Recently I found a length of red trim at the thrift store and was so excited to finally use it on something.


I thought the buttons would be a nice touch too!

I think perhaps if I copy this pattern in the future I'll make the center section smaller.  But all in all I like the way it looks.



Late night sewing sessions are so much fun!

Now I'm itch'in to try a white on white version of this pillow with pretty mother of pearl buttons.  Wouldn't that be pretty?


Have a great day everyone,

Robin

February 10, 2014

How To Build A Rustic Bead-Board Box

Good Morning Everyone!

Today I'm going to show you how I built the beadboard box that I've used as a centerpiece in the dinning room.


I love how rustic and vintage it looks.

I was pleasantly surprised how quick and easy it was to put together.



To build your own you'll need. . . 

1 - 1X8 cut 21" long
2 - 1X8 cut 6 1/8" tall
4 - pieces of bead board paneling cut 21" long
drill
screws
drill bits
brad gun
brads
wood glue

First cut all your wood to the correct size.



Next, attach the two side pieces.

Making sure to pre-drill any holes, and then attach with wood screws.


It should then look like this.


Here's another view.


The next step is to attach the two remaining sides.

Add a little wood glue along all three sides of the frame.


Then using your brad gun, attach the bead board to the frame.


Repeat on the other side and you should have something that looks like this.


To finish off the project I used my dry-brush/scraping technique to give it a weathered, rustic look.

I have a tutorial on how to do it here.

The key is to use very little top coat paint at a time.  Add a thin layer, then scrap it off.  This makes the wood grain pop out.


It's a very simple technique to use and it has wonderful results.


Hope you enjoyed!

Bye now,

Robin

Linked to:

February 5, 2014

Simple Valentine's Day Decor

I might just be the new world record holder for fastest Valentine's Day Decorator of 2014.

Took me 15 minutes flat - - which includes searching for my box of supplies in the storage area.

This past weekend I wanted to get my decorations up but I just wasn't excited about it at all.

Hence, the speed decorating.


I've been a bad blogger and reused items from past years.

I few new items were thrown into the mix but not many.


Vintage Valentine's Day Cards take center stage in the hutch . . . 


Along with a few of the beaded hearts I made which I talked about earlier in the week.


Added a duct tape rose my daughter made for me a few years ago. 


My new chalkboards teamed up with a plate filled with pretty hearts - - again, last years project.





In the kitchen, I used tiny clothespins to hang my homemade Valentine card from to my chicken wire frame. 


Don't you just love Scotties?


And I also hung a few more beaded hearts around the kitchen.





As you can see, nothing too complicated  - - but just enough so I can say I've decorated.

Have a great day,

A Hankering For . . . Quilts

Here in Minnesota we are experiencing a very harsh winter, not unlike many of you I'm sure.

With such cold weather to deal with the family and I are snuggling in deep to our toasty, warm house.

More often than not, pretty quilts are on hand to keep us warm.

Which makes me think I should dive into my stash of fabric and start a new quilt.

So I've been looking for inspiration and thought maybe you'd like to see what I've found.


simple sawtooth star quilt pattern
Source

love

Source

simple
Source


fun scrappy quilt
Source


simple quilting pattern on squares - <3 - Sew Katie Did   Just like a quilt I have that my grandmother did!
Source

I'm not up to making this quilt yet, but someday I will have one like this.
It's been my favorite pattern since I was in collage.

.
Source


Makes you want to dust off the sewing machine doesn't it!

bye now,

Robin

February 4, 2014

Easy Beaded Hearts

Good Morning!

I'm repeating myself a little with this Valentine's Day project - - well sort of.


You may remember for Christmas I made beaded stars to hang in my kitchen. 

 I had so much fun with it I thought making a few hearts for Valentine's Day would be equally fun.

I wasn't wrong.


If your interested in looking back at the tutorial for the stars,
 here's the link

 Just bend your wire into hearts instead of stars.


I made a handful of hearts in different sizes and scattered them throughout by displays in the kitchen and in my hutch.


I love how they give off a little sparkle on sunny days.


Plus they were quick and easy to make which is wonderful for me since I been feeling like I just can't seem to stay caught up lately.  LOL.

Hope you have a wonderful day,

bye now,

Robin

Linked to:
Twirl and Take a Bow
Show Me What Ya Got
Knick of Time Tuesday
The Scoop
Tweak It Tuesday

February 2, 2014

Easy Valentine's Day Art

Good Morning!

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I've been wanting to make something new to add to my displays.

I searched and searched for inspiration and racked my poor brain for a spark of creativity.

Finally, I had an idea . . . 


It turned out sort of cute.

I rolled book pages into tubes, glued them together and then cut out a heart shape.  Added a scrapbook sticker to the middle and slapped the whole thing onto a painted board.


Ummm,
This is definitely one of those projects I'm not sure if I like or just think it's annoying and glad it's over.
Ever feel like that?


But since I made it, I thought the least I could do is show it off and let you decided.

What do you think?

Yes, it's post worthy

or 

No, what the heck we're you thinking.

Be honest now.  LOL!

Robin

Linked to:
Be Inspired
Amaze Me Monday