Blog - TaylorMade

White Bean and Avocado Hummus

July 25, 2013 By Taylor 5 Comments

I love Hummus, a lot. So do the boys… my oldest will eat it with a spoon. But my husband doesn’t. So naturally, I have been on a little mission to make him like hummus. First, I had to figure out what he didn’t like about it. After a lot of talk and tasting, he said it must be the texture because he doesn’t like the texture of chickpeas. Oddly enough I don’t really like chickpeas either. Then my mom mentioned she has been making White Bean Hummus for a while. BINGO people!

I thought I would even add an avocado for more creaminess. It turned out to be a mix of hummus, bean dip and guacamole all rolled into a rich, smooth concoction that had everyone eating it with spoons :) The Husband Verdict… he ate a good serving of it! That’s Hummus Progress. Also please someone tell me how to take a good picture of hummus- it’s not a photogenic food… I promise it’s better than it looks.

White Bean and Avocado Hummus: (kind of based on this recipe)

chopped green onions ( I used 2)
juice of 2 lemons ( I like it very lemony)
2 tablespoons tahini
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1 can cannellini beans- rinsed and drained
1 avocado
1 garlic clove, peeled
a little olive oil

Has anyone else tried any good Hummus recipes or “spin-offs” I should know about? That tahini looks like it will last me a while.

Scalloped Bunting Tutorial

July 17, 2013 By Taylor 24 Comments

Two bunting tutorials in a row… what is going on over here? I didn’t even mean for that to happen but what can I say, I love bunting! Remember THIS “Shower” baby shower we threw my cousin. I actually made this bunting back in April and it now hangs in the window at Ampersand !

I love buntings and I also love scallops so this seemed like a perfect match for our rain cloud decor. Its really simple and quick to whip these out.

Scalloped Bunting Tutorial:

Start with a piece of cardstock and make a scallop template. Then fold your fabric and cut as many as you can at a time… haha, this tutorial will give you a little glimpse into my non perfectionist ways.

See my non-straight lines, my husband would die!

Then two by two, pin them- right sides together.

Sew around the bottom rounded side. Leave the straight side open.

Once you have them all done, snip the rounded sides up to the seam and flip them right side out. Then press.

As for hanging them, you could make your own bias tape but I just bought a pack of white for this bunting. Sandwich the flag between the bunting and sew :)

Super easy custom party decor! Is anyone else bunting obsessed?

Vintage Book Bunting

July 10, 2013 By Taylor 14 Comments

We are still unpacking boxes over here but that doesn’t mean I can’t decorate. We spend a lot of time in this room. When we were looking for a house, a playroom was something I really wanted. It wasn’t a deal breaker but I thought it would be nice. Now that I have had one for a month… I am all about the playroom. It is one of the bedrooms which is also nice because it isn’t in the main living area. The boys love it and I hang out in here a lot too. This room will change in the coming years but for now, its perfect for us. It needs some love… paint the trim, curtains, stuff on the walls. I have a fun closet organization post coming soon too.

My Moms’s Mom gave me a big box of old family books a few years ago and I have been saving them for something special. We read the ones from my childhood. But there were a few from when my mom was little, so pretty and vintage but falling apart.

I wanted to display them but preserve them too so I made a bunting to go around two walls of the playroom.

I started by carefully removing the pages from the binding. Some of the pages were especially loved and I tried to include those too.

Then I cut them all into a flag shape using my paper cutter.

Then my favorite part, I sewed them together.

I love how it turned out!

Happy boy and a happy room. How many of you have playrooms, do you find yourself spending a lot of time there? And do you have any special books that are just begging to become bunting?

DIY Black and White Curtains

July 2, 2013 By Taylor 39 Comments

We are finally getting into the swing of things over here at the new house. How long does that take by the way? We have been here a month and stuff is coming together! Our dining room is one of first rooms you see when you walk in to the house and I wanted a graphic punch. I mean, once I found the “plate wall box” and pushed the chairs in I felt pretty good.

naked before shot:

But over a year ago I saw some big black and white striped curtains and I knew I wanted them for my next dining room. I found some no-sew options, and thought about sewing black and white fabric together, and even painting some. But then I came across this tutorial with a link to the perfect fabric. Catharine at “Your Modern Couple” has a great tutorial, I even ordered the same amount of fabric and pretty much followed just what she did. I ordered 5 yards, cut them in half twice and sewed the length together.

I love how they turned out in our dining room. They make the ceiling look so tall and it dresses up our casual but modern room. I kept the plate wall from my old house. Next on our list is getting rid of that bad light fixture.

And I added this… my mom bought it for me last October, it was my 5th wedding anniversary and she found a dish towel from Anthro that is marked with our wedding date, so perfect.

Down the road we hope to not have carpet in here but it’s in pretty good shape so we are fine with it. Right before I started sewing, I showed my husband the fabric and he said “well, isn’t it a little loud?” But I thought nothing of it because he is a boy and he is traditional. But then I showed my mom and I said don’t you love them? And she replied, “well yes but they remind me of the Hamburglar”. Which I think is an awesome name for them. So far I don’t have rave reviews but they make me so happy. What do you think? Too loud and clown-esque or do you love them like I do?

Home Sweet Home

June 25, 2013 By Taylor 6 Comments

Guess what, we moved. If you follow me on instagram or facebook you have already been bombarded with pictures. But that is why the ole blog has been a little on the light side. That, and it’s summer so my kids are crazy.We are so in love with our new house. I still can’t believe we live here. It feels so grown up. I took this picture the day we closed. This is the entrance when you walk in the front door. And this is our new paint (that we paid people to do- not very DIY of us).

We moved ourselves which is a fun activity with 2 & 3 year old boys (not). We couldn’t have done anything without our families and we are so lucky that they all live within 10 minutes of us! We only moved a mile away so we kind of just loaded our cars, trucks and my dad’s trailer with everything (sometimes not even in boxes) and threw everything in the new house. Which led to things like this…

We put a lot of extra stuff in storage to stage our old house to sell it. My kids thought it was Christmas when they got their old toys back again 2 months later. This is the new play room. The house is a 4 bedroom and the boys wanted to share a room. There are two bedrooms connected with a jack-and-jill bathroom, so we have one room for beds and clothes and one room for toys and games. It’s working out great so far! We have never had a “playroom” and I spent half my day at our old house picking up toys. I love having it out of sight (however I still try to clean it daily) what is wrong with me? It is looking better these days, still needs a lot of help but that’s every room. Here is a little glimpse of the house via bad iphone photos, lets call these the “before” pictures:Kitchen: I LOVE our huge kitchen, it’s the center of everything. We can’t wait to do something about the wallpaper, bad office lighting, and the flooring, that will all be down the road

Breakfast and Laundry: again with the wallpaper, new light and we want to do built in cubbies in the laundry room down the road

Dining:

we need a new lighting fixture asap, but I did just make curtains :) I will share those soon

Living:
here is the day we closed… after pictures coming soon, I have actually done some stuff to that room :)

Craft Room:

it needs so much help, but its first on the list, mainly because it is such a mess! Built in desks and a huge work table are coming soon

Master:

we need everything, don’t even know where to start haha… for example my nightstand is currently a filing cabinet :/ DIY plans include a new headboard that I’m really excited for

Boys room:

I’ve actually done a lot to this room and I will share the pretty pictures soon

Guest Room:

looks like a bomb of junk exploded- that and I could probably open a day care in there with the amount of baby stuff

Playroom: needs decor, like stat! I have a few ideas that include vintage books, a chalkboard wall and a pegboard tool area

Backyard: we love it and there are a ton of cool plants and trees out here! we want to build a little deck and awning eventually

and there you have the grainy iphone tour – I can’t wait until next year at this time so I can look back at this post and say “look how much it’s changed!”

put a bow on it – pillow slipcovers

June 19, 2013 By Taylor 33 Comments

Last month, Midori Ribbon contacted me about making a craft out of their ribbon. Because I am a boy mom, I don’t have a lot of practice with ribbon- but I accepted and I’m so glad because these aren’t just any ribbons -These are nice ribbons. They let me pick which ones I wanted the receive in the mail. Isn’t real mail always fun?

My favorite is this Dupioni Silk in Dandelion.

I knew I wanted to make a few throw pillow slipcovers. These slipcovers couldn’t be easier. I started with some fabric that was cut to the same size as my pillow form for the front and a few inches longer for the back.

Then take the back piece and cut it in half right down the middle. Fold and press the sides down twice and then sew those up to create two hems. I did this for both of my pillows.

For the fronts I just used ribbon two create the designs. First up, I made some smashed flowers. There isn’t an exact science to sewing “smashed flowers” but I started with the “leaves” – I made long loops and pinned them down. Then I started just smashing the silk ribbon in the center and worked outwards folding the ribbon over as I went. I also used a lot of pins. Then I just sewed in the same messy swirled pattern making sure to catch the “leaf loop” too.

Front number one.

Piece the pillow together by placing the right sides together and lining up the edges of the back. This will mean the two sides on the back will overlap and that’s what you want.

Sew that all the way around, then clip your corners and flip.

Stuff your pillow form in there and you are done. I might never make a “real” throw pillow again :)

For the second pillow I used my other favorite ribbon the Black and Cream Ascot. I made a free hand bow and left long tails while it was still attached to the spool.

Once I got it where I liked it, I cut the bow from the spool, placed it on the front of my pillow and pinned it down.

Then I sewed around the perimeter of the bow and made sure to sew around the inside “knot” too.

I marked the white thread on the black stripes with permanent marker so it looks more uniform.

I sewed the pillow the same way as before. Meet my new favorite:

I love how they both turned out!

So do you have a lot of ribbon expertise? Also do you love pillow slipcovers as much as I do? Anything that means no hand sewing is for me :)

an “April Showers” Baby Shower

May 22, 2013 By Taylor 5 Comments

Remember this quilt I made my cousin last month? My mom, sister and I also hosted a little family shower for the new Mommy-to-be. Jamie is our only girl cousin and even though she lives 3 hours away, she has a lot of family here in Houston. My sister hosted at her condo in the Heights because it is centrally located.

We decided on an “April Shower” theme. We kept it casual with our decor and food. I made a cute scalloped bunting and some rain garland. My mom and sister did a lot of the decor too (and mom thought of the cute poufs) and we all pitched in on the food. My sister also made the best punch!

I loved the invitations too- I found them online and they were so perfect for the theme. The invitation shop emailed a PDF in our custom colors and I had them printed at a local copy center.

I used my Cameo to cut out pages and pages of raindrops from cardstock, then I sewed them together.

We hung them over the gift table in my sisters sitting room. Also, isn’t her map chair the cutest!?

I also used my Cameo to cut out the clouds for the “straw name tags” – which might have been the cutest things ever. We hit every trend possible with punch in mason jars and paper striped straws :)

My mom found pretty M&M’s and pinwheel toothpicks at the party store. We served Crave Cupcakes, in chocolate and red velvet. We also had tea sandwiches, fruit kabobs, cheese and pigs in a blanket. My sisters punch was another big hit! She juiced fresh oranges and lemons in her juicer, added grenadine and ginger ale then floated pineapples and strawberries on top.

I’m so glad we got to celebrate “baby E” before he gets here this summer :)

How to Save Your Leaves – Leaf Art

May 15, 2013 By Taylor 7 Comments

Last fall my Mom, Sister and I took a girls trip to the East Coast. It was on my Mom’s bucket list to see the leaves change and we came along for the ride :) Here in Texas we have no seasons… we have warm, hot, hotter, warm again then a series of cool fronts for a winter with mild days between. We were in awe with all of the colors and the history of the cities. The locals there told us we “were a week late” to see the really good colors- Of course we didn’t know that! To anyone who lives on the east coast and sees this every year- I think you take this for granted.

I wanted a way to “save” some leaves so I placed them away in a notebook and brought them home. My mom is going to start a gallery wall for her office so I though some leaf art from New England might be the perfect touch. I measured the frame and used craft paper cut the the right dimensions and taped it down.

Then I mod podged the back of the leaves and placed them on the craft paper where I wanted.

I pressed them down a little and then mod-podged the tops. Careful not to get it too thick outside of the leaf or it will dry darker.

Then I added a little trip reminder.

The Mod Podge makes the paper a little “rumply” so I stacked book on top after it dried.

Then frame it. The Mod Podge has sealed in the colors so far so hopefully they don’t fade too much.

So who all is from the East Coast and gets to live in this beauty… and who is with me on no seasons?

Handmade Mother’s Day: Recipe Oven Mitt

May 3, 2013 By Taylor 12 Comments

I’m so excited to be a part of the Mother’s Day Handmade {Love} Series!

Kelly, from live.laugh.rowe organized the series. I met Kelly at Blissdom and she is an amazing person; she put together a great group of bloggers who are each sharing a different Handmade Mother’s Day Gift. Yesterday, Kristi from I Should Be Mopping the Floor shared her Printable Coupon Book. I also became friends with Kristi at Blissdom last month :) Check out her project HERE. I knew I wanted to do a sewing project and I’ve actually had this idea in my head for a while. A recipe on an oven mitt… cute and functional right? Here’s what you need:-two large fabric scraps-insul-bright-insulbright oven mitt pattern-a printable fabric sheet

When you buy the Insulbright, It comes with this oven mitt pattern. The directions are actually printed right on the pattern too. I followed those directions exactly and they are really simple.For the printable fabric sheet you need to design your recipe. Make sure it fits within the size of the mitt pattern. You will also want to get the washable fabric sheets. My instructions told me to print and wait 10 mins, then iron for 1-2 minutes. Then I had to spray with cool water and iron again- now its machine washable! Then just trim with an inch or so around the recipe.

To sew the recipe fabric and mitt fabric together this is what I did:

Place the two fabrics right side together and line up the edges. Then sew the right side. Press seams toward the outside fabric. Do the same steps for the left side.

Then you need to trim the fabric on the sides. Draw a straight line through both side fabrics and the recipe fabric. Do this for the top and bottom and trim. You will have a rectangular strip now. Then repeat first steps with top and bottom fabric. Be sure to press seams out. Then you will have something that looks like this…

This is now your fabric to trace your mitt pattern onto. Follow the instructions on the pattern.

Cut out all pieces. 2 of each- inside fabric, outside fabric and insulbright. Be sure to flip the pattern for the 2 different sides, I forgot for one fabric and had to redo it :(

Then you will make 2 “insulbright sandwiches” with the two other fabrics right side out. Zig Zag stitch around the edge and trim.

Then you will make a bias tape edge on both sides of the mitt and add a 4″ ribbon into one side for hanging.

You will have 2 sides. Then put the two outside fabrics together and sew around the edge (not the bottom edge) and flip.

I found this lemon bar recipe online because this fabric looked “lemon-y” to me. But it would be fun to print out a family recipe that has been passed down from generations of women!

Be sure to stop by Capturing Joy tomorrow and see what Kristen shares :)

a Modern Baby Boy Quilt

May 1, 2013 By Taylor 28 Comments

With all of my baby girl crafting did you even know I could make something for a boy? I was surprised I still had it in me. I have also been surprised by how many new baby girls there have been around here. But this post isn’t about girls, its about a baby boy. My only girl cousin is due with her first baby this summer and I am so happy for her little family. They will make awesome parents and I can’t wait for the boys to have another “young” relative :)

My mom, sister and I hosted a small family baby shower for Jamie and Baby “E” a few weeks ago. I will share all the shower deets here next week. I wanted to make him something he could keep for a long time so I settled on a quilt. It is modern and bright. The nursery is actually much more neutral but I figured this could be an on-the-go quilt.

I still love this print on the back- I knew I was hoarding it for a good reason.

This is my 4th quilt to actually finish. I also have about 6 unfinished quilt tops. I have not yet worked up the courage to hand quilt the binding… for those of you that do that – Bravo! Anyone else a machine binding cheater like me?