TaylorMade

DIY, Home Decor & Sewing

Fabric Labels

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Fabric labels oh Fabric Labels…. I have been online researching these babies for months! Finally I found a good (cheap) solution, a tutorial to make my own. This idea is genius!



Laurraine from Patchwork Pottery has the whole tutorial on her blog here. She has a ton of other great stuff too, so you have to check it out. They were really simple to make and I love the way they look on the twill tape. Also, I didn’t spend a fortune which is always a plus! I made 1/2″ and 1″ labels. I have already made a few bibs and added labels to the back, I feel so professional now hehe :)

 
In other exciting news, I think I am going to buy a serger soon! I think I am going to get this one… any thoughts, opinions, reviews??

El Cid Chili

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OK, so this past weekend in Houston it was in the 70’s and I wore capris. Apparently we could see snow flurries by the end of this week! So to celebrate the cold weather (because yes, I like cold weather in winter – call me crazy) I decided to make some warm Chili. I have this cookbook that I love called Celebrate! by Shelia Lukins, its awesome! It’s set up by occasion like Easter, Vday, Mother’s Day… so this recipe for Chili came from the “Superbowl” section. It’s called El Cid Chili and its Amazing! It doesn’t call for any beans or extras; just the meat, tomatoes and spices. Add some shredded cheese and green onion on top and you are ready for these “Houston Snow Flurries”.

Ingredients:



2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 pound ground beef
12 ounces chorizo sausage, casing removed, cut into 1/2 cubes ( I used sausage not chorizo)
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 (14.5-ounce) cans beef broth
2 (14.5-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, drained
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
2 green jalapenos, slit lengthwise 3 times each
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garnish with Cheddar and sour cream, if desired

Directions:

Place oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Brown the sirloin in batches. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add ground beef, chorizo (or sausage- I’m not brave enough for chorizo) and onions to the pot and brown. Make sure to break up the meat. Return sirloin to the pot.

Stir in remaining ingredients, except for garnishes.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally, breaking up tomatoes. Before serving, discard cinnamon stick, bay leaves and jalapenos.

Garnish, if desired

Car Seat Strap Covers

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Don’t you love an easy project that you can finish in just about an hour? I know I do, especially because I have problems a little trouble finishing projects in a timely fashion. I wanted to recover baby #2’s car seat and realized that was going to lead me to my previous problem, an unfinished project. I just don’t have enough time so I though I would spruce up his/her car seat straps! Not to mention, the old straps were looking a little rough. Does anyone have the Chicco Car seat? I LOVE it but the strap covers that came on it were sewn-on which made them super hard to wash. I decided to make my own with Velcro so I could wash them easier.

This project is really easy, all I did was use the existing strap covers as a template, a little quilt batting and used some existing fabric that I had. I did make my own bias tape (which is a little more time consuming) but you could just buy some for an even easier time.
Here are the original strap covers and the fabric I picked out, I wanted it to still match the carrier. I used the star fabric for the bias tape. I didn’t include how to make your own bias tape in the tutorial, you can find it online or like I said you can buy it from any craft store.
Lay out the original strap covers as a template. Trace onto your fabric and cut 4 new pieces. Front and back for both.
Don’t forget to cut the batting for the inside of the pieces like I almost did, oops!
Make (or buy) your bias tape, for the Chicco covers you need about 35″”. By the way… I have made my fair share of bias tape and I just found out that there is a cheap tool that folds the fabric for you and makes it so much easier! Where have I been? That is on the to-do list for this week.
Sew the “circles” of the strap covers with wrong sides together and the layer of batting in between. So it should be fabric facing down, batting and fabric facing up in your sewing machine.
Pin the bias tape all the say around on both covers and sew it on.

Lastly, I used a small strip of Velcro as the closure. Here is the before and after!

Not only will these be easier to take on and off, the original fabric was so scratchy and the new covers are soft fleece. I think baby 2 loves them already!

Cloffice

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What is a cloffice you ask? Well… our entry-way closet and our office had a baby and my husband named him “Cloffice”. As I’ve mentioned, our office/craft room has been taken over by our soon to be baby #2 (only 5 wks, yay!) so, I had to have a place for my computer desk and office stuff. Bryan really helped out as usual and did a ton of work! There is actually a lot of storage for my pictures, computer programs and all of our office supplies. I love my little cloffice!
 
 
 
Features:
-Full desk
-2 storage shelves
-overhead lighting
-plug (Bryan had to add an electrical outlet)
– curtain (to hide the tower, printer and wires)
-blue walls
-hanging storage on left wall
 
How we did it:
-we painted the whole thing first
-Bryan took measurements for the desk and shelves
-desk is the total width and depth and shelves are half as deep
-we used oil based white for the shelves and desktop
-installed desk, shelves and hung light
-sewed a simple curtain and hung it with a tension rod and clips
 
Do you love it as much as I do?

 

 

Love Sign with a Fence Frame

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I know, I know, this should be in pink and red… but its going in my bedroom and staying up all year so yellow and blue it is. You could actually write anything, I thought about our last name but I like the way “LOVE” looks. My favorite part of this project is actually the frame which my husband whipped up. I got the supplies and told him what to do (naturally, hehe) but he made the actual cuts so I will give him some credit. I think this project is so simple that I really didn’t even take any pics of the steps for a tutorial, just the final product.



My mom had some fence posts she was going to throw away so I kept a few because I liked that they were weathered looking. So Bryan cut them in half “lengthwise” and I gave him the dimensions and he made a very basic frame. (43 X 23)


I got a foam board from Hobby Lobby and cut it about a 1 in. smaller than the dimensions of the frame (42 X 22). Then, I painted the background yellow. When the yellow was dry, I stapled the foam board to the back of the Fence Frame.



I also picked up some chipboard letters from HobLob and some blue paper. You could paint the letters too but the paper is much cheaper than buying 4 different colors of paint. I just traced the letters onto the paper, cut them out and applied 1 coat of Mod Podge between the letter and the paper. Then I used 2 coats on top of the letters (drying 20 mins between). Glue the letters on to the foam board. (My husband walked in at this point and wanted me to measure the distance between the letters to make sure they were evenly spaced… poor Bryan forgot who he married)



Lastly, I got a picture hanging kit from Home Depot and screwed it in to hang my “work of art”.

 
This reminds me that I need to get to work on the Valentine’s Day banner that I have been dreaming up for my mantle. Lets see if it happens :) Have a great weekend!
 

Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake

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What is for dinner tonight at your house? You don’t know either do you? Well here is an option… Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake. I saw this recipe in Real Simple Magazine a few months ago and had to try it. By the way I loooove getting my real simple magazine in the mail, its like a little treasure and it usually comes on the same day as my Martha Magazine, double whammy. Anyway here it is; I changed the recipe a little so here is my TaylorMade version:

Ingredients:
8 oz penne pasta
14 oz can of artichokes (rinsed and chopped)
9 oz pkg of frozen creamed spinach (thawed)
1/4 c grated Parmesan
2 c grated mozzarella
black pepper
(optional) I added some chopped Italian ham

  • Heat your broiler
  • Cook pasta according to instructions on package, drain and return to pot
  • Add artichokes, spinach, Parmesan, half of the mozzarella, and 1/4 tsp black pepper (and ham if using) to the pasta and toss
  • Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle remaining mozzarella on top
  • Broil for about 5-8 minutes or until cheese is browned on top

I love that it only uses 2 pots/dishes for the whole recipe! Before Bryan and I lived in our current house, we didn’t have a dishwasher so we became really good at using as few dishes as possible! What is a recipe you make that only uses a few dishes? Do share!

Bulls-eye Pillow

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My house is feeling the effects of the “nesting phase”. I had a productive weekend and almost have the “babies” rooms switched out (Yes, I am still calling Finn an baby!). With all the baby preparedness I have been doing, I thought I would take a little break and do a quick craft for my own room. I whipped out this super easy pillow in 40 minutes! I saw something yesterday that reminded me of my Mom’s old bedding from when she was little (because she still has the pillowcases to prove it). So here is the 60’s inspired Bulls-eye Pillow.

 
This is the most unscientific tutorial ever!
 
Supplies:
– 4 pieces of felt
– stuffing
– 1/2 yd of solid fabric
 
Directions:
-Cut 2 14″ squares from your solid fabric
 
 
-Pick out 4 pieces of felt (in a monochromatic family and sort lightest to darkest)
 
 
– Use a template of some sort (even a bowl) to trace your smallest circle. Mine is about 5″ in diameter. Sew that circle onto your next color. Use a very small seam allowance. Then carefully cut around it about 1/2″ all the way around. (I told you this is not scientific)
 

 

 
-Keep doing this with all of the “layers”. Then pin the bulls-eye to the front of the pillow and sew into it the same way you were sewing onto the felt.
 
 
– Finish just like you would any pillow, pin and sew right sides together leaving room for flipping. Stuff and hand-sew the opening. Voila!
 

 



Look at it’s new happy home :)

 

 

Foodie Napkin Rings

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First tutorial of 2011! These napkin rings have been on my to-do list for over 6 months but I was a little busy with Christmas so I am finally getting around to them. Poor Finn is loosing a craft room toy. They have been cut and on my shelf forever and he loves to play with them. Maybe I will make him some more?



Supplies:
– one 2′ x 1 1/2″ section of PVC pipe (cut into 2″ sections)
– an old magazine
– Mod Podge and brush

Directions:

1. Cut your PVC pipe into 2″ sections. My PVC pipe was 1 1/2″ in diameter. My husband controls the power tools over here so mine magically showed up in my craft room, cut perfectly! I asked him to cut 10 for me.



2. I wanted my napkin rings to look “foodish” so I used a Martha Stewart Whole Living magazine, they have really clean, pretty pictures. You can use whatever magazine or paper you like; newspaper, a book, fashion mag, an old map, scrapbook paper… get creative.


3. Go through and rip about 10-12 pages that are interesting to you. I looked for bright colors, cool bold words, and recipes.


4. Cut them into 2″ x 7″ strips. Cut them from the middle of the paper so you get interesting parts of the  pictures. Pick out your favorite strips and set them aside.



 



5. Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge (I’m using matte finish) to a napkin ring. Carefully place the strip of magazine into the ring. Gently smooth out the paper as you go. There will be a little excess paper just add a little Mod Podge underneath so it sticks. Do this to all the rings.



6. Once all 10 strips and rings have become one, we are going to apply the 1st topcoat of Mod Podge. There will be some air bubbles so just smooth them out with your fingers first. This layer should also be thin. Wait about 15-30 minutes for this coat to dry.



7. Apply your second coat of Mod Podge, a little thicker this time but not too thick. Let this coat dry for several hours. If you live in Houston like me, you should probably just wait overnight because it is January and a muggy 80 degrees :(



8. This step is optional: I am going to add a little pop to my napkin rings with a sequin ribbon. You can embellish with any ribbon or buttons or whatever you have. I cut my ribbon into 7″ sections. Glue them on with Elmer’s Glue and wait a few more hours to dry.



These babies will really add some pop to your table! If you are like me this makes you want to host a dinner party now. Happy Hosting!

 

Also, Don’t forget to enter the Taylor Made giveaway this week, you can read all about it HERE 

 

 

 

Play Kitchen

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I finally got around to re-taking some pictures of the new kids kitchen since all of my other pictures are in purgatory. (Still, keep your fingers crossed). So, this was the big present from Santa this year. I have seen quite a few play kitchens out there in the blogging world and there is even a Flickr group for them. There are a ton of ideas! I saw many people making them out of nightstands and entertainment centers. My mom had the perfect shaped nightstand that she didn’t need and thankfully she donated one to the cause. My husband and his dad did all of the “woodworking” on it. I drew them a picture and after a few trips to home depot it started looking like a kitchen! Then we spent many nights adding to it. I even found a lot of good materials at Goodwill. Here is what we ended up with, I really like the way it turned out and my son loves it! It was a bigger hit than we thought it would be.

We used wooded plaques from Hobby Lobby for the burners. I painted them with metallic black paint and cut out the red swirl for the burners then applied 2 coats of Mod Podge. The dials are wooden car wheels painted and Mod Podged also. We didn’t bolt them in all the way so they spin.

We cut a hole in the back wall and I found that frame that fit perfectly at Goodwill. I just printed out a picture of that field on my computer for the window scene.

My favorite part is the backsplash!! We just hot glued and caulked those tiles on the back. The sink is a bowl from Goodwill and we had trouble finding a used faucet so that was our most expensive purchase. It’s from Home Depot for $9.00 but it looks so perfect!

For the oven, my husband added that shelf in between where the drawers were then just removed the bottom drawer for storage. He cut a hole in the top one and we added the Plexiglas and a hinge so it really opens and closes.

Final touches are some hooks on both sides for “utensils” and cookware. I’d say he loves it! Here he is on Christmas Morning. Maybe you will see him on Top Chef in 20 years?

Yo Gabba Gabba… Yoooooooo

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Finn loves Yo Gabba Gabba, at first I thought it was a little creepy, but I have to admit I kind of like it too. The other day we were playing a game online at Nick Jr.com and I saw a little section called crafts. So, of course, I had to interrupt the game and see what it was all about. My eye was suddenly drawn to… a Brobee Snuggle Pillow! Are you serious, Finn would love that. The Nick Jr website even has a template for all of the parts of the face and has all of the characters. Brobee is Finn’s favorite so I made him but I might make the others soon. Their version is a “No Sew” version, but sewing it will make it last so much longer. I also used a thin fleece for the back instead of felt so it will be even softer. 


You can print the template right from the website HERE! Hi Brobee.


Finn is going to be so excited… I hope I cant wait until Christmas, only 14 days!
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