What's Cooking?

Father's Day is an especially sad day at my house since J & I both lost our Dad's in the same year.  This year we decided to honor my Dad by making something he would have liked.  His favorite was always something with red sauce whether it was lasagna or spaghetti or something  Italian, but since I don't do red sauce we went with seafood.  Dad used to love steamed shrimp, steamed crabs, crab cakes, crab imperial, etc.

J & I came up with our own version of a seafood quesadilla.  The first one is the shrimp version with white cheddar cheese and mozzarella.  As you can see by the top picture, we really loaded them down with shrimp.  What made it extra good (and calorie-laden) is that we sauteed the shrimp in a garlic butter sauce before putting it on the quesadilla.  Can you say YUMMY?!?

The second quesadilla is a crab quesadilla with white cheddar.  I didn't think to take a picture of this one before cooking but we didn't do anything special, just lump crabmeat and the white cheddar.  We had sour cream on the side for dipping, which was the perfect addition to both versions.

I have to say that both versions were awesome and I think my dad would have loved them.  The crab was my favorite and J liked the shrimp better.  Although this is not something we will have on the regular menu (because of the cost!) it was a great way to remember my dad on an otherwise sad Father's Day.

I know I have once again been lax with my crafty updates, but I do have lots of projects to share.  I've just been super lazy about taking pictures.  It's on my to do list, I swear!

Always,

K

Bright & Sunny Owl Banner

I've been wanting to post this bright owl banner for a few weeks now, but Mother Nature likes to make it rain on the weekends so that I can't take it outside for a good picture.  She finally decided to make it sunny (and way too hot!) today so here goes!

I just love how this turned out.  I had a picture in my head of what I wanted and it turned out even better than expected!

For the owls, I used the pattern from Moonstitches.  They were super easy to make and brighten up my craft studio a lot!

I know it doesn't show by my bad posting habits, but I've been hard at work on lots of projects.  Most of them are still in the WIP stage, but I hope to get them posted soon!

Always,

K

Hoop de Hoop

My new obsession is mini creations in embroidery hoops.  I have a bunch saved on my Hoop Dreams board on Pinterest.
This hoop was inspired by a hoop made by Gwenny Penny on Pinterest. 

Encouraged by my sister, I did more of a free motion outlining instead of the straight stitch I normally stick to.  I'd really like to make a whole series of these with different animals.  Quick, easy and fun, right up my alley!

Always,

K

Goal Oriented Crafting

I think my biggest challenge in being creative is getting started.  I surf Pinterest and blogs all week thinking of all I can work on over the weekend.  The problem is, once the weekend comes, I have no clue what I actually want to spend time on.  I think I've finally found the way to stay focused.  I got an idea from elleandblair via Pinterest. 

This has literally changed my crafting life. 

 I made my own version of a Goal List (below) based on the one I found and I rotate

out the post-its as needed.

I have always been a "list" person, but once I wrote something on the list I felt bound to it...like I had to do it because I had written it down.  (Hello, OCD!)  This is the perfect solution because if I find something I want to do I add it on a post-it and remove one of my "lesser" goals.  No guilt, no eraser, no messy crossed out lines (which I totally don't believe in anyway!)

How do you stay organized and/or motivated??

By the way, stay tuned for some crafty updates soon.  My sister (Quilted Cupcake) and I spent the day sewing together yesterday and I'm super excited to share the projects I completed and some great tips she passed along to me!

Always,

K

Bunny Butt

I love Spring.  I'm not a big fan of Summer, but Spring and all of the bright vibrant colors that accompany it make me feel like I'm waking up after a Winter of hibernating.

I whipped up this cute lil project in very little time.  It was inspired by a paper garland I'd seen on Etsy from psitsinthedetails via Pinterest.  The original is super adorable and made me think, I could do that with fabric!

I hand-drew the pattern and added a yoyo and a pom pom for the tail.  Easy as pie!

I'm thinking of downsizing the pattern and making a lil fabric garland of them too.

I'm so happy to have my crafting mojo going at full speed ahead!  I'm trying to be a more organized crafter as well, so I will have some posts soon on how I keep organized.

Happy Easter!

Always,

K

White Chicken Enchilladas

I have a really cute last minute Easter project to share this weekend, but right now my internet is not feeling well and keeps dumping me offline. (Cross your fingers, the cable guy is coming tomorrow and is not leaving until he fixes this ongoing problem!)  I'm a pretty passive person, but don't mess with my cable/internet.  Last time we had a cable problem that wasn't fixed correctly I ended up calling the president of the company's secretary (don't ask how I got her number, it's a secret) and the "lucky" manager who refused to get on the phone and speak to me - flat out REFUSED!- ended up looking for a new job and we got 6 months of free cable.  Like I said, don't mess with my cable/internet.

Anyway, I wanted to share a picture of the absolutely DIVINE enchilada recipe I found and made from Pinterest.  This was soooo good.  J and I have been together for almost 10 years and he said it was the best dinner I've ever made.  Now, I am not the family cook.  I bake, mostly desserts, and J cooks, so I haven't made the majority of dinners around here, but I've made my share.  So that tells you how awesome this is.

I left the chile's out because I don't do spicy, but otherwise I followed the recipe that you can find HERE.  I have to tell you, I have a lil girl crush on Joyful Momma for introducing this awesome-ness to my life!

Check back tomorrow or Sunday for my Easter quickie.  I adapted something I found on Pinterest to an easy sewing pattern.  Mega Cute!

Always,

K

Boy Oh Boy!

I love making bibs, mostly because they are so easy.  I haven't had any small children to sew bibs for lately so I haven't made any for about a year.  A few weeks ago a coworker asked me to make some bibs for her unborn baby boy.  I made her a few for her little girl a few years ago and she loved them.  Since flattery will get you anywhere with me, I quickly agreed.  I had a sewing day with my sister, Jan, and made the bibs below.  My coworker loved them!  I was doubly honored because after I left the office another girl on my team told me she was showing them to another coworker and they were both oohing and ahhing over them!

This polka dotted bib is made out of courderoy with a teal flannel backing.

Green polka dots (that are much brighter in person, not puke green as shown) with a whale embroidered on it.

Close up of the whale.  (This one was definately my favorite)

Baby blue with white polka dots and an embroidered elephant.

Close up of Mr. Elephant.

Puppy bib.

All four bibs.

I was really happy with how they turned out!

I have lots to share with you since I've been on a crafting bend, so check back soon!

Always,

K