Gingerbread houses...again

Once again, I made gingerbread houses. However, instead of 24 of them, I only made eight for a party for the kids at our home. This was done back in the beginning of the month but just came across these pictures without kids in them (I don't have permission to put other people's kids on this blog). Fun was had by all and my kids thanked me over and over for putting this on for their friends. The kids were pretty good at decorating and waiting until the end to dive into the candies.

more repurposed pillows

Cut a 14.25" x 14.25" section of the bottom of a checked dress (use the buttons as the center).



Sew all four sides together. Unsnap the buttons and shove a 14" x 14" pillow form inside. Voila!! Repurposed pillow.
Total time: 10 minutes.

re-upholstered kids' furniture

Koo's preschool asked me to make a slipcover for these kids' furniture. The fabric was free (see earlier post on fabric) leftover from a friend. The zippers I had from previous jobs so all in all it was free with my donated time. I love it when I can help bring new life to old things. I hate thinking this could be in a landfill somewhere because of wear and tear.

How was this accomplished? I cut out pieces of fabric to the exact measurements of the cushions plus 0.5 inch for seam allowances. Next, I baised the pieces fabric inside out directly on the seat themselves with the exception of the piece on the bottom. Then, I carefully removed it from the seat and sewed all the pieces together. Lastly, I attached the zipper to each bottom piece and attached it to the seat. Hope this wasn't too confusing.

Harry Connick Jr. - (It must've been 'ol) Santa Claus

I love Harry Connick Jr. My favorite Christmas song.

sewing projects

So when are you ever going to post any of your repurpose projects lady? Okay, so I've been making pillow pets and they are fun. Unfortunately, I can only make dogs. Sorry. So here's two I made.

Second, I repurposed this sweater that my mom would wear to church. It's in great condition but totally out of date. It was getting chucked so I saved it and turned it into a pillow. The pillow form brand new for $0.99. I'm giving to my friend for Christmas. If you have a bag of unique, out-of-date clothes that you don't think will sell at a Goodwill or any other thrift store...I will gladly take your goods.

Poppy Seed Yeast Bread

Hello bread. I came across this recipe in an old issue of Quick Cooking and since I had all the ingredients on hand and time to kill (not really). It's not sweet in the middle but I think the lemon juice/powdered sugar mixture might help. I made a lemon butter spread to help get it down. I haven't baked breads in awhile because I'm trying to stay in the 130's but I just felt like I had to try this out.

Poppy Seed Bread
3/4 cup very warm water
1/2 cup warm lemon yogurt
2 T honey
4 1/2 tsp butter, melted
2 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour
4 1/2 tsp nonfat dry milk powder
2 T poppy seeds
1 T grated lemon peel
2 1/4 tsp SAF instant yeast

Combine all ingredients in a mixing with hook attachment. Blend until smooth ~5 minutes. Form into dough and allow to rest in greased bowl for 1 hour (covered). Punch down. Roll out using rolling pin and form into loaf shape. Place in greased loaf pan for 1 hour (covered). Bake at 350F for 32 minutes.

Glaze
2 T lemon juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix and drizzle over warmed bread

Lemon Butter
3 T butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix until uniformed.

Snowed in

According to my son S.E., school has been terrible. Since we've been hit the mother load of snow of late, there has been no outside recess because of snow. The snow has been kind of obnoxious. It's blowing, wet, cold, with low visibility. Why go to school if you can't have recess? Where's the fun in school?! The only reason the kid loves school. Ask him anytime anyday what is his favorite part of being in kindergarten-RECESS. What an outrage! Suck it up baby boy, middle school is just around the corner. :-)