diy spring flowers. made with fabric scraps.

Happy Monday!

March happens at the end of this week- yay!!! I love the transformation the earth seems to take on during the days of this “still winter yet start of spring” month. In the home, I’ve been craving more color and vibrance. And for myself, I’m already noticing that little extra energy one seems to get at the start of a new season.

It’s no secret that I love paper and fabric almost as much as the smell of a new bebé! I always seem to have bunches of both lying around. Last week, I saw a beautiful photo of one of these rain soaked and it prompted me to try the below. And even though mine turned out really looking nothing like my inspiration source, I enjoyed the time I spent making them. They were simple enough that my mind could wander and relax. Not to mention, they’ll add a little extra “pretty” to baskets and gifts come Easter!

Since I just made this up as I went along, there really is no right or wrong way to do them. Feel free to put your own twist on them or add your own details. My main goal was to just keep them simple (and inexpensive) by only needing a few supplies and those supplies being things I already had on hand.

Supplies needed:

• Small foam or paint brush & Scissors

• Fabric scraps – torn into strips (bigger or smaller depending on what size flower you are wanting to make)

• Mod Podge or diluted Elmer’s glue (or fabric stiffener) I had the fabric stiffener but I love and prefer the texture that the mod podge gives the fabric once it dries.

Step 1:

Tear your scraps into strips. Mine were about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. You don’t want to get too wide because they will be harder to tie and shape. The length can really be any length. I tore my strips and then cut them in half (but because I was using scraps the lengths varied). Just remember the longer your strips the bigger your flowers will be. For solid flowers, I used 10-15 strips of the same color for each flower and then I tore some small strips (1/2 inch wide or so) for the inner part of the flower. I just used one small strip per flower for the center. I also tore one to two wider green strips per each flower (for the leaves).

Step 2:

Cover your workspace with parchment paper or old newspaper and then lay all of your strips out flat. Use your brush to cover each strip with mod podge (or glue substance) so that they are completely covered. Once all tops are dry, turn them all over and cover the bottom of each strip and let that side dry completely as well. If you want flowers with less stiffness, only cover one side or use less mod podge.

*do not mod podge your smaller center strips at this time.

(All of these strips of solid color fabric reminded me of when used to do the winding of the maypole every spring in elementary school 🙂 )

Step 3:

In really no right or wrong way, criss cross the strips you have chosen for your flower over each other. Use a small scrap or strip to tie the strips together (this one does not need to be mod podged or stiffened). Lay it over the flower as shown below.

Step 4:

Use one hand to hold the strips in place while you turn them over to knot the small strip. From here you really can do no wrong. This is when you you pull, rumple, fold, etc. each “petal” of the flower. The more you mess with them the more texture and life you create.

Step 5:

Once the flower is to your liking, find the center and flatten it. Brush a good amount of mod podge onto the center area of your flower. Then take a small center strip and crumple or ruffle it between your fingers. At this time generously coat it in mod podge so that it stays together and then place and press it in the flattened center. See below. Let it dry completely.

*you can also use hot glue to secure the center

Step 6:

If you want some “leaves” thread one or two strips through the knotted strip on the back or bottom of the flower. You can use these or some twine to secure the flower to baskets, wreaths, or anything else you want to add a little “spring” to!

Step 7:

The fun part! Use them to adorn or decorate whatever you please. They’re perfect for Easter baskets or wreaths! Or we are hanging onto our egg cartons, painting them and filling them with goodies to deliver to our neighbors during the Easter season so they will add a little extra “pretty” to them as well!

Yay for March! And Yay for Spring!

– XO!

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saturday morn. vanilla-pear muffins.

Happy Saturday! It’s a foggy and rainy one here. Perfect weekend morning weather! It’s also another weekend morn with exactly nowhere to be. That’s a couple in the last month which feels amazing! So with some time and pears on hand I thought I would give these a try. They did not disappoint – the taste nor the smell that’s still lingering throughout our home.

(I left the topping off of a few for the babe.)

(birthday present for isla’s friend. lovely hand lettering by her cute nine year old self.)

The dishes and laundry have been gathered. But first, I sit and enjoy the rest of my coffee while the littlest takes his first nap of the day. Delightful!

Have the BEST weekend! XO!

Recipe:Williams Sonoma Vanilla-Pear Muffins

all we need is . . .

happy valentine’s day!

“name” chocolates – personalized valentine’s day gifting (part 2).

My oldest two are now old enough that I feel like we can fulfill the necessary chocolate gifting that seems to be a Valentine’s Day requirement. I wanted to do something that felt special and personal. After all, isn’t that what the day is all about (and chocolate)!

I have hopes that the things handmade by me for them will be memories they can take with them. AND even on the days where I’m not at my best, they still know they are special to me partially because of these times and small gestures I did for them on my better days! In other words, may the good outweigh the bad in their beautiful minds. 🙂

For making the name chocolates, I have this silicone letter mold and I used dark and white chocolate ghirardelli melting wafers (the ones I used did not need tempering). Place the mold on a baking sheet (so that you can move it without the chocolate shifting in the mold). Melt the wafers over a double boiler and then with the help of a small spoon pour or drizzle the completely melted chocolate into the letters you prefer (or use a plastic squeeze bottle with a small tip/ opening for a cleaner approach). Next, use a toothpick to stir and even out the chocolate once it is in the molds. I then used my dough cutter to scrape over the letters to create a nice flat bottom. After you’ve evened out your letters, place the mold (still on the baking sheet) in the fridge or leave on the counter until completely cool or dry. When moving the mold, be sure to keep it as level as possible. Once completely dry, pop the letters out of the molds and put them in any sort of packaging you wish. I placed mine in a haphazardly sewn pocket that I made out of parchment paper (it just happened to be what I had on hand). The end! Enjoy!

Happy Heart Day!

P.S. – Speaking of chocolates. Check out all of this cuteness!

photo books – personalized valentine’s day gifting (part 1).

Every new year one of my resolutions is to get our family memories (photos, videos, menus from those special restaurants, tickets from our trip to the zoo, etc.) organized and every year I fall short or really long. :). BUT this year I’m using Valentine’s Day as a great excuse to start tackling the 30,000+ photos on my iPhone.

I took all the special photos for each kiddo from 2018 and made them into books. Even though I’m more of “a flip through a set of prints type” gal, I thought that books would be the best option for them and of course they make a great gift.

My goal is to do this every year. For it not to be so overwhelming next Valentine’s Day, I am saving (at the end of each month) all of those special photos of them/ for them to separate albums that I have created for each of them on my phone.

For creating and printing the books, this year I used the Shutterfly ap because I had already downloaded some of the photos there while making some projects for family members over Christmas. However, for the few photos I have printed in the past years I have done so with Artifact Uprising, Mpix, timeshel, and Chatbooks.

One of my favorites was the Chatbooks book below I did of my pregnant belly – what a special time. I love the quality of the photos (even though they are all Iphone) and the quality and matte-like finish of the cover.

(sorry for the detour)

Let’s hope the kids will be happy with some memories to hold onto- literally. I had so much fun looking back at this past year. Hopefully they will to. Now onto to tackling the remaining 29,800 photos! 😉

(They are also being gifted part 2 – see “name” chocolate post. Just in case they may not be as excited about the photos books as their future self might be.)

saturday morn. popovers & lemon curd.

(Meyer lemons)

Even Saturday mornings come early with a one year old in the house. However, I found myself laying awake anyway with anticipation of the possibilities of a slow Saturday that involves no extra curricular activities and no certain plans – perhaps just coffee with a friend this afternoon. The sun is beaming this morning (despite it being very cold) but increasing clouds and a wintry mix are supposed to take over the afternoon and night.

Speaking of Spring (my last post), I’ve been craving a lot of citrus and lemon these days. So with having plenty of time this morning, I thought I’d make one of my favorites – popovers. And in the early morning light, try my hand at making lemon curd to tag along with them for something different. The finished curd tasted rather good but I definitely need more tries to get this one right. Mine was far from spectacular when it came to thickness. It was more the consistency of a heavy cream vs a jelly. I’m blaming it on the little guy I had on my hip the whole time. 😉

Both of the popover and lemon curd recipes were from the Joy of Cooking cookbooks.

The Lemon Curd recipe was from the newer 75th Anniversary edition.

The Popover recipe was from the 1964 edition and is slightly different than the newer 75th edition’s Popover recipe (just in case you were wondering 🙂 ).

Joy of Cooking – Popover recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 450°. Beat together all ingredients except the eggs just until smooth. Then add eggs one at a time. Do not overbeat.

The batter should be no heavier than whipping cream. Fill the buttered muffin cups about 3/4 full. Do not overfill. Bake at once. After 15 minutes, lower the heat to 350° and bake 15-20 minutes longer. Don’t open the oven when lowering the temp. You can test for doneness by removing one of the popovers – make sure the walls are firm. If they are not cooked long enough, the popovers will collapse. (Joy of Cooking – 1964 edition)

*Serve immediately with a variety of toppings. You can make them savory or sweet depending on your cravings. The kids enjoy just a little powdered sugar and maple syrup.

Happy Saturday!

a pretty spring mix. via an unlikely inspiration source.

As of late, while scrolling Facebook various Wal-Mart home decor ads keep popping up in my feed. In the past few weeks the ones that have caught my eye have been farmhouse, mid-century, and boho themed. I have been nicely surprised by some of the pretty furniture and decor that Wal-Mart is now carrying and/ or that you can order from other companies via the WM website. I feel like they have really upped their game. Maybe it’s been “upped” for awhile and I’m just now catching on. 🙂 These ads have caused me to detour to their website more than once in the past month. Because temps have been hovering in the low twenties here recently – spring is on my mind (and less than six weeks away)! Therefore, a pretty spring mix brought to you by Wal-Mart. Yes, Wal-Mart!

( hobnail canister // dotted pillowcase set // ribbed glass bowl )

( pink juice glasses // dining chair // jute rug )

( pom pom curtain // caged table light // amber canning jars )

( stoneware canister // string lights // round floral jute rug )

( kids sheet set // mod chairs // enamel bread box )

( drinking glasses // round mirror // succulents )