Can’t Convey

     It’s been a long time coming, folks.  Some days I wasn’t sure if I’d make it.  It’s been a whirlwind summer.  Now…work is over, the bags are packed, my nails are done, my hair is cut, Keith is here.  We are leaving for the beach tomorrow!
     There is no way to convey through typed out words on a screen how excited I am.  As you may have guessed from my week of talking about pretty much nothing but the beach…this is what I live for (not really…but it’s right up there). 
     In addition to sand, sun, salt water, and incredible food, I am so excited to spend time with my family and just be away.  As you probably already know, I don’t have a fancy phone, so there are no Internet temptations to deal with there.  I love all you sweet bloggy friends, but I am going unplugged for the week.  No email, no posting (from me), no nothing.  Just toes in the sand hanging out.  I can’t wait!

 

I hope y’all will still check back next week I have some incredible guest posts lined up for you!  Seriously…amazing.

Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Aren’t you excited?!

Make Up Bag Tutorial

         This was originally written as a guest post for Janel at Hating Martha.  I thought I would go ahead and share it here just incase you missed it the first time around...or if you're new...I kept all of the same text from the original post, so you can get the full picture of how excited I was to do a guest post!
     First, a huge thank you to Janel for inviting me to post over here at Hating Martha!  I’ll let y’all in on a little secret – I’ve never guest posted before, so this is a huuuge deal for me, and I couldn’t be more excited!  I love the whole idea of this blog – perfection is overrated, and I think we all just need to cut ourselves a little slack sometimes.  Also…I’m not great at the whole tutorial writing thing so you’ll have to bear with me.

    When Janel first emailed me, I spent a few days trying to figure out what I should post about.  At first, I had this simple little idea about a headband made out of some left over t-shirts with some flowery embellishment.  I guess that was okay, but it didn’t really grab me, so I started digging through my fabric box and found all new inspiration!

    

     In case you can’t really tell, that is some adorable purple floral (that I previously had made into an applique shirt for my niece) and denim (which I have a ton of).
    With no planning, pattern, or idea of what I was doing, I leapt into making a make-up bag.  Now, you lucky readers get to relive that journey with me…

You will need
     two 6x12 in. rectangles of denim (if you’re smart…I was not…you will leave about 1/4 in. for seam allowances) – for the front and back
     two 2x12 in. rectangle of denim (again with seam allowances) – for the top and bottom
     two 2x6 in. rectangles of denim (do I have to say it again…) – for the sides
     one zipper (mine was 14 in.)
     three 2x24 in. strips of whatever fabric you want (mine are the ones pictured above) – to decorate the front

How-to (sort of)
     1.  Place your bottom strip of fabric on the (future) front of your bag – I made the mistake of starting at the top…possible but not easy.  Gather into pleats and pin all the way across, leaving no excess fabric.  Sew in a straight line across the top.

Shown with pins before stitching

     2.  Repeat with the second and third strips, making sure to cover your stitching, except at the top.
     3.  This is where it gets a little crazy…also where I mostly quit taking pictures – sorry!  Take the bottom piece (2x12) and lay it face down, or right side to right side, with your ruffly front piece.  Line it up along the bottom and sew in a straight line making sure to catch all of your ruffles in between so they don’t pull off.
    4.  Sew the back piece (6x12) to the bottom piece in the same way you did the front making sure that when the front and back are upright that all of the wrong sides are toward the “inside.”
     5.  With the “bag” inside out, place one of the side pieces right side to right side with the front, lined up along the edge.  Sew in a straight line.
     6.  Repeat with the other edge of the same side piece, sewing it to the back piece.  You will have to maneuver very carefully from here on out.  Lots of pinching your fabric so you don’t resew something you’ve already done!
     7.  Very carefully sew the bottom edge closed.
     8.  Repeat 5-7 with the other side piece.  It should look something like this:

Hopefully yours is tidier…but I won’t judge you if it isn’t!

     9.  With the bag still inside out, take the last piece of fabric (2x12), and cut it in half lengthwise.  Take one of these pieces and place it right side to right side with the top edge of the bag, and sew along the top.
     10.  With your zipper still zipped, line it up (right side to right side) with the edge of the 1x12 piece you just sewed, and sew in a straight line as close to the zipper as you can get.
     11.  Repeat 9-10 with the remaining strip of fabric and the zipper.
     12.  I switched to hand-sewing for this part.  Sew along the short edges of your top making sure to connect the top pieces with the sides and getting in as close to the zipper as possible so there aren’t any gaping holes.  Also be sure to leave any tails or excess zipper on the inside of the bag (unless you want to get industrious and shorten your zipper)!

    

     I really hope that this was at least somewhat clear for all of you!  I (obviously) didn’t use a pattern, but I’m sure there is one for something similar.  This could easily be modified to have a liner on the inside, and the outside could be decorated however you want; I’ve just been itching to try ruffles!
     Frayed edges? Check.  Wildly uneven seams? Check.  Totally visible marking on the inside? Check.  Good enough and entirely useable? Double check.

     If you managed to survive this tutorial, I hope you’ll all stop by Cupcakes and Candy Canes and follow along!  Thanks again, Janel; I had a ball!

Allyson

Birthday Feast

     I know I’m a few days late on this post, but I’ve been so busy working on my guest post and 101 in 1001!  Now that I’ve got those taken care of, I thought I would get back to some “regular” posting and share with you about my dad’s birthday dinner.  Before I get too deep into this post, let me go ahead and warn you – the pictures in this post are possibly some of the most unattractive food photos ever…please don’t let that distract you from the deliciousness available to you in the recipes!
     My dad’s birthday was last weekend, so my sister and I both came home to cook dinner.  Usually we go out to eat, but we decided that it might be more fun to cook this year.  It was my sister’s idea to cook, and she came up with an incredible menu – Italian meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans with mushrooms.  None of these were hard to make, and it wasn’t a fussy meal at all.  Any (or all) of it could be done on any old weeknight.

Please forgive the less than attractive photo.

Italian Meatloaf

You will need:
2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. ketchup
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a large bowl mix first four ingredients. Add tomatoes and cheese and season (to be honest we didn’t have all of that stuff so we used oregano, basil, a bit more garlic salt, and a dash of Essence of Emeril).
3.  Form into a loaf in a 13x9 casserole dish (we usually don’t use a meatloaf pan so that we can get it out of the grease quicker).  Cover loosely with foil.
4.  Bake in preheated oven for about an hour (or until internal temperature is 160 degrees).

Again…not so pretty.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

You will need:
8 medium red potatoes, quartered (we used more)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
1/2 c. fat free milk, warmed
1/2 tsp. salt (we used more)
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (we used way more)

1.  Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to a boil; cook until potatoes are very tender.  Drain well.
2.  Add the butter, milk, and salt; mash.  Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Ok…this one isn’t quite so bad!

Green Beans and Mushrooms

You will need:
1 16oz. bag of frozen green beans (we used whole beans, but it would work fine with cut)
1 can of mushrooms (fresh works fine too – however much you want)

1.  Heat a skillet on the stove (with a tiny bit of olive oil if you like).
2.  Pour in green beans and cook until heated through but still crunchy.
3.  About halfway through cooking, toss in the mushrooms.

    
     Y’all, this was all so good.  I was sad that I had to go back to school the next day because I so would have eaten this again!  Like I said, this clearly doesn’t have to be done together, and they’re simple enough to do whenever.
     I’m glad that we decided to try something different this year, and even more glad that it worked out so well.  Cooking something delish always makes me want to cook something else!  Once I figure that out, I’ll let you know!
     Happy March!  I’m on spring break this week, but I can’t wait for real spring.  I love everything about spring – Easter, crafts, clothes – and I can’t wait to share all of it with you!
Allyson

Guest Post at Hating Martha

     Happy Monday!  I have to admit…and this probably won’t come as a huge surprise, Monday is not my favorite day of the week.  This Monday, however, is going to be amazing! 
     First things first, I am guest posting over at Hating Martha today.  This is a big day for Janel too, and it has nothing to do with my guest post.  She is making the jump to Wordpress, and her blog will go live very soon!  It’s also her birthday!  I hope you’ll all stop by and wish her luck with the new site, wish her a very happy birthday, and read my post!
     For those of you here because of the link on Janel’s site, thank you!  I am so excited to have you!  I would love for you to follow along (GFC, Linky Followers, Bloglovin, RSS…it’s all here); check out the sidebar to the left.  Please make yourselves at home – check out my older posts (in the right sidebar) or my About page for a little more about what it is I do here.  This is such a great opportunity, and I am so grateful to Janel and Hating Martha!
     Lastly (sort of), there is still a ton of new stuff coming up here at Cupcakes and Candy Canes.  I am so excited about the new direction my blog is taking, and I really look forward to sharing with all of you sweet readers and followers.  I have so much going on right now, and I can’t wait to get the ball rolling!

Allyson

Preview

     I know you’ve all been waiting on pins and needles (pun definitely intended) to see what I’m going to guest post over at Hating Martha.  While I certainly can’t show you my finished product (although I soooo wish I could), I am so excited to share a little preview!

    
     You guessed right – those are ruffles!   I am just itching to tell you what it is, but you’ll have to wait a few more days.  I will tell you that overall, this has been the most difficult sewing crafty I’ve ever done (which is probably mostly my fault…).
    My guest post will be up on the 27th over at Hating Martha – yay!
Allyson