Star Spangled Cuteness!

I have to say, out of all my projects so far, I think this one is my favorite.  Okay, so maybe a tie with the  ice cream.  Today's Pinterest Project was inspired by the tank below.  Unfortunately, the pin that I found links to the picture and not a blog so I'm not sure who to credit with the idea.  There are several variations and you can find them by searching in Pinterest for "4th of July shirt".

I had to make a quick trip to Hobby Lobby to snag a few of the supplies that I didn't already have on hand.  I grabbed some jumbo red ric rac, red thread, a blue star button, and some blue ribbon with white polka dots.  I already had a new white t-shirt so I was ready to go!

TIP:  Saturday evenings are actually the best night to shop at the Hob Lob.  Since they are closed on Sundays they start changing the prices for the next weeks sale items on Saturday.  So, not only do you get the sale prices for the current week but also for the next week!  

To get started, I laid the ric rac in position and secured each row with a small piece of scotch tape.  I made the top two rows a bit shorter on the left hand corner as to replicate where the blue square and white stars on the flag are (or in this case the bow).  Once I had them all cut and positioned I pinned them and removed the tape.  You might not need the tape but I found it was easier to reposition and helped me avoid unnecessary pin holes.  Once all the ric rac was positioned and pinned I started sewing and attached with a basic stitch using red thread.

I made the bow by simply making loops and was careful to start with a tail and end with a tail.  Once I had the bow the way that I wanted it I stitched the middle to secure it and then added the star button.  Then I just sewed the bow to the t-shirt.  You might consider making the bow removable for laundering but I wasn't sure how to do that and so I decided I would just hand wash.

And here it is!

I apologize for not having step by step pictures.  I started pretty late and was worried I wouldn't finish and have time to post!  This is a pretty simple project and I was able to figure it out with just the finished product and I'm confident you will too!

I'm the worlds slowest when it comes to sewing so this took me a couple of hours (with a couple interruptions).  If you have more experience it could easily be a 30 minute project.  I can't wait for Elia to wear this to my sister's party on the 4th!  


UPDATE:  Elia modeling her Pinterest inspired 4th of July t-shirt!  

I Scream! You Scream!

The heat this week is almost unbearable.  I strongly believe that if I am going to be this hot I should be on a beach somewhere drinking fruity drinks and sending postcards home to family and friends bragging about the sun.  BUT, alas, I'm land-locked here in KC and trying to make the best of it.  And, by making the best of it, I mean making homemade ice cream and not going outside...ever again.

Let's back up a bit.  I have always dreamed of owning a KitchenAid mixer.  A red one.  It would be beautiful and it would stand proud on my kitchen counter.  Oh, the batches of deliciousness that would begin in that mixer.  Cookies, breads, muffins, pasta, can you just imagine the lovely carbs I could concoct?!

Well, much to my delight my wonderful husband bought me my very own Professional KitchenAid mixer (a red one--squeal!) for Christmas.  Oh, happy day!  After giving the box a hug and my husband a tight squeeze I shoved the family out of the way and slid it into the kitchen to find its new home.  Toaster?  Nah, it can go in the cabinet.  Coffee-maker?  When do we ever use that silly thing?

Then, to make my new favorite appliance even better my parents gave us the ice cream maker attachment.  A red KitchenAid Mixer AND the ice cream maker attachment??  I seriously thought I had to be dreaming and if I was...DON'T WAKE ME UP!

Since I've had my beautiful mixer I've made cookies, bread, pizza dough, and a few batches of ice cream.  I have to say, when he can hear the hum of the mixer my husband knows that good things are about to happen.  So far I've made vanilla and chocolate ice cream following the recipes in The Perfect Scoop.  This book is pretty much every ice cream recipe you can think of plus sorbets, granitas, and sweet accompaniments (think homemade ice cream add-ins).  The vanilla was fantastic--creamy and rich and would rival anything you would find in a swanky-boutique ice cream shop.  The chocolate, and forgive me for what I am about to say, was a bit too chocolaty for me.  I know, I know.  If I were to make it again I'd probably halve the amount of chocolate.

Since the recipes in the book are proven I would normally just grab the book and pick a recipe but today I'm craving something a bit different.  A bit nostalgic.  Where I'm from, homemade ice cream is still made in a tall skinny can and packed in ice and rock salt and cranked until the youngest kid passes out from exhaustion.  There's just something about ice cream made this way.  I'm not sure if it's the recipe or the method but it's almost soft serve and it has this distinct flavor that you just know it was made by someone you know.

I'm not sure of the recipe that my family uses (and I could just call and find out) BUT, this is The Pinterest Project so I searched Pinterest for a recipe that I thought may be close.  I found a pin that linked to a recipe that had great reviews and looked simple enough.  Click here for original recipe with reviews.

This was THE recipe I was craving!  Simple and delicious and exactly what I remember but without the ice, rock salt, and old cranky-type ice cream maker.  It seriously only took me a few minutes to pour the ingredients into the blender and then in to the mixer...then I was able to

'set it and forget it'.

Learning to Blog, One Pin at at Time

Face it, people--I'm new to this.  A week ago I had an abandoned blog with a whopping 3 posts.  I'm building this site from the ground up and learning as I go.  I'm positive there are things that I'm doing that would drive a seasoned blogger nuts (thank goodness they probably aren't reading this...yet.)  The whole purpose of The Pinterest Project is to learn new things.  Today I wanted to find a pin that would teach me something new in regards to my blog.  I decided to add social media 'follow us' buttons.  Seems easy, right?  Actually, it was--thanks to the detailed instructions!  Isn't Pinterest great?!

I found this simple tutorial from Her New Leaf and some free buttons from Noisette Academy and away I went!  

After following the instructions from Her New Leaf I opened a Photobucket account.  Photobucket is a free image hosting service.  Basically, you can upload images and they store them for you to access via html or img code, links, or email.  I'm sure there are a million other things that you can do on this site but since I've only starting using it today I can't speak of its other features...yet.  

I uploaded my images (see above, I picked Honey Suckle) to Photobucket.  I then copied and customized the html code with my Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest information and placed the code in a 'html gadget' in Blogger.  For more detailed instructions check out Her New Leaf.   

Easy-peasy and the whole thing took about 30 minutes!  

Pinning with Purpose

If you're just joining us, er--me, I'm about to start The Pinterest Project.  I have committed to completing one project from Pinterest every day until I decide to stop.  The project may be a recipe, DIY project, craft, or cleaning or organizational tip. The only rule is that I complete the project and blog about it.  I hope to learn new things and in the process of posting my results I hope my writing/blogging ability improves.

Today's project is a simple one but one that needs to be done (I'm sure we'll have lots of these).  The pin 'How to Clean Your Dyson' was originally posted by Ask Anna and you can click on the link to view her post as well as detailed instructions and photos.  

In fear of sounding all uppity I won't go on and on about how superior the Dyson is to oh, say, every other vacuum on the market.  I love my Dyson.  In fact, if it wasn't illegal in 46 states I would indeed marry it.  So, with my love affair now made public I have decided it's time I start taking better care of it.  Her?  Him?  We'll say him.  Who doesn't love a guy that picks stuff up?  I've had him for a little over 5 years and I'm ashamed to say he's never had a proper bath.  So today's Pinterest Project is for you Mr. Dyson, I hope you enjoy it.

After printing the instructions and gathering the supplies I realized that I had a different Dyson model than Anna and went back to the computer for my model specific instructions.  If you find yourself in the same situation just Google 'How to Clean Dyson (and then enter your model #).'

I think he cleans up well.  No more dust, gunk, or fur.  And once the filter is dry, I'll put it back in and give the guy a whirl! The entire project took about 20 minutes and I think he looks at least 5 years younger.  

Seriously, people Dyson just 'gets it'.  In order to keep him 'working properly' his filter needs to be cleaned on a regular basis.  The company has created an easy email reminder so that you'll never neglect him again!  Click here to schedule your reminders!

Let's Do This!

So, it's been a year.  A whole 12 months.  BUT, I'm back baby and I'm better than ever!  The last 12 months (give or take) have been filled with growth, change, and lots and lots of diapers.  Our little girl, Elia Yasmeen, was born on July 6th, 2011.  For fear of sounding cliche, I'll do my best to keep the mommy comments to a minimum.  To sum it up--Elia was born, our lives changed forever, and as a result, today I logged on to this blog for the first time in a year.

In my opinion, every blog should have a purpose and I'm about to share mine.  Inspired by one of my favorite movies, Julie & Julia, I have decided to blog every.single.day.  To be clear, I will NOT be steaming a live lobster or making Aspic (click here if you're unfamiliar with this tempting dish).  I will, however be hanging out on Pinterest, and recreating a project every day.  My daily project may be a recipe, craft, or cleaning or organizational tip.  My options are limitless!  The point is, I consider myself a life-long learner so I'm about to learn a few new things!  I promise to share my results: the good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly.  I'm positive that there will be success and epic failures and I'm also sure we'll have a few laughs along the way.

Here we go!

**Don't you just hate it when you think you have a genius idea and then after further research find out that someone else beat you to the punch?  Yea, me too.  I'm still super excited to take on this challenge and will say that it was an original idea of mine although technically, these ladies did it first.  That's okay, there are enough projects for all of us! Carry on!