I Made it Monday, What was I thinking?

I Made it Monday

Three weeks ago I introduced a new plan to kick start my blog and hopefully get me back to posting somewhat regularly. Unfortunately I didn't plan things very well. My entire craft room, including 99% of the remainder of my household, is currently packed away in storage while we transition to a new home, that we have yet to find, almost 900 miles away. Every week on Monday I'm supposed to try to post about something that I've made. I've made a lot of things so that should be easy, right? Not exactly. While I have made a lot of things I'm not always so great at taking pictures and since all of those "things" are packed 900 miles away right now I can't just go snap a quick picture or two. I thought about just linking to tutorials that I've used in the past but it's not easy to write a post about someone else's post when you don't even have an original picture. Unfortunately I'm going to have to take a slight break from IMIM but only for a short while. Soon enough we will find the perfect house for us and I'll have lots to post about. At least that's what I'm telling myself right now. If I don't take a break my posts are likely to be filled with how I had my marriage license in my hand two weeks ago but decided to put it in storage (I've been married almost 22 years after all) but now have to order a copy of it so I can get a driver's license in a state where I previously held one for 14 years, how I have to order copies of my car titles because I moved them to a different folder while on an organizing kick and failed to bring that folder with us, or how we have to pay the full price for tags for our cars (after I get the replacement titles) then renew them at full price the next month because it is my husband's birth month. Obviously it's better if I take a break. No one wants to read about that. You can still follow me on Pinterest, as well as Facebook, and find my designs at Applique Time. See, I won't really be gone at all.

Regards,
Bridgette

I Made it Monday Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers

I Made it Monday

Two weeks ago I introduced a new plan to kick start my blog and hopefully get me back to posting somewhat regularly. Every week on Monday I will try to post something that I made. This week I'm sharing a favorite summertime grilling recipe. Yes, I know, this has nothing to do with sewing, applique, or even crafting but I said I would post something that I made, and I did make these, and we all eat so why not a great recipe. Plus, there's a neat trick for making almost evenly sized hamburgers and there's nothing wrong with a great recipe and a helpful kitchen trick. If you want to share your IMIM creations please feel free to in the comments or on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/AppliqueTime.

Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers

If you've never checked out allrecipes.com I encourage you to do so. The collection of recipes is wonderful, the search tools are empowering (Don't like an ingredient? Search for recipes without it.) the feedback can often be it's own cooking lesson, and the ability to keep all of my favorite recipes in my own virtual recipe box is fun. 

A while ago I stumbled upon a recipe for bacon wrapped hamburgers. Bacon? Hamburgers? All together? Yes, I'll take it! The worcestershire sauce was an unexpected ingredient for me but it adds a great flavor and the bacon and it's juices cook into the burgers which make them extra juicy. I like to use thick cut bacon and make a bunch of these then individually freeze them so we can have them whenever we want. And here's a great trick that I probably saw on pinterest. Instead of having your meat mixed together in a bowl, taking handfuls, balling them up, and flattening them out only to find that you made them too fat and now have to go back and thin them out some and re-ball them and try again or vice versa (tell me it's not just me) lay your meat on a cutting board and form a rectangle as best as possible then score the meat with a knife to create even sections. They won't be perfect but they'll be close enough.

If you're going to freeze the burgers after you wrap the bacon be sure to freeze them individually then you can put them in a freezer bag and pull them out as needed. If I'm not cooking them fresh I usually take them straight from the freezer and cook them on my George Foreman grill.

Give them a try and let me know what you think. If you've got a great hamburger recipe of your own to share feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Happy Monday!

Bridgette

I Made it Monday Holiday Pillowcases

I Made it Monday

Last week I introduced a new plan to kick start my blog and hopefully get me back to posting somewhat regularly. Every week on Monday I will try to post something that I made. This week I'm sharing a gift that I made with my daughter as a "Going to College" gift for her best friend. The truth is we made it last year but hey, it's Monday and I made it so it works. If you want to share your IMIM creations please feel free to in the comments or on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/AppliqueTime.

Holiday Pillowcases

When my daughter graduated from high school a few years ago a dear family friend sent her several things that she made for her in her new college school colors. One of those things was a beautiful pillowcase that she put on her pillow when we unpacked her in her new dorm room. When it came time to start sending care packages I decided to start sending similar pillowcases only holiday themed. Coming from a house that is typically decorated for whatever the upcoming holiday is my daughter was really missing out on the family decorations and I thought this would be a good way to at least bring a little "holiday" into her dorm. When her best friend went away to college the following year she wanted to do the same for her.

I used the tutorial found on Twiddletails blog, http://twiddletails.blogspot.com/2010/05/pillowcases-pillowcases.html. It's very easy to follow and the pictures are helpful too. The only thing I changed (and she talks about it on the post) is the trim strip. I chose to cut my trim piece 1 3/4 inches wide. This is just a slight difference and probably doesn't make enough difference for most people to care. The other thing to know is if you are using directional fabric for the main fabric you may need a larger cut. Here's how to tell ...

If you are holding the bolt of fabric horizontally and the fabric is the right direction, meaning you can read the print or the animals or images are the right direction and you don't have to turn the bolt, then you will need 1 1/2 yds of fabric. When you are cutting the main fabric keep this in mind and fold the fabric accordingly. 

If you are holding the bolt of fabric vertically and the fabric is the right direction then you will need just the 3/4 yd and can cut it according to the tutorial. For non-directional fabric go with the 3/4 yd.

If you're really having fun making pillowcases but have no one to give them to check with your local hospital. I have read where many hospitals, especially children's hospitals, accept pillowcases to give their young patients to brighten up their rooms.

I've made several since these, including one last week at the request of my middle daughter for a birthday gift for a friend. They really are fun since they are so quick and easy and look beautiful. Go ahead, give it a try. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Here are a few pictures of the pillowcases we made. We made an Easter themed one as well but it went in an early gift package and didn't make the group pics. I included close ups of the Thanksgiving and Christmas fabrics because they were just so stinkin' cute.

 

I Made it Monday Paper Mesh Sunflower Wreath

I Made it Monday

This week I'm introducing a new plan to kick start my blog and hopefully get me back to posting. Every week on Monday I will try to post something that I made. It might be a neat craft like this week, a sewing tutorial, maybe a recipe or even just a few pics of something that I made either for myself or as a gift. It may be original or completely link to someone else's hard work. Who knows. Basically it will be something that I made. At some point. Maybe on a Monday. Maybe not. If you want to share your IMIM creations please feel free to in the comments or on my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/AppliqueTime.

Sunflower Wreath

I’ve been looking for some time to redo my spring wreath. I’ve had the same spring time wreath since 2000 and I have hung it with pride on 5 different homes since I first made it 15 years ago. The problem is it was made on a twig wreath and you know what? Birds like twig wreaths! They make great nest locations and even if they aren't building a nest there they like to use it as their own building supply store and take twigs and flowers from it. Every year I would say I was going to make something new that the birds wouldn’t like so much. I really thought after the great “bird in the house at 10:00 pm” fiasco that last year might be the year but alas, it didn’t happen. Until this year when I saw a beautiful sunflower wreath on a friends post on Facebook. I knew then that this wasn’t just a craft idea that I was going to plan to do, or worse yet, buy the supplies but never do. This one my friends was going to happen. I was going to make a sunflower wreath! So here’s what I did …

Materials

•         1 roll each of 10 inch by 10 yard decorative mesh in green and brown (I got mine at JoAnn’s. The colors there were lime green and bronze.)
•         2 rolls of 10 inch by 10 yard decorative mesh in yellow
•         Cloth Stem Wire (I could have just used pipe cleaners.)
•         Pipe Cleaners to match (Don’t worry if you don’t have the right colors. You’ll just have to spend a little more time tucking and twisting them in the final step so they don’t show.)
•         12 inch wire wreath frame (If it sounds small it is. Don’t worry. The wreath is very full and spreads out way beyond the frame.)
•         Scissors and/or rotary cutter and cutting mat
•         Ruler or straight edge

Before we get started I have to give credit where credit is due. I originally saw similar Sunflower Wreaths on Pinterest and based my entire approach off of a few videos.

The first one is here, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/190699365448392506/. I spent a lot of time looking for a wire twig work wreath like they have in the video but never could find anything that I was willing to pay for so I used a standard wire wreath with pipe cleaners as my “twigs”.

The second video is here, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/190699365448513686/. You’ll love her sweet southern accent. It made me feel like I was back home in Alabama.

There are definitely more videos and tutorials out there for similar wreaths. Look around and see what approach you are most comfortable with and what supplies you already have on hand or are readily available to you. This is a very forgiving craft and you really can’t mess it up. My approach is a combination of the two videos listed above.

Step 1. I began by adding cloth stem wires across the center of the wire wreath to create an “X” and pipe cleaners to each section of the wire wreath form. There were 3 rings and 6 sections so I added 6 pipe cleaners to each ring for a total of 18. Try to stagger them on the rings. I folded the pipe cleaner in half, slipped it over the ring then gave it one twist. You want to have as much pipe cleaner as possible available to twist around your paper mesh.

Step 2. This step is most similar to the approach for the green leaves in the second video. You will need 6 cuts of green deco mesh approximately 18 in x 10 in. It is already 10 inches wide so just aim for lengths approximately 18 inches long. I didn’t worry about being exact, just somewhere close to 18. Working with one cut piece at a time, I gave it a diagonal pull on the bias to try to get some of the curl out so I could work with it. I’m not sure if this was effective or not but she did it in the video so I did too. I then rolled diagonally opposite corners towards the center. I pinched it in the center, folded it in half, then attached it to the outer ring using the pipe cleaners working the leaf so that it would stay to the outside of wreath. Repeat for the remaining 5 pieces. Don’t worry if it won’t stay where you place it. Once the wreath is filled in more things will start to stay in place and fill in a little better.

Step 3. For the yellow petals I went with the approach from the first video. I cut 24 10 inch by 10 inch squares of yellow deco mesh. Taking one, I gathered and essentially pleated it from one corner to the other on a diagonal. I then did this again on a second cut of yellow then attached them to the wreath using the pipe cleaner. First I filled in the row with the leaves using the excess pipe cleaner from the leaves to attach the petals directly on top of the leaves then I did the same 2 to 1 approach on the middle ring.

  

Step 4. For the inside of the flower (the seed part) I used the approach in the first video. Starting with the end of the brown (don’t cut it yet) I gathered it and attached it to the pipe cleaners leaving the tail to be gathered and attached again. I poofed it a little (is poofed a word?) then attached it to the opposite pipe cleaner and kind of worked my way around the inner ring poofing and securing. This is where the “X” that you put in the middle of the wreath comes in handy. You can poof and twist and anchor to it too if needed. When I was satisfied with the poofiness (again, is that a word?) I cut the end and secured it to the back.

Step 5. Next for me was just clean up. Some of the wreaths that I saw had tails for stalks or extra leaves going down but I didn’t want any of that. Just the sunflower was good for me. I fluffed and pulled and adjusted where needed and tucked all of the extra pipe cleaner to the back.

Step 6. Hang your wreath. For once I kind of liked having a yucky brown front door because it contrasts nice with my sunflower wreath. Never mind that the door could use another coat of paint or that the door handle is actually just a door knob. I have a pretty wreath and that is all that matters now anyway.