Sewing - Mushroom Pillow

Here is another random Pinterest creation.  I saw this picture of an adorable mushroom available to purchase on le Train Fantome's shop on Big Cartel:

OMG, that is CUTE!!!!

So I decided to try and make my own version of this.

I wanted it to be BIG, though, so I could snuggle with it.  I have always had an extreme fondness for mushrooms and find their shapes and colors to be so pleasing to the eye.

To start with, I drew the shape on a big piece of paper.  I cut out the mushroom top from the stem so I had two pieces.  I also cut out another oval-shaped piece for the bottom so that it could be able to stand up better and make the stem more tubular.  I went through my fabric stash and found this fabulous yellow dot fabric I got at Ikea years ago and the stem was this white honeycomb knit fabric I got from who knows where.

I cut out the pieces and pinned the stem under the mushroom top and sewed across on the top/pattern side of the fabric.  I thought the fraying of the fabric at the edge would add another dimension to the design.  I did this for the front and back being careful to match up the back side with the front before sewing that.

Then I just put the right sides together and sewed around the sides and the top, leaving a four-inch or so section open on one of the sides for stuffing later, and NOT sewing the bottom closed. I pinned the oval shaped piece to the bottom, still with the right sides together, and sewed it closed all the way around.

Now it was time to turn it right side out and stuff stuff stuff.  My little girlie helped with this part.  Once it was nice and stuffed (not too full) I turned the edges in on the hole and just ran that through my machine.  Normal people would hand sew it shut, but I'm just not patient enough for that.  :)

The final dimensions on this are about 25-inches tall by 17-inches wide.  Sweet!  It's perfect for a good snuggle.

Here are a million pictures.  I think it'll end up being a pretty cool prop for impromptu photo shoots, and looks really cool on just about anything you put it on.

Activities - 200+ Activites for Ages 1-5

The first randomly selected activity for my Random Pinterest project was actually a list of 200+ activities from the Play Create Explore blog.  A whole lot of wow and a little bit of overload here!

This list is GREAT!  Lots of really cool and fun things to do.  I need another random number generator to get some of these projects lined up on the to-do list.  Geez!

I went through the list and found one that spoke to me directly: an outdoor pretend play clothesline.  Here is the picture from the Play Create Explore blog:

I am all about getting my little one to help out with the chores whenever she can.  She sees it as a game and I can get some work done while also entertaining her, teaching her the importance of routine chores, and teaching her valuable lessons as well.  Total win-win.

We usually hang our clothes out to dry on the line.  So, for us this wasn't pretend play, this was real work!  I hung a new line a bit lower so she could easily reach it and she went right to work hanging up her laundry to dry while I hung up the rest.  Wow!  Thank you so much for the idea guys!  This has been a wonderful activity.

Til next time!

-elke

To Eat - Tomato, Basil, Cheese Pasta Bake Recipe

So, this yummy looking recipe was the first one to be randomly selected when I performed my Random Pinterest algorithm.

Here is the original post on the Budget Savvy Diva blog:  Tomato, Basil, Cheese Pasta Bake Recipe

I made fresh pesto from a huge $1 bag of basil from the Asian market down the street.  This is more of a Thai Basil rather than a Sweet Basil, but it makes a nice pesto.  We also use pecans from Costco (such a good deal!), parmesan from Costco that I shred and freeze, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  I usually make this pesto in bulk and freeze them in ice cube trays to use when time is tight (which is ALWAYS).

I followed the rest of the instructions as written, and it turned out delicious and made so much!  We served it with a caesar salad. We had enough for dinner for two adults and a three-year-old, lunch for two adults, and froze the leftovers for another full dinner another time.  Since I haven't eaten the frozen meal yet I can't swear to how good that tastes, but it should be just fine.

Here is our dog Penny begging for just a little taste.  No no Penny, this goes in MY tummy.

-elke

Random Pinterest

I find myself all too often pinning away in Pinterest, getting deeper and deeper into planned project overload. I rarely actually do anything with my pins. 

So, to inspire myself to get out of my rut, I have decided to develop a method to tackle some of my go-to boards, the ones I pin on to the most frequently. These boards are: 

Crafty Projects 

Sewing Clothes 

Sewing (Non-clothing) 

Activities 

To Eat

The process I have started involves first going into the board and noting how many pins are in there.  I have a random number generator app that lets me put in the maximum number (i.e. the total number of pins in the board) and then it pops out a random number within that range.  I find the corresponding pin and that gets re-pinned in my Random Pinterest board and put on my to-do list.

I repeat this process for each of the five boards.

Whew.

Now I can FOCUS on something!!!!  This helps me out a BUNCH because I end up spending WAY too much time searching a board for what to do when I have a free moment, or want to do something fun with my kiddo, when the crafting bug bites, or when I just want to cook something yummy.  Now, I have a plan.

I have started this over the last few weeks and while the progress is slow (come on, who has copious amounts of free time anyway?) there is progress!

I will post some of the ones I have done so far with pictures of the results.

This is a really fun way to knock some things off your endless Pinterest to-do list!