afterall, I am only a beginner: the skirt turned dress

finally, I have the photo. :) I'm honestly not all that great at explaining, and because I'm a beginner I don't really know the terms which should be used to explain what I did. I took an old, straight denim skirt, removed the top band (and zipper, sewing that section shut), and added the red floral top. to make the top I 'altered' a shirt pattern to fit what I needed. I also put piping around the edges (which I also have no idea how to properly pipe -- I need to better educate myself!), added a button placket and some cute round red buttons. it is no where near flawless, but afterall, I am only a beginner. :) it's a learning experience and I am overall happy with the outcome. just waiting on the weather to warm up a bit more before I wear it.

okay, the photo (and please take notice of my cute cat who wanted to join in on the fun!):



xo!
Candice

another 'break'

busy as usual, only this time with a few added things. thank you for hanging in there with us!! :) still planning on posting my skirt turned dress, just haven't taken the time to take a photo. plan to do that this week. my famous words: we'll see.

for now, I wanted to post one of my current favorite recipes - peanut butter waffles. I'm pretty much in love with waffles right now. they're easy to make, and they are GREAT to prepare the night before and then just stick 'em in the toaster in the morning. (that's for anyone who is like me, a late night lover but NOT so much a 'morning person'.) but these peanut butter ones are SUCH a smash hit! I love them warm with butter, but I also think they'd be delicious with fruit syrup. any way, if you like waffles and/or peanut butter, give 'em a try. :)



2 1/4 flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/4 c milk
1/4 c oil
1/4 tsp salt

oil or melted butter to grease waffle iron

mix all ingredients. (I use a mixer)
preheat waffle iron, grease.
pour batter onto waffle iron. (I use a full 1 cup measuring cup)
close waffle iron and cook for 3-5 mins (I always do mine 4.5 mins because I like them crispy, but not too crispy since I always reheat them in the toaster)

pretty simple, eh? if you give them a try, I hope you like them as much as I do! :)

xo!
Candice

Some spring loves...

Hello again everyone. We are busily creating and nursing little ideas in our head. And practicing and bettering the current skills we have. It's a warm, lovely spring day outside. The kind of spring day that inspires you to create something. While we have no pictures at the moment we will give you a little video from one of our favorite artists.

The artist is Jon Foreman from Switchfoot (obviously this is solo) and the song is called "Your Love is Strong" form his new "Spring EP" (one of our favorite cd's at the moment). So I hope you enjoy!



Happy creating!
Ashley

some spring flowers

Hi there everyone! Obviously we are back from our little hiatus. Much has happened since that time and hopefully things have calmed enough for us to craft regularly and post regularly. Things have been looking really springy here. The air is warmer and daffodils and tulips are starting to poke up and bloom.

remember this post? Well to celebrate the nice springy weather here is a picture of the recently completed flowers



Yes it did take almost six months to finish. But I did have to set the project aside for other pressing holiday projects.
For the stems I ended up using some green felt. I rolled it to make it stiff and sew down the middle to make it stay. Right now I am working on matching placemats and napkins. The placemats have a little square to hold the napkin and on the square I have embroidered little letters. They are turning out really cute. Hopefully when it is finished I can post a picture for everyone to see.

Well that is all for now. Hopefully it's as nice and springy where you are as it is here. Maybe next post I can have a picture of a shirt I made recently. We will see.

Happy Creating!
Ashley

mmmm, muffins.

I have to say that muffins is one of my favorites. love to make them and love to eat them. and somewhere in the back of my mind they're healthier than cupcakes (maybe it's because usually they contain fruit?). I've been searching for a yummy, moist banana muffin and I think I finally came across it today. I found a recipe on cooks.com and tried it (adding a topping from another muffin recipe that I made not too long ago) and they are yum! next time I think I'll add a bit more banana and a pinch or so less of salt and soda, but overall I am pleased with the way these came out. :) here is a photo with the recipe following. enjoy!



Banana Muffins
2 c flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 c butter
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Topping
1/3 c packed brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp flour
1/2 c mini [semi-sweet] chocolate chips


preheat to 350
mix dry ingredients
cream butter and sugar (about 3 mins), add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
add bananas and vanilla to butter/sugar/eggs
add moist ingredients to dry until just moistened (batter will be lumpy. try not to mix too much as over mixing will result in 'tough' muffins)
spoon into muffin pan (greased or lined with paper cups)
make topping (mix brown sugar, flour and chips then stir in butter)
sprinkle muffins with topping
bake for about 20 mins


xo!

Candice