I'm switching my blog over to Wordpress...you can now find me at www.marvelousauntiem.wordpress.com

Hope to see you all there!

Keeping avocados from going bad

I love avocados. I eat them on salads, on sandwiches and occasionally just by themselves.

Aldi had them on sale this week for $0.36 each! I've never gotten them that cheap before. Unfortunately there was a 6 per person limit so I may have to go back in a couple of days to get some more. Especially since I found this method for freezing them.

So easy...cut them in half, remove the seed, brush with lemon juice and pop in to a freezer bag.

I'm so happy I found this.  I figured using lemon juice somehow would aid in preserving them since I've used it to perk up guacamole.

I love lemon juice...so many uses around the house.  Toss the halves in to your garbage disposal to clean it after you've gotten the juice from them.

How to save money on cans of beans

I recently spent a week at my niece's house and she showed me this neat idea for beans. She probably found it on Pinterest but I didn't research it because it was SO easy.

How would you like 16 cans of beans for roughly $5.50? That's only $0.34 a can. I turned 5 pounds of beans in to 16 bags to freeze and pull out when needed.  That is a savings of roughly $0.40 a can depending on where you live and what brand you usually buy.  At my Super Target the beans were $0.74 a can and $0.70 by using the cartwheel app last week...that's still a savings of over 50% and every little bit helps.

If you look at a can of beans, it says 1 serving is 1/2 cup and there are 3.5 servings per container...that means 1.75 cups per can. I put 2 cups of cooked beans in each bag so you could probably get more if you only put 1.75 cups per bag.

I got six bags of pinto beans (from a 2lb bag of dried beans), seven bags of white beans (2lb bag) and three bags of chick peas (1lb bag).

Here's what I did:

1. Soak the beans overnight according to package directions.

2. Drain beans and put in large pot with some kosher salt, pepper and a sprinkle of garlic powder.

3. Cover the beans with hot water, bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1.5 hours.

4. Put in to freezer bags, I used a 1 cup measuring cup and drained the liquid when scooping out of the pot.

5. Let the beans cool then seal the bags and place in the freezer.

6. Pull them out of the freezer when ready and use them as you would a can of beans.

It doesn't get much easier than that.  An added bonus is that you can pronounce everything in the bag!

If you have any other time saving and money saving tips...please share your knowledge with the rest of us by commenting below :)

Ideas for shirt cuffs needed please

Today I finally got around to updating my Etsy shop and adding all of the hot holders that I had made for my last bazaar.  Feels good to get a variety of items listed...hopefully it will translate in to more sales :).  How cute are these for Valentine's Day?

I've also decided that I am going to give away a $25 gift card once my Facebook page reaches 300 likes...only 124 more to go!  Help me get there and then get in on the action.  Who doesn't love free money?  Plus I post there more than here so you can stay up to date with whatever fun projects I'm making.  Like this little wrap around pot holder...just waiting on feedback from the product tester.

I'm currently working on three memory quilts for a lady and her two daughters.  Her husband passed away after 45 years, 4 months and 1 day of marriage.  This was the first time that I have been to someone's house to pick the clothing up.  It was a very different experience from receiving a package in the mail.  She started to tear up as I was putting the shirts in my car.  I can't imagine how difficult it must be for her having her husband of so many years not there any more.  I'll be posting photos of the finished quilts on here when I'm done.  Right now I have 86% of the squares cut...now I have to piece together 31 more to make all of the blocks needed for two queen and one king size quilt.

I'm trying to think of something neat to do with the cuffs from the long sleeve shirts and the buttons...anyone have any ideas for me?

The perfect Christmas present for the great nieces

I've had a busy few weeks.  For Christmas we drove out to my sister-in-law's house in Colorado and then after being home for a week...I flew to Florida and drove my niece's van and two dogs out to California.  So I can now say that I have driven nearly from coast to coast.  The week that I was home, I made my great nieces' Christmas presents and I did a pretty good job on making them something that they LOVE.

I made them "little mommy" diaper bags that contained baby doll diapers, changing pads, wipes w/ case and a little moby wrap.

I found a tutorial for the diaper bag and I just went to put the link in here and the website isn't up any more.  That's frustrating.  But...it's kind of like a rectangle purse...and really any bag would do.  Here are my two bags:

Then here is the tutorial for the diapers and wipes with case.  The three year old sat down and put the diaper on the baby doll without any help.  I guess she's been watching her mom change her little sister's diapers.  The two year old needed a little more help with putting the diaper on her doll.  Those are the wipes strewn about in the picture below...that was one dirty diaper she was changing.

For the changing pad I just used two pieces of flannel, about 9"x18" and sewed those together with a print on one side and a solid on the other.  Then I sewed two horizontal lines dividing it into thirds and folded it along those lines to make it look a little more like the real ones.


The "moby wrap" was the easiest.  I had a scrap of jersey knit that I just cut into two strips that were 6 inches by width of fabric (the big one I made for their momma was 20 inches by 6 yards).  Jaycey loved how she was able to carry around her baby and all of her accessories while using the wrap to carry the baby doll.

Now I just have to think of something fun to make for a 1 year old...back to Pinterest I go.

Oskar's trip to see Santa

Santa was at the vet's office this morning for a couple of hours.  I haven't taken Oskar to see Santa since he was 1 so I decided it was time to take him again.  Plus they were taking donations for Agape Animal Rescue so it was for a good cause and he is sporting a fresh hair cut.

The groomer put a silly looking bandana on him so I made him a more festive bandana before our trip to see Santa.  How cute is he in the snowman fabric?

After I put his new bandana on him it was off to see Santa.  He's not as crazy about the old man this year as he was 11 years ago.  He was so scared he was shaking. I was still able to catch this picture before he jumped out of Santa's arms.  I'm still surprised by the fact that he let me put the Santa hat on his head.  He hates dressing up (with the exception of the coat he wears when we go to Colorado...he'll wear it out there but not here in Tennessee).

So Merry Christmas from Oskar.

Don't forget...you've still got one more day to register for all of those giveaways going on at www.sewmamasew.com

A Very Merry Child's Infinity Scarf Giveaway

When I first began sewing, it was gifts for family and friends.  Just something to pass the time.  Why not try to make a little money while doing it?  I still do freelance work in television production but I cannot wait for the day that I will be able to make a living sewing and creating.

That being said...

Tis the season...so I am going to give away a child's sized red and white infinity scarf made with designer jersey knit fabric.  Your little one will look absolutely adorable for all of her Christmas photos wearing this scarf...then she can wear it for Valentine's day too!

In order to enter the giveaway, comment with your favorite handmade gift that you have received or that you like to give.  Winner will be drawn at random at 7pm on Friday, December 13th.


There are a lot more giveaways going on over at Sew Mama Sew so go check those out and enter away!  Good luck.

Also, once I get to 500 likes on my Facebook Page...I'm going to do a REALLY BIG giveaway so go on over and help me get up to 500 likes and tell your friends.

You can see what else I make here in my Etsy shop

And you can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram

How I Would Modify the Insul-Bright Oven Mitt Pattern

This past weekend, I tried my hand at the oven mitt pattern that is on the packaging for Insul-Bright batting.  I made two sets.  One of the sets I modified and the other set I stuck to the instructions.  After making a total of 4 oven mitts (because I think they should come in pairs) here are my thoughts on the pattern that is on the batting:

1.  I think that quilting them gives them more character.  The instructions do not say to quilt but I did a meandering pattern on the bird ones and I think they feel better on the hands.  The His and Hers ones were made according to the directions with no quilting.

2.  The thumb needs to be a bit longer.  Perhaps the pattern should be enlarged 175% or even 200% instead of the 150% that is in the instructions  They are fine for me but I have small hands so they may feel a little snug on someone with larger hands.

I made the first pair for a friend who invited us to their Thanksgiving dinner and she was very happy and surprised.  Her's were fussy cut and patchwork and I love how well they turned out.

The second set I made yesterday and I am pretty proud of my creativeness with them.  They are "His and Hers"  Double sided so that if HE is getting something out of the oven the mustaches are facing up and if SHE is getting it out, dress forms.  I think it would make a super cute wedding gift/housewarming gift. 

Here is how my cat feels about my using the bed to spread out works in progress:

I was also pleasantly surprised at how much I liked fussy cutting the bird ones.  Next oven mitts will be made larger so that someone with bigger hands can use them.  I was also thinking about doing some smaller ones for my nieces to use in their "kiddie kitchens".  Of course those will just get regular batting...no need for the Insul-bright since they won't be handling hot items.

Quick and Easy Scrappy Pot Holder

I've been trying to get a bit of sewing in each morning before having to go in to work.  Trying to make up for the three long weeks I just finished up where I didn't have time to sew anything.  Which, in my opinion, is absolutely devastating.  I love to sew and see my finished products.  I had gotten several orders for custom items the last week as well so I was able to get a couple of those items done in my morning sewing sessions.

I've been wanting to make potholders for quite some time now.  I just kept forgetting to buy the "Insul-bright" batting.  I finally remembered on Saturday night and bought a yard at JoAnn's.  Out of one yard I should be able to get eight 8" potholders.  I also had these scraps of fabric left over from a throw pillow that I made a couple of months ago and I've been waiting for the perfect project to use them on.  Much to my surprise I had just enough for one pot holder.

I followed this tutorial from the Texas Freckles blog.  It went together so quickly.  She wasn't joking when she said it was "quick and easy."  I think this would be the perfect beginning quilting project for someone.

I am very pleased with how my first pot holder turned out.  Now I need to try making some mitts from the pattern that was on the batting :)

How I applique on minky

I bought a sewing/embroidery machine a little over a year ago.  The Sophia 2 by Babylock.  I was so excited about having an embroidery machine and I've used it to applique letters several times.  However, it only has the option of a 4x4 area to embroider in.  That is not large enough applique names, only 1 letter at a time.

And I'm also a Mac person and the embroidery software for a Mac is too pricey for me.  So I can't combine patterns.  I would have to do one letter, unhoop and rehoop the fabric, do the second letter and so on.  I feel like letting the machine do the appliqueing was limiting the things I could be doing with my "creations."

This being said, I am thankful that I learned how to sew on the simplest of sewing machines and had to learn how to applique manually before being spoiled by the machine doing it for me.  I've been appliqueing quite a bit lately and I've come to realize that I like the old fashioned way.  I'd rather not have the machine just do each letter and I cut the fabric around it.  I prefer cutting out the fabric and then stitching around it and guiding the fabric by hand.  I can also take more pride in my work doing it this way.

With cotton quilting fabric or knit fabric, I like to use "Heat 'n bond" and iron the fabric I will be appliqueing on to the main fabric.  You can't do this with minky because minky does not like heat.  Especially dimple dot minky.  So I figured out how it worked best for me and here it is.

I printed out the letters that I wanted to applique in Word.  I didn't feel like taking the time to research how to print them off in reverse so I just printed them out regular, flipped the paper over and traced the back of the paper with a sharpie.  Then I traced that onto the paper backing of the Heat 'n bond.  Iron that on to the fabric to be appliqued and cut the letters out.  Normally you would then pull the paper backing off and iron it on to your main fabric like I did for the dance bags.

This is where it is different when sewing with minky...I used Fabri Tac glue.  I put a thin line of glue along the middle of each of the letters then placed the letters on the main fabric.  After about 10 minutes, the glue should be dry enough that the letters won't move around on you.

To the sewing machine.  I used a zigzag stitch.  I had stitch width at 4 and stitch length at 0.7.  I prefer a smaller stitch length so that the zigzags are closer together.  You could even go lower than that.  0.5 is a really tight zigzag on my machine.

I was very pleased with how this quilt turned out all together...I can't wait to see the baby's pictures on it.

I've used this method of gluing the letters on to the minky several times now and I've washed the items as well and I'm quite pleased with how well the glue holds the letters in place while I stitch around the outside.  Also, the glue doesn't gum up the needle since the glue is in the middle of the letter and not near where the needle goes in to the fabric.

Hope someone finds this helpful and I promise to work on my photography skills so that it will be easier on your eyeballs :)
-maryanna aka MarvelousAuntieM

Visit my shop and Facebook page

New Challenge to keep my mind busy

So I got too busy with work to do 26 quilts in 12 months...however...I have a more attainable goal set for myself.  Last night I purchased the new book Tula Pink's City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.  I've been wanting to buy it for a while now and it took a lot of digging to finally find it at JoAnn's so that I could use my 40% off coupon.  I was so excited.  I haven't had the chance to sit down and really go through it yet.  But, I have decided that I am going to make a quilt that includes each one of the 100 quilt blocks. 

I am hoping that this will help me keep me busy.  Anytime I have any down time recently I just keep thinking about my brother and getting sad...sitting in traffic jams crying sad.  Tomorrow is the 1st anniversary of his passing and I've been thinking about him a lot lately.  My husband said that eventually that will pass...then he said "nevermind, I still remember the day my dad died and that was 30 years ago."  I just keep telling myself that my big brother was proud of me and he wouldn't want me to be sad all of the time.  So I have to keep busy.

This will also give me something to write about here since I seem to keep getting writer's block and going for months without posting anything.

Here's what I've been up to since last I wrote:

I met Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus and Lucy.

My youngest niece and nephew got to be elves in the CMA Country Christmas Special which airs on December 2nd at 9/8c on ABC

We had an awards show...

Here is the stage right before the show:

Oh yeah...and I did a walk by during the Hunter Hayes/Jason Mraz performance:

So now that the show is over and I'm just working on wrapping up some paperwork, hopefully this little blog won't be too neglected.

Until next time.

Swag bag sample items

So I hope I'm not getting in too deep but I have signed on to participate in the grab bags for Boutique Bazaar.  It seems that everyone is doing coupons...and I want to stand out...soooooo, I'm going to make 100 items to put in these bags.

I think I have decided on the following items...I just need to decide the quantity of each.
Key fob wristlet
mini key fob keychains
Chapstick Cozies
Quilted keychain zippered coin purses
Minky backed sleep masks

I'll probably do more key fobs than anything else since I have all of that hardware on order and zippers cost more than the key fob hardware.  I looked all over Nashville and couldn't find any of the hardware in stores.  I ordered mine from Everything Ribbons on Etsy.  Not to mention these take the least amount of time to make and I am going to be making 100 items.

Wish me luck and hopefully I'll get them all done.

No longer a craft fair

I recently started researching craft fairs that I could set a booth up at for all the stuff I quilt/sew.  In doing this I realized something.  I am a "boutique vendor."  I love the fact that they are now called boutique vendor fairs.

the booth...not too shabby for my first time if you ask me

I found one that is scheduled for October 26th and applied for a booth and got it...then I found out about a second one that was happening sooner (September 14th) so I signed up for that one too...then while at Merry September, I was invited to set up a booth at Lovebug's Boutique Bazaar Christmas Show.

Saw this on Pintrest and had to go buy a slinky to give it a shot.  Love the way the cards look in it.

I am glad that Merry September was my first event.  I made more money than I spent...and considering the fact that I was right next to a table full of cupcakes, I definitely consider that a success.  I took home three cupcakes, one for myself and two for my husband for making the awesome quilt stand/display for me.  Another reason to look forward to Fall'iday is so that I can get some more of her cupcakes.  The organizers of Merry September were really nice and on the ball also.  I had sales to almost 10% of the shoppers.  I had sales to 11 people and there were only 126 shoppers because of some other event happening in town at the same time.

My infinity scarf display that my husband built

Fall'iday Bazaar is happening on the Saturday before production loads in to the arena for CMA's and the Boutique Bazaar is the day after I finish wrapping the awards and Christmas show so I'm going to be busy making inventory on the weekends.

Tomorrow I teach my first sewing class.  I'm a little nervous.  Luckily, it's at Stitcher's Playhouse...somewhere where I feel right at home.  Busy busy busy time of year.  Can't wait until it slows down just a little bit so that I can get back into more "boutique vendor fairs".

Facebook Giveaway

So Hayden Panettiere tweeted a picture of the quilt I was commissioned to make for her by the props department here on "Nashville."  I think that's pretty cool so I decided to have a giveaway on the FB page that I set up for MarvelousAuntieM. 

Yesterday morning before work I finished up this little quilted cosmetics bag.  I love the bright colors and I kinda quilted around the flowers and on the inside you can see outlines of flowers.

So head on over to www.facebook.com/marvelousauntiem and like the page and share the photo to be entered into the drawing.  The proud new owner will be selected on Friday August 30th at noon so make sure you go share the photo before then.

Craft fairs.....I'm gonna do it

I have been wanting to do a craft fair for a while now.  I decided to stop saying I'm going to do one and just do it.  I've already submitted my booth rental fee for the Fall'iday Bazaar on October 26th in Lebanon.  One of my hometown friends will be joining me in this effort.  I also saw that the Merry September Boutique Vendor Fair still had some slots so I've submitted an application to do this one as well.  Fingers crossed I get to do it too.  It will be six weeks before the first one that I was planning on doing so I have a lot of inventory that I need to get cracking on.  Still need to figure out what all I want to make for both of them.  I think I'll definitely make some of these faux chenille pillows.  I'm really excited that I finally am going to do a craft fair and expose my hand made goodies to more people.  Come on out and see me and my friend Katie at the Fall'iday Bazaar.

New sewing room!

So yesterday I finally got to start setting up a sewing room. It's like my birthday, Christmas, anniversary and every other holiday all rolled in to one.  I am over the moon deciding how I want everything all set up.

Yesterday I cleaned the carpets and painted the room a light blue.  This morning I started putting tables and shelves in to place.  Now I need to start organizing my fabric.

Facebook page

I finally got around to creating a Facebook page for Marvelous Auntie M and I already have people I don't know who are liking it.  I'm starting to get very serious about all this sewing stuff 😀

Also super psyched about doing the Fall'iday Bazaar in October. This weekend will be spent organizing fabric and focusing on what I want to make to take to my first craft fair.

Here is a glimpse of the last quilt I completed...I should be able to disclose the recipient in a coupes of weeks.

 

It's been a while

A lot has happened since last I wrote.  My quilt challenge has kind of fallen to the side.  I have finished a couple of memory quilts for people, one for my sister-in-law's mother and one from a sale off of my etsy shop.  I also had a nice chunk of work on CMA Music Festival, followed by a long weekend in Charleston, SC and now I have started on "Nashville" Season 2.  Unfortunately, I've been too busy to sew very much lately.  I have to make money to support my fabric addiction though.  From now until April I will only have the weekends to be able to create.

For Christmas this past year I made a Crayon Art Portfolio, which I found a tutorial for here, for my oldest great niece.  She loved it and threw it on her shoulder like a purse.  I have since made a few modifications such as a zipper pocket for the stickers, fabric handles and a fabric covered button to help keep it closed when not in use. 

My favorite fabric shop has agreed to let me teach a class on how to make my version of what I refer to as a "Toddler Briefcase" or a grown up can use it to carry their iPad.  I am very excited and nervous about this.  I've never taught a class before but I did receive high marks in public speaking in college.  Here are some photos of some of the ones I have made for people.

None finished this week

I did get another quilt top done this week though. I had to work all week so I didn't really get to sew anything fun. Then I've kind of been in a bit of a bad mood this weekend and I don't like to sew when I'm in a bad mood...that makes it not be fun. I did however assemble two quilt sandwiches. One for the 3d maze quilt and one for my streamers quilt.

I enjoyed making the "summer in the park" quilt top. I think I'll add a border to it so that it can be a proper bed quilt. I used a jelly roll of "Glamping" by Moda. I love how it is full of bright colors.

How many quilts can I make in one year?

So I am giving myself a challenge. I want to make at least 26 quilts in the next year...that means at least one every two weeks. I have been on a quilting kick lately and armed with the knowledge I got in my free motion quilting class last week, I wanted to make this challenge to myself. I've been really bad about posting lately and I'm hoping this new challenge will also help me be better at this whole blogging thing. To kick off my challenge I am working on a new quilt top today. I hope to have completed 26 new quilts between now and April 1st, 2014. I'll post pics as I make progress.

For starters...I'm pretty dang proud of this quilt top that I made last week for my husband. He's been wanting me to make it for him since last May and I finally got up the courage to give this "challenging" pattern a go. Looks pretty much like the picture in the magazine did.

I get so much joy out of seeing something that I made. If anyone out there is reading this, I hope my quilt challenge will bring you smiles and perhaps make you think of something that you enjoy that you can challenge yourself with.