I can can!

I'm making my Granny so proud right now.

I've been kinda interested in canning mainly as a way to preserve things we grow. We've never had enough tomatoes to warrant the investment, but I'm still interested. Once I found Mary Ostyn's blog I stumbled upon her canning videos. It seemed simple and I had most everything to try it... so.... I decided to try it today!

I thought jelly would be a great thing to start with (especially since our tomatoes are being stubborn about ripening this year). She has a great grape jelly video, but we aren't crazy about grape jelly. However, we do LOVE strawberry... especially the HEB more fruit kind. So I thought it would a be a fun project to compare the cost and see how hard it was.


I used my HUGE stock pot we got as a wedding present... I love that thing. And for the cans I had four 1/2 pint kind left over from Aunt Becky's friend's Thia Peanut Sauce... I miss that stuff... and one 1 pint jar left over from some local honey we bought a while back. For a jar lifter I use our kitchen tongs... but I went slow making sure not drop a slippery hot jar. It will be nice to get an actual can lifter, but I'll have to start producing more veggies so that it warrants the cost ($10 at HEB).

I ran to HEB to get the missing ingredients that I did need to make the jam. I thought about going to Sam's to ensure that I got a great deal on strawberries, but I'm often tempted to buy extra things when I go to Sam's because the prices are so good. So, I went to HEB and got strawberries ($1.5/lbs... not the greatest deal, but a good one nonetheless), fruit pectin and lids. I used the recipe that came with the fruit pectin. It was simple to follow and came with great directions.

Here are my humble jars processing. Canning makes me feel homey... and I like it!



And here is the final product! They were still hot in this picture and the pectin hadn't set up, but everything went like the website/recipe said so I'm sure they will turn out. They are so cute!



Okay. So how does the cost break down. The HEB fruit spread cost $2.50 for just under 1.5 cups. I made a little over 5 cups and the cost for 1.5 cups was $1.50.

So, it's not the hugest of savings, but it did work out cheaper. I think if I would have gotten a better deal on strawberries (like say grew them or picked my own) then I would see more savings. However, that being said it did save me a little over $3.00 and I made it the most expensive way. I know if I make grape jelly the way Mrs. Ostyn makes hers (she buy frozen fruit juice concentrate) I'm sure I'll save on that and I may try that once we run out of strawberry.

I'm planning on keeping it pretty simple. Canning can get scary if you venture too far outside of fruits, tomatoes & pickles. Anything other than that requires a pressure canner and you have to be extra careful not give your family food posioning. I would love to be able to make my own stews (& maybe cream-o-soups) and can them and to be able to can green beans or the purple hulled peas I grow. But for now I'll just make fresh soup and freeze my green beans and dry out my purple hulled peas. We don't have a huge back yard and it's best to start small anyway. I can just focus on growing berries, tomatoes & cucumbers to make jellies, jams, salsas, tomato sauce, barbeque sauce, pickles, relish, etc. Really I think I'll have enough variety to keep me busy. Just be warned family, you may receive can goods from us for Christmas :)

Now I'm super excited about our tomatoes... if they will ever ripen!

Baby Butterfly Quilt

Check out this baby quilt I recently finished.

A friend of mine wanted a baby quilt made so she sent me some fabric. I got to design it and I really like the way it turned out. I made a 'chubby pinwheel' inspired by this quilt. I think the chubby pinwheel goes great with the butterfly fabric she picked out because it kinda looks like a big butterfly flying in with the little ones... but maybe I've been staring at the quilt too long.

I decided to write out 'BABY' because I thought it would be a fun touch.... it was kinda inspired by this quilt. It wasn't very difficult, but I choose an easy font to applique around (I did machine applique).



Here is what the back looks like. You can see the actual quilting a little better. I did what I call "loopy loops"... it's a very technical term :)



Honestly, this was such a fun project for me. I love it when people hand me something and say, "Do whatever!"... that is just my kind of crafting. I understand if someone has something specific in mind and that is fun too, but I needed a project to be creative with.

I did this project as part of my etsy shop, I guess (I took down my etsy shop because I got tired of paying the fees... if you need something done then you can email me at fallonstar@gmail.com). I figured out that I really enjoy making things for people as they need them... not making a bunch of stuff and waiting for people to buy it. As long as John takes good long naps in the afternoon (and God continues to send people my way that need a quilt done or jeans altered, etc) I can be pretty productive. I'm still able to get some things done when he's awake, but things like basting... that must happen when he's asleep. It's been fun to work on (and get done) different projects for people.

Happy Crafting!

Wedding Shower Cake

I made a cake for a wedding shower today. The sweet couple go to my church and they are a lot of fun! I had so much fun thinking about them and praying for their marriage as I made the cake. Their wedding colors are teal & pink/red... and they also like vintage bikes. This is what I came up with!


Greatly inspired by i am baker's rose cake & this other cake she did. The only thing I'm not crazy about is how the pink/red came out (I went a little crazy with the spray stuff). I used the spray that she suggest, but she's right it looks best in white (see pictures below). I should have done pink & red icing roses but I though the spray would give a more textured look... I was wrong, now I know.



I love the way the teal cake came out. Both methods us A LOT of icing... especially the rose cake. On the teal cake I didn't quite make enough so it you look really closely you can see slight holes... I still really like it.



And what did I do with the extra icing?... teach my baby bad habits, of coarse!



Note to self: babies will scream when you stop the flow of icing... however, you can distract them with gold fishes :) ... they have a short memory.


So this was my morning. I had to take a picture because it made all parts of me happy. Icing a cake while my cute baby stared back at me. Lovely!



And here's a picture of the cake before I sprayed it. Also, lovely!

Quilt, Video & Aggie Ring

My sweet sister-in-law, Christine, got her Aggie Ring a few days ago (remember that busy weekend). Even though we were only there for the actual getting of the ring, it was still a fun day.

I had finished a quilt for Christine and decided to give it to her when she got her ring. It is all of her high school t-shirts and didn't have anything to do with her Aggie Ring, but it was done and I wanted to give it to her. Here is a picture of her opening her quilt...



And the front...



And the back...



So a couple of things are different about the way I made this quilt. Most people that make t-shirt quilts will stabilize the t-shirts. I don't really like that because it makes the whole quilt stiffer. I don't stabilize because I want the quilt to be as soft and snuggle-ly as possible... after all, quilts are made to snuggle under.

So, how do I keep things straight? Patience, ball point needles & a walking foot. I try to make all my cuts as straight as possible and I don't rush piecing. The ball point needles glide through the knit fabric and the walking foot feeds the fabric in evenly so that things don't shift around.

Another thing I do is use the scraps (or blank sides of extra shirts) for the backing. I did it because I had them and it saved me having to go buy more fabric and because t-shirts are really soft. It makes a double sided quilt... sorta... I don't stress about keeping things as straight because after all, it is the back.

I also used left over t-shirt scraps for the binding. Keeping the softness, again. I used a cotton batting. So this quilt was pretty much like snuggling into a 100% cotton t-shirt. Now, who doesn't want to do that?

John loves when I work on quilts... or just throw a blanket down in the floor. I'm pretty sure his wife is going to be a quilter :) I had to take a video of his silliness...





Here are more pictures from Christine's Aggie Ring weekend...

How cute are these roommates?



Yah! So excited!!!



Yep, we're an Aggie family!



John with something in his mouth... of coarse...



Aggie Ring Dunk!

Edible Arrangement

I made this for Steven's family for Easter!



I wanted to see how hard it was to do an edible arrangements, and it turns out it wasn't very difficult. I, of coarse, watch a few videos on youtube first (this one was most helpful)... but it didn't take long to do and I had a lot of fun being creative while making it.

I added in some cake balls in the shape of eggs... some were like peeps popping out (I got the idea from i am baker), some were just plain eggs and some were just plain peeps. I like the way it turned out, but next time I will make a nest (out of pretzels & almond bark) for the peeps (& eggs) to sit in while I do the edible flowers around the nest. I wanted to give a healthy treat, but I had to include something not so healthy as well :)

Here are some more pictures!





Here is another easter idea that I want to do next year... also from i am baker... are you guys starting to see a trend here?... cuz I love that lady!

Headband

We took family pictures a few days ago. It was a lot of fun... we had a great photographer. I also had a lot of fun figuring out what we all were going to wear. I liked my dress but it definitely needed something else.

I had some fabric (extra from a project that didn't turn out) that coordinated nicely so I decided to make a headband I had seen on one of the crafting blogs I follow. Problem was I couldn't find the tutorial when I went looking for it. I did save a picture of it so I decided to give it a try anyway. I took pictures along the way, but I'm not calling this a 'tutorial' exactly... you may have to fill in some of the blanks on your own, but I can at least get your wheels turning.

So I started with two strips of fabric about 2.5" wide. One about 16" long and another about 32" or so... but I didn't measure them... see what I mean, not a tutorial! I rounded the ends of the shorter one... I placed it on my head and said, "about there!" and then I cut... it's how I roll.



Then I basted the longer strip and pulled the bobbin thread to make a ruffle. I really like ruffles :)



Next I put WRONG sides together and sewed the two layers together (kinda like basting a quilt without batting). You can iron at this point... it gives it a different look, but I like to make fluffy thing (like, "IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE!"... I love that girl!).





Alright. Great... Doesn't look like much yet, but we are getting there.



Now, trim around the headband using the unruffled pieces as your guide.





Next you need some type of binding. You can use a coordinating fabric for this but I had some ribbon that went well so I decided to go with that. Attach it using your favorite binding attaching method... this is like The Quilter's Headband. You'll notice I switch to a walking foot... the fabric and binding can get kinda bulky... it's not necessary, but it helps.





You are suppose to pin at this point... but I hate pins and try to avoid them whenever possible. It might have made the underside look better but I was planning on not using the opposite side so I opted for the quick way. If you want to use the other side then go ahead and pin... or even hand stitch your binding!



OKAY... almost done. Admire your piece...







The last part is attaching the ribbons.

If you decided to make your own binding then will need to make two long pieces for tying. Take two strips of fabric as long as you want for tying (I like just a little longer than the main part, about 18") and twice as wide as the desired width... say 5 inches. Then with right sides together fold the fabric in half (the right sides are "kissing" now). And sew a seam like you are going to make tube. Also sew a seam (on an angle for pretty-ness) at the bottom of each stripe. Use a safety pin to turn your tube right side out and press.

Now... sewing on the ribbons...



You'll need to hem them, so take care of that...



And then fold over in thirds, like you would do a letter to stuff in an envelope.



And top stitch onto the headband. There might be a prettier way of doing this, but I knew I wasn't going to use the underside of my headband.



And Viola! Ahhh, so pretty.



Now I must confess that after playing with the headband a bit I decided it needed a little structure to help it stay in place. I tried bobby pins and various clips I had, but nothing held it in place well. Everyone's head is shaped differently and it may work for you without structure. However, ultimately I ran to Walgreen's and purchased one of those plastic headbands to hot glue to the underside. It worked great! and you can't even tell I did it... but now it's definitely not reversible. I, of course, picked ruffle side up!

Look how great we look!






More pictures to come, I promise.

Classic Onesie

I found a tutorial for a '90 minute shirt' made from old t-shirts. Exactly my style! I didn't follow the instructions exactly... I made my own trim because I was trying to use supplies I already had and I made a onesie instead of a shirt. But I think it turned out just great!



T-shirt donated by our homegroup leader's wife! Thanks!



I made it completely from a t-shirt with the addition of 3 snaps and some thread. I used her tutorial on making a pattern as well. I did have to ruin a cheap white onesie that John had outgrown, but with all the t-shirt we have piled up to re-purpose I'm sure I'll get my money's worth. And old t-shirts are sooo soft... I just want to snuggle him up!

Following the tutorial was pretty simple, actually. It's looks kinda intimidating at first glance, but after that you apply the trim you sew two straight lines and the sleeves... which are WAY easier than they look. Apply the snaps and your done! Making my own pattern was great because I could make onesie for a VERY long torso baby... he takes after his Dad big time! The kid wears a 24-month onesies, but 12-month pants. He's mostly torso.

I used Dana's (she wrote the tutorial) sneaky trick to us the already hemmed parts of the shirt to say yourself time. I used the sleeves to make John's sleeves and if I make a shirt in the future than I'll use the bottom of the shirt to make the bottom hem. Genius!

She says it's a 90-minute shirt but she also warns that your first time it will take longer because it's your first one. Well, I actually made the pattern and the shirt in 90-minutes. I know this because I was watching the last part of the Early Show and Rachel Ray while working on it. AND I did a diaper change & put John down for a nap during that time! I'm confident I can make the onesie in less than 60-minutes after a make a few more! I'm excited!

I have some other ideas for boyish embellishments, but I think this white one is definitely as keeper. I can use it for his baby sister (or brother) and he can wear it under his many pairs of overalls he will be sporting around this summer. The only thing I'm not completely happy with is the trim... but I made it up so I'm the only one to blame. It's just a little bulky. I'm sure with more experimenting I'll get it right.

I pretty sure John likes it... or he's just happy to be up from his nap!

Cutie!!!

Valentine's Day

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day! We stayed in this year (we didn't even camp!) and I really enjoyed it.

Steven (& John, I guess) made this card for me...






soooo sweet!

And Steven made a yummy dinner. Coq au vin. It sounds more complicated than it actually was. It's a French dish that means chicken cooked in wine! The great thing was that he came home and cooked, while I sat on the couch and knit! It was truly perfection because John took a nap until dinner was ready.

While photographing the table, John crawled over with a sock in his mouth. I don't know who gave him the idea, but he realized that the mouth is a great storage place when darting across the room. What was he darting for, you ask? The table cloth, of coarse!



I love that kid!