Pin Cushion Cuteness!

I just made the niftiest little sewing accessories for my mom-in-law and myself!  Hobby Lobby's facebook page recently posted a link to a PDF containing several delightful crafts using canning jars, and I fell in love with a few of them.  This is the first one I tried, but I am SURE there will be more in the future :-)

We had some pretty tiny canning jars (I think officially jelly jars, maybe?) hanging around from the gifts we gave our fathers and grandfathers for Father's Day, so I used those.  (Have I shown that project yet? I ought to. Whoops.  Back on topic...)  I think they would probably work out better using larger jars, but I'm still kinda enamored with the ones I made!

Gather your materials, and if you have jars (like me!!) you should pretty much have everything laying around.  My FAVORITE kind of project!

• Jar(s)
• Fabric... can be pretty scrappy, you only need a bit.
• Glue gun and glue
• Poly-fill... just a small glob will do.

Cut a rough circle a little bit bigger than the flat piece of the lid.  (Anyone know what that's called?)  It doesn't have to be pretty, but make sure you have in the neighborhood of an inch, inch and a half extra fabric all the way around.

Put a sting of hot glue most of the way around the lid.  Unless you're sitting under your in-laws' ceiling fan, in which case this gets a little bit more complicated :-)  And be careful... I yelp a lot when I'm using hot glue.  Or an oven.  But, I digress...

Stick the fabric to the glue!  Yes, the fabric changed between shots.  Sometimes I get so excited about a project, I finish it up and forget to take pictures of the steps!  Bear in mind that the looser you leave the fabric, the more room you'll have for poly-fill, and the poofier your pin cushion will be!  It is kind of hard to remember not to pull it snug and smooth...

You're going to have a little opening, where you should be able to stick your finger between the fabric and the lid.

Yay!  Now stuff a  wad of poly-fill in.  It will hold a little bit more than you probably will expect... but pack it nice and tightly.  A firm cushion will hold pins and needles more securely.

Glue the little gap closed.  Stick the newly-cushy flat thing into the ring.

 Screw the lid on!  Easy as that! 

With a jar this tiny, I'm picturing it as the perfect container for cross-stitch Christmas ornaments.  I can cut my canvas, pop it in, pop in some skeins of embroidery floss and a pattern, have some pre-threaded needles in the cushion, and have my own kit ready to go when I wanna grab a project for a doctor's waiting room or car ride, or whatever!  With a bigger jar, you could store bobbins, spools, pins, chalks, bias tape, zippers, buttons... sky's the limit!  

This would make a darling gift for a sewing enthusiast, or especially a sewing rookie!  Never too early to start on Christmas gifts, you know... :-)

Always,

Katie

It's the Little Things: Road Trip Edition

We have had a weekend of driving, driving, driving.  And some panic, panic, panic.

Hubby got out of open house at school at 8pm on Thursday... I picked him up and we drove 8 hours to Lynchburg, VA for him to take a class.  He went to class for 4 hours yesterday, and 8 today.  So, the little things that have made me smile this week are the little (and not so little) blessings that have made our hectic, stressful weekend a little bit easier.

First... I made snickerdoodles.  A few for us for road food, and a few dozen for a friend I got to hang out with last night while Ethan was in class! So, this picture represents the yummy cookies, and the girl-time :-)

I had a "go bag" of toiletries ready a month ago... travel sizes of everything we were going to need, including a pill sorter of my meds, a vial of insulin and a bunch of pump supplies.  And I left it at home.  Our hotel had a few things on hand, and these little things were such a nice gesture.  I know we MORE than paid for them when we paid for the room, but it was still just... nice.  

Is there anything better at the end of a long car ride than a set of crisp, cool sheets waiting for you?

We also, after phone calls to insurance, CVS, and my doctor's office... and a panic at the pharmacy... managed to get some insulin.  But not just some insulin--a three-month supply.  It's way too early to refill, but the insurance overrode the rule... and we didn't have to pay an exorbitant amount for a single vial.  Since I don't have supplies to refill my pump, I'm letting it run the basal (I had plenty for that, just not to cover any food or highs), and taking all of my boluses by syringe.  Kicking it old skool, yo!

I had to check us out of the hotel while Ethan was still in class... so Charley and I are hanging around Lynchburg in our air-conditioned rental car.  This face always makes me smile :-)

And last, but not least... free Wi-Fi at McDonald's!  That's where I'm writing this--in the parking lot, with the puppy and a big cup of Diet Coke!  And it's a beautiful day (but HOT), and I get to pick up my darling husband in about an hour and a half!

Always,

Katie

Ridiculously Decadent Cupcakes

--or, "I'm not pregnant, so for a few days, I'm eating nothing but chocolate, SWAG bolusing, and blood sugar be danged."

I have been doing quite a bit of woe-is-me indulgent baking and eating this past week... I have a pinterest board of recipes that look sublime, so I baked up one little beauty that I knew would make my husband and me very happy.  I got the recipe from the amazing girls at Six Sister's Stuff.  They are incredible!  I really encourage you to check this blog out--they have a huge linky party every weekend that enables me in my crafty/baking addictions, plus their own posts are always fun!  And they really are six sisters--not like, sorority or sisters-in-Christ--and cute as coordinated buttons. 

Any way... without further ado, Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes.

I totally stole this picture from their blog--I was in too big a hurry to eat these, I forgot to take photos.  Bad, bad blogger.

These are a little bit more work than I usually like to put into my baking-on-a-whim desserts, and the ingredients are a tad expensive and not really standard on hand... at least not in my fridge!  But.  If you have any kind of occasion, or company coming over... these will make a HUGE splash! 

You can follow the link above for the recipe... I really have nothing to add to it, lol.  I followed it exactly.  I was amazed at how easy they were--even the ganache!  And they weren't THAT much work or that time-consuming, but they're not a half-hour batch of cookies, either.

I did have about half of the cream filling left over, and stuck it in the fridge.  I thought I might bake a chocolate bundt cake later, halve it and channel it, then fill the channel in with the rest of the filling.  Like a big, cakey, fabulous Oreo.  Or I may try my hand at a flakey pastry and fill those with it.  Ohhh the decadent possibilities!!!! 

Always,

Katie