Month: February 2012

Upcycled Tee Shirt Bib

/ Chelsea / Leave a comment
What to do with all those old concert tee shirts that crowd my closet?  Make my baby a rock star at meal time!
I started with one tee shirt.  The smaller, the better the neck hole will fit without alteration. 
I traced around an existing bib with a chalk pencil for the correct length. 
I cut out the rectangle, cutting through both sides of the shirt, making the front side longer.  I then doubled the longer side back under, folding right sides facing each other and pinned.  I sewed around the bottom three edges, and stopped on both sides where the two pins are located above on the left and right side. I used 3/8″ seam. 
I then folded and pinned the remaining edges for a smoother edge.  The nice thing about tee shirt fabric is that you don’t have to worry about fraying, so hemming is not required.  I wanted the edges to lay flat, so I opted for a hem.  
I used a decorative stitch to create a little more interest.  
The finished bib.  It fits well over her head, has ample length to catch food, and washes so easily.  If the neck hole is too large, the easy fix is to attach a snap so that the opening can be snapped smaller. 

Brought to you by the letter G

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Some friends gave us baby room decor as part of a baby gift way back in July.  I finally have the project finished and up in her room.  It was a fun and really simple project.  
I started with the blank G.  What to do?
I decided to go with magenta.  
A couple of coats later, it was much darker than I anticipated.  So I added some white on the face of the G for a lighter tint of magenta.  It looked nice with the contrast.  I let the paint dry.  
Next, I used my hole punch to cut out an assortment of green and black & white dots.  I was going for a complementary color scheme.  If use pink at all, I like to tone it down with some green so it is not too girly.  The black & white dots were just to punch up the design. 
I tried placing them in various ways on the G. Once I had them where I wanted them, it was time to glue. 
Scotch adhesive has a nice tip for gluing small items and the gloss gel is perfect for decoupaging surfaces.  I glued the dots onto the G.  
Then I sealed the surface with the gloss gel.  You can also use Modge Podge.  Be sure to clean your brush with soap and water if you want to use the brush again. The gloss gel will go on whitish but dry clear.  Let it dry for a few hours before you hang it up.  
Greta’s G! 

DIY diaper bib

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On Sunday morning, I woke up early and felt the urge to make something.  Lucky for me Miss Greta was still soundly sleeping and so I had plenty of time to whip up this easy diaper turned bib.

I started with a clean, ironed, cotton diaper.  I trimmed it shorter, taking off about 5 inches.  The more you cut off, the shorter the bib will be.  Then, I cut a half circle neck hole in the middle of the diaper.

I used a zig-zag stitch to sew along the entire cut edge.
Next, I chose some cute coordinating ribbon to trim the bib.  I chose a wider polka dot pattern for the sides, bottom, and neck hole and a thinner green and white polka dot for the ties.  I pinned the wide ribbon on the edges, lining up with the edges of the diaper.  Along the neck hole, I folded the wider ribbon in half, pinning as I went.  The ties were pinned along the shorter lengths on either side of the neck hole, make sure to overlap the edges of the wider polka dot ribbon.  
Double check to be sure your ribbon edges are folded under (see above) before sewing.  This will make a neater edge and prevent fraying of the ribbon. 
The last step was to sew all edges, leaving the green ties for last.  The neck hole can be tricky due to the slippery satin ribbon.  A stretchy, ribbed knit will be in order for the next bib I make.  From start to finished this project took about 20 minutes.  The size works like a poncho for messy eaters.  

Super Bowl Surprise Cake

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The surprise is that this chocolate cake is vegan. 
This recipe takes the cake on vegan desserts.  One would have no idea it is vegan unless told.  It is everything a cake should be – moist, dense, and so chocolately!  I doubled this recipe to that I would have a larger cake – just bump the baking time up to 40 minutes.  
Mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt directly in the pan.  This is the added bonus – less to clean up!

Mix dry ingredients very well with a fork. 
 Mix warm water, vegetable oil, vanilla, and vinegar.  

I am a fan of the pyrex measuring cup in lieu of a small mixing bowl.  Easier to pour, easier to clean. 
Mix dry and liquids.  Use a spatula to find any hidden pockets of dry ingredients.  
Chocolate Vegan Cake
Ingredients:
1-1/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. warm water
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1. Preheat oven to 350.  In an 8×8 inch square pan, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt with fork.  Mix very well. 
2. Mix water, vanilla, oil, and vinegar in a small bowl.  Add all at once to the dry ingredients.  Mix well.  Use a spatula to scrape sides and bottoms to ensure adequate mixing.  
3. Bake 30 minutes or til knife comes out clean.  
Let it cool completely before frosting.  Sometimes I create a simple powdered sugar and almond milk glaze and sometimes I make a more complicated simmer on the stove glaze.  However, this time, I used a simple store-bought frosting in caramel flavor.  Check back tomorrow to see pics of the frosting and the eating of the cake.  
Happy Superbowl Sunday!  

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Sick Day Soup

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I stayed home sick on Monday, due to lingering nasty sinus problems.  After the doctor’s office, grocery store, and pharmacy; it was time to make an easy and soothing dinner.

I am not usually a meat person – I mostly stick with fish and eggs as far as animal proteins go.  I prefer the beans and rice combination or soy products to meat.  However, once in a blue moon, I will have chicken, as long as it is the Smart Chicken brand.  You guessed it, Iowa chicken!  I like my chickens free-range and happy before they died.  But enough of my personal meat beliefs, without further ado, here is the concoction I whipped up.

Slow-cooker Indian Soup with crescent rolls.  Even Greta was interested.

My inspiration came from a Better Homes & Gardens Soup cookbook.  The actual recipe was made up as I cooked based on what I had sitting around and what sounded good.  
The recipe:
In a small saucepan, saute 2 tablespoons oil or margarine with 1 diced medium onion.  Cook until onion is soft.  Add 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon turmeric.  Mix well.  
Combine onion mixture in slow cooker with 6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth.  Add 1 baking potato, peeled and sliced into 1-inch cubes.  Combine with 1 can of garbanzo beans.  Simmer on high for 3 hours.

Slice and remove seeds from 1 fresh chile pepper.  Slice two chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.  Combine both with broth mixture.  Simmer on high for 4 hours.  Add 1-1/2 cups small pasta, such as small shells in last 1/2 hour.Serve with warm naan or the cheap way – crescent rolls.

This soup did it for me – the spice, the peppers, and heat were the perfect way to feel better.  Indian food has always been my comfort food.  This soup is sure to be added to the heavy rotation recipes.
The recap. 
Indian Slow Cooker Soup
Ingredients
2 tbsp margarine or oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
6 cups broth
1 baking potato, peeled and cubed 
1 can of chick peas, rinsed
2 chicken breasts, sliced into 1-inch cubes
1 fresh chile pepper, seeds removed

In a small saucepan, saute 2 tablespoons oil or margarine with 1 diced medium onion.  Cook until onion is soft.  Add 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 teaspoon turmeric.  Mix well.

Combine onion mixture in slow cooker with 6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth.  Add 1 baking potato, peeled and sliced into 1-inch cubes.  Combine with 1 can of garbanzo beans.  Simmer on high for 3 hours.

Slice and remove seeds from 1 fresh chile pepper.  Slice two chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.  Combine both with broth mixture.  Simmer on high for 4 hours.