Friday, November 11, 2011

Plastic bag Iron-on

This post was saved as a draft for MONTHS for some reason {really don't remember... haha} and now I am editing and posting it... Please remember... this was a test project :)


So I was surfing blog world a couple months ago very long time ago and came across this: HERE

and thought I would give it a try.

Unfortunately, we had thrown all our shopping bags away a little bit before so all we had was a Justice bag.

This project was a complete test to see if this method actually worked, it did! But the shirt did not turn out cute enough to actually wear... I think my sister used it as a pajama shirt {maybe she did wear it.. I don't remember. :)}

We just took an old shirt...

A Justice bag of my little sister's {no, I do not shop there... I have interesting feelings about that store;)}


Placed them on the shirt...

Lay parchment paper over and iron!





{iphone pictures.. sorry.} 

That's it! It's a pretty cool technique, so I will probably do it again some other time but make it look nicer ;)

-Megan

Thursday, November 10, 2011

peek into my craft space

I don't actually have a craft room, but I have this cute little corner
 (it's hard to explain, but it's not just a normal corner... :)
I love it! 
These pictures were taken when it was finished... needless to say, it's not this tidy anymore... I should get on that.



Let's start with the shelves. My mom bought this shelf from some friends and was kind enough to let me use it for my craft space :)

 I modged podged this pretty damask fabric onto the back:
My fabric collection. I've added to it since, and it does not look this tidy and lovely.
Then my felt, tulle, elastic, etc...
(FYI - I don't use metal headbands anymore)
Some random fabrics... :)

The round container is holding spare flowers & the chair.. it mostly serves as a decoration :P. The mini mannequin was giving to me by my mother and it holds rings/bobby pins perfectly!


My mini dress form... I love it! I saw one at Tai Pan Trading one time (it's like a Home Goods type store) but was NOT going to pay about $40 for it. So I  searched on ebay till I found one for around $20. SO CUTE. :)


This cute little thimble pot (yes, it is supposed to be for plants I think, considering it has a hole at the bottom for water to drain... :) I found at Michaels one time and it was on sale. I think it was around $5.
The thimble usually holds my scissors:

Yes. At my house we have to write "fabric only" on our fabric scissors to ensure no one uses them to cute paper or it dulls them. ;)


This cute damask box (from my friend) sits on my desk. It holds random stuff :)

My glue gun & glue sticks. Without these.... I would die. Seriously though, they are lifesavers! 
Since then I have transferred the hot glue sticks into a tin from the dollar section at Target.

Annnnd... my sewing machine. 
This darn machine has problems. It looks lovely doesn't it? And it was brand new when I got it a couple years ago... but it's having problems lately and it's hard to use. 

But I still love it.... :) 


I just realized that I don't have a picture on here of my actual desk.
I got my desk on craigslist for FREE. Got to love free right?!? It's a VERY sturdy desk.. but very heavy. It wasn't fun for my brothers/dad to get up the stairs. Also, when I painted it, it peels off. So it may be getting replaced sometime soon. 

It works for now though :)

Hope you liked it! I want to see your craft rooms/spaces/corners! Leave a comment with a link to your pictures - I would love to see them! :)

-Megan

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Homemade Nutella

Nutella. One of my fav things. EVER. Too bad it's not good for you.. at all. :(

But I decided to try this Homemade Nutella. (Yes, I try to eat healthy, but I'm not givin up treats! :)


Sorry about the awkward lighting... I'm a night owl. ;)

I used this recipe via The Wiegands
Here it is!
Ingredients:
2 cups hazelnuts
12 ounces semi-sweet choclate (1 bag of semi sweet choc ships)
12 ounces milk chocolate (1 bag of milk chocolate chips)
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt

Recipe:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and roast for 10-15 minuets.
2. Once hazelnuts have cooled vigorously rub nuts between your palms to get the skin off. Most of it should come off very easily, if there is some skin left on it is okay.
3. Place roasted nuts in the high powered blender or food processor and puree for 5 minuets. First, it will chop the nuts and then it will make hazelnut butter. It will look very similar to a peanut butter. The goal is to have this be as smooth as possible so leave it on for a good 5 minuets. set aside.
4. In a medium saucepan heat cream , salt, and sugar until hot. Add chocolate and still until just melted. Remove from heat and let cool for about 15 minuets. You should add the hazelnut butter when the chocolate and cream mixture is warm but NOT hot. If the chocolate mixture is too hot the oil from the hazelnuts will separate and you will end up with a gloppy texture rather than silky smooth. 
Once it's warm mix the hazelnut butter in and jar. 
Serve at room temperature but store in the refrigerator. Will keep in the fridge about 2-3 weeks but again bring to room temp before serving. It;s fantastic with Challah bread!!


Roast the hazelnuts for 10-15:


 Take off the shell after cooling.
Place in a blender and blend for 5 minutes

Let it blend... :) 


I didn't know they did this after enough blending!!! SO COOL.
It should turn into a thic


Heat cream, sugar, and salt, then add chocolate. Stir until just melted and then let cool for 15 minutes.



Add the hazelnuts once cool - if you don't the oil from the nuts will separate and it won't be creamy.



Next time I'll blend the hazelnuts more, but you can't really notice them when you eat anyways ;)





So yummy! :)

-Megan

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Shop update....

You all know I'm getting ready for my first craft show, right? :)

Well, until then, I've put the shop on vacation.
 I need time to 1. get ready for my craft show. and 2. add new things to my shop

My shop will {hopefully} be back in the beginning of December. {let's hope;)}

Check back tomorrow for a NEW recipe I tried out, sooo yummy. :)

-Megan