A Mammoth Triptych

Wow, I have been a busy bee the last couple of weeks. Last weekend I finished up a couple of crafts, after failing at my attempt to fix the hubby's suit pants. He's got a hole in the pocket that I just cannot seem to fix! I guess they are going to get shipped off to mom's house! Cest la vie! Also, I was able to do some photo editing as well. Still needing to work on Florida, but these things were asked of me LONG ago.

We all love our smart phones and the fact that we can take photos at the drop of a hat. However most of these photo's are not print worthy. When my friend asked me to do some editing of some photos for his home I thought ok no problem. Well that is until he emails them to me and the below shot is one of them. Needing to color correct and remove the blue haze (caused from being in the shade and the setting sun) was my first task. Now since we are doing more to the photo, I didn't so super crazy with the photo editing, but the after (on the right) looks so much better than the original photo.

Before (Left) After (Right) Also, this photo was taken on a smart phone! Haha

I played around with a couple of techniques and came up with this cool, sketchy triptych. Although, I think were gonna need a little more work on the last photo, since it doesn't quite match the other two. Hey. Not too shabby for less than an hours worth of work! Hopefully we can figure out what kind of techniques to use, to make the photo's wall worthy. Once completed, I'll post em!

I also finished another baby shower quick gift. The diaper/wipes strap. Tutorial to come on that later! They look so cute! I am in love with the pink ABC fabric, too bad I'm almost out of it! :-( Also I did some hand stitching a couple of weeks back (finishing up a couple things) and tried some hand embroidery. Another new thing for me. All I had ever done was the simple techniques that come with the bib patterns. I think it turned out pretty cute! I love the colors! Need a technique for transferring an image for embroidery? Print your image off from the computer or wherever you would like, trace it onto Glad Press and Seal, pin to your fabric, and stitch over the design. You'll have to cut off the press and seal later, but it made my life so much easier! :-)

Closeup!

And finally a Saw It, Pinned It, Did It moment. This chicken with tomato and basil recipe I found on Pinterest. We had everything except the chicken so I thought, what the hell it's worth a shot! Once this was simmering, it was hard to not want to lick the pan. It smelled that good! Another one on the list for dinner rotation!

Tomato Basil Chicken

What You'll Need:
2 chicken breasts
kosher salt and black pepper
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
4 Tbsp cold butter
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
freshly grated Parmigiano reggiano cheese, for garnish (optional)

Head on over to Menu Musings, for the rest of the directions! If you love Italian food, this is one for the books!

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Twist on a standard baby bib - Denim Bib DIY!

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you should just go back to bed? My hair decided to look like the cowardly lion this morning when I blew it dry, my morning caffeine still has me feeling groggy, and when I got to work I realized I put my underwear on inside out....TMI? Well it's just been one of those Wednesdays! At least I was productive this weekend and finished a craft!

With the invention of the internet and Pinterest, having your own ideas isn't as common as it once was. While perusing the DIY and crafts section I saw this super cute twist on baby bibs from Thimbly Things. I just about died, as I had some scrap denim that has just been lying around my house waiting for a project. I figured I could make some bibs to have in my gift closet. Even after making 8 bibs I still have some leftover for some other ideas I am planning! Stay tuned for those! Anywho, without further adieu.....le tutorial:

What you'll need:
Bib Template (I printed one off the internet that was actually an infant size, oopsies! Hey it still works. You can use your own stash for templates as well)
Denim
Scissors
Pins
Quilters Cotton (16 different patterns; (2) coordinates per bib) (I made 4 boy bibs and 4 girl bibs)
Sewing Machine w/ detail stitch options
Coordinating thread

Directions:

1. First fold the denim in half lengthwise, pin the template down and cut around one side of the template. I had 4 pant legs, so I did this eight times. Actually I did each step eight times, I was tired at the end! Haha

2. Cut one fabric large enough for the back, about a 10" x 11" square in my case and cut the coordinating fabric 2" by width of bib, mine was about 9." Take your 2" strip and press a folded over 1/4" seam on both long ends to avoid frays and zig zag stitch it into place....about a third up from the bottom. Note: If you wish you can use Steam a Seam Lite to help make your pressing easier. Cut it 1-1/2" x length of fabric and press down centered inside the fabric. Fold over your 1/4" seams and press down. Then press to adhere to denim.

Select your coordinating thread to go with your patterns and sew detailed stitching on either side of the patterned fabric. Depending on the pattern this can be time consuming so choose wisely. Also my denim was a stretchy denim, so some of the more dense patterns wanted to pucker and I had to press them flat. So keep that in mind.

3. Place your bib and back fabrics right sides together, pin and trim the back fabric the same size as the bib. If you wish to re-pin for easier sewing, please do. Sew a 1/4" seam around the entire bib, leaving about a 3″ opening at the bottom of the bib for turning. Make small perpendicular clips around all your curves for easier turning, just make sure not to cut your seam. The area on my neck, where the snaps go was very small so I trimmed the edge in that area to about 1/8"

4. Gently turn bib right side out, using closed scissors or a blunt edge tool to carefully push out the narrow curves.

5. Press bib, pin your turning opening and stitch along all edges about 1/4″. You can use a decorative stitch here also. I used a wavy stitch with a denim blue color thread and a coordinating bobbin thread to the back fabric.

6. Choose a closure and attach as directed. I chose hand sewn snaps because the area where they would go was just too small for velcro, but if you have more space you can definitely use it!

Once your all done admire your new and super cute bibs! My favorite one has to be the boy one with the construction zone fabric on the front. I really like the girl bib with the ABC back and arched pink stitching on the front!