ready for spring! button ring tutorial

Hello my lovelies! I think I definitely got my crafting mojo back yesterday! i knocked out a few projects that have been sitting half-done for months in my sewing area. i can't wait to share them all with you! but even more exciting is that i made a tutorial... hooray! I haven't made one in a while and i really do love sharing any crafty knowledge, tips, and tricks i know with you all

so now i bring you: my button ring tutorial

this project is super quick and simple

all you need:

some braided elastic

needle & thread

fun buttons

glue (if button has a shank)

choose the buttons you want to layer on your ring.

I chose these 2 sets with topper buttons that had a shank

and this set with buttons that all had sewing holes in them

 for those of you who don't know, the ring on the bottom of buttons used to sew it on is called a shank. i had no idea when i first started my button obsession. 

 i used some wire cutters to remove the shanks from my daisy and sunglasses

 after you trim you may still have some rough edges. depending on how flat you need the top button to lay you may  be able to ignore this.

 next step is measuring out your elastic. be sure to get snug on your finger but not to the point of stretching the ellastic. let it overlap a bit and then cut

 sew up both ends of the elastic. at this point ALWAYS try the elastic ring on to be sure it fits right. its a terrible feeling when you have sewn and glued all your buttons down and the ring is too big or too small

sew your main button onto the elastic positioning it over the overlapped elastic

 you are almost done

 here are my base buttons sewn on 

if you are layering more buttons that can be sewn on then you will just continue sewing a few rounds until both buttons are secure 

 this ring has 3 layers of buttons that can be sewn. i just added the topper once the middle was secure and sewed a few more rounds until they were all secure.

 then you can tie off your thread

 for the other 2 rings, i had the daisy and sunglasses to be the topper. i needed the sunglasses to lie flat, so i used a dremel to sand down the rest of the shank

 see, much smoother now

 glue the toppers on and enjoy your awesome new button rings

i would love to see the rings you come up with!

xoxoxox

Lily Bean

chillin and grillin weekend

howdy! i have had a heck of a time these last 2 weeks. i was playing mysetery diagnosis with my poor uncle. thank godness we finally figured out what is wrong. it has been treated and he will be fine. but with school, work, and all that drama  i have been way too tired this weekend to do much.

i found this cool plastic chain at Michael's which i knew would look rad with my perler beads bow. i am so in love with this necklace!

 here i am rocking it right after it was assembled. it is so bold on its own that i definitely need to wear a plain shirt when i wear this necklace.

 on saturday i went over to have coffee with miss ann and she invited me to an afternoon show downtown sunday afternoon. it was a nice soulful R+B singer Sean Jones. i don't think miss ann knew a lot of the music but she enjoyed the show nonetheless.

either way we had so much fun getting dressed up. she was so happy to see me in the hat she gave me. i felt so glamourous <3

 i went grocery shopping this morning and was so stoked to come across these pink lemonade cookies! i cannot wait to try them. i also saw pink lemonade frosting but will try that another time. and the best thing ever is that

ITS CADBURY EGG TIME

yes! cadbury eggs are my all time favorite seasonal candies. i wish i had them year round!

 i always look for marked down meats when grocery shopping. (i always cook them within 24hrs of buying them) i found some steelhead fillets marked down 50%. the price was too good to pass up, so even though i had no idea what kind of fish this is or how to cook it, i had to buy them. so i researched and found out the meat of this fish holds together well enough to grill. i had never grilled before but figured now's as good a time as any to learn

 the fish was already seasoned so it went straight from package to the grill. i was a bit creeped out  by the scales but glad to find out they burn off when grilled. the meat just slides right off them!

 i served the grilled steelhead with white rice and a stir fry mix of veggies seasoned with dried basil leaves

 for this week's dessert i made strawberrylicious cupcakes. strawberry cake mix with 6 blended fresh strawberries added to the batter covered with strawberry frosting and sprinkles. i always make 24 regular size supcakes and use whatever batter is left over t make mini cupcakes with my mini cupcake machine <3

i joined another craft swap at craftster.org. this one is a bookmark swap. i have 4 people to make a bookmark for: 2 in the Us, 1 in Germany, and 1 in Mexico. Each of them will be sending me a crafted bookmark back. I have all the supplies i need to get this started and will probably begin tomorrow after work.... maybe tonight after a bowl of cereal since my distractions (penny and thea of course) are alseep

Things I learned this week:
-don't overthink symptoms when someone is sick. but never be afraid to get worse ideas ruled out
-grilled fish is extra yummy (i like anything off a grill really)
-grilling is not hard at all... who says it should be something only for the boys to do?!?
-lack of sleep leads to super silly mistakes. at least i can laugh at myself
-grocery shopping is WAY more fun when you cook

here's to hoping next week is better than last week!

xoxoxoxox

Lily Bean

my lovely Valentine's tree and waffle agony!

hey everyone! here i am 730 pm on sunday and i haven't studied, not even 1 minute all weekend for my test this week... just don't have the attention span for it right now.

what i did accomplish this weekend is a little cooking, a little crafting, and some much needed sleep

so you want the good news or the bad news first?

ill go with the good: seeing as how i have not gotten to putting away my christmas decor yet i decided that this weekend i would force myself to because the next holiday is only 2 days away: Valentine's Day <3. instead of packing up my tree i redecorated it for vday with some construction paper and yarn

 i made  heart shaped garland out of strips of construction paper

 then i cut some big hearts out and stiched in the word love.

 and cut out some more hearts and stitched in x's and o's

 it was actually good practice at needlework... i'm still at about a 5 year old's level though hahaha

i hope you enjoy my Valentine Tree as much as i do

so this weekend I cooked breakfast cupcakes (mini fritatta's), chicken, and i attempted waffles.

my breakfast cupcakes came out awesome! I will be making them again and make a step by step recipe for you.

 the moment of truth: cutting the first in half and seeing they were cooked all the way through.
PERFECTION

 for dinner saturday i made chicken with white rice and roasted veggies. i used this seasoning as a rub and let it marinade into the chicken for about an hour.

 in the meantime, i washed my rice. it took about 6 rinses til the water was this clear. i started 8 cups of water with 4 bay leaves to boil. once boiling i added my 4 cups of rice (drained from the water it was sitting in to wash), dropped the heat to low, and covered my pot. 20 minutes later i turned off the fire i scooted the pot to another side of the stove. DO NOT PEEK INTO THE POT. let sit for 10 minutes.

 i got a 16 oz bag of frozen veggies and put them in a large ziploc bag with some basil and oregano. shake it up a bit then add a good splash of olive oil and shake well to be sure all are covered evenly with oil and herbs. lay them out on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 mins at 350.

 look how white and fluffy my rice is... mmm mmm! (i may just go heat some up cause it looks so good right now)

 i took my chicken breast and cooked it on my Cuisinart griddler checking until all pink was gone. I sliced it into strips and served it all up. oh boy!

 i followed it up with banana splits! i am so addicted to sprinkles

 i was off the hook cooking dinner today because my uncle stopped by with 2 pizzas

so on to the bad news...

i tried to make waffles, TRIED. i followed the directions on the blueberry mix. i decided fresh strawberries would make it extra scrumptious so i cut some up to add in. i had oiled my waffle iron and i made sure to let them cook long enough but they just would not come out

i debated putting them here at all but thought it would be a good idea for 2 reasons:

1) i am still learning and if anyone else reading this is as new as me, i want to show we all have fails and its part of learning. dust yourself off and go buy some fast food for this meal =P

2) i was wondering if any might have some insight as to what i did wrong. my family thinks maybe it was the fresh strawberries... any suggestions?

things i learned this weekend

-it really stings when oil pops and hits your arm

-even when food does not come out looking as it should, it may still taste good

-spices are pretty rad but i looooove herbs

wow! i guess i better warm that rice now and get some studying in... my test on "blood" is this friday =/ and that's 4 weeks worth of info and i haven't studied much at all.

xoxoxoxo

Lily B. Homemaker

spotlight: my cowgirl apron. yeehaw!

Well hello my lovelies. As promised, i am posting tonight about my new apron. i have made a few aprons already but none have ever been for myself. since i have become so obsessed with cooking and baking i knew i needed my own apron. not only for function but because it ups the cute factor. and no matter what a girl is doing, when she feels cute she does it better. am i right?

so last saturday i got right to sewing to be fashionable by the time i started cooking dinner.

i am more than pleased with how adorable this came out!

 naturally i went with pink and black. i added a sweetheart neckline and ruffles to bring the girlie girl right out.

 my pocket is heart shaped

 here's a close-up of the fabric. i love the western accents

 this shot is to show that the whole thing is trimmed in pink binding. really brings it all together

 I have also recently made this quilted mug rug. i still need some quilting practive before trying a true quilt

 today i dug deep in my stash and played with my perler beads. i have not done this in a while! i made this bow...

 this heart...

 and this turtle

 i think i will be making these all into fun necklaces. i just noticed i did a lot of heart shapes this week... guess im feeling valentine-y

i have a bunch of things cut out and ready to sew... not just to sit down and do it. im also working on knitting my penny pup a sweater. hope to finish it before spring =P

i have my first test in Anatomy/Physiology2 a week and a half from today, better get to studying

wish me luck!

xoxox

Lily Bean

new apron leads to magic in the kitchen: taco casserole

Howdy! I spent most of the day sewing up a new apron for myself.

i am so happy with how it turned out! i will focus on the apron in my next post. im posting my meal today because i am off the hook tomorrow since its game day grilling: hamburgers and hot dogs on the menu

by the time i was done with my apron it was already time to whip up dinner! i ran off to start my taco casserole.

 ingredients:

3cups tortilla chips crunched

2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped olives

1/2 cup chopped tomato

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 can chili

and 2 cups salsa (which i made myself from 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce, jalapeno, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder)

 brown the ground beef then drain the oil

add the salsa to the beef and simmer for aprox 20 mins until all excess liquid is evaporated

add in the can of chili and mix well.

 Next layer it all up in your baking dish

tortilla chips

the meat/salsa/chili mix

sour cream

onions, tomatoes, and olives

then cheddar cheese

pop in an oven preheated to 350 for 20 mins or until cheese is bubbly

 enjoy! 3 of us at the dinner table and more than half is gone... i think i can  mark this dish a success

i find myself actually getting excited when the weekend is coming because i want to cook. so far i have played it very safe with ground beef dishes and hope to be confident enough to try others soon

what i learned today:

when you are wearing a super cute new apron, you realize how much you splatter when you stir

i LOATHE olives but know i need to cook for everyones likes, not just my own. i followed the recipe and stuck with the olives and i ate my whole serving. first time not picking olives out. and i liked it

avoid distraction when learning a new dish... case and point: i forgot to put my chopped tomoatoes on my dish until i put it in the oven =/ i pulled it out right quick and added them to the top of the cheese. it still turned out good *phew*

aother victory in the kitchen! and i cant get over how good a pretty apron made me feel. and when i feel good and pretty i cook better

ready to tackle another weekend in the kitchen

xoxoxox

Lily B. Homemaker