Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Creating Sentiments


Sometimes, you just cannot find a sentiment to match the front of a card. That's when alphabet sets come in handy!

I used Well Connected Alphabet from My Favorite Things to create the inside sentiment for my Easter cards. It is simple...just what I needed to compliment the simple print I designed for Easter! I added the little fronds stamp (MFT) to the inside and to the corner of the envelopes.

Better get these in the mail today!

Blessings, cafe friends!

Monday, March 26, 2018

Old Made New: A Repurposed Shirt


It's hard to believe, but not that long ago, this lazy little girl used to be our wild child.

We had many nicknames for Jemma, most of them unflattering. My husband called her the Yeti. My son, John, called her the many toothed demon.

She was wild, and she loved to bite. It was a hard habit to break in her puppy years, and it led to a lot of time outs.


But now, she's mellowing out into a really sweet family dog. We can forgive her past sins.

Like this shirt, for example! I had a favorite shirt from Target...it was just the right blue, and just the right weight of Oxford cloth cotton. It was perfect. And then wild child tore one of the sleeves in her puppy phase. I couldn't get rid of it, but I also wasn't wearing it. What to do?


I decided to alter it! I cut off the sleeves just above the tear. Then, I ironed a quarter inch fold on each sleeve, and attached a length of lacy cotton eyelet fabric to the end of each sleeve. And with a little extra left over, I also attached it to the edge of the pocket.


Ta da! This is now an elbow-length sleeve, which is very flattering on middle aged women with flabby upper arms. Raise your hand if that's you! ( I would raise my hand, but it would just make my flabby upper arms flap in the breeze!)





Now, what to do with those sleeves.

I had just the use for them.


I had this hair band that I bought from Duluth Trading Company (Pistil brand), and I love the fabric and pattern, but not the elastic band. It just didn't fit my head well. So I cut the elastic band off. First, I took a length of lacy cotton, and I attached it along one side. Then, using the leftover sleeves, I cut out two straps, pressing with the iron, and then sewing along the seams. (Don't check for evenness of stitching! I'm not that good at it!). I attached each new strap to both sides of the head band, and now I have a perfect hair covering that I can adjust.

And here it is:



I've been growing my hair out recently, just for simplicity's sake. I really don't like to fuss with it. Most of the time, I put on a headband, or some wrap or hair covering, and I call it a day. It's so much easier in the summertime. A little vintage and slightly shabby...like me.



I think this will be a cute combo in the days ahead.

If re-purposing is not your thing, I have good news! Target has a few really decent shirts in their new Universal Threads line, and I found an Oxford cloth shirt in white and light blue. LOVE them! I also bought a few of their bandannas for hair wraps.

If you are interested in hair wraps, I have a few sources.

The Sassy Sparrow makes really cute head wraps, and I have multiples in many patterns and colors! You can find them here:

https://www.thesassysparrow.com/

I also love my flowery, girly head wraps from The Vintage Rose!

http://vintagerosewraps.com/

Recently, I found another source for hair wraps from Garlands of Grace. Oh, how I love them all and want one of each!

https://garlandsofgrace.com/

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!






Sunday, March 25, 2018

Hosanna in the Highest!


Palm Sunday. The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.


There's my sweet Samuel, serving as acolyte. This morning, he lead the procession into church, carrying the cross as the children followed shouting their hosannas of praise. It warms this mother's heart to see her son serving in the house of the Lord.


In our adult Sunday school class, we have been following the video lessons from teacher Ray Vander Laan (from Focus on the Family) called That The World May Know: The Mission of Jesus. Ray takes his students on a tour of the Holy Land, teaching us about the historical importance of lessons, and connecting the dots between the old and new testaments. If you ever get a chance to see any of his videos, I highly recommend them!


Last week, he spoke of the concept of Triumph, and how it related to the Roman tradition and ultimately Jesus procession into Jerusalem.


Jesus triumphed over sin on the cross, and Jesus triumphed over death on Easter morning.


And now Jesus reigns as King...not our future king, but our very present king today. Not only king of heaven, but king of earth.

God's kingdom reigns wherever His word is accomplishing His work, where God is "kinging", where His will is being done.



I made this page in my bible today to remember that though the world seems at times like a dark place, Jesus rules this world with his grace and truth.


Hosanna in the highest!

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Second Printing, With Color


I tried a second printing of my Easter creation, this time adding watercolors. I wanted to know how the ink would respond to my Gansai Tambi watercolor paints.


I used the brayer to apply the Speedball ink, and after pressing, I let the card stock dry for a few hours. Then I went back and lightly applied the paint, using a minimal amount of water and avoiding the black ink wherever possible.

The ink held up quite well in the process. I was pleased. I think this will be a great way to add color to some future projects that I have in mind, like botanicals. I'm not one hundred percent certain that I like it with this image, however.


I tried it on kraft card stock as well.


My family said they liked the "fancy" addition of color, but they also prefer the "old school" look of monochromatic black on white.

What do you think? Color or no color?

Friday, March 23, 2018

A Creative Week


It's been a very creative week. Some weeks are just more productive than others.

When I find a good work/life balance, I feel as though I get in to a good groove. Volunteering and worship, study and writing, reading and creating, walking and resting, messing and cleaning...ebb and flow, ebb and flow.

I finished off this little punch needle project that had been years (yes, years) in the making. It was one of those pieces that I had punched and forgotten about until recently. So I tea-stained it, pressed it, and framed it.

It was too big for smaller frames, not big enough for larger frames. In the end, I decided to put it in this frame I had on hand, and I added a strip of lace to fill in the blank spot. A little sign of spring!


I gave this to my Mom yesterday. She has flowers, real flowers!, blooming in her garden!


Just forty minutes south of us, and the ground must be that much warmer there. I know we had a lot more snow to melt off, in comparison. I still have spots at the north side of the house where the snow has not completely melted. 

Thinking warm thoughts for a sunny Easter! Wouldn't that be lovely?

Thursday, March 22, 2018

An Update for the Cottage Bathroom


Hello, cafe friends!

Today I thought I'd show you a recent update here at the cottage: the guest bathroom.

We've been living in the cottage for less than nine months now, and we are still in the process of figuring out what works and what does not work for our needs.

For example, the master bedroom has a very small bathroom: walk in shower, no tub, small linen closet, and one sink and vanity. And it is fine. Speaking as someone who lived without a master bath ensuite for the first sixteen years of marriage, I can appreciate just having a bathroom so accessible to the bed.

But in the last dozen or so years of marriage, we have been spoiled with two-sink bathrooms.

It turns out that my husband and I don't share well.

After one recent Sunday morning, trying to scramble to get ready for church at the same time, I finally decided this was not working and something had to change.

I decided to move in to the guest bath room. It is just two steps outside of our bedroom. Why not?

I moved my things next door, made a few additions, and now the bathroom situation has been solved.


For starters, we installed a curved shower curtain rod. This made SUCH a difference! It feels much roomier and not so claustrophobic now. Love it.


I installed this sweet little wicker shelf unit over the towel bar. This shelf came from our colonial home in Pittsburgh. Remember the pink tiled bathroom? This lovely vintage piece hung there. I meant to leave it with the house, but the terrible packers and movers (who shall remain unnamed) packed it anyway. It has been in storage, and I decided to get it out and use it.  It adds just a little vintage shabby chic to the space.



And speaking of vintage, this shower curtain is from Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic at Target, and I have had it for more than a dozen years. I love the print so much!


A vintage painting picked up from a flea market hangs on the wall.



I also added a Command Strip hook for the back of the door for bath robes and other necessities.


Some favorite Burt's Bees products in a handy basket.


And here's another thing I like to keep handy: my Vitafusion women's vitamins!


I bought these vitamins ( and the men's formula as well) for the family when my husband decided to book a trip to Florida back in January. It was the height of cold and flu season, and I wanted to boost everyone's immune system. Let me tell you, I love these tasty little treats! They have done wonders for my hair, skin, and nails. And more importantly, they have helped to keep us all healthy, too. My son, Sam, said that the only problem with the vitamins is that they taste so good, he wishes he could eat more than two a day. I know what he means! In the past, I've purchased vitamins with the best intentions, and then they stay in a cabinet and I forget about them. But these are so good! I leave them on the counter as a reminder each day, and so far we're developing a pretty good habit of daily vitamin supplement.


So there you have it! Not an earth-shattering reveal. No dramatic "before and after" photos. Not even a new paint color. Just a few tweaks and adjustments to make the cottage our own.


When you downsize, you will have to make some compromises. For me, the biggest compromise will be that I have to keep this bath room neat and tidy for guest use as well. No biggie. For my adult sons who often spend the night? Well, the compromise for them will be that they have to shower in a slightly girly/slightly pink vintage styled bathroom once again. God bless 'em.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

A Blue Apron Review


Have you ever wanted to try a food delivery service like Blue Apron?

When I first saw this idea floating around about a year ago, I called my Hoosier son in Indiana and told him about it. John likes to cook, and this looked like something that would really appeal to him. He did a little research on his own, tried it for a while, and eventually suspended the service.

So imagine my surprise when this Blue Apron box appeared at our doorstep last week!

I immediately texted John and asked "Did you send us a present?"

"No," he responded.

"Then who sent us this box from Blue Apron?"

"Oh no!" John answered. "I meant to send that to my house, not yours!"

Ha ha ha!

Lucky for me, John picked some really good meals to try!


The box comes with fresh organic produce, organic meats, and small portioned sizes of spices, oils, honey, vinegar, rice...just about everything you'd need to make a meal, save for the olive oil and salt and pepper.



The recipe sheets had very good instructions, too. Simple to use.


For the first meal, we opted for the beef and mushroom stew with roasted potatoes. I decided to alter the recipe slightly, dredging the beef in flour before cooking (it always thickens the sauce better), and adding a bottle of beer instead of a cup of water. It was St. Patrick's Day, and I thought the stew needed to be a little Irish.



When Blue Apron says "serving for two" they mean it. We had just enough for two bowls. It was delicious! We wanted seconds. Too bad!


The addition of roasted potato slices on top was interesting. We liked it!


The second meal was Mexican spiced roasted pork, served over rice and collard greens with a citrus salsa. This one was my favorite!


The roast cooked quickly in the oven, and was moist and tender. But the salsa? Oh my word. It was so good! Chopped orange, combined with a little sweet (honey) and hot (chopped jalapenos) for a perfect pairing to the pork. So good!


The final meal: Pan fried chicken with vegetables.

When I prepared each recipe, I pre-chopped ingredients and had them ready, just like the photo instructions. I think it helped production of the meal go smoothly.


The chicken was dipped in buttermilk, then coated in the flour spice mixture, and then fried in a pan in olive oil. I would normally skip all that coating, but it actually made the chicken very tasty!

I made this meal stretch to feed three by giving the guys the rice and making myself some cauliflower rice instead. We added a side salad, and it made a nice meal for three.


These meals were all very good, and quite similar to the way I already cook, with one exception. I like leftovers! But if I were single and cooking at home, this would probably be a time saver and quite possibly a money saver as well.

Have you ever tried a meal service? If so, which one?

I went to the library yesterday and picked up the cookbook "Skinnytaste, Fast and Slow" by Gina Homolka. Looks like some great recipes I will definitely want to try! I like that Gina's recipes are all healthy alternatives to some favorites, while introducing new flavors and combinations.

Blessings on your midweek, cafe friend!