Miscellaneous Archives - Page 3 of 89 - home is where my story begins...

Vintage Sheet Quilt

November 24, 2015 By Becca Leave a Comment

A few months ago I was browsing different sewing blogs and came across several different quilts made from vintage sheets. I’ve never been a huge fan of the shabby chic look, and the frilly look has never been a favorite either, but I do love vintage! I started looking around for vintage sheets and didn’t find anything quite vintage enough. (80’s sheets aren’t quite vintage in my book.) I asked my mom to keep an eye out for me, and she found the vintage sheet motherload in about 2 days flat.

Well, those vintage sheets sat in my cupboard for quite a long time. I didn’t really know what I was going to do with them and it was a ton of fabric. I was a bit overwhelmed. Then, one day, I decided that doing something (anything) was better than nothing, so I started cutting them up. (More on that later. I definitely learned a few things about how to tackle the cutting phase.) I decided to cut the sheets in fat quarters and then use the fabric to make a little quilt.

What do you think? Not bad for a bunch of old sheets! I used a combination of 5 inch squares from sheets and 5 inch plain white fabric squares. I wanted to make a small quilt because I think it’s a good example of a simple quilt that even a beginner could do. I did my own quilting on this one. I’ve always enjoyed taking my quilts to my quilt lady to finish up for me. I know how to do my own quilting, but it’s my least favorite part of the whole process. I figured if I made a quilt that was small enough, I could tackle quilting it myself. Surprisingly, I didn’t hate the process and I didn’t even hate the finished product. (Usually, when I try to do it on my own, I end up cringing every time I look at it.) This time, I think it turned out ok! I think the quilting pattern adds to the overall look too.

My daughter’s eyes lit up when she saw the finished quilt. I think she almost had a bit of panic when she asked who this was for, probably afraid I was going to give it away. I told her I was going to use it as a sample, but that she could have it when I was done taking pictures of it. In her very calm voice she sighed and said, “I really love that one.”

So, friends, I have several of these vintage sheet fat quarter bundles all packaged up. I have also written up the pattern for this quilt with super-easy instructions. This is a great beginner quilt. The vintage sheet bundles are available for purchase. Feel free to email me and I can hook you up. (homeiswheremystorybegins@gmail.com) The bundles will be selling for $12 per pack of 7 fat quarters. For those of you who are unfamiliar with fat quarters, it is an 18″x22″ rectangle.

I’m kind of in love with vintage sheets now.

Happy quilting!

Copper Decor

November 22, 2015 By Becca Leave a Comment

I don’t know what it is about copper, but I’m loving it lately. I’ve been trying to find ways to incorporate copper into my decorating.

I bought this bowl for $2 at a garage sale a few years ago. I put it on my bookshelf with a few old books and it adds the perfect amount of brightness.

This is my favorite copper bowl. It’s a big antique bowl that I bought on eBay a few years back. I only paid about $20 for it and I LOVE it. It was hanging on my pot rack for a long time and I’ve decided to let it shine on my bookshelf.

I added a few fall elements to my bookshelves too and they blend in so well with the copper bowls.

I’m not sure what I will do when it’s time to change things out for Christmas. Does copper look good with traditional Christmas decor? Well, I will find out soon enough because the Christmas decorations are coming out on Friday!

Happy decorating!

Homemade Bread and Chocolate Chip Cookies

November 13, 2015 By Becca Leave a Comment

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day and the kids and I were given the gift of time. It was a day off in the middle of the week that we all needed. My daughter’s Veteran’s Day concert was the night before and it was a great concert. She didn’t seem like her perky self, but I didn’t really think much of it… until the fever set in. I guess if you have to get sick, it’s best to do it on a day off from school. So, my daughter was down and out, my son wanted to hang out with friends, and I’m just trying to take it easy and ride out my back pain. In the midst of resting and relaxing, I decided that it was a good day for baking bread and cookies. Ok, when is it NOT a good day for baking bread and cookies??

I started with the bread because it’s the easiest. Friends, I know you may think this sounds crazy, but homemade bread is the easiest treat ever! I use the same recipe that my mom always did when I was growing up. Sometimes I will use whole wheat flower instead of white, but it’s always the same basic recipe. I make the dough in my bread machine, on the dough cycle, because it makes the process SO much easier. Once the dough is ready I put it into bread pans to rise again. I don’t like the way my bread machine cooks the bread, so that’s why I just use the dough cycle.

If you don’t own a bread machine, you can buy one for CHEAP at Goodwill. I use mine on a regular basis and I actually have two because it makes the double batches of cinnamon rolls so much easier.

If you’re ready to try some easy homemade bread, here’s my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 package yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 cups scalded milk

1 Tbsp shortening

6 cups flour

(white, whole wheat, or a combination)

2 Tbsp sugar

2tsp salt

Combine yeast and warm water. Let it rest for about 10 minutes. Scald the milk and add the shortening so that it melts. Put the milk mixture into the bread machine first. Add the rest of the dry ingredients on top of the milk. Then, pour the yeast mixture on the very top. Set your bread machine to the dough cycle and wait for it to beep at you! Once it has risen in the machine, form into loaves and let rise again until it has doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Tips:

DON’T BE AFRAID OF YEAST!

Yeast is very easy to work with and shouldn’t be intimidating. When I dissolve the yeast in the warm water, I make sure the water feels slightly warmer than bathtub water. If it is super hot, it will kill the yeast. If you use cold water, it won’t activate. I also make sure the milk is about that same temperature. Finally, when I let the bread rise in the pans, I usually turn on my oven to preheat and just set the pans on the stove. It gives the pans just enough warmth to help them rise.

In addition to homemade bread, it was also a chocolate chip cookie kind of day. Luckily, one kiddo was napping and the other was at a friends house, so I just ate all of the cookies myself and hid the evidence. Ok, just kidding on that one. Actually, after baking the cookies, I put them all into individual baggies and into a freezer container. That way, as the kids are making their lunches, they can pull out a bag of 2 cookies and put it into their lunches. By the time lunch rolls around, the cookies have thawed and are ready to eat.

Here’s the recipe:
1 Cup Crisco shortening (original, not butter flavor)
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup white sugar
Mix until soft and fluffy.

Add:
2 Eggs
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix just until blended.

Dry ingredients:
2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Mix it up and add 8-12 oz of chocolate chips.

Bake for 10 minutes (or less) at 350 degrees. My oven is a standard oven, not convection, and this is what I do.

I didn’t check a bunch of items off of my To Do list on Veteran’s Day, but I did get to spend time with my kids, rest, and do a little baking. All in all, I’d say that’s a productive day.

Happy baking!

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

November 11, 2015 By Becca 5 Comments

One of the moms, at the school I teach at, recently asked me for the frosting recipe and directions for the gingerbread houses we make in the classroom. I love hosting a Gingerbread Party for my students and siblings, and I also host a party for my kids and their friends too.

For the past 10 years, we’ve hosted friends and family and created the most adorable graham cracker houses. Lining the table with butcher paper or wrapping paper is a MUST! It makes clean up super easy. You just fold all of the garbage right into to paper that is on the table and clean up is done!

The kids have gotten better and better every year and patiently working on their houses.

I had a lot of fun with my bokeh pictures too. (Bokeh is the blurry background that produces the pretty lights from the tree.)

I ask every family to bring a candy item to share. My favorite candies for gingerbread house decorating are Lifesavers, Neccos, small candy canes, red hots, red and green M&M’s, Twizzlers Pull Apart licorice, gumdrops, and pretzel twists. (Pretzel twists make great fences.)

When the kids were little, I prepared the house bases ahead of time, so all they had to do was add the roof and candy. I still prepare the houses ahead of time for Kindergarten. (Actually, my parent volunteers prepare them.) Since my kids at home are bigger, we just build and create! Sometimes the candy houses turn into candy fortresses.

Here’s how I build the bases when young kids (first grade and under) are decorating with us. The only reason I do the base for the kids is that it is very frustrating when you are 4 years old and your house falls apart every time you try to add candy. Royal icing needs time to dry and harden. Patience is hard when you’re 4. Building the house bases is really easy. I start with foil covered cardboard. They make simple platforms for the kids to create their “yard”. I cut the graham crackers with a bread knife and assemble the house base with royal icing. I always use the royal icing to “glue” the house base to the platform. This is what an assembled house base looks like when it is ready for the party to start.. I make one for each child and a few extras in case we have an accident.

I let the kids add the two pieces for the roof and all of the decorations. Royal icing is best for assembling houses and decorating. I usually make several batches of Royal icing and put it into individual quart sized freezer bags. (Don’t use sandwich bags because they pop.) When it’s time for decorating, I just snip off a small corner of the bag.

The recipe for Royal Icing is included in the package of Wilton Meringue Powder. I buy my meringue powder at Michael’s. If you can’t find meringue powder, I’m sure you can google a recipe for a similar icing that calls for egg whites. I’ve always used the meringue powder recipe because raw eggs freak me out. (Unless, of course, I’m eating cookie dough.)

3 Tbsp Wilton Meringue Powder
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
5 or 6 Tbsp warm water

Beat all ingredients, with heavy duty mixer, until icing forms peaks. (7-10 minutes)

Here are a few examples from our gingerbread party last year.

This one was Rudolph’s barn.

This is a gingerbread manger.

If you’ve never done this before, this is the year to give it a try. My kids always look forward to this day. I’ll admit, I’ve toned it down over the years. The first few years we invited about 30 kids and their parents, served lunch, and hosted all-out party. Now, we just have family. There are 10 kids and one crazy mom who just loves being the Gingerbread Queen.

Happy Decorating!

Happy Holidays!

Pantry Organization – Back In Business

November 10, 2015 By Becca Leave a Comment

We are back in business! The pantry collapsed and we lived with the contents all over the dining room for two weeks. Things felt like chaos and I couldn’t find the spices I needed to save my life. Well, to be honest, before the collapse my pantry was lacking in the organization department. I really just needed to spend some time throwing out old items.

All of my cake platters shattered in the pantry collapse, so that made more room on the top shelf. My flour containers now live on the top shelf. (Yes, I really do use 6 different types of flour in my baking!)

These bins are set aside for lunch making items.

This picture is horribly dark, but I’m thrilled to have my spices all alphabetized again.

I’m discovering that I may have a problem with the amount of sprinkles and cookie cutters I have.

All of my appliances are back in their places and ready for the next cooking/baking project.

One thing I can’t stand is the water bottle mess that we always have. I now have two bins that store all of the water bottles in the house. Now, hopefully, the water bottles won’t be falling out of the cupboard onto our heads.

Hopefully we can keep up the organization now! I think I shall spend the next few weeks baking, to celebrate the fact that I can find everything again!

Antiques That Tell Your Family Story

November 3, 2015 By Becca 2 Comments

I love filling my home with things that have history. I don’t spend a lot of time shopping antique and thrift stores. (Although I wish I had the time and money to browse antique stores.) Most of my treasures come from family members, so I really appreciate the history behind these pieces.

The pocket watches belonged to my step-dad and grandpa. I love holding something in my hand that they held onto for so many years.

This sewing machine was in a corner of my parents’ garage for years, before it found a home in my craft room.

There is nothing more meaningful than holding your great-grandmother’s Bible. There are even handwritten notes inside from church services and Bible studies.

When we were going through my grandma’s old suitcases, we opened one and found her wedding dress and my grandpa’s WWII army uniform. Many years before, she told us she had thrown them away because they were tattered. It was amazing to find them in perfect condition inside a suitcase in her garage.

The flower garden quilt is from my husband’s side of the family. His grandma sent it home with me after a visit to her house. It is very tattered, but I just have the good part of the quilt poking out of the basket. The star quilt was made my great grandmother and the picnic basket belonged to my grandma and grandpa.

This one was made my great grandmother and my great, great grandmother as a wedding gift for my grandparents. The patterned fabric was made from old shirts and dresses. They didn’t have a lot of money and they used the scraps they had available.

I can’t say I purposefully fill my home with antiques. I don’t seek them out, scour thrift shops, or shop ebay for a great deal. I fill my home with these treasures because each piece has a story.

What story does your home tell?

Decorating With Old Books – Loving Family History

October 31, 2015 By Becca Leave a Comment

My husband calls it old junk, but I love home decor that has some sort of history. I think he may be coming around a bit. Recently, when we went away for the weekend, I convinced him to wander the antique mall for a few minutes. He actually said that it wasn’t the worst part of the weekend. That’s improvement!

I love treasures that tell a story. Even more special is a treasure that tells part of my own story, and reveals a little bit about where I’m from. I love the look of old books in home decor, but I really love that my old books came from my grandparents.

They have the neatest old covers.

The inside of the cover is beautiful too! They just don’t make books like this anymore.

Here’s my favorite. This is a bible that was on my grandma’s bookshelf. Inside, it says, “For Our Dear Mother. From, Edith and Chester. August, 1927.” Edith and Chester were my grandmother’s parents. So, this bible belonged to Edith or Chester’s mother, my great-great-grandmother. How cool is that… just to know that I’m holding the same bible that my great-great-grandmother held.

There are even hand written notes inside the margins that were written during church services or bible studies.

I also have an old hymnal from Seattle Pacific College (now Seattle Pacific University). Both of my grandparents, both parents, several aunts, uncles, cousins, and I also went there.

If you look around my house, you’ll see that I decorate with lots of old books. To most people, that’s all they are… just old books. To me, they’re part of my history and it’s amazing to hold a little piece of history in my hands.

Happy decorating!

Starting A Blog – Where to Begin

October 30, 2015 By Becca Leave a Comment

Over the past few weeks I’ve been feeling consumed with clutter. The contents of my pantry are still covering my dining room floor and table, I have piles of toys ready to go to my sister’s toy drive, and I still haven’t finished clearing the clutter from the makeover we did on my daughter’s room. Well, to make things worse, I decided to start going through some old magazines that I have been ~~hoarding~~ saving for those days when I want to revisit beautiful photos. I have a pile of Artful Blogging magazine that I decided I needed to take to a friend who is considering starting a blog.

Running across these magazines reminded me of the great inspiration they provide, especially when you are first beginning a blog. Many of the articles, written by bloggers, describe the process of blogging, photography, writing, and managing it all.

It’s always the photos that draw me in. I absolutely strive to become a photographer like these ladies, but I know that I am no where near close. I’ve saved these because I really enjoy looking back at the photography, but in reality it just doesn’t happen. I spend a week reading the articles and drooling over pictures and then set it aside.

Blogging for Bliss by Tara Frey was the book I bought when I was first considering a blog. It’s a few years old now, but still has a lot of good information and plenty of blog suggestions to check out.

If I were going to buy a book today, I would probably buy Building a Framework: The Ultimate Blogging Handbook. I haven’t read the book, but I think it would be worth looking into if I were starting from scratch. I think these are all good resources, friends! How about it? Any of you considering starting a blog?

Happy blogging!

Farm Girl Vintage Baking Day and Canning Season

October 30, 2015 By Becca Leave a Comment

My Farm Girl Vintage quilt project is just in the beginning days, but I have two blocks finished! I started with my two favorites.

The Baking Day block was the one that caught my eye on Instagram and I just couldn’t resist! Throw in a vintage rolling pin and sifter, and it makes a pretty cute photo too (except for the lack of daylight, making an exceptionally dark photo).

The Canning Season block was just too cute to pass up.

The blocks were very simple to make. I wouldn’t call it a beginning quilt, but it’s a good project for an intermediate quilter.

There are so many blocks to choose from. I can’t decide which one to do next! I think it will either be the chicken or the barn block.

I may need a few more vintage fabrics in the the red color family, but these were a pretty good start.

I’m in love with this quilt and can’t wait until I get a few free minutes to sew. How could you NOT get sucked in? The combination of vintage fabrics and country farm girl vintage quilt blocks is just too much to resist!

Happy sewing!

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