Tales of a Crafty Mommy

I have been learning the following lessons throughout the past couple of months:  Remember to pre-wash all your fabrics - It seems tedious, but this is done in order to pre-shrink all your fabrics, this way everything will fit nicely after you're done sewing. OR leave space for larger seams if you decide to skip this step.  Press and iron your fabric to remove all wrinkles - You will more accurate measurements fo your fabrics.  In sewing, being accurate is key to your projects.  Measure everything 2 or 3 times.... - Once again, tedious...however, you'll be glad you did!  When working with a pattern, read the instructions and study them like if you were going to take a test on it! - It will save you time in the long run, when/if you read the pattern, instructions, or tutorial first. 

I've been really looking forward to Today's Seafood Wednesday's recipe for three reasons: It includes some of my favorite ingredients, It's a very special dish that my Grandmother used to make for me when I was a young girl,  It's a Chilean dish. (BTW - Chile celebrated 200 years of Independence this past Saturday, September 18) I seriously went to the grocery store and got all the ingredients in less than 20 minutes. Now that's a record for me :-) I walked into the store and headed straight to the produce section. I found the tomatoes and sorted through them until I found eight beautifully shaped tomatoes. I split them into two bags to make sure they wouldn't get squished along the way. notice how well the tomatoes made it home Ingredients: Fresh tomatoes (2 per person) Corn Canned Tuna in oil (2 cans to make sure we get a really amount of the fish) Cooked Rice ingredients Preparation: 1. Rinse off the tomatoes and remove the sticky labels. 2. Remove the st...

What words come to your mind when you think of making Stromboli? For me: difficult complicated takes too long That'd be why my Hubby made it. He's really good with recipes that take a  couple of hours and involve several steps.  My Mom recently found a cookbook called Frame by Frame which is an excellent resource to keep in your kitchen! Why so? It provides pictures for every single step of any recipe ---especially for a complicated one like Stromboli for me.  The pictures and instructions are straight to the point so you don't have to spend time double guessing yourself as to whether you are doing the right thing or not. (Ever done that?!?!) I do have to tell you that Stromboli takes a few hours to make, but with an iced-Coke around and some fun people hanging out with you as you make this dish, time will pass by very quickly....AND they'll be quite happy with this dish!    Ingredients: My Hubby made Stromboli filled with spinach, ham, cheese,...

Our Daughter's First Piggy Bank My Mom got our daughter her very first piggy-bank! How special is that?  I had several piggy banks during my childhood. Two of them were a standing piggy in pink and green. I also had a Nesquick can that my Mom, my Uncle, and I decorated together and made it into a piggy-bank. The latter was a really fun and special moment for me. I had that can for years!  My Uncle drew Minnie Mouse on it, my Mom painted it purple, and I decorated it with glitter. Every now and then we still talk about that project we did together....and it was ages ago! So now my daughter has her first piggy bank! She's still too little to decorate it or do anything with it, but she understands it's hers and that it's not a toy. It's to look at and and "feed" her. Here are the 'before' pictures: Front View Side View  Materials : Pre-made bows Ruffles Hot Glue Gun Scissors  pre-made bows you can find bows lik...

It may the pregnancy or just the fact that I have been feeling a little down, but I just needed some comfort food! That's when I got started looking in the cupboard and found a package of  Betty Crocker's Double Chocolate Chunk that I had bought on sale for $1 at Meijer about a month ago. I always like to get a few things like that to keep in my cupboard just in case 1) we have visitors, 2) need a quick dessert, 3) to take to someone else's house. I had the kind Double Chocolate Chunk, I poured in the mixing bowl. I looked at it (wish i had taken a picture of it!!!) and thought "hmmm, this needs more chocolate." So I added about a cup of Hershey's chocolate chips and followed the directions from the package. I had to add a bit extra water to count for the chocolate I added. This is what it looked before baking: before baking  after baking ready to eat! Another thing I have learned here in the States is to eat cookies with milk :-) Triple C...

Hi everyone! Hope your week is going well and that you had a restful Labor Day! Today, Wednesday, was my turn to cook at The Chambs':-) Rice and Shrimp and Broccoli  Although the name of this recipe may not be very original, I did find several versions on how to make a dish with these ingredients online. There were several that sounded really good such as Shimp Fried Rice II   and Cajun Shrimp and Rice  . So I took them as a starting point as to what I wanted to make. Ingredients : Cocktail size Shrimp (Leftover) Rice Garlic  Tumeric (yellow sesoning) Broccoli  Salt  Oil Butter Soy Sauce Preparation (I cooked everything separately for my toddler) (Defrost shrimp if necessary) Heat the rice and add the Tumeric Melt butter and add garlic  Then add the shrimp and soy sauce  Stir until shrimp is tender  Cook broccoli to taste   Time to Eat!  Rice with Shrimp and Broccoli - My Version  ...

In between working on my burp cloths and getting ready for our new baby, I have been making large hair bows for your little princesses and gifts from Heaven! It measures about 6 in. The headband fits up to 12 months  What do you think???

It always feel so good to say "I finished ___________" or "I completed ___________." I kept busy yesterday working with the Monkey Goal fabric and I made a burp cloth! This has been my very first project with my beloved sewing machine. Add caption I made a 100% cotton burp cloth so it should absorb very well.  Only three months left and I'll get to use it for my little boy. For now, my daughter used it with her Guagua - Baby. I need to make a couple more burp cloths :) On another note, I was thinking I should name my sewing machine. Ideas thus far: Babushka  -- meaning Grandma in Russian  Maddy - Maddly sewing!   Camille -- it's such a pretty name.  Any suggestions? 

These are the fabrics I have been working with: From Left to Right: Owls - Boppy Pillow Cover Brown and Green Dots - Nursing Cover Little Buddy - Burp Cloth Goal Monkey - Burp Cloth I am developing a schedule/calendar for my activities. I just want to work on my projects all day long, but I still have to take care of the house, my family, cook, and clean. So to have a schedule is a must. Right?