1st Time Ever Quilting a BABY Blanket!

To Quilt or not to Quilt ever again?

I decide to quilt for my beautiful new niece.
After reading tons of things and watching YouTube videos.  I gave it a shot.  
Quilting is not for the beginner sewer.  It is for someone with some skill!  If you can sew a straight line well, you can do it!!

I found out quickly that I needed to purchase some tools, after lines did not match and seams were ripped out.  I learned that the grids on my cutting mat, are not perfect.  I have one really old mat, and I cannot wait to invest in a new fancy Olfa cutting mat. 
http://www.olfa.com/products-mats/
I also found I needed a Quilters Ruler & Squares.  Olfa makes those to.
http://www.olfa.com/products-rulers/

It's all about the Tools Baby!

 If your square is square, it should match up right as you pin it.
Speaking of pinning, using the right pins is imperative. Quilters pins to be exact.  You can always find them in Notions at the Fabric store.
Luckily cutting was a breeze.  I used my Rotary Cutter. Just remember to buy extra blades, they go dull fast when you cut a lot of things at once.
I also learned that a good Iron and Mary Ellen's Best Press are also helpful.
http://maryellenproducts.com/

Before you sew, take scraps and test on those 1st.  Make sure the tension is correct.  Nothing worse than finding skipped stitches, and having the machine jam up on you  because of it.

TAKE YOUR TIME. 

Don't be in a hurry.  That is when massive mistakes will happen, that could ruin your project.
I cannot tell you how much frustration I had just in ripping out seams, due to using that minkie material.  Argghhh.  I should have read and watch more videos on it.  I will use other backings next time!  I only have so much patience. 
This is such an easy one to follow!  
 The pattern for the quilt is here at:
http://static.fatquartershop.com/media/wysiwyg/pdf/ReceivingBlanket-Pattern.pdf

The YouTube Video is here at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSQlz-J98sg

Caution!!!  My 6-8 hour quilt took 30 hours due to mistakes and doing what my body allowed.  Take your time!  Do not push yourself to hard.  Enjoy the creative process.  Start 2 months ahead of time!!

Is it perfect?  NO!  
Do I love trying new things?   YES!
Am I proud of myself for trying this?  Hecks Yah!
So the answer to my question up top is yes, I will quilt again.

Note*
When buying all those new tools and fabrics, I used COUPONS & SALES for them all.  Sewing and Quilting are expensive hobbies.  Please do not pay full price ever, for any of it.  

Thanks for stopping by,
Shelley

Check us out on www.2daintycrafters.com

Bonus Project
I used pre quilted fabric for this little beauty.

*Disclaimer  I was not compensated in any way.  These are just Tips!

Editor: Alyssa Johnson-Glassel  AKA 2 Dainty Crafters

1st Chalk Paint Furniture Make-Over

My 1st Furniture make-over in ages.

So I was talking to my friend Brandy, about finishing up a kids room with her.  So she had wanted to do a really cool thing to an outdated dresser.

So have you ever seen the Junk Gypsies on GAC?

It is worth 30 minutes of your day.

What a great looking crew I have working with me!

1st they sanded with orbital sanders.  That really cuts down time. (I Supervised)

We wiped everything down with dry rags.  It was so humid, no water necessary.

Then with an old rag we applied Denatured Alcohol and wiped everything down.

We then started applying Junk Gypsy Chalk & Clay Paint.    Available here: http://gypsyville.com/

This color is called Flower Child. 

After 2-3 coats and a lot of dry time.   

You must then seal Chalk paint with Wax or Junk Gypsy Clear Coat.

The beauty of the clear coat is that you only do it once.  Wax you have to reapply every 2 years and it also takes longer to dry because of humidity.

I had some really wonderful instructions given to me at

Riverbridge Resale & Consignment Conroe, TX.

http://www.riverbridgeresale.com/ 

I couldn't believe how great this paint and sealer worked.  It was so much fun doing this with my friends!

I love how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by!
Shelley

*Disclaimer  I was not compensated in any way.  These are just Tips!

Editor: Alyssa Johnson-Glassel  AKA 2 Dainty Crafters

How to Organize Paper Scraps & Die Cuts from Craft Projects

A question I often see on blog posts is, "How do I organize scraps & patterned paper?"
This is a simple tutorial on how to do just that.

The Clean-Up!

Collect all your scraps and have a place to sort them.
One that has no children or pets knocking into what you just sorted :)  Orange cone the area off if you must!
 Now you need some time and that will depend on the amount of scraps you have to go through.  Mine took quite some time but was well worth it.
You will also need a container to store them,  I have several different types of cubes to experiment with.
Lastly purchase Heavy Duty Clear plastic sheet protectors with various dividers, and one 3 ring binder.
The reason for heavy duty is in the next photo.  I bought cheap Dollar Store ones and they didn't last a year.

Start by sorting plain paper first.  Make a pile for each color then put that color in a clear plastic sleeve.  Organize your colors however you like and place them in the bin for easy access.
Next Organize patterned paper by the predominant color.
Sort and put away in clear plastic sleeve.
You can also sort vellum in a separate sleeve as well as glitter paper.










Ta Daaa!  Nice Neat and Organized!

The Bonus!!

Not only did I organize Scraps and Patterned Papers, I also organized punched out Die Cuts!

So in this one is used the Baseball sleeve sorters and Money holders.  I sorted by shape with this, not by color.

I hope this help with organizing your craft clutter.  Happy crafting!

*Disclaimer  I was not compensated in any way.  These are just Tips!

Craft on! Shelley

Editor: Alyssa Johnson-Glassel  AKA 2 Dainty Crafters

Shopping List

Jo Anns / Hobby Lobby

1-Yard of White Muslin with a tight weave

*Wal-mart

(1) 128 Oz Glass Jar or smaller

(1) Plastic or Silicone Spoon

(1) Plastic or Silicone Strainer with smaller holes

(1) Large Plastic Bowl  (make sure the strainer fits snugly inside it)

(1) 2 Gallon Plastic Pitcher

(1) Plastic Ladle

(1) Large Rubberband 
Kefir Grains   If you want to learn more on where to purchase grains, look here:   http://www.culturesforhealth.com/starter-cultures/kefir-cultures.html

 How will you store your Kefir once it's made?  Make sure you have something like a soft plastic style container. Use best judgement.

*I do not recommend glass jars with lids.  Kefir tends to expand because of it's gasses.  It could go Boom!  *

Using Your Reusable Kefir Grains

This is such an easy process.  Take your time and enjoy making your hand crafted Kefir.

Sanitize everything first.  You can use Vinegar and a drop of  Soap.

Strain your New grains over the sink.  You can rinse the grains with Spring Water or Raw Milk.  Never ever use Chlorinated water or that crummy Pasteurized/Homogenized milk!  IT WILL KILL THE GRAINS.

Place new grains in your glass jar.  Fill jar 3/4 of the way full with your raw milk.  Wipe rim and sides of jar clean (you can get an invasion of fruit flies if you don't).

Cut a piece of muslin to fit the jar.  It must cover around the whole top of the jar, and the top portion of the sides.  Place your rubber band snuggly around it.  Make sure that the cloth is pulled taught so that no critters can get in.

Set in a warm, dark, dry place.  Do not disturb for 24-48 hours.  The longer it sits the more whey appears.  Never go past 3 days!  You can choke out and kill the Kefir Grains.

Time to make your 1st batch!

Get all of your items ready

(1) Gallon of Raw Milk

(1) 128 Oz Glass Jar that has your newly made Kefir

(1) Clean pre-cut piece of Muslin (every 2nd  processing time use a new one and wash the old one)

(1) Plastic or Silicone Spoon

(1) Plastic or Silicone Strainer with smaller holes

(1) Large Plastic Bowl  (make sure the trainer fits snugly inside it)

(1) 2 Gallon Plastic Pitcher

(1) Plastic ladle

(2) Towels (it's a messy process)

(1) Rubber Band

(1) Extra bowl to dump whey if necessary

Set strainer in bowl.

Remove Muslin and Rubber Band carefully.  Set as far away from processing as possible.  This final process splatters and is quite messy.

Ladle out white foamy chunky top.  put into strainer

Ladle out whey if necessary.  A little is ok, a lot is not good.

Then gently pour into the strainer the remainder of your jar. 

You can gently stir the kefir and shake it over your bowl.

You should see popcorn looking chunks in your strainer and beautiful white Kefir in your bowl.

Now that you have separated the two.  Set your strainer full of Kefir Grains on a towel.

Pour the bowl of Kefir into your plastic pitcher or blender.

Using a stick blender or a real blender, put on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Pour into your Kefir storage jar &  immediately refrigerate.  It should keep up to 60 days.   Let the gasses out occasionally and check on it.  Sometimes it keeps growing and expands.

 

   

Back to the grains.

Rinse your grains with spring water or raw milk.  City water which contains chlorine will kill the grains.

Sanitize the jar every time!!  This will help you maintain healthy Kefir grains. 

Remember Sanitize with vinegar and Soap only!  Bleach will kill the grains.

Now begin again. 

Refill that jar as instructed on the 1st page.

See I knew you could do it!! 

*RESULTS ARE NOT GUARANTEED.  KEFIR GRAINS ARE NOTORIOUSLY SENSITIVE AND IF THEY ARE LOST OR PERISH YOU WILL NEED REPLACE THEM.

Need a visual:     http://www.culturesforhealth.com/how-to-videos

Instructions by Shelley Rogers AKA 2 Dainty Crafters

Experimenting with Tiered Herb Gardens

My 1st attempt at  Tiered Herb Gardens

Below are some pictures of what you will need:
1. Garden soil. I prefer Miracle Gro brand; make sure you get the soil that is meant for vegetables!

2. Variously sized pots. What I have here are pots I found in my garage, which I supplemented with some Menard's pots. Largest pot on bottom, smallest at top. :)

3. I then placed small pots upside down within the larger pots. You'll have to experiment with which ones fit into which containers.  I wish I would have pre-drilled holes for more drainage and actually attached all the pots by bolt, nut, and washer.  Oh well, this was my experimental batch. So, don't do what I did; pre-drill your drainage holes!

4. Fill your pots approximately 3/4 full with your soil. This ensures that you won't, hopefully, have "floaters". This photo shows my pot that has Chives on the first layer. Make sure you use one type of plant per layer, otherwise you may have a mess to sort out when it comes to harvest time! I chose only 2 tiers due to non attachment of pots.

*NOTE* Please check to make sure you plant compatible herbs together.

http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

This was a very useful site that helped me plant my herb garden successfully.

                                       Top photo Thyme & Mint.  Bottom photo Sage & Basil.

Please see another example here at:

 Found on bluenoselife.wordpress.com

This is the site that actually inspires me to give it a go.

Next year I will go 3 tiers for sure!  I think a bigger more shallow base is what I needed. Due to lack of funding my garden budget was cut in half.  So I spent $23.00 in pots, $12.00 for soil, and $40.00 for all the herbs for the whole year.  Remember to ask friends and family if they have any old pots they want to get rid of, and check the used stores for other gardening items. One of my favorite thrift type shops for pots is Arc, a non-profit organization. http://www.arcsvaluevillage.org/

Realize, I don't have all the instructions for everything here. Please check the two links I have within the blog for more complete, detailed instructions! Happy gardening!

The Dainty Muse, aka Shelley