Baby girl items

A friend asked me to put together some girly items for her niece, and I had a lot of fun working on them. I made three burp clothes, two bibs, and diaper clutch. Thankfully, my friend liked all of them, and I hope that they are enjoyed and well-loved (i.e., used a lot!).

My favorite way to cook veggies

I was cooking dinner a couple of nights ago, and thought I would share with you my favorite way to cook veggies right now. I intended to take a picture, but my camera was not within reach while I was cooking ;-)

Ingredients:
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 small onion
olive oil
seasoned salt (Lowry's or McCormick)

Chop the zuchhini, squash and onion into small, bite sized pieces ( I normally slice and then quarter the pieces--it helps them cook better). Toss the veggies into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with seasoned salt, and then dump the veggies onto a cookie sheet or baking pan. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes (or until the vegetables are cooked through), stirring at least once or twice during the process. The vegetables come out with a delicious roasted flavor that will just melt in your mouth.

I am not a huge fan of squash and zucchini, but when prepared this way, I LOVE them. I think that a great alternative would also be to put the vegetables into an aluminum foil 'pouch' and cook them on the grill. Hope you enjoy!

Fabric I have on hand

Below are pictures or swatches of fabric that I currently have on hand. Two of the pictures are of nursing covers I have made--NOTE: I have already sold these two, they are just pictures to show you the fabric :-)

So my project list goes something like this:
*nursing cover from several of these fabrics (pink print, green print, white/blue/brown print, brown/brights print)

*apron from the blue floral print

*And many many more!

Please check back to see what I have finished. If I think people are reading this, maybe I will be more inspired to finish my sewing projects! Blessings!

My latest creation

My apologies to everyone--I have not been sewing or crafting as much in the past few weeks, so I don't have anything to share. But I am creating something....



That is right, baby #3 is on the way! Little one is due around New Years, and we couldn't be more excited. I hope to return to crafting/sewing very soon, so be sure to check back.

Strawberry Pretzel Delight (aka my hubby's favorite summer treat)

Some food items just scream summer. Watermelon. Popsicles. Hot dogs. Strawberries....and therefore, strawberry pretzel delight. My husband loves this dessert that his mother used to make in the summers. Graciously, she shared her recipe with me, and we break it out when the weather gets warm. It is a big hit at parties, and so I thought you might enjoy the recipe as well!

Strawberry Pretzel Delight

Crust:
2 cups crushed pretzels
3 T sugar
3/4 cup melted butter

Mix ingredients together, and press into the bottom of a lightly greased 9 x 13 glass pan. Cook at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. regular Cool Whip-thawed
1 cup sugar

Combine ingredients in mixer and beat until well mixed and smooth. It is helpful to beat cream cheese and sugar together before adding in Cool Whip. Spread filling over cool crust all the way to edges, making sure to 'seal' the edges so the topping doesn't drip down to the crust (if topping 'runs' to the crust, the crust will turn soggy instead of crunchy). Refrigerate for 30 min-1 hour before adding topping.

Topping:
6 oz. box strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water
2 10 oz. packages frozen strawberries *

Combine jello and water and stir until jello is dissolved. Add frozen strawberries and pour over filling. Refrigerate overnight to set topping. Enjoy!

* If using fresh strawberries, use 2-3 cups of sliced strawberries. It is even better to slice and freeze fresh strawberries before adding them, as the frozen berries help cool the strawberry jello mix.

Baby set--Feeling Groovy

Playmat for Leslie (and baby Judah)

This playmat is similar to one I made last year for my good friend L.A. out of Wonderland fabric. Leslie contacted me about making one for her soon-to-be born little boy, and we had a lot of fun discussing color schemes and themes. As you can see, we went with lime green/aqua blue/orange/brown with boyish prints (animals/giraffes/guitars). It was a fun process to plan out, and I love the way it turned out. I had problems the first time I made this playmat, but this time I hand-tied the quilt and added a few buttons--and it turned out really cute. Enjoy!!