Mother & Home: January 2011

1.15.2011

Dishtowel Gifts

Flour Sack from the Dollar Store or another type of cotton material.

A piece of material that is 21 inches in width by 6 inches in height.

A coordinating piece of material that is 4 inches in width by 40 inches in length.

A coordinating ribbon that is 21 inches wide.

Scraps of those 2 materials.

Ric rac or another thin type of ribbon that is 30 inches in length.

1. Take a Dollar Store Flour Sack -- 2/$1. Cut the Four Sack so that it's the same size as a dishtowel by trimming one of the sides to 20 inches in width.

2. Hem the side of the towel by turning it under two times and sewing it. If you have a serger then it's even easier!

3. Measure the width of the bottom of your towel. Fold the edges of the larger piece of material and pin. Then iron the edges under.

4. Make ruffle. Hem the edges of the sides of the longer piece of fabric. Then use your widest stitch setting and make a stitch down the center of the ruffle. Gather the ruffle by pulling on one of the threads.

5. Now lay the large piece of material with the ironed edges on the bottom of the towel with the ruffle on top so that it is just as wide as the material underneath. Then lay the coordinating ribbon over the top. Pin it all in place.

6. Sew along the edges of the large material -- I used a zig zag stitch. Then sew right down the middle of the ribbon.

7. Now you can add bunting if you want. Use a pencil to draw a the lines of the bunting. Then pin and stitch the ric rac or small ribbon on the towel.

8. Make a template -- 1.5" x 1.5" out of cardstock and cut out some triangles out of the coordinating fabric. I put 4-5 pennants on each towel. Add a dab of liquid stitch under each pennant (optional) and pin in place, then stitch each pennant on the towels.

Seen on Ucreate.

Closet Update

Great before and after. They changed the hardware to an oil-rubbed bronze as well as the handle pulls. Here is how they attached the mirrors to each door. From the Lettered Cottage.

Dark Chocolate Cookie

Yummy! Seen on Annie's Eats

Giant Double Chocolate Cookies

Yield: 12 very large cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
1¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup dark cocoa powder
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. coarse salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Blend in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix in the cocoa powder until well blended. Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the bowl and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula. Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead briefly by hand to be sure the ingredients are well combined.

Divide the dough into 4 ounce portions (or divide into 12 equal pieces). Roll each portion of dough into a ball and flatten just slightly into a disc. Place on the prepared baking sheets, a few inches apart. Bake 16-20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy.

1.14.2011

Fabric Pom Poms

Supplies: Fabric, scissors, hot glue gun, and chinese lanterns.
Step 1: Cut circles out of fabric.
Step 2: Fold the circle in half and put a little hot glue on the center, then fold over to secure.
Step 3: Apply more hot glue to the bottom of the folded circle.
Step 4: Press the bottom of the folded circle with the hot glue onto the chinese lantern.
Step 5: Repeat these steps until the whole lantern is covered. Once finished, attached some fabric to the metal frame of the lantern to hang.

Found on Once Wed