Sisters on Blackwell: 2013

Christmas Tree 2013

Fall is my favorite time of year because of the falling and changing leaves and cool air, but Christmas is by far my holiday. I start decorating the weekend after Halloween and then don't take anything down until January. I never get tired of Christmas movies or Christmas music. I am that person who randomly watches Polar Express(my favorite xmas movie) in July. So the first thing that went up this year was the Christmas Tree. Last year was the first year I had my own tree and I went with light blue and silver, but I didn't love it. This year I decided on red and silver and I do LOVE it! I also did my ribbon a little differently this year. It is like a checkered pattern and pretty easy to do. You just use floral wire ribbon that you can attach to the top of the tree and have the over lap at certain places and secure them with an ornament. Then within every diamond I put a bulb and ornament that went with the color scheme and then finished it up with some smaller bulbs in more empty areas. It is absolutely gorgeous! Now I just have to get gifts under it.

Fall

Just in time to switch to Halloween, I finished up my fall decor and now I'm switching to Christmas. The sign behind my mums is actually one of those yard signs you are suppose to put in the ground, but the ground was hard and I liked it better where I put it. The centerpiece was super simple. I just got some fall flowers and a vase and put it together. The carriage I got at Hobby Lobby and LOVE it. I went simple this year outside of my big wreath. I'm concentrating on Christmas as it is my favorite!

Mini-envelopes

I made a whole batch of these for a project I should finish up somewhere around the beginning of December. They are super cute and easy to make. Useful for gift cards, but you will see what I am using them for in the next few weeks.

What You Need

Scissors

Glue

Card Stock

1. Cut your card stock so that it is as tall as you would like +1 inch

2. Then it should be cut so that it is twice as wide as you want your envelop to be + 1/2 inch

3. Fold up bottom 1/2 an inch

4. Fold the sides so that they overlap by 1/2 an inch in the middle

5. Fold the top down 1/2 inch

6. Cut out small side rectangles as shown on both sides

7. Round your corners

8. Fold 1 side down and put on glue then fold other side down

9. Then fold bottom over those and glue down

10. Use for various projects!

What's Next? Other Blogs and such

Today was one of my few days off from school for the next couple of months. Life is incredibly busy. However, I put up some fall decorations today and plan to put together a fall arrangement once I find a vase I like. When I am all done I will post pictures of the finished product. I bought fabric for the second taggie I am going to make and once that is all done I will post a tutorial(hopefully next weeks post!) I've been doing some art and trying to start planning for Christmas. In the meantime as I try to get my craft room back up and running while keeping up with school, I have also started a second blog which goes through my daily life as a med student which you can check out here!
My sister(who does guest posts) also has started her own blog about her family life which you can find here!
Keep checking back for new projects. Ideally I am going to post on Thursdays!
Happy Fall!

To Soon for Fall?

Where did summer go to? I am pretty sure it never arrived. Or maybe I just spent most of it hibernating at my study table. Yeah that was probably it. So I figure if pumpkin has hit Starbucks it must officially be fall, right? So the first project of the fall is a new wreath for the front door. I LOVE!!!! how it turned out. It cost me about the same amount to make my own unique wreath as it costs to buy one. It is super easy to make and easily changed to fit everyone's style and preferences.

What You Need

Grape Vine Wreath

Fake Flowers/leaves/pumpkins...etc

Clips

Quick Grip Super Glue

Wooden Letter

Paint

String

1. Start by clipping off the flowers or leaves you want to use on your wreath and attaching them to the clips with the super glue. Make sure it is super strong glue or the first sign of wear and the flower will fall off!

2. Clip the flowers around your wreath

3. Add leaves and other such decorations around your flowers. I added leaves for the outside and made a circle of leaves for the inside

4. Paint your letter(My last name initial is H but I liked the K better in the style of letters they had so I went with K)(Give it a good 3 coats)

5. Cut a 18 inches of ribbon and glue onto back of letter

6. Attach ribbon to top of wreath or to wreath holder

7. Hang and prepare for compliments! :D

Happy Fall!

Art or Something Like It

My most vivid memory of my art ability is from when I was in elementary school. Anyone who didn't like art in school can relate to the dread you get when you are asked to draw something for an assignment. I was probably 7 or 8 and I don't really remember what the assignment was, but I remember I drew a buffalo. The teacher walked by and said, "oh, what a nice squirrel." Yup, I was scarred for life. I decided at that moment that I sucked at art and would never, ever be an artist of any kind. Like NEVER. I pretty much have stuck with that throughout life. It is actually that memory that made me decide I wasn't an artist, a crafty person, and I lacked all imagination. Talk about a life changing moment. I may have taken it to heart a little too much(can you really be that overly dramatic at 7? apparently you can). But I started giving up on at least part of that resolution a couple of years ago when I started crafting. My sister did a lot of sewing and made her own centerpieces for her wedding which were fabric birds stuffed with rice. We had a fight at some point during the wedding planning and as a way of calling it a truce and mending bridges I offered to help her with the birds. I had never done any kind of sewing before that(remember, I was sure I sucked at those kinds of things plus I tried to stay as far away from all kinds of needles as possible). I think I finished 1 bird the 3 hours we worked on them and my sister did the other 7ish. I didn't immediately get into crafting, but some time after that I decided to learn to quilt. It was the beginning of everything. Crafting has been something my sister and I have shared ever since. It has become one of my passions. However, I did not give up the notion that I was not an artist of any kind. My baby sister is the artistic being and I was going to leave it to her. But, then this week hit and I needed a new type of stress reliever. I took my medical board exams in July and I was awaiting the results that only come out on Wednesdays. So Tuesday nights have been brutal for the last 4 weeks. This Tuesday I decided to try my hand at drawing just for fun and I might have a new obsession. Let's just say that it is an excellent stress reliever, but I stand by the I will never be a da Vinci. However, I think for someone who has avoided art of all kinds for 15 years, I am doing alright. I also did some painting which I have decided I also really enjoy. Mediocre or not I am definitely enjoying it and I figure what the heck I'll share it will all of you! I hope to post a tutorial for taggies early next week. I am very excited to get back into blogging and I may even start a second blog to share my adventures as a medical student. Until then...

DIY Jewelry Board(Guest Post)

So at almost 9 months very pregnant I was getting very bored and quite anxious to meet our little lady. I decided one random Saturday that I needed a project. I decided to make a jewelry display! I went to the local hardware store and I needed a board about yay by yay size (picture a 5 foot very pregnant woman telling a pimply teen to cut my bored about so big, shown with hands spaced a ways apart, yikes!). In reality it's about 2 feet wide by 15.5" tall.

I painted the entire bored in a minty green/blue. I started in the corner and attached diagonal strips of tape all the across the bored, to ensure even spacing. Then I removed every other piece and painted the open spaces with silver glitter paint.

I picked out 14 drawer knobs, 6 drawer pulls, and a package of lace. My husband attached each piece to the board in the layout I designed. I also added a strip of wide lace that I just taped to the back to hook earrings into.

I LOVE the piece. It looks beautiful in my room and is very functional. If I were to do it again, I'd make a few changes:

1. This project costed me about $100. Yikes! Next time I'd hit up an antique shop or catch the drawer pulls half off at Hobby Lobby.

2. I'd fasten my lace better. Heavy earrings really pull it down. Maybe using hot glue on the back and every so often on the front would help.

Note: I'd like to give a big THANKS to my sister Jamie Roberts for writing this post and helping me to get back into my blog after the crazy busy few months of preparing for my board exams!

Oh! Sunlight

For the last several months I have been preparing for my board exam which I finally took about a week ago. I was hopeful to keep my blog up and running while I was studying, but preparing for boards basically takes you completely away from the world. My last couple of weeks I didn't leave the house and was constantly studying or sleeping. When I finally left the house to take my exam gas prices had jumped $0.40 and the temperature had jumped 20 degrees. I guess you could say that I have been a bit isolated. I've been taking a few days off to recuperate and enjoy my family and friends, but now I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. I'm working on putting together a list of projects(I know my sister and I are going to tackle a repurpose project very soon!) and trying to get things I finished months ago ready to be posted online. I'm super excited to get back in my craft room and begin living again. Look for new posts in the next couple of weeks!

Panel Quilt Tutorial

Though I really enjoy to make complex quilts for the adults in my life, sometimes I come across a single piece of fabric or a panel for an infants quilt and I just must make it. Panel quilts are much easier to make and take up a lot less time, but end up being just a cute and still a homemade gift and who can beat that? My niece got so many quilts before she was ever born, so I decided I would wait to make her one until she was older like maybe for her fifth birthday. BUT...my sister decided to redo my niece's room in owls(it looks amazing by the way) and I found this owl panel and I just had to get it. I love the way it turned out. I used the sewing machine to do the quilting around the objects and it went much better than expected!

What You Need

1 Panel

Batting

Flannel that is as big as your panel

1/3-1/2 of a yard of binding cotton fabric

Sewing Machine

Iron

Preparing your Panel

1. Start by measuring out the size of you panel and cutting out batting and flannel that is the same size.(Note: if you are not using spray basting it is a good idea to have extra flannel and batting on each side for sew basting because it will pull in.)

2. Line up your 3 layers and begin basting them together section by section. Be sure to keep creases out of each layer

3. At this point you should have a quilt sandwich that looks kind of like this:

4. Now comes the stitching. Some people have very nice sewing machines that will do very pretty patterns into the quilt, however I'm a poor medical student so I have a very basic machine and did the pattern myself. You can either use a fabric pen and mark the pattern you want to use or you can trace some of your shapes(I did the animals).

5. You can either use your sewing machine to stitch in your design or you can sew it by hand. I chose to use thread that blended into the background because I wanted the design of the fabric to be the main feature, however if you want your stitching to stand out you should use contrasting thread.

Binding your quilt
1. I used bias tape. There are several different ways you can do binding and because I was in a huge hurry(I put on the binding right before her birthday party), I did my the quick way
2.When you unfold it you will see that inside it is folded inward again(don't unfold these). Starting in the middle of a side pin the binding onto your quilt

3. To make corners fold so that there are two triangles that come together to make a square corner on both in front and back and pin

4. Sew on your binding

Bowl Etching

My absolutely gorgeous and wonderful mother got another year older in Febuary. Ugh I know I am so behind on posts, aren't I??? Silly me, I need to get it together. Anyway, we got together and had dinner and did some gifts a couple of times. Part two was slightly better than part one. We got our wires crossed you see. My family and I live in different cities and I don't get to go home as often as I would like, so when I went home the day after my mom's birthday I thought we were waiting to celebrate until my other two sisters could be there, but plans had changed and I showed up unprepared. So we just did it again the next time I came home and my mom got 2 birthday dinners. Last year, my parent's kitchen got a complete makeover, except of course the kitchen ware. Somehow people also forget that part. So I thought I would use my new glass etching skills and some permeant outdoor vinyl to put together some new personalized kitchenware and everything turned out really well. You can find the glass etching tutorial here and the vinyl I got from vinyloutlet online and it is outdoor vinyl that I cut with my cricut. The bowls and the casserole pans are pyrex.

Life Happens

I had made this goal to have a blog post once a week and I realize now it has been over a week and the one before that wasn't exactly a week after the one before it. Let's just say life has happened. I am juggling school, work, studying for my exams, family, crafts, and volunteering while trying to get some decent sleep, oh yes and I decided it was the perfect time to get healthy. I am learning how to use to word no and constantly feel guilty for saying it, but it is an important thing we all must learn at some point. I have made the decision to have a few months of selfishness. Or at least as selfish as I can possibly be as I still love to make people happy. Mostly, what that means is I am trying to learn to say no, live for me, and not pursue any relationship avenues so I can keep up with my busy lifestyle. I enjoy the feeling of freedom like I never thought I would. My sister always told me that I should be happy being alone before I decided to be with someone else. I guess you can say I am finally at that point where I enjoy being with just me and doing my own thing. One day in the future I will return to the dating scene, but today isn't that day. But I digress. Even though I haven't shared everything with you all, I have been working on several great project much of which are finished. I put together a few things for my mom's birthday at the beginning of Feb and then for a baby shower at the end of Feb. I'm also working on a small little thing for my nieces birthday this week and finished some things in the office. I have tons of projects I want to work on and just not as much time as I would like. However, I will be sharing with you all the projects I have been working on in the next several weeks and then look for a full week of posts from my sister as she has officially finished my niece's room and let's just say it looks AMAZING! She made tons of things from a clock, to a quilt, to new wall arrangements. I can't wait to unveil the whole ordeal for you all in a couple of weeks! As spring approaches and life begins to happen, I am sure you all will be busy as well trying to keep up and planning things for birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, weddings, etc. May spring be a happy, productive time for us all!

Tiramisu Cheesecake: The finale

So my family loves tiramisu. Though I pretend to a fan, really I am not. So when my sister mentioned making a tiramisu cheesecake for dessert I thought it was a great idea for my grandparents. Good thing it wasn't a dinner for me. However, as we were finishing up and played cards after the dinner it looked tempting so I decided to try a bite, or a piece I should say. It was WONDERFUL. Turned out really well and was a huge hit with the grandparents. When my brother went to grab a piece there was a comment from my grandpa about if another piece of cheesecake disappeared the cheesecake would disappear to the safety of his locked truck. Let's just say it turned out great and was a wonderful ending to a perfect evening. Our guests gave us great reviews and I just received my thank you card in the mail from the two of them. I can't wait to repeat the experience! We of course are cooking up the next great idea for my grandpa's birthday and then perhaps another dinner in May for their anniversary.

My sister got the recipe from a magazine a couple years ago and can't remember where you came from but here it is.

What You Need

7 ounce package crisp Italian-style ladyfingers, coarsely chopped

6 tbsp butter melted

1tbsp instant espresso powder

1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temp

1 c sugar

1 c marscapone cheese

1tsp pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cps mini semisweet chocolate chips

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees . Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with foil and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Using a food processor, grind the ladyfingers into fine crumbs. Add the butter and espresso and pulse until incorporated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press to form a crust halfway up the side of the pan. Bake until set, 8 to 10 minutes; let cool. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees .
Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar at high speed until smooth. Beat in the mascarpone, vanilla and salt. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
Set the springform pan in a roasting pan. Pour the mascarpone-chocolate chip mixture into the baked crust, then place the roasting pan in the oven. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the top is golden and the center is set but still jiggly, about 1 hour. Let cool in the water bath for 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for 6 hours or up to 2 days. Remove the cheesecake from the springform pan. In a small, heatproof bowl, melt the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips in the microwave at low power, stirring until smooth. Transfer the chocolate to a resealable plastic bag. Snip a hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over the cake.

I'd also like to give a special THANKS to our local coffee shop Hazels for giving us some of their ground espresso . We have been going there for years and they have amazing drinks and the people are wonderful!

Simba Rag Rug

Sometimes I come up with an idea and just sit down and go with it and hope it turns out. This is one of those times. There were times when I loved it and times when I hated it. Done it looks awesome, but it was hard to tell half way through if I would like it. It is super easy to do, just takes some time(ok a lot of time) and you can really do it with any material or any design. I did mine as Simba as a baby shower gift for a couple doing their nursery in Lion King and I added his name to the side. You could just skip the design and use fabric scraps or you could do polka dots. These make soft rugs for your own room, kids room, or awesome gifts! The nice thing is they are personalizable and much cheaper to make than to buy not to mention fuller.