Domestic Diversions

Faux Chenille Baby Blanket--Guest Blog on Reverie

2011-03-02T08:12:00.000-06:00

I was so excited to write this guest blog for my dear friend and former roommate, Sarah! What's even more exciting is that the arrival of her daughter, Iris Ann Noel, make this post even more appropriate and special! Welcome to the world, Iris!

For those of you who are loyal followers of Reverie, you already have an idea what a phenomenal person the author is. As one of her college roommates, I can wholeheartedly tell you that the person who comes through in this blog is the woman she is in real life. For that reason, it makes the opportunity to write this guest blog for her even more of an honor.

In anticipation of Meep’s arrival, it seemed appropriate to show you how to make a super-easy, ultra-plush, ridiculously-cute faux chenille baby blanket. If you having a sewing machine and can sew a semi-straight line, you can do this project! (Photos for this project are actually from two different blankets, but together they make a full tutorial.)

Faux Chenille Baby Blanket

Materials needed:

· 4 to 5 different fabrics (1 for backing, 3 or 4 for chenille fabrics)—You’ll need 1 ¼ yards of each fabric

· 1 ¼ yards printed cotton fabric—This will be the backing fabric. You can use any sort of cotton, flannel, corduroy, or other soft fabric. Cotton-weight or heavier works best. Avoid fabrics with stretch.

· 1 ¼ yards each of three or four coordinating flannels—These will create the chenille. Use woven fabrics that fray easily at the edges; the fraying is what creates the faux chenille look. I recommend using fabrics that are 100% cotton, linen (or linen/cotton blend), or flannel (which is typically 100% cotton). I’ve only used nursery flannel for my blankets.

· Large amount of thread that blends well with chosen fabrics

· 180 inches of quilting binding

· Thread that coordinates with binding (if different from that used to sew blanket)

Select coordinating fabrics, and iron them before you begin.

Stack your fabrics with the backing fabric wrong side up and the flannels on top; right sides facing up.

It’s important to keep the fabrics together while sewing (although some shifting will happen). I use basting safety pins and move them periodically as I sew. I’ve heard that some people use spray adhesive and basting pins. If you do use spray adhesive, be sure to do so outside.

Now that your fabrics are all laid out, mark out a diagonal that divides your square in half. I use a washable fabric marker for this.

Once you’re line is drawn you’re ready to sew! You’ll sew channels, approximately ½ inch wide, parallel to the first quilting line. Try to keep your lines as straight as possible, but if they get a little squiggly, it’s ok! This part takes a while, so be prepared with some good music or a great movie.

After your channels are sewn, the cutting begins! The three layers of flannel are cut down the middle of the channel. This is how the chenille look is achieved. The first time I did this I used regular scissors, and it was painful! I definitely recommend getting some spring-handled scissors if you think you’ll make more than one of these. Be careful as you cut that you DO NOT CUT THE BACKING FABRIC!

Hang in there…we’re almost done!!

Now that your channels are cut, you need to square out the blanket and cut off the excess. Due to shifting from when you sewed, you may lose up to three inches. Don’t worry too much about that.

I use a yard stick, rotary cutter, and self-healing mat. I fold mine in quarters to see if it’s truly square.

The final sewing step is to sew on the binding tape. Fortunately, sew4home.com does a phenomenal job of explaining this.

And now for my favorite part! Wash and dry your blanket! Be sure to check your lint trap often while drying; it fills up fast. The blanket will only get softer and more frayed with more washings.

Something FREE as an apology for my absence!

2011-02-19T21:50:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's been awhile. I'm sorry. I'm REALLY sorry! Really, I am. I've missed you. I've missed my domestic diversions. Recently my husband told me that I need to focus on one thing instead of 16. I think he's somewhat right. So, I've decided to try to have 3 posts a week to Domesitic Diversions. Maybe this summer it will be more, but for now 3 is good. I can do 3, so that's my plan.

Today, here's an attempt to redeem myself. I'm giving you a printable! :) Get excited!!

Several months ago, I jumped on the "Keep Calm & Carry On" bandwagon. I freakin' LOVE Craftily-Ever-After and her Keep Calm prints for each month/season. I used her Christmas prints at my house this year and stole her idea to hang these three prints and switch them out as the year went on. Since Jessica's taken a reprieve from her blog recently, I thought I'd do my own versions for St. Patrick's Day (my third favorite holiday after Christmas and the 4th of July). Here's the first of the three. I hope you enjoy!

Almost-homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2011-01-17T15:07:00.000-06:00

On our days off, I try to make Michael a special breakfast. For a man whose usual morning routine includes no food, but rather a can of Pepsi, I feel slightly better knowing that he eats something on these days.

Cinnamon rolls are some of our favorites, but this morning I had no instant cinnamon rolls (after this recipe, I never will again) nor was I in the mood to wait for dough to rise. What I DID have was can of biscuits in the fridge and a hankering for cinnamon rolls. Enter my first original recipe on this blog--GET EXCITED!!

Almost-homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated biscuits
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Icing
1 c. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp. half and half, milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
1. Open biscuits and allow to come to room temperature--this is when they rise. If you don't have time, zap them for 15 seconds or so in the microwave.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.

3. Melt butter and stir in sugar and cinnamon.

4. On a non-stick surface, roll out one biscuit and spread with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up and bend to fit in muffin tin (think fortune cookie-style).

5. Repeat with each remaining roll. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

6. While rolls are baking, prepare icing.

7. Remove rolls when golden brown.

8. Drizzle with icing and serve warm.

Modifications
-If you like, you could always sprinkle orange zest on the inside of the rolls if you like.

Tips for Next Time
-None at this time.

The Verdict
-AMAZING!! Seriously, I think these might literally be awesomeness in food form. Make them, try them, love them!

New life for a sad, old ottoman

2011-01-17T14:40:00.000-06:00

In one of my first posts earlier this month, I told you about recovering 80s pillows for our new-t0-us couch and loveseat. When we got rid of our old furniture, we decided to keep our ottoman. the dogs love it, and it is (now) the only piece of furniture they're allowed to be on. To say that this old ottoman has seen better days is an understatement.

While I wanted our furry children to continue to have this space, I could no longer look at the ugliness. So, what's a domestic girl like myself to do? Whip up* an ottoman slip cover, of course!

My mother-in-law cleaned out her fabric stores, and had the perfect piece to use for the bulk of the project. I started by measuring the ottoman on all sides. I still had some leftover fabric from the pillows, so I decided to add a panel for accents.

The measurements:
2 panels-long sides: 34"x16"
2 panels-long accent: 34"x8"
2 panels-short sides: 24"x16"
2 panels-short accent: 24"x8"
1 panel-top: 24"x34"

After cutting all the necessary pieces, I sewed the appropriate accent panel to the top of each side panel.

The next step was sewing the side panels together. I was incredibly careful to make sure that the panels lined up correctly so there would be a straight line all around the ottoman.

After I had the panels together, I pinned the top panel to the sides. It was a NIGHTMARE. I turned that baby inside out, slipped it on the ottoman and measured for the hem.

The final result:

While this project was ultimately successful, I'm sure I did not approach it in the best manner. If I ever do another box shape sewing project, I will go about it differently. How, I'm not entirely sure, but I will blog about it and let you know.

What's better is that now, I can take the slip cover off and wash it when necessary. This is a phenomenal benefit since my puppies LOVE it. Case and point.

*Let's be clear that there was very little whipping.

Pretty, Prissy Scones

2011-01-12T20:28:00.001-06:00

As you all know, my monthly dinner calendar has been slightly thrown off kilter with the death of Michael's Bushi. (Monday leftovers, Tuesday tomato soup/leftovers, Wednesday dinner with the family.) Until I get back on track, hopefully tomorrow, here's a sweet filler for you!

Back story: This past August, my dear friend Rachel was days away from marrying the love of her life, an Irish chap named James. As a bachelorette party gift, a few of us decided to continue the celebration with a spa day. After a morning filled with massages and facials at a local spa, the four of us headed to my house for a champagne brunch. In addition to mimosas and omelets, I served some scrumptious white chocolate-raspberry scones. Sadly, I did not print out that recipe. When Rachel asked me for it, I scoured the Internet for a comparable substitute. When I served mine, I used a royal icing with almond extract as a glaze.

A short time later, here are we girls celebrating the day:

Here's the recipe:

White Chocolate Raspberry Scones

Ingredients

1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. sugar
3/4 C. frozen unsweetened raspberries (do not thaw)
2/3 C. white baking chips
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 C. firm butter or margarine
1 lg. egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 C. heavy whipping cream
additional whipping cream
white course sugar crystals or granulated sugar

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In large bowl, mix flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder and salt. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in egg, vanilla,currants and just enough of the 4 to 6 tablespoons whipping cream so dough leaves side of bowl.

Place dough on lightly floured surface; gently roll in flour to coat. On ungreased cookie sheet, roll or pat dough into 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges with sharp knife that has been dipped in flour, but do not separate wedges. Brush with additional whipping cream; sprinkle with sugar crystals.

Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; carefully separate wedges. Serve warm.

A Month of Dinners-Day 7-Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

2011-01-09T18:43:00.001-06:00

My husband had never been into a Panera Bread before he started dating me. I quickly remedied this oversight soon into our relationship. Ever since their introduction, he regularly craves their broccoli and cheddar soup. Thus, when I found this recipe that claimed to be the same, I had to try it! Before we get to the good stuff (modifications, tips, and verdict), here's the recipe.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 medium chopped onion
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups half-and-half cream
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb fresh broccoli
1 cup carrot, julienned
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Sauté onion in butter. Set aside. Chop broccoli and carrots.

2. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the half & half.

3. Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.

5. Add salt and pepper. Can be puréed in a blender but I don't. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

Modifications

-I doubled this recipe. Before making this, I decided that even if the flavor wasn't an exact match to our favorite bakery's, it still had to be good enough to freeze and eat later.

-In order to have the consistency that I wanted, I put the broccoli and the carrots through the food processor using the shredding disk.

-I did not include the onion in my batch. The only reason, I didn't have one.

-Instead of 4 c. half and half (OH MY!) I used 2 c. half and half and 2 c. 2% milk

-I threw in a bit of extra cheese because, well...why not?!

Tips for next time

-One batch would have been completely sufficient. I did freeze the remainder for later use.

-Whatever you do--be sure to include the nutmeg! I tried it before I added the nutmeg, and after I added it, it was obvious that nutmeg is the secret ingredient!

-I will be sure to add the onion next time--just to see.

The verdict

-Pretty darn close to our favorite eatery's! This will definitely be one of my regular recipes!

A Month of Dinners-Days 4, 5, & 6

2011-01-09T16:00:00.000-06:00

Hello to all of you who faithfully read this blog--all 7-10 of you!

Days 4, 5, & 6 are a combo post for several reasons. I'll do a bit of explanation.

Day 4-Crock Pot Chicken Dumplings: I'm not posting this recipe because it was NOT GOOD. It seemed way to simple to me (3 ingredients-really?), but I thought I'd give it a whirl. One of my resolutions for 2011 is to simplify, after all. Anyway, the dinner was edible, but not worth keeping for leftovers. I may revise this recipe and come back to it at another time. If I do, you'll read about it. :)

Day 5-Homemade Pizza: I came home from work on Friday to the news that Michael's dear grandmother, Bushi, passed away that afternoon. Between visiting the nursing home one last time and watching our niece for part of the evening, pizza was not made--by me anyway. Michael ordered Pizza Hut; I had tomato soup and a grilled cheese. Which, by the way, was A-MAZING!

Day 6-Leftovers: Due to the craziness, we ordered Chinese food. It was okay. I think I would have liked leftovers better.

Day 7's post will be up later tonight. I'm pretty excited about this one...I think you will be too!

A Month of Dinners-Day 3-Breaded Pork Chops

2011-01-05T19:36:00.000-06:00

When I was assembling our menu for the month, I almost didn't put this recipe on the schedule. I've always been hesitant about pork. You see, my mom never really made pork when we were kids, and the first time I remember trying pork roast it was SUPER dry.

Nothing against "the other white meat," but it is intimidating. That's right. My name is Betty, and I'm intimidated by pork.

Facing my fear, I put pork chops on the menu, and not only that, but I scheduled it for the first week. Here's the recipe and pictures. As always, the modifications, tips for next time, and the verdict are at the end. :)

Breaded Pork Chops

Ingredients

4 boneless pork loin chops, 3/4-inch thick
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

In small bowl, combine flour, salt, paprika and pepper. In another small bowl, combine egg and Worcestershire sauce.

Coat chops with seasoned flour

Dip in egg mixture

Coat with breadcrumbs

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chops on one side until golden brown (about 4 minutes); turn and continue cooking for another 4 minutes. Serve hot.

Not only were these pork chops served hot, they were also served with mashed red potatoes (courtesy of Ore Ida Steam n' Mash--after all, I'm still a working girl!) and green beans.

Modifications

-I realized AFTER I started making dinner that I was out of paprika, so I used a tad of pork rub instead.

-You really ONLY need 2 Tbsp. of flour for this recipe and probably only 1/4-1/3 c. of bread crumbs. I was surprised at how little it took to coat all four of the chops!

-I don't even buy vegetable oil. I only use olive oil in cooking and canola when baking.

Changes for next time

-Use paprkia

-Don't keep the pan on high. I would definitely get the oil hot, but I would use medium-low heat instead of medium-high. One side of this batch of chops got a tad too crispy for my liking.

-I didn't use a non-stick/dark pan. I don't know how/if this would change cook time.

The verdict

-Betty-1 Pork-0--I rocked this recipe. It was quick, easy, and the PERFECT meal for two!

-Michael said, "I give this a 99! I'd be a 100 if I had gravy!"

--I'm not a gravy lover. If anyone has a good recipe for gravy, let me know!

To INFINITY and beyond--a scarf even YOU can make!

2011-01-05T09:17:00.002-06:00

Recently, I've been eyeing infinity scarfs. They're popping up all over the place, and they appear to be the perfect accessory!

While I am a fan of the scarf, I am NOT a fan of the price tag. Most of these scarves start at $20 and I've even seen price tags up to $60!!!

THIS crafty girl was not about to pay $20+ for a loop of fabric, thus I ransacked my closet and came across three possible candidates to transform into my coveted scarf!

I began with the grey shirt on the far left. While I wanted to have crazy confidence in my mad sewing skills, I was hesitant, and quite honestly, liked this fabric the least out of my three options.

After that project went well, I made a second scarf using the middle sweater. The tutorial pictures are from the second project.

In order to get as much useable material, I cut the sleeves off the shirt and then cut down all of the remaining seams, so I ended up with four pieces.

After I had the largest pieces of material possible, I had to determine the width of my scarf. To do this, I folded the body section in half. (I knew the sleeves would be larger than that width, so this was a safe size.)

My width ended up being 8 1/4 in. I cut the material to get as many strips of fabric as possible. I ended up with 7 pieces: 2 from the sleeves, 2 from the front body, and 3 from the back body (since this sweater was a V-neck, I cut the back into three pieces-two sides and a top-instead of two).

Now it was time to determine the order for the pieces. Since I'm CRAZY about patterns and I wanted the longest pieces on the end and the shortest in the middle, I pieced the fabric together in the following way:

Begin sewing pieces together starting in the middle.

Sew all pieces together, so you are left with a crazy long strip of fabric. Finishing the edges can be done one of two ways. The option you choose will be dependent of the fabric you are using.

For the first scarf I made, I did a quick seam down both sides. I wasn't sure how the fabric would fray, and I felt that the t-shirt like material needed to look "finished".

The scarf made out of the sweater (shown in tutorial pictures) was a bit different. I knew the fabric might fray a bit, but mostly it would curl in if left without a seam. Thus, for this scarf, I merely ran a zig-zag stich down each side. When that was finished I trimmed off the excess to make the entire scarf an even width.

Finally, it was time to sew the ends of the strip together. The result? A super cute scarf that was upcycled from a sweater (modeled by my sweet sister, Courtney--in return for keeping said scarf)!

Here's a shot of the first scarf too!

A Month of Dinners-Day 2-Spaghetti

2011-01-04T21:59:00.004-06:00

Hi all! I'm jumping online for a quick post about dinner tonight. According to my menu, we were to have pork chops, however, when we invited my sister and her boyfriend over for dinner, I decided it would probably not be the best time to cook pork chops for the first time...ever.

Instead, I switched Tuesday and Wednesday and made it spaghetti night. I'd like to say I made everything from scratch, and one day, gosh darn it, I will, but I did doctor my sauce so I'm blogging about that.

I started with sauce from a jar (I'm a big fan of Newman's Own products. In addition to being high quality, I love that the proceeds go to charity!) and added some fresh, chopped ingredients. This is one of the ways I sneak vegetables into my husband's diet. He would NEVER eat a pepper raw (or even cooked for that matter--when I make stuffed peppers, he eats the "stuffing" and leaves the pepper) or mushrooms, and he usually hates tomatoes. When they're hidden in his dinner though, he loves it! (Is this what being a mom is going to be like? I wonder...)

I also added some lean ground turkey that was cooked with Italian seasoning. The end result...a thick, meaty sauce that was perfect served over whole wheat pasta (another healthy substitute I make without the hubs noticing!).

In addition to spaghetti, I served a fresh garden salad and our favorite bread with garlic and herb dipping oils, seasoning and Parmesan cheese.

Overall, it was an easy evening, but a definite success. The food was great, but the company was even better!

Are there any "almost homemade" meals you love to make?

A Month of Dinners-Day 1-Chicken Florentine

2011-01-03T19:28:00.003-06:00

I decided to plan out our dinners a month in advance for 2011. Day 1 was Chicken Florentine. Here's the recipe and plenty of pictures, because seeing food is almost as good as tasting it! (Check out the bottom for the verdict.)

Chicken Florentine Casserole

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup butter
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 (13.5 ounce) cans spinach, drained
4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup bacon bits
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place the chicken breast halves on a baking sheet; bake 20 to 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat, and set aside.

2. Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, mix in the garlic, lemon juice, cream of mushroom soup, Italian seasoning, half-and-half, and Parmesan cheese.

4. Arrange the spinach over the bottom of a 9x9 inch baking dish. Cover the spinach with the mushrooms.

5. Pour half the mixture from the saucepan over the mushrooms.

6. Arrange chicken breasts in the dish, and cover with the remaining sauce mixture.

7. Sprinkle with bacon bits, and top with mozzarella cheese.

8. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) oven, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Modifications: (All recipes are presented in their original forms. Any changes I made are listed below.)
-For starters, I used (8) chicken tenderloins instead of (4) breasts because that's what I had in my freezer. I actually think I like this a bit more because it made spooning out smaller portions much easier.
-Instead of canned spinach, I used two boxes of frozen spinach.
-Because I am trying to cut calories, I used Olivio light buttery spread (a great substitute for margarine if you're trying to be healthier, but don't want to do butter!)
-Since I had leftover bacon from New Year's day breakfast, I used it instead of Bacon Bits.
-Although I am usually the one ADDING cheese, I actually cut the mozzarella down to 1 cup. Once I got half of the cheese on there, it looked pretty good.

Changes for next time:
-I'll try using 2% milk instead of half and half next time to trim some calories and fat.
-The bacon was ok, but not so wonderful that it was really needed. Maybe no bacon?
-Drain the spinach a bit more. Although this was called a casserole, it stayed pretty saucey/soupy. It's possible that there was too much water left in the spinach.

The verdict: De-freakin'-licious! I was slightly concerned how the husband would react to the spinach, but he loved it! He loved it so much that he requested seconds! This is truly unheard of! This gem of a dish will definitely be in our regular rotation.

Cooking in 2011

2011-01-03T18:55:00.001-06:00

I have quite a few resolutions for 2011, but the two that I'm most passionate about for our house are planning our dinners a month at a time and keeping to a cleaning schedule. There's definitely information out there about both of these topics; I'm sharing mine so that you can see another approach.

Michael and I have been re-assessing our finances and what we found was startling. We spend way too much money on eating out. In addition to the toll on our bank account, the habit was starting to wreck havoc on our waistlines too. I knew that there were two main reasons that I wasn't cooking our dinners routinely. 1) I didn't have an intended recipe for dinner and 2) I would grocery shop and buy stuff that might work for a meal, but because there was no real plan, I'd forget I had ingredients or worse yet, ingredients would go to waste because I didn't have a good recipe for the ingredients I did have. I spent part of my Christmas vacation formulating a plan.

Due to the fact that both Michael and I work, I only needed one month of dinners (if you're a SAHM, you will probably want to schedule your meals for breakfast and lunch too). One of the approaches that I love was assigning a "theme" to each day in order to keep meals from getting boring. Then I scoured the Internet and my cookbooks to come up with some new dishes. Here's what my schedule looks like for the first week of January:

M	T	W	R	F	S	S
Casserole	Chicken, Beef, Fish, or Pork	Ethnic	Crock-Pot	Pizza/ Main Salad	Leftovers	Soup
01.03	01.04	01.05	01.06	01.07	01.08	01.09
Chicken Florentine	Breaded Pork Chops	Spaghetti	Chicken & dumplings	Pizza	Leftovers	Broccoli Cheddar Soup
01.10	01.11	01.12	01.13	01.14	01.15	01.16
Pizza Casserole	Peppered Beef Tenderloin	Lobster ravioli	Chili	Chicken Caesar Salad	Leftovers	Potato Soup
01.17	01.18	01.19	01.20	01.21	01.22	01.23
Turkey Tetrazzine	Chicken Divan	Tacos	Italian beef	Pizza	Leftovers	Tomato-Vegetable Bisque
01.24	01.25	01.26	01.27	01.28	01.29	01.30
Crab Noodle Casserole	Chicken lasagna	Pacific Rim Stir-Fry	Turkey Sloppy Joes	BLT Salad	Leftovers	Taco Soup

Each Sunday (according to the cleaning schedule I'll post soon), I collect the recipes for the week, check what staples are already in the fridge/freezer/cabinets, and make the shopping list. I was especially excited this week when I left Aldi with a bill of just about $37. You read that correctly...$37! Now granted, I had chicken in my freezer, but most of the other ingredients had to be purchased. We'll see how this plan goes, but so far so good!

Do any of you have a meal plan for your household?

A great fabric find & six "new" pillows

2010-12-30T11:23:00.000-06:00

My husband and I recently inherited some new furniture from his grandmother. It was a huge blessing because neither of us wanted to fork out the $1500+ for new couches downstairs. (We learned the hard way that, at least in our house, furniture is for people only. Our two puppies, Bentley and Bruce are part of the family, but shed obscene amounts!) Some savvy online shopping on my part and $117 brought us some slipcovers that I actually like. The problem was the pillows, like the couches were a la 1980.

Recovering the pillows was completely necessary. I headed to Jo-Ann's to check out fabric, and quite honestly, I hit the jackpot! Certain clearance home decor fabrics were marked down to half off. Thus, I got six yards of sweet fabric for...$18! Score!

I will probably be returning to see if there's any other fabric I can't live without. In the mean time, here's how I recovered our pillows. Yes, this is an INCREDIBLY easy DIY, and yes, most of you could do this without my post, but I thought it would be a good one to start off this blog.

Super Easy Steps to Recover Pillows

1. Find some awesome fabric that will complement whatever fabric your pillows will sit on. I chose this:

2.Measure the pillow you want to cover. Be sure to get measurements for the length of all four sides. (Some pillows seem square but are actually rectangular.) Add 1/4-1/2 inch to your measurement for your seam. In my opinion, the better seamstress you are the less material you need. I'm still working on honing my sewing abilities, so I added 1/2 inch--1 inch total.

3. Mark your material and cut. Be sure to measure twice!

4. Pin three sides of your cut fabric with the right sides facing each other.

5. Sew the three pinned sides; cut off extra material--be sure you DON'T cut the seam!

6. Invert the cover--remember to push the corners out--and cover the pillow.

7. After the pillow is placed in the cover, fold in the fabric on the open side and pin.

8. Sew the last side shut. This step can be difficult depending on the side of the pillow. Go slowly and be careful to keep your fingers out of the way of the needle.

And now, for our final product...before and after.

The pillows find their home on the "new" love seat and sofa!

I also did these for our other room. They're more bohemian that I usually chose, but I think my tastes might be evolving.

Thanks for checking out my first post here at Domestic Diversions!

A blog is born...

2010-12-27T15:51:00.003-06:00

All I wanted for Christmas this year was a new camera. Fortunately, I'm married to a wonderful man who surprised me with just that! Many factors motivated my desire for this new camera, several include: a new nephew on the way, my insatiable urge to document everything with pictures, my desire to appease the long-lost chief photographer of my high school's newspaper deep within me, and the fact that my phone was taking better pictures than my current camera...seriously. All of these were reasons for wanting the wonderfulness of a new Nikon, but I've also been dying to start a blog.

Yes, I have a blog about my own life, and if you're one of my close family or friends, I know you read it faithfully, but I wanted a different kind of blog. I wanted a blog that others would want to follow...I'm hoping that Domestic Diversions is it.

Since I was young, I've loved all things domestic. As a child, my library trips not only brought home the latest Babysitter's Club, but they also yielded kids cookbooks. My parents' basement is a testament to my love of creating. It contains potholders, ornaments, vases, and cross-stich samplers. In college, my love for all things crafty continued. I was introduced to Mod Podge and crocheting. My obsession grew.

Today, I'm married with a home of my own, and my love for all things domestic has taken on new dimensions. My desire to create now expresses my love for those around me. Whether it's a soft blanket for my soon-to-be-here nephew, Finn; a batch of cookies for my brother, Randy; or a new bed for my beloved puppies, Bentley and Bruce; creating things that are homemade is my passion and my distraction.

This blog is a documentation of my projects, from recipes and crafts to decorations and parties, welcome to my Domestic Diversions.

Bett