This One Goes Out To The Cottage Cheese Haters

I hate cottage cheese, too. That said, because its a healthy protein I have tried to eat it throughout my life and the closest I've come to liking it is eating it with pineapple. Putting it on a baked potato is a close second. I bought some for the baby and I figured I'd try again (lead by example, right?).

Tiny Taggy Teething Toy (that crinkles!)

Today my almost-9-month-old was furiously chewing on everything, so tonight I whipped up something to sink his tooth buds into. Plus, we were out of Cheerios (keep reading) et voilà... the tiny taggy teething toy. It's a great way to use scraps and a quick project. that you can customize a zillion ways.

Review: Pencil Case Tutorial by Terrabyte Farm

I wanted to whip up a little back-to-school goody for my daughter today... and I've got bags on the brain lately. I had several scraps to choose from and inadvertently picked something that coordinates perfectly with her new backpack - eery! I love the contrast of the dark lining and the green zipper...

I Made My Own Light Box!

This is NOT my homemade light box.
This is a real, professional light box for reference.
I snagged the image from Google images.

Mine is the saddest, ugliest little thing but, by golly, it works!! Not bad for $5. To be fair, the biggest expense are the lights which I'm borrowing (you need 3) but if you're lucky to have a couple desk lamps available or some clamp-on work lights in the garage, then you're all set. I spent $3 on a yard of inexpensive cotton fabric, and $2 on posterboard (I really only needed one though, but now I have a spare if mine gets dirty or creased). You also need shipping tape (or glue) and an Xacto knife (or boxcutter) and ruler. I used the box that our pool vacuum came in.

How To Make A Padded iPad Sleeve

I have admired many iPad covers on Etsy these days, so I made up my own no-frills iPad sleeve for my Dad's birthday. I found this cool beach cruiser Robert Kaufman fabric at  MakingStuffUP.etsy.com and thought a dark brown corduroy lining would be masculine and as well as soft and protective for the device (my second choice was flannel which, although soft, wouldn't make a very attractive trim). I came across a tutorial that used automotive headliner as a padding which I thought was clever, so I incorporated that as well (it can be found at JoAnn, or you could even use fleece).

In a nutshell, you will be making 2 pockets, the lining and the outside fabric with some  foam padding sandwiched between the layers. The lining will be longer and folded over the outside fabric to create a 1.5" trim at the top. Make sense?

How To Make a Minky Baby Blanket (First Time Sewing With Minky)

I've been wanting to make one of those cute minky blankets that are all over Etsy, and when I found this funky 1970's vibe jungle fabric, I had found my next project.

Grown-up Birthday Cake: Flourless chocolate cake with fresh bananas,caramel and ganache

Is it tacky that I wanted to make my own birthday cake this year? For several months I had been dreaming of this cake that was just too decadent to make for no reason, and I didn't think my family would go for it for their birthday. You see, my August birthday is the last in a string of birthdays that start in March. So after months of variations on chocolate and vanilla cakes with chocolate and vanilla buttercream, I'm over traditional birthday cake.