Sistas procrastinate in Style

30 Minute Pillow Cases

7/8 yard fabric of your choice("case")

1/3 yard coordinating fabric("cuff")

matching thread

chalk or disappearing ink pen to mark

ruler or guide

scissors

rotary blade(optional)

pinking shears

sewing machine

iron

standard pillow form

You can wash your fabric if you like, I didn't after teaching this class to several kids(8-10 year olds) and have tweaked the instructions. Turn fabric right sides together, matching selvage edges. Trim up cut edges with rotary blade or mark with ruler and cut with sharp scissors. Piece will measure approx. 22"x28". Pin and sew 2 sides 5/8" seam, the selvage edge and one cut edge so you have a wrong-side-out-large pocket. If the selvage edge designer markings/color swatches show when you turn it right side out, simply measure and sew again. The exact measurement of this side is not important. You will match up the "cuff" next.

Fold the "cuff" piece wrong sides out and iron. Trim up edges by cutting off about 1" on each side to make cuff approx. 10" wide. Match the cuff's folded edge to the case's folded edge. Mark with chalk or disappearing ink where the sewing line is and draw a line from cut edge to cut edge. This will be your sewing line. After you sew the cuff's selvage edge, press seam open and turn right side out. You will have a large circle. Fold wrong sides together now, lengthwise so cut edges of the cuff line up and all you see is the right sides, folded in half.

Case should be turned wrong side out. Place cuff inside case and line up cut edges of case and cuff together, lining up folded edge and sewn seams. Pin into place. Sew using a 5/8" seam until you meet your starting point. Leave needle down and lift presser foot, and change stitch to a zig zag stitch. Sew around the cuff again until you meet your starting point again. Trim off excess fabric all the way around. Using pinking shears trim up both sewn sides of case, snipping corners. Iron the cuff/case seam towards the darker material. Turn case inside out and using the tip of your marker push the corners out to get a nice sharp corner. Iron. Insert standard pillow form and VOILA! Admire your work!

~Jen

Tip of the Day ~Laundry Odor Eliminators!~

Stinky laundry? I can relate! From stale odors you cannot seem to get rid of, to, well, let's face it B.O.(body odor) Peeeeeyewwwwww!!!! I have teen boys, so I can really relate, and I have tried so many different items to help, and found a few that actually work for me. So, I am passing it on to you-for freshness sake!

Click here to-Read/Learn MORE!....

sneak peek

i am DYING to share this project with you guys - it's been a true LABOR of love (i.e. - it took longer than i thought it would). it will get used every day - by me and by the kids. YAY!! here's a sneak peek ... what think ye?

i'll be posting the finished product and tutorial on teri le's blog: www.brainyfarmwife.blogspot.com :)

from my fridge recipes. 5

Oh my heavens.... I seriously didn't even get to eat this before Heidi was asking about it. SO I thought I better get it on here before she comes a knockin.

fiesta chicken Salad.

1 Cup spinach shredded

1 sliced roma tomato

1 half of a red yellow and green pepper

1 half med onion chopped. ANY COLOR

1 teaspoon taco seasoning.

2 ounces chopped chicken

1 wedge of Laughing cow light queso and chipotle

K I have to warn you that the first time I made this I over sweat the veggies and I am not a HUGE fan of wilty peppers. I like things crunchy it makes me feel like I am really eating. that being said. I shredded the spinach (which BTW is my salad ) you can add lettuce if you want but it has hardly any nutrition except water. then add the tomato on top of that. In a frying pan I put in the pam and then sweat the onion, and peppers. add the taco seasoning then, since my chicken was all ready cooked (see part one) I just chopped it up and added it to the all ready cooking veggies. then I took the laughing cow and added it to the pan with the chicken and veggies. I am still working out how to get it to act like a sauce better. When I do you all will be the first to know. For now smash it in a bit then scoop the entire mixture over spinach and tomatoes.

I truly hope you all like these as much as I do. I know not everyone has the same taste in food.

from my fridge recipes. part 4

This one was actually kind of a dare. I had a friend make a similar version and I just KNEW I could make it better and healthier to boot. SO I did.

Egg Quesadilla

2 whole wheat tortillas

1/2 cup egg whites.

1 slice low fat cheese cut in half

1 cup spinach ( I warned you spinach is my friend)

1/2 cup tomatoes diced

and Tbsp Fat free cottage cheese for garnish.

scramble the eggs in a nonstick pan using pam. then tak one tortilla and place it on a griddle at medium heat ( about 300) add half the cheese then the spinach and then the egg then place tomatoes and rest of cheese. place the top tortilla on and have patience. I had to use 2 spatulas to flip the tortilla and cook on oposite side. Top with cottage cheese and enjoy. feeds 2 at least and my kids LOVE it.

from my fridge recipes. part 3

ok so technically this one is from my pantry.

Spicy beans...

1 can black beans

3 ounces ground turkey

1 can rotel tomatoes (the ones with the green chilis)

about 1/4 cup taco seasoning

1 cup spinach

fat free shredded cheese for garnish.

Drain the beans and half the tomatoes and mix together over medium heat. add the turkey and the taco seasoning cook till warmed though, pull it off the heat and add the spinach it will wilt quickly.

I portion this into 1/2 cup servings and freeze what I am not eating.

from my fridge recipes. part 2

K this one is really just too easy.

Roasted veggies and chicken.

ingredients

1/2 cup of roasted veggies with balsamic butter sauce.

3 ounces of chicken

See this one I just went Lazy with. I looked at the back of the package on the veggies and saw 1/2 cup was 60 calories WITH the sauce so I took it home. It actually comes with these little ice cubes of sauce in the veggies. you just follow package directions. I then add 3 ounces of cut up chicken and call it lunch.

from my fridge recipes. part 1

I am going to blame this on Heidi she has been giving me a big head. so now I am posting the recipes I can remember on here. Be Warned I tend to like things a bit spicy(burns great calories at lunch)

If you guys want pics on the WHOLE process you will have to let me know I don't usually do that.

Let me just start by saying My 3 best friends are chicken breast tenders, spinach and an electric griddle. Lets make that 4 and add the food scale. I take my HUGE electric griddle and FILL it with chicken tenders, the BIG bag from Costo. I Usually do a different season about every 3 days so that I

have variety. then I portion those out into 3 ounce sizes hence the scale. this way I don't have to think about how much chicken I am putting in my lunch I just grab and go.

So for the skinny pizza I used

1 whole wheat tortilla

2 tbsp Marinara

2 ounces of mozzarella cheese

1 CUP of spinach

1 ounce of chicken

1/4 cup mushrooms

First I baked the tortilla shell at 425 for about 3 minutes just to get it crisp. Then add the marinara and just less than half of the cheese. Add the spinach(you will have spillage) Mushrooms and chicken then the rest of the cheese. Place under a broiler just untill spinach wilts and cheese melts. i added this one up and the total is right around 311 for the WHOLE thing.

Upcycled plastic yarn tote bag, part 2

The alternate title for this post should be, "How to Crochet Round Stuff." I know there are tons of crochet tutorials online. I don't know if I'm bringing something new, other than my cute, chubby hands. I tried to take some good pictures that really show the process. And it is long. I hope you are patient. But here you go.

You will want to start by making a simple loop. Like a cancer or AIDS awareness ribbon. Except this one is made out of a plastic bag. I hold this with my left hand.

Now, I'm a rightie, I grab my crochet hook with my right hand. This is a 9-millimeter hook, so pretty big. The letter size of it is N. I believe I got it for about $2, something like that.

Use the hook to grab the long tail of your loop and pull it through the loop. (Now I keep wanting to call it a ribbon. No, it's a loop.) It should look about like this:

Then pull it tight, this way, so what you have is basically a slip knot:

Use the hook to grab the long end again, and pull it through the loop that's left on the hook. This is called a chain. If you were reading a crochet pattern, they abbreviate that as "ch" and tell you how many times to do it. But we are not using a pattern here. We're crocheting by heart!

Click here to-Read/Learn MORE!....

Upcycled plastic yarn bag

All right, tonight we are doing a little upcycling. If your shopping bag holder is overflowing or you haven't been making it in to take the bags back into the recycling bin at the store, or if you're feeling guilty about stuffing them all into the garbage, this is the project for you. It is easy and fun and best of all, absolutely free (well, you might have to spend a dollar or two on a crochet hook).

Click here to-Read/Learn MORE!....

gobble gobble!

becka and i decided to try our hands at making ribbon turkeys and putting them on hair clippies. what think ye? she made one and i made one. we didn't have brown or yellow, so we substituted black and gold. not to shabby, eh? SO SO FUN!!