Today I'm over at Wildflowers & Whimsy...

Good Monday to all of you.  Today I am Guest Blogging over at 

(click here)

Can you B.E.L.I.E.V.E. it?  Someone pinch me...okay, not really...the pinching part, but the guest blogging is for reals. I am sharing a tutorial, a Chic Denim Bag made out of a bib overall dress (click here).  

From this:

To this:

And when you finish with the bag tutorial, check out April's blog. She has some great tutorials.  I especially love her tutorial on how to  make a set of professional drapes (click here).   I really like the fabric on these. 

And I am seriously gonna have to make these ruffled jeans (click here) for Sam.  Who can pass up ruffles, especially on jeans?

So, again, thanks for stopping by and a huge thanks to April at Wildflowers & Whimsy.

Life in front of the Carousaball

On Wednesday, Joshua had his final doctor's visit for his nicely healed elbow.  The cast came off  about 3 weeks ago and the visit was just to make sure that nothing weird was going on with his elbow.  This doctor's office is next door to the Dell Children's Hospital.  I have been there once with Samantha.  She needed a hearing test and was referred to a specialist at the hospital.  This was about 3 years ago and my daughter still remembered this:

Source

It is called Carousaball by George Rhoads.  This mesmerizing contraption is in the lobby of the hospital.  (More info can be found here.)  Sam begged to go and see it again.  So I figured, what the heck...let's go.  It's free and the kids will have fun.  Boy, was I in for an eye opener, and it had everything to do with the Carousaball.


While my kids did this...

-someone asked for directions to the chapel
-a teenaged boy walked in with crutches,  (I'm assuming) his mother and siblings in tow
-a girl, about Sam's age, was covered in bruises and bloody scabs.  She was in a wheel chair being pushed by a nurse.
-a young couple brought their 9 month old daughter to see the Carousaball.  The baby had a tube inserted into her nose.  The baby was more interested in my kids than the contraption. She laughed when Sam got close and waved.
-a man, about mid 30's, walked into the lobby, distraught and confused looking for his wife. I could tell he had been crying. My heart broke for this man.  I said a silent prayer for him.
-several men and women in business suits walked out...some talking on cell phones, others making lunch plans and one that was in a hurry to get somewhere quick.
-a hospital maintenance worker took a break outside, she just sat out on a bench despite the harsh Texas heat.  


In 30 minutes, right in front of the Carousaball, Life happened.   And I saw my kids laughing and running and pointing and watching and interacting with the Casousaball.  And they seemed so out of place in that hospital lobby.  And it is my prayer that it stay that way. I know that Life happens, but I really hope that I am never a parent walking through that lobby to get to my child upstairs. The only reason that I ever want to visit again is to see my kids captivated by the little blue balls of the Casousaball.  Next time I will join in the laughing and running and pointing and watching and interacting with my kids. 

 

Chile a la Mexicana

Growing up, chile (not chile like for chile beans), but chile, you know, a la Mexicana style was a staple at my house. No meal was complete without homemade chile.  It wasn't picante sauce, or pico de gallo or tabasco sauce or any wanna be hot sauce sold in jars.  This was freshly made on an as needed basis which was usually every other day.  Sometimes the recipes would be changed up just a little depending on what was on the menu.  A hotter, "fire in the hole" chile was served at cook-outs.  This is the kind of chile that made grown men cry, and sweat and turn red in the face. 

A milder and gentler, "clear up your sinus" chile was served with day to day meals like steak with fries or bean burritos.  As a kid, I remember taunting my younger siblings to eat spoonfuls of the stuff for a whole DOLLAR...and many times I had to pay up and it was so worth it too.  

Today, chile is a staple in my house. My kids love to eat chips and chile.  They too have started to dare and taunt each other over who can eat more chile with their meal.  My kids are dare devils...not once have they backed down from a chile war.  

It is this chile recipe that has been passed down that I will show you how to make today.  

You will need the following:

1 Habanero Chile

6 Serrano Chiles

2 Vine Ripe Large Tomatoes

1 cup Cilantro (just the leafy part)

1/2 White Onion

2 Tomatillos

Salt and Garlic to taste

2 cups water

You might also want to have the following:

1 bag of  your favorite tortilla chips

1 glass of  cold milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and chop (into bite size pieces) the Habanero, Serranos, Tomatoes, Cilantro, Tomatillos and Onion. Place in a foil lined shallow pan.  Place pan into the oven for 30 minutes.  When time is up, pull pan out and let everything cool down.  Once cooled, put all ingredients into your blender with the water.  Blend away!! I usually just use the highest setting and blend everything until it has a smooth consistency. Pour into a glass bowl.  Add salt and garlic powder to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Any left over chile should be refrigerated as well.

Enjoy with tortilla chips, or with your next meal...mmmm, sabroso y delicioso!!

Don't forget the milk... seriously, it really helps with the burning in your mouth.

Pretty in Purple

Here's, yet another, easy shirt refashion that I did for my daughter right before she went on vacation with her aunts.  It's your typical long sleeved, left over from last season, but still very cute and wearable Walmart shirt.

Cut off the sleeves and cut as many long strips out of both sleeves.

Fold strips in half and iron.

Take a folded strip and sew it onto the edge of the sleeve like you would bias tape.  This will add some sort of stability to the sleeve since I wanted to add a "heaviyish" box pleat ruffle to it.

Take a folded strip and box pleat it along the front and edge of the neckline.

Make sure to sew the raw edge facing down and that the folded part is facing up...confused? Just see next picture. This will just give the illusion of a ruffle of sorts...and it looks pretty.

To make it easier to sew, just pin, pin and pin some more.  Just remove pins as you sew along.  Repeat for the sleeves.

Done...

Now go find a long sleeved shirt and follow your Heart...err...this tutorial to make a fun shirt for yourself or your neighbor, or niece, or granddaughter, mom, aunt...anyone that likes a good refashion and box pleat ruffles...

"Willy Nilly" Shirt Refashion

Look up "Willy Nilly" in the dictionary, this is what you will find: 

something that is by compulsion or without choice; 

 something that is done in an unplanned or haphazard fashion.  

So when I thought about this t-shirt refashion, all that came to mind was to go at it "Willy Nilly".   

So with no real plan, I cut off the sleeves, opened them up and cut them into several long strips. The picture below shows where I made the cuts; I didn't actually draw the lines, I just guesstimated the width of each one.  I used both sleeves to make the strips.

Then I sewed one strip "Willy Nilly" and the rest followed. 

I also used two different colored threads instead on one. 

These are thread spools that I inherited from my grama many years ago. 

I just threaded my machine as I normally do, pulled two threads through the eye of the needle and sewed as usual.  

I also used a different color for my bobbin thread.  

So really, I used three different colored threads.  

As for the "ruffles", I just gathered as I sewed...no pins or premaking ruffles...

again, just "Willy Nilly".  

Then, I sewed down all the ruffles. 

See how the stitches look with the double thread? I love how it looks.

My husband double-dog-dared me to add this blurred picture of him while I was trying to get a good shot of the ruffles that I sewed onto the sleeves.  Here you go babe...

Sometimes the best things in life just come at you "Willy Nilly"...