Bunch of Squares Quilt

After 13 months, I've finally finished the Denyse Schmidt Bunch of Squares quilt.  Granted I didn't work on it the entire year, but it was a queen-sized quilt and the largest thing I've ever worked on.

I really love the way it turned out.  The bright red, cream and floral prints go together so nicely.  It's elegant but it has a lot of personality.  I pieced the top together on my machine, but did all the quilting by hand.  A lot of work, but I find hand-quilting soothing and a good thing to do while watching TV.

The blocks aren't all squared up evenly, so some of the quilting is off center a bit.  Other blocks have a subtle print as part of the red inside border.

Now I have to figure out what kind of matching/coordinating pillowcases to make to go with it.

5K Recovery Kit

I ran my first 5k this past weekend!  I didn't finish first, I didn't DFL (dead f*cking last, as my dad would say), but I did finish, and I am a little proud of myself.

I ran with 2 friends and decided to make them little 5k Recovery Kits.  I didn't have time to make them all fancy, so it was just little Ziplock containers and a plain gift bag.  

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Magnesium is really good for muscle recovery, so I gave them Calm Plus, a calcium and magnsium powder; and Tired Old Ass Soak (which you have to get just for the name), which is an epsom salt bath mixture with good essential oils like rosemary and eucalyptus.  

To help tired feet, I made a batch of Peppermint Foot Slather.  This stuff is seriously awesome and easy to make.  The neem oil does have a strong smell, but it's totally worth it. My feet are always so smooth the next morning.

And, of course, I gave them brownies. Because who doesn't love brownies? Especially if you don't feel guilty because you just ran 3 miles?

Garden Birthday Cupcakes

Since the girls' birthdays are so close together, we throw them a joint birthday party.  This means combining theme preferences. Last year, we had an Emo/Transformers party, which was interesting.  This year, the girls like butterflies and ladybugs (but still like Elmo and robots) and I was able to find "Garden Girl" themed partyware at a store, so I knew they'd be happy.

I was away the weekend before and went back and forth a bunch whether I wanted to make the cake/cupcakes myself or have a bakery do it.  I remembered one of the guests has a peanut allergy, so I decided to go ahead and make it myself.  The mixes from King Arthur are peanut (but not tree nut) free, delicious and easy.  I hadn't figured out how to decorate them until the actual morning of the party.

Amazingly, my decorating tips and bags had been unpacked.  The only hitch was that I only had 3 coupler sets, but wanted to use 6 colors.  I just cut off a small bit of the tip for the yellow and red to make the bee and ladybug bodies, put a small round tip in the bag with the black icing, and used the couplers for the pink, purple and green.

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Not bad for 30 minutes, a bunch of icing and no plan.

Easy Upcycled Tutu Dress

The Belly, and to a lesser extent, The Bean, have been obsessed with these tutu dresses we found at Costco.  So much so, that I have gone back to the store to buy additional dresses so they have 2 of each design because thy go through so many clothes in a day.

The Belly will only wear dresses; no shirt/skirt combo for her, just dresses.  One day I tried to get her to wear a tutu skirt and shirt and she wouldn't have any of it.  I had the brilliant idea of making a dress out of the skirt and shirt, figuring she'd finally wear them.

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I decided to take the elastic in the waist out to make the skirt more drop-waisted, like her store-bought dresses.  I then hand-sewed the seam shut again.

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I matched the sides and centers and pinned the shirt to the skirt. I placed the bottom of the shirt to the bottom edge of the waistband.

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Then, I sewed the two together.

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Violá, easy tutu dress, in less than an hour!

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Rubik's Cube Cake

I'm a child of the 80's.  I have fond memories of MTV, The Breakfast Club and Family Ties.  I bought more issues of Teen Beat than I'd care to admit.  So it's no surprise that the book Ready Player One really pushed all my buttons.  So to speak.

I'd just finished re-reading it when I went through my "baking projects to try" list and I found a Rubik's Cube Battenburg Cake recipe.  Dude, how awesome is that?

I improvised a baking pan, the same way I did the last time I made a Battenburg.  I made all the batter at once in my KitchenAid, measured out 6 equal amounts into bowls and dyed them with food coloring.

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I cut each color into 2 and started assembling.  I didn't cut each piece so every slice would be different, but I did cut some smaller pieces and glude them together so some of the slices would be different.

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The Boy was slightly confused when he came home.  Then he saw the actual cube next to the cake and it all slid into place. A very delicious, tea-cake kind of place.

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Sugar Scrubs

I've been on a sugar-scrub kick.  They're easy, inexpensive and smell incredible.  My friend, S, gave me 2 for Christmas: a Lemon Hand Scrub and a Vanilla Brown Sugar Body Scrub.  She packaged them in canning jars, so they kept well in the shower and by the sink.

I've been using Safflower and Sunflower oil instead of Olive Oil, because they have a less strong scent.  And I totally cheat when making the Lemon Hand Scrub: I mix a whole bottle of Burt's Bees Lemon Body Oil (4 oz.) with 4 oz. of my base oil, and, easy peasy, lemon-scent plus Vitamin E.

A few years ago, Sephora had a Coffee and Cream Body Scrub that's since been discontinued.  I've been thinking about how to make my own, maybe using powdered milk somehow, and I might start with this Mocha Spice Body Scrub recipe.

I made these for Teacher Appreciation gifts for the girls' preschool.  I got some 4oz. Mason jars at Wal-Mart and was able to make all 3 scrubs in about 30 minutes.  Just a little pampering in a jar for people who have made a huge difference in my children's lives.

Skin Serum

Life has been more hectic lately.  In addition to our regularly scheduled craziness, we moved last weekend and are now in recovery mode.  Things went pretty well considering everything we had to juggle, but blogging has been shunted to the bottom of my to-do list.  However, I have a few quiet minutes and I thought I'd write about an easy skin treatment I've been using. Ages ago, I found the Sonya Dakar Omega-3 Repair Complex.  Since I live in an arid climate and have sensitive skin, it was a great addition to my routine.  I have to say, while I liked the product, I wasn't crazy about the price tag.  So, I looked around to see if I could make something similar.  Sweet Almond Oil is great for your skin.  It has Omega 6 and 9, Vitamin E and is easy to find in lots of stores.  I got a 1 oz. glass dropper bottle and filled it most of the way with the Sweet Almond Oil.  Then, I added 20 drops each of Chamomile, Geranium, Franincinse and Calendula essential oils.  I put 3-4 drops on my skin before my moisturizer. I think it's made a difference.  My skin is definitely much softer and clearer.  And, for the price, it's a great solution.  The almond oil is inexpensive, and the essential oils are pricier, but a little of those goes a long way, so you don't have to buy them frequently. More fun skincare posts to come.  As soon as I get a few more boxes unpacked...