I used to be smart

Not a Resolution

I have been horribly neglectful of this blog.  I started updating my kook creations site.  When I have finished that I will do my best to keep this one a little more current.  I have made some yummy recipes that I would like to share.  My husband has become quite the candy maker.  I'll share some of his also.  I'll be back soon!

More healthy - but still yummy- muffins

Carrot-Raisin Muffins  These turned out really good.
from the Cuisinart website

Ingredients

1½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour   (I used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour)

1 cup bran flakes cereal   ( I used Raisin Bran, about 1 1/2 cups)
1 tablespoon baking powder  (I added 1/4 tsp baking soda)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 medium carrot (about 3 ounces), peeled, cut to fit feed tube vertically  (I used 2 carrots- about 5 ounces)
1/3 cup walnut halves, shells removed  (omitted)
3 strips orange zest
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
¾ cup fat free milk  (I used 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt and 1/4 cup buttermilk)
1 large egg
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup raisins  (I used chopped figs- the cereal had raisins already)


Instructions

Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a small bowl combine flour, bran flakes, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; reserve.

Insert the medium shredding disc. Stand carrots upright in the feed tube and shred using medium pressure; reserve. Insert metal blade and pulse to coarsely chop walnuts, about 7 to 8 times. Reserve. Add orange zest and brown sugar; process until combined, about 20 to 30 seconds. Scrape bowl. Add milk, egg and oil. Process until combined, about 5 to 10 seconds. Add raisins, walnuts, carrots and dry ingredients. Pulse until flour is just mixed in, about 5 times.

Fill muffin cups ¾ full with batter. Bake until light golden brown on tops and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

**I grated the carrots and mixed up the wet ingredients with the food processor, but mixed the batter together in a bowl.  Just my preference.  And I sprinkled the crumbs in the bottom of a bag of frosted mini-wheats on top.  These are really good.  With the figs- they have a Fig Newton flavor.  Pretty darn good.

Bucket Boss for coffee cups

Being in construction, the idea of a Bucket Boss pencil holder could not be ignored.  They fit on regular coffee cups with pockets on the inside as well as the outside.  A great way to use small pieces of leftover fabric.  And I am not one to throw out fabric!

Aren't these just the cutest things ever??

Repurposed jeans shoulder bag and a couple others

 This started as a pair of worn out jeans that already had patched knees.  After cutting them off right at the top of the legs, I cut and resewed the crotch so it layed flat.  Under the flap is the front of the jeans- so the front pockets are still there, besides a nice roomy interior.

This is the back of the bag.  The back pockets provide spots for cell phone or whatever.  The strap I made out of a strip cut from the leg. 

 A fun bag made from pieces of fabric left over from other projects.  It has inside pockets also. 


















Here's another one- a little bit bigger than the other.  Again made out of left over fabrics.

A manly apron

  I decided to give aprons for gifts and needed one for a guy.
This one is made from a heavier fabric and has an adjustable
neck strap and one big pocket in front.

















I came up with this to embroider on the bib.  It's rather manly, don't you think?

I made aprons

 I don't really know what I am going to do with them, but they were fun to make.  There are so many pretty, cute, and vintage apron patterns out there now.  So I decided to make these and use up some fabrics I have accumulated. 


This was my first one. 
The bows are on scallopped pockets.  The hem is scallopped also. 



This one is real "cutsie".       

Lots of piping and rick-rack.

This is a half apron.  It has pleats that are a little hard to see in the photo.  Piping and ribbon accent the co-ordinating fabrics. 

no guilt muffins - I had an urge for a snack...

Healthy Apple Carrot Muffins

2 cups raisin bran cereal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup finely chopped peeled tart apple
3/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup Grapenuts cereal
1/4 cup ground flax seed
Directions:
In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk and oil.
Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple, carrots, Grapenuts and flax seed.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups or cups coated with nonstick cooking spray three-fourths full. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.  Makes 12 muffins.

machine covers for the sewing room

I have taken my sewing room back.  It spent 24 years housing my beautiful daughter.  That is why it is the color that it is.  Iris white with smoky plum trim.  She has been away to college and now grad school for awhile, but I couldn't get up the gumption to empty it of all of her "stuff".  All that "stuff" is boxed up and waiting for her to get a place big enough to put it.  I still miss her.

my sewing/embroidery machine

My machine (Babylock Essante-my pride & joy!) came with a hard cover with a built in book holder.  It is just too much of a pain to put on and take off.  I dug through my scraps and made this quilted throw on cover.  It is easy to use, so I'm more likely to actually cover it up when I'm not using it.  This was my first attempt at crazy quilting.  It's not as easy as it looks!  I used a piece of an old sheet as a base fabric.  All the fabric scraps remind me of different things I have made.  I smile when I look at it.  Lace & ribbon ends complete the trim.  I tried to keep the blue & lavender color scheme. It was fun.

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my serger

I stuck with the blue & lavender colors in this one, too.  But I just did a simple quilt pattern in strips.  After piecing it together I attached fusible interfacing to stiffen the front and back pieces up.  I had to customize the shape at the bottom to fit the step on my serger table.  I've had my serger for 20 years and have never had a cover, so this is nice, and pretty, too. 

a new potholder

I didn't really need new potholders.  I threw all of mine in the washing machine, so they are clean but well worn.  But I felt the urge to play with my sewing machine and came up with this. The center dark green is dyed fleece that I made a winter skirt for Amy out of. I changed the colors of the embroidered flowers to match the outer fabric. It's gonna hurt the first time it gets spilled on.

I needed a pin cushion

So I found a great tutorial on the Sew ,Mama, Sew blog. I dug through my scraps and came up with this: weighted pin-cushion organizer.  The directions were great and it came out really nice.

The scrap bag is oh so handy!  My sweet husband made the shelves with the rimmed top to size so it fits perfectly next to my machine table.

new embroidery

I started with this little picture that Amy drew:

I used my new digitizing program (thanks Putt!) and came up with this:

I think it's cute, but Amy thinks it's creepy.