Selvage Earring Tutorial

Ever wonder what you could do with all those selvages or thin tiny fabric scraps?  Ever have an outfit that you could never find earrings to match?  Fret no more! 

I finally got the time to make my selvage earring tutorial!  So here goes.

Materials Needed:
~Low temp hot glue gun
~Bendable wire (I used floral wire)
~Ear wires
~Crimp beads
~Needle nosed pliers and wire cutters
~Scissors
~About 18 inches of selvage or just 18 inches of 1/2 inch thick fabric

Depending on how big you want your earrings, cut your wire into two equal lengths.  Mine were 5 inches.

Place a small strip of glue at an angle at the end of the selvage.  You want to use the smallest amount of glue possible so the ends will go into the crimp bead easily.  Glue the wire down at an angle like so.  Then just start wrapping the wire.  You may need to glue it at points here and there if the wires are much longer than 5 inches.

When you get to the end of your wire, glue down the selvage with a thin bit of hot glue.  Make sure to glue it to the wire and not just other fabric.  You don't want the wrapping to unspin.  When it's glued down, cut the extra selvage off.  This will be used to make the second earring.  Excuse my camera strap at the bottom of the picture.  It has nothing to do with the earrings.

Now bend your wrapped wire into the shape of a horseshoe. 

Pinch the ends of the wire together and apply a crimp bead to the top.  I used a wider set of pliers for this than my needle nose, but needle nose should work just fine.  Then trim off the scraggly ends at the top of the bead. 

Now use your needle nose pliers to open the bottom loop on the earwire enough to thread the crimp bead onto it.  Make sure the pretty side faces front and thread the crimp bead onto the earwire.  Close the earwire back with the needle noses.  If you were a little violent with your project (like me), you may need to reshape your fabric/wire loop at this point.

And there you have it!  Now just do the same thing for the other earring using the rest of the selvage scrap.

If you make some of these I'd love to see a picture!  Upload one to my Flickr group here --> Evan Becky's Fan Pics on Flickr



Button Up Shirt Quick Petite Fashion Fix

Sometime last week I told you all that I have a new-found love for fashion blogs.  Particularly petite fashion blogs.  I am 5 feet tall and weigh 120 lbs.  Most extra small tops are big on me and I wear about a size 6 in bottoms (four if it's a skirt, I have chunky legs).  I've found lots of petite fashion blogs that offer reviews on sizes, places that offer petite sizes and things that are worth buying big and having altered.  My problem with this, though, is that I don't want to pay the prices that these girls can pay.  I work in healthcare (even in my upcoming new job) and wear scrubs for most of my waking moments.  It's just not worth it to buy a few high fashion, higher priced pieces that I can't wear next year.  It's not even worth it to have most pieces altered.  So being the craft blog fanatic that I am, I decided to make my own posts about how to easily alter some regular clothes into petite clothes.  Well, how to alter some clothes that are just too big into figure flattering clothes for a petite woman. 

So for post number one, I'll show you how to alter a too big button up shirt into a tie-backed tunic style shirt.

You will need:
A too-big button up shirt (really any too big shirt with side seams for that matter)
Ribbon of your choice (If your ribbon is polyester, you may want to singe the ends a bit so it doesn't fray)
Tailor's chalk/disappearing pencil or something of the like, just make sure it washes off
Seam Ripper
Sewing stuff (needles, thread, scissors, etc.)--you don't necessarily need a machine for this, but it makes life easier

This here is the finished product:

I found this shirt at my local Fashion Shack for about $8.  Our Fashion Shack works a lot like Plato's Closet.  They'll buy your used stuff (and if you choose store credit they'll give you more money for it).  The shirt originally came from The Gap and is an XS.  I just loved the floral print (nice and small, what petite girlies need) and the pintucking on the front.  It's also very lightweight, so it's perfect for summer for someone cold natured like me. 

This here is what it looked like before I fixed it:

Hmmm.  A little baggy for my liking.  Ok, so you may say it looks fine.  I just lost some weight and I want to show off this figure before I ruin it with kiddos.  It needs fixing.

Step 1:  You'll want to find where you want the top to cinch in the most.  For the most figure flattering, I would go with the smallest part of your torso.  This may be right up under your bust, or around your natural waist.  Mine was somewhere in between.  Mark that spot with your chalk on the side seams.  I also measured on both sides of my shirt to make sure they were even.



Step 2:  Now on the inside of the shirt, rip a small hole (just big enough to get your ribbon through) in the side seam where your chalk mark is.

Step 3:  Insert your ribbon into the newly made hole and stitch in place.  You may or may not want to pin it there for a bit, I lived dangerously.  Try to sew as directly on top of the original seam as you can.  I started about a quarter inch on top of the stitching still in place, sewed over the ribbon, and about a quarter inch on the other stitching still in place, then doubled the whole length back.  This will be a little bit of a stress point after all.

Step 4:  If you are lucky enough to own a serger, go back on the inside and serge on top of the raw edges that you left after ripping the seam out.  I do not own a serger, so I just zig zagged it.  It serves the same purpose.  (No one's going to see it anyway.)

Now just repeat for the other side!

Throw it on over your favorite pair of leggings or skinny jeans and you're ready for a little casual date night!  Or a Sunday School outing, 'cause that's where I went in it. 

In hindsight, I think I would make my ribbon ties longer, but hey, this fix only took about 15 minutes, and I have more ribbon, so if it bothers me too bad, I'll just redo it. 

I hope this is of some use to someone.  As always, if you use this tutorial (or any of my patterns/tutorials) please post pictures to my Flickr Group here --> Evan Becky Fan Pics  I would genuinely love to see what you've created!

Linking up Here:

Chicken, Broccoli and Rice Foil Packs--It's What's For Dinner!

Since I have been home the past two glorious days and I will be home for yet another one thanks to my 12 hour shift on Sunday, I have been cooking supper.  Last night, I made Nikki's Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken from the Chef in Training blog.  Let me tell you, I absolutely LOVE this blog.  And my chicken turned out great.  Hubs and I (just us two) ate a whole pack of chicken, with lettuce, cheese, and tortilla chips, and I was down a pound from the day before!  I highly reccomend it.

Tonight though, I made up my own recipe.  Well, I adapted two Kraft recipes it until they became my own recipe.  I present to you Foil Pack Chicken, Broccoli and Rice!  At the bottom I have included abbreviated directions for easy printing.  But I can't promise the abbreviated directions will be as clear as the full out version.

    

Prep Time:  about 30 min

Cook Time:  35-45 min

Total:  1 hour and 5-10 min

You will need:

1 package Tyson Trimmed and Ready Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts

1 bag frozen broccoli

1 box Uncle Ben's Fast and Natural Brown Rice

2 teaspoons or 2 cubes chicken bullion

2 cups water

1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

The same number of rather large sheets of Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil (here in the South we still call it Tin Foil) as you have chicken breasts (I happened to have 5 in my pack)

A few notes on ingredients: 

~The Tyson Thin Sliced chicken is a little more expensive (unless it's on sale), but to me is totally worth it.  I know I claim to be a good cook, but I don't like bones and I don't like trimming skin and fat.  I have better things to do with my time.  So it's totally worth it to me.  It also cooks quicker (great for grilling) and when it is on sale, you just buy extra and throw it in the freezer just like you bought it. 

~You gotta use Uncle Ben's rice.  I've tried other brands, and Uncle Ben's is the best.  Dry rice keeps, so look for it when it's on sale and Uncle Ben's always emails me pretty good coupons (like a whole dollar off).

~Everything else, go Laura Lynn, that is if you live near an Ingles.  Often, it's cheaper to get Laura Lynn than it is national brands on sale.  And almost everything is just as good as the national brand (rice, instant oatmeal and the frozen veggies you cook in the bag are an exception). 

See, lot's of Laura Lynn

To start with, you'll want to boil your water and dissolve the bullion in it.  Doesn't take much, just enough to dissolve the bullion.  When it's dissolved, pour the put the dry rice in a medium sized bowl and then pour the newly made broth over it.  Let this sit a minute so the rice can absorb some water.  You may also want to preheat your oven here to 400 degrees F.  I forgot this step and just put it in a cold oven and it turned out fine, but whatever floats your boat.  If you're cooking with a convection oven, you may want to make sure that there are only two racks with ample space between because I had to use two cookie sheets.

Now onto a concept called mis en place.  As I learned from a teacher who studied at Le Cordon Bleu in France, this means, "everything in place."  This is the quickest way to put these packets together.  Mis en place is not quite as essential here as it would be as if you were battering and frying the chicken, but it makes life a whole lot easier.  To have enough room, I moved from the kitched to the adjoining dining room.

There are my sheets of tin foil, my broccoli, cheese, opened mushroom soup with a spoon and my rice with a spoon.  My cookie sheet is in the middle and I have the tin foil molded into little bowls.  The rice mixture is runny, you want tin foil bowls.  Now what's missing?  Oh yeah, the chicken.  The chicken needs to keep it's slimy self somwhere that can be disinfected.  In this case, it's on a dinner plate in the sink.  Raw chicken is notorious for carrying Salmonella, a nasty bacterial species that causes...uh...digestive distress.  That's why the waitress will never ask you if you want your chicken cooked rare.  Always, ALWAYS disinfect any surface that the raw chicken comes in contact with and try to touch as few things as possible after touching raw chicken.  Use your elbow to pump soap and such as that.  I'm not a germ-o-phobe, but Salmonella is one thing I don't play around with.

Ok, I'm off my soapbox.

Now, back to the food.  You may want to spray each sheet of tin foil with Pam, or you could use this little baby.

This is my Misto.  A refillable olive oil sprayer.  It's aerosol free.  Just pour in the oil, pump it up, and spray.  Now of course it doesn't spray as evenly and as long as an aerosol can, but considering you know exactly what you are spraying (have you ever wondered what Pam really is?  I don't know.) and there are no Chloro fluoro carbons (CFCs) eating a hole in the ozone layer. 
Ok, after you have sprayed the tin foil, divide the rice AND water in the rice among the 5 sheets of tin foil.  There's no exact science to this, just guess at it.  Then put about 1 small spoonful of mushroom soup on top of this.  You'll use about half the can of soup for all five packs.  After that, go get your chicken.  Put one chicken breast on each rice pile.  Now go put the plate the chicken was on in the sink and wash your hands.  Then spray the plate and sink down with Clorox, or whatever you use to disinfect.  Let that sit a while.  It'll be ok.  Go back to your packets and plop a spoonful of mushroom soup on top of the chicken.  Spread it around if you like, it'll make the broccoli and cheese stick better.  But don't lick the spoon when you're done!  Throw that in the sink too!  Remember, raw chicken juice.  Now sprinkle a handful of broccoli on top of the chicken and rice and soup.  It uses about the whole bag.  And then definitley sprinkle the whole bag (2 cups) of cheese on top of that.  Here's what you'll have:

Mmmm, now doesn't that look good?  No, not really right now.  Here comes the magic.  Very carefully fold up two sides of the foil and fold them over together.  I say carefully because you don't want rice juice spilling everywhere.  Then carefully fold up the sides.  Don't wrap it up too tight, make sure there's enough room for steam to circulate.  Then place the pack on the cookie sheet.  When you're done, your cookie sheet will look like this:

So neat and tidy!  Now, as I said before if you have a convection oven you can cook these at the same time, if not, cook them in batches or get a bigger cookie sheet.  I suppose you could just place them directly on the racks, but it makes getting them out harder. 

Let these babies cook for 35 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is done.  If you use bigger pieces of chicken, cook them longer.  These took about 45 minutes and weren't over done. 

When they are done, pull them out and serve them directly on dinner plates.  Don't unwrap them before serving.  Let your...ahem...patrons...carefully unwrap them.  They are full of hot steam that will burn your fingers if you aren't careful.  I guess if you have little ones, you should unwrap theirs for them, but leave it in the tin foil.  That's part of the fun of eating them.  Then when you're done, ball up the tin foil and chunk in the trash can basket ball style.  No scraping dishes or plates!  

Hubs ate two.  They are really more food that what each looks like.  It went down pretty easy.  With a little sweet tea of course!     

Printer Friendly (copy and paste into your word processing software):

Prep Time:  about 30 min

Cook Time:  35-45 min

Total:  1 hour and 5-10 min

You will need:

1 package Tyson Trimmed and Ready Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts

1 bag frozen broccoli

1 box Uncle Ben's Fast and Natural Brown Rice

2 teaspoons or 2 cubes chicken bullion

2 cups water

1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

The same number of rather large sheets of Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil (here in the South we still call it Tin Foil) as you have chicken breasts (I happened to have 5 in my pack)

Preheat oven to 400 F

Boil water and dissolve bullion in water

Pour boiling water over dried rice in medium sized bowl

Spray tin foil sheets with Pam or oil

Divide rice among tin foil sheets

Put 1 spoonful of mushroom soup on top of rice

Put 1 chicken breast on top of mushroom soup

Put 1 more spoonful of mushroom soup on top of chicken

Put a handful of broccoli on top of mushroom soup

Divide 2 c. cheese among each packet.

Fold up each packet and bake at 400 F for 35-45 minutes. 

Enjoy your cheesy chickeny goodness!

We Did It Wednesday!

So most of you who religiously follow my blog (how many can that really be?) may think that after a solid week of new and good information, I fell off the Earth yesterday.  Truth is, I had a day off from work, so I went shopping and got my nails done for the first time.  Fingers and toes.  It was lovely.  I really wish I could paint my nails that well.  I really wish I knew what kind of voodoo they worked on my nails. 

Anyway, onto the real meat of this post.  I've been busy, and have almost finished my beach gifts.  And I found the Sew Much Ado blog somewhere in my blog wanderings and decided to participate in the We Did It Wednesday. 

Here's my entry:

These are the appliqued tote bags that I kept talking about for my nieces.  It's hot pink canvas, with lime green polka dot cotton appliques, sewed on with bright blue thread and bright blue cotton webbing handles.

The above are closeups of the appliques.  Complete with a crazy shadow formed from the lens of the camera blocking the flash.  I would normall make better quality pictures, but since we're leaving for the beach on Saturday and I still have one skirt and two Towel Rolls to make before we go, you're lucky to get a blog post!

I'm really proud of how these turned out.  Especially since this is my first attempt at applique. 

This is what you get when Hubs is away on business, I have two days off completely to myself, a few glasses of sweet tea and several midnight mini Moon Pies.