wish you were here, in Maine! Lobster rolls, beer and beaches…next stop, NYC!

Is it really right to call it a garden? I guess so…even if everything lives in containers. But that’s not my fault and we are just making the best of it.

I promised an udate when the plants got a little bigger and thought a video might be fun. You can compare with the pictures in the previous post.

Let me know if you can, if those are aphids and what I can do organically to make them go away

I have to preface this growing adventure by stating I have never been able to keep plants alive. Admittedly, I don’t think I’ve ever tried really hard, but even stuff that people SWEAR won’t dies, does. But I’m hoping to turn over a new leaf…yes, pun intended, har har.
I think the first key is that we got this worm composter. These fabulous wrigglers have been turning vegetable scraps and coffee grounds into rich castings (worm poop) and nutrient filled “tea” (liquid fertilizer) for about a year now, so we have a nice supply of enrichments for the soil.
I did some research and was amazed to find a wide variety of fruits and veggies that can grow in containers and some other unique set ups. From last year’s Topsy Turvy strawberry experiment, 2 hardy plants survived but needed a new home. The girls were excited. Visions of money savings in my head, off to the nursery we went…
We bought lettuce and strawberry plants, some containers, 2 seed starter kits and seeds…jellybean tomatoes, leaf lettuce and small squash. And of course I didn’t take pics of them *before*, hahahah!
But here they are on June 15th…

the seeds took almost no time to pop up…

the lettuce are happy in their new homes…

and the strawberries are spreading out…

I think we bought our plants and such on June 4th.

So let’s say you are seized by the urge to make something new. If you are like me, this can happen almost every 5 minutes. To keep up, I have a pretty extensive collection of fabrics and patterns in my stash. But what’s a girl to do when she’s intent on sewing and NOT going to the store for a new pattern? Well, DOWNLOAD one of course! I sell some downloadable patterns…I know, I need to add to that section…anywho…so here comes my friend Jen with an offer to send me a freebie to try and help promote her pattern business. Who says no to a free pattern? Not ME!

I chose the Reversible Open Back Top (size 2-6). This is also available as a baby dress, so you can match a nice variety of girls for various reasons. My girls are very similar looking and I really like to make them matching outfits in different colors, so that’s what I did here too…

I paired them with some capri jeans that I added a ruffled cuff to…I love the way the ruffle goes up on these, instead of the usual down. I put just a bit of cotton lace and ricrac to the one front panel as well, but opted to let the gorgeous Dance with Me fabric from Jennifer Paganelli do most of the talking

Ziva wants to keep her (pink) set so you can get a CUSTOM (in pink or blue) HERE…Aurora is willing to part with hers (blue, size 5/6) and it’s HERE.

Get YOUR Tie Dye Diva on, either with downloadable patterns of your own from Jen’s shop (LOVE instant gratification!) or browse and buy ready made items from my Adagio Bleu sistahs!

and let me know if you think Jen should sell her patterns here on Fabrichound too…Maybe we can convince her together

Please help this beautiful little girl and her family! Friday March 18 to Sunday March 20, 10% of order totals will be donated to Hope For God’s Children to benefit Kayleigh Justice and her brother Aiden. You can read their story HERE or get more information on the Hope For God’s Children website. No codes, you don’t have to do anything special, just your regular shopping. If you find it in your heart to buy a little more to help me help this girl, that’s super!
AND…a special treat for Hope for God’s Children designers and contributors…ADD YOUR AUCTION or ETSY LISTING to the comments for a chance to win a fun little goodie from my Quilt Market swag stash! Check out other’s listings and maybe find something else to bring a smile to your face and that of Kayleigh and her family

Yeah, I know…I’ve been so super busy. With what? In case you don’t know…Girl Scout cookies!

These are my Girl Scouts. I think they are all in there…all 30 of them, from Kindergarden Daisies to 5th grade Juniors. And some of my crazy co-leaders…and my husband, Chops. Betcha can’t guess which one is him

Anyway, my girls are AWESOME and sell LOADS of cookies! That takes lots of help. Even with 6 coleaders, a treasurer and another helpful parent, being the Troop Cookie Manager is a HUGE job! I totally owe our treasurer a Starbucks card…she DESERVES it!

This is our INTIAL order of over 1000 boxes. And that was just the beginning…stay tuned…we have one more week!

Let me begin this tutorial by saying I didn’t invent the cupcake in a jar, totally didn’t come up with concept, nothing like that at all! I’m also not being compensated or otherwise benefiting from any of the brands you may see mentioned, linked to, etc. I share because I’m nice like that

Hands DOWN the BEST EVER cupcakes in jars I hve EVER had are from Bangerang Cupcake in a Jar. Of course, the Tank Girl reference had me hooked but the delicious treats are just heaven in little jars. Totally premium and a total indulgence.

I don’t consider myself a copycat or anything, but of course, I wanted to be able to eat cupcakes and yummy indulgent toppings in a convienient way, such as from a jar…I guess you could also just call it a parfait or a mini trifle or whatever…I call it YUM!!!

You will need…a jar (I like this preserves jar, it’s nice looking)…2 regular size cupcakes…frosting(s)…canned pie filling, nutella, nut butters, fresh fruit, pudding…use your imagination…for this one I am using devil’s food cupcakes, crunchy peanut butter, cream cheese frosting (rich and less sugary tasting than vanilla), and hazelnut spread.

Break the cupcakes in half to make 4 cupcake layers

I totally cheat with cream cheese frosting. You can add a lot of things to it and *poof* instant custom frosting! Here I mixed a generous amount of cream cheese frosting and crunchy natural peanut butter. Leave them out to soften and mix well before you mix them together.

Put a top half of a cupcake in the bottom on the jar and smush it a little…I used a large spoon…

Top with peanut butter frosting and this one has a little dollop of hazelnut spread in the middle *surprise*

Use the two bottom halfs to make the middle cake layer. I broke mine apart and smushed them in…

Add another layer of peanut butter frosting, hazelnut spread, then place the last cupcake top on…more frosting…more hazelnut spread…go ahead and press it down…

You can just put a lid on and put it in the fridge if you are eating it soon. Or you can put it in the freezer, even eat it partially thawed, mmmmmmm.

Experiment with different combinations of cake flavors and frostings or toppings. I think pudding would be delightful, like a mini banana cream pie…

This one has lemon cake, canned strawberry pie filling and cream cheese frosting. It takes like a strawberry shortcake.

Winner first? ok, yes…
The WINNER of the kewl Japanese pattern book shown in my previous post HERE is…
*drum rollllllllllll*

Slyvia of Hopscotch Square! Yay!!!! I have your address and will send this out next week…My new “giveaway schedule” will try to be a giveaway every other Friday, so be sure to check back!

And now…the dinner…

I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with food. I mean, I have lots of other things to do and I’m not watching Food Network all day or anything like that…Maybe it’s because I’m becoming even more intent on cutting our food budget. This really requires creativity to keep the kids interested…Chops couldn’t care less really.

I thought I might share a few easy, economical recipes I’ve tested and “perfected”, at least as far as my family is concerned.

This quiche is SOOOO easy and you probably have most of the ingredients. We eat quiche often so I keep frozen prebaked shells or the Pillsbury refrigerated kind. You could make your own crust, if you’re into that…
Pre heat oven to 350 deg
6 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c - 1 c vegetable and/or meat fillings

If you are using high water content veggies, like mushrooms, I suggest sauteeing first or your quiche might be too wet.

Mix eggs, yogurt and milk together. Layer veggie/meat filling on bottom of pie shell. Top with shredded cheese. Pour egg mixture over the rest. Bake at 350 for 45 min - 1 hour. You can cover the crust edges after 15 min if you don’t like them well done.

Add garlic bread and fruit for a light dinner or easy brunch. Try different filling combos and experiment!

Well, let’s just say that I’m glad the pattern was already chosen for this because it took me TWO DAYS to decide on fabrics! Partly because I’ve resolved to also try to do this mostly from my stash and store end cuts and partly because it’s a BIG bag and needs sort of a lot of fabric. I needed to find the right fabric in enough yardage.

I’m also trying to break out of my matchy-match groove. I have a tendancy go with the coordinates that come with a main fabric and I want to mix it up a little more. If I need a little more fabric, I might try to throw in a splash of something green.
Fabric chosen, pattern cut…I’m off to cut the fabrics!

I’m always up for a challenge…of all different kinds. The challenge of getting 2 girls out the door and to school on time, the challenge of being a good Girl Scout leader, the challenge of running a fun fabric shop. I always feel like I could do better, learn more, improve on my skills…and on that note, I’m joining in Jemellia’s Style Stitches Monthly Challenge! We will sew one bag a month from the Amy Butler book Style Stitches.

You will have to go over and check out her list of 12 reasons WHY you should come join us…I’m doing it for me, for the challenge of keeping on task and learning some new techniques. There’s a flickr group to join…and if you don’t already have Amy Butler’s Style Stitches, you can click that link down there, on the left, and buy it from amazon…mine’s on the way
There are prizes too, gift certificates and fun stuff like that, not to mention, you will be SO READY for next year’s handmade gifts! *bonus* yay!

Ok-what about MY giveaways, right? Yes…
The winner of the woolpets hedgehog needle felting kit is *drum roll and Ziva spinning like a top while she says “nummmmmmbbbbbberrrrrrrrrrrrrr 6!” So, that’s how I choose a winner…#6 is gigi…

“super cute! i’ve always wanted to try needle felting, but have been hesitant b/c i didn’t want to buy all the “stuff”. hmm…the kit route may be the perfect way to go! thanks!
& i’m a fan of your facebook page
hope you have a happy new year!”

you can check out her cute and fun blog, little gi, HERE so, gigi, I need your address and you will need a foam pad…you can get one at Michael’s or JoAnns or off etsy. I hope you’ll share with us when you finish

and on to the next GIVEAWAY!!! Because we LOVE giveaways! This FAB Japanese sewing book. It’s all in Japanese so if you’ve been wanting to try using these, now is the time…

Remember…the rules…To enter the giveaway…

#1-You MUST comment HERE on the blog each day you want to win the highlighted prize. Please post on the BLOG, not on the “notes” that shows up on my facebook link.
#1a-Post with a link to your blog mentioning my contest, FB share, tweet or other way of sharing and I will give extra entries (1 extra entry for each method)
#2-You MUST be a fan of one, two, or ALL three facebook fan pages I am part of.

Fabrichound.com fan page on Facebook
Sweet Girl Boutique fan page on Facebook
Adaigo Bleu Studios Etsy Team fan page on Facebook

That’s actually not too hard…and you can share this SO easy with your FB friends now that I have that spiffy little button down there…if you hover, it will give you the option of sharing with a comment, easy peasy!

It’s so much easier for me to give you a prize too, if you leave a link to your blog or some other way to contact you, plus I can give you a fun shout out
Now, get to sharing this fun prize! I’ll pull the winner in a couple of days…one day just isn’t enough to collect a fair amount of entries and there’s a big lag time between my actual writing and the Networked Blogs share on FB…