How-To: Ruffled Diaper Cover

Not your ordinary ruffled diaper cover...
but we re-purposed an old denim skirt!

I'm sorry to say I have no more babies in my home. My life has moved on into the 'Grandma' stage where I have the opportunity to spend quality time when it comes to the little people in my life. (As opposed to quantity time... 24-7. Where you feel like your brain is fried & you can't possibly think about creativity or adding something to your day that isn't absolutely imperative!)
Don't get me wrong... I did plenty with my four kiddos around. I chose to home-school (You think people look at you weird now when you say you home-school? Imagine how they looked at my husband & I in the late 1980's & early 1990's!),  I also sewed, tried to fix healthy food, did crafting on the side to make money (usually at Christmas-time), kept our home, baked goodies, etc. But most of what I did were things that were something I would have had to buy, if I didn't make it. Not usually crazy, just-for-fun stuff. So I feel like I can be a little more creative with my grandkids. I can waste time making things for them or with them that aren't necessarily something they need. Just something they may like. Or something I may like. Which brings me to todays project. Not a necessity, but certainly fun!



The Most-Beautiful-Baby-Girl in the
whole, wide world!! My only
grand-daughter, Genevieve Fey.

Out of five grandchildren, our youngest is the only girl! She is now not quite 10 months old. You can imagine how much fun I've been having making various little things for her! Before the birth, we started on her crib quilt with Mommys chosen theme: pale pink & mint with a bright red ladybug thrown in. Then I bought this great fabric to make a ladybug rug for her floor. I've made her tons of hair clips with little bows & other 'bling'. Made her a personalized stocking for her first Christmas (2 months old) with her nursery/quilt theme on it. Made her a few crocheted headbands of various colors. (Can't even remember the colors now!) But then I saw this diaper cover and knew I had to try it out!


My youngest daughter recently ripped this skirt while climbing out of a truck. I found it in her garbage can & I snagged it! Free fabric. Score! (She & her sister hate it when I dig through their trash & find things I think we should keep! On more than one occasion I will ask them about an item, and they will inform me that they 'thought they threw that away a long time ago'! Ooops!)

This rip is a little higher than I thought...gonna have to be creative... 

Anyway, I washed the skirt and put it with my sewing fabric for a later date. I knew there were lots of ideas out there on Pinterest that would show me how I could make good use of this bonus piece of fabric!  Then when I started this diaper cover project I thought, 'why not'? I can make more than one style & I really wanted to try the denim. So here we go.


I got my pattern & needed materials list from: http://katiejgibson.blogspot.com/2011/07/diaper-cover-tutorial.html .

Materials Needed:

1/3 yard fabric for diaper cover

1/3 yard fabric for ruffles

1 yard plus 6" of 1/4" elastic (I used 1 yard plus 6" of 1" wide, colored elastic instead, shown in later photos.)

First I cut the back panel away from the waistband & front of skirt,
leaving the side seams attached to the front piece.

    

Couldn't place my pattern here or
I'd lose my pocket.

This was a much better placement spot.
Time to start cutting.

I originally wanted to use the back exactly as it was, with the seam in the middle and the two pockets on either side. Turns out it would make the back piece much too wide, or it would have cut off the bottom far corners of each pocket. So I just decided to cut each back piece, making sure the pocket would be saved. Then I had to make sure I cut a bit extra down the middle where the fold would have been, since I would now need to sew a seam along this edge. There was also the problem of the rip, which I should have just sewn up first, then I could ensure I would have the correct width when done, but I did it the hard way. Oh well. Seems it turned out ok.



I cut each piece out, but not on the fold.
 (It wasn't possible.) 

Now I've got one of each. One front piece and one back piece. Next I used the back piece pattern to cut the next back piece. Again, making sure I saved the entire pocket, seams and all. I really didn't  want the headache of trying to fix a problem like that later, if it was un-necessary.



Here are the two pieces for the front & two
for the back laying beside each other.

After I cut the second back piece, I cut out the second front piece. Then I started sewing.


First I sewed up the rip, shown here in the pic to the right. (Right below the pocket.) Then I sewed up the back where the fold would have been, ending up with a back seam up the middle. Next I sewed up the front in the same way, creating a seam up the front middle.




My next problem was trying to figure out how to cover up this old paint splatter! I decided to add ruffles here, coming out of the pockets, instead of across the entire back, which would cover up the cute pockets I tried so hard to save!



This is a paint splatter that needs to be covered up!



I had some cute fabric that was already washed, dried & ironed. I cut 2 strips, each 10" x 2" long:

I sewed up the shorter ends of the strips with the right sides together. Then I flipped them right-side-out...

                            Next, I ran a 'gathering' stitch along the long, bottom edges...

     I pulled the thread & gathered the pieces until they fit into the pockets... Then I sewed them in.

For the edges I decided to use a colored elastic that was 1" wide. I just used a zig-zag stitch on it & stitched half of it onto the inside, pulling it as I went. (Half meaning 1/2" of the 1", as if there were an imaginary crease down the long center of the elastic. That crease should end up on the raw edge. Just as if you were working with bias tape.) Then I folded the other half of it up and over the raw edge and sewed onto the outside with a zig-zag stitch again, pulling the elastic as I went.

Ta-Da! All done! It didn't turn out exactly the way I had envisioned it... but I did cover up the paint! And I realized when I was done that this isn't the type of 'ruffled' diaper cover I was planning to make at all. Now I'll have to make another!

Homemade Oatmeal Bath (like Aveeno)

Many, many folks have been buying Aveeno Oatmeal Bath over the years for all kinds of skin irritations. I'm one of those folks. Both of my sons, who are now both grown, have a terrible reaction to Poison Oak. (Just to quickly describe the extent of his allergic reaction, my oldest was in the hospital with his most recent encounter.) But when they were younger, an oatmeal bath was one of the steps we could depend upon to bring instant & soothing relief.

Needless to say, they've learned to steer clear of the offending plants, and now that they are both married,...

My younger son with his wife & daughter.

 and out of the house, 

My oldest son with his wife & son.

I no longer find it necessary to make sure we have a stash of  'Oatmeal Bath' under the bathroom sink.

Until now....


Gavin, just 2, playing with leaves this past Fall.

Meet Gavin, my third grandson. (AKA: "Pun'-kin") He is now quickly approaching his third birthday, but is not yet speaking. He was premature, which in and of itself keeps him in a continuous state of playing catch-up. His doctors, therapists & specialists all give him room for being slightly behind in certain things: size and development. But then at age 8 months he was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome. (Yet another possible size & developmental threat) All this to explain why he wasn't talking yet. So for a while there you could find him at any given time, laying on his back, wiggling around like he was dancing. We couldn't ask him what's going on. We just thought he was playing or being silly, and it actually looked pretty cute. Then we started noticing his skin. A trip to the doctor confirmed it. Eczema.

Arrgh! Yet another health concern for the little guy. Not life-threatening. Just annoying.  It pretty much makes him miserable & itchy all over. (ie...the floor dancing!) The usual advice given by doctors: keep the skin hydrated. Put lotion or cream on him constantly. Don't let the skin dry out as this adds to the itchiness, irritation & discomfort. Only problem with that is he has extremely sensitive skin, like his Mommy. Just about anything that touches the skin can cause redness, possible welts and general irritation.

Enter: Super-Grammy! (In my mind) Complete with quilted cape & horn-rimmed glasses!

Assignment: Find something for Gavins skin that is not irritating! (Something cheap, too?)

After a little bit of 'surfing' (Yes, the internet....although instead of an awesome surf-board, I may only be the embarrassed owner of a boogie-board. And instead of standing, I may be lying on my stomach, paddling with my arms...wearing my jean skirt & sandals....but you get the idea, right?) I found a few things.

Thing One: Olive Oil is the best thing for your skin. It's natural. It causes no reaction, whatsoever. It hydrates the skin. It's already in my cupboard. It isn't harmful if swallowed! The biggest bonus: Gavin absolutely loves massages! So I take some oil in a small bowl or squeeze bottle, lay Gavin on a towel (so as not to get oil on the carpet or my bedspread) wearing just his diaper, and he gets a head-to-toe Olive Oil massage! He just lays there and enjoys every minute of it. I just keep adding more oil as it gets absorbed into the skin. When that area seems slick enough, I move on to the next section. He especially loves when I do his feet & his head/neck/ear area.

Thing Two: I remembered using oatmeal bath for my sons to relieve itching... and found out it works for eczema, too! Actually it works for almost any skin irritation. Turns out that oatmeal has an anti-itch property (*avenanthramides ~ see below). This also helps with the 'need-to-itch' associated with chicken pox, poison sumac, and other itching and scratching rashes or 'itch' associated with bug bites such as mosquitoes or chiggers.

How-To Make: Use regular oatmeal from the grocery store. Just make sure it's not instant. Use your blender or food processor to grind the oats as small as possible. (You'll want a powder. To test if the grind is small enough, stir a spoonful into a glass of water, it should make the water look milky.) Store in an air-tight container. If you don't have a way to grind the oats, you can purchase oat flour. It won't be as cheap as grinding the oats yourself, but still should be much cheaper than buying the 'Oatmeal Bath' packets.

How-To Use: Add to warm bath: 1/3 cup for infants, 1 cup for adults. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Pat dry, don't rub!

Oatmeal baths contain 100 % Colloidal Oatmeal. The word "col·loid (k l oid) n. 1. Chemistry. a. A system in which finely divided particles, which are approximately 10 to 10,000 angstroms in size, are dispersed within a continuous medium in a manner that prevents them from being filtered easily or settled rapidly." In other words: finely ground, like powder, making the water milky. No large oatmeal pieces floating in the water. So don't be fooled into buying the Oatmeal Bath for that reason.

* Check out these two websites for all the scientific jargon related to this topic: http://pediaview.com/openpedia/Avenanthramides or   http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/584277.html .

Belly-Busting Berry Smoothie

Delicious & cheap: Belly-Busting Berry Smoothie

Everyone already seems to be aware of the health benefits involved in consuming fresh fruit or fresh vegetable smoothies. So I'm not writing this to try to convince anyone, just to pass on a truly healthy & great-tasting recipe.

I'm sorry to say, I can't take the credit for the recipe, it's in the book, "the Abs Diet for Women", by David Zinczenko. It's an awesome book, and I suggest you buy the book since it's loaded with many, many more delicious recipes! Recipes for lots more smoothies, breakfast meal ideas,  lunch & dinner ideas, recipes, and snacks! If you follow the 'diet' as detailed in the book, I would say without hesitation that you will most definitely lose weight but you WILL NOT FEEL HUNGRY!! It's incredible! Don't forget another added bonus: making smoothies at home will also save you lots of $$$$$!

Anyway, back to the recipe.

Yes! That's real ice cream!

 Ingredients:

1 scoop low-fat vanilla ice cream (Pretty awesome, right!?)
1/4 cup each frozen blueberries, strawberries and raspberries (I get mine from 'Schwans Home Delivery' or Costco)
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1 Tbl vanilla whey protein powder
3 ice cubes


Just dump the ingredients into your blender & blend until smooth. In less than 3 minutes you'll have a delicious & healthy meal supplement or snack! For extra volume, the book says just to add more ice.

Quick & easy... and good for you, too!

Makes 1- 8 ounce serving

Per Serving: Calories: 251;  Protein: 15 g;  Carbs: 38 g:  Total fat: 4 g;  Saturated fat: 2 g;  Sodium: 116 mg;  Fiber: 4g

Seven-Grain Whole Wheat Harvest Bread

Fresh out of the oven!

My Mom always made homemade bread. It's a wonderful & lovely memory I will forever cherish. She also made the jams & jellies that went on that bread! She was pretty much incredible!

Now in case you're wondering what her reasoning was for making homemade bread (not to say that fresh, warm bread isn't good enough reason!) she didn't make it because it was 'better for you',.. this was in the early 1970's and she was just starting to read about & hear talk of white flour being bad for you and that table salt was a 'killer'.

I know she enjoyed baking, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't her sole motivation either!...she had a full-time job, 6 kids to haul around to and from school and 'after-school' activities, and a house to run! And don't forget, the 'wonders' of  Wonder bread were still mesmerizing moms all over America, convincing those same moms that since they didn't have the extra time to bake, Wonder bread make a perfectly nutritious substitute! It would have been nice if that were the answer to Moms dilemma, but the fact is, she baked her own bread because it was a way to save money. She didn't have a lot of extra time but she made homemade bread anyway! She had to save money & cut corners wherever she could, and this is just one of the many ways she did that.

I'm sorry to say I don't have my Moms bread recipe, but the recipe I'll be sharing is courtesy of "The Art & Soul of Baking" by Cindy Mushet. I've been using this recipe for the past 3 years & I really love it! It's delicious, inexpensive, nutritious and fairly easy for the return. I changed the name from 'Nine-Grain' to 'Seven-Grain' because I can never find the 9-grain hot cereal mix called for in the recipe! (I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but I go to the store around the corner from my house and just buy what's available.) I also add more whole wheat flour than the recipe calls for, & I decrease the bread flour. The changes are below:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup 7-grain hot cereal mix (not instant) I use Bob's Red Mill, found at my local grocery store

1/2 cup boiling water

1 cup plus 2 Tbl warm water (110*-115*) I just measure the water into a glass measuring cup and pop it into the microwave for 60 seconds.

This is the 7 Grain cereal I use.

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbl active dry yeast, or 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup honey

2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

STEP 1: Make the cereal mix. Pour the cereal into a medium bowl. Add the boiling water and stir to blend. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes.

STEP 2: Mix, rest and knead the dough. Pour the warm water into the bowl of the stand mixer. Add the sugar and yeast and whisk by hand to blend. Let sit for 10 minutes, or until the yeast is activated and foamy or bubbling. Add the cooled cereal, honey, flours and salt. Using the dough hook in the mixer, knead the dough on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes to allow it to fully hydrate before further kneading. Turn the mixer to medium-low and continue to knead until the dough is firm and elastic, 4 to 7 minutes.


STEP 3: Rise the dough. (First rise, shown below) Lightly oil a bowl, scrape the dough from the stand mixer bowl into a glass or pyrex bowl and lightly coat the surface of the dough with a little oil. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, 35 to 45 minutes (longer if the room is cold).


STEP 3. This picture is blurry but I didn't notice until it was too late... I use the red dish towel & get it moist & lay it over the bowl. If it's a cold day, I set the bowl with the towel on it in the oven & set it at 200*. As soon as the oven kicks on, I shut it off. I check it a few times during the rising: check & make sure the towel is still damp & notice if the oven still seems 'warm'. If not, I turn it back on to 200* and shut it off when the gas kicks on.

STEP 4: Punch down and shape the dough.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press down on the dough firmly to expel some of the air bubbles, but don't knead the dough again or it will be too springy and difficult to shape. Shape into a round, taut loaf by pulling the sides down and under the loaf, keeping it in a circular shape. I pull the sides down and under 3 to 5 times, or until it looks pretty round. I then quickly transfer it to my baking stone that I've placed a piece of parchment on earlier. A baking pan works just as well, just remember to use parchment or cornmeal underneath the loaf.


STEP 5: Proof the dough.(Second rise, shown below). Lightly cover the dough with the dampened towel and allow to rise until it almost doubles in size. About 20 - 30 minutes.

STEP 5: Second rise. I am placing the loaf in a barely warm oven.... to get it to rise, but not bake!

After second rise.

STEP 6: Prepare the oven. Preheat the oven to 400*. Lightly sprinkle the top of the loaf with a little bit of flour. Then using a knife without serrated edges, place slash marks across the top. Don't go too deep or you'll allow too much air to escape, and your loaf will look like it has fallen before you've even been able to cook it! (See pics below on pattern for slash marks.)

 

STEP 6: Top picture showing slash marks in one direction... bottom picture showing slash marks in the other direction.

STEP 7: Bake the loaf. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown. Transfer to a rack and cool completely. Slice with a bread knife or a serrated knife.

Homemade Breakfast Sausage, Ground

Nothing better than biscuits with sausage gravy!

My family loves to eat breakfast, no matter what time of day that happens to be! I've been making breakfast for dinner since I was first married over 27 years ago.

Now this doesn't mean we don't enjoy breakfast in the morning, because we do! It's just that we would eat 'breakfast' any time of the day,.. as long as it's what my family calls 'big breakfast'.

Allow me to explain. If I served my family oatmeal for dinner, they wouldn't think that's so cool. So understand that my family will eat breakfast for dinner, IF it includes meat, potatoes, eggs and maybe some kind of bread. So 'big breakfast' to my family might be pancakes with fried potatoes and bacon on the side. Or maybe omelettes with cheddar cheese & applesauce (my husbands' favorite) with fried ham and whole wheat toast. Or how about some crispy hash browns, with 2 fluffy biscuits opened on top and smothered in sausage gravy. Maybe with a couple over-easy eggs on top for good measure. Now THAT'S what my family calls 'big breakfast'!

So when the day arrived that I discovered I could make sausage at home, I naturally tried making some breakfast sausage. I looked online and found a few recipes that looked interesting. I'm using a recipe I found on allrecipes.com, but I changed the amounts of each of the spices, making it more to my liking. I think it's delicious. Hope you agree!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds pork (Buy it already ground if you have no meat grinder)
2 Tbl dried sage
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 + 1/8 tsp dried marjoram
2 Tbl brown sugar
1 Tbl crushed red pepper flakes
1 pinch ground cloves

If you're using unground pork, follow the directions here.

*This recipe allows for the sausage to be eaten immediately, no need to let the spices cure with the meat overnight.

Homemade Mild Italian Sausage

My husband bought me a Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer a few years back and for the next few special occasions, he gifted me with special attachments that don't come with the original mixer. One such gift: a meat grinder! I must admit I didn't use it right away & never actually thought of using it to make sausage.

As a child, I remember my Mom using a meat grinder that she attached to our pull-out bread board, which she had to crank by hand. She used it to grind larger cuts of meat into its' ground version for meatloaf, etc. Now since I can buy meat already ground, my meat grinder attachment gift sat unused for a while.... until I saw an online recipe by Emeril Lagasse, showcasing his homemade Mild Italian Sausage recipe. So we tried it out & I can't say enough how easy, inexpensive & rewarding it is to grind your own sausage! It's so easy I don't really feel like I'm doing any work....ya know, like 'extra credit'. (Spongebob - Season 2/Episode 10 "No Free Rides". hehe)

So, back to the sausage....

Emerils Mild Italian Sausage (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/homemade-mild-italian-sausage-recipe/index.html)

Ingredients you'll need:

3 pounds well-marbled pork butt (Buy ground pork if you don't own a meat grinder)
2 Tbl minced garlic
1 Tbl + 1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp toasted fennel seeds*
1 Tbl salt
1 Tbl freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground anise* (Anise is simply ground fennel seeds)
2 Tbl freshly chopped Italian parsley
3 Tbl dry red wine (I used balsalmic vinegar)
Pork casings, optional (I just bagged mine since I would use mine like ground beef.)

If your fennel seeds (found in the spice section at the supermarket) aren't toasted, simply measure what you'll need and 'place whole spices in a sauté pan, preferably non-stick, over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 5 minutes'. (This tip from Bon Appetit:  http://www.bonappetit.com/tipstools/tips/2008/04/how_to_toast_spices#ixzz21xmrNtxr)

STEP 1: Cut meat into small cubes. Combine meat and all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.

I had purchased a 13 pound Pork Loin from Costco. (Instead of Pork Butt,
which the recipe calls for)

I sliced off what would be pork chops, then cut that even smaller into cubes.

Here the meat is all cubed and ready for the spices!

I added the remaining ingredients and tossed the meat to get a good coating
 on all of it; then covered & placed in 'fridge.

STEP 2: Pass meat through meat grinder.

Always use the tool provided to push the meat down into the tube.

Here is the meat as it passes through the grinder for the first time.

If the pieces aren't small enough, pass them through the grinder a second time.

STEP 3: Time for a taste-test! Fry up a few teaspoons to check for a satisfactory flavor. (If your pork was pretty lean you may have to add a tiny bit of oil to fry the meat in.) Adjust the seasonings as desired. I thought it tasted awesome the first time and didn't change a thing!



Frying up a little for my first taste of homemade sausage!

I wrote the necessary information on my bags and scooped out some into each.

I then weighed them and either added more or took some out so that I ended up with several 1 pound packs.

I had divided my meat into three pieces before I started. I then made 1/3 Mild Italian, 1/3 Spicy Italian and 1/3 Breakfast Sausage.

*Like to try my Breakfast Sausage Recipe? click here

'Acorn' Treats!

The finished 'acorns'..with a few peanut butter smears!

Fall is so full of fun & interesting crafting ideas for children... it's hard to decide which to do!      (Pinterest)  We opted for a quick, easy, edible idea that was also educational! (We went outdoors & rummaged around for different leaves, trying to choose a variety of shapes & colors....and of course, we found oak! Ps..these leaves were saved for yet another fall project!)

So we tied in the oak with the acorn, and had lots of fun producing our own little 'acorns'! The only problem we encountered was that I had to ask my grandsons to stop eating them so I could have more than one finished 'acorn' in the bowl at a time! (Pictures!!) 

What you'll need:

Nutter-Butter Peanut Butter Cookies, round - 1 pkg

Hershey Kisses, Milk or Dark Chocolate - 1 bag

Chocolate Chips - Appx. 20 - 30




STEP 1: Grammy shows them what to do: Twist the cookie as you pull apart, ending up with two pieces.

 




'Peanut butter & chocolate' is an irresistible combination!

 

 


STEP 2: Using the cream filling as glue, just squish on a Hershey Kiss.

  


STEP 3: Using a tiny bit of the cream filling, add a chocolate chip to the top.


That's it! We're done!    Yum!!

Looks pretty in the bowl...

Don't mind if I do!...