Super Stay At Home Mommy!

Adventures in the life of a stay at home wife and mom

Apr 30

Kids Clothes Week Challenge

by linnaeasmom

This past week I participated in the Kids Clothes Week Challenge (KCWC) via Elsie Marley. Basically, we were challenged to work for one hour a day, for seven days straight, on making children’s clothes. I got several things accomplished, and wanted to share with you!

Leggings made from old t-shirts. I got this tutorial from Rookie Moms.

A pair of long shorts. I've had terrible luck in the past with shorts patterns, so I actually spent one hour of my sewing time creating a pattern for these. Some day, I'll add more sizes to it and post if for everyone to download.

And of course, the poodle skirt I showed you earlier this week. You can find the tutorial here at SuperStayAtHomeMommy!

I got this pattern from the free downloadables at Fabric.com. I changed it up a little and added the tiers. This is my favorite thing I did this week 🙂

Sewing

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Apr 26

Child’s Poodle Skirt Tutorial

by linnaeasmom

I’ve been wanting to make Linnaea a poodle skirt for a while now– simply because a 1 year old in a poodle skirt is too stinkin’ cute! I couldn’t find an online tutorial out there, and didn’t want to spend the money on a pattern for such a simple skirt, so I had to get thinking…. I absolutely LOVE this circle skirt tutorial by Dana Made It, and it dawned on me that that’s pretty much what a poodle skirt is- a circle. Now, using this pattern, the skirt comes to the knee. So, all we have to do it add a couple inches in length (measure the leg to where you’d like the skirt to end, and use that as the length measurement.) Anyways, here’s how I did it:

To start, as I said before, I used the pattern from Dana Made It, and simply add a couple to the length. To make this skirt, I used felt. The beauty of felt is-- NO HEMMING! How great is that! It doesn't fray, so no need for hems.

Again, following Dana's tutorial, I sewed the exposed elastic along the top. We're almost done already!

Here's the iron-on poodle applique. I ordered online from Joann's. All we need to do is apply it!

Voila! We have a poodle!

Here's the finished product. How easy was that!

Adorable!

Sewing

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Apr 20

Grilled Romaine Salad

by linnaeasmom

I had seen this recipe on a show on Food Network, and thought it sounded a bit strange. But then my in-laws tried it and went on about how delicious it was…. So, curiosity got the best of me, and I just had to try it to. Let me tell you, I am in LOVE! This is how I want my salad every night for dinner 🙂

Mmmmm..... Grilling it brings out so many flavors in the romaine. You have to try this, so tasty!

Here’s the recipe via Food Network

Ingredients:

  • 2 heads romaine lettuce
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

Preheat a grill to medium-high.

Rinse and pat dry the lettuce. Cut the 2 heads in half lengthwise. Brush surface with olive oil and grill about 4 to 5 minutes total, turning occasionally. Place each wedge on a salad plate and drizzle with your favorite Caesar dressing. With a vegetable peeler, shave some pieces from a wedge of Reggiano-Parmigiano over each salad and serve.

**I add some salt and pepper to the lettuce after brushing it with olive oil, and we use just plain old Parmesan cheese. I do drizzle mine with a little Caesar dressing, but it actually tastes delicious without any dressing at all. Enjoy!

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Apr 18

From Trash to Treasure!

by linnaeasmom

Recently, I snagged a couple little chairs and table on Craigslist for $5. I was looking for a little place for Linnaea to sit down and color, and this was perfect! There was just one thing wrong… The chairs were covered in cartoon characters (Dora and Spongebob, which we don’t watch here), and the table had a picture of a princess and was covered in scratches. Since they were going to go in our living room (the room Linnaea has officially taken over as her playroom), I needed them to look more presentable. So, I decided the easiest way to go about doing that was priming and painting the whole set. This ended up not costing me a penny! How did I do that, you might ask? Well, we had a little primer left over from a previous project. For the paint, I went to Ace Hardware on a weekend when they were offering a free quart! They do this occasionally, so keep an eye out and grab a quart next time you see the deal going on! You never know when you’re going to need some paint!

Here’s some before and after pics, I am quite pleased with how they turned out!

Before.... Even if we wanted to, we just couldn't leave the chairs this way. Linnaaea was terrified of the giant Spongebob eyes staring at her!

During... After a couple coats of primer

After! Her table and chairs set up in her little corner of the world 🙂 Total cost- $5! In researching online, I found that I saved anywhere from $45 to $100! (Depending on the set of table and chairs you get). Keep an eye out for deals, it pays off!

Crafts Do It Yourself Money Saving Ideas

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Apr 13

Quiet Books!

by linnaeasmom

I am so excited about this post! I have been working on 2 quiet books, one for my daughter and one for my nephew, for about 2 weeks now. They are time consuming, but SO worth it! I love how they turned out, and can’t wait to see what you guys make too.

I found the design, templates, and supplies list at Serving Pink Lemonade. She’s got it all organized, and makes it easy for you to make one too. I did make a few changes to some of her templates, and I’ll show you below what I added…..

Ok, I didn't actually change this one, but it is by far my favorite! The petals have velcro so kids can move them around and learn counting. Then, the little pot that it's in is actually a pocket to hold the petals. So cute, right!

"Serving Pink Lemonade's" design is actually a cute ballet slipper. I had originally planned on doing the ballet slipper for Linnaea's book, and a tennis shoe for my nephew's book. I decided I actually liked the tennis shoe a bit more than the slipper, so I did this for both books 🙂

The only thing I added to this one was a little personalization-- just put their initials on the mailboxes, which I thought was fun!

"Serving Pink Lemonade's" first page simply says "My Quiet Book", once again I wanted to add a little personalization so I did it this way. I also added the little pocket.

I had a great time creating this fun little books, and I hope you guys do too!!

Crafts Sewing

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Apr 10

And the winner is……

by linnaeasmom

Katy A! Congrats!! I will be getting with you via email later today to discuss details. Thank you to everyone for participating, and welcome to all of my new followers!

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Apr 5

Bacon and Egg Risotto

by linnaeasmom

My husband and I are big fans of Hell’s Kitchen. On the show, one meal Gordon Ramsey always has the chefs make risotto. It looks so yummy that I just had to try to make some. Well, after one meal we fell in love with it. Now I make my own little additions and changes to recipes, and this is one rendition that we LOVE. Bacon risotto with a poached egg on top. YUMMY!!!!!

Here’s the recipe!

Serves 4

  • 1/2 pound bacon
  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 onion, diced (optional, the hubby isn’t a fan of onions so I don’t include them in mine)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup white cooking wine
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tomatoes
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon and reserve.
  2. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan over high heat; reduce heat to low to keep the chicken stock hot.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion begins to turn golden brown at the edges, about 2 minutes.
  4. Pour in the rice and stir until the rice is coated in butter and has started to toast, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir in white wine and stir until rice has absorbed it. Continue by stirring in one-third of the hot chicken stock and stir constantly until the rice has absorbed the liquid and turned creamy. Repeat this process twice more, stirring constantly. Stirring in the broth should take 15 to 20 minutes in all. When finished, the rice should be tender, yet slightly firm. **Stirring is VERY important, it’s what gives risotto that creamy consistency
  5. Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, the Parmesan cheese.
  6. Meanwhile, poach your eggs. If you don’t know how to poach eggs, you can check it out HERE
  7. Serve topped with 2 slices of bacon and poached egg. (Jason prefers the bacon crumbled and mixed into the risotto, you can do that too!) Slice your tomatoes and serve alongside the risotto. The perfect bite consists of a little risotto, a crumble of bacon, and a bit of tomato. Mmmm. Enjoy!!

**For extra bacon-y tasting risotto, you can substitute the 2 tablespoons of butter in step 3 for some bacon grease. I’ve done it this way before, and while it ends up a little greasy, it is REALLY tasty!

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Apr 3

Giveaway Time! Fleece Throw: ENDED

by linnaeasmom

All right everybody, it’s giveaway time!! The winner will receive one 54″x54″ fleece throw, customized to their liking– you tell me what colors/design you’d like, and we’ll go from there to make you exactly what you want! A $40 value!

Entry details– To enter in the giveaway all you have to do is follow my blog, and leave a comment saying that you’ve done so. Easy! (That’s a free entry if you’re already following me, but don’t forget to comment below so that I know you want to be involved!!)

To earn extra entries in the giveaway you can,

1) Follow my page on Facebook, then leave a comment below saying that you’ve done so

2) Mention SuperStayAtHomeMommy in a post on Facebook, then leave a comment below saying that you’ve done so

3) For every 3 friends you refer to SuperStayAtHomeMommy, you will receive another entry in the giveaway. Simply have them follow my blog, and then comment below who sent them here!

How easy is that? You’re on your to winning a beautiful fleece throw! Perfect for curling up on the couch with, or an blanket for a kid’s bedroom!

Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 10, 2012. Winner will be chosen via Random.org at/around 12pm MST. Giveaway is only for US citizens.

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