Heart Pillow with free applique template

February 9, 2015 by girlinspired 3 Comments

With Valentine’s Day just days away, I wanted to share some EASY techniques for learning applique. This heart pillow is the perfect place to learn and it’s so cute, you can decorate with it year round! Once you are comfortable with the basic steps for machine applique, you can use the same supplies and steps to practice with other shapes. Let’s get started!

Supplies:

Heat ‘n’ Bond Lite (or other sewable iron-on adhesive)
heart template – click here to print template
15″ x 15″ scrap of fabric
front and back cover for 16″ x 16″ square pillow
iron, scissors, marking pen

Begin by printing out the heart template. Fold a piece of Heat ‘n’ Bond in half, line up the heart template on the fold and trace around the template to transfer the image onto the paper side of the adhesive sheet.

Cut out the heart shape from the adhesive.

Following the package instructions, place the adhesive side of the heart onto the WRONG side of the 15″ x 15″ scrap of fabric. Iron quickly to adhere the sheet (this is usually a quick 2-3 second press).

Cut the heart shape from the fabric, with adhesive on the back.

Peel the paper backing off of the fabric heart.

Center the heart, adhesive side down, on the right side of the pillow cover. Iron in place (again, follow the package instructions for heat setting and length of time).

Finally, we’re going to sew a tight zig-zag stitch around the perimeter of the heart to secure it in place. This is also an opportunity to add a nice pop of color as a border around the heart. Center the edge of the heart under your sewing machine needle. Set the machine on a wide zig zag stitch so that as the needle goes from side to side, it catches the edge of the heart in the middle of the stitch. You will also need to decrease your stitch length to a very short stitch – this is what makes the nice satin-like finish on the stitch. It takes a while to go all the way around the perimeter of the heart, but just work slowly, gently manipulating the fabric under the needle for a smooth stitch all the way around. (You may want to test your stitch width and length on a scrap of fabric to get your settings just right before you stitch on your pillow cover).

Complete your pillow by stitching the front cover to the back. You can find instructions to add piping to the edge of the pillow here if you’d like to add that step – I think it gives the pillow a really nice professional looking finish.

You can also find the steps for making your own piping here and sewing a basic pillow cover here.

That’s all there is to it! Happy Sewing!

Looking for more Valentine’s inspiration? You might like:

14 Valentine’s Dessert Recipes

Valentine’s Heart Trinket Box

this tiny treasure box

The heart applique tutorial was first published at I Heart Naptime.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

February 13, 2014 by girlinspired 2 Comments

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and I don’t know if there’s anything as sweet as a box of chocolate dipped strawberries. Have you ever made them? They’re a treat that just feels special! I was in the cake supply store a few weeks back, picking up Pastry Pride to make an ice cream cake, when I found myself chatting up the owner about the various chocolate/candy melts. Taste-wise, I’m not a huge fan of the easy melts that are typically used to make molded candies and coat the ever-popular cake pops. When it comes to chocolate, I like the real stuff, and the darker the better! When we’re talking about melting chocolate, though, using the real stuff can be a bit more finicky. Candy melts are easy – you melt them a bit at a time until they’re melted smooth, dip your stuff, let ’em cool. Real chocolate needs to be tempered so that it cools and hardens with a nice texture (“snapable”) and so that it doesn’t “bloom” (or form unattractive white spots after cooling).

So, how do you temper chocolate? I quizzed the poor cake/candy store lady. And, I’m still no expert, but I did get a few helpful tips. Basically, when you temper chocolate, you’re going to melt it slowly, making sure you heat it to a maximum temperature. Then, you stir it while it cools to a specific temperature, and THEN it’s ready to use. Lots of stirring, lots of checking the tempurature. I learned that each brand and each variety of chocolate requires different temperatures for this process AND all you have to do is look up the chocolate brand on the web and they’ll tell you how to temper their chocolate. You can purchase chocolate for melting from a candy supply store; check around in your neighborhood to find available high quality chocolate for baking. Using my newfound tips, I was able to dip these strawberries with great results! Here’s how I did it:

First, wash your strawberries and blot them with a paper towel to remove the excess water. Set them on paper towels to dry the rest of the way.

Gather the chocolate you’ll be using. Chop it into small pieces if you purchased it in a chunk/bar. Although my chocolate is in pieces that look like the candy melts, it is actually real chocolate, ready for melting. Check the website or a reliable source for specific instructions to melt your particular chocolate. I’m going to continue with the specifics for Guittard dark chocolate.

Bring a small pan of water to about 130 degrees. Turn off the burner. Place a bowl over the pan (or the top of a double boiler if you have one) and place the chocolate pieces inside the bowl.

Stir the chocolate gently until about 2/3 of it is melted completely (about 95 degrees). Remove from the lower pan. Stirring the chocolate continually, allow the mixture to cool (the remaining chocolate will finish melting). Stir and cool until the chocolate reaches 89 degrees. It’s ready for use!

Hold one strawberry gently by its stem and dip it down into the melted chocolate. Lift it up and allow the excess to drip off.

Place dipped strawberries on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper to cool. Add sprinkles or contrasting stripes of melted white chocolate if you’d like. Store in a cool place. Eat within one day.

Note: You can purchase a thermometer in the temperature range discussed here (40-140 degrees), but note that a candy thermometer does not reach those lower temperatures. I improvised with a regular people thermometer, though I don’t think it registers below 90 degrees. Basically, I kept checking the temp of the chocolate and as soon as the reading shifted to “Lo,” I considered the chocolate “in temper.” It’ll work okay in a pinch, but if you have the forethought to purchase an appropriate cooking thermometer, it will save you the guesswork.

I’m going to continue working on my “tempering” skills. Let me know if you’ve mastered this very important skill!

***Also!! Please stop in tomorrow for a love-day giveaway! It’s going to be awesome! Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on this, particularly if you find yourself in the kitchen quite a bit!!!!!***

Valentine Heart Trinket Box

January 29, 2014 by girlinspired 5 Comments

Please tell me I’m not the only complete sucker for end cap cuteness. I should wear a t-shirt or a sign or something. I walk into the craft store and drool over the supplies on the end caps. Usually, there is no completed project to spark an idea for what I might do with the supplies, but they pair the glitter and the paper mache boxes and the pretty cardstock all under a big sign that says Valentine’s Day is COMING and I throw it all in my cart because I can’t resist and God forbid I don’t make something fabulous for Valentine’s Day. I mean, I know that’s why they put it there and I know I shouldn’t buy stuff for which I don’t already have a crafty plan, but….I can’t help myself. So, a couple weeks ago, it was the heart boxes that ended up in my cart with no intended purpose. I was trying to figure out how what to do with them and it occurred to me that I could mod podge a picture onto the top of the box, just as well as paper. So that’s what I’ve done. In the name of furthering Olivia’s bedroom makeover, we have a photo-topped, heart-shaped trinket box. And it’s perfect for stashing little things on her nightstand.

Supplies:

heart-shaped paper mache boxes (or any shape/size – these come in all kinds of shapes and are really inexpensive)
Matte Mod Podge
foam brush
cardstock
photo sized to cover box lid
glitter
pipe cleaners
hot glue/hot glue gun

1. Determine the placement of the picture on the lid of the box. A square or rectangular box is pretty simple, just trim down the sides. For the heart box, I held the photograph in front of the lid in front of a window and moved it around until I had the photo placed where I wanted it.

2. Trace around the lid onto the back of the picture and cut out. Cut to the inside of the traced lines so that the photo is just slightly smaller than the top of the lid.

3. Coat the entire box with a coat of Mod Podge and let dry. Use a foam brush to add another layer of Mod Podge to the back of the picture and the top of the box lid. Press the photo onto the lid and smooth out any air bubbles. Allow to dry completely.

4. Meanwhile, trim strips of cardstock to fit the sides of the box. Apply Mod Podge to the sides of the box and the back of the cardstock strips and glue in place on the box. Allow to dry completely.

5. When everything is dry, use a foam brush to coat the entire box (over the picture and the cardstock) with another coat of Matte Mod Podge. Allow to dry.

6. Use a hot glue gun to glue pipe cleaners around the edge of the lid. You could alternately add glitter or some paint around the edge.

7. You could also apply paper to the inside of the box in the same way. I poured a good amount of Mod Podge inside the box and spread it all over with a foam brush. Then, I dumped a whole container of glitter inside and tipped the box around so that the glitter adhered to the entire inside. After it dries, you can coat the glitter with another layer of Mod Podge to seal it in if you want.

Move that pretty box into its new decorating space. I’m still shuffling things around and adding some new things to the decor in the bedroom.

This heart trinket box was so inexpensive to make, it can stay for as long as my daughter likes it and I won’t feel bad when it’s time to shift things around again! The cork horse that she made in school last year will need to stay for a good long time, though. It’s the cutest, right? Whose clever idea was that thing?

Boston Cream Pie Dessert Crepes

January 27, 2014 by girlinspired 10 Comments

A while back, I shared one of our favorite family breakfast recipes, the Breakfast Crepe, which has been quite popular. Today, I wanted to share a recipe for converting those crepes into a deliciously elegant dessert – Boston Cream Pie Dessert Crepes. I remember when I was graduating from eighth grade. I went to a very small church school, so the entire eighth grade class consisted of 14 students. All of the parents prepared this fancy meal for the students to celebrate during class one day. There were cookies and carrot sticks and other things I don’t remember, but I do remember that my mom brought in these dessert crepes, filled with cream and drizzled with hot fudge sauce. I was so proud that my mom could make such a fancy treat and I’ve never forgotten it.

To make Boston Cream Pie Dessert Crêpes, you will need to cook up a batch of the original Breakfast Crepes (click here for the recipe). Fill with about 1/8 C. Pastry Cream and roll them up. I find it easiest to fill a pastry bag with the pastry cream and then just give each crepe a quick squirt down the middle and roll. Then, drizzle with chocolate sauce and serve.

Pastry Cream Filling

1/2 C. granulated sugar
1/4 C. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C. whole milk
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 C. heavy whipping cream

Directions: Separate egg yolks in a small bowl and whisk gently. Set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and milk. Stir and heat until it begins to thicken (about 5 minutes). Pour about 1/3 of the sugar mixture into the whisked egg yolks and stir. Then pour the entire egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and continue cooking over medium heat for 1 more minute. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and transfer to a medium size bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap down onto the top of the custard mixture and place in the refrigerator until it is completely cooled (1-2 hours). Whip 1/2 C. whipping cream in a bowl until soft peaks form. Use a spatula to gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled custard mixture.

Chocolate Sauce

1 C. chocolate chips
3 Tbs. butter
splash of cream or milk

Directions: Heat chocolate chips, butter, and milk in a saucepan over low-med. heat until melted and glossy. Immediately drizzle sauce over prepared and filled crepes. Reheat gently as needed to maintain a pourable thickness.

We make breakfast crepes a couple times a month, but I make these dessert crepes for special occasions only (or for blog posts, Sunday breakfast was a real treat!!). If you’re looking for something especially decadent for bridal showers, anniversaries, or Valentine’s Day, I think you’ll love these custard filled chocolate treats!

Cute, Little Hair Bows

January 14, 2014 by girlinspired 23 Comments

As you can imagine, getting three little girls off to school in the morning has its challenges. And three girls with long hair? Well, we have our hairbrush battles. Mostly, by the time we finish brushing out the tangles, the girls aren’t in the mood for too much more styling.

A quick clip to brush their bangs off their foreheads has become the go-to hairstyle. I grabbed some scraps of fabric and ribbons to make a few new clips. These cute, little hair bows are a cinch to make and can be catered to whatever sorts of supplies you have on hand.

Begin with a 4″ x 4″ square of fabric. Press it well, using spray starch if you’d like for extra crispness.

Fold it in half, right sides together, bringing the top down to the bottom.

Stitch using a 1/4″ seam following the stitch lines in the picture below and leaving a 1/2″ opening in the bottom center. No need to stitch across the top where there is a fold.

Clip the corners, without clipping through your stitching. Turn the rectangle right side out through the opening. Use a chopstick or other bluntly pointed object to push out each corner as best you can. Press very well again.

Fold the top and bottom up toward the center and pinch.

While still holding the folded fabric in place, fold back the top and bottom edge to meet the fold line on the back. You will see your bow form.

Lay the bow on its side in your sewing machine and stitch a quick zig zag stitch at the center along the “sides” of the middle of the bow. Set aside.

Cut another scrap of fabric 2″ wide x 4″ tall. Fold in half along the length and press.

Open the piece up again and fold each side into the center mark. Press.

Fold the whole thing in half again on your first fold mark so you’ve made a strip of double-fold bias-like tape.

Stitch along the edge down each side of the strip.

Wrap the strip around the center of the bow piece, overlapping slightly. Cut off the excess portion of the strip and apply fray check if you’d like to stop the ends from fraying. Allow to dry for a few minutes.

Use a hot glue gun to join the ends of the strip around the bow.

Grab a clip of your liking and slip it through the back of the center loop on the bow. Add dabs of hot glue between the bow and the clip top to secure the bow to the clip. Alternately, you can glue the bow onto the clip prior to wrapping the center strip around – then wrap and glue the center strip around the bow and clip at once.

For a ribbon bow: cut a 7″ length of at least 1″ wide ribbon.

Form the ribbon into a circle and zigzag stitch the ends together.

Be sure the stitched ends are on the bottom center of your ribbon circle. Press it flat in the middle, bringing the tops and bottoms up and into the center.

Glue or stitch in place.

Form a second loop from a 2″ length of 1/2″ wide ribbon. Glue to join the ends. Slip the ribbon “bow” through the ribbon loop. Attach a snap to the back of the bow as outlined above.

I made a leather bow also (isn’t that leather awesome?? – got it last spring from Mood Fabrics during Fabric Weekend). The leather was a little more difficult to feed through the sewing machine, but it was fine – it was a thin leather and I didn’t even bother changing out my machine needle. I omitted the step of stitching the folded center of the bow.

I also made a bow with wider wire ribbon (say that 10 times!). It’s cute, though I think it will take some maintenance to maintain a pretty shape. One bump against the bow and the wire is going to get all kinked. Ah well, it’ll be cute anyway!

These clips I like to use are called “metal single prong clips”. They seem to stay in the hair better than other varieties, but everyone’s hair is different! I bought a big huge box about five years ago from my local beauty supply store – they’re readily available in your town, I’m sure! Zebra fabric is by Adorn It – “Princess”. Wired glitter ribbon is from Jo-Anns and the smaller glitter ribbon is made by American Crafts. Happy bow-making!!

Linking up at Tatertots and Jello!

Filled German Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Buttercream

December 11, 2013 by girlinspired 7 Comments

The blend between the caramel buttercream and the rich, coconut filling in these deluxe German Chocolate Cupcakes will make you swoon. They are SO good – if you like coconut, that is. My husband does not and it makes me sad because it’s one of my favorite ingredients. Since he’s not eating these cupcakes, I’m sharing them with you!

I’ve been kind of into filling cupcakes with something yummy lately. It’s like a fun surprise between the crumbly cake and the fluffy frosting. In this case, the gooey center is a traditional German Chocolate Cake filling/frosting – made from egg yolks, butter, sugar, and coconut. But the caramel buttercream frosting added to the top leaves you with the whole package.

While I like to make decadent desserts and experiment with new flavors and recipes, it’s nearly impossible to find the time to make everything from scratch. I use boxed cake mixes most of the time because they taste pretty darn good. Sometimes adding a few alternate ingredients can really dress up a cake, sometimes adding a homemade frosting is all that is needed to produce a delicious cake. And I should note that I always, always make frosting from scratch – that’s the part I’d rather put my time into. Anyway…I used a boxed German chocolate cake mix for the basic cupcakes here. My mom makes a great German Chocolate cake from scratch, if you want to whip up the whole shebang.

For the filling, mix 2 egg yolks, 1/2 cup evaporated milk, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan – cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 cup sweetened coconut. Let cool. Scoop about a 1 teaspoon of cake out of the top of each cupcake (a grapefruit spoon works well for this). When the filling mixture has cooled, spoon it into the whole in the cupcake.

Finish the filled cupcakes with a piped swirl (use tip 1M) of Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream (to die for!!). Toast a little shredded coconut in the oven for 5 minutes or so, just until it starts to brown. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely. Sprinkle cooled coconut over the top of the cupcakes – it looks fancy plus it gives people an idea of the flavors hiding within!

So tell me, do you like some filling in your cupcakes? Do you prefer to make the cake from scratch or the frosting or both…or neither?

Not into cupcakes (what??!?)? I have a really easy oilcloth gift card holder/coin purse sewing tutorial over at I Heart Naptime today – perfect for quick gifts!!