The Return of Project Wednesday

"Welcome back...welcome back, welcome back, welcome back..."

(theme song from Welcome back Kotter)

Thought I was too young to know that? Your right... I would watch it on Nick at Night hehe.

No I was not kidnapped, abducted by aliens, or in the witness protection program... For those they may be wondering why so much silence from the co-author of this blog there isn't an answer - there are MANY!!!!

New school year

Ballet classes (for my daughter)

Zumba classes

Emergency trip to the ER (my husband had appendicitis)

Introduced to Pinterest

girls bedroom makeover (post to come)
Halloween
sewed costumes for Halloween

Addicted to Pinterest

Wedding in Charlotte

Sewed dresses for the girls (for the wedding in Charlotte)

Vacation to Florida

Thanksgiving trips (visited both sides of our family)
and recently I just started up a photography business

SO...now that I have made all of my excuses for being a lame blogger let's get on with it: Project Wednesday is back baby!! And just in time for Christmas! Johanna and I have an obsession with Pinterest right now and one of us may or may not need an pintervention (1146). Although it keeps me up late at night I get so many inspirations and ideas...if only there was a board on how to get your children to sleep in - hmmm... Anyway today's project brought to you by Pinterest:

Twine Ornaments

here is what you need:

glass ornaments (we used clear but any would work)

your handy glue gun

twine

ribbon (for hanging)Did you notice my glue-gun? She has seen a lot of miles...and she always keeps a souvenir from each project :) she makes Johanna giggle.

This isn't necessary to have but it does make it a little more enjoyable:

Mmm...caramel brulee latte...oh how I love you!

I started with a dot of glue on the bottom of the ornament and then coiled the twine on top of it.

Then kept winding and gluing to secure.

Continue till you reach the top and secure it with more glue.Super easy, yet beautiful! Add ribbon to hang on your tree or group them on a plate for an easy centerpiece! Voila - thanks Pinterest!

Pumpkins and Pinecones

 

I picked up 7 plastic pumpkins at the Dollar Store the other day, in hopes of decorating my house. Fall is my favorite season, but orange pumpkins don't fit into my home's color scheme. My plan?

Decoupage!

Here they are covered in newspaper. I put them in a bowl with a few Dollar Store pinecones.

Don't they look pretty?

How do you decorate for fall?

Gettin' Spicy!

I have been getting compliments and requests for the chili recipes I used for our Shrub Removal Par-tay


Sadly I do not have any amazing step by step photos.

I also do not have photos of fresh, mouth watering ingredients.

What I do have are the recipes.

I got both recipes from Better Homes and Gardens. I love all the food photos on the site- don't you?


I pinned a few other chili recipes on my Pinterest board, so check them out if you want a different flavor. I have some super yummy soup and chili recipes pinned. Just sayin'.



Chili Numero Uno:

Beef and Bean Chili

Serves 8

2 lb lean ground beef
2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 jalapeno peppers (add more or less)
2 TBS chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 15oz can tomato sauce
3 15oz cans red kidney beans, drained
1 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped ( I used chocolate chips- excellent for snacking as well as sweetening!)
1/4 c fresh cilantro. (I didn't have cilantro/don't like it so I omitted it.)

In Dutch oven, brown beef over medium-high heat; drain off fat. Add onions, garlic and peppers; cook about 5 minutes, until almost tender. Add chili powder and cumin; cook 1 minute, until fragrant. Add tomato sauce and 2 Cups water; bring to a boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered for 10 minutes.

Mash one of the cans of beans. Stir all of the beans into the chili. Return to a simmer; cook about 5 minutes. Remove from  heat, stir in chocolate until melted Stir in 1/2 tsp. salt and the cilantro.

**This chili is a bit spicy, so adjust  the amount of peppers and chili powder to your taste.**

Chili Numero Dos:

Spicy White Chicken Chili

Serves 8-10

2 cups chopped onion 

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 TBS olive oil

1  4.5-oz can chopped green chilies

3 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

3   15-oz cans white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

28-oz reduced sodium chicken broth

5 cups cooked  cubed chicken or turkey

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

 In a Dutch oven cook onions and garlic in hot oil over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until tender. Stir in green chilies, chili powder, oregano, and cayenne pepper; cook for 1 minute. Mash one can of the beans. Add all beans and broth to ingredients in Dutch oven. Bring to simmering. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

Stir in the chicken/turkey; cook about 10 minutes, until heated. Stir in cheese until melted.




Both chili recipes were delish and were even better the next day.

Let me know if you make either one- I would love to hear how you liked it!
Don't forget the toppings and cornbread!

Centerpiece

Mr. Lemon and I went over to a friend's house to watch the Steelers game tonight. I use the word "watch" loosely since I think I watched about two minutes total. Normally I would sit with Mr. Lemon to watch/nap,  but there were fun new projects to be done with my friend! I can't pass up an opportunity like that!

She had the idea to make centerpieces from pumpkins and greenery. She bought some cute pumpkin pie pumkins and we went into her yard to gather greenery and flowers. Her yard is full of beautiful trees and berry bushes.

We found lots of goodies, despite all the mud/snow! We filled three bags and made two trips back to her house. Once inside, we covered her dining table with our freshly cut treasures and got to work!

This is what I came up with:

It smells fresh and was practically free to make!

Bonus: The Steelers won so both of our hubbies were happy too!

Not Another Shrubbery!

Since the Shrub Removal Party on Saturday, the front of our house is a wreck.

 We tied up 18 bundles of shrubbery but there is still a huge pile on our front lawn. 

(The word "shrubbery" makes me laugh and think of the scene in Monty Python. Who's with me? Anyone? )

I am so excited about the idea of flowers in the front of our house! I have big plans for flowers and window boxes to pump up the curb appeal for our little house. The front looks a little bare without the enormous bushes so I need to get to work!

For immediate color, I bought some red mums. These will (hopefully) come back next year to provide fall color. I know they are perennials, I just hope I don't totally kill them.

I also planted tulip, anemone, and ranunculus bulbs for spring. They will be so cheery in pinks, yellows, purples and reds!! I just need to plant some fill in plants and some summer blooms. Any suggestions?

And for all of you who know me, Mr. Lemon did the initial digging, but I did actually put the bulbs (all 160) in the ground. Only two "surprise appearances" from those wiggly you-know-whats, resulting in bit of minor squealing on my part. Grandma Bets would be proud.

Proof that I actually had my hands in the dirt.

I suppose this is my debut picture. So nice.

What is your favorite flower? Do you have any plans for your spring garden?



Blog Bonus!!
For an extra dose of silliness: the "Knights of Ni" scene.

Shrub Removal Party!

We have twelve very large shrubs in the front of our house. As in two rows of very large shrubs that are so high that we can't see out/open our windows.

Yikes and double yikes.

5 Azaleas + 4 Evergreens + 2 Box woods + 1 Forsythia = 12 shrubs too many!

This is the view between the rows of bushes. Enough said.

Today we had a few friends come and help dig them out and free our little house from being overtaken by vegetation.

Hooray!

(Dirt splatter on our siding from spinning tires.)

Oooohhh!!! Who's that guy!?

 

Ta Da!!!

Left side: giant roots and tire tracks. Right side: The Pile Formerly Known as Shrubs.

It only took four hours, two chainsaws (one broke... sorry Steve!), two heavy duty chains,  one very serious axe, one Durango, one van, and lots of chili to take care of business!

Before

After

[Not pictured: Super-sized bushes!]

Yes our yard has a huge pile of roots and branches, and yes our yard has tire tracks, but we no longer have all those bushes hiding our cute little house!

Thank you, Mr. Lemon, Dan, Brian, Steve, Andy, and Steve! You guys made my day!

More improvements to come!

Free Spree!

While Mr. Lemon and I were driving around Ohio and Pennsylvania to see our dear friends and some of Mr. Lemon's old haunts, we stopped at one of my favorite places to shop: my mom's house. 

I found lots of goodies:

7 Picture Frames

2 Lamps

11 Doilies

Various "old school Johanna" items: mementos, photos, school binders and papers.

Score! Thanks, Mom!

Mom and I went to a Goodwill Outlet while we were in town. Have you ever been to one? Maybe your experience has been different, but this outlet was just bins of items thrown in. Not what I was expecting; it was a little like trash picking. Good thing I have some experience!

I found a little spice shelf and a lamp that reminds me of the Eiffel Tower. The lamp is gold, so guess what I am going to do to it.

I also went to Hobby Lobby, Pat Catan's and Joann's while we stayed at my parents. We do have a Joann's here, but it is the tiny kind- as in the cutting counter is also the checkout counter. It was refreshing to be in a big Joann's. I bought lots of $.25 papier mache items from Pat Catan's- I wish we had one close by... although Mr. Lemon would disapprove!

All in all it was a great trip! It was nice to see family and friends, some of whom we haven't seen in a while. (Hi Celia! Hi Jennifer!)

Where have you found some of your favorite treasures? Are you an attic shopper like I am?

Psssst! Secret Presents!

Psssst!

I have been working on secret projects. It is hard to keep secrets of crafty things!

 Mr Lemon and I were invited to a wedding for one of his college buddies so I made them some gifts for their home.

I carved some soaps for their bathroom. I got this cute idea from The Idea Room.  I carved a Fleur de Lis pattern one one side of each soap and then covered the soap boxes with white embossed heart scrapbook paper. The boxes are closed by cream gross grain ribbon and another Fleur de Lis.

They smell as good as they look!

I have seen these pillows around blogland (and of course on Ballard Designs' website), but I thought they would be perfect for the newlyweds.

I had a hard time parting with them- they are just too cute!

The black piping and letters are a nice crisp contrast to the creamy fabric.

Congratulations, Josh and Jill!! We are so happy for you! xoxoxo

Rainy Day Projects

Trina and I live on the East Coast, and we are going to be hit with the aftermath of Hurricane Irene this weekend.

Does this stop us from being productive?

No way!

I am getting some crafts ready that don't require power... just in case!

In the meantime, I have been working on a few other things...in between adding to my Pinterest page and baking. :)

 I made a new cover for a tired little pillow.

The pillow inside has been in every state and country I have ever traveled to , so no wonder!

Here is a little sneak peak of a wedding gift I am working on.

Soap, drop cloth, damask print, hmmm...... Curious?

Pillow Talk

It's another late night here at the Lemon house, so I have been working on a little pillow while I wait for Mr. Lemon to come home.

I thought I would share a tutorial. I used leftover scraps of fabric and ribbon to make this little throw pillow. You don't have to use scraps for this project- I just have a bin of ribbon cut in weird lengths that I wanted to clean out.

This project is easy but a little labor intensive- if you can sew in a straight line, then you can do this!

You will need:

A pillow form

Fabric

Sewing machine

Ribbons or trims

Thread

A gazillion pins

Measure your pillow and add a half inch on all sides for seam allowance. My pillow is 13 inches square so I cut one piece of fabric 14 inches square for the front.

For the back I want to be able to take the pillow in and out of the cover, so I will make an envelope fold. I make this cutting one piece that is 14x 10 inches and one that is 14x6. Hem one 14 inch side on both pieces. Set aside.

On the front piece, pin strips of ribbons onto the fabric. The ribbons should extend past the edges of your fabric by at least 1 inch. I pinned mine on a diagonal, but you could go straight across.

Alternate ribbons of different widths and colors- have fun with color combos. Remember you are only pinning now, so you can move things around until you have a design or pattern you like.

After you are satisfied with the pattern, and you have pinned every piece of ribbon, it's off to the sewing machine! Take your time sewing onto the ribbons. You can match your threads to each ribbon or find one that will complement all of them. Wider ribbons will need to be sewn along both edges, but thin ribbons will be fine with one line of stitching in the center. You can even use a zigzag stitch if you want. I mixed mine up and used zigzag and straight stitches and used white thread for all the ribbons. Crazy- I know! Once you have sewn all the ribbons on the front piece, set it aside.

My pillow was looking really cute so far, so I thought a ruffle would be perfect.  I made a ruffle by cutting 4inch wide strips of fabric. I sewed the strips end to end to make one very long strip then ironed a crease to make the pieces 2 inches wide. Set aside.

 Now it's time for the back. Lay the 14x10 piece right-side down with the raw edge touching the left raw edge of the front piece, and then put the 14x6 piece (right-side down) on the right. You should have an overlap. I ran the overlap sections on either side through the sewing machine just so I don't go crazy when pinning all the parts together.

Next I pinned my ruffle onto the back, putting all the raw edges facing the same way. I sewed these two portions together so I wouldn't have to remove my pins, but you can just sew once if you would like.

Sew the front and back together, then flip it right side out. Check you work and if you are happy with the results, then insert your pillow.

 Ta-Da!

I think the rick-rack and cupcake ribbon are my favorites.

Can you picture this in a little girl's bedroom?

Mr. Lemon

Mr. Lemon has been working some very late nights, leaving me to myself until the wee hours. I try to take advantage of the time by getting some work done on some smaller scale projects.

One thing I have been working on is this felt poppy/decoupage initial. I had fun making this from leftover pages from the book Trina and I used to make our lovely book page wreaths.

Can you see my secret message on the "J"?

It says "High Society USA".  Funny stuff.

I have been crafting in my living room these past couple of nights so I can hear when Mr. Lemon gets home; my studio is kind of sound proof.  It probably isn't a good idea to decoupage in your lap or on a medium-pile carpet, but I live life on the edge!

Thursday night Mr. Lemon came home with this monster of a side table.

He was so proud about finding this table in the dark, and you know how much Trina and I love free stuff, how could I refuse?

I know it looks a little rough and off-style, but wait until you see what I am going to do with it!

The Big Reveal

It seriously has rained everyday which has made it difficult to finish these chairs - BUT today was a nice day so get ready for the reveal!

Remember what they looked like before:

And here is how they look now:I love them! What a HUGE difference paint and drop cloth can make!
I really wanted to upholster them in vintage grain sacks like these:

But didn't want to pay the price that they cost - so I made my own out of canvas drop cloth, masking tape [painters tape would have been best, but I only had masking tape on hand and wanted to get the chairs done], and acrylic paint. After washing the drop cloth I taped out the lines that I wanted and painted in between the lines with the blue [I used blue and muted it with burnt umber to get county navy blue].


I was really pleased with how it turned out - and it kept the cost low!I painted the chairs with a creamy white latex paint, sanded them for a distressed look, and then used antique glaze to give an aged feel. I love the look of chippy white paint!

Once again here are the before and after pics: I'm so thankful that I found these lovely hitchhikers along the curb - I can't believe they were out with the trash!
Now to convince my husband that we need to keep them...