Two Peas in a Pod

: : flower accessories – a tutorial : :

Trish — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:43:29 +0000

Making these little flowers is really very simple. And with literally a bazillion ways in which you can use them, embellish them, mix and match them…you will have endless combinations you can come up with for any and every occasion. Use them in :

Headbands and hair accessories
Brooches / Pins
On your handbags
Wear on your jacket / embellish a scarf
Sew them on your mittens
Stitch them onto a baby onesie
Make them into a cuff bracelet
Stitch them into a quilt
Glue them on a pennant banner
Pin them to a winter hat, newsboy cap, your ball cap

Shall I go on? Here are a few I made up this morning for a friend of mine and her 4 girls…

And more I made up over the summer that we used in a photo shoot.

Here’s my video tutorial. AND my cautionary notes : :

PLEASE BE CAREFUL! THIS INVOLVES FIRE – HEAT – OPEN FLAME – DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!

Ok for serious, please be careful. This really isn’t something for you and your little kids to do together. Exercise good common sense and for heavens sake, please be safe!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWCk9HJuc-Y

{sunday lunch}

Trish — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:23:50 +0000

In an effort to save money, we are trying to be more creative with Sunday supper after church and eat at home. Used to be that most Sundays, we ate out. Usually nothing fancy but fast food or…a little sit down place we found where kids eat free on Sunday. But still…home cooked is always better all around. More relaxing for the grownups and healthier.

Last Sunday, after church, we stopped at the grocery to get a few things for our meals for the week. The kids asked if I’d make bruschetta for lunch (french baguettes were on sale for $1!) so I obliged.

Never, would I think a 3 year old would say, “Bah-chetta! YES!”. Sprout loves it.

Here’s how I make mine…

1) First TOMATOES. Loads of fresh tomatoes. I’ve used canned before…it works but fresh is BEST. Grape tomatoes or cherry works but this week, they were $2.49/lb so we opted for the Roma’s that were $1.49/lb. For our family of 4 (The Gardener, my park ranger husband was at work…BIG winter hike day with several hundred hikers) I bought 6 Roma’s. Dice them into pretty small pieces to make them easy to load on your bread.

2) BALSALMIC VINEGAR. My kids love this stuff. It must be because I LOVE VINEGAR and ate a lot of it while pregnant? Anyway, I cover my tomatoes in this vinegar. Usually about 1/4 to 1/2 Cup. I don’t measure it at all. Just eyeball it.

3) BASIL. Now last week, our fresh Basil was not on sale – $3.99. $3.99?!? Yes…since it comes in a big bunch, for us, 1/2 of it goes bad before I can use it all. We have dried basil in a spice jar so we tried that this time. Guess what? Worked like a charm and WAY cheaper. Fresh is great if you can do it but the dried also works. Fresh basil, mince it – I usually take about a dozen or more leaves, roll them up together and dice it to smithereens.

4) GARLIC. Yum. Oh, we love garlic. And it’s good for you. I use 2 cloves, minced and add to the mixture.

5) SALT AND PEPPER. Salt and Pepper make a huge difference in the taste. So, add each to your liking. The salt really brings up the flavor.

You can let this sit for awhile but my kids usually can’t wait. We cut up our baguette, added monterey jack cheese and butter and toasted. Then heaped loads of the tomato mixture on top. The Two Peas each ate 7 pieces! Sprout ate 3 and THEN ate 2 more huge spoonfuls of just the tomato mixture without bread.

It was delicious, a great light supper for Sunday afternoon, and

{love on a limb}

Trish — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:00:49 +0000

L.O.V.E.

I’m not a quilter. Not even close. Although I do quilt. I really don’t consider myself a quilter. But I love quilts.

L. O. V. E.

I cheat at quilting. A lot. Blanket quilts…that’s more my speed. Instant gratification.

My Love on a Limb “quilt” has been used in so many ways. For awhile, I used it on a table top. But for at least a year, it has graced the center back of our family room couch. I love it. Sprout often uses it to cover up with as it’s just her size.

The fabrics I used were from Moda / French General along with some others thrown in the mix. And Moda has some really great selections that would work well for this project. My favorite right now is Sweet Water – Authentic line. Check them out at your local quilt shop.

Go Sew! Make something for your love this weekend – check out this tutorial for my Love on a Limb project.

{burlap wreath}

Trish — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:37:05 +0000

Last fall, my friend Lydia and I, did some craft shows around town. One of the items we made up that were well loved was burlap wreaths. So simple to make and I love the versatility!

:: Here’s the how to ::

:: One grapevine wreath :: Easy to find – hunt down a coupon for Michaels or Hobby Lobby or JoAnn’s – and get a nice sized wreath.

:: Burlap :: – I found mine at JoAnn’s. Cut 2″ wide strips roughly 10″ – 12″ long. Tie the burlap strips on your wreath adding as many as you would like. Cover the whole wreath. Cover part of it. But if you’re going to cover ALL of it – then I’d find a wreath form that is as inexpensive as possible since it won’t be seen.

:: The accents :: I made 2 rolled roses and layered them together and added a pretty rose button on top. I also added a metal number plate found in the scrapbook section at the store. In addition to that, I used a paper punch and an old book destined for the neighbors garbage, and punched some pretty shapes and added those around my rolled roses. I propped up a metal star inside the wreath once I had it on the wall. And I used a long strip of fabric to make a bow to hang the wreath on the wall.

Pretty. Perfect for Winter. Or anytime of the year.

{be my valentine – a tutorial}

Trish — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:00:08 +0000

Last year, about this time, my peas and I sat down to this sewing project. If your son or daughter is begging you to teach them to sew – here is an easy peasy project they can wear. They will love telling everyone they made it themselves (ok, no, I doubt a boy will wear this BUT wouldn’t he love to give this as gift to his best girl from down the street or maybe a teacher or his sister, etc! Boys need to learn to sew too – I firmly believe. Both my husband and my Dad are competent sewers).

This is also an easy project for you! With a blank tee and some strips of scrap fabric and about 30 minutes, you can create a super cute Valentine tee (and hearts you can wear all year round – not just for Valentines).

To start, you will need 2 strips of fabric cut 1 3/4″ wide x 68″ long and 1″ wide by 68″. The length may vary based on how big your shirt and thus, how big your heart is but that length should be a pretty good fit for all.

If you don’t like the look of raw edges, you can serge all along the long edges of your strips (or use a zig zag stitch) to finish the edges.

Next, layer your strips together and using your ruffler foot OR a gathering stitch, gather your strips. I did a gathering stitch on mine using a stitch length of 6 and set my tension at 6. The higher you set your tension, the more gathered in will be. Looser tension, looser gathers. Adjust to your preference.

Next, we are going to draw our outline of the heart on the shirt using a disappearing ink pen (you could also use chalk if you’d like). I did not use a template but rather, freehand drew my heart. You could always fold a piece of paper in half and draw half a heart on the fold and cut it out to create your template (remember doing that in school?).

Now, pin your fabric ruffle along your heart outline. I started at the top center and folded under my end. I also put a book inside the shirt to make it easier to pin so I wasn’t catching the back side of the shirt.

Stitch right down the center following your gather stitch. That’s it kids. Simple. Cute. And your kids can do this themselves.

Since the ruffles are 1 3/4″ wide and sewn in the center, when you go to wash this – just a heads up, in the dryer, your ruffles are gonna go wild and not lay flat. SO, you may want to finger press your ruffles down when it comes out of the wash and air dry your shirt. OR you can follow this idea from the shirt my Two Peas made last year.

This is the shirt my peas made last year using a single strip of fabric cut 1 3/4″ wide. They ran a gathering stitch down the center and then pinned the fabric to the shirt. Instead of stitching down the center, they stitched along both edges as you can see in the photo. That way, the ruffles stay put and the look nice when you throw the shirt in the dryer.

Sprout LOVES her shirt (she’s napping right now in this outfit in fact – won’t take it off). She’s also a big ham.

Happy sewing and sharing the L.O.V.E.

{sew inspiring – karen davis}

Trish — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:45:55 +0000

One thing that I wish I had more time to do is to blog hop. My days are so incredibly busy that I rarely ever get to sit and just relax let alone read for pleasure. But one of the blogs that I try to visit at least every few weeks is one that always brings a smile to my face.

My “sew inspiring” friend I want to introduce you to this week is Karen Davis and her blog Celebrate Life. Karen is a military wife and mom living in Korea. She is a photographer, sewer and faithful servant of God – and truly, every time I open up her page, I leave there with a true smile on my heart.

Her husband has recently deployed and before going, she made him this amazing photo book full of scripture and loving words…such a touching momento that I really wanted to share it all with you. I think it makes such a great gift for so many different purposes. When I was on bedrest with Sprout, one of my twins Moms friends sent me a package full of index cards with verses on them that really lifted me up. This is that same concept done so, sew, beautifully.

As is everything with Karen, and all that she does. Beautiful.

She and her husband adopted a sweet girl 7 months ago and watching her journey from the pre-adoption phase to her “gotcha day” to her girls amazing development because of the love and care of Karen and her husband, is a joyful thing.

Her photos are always so colorful and tell amazing stories.

And she sews…sweet things most often for her daughter. But she has an etsy shop too.

I know you will fall in love with her story as much as I have. She is…sew inspiring…in so, sew many ways. Be sure to hop over to her blog and say hello – tell her I sent you. She doesn’t even know yet that I’m featuring her today!

{imperfect = perfect}

Trish — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:00:10 +0000

Sometimes things that don’t turn out the way you expected or hoped – end up being exactly the right thing.

Sometimes, when you try to bake your husband an angel food cake, from a box mix, that you’ve never made before and then you use a pan you’ve also never used, and then you bake said cake and you’re not sure exactly what constitutes “done” – um, sometimes it comes out rather imperfect.

Such is life.

But the cake was perfect. It was tasty. A tad bit chewy. And it provided many laughs for our friends who shared it with us. And it has now been added to the list of “Trish cooking stories”. It goes along with the giblets I left in the turkey on Christmas day that we didn’t discover until everyone was done and we were packing the turkey left overs up, or the fried chicken I made by sprinkling flour over the TOP of the chicken and it came out burnt in one huge massive lump, or the hot dogs and beans I served in our first year of marriage that my husband questioned, “were these slimy when you took them out of the package? Why, yes. I had to rinse them off” followed by him quickly spitting out his food and telling me that meant they had spoiled. Yes, not perfect – but in a way, the unexpected, the fun memories = perfect.

Where we live, we don’t have internet service. No cable. Nada. And when it rains outside, our land lines for our house phone gets all crackly. In fact, I could hear at least 3 or 4 of our other neighbors on the line while on the phone. I couldn’t ever tell who I was eaves dropping on but nonetheless, not a perfect situation.

We have since hooked up our home phone to our cell phones. And gotten a hotspot on our phones for internet. Not a perfect solution. But it works. Most of the time. Consequently, I’m sometimes slow with email or updating the blog or fixing tech problems because we don’t have the “power” to do it from home with our limited connection. Kinda stinks most of the time. I’m hoping someday soon the internet gods will bless our rural road with some connectivity. Oh, how I dream….

But that lack of connection probably keeps me off the computer (off more than I should be on I guess with all the work I have to do) and keeps me hanging with my family more.

Sometimes things that don’t turn out the way you expected or hoped – end up being exactly the right thing.

{payton’s quilt}

Trish — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:00:18 +0000

A labor of love.

Payton’s Mom picked out some fabrics while Payton was still cooking in her Mom’s tummy for a quilt that would wrap the wee one up when the air was chilly.

Payton was born. Has grown to about 18 months old and I just finished her quilt. I did size it up so she could snuggle with it while watching movies and it’s large enough to spaciously grace her toddler bed.

Sometimes projects get back burnered. For no other reason except – I get distracted with other projects. So, on Saturday night when the Gardener, my hubby, got a phone call from a friend to help him track a deer he shot…that left me with 3 kids asleep in bed and a quiet house all to myself. And down to my sewing room I went.

3 1/2 hours later, a sweet little quilt…actually, I guess it’s a really a patchwork blanket because it’s not quilted at all. My husband came home from his adventures just in time to actually lay out the squares in an order that he said “was mathematically correct”. *shakes head* He laid them out so that no color was repeated in any row in any direction. Ok, so it works. It was pretty.

I backed the blanket with some flannels, used a sheet in the center to give it some weight (instead of batting). For a blanket like this, I pieced the top using 16 quantity 9 1/2″ squares and 2 1/2″ wide sashing. Then I basted the center sheet to the top. Put right sides together – the back to the top (my blanket sandwich in order was: center sheet, top, back), stitched leaving an opening for turning. Turned it right side out, steam pressed the edges, pinned again and then top stitched all the way around.

Pretty quick and simple and a labor of love for our sweet friend Payton.

{sew inspiring – “sew can she”}

Trish — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:28:20 +0000

A new year, a new look to my Monday Morning Inspiration posts. Calling it now “Sew Inspiring” where you can meet some of the very inspirational crafters, sewers and artists right in your own neighborhood. Or in the next state. Or across the ocean. You get the idea.

Join me on Mondays to meet some inspiring artists. Want to be featured? Just send me an email…twopeasinapoddesigns at gmail dot com.

It is my pleasure to introduce to you today, the adorable Caroline from Sew Can She.

{Since the feature is called Sew Inspiring, can you tell me what inspired you to sew all the time and then start SewCanShe.com?}

It’s funny how life leads you in ways you would never expect. I cannot remember ever not sewing, I guess my mom taught me that young. My sewing machine got packed away for college however, and then I loaned it to my sister for a while. It wasn’t until I had babies that I decided to start sewing again. But then, I might have cracked had I not had sewing to escape into for a while each day. It was like I could sit down at the machine and my worries would fall away. It saved me. Then I started making pdf patterns and a little company started. But eventually I knew what I really wanted to do, and that was make a site where people could be surprised, delighted, and excited each day by a new sewing tutorial. And, where I could help all those great tutorials out there get noticed!

{What continues to inspire you each day and how do you keep your art fresh? Inspiration each day}

My daughter Chloe is my inspiration. She’s only 6 but she has more creativity in her little finger than an entire Hobby Lobby store! Really. I know you don’t believe me, you think it’s just the mom in me talking, but she blows me away. Someday she is going to really make something. I don’t know what yet, but you just wait and see.

{What 3 words best describe you?}

Dorky, creative, and stubborn.

{What could you not live without to get through each work day? Your phone/computer, sewing machine or your coffee?}

I know I should say computer because I am on it so much, way too much. But I have such an emotional tie to my sewing that I think I would die without a sewing machine. You’ll never catch me lovingly oiling and talking to my computer, but my sewing machine – all the time.

{What is the best part of your job as a designer?}

This is easy. Being a part of the online sewing/blogging community. All of the sewing, blogging moms and grandmas I have met have been so cool, so sharing, and so real.

{What advice would you offer to someone when it comes to living a creative life?}

Find what makes you happy. What makes the stress melt away. And what gives you a chance to share with others. Creative doesn’t have to be sewing or painting. It could be building robots.

{What can we expect to see from you in the coming year in terms of new projects and design?}

Funny, just today my sister said to me ‘the ideas you have next year will be completely different from the ideas you have today.” I hope that’s true. I don’t want to ever get stuck focusing on the same thing for too long. So, we’ll just have to see!

Thanks Caroline for a peek into your inspiring self! Be sure to visit Caroline at Sew Can She for great sewing ideas everyday.

new year resolutions…kinda sorta

Trish — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:00:11 +0000

I usually don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I figure, what’s the point? It’s not like I’m actually going to make some dramatic changes or anything. I mean, let’s be honest. Change is hard. And I’m pretty settled in my ways.

But, this year…I’ve been thinking. I really want some things to change. I’m tired. And I think I’m at the point where change is necessary or else. This is the year.

This list, might not be of any interest to you…but if I say it, I’ll do it. And I’m gonna say it aloud so I take some action.

1) My business, this whole Two Peas thing…my “hobby”…this is the year I decide to either keep doing it publically or go underground and just sew for fun without the business aspect. I get emailed lots and lots of questions about how to do what I do and I thought it might be good to share what my pea brain knows thus far about what I’ve been doing and I’ll do that more here in 2012. It just seems like there are some crafters that seem to find instant HUGE success and can make this whole handmade thing their bread and butter to provide for their family. Wish I knew their secret. To sew and craft for a living – like actually make a living at crafting, dream! DREAM!! I’ve certainly enjoyed success, and I am so humbled and thankful for the successes I have had and…I can’t quit my day job. I’m pretty sure because of benefits like health insurance, I won’t be able to. Ever. I’m patiently waiting to see where God will lead me in this decision. Plus, I love my day job too (working in higher ed and for the environment – we’re tree huggers in case you didn’t know).

My business is more than a business. Which is maybe not good business? It’s my love. My passion. Lifelong passion, truly – I love sewing and art. Have loved it since I could hold a crayon in my hand. I love what I do and love sharing with others what I do. I spend a lot of time on my business and the whole point of creating “two peas” was to afford me a small income so that I could be available to my family, AND get to do what I love. I mean, isn’t that THE DREAM? When I was a park ranger, somebody PAID ME TO RIDE MY BIKE IN THE PARK ALL DAY. Serious. It was the best! If I’m spending time away from my family in order to work my business, it needs to be worth my while, worth my absence. You know what I mean?

But I suck at it. At least at staying focused because my babies are only babies once, and I’m so easily distracted for one more hug, for a quick bike ride on the driveway, for snack time, etc etc etc. My hubby says my “business” so far is still just a hobby. And a hobby would allow me to make different decisions with my time. Does that make sense? I mean, if it was JUST a hobby, then to heck with deadlines, marketing, bookkeeping (oh I hate bookkeeping) blah, blah, blah. Heck, I tell my husband all the time…I just want to sew and draw and paint and glue things together and create. Can’t somebody else do all that other number crunching stuff ? I’m just not sure I have what it takes to be so driven to make my hobby a true business. I love what I do – too much – and sometimes I feel like I’m sacrificing the love of it for something else.

Maybe this is “taboo” – things you shouldn’t say in business publicly but I’m just being honest with myself. I’ve been at it commercially for one year. They say it takes 2-3 years for a business to hit its stride. Being a one woman show is taxing – and I’m not sure if this is what God had in mind when I felt pulled this direction. Anybody else feeling this way with your business? Please tell me I’m not alone.

So my resolution here is to full on do the things I originally set out to do. I’m going to hit it hard this year! Sky is the limit, pie in the sky, dream the big dream, shoot for the stars. That way, I can have no regrets. No. Regrets. I’m going to figure out how to manage to balance my time so that I’m happy with my creative time, family time and business time. No. Regrets. This time next year, I want to decide if this is for me or not. Did I mention my young husband who is a law enforcement park ranger is retiring THIS YEAR. Those law enforcement guys have a good deal going and he was recruited very young. See…I think this is at the root of my turbulent thinking because of this drastic change for us…lots to figure out what are we doing, how we do it, where do we need to be. It’s really weighing heavily on me.

2) This is the year I vow to lose the *cough! cough* twenty pounds, give or take a few, that I gained while Sprout was having a rough go last winter. She is still considered to be in an “ongoing diagnostic” phase as they found some neuro abnormalities but can’t pin it down especially since thus far, her neurological and other developmentally milestones are all being met, thankfully. She’s even a little advanced in some areas. Funny thing, when you quit eating from stress and nerves, you gain weight, quick. Bummer. But this looming, waiting for the other shoe to drop feeling, kinda starts to get old after awhile.

We have been very blessed because our family received a scholarship from the Y for my girls to be on the swim team and I have access to classes and 6 hours of personal trainer time to help me figure out how to get on track with diet and exercise. I want to get my flexibility back that I lost after having my last baby, I want energy, and I want to be able to button my pants so I don’t have to buy new ones. I’ve got a serious muffin top thing going on with my jeans right now and I do NOT want to spend any money on clothes. Today, I quit drinking pop. Cold Turkey. I made it all the way to 3:34pm. Then I had a Coke. I’ll try again tomorrow. Wish me luck on that one.

3) I want to be a better steward in faith – I want to be sure that in all that I do – I do it for the right reasons. I want to do more than just enough to get by, I want to be more centered and focused on my relationship with Christ. I keep reminding my girls, and in a way, reminding myself, that a sin is a sin is a sin. It doesn’t matter how small, God doesn’t say well, murder is REALLY bad but lying is not as bad so…OK, you’re in! I want to live my life with God at the center of EVERYTHING I do. Taking care of myself, my family, people around me – it all plays into where I’m placing my priorities. First and MOST IMPORTANT, I don’t want to just get by. I want to do more. I’m not sure what that means just yet…

4) I want to be on time. I’m late for most everything. I hate that about myself. And yet, for like 20 years, I can’t seem to improve it. I’m going to set my alarm more often. Try to keep a better, stricter schedule. Refer back to #2. I think that will help. All about physically and emotionally, being healthy. I mean, it’s so bad, my friends actually tell me to be places 20 minutes early – they LIE to me, so I get there on time. It works. Most of the time. But then I’m worried that if my friends are LYING to me, they are gonna go to hell (see #3). I’m just kidding about that part. But I am going to do better this year about being on time.

5) I want to catch up on my laundry. In a house of 5, it never, ever, never, ever stops and I’m always like 7 loads behind the eight ball even when I do a load or two EVERY DAY. Ugh. I vow to declutter our laundry heap, simplify our clothing choices, and use those vaccuum storage bag things so I have a space to put off season clothes away (did I mention we live in a small house with very small closets…love the house, hate my closets.)

6) I want to simplify. I’m tired of having “stuff”. I want less “stuff” and more open space. Refer to #5. I decluttered every room of the house this year and finished just before Christmas. I’m going to do it all over again…and really pare down. Almost everything we own is a hand me down and I have a hard time saying no – I’m a flea market, thrift store, junk loving kind of girl. But I need to simplify. PURGE will be my favorite word for January and February and March and April and….

7) I want to be a better friend, reconnect with old friends. There are people that used to be really important in my life and they have faded away. I want to reconnect.

8. I want to be a better wife. I pray about this ALOT. I try to practice submission with my husband (well, the kind where I tell him he’s the head of the house and he has the final say but really, I pretty much always get my way, kind of submission. Right? That’s how it works isn’t it? I really do let him lead but we are 100% a team). I want to be everything he needs me to be and support him as best I can. I want to always make him happy and feel loved and appreciated. I want to say “yes” more than I say “no” because that always ends up working in my favor anyway. What? Oh, come on girls. That is not a secret. Right?!

9) I want to volunteer at my kids school while I can. 5th graders, this is their last year in elementary school. Can I put them in a bubble and stop them from turning into teenagers? Please? I know I still have 2 years and 2 months before they hit their teens but I’m working so hard to keep them little and age appropriate in a world that wants them to to be 17 when they are 10. It’s such a battle – and I mean, one that I wield a shield and sword for – to keep images, music, television, and situations, age appropriate to MY standards. To hell with the standards of the world, it’s our rules, our standards. It requires me to preview movies, google search lyrics to songs before they download them, and it’s sometimes freaking exhausting. But they are the sweetest, most compassionate, generous, loving, faithful, inspiring, energetic, appreciative, down to earth girls I know. And that has nothing to do with me…that’s all them. I don’t want to miss a moment of any stage of their life. Even, gasp, the teen years.

10) Become debt free. This economy sucks right now. This goes back to #1 and the hubby retiring. Debt free will do much to alleviate my anxiety over our future. Pipe dream maybe because I’m talking the whole she-bang. Mortgage and all. I guess I better start playing the lottery. This one is maybe less of “resolution” and more of a dream.

I think that about covers it all. Wait, I want to drink more water too. Anyway, just a few little resolutions…How about you? Make any resolutions this year?