Salvaged, Now Loved

I found this shirt in a store closing that was sadly ripped in the sleeve. However, I had been looking for navy striped tank for a while and decided to try to salvage this poor shirt.

Notice that there are cute little cloth and button tabs that hold up the sleeves, which I transplanted to the top of the tank.



Not a bad for a little elbow grease and needle and thread! I'm always for a little hand sewing if it means a chance to be creative and thrifty!

Classic Meatballs

With access to organic ground beef and sweet italian sausage, I decided to make some classic meatballs this weekend. This recipe is a variation of Mark Bittman's recipe in How to cook everything.

First, soak 1/2 cup breadcrumbs in 1/2 cup of milk. I didn't have processed breadcrumbs so I used some bread and ripped it into little pieces.



Saute 1/2 cup of minced onion in some olive oil (or butter) until soft.



Combine breadcrumbs with milk, onions, 1 egg, 2 lbs of meat (your choice of beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, etc), and salt and pepper to taste.





Roll out the meatballs approximately 1-1.5 inches in diameter.



To cook the meatballs you can either sear them in a nonstick pan with some butter (or olive oil). For a leaner option you can roast the meatballs in the oven 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, shaking the meatballs occasionally to evenly roast the meatballs.

In the meantime, you can prep your favorite tomato sauce. I like to make mine sweeter than the average sauce to cut the acidity (just add some sugar).



Final Product.



Top with some chiffonade basil and you have an entree when coupled with fresh pasta or a mini-appetizer like this!

Happy Labor Day!

How to: Floral Pin

A few months ago I made two floral clips and had some extra materials so I decided to create a step-by-step guide for people who would like to make their own silk floral pins.

First you need to purchase silk flowers from your local craft store and cut off all of the petals. You'll also need felt that is similar in color to your flower petals (or not based on your preference). You can use an alligator clip so that the floral can be pinned in hair or use a safety pin that allows you to pin the floral on clothing. I only had a safety pin so this is what I used.

Materials:
Silk flower
Felt
Charm (optional)
Thread
Safety pin
Alligator clip

Equipment:
Needle
Hot glue gun





Begin by gathering the petals in a circular shape and sewing each petal on top of each other. As you add more petals continue to sew them to the inside of the cluster working from outside in. To get some more dynamic shapes you can fold or shape the petals before you sew them to create more volume or depth.






Once you have the flower shape that you like, you can insert the charm and also secure it with needle and thread to the middle of the flower.



The backing is created by cutting felt into a circle that approximately covers the middle portion of the flower. You can adjust the size based on how much of the back of the flower you want covered by felt (or how much of the back of the flower you need to hid because your sewing is messy).



Then cut two little slits into the middle of the felt circle so you can insert the non-needle end of the safety pin through the felt.



To secure the felt and safety pin to the back of the flower use hot glue and focus on the middle of the flower first.





Then work your way around the edges of the felt securing it to the petals all around the flower.



Once this has been secured and the hot glue is dry, you will have a new accent piece for boring tank tops or t-shirts that are made instantly more glamorous with your floral pin.




a la SJP: