Sunday Threads

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Cheesy Rich Italian Roni Mac

This is a perfect potluck casserole-for-a-crowd...it makes a big ole dish of rich, yummy, lasagne-like pasta.

Plus, it is easy to make and goes together quickly for a layered pasta.

Total cook time: 45 minutes


CHEESY RICH ITALIAN RONI MAC

INGREDIENT LIST
16 ounces roni mac noodles (could also use pasta shells or penne)
1 24-ounce jar pasta red sauce (I used Ragu roasted garlic)
1 lb. pork or turkey sausage
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 stick butter
8 ounces low-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
8 ounces low-fat small curd cottage cheese
2 cups shredded colby cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

DIRECTIONS
Spray a 9X13 casserole dish with non-stick spray, slice up two tablespoons of the butter and place on the bottom of the dish. Cook the noodles, and place half of the noodles in the casserole dish. Cook the sausage, add in onion, toss with the jar of red sauce. In a mixer, blend cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese, and spread the white cheese mix over the noodles. Top with remaining cooked noodles, slice up the remaining butter and place around on top of the noodles, then top the whole dish with the sausage/sauce mix. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees, top with the shredded cheese, and bake for 15 more minutes.

Leftovers heat up well!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch

Tatoo Your Summer Jeans--Embroidery and Sequins for Your Wearable Art

I managed to score some really cute cropped jeans at Kohls for only ten bucks! That was combining a sale price with a little Kohls cash, and wallah! As you know, we girls are always picky about the fit and look of our jeans--and I'm always looking for cute jeans with embroidery--but all I could find was some plain janes--so...you know what to do: tatoo your jeans yourself!

I roughed out the embroidery design I wanted first. Then I picked out some fun, fresh, spring floss colors. DMC is my favorite floss. I suggest using one of those Michaels "20 percent off your whole purchase" coupons, and then buy a bunch of floss at a discount.

Then, I started stitching using the chain stitch for the crown outline, backstitch for the smaller design elements, satin stitch to fill in the hearts and circles, and then my loopy flowers to finish. Use a nice tapestry needle with a wide eye, because you'll be using all six strands of the floss skein, but a nice sharp point to make it nice and easy to sew on your jeans. I put this design on the front of the left leg. It took a few hours over a couple of evenings of stitching. Next...I'm doing the back of the right leg!

I had my design all stitched when I looked over on my worktable, and noticed this little container of sequins...hmmm...so onto the design they went!

These jeans still had the tag on! But I'm wearing them now.

Eat, Write, Dream in DMC, Stitch

WOYWW 203--Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...

My trays of bits and bobs are out!

Happy WOYWW 203 Lovelies! You may see a mess here...but I see me in my happy corner with everything you can imagine pulled out of its nice neat container, and onto my table for painting, gluing, cutting, sewing, drawing, and art journaling. Ahhh. This is so much better than a nice, neat boring worktable!!

But when it is boring, the leaf on the white work table is down, and the surface all clean--everything has its place in my little corner. Then the secretary desk, to my left, also has its pulldown desk, back in the up position, and then its all nice and roomy. My sewing machine is on another desk--waiting for its new friend to come in the mail: my new embroidery computerized sewing machine!!

Look at that beautiful mess with some sewing mags for inspiration.

I worked on a Bliss tag banner!

AND--I even finished embroidering my new jeans! At least that leg--Imma go crazy and do the back of a leg too. Woo hoo! And thanks to you all who threw me some support for being so excited about 97-cent yarn last week. Hugs to you all!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch...then stitch some more...

Hanging Spoons

Found these adorable painted ceramic measuring spoons, and they are just too pretty to hide in a drawer. Sooo...

...with a little pretty twine and a bead on each spoon, they are hanging in the kitchen for all to see! They actually hang over the kitchen sink - which I love. I think this is the start of some spoon hanging around here. Nothing's off limits! Windows -- walls -- trees outside! I have seen family traditions of hanging spoons in trees and things and I'm all about hanging funky things in trees. I have some old silverware that will look cute in the wornout cherry tree I'm going to yarn bomb this summer!

Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Love Life

Happy Earth Day 2013!

Happy Earth Day everyone! Here's a little scene from last year's garden (that's the joy)--and then a photo of the baby tomato plants growing on my greenhouse now (that's the hope--it all grows with love)! I love celebrating Earth Day because I'm thankful we live on this beautiful little planet in the Goldie Locks zone with enough hope, joy and love to rule the world.

Eat, Write, Dream Stitch, Grow

Sunday Threads

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psalm 136:26

WOYWW 202--Yummy Yarns and Celery Stamping

Isn't it amazing how a desk can kind of stay the same over a week's time? (Visit desks all over the planet right here on Mrs. Dunnit's beautiful blog party.) Then...other weeks...your desk looks different every single day! Well--I don't know if it's trying to diet a bit, or what, but I've had a lot more energy lately. Yay me! So I finally did the celery stamping experiment. Yes...I have a lot of crap...I mean, er, craft on my desk right now. But, rest assured, I'm having fun!

So, I have a celery heart, dried out a bit, and I painted it and started stamping. I think it's quite fun, the results, and so now, I'll be stamping green more often! This could be a flower--or the Milky Way galaxy...who knows!

I've got a fun new tin of flowers to play with, and sugar-n-cream yarn finally went on sale for 97 cents. I went a little crazy. Oh well. I'm turning into the crazy crafting lady! Have a happy day at your worktable!

Minnie and Joseph can't wait to get out and soak up the sun!

Heart-a-Day 2013 -- Week 15

Well here we go, with another busy couple of weeks--and I haven't hardly picked this thing up! Yet, I somehow managed to lay some hearts on here. It may be going slow, but that's why we gave ourselves a year, right? Every time I stitch a new heart, though, I'm happy with the way the tapestry is filling up with so much color.

PROJECT DETAILS
Project Name: A Heart a Day 2013
Start Day: January 1, 2013
Materials: White Platinum 14-count Aida Cloth (a beautiful, high-quality, 
crisp white) DMC's Anniversary Embroidery Floss Pack - 36 gorgeous colors 
 celebrating DMC's 100th anniversary, beginning with DMC 3831 and going in order through 3866
Technique: Cross-stitch
Goal: Fill the 18X20 inch aida tapestry with hearts and text
  
Colors used in order in:
Row 1: 3831/3833; 3833; 3831/3837; 3837; 3838/3836; 3838; 3842/3841; 3836; 3853/3837; 3854; 3854/3847; 3847
TEXT: May your beautiful heart be blissed and blessed
Row 2: 3834, 3834/3865, 3850, 3850/32, 3861, 3831/61, 3864, 3843/64, 3846, 3839/56, 3854/47, 3847, 3834
TEXT: Let love, peace and joy color your heart
Row 3: 3848/66, 3842, 3854/42, 3853, 3857/63, 3835, 3833/36, 3851, 3851/56, 3860, 3860/64, 3844, 3844/55
TEXT: A happy heart is stitched with many threads
Row 4: 3831, 3831/33, 3850, 3853/44, 3844, 3840/62

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Enjoy!

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Cross-stitched Heart

Eat, Write, Dream, and Stitch Your Heart Out!