Tank Tops made from T-shirts

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I just love pinterest!  It is such a great way to find ideas and inspirations for just about everything.

These tank tops were projects I found on pinterest and decided to make.  Both of them use a t-shirt to make the tank.

No Sew Tank Top made from Wobisobi tutorial
No Sew Tank Top made from Wobisobi tutorial
Back of No Sew Tank Top - tutorial from Wobisobi
Back of No Sew Tank Top – tutorial from Wobisobi
Tank Top made from pinterest tutuorial with my own i-cord strap idea and couched hem
Tank Top made from pinterest tutuorial with my own i-cord strap idea and couched hem

The royal purple one above was made using the directions I found from the Wobisobi site.  The project is called No Sew Halter and if you click on the highlighted text it will take you to the tutorial.  It is very easy to follow and requires no sewing.  I have made two of these now.  There are lots of other no sew t-shirt ideas and tutorials on this blog as well.

 

The red one to the left was made using a tutorial from crafterhours blog.  It is called tee to tank and if you click on the highlighted text it will take you to the tutorial.  I also found this through pinterest.  This particular tank does require a little bit of sewing.  I added a little of my own creativity to this one by hemming the bottom by couching down a variegated yarn that I had leftover in my stash from another project.  I also used this yarn to knit some i-cord for the straps at the top and neckline.  The i-cord then ties on one side.  I really like how this tank top turned out.

After making the red tank top I got inspired to use my pattern making program, Bernina My Label, and make my own version of this tank.  I used part of the halter top pattern that is from the My Label patterns and this batik fabric to make the multi color version below.

Tank Top - idea inspired by pinterest - made using Bernina My Label halter top pattern by Kimberlees Korner
Tank Top – idea inspired by pinterest – made using Bernina My Label halter top pattern by Kimberlees Korner

 

All of these tank tops are super easy and quick to make.  A great way to recycle an old t-shirt and create something new to wear for summer.

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend.  It is hot here in Texas so I will probably be wearing one of these tank tops this weekend.

 

 

 

 

Categories: Sewing

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Sewing Pattern Review on Skirts

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sewing pattern review for skirt simplicity pattern 1662
sewing pattern review for skirt simplicity pattern 1662

I love to make skirts for spring and summer.  The fabrics they offer for these two seasons are just perfect for long or short skirts.  I also think that it is more comfortable to wear a skirt when it is hot outside than pants or shorts, sometimes.

I was recently at Hobby Lobby again – it seems I go there about every other week – and they had Simplicity patterns for .99 cents again.  I can not resist buying one when they are that low – even though I don’t need any more patterns!

This pattern, Simplicity 1662, offers 5 styles of asymmetrical skirts.  The skirts attracted my attention because they look comfortable, different than any of my other patterns, and easy to make.

simplicity pattern 1662 for asymmetrical skirts
simplicity pattern 1662 for asymmetrical skirts

 

So far I have made two of them using view A.  The navy one (photo above) is in a lightweight broadcloth and the red one (see photo below) is in a cotton print.  The red one I altered a little on my own to have a straight hem in the back.  I am always changing things on patterns, it seems, to create my own design.  The skirts have only a few pattern pieces and an elastic waistband.

red burst cotton skirt sewn with simplicity pattern 1662 view A

 

back view of red burst cotton skirt by Kimberlees Korner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These skirts are so easy to sew.  Definitely a project a beginner can make.  I have been sewing over 25 years and from start to finish, including cutting out the fabric, I made this skirt in a little under 2 hours.  A quick and easy summer project.  I am planning to make view E next, the longer version with the lower ruffle.

I hope everyone is having a great day and has a Happy 4th of July tomorrow.

 

Categories: Sewing

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Homemade Laundry Detergent

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I found this recipe on pinterest a few weeks ago for homemade laundry detergent.  I pinned it to my cleaning board and decided last weekend I would give it a try.  I have made my own household cleaners for over 10 years and decided this looked like a laundry detergent that was worth trying.  The recipe is from the blog howdoesshe and if you click on that highlighted name it will take you to the post about how to make the detergent and a printable recipe, as well.

homemade laundry detergent stored in large baking soda bag after all mixed together in large bucket
homemade laundry detergent stored in large baking soda bag after all mixed together in large bucket

First off I decided to cut the recipe down and only make a 1/4 of it to see if I liked it.  I hated to make this huge batch and not like it or have it not get our clothes clean and be stuck with a huge amount.  Also, my first batch I did not use the Zote soap I bought some Dr. Bronners soap at my local health food store, in the rose scent, and grated it up.

Well, let me tell you the detergent is awesome.  It got our clothes (I have 3 sons) clean and made everything smell wonderful.  Even my laundry room smells great.

I have now made a larger batch of the detergent using the Zote soap and all the other ingredients listed.  This detergent recipe is the best and only takes a few minutes to make up.  I set outside on our patio while my boys went swimming and grated the soap.  The soap grating seems to be the most time consuming part although it is not that hard to grate and the blog gives you some tips on how to make it easier.

grated zote soap for homemade laundry detergent
grated zote soap for homemade laundry detergent

If you do not want the detergent to be scented or you are allergic or sensitive to certain things I would omit adding the Purex crystals.  I had never used these before and they are kind of strong but they smell good.

Another thing I noticed is that if you have kind of hard water, like I do, then you may need at least 4 or 5 tablespoons of this for a large load of laundry.

I liked this detergent so well and was so pleased with the results I actually was looking for more things to wash the first day I used it – which is crazy!  Usually I do not have to look too hard to find dirty laundry around here with 5 people in our household.

homemade laundry detergent mixed in big bucket
homemade laundry detergent mixed in big bucket

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post.  Off I go to do more laundry with my awesome new homemade laundry detergent.  Have a great day!

 

Categories: Recipes

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Cake Doctor Book and Recipe Review

Cake Mix Doctor Books

 

I was first introduced to the Cake Mix Doctor books a couple of years ago from one of my knitting group friends.  She made this wonderful Apple Cider Cake and brought it to one of our meetings.  It was so good she sent me the recipe and told me the book it came from.

I usually check the library for any books I am interested in and did so with this book.  To my delight they had 3 different titles of the cake doctor books so I checked them all out.  My local library allows you to check books out for 3 weeks and renew, if no one has requested it, for another 3 weeks so that was more than enough time to try out various cakes in the books and decide I would like to own at least one, if not 2 of the titles.

The titles I own are the original Cake Mix Doctor, copyright 1999, and the Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor, copyright 2001.  The original title I received as a gift a couple of years ago for Christmas.  I just recently bought the Chocolate version at my local Half Price Books for only $5.99.  My oldest son and I went there a couple weeks ago to trade in some books and DVD’s – after my DVD organizing we had some to get rid of.

The Cake Mix Doctor books have a variety of different types and styles of cakes to bake.  All of the directions are easy to read and follow and lots of other helpful baking tips and ideas are offered throughout the book.  All of the recipes start with a basic cake mix but lots of other ingredients are added to produce rich and delicious cakes.  These cakes are not made from scratch cakes.

I was never one before to bake tube cakes, I usually stuck with the 13 x 9 or round cakes.  These books have some awesome tube cake recipes and have inspired me to bake a lot more of this style cake and they are so easy!  I made this one in the photo below for my birthday yesterday.

chocolate cream cheese pound cake made from Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor Book
chocolate cream cheese pound cake made from Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor Book

It is a chocolate pound cake that uses cream cheese in the recipe.  It is very good.  I had made some homemade hot fudge sauce, a recipe I found on pinterest, that was so good and went perfectly with this cake as a topping.  My sons loved it!  The hot fudge sauce recipe was from a blog called Chocolate, Chocloate and more.

Another recipe I recently tried from the Chocolate book is the Hello Dolly Bars.  These are made with a cake mix and are just wonderful.  Very easy to make, too.  They do require a few ingredients but are a cinch to throw together and bake in about 25 to 30 minutes.  The perfect cake-bar treat for my hungry kids.

Hello Dolly Bars recipe made from Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor book
Hello Dolly Bars recipe made from Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor book

I hope you enjoyed this review of the books and a couple of the recipes.  I have tried many more and they are all delicious.  The ones mentioned above are the ones I have most recently made.  Subscribe via RSS feed or through bloglovin for future book and recipe reviews.

 

Categories: Baking Books

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Recycle Plastic Ice Cream Bins for Storage Containers

Gallon Plastic Ice Cream container recyled into storage container   I try and reuse containers that food or other household items came in as much as possible.  One of the types of containers I have found several good uses for is a large plastic rectangle ice cream container, the 1  gallon and 1 pint size, with a handle. The great thing about these containers is they clean up easily and the lids fit on securely, if you want to use the lid.  They also stack nicely.  The handle is another bonus.

I have been using this type of container to keep my compost stored under my kitchen sink for several years now.  It is great to have a container with a lid for this purpose.  Each day I take the bin filled with fruit and veggie scraps and coffee grounds out to my big compost bin behind the shed out in our backyard.  The handle makes it easy to carry.

Recycled Ice Cream Bin used under kitchen sink for Composting Bin
Recycled Ice Cream Bin used under kitchen sink for Composting Bin

I have also used this type of ice cream bin to store and somewhat organize my beading supplies.  The idea for using this container for this purpose came to me last summer when I was going out of town.  I decided I wanted to take my beading supplies so my niece and I could make some bracelets while I was visiting her.  This container was perfect for travelling.  It did not take up too much space in the car and the lid held everything in there securely without spilling.  I had already bought some of those little bead organizers with small compartments and those containers fit right inside this larger ice cream bin with my beading mats on the top.

Recycled ice cream container used for beading supplies
Recycled ice cream container used for beading supplies

Another idea for using these containers is to hold old rags under the sink, or scrub brushes.  I use one under the bathroom sink to hold some rags and old toothbrushes I use for cleaning.

I have also bought ice cream in the round plastic containers and use some of those as well for soaking small laundry items or in the past for my kids bath toys when they were young.  There are lots of possibilities with these large 1 gallon ice cream containers.  Let me know what you come up with by leaving a reply.

Categories: Organizing Recycle

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Crochet Headband Pattern

Openwork Crochet Headband Pattern by Kimberlees Korner
Openwork Crochet Headband Pattern by Kimberlees Korner

A quick and easy free crochet headband pattern.  Perfect hair accessory for summer or anytime of year.  Click on the highlighted text below to download or view the pdf file of this free pattern.

Openwork Crochet Headband Pattern by Kimberlees Korner

This pattern is very easy and super fast to crochet.  You can finish this project in 2 to 3 hours.  A great project to work on for the summer months.  The headband is also very comfortable to wear and does not give me a headache.  Another bonus.

This pattern is one of 3 patterns included in a pdf pattern I offer for sale in my etsy shop.  Please visit my etsy shop if you are interested in purchasing the complete pattern which includes a mobius cowl and a mobius wrap along with this headband pattern.  Items made from my patterns may be sold but the pattern is my own design and not to be resold.  Thanks.

Crochet Openwork Headband Pattern by Kimberlees Korner
Crochet Openwork Headband Pattern by Kimberlees Korner

 

 

Categories: Crochet

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Summer Reading

Books to Read this Summer
Books to Read this Summer

Well, it is officially not summer for a couple more days but I have chosen some of the books I would like to read this summer.  The books can be seen in the above photo.

I have divided the books into 2 stacks.  One stack, on the left, is my fiction stack and the other, on the right, is my non-fiction stack.  I tend to read non fiction in the morning.  I am currently reading Becoming the Woman I Want To Be by Donna Partow.  I also like to read non fiction during the day sometimes if I have a free moment or I am supervising my kids and their friends swimming in our pool.  The fiction books are my evening-bedtime reading choice.

My boys have been out of school for a week and a half now.  Last week I began a reading schedule with them.  We went to the library on Monday and each of us checked out 2 books.  They are reading for 30 minutes every day before lunch.  After lunch they have a choice to read for 30 more minutes, write in a journal, or practice their instrument.

So far our schedule is working out well.  We have had a couple of days where there was and afternoon appointment or something we had to do so we didn’t get the 30 minutes after lunch in.  One of my 12 year old boys (I have twins) has read 2 chapter books so far and my older son, who is 15, has finished one book.  I also have finished one book.  I had started reading Somewhere Along The Way by Jodi Thomas a couple of weeks before we began this schedule.  I finished the book about 5 days ago.  It was a very enjoyable read.  Now I am on to reading Speak No Evil by Allison Brennan.  I got this book from the library a week ago.  I learned about it from Goodreads.  So far I am about 95 pages into the book and like it.

I also like to listen to audio books while I cook, drive, knit or sew.  I am currently listening to Love Kills by Edna Buchanan.  It is a mystery and suspense type of novel.  The library is a great place to find lots of wonderful audio books.

So, what are you reading this summer?  Let me know by leaving a reply.

I hope you enjoyed this latest post.  Don’t forget to subscribe via RSS feed or through Bloglovin by clicking in the sidebar.

Categories: Books

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Vanilla Chai Iced Tea Recipe

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Vanilla Spiced Chai Latte Iced Tea Recipe
Vanilla Spiced Chai Latte Iced Tea Recipe

A sweet vanilla chai tea to cool you off on a hot summer day.  I made this tea following this recipe below:

  • Bring 4 c. water to a boil
  • Place 10 tea bags in boiling water, turn off heat
  • Steep tea 10-15 minutes then remove tea bags
  • Place 3 c. ice cubes in 2 quart pitcher
  • Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 c. sugar into hot tea mixture and mix well, until sugar dissolves (I used 1/4 c. in mine as I wanted it only slightly sweet – chai latte is generally very sweet)  
  • Pour hot tea and sugar mixture over ice cubes in pitcher
  • Stir in 1 c. Vanilla Soymilk
  • Refrigerate
  • Enjoy tea over a glass of ice

I have made this tea several times in the last couple of weeks and my kids really like it.  It does not last long in our refrigerator.   I have made it using the decaf Tazo Chai tea or using the Bigelow Spiced Chai.  I tried it using the Bigelow Vanilla Spiced Chai but we did not care for that as much.  I am now mainly making it using the decaf since the kids like to drink it.   I hope you enjoy the recipe.

Decaf or Regular Chai Tea used to make Vanilla Chai Latte Iced Tea
Decaf or Regular Chai Tea used to make Vanilla Chai Latte Iced Tea

 

Categories: Recipes

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Book Review – Extraordinary Women

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Extraordinary Women book by Julie Clinton
Extraordinary Women book by Julie Clinton

Today I finished my 10 week journey reading this wonderful book Extraordinary Women by Julie Clinton and Mary M. Byers.  The subtitle of the book is Discovering the Dream God Created for You.

I purchased this book from Mardel a few months ago and began reading it 10 weeks ago.  I usually try and do my TAG (time alone with God) time every morning after my workout and decided this was the perfect book for that.  The book is divided into 10 segments with different titles for each week.  The book is laid out so that you only read it 5 days out of the week so I would strive for Monday through Friday.  Each daily page that you read is only about 2 or 3 pages long.   The titles of the weeks are as follows:

  • Week 1:  Secrets to Living God’s Dream for Your Life
  • Week 2:  Secrets to Knowing God Really Loves You
  • Week 3:  Secrets to Meaningful Relationships
  • Week 4:  Secrets to Handling Testosterone
  • Week 5:  Secrets to Mastering Your Emotions
  • Week 6:  Secrets to Handling Imbalance
  • Week 7:  Secrets to Getting Through Tough Times
  • Week 8:  Secrets to Finding Freedom
  • Week 9:  Secrets to Creating an Intimate Relationship with God
  • Week 10:  Secrets to Making Every Day Count

There is a motivating quote at the end of each daily read along with journal prompts if you decide to keep a journal.  I also like the fact that there are lots of meaningful scriptures throughout the entire book.

Overall I think this is a wonderful book for those wanting to keep a connection to God in their daily life.  The book is very positive and uplifting – getting your day off to a wonderful start.  This is the type of book that I will be able to apply to everyday life and will put it on my book shelf and read it again in years to come.

I will now begin to read Becoming the Woman I Want To Be by Donna Partow.  It is another book that is set up to read on a daily basis.  I read another book by her last summer called Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be and thought it was an excellent book.  That is actually the book that taught me the acronym TAG – time alone with God.

I am in no way affiliated with the author or publisher of this book or any books mentioned in this post.  I just enjoyed the book and wanted to write a review to share.

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Categories: Books

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New Recipes Recently Tried

I have been trying some of the recipes I have pinned from pinterest lately.   To check out my recipe board on pinterest click on this link.  I wanted to share 2 that I made yesterday that turned out really good.

The first was the date and nut energy bars.  I took a photo of them but they don’t photograph too well.  They taste much better than they look.  Very sweet and satisfying!  I will definitely make them again.  I didn’t have any whole dates so I used some chopped ones I had on hand.  I think they will turn out better with the whole dates as recommended in the recipe.  They are a tad bit crumbly and I think it is because of the chopped dates.  I made mine with dates, dried cherries and walnuts.  They only take 3 ingredients.

Date Energy Bars - with dried cheeries and walnuts
Date Energy Bars – with dried cherries and walnuts

The other recipe was Cheesy Tex-Mex Chicken in the crock pot.  I made it yesterday as well and we had it for dinner.  Everyone loved it!  I made it using my own homemade salsa and without the corn.  I didn’t have any and figured it would be fine without it.  We ate it with some yellow rice and wrapped the chicken mixture in flour tortillas.  I will say that my sons were questioning the meal when they looked at it but once they tried it they loved it!  I told them it is better to try it first than to judge how it will taste by how it looks.  Some things taste really good but don’t always look so appealing.   If you click on the link above it will take you to the recipe and there is a  photo there.

I will be trying other recipes from my pinterest boards during the summer so check back often or follow my blog via RSS feed by clicking on the icon in the sidebar or through bloglovin which is also in the sidebar.  You can also follow me on Pinterest.

 

 

Categories: Misc. Recipes

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