Outside The Enchanted Square

Handmade Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:50:00 +0000

This year I made the kids their gifts. They each asked for what they wanted me to make.

Tristan wanted a crocheted "dwarfen" hat with beard. Ethan and Rosie both wanted Minecraft Creeper plushies. I also had a gift card for Old Navy so I was able to get some basic Tees and make cool Minecraft Creeper Tshirts.

Working with my cuddle bug

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:45:00 +0000

As I am trying to finish my new line if scarfs, my little Mochi was keeping me company.

The Little 'last minute' Pop-Up Shop

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:08:00 +0000

Been Busy Busy - Now new hats

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 23:46:00 +0000

I have been wanting to crochet boys hats too. Couldn't pass this one up so here they are:

Fabric Sale

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 02:46:00 +0000

I am having a sale on the fabric in my shop. You can find lots of choices on www.enchantedsquare.com or my etsy shop www.theenchantedsquare.etsy.com

Mosaic Project

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 23:43:00 +0000

I was asked by my kids school to make 2 round glass mosaics for the front entrance of the school. They would be put up and featured in an upcoming episode of Curb Appeal: The Block on HGTV. The initial idea was to do two E's for Edison Elementary (to keep it easy) but, as many of you know, I decided to complicate things a bit. I choose an E and an otter, the school mascot.

The first thing I had to figure out was how to create the pieces ahead of time and make them so that the folks from Curb Appeal could take them and put them up. They are being attached onto two roundels on the wall that protrude so, mounting them on cement board was out of the question for fear of them sticking out to far. I finally found mosaic mesh. I printed out my pictures, took frosted window film and laid that over the picture and taped the mesh onto that. I was then able to use Weld Bond glue to glue the tiles down and create away! After the glue dried the window film pulled away easily.

As you can see from the pictures we had a bunch of kids helping with it. The show wanted to tape us working on the mosaics so I set up a table in front of the school and we went at it. Kim and Chip were there for the taping. What wonderful spirited people they were! What an amazing project for all of us to be involved in. Thanks Curb Appeal! (Finished result to come in the Fall after the show airs.)

Summer Look

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sat, 14 May 2011 20:13:00 +0000

I have been doing a bunch of crocheting lately and my latest project has been these great girly summer caps. Rosie and her besty, Nataly, love them. They are breathable cotton and are perfect for our mild Bay Area springs and summers.

Owls

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 03:08:00 +0000

Rosie loves owls and I've had this great owl printed corduroy. I finally started making some clothes for her and found these great fun pants with big pockets perfect for the owls. I appliqued some of the owls on her favorite colored t-shirt. Rosie loves it and so do I.

Sewing Tip: Saving Your Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:58:00 +0000

This is one of my favorite tips for sewers. I have some favorite patterns, especially from the OUTSTANDING book Sewing Clothes Kids Love! I use the patterns all the time. I wasn't sure how to not rip them. I then discovered this great technique that saves your patterns and makes them easier to use. I iron lightweight fusible interfacing to the backside of the patterns. I am then able to trace the different sizes onto Pellon Tru-Grid material.

Fabric Sale

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:48:00 +0000

I just listed a WHOLE BUNCH of fabric from Free Spirit and Westminster on my site! ~~This fabric is shipping out to me any day.~~ The fabric has arrived! IT IS BEAUTIFUL.

For all Blog, Facebook, and Twitter Followers I am giving a 15% discount on pre-orders, good until April 1st. I have reflected the discount on my site already and if you choose to go through my Etsy shop please use the coupon code PRE15.

Ironing Board Painting

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 20:45:00 +0000

My dear friend Mary, from Alloneword, kindly gave me this great vintage ironing board. The moment I saw it I thought "canvas," but what to put on it. I was finally inspired to do a paint-by-numbers inspired painting. I "stained" the paint on so that you can still see the wood grain. It is the perfect piece in my sewing room.

Recipes: Banana Nut Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:52:00 +0000

I picked up this cookbook for me and my brother randomly at Costco many years back. It has become our favorite go to baking guide. It lays out details about baking that most should know but only culinary students learn.

These fabulous muffins have become a favorite in our house. These particular ones are my "healthy" version of the recipe. Find both recipes at the bottom of this post.
Basic recipe tips:
Use "cheap" flour (like gold brand or generic grocery brands) for muffins, cookies, scones or anything that uses baking soda/powder for leavening. Essentially there is less protein in these flours and protein is good for slow yeast breads and bad for quick breads.
Tip #2 is a bit of yogurt adds a super soft textur.
Tip #3 roast the walnuts in the oven. This is an amazingly easy thing that creates a wonderful full flavor. My favorite way to do nuts is buy the walnuts or pecan baking pieces from Trader Joes.
Last tip is use super dooper ripe bananas and don't smash up to much! (those little chunks of banana make a great treat while biting into the warm muffin.

My healthy muffin tips are essentially changing ingredients.
The first thing I do is use non-fat greek yogurt for the yogurt;
I replace the sugar with 1/2 date sugar and 1/2 raw sugar (your body to use the sugars energy better than a processed white sugar) ;
I replace 1/2 the flour with oat flour (this adds a wonderful healthier flour with nutty sweetness);
Finally (and this is a big one that you need to trust me on) I replace 1/2 the butter (yes I do use real butter) with flax meal. For every Tablespoon of butter you put in 3 Tablespoons of flax meal. This is an amazingly healthy ingredient that adds so much to your baked goods.

Banana Muffins

Makes about 12-15 muffins

REGULAR INGREDIENTS

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped coarse

3/4 cup (51/2 ounces) sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well ( about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs, beaten lightly

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

HEALTHIER INGREDIENTS

1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup oat flour

1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped  coarse

3/8 cup raw sugar
3/8 cup date sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 very ripe, soft, darkly  speckled large bananas, mashed well ( about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup non-fat greek plain yogurt

2 large eggs, beaten  lightly

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 tablespoons flax meal
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350

1. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 5-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter (and flax), and vanilla with a wooden spoon.
3. Put flour(s), sugar(s), salt, soda, and walnuts on top of banana mix. Lightly fold ingredients together with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. TIP: over mix will result in tough muffins!
4. Scoop mix into oiled muffin pans. (I use a large cookie scoop)
5. Bake for about 15 min and until a toothpick is inserted and center comes out clean TIP: clean means not wet a few crumbs is a good thing! My muffins have only a light color.
Cool for 5 min and indulge.

Beauty Tips - Biore SPF Facial Lotion

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 20:19:00 +0000

This is one of my recently found favorite products. It is Biore's 30 SPF Dual Fusion Facial Lotion. As a fair skinned lass I must be diligent about applying the SPF daily. I loathed doing this in the past, as all the lotions with sunscreen I have used were sticking and stinky. This lotion is very different. It contains a sunscreen and a regular non-oily face lotion. As you can see the two are dispensed separately and you mix them when you apply. The scent is not over powering and the feel is smooth and soft. The kids even like it and noticed the difference. They question me every time if I am sure I am applying sunscreen. Love my responsible kiddos.

Rigby

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 01:17:00 +0000

This is Rosie's new fish Rigby. She "coincidentally" got him the same week her new permanent retainer was popped into her mouth. ;) Rigby was originally kept in her room but, we found out that it is really cold in there while she is gone and moved him down to a corner in my studio space. He likes it much better in his corner, being that the heater vent is right near him now.

An issue arose when she decided that she wanted to paint the box he was sitting on. You see, the box is a wonderful aged antique treasure Carl and I have.

This is now Rigby's digs. We purchased a simple box from Beverly's (sometimes known as my place of work) and went hog wild with it.

The antique box is now housing my yarns and happy that 8 year old creativity was not unleashed upon it.

Once Functional...Now Beautiful

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:47:00 +0000

Love these glass vintage glass electrical insulators. What? You may be asking what is that you say. These are wonderfully grand pieces of functionality at its best. The were originally made to sit atop the electrical pole and the wires would wrap around them. They were all originally clear but because of the different ingredients in glass they all turn different colors. These particular ones came from my Dads collection. Love Love!

Living Room

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:35:00 +0000

Our house is slowly coming together. These shots are from our lovely bright living room. You can even see my business workspace, which I didn't bother to clean up for you because that's the way my life really is. I love how the tiny simple picture frames of the kids came out behind my desk. They were only 99 cents for 4 at Ikea.

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 22:19:00 +0000

Merry Christmas!
Originally uploaded by TheEnchantedSquare

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 22:09:00 +0000

We, Carl, Tristan, Ethan, Emma and of course me, would like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas this year.

White Christmas in the New House!

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 05:53:00 +0000

We are finally settling in to the new house. The kids have made many friends and tend to be outside playing more than inside here with us.

We decided to go with a retro white tree this year. It shows off our large collection of glass ornaments. We have a family tradition where the kids get to pick a glass ornament out every year. I put a ribbon with their name and the year on it. When they have their first tree on their own, they will be able to decorate it with all their ornaments. This year Tristan picked a large blue ball with peacock feathers in glitter on it, Ethan picked a simple small jointed Nutcracker (wood), and Emma choose a red lobster with gold glitter.
I also made a fun festive tree skirt. I used Joann's pattern, from Fig Tree & Co, found in last years Fresh Vintage Issue #14. I have been saving the issue for my new place and tree. I used Amy Butler's Wall Flower fabric in Cherry from her Lotus Collection and a great lime green for the border. I quilted around each flower and then washed the skirt to have the fabric shrink a bit around the quilting. It came out great and complements my simple white tree so well.

I have been super busy creating lovely things for the new house. I will share so much more soon. Keep posted!

Been Moving

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:42:00 +0000

Quick update as I have been moving to our new home. I will post some pics of the new studio soon. I have been busy on making lots of goodies for the new place as well. Stay tuned.

Ruth

10 Min Costumes

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:31:00 +0000

I have been working a bit more at Beverlys the last couple of weeks and was given the task to come up with 10 quick and easy costumes that can be put together in 10 min. Please forgive the following pictures as they were taken on my iphone by my fellow non-iphone using fabric employees.

The first is by far one of my favorites. It is Sushi. It simply a piece of foam covered in fabric then painted with white iridescent paint for the fat veins and tied around the waist with a green piece of fleece. You must wear white as you are the rice.

This one is another foody favorite. It is a pizza made from felt and of course a bit of puff paint on the pepperoni for the fat.

Aye Matey! Pirates are always fun. Red T-shirt, vest quickly made out of rectangles of vinyl, foam and ribbon eye patch and a red fabric sash creates the instant pirate look!

This last one is the Queen (or King) of Hearts. It is a great fun felt design and of course a crown with glitter heart to boot.

We've Been Busy

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 19:43:00 +0000

We, the kids and I, have been busy getting their Etsy shop up and running. The name was chosen:

We have decided to start with Emma Rose's T-shirts. She draws the designs, I cut them out on plastic, and as you can see below she picks a color and sprays away! Check them out and spread the word.

Announcing! Fun Custom Kids Clothes

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:49:00 +0000

I am expanding my shop to take custom kids clothes. I have been testing these patterns and am ready to take orders. I have recently listed the Raincoat and Minky Fleece Sweatshirt.

The Enchanted Square Raincoat

The Enchanted Square Minky Fleece Hoodie

First Day of School

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:16:00 +0000

First day of school today. I stayed up all night finishing these to amazing pieces for my darling little girls back to school wardrobe. They are both from my favorite book Sewing Clothes Kids Love. The first is the Manhattan Dress pattern. It is a great pattern because it is instantly reversible and had a 2 tiered skirt. I made this one with Asian inspired fabrics.

The second is the Silver Lake Jacket. I put the hood from the Imke pattern on it. We had so much fun finding the right embroidery/appliques for this jacket. The fabric is a great water resistant tablecloth fabric from Ikea with a super soft aqua hounds-tooth cotton lining. With it being so cold and windy around here I figured this would be the perfect windbreaker/rain coat. But apparently mother nature has a different idea. She has decided to finally hit us with summer temps the first week of school.

And yes, if you were wondering if her hair looks green and blue in that picture, it is. She has been wanting to color her hair for weeks and we have tried many different things. We finally found these great clip in hair extensions in so many colors. They are perfect for a wee little girl who has so much to express.

Towels

noreply@blogger.com (The Enchanted Square) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 19:57:00 +0000

I am so excited about these wonderful kitchen towels. Mary, my wonderfully creative housemate, gave me these wonderful 1930's quilt blocks. They are hand pieced with the most amazing fabrics from the 30's. I was able to find soft waffle toweling and simply fray edged appliqued the blocks on. I have more toweling coming this week in many different colors. Check the shop for updates.