Imagine my surprise when I figured out exactly how easy it is to make it at home with just 3 ingredients and no fancy tools or machines! It tastes exactly like fresh popcorn from the movie theater. Even the popcorn pops larger and more fluffy with the use of coconut oil!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:

Flavocol Salt (This is a super fine, seasoned salt. The same one movie theaters use!)

Coconut Oil (The movie theaters use some that’s artificially colored to get that super orange color. I used regular coconut oil from Trader Joe’s.)

High Quality Popping Corn (No need to order it special. I love the Orville Redenbachers popcorn from my local grocery store.)

Start out with a heaping spoonful of the coconut oil. (Around 1-2 Tbsp) Melt the oil in a 4 qt. pot on the stove using Medium High Heat. Add in 1 tsp. of the seasoned salt and wiggle the pot around until it’s mixed in with the coconut oil. Add in the popcorn. I usually add enough for one layer that covers the bottom of the pot. Swish them around so they get coated in the oil and salt mixture. Put a lid on the pot and swirl it around every 10-20 seconds so that the popcorn doesn’t burn. It will start popping pretty quickly. Continue swirling it around to keep the unpopped kernels on the bottom and the popped corn towards the top. Once the popcorn popping has slowed remove from the heat and wait until all popping has stopped. Remove the lid, dump in your favorite popcorn bowl, and enjoy! You can also put some of the seasoned salt in a shaker and add a little more after poppping if you’d like more salt. Sometimes I like it extra salty and will add more, and sometimes I’ll leave it just as it is.

That’s it! Easy, huh?!?

Now go pop some popcorn and watch a good movie while you enjoy your movie theater popcorn!

Using Random.org I input all the comments and it chose #2 as the winner!

Looks like the second commenter was Delaney E! Congrats!!

Anna at Ciao Bella will be in touch soon to get your fabric bundle to you!

Look for more fabric giveaways coming soon! ;)

Happy Sewing,

I love this clutch because it hardly takes any fabric and it’s got some fun options, all of which are included in the pattern! You can use scrappy strips (the same size as jelly roll strips if you have a few extra hanging around!), or one fat quarter to make this super snazzy clutch.

This one was made with some Liberty of London and some gold metallic linen, both from CityCraft. It’s hard to tell that the top part is sparkly and metallic, but I promise, it’s awesome!

The scrappy one was made from Melissa Ybarra’s line for Windham Fabrics, Hello Gorgeous:

It’s got a zipper closure on the top. (Don’t panic! It’s easy to install and I’ve got lots of great illustrations in the pattern to help you along!)

It also has a pocket on the inside that’s just the right size for a phone, or some cash and ID!

Find it in my shop! I ALSO had some requests so I’ve put together a limited number of kits for this project too! Get the hard copy of the pattern, and ALL supplies for the clutch for $26! The fabric will be for the scrappy one from the Hello Gorgeous line. Purchase your kit here. I’m even going to include all the interfacing AND zipper! Once it comes in the mail you’ll just need thread and you can make your own!!

Happy Sewing!

When Anna from the Etsy store Ciao Bella Solids asked me to participate in her blog hop and blogger bundle giveaway I jumped right on it! I absolutely love working with solid colors and she let me put together a super fun and springy palette! (Pst… check out her great solids! They are all Moda Bella Solids and they are $5.49 per yard! (That’s a steal!!!) If you need more than 5 yards, check with Anna because she’ll make you a custom listing for just $5 per yard!)

After looking at the color card I chose the following colors:

From top to bottom: Horizon Blue, Sunshine, Aubergine, Raspberry, and Chartreuse (To enter to win a Fat Quarter Bundle follow the instructions at the end of this post!)

If you want to purchase one right away, before they are gone you can find them here:

1 Yard Bundle (1 yard of each color for 5 yards total) $27.50

1/2 Yard Bundle (1/2 yard of each color for 2 1/2 yards total) $12.50

Fat Quarter Bundle (1 FQ of each color) $6.50

And here they are with my prints mixed in:

Aren’t they fun, bright, and cheerful?!?

I decided to get my Mother’s Day Gifts out of the way and use the fabrics to make some Pinwheel potholders.

They’ve been in my sketchbook for a while and it’s so nice to see them completed! My favorite part is that the pinwheels are 3D. Oh, and I love the little quilting I did to add “movement” to the pinwheels!

They are super easy to make! Here’s how:

For each potholder front you’ll need:

4 – 5″ squares of a background fabric

2 each – 4″ squares of two coordinating fabrics for pinwheel

Stack the two coordinating prints (one of each) right sides together. Draw a line from one corner to the opposite corner.

Stitch 1/4″ to either side of the line

then cut the two pieces apart ON the traced line.

Open each piece and press, then fold so the wrong sides are together and press again.

Repeat with the other two 4″ squares. You’ll end up with 4 triangles total. (Only 2 are pictured here.)

Place one triangle in the bottom right hand corner of one background square, matching up raw edges with the corner.

Fold the top triangle corner down to the bottom corner and pin.

Repeat with the remaining background and triangle pieces.

Layout in the pinwheel shape.

Sew top and bottom pieces together, press seams open.

Stitch together to complete the block. (Because of all the fabric bulk in the center I started in the center and stitched to the edge, then flipped it around and sewed from the center to the other edge. This way it doesn’t get stuck under your presser foot!)

Press well, make your quilt sandwich, and quilt as desired. Trim down to a 9″ square, add your binding, and admire your spring pinwheels!!

Ready for the giveaway? It’s easy to enter to win a Fat Quarter Bundle of the solids spring bundle!

Leave me a comment by Midnight, April 29th! Let me know what your favorite thing about spring is. That’s it! I’ll choose a winner, contact you, and post on Tuesday, April 30th. Directly afterwards, Anna will send you a bundle, post haste! (Sorry, U.S. entrants only.)

Be sure to visit fellow Hot Tamales from the San Antonio Modern Quilt Guild:  Danielle at Nacho Mama’s Quilts and Jen Eskridge (next week) to see their fun bundles! Lots of chances to win!

Happy Sewing!

All the letters were cut out using my Silhouette. They were each about 1″ tall. No way I would have ever cut those by hand, but the Cameo made it super easy!

A little hand cut flower and free motion around the edges…so cute!

I free motion stitched over the letters with some pink thread. (It was a little hard to read after I appliqued all the letters on so I had to add a bit of contrast.)

Some other things I did:

-Bought one large bouquet of flowers, and made several small arrangements with it. I think I got about 6 smaller floral arrangements out of one bouquet…and it was way cheaper than buying them individually.

-Used one large scale fabric piece behind the food table. We took it down and it’ll be turned into a rug for the nursery.

-Printed coordinating stickers for the beverage glasses. Not only does this make simple clear plastic cups look nicer, but it helps individuals identify their own drink! (Used my Silhouette again for this. Printed on waterproof sticker paper, then cut around the shapes with the Cameo.)

-Gifted the mom a Baby Project Life kit. We had all the guests fill out a card or two for the mom to place into the album as she compiles everything for baby! (I think this was one of her favorite things!)

-The game prizes were simple but fun. I bought Dollar Store frames, placed cute scrapbook paper behind it, then packaged them up with one dry erase marker and a piece of bamboo felt with pinked edges. (Sorry about the glare! I realized afterwards that this is the only picture I had of the dry erase frame!)

-Used some of the scraps from the quilt and quote mini quilt to make a little banner. Pink the edges of some scraps to make varying rectangles of varying widths and lengths. Fold in half and stitch along the top to attach together.

Now I just have to finish quilting the quilt I made and sew a boppy cover before the baby comes at the end of the month!

Happy Sewing!

This recipe is one that I got from my friend Rachel. She brought these once, I tried them, and they were by far the best rolls I’d EVER had! (Loads better than Cinnabon rolls even!) Not only do they taste great but they only take 1 hour to make!!! That’s not prep, rising, or baking, that’s the whole amount of time from gathering ingredients to eating a warm roll covered in cream cheese frosting!! (The key is a longer proofing time for the yeast, and lots more yeast to start with!)

I made them for my husband to take to work one morning. He messaged me shortly after he got there saying that the entire pan was gone. And one of the oilfield workers spent a good solid 10 minutes in his office telling him they were the best cinnamon rolls he’d ever had and that the texture and flavor were perfect!

Do I have you convinced yet? ;)

Rachel graciously shared her recipe with me. I’ve made a few modifications and fine-tuned a few of the measurements so you can make them too!!

Rachel’s Cinnamon Rolls

Combine the following in a medium/large mixing bowl and let stand for 15 minutes:

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 Tablespoons Active Dry Yeast (Yes, that’s right, it’s a lot more than normal, but it’ll be just fine, I promise!)

1 1/4 cup warm water (This should be just above room temperature. If it’s too hot it kills your yeast.)

(This isn’t more than about 2 cups of ingredients, but because of the amount of yeast it grows a lot in 15 minutes! If you don’t use a container large enough you might have a yeast volcano…not like I personally experienced this or anything…)

Add the following ingredients to the above mixture and let stand an additional 15 minutes:

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 Teaspoons salt

4-5 cups flour (I usually add in about 4 1/2. You’ll want to add in the flour until the dough is just barely sticky. Too much flour and they’ll be a little dry. To test mine I stick my finger on it, if it sticks a little to my finger, but doesn’t leave any on my finger when I pull it away I call it good. Not really technical, but it works for me!)

Roll the dough into a large rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Spread one stick (1/2 cup) softened butter evenly onto the dough. Mix 1 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon together. (I use the Vietnamese cinnamon from Penzey’s Spices. It’s strong and flavorful!) Spread evenly over the butter. (Add in raisins here too if you want!) Roll the dough along it’s longest edge. Using string or dental floss cut the dough into 16 equal sections. Place on a large, greased, cookie sheet. Bake at 425F for 12-15 minutes. They’ll be lightly golden brown on the top when they’re done.

Cream Cheese Icing (Use a single batch, or double it for extra gooey cinnamon rolls.)

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tablespoons milk (Adjust based on how thick you’d like the icing to be.)

In a mixing bowl combine the softened cream cheese and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. Add in milk until you get the consistancy you’d like. Spread over warm cinnamon rolls.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!

They turned out soooo cute. She wanted to stick mostly with pink and gray. I print and cut these all at home with my Silhouette Cameo. (LOVE that thing!)

It’s got all the important information about the shower on a little library type card that slides into a pocket on the front.

Top off the little flower embellishment with some glitter Stickles,

Add some fun address labels on the envelope, and they’re good to go!

I’ll be headed up to Dallas next weekend for the actual shower and still have all the decorations to make, as well as her gift. Eek! If you can’t find me, I’ll be glued to the sewing machine!! I’ll share pictures of everything after the party!

This one went together fairly quickly and I love how it turned out. Only thing I’d do differently is to make sure the points of the outside chevrons don’t get cut off. I didn’t realize until I was just about done, and it was too late to add on some extra on the edges. I blame my lack of a nice diagram for this one! (I much prefer to work from a scaled diagram as I’m working on quilt designs.) For this one I just went with it… Oh well. My friend loved it either way!!

Happy Sewing!

Here’s my illustration if you want to make your own! (Download here.)

My favorite part of the whole thing might be the little seed bead tail lights!!

Happy Sewing!

This pillow looks great and is SUPER easy to make, I promise! Here’s what I did.

Cut three pieces for the front of the pillow:

Left side strip – 6″ x 20″

Gathered Center Strip – 4 1/2″ x WOF (44″)

Right side strip – 12 1/2″ x 20″

The center strip will be much longer than 20″.

To easily gather it and make it 20″ long you’ll make two rows of basting stitches along either side. My first row was at a 1/4″ seam and the other was about 1/8″ to the side of the first row.

Grab your bottom threads and gently pull to gather it up.

Stitch the pieces together using a 1/2″ seam, trim, and square it up to an 18″ square. Cut (or piece) an 18″ square for the back. I then used the same set of instructions in my invisible zipper tutorial to add a zipper to the bottom. Took me less than an hour to complete this lovely pillow!!

Happy Sewing!
This project is also linked up to: