Fancied Up Flip Flops

The idea for these flip flops came from Make it and Love it, except I simplified it.

I bought a couple pairs of cheapy flip flops from Old Navy (I missed $1 Saturday, bummer).


Instead of cutting Velcro and sewing ribbon to cover the whole strap as seen on Make it and Love it, I just wanted to adorn the spot between the toes. So, this eliminated the need for sewing....nice! Just attach a little piece of Velcro.

Gather up your accessories. You can use rosettes made from old t-shirts, ribbon, or fabric. Or, you can take a hideous quilt covered in these bobble thingies ~ which you later find out are called yo yo's ~which you found at a yard sale for $1~that you just knew would be put to good use somewhere.....somehow. Cut off a couple of the yo yo's and you've got an accessory!

Be prepared to see these little babies popping up on future projects

Glue Velcro onto the back of your beauties and you've got cute little interchangeable flip flops!

After discovering the origin of the orange bobbles, I found a tool to make my own. It's a yo yo maker! So, I made the black and white ones and sewed three together for each black flip flop.

The brown rosettes I also got from a yard sale! I have no earthly idea what they were intended for, but I immediately knew they belonged on my flip flops!

Things I learned from this project:

~E 6000 adhesive works pretty well
~Use a Velcro that is strong. Mine said soft and flexible. Made for sewing. I think it's too soft and not sticky enough. Although I've worn these flip flops two days in a row and have not had one fall off.
~Put the harder side of the Velcro onto the flip flop (facing up) so that the softer side is on the pretty facing down and against the skin (it might not even touch, but just in case).

Wordless Wednesday: Team Spirit

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday

Meatless Monday! Szechuan Tofu

Happy Meatless Monday, everyone! Here's a spicy one for ya, Szechuan Tofu with Peanuts from Cooking Light.

Ingredients

• 2 (3 1/2-ounce) bags boil-in-bag jasmine rice
• 1 (14-ounce) package water-packed firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (veggie)
  
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste) (I used chile sauce)
  
• 1 tablespoon less-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons black bean garlic sauce
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup matchstick-cut carrots
• 1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Preparation

1. Preheat broiler. (I sautee'd my tofu in a pan, instead)

2. Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

3. Arrange tofu in a single layer on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray; broil 14 minutes or until golden.

4. While tofu cooks, combine broth and next 4 ingredients (through black bean sauce), stirring with a whisk; set aside.

5. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add salt and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms begin to release liquid, stirring occasionally. Stir in carrots and ginger; cook 1 minute. Add broth mixture; cook 30 seconds or until sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat; stir in tofu and onions. Serve over rice; sprinkle with peanuts.

******Wow! This was SPICY! Too spicy for me, actually. Not sure of it's because I used chile sauce instead of paste, but wow! I probably won't make this again, but if you like some heat, go for it! Very good flavor aside from the heat.

Want more Meatless Monday ideas? Click the button below.

My Roses and Haiku

A blog friend of mine writes Haiku everyday. How cool is that? She has a blog dedicated to it; My Year in Haiku. Every time I stop by and peruse her blog, I spend hours thinking in Haiku. So, that is the inspiration for today's post.

Roses in full bloom.
Spared by hungry gypsy moths
this year. I revel.

Fibers on Friday: It's Finished!

I am in love with how this turned out! First I'll show you the pictures, then I'll talk.

I wet blocked the sweater. First time I've ever blocked. I sprayed it with a spray bottle of water and pinned it down to a towel. I guess it made the fibers a little nicer, but probably not as much as it would have had I used a better yarn. More on that later.


This tank was made for my purple loving girl. For those of you that know us personally......THIS is not the purple lovin' girl.

But darn she's adorable! This is rainbow lovin' girl. Purple lovin' girl didn't want to cooperate with pictures.

Rainbow lovin' girl was in a much better mood.

At THIS moment.

Anyway.....the pattern, Eden's Adam, is great. Easy to follow. Easy to knit. LOVE it to pieces! (To see other posts about this sweater, click the Fibers on Friday tag)

The yarn, Berroco Vintage, I'm not 100% thrilled with. It's a blend....not 100% natural....but I got it because it was inexpensive and the salesperson said it was flying off the shelves, so people must be loving it. What I don't love is that it's a little fuzzy in spots. I already know I'll handwash it, but I just hope it holds up well.

I'm off to the yarn store tomorrow to get some pink yarn for the rainbow lovin girl. Perhaps I can talk her into rainbow.....kids are finicky, though.

Fibers on Friday might be little boring as I set out to make the same exact thing....but that's life with twins :-) Maybe someday I'll get to make something for me to wear!

Linking to:
Blue Cricket Design
Sew Much Ado

My Garden in Mid May

Here's my lovely little square foot garden in Mid May. We are beyond thrilled to report we have pea pods! One was plump enough last night to pick and taste. Paige was so excited! I have to say it was sweet like candy! Can't wait to harvest a bunch!


Not sure why my cukes are so unhappy. Hopefully they'll turn around, because I have big plans for pickling!

The spinach is finally coming around. I added a soil amendment called Bumper Crop as a mulch. I think it provided just what the spinach and beets needed to take off a little bit!

But here's the amazing part:

And a nice handful of radishes. Spicy!

Thanks for visiting!

I Heart Faces: Flowers and Faces

I haven't submitted a I Heart Faces picture in a while, but when I saw this week's challenge, I went right to this picture.


Visit I Heart Faces for some fantastic photography!

Fibers on Friday: Almost Done, I promise!

I know this doesn't look like very much progress from last week, but it's probably a couple extra inches longer. I'm almost done. Maybe I'll finish today or tonight. I know it's taking me dreadfully long, but as you can see I have too many hobbies and interests! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Now here's something new, friends!
Link to your knitting project! I'd love to see what you're working on.

Camera Strap Covers

Oh, my aching neck when I have my camera draped over it for any length of time! I've seen a few camera strap cover tutorials floating around blog land, so I set to work. I thought they would be perfect Mother's day gifts for all the "mamarazzi" in my life. I followed this tutorial by Priddy Creations.

Here's mine, and I must say it's fabulous and comfy because it's padded with fusible fleece. This is my favorite shade of green right now.

And here are the others:

Love them! Here's one thing I'll say; these straps seem long enough for my camera, which is a Cannon 30D, but they seem to come up a little short on the Rebel. So, if you have a rebel, maybe go a little longer. Width is fine.

Linking to:



Blue Cricket Design
Somewhat Simple

Wordless Wednesday: Monumentous

Magnet Chalkboard

The people who owned our house before us converted the garage into an extra room. When we moved in, we made it our playroom. So, as you can imagine, there are huge, long walls on either side of the room. I knew this one wall would be perfect for a chalkboard.

I was watching a DIY show and saw someone use magnet paint underneath chalkboard paint! How genius is that? So, I put my husband to work :-)

We needed several coats of magnet paint before objects would begin to stick. Maybe three coats.

Then, a coat or two of chalkboard paint! I have to admit I had my doubts about the chalkboard paint. I thought surely it wouldn't work good or wouldn't erase properly. But, I'm here to say, it's just like a real chalkboard.

My man framed it out...even added some decorative end caps and a grooved ledge along the bottom to hold the chalk. beautiful!


And just a little side note: We are in this house only temporarily. The military has us moving every few years. When I mentioned this project, I envisioned some sort of removable chalkboard. As you can see, though, my husband painted directly onto the wall. Not too sure how the next occupants will feel about this chalkboard. Maybe primer will cover it up nicely....who knows? But, next time we'll make something a little less permanent!

linking to:
Blue Cricket Design
Somewhat Simple

Meatless Monday! Ma Po Tofu

This recipe is from Cooking Light. It is a delicious, SPICY, meal. It's another Chinese Food recipe I'll hang on to while I'm living in this town with NO good Chinese food! I had to modify this recipe a) to make it meatless and b) because I didn't have some of the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients

• 1 (14-ounce) package firm water-packed tofu, drained
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such a Huy Fong)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine) I used white cooking wine
  
• 1 tablespoon black bean garlic sauce I used Hoisin
  
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (veggie)
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons less-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili oil
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 ounces ground sirloin (veggie crumbles or omit)
  
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
• 2 cups hot cooked long-grain white rice
• 8 ounces steamed Broccolini
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation

1. Place tofu on paper towels; cover with paper towels. Top with a heavy skillet; let stand 30 minutes. Discard towels. Cut tofu into 1-inch cubes.

2. Combine Sriracha and the next 3 ingredients. Combine broth and next 3 ingredients, stirring until smooth.

3. Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef; stir-fry 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add Sriracha mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add broth mixture; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute. Stir in tofu. Serve with rice and Broccolini; sprinkle with cilantro.

Fibers on Friday: Tank Top Progress

I'm still in love with this pattern! The sides are now connected and I'm simply knitting in the round, working from the neck down, until the tank top is as long as I want it. Love it! Love it!

****Ruthie, e-mail me and I'll answer your questions about my garden. I can't access your info from your comment. swandiva at hotmail dot com ******

My Garden in Early May

A CPS Card! And Another Activity Book

Can you believe it's been so long since I've made a card? I've been so wrapped up in gardening and knitting and sewing, that I've neglected my paper crafting. I apologize to those of you who follow this blog based upon paper crafting. I haven't lost any followers, so I assume you're liking something you see here! I always feel guilty, though, for starting this blog for paper crafting and now straying so far from it.

We had a little boy's birthday party to attend this weekend. I've vowed to make activity books such as this, for all upcoming birthdays because they're so cool. But, I made a card to go with it this time. Here's the CPS Sketch #165:

And here's my card:

It was very quick and easy. I was in a rush, but what a perfect sketch to put together quickly and easily if needed :-) Paper is Cogsmo from Cosmo Cricket. It matches most of the activity book I put together for the birthday boy.

Thanks for looking and thanks for hanging with me, all my card making friends!