Supper on Sunday: Shish-Kabobs

Shish-Kabobs....my parents used to make these for us when I was young. And they are a favorite dinner for our family now.

Since summer is ending soon for most people- there is still Labor Day weekend- I thought I'd share this fun dinner!
We use- onion, peppers-red, yellow, green, orange, chicken marinated in BBQ sauce or whatever you like to use, and pineapple. (You can add any meat or veggie that you like.) We put it all on skewers and throw it on the BBQ. That is it!

We had this a few weeks ago, and YUM-O! I love "Shish"-Kabobs! Good thing where I live, we can eat this all year long - as in- it is summer most of the year here :)  Gotta love an Arizona Fall/Winter!!

Fabulous Finds: Dinnerware from CSN stores

I've been in need of some new dishes. I don't think I even own a matching set of anything- sad I know...at my age- I really could use a matching set of something in the kitchen! So when I saw these Corelle dishes from CSN stores I just had to share. Here are a few things I could really use in my kitchen.

This is so pretty- I would LOVE making soup in a stock pot like this!

I'm loving the pattern on these plates!

I am loving a little orange lately, and I really need an inside cast iron dutch oven-they have a ton to chose from ! This one is from the Rachael Ray collection. I have seen a bunch of great recipes using of these....

I have really been wanting some baking pans like these- and the color- is calling my name.

CSN stores has so many fabulous products- and the dinnerware--they have so much to choose from. Stay tuned- and I'll let you know what I think of one of these great items!

Fabric Book Pocket/Sling {Fabric Book Holder} Tutorial

I needed a solution to the never-ending pile of books on the top bunk bed. Let's face it, I am not climbing up there everyday, and therefore, books were piling up- up there.

Here is my solution- a fabric book sling pocket thing!

I saw a similar idea in Family Fun magazine. And if you don't subscribe to Family Fun, you really really should! (I mention it so much on here, they should pay me! ha ha ha)

I made my pocket kind of deep so the books don't show unless they are really big books. You can make yours as deep as you wish. We used 2 U-shaped curtain rods-because these are very inexpensive. You can see here- how it looks with the rods and with things in it.

If you use these rods please note: I used 2 sets- a part from the set from Target and a part from the set from Walmart- both will run you about $3-4 dollars. The reason I did this is because one set  from one particular store did not have enough space in between the two rods. You have to make sure your rods have enough space between them for putting books in and out of this opening. This is the reason I used a set of rods from Walmart, and a set from Target- to get two different sized rods with enough space between them for books.

HOW TO MAKE A FABRIC BOOK POCKET/SLING:

you will need:

2 pieces of fabric 45 inches wide, and 30 inches long- if you want your books to show make it about 25 inches long instead.

2 long strips of heavy interfacing

thread/sewing machine

an iron

2- u-shaped curtain rods or 2 double curtain rods (or holders and dowels that fit)

1. On the shorter ends of one piece of fabric, iron on the interfacing across each end. This is where you will make a casing later.

2. NEXT with right sides together,  sew the two pieces of fabric together, leaving an opening to you can turn it right side out. It is a good idea to pin the fabrics together when you do this.

3. Turn the fabrics right side out and press.

4. On the shorter ends, fold the fabric over to make a casing. The size of your casing will depend on the rods you are using. I made my casing just over an inch wide, and my rods were about a 1/2 inch in width. Press this and then sew along the long edge only.

5. When your casing is finished, fold your fabric in half so that both casings are lined up. Press and iron well.

6. Now you are ready to hang up your book pocket with your curtain rods.

When your rod brackets are hung, thread the rods through the casing of your book pocket, and you are done! Hang it up and fill it with books!

I plan to make more of these, so I will try to get a better tute w/ photos. It was pretty easy, so hopefully the above instructions will help you out if want to make one. Let me know if you have any questions and happy sewing and happy reading!

Letter Writing Tray- using Salt

Sometimes I do something with my kids, sew something, bake something, and then I think, "is this blog worthy?" Isn't that silly? It really is silly but I guess it comes with the reality of the blog world.... This was one of those things. I did this back in July, and then today I saw almost the same thing in a magazine...so I guess it is blog worthy-I mean it was magazine worthy! HA! ☻ 

This activity is nothing new, sand tables can be found in preschool rooms, kindergarten rooms, and day cares. They are great for helping kids learn to write their letters using correct form.

For this activity, we colored some salt with food coloring. I just put a few drops of food coloring in a baggie filled with salt. I chose salt because it is really inexpensive. BUT you could use sugar or cornmeal. If you child has sensitive skin, or a small cut on their finger- I would not use salt. Use sugar or cornmeal if that concerns you. Coloring it just made it more interesting- plus when you mix the food coloring and salt- you are doing a BONUS science project- ha ha ha- love a bonus project!

We dumped it into a big pan and practiced writing our letters. I used the GLAD plastic pans that have a lid. That way I can store it in the pan, or store it in a zip-lock baggie, and use the pan for another sensory tray.

There is one slight problem with this activity: THE MESS. The kids get excited, they love the way it feels on their hands, and they tend to make a bit of a mess.

It is nothing big- a vacuum and a sponge or rag can clean it right up! In fact, we did play dough today...so I think I'll get these trays out again- and just clean up the mess all at once! :)

Hope you are enjoying the "BACK TO SCHOOL" fever going around.... Good luck to everyone with school!

Brown Sugar Muffins

Things have been crazy in real life- and I haven't had much time to blog- sorry.

Starting kindergarten, preschool, and many many other things have been keeping me busy!

Here is another fun muffin recipe. These taste like graham crackers. If you want to make them "healthier" since they have a lot of sugar, I suggest adding some whole wheat flour, or applesauce in place of the fat- which I almost always do.

Brown Sugar Muffins

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter (I use applesauce)

1 cup milk

1 egg

3 cups brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin tins. Blend together butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla and milk. Sift together the dry ingredients-flour, soda and salt. Add all ingredients together and mix until blended. Spoon into prepared tins, filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake 15-18 minutes.

These were a "pleaser" for the entire family. Enjoy!

What the Cuteness: Back to School Ideas

So much CUTE back to school stuff out there....here are a few cute ones I have found:

ABC and 123 are having a Back to School Linky Party soon! They also have some great links to some cute  back to school ideas out there.

Living Locurto has the cutest After School Routine poster you can download for free. (pictured above) She also provides a ton of back to school downloads and ideas on her site.


Have a backpack date with your child -idea via Make and Takes- from Heather .

Have the first day of school fairy come and visit-idea from Make-n-Takes.

First Day of School Survival Kit from Bee in our bonnet- a very cute little blog.


Good luck to everyone who is starting school!

 I miss my teaching days! But right now, I am really missing my little guy who started kindergarten. Maybe some of these cute ideas will make it easier...for me. :)

Feature Friday: Nancy's Couture

I'm taking a little break from the "muffins"- but there will be more throughout the month. We'll try to mix it up a bit, so we aren't so sick of "muffin posts". And I have some FUN sewing projects coming up soon too :)
Today we have an awesome guest- she is great at repurposing things! Meet Nancy from Nancy's Couture.

Hi everyone I am soooo excited to be here today. I love seeing all the creative things Sharla does here. So when she asked if anyone would like to be a guest I jumped at the chance!!! 

 I'm Nancy from Nancy's Couture.

 I have been married to my wonderful husband for 10 years.

We have 2 amazing and funny kids that keep us busy.

When I'm not busy taking care of my family I am sewing for them.  I love to upcycle things and make them new again.  For me it's a creative outlet without having to spend a lot of money plus it gives me an excuse to go thrifting and to yard sales to find my treasures.

Here are some of the tutorials you will find at my blog:

T-shirt Trunks

Purse Strap Belt

Rockin Jeans

Turn A Bubble Into A Shirt

Jeans Quilt

Garden Party Dress

I would LOVE for you to come visit me at my BLOG!

Sharla thank you so much for having me here today!!!  I can't wait to see your next creative project!

Nancy is amazing at making something you love from something that you did not love so much!
Thanks Nancy- I love that Garden Party Dress! Now I just need a girl to go with it :) And those t-shirt trunks are so stinkin' cute.  Make sure you check out Nancy's blog, and  if you would like to be a guest on My Little Gems, please contact me at little gems crafts {at} gmail {dot} com. Thanks for reading- while I take care of the most important things  these days- MY FAMILY :)

Have a GREAT WEEKEND!!

Kona Inn Banana Bread {Muffins}

This is my favorite banana bread recipe. And like many favorite recipes, it is one my mom always made, and now I always make. I almost always turn this one into muffins. I love this banana bread recipe because it is pretty much "fail proof" and if you love banana bread, this one is really really good! Plus it is perfect for kids- and my kids eat this right up.  The changes I often make, including how to make this into muffins, are noted at the end.

Kona Inn Banana Bread { +muffins}

2 cups sugar


1 cup shortening


6 ripe bananas, mashed


4 eggs, well beaten


2 ½ cups flour


1 tsp. Salt


2 tsp. Baking soda






Cream together sugar and shortening. Add mashed bananas and well beaten eggs. Sift flour, salt, baking soda together and add. Blend the wet and dry ingredients. Don’t overmix. Bake in 2 well-greased and floured loaf pans at 350 for 45-50 minutes. You can add nuts, raisins, chocolate chips if desired.
For Muffins: Spray or grease muffin tins and fill with batter. For normal sized muffins, bake at 350 Degrees F for about 20-25 minutes.

Other tips/changes for this recipe:

 I substitute applesauce for the shortening, and add ½ wheat flour sometimes. I also add about a cup or two of oats too. I f you don’t have enough bananas, it still works. I have made these with 4 bananas or all 6.  I usually peel and freeze the really ripe bananas and smash those up. It is best to freeze them PEELED. I have also added pineapple to this when I did not have enough bananas and it was still really good. Another substitution I have done is using flax seed meal for the eggs.  You can make these as healthy or as unhealthy as you want, and they always turn out great! If you don't want as strong of a banana flavor, use one or two less bananas. However you make these, I think they are wonderful :)




Enjoy!

Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins {with orange cream cheese frosting}

This recipe comes from my friend JoAnne. She has the best muffin recipes!

This one is SO DELICIOUS! If you don't like cranberries, you could leave them out or substitute something else. I added the frosting- and --whoa-- this could be dessert- or breakfast....or a snack...or a meal. :)

Whatever you want...they are just too too good.

Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins

(I double this recipe)

1 cup oats

1 cup vanilla yogurt-BUT you can use any flavor and it works great

1 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup applesauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup dried cranberries (crasins)

2 tsp. grated orange peel

TIP: when you peel an orange, throw the peel in the freezer in a zip-lock baggie, and then you can use it later for recipes like this. (got that from the Food Network- and it is a great tip!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Soak oats in yogurt for about 15 minutes. Sift dry ingredients and add oat mixture. In a separate bowl combine egg, applesauce, and sugars. Beat until well blended. Fold in dry ingredients. Add orange peel (grated) and cranberries (crasins). Stir gently until combined. Bake in greased muffin tins for 20 minutes.

Optional Cream Cheese Orange Frosting

1  4 oz. portion reduced-fat Cream Cheese (1/2 a regular package)

1/4 cup butter or margarine softened (but I think I just used a little more cream cheese)

2 TBSP frozen orange juice concentrate

1 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

** I never follow a frosting recipe exactly- so this may need adjustments- w/ sugar or cream cheese. --- That is how I do it. :)

Let's Hear it for Homemade Muffins

We eat a lot of muffins around here. And with school starting, muffins are the perfect food.

Why?

Well...IF you make them there are so many reasons why muffins are the best:

*You can eat them on the go

*You can add "healthy" ingredients- whole wheat flour, flax seed, fruit

*They freeze well

*They are portable

*They taste delicious!

*They can be good for you

*Kids love them

*Kids can help make them

*The possibilities are endless!

So this next week, I am going to share some of my Favorite muffin recipes with you!

And...If I can figure out how to use Mr. Linky- or someone can please help this non-computer savvy mom-

I will put a linky thingy where you can link your favorite muffin recipe from your blog!

Hopefully we'll have a bunch of great muffin recipes in the end!

And to kick it off- go grab this great book off your shelf and read it to your little ones:

Happy Baking!

Quiltstory Feature + Robot Bibs

Have you heard of Quiltstory? It is an adorable blog created by two sisters, Heather and Megan. A few months ago, they contacted me about featuring my Mr. Roboto Quilt. And although there are quilters out there who are much more "skilled" than I am, and much more creative and talented, they asked to feature mine. (Although  my inspiration including this quilt is all due to Amy from Diary of a Quilter. :) )



 You can read the story and see the quilt again, here.  And because I LOVED this Mr. Roboto fabric, I used every last scrap of it (except for a few kits I am still putting together-which I really need to finish) to make these bibs a few months ago. My big growing boy was in need of more baby bibs.  

Happy Weekend!

Make sure you check out all the beautiful quilts on Quiltstory.

 Now I think I'll try to actually do some sewing this weekend--- I could use a little "down time." :)  

What the Cuteness....Round-up Kids + Felt

There is so much cute stuff out there... I almost can't stand it!

So here are a few things I have found out there for you to sneak a peek at....

Girl's Felt Play Mat- from a girl and a glue gun
And here is her boy's felt play mat:

Hello..cuteness! I have one in the works- that I am still working on...but then I saw this and thought- dang- this is WAY cuter!

Total motivation to get mine finished!

Speaking of felt, you must check out this Felt Wall Globe- so cute and educational at the same time!

In case you missed this cute color book, from Everyday Celebrations, I thought I'd share that cuteness too.

Lucky for me, I got one of her cute kits in the mail a few months ago...now to find the time to make my own color book!

This adorable baby mobile- spoke to me- as I LOVE polka dots and color and have had one of these in the back of mind for a while now...

adorable!

And if you did not see Abby's cute felt advent calendar last year, you need to see it! Another thing I'm loving... still.

So many cute things to make, and so little time lately.

What cute things have you seen out there?