I was on TV!

I've been talking about being on TV for a few weeks now and yesterday was the day!

It was super fun... I was really nervous since I've never done anything like this before.

As soon as I got to the building the staff was incredibly nice. They made me feel at ease.

You will notice that the first 20 seconds of the clip are pretty awkward.... that's because I didn't know we were on! They never gave me a "we're on in 5 seconds!" and I was very thrown off by it.

It was also very hot in there with all of the lights on us. I was afraid my face would be bright red!

Paula is a cancer survivor and also talked about that on her show that day. It was so nice to meet her and hear more about her story.

You can see a picture of us below, I know... it's a little blurry.

Let me know what you think of the video!

AND thank you to everyone who voted on this jacket! I love how it looked on TV! I even got to watch it in HD! :)


Click on the link below to watch it.

http://www.kwqc.com/category/231919/video-landing-page?clipId=7099640&autostart=true

I'm offering a 10% discount off of any purchase for my shop using "TWEET10"

My  Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AllPatchedUpQuilts

Thanks for reading,

Elvira 

Tutorial-Printing on Fabric

Printing on fabric is easier than you think.... I decided about a month ago that I wanted to try it but I was kind of scared to do it.

I did a lot of research online but most of the instructions I read were sooo confusing!

I basically went to the manufacturer's website directly for more info and supplemented any questions I had with other websites.

I tried to take as many pictures to show you what the steps look like... I know it seems like a lot but it's not!

Supplies

• iron
• ironing board
• cutting mat
• rotary cutter
• fabric
• inkjet printer
• digital picture 
• freezer paper sheets
• flat pan
• large bucket
• bubble jet set 2000
• bubble jet rinse
• gloves
• towel

Directions

1. Step 1 is to not get discouraged over the long list of supplies! It's less than it seems! AND get your supplies together!
2. Cut your fabric to size. 8.5x11 inches is what will fit in your printer. You HAVE to use 100% cotton fabric. I used bleached muslin and I pre-washed mine. 

3. In a flat pan (I used a regular jelly roll pan lined with foil), add just enough bubble jet set 2000 to soak your fabric in it. Lay your fabric in (use your gloves) and push it around so that the fabric is completely saturated. Let soak for 5 minutes. 

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4. Gently squeeze the excess solution out of your fabric, try not to add wrinkles. Lay flat to dry on a towel. If you are in a rush you can do a hair blow dryer to speed up this process.  Pour any leftover solution back in the bottle.

5. Iron your fabric smooth when dry. 

6. Iron the shiny side of the freezer paper to the wrong side of the fabric. Make sure you press down well on the corners. Make sure to trim down any loose threads so they don't jam your printer. 

7. Make sure your printer is set up the way you want it to. Do a test page on regular paper if you wish. Choose the best quality printing options on your printer. Print your picture.

8. Let stand for 30 minutes!

9. Peel freezer paper. Discard.

10. Fill a bucket or large pan with 1 gallon of cold water. Add 4 cap fulls of Bubble Jet Rinse (2 ounces).

11. Take your fabric and vigorously wash and soak it in the water for 3 minutes. Try not to let the fabric overlap on itself for too long and don't stop moving the fabric. This will take out any extra ink and will also make sure that the ink that needs tos tay in will. 

12. Do a quick final rinse in cold water to wash the soap out. You can just run it under your faucet for a few seconds.

13. Lay flat to dry and you're DONE!

If this seems like it's confusing write a question in the comments below.

If you are interested in purchasing this already done for you feel free to contact me.

I am working on the above quilt right now for a newlywed couple. I'm working on another 2 quilts to remember loved ones that have passed away.

If you are interested in getting a quilt for any occasion please feel free to look at my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AllPatchedUpQuilts

You can use TWEET10 to receive 10 percent off of any purchase.

Estes Park

Wow!!

I thought that seeing the mouintains would be amazing, but I never thought it would be THIS amazing.

Since we drove through the night we got to see the sun come up over the mountains.

Jared woke me up and said "look outside!" And there they finally were! Snow covered mountains!

I couldn't stop staring for hours. I was taking a million pictures like the biggest tourist dork. I was glad people couldn't see me.

We got into town around 6:30am and thankfully were able to get a very early check in.

Jared was snoring with seconds. I guess even Estes Park can't fix that problem :)

We got up for the day and got a late breakfast at the Egg and I, it was pretty delicious.

We were only supposed to go walk around town BUT we decided to go check out Rocky Mountain National Park....

There was only one problem, I was wearing heels. Ugh!

We spent a few hours driving around and got out to take some beautiful pictures, but I have blisters from my very cute ankle booties lol.

Today we are going back and I am DEFINITELY going to be prepared this time!

After the park we walked around town and looked at all of the cute little shops.

Dinner was at Poppy's. Had really great pizza there and a local raspberry wheat beer. That was yummy!

We couldn't help but notice that everyone is so friendly here!! It makes people from Iowa look like real jerks.

I'm excited to go exploring the park some more today, in tennis shoes :)

Thanks for reading, have you ever been here?

Elvira

On the road for our 12 hour road trip!

The view from the car right as the sun was going down.

THIS is what Jared woke me up to!

This is right behind our cabin. The water is freezing!

See my pretty shoes? lol

There are elk everywhere! This one was just a few feet from the car. They don't seem to be afraid of people at all.

I was holding my breath here... It is very high up! I made Jared come back down to get me :)

I loved Jared's white shirt and blue jeans in these pictures. They just pop!

Our sweet baby... I miss her so much!!!!!!!

It's Road Trip Day!

It feels like forever ago that we decided to run away and get married in Estes Park, Colorado.

Well TODAY is the day we finally leave!

There are so many mixed emotions running through my head tho....

On one hand I'm soooo happy to marry my best friend, on the other all I can think about is leaving my baby...

Chloe. She's going to be 7 months old... on the day that we get married. I won't see her for 7 whole days. I've never been that long.... The longest has been overnight. And that was hard enough.

She's so cute!

I wonder if she knows that we are leaving because the last 2 nights she has slept like an angel!

I'm going to snuggle her a ton today :)

Estes Park is going to be amazing! I've never seen the mountains. And of course I get to marry the man of my dreams!

Have you ever left your baby for so long? I know she will be in good hands but it just breaks my heart!!!

Elvira

Healthier Mac and Cheese

As you probably already know, we love cheesy things!

It doesn't really matter what kind of cheese it is... we will eat it.

Jared is the one that likes to eat healthy but he's is slowly converting me. I have rewritten a lot of our recipes to make them healthier without sacrificing the flavor.

I can't remember where I got the original recipe for this. However, by the time I was done with it it's a VERY different recipe than the original.

I only use 2 Tbsp. of butter instead of an entire stick!

Let me know how you like the recipe, I hope it's still yummy.

I usually add 2 cups of fresh spinach as well but didn't this time because I wasn't sure if our friends liked spinach.

I served this with Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes and also accidentally deleted some of these pictures as well! Sorry :)


Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
4 c. milk, 1% or fat free
1 Tbsp. vegeta
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 oz. cheese, I used queso blanco velveeta, skim mozzarella would be great here!
2 egg yolks
1 lb. pasta, I used small shells
1/4 c. breadcrumbs, whole wheat

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Preheat oven to 425.

2. In a large saucepan heat oil on medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add butter and let it melt. Add flour to make a roux. Let the flour taste burn off for a minute or two.

3. Slowly whisk in milk. Add all of the seasonings, bay leaves, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Stir in cheese and let melt.

4. In a small dish, add 1/2 c. or so of the cheese mixture and the egg yolks. Stir well. Add this back into the cheese mixture. Add chopped fresh spinach if using.

5. Add cooked pasta to the mixture and combine well. Pour into a greased 9x13 dish. This will still be pretty liquidy looking but I promise it bakes perfectly!

6. Bake covered for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes

These are so yummy! I made these for a few friends that came over and there wasn't any left.

You can add more or less hot sauce depending on how spicy you like it. Ours had a kick in it but Chloe, my 6 month old, ate some and she loved it!

Let  me know if your family loves this recipe too!

I accidentally deleted some of the pictures I took :(

I slightly adapted this recipe from Rachael Ray

Makes 8 sandwiches

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lbs. ground chicken
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. vegeta

Sauce:

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c. Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 c. tomato sauce
1/2 c. chicken stock
3/4 c. blue cheese crumbles

8 burger rolls
8 slices mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Heat a large skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and break it up. Cook 5-6 minutes.

2. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and vegeta. Cook 7-8 minutes.

3. In a small bowl combine all of the sauce ingredients. Pour into pan and stir well. Simmer 5 minutes.

4. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Cut buns in half, lay in baking sheet cut sides up. Top the bottoms of the buns with chicken mixture. Top with mozzarella cheese.

5. Broil on high until the bread without any chicken is golden brown, about 30 seconds. Take those buns out of the oven. Put the loaded buns back in and broil an additional minute or so. Until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly! DON'T look away during this process!!! It only takes a few seconds to burn and ruin everything! And don't skip this step... I promise it makes it extra delicious. :)

ENJOY!

Which one???

Please help! I am shopping for a blazer and I have narrowed down to these 2 at New York & Company....

I will not be wearing that shirt either.

Which one do you think is better???

Or do you hate them both?

And this is what I'm going to be wearing for when I'm on TV!

Any help would be much appreciated,

Thank you,

Elvira