Amy O. Game Day Dresses

I've been busy at work with my new project... Game Day Dresses!
I just wanted to share a little of what I have created so far and encourage you to check out the addition to the Dots & Damask website.

My Logo:

Some of the designs:

Click here to check out the rest!
And keep an eye out for new designs coming soon.
(I also have some Green & Orange designs in the works for FAMU fans!) 

Bathroom Finale

The (almost) finished product!
My little weekend decorating project turned into an almost complete bathroom redo, including new flooring, vanity, lighting, and paint. I'm kind of obsessed with grey right now, and yellow makes such a good compliment in my opinion... so that, along with chevron print, was where my inspiration came from.

I was able to reuse a mirror that I already had and just added a little yellow paint for an accent. I also made a pleated shade for the window and added some chevron fabric on the shower curtain for an extra accent.

All the little details are my favorite, specifically the awesome light fixture over the shower! I scored that fixture from Lowe's for only $30. Nothing you would normally see in a bathroom, but its totally me :) 

Still needs a few finishing touches but I wanted to share the redo since I know you've been waiting.

Under Construction

Last week I decided I would finally have a free weekend to do my bathroom face-lift of painting and new accessories... and then... like a lot of my projects it turned into a little more than I originally planned :) I like to take an idea and run with it to the extreme. And it didn't help that my husband actually encouraged this project! So a simple face-lift led to some demolition and a bigger bathroom redo...

So my little weekend project wasn't able to be finished... yet.

Craft Closet Re-org

This action item has been on my to-do list for quite some time, so today I decided it was time to clean my craft room closet. I promise, it hasn't been this bad for that long, but I've been bad about stuffing it full so my sewing room would be clean :) Not the best strategy (I know). Pretty much all off the organizational stuff is from Target, although I've been collecting it over time. This week I found all of the pink & grey cardboard boxes and the shoe organizers in the $ spot, which kept the cost down for this project. 

I decided to maximize the space I would remove the closet doors. This way I would be able to get to the containers that are in the corners of the closet more easily. I intend to have the hubby hang a curtain for me :) 

I have this simple little black shelf right outside the closet doors and wanted to tie it in to the closet design so I added the last of the cardboard boxes and revamped my thread display. I thought by displaying my larger spools and embroidery thread on a 2-tier platter it would add a nice touch.
What do you think?

Grain Free Cinnamon Crackers

Tomorrow is going to be the best snack day! I can't wait to try the seasonal blueberry goat cheese from Serenity Acres Farms. (I get my eggs from them on Wednesday's at Lake Ella) When I found out they had blueberry and strawberry goat cheese I couldn't resist. So I needed a something to eat this goat cheese on. I decided cinnamon crackers would be just the thing! I've made another grain free cracker before, but its a savory recipe - Rosemary Garlic Crackers. I decided to adapt this recipe for a cinnamon honey cracker. Here's what I came up with.

Ingredients

1.5 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter, melted

1 tbsp honey

1 egg

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

Mix butter, honey and egg in one bowl. Mix flour, salt and cinnamon in another bowl.

Stir.

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Mix well.

Grease your cookie sheet (I used coconut oil) or use parchment paper.
Roll out dough to approximately 1/8" thickness.
This recipe makes approximately 50 crackers.

Cut your crackers before your bake. They will snap apart once cooked.

I sprinkled a little more cinnamon on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then an additional 8-10 minutes
depending on how crispy you like them.

These crackers aren't sweet at all, but I didn't want sweet crackers since the cheese will be sweet already. You could add in brown sugar for sweetness. I added a little peach butter for a tasty treat :)

Fabric Silhouette Tutorial

I decided a wall of dachshund silhouettes would be the perfect addition to my living room. And then I found this cute little sign "A dog's tail never lies" and couldn't pass it up! Especially since I already had these dog butts from Ikea, which I've had for over a year and hadn't found the perfect spot for them until now.
Below is the tutorial on how I did it so you can make your own silhouettes.

Print off an image the size you would like your silhouette to be

Cut out a piece of the silhouette fabric a little bigger than the stencil you created

Iron on heat n bond to the back of the silhouette fabric

Pin the stencil on top of the heat n bonded fabric and carefully cut out

Use the glass from the frame to trace out the background fabric

Iron the silhouette to the middle of the background piece

And frame!

Refashion: All Buttoned Up

I thought it would be a fun challenge to do some garment refashioning. Turns out this refashion movement is a hit right now. After I purchased 3 bag fulls of clothes from a thrift shop, I searched around online for some inspiration and found a few blogs who feature refashions. I'm super excited about what I came up with and can't wait to transform my other pieces. 

I think I have my 4th of July outfit (just need some red accents)

Here's what I started with - a large polyester button up

I started by cutting off the sleeves

Then the collar

Using pens, I created a slight "A" line where I would stitch up the sides of the shirt

Sew and serge (or zig-zag stitch) the edges

Next I decided I something more interesting than a straight top - sweetheart is more my style <3

I used pens to create my sweetheart guide lines

Then trimmed off the excess fabric 

It was time to create my top seam and sew
I decided to do a double stitch detail for a little accent and to help the top seam lay flatter

Using excess fabric from the sleeves I cut out strap pieces (sorry no pic), stitched inside out, flipped right side out, ironed flat, then I pinned the straps in place and stitched them on

Voila!

Spent Grains & Dog Bones

In celebration of Zoey's 3rd birthday we're having a party! Time to get in the kitchen and make some birthday treats. I love to use spent grains from Reed's brewing to make baked goods (there's actually a loaf of bread baking in the oven right now). Luckily for me, he just brewed yesterday and saved some grains. I could only find one recipe for spent grain dog biscuits online and while they sounded good they were boring. So I came up with my own. 

Organic Peanut Butter, Carrot & Blueberry Spent Grain Cookies.  

Recipe below.

I can't believe it's been 3 years already. Look how small Zoey was when we first got her at 6 weeks old :) 

MY RECIPE

2 cups Spent Grains

1 cup Organic Whole Wheat Flour

1 Egg (Local from Free Range Chickens)

1/2 cup Organic Creamy Peanut Butter

1/4 cup Organic Carrots, Chopped

1/4 cup Organic Blueberries, Cut in half

Mix all ingredients except the blueberries until combined

Gently mix in the blueberries

Grease cookie sheet

I used Refined (instead of Unrefined) Organic Coconut Oil because it has a high heat point of 365 degrees

Pat dough into 1-2" rounds approximately 1/4" thick

Our dog birthday party was today so I wanted to make some extra special bone shaped cookies. I rolled out some of the dough and used a bone cookie cutter for a few cookies.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Reduce oven to 225 degrees and continue baking for 1.5 - 2 hours. This dries out the cookies so they become harder.

Party Time!