How it’s Made #2

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A while back I started my new series named ‘How it’s made’. Where I show everyone how I make certain items I have listed in my shop; and, for this post I wanted to share how I go about creating my multipurpose zipper case.  

Here it is from start to finish!

These are the materials I use for the body of the case: 

The lining…
First I press all the fabric and apply the fusible interfacing. 
Next I sew those pieces to the white felt (This adds more body and padding to the case)

Next I prep the faux leather bottoms…
Then sew them to the pattern fabric, like so:
Next I whip stitch my zipper…

Then sew the zipper to the pattern fabric (zipper facing down)
Next, I sew the lining to the zipper and pattern fabric with right sides facing together…
Then repeat on the other side:
Next I edge stitch…
Next, I place the lining pieces together with right sides facing, and do the same with the outer pattern fabric and sew all the way around—making sure I back stitch for the opening on the bottom where I’ll turn the case inside out. 

Once it’s sewn all the way around I open the bottom with my seam ripper and flip the case inside out:



Next I sew the opening, and the case is finish. Then I add the finishing touching with the rings and tassel…

…and there you have it! My case from start to finish.  

My Green Enchilada Casserole

Thursday, July 26, 2012


Like everyone—I have to make dinner for my family; and, like everyone I get tired of cooking sometimes; or, I’m too lazy to cook altogether. However, even if I’m not up for cooking I still like to prepare something that tastes’ great. Therefore, I love making one of my favorite dishes, Enchiladas—but I like to make them the lazy way!

Today I’m going to show you how to make my Green Enchilada Casserole. It’s so easy to make, and it tastes amazingly delicious. When I make this dish I also like to serve it up with some refried beans and white Mexican rice (it tastes the same as red Mexican rice, as far as herbs and seasoning, but I omit the tomato sauce).

Ingredients for Green Enchilada Casserole / Servings: 8-10

·         8-10 tomatillos
·         1 onion halved
·         3 garlic cloves
·         5 jalapeños
·         4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts’
·         16oz of Monterey Jack Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese
·         Cilantro
·         30 tortillas
·         Salt
·         Pepper

Ingredients for Cream Sauce

·         Sour cream
·         1 lemon
·         Salt
·         Pepper
·         Small handful of cilantro

Instructions:

Step 1: Take your boneless skinless chicken breasts’, two garlic cloves, half an onion, a generous pinch of salt, pepper, and then place them into a pot. Bring to a boil, and then lower the flame until the chicken is fully cooked. 
Step 2: Peal your tomatillos, then place them in a colander along with the jalapeños and give them a good rinse. Next, place them in a medium sauce pan, and add the other half of your onion and the remaining garlic clove. Then cover with water and bring to a rolling boil. 


Step 3: While the chicken and green sauce are cooking go ahead and get started on grating the 16oz block of cheese. 
Step 4: Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the pan and set it aside to cool. 
Step 5: Once the tomatillos and jalapeños have lost their vibrant color they’re ready to be blended into a wonderful sauce. So, take the tomatillos, jalapeños, garlic, and onion; and place it in the blender along with a handful of fresh cilantro. This is the most important step: This is where all the magic happens because the green sauce gives the casserole its entire flavor; therefore, add a generous amount of salt to this sauce. I always salt to taste I never really have a set amount of salt that I put in. What I do is give it a few shakes of my salt shaker, blend, taste, and repeat until I get the flavor I want. Just be careful when tasting because it’s really hot. Once it’s ready simply set it aside.


 Step 6: At this point your chicken should be cool to the touch, if it isn't give it some more time. But if it is you can start shredding!
Step 7: Now you’re ready to assemble but before you start assembly, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 
Step 8: Next put a thin layer of the green sauce on the bottom of the baking dish to prevent sticking—no oil or butter is needed.

Step 9: Dip six tortillas into your mixture and lay them on the bottom of the dish. Add a small handful of the shredded chicken, and a small handful of cheese. 



Step 10: Repeat four more times until you’ve reached the top of the baking dish and pour the remainder of the sauce over the casserole.  Then place it into the oven until the cheese is melted (about 20-30 minutes). 
Step 10: After placing the casserole into the oven, go ahead and make your cream sauce. The cream sauce is basically half a cup of sour cream, juice of a lemon, salt, pepper, and a small handful of cilantro. Once all of those ingredients are in a small dish, give it a good mix and place in the refrigerator. This casserole is delicious on its own but this cream sauce adds so much more flavor—it’s not even funny. Trust me when I say this cream sauce is so amazing. Also, what I like to do at this time is start on my rice, refried beans, and Pico de Gallo. 
Step 11: After the cheese has completely melted remove it from the oven, serve, and enjoy! 

I hope you give this wonderful, easy, and delicious recipe a try! Happy eating! Till next time my friends.

Card of the Week

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Happy Tuesday everyone! Lately I’ve had so many orders to work on that I haven’t had any time to just play with all my crafting tools to satisfy my creative needs, or make new items to sell. So I made it a goal of mine to take a break from making orders once a week to make something for fun. Last night after finishing up some orders I decided to stay up an extra hour to make this cute card! 
I’m very thankful that I can make money selling the things I make. Working on custom orders doesn’t feel like work at all; but there are times when I feel like I need to create something new—instead of making the same thing over and over. As a matter of fact, I feel like that often. If I don’t make something new I tend to feel restless or bored and I can’t help but think about making something new until I actually get a chance to make something new. 

Now that I made this card, I should be ok until next week, lol. Also, in case you were wondering what I used to create this card I’ll go ahead and show you the tools I used to create this card: 

·         Lawn Fawn Stamp set: Love ‘n Breakfast
·         Lawn Fawn Stamp Set: Flying by
·         Paper stack sheets
·         Kraft Card stock
·         Circle craft punch
·         Black ink
·         Scissors
·         Washi tape

Hope you’ve enjoyed this mini-post! & Feel free to check out this quick video--just practicing my video skills :-D 


Card of the Week #1 from Nicole Gavaldon on Vimeo.
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