Get Your Craft On-Stenciling onto Fabric

Ta Da - the finished valance.  Sorry I couldn't get it all in the picture.  The dining room didn't offer enough back up space, but you get the idea.

By Leslie and Laura

I know what you might think of when I mention stenciling.  I know what I always picture--my mom perched on top of a ladder, aggressively tapping paint onto a stencil only to have to climb back down the ladder, move it over two inches, tape the stencil back onto the wall and go back to the tapping.  Then, when all was said and done we had a beautiful (or not so beautiful, according to my 12-year-old-self) border around the top of our dining room walls.

Well, that's the old school stenciling; it's tired, it's bland, and it's something that could make or break a deal on House Hunters.  But, times have changed, and stenciling has, too.  It has gotten kind of a bad rap over the years and we are hear to redeem it!  Laura recently got some inspiration from an issue of Better Homes and Gardens (mentioned in this post).  There was a beautiful pillow made out of stenciled fabric and she knew she had to try it out. She bought the stencil, here and instated the help of my mom and I to create a unique stenciled valance for her dining room.  And, for the record, it was not nearly as hard as it seemed.

Here's a look into our day of crafting.

Mom and I are starting to get "into the groove" of stenciling, realigning the stencil, and reloading our sponge brushes.  In the background, baby Ella is getting into the groove of eating a snack.

Here Laura and I are starting on the second row--at this point you have to be a lot more careful when you are aligning your stencil.  You need to align two sides instead of one.  Thank goodness this stencil had "guidelines" for me to follow.  Also, even if one was slightly misaligned, it just added to the unique look of the textile.

Here's one lowly picture of me doing what took up the most time in this process-aligning the stencil.  But thanks to spray adhesive and awesome guidelines, even this wasn't that hard.

Finished fabric.  Look how long it is!  I would say it took approximately two hours and that includes washing the stencil about three times to get any residue off of it.  Not too shabby!

A closer shot of the finished fabric.  

Now, time for the valance makin'

Leslie cuts the fabric for the main part of the valance.

Laura ironing the trim for the valance. 

Didn't it turn out just amazing?  I honestly wasn't expecting it to look this good in the dining room. By the way, I'm getting new curtain rods, these rods are from the previous window coverings, which happened to be off white, pink and green.  I had to move up to something more mod and this is going to be perfect, once I get all the finishing touches in the room.  So, are you getting the itch to stencil?  Do it!  You don't have to tackle a project this large, but why not go for a pillow or a cute hand bag?  Let the test nesters know how it goes.  We'd love about any projects you've completed or have on your to do list.  

Patience in Parenting...crawling

By: Laura

When you're a new mom, every milestone is vital, I mean every one; including smiles, laughs, rolls, crawling and the creme de la creme, walking.  So, let's just say, I've been monitoring each and every one of these milestones carefully.  I have faithfully recorded each new moment in Ella's baby book, but alas, these last few months have been a bit of a bummer in the momentous occasions category.  Not to say Ella hasn't improved on anything, heck, she can say cracker, quack, and she even barks like a dog, but I have been waiting and waiting for her to crawl.

As a new mother, you also get a lot of advice.  I know I give it too, but sometimes it can be overwhelming and down right stupid.  For instance, when I told other people that Ella wasn't crawling, they'd say, "did you try to put something tempting in front of her?" or "do you put things just out of reach?"  Well, of course I did, but to no avail.  Ella just sat and pondered.  She was completely content to stay in her little corner of the living room and talk to each one of her toys.

I loved that she was content in any situation, but there was the new mom adrenaline pumping through my veins.  CRAWL, JUST CRAWL, little girl.  But, Ella sat and then teased me with her almost crawling moments.  It wasn't until about a month ago that I had an epiphany.  Why was I getting so crazy about this?  Who cares if my friend's friend's kid was crawling at six months, my daughter is who she is and I love her for it.

The funny thing is that once I stopped worrying about it, that's just about the time when it happened (11 months!). Ella started to crawl.  It was an interesting drag your leg crawl, but it was a definitely a crawl.  And this eventually evolved into the real deal as well as standing up and walking beside furniture. This literally all happened in about a week's time.  Babies are amazing!

Now, as I watch every move this little lady makes, I reminded of the old days when she used to sit.  Do I miss them? A little, but this time is so incredible that it's hard to think back.  Ella is discovering new things each day and though the bumps and bruises come along the way; I love it!

So, if you're a new mom thinking, when is my child going to get to where my neighbor's cousin's baby is, just stop and take a moment to realize that your baby is one of a kind and he or she will make a milestone when it is the right time for them.  Until then, look back at the baby book, watch videos or flip through pictures of the night your little one was born and remember that time goes way too fast to worry so much about milestones. Just remember what he or she has done up to this point and you'll want to slow down a bit and take it all in.

Ella getting ready to climb the stairs.

Ina In Ma House!

Hey everybody!  Yesterday I found out something quite exciting.  Ina Garten's show, The Barefoot Contessa, is now available for free on hulu.com.  This is excellent news for me since we don't have the cable TV at our house.  You know The Test Nesters are big into Ina and all her advice, so if you haven't experienced her, now is your chance.



Yesterday I sat down with a glass of white wine and a Reese's Peanut Butter cup (don't know if Ina would approve of the later) and watched this show on outdoor dining.  You know Ina's going to 'pump up the volume' on a normal outdoor gathering.  Enjoy!

Piped Pillows

by Erin

Piped pillows using fabric from the Outside Oslo collection.

Last Sunday morning I took a class at The Needle Shop.  (See former class creations here.)  Four eager sewers were taught the ins and outs of making our own piping, sewing piping to a pillow, and ahem, a lapped zipper.  The owner of the shop, Rachel, graciously bestowed upon us all of her tricks and tips for making these pillows look great, and I must say they all turned out splendidly.  I made the one on the left in class and promptly bought fabric to make the second one.  Anytime I am able to take a class at The Needle Shop I make a second of whatever it was to make sure I remember all the tricks that I had been taught, hence the pillow on the right. 

Piping

 

Here is the piping up close.  Both fabrics are part of the Jessica Jones collection called Outside Oslo.  All the prints in the home dec collection are fabulous, but I am especially drawn towards these three because the yellow is the same as our couch.  Score! 

Lapped zipper

Can you see the zipper in there?  No, you can't because it is hidden (or maybe it is just the poor photo).  These lapped zippers aren't as hard as I thought they would be.  Yes they do take some patience and time, but they are so worth it because they really make for a finished product. 

Pillows, pillows, pillows!

Here are my new piped pillows with my old sewing 101 pillows!  Don't they look great together?  I'm loving the comfy look of the couch and so is this lazy broad. 

Penny on the pillows.

I am so pleased with the polished look of these pillows, and I'm sure I've got many more of various sizes in store for the house.  So have these beauties inspired you to sign up for the piped pillow class?  I know not everybody has the luxury of having a fabulous shop like The Needle Shop close to you, but scope it out.  You might be suprised what you find.  Or how about getting a group of sewers to come over your house to work on a project?  I find that sewing is a mostly solitary activity, but sewing with others adds conversation, ideas, and a great sense of community.  

Why don't you leave a comment for places around you that have classes?  You never know, maybe one of our readers will be there too!

Inspiration with Peach Cobbler on the side

By: Laura

Lately, I've been uninspired to create.  Things have been pretty same old, same old here and I've been needing a change.  Ella got sick two weeks ago, therefore we didn't really leave the house for almost two weeks straight (contagious virus!) and I was going a bit stir crazy.  Finally, on Monday last week, I decided it was time to head to my parents house.   Luckily we only live about 50 minutes away, so it's an easy jaunt to get there and back in a day.

When I got to the house she, of course, greeted Ella and I with smiles and hugs. Right then and there, I could already feel my spirits being lifted.  What is it about going back to the house you grew up in?  I always get the same warm feeling which is just what I needed after a long couple of weeks at home.

While at my Mom's house, I was able to sit and browse through her many magazines like Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart Living.  Both of these magazines are enough to get anyone inspired to create something new.  As I scanned the BHandG, I found this idea to stencil onto fabric.  I recently purchased some white material and I'm going to be stenciling it (with Mom and Leslie's help) this week.  Be sure to look for that blog post, it's gonna be a good one I think.  Not to leave out Martha Stewart Living; I found this recipe  that I can't wait to try! (pork and beans baked together, genius)

So now that I've been back home and have filled my inspiration bucket, I decided to dedicate a dish to my Mom.  Yesterday I made Peach Cobbler.  What a delicious summer treat.  Here is how it all sliced up.

Begin by slicing two cups of peaches and mix them with one cup of sugar.  Yeah, you heard right, 1 cup of sugar.  This isn't a low fat dessert.

As you begin to work on your cobbler batter, melt one stick of butter in the pan you'll be making the cobbler in.  (Make sure to use a deep dish to ensure that you cobbler doesn't overflow in the oven, yikes!)

For the batter, mix one cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

Add 3/4 cup of milk to the above ingredients.

Stir the ingredients together and add it to the butter in the pot.  DO NOT STIR!

Finally, add those peaches.

Bake the for one hour or until the crust is brown, bubbly, and delicious.

Dish it up with some vanilla ice cream for the perfect summer treat.

So there you have it, mom's inspiration is in the house, literally.  The inspiration is still going too, tune in later in the week for a stenciling masterpiece!  

Peach Cobbler

Recipe courtesy of Mom

2 cups sliced peaches

1 cup of sugar

Mix together and set aside

1 stick of butter

Melt in oven at 350 degrees.  Melt it in the dish that you will make the cobbler in.

1 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of sugar

2 t. baking powder

pinch of salt

3/4 cup of milk

Mix the above ingredients and pour over the melted butter.  Do not stir the butter and batter together.  Add the peaches.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for one hour or until the crust is brown. 

Leek Pizza, a savory and easy meal

Whenever I visit my best friend Megan in Kansas City, we always find tons to do.  Whether it's going swimming in her apartment pool, shopping at the plaza, or sitting down with a box of Whoppers and a great flick--we always have a great time.  Kansas City has a lot to offer as far as shopping and eating.

For me, the eating is the best part.  Every time I go there we HAVE to go to Pizza Bella.  It's a wood fired style pizzaria and I think I have been there the last four times I've gone to KC.  The first few times I went there I ordered a classic Margherita style pizza, but last time, I ordered their leek pizza.

Can I just tell you?  It was so much more than expected.  It is covered in leeks and red onions, pancetta, and goat cheese.  It is amazing.

So, now that I'm eight hours away from KC, I had to figure out how to make this pizza on my own.  So--here's my interpretation of Pizza Bella's Leek Pizza.

Lovely ingredients--leeks, red onion, goat cheese, pancetta, and pizza crust (I use a variety of pizza crust types--I like Trader Joe's refrigerated dough, but this mix is nice to keep in your cupboard)

Chop your red onion into half-moon slices and chop and wash your leeks.  Add your cubed pancetta.

Saute the three ingredients until they are very tender and almost caramelized.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  You will want quite a bit--we used a lot of veggies!

Cover your pizza dough lightly with olive oil and then spread the vegetables on top.  Dollop goat cheese across the pizza and bake at 450 for about 10-15 minutes or until edges brown.

Now eat that baby!  This pizza is my new go-to meal.  We LOVE it.  The flavors are like magic.

4-H, Where test nesting began

By: Erin, Laura and Leslie

It's fair time around these parts. As I read about activities, dances, and prize winners I'm reminded of the good old days (you know, the early 90's) when all of us test nest sisters were working on our 4-H projects and preparing for the Boone County Fair.  

4-H for us gals wasn't about showing farm animals of any sort, we didn't live on a farm. Actually, it was all about the baking and sewing (and a little decorating of the duds, too).  This was where we got our start and our ambition to test new things in the kitchen as well as at the sewing machine.  

Our mom, Jacque, was also one of our biggest supporters while we were working on our projects.  She was patient with us even when we screamed her name from the sewing room or cried because we had to start over on a diagonal pillow (okay, maybe that was just me).  Mom knew patience, considering she was a 4-H pro back in the day as an active member of her 4-H club, the So-Sews, and she had high hopes for our continued participation in the program, but after only a few years, our enthusiasm fizzled.  Luckily, though, our skills from our mom and 4-H experiences stood the test of time and we have been inspired once again.  So let's take a moment to hearken back to the old days  to laugh at old pictures and listen to stories about past 4-H creations.  Each test nest sister is glad to share.  Let's start with the longest running 4-H participant and the oldest of the three, Erin.

What a work of art, sort of.  I don't think I was too successful in cake decorating.

Top and skirt made by me! Hosiery was not, what was I thinking and why the tractor?

Here I am (Laura), baking away in the kitchen.  I was trying to master the art of the snickerdoodle, which I believe I did accomplish after many practice batches.  Gotta love the permed hair and the sweet friendship bracelets.  

Seersucker pj's complete with accessories and a purple ribbon, ya'll!  That's how you do it.  I hated making these pjs, but they were quite patriotic. Luckily a purple ribbon made up for the hours of challenging sewing, well, sort of.

Here I am (Leslie) with a shirt "decorated" by me.  Actually, this was one of the few pictures we could find of me in something "I had made".  Notice the quotes here, folks.  I didn't make this shirt.  It was a hand-me-down.  I guess this shirt goes to show that I was not up for "Decorating my Duds". At least I had those high-top sneakers to soothe my sadness.

This, however, shows my winnings from my second year of 4-H.  My club was called The Clever Clovers.  I am holding my pillow and "everything bag" that I made as well as my abundance of purple ribbons.  Perhaps I was wearing a purple shirt to celebrate the occasion?

Looking back at these pictures definitely brings back memories.  We spent a lot of time perfecting our craft--and in the end, we learned some vital things.  Always practice before you are going to do something "for real",  measure your ingredients carefully, and don't be afraid to make a mistake.  After all, the test nest is all about trial and error--because we have lived through many errors, but find such satisfaction when something turns out just right.

Sleepy Time...thoughts on my baby's sleep habits

By: Laura

Ah yes, the question every parent has, will my baby ever go to sleep?  The answer is, yes, eventually he or she will, but sometimes the journey is a rough one.  For my husband and I though, we were pretty lucky.  Ella was a sleeper from the start.  I was the one who messed things up for her.

Let me explain...being a new mom I was worried about feedings, therefore I set my alarm to go off every 3 hours so I could get up and feed her (I'd read somewhere not to let her go without a feeding for that long, but really it's more like 5 hours in the beginning).  Then, like an idiot, I woke her up to feed her.  I'll restate that, I woke her up to feed her.  She was never great at eating at that time and it's no wonder why, but as a new mom you're afraid of messing up on so many things! Here is the big lesson I learned though: your baby will tell you all you need to know.

That sounds corny, I know, but really, Ella was telling me she wanted to sleep at night and eventually I figured this out and by the time I went back to school in October, she was sleeping through the night.  How, you ask?  I don't know, but I might have an idea.  My guess is a schedule.  Meaning, Ella went down for naps (and still does) at certain times of the day (watch for hints: rubbing eyes, yawns) and then went to bed at the same time each night.  This consistency has lead to a very happy baby, but just when you think you've got it all figured out with babies, something will inevitably go wrong.

Cue story....on our family vacation this summer Ella would not go down for her naps or bedtime on her own (different and strange place, I guess).  I then proceeded to rock her to sleep for each nap and bedtime.  Yikes!  We got home and when I laid her in her crib for her naps, she did go to sleep, but her bedtime was a different story.  I laid her down and she was like, "what, no rocking?!"  Then came the crying and crying and more crying. I went back to rocking and realized it was hopeless.  Basically, I'd created a baby addicted to rocking!  ( Let me state here that I love rocking Ella, but not for 2 to 3 hours or all night long).  Something had to change.

I tried the Ferber method and that was not so great.  It worked some nights and other nights it was a bust.  Finally, Derek said, "Why don't we just do what we used to do?"  Ah ha!  My husband was the genius that night.  We went back to what we did when Ella was very little.  We read stories (which we always do) and then rocked her for 10 to 15 minutes before we laid her down (usually we just read stories, said goodnight and laid her in the crib).  Worked like a charm.  I got the rocking time I needed, and so did she.  I would rock her until those eyelids got drowsy or closed, and then laid her in her crib.  Awesome!  I had my evenings back again, and Ella wasn't so tired during the day!

Ella was trying to tell me all along, just rock her for a little bit and she'd be fine.  I got the hint: finally!  She has always known what she wants and I bet your baby does too, just watch for those cues and try to stick to a schedule.  I think this will make you happy, as well as your baby.

Ella at 6 months, happy after a morning nap!  One of my favorite pictures.

In case you were wondering, I've listed Ella's schedule below.  She is nearly 11 months old and it's been the same for awhile now.  Check it out and compare.  If you have questions, let me know.  I'm not an expert, by any means, but I'm glad to listen and offer support.  Thanks for reading, test nest mamas.

Ella's Schedule

Wakes: 7:00 am

Breakfast:  Feeding from Mom and solid foods

Nap: 9:30 am

Wakes: 10:30 am

Snack: Feeding from Mom and graham crackers and yogurt

Lunch: 12:00 pm - solid food only

Snack: 1:00 pm - Feeding from mom

Nap: 2:00 pm

Wakes: 3:30 or 4:00 pm

Snack: Feeding from Mom and animal crackers and fruit

Supper: 5:30 pm - Solid food only

Bedtime routine: Bath, feeding (7:15 pm), story time, and rocking

Snack: 7:15 pm - Feeding from Mom

Bedtime: 7:45 pm

Nectarine Upside-Down Cake (or you could use any fruit)

by Leslie

Are you enjoying summer?  Are you living it up in the sun?  I know I am (on occasion).  I recently went paddle boating, did some hiking, and dined al fresco.  Could there be anything better?

Well, yes, actually.

You could be dining on a nectarine upside-down cake.  Or strawberry upside-down cake.  Or pineapple.  Or whatever you want, really.

One of my favorite bloggers, Joy the Baker, recently posted a ridiculously good recipe for Strawberry Upside-Down Cake with Cardamom.  Because I had just bought a two quart crate of strawberries  (for three dollars, ya'll) I decided to try it out.  I even bought some cardamom for the occasion (which is surprisingly delicious).

Needless to say, Joy's recipe was spot on.  I ate it for breakfast, lunch and dinner because, for some reason, it seemed to fit for any occasion.

But, for this post, I'm going to share with you a different version of the cake.  We bought some really delicious nectarines at the store the other day and (of course) we bought too many to eat before overripeness would ensue.  So, what better to do than make another cake!?  So that's what I did.  I must say, both fruits tasted wonderful with this cake.

It's the cardamom.

And the brown sugar.

And the sour cream.

This cake batter will astound you with its delicious flavor.

This is the pan with a bit of melted butter and brown sugar.  Then I laid the nectarines out in kind of a pattern (which is not necessary if you are pressed for time).

Carefully spread your batter over your fruit (it will be thick).

Let it bake for 30 minutes or so and let it cool a bit before you flip it!

I highly recommend trying this cake out.  It will be your go-to dessert for the summer!

Beet Bruschetta

by Erin

Some of you may have eaten at the famed Lula here in Chicago, and if you haven't put it on your to do list the next time you visit me.  They have a dish there called Beet Bruschetta and it is delicious.  I love to try and replicate my favorite dishes at restaurants and replicate this one, I have. 

We received these beautiful beets in our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box and knew exactly what we were going to make with them.


First you will need to cut off those beautiful greens.  Yes, you can most certainly cook them for green side dish, but Max and I recently have read The Corrections in which there is a horrifying dinner scene of being force fed overcooked beet greens, so I needless to say I didn't make the greens.  I know, I know.

Next you peel and dice up your beets.  Be prepared for your hands, knife, and cutting board to become stained beet purple.  Love it.

If you have time, let your beet dicings marinade in a little olive oil and balsamic.  This is not necessary, but I do think it adds a bit of flavor.

Slice up your baguette and brush with oil.  If you are marinating your beets, just use that oil.

 

Spread each baguette slice liberally with goat cheese and then top with some beets.

Put in a 375 degree oven and let those babies roast for about ___ minutes.  About two minutes before pull out time, top with a basil leaf.  Lula actually uses arugula, which I also love, but don't have
 currently.  ** So I put the basil on the beets just before they were done cooking.  I'm am writing this now so I don't forget, and you don't make the same mistake (although it still tastes awesome). . . julienne the basil leaves and top AFTER taking the bruschetta out.  The basil will, obviously, have more taste.  Remember, us ladies at The Test Nest are still just testing everything out. 
 

And presto, you have a stunning appetizer or in our case lunch.  Enjoy.

The Test Nest Gets a New Home

Hi Test Nesters!  The Test Nest has a brand new home, ahem, I mean url.  Find us now at www.thetestnest.com.  Totally great, don't you think? 

Stay tuned tomorrow for a farmer's market special, beet bruschetta.  If your looking for a delicious treat to make for your 4th of July party or take to one, have these items ready.

beets
goat cheese
baguette
basil

Until tomorrow!