Creative Inspiration and Motivation

I have had a need to be creative, or at least be around creativity when I don't have time to be creative myself.


I have managed to carve out some time to create a little bit. We have two small, square pillows that match a recliner that we own. The print on them does not really match anything else in the house and I needed a small project so I decided that I would cover them. Here's what I started with:


Next, I examined some of the things I had pinned in my Pinterest account:

Then I dug through my scraps and found enough fun stuff to get started. I began with the various strips that I had cut. Some where 2" and others were 1.5" which were perfect for what I wanted to do.


Of course, I needed a little bit of kitty supervision to make sure I did everything right and Moxy was just the feline to do that job. He took it very seriously.


After a bit of sewing, trimming, ironing and more sewing I created the pillow cover at the top of this post.

The pillow pattern is actually an envelop pocket pattern. The Feeling Some Love blog posted a great tutorial on how to make it.

Sometimes I have to get my creativity fix virtually. One of the things I love is typography. It is so much fun when I find others who love it, too. Most people just wonder what it is that I am actually talking about. Here's a video that is wonderful!



"Thrift Shop" (Grandpa Style cover)I love how this group reworked the song.


Here's the original "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore (contains profanity)


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Here's a recipe that I adapted and served for dinner recently:

Lemon Chicken
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

4 Chicken Breast, skinless and boneless, cubed
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound small red potatoes, sliced into coins
2 lemons, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices and seeded
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Cappers (to taste, perhaps 3 TBL. would be good if you like them, if not, omit them.)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves

1. Begin by sauteing the chicken in olive oil or butter.

2. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add potatoes to pan; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook potatoes on each side or until browned. Remove potatoes from pan. Add lemon slices to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until browned. Remove lemon from pan. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add the garlic; sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine and chopped fresh thyme; cook 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. (I did these parts ahead of time and finished constructing the dish later.)

3. Return potatoes and lemon slices to pan. Add 2/3 cup stock, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper; cook 2 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Combine remaining 1/3 cup stock and cornstarch, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture and cappers to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in lemon juice and butter, stirring until butter melts. Return chicken to pan, turning to coat; sprinkle with parsley.