New website

I am excited to let you know that I have a brand new website with lots of new content over at Gather & Grand. I'm continuing my persuit of living a creative life and I'll hope you'll join me there for inspiration and ideas. Emma x

Off the shoulder shirt DIY

Photo credit L-R, top-bottom

Theory

JCrew

Gap

Embellished sweatshirt DIY

I'm always looking for fun ways to personalize my daughter's clothes and there's nothing easier than a quick DIY embellishing project. I bought this plain, gray sweatshirt from American Apparel a couple of months ago and have been saving it for a project. As I mentioned in my last post, I recently released my first craft product - diecut felt words that are suitable for sewing or glueing on to all kinds of sewing and crafting projects. I'll be sharing my ideas for using them in different ways right here on my blog, so stay tuned.

Easy lined zipper pouch tutorial and some exciting news!

Today I'm sharing a tutorial on how to sew your own lined zipper pouch. I decorated the front of mine with my own die cut felt appliqué - all the exciting details about those are at the end of this post.

If you're new to sewing and want to start with an easy project - then these zipper pouches are for you! Not only are they easy, they're useful in so many ways. And they make great gifts too.

Roasted butternut squash soup maker recipe

If you love butternut squash soup, then this is the recipe for you! I bought a soup maker a few months ago, and I've been trying to adapt some of my favorite soup recipes so that I can really make the most of it. I've found that whilst the soup maker does an amazing job of cooking and blending all the ingredients, I still like to take the time to prep some vegetables before hand. I roasted the butternut squash and browned the onion and apple before throwing them all in to the soup maker. Adding in those extra steps really helps to make a deliciously rich and hearty soup.

Chocolatey banana bread in ten easy steps

Banana bread is one of my favorite feel good things to bake so today I'm battening down the hatches and baking this chocolatey banana-ry goodness. We have especially wet and windy weather here in SoCal at the moment so I need all the feels I can get. I know there are a million banana bread recipes out there, but this one is so light and airy. It uses ingredients that you already likely have in your pantry and it bakes up so nice and big, that there's lots of slices for everyone!

Plus, there's only ten easy steps between you and this deliciousness! Read below for all the details.