Shabby Chic Ottoman Project

The project that has been looming in my mind for over a year - the shabby chic ottoman. I love love love shabby chic, it's the style that fits me best. Over a year ago I found the most awesome table at one of our local thrift stores for $10. The problem was that it didn't have a top. My husband said he could make a top, well...that just didn't happen. So I finally took it upon myself (and my son-in-law) to start the transformation. I spent many hours shopping yesterday for the perfect material and couldn't really find the perfect material. But then my mom and sister saved the project. My mom had a bedspread that belonged to my sister, the bedspread was headed for the thrift store donation pile until it landed with me. The colors are perfect, the material is quilted, and now I have a shabby chic ottoman. There were so many sites for this project but I wrote my own with the fewest steps possible, also I wanted it to be as inexpensive as possible.
This is my supply list:

• 1 coffee table of your choice - thrift store find $10.
• 1 piece of plywood or chip board (I used 3/8 inch thick but you could use 1/2 inch thick) mine was scrap wood, so it was free - yay!  I wanted the top to be 36 inches round but you can make it smaller or larger, and it doesn't have to be round, use what fits your table. (My son-in-law cut my circle due to my ban from power tools).
• I did not use foam from the fabric store because it was so expensive and the real truth is that I was irritated with the customer service at our local fabric store, I really need to let that go I suppose. So thanks to my sister's quick thinking, I used an egg crate mattress topper. I got it on sale for $11. Mine was 1 1/2 inches thick and I had planned on doubling that because I wanted my top to be 3 inches thick, but by using the quilted material, I didn't double it in the end.
• Glue of your choice, I used Gorilla glue.
•  Stapler and scissors. We also used a hammer to make sure all of the staples were secure.

Steps:

1. Lay foam on floor (or flat surface) and place the plywood on top of the foam. I cut the foam the size of the plywood circle with a scissor.
2. Spread glue on plywood top.
3. Lay foam on top of glued side, press down and turn it over so the foam is on the bottom to have some weight on it while it's drying. It took mine about 30 minutes to dry enough to work with it.
4. Measure material for ottoman top and add about 4 inches to the size of the top. I added a little over 6 inches so I had to trim the excess after I was done stapling.
5. Lay your material on the floor, right side of material on the floor, and place the wood top, foam side down, on the material.
6. Staple and slightly pull your material so you don't have any bunches of material or gaps when you flip it over.
7. Once you are done stapling, turn the top over and place on your table.
8. I glued the top onto the table base, but you can also use wood screws to attach it. 
9. Total project cost $21.

* Depending on your material choice and the thickness of your foam, you may also add quilt batting over your foam, then your material. You would do this between steps 4 and 5.

Shabby Chic cuteness!

Step 1 - My thrift store find!

Glue on the plywood top, then add foam

Foam glued and drying

Mom helping me with stapling

Place it on table base and glue

An hour later- ready to enjoy!

Love and peace,

~ Simply Tammi

Osso Buco Stew

This is one of my husband's favorites and it's perfect for a cold, rainy day! It's easy to make and really, really delicious! I used beef rather than veal or lamb but you can choose your favorite meat.
Ingredients:
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into small chunks (I use a beef roast - it's cheaper that way)
4 T olive oil (you can use any oil)
1/4 cup white rice flour (this also makes it gluten free)
Coarse ground salt and pepper to taste
2 cups stock or broth (you can use chicken or beef)
1 chopped onion, small
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 stalks chopped celery
4 large carrots, sliced
1 T thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (you can used canned tomatoes if you want)

• You can make this in a crock pot but I like to use a large dutch oven pan for mine. 
• Heat oil in a skillet or the dutch oven pan. Using a gallon size baggie, pour the flour with some salt and pepper into the baggie and place the cut meat in the baggie and shake. 
• Add the meat to the hot oil and brown for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. 
• Add enough veggies (except the tomatoes) to cover the meat. Top with the tomatoes, then pour the stock over the top. Cover with the lid.
• I cooked mine in the oven at 300F for 3 hours or until the meat was tender, I turned it down to 250F for about an hour (yes, late husband). 
• You can also cook this on the stove in your covered dutch oven pan on low, simmer for 3-4 hours or until the meat is tender.
• If you are making this in a crock pot, cook on low for about 6-8 hours or about 3-4 hours on high.

I served this with fresh, homemade dinner rolls made from Simply Sweet Homemade Buns recipe, listed on our Popular Posts section. You can serve this over rice, biscuits, polenta, or potatoes. Enjoy!

Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi

Mantel Decorating

On an earlier blog I posted a similar idea for decorating a wall in my daughters room.  I wanted to show how this idea can be used in other spaces. I am always decorating and moving things around in my house but I always have a hard time finding just the right thing for my fireplace mantel. I have several pictures around the room and because the fireplace is the focal point of the room, I wanted something a little bit different. 
I used jute because it goes with the decor of the room. You can use what you have, like yarn, string, rope, etc. I used tacks to hold it up on each side of the fireplace. Look around your house for unusual items, pictures, postcards, etc. to display.  I had a bonnet from my Grandma, a baby shirt that was my Grandpa's, a letter someone wrote and some family pictures. This is a good way to get those family heirlooms out of a closet or drawer and use them for a display. It can be changed seasonally or updated as often as you like.  Happy decorating!

~Simply Angie

Lemon Buttercream Cupcakes

My cupcake baking days have arrived! I am baking more than 200 cupcakes for our upcoming graduation party and only the best tasting cupcakes will be chosen! So if you have a great cupcake recipe please share it! I am making chocolate cupcakes (previously posted) because it is our favorite, really moist and oh so chocolately! Today I made lemon cupcakes and I have a feeling, upon the approval of the graduating princess, these will be chosen. I personally loved loved loved them; they are moist, not too tart but still taste like lemon with a hint of buttery goodness!
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 cups plain Greek yogurt (I used our homemade yogurt previously posted)
I used my stand mixer and combined the butter and white sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, then mix in the lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Then start adding the dry ingredients and alternate with the yogurt. I just mixed it on speed 2 until the batter was smooth. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full - I used a cookie scoop heaping full. (Hint: I always use aluminum muffin pans because they bake so evenly, I never use the dark non-stick pans because they seem to get too dark on the bottoms for my taste). Bake at 350F for about 28 minutes or until you touch the tops and they don't leave a dent. Place on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes, then cool completely before you frost them. Makes about 35 cupcakes.
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4-5 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 T lemon juice (I squeezed 1 lemon)
1 tsp lemon zest
3 T half-n-half or milk
colored sugar for decoration is optional
Mix butter and powdered sugar, then add liquid ingredients until frosting is smooth. You can use a decorator bag or just use a knife to frost your cupcakes.
Enjoy your perfect, yummy-licious cupcakes!

 

 












Love and peace,
~ Simply Tammi