November 2015

You're Gonna Love It: Food Coma Recovery Edition

HELLLOOOO OUT THERE!! I hope you all survived the Thanksgiving holiday weekend! I had a wonderful time stepping away from the blog and social media and focusing exclusively on my family and friends.

But now.. time to head back to blog land! Let's jump right in to the party features from last week!

The most popular link this week was:

Easy Upcycled DIY Cable Knit Sweater Pillow

Is everyone else in the throws of holiday decorating right now? I know I am! And even though I have been busy busy busy, today’s tutorial is something I threw together LAST NIGHT in less than 20 minutes! It was the ‘perfect storm’ that actually brought it together.

I was setting up the tree and decorating my living room and realized I didn’t have a decent Christmas pillow to go on my dark brown club chair. I had a small square one, but I wanted something bigger and brighter that would stand out against the dark (faux) leather.

And, in what happens to be a fortuitous twist of fate, I also recently pulled an old cable knit sweater out of the dryer only to realize it had a big latte stain on one of the shoulders. The writing was on the wall. Turn that sweater into a throw pillow! Of course!
Knit Sweater Pillow

The process couldn’t be easier. You really only need to sew two straight lines.. nothing else.

12 Awesome Star Wars Inspired Furniture Pieces

This is a totally random post because I was surfing around the internet looking at fun Star Wars stuff trying to come up with a gift idea for my husband. I wanted to build some sort of furniture piece but I didn't know quite what. We are both big Star Wars fans (here is the proof), and the more awesome furniture pieces I uncovered, the more I thought "Dang! This would be an awesome roundup for the blog! I should try to write one."

And since there is no try.. only do or do not.. I did it.

There really isn't much rhyme or reason to this collection. They are just all fantastic pieces of furniture inspired by Star Wars. (I didn't include anything that was decor or accessories, that would be a whole other post). They are things I thought were really cool, and some are handmade, some are pre-made furniture that is customized, and some are even currently commercially available. But they are all AWESOME and clearly the force is strong with them.

DIY Scrap Wood Crate Christmas Tree Stand

It is time once again for another monthly building challenge. This month, Sandra better known as Sawdust girl, is the host and her challenge was sCrap wood. You know.. all those scraps you keep but aren’t really good for anything since they are odd sizes or lengths.

This month, the challenge is open to EVERYONE. There are no prizes (other than bragging rights and the ability to clean out your scrap pile!), but you can share your project using scrap wood at the end of this post.

You're Gonna Love It: Ready for Winter Edition

Welcome back to another party! Before we get started I wanted to take a quick minute to introduce you to my newest blog contributor (her post only went live this morning!).

Steph from The Silly Pearl is an amazing crafter and blogger. I'm so lucky to have her occasionally post on my blog!

This morning she shared her wonderful pinecone wreath sign:

I'd love for you to stop by and say hi!

So what were this week's linky features ?

Thanksgiving to Christmas Pinecone Wreath Sign

You guys! My heart is exploding with excitement over my newest contributor. Steph from The Silly Pearl is so fabulous and when she agreed to write the occassional post for my blog I was so thrilled. She is AH-MAZ-ING! She paints, sews, crafts, cooks, creates printables, hosts a party... I will admit to being jealous of her craft room!

She does it all! And I know you are going to love her as much as I do. Okay.. enough gushing.. let me present her project for you guys!

Hello everyone! My name is Steph and I blog at The Silly Pearl. I'm thrilled to be here on The Kim Six Fix today and every other month to share a craft with you! Thank you Kim for having me on the blog! Today I'm sharing how to make this Thanksgiving to Christmas Pine Cone Wreath Sign. The pine cones and felt leaves are neutral enough to transition from one season to another, and all you have to do is swap out the sign in the middle! Here's how I made it.

Pomegrante Juice Bottle Snowman

Today’s post came about when I was rinsing out a POM juice container I had left over from my Pomegranate Martini Mocktail post.

The bottle the juice came in was just so fun that I didn’t want to throw it away. (Based on all my KCup, frappucino bottle and other repurposing projects, you can probably tell I have a hard time parting with would-be recycling.)
Empty pom bottle for craft

The bottle sat on my counter a few days until it struck me: The shape of the container reminded me of a short squat snowman. So just for kicks I wondered what it would look like if I spray painted it white. And this was the result:

You're Gonna Love It: Room Reveals Edition

Welcome back to another party! Before we get started I wanted to take a quick minute to introduce you to my newest blog contributor (in case you missed it last week).

Pam from Leaves and Stitches. Pam is a fantastic fiber artist whose work I just love and she will be contributing fabulous sewing and fiber tutorials for TheKimSixFix. As a quilter myself I know how much work and love goes into projects like hers and I am so happy she will be sharing her tutorials with my readers!

I'd love if you check out her blog (and her first post on my blog: a darling quilted tablerunner)

And make sure you are following her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest.

Now, back to the party... Last week had some AH-MAZ-ING links.. so I decided to choose all the favorites based on the theme of "Room Reveals."

So what were the linky features ?

Gift Ideas that Kids Can Make Themselves

Gift Ideas That Kids Are Able Make Themselves. Since every child likes to give presents to friends and family, especially if they have made them with their own hands.

As the holidays approach my kids have started to create a long list of school friends and family members that they want to give presents to. But my kids don’t have any money to spend on gifts from the store, and in actuality people like daddy and grandma and grandpa, they don’t really want or need anything my kids would purchase. So this year we have been encouraging the kids to ‘create’ their own gifts. Just because something is homemade by 6 and 9 year olds, doesn't mean they aren’t great gifts.

If you are looking for ideas on things kids can create I’ve rounded up a few ideas.

Easy Quilted Table Runner

I am so happy to introduce my newest contributor to The Kim Six Fix. Pam is a fantastic fiber artist whose work I just love. It is an honor to have her sharing her tutorials with my readers and I know you will learn a ton. And make sure you are following her on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and of course on her blog. WELCOME PAM!

Hi everyone! I'm Pam from Leaves & Stitches and I'm excited to be sharing my first tutorial with all of you.

I'm going to show you how to make a simple quilted table runner. This is a great beginner quilt project - it's just basic patchwork and a straight binding, and I'll share a few of my favorite tricks as we go along. If you already have some experience quilting, you can easily finish this in an afternoon.

Ready? Let's get started!

Milk Bottle Flower Box Centerpiece

So, you all know I have a small coffee addiction. And that isn’t limited to regular brewed coffee. I also love bottled Frappucinos. This means I have a LOT of the cute little bottles laying around. I’ve repurposed them before.. a few times actually, but since I have a constant supply, I am always looking for new uses! (God forbid I recycle them or anything!)
Frappucino bottles turned milk bottles

I wanted to make a cute little box centerpiece to house them (you may have seen various versions floating around on other blogs), but I wanted to use wood I had in my scrap pile already. Lucky for me I had a long 1x4 prefinished board left over from when I installed crown molding on my bathroom cabinets (this board was part of the backer board for the crown)

The bad part was that it as only finished on 3 sides, so I knew I couldn’t just use butt joints like most other tutorials or else the cut edges would show. So I had to get snazzy and miter the corners.

You're Gonna Love It: Blog Posts and Furniture Flips Edition

Welcome back Linker-Uppers! So excited about today's features! But first I wanted to send out a quick reminder that I'm giving away a huge gift basket of woodworking supplies! Based on the links I've been browsing through, it is clear lots of you like to work with your hands and build/repurpose/paint things.. This $200 basket would be right up your alley.

You can enter to win it here!

Now it is time for FEATURES:

Since last week was the Anything Goes party, this week I get to pick a "Featured Business" of the month.

Since you can link up your etsy shops or store fronts the first Monday of the month (Did you know you can link up any business.. design, photography, furniture.. you name it?) I thought I would thank one of those linkers every month by featuring one of them. I know these people work HARD and so please consider visiting these businesses!

This month's featured business is Jenna Jenkin's Art

She has a wonderful Etsy Shop filled with some beautiful original abstract art. My favorite piece is this one, which reminds me of a flower garden:

If you are a business owner mark your calendars for December 7 (our next "Anything Goes" party) and you could be next month's featured business!!

Our regular monthly features:

The most popular links this week was : Krafty Owl's 400 Post Ideas

Apparently we are all in need of a little inspiration once in a while!

My featured posts this week include: Raggedy Bits' French Script Side Table

I'm only going to post the before, since I don't want to ruin the reveal.. but you will be wow'd!

Create and Babble's Desk turned Kitchen Island (YES! I said Kitchen Island!!)

Once again, I'm not sharing the after, since I don't want to spoil it. Click over to her blog to see how she transformed this desk into a kitchen island!! Amazing!

Besides these links I also added a bunch to my Pinterest board this week (and so did Kathe)

Follow The Kim Six Fix's board "You're Going to Love it!" Party Features on Pinterest.

Ands a few of our absolute favorites went up on my Facebook Page and on Kathe's Facebook page (just look for the hashtag: #YoureGonnaLoveIt)

If you have been featured here or at Kathe’s (her features aren't the same as mine) make sure to grab the "I've been featured" button (located on my buttons page under the "About Me" tab.)

Now for this week's link-up!

Here are the really easy party rules:

Feel free to link up anything you have created (recipes, decor, crafts, written or photographed). Anything you are so proud of you just gotta share it with others.

You can follow Kathe and I on social media, but it is not required. (We want you to follow us because you want to, not because you have to.)

Kim: Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram / Google+

Kathe: Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram / Google+

We would love it if you would link back in some way so that others come and party with us. Either grab the party button or add my blog link to your post or on your blog party page. But again, it's not required.

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We ask that you please DO NOT link up giveaways, Etsy shops or anything for sale. Save those for the first Tuesday of each month when, Anything Goes! We will reserve the option of deleting any post that we do not feel fits the theme of our blogs.

And now let’s see what you’ve got this week! Remember:The order of the links changes, so you don't have to stress out about getting here right at the start.

An InLinkz Link-up

Kathe Blog Facebook Twitter Pinterest Home

*By linking up your post, you are giving The Kim Six Fix and/or Kathe With An E permission to use your pictures as a feature on this blog and other social media outlets.

Have a great week!

Pomegranate Holiday Sparklers

Serving pretty cocktails at your holiday parties is always a fun way to personalize and customize the experience. You can serve them with appetizers before dinner, or right along side the main meal, cocktails (and their alcohol free counterparts “mocktails”) don’t have to be hard to create or require a ton of ingredients.

Very similar to the cranberry-based Cosmopolitan, a pomegranate martini (or Pomtini) is a tart and sweet drink with a touch of acidity. It only typically contains 3 ingredients: Vodka, Pomegranate Juice and Orange Liqueur.
Fresh pomegranate arils

Because the holidays are already loaded with excessive calories, I’ve modified this recipe from from the traditional alcoholic version, by removing the alcohol and replacing it with 7UP. Not only can 7UP replace the Vodka, but it also brings the citrus flavors of the orange liqueur. That means this mocktail only includes 2 ingredients:

Loaded Baked Potato and Chicken Casserole

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Foster Farms. The recipe, thoughts and opinions are mine. For my full policy on sponsored content, see this post.

Loaded chicken and baked potato casserole

I am pretty sure I have the pickiest husband ever. For example, my husband doesn’t like mashed potatoes AT ALL. He doesn’t like the creamy texture, but he loves the toppings. (Seriously? Who doesn’t like mashed potatoes?) He would rather have loaded baked potatoes, but I’m not a fan of baked potatoes since it is a hassle to prep them all individually for the kids and they end up throwing half the potato away since they don’t want to eat the skin… (am I the only one with this problem?)

So today’s recipe is the best of the both worlds: a cross between loaded potato skins or a baked potato and cheesy breakfast potatoes. And with the addition of chicken I turned what would typically be a side dish or appetizer, into a complete meal.

As always, I’m partnering with Foster Farms since they are my favorite brand of chicken. In this case I actually used Foster Farms Sauté Ready Chicken, which is 100% natural. It is one of their newest products, and features frozen raw chicken that is already seasoned and pre-cut. Yes, I used frozen, pre-seasoned chicken intended for a sauté in a baked chicken casserole. And it works perfectly. That is how easy and versatile this recipe is! I baked the chicken, but when sautéed it cooks in about 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
1/2 Bag Foster Farms Sauté Ready Garlic Herb Marinated Chicken (14 oz)**
5 Medium Potatoes (I used Idaho) cubed
3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Spice Mix:
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp pepper

1 Cup shredded cheddar
1/2 Cup cooked crumbled bacon (i used bacon bits)
3 Green Onions sliced
Sour Cream (optional)

**You could also use fresh chicken cut into one inch pieces, but it would be less flavorful – and way more time consuming! And right now you can save $1 off any one package of Foster Farms Sauté Ready or save $2 when you share the coupon with a friend (through Facebook, Twitter or Email.)

Preheat oven to 400º

Cube potatoes and add them to a 8x10 baking dish which has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Drizzle them with the olive oil and toss to coat. Then sprinkle with spice mixture.

Toss to evenly coat and then add 1/2 the bag of Foster Farms Sauté Ready chicken (There are 7 servings in a bag so this is enough chicken for our family. If you want to increase the number of servings, you could use the whole bag. Since the chicken comes in a re-sealable bag, it is easy to pour out what you need and save the rest for later.)