A little ol' snowman

I love snowmen as decor because you can use them all winter long.  This snowman was a cute one that took me a year and a half.  Isn't that pathetic?  My problem wasn't just the fact that I had to start over half way through the embroidery because I cut the muslin too little for a frame, but it was also the actual framing.  But once I finally got it in there, it has been one of my favorite things to put up.  Makes having a long winter a little easier when you have cute decorations you can look at.  Ha, I wish.

This little guy I found online before I got the above pattern from my mom.  He is so cute.  I love the mouth and rosy cheeks.  I have another snowman embroidery I am drawing up but I can't get it right or figure out what size I'd want it.  It's a snowman looking at the star of David.  It's been sitting around longer than I can remember.  Who knows, maybe someday.

Christmas gifts: Sugar Scrub

This past Christmas I wanted to make something fun for our neighbor gifts.  So I found a few recipes here and here for sugar scrub and thought it would be so fun and easy to make.  The recipe I used didn't require me to buy anything which is the main reason I used it but I'd love to try some other ones.

Then I realized that we also needed to give a treat to all the kids and husbands so we made pink popcorn for them.

Sweet N’ Spicy Brown Sugar Scrub

1 cup – C&H® Dark or Light Brown Sugar
1 cup – C&H® Pure Cane Sugar
¾ cup – light olive oil
2 tsp. – cinnamon, powdered
2 tsp. – ginger, powdered
2 tsp. – nutmeg, powdered
1 16 oz. – glass container with lid
Cinnamon sticks, optional

In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients until thoroughly blended. Be sure to break up any lumps from the brown sugar or from the spices. Spoon into the glass container and secure with lid. Scoop a teaspoon or two of the scrub on your hands and gently massage in circular motions onto your skin. Leave on for 3 to 4 minutes before thoroughly rinsing. The scrub will tighten.

Easter dress and tie

I decided to make Easter clothes for the kids this year.  So I made a couple ties for Mister and a dress for Missy.  The ties were soooo easy.  I found a tutorial on Pinterest.

As for the dress, I actually found one that I LOVED on etsy (I fell in love with the design and the fabric and really the whole shop) and was going to buy it but the Easter cut off was over.  So I decided to attempt making it myself.  It was difficult since I didn't really have a pattern but I used one that I found for a 2T peasant dress and went from there.  I had to make it smaller and having never made clothes before, was a little lost on how to do it, but I managed to figure it out in time for Easter.  

Green!

Last year I made my little mister and shirt for St Patty's Day.  We needed some green in his wardrobe.  It's pretty great that the shirt still fits him for this year!  What luck:)

I used a freezer paper stencil tutorial.

It's a girl

My friend is having a girl and we threw her a baby shower to celebrate.  Since I have tons of girl things that I want to make and all the supplies but little motivation, I felt this baby shower would give me the kick in the pants I need to get 'er dun.

I found a really cute onesie on etsy that I wanted to recreate.  But when I bought the 6-9 month onesies, they were for my now 14 month old.  I am a total procrastinator but it doesn't stop me from still using them. 

I REALLY wanted to do a pink onesie with pink ruffles and so I dyed them in some RIT fabric dye.  Well, there's a first for everything and this one did NOT go well.  I seem to be overly confident on some things and this was one of them.  I didn't let the dye powder dissolve all the way before I put my fabric in so there are dark spots all over the 2 onesies I dyed.  Thank goodness I only did 2 because I was still able to use the other 3 from the package.  I did also throw in a strip of a blue shirt I don't wear anymore to see if it'd dye it pink or purple.  And that's what I used for the ruffles on this onesie.  It also had some dark spots but they aren't as noticeable. 

(I found a tutorial on fabric dying and would recommend it even though I screwed mine up.  It was still helpful to have more than just the directions on the box.)

Then I made a flower to go with it.  It's pretty basic.  I followed the tutorial here minus attaching it to a hat.  

This one I made with fabric scraps and it was pretty easy.  There's not a tutorial on how to make it but the idea came from this video and she gives you the basic instructions.

This one I also copied from one on etsy, I think from the same shop too.  Not too hard to figure out.  I just made sure to put fray check on it.

And the flower was found on this tutorial.  I think it's super cute.  My flower is smaller since it's for a little head.  I think I went .5 in smaller than the measurements the tutorial gives.

S'mores Dip

Made us some amazing treats the other night.  The kids gobbled it up and the rest we gave to friends because it was too good not to share.  I found the recipe on Pinterest, of course.  

• S'Mores Dip
• 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
• 1/2 cup marshmallow creme
• 1 box (13 oz) graham cracker honey sticks
• 1) In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and condensed milk on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chips are melted. Stir to mix well. Pour into 9-inch glass pie pan, spreading evenly.

2) Drop marshmallow creme by tablespoonfuls randomly over chocolate mixture. Microwave on High about 30 seconds or until marshmallow creme is softened. Immediately with knife, make several small swirls through marshmallow and chocolate, creating a marbled appearance.

3) Serve immediately with graham sticks for dipping. (We used teddy grahams for the kids.)

• 
  

101 Reasons why I LOVE you!

It was the hub's bday and he had already bought himself a bluray player.  Now it was up to me to come up with a cheap gift for him to open ON his bday.  I took an idea I found on Pinterest and ran with it.  You can find it here at The Dating Divas.  I love their site for creative and often cheap ways to show your hubby you appreciate him.  And come to find out, one of my friends from middle and high school is a contributor.  There are a few others I recognize from high school as well.  Go Alta alumni!

Anyway, back to my gift...It only cost about $25 only because I bought Pysch S5 which was still on sale for $15.  Anyway, he loved it and it gave me a little time to reflect on how much I really love him.  He is so important to me and keeps me from going insane.

Nativity

My mom made this nativity for all the married kids one Christmas before I was married.  I thought it was so cute that when I got married, I asked her to make me one to put in my home.  She started it but handed it off to me 2 years ago saying that I'd probably work faster than her since she was having some problems with her hand going numb.  After her hand ailment was long gone the embroidery still sat there partially finished.  I'd work on it furiously for a while and then run out of thread and never get to the store.  Then it'd be forgotten for a couple more months.  Anyway, this took me forever to do but I finally finished it!  My mom framed it and sent it just in time to display for the season.

Tis the season

After 4 years of having the pattern and 3 years of working on it, I have finally finished our family's Christmas stockings.  My goodness, that took forever.  I am so happy they are done.  Well, they are presentable at least.  I do still want to do something to label them with names.  But have decided to put that off until another year.  I'm thinking little wooden letter hanging like pendents.  

Cookie #4: Snickerdoodles

Love these cookies.  We have a recipe for Snickerdoodles but they always come out hard as rocks.  Not a fan of the crunch if it breaks your teeth and scratches your gums.  Anyway, I was talking to a friend about it and she recommended this recipe on AllRecipes.com.  It is Snickerdoodles IV.  And they are so good.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Mix the shortening , sugar, and eggs until creamy. Mix the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Blend the wet with the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon until well-blended.
3. Roll the dough into the size of small walnuts.
4. Prepare the cinnamon and sugar mixture by mixing the cinnamon and sugar.
5. Roll the cookie dough into the cinnamon and sugar mixture until coated and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6-10 minutes watching to make sure they don't burn. They should be very lightly brown and still soft looking on top. When they cool, they will crack a little on top.

Halloween costumes

This year I have an almost 2 and 1 year old.  We needed a theme and since we already had a dog costume, what could go with that?  A dog catcher.   I threw it together with things we already had.  I did purchase the net but otherwise, it was all free!  We got more comments on the catcher than the dog so I think it turned out great.

The costume:
We had a button down shirt with a patch that said "Animal Control" on the back and one with his name "Frank" on the breast.  We borrowed a hat and put an "Animal Control" patch on that to cover up the writing.  I put him in some khaki style pants and tied him cat to a rope and attached it to his belt loop.  He used the net for a treat bag and we were set.

Cookie #3: Twix cookies

This one's a keeper.  I found it on Pinterest and thought it would be a choc chip cookie without the chips and with the twix but the dough was a little different than your normal cc cookie and I am very happy with low it turned out.  Since making them, I have packaged them up and frozen them before getting any pictures to entice you so I will just borrow the image from the site I found it.  Here's the recipe:

Twix Bar Cookies

2 C plus 2 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

12 Tbsp unsalted butter,melted and cooled until warm

1 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

2 tsp vanilla

2 C coarsely chopped Twix Bars

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Chop your Twix bar into 1/4 inch chunks.  Cut each bar in half lengthwise and then chop into 1/4 inch pieces width wise.  In a bowl combine flour, soda and salt.  Set aside.  In your mixer blend butter and sugars together until combined.  Beat in egg, egg yolk and vanilla.  Add in dry ingredients and beat until just combined.  Fold in Twix Bar chunks.  Bake for 13-16 minutes until light golden brown and edges start to harden but center is soft.  Do not overbake.

Because of the caramel in the Twix  they may stick a bit to the cookie sheet so use a spatula to remove.

Fall embroidery turned runner

I have finally finished my fall runner.  I started it in September, a really dumb time to start something for fall. After a lot of careless mistakes and a few trips to the store, I finally have a runner I can pull out every fall for my table.  I think it turned out really cute and since I've never sewn a runner without a pattern of some kind, I have to give myself a pat on the back for a job well done.

Happy birthday onesie

My daughter's bday is coming up and I wanted to make her something she could wear on her birthday so that everyone would know it's a special day.

I took a onesie we already had and cut the shape of a cupcake liner out of fabric.  I zigzag stitched that on the shirt.  Then I took some ribbon and using matching thread and a needle, I gathered it so it had a twisty, ruffled look.  Then I stitched that onto the shirt using a needle and thread.  Then I grabbed another ribbon and zigzagged that on to look like a candle.  I had a jewel that can be stitched on so I hand stitched that on for the flame.  I think it turned out really cute.

(This shirt is not meant to last through wear and tear.  It is to be worn once and then saved, otherwise I would've done a much more durable stitch on the ribbon or maybe even made the whole thing an applique.)

Travel preparation

For Labor Day weekend, our little family took our first road trip with kids.  It was a wonderful experience and we will do it again but maybe not too soon.

I found a few things on Pinterest that I knew would help the travel go more smoothly.

The trash bag

I completely copied the girl with the fabric but I didn't have boning so I left that out for another day when I get some.  It'll be easy enough to insert.

The travel clutch

There are actually 2 tutorial I found for this one.  Here's the other.

Fall banner

I have a bone to pick with Mother Nature.  Fall is my favorite season, especially since I live in a state with so many trees and beautiful fall colors.  I also love to relish the cool weather before winter sets in for the next 6 months.  But the last 2 years have been quite a disappointment.  We have had "Indian" summers which is when it is hot way past when it's supposed to be.  Don't get me wrong, I love the warm weather, but it's really frustrating to have winter last until May, then spring happens June and July, and summer goes until October.  Winter starts back up in November.  Where is the FALL!?!

Since I can't enjoy fall outside, I have been enjoying it inside with lots of fun projects and decor.  I made this banner using my silhouette and after cutting the letters realized I should have done 2 banners for Thanksgiving and Halloween.  Oh well.  This is cute and it will do for this year.  

Easy burp cloths

Made some burps cloths for a friend.  They were so easy.  I found the tutorial here.  I found another tutorial that said to add batting in the middle.  Maybe next time I'll do that just to give it more absorbency.  But I'm pretty happy with the final result other than the awful lighting in the pictures.

Cookie Recipe #2- Lemon Drops

Well, I tried out my second cookie hoping that it would be a success and make it onto the party menu and it DID!

They are called Lemon Drops for the very obvious reason that they have lemon drops in them.  The hub was nervous about them but ended up loving them.  He summed them up perfectly calling them lemon-flavored sugar cookies. 

I found the recipe on Your Homebased Mom.  Her glaze looks a little thicker than mine.  My lemon had a lot of juice I guess.  But that will be my only tweek when the party rolls around. 

As a sidenote, making these cookies fell at a very convenient time when our friends throw an Annual Cookie Contest.  They judge your cookies and present winners with a prize.  I took these since I didn't like the idea of eating them all on my own.  Anyway, the judge is not a lemon fan but award these with an Honorable Mention!  I'd say that says it all.

Baby, look at those legs!

 Just finished another pair of baby legs!  These things are so nice to put on "sissy Q" now that she's moving around and it's getting a little cooler.  I know, it's still summer but we live in Minnesota so you have to take it while it's here.

Anyway, in the past, I have made my baby legs using a very simple method of cutting off the feet to knee high socks, folding the cut edge under to make a hem and whip stitching it.  Doesn't take long, but I kept seeing them with the cuff and I knew there was a way to do it if I could just find it.  I hate to admit this, but this whole time, I never googled it...

Until tonight.  I found a pair of cute socks in my pile of procrastinated projects, of course I had forgotten all about them.  I had seen another really cute way to hem the socks and thought I'd try that this time around.  I just couldn't remember where I saw the tutorial, so I googled it and lo and behold, not only did I find the one I was looking for but 3 more that show you how to put cuffs on.  So I ditched the original plan and made them with cuffs.

Some below are all the tutorials I've used to make this cute accessory.

Simple whip stitching method

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Ruffled edge- this is the method I ditched tonight but still want to make.  Consequently, I have no pictures.

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Attaching a cuff- I actually followed 2 pages for this

Little Birdie's Nest

Everything Your Mama Made

Wipe with style

One of my favorite things that I've made of all time is the wipes clutch.  When it was new to the baby world, I thought it was the cutest and most clever thing ever.  I figured out how to make it thanks to the help of a friend since they were selling for double digits and have made them for gifts and myself ever since. 

Since I'm not the best when it comes to tutorials, I did go out in search of one to post.  It is complete with a template and everything.  So not only did I provide the tutorial for you (here you go), but I tested it out.  Here's my finished product...

But it is different from how I normally make them and I'm not sure if I like it as much.  So I guess I will tell you how I do it, but this is not an official tutorial, it is best if you read the other page first and then what I say will make more sense.

So the things I do differently:

-First of all, I have used a few different kinds of fabric and have found that home decor fabric is my favorite.  It is more durable and there are cuter patterns, at least where I look.

-I trace the wipes container and use that template for my batting that way I don't have anything to trim anything.  

-I put batting on the top and the bottom of the container.

-The make a second template for my fabric by tracing around the container but making it between 1/4 to 1/2 larger than the other template.  This is so that the fabric will cover the edges.  

Side note: You could just use the template already provided in the tutorial for both the batting and the fabric.  I would just round the corners where the dotted line is and not cut on the fold of the fabric.  Instead cut 2 separate pieces of fabric.

-You glue only the edges of the fabric down exactly like the other tutorial tells you but of course, you continue all the way around since the fabric doesn't connect on the back part.

-When when you put the trim on, you put it all the way around as well- again because the fabric doesn't cover the back.  The picture shows the difference looking at the back.  Sorry about the bottom one.  The trim is coming undone and I haven't fixed it, not to mention the purples are 2 different colors (my bad for not taking a sample with me to the store when I ran out).

And the finished product...

Since purple trim on the above flap is darker than the bottom, I kept this one for myself.

Happy wiping!