Tie Shirts!!

I think I have found a new obsession!!

These were SO fun to make

and CHEAP!

Here is how you make them

First gather the supplies

(note: for the fusible webbing, I love Steam a Seam 2 and always have used it-except for the time when I went to Michaels and was forced to buy that useless stuff pictured above- still did the job I guess)

-you also need a sewing machine and coordinating thread)

Next make a tie pattern (or copy the cute and wonderful one from here- has sizes and all- brilliant) trace it onto your fabric and cut out.  

Then trace your tie onto your fusible web and cut it out-

Then place the fusible web onto the back of the fabric tie. All you do is peel one side of the paper off and stick it to the tie. If you don't get it straight on (like me) you can just peel it off and try again.

Now place it on your shirt, follow the instructions on the fusible web package, and iron the tie into place.

Almost done

Now get your sewing machine and do a little zig zag around the edge of the tie

and YOU'RE DONE

Easy Huh

Wanna know what makes this project ten times better

Each shirt cost me under a dollar!!

Purchased the shirts at Target recently for .79 each

and then used fabric from a pair of shorts I bought for my husband at Kohls for .99.( I bought him like 9 pairs of different shorts because of the great deal and these were one of the pairs that didn't fit, even if they did- what guy needs nine pairs of shorts, not mine!)

Wanna know another secret and great way of getting cheap fabric??

Go to the Dollar Tree-that's what ours are called out here and check out their clothing section. Usually pretty small-but has a couple treasures in it

I recently purchased 4 "Vintage Jackets" (what it said when they rang up.. felt a little bit cooler)

for a dollar each- Little did the cashier know that I would be cutting them up and using the fabric for my projects. Anyway here are a couple, kinda cute huh

$3 for a whole lot of fabric

I really enjoyed this project- great cheap way to spruce up some plain shirts!!

Now my little man is all ready for church, so cute

Some Weekend Recipes

I fell in love with these two recipes this weekend.

The first one is Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup- Have any of you had this from Zupas?? It is one of the soups I would ALWAYS get-and have missed having it in my life- Anyway, I was so excited when I came across the recipe for it on my good buddy Heathers blog and had to make it. It turned out pretty amazing and just to explain how amazing- my husband- after his first bite asked if there was anymore left because he already knew he needed seconds! Ha So try it, you will LOVE it!

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

(Thank you Zupas for the pic)

Yields: 4-5 servings

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth

1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup pepper jack cheese

In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

The second recipe of the weekend is Crockpot Applesauce- Seriously- for me- anything cooked in the crockpot is a winner!
This was super sweet and easy. Perfect for a snowy weekend stuck inside!

Crockpot Applesauce

recipe from Barbara Bakes.. and a million other places

5 medium-sized Gala apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced
5 medium-sized Golden Yellow Delicious apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup water or apple juice
Place all of the apple pieces in a large bowl and stir in sugar and ground cinnamon. Pour water or apple juice into the bottom of a large crockpot (slow cooker) and add the apple mixture. Cover, turn the crockpot setting to Low, and cook for about 8 hours (or on High for 5 hours), stirring occasionally.
Serve warm or room temperature.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!

Valentines Chair Backer

I have had my eye on these for awhile now 

Yes, they are from Pottery Barn

I really wanted to try making my own this year and found a great tutorial here -but realized it would take a lot more time than I had.
Anyway, I was really excited when I saw this website with great step by step instructions. Did a little at work and finished it up at home in no time-(Note: The tutorial says that you need 3 pieces of stiff felt- but I only had to use two- I think it is an error. Also they used glue alone to hold theirs together, where I along with the glue added a quick backstich to mine- just to hold it together extra tight!)

Here is how it turned out!!

Just love that is hangs on the back of the chair.

Was just perfect for holding little gifts in

REALLY this was such an EASY quick project!!

Hope you all had a great Valentines Day!!!

Valentines Day Gifts

Here is a glimpse at what I am giving my "VALENTINES" this coming Sunday.

So I was being serious when I said I was going to make these two projects. I decided to give them both to my husband.

First is my little "Coupon Book of Love"- idea from here

Let me tell you how easy it was using cards instead of having to cut out cardstock, such a great idea

I had a lot of fun with this and think the husband will like it

SO fun and So easy!! I included a coupon for a 10 massage from me (more than 10 min would just do me in, my poor husband :)  )

We joke at how bad I am at giving them so that's why I included a REAL coupon (gift certificate) for him to get a REAL massage- he will discover that on one of the cards.

The next is what I like to call a "Poor Man's Valentine Card" basically because it's used with 

Paper Bags (seen here)

This was SO much fun to make

There are about 8 diferent cards he can pull out with a Reason why I love him/ picture attatched on each side

Here are a few examples

(inside joke)

(click to enlarge, one of my favorite pics of my hubbie)

Such fun and inexpensive gifts (well minus the massage gift cert.)

Oh and here are a couple more felt food desserts I am giving my son to add to his "fatty" and "sugary"

felt food collection!

I really need to make him some veggies!

Celebrate the Holidays- Mr Potato Head Style!!

I have been dying to make a Mr Potato Head out of felt ever since Christmas time. I saw the idea at Make it and Love it and thought it was brilliant. Well yesterday I finally got around to it and here are the results...

I briefly read over these directions here and went to work.

After finishing, I really wanted to add something elso to it. For those of you who don't know me, I go nuts over all the holidays, I just love them. So... I decided to give my Mr Potato Head some festive parts...

here are some for Valentines Day

And then some for St Patricks Day (one of my favorite holidays I might add)

Here is how they looked on....

What do you think??

I loved adding the extra pieces and think it will be a fun way to celebrate the holiday. Don't worry, Easter and 4th of July pieces are in the works.... I hope to have them for all the holidays. Check back for them soon!!

By that time I probably should think of making him a wife!!! Let me know if you make one!!

Weekend Ideas

Spent my lovely weekend working in the ER. Luckily it was pretty slow and relaxing , giving me plenty of hours looking for some fun Valentine Ideas. Here are a couple I stumbled across that I wanted to share.

V day gift Ideas

I thought this was such a cute idea- Valentines Day coupons on face cards. Here they give you the instructions and a list of coupon ideas!! It is on my to do list this week- adorable

Same with this one- Check this CUTE idea HERE

and here is another idea simliar to these two that was cute

Cards

I really want to learn how to crochet a heart- Over at Little Birdie Secrets they share a video on how to do it and some cute ideas of how to use it after

Go here to print this card

Crafts

I am in LOVE with this- here is how you do it

And I have been wanting to make this wreath for forever and fell even more in love with it when Dana at MADE sprayed it pink. SO cute

Treats

These looked pretty fun to make- See Here

I love Valentines Day!!

Pretty fun ideas huh (Can you tell I was really bored at work!!)

Let me know if you have any fun Vday projects you are working on, I would love to know!!

Inspired by Sour Cream...

When I went home for Christmas, my mother in law had such a fun craft for us to do. She told me that these cute little things were inspired by the little holders the sour cream at Wendys came in. Anyone know what I am talking about???
Anyway, it's the perfect little holder for treats, love notes, money, letters, um sour cream I guess...etc... We made a lot of these and gave them away at Christmas time, but perfect for V-day, your kids, teachers, classmates, Vteachers , neighbors....

Here is how you make them

The Supplies

First take a sheet of paper, cardstock or wrapping paper- try not to get too heavy of paper

For the typical smaller size ones we cut the paper 4 1/2 by 5in. We did make one 6-7 in and turned out cute as well.

After cutting take one of the smaller ends and stick a piece of double sided tape on it. Join the two smaller end sides together and stick together in the middle, making a tube.

Then take one end, stick another piece of double sided tape inside on the edge and press it down

Next take your crimper (boy was it great to find a reason to use this after my scrapbooking days) and crimp the end you just taped.

The crimping showes up better on this paper

Next fill with candy or whatever you want

Now do the same thing to the other side but fold it the opposite way the previous one went, and crimp

Now you're almost done, take your hole puncher and punch a hole at the top.

This part is up to you, I like to put a ribbon through and attach some sort of tag so you can address who it goes to. Again, you can be creative at this part!!

Fun Huh!!

Well that's it- the sour cream holder- pretty easy- funny what things can inspire us huh!!