Fabric Pumpkins

Have you made yourself some fabric pumpkins yet this year??

I have been wanting to for along time now and finally, thanks to my awesome crafty friend, I made some!!

I used the tutorial over at the Idea Room and they were a lot of fun to make!!

Such a fun project to get you into the fall season!!

I love this time of year!!

Root Beer Sampler

When I saw this idea on my good buddy Jill's blog awhile ago I knew it would be perfect for my root beer loving husband. Luckily his birthday was yesterday and I didn't have to wait any longer to do this for him.

I must say this is one of my favorite gifts I have given- and to make it even better.... my husband LOVED it! So win win. For the Mr.'s root beer sampler- I used the IBC container and filled 6 different glass root beers. Finding the different root beer was actually more fun than I thought it would be. Most grocery stores have them- For me, out here in the Midwest- Hy-vee provided a 3, World Market 2 and Machine Shed 1. There were actually a lot more at each of these places but were only sold as a 6 pack.  Since I wasn't wanting to spend too much money, I opted for the single bottles. (This would be such a fun thing to do with a bunch of your girlfriends, sisters, mom etc.. each buy a couple 6 packs and share!I thought a lot of the bottles in the 6 pack were cuter) I would have also loved to have given him more but stuck with 6... this time!

Something else I loved was making the root beer sampler guide. Along the same lines as this one and this one. (except minus the color for me- color printer still in Utah) By googling each root beer brand, I was able to find some fun blogs dedicated just to root beer with great reviews! (Cosmo's Root Beer review, Spikes Root Beer reviews, and King of Soda ) I compiled it with a little help from Picnik and was set to go!!

SO SO fun!! It was a pretty simple project too! Hope you enjoy!!

S.L.A.C.K.E.R.

Yep, I have been a craft slacker....

#1 reason- August was not the nicest to us. After my two year old son broke his precious little arm, we all endured colds and later on the stomach flu.

#2 reason- My current "project" -

{baby #2 coming Feb 2011}

One I know will turn out just perfect

#3- Lazy and tired..... {see reason #2)

Luckily, I am getting my energy back and have even pulled my sewing machine out for a craft or two. Also, for some crazy reason, I decided to make a felt playhouse for my boy for Christmas. I am in the not so fun cutting stage but it is turning out pretty dang cute and excited to see how it turns out!!! (All I have to say is he better like it!) Pictures to come soon!

For now, here is a Table Runner Tutorial I found over at Diary of a Quilter

This is a project I have started on and have hopes to get done before fall is over. I have a feeling I will want to make one for each holiday!!

U create just posted many examples of those who followed this pattern!! So so cute!

Enjoy

Button Earrings

I have been meaning to make button earrings for a long time now and finally got around to making them today!

This was the easiest and greatest project ever.... and took me under five minutes to do!

 I'm sure most know how its done but will post directions just in case. 

First- buy some buttons that you think would look fab. as earrings

(as you can see, I kinda was having a thing for roses when I went button shopping)

Buy these

Heat up your glue gun

If your buttons have something on the back, snip it off with a good pair of scissors or have your man and his heavy duty equipment get it off for you!

Once off, you are all set. Just glue the backing to the button and you have yourself a cute new pair of earrings!!

Such a GREAT easy gift idea!!

So start looking through your old stash of buttons and make yourself some earrings!!

Amazing Deal!!

There is one reason why my blog has been low on craftiness lately..........

BLURB

(you know the site where you can turn your blog into a book)

I found a code here at Leelou Blogs

and Guess what this code gives you....

$39.95 off the total of your book order!

Seriously, that's more than most the books cost.

This is a great deal

I have used BLURB before and was happy with the results. 

I also used the code last night and it worked!!

So hurry, get those books made, it expires the end of August!!

you're welcome :)

Pretzel Jello Salad

(not my pic...image found here)

While I was home, my family was talking about food and how if you had to choose one meal/food item to eat for the rest of your life.... what would it be

This recipe was my brother's answer! (yes the same brother who at a whole raspberry pie) love him!

but seriously..... it is that good. I maybe would have to consider it as well

So here is my mother's delicious Pretzel Jello recipe...

 believe me, you need to have it!

Crust:
2 cup crushed pretzels  ( I put in blender or food processor) 

Reserve a few pretzel crumbs for top.
1/2 cup melted butter
2 Tablespoons sugar

Mix and press into 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min.

Middle:
small tub cool whip
8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sugar

Beat well add to cooled bottom crust.

Refrigerate until set.

Top:
2 large packages of Strawberry Jello
3 1/2 cups boiling water
2 boxes of strawberries   ( I usually use frozen so Jello will set faster)

Mix and let set until ALMOST jelled.  Top other layers.

Optional:  I top the jello layer with another layer of cool whip (small tub)
       and sprinkle reserved pretzel crumbs on top.

Let me know what you think!!

Oh and what would you eat if you could only have one meal for the rest of your life???

can my answer be Mexican food?? :)

Travel Organizer

One thing that drives me absoultly nuts while traveling is how cluttered and dirty our car can get. This would have been a great thing to have on our trip to Utah. Such a great idea that I may have to tackle before our next roadtrip!!!

picture via Fabulous on a Teachers Salary

Find the tutorial here

Pillowcase Fun

At one of my family reunions this past month, I was in charge of organizing a craft for 11 little kiddos. I instantly thought back to over a year ago, the night before my brothers wedding at a cousin pajama party. 

That night we each decorated our own pillowcases with paint, markers, jewels, glitter, etc.....  The possibilities are endless with what you can use. We then went around leaving messages for each other. Think of it as yearbook signing with pillowcases! It was SO much fun and seriously all ages were easily entertained!! It is such a great thing to have since most of us live far away from each other!! 

I knew this would be a great idea for my little nieces and son. The kids got so into it and even had all the aunts/ uncles and grandparents sign too. Instead of paint, however, we used fabric markers to decrease the mess. Such a fun, simple idea that kept all of us entertained!!

Arlene's Raspberry Pie

Arlene was my adopted Grandma. She and her husband were our next-door neighbors growing up. They were unable to have any kids of their own so we took the liberty of becoming their "grandkids". I was around three years old at the time. They have been family ever since. 

Birthdays, baptisms, parties, Christmas- they were always there. 

I loved to sneak over there first thing in the morning to share a bowl of Wheaties with Harold, this would freak my mother out when she would go into my room and see my empty bed!! Unfortunately, both have passed away, however, the great memories we shared with them will always be with us.

One of my families fondest memories of Arlene was her Raspberry Pie. She made them every year in July and believe me, it was like Christmas for us, something we looked forward to all year. Her raspberry pie was THE BEST, and only used freshly picked raspberries from her garden. We devoured them the second she brought them over, they were that good. I remember one time I had been gone when the pies were delivered (big mistake) and when I got home, I found that one of them was completely eaten.... by my brother. Let's just say he was in big trouble :)

So to carry on the tradition of eating Arlene's pies in July, I decided to try and make them on my own. 

The recipe is surprisingly simple and the pies turned out great (of course they can never beat the original)

So here is the recipe, exactly how she made it. I'm sure there are many ways to change it up, but this is what tastes good to me!

Arlene's Raspberry Pie

1 Graham cracker crust 

1 large package of Raspberry Jello

1.5-2 pints of raspberries

1/2-1 Pint Heavy Cream (homemade whipped cream is a MUST)

Prepare Jello according to package directions.

After about 1-1.5 hrs in the fridge, add the fruit and place in the crust. 

Continue refrigerating another 2 hours or so

Prepare homemade whipped cream (I beat it for about 5 min, add some powder sugar and some vanilla)

Spread on top, you can never have too much!

That's it. Pretty simple, but such an amazing taste!!

Hope you enjoy it 

Sun Dried Tomatoes Anyone??

Here is what happens when you are too lazy/ kinda forget to ask someone to water your plants when you are gone for a month. (At least we got some tomatoes out of  it before we left)

Anyone feel like this blog is looking like these tomatoes???? Well I have been visiting family in Utah for a month and didn't have time or desire to post while I was away, and that's ok right!! Enjoyed some great, well needed familiy time. I should have some fun posts up sooner than later.  Right now, however, I have 1,000- pictures to upload and sort out, + items in my Google reader, loads of laundry to do and items on my to do list. Man, vacations are tough! Hope everyone has had a great summer so far.

Fabric Flower Necklace

Ok I have been dying to make one of these for a long time now and finally got around to it!!

I was so excited to show my husband and see what he thought when I was finished!! 

Well when I showed it to him, he told me

it reminded him of a medal... and not a "necklace" he is used to!

(in the nicest way possible)

Awesome

Well medal or no medal, here is my "necklace" or bib as many call them

made especially for some upcoming family reunion pictures!

I got some inspiration and instructions here

try one, I dare you... you will get addicted!!!

Can't wait to make some more!!

Breakfast Casserole

Or in our family.... it's called Christmas Morning Casserole

This is such a great recipe and one we have EVERY Christmas morning, and it never lets us down!! This would be great to bring to an 4th of July breakfast!!!

prep time: 30 min   Cooking Time 1.5hrs  Preheat oven to 300

 Cube and remove crust of 10-12 slices of white bread

Place in 9X13 dish. 

Top with 2 c grated cheese

Brown (and drain) one pound sausage, cut into pieces and arrange over cheese

Beat 4 eggs with 2 and 1/4 Cup Milk and 1/4T dry mustard- Pour over cheese/sausage

Refrigerate overnight (a couple hours works great too, believe me- I've done it many times!)

In morning, dilute 1 can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 cup of milk. 

Pour over pan and bake at 300 for 1.5 hr

cubed ham is also a great addition to the recipe!!

enjoy

Growth Chart

I saw this great idea here....

so I decided to try it out on my own

here are the results!!

(I started at 2 feet and will hang it that high so I could go up to 5 and a half ft instead of 4 ft)

Can't wait to get this hung in my son's room and start tracking his height!! Such a fun project

Italian Crock Pot Chicken

I am sure most of you have this recipe... and if you dont- consider this your lucky day because its

 F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S

and its in the crockpot... can't get any better

Add all ingredients together in Crock Pot and cook on low for 6 hrs

(I half the recipe for my little family of 3 and still have leftovers, well sometimes!)

8 chicken breasts

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pkg Good Seasons Italian Drsg

fill one soup can with milk

Stir Occasionally

before serving add one 8 oz pkg of cream cheese (don't forget this!!)

Stir again

Served great with rice or noodles.

enjoy

Fathers Day Cards

Here is a fun Fathers Day card idea (Thanks to Martha) I found the idea and directions here

(if the directions confused you... don't worry, the confused me too!! Just search on YouTube for instructions on how to fold an origami shirt- there are so many out there!! That helped me)

Anyway here are some of the ones I took to a card party!!

Can't wait to give some away to the wonderful men in my life!!

here are some other fun card ideas

here,

here, 

and 

here

Rhodes Bread sticks

Here is a delicious side to add to your meal

Rhodes Breadsticks

What you need are some Rhodes Rolls loafs

(each loaf will make about 8 bread sticks)

Some melted butter

Garlic Bread Sprinkle (shaker)

Salad Supreme (shaker)

Thaw loaves

Cut in half length wise, then again and again until you have 8 long strips. 

Dip the strips in butter

Line on the baking sheet

Sprinkle with your spices

Place in a warm spot to rise- allow around 2 hrs or so

Preheat oven to 350

Cook for about 14 min

They are delicious

We just had them with this and this....... a perfect and tasty combination

Enjoy!!

Collections...

While I was at a friends house recently, I came across her huge collection of souvenir spoons. I was blown away. She had them all beautifully organized to display on the wall. I just loved them and enjoyed hearing about how she acquired many of them and all the fun places they were from. This inspired me and made me look at my own personal collections.

Throughout my life I have collected many things.

I once had a journal where after my entry, would put something from the day into it.  I was young and while many of the keepsakes were movie stubs, bandaids, leaves, or receipts (yeah kinda weird, but hey, I was little!)- I LOVED doing it at the time! It is quite hilarious going back through it now!

My next big collection during my elementary/and sadly Jr high days were pigs.(no not real pigs, but pretty much anything else). My very cool aunt collected them so I of course had to copy. Pretty soon, my shelves were filled with pig figurines, my feet were in pig slippers and I was writing notes to friends in school on "pig" stationary. Later on I added sunflowers to the mix. I remember the day when I got a lamp that had both a pig and sunflowers on it/ that was a good day.

I have had many other collections over the years

Magnets

Ornaments (my dream is to have a little Christmas tree just with

ornaments from places around the world)

Advent Calendars

Nativities

and I guess a recent collection of fabric, felt, and thread, Thomas the Train engines, and books could be added to the list!

My dad likes to collect stamps, my mom and aunt- nutcrackers, my grandpa- stones

So my question is, what do you like to collect??

Is there something you are always on the look out for?

Or a certain souvenir you can never pass up on a vacation?

I would love to know, and who knows, I may just have to copy you!!

You can never collect too many things!

Gone Fishin

This project was so much fun. Even my husband was excited about this one. 

I saw the idea at- Deck the Halls of Home with Joy

My friend and I had previously been talking about how we wanted to make a little fishing set

and were so excited when we came across this great idea and tutorial.

We got together and went to work

(I must say doing crafts with friends is so much better than doing them by yourself) 

end result:

my son LOVES these

He asks to fish all the time

and believe me

 this makes for a happy fisherman husband

Spice/Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

If you are a pumpkin LOVER like me, you will love this recipe. 

1- Because its amazing

2-Because its Healthy! (If you are into Weight Watchers, I think these muffins are about 2 points each)

3- Because its just so easy to make

Spice/Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Prep 5 min Cooking Time 20 Min. Preheat 350

1 Box Spice or Chocolate Cake Mix

1 small can of pumpkin

1/2 Cup water

1/2 bag chocolate chips 

Mix together

Place in Muffin liners

Bake for 20 min 

Makes about 24 Muffins

so so good and moist. Pretty sure I need to make them tomorrow!

Fabric Panel Car Mat

I had been staring and wondering what to do with this fabric for awhile

I decided, last week, that it needed to be a car mat.

 My friend's little boy turned one recently and thought it (with some play cars) would be a fun gift to give. 

The process was quite simple

 Placed panel on the top

Batting in the middle 

and a layer of corduroy on the bottom

Stitched and bound together!

I was happy with how it turned out!!

Now I need to get the motivation to make my son one

He was pretty sad when we gave it away!!