bugaboo, mini, mr & me

I'm the Backpack, loaded up...

2012-01-27T18:00:00.001-06:00

with things and nicknacks too. (Bonus points if you sang that, then finished the song on your own...)

I'll admit it. I was never a big Dora fan. I mean, I know I'm a little too old to have gotten into the craze as a kid, but I did my fair share of babysitting. Lots and lots of babysitting. And therefore, some TV watching (because that's what babysitters do best, right?). And out of all the cartoons that kids can watch these days, Dora is not at the top of my list.

Let's digress for a moment. There ARE some banned cartoons in my house. Yes, BANNED. For instance, Teletubbies. Also, Barney. Can't stand it. I literally have a gag reflex when I see the bad acting. (Call it my training and experience if you like, bad acting makes me sick. Even in kids' shows). And the number one banned show in this house? Yo Gabba Gabba. I'm sorry. I know there are many of you out there who love that show. You make your kids' all the little plush figures and throw awesome Plex Parties and stuff... but that show is like a BAAAAAAD acid trip stuck on hyperdrive. A combo of crazy meets ludicrous on steroids. Honestly, all these shows did was make me wonder what happened to the awesome TV of my youth. What about 3-2-1 Contact? What about Mathnet?? Thundercats??? Storylords? She-Ra, Princess of POWER!!!! Dora just can't live up to them. But alas, she is not banned.

And now that I've sufficiently aged myself, let's get back to the matter at hand.

My daughter loves Dora. I blame my niece. mini will walk around attempting to sing the theme song. She can recognize "doe-wah" on any kind of merchandise within a 5 mile radius and she will let everyone in earshot know it. She thinks that a backpack is actually called a "backpack backpack" and will only say it in duplicate, even when talking about backpacks that look nothing like "Backpack Backpack."

And this is where the tutorial begins. Because mini is obsessed with Backpack Backpack. She loves him, right down to his creepy smile and "yum, yum, yum, yum, yum - delicioso!" I knew she needed one for Christmas.

I did some research. I could buy her this one:

which she couldn't really comfortably carry on her back, or this one:

which was a whopping $50. Ain't no way.

And at that point I stopped researching, said screw it! (more or less) and decided to make her one, even if it came out all wonky.

And you all are the fortunate recipients of my wonky backpack endeavor! Oh, I know, you're so lucky.

Actually, though, I'm kind of surprised that it turned out at all, considering I didn't have a pattern or anything and left it until two nights before Christmas. I'll just give you the rundown first, and then add some notes at the end.

1. Locate purple fleece that looks all crazy marbled at JoAnn's Black Friday Sale. Yes, you must be insane enough to brave the Black Friday Sale. And stand in line for an hour and a half. And buy the weird mottled fabric because "darn it, it's close enough." While you're at it, you should also get some coordinating-ish cotton, like a fat quarter.
2. Also, a bit of red felt cut into a gigantic mouth shape, super duper large google eyes, white velcro, and 4 D rings. That's 4 (four) D rings, not 4-D rings. If you were confused at all. What exactly would a "4-D" ring be?

3. Draw yourself a plan. If you're like me, the messier and more confusing the better, since you really do just make this sewing stuff up as you go anyway. What the devil do most of these notes MEAN, anyway?

Ok, just skip the messy artist's renderings. I've done that step for you. You will need to make four casings - these will be part of the straps. Make them out of your cotton material. Two casings should be about 11" by 2.5" and the other two should be about 6" by 2.5".

4. To make the casings, cut out four pieces of cotton fabric of each dimension listed above. Pin two rectangles right sides together. You'll end up with four skinny, long rectangles.
5. Sew all around the rectangles with a straight stitch, making sure to leave one short end open.
6. Pull the casings right side out. Use a long dowel or knitting needle if you need to.
7. Tuck the unsewn edges in. Iron the whole thing flat. Top stitch around the outside of the casings.

To continue making the straps, you will need to make two casings from your fleece that measure approximately 9 1/4" by 3".

8. You'll make these casings the same way you made the others, essentially. First, cut four pieces of fleece of the dimensions above. Pin two rectangles right sides together. Sew with a straight stitch all around the rectangles, leaving one of the short ends open.
9. Turn your casings right side out.
10. Now, stuff your casings. Cut four rectangles slightly skinnier than your casings and almost the same length. Mine were about 9" by 1.5". Layer two together and stuff them into a casing. (Each casing has two little padding rectangles).
11. It will take some shimmying, but stuff them all the way to the end and make sure they are lying completely flat and straight. Iron the whole thing. Trim the stuffings if you need to.
12. Stick one of your long cotton casings into the open end of one of your fleece casings. Pin all along the fleece to make sure the inner stuffing won't move. Make sure to pin the cotton strap securely as well. Do this with both.
13. Top stitch all around the edges of the fleece casing.

14. To make them look even more like backpack straps, and to keep the "padding" snug, sew one straight stitch down the center of each backpack strap.

Let's make the flap! You'll need two pieces of fleece approximately 11 1/4" wide and 10 1/2" from the straight edge across to the outermost point on the curve. You'll also need a strip of velcro - the scratchy side - at about 3".

15. Pin the flap pieces right sides together and sew all around, leaving a small opening in the middle of the straight edge. Turn it right side out.
16. Tuck the edges along the opening inside and topstitch all around the flap. Pin your velcro piece to the curved part of the flap.
17. Sew the velcro, all the way around it, with a straight stitch.
*SPECIAL NOTE: had I been thinking, I would have sewed the velcro piece to one of the flap pieces FIRST. THEN I would have continued by sewing the two flap pieces together, right sides together and then flipping them right side out and topstitching. That way, you wouldn't be able to see the velcro stitching on the top side of the flap - see PICTURE 18. But obviously, I wasn't thinking. Or following my messy instructions up there, because I CLEARLY noted that before I even started. Or not so clearly...

On to the bag! We're making a simple drawstring because I am afraid of zippers. You'll need two pieces of fleece approximately 15.5" by 10.5".

19. Pin the long sides of your fleece pieces, right sides together. Use a straight stitch to sew the long sides. Leave the short sides open.
20. Fold the top edge of the bag down to decide on the width for the casing around the bag. Mark where you want your two openings in the front of the bag to be. Cut two small vertical slits parallel to each other about two inches apart or so right in the middle of what you want to be the FRONT of your bag. (you can just BARELY see the slits in the middle of the part that's on the bottom in picture 20 - if you SQUINT really hard.
21. After you cut the slits (which you can see a little better in this picture) fold down the top of the bag and pin all around. Iron.
22. Use a straight stitch to sew the casing all the way around - don't worry about leaving an opening.

23. Take your smaller cotton casings (the ones that have NOT been sewn to the straps) and tuck them inside the backpack, pinning them to the bottom edge. Make sure the backpack is still WRONG side OUT.
24. The casings should be just barely sticking out of the bottom, with the majority of the casing actually inside the bag.
25. Sew across the bottom with a straight stitch. Backstitch over the straps just once while you are sewing across.
26. Flip your backpack right side out. Slip two D Rings (that's two D rings, not 2-D rings...) onto each casing. Fold the end of the casing over once, then fold them down over the straight side of the D rings. Sew straight across, backstitching a few times for security.

Your bag's looking a little flat. Let's give it some shape!

27. Turn your bag inside out. Lay it down on it's side. Pull the bottom corners up to make triangles.
28. Stick one of the corners in your machine with the side seam facing up.
29. Your bottom seam should be in the middle of the back side of the triangle. (Just to give you an idea of how you pull the corners out to sew them).
30. Sew straight across at the bottom of the triangle. You can go as far in or out as you'd like - the larger you make the triangle, the larger your bottom will be. Well, not YOUR bottom... the bottom of your bag... you know what I mean... Do this on both sides.
31. Cut off the triangles on the outside of the seams you just sewed.
32. Now your simple bag as a bottom!

ALMOST DONE!

33. Turn your bag right side out. Pin the felt mouth in place on the front (this is the side of the bag that has the slits in the middle of the casing, remember?)
34. Sew around the mouth with a straight stitch.
35. Pin and sew the other side of the velcro (the soft side) just under the mouth.

Ok, now we're really almost there. I swear it.

36. Pin your flap to the back of the bag - on the outside.
37. Sew straight across, staying as much on the topstitch you already sewed around the flap as possible. Make sure the velcro piece is facing DOWN.
38. Pin the straps just below this, on the back of the backpack.
39. Sew straight across each strap, staying as much on the topstitch you already sewed around the straps as possible.
40. Now you've got a flap and straps!
41. Slid the casings from the straps into the D rings on the backpack casings to close the straps. Now your straps are adjustable!

Would you believe me if I told you we are super close to the end now? To finish up, you will need three scrap knit strips that are about twice the length of the diameter of the bag opening. If you don't have that, just use some kind of rope or something. I like to use knit strips for almost all of my "strings" when I make bags that cinch. They look cool and I have them just lying around.

42. Take your three pieces and pin them together to something stationary-ish. Braid the whole length.
43. Put a safety pin in the other side as well. The braid should be thin enough to slip through the slits you cut in the casing. Thread your braid through the whole casing, using one of the safety pins.
44. Tie VERY LARGE knots in the ends so the braid won't slip out.
45. Glue on your ginormous google eyes.
*SPECIAL NOTE: after gluing on my google eyes, and more closely inspecting, I realized that not only were they not really ginormous, they looked kind of ridiculous in relation to the mouth. So, either you need to find WAY bigger google eyes than I did, cut your mouth smaller, or just use white and black felt to make the eyes. I do believe I will be replacing the google eyes with felt eyes soon because the proportions are just bugging me.

And there you have it! See, I told you we were almost done! Now you can admire the front, back, face, and inside of your easy CHEATER backpack. The easy cheater backpack for which you bought the fleece on super Black Friday sale so the whole thing cost you about $6. That's way better than $50.

The fact that all the little cousins new exactly what it was when they saw it and spontaneously burst into song - without prompting:

was simply icing on the cake.

Now, a note about the measurements. I am giving you these as a guideline. My daughter is a smallish-average sized 2 year old and this backpack is a bit large on her - especially the straps. You may want to measure your child first and then sew the straps to fit. I wish I'd made mine a little shorter, but it'll do. I guess it'll just fit her for longer now. The biggest thing I wish I'd done differently (besides those already mentioned in bold up there): Sew the straps a little closer together than I did. There really only needs to be a few inches separating them - I mean like TWO. That way, they will sit higher on the shoulders and will be less likely to slip down. She still wears it and loves it, but I wish I wasn't constantly fixing her straps for her.

ALSO, and IMPORTANT: I was planning to put a little side pocket on and make her a map, too. Then I totally forgot to make the side pocket (because I left it off of my plans, up there) and was kind of sad. I didn't have time to make her a map, so I guess it was ok... although I think I'll still make her one later. The point is, I think it would be SUPER easy to add a side pocket. Just cut a little fleece rectangle and round the bottom corners. Make it bigger on the top than on the bottom. Sew a small casing in the top. Add thin elastic through the casing. Then only sew ONE long side of the bag part, pin your pocket on the right side and sew around the curved bottom. If you want to, you can tuck the edges under and top stitch it so the edges look finished. Then you can turn it back inside out and sew up the other long side of the bag. At least I THINK it would work... Maybe I'll have to make another one...

And even though most of our photo shoot looked like this:

I swear she loves it. At least, she better.

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2012-01-26T22:48:00.000-06:00

Whew! I am late out of that gate tonight! I had a last minute sewing emergency involving a certain 4 year old and an irresolvable incongruence about whether tomorrow is white day or purple day at school...

Anyway. Are you ready to see some

things?

First, I'd like to share a little pinaholic confession.

Bye Bye Birdie fans out there? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Ah, well. I can't help it, I still think of old school letter sweaters, poodle skirts and saddle shoes when someone talks about pinning someone.

First in our "very Pinteresting" list, I'd like to share something I pinned a very looooong time ago - so it defies the whole "things I pinned this week" rule (which isn't really a hard and steadfast, anyway, more like a guideline). I can't help it, I have to show you because recently - like within the past two weeks it's gone positively VIRAL. In my opinion, anyway.

This simple yet ingenious little housewarming gift idea was pinned from Just Make Stuff. It's gotten 1319 repins and 248 likes from my pin alone. It's pretty cool. I admit.

Source: justmakestuff.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I found an awesome blog to follow because of pinterest. It's called Remade Simple. And it has ridiculously cool projects on it. Like this cook bottle vase art thing. Which I believe she calls "Wall Mounted Vases" because it sounds better.

Source: remadesimpleblog.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Ok. This isn't quite the same as my normal pins, but I just have to show you this. It's probably one of the most useful and coolest sewing related things I've pinned lately and it will definitely turn me into a circle skirt making machine. MACHINE, I tell you.

Source: pattythesnugbug.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

SUPER cute Valentine's Day gift idea for your main squeeze. I know, they aren't always super sentimental, but this idea seems easy to do with some very cute results. You're allowed to make him be sentimental once a YEAR, right?

Source: elsajuliet.tumblr.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

And this quote? I think I'll print it out and hang it by my sewing machine. For weeks like these that just get me down. Without dumping you with unnecessary emotional baggage, I've had a hard week. Ever get the feeling that nothing you do will measure up to anything worthwhile, let alone the amazing things you see other people do... let alone you're a blob of a mom who can't do anything right... let alone you're just plain tired and don't want to get out of bed? Let alone, you use so many run-on sentences and repetitious phrases your English Lit. professor would cringe? Well, if so, then try to remember this:

Source: spirituallythinking.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Are you gearing up for the 31st??? Yea! What??? What's on the 31st, you ask? Only the most pinteresting party around! Yep. Come link up anything you've made that was inspired by something you pinned on pinterest! I'll be showing something off, too! (Hopefully...)

This first party is on a Tuesday, to give me more time since I totally procrastinated. But usually, we'll do the party on a Thursday, AND here's the big news. Ready? Ok, it's not that big. Get excited anyway. I've decided to open the party up on the FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH. Then people can link up their pinteresting creations ALL MONTH LONG! Then on the last Thursday, not only will I show off MY pinteresting creation, but a few others from the party as well!

Phew. Glad I finally pinned that down. Bahahaha!

I need bed.

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Pssssst....

2012-01-26T12:33:00.000-06:00

(This is when my daughter would laugh and say "pssssst!" over and over again...)

Heads up. I'm part of a gigantic giveaway over on Crystal's Craft Spot. She's celebrating her 1k fanship on FB (I can't even imagine a number that high...)

You could win a group giveaway from a bunch of different shops that includes things like hair accessories, jewelry, photo props, crocheted goods, and:

One of these fun Stay-Put Bookmarks from Shop Bugaboo!

Go on over and check out how to enter. You know you want to.

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Hair Bling in a Jar.

2012-01-24T21:21:00.000-06:00

On my sister IL's Christmas list was a broad category requesting "hair stuff"... so I took that as my cue to whip up a few things.

My favorite is the rolled t-shirt rose headband. I love me some mustard and gray, it's true. I didn't make it as a clip, like I normally do, but rather glued it to felt and glued the felt right to a sparkly black headband and glued on a felt backing. For the style - with the roses all in a long line like that - I just thought that would work best.

I also made a big boho bloom, which I posted about looooong ago (well before my photos were good, just a warning) and a Yo-Yo Bow which I posted just before Christmas.
Then I whipped up a little clip with some peacock feathers (which I got from Pick Your Plum, by the way... that place is dangerous) and some black and white pearlescent beads. The back is a twofer - alligator clip and pin - so she can wear it on a headband or on a cardi.
And finally, I sent her a delicate little lace bow, the idea for which I stole from Amie (Kitty Cats and Airplanes) who I believe stole it from Anthro.

I stuffed them all in a mason jar (because that's a present in itself, am I right? You can never have too many mason jars!) along with two separate elastic headbands and sent it off.

I'm calling it "Hair Bling in a Jar." Has a nice ring to it, no? But not really...

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Pumpkin Yuck... I mean Flan. Yeah...

2012-01-23T22:15:00.001-06:00

You know how I always say that dessert is the best part of any meal?

Oh, contraire mon fraire (spelled phonetically because I don't know French...)

At least this time. So sorry to subject you all to this. So very sorry, but here it is. The worst dessert... I won't say EVER, because there have been some bad ones around here... but at least IN A WHILE.

FIRST, though, here's the yummy meal - which I've made before and still love. Oh, deliciousness. Thank goodness it appeared in some form for this meal. Remember the baked potato soup I gave you a heads up on here? Well, here it is again. In full.

Baked Potato Soup

10 to 12 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, baked in the microwave
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 scallions, sliced thin (The white part will go into the soup, and the green part will be garnish.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour, fine sifted such as Wondra or Pillsbury’s Shake and Blend
6 cups whole milk
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 or 5 grinds fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup real bacon bits (about 3 or 4 pieces of cooked bacon)
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (use a brick of cheese and shred it)
8 ounces sour cream

GARNISH
scallions, green parts
shredded cheddar cheese
bacon bits

Scoop the flesh of the potatoes into a bowl and set aside. Discard the skins. Melt butter in the pot and saute the white part of the onions and garlic for about 1 minute. Add flour and whisk constantly until the flour and butter mixture thickens and forms a light roux. The roux should have a slightly nutty taste, with no hint of flour. Watch carefully and do not over cook the roux. Gradually whisk in the milk a cup at a time. Cook over medium-low until thickened and hot. Raise the heat as necessary, but watch it closely to make sure the milk doesn’t boil. Add the potatoes, using a potato masher or stick blender to mash the large chunks. Stir to distribute the potatoes throughout the soup. Add the salt, black pepper, and paprika and stir. Add 1/2 cup bacon bits, the sour cream, and the cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and thoroughly incorporated into the soup. Cook over medium-low until hot. Pour into bowls and garnish with bacon bits, scallions, and shredded cheese.

Thank you, Andrea Meyers, Making Life Delicious. You'll want to check out her post for variations on this recipe... ones I may try next time.

For the record, I did not use bacon bits, because frankly, I don't really like them. Give me some genuine pig and I'm happy. So I cooked up some real bacon (in a pan, not the microwave) and just chopped it up small. I have used regular baking potatoes before instead of yukon gold and it tastes just as yummy. I swear.

I know I've been sharing a lot of soup and stew lately, but it's winter. And, did I mention winter finally arrived? After all that complaining and wondering what in heaven's name was wrong with this state's weather (I mean, 60 degrees and no snow in January??? Come on!) I had little reason for concern. It's been around 2 degrees for many, many days now. Soup just hits the spot.

Now, I've made a vow to show you the good, the bad and the ugly on this here blog (a fact that I'm sure gives you lots of laughs) and it has, unfortunately, come to that time to introduce you to:

Oh, it's disgraceful. And I swear to you, I followed the recipe to the T. It's supposed to be some kind of Creamy Pumpkin Flan. How convenient it is now that I can't find that recipe... seriously, it's lost to the annals of history. But, you know, it's ok. I tried it out for you, and take my word, you do NOT want to make it. It's all around bad - looks, taste, texture - it all gets an F. However, I DO very much like THIS flan recipe. The one I made for my mom's birthday last year? Delicious. Also, I thought I would direct you to this flan recipe I noticed on allrecipes.com which looks incredibly easy (too easy? We shall see...). If you're dead set on Pumpkin Flan - which is what I was trying to go for here - I'd try this recipe out, from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy.

Aren't you glad I did the research for you so you can make your meal (and more important, your DESSERT) tres magnifique?

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

What are you doing on the 31st? Well, I'll TELL you!

2012-01-19T18:00:00.001-06:00

Ok, folks. Let's pencil me into your calendar, shall we? No, scratch that. I want you to write this in sharpie so it's permanent. Because we have only a short almost two weeks until the end of the month, and I have decided that is when our very first "very pinteresting" party will be. Yep. Let's review that, shall we? Read this post if you want to know what's going on at bugaboo this year. But, in summation:

Every week on Thursday I bring you:

In which post I will share my favorite pins from that week. And maybe one or two old ones I can't resist. I just want to get you as addicted as I am. Then, at the end of the month, we'll have our "very pinteresting" party at which I will show you whatever it is that I've created using one of my pins as inspiration. You could call it "pinspiration." Ha! Anyway... You will also have the chance to show me what you've been making from YOUR pinspiration. See how we're all sharing here? One big, happy, crafty-sharing, pinterest family. So, I'm going to try to hold the pinteresting party on the last Thursday of the month, but this being the first month and all and me not being very good at time management, I just decided to give myself a little extra time. SO. The party starts on the 31st. Be there or be square.

And, on to the show!

This is one of those projects that makes me wish I'd thought of it myself. Like before I spent money buying stuff I can make.

Source: niftythriftythings.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

You know how I got a waffle maker for my birthday? Watch out family, a whole new world of breakfast possibilities is opening up! Hash browns in the waffle maker? All crispy crunchy outside? Love.

Source: chow.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Need ideas for Valentine's your kids can hand out? I've got dozens pinned, and I love these. Found them at Merriment Designs and they're almost TOO adorable, right?

Source: merrimentdesign.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

This skirt... well, does it really need an explanation? Seriously. The So You Think You Can Sew contest going on over at Mommy By Day, Crafter By Night is yielding some very pin-worthy results. This one is by Art With Ashley.

Source: artwithashley.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

And just in case you need something funny today, I'd like to introduce you to my life, in a nutshell:

Source: redbubble.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Check out my "To Do, By Month" board to get a sneak peak on what I'm tackling for our party this month!

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

I can't really embroider. But it's one of those things I pretend to do.

2012-01-18T18:00:00.000-06:00

Kind of like I pretend to sew. But more pretending involved. Since I really, REALLY don't know how to embroider stuff. BUT, my sister IL DOES do cross stitch and I thought for Christmas I'd give her a little wall decor that paid homage to her hobby. So I faked it. I made an:

And if I can fake it, you know you can too.
So, let's get started, shall we?

1. Gather your supplies. You'll need an embroidery hoop of your desired size and shape, some canvas-y material cut to the shape and size of the hoop, two spools of thread in your desired colors, buttons of varying shapes, textures, and colors, two needles, scissors, and - NOT PICTURED - green embroidery floss. I used two different greens.

2. I'm sorry, did you just ask me if these tutorial pictures were taken on a towel? A towel?? What kind of shoddy operation do you think we're running here??? Oh, and make sure you've got buttons of all sizes.

3. Thread your needles - one with each color.

4. Stretch and tighten your canvas into your hoop.

5. Lay out your buttons in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Keep in mind that you will be stitching stems and such as this will affect your layout.

6. Mark each spot for a button with a small dot in light marker that's incredibly hard to see in this photo.

7. Begin sewing your buttons to your canvas. Lay your buttons on the marker spots and use the threaded needle in contrasting color to the button. Sew the button on as you would normally do. Even if you stack some buttons together, just sew them all as one button.

8. Knot the thread at the back of the button as per normal, but don't cut the thread off.

9. Attach all of the buttons as you would normally sew them, using the contrasting thread color to the button (in my case, red thread for pink buttons and pink thread for red or white buttons.)

10. Continue in this manner, knotting the thread at the back of each button, but NOT cutting the tail.

11. On the front you will have a cute display of buttons.

12. On the back you will have a hot mess of thread and knots - but at least you didn't have to rethread the stupid needle 50 million times.

13. Begin stitching in the stems with the green embroidery floss. Start at the base of the button and use small stitches from back to front all the way down to the bottom of the hoop.

14. Once you reach the bottom of the hoop, make sure to end the stem by stitching down to the back of the canvas, then just lift your needle and begin sewing the next stem at the base of the next button.

15. Use small, simple stitches from the button down to the bottom of the hoop.

16. Continue doing this for each button. You can use two colors to add a little visual interest. Continue stitching and moving from button to button on the back of the canvas without cutting and threads or having to rethread any needles. Again, the back looks like an abstract art exhibit. But the front is all pretty and has stems now!

You could leave it at that, or you could become obsessed with french knots, as I did. In that case, you'll probably want to add some french knot leaves. Below, you will see how to make some french knots.

17. Stick your needle up through the back of the canvas where you want your leaf.

18. Pull the embroidery floss all the way through to the front.

19. I have to admit, I think I threw a superfluous photo in this collage for no reason. See, the floss is coming through the canvas from the back to the front???

20. Now, position your needle, point side down, near where your floss emerges from the canvas. Wrap the floss around the needle two or three times.

21. Pull it tight against the needle.

22. Stick the needle down into the canvas, close to the point of origin for the floss.

23. Pull the needle all the way through the canvas to the back side, turning the wrapped floss on the needle into a knot. Repeat as desired.

When you're finished with that, trim your canvas material fairly close to the hoop. With your fingernail, fray the edges, like so:

To cover that crazy mess on the back, just cut a piece of felt slightly larger than your hoop. Use hot glue to attach the felt to the INSIDE of the hoop on the back. (So the hot glue isn't touching the actual project, just the wood of the hoop).

And there you have it. A pretty little garden blooming in the unfortunate months of winter.

For the record, it just barely snowed for the first time this winter, the temperatures have now reached below 0 and I am once again questioning the sanity of living in this tundra. And it's only snowed once. It'll be a looooong winter...

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Thinking outside the box.

2012-01-17T18:00:00.001-06:00

This year, my brother IL had the brilliant idea to create a google doc to which we could all add our Christmas lists. This would come in handy for those of us who aren't really around all the time (i.e. me and mr) and can't keep up with what everyone's into/needs/wants.

I'll just come out and say it. mr's mom's list was pretty sparse. I think it was something like running socks and photos of the kids. And since I was almost certain someone else was getting her running socks, I decided to go with photos of the kids. But I certainly couldn't just mail her some pictures... that wouldn't do at all. I started to think about how it was the end of another year, and how hard it was for mr's parents to miss out on watching bug and mini grow and change throughout the year. Thus, the idea was born:

Oh, I know. It's not actually a novel idea. But I thought it was a good way to both showcase some photos and include her in the kids' year. It's a brag book. But in a box. So it's a Brag Box. Yeah.

Anyway. Obviously, you could make one of these anytime, not just for Christmas, for any year you want to highlight. You could make one for each kid every year and they could watch themselves change and grow up when they get older. In any case, the idea is very simple, but I thought I'd show you my execution to give you some ideas.

Basically, you pick a bunch of photos - a few from each month of the year. Not many, but enough to highlight the achievements, milestones, family moments, etc. At this point, you could really make any kind of book you wanted to make out of these - like this Pop Up Mini book at Infarrantly Creative. Or an easy accordion scrapbook. Whatever.

I decided to use some plastic boxes my sister gave to me. Lise teaches photography at a high school and used to get her film in these small square boxes. They are black, have rounded edges and are, well, nothing special. But that makes them a blank slate and perfect for upcycling into a little photo box. Remember how I upcycled a cookie tin for my sister? Same idea.

So, start by measuring your box and cutting your photos to size and laying them out to get an idea of how many pages you will need. Then you'll cut rectangles of scrapbook paper just slightly smaller than the width of the box. Fold the rectangles so that they are an accordion that's the slightly smaller than the height of the box. You'll most likely need to cut multiple strips of paper, fold them and glue them together to accommodate an entire year's worth of photos. Then you'll just decorate the accordion with photos and embellishments, making sure to stay on ONE side of the accordion. Leave the very back page empty of photos. Glue the last page to the inside bottom of the box and fold the pages all up into the box. Decorate the lid and the outside and voila! You've got an accordion photo box brag book thingy. Or a Photo Box for short. Basically, a snapshot of someone's year.

Here's how I put mine all together:

Firstly, I left the top page free of photos and made sure to have a little "tab" or overhang to grip and pull the pages out. On the tab, I hand stamped "a year of zoe/ezra" in a shabby/distressed feel. I'm no good at stamping, actually, so when I stamp ANYTHING it's a shabby, distressed feel, regardless.

From there I just added photos and embellishments in order of the year. As you pull the photos out, the kids get older.

I hand stamped the month next to one of the photos for that month. Most months had two or three photos and I just picked one with the most space around it. I had a lot of fun looking at how much the kids had changed.

I left the back page empty of photos but did use a bit of pattern/color embellishment. I actually glued the photos on opposite sides of the accordion for Zoe and Ezra's books - on Ezra's you can see the the page that folds down onto the bottom has the photos on it, while Zoe's is actually on the other side. They both looked fine, but I think I liked how Zoe's turned out better.

Then I just decorated the inside of the lid and then the outside of the box. At the last moment, I had to attach something to keep the lid shut because all the embellishments made the darn photo accordions too thick... So I just put a loop of ribbon on the lid and glued a hair elastic around a brad on the bottom.

You can slip the elastic through the loop of ribbon and then back over the brads.

Other tips:
I used hot glue for EVERYTHING that adheres to the actual plastic box. That's some kind of scrapbooking blasphemy, I know, and I will probably be struck down for it, but it was quick and easy - though very, very hot. Ouch.
I used double sided tape for all of the photos - archival quality and photo safe. Take that scrapbooking police.
Other embellishments include brads (duh), ric rac - I love that stuff, small safety pins in a variety of colors, paper clips in a variety of colors, and the usual. My favorite items to use to embellish a page? Paper clips, safety pins, and small strips of contrasting paper layered, woven and glued in unique ways. Cheap, I tell you, cheap.
Be careful not to overdo it on the embellishments, or you - like me - will not be able to close the boxes. When you get to that point, think fast.
Did you notice I let their names slip? Yeah. I realized you'd probably all figured it out after this post anyway, so the cat's out of the bag now. I'll probably still use their nicknames out of habit. But no more blurred out names in the photos, so that's cool.
What, you think this is a lame Christmas present? Are you telling me you'd rather get socks??

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Short but sweet. Literally.

2012-01-16T18:00:00.000-06:00

Ok, ok. I've got some back story here, but I've decided to skip it today. Why? Why, you ask? Well, for one thing I've got a funeral to attend. But for another, I know you're only here for the good stuff. Yes, I mean this:

That's dessert, friends, and it's perfect for this time of year. Perfect for last month, to be specific, but January will do too.

So, no more ado, here you go.

Pork Chop Casserole
4-6 boneless (uncooked) pork chops
1 C (uncooked) rice
1 C milk
1/2 C water
1 Can cream of mushroom soup

Preheat oven to 350. Cut your pork chops into bite sized pieces. Mix together the rice, milk, water and soup. Add the pork chops. Pour it into a casserole dish. Bake for about one hour.

Talk about easy. I just mixed everything up in the casserole dish and didn't even dirty a bowl. One pan, 5 ingredients. Seriously.

I got this recipe from my friend Betsy. I sent out an urgent request on my FB calling for recipes that were cheap and fairly to moderately easy. This is the first of the responses that we tried out. And guess what? It was cheap, easy and tasty. So I'd say that was a plus. It probably won't make it into our regular rotation, but perhaps when pork chops are on sale. By the way, I just noticed that the picture above features three lonely broccoli trees... which looks ridiculous. I promise I know a serving size of vegetables is more than that.

These pictures were taken with my phone. Does that explain anything?

Ok, on to what you're really here for. Da-dada-da! (that's a fanfare)

Creamy Eggnog Bars
1 17 1/2 ounce package sugar cookie mix
tablespoons all-purpose flour
cup butter
cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
egg yolks
14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
cup eggnog
tablespoon rum or 1 teaspoon rum extract
teaspoon vanilla
teaspoon ground nutmeg
cup whipping cream (optional)
tablespoons powdered sugar (optional)
Macadamia nuts, chopped (optional)
Freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg (optional)

Mmmmmmm.... I saw this on pinterest, here, but it's originally from bhg.com. Now, I am not really a fan of eggnog due to the texture (it's just way too mucus-y to me...) but I really enjoyed the egg nog taste in these bars. If you are a fan of eggnog, you'll be in heaven. Trust me. My mom wanted to eat the whole pan. (She might have succeeded in that...)

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Deviation from the norm. Operation: Valentine's Day

2012-01-14T10:00:00.001-06:00

It's not very often I put up a post like this - and even LESS often when it hits so very close to home for me. I hope you'll understand this deviation from the norm...

Last Friday my early morning was interrupted by a call from my mom letting me know that a very good friend of mine from church, Katrina, had lost her husband due to complications from diabetes. He was only 32. Katrina has four amazing (and young) children.

Not only did my friend lose the love of her life (and during the holiday season) but she's now left to care for her children alone. She runs a licensed day care from her home, and her husband - a jack of all trades who had been on disability for a number of years - was basically the sole provider for their family and had no life or health insurance. I know she is fearful of being able to take care of her children now, as I would be in her position.

I've gotten to know Katrina and her children through the work I do with the children's program (called Primary) at my church. They truly are some of the most amazing, strong, faithful and happy people I know. Katrina has handled this event with strength and grace, putting her trust in the Lord and teaching her children to do the same. I admire her for so many reasons, and this experience only adds to those feelings I have.

Because I love her dearly, I obviously wish I could help her - even in some small way. A mutual friend of ours from church has organized what she calls "Operation: Valentine's Day." I've promised Jenny that I would help spread the word in any way I can...

Some of you are close friends and family whom I just don't see frequently enough. Some of you are wonderful people I've gotten to know through blogging and emails and would consider my friends. Some of you probably know very little about me - and I know even less about you. BUT: many of you have experienced painfully similar events - either personally or secondhand. So I know you understand my desire to help Katrina and her family.

Jenny's plan is simple, and that is to help this family through the very first holiday they will have without their father and husband. She is gathering donations of gift cards in any denomination for Walmart or Target. This is not an official organization or charity. This is not an auction to raise money for a cure or anything like that. Rather, we are simply a group of friends appealing to other friends to help Katrina's family with necessities. The gift cards will be given to Katrina on her birthday - which is two days after Valentine's Day. If you would like to help, you can direct any questions to Jenny via email:

hippymom74(at)gmail(dot)com.

If you would like donate, you can send any donations to:

Jenny Orchard

ATTN: Operation Valentine's Day

319 Foster St

Oshkosh WI 54902

In light of Jenny's efforts, my cohorts at Shop Bugaboo and I have devised another way you can help out! Starting today, 50% of all sales made will go to “Operation: Valentine’s Day” for an entire week.

That's right! You could buy something cute AND help someone in need! How great is that? We still have several old favorites up for grabs:

along with some new items:

So, if you purchase something from us between January 14th and January 21st, you'll be lifting spirits and easing a tiresome burden.

Thanks for reading, everyone! And thanks for your support.

2012-01-13T18:00:00.001-06:00

("Tales From the Crib" is my semi-regular Friday ritual - though I do occasionally miss one. What's "Tales From the Crib"? For that, look here. Then look here. "Things My Two Year Old Taught Me" morphed into "Tales From the Crib" early last year in order to include more children and more ages. Considering the growth of my two bugs, I thought the change was appropriate.)

Gift

She is at that stage in her life.

You know the one. When every simple comment from another spawns the never ending sea of “why’s” and “what’s”. When the mouth has finally made headway in the game of “catch-up” with the mind. When every sounds, word, noise, image is a mountain of information to be sorted through with articulation. When she must know the meaning of life, the universe and everything RIGHT NOW.

Some questions are simple.

“Mini, let’s put your coat on.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re leaving and it’s cold outside.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s winter and we live in Wisconsin.”

Sometimes I need to call in the big guns.

“Sorry, it won’t play music anymore. The batteries are dead.”

“Why?”

“Because batteries don’t last forever.”

“Why?”

“Um. Well. Because there’s a limited amount of electricity inside of them.”

“Why?”

“Ok, we’ve got to ask your father about this.”

And sometimes, there are no good answers.

“No, mini, that’s an orange, not an apple.”

“Why?”

“Because it grew on an orange tree from an orange seed.”

“Why?”

Why???? Why???? I guess I’m stumped.

At times it seems she’s come up with a very good question. Why DO phone batteries die so often? Why CAN’T Elmo come over? Why WON’T a good book go on forever?

Her voracity in seeking truth is second only to her brother. He’s advanced beyond simply “why?” now, but hasn’t lost on ounce of determined exploration into “how? what? when? where? and why?” for almost everything he comes across.

When did I?

Have I lost my ability to see wonder and amazement in everyday life? Have I forgotten how to be curious and learn from probing for deeper answers? Shouldn’t I be able to feel the excitement they feel in the most ordinary of events?

I’m beginning to think that instead of hurrying her continuous train of questions along the track, I should halt. Perhaps ask why a bit more often myself. Try to seek answers instead of just accepting “the way things are.”

Already she has discovered one important truth.

Life is a mystery wrapped in a riddle all twisted up with a big enigma bow.

In other words, it's a gift. A crazy, chaotic, surprising, scary, sad, happy, joyful gift. One that you unwrap carefully, peeling back the paper one question at a time.

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Notes: On duplicate pins.

2012-01-12T18:00:00.000-06:00

(Cue moving spotlights and crazy music)
Voiceover: And now! It's time for... our first ever very pinteresting post!
(flashing applause sign)
(Audience goes nuts)
Voiceover: And here to bring you those top notch items that make you say...

...

Our host!

It may be late. And I may be overtired. I may also be going on yet another week of mr.lessness. Sometimes I don't like China much... usually only those times when he's there and not here. Which seems to be frequent.

But enough about China, tell me about you. How do you like China?

To kick off our very pinteresting series, I've got a little printable for you.

And that, my friends, comes from personal experience. On to the top notch items of inspiration for our first week.

Oh there are so many I could pop on up here... I fell in love and increased my number of pins by about 100 I think. In any case, I'll stick to five. It seems like a nice, odd number. Not to many, but still a respectable amount. I'm also trying to show you a variety of different types of ideas - to appeal to those of us who maybe can't sew, for instance.

Ahem.

Hot chocolate. I didn't know you could get any better. (Don't be deceived. It's actually a very interesting take on hot chocolate. And not at all what you'd expect.)

Source: atasteofkoko.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I dabble in photography. This man? Oh, to be brilliant like Laurent Lavader. He also has a ton of other amazing moon photographs that you can find in his Nuit Gallery on his site. Or you could just tour the whole site - since it's amazing. Of course, I can't understand a word of it since it's in French. I think.

Source: rhythmandritual.wordpress.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I didn't realize I'd be such a pinner of quotes... but I seem to find more I like every day. E.E. Cummings is just awesome to begin with, but this quote struck me as I just recently delved deep into a 1/8 life crisis. Or something. Not mid life, that's all I know.

Source: justinmarantz.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

You all must have seen this amazing toddler comforter over on Me Sew Crazy, right? It's from Two Little Hooligan's and is part of the "New Year's ReSewLution" series going on now. I'm pinning things like crazy from this series. Seriously. Did you see Googiemama's Pinwheel Dress? (I could devote an entire post just to pinning Googiemama's stuff... but I digress.) This comforter almost makes me want to redo mini's room. Almost.

Source: mesewcrazy.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I think this may have been my favorite find this week on pinterest. You can turn your child's artwork into a comforter! How adorable is that? Am I right, or am I right? Rest assured that when bug's artwork becomes more... artwork like and less scribbly, I will be doing this. Although his might be less creative and more like, "Here's a car crashing into a fence... here's a truck crashing into a fence... here's a car crashing into a wooden fence... here's a car that ran over a chicken and THEN crashed into a fence..." which may not provide enough variety to be this visually stimulating.

Source: iheartorganizing.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Oh, Pinterest. It's safe to say I'm bordering on obsession. No. No bordering... teetering on the edge. No... most of my body has crossed the line, but I'm keeping a tiny little pinky grasping the edge just so I don't seem completely crazy...

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

If at first you don't succeed, make something else entirely.

2012-01-10T19:00:00.001-06:00

My sweet SIL is expecting. I happened to draw her name for Christmas this year, and I debated whether or not to make her homemade. On one hand, homemade is heartfelt, right? And thoughtful, right? On the other hand, homemade could be totally insulting when made by me. Not on purpose, of course.

I decided to try my hand at this awesome maternity Maxi Skirt from Elle Apparel. It looked extremely straightforward. I had my SIL email me her measurements so I could get started - did I mention she lives 1500 miles away? Yeah... anyway. So I sat down with my measurements and the PRINTED OUT TUTORIAL. Yes, this time I printed it out.

And you know what? It went like a dream. The tutorial was easy to follow, and the skirt itself was a very simple pattern. I finished all the edges. I used a stretch stitch. I lined things up perfectly. I ironed open all my seams. It looked so pretty...

When I finished I thought to myself, "huh. That looks kind of big." So I slipped it on. And lo and behold, you could fit about 3 and 1/2 of me in there. Now, I know she's pregnant and all, but it just seemed bad form to send her something the size of a parachute, you know? I could not for the life of me figure out how I had mismeasured so badly. Is that NOT the theme song of my sewing life? Can someone write that song for me? "Oops, I mismeasured again" or something like that? I will play it on a loop on my blog. Please, someone explain to me what I am doing wrong?? In any case, I tried to salvage the skirt... to no avail. Which was indescribably sad, since I really liked the fabric.

But I still needed to make her something. During a random brainshower (much like a brainstorm but done while taking your early morning shower, which is apparently the best time to think since that's when all my ideas happen...) I remembered back to this dress. The fail that wasn't a fail? Dubbed "the Flamenco Dress." I remember saying it would make a really awesome maternity dress. I will admit that I considered just sending her the already completed one, but I very quickly dismissed the thought since I wasn't entirely certain she'd like the color combo or the exact style. So I decided to make a new one. One that was more maternity-friendly. One that was a little simpler but still detailed. One that wouldn't be a giant insult to send.

I came up with this:

It's very straight forward, though I don't have a step by step tutorial. It is basically a combination of my Flamenco dress and a simple knit skirt with fold-over waistband.

I measured, cut, pinned and sewed two rectangles together to make the skirt. I cut off the shirt at about my belly button. I decided to use the bottom part of the shirt for the waistband, since I thought that would be much more comfortable than elastic on an expanding belly. I also thought I would need a way to make the waistline adjustable so she could wear it longer. I decided to make two casings and then top stitch them. I cut the hem off the bottom of the shirt and I was left with a tube of knit. I first took the sides in just a bit (because the bottom of a shirt is made to fit near your hips, not your waist, right?) and as I was doing so I sewed one top stitched casing to each side seam, to make a tie for the back of the dress.

I made sure to sew the casings to the bottom part of the knit tube.

Then I folded it in half. I sewed the shirt to inside of the knit tube (just below the fold) and the skirt to the inside of the bottom part (the bottom part of the tube was the end of the fold that was open and I sandwiched the skirt between the two pieces.) The waistband runs all around the dress and the ties on the side cinch the dress in and tie in the back.
Front:

Back:

It seemed a good solution for making the waist comfortable, adjustable and yet non-muumuu like.

Then I used a different t-shirt to make the characteristic "flamenco dress" ruffle around the bottom of the skirt.

You can see that the front of the skirt is cut slightly longer than the back to allow for a baby bump.

But my favorite part of this dress is the neckline. I decided to add more interest to the upper part of the dress. I didn't want to duplicate the floppy bows from the original flamenco dress, because as I said, I wasn't sure she'd like that style. So I decided to mimic the pleating from the bottom of the dress up top. I did one row and liked it so much I figured two rows would be even better. And I LOVED that. The pleats around the neckline are only on the front of the shirt.

And now I kind of want one. I mean, not that I'm pregnant. I'm not. But, say I got pregnant sometime? I'd make me one of these.

In the meantime, maybe I'll just put some pleats on a t-shirt for me. Yeah. I could do that.

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Take the chill off.

2012-01-09T18:00:00.003-06:00

Yummy Monday began as a way to break me out of my unimaginative culinary rut. Each week I try brand new recipes out - using my parents and my own little family as guinea pigs. Some recipes are found online, some from friends, some from random cookbooks and some I invent myself. Some are masterpieces. Some are flops. But I'll tell you all about it so you can avoid the bad and relish the great!

Our first Yummy Monday of 2012 is a good one! I had to start on a high note. Not only is it new to me and my family, delicious and easy to make, it's also PERFECT for those cold, winter nights. If you've got cold winter nights in your neck of the woods. I'm still trying to figure out why it feels like a normal Wisconsin May right now. Complete with no snow. Weird.

Anyway, if YOU are chilled to the bone, try this guy out:

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

That recipe is from allrecipes.com and I happened to read the reviews and comments below before I went shopping. And I'm glad I did. If you peruse, you'll notice a lot of suggestions for improving the "blandness" of the original recipe and some useful tips about making it more soup-like than stew-like. I went through the ideas and combined a few I found helpful and made some changes based on our personal taste and the soup I ended up with was amazing. Truly, very good. Even my super picky 4-yr-old liked it. So, here's the recipe as I made it.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
1 bag of frozen peas
1 small bag of baby carrots (cut each in half)
1/2 of an onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 C uncooked white rice
4 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 C water
1/2 C Cooking Sherry
1/2 C butter
1/2 C all-purpose flour
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast meat
6 cups milk, divided
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

To prepare the chicken: Rub salt, some pepper and a little garlic powder onto both sides of each chicken breast. Cut them into pieces. Pour some olive oil into a pan and brown the chicken in the olive oil - cook, stirring, until white all the way through, 15-20 minutes. Set aside.
In a large pot over high heat, combine the peas, carrots, onion, garlic, rice, bouillon, broth, water and sherry and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid. Remove from heat and set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Slowly add the flour, stirring often, to make a roux. Add 4 cups of milk, 1/2 cup at a time, while constantly stirring with a whisk. Add this to the rice mixture and stir. Add the chicken. Return the rice mixture to the stovetop over low heat. Add the remaining 2 cups of milk. Stir in the garlic salt and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste and allow to simmer for at least an hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

And if that doesn't warm you up, I don't know what will. Also keep in mind that this may make enough for a small army. You will either need to acquire an army to feed or plan on having leftovers. Use a super large pot.

Our dessert was nothing super special, but kind of fun. I simply made Cinnamon Roll Donuts.

I used a package of cinnamon rolls - i.e. pillsbury. I took each cinnamon roll out and divided it in half. Then, I stretched one piece out and folded it back together, long and skinny like. Then I folded it one more time and twisted it, kind of squeezing a bit to make sure it kind of stuck together. I did this for each roll - so the amount of "donuts" you end up with will be twice the amount of rolls you start with. Then just heat some oil in a pot and dunk your cinnamon rolls. Let them fry until they turn a nice golden brown. Drain them on some paper towels. Make a sugar glaze by adding milk to a little bit of powdered sugar and stirring until it's dissolved. Then, just drizzle the glaze over the top. Yum! (and easy too!) Just make sure your twists aren't too thick or the inside of them won't get cooked. And that's just gross.

Now, go warm yourself up!

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Ahem. This is THAT post. So pay attention.

2012-01-07T20:29:00.001-06:00

You know. The one where I tell you what to expect out of my blog and me this year. (Yes, that is proper grammar, thank you grammar police.)
The one where I introduce you to the new look. (that's almost but not quite completely and totally finished after, like, a year of work).
The one where I add superfluous photos of nothing to do with this post to break up the monotony of my voice droning on and on.

Thank goodness you can't actually HEAR it.
(note: if the amount of text scares you, at least scroll down to the summary, k?)

I've got a few things to say. First up, I'd like to explain a little about my crafty space here. When I first began my blog, I did no research at all. I had been introduced to the craft blog world by my sister and thirstily gulped many wonderful blogs unabashedly as if recovering from a craft drought. Which I kind of was. Not very long after reading my very first blog post EVER (which was on MADE, by the way) I thought to myself: "Self, you should do this. You love to write. You love to create. You aren't doing either right now. In fact, you're doing a whole fat lot of NOTHING." And so, I snapped up a name, a blog address and here we are. Well, not quite. See, at first, I had no idea what I was doing. I dove blindly and with abandon. Where absolutely EVERYTHING was concerned. I'm not making this up.
I could not:
blog.
link to parties.
sew anything except an ALMOST straight line.
cook anything besides easy mac.
read patterns.
follow a tutorial with any amount of success.
spray paint without either a. fumigating the whole house or b. ruining whatever it was I was spray painting.
tell the difference between gorilla glue, gorilla wood glue, and gorilla epoxy.
work a hammer without blistering myself.
make a hat.
create a blog button.
ascertain any usable information from any kind of html.
take a photograph that was not 1. blurry, 2. yellow, 3. dark, 4. at all aesthetically pleasing.
do a guest post and send only the html (what the heck??? how do you do THAT???)

Do you think I'm exaggerating? Those of you who have been around a while know that I'm not. And if you need proof, just go look at those first few months. Go on. I'm not ashamed. Kidding. I'm totally ashamed. You have no idea how often I've considered erasing the entire beginning of this blog.

The point is, I have evolved. But my blog really hasn't.
When I begin I touted this space as "a chronicle of mistakes." And it kind of was. I didn't mind recording my failures, because once in a while there were these amazing triumphs that would make all the miserable "what the heck was I thinking's" worth it. I felt like being a champion for the underdog, you know, the "Nope, I'm not I Am Momma and I'm not Tatertots and Jello, but I'm doing this craft blog thing anyway!!!" type. And don't get me wrong, I am still just an amateur crafter, former wannabe actress and professional mommy muddling through chaos, happiness, drudgery - sometimes even misery - and I'm still using this blog as a way to remain accountable for my hobbies. (If I'm accountable to YOU, then I HAVE to do something besides sit around on my couch eating bon bons and crying over Marlena and John. Not that I ever did that. (I mean, Roman was way better, anyway, right?)) But the point is, I'm growing. That's the only reason I have NOT erased this blogs birth and infanthood. Because I actually enjoy going back and looking at the hideousness if for no other reason than I can see my growth over time.

I can take a decent photo now - AND I know the importance of it.
I can cook almost anything you ask me to and I even make some of my own recipes up (that reminds me... don't let me forget to tell you about the chicken dish I created...).
I can craft - I can lay down a killer wreath.
I can wield a hot glue gun with the best of them.
I still can't read a pattern to save my life, but doggone it if my sewing skills haven't improved by leaps and bounds!
And although I hate it with every fiber of my being, I can do a little html-ing when I absolutely have to.
And I love guest posting. Or swapping. (You hear that people? I love it!)

But this here blog? It really remained unchanged for the most part. Aside from the more amiable prose I use when speaking with you now, the look and feel of this blog was completely untouched.

So I thought about it. Why had I resisted change so much? And I believe I had a few good reasons (and some lame ones).
Lame reason one: I've always been resistant to change (like so many of us). I mean always. Like that time my mom tried to wean me when I was a year old so I refused to eat.
Lame reason two: I'm a little stubborn. LEEEEEETLE bit. So I kind of didn't want to admit that maybe my blog could stand a little change. "I like it the way it is, dagnabbit. So there."
Good reason 1: I hate html. Did I mention that already? Any change I make is done completely by me because I can't pay anyone to do it and I don't have friends in high places. (Unless YOU are in a high place and are my friend? Huh?) So that means I have to design it, execute it, tweak it, then figure out all the html to do what I want to do, change it, tweak it some more, etc. For every page, for every link, for everyTHING. And that means less time to craft/sew/cook/pretend to photograph... and taking time from things I like in order to do things I don't like? Well, I don't like doing that.
Good reason/bad reason 2: I don't know if this is good or bad. When I first started attracting some followers I got a lot of comments about how much they loved the artwork on the header and the look and feel of the blog itself. I started to feel that if I changed any of that, people wouldn't want to hang around anymore. When I got comments (quite a few) about how unique my look was, and how I was considered "funny" when I wrote pretty much exactly how I really speak, well, I'll admit it. I liked the attention. What if I change it and that all goes away?

Superfluous photo 2?

All of this babbling to tell you that I'm tweaking things around here a little bit. Because I have grown and I now see that my blog should as well. Because I should stop fearing change. Because I want to. And really, although I love you all and am grateful for your readership and that you keep me crafting, this blog is mine. It's kind of my baby, my creation, and really I should be able to change it or not change it or write or not write or put up really bad photos if I want to, right? So.

I am now accepting sponsors. Over on the right sidebar there. I'd love to put your shop or blog up, and if you are at all interested just send me an email or comment here. It'll be the bomb. Plus, I'm cheap. Phew. That's done.

On to the rest. After a long and drawn out period of creation, the highly anticipated "new header" is up. Yep. See, the story of the header goes something like this:
Shop Bugaboo was opening it's doors. I'd been thinking about changing the font in my blog header for a while to make it more easily readable, and the opening of the shop seems as good a time as any. But I can't decide if the blog header should be EXACTLY the same as the shop or just kind of mimic it in a small way - since the shop isn't just mine. So I stick up a temporary header. I tell myself I'll work on it tomorrow... which turns in to next week... which turns into next month... and now almost four months have gone by and the temporary header is still up and people are starting to ask questions. "What, did your header run out on you? Abandon you? What's the deal?" Even worse than that, people started to assume I was doing something big. A major overhaul. Like I was going to have huge blinking lights, singing and dancing bears, I trapeze artist swinging around the title and little moving stick figures that could actually JUMP OUT OF YOUR SCREEN. I mean, I was working on this for four months and all. The idea of needing to do something monumental enough to warrant the time it took to make it was really overwhelming. PLUS, I didn't really WANT to drastically change EVERYTHING. I wanted it to still have the same FEEL. So I put it off even longer.
But it's like living out of a suit case. Eventually you have to put everything away or you just don't feel at home. So I've finally updated my header - and no, it's not amazing. But yes, it is me. And I like that.
Along with the header, I've updated all of the menu buttons, the sidebar titles, and the tutorial buttons. I am now working to update all of my tutorial pages, which is actually the most daunting undertaking of the whole darn shpeel, so let's just pray I get that done by the end of this year, k? K.
I appreciate you all bearing with me through my transitions. It takes me a long time to realize that a transition doesn't have to be a bad thing. Then it takes me a long time to actually make the transition. THEN it takes me a long time to tell you about said transition, because, well, I like to talk and I suppose I can be a little long winded. Phew. Now that's done.

This post is getting really long. Are you still there? Are you? Huh. Well, just in case you are, in the words of a highly respected movie personality: "Lemme 'splain. No, there is too much. Lemme sum up."

1. I've changed and grown in the past two years. Now the blog will reflect that.
2. I am looking for sponsors! email me: bugaboominimrandme(at)yahoo(dot)com. Or comment. I'll give you more info.
3. I will be doing the same weekly series I have previously and heretofore regularly posted. These will include:

and yes, even:

I know. I bombed that one big time this past year. Only one stinking post. BUT, I will do better this time. Or rather, my husband will. Since he's the chemist. In the kitchen.
5. I'm adding another! It's called:

and if you read Spunky Junky you'll see that great minds think alike. Or you'll think I'm a big old copy cat, but I swear I'm not. Basically, it's a lot like her idea, but slightly different. Once a week, I'll show you some stuff I've pinned, just to give you some inspiration you may not have seen yet. I will also show off something I made that was inspired by one of my pins ONCE A MONTH. At that once a month reveal, I'll have a linky party where you can link anything you've made that was inspired by anything YOU'VE pinned. I warned you I was a
pin addict. Now it's official.
6. So, weekly, here's what it'll look like:
Sunday: possible photography post - I'd still like to link to Scavenger Hunt Sunday at Ramblings and Photos when I can.
Monday: Yummy Monday (obviously).
Friday: Very Pinteresting - highlighting pins from my boards and ONCE A MONTH a project I made inspired by a pin.
A Chemist in the Kitchen will be semi-regularly held, but no more than once a month.
Tales from the Crib will also be semi-regularly posted - once a week as often as I can, sometimes less.
The rest of the week (Tuesday, Thursday... sometimes Wednesday) you'll be treated to tutorials (with a day off here and there - most often on Wednesdays.) Phew.

And if you have made it to the summary, well, you deserve a treat. So go get some chocolate. Happy New Year!

PS. In the entirety of my life (which is a fairly long time) it has NEVER been like the above photos in January. There is no snow and it was in the upper 50's on Friday. Total anomaly that makes me mad because it means there will be freezing cold sleet all May.

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Not quite felt food.

2012-01-05T20:44:00.001-06:00

Last year, I made my niece a play kitchen for Christmas. No, not this kind:

Source: martawrites.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

Although that would be cool. I wanted to send something compact since her family lives in an apartment and I thought they might appreciate something that pulled double duty as storage and could be easily tucked away. Plus it had to be fun, too. You can see the solution here. I made her a bunch of felt food which I made up as I sewed, and probably wasn't the awesomest felt food ever, but was pretty cute.

So this year, I wanted to make something along the same lines - something she could add to her kitchen. I did see a pin for something very like this on pinterest, but alas I have somehow lost it. In any case, if this was inspired by YOU, sorry I didn't know.

But here's my version of:

Firstly, you will need a pair of standard issue women's socks. They can be plain or fancy, striped or dotted, new or used. I used new, though, since they were a gift. Just plain old crew socks.

Lay one on top of the other

and cut the toes off.

Then turn them both inside out. Smoosh one of the socks up into the other sock

and then smooth them out nicely.

Start at the bottom where the toes used to be and there is not an unfinished edge, and start rolling the socks up, together.

Roll, roll, roll, keep going. Up over the heel part, which is a little awkward. And when you get to the top, stop.

Your donut will look like this from the bottom:

And they will look like this from the top:

I used two packages of socks - they had the same patterns (a few plain, some dotted and some striped) but one was pink and tan colors and the other was blue and brown. I liked all the colors and patterns together. They looked like they could actually be donut colors, but with some added fun, you know?

To frost your socks, cut out some felt circles in colors that match the donuts. I have vanilla, chocolate, caramel, blueberry and raspberry frosting. Yum. Just trace around the donut and cut, then cut a small circle in the very middle.

Then go back and make the inside and outside of each circle all wavy and random. Like icing.

Your donuts probably need sprinkles. They'll taste better that way. For my sprinkles I just used embroidery floss and made little french knots randomly all over the frosting circles.

Here's a close up of the french knots. I'll admit that doing the sprinkles this way was mostly due to a new and inexplicable obsession with french knots. And yes, it did take a long time to do an even dozen donuts this way. You could maybe hot glue stuff on the top for sprinkles instead, if you wanted.

Then I found a little gift box that looked remarkably like a bakery box and placed six inside. I liked them so much, I decided to give the other six to my other niece.

For the lid to the bakery box (which I could have sworn I took a picture of but is currently MIA) I needed to make a logo. I designed this cupcake in picnik:

That's a whole lotta geometric shape "stickers." Feel free to use it if you want.

Then I put this little graphic on the background I'd created - also in picnik:

I printed it out the same size as the lid and then just mod podged it on. I used mod podge because I really wanted it to be more permanent and sturdy, but it rumpled up. If I were to do it again I think I'd just use double sided tape or glue dots.

And there you have it! Not quite the same as sewing felt food, but still pretty cute, if I do say so myself. And if you don't have any kids to make them for, just make them for yourself as a fat free treat. We're all still on our New Year's diets, right?

Added: of note, I received an email from Jenn who authors the blog Rook No. 17. So glad she found me, because it turns out she is the original mastermind behind sock donuts! Want to see her post? Check here! Nice to meet you Jenn!

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

Again, I steal ideas.

2012-01-04T18:00:00.001-06:00

So, due to the fact that I have no idea which of my friends and family actually read this thing regularly and I didn't want to spoil the surprises of Christmas, I did not show you anything I handmade for those on my Christmas list. Yes... it was due to that and not at all because I procrastinated once again. Yes.

Well, now's the moment! No better time than the week AFTER Christmas to share some Christmas present ideas, correct-o? Come on, some of you have already started planning for next year, be honest. So while you're scheming up ideas, pin a couple of these maybe?

I shall start with the ideas I stole. Because we all know that as good as I am, I am not creative enough to do a homemade Christmas without a little help from the masters.

First off. I would like to point you in the direction of A Girl And A Glue Gun. As if you didn't know she was awesome... Well, she does some great things with felt. I saw her Lego Mat tutorial and knew I need look no further for my nephews. The two younger nephews (who are very into legos right now, so good timing) got one of these:

Well, not exactly. That's Kimbo's. This is mine (I know, not quite as impressive...):

(The older nephew just got a gift card to Olive Garden for him and a girl of his choosing because he's dating age now and that is SOOOOO weird for me.)

I tried both sewing the casing around the edge and hot gluing and I think the hot gluing actually worked better. I did not follow the tutorial step by step as I was going by memory - surprise, surprise, right? And obviously I should have followed the tutorial as her way was easier than mine AND that rid edging totally looks waaaaaayyyyy better than my unfinished innards. ANYHOO. I didn't make a lego man for the inside, just a lego man head. Which I am pretty happy with. That was my nephew's favorite part.

Other differences - instead of a rope I just cut a length of some scrap knit fabric and pulled it so it stretched out and curled around. I used a large safety pin to thread it through the casing around the felt mat and then tied huge knots in the ends so that they wouldn't go back into the holes.

I also added a little scrap of green felt (two-ply) in a loop to the top of the bag on the back (when it's scrunched up) so the bag can be hung for easy storage.

Then I hand painted the label's for the front of the bags, cut out each of the different colors around the letters and hot glued it all together - which took longer than making the darn mats in the first place. And yes, I DID want to redo the labels and NO I am NOT particularly happy with the way they turned out -although the idea of using the lego font to make a label was on the right track - thanks so much for asking.

Next up. Stole this idea from Delia of Delia Creates. I dare you to go to Delia's blog and NOT pin something. Go on. It's a dare. I'll up the ante - I triple dog dare you.

It must be a lego themed Christmas because the first idea I duplicated was her lego belt.

Awesome right? I was thinking about how I should have made this for my husband when it dawned on me that I still needed something for my best friend's husband. And this seemed just right for him, too. I did not have a belt buckle on hand, nor did I have the time to scour the thrift stores for one (although I may take to collecting them now, just to have them on hand for this...) so I just bought an inexpensive belt at Walmart. It was plain black, which was perfect. I simply took a flat black rectangle from mr's stash and used E-6000 to glue it to the buckle.

I used two clamps to keep it nice and straight while it dried overnight. Then I fished out a few more small pieces and put them in a little container with a clear top so he can choose to decorate his belt buckle according to his mood and/or outfit. (Because guys totally do that, right? Yeah...)

Since the only piece that is glued to the buckle is plain black, it's pretty much a blank slate. He can put a smaller rectangle on and form a "C" in yellow - his first initial (which is how the belt looked when I gave it to him).

OR, he can just put a large rectangle over the black one and change the color completely.

Just stack the legos up and you've got a completely different belt.

Literally a two minute present that I'm fairly certain was very well received.

And my best friend? Well, firstly she got this t-shirt strip scarf:

Which I have to admit I do not know where this started - but you've seen them all over, right? I made one for myself back here. This looked totally cute on her, even though I made it smaller than I had intended.

And secondly, she got ANOTHER Delia-inspired present. I know, I know. I should just marry her, jeez. Wait. We're both already married. Never mind.

So, remember her distressed canvas art? I saw this tutorial and was hooked.

I made one for my mom for mother's day using a photo I'd taken of her apricot blossoms. But for El, I needed to do something super special... so I went to her idol. The elegant and charming Audrey Hepburn. I found a photo I liked and did some basic editing:

Then I found a quote I liked and did it up in Pages on my mac. I added the vignette in iphoto:

One word of advice. Do NOT forget that the image will be REVERSED when you transfer it to the canvas. Which isn't a big deal for photos usually, but IS a big deal for words. Just sayin'. You don't want to have to run out to Kinkos for the THIRD time in two days in THREE degree weather while you're supposed to be making Christmas cookies. Not that that happened to me or anything. Do you want one already flipped for you so you can just download it, print it, copy it and go? Oh, ok.

I painted my canvases off white with bright white undertones. Then I just followed Delia's tutorial to the T and ended up with an Audrey canvas:

and an Audrey quote canvas:

To make a complete set:

Which will look infinitely better on El's living room wall than they do on my family room floor, but you get the idea. And that carpet's way better than the green yuck, am I right?

I guess the moral of this post is, if you don't have great ideas of your own, go bug Delia and Kimbo. No way you'll walk away from there empty, er, headed.

And coming up? Some gifts I DIDN'T steal. Amazing, right? And some tutorials, too.

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!

The last list. I swear.

2012-01-03T18:00:00.000-06:00

I just can't help it. I've got one more list. I swear to you. One more. And although it totally seems like it, I'm not copying A Girl and a Glue Gun. Well, I kind of am because she posted first. But it's really a case of "great minds think alike" - she's just way quicker on the draw than I am. Or maybe I just want to be like her. So sue me.

So, just for fun, another top 10 list.

My Personal Fave Craft and Sewing Type Items From 2011 (not including those that have been represented in other lists.)

10. Vintage Romance Wreath

9. Ratty T-Shirt Turned Super Cool Necklace

8. Little Sparkler Romper

7. Knock-Off Cafe Rio Salad

6. Book Lamp

5. The entire "Yarn it all!" series. All of it.

3. The Mommy and Me Spring Skirt Combo

2. Parade in a Box

1. Funky Chunky Wrapped Earrings

And these? Well, these are just posts I'm fairly certain you shouldn't miss.

DON'T MISS LIST

10. The One Where I Lock The Kids In The Car

(and yet, still make dinner)

9. It's Too Late to Say You're Sorry

(Tales from the Crib)

8. A Honeymoon Story

7. Ode to Spring

(AKA, Don't Move to Wisconsin)

6. Wake Up Call

(Tales from the Crib)

5. Turkey: A Step by Step Guide

4. Party Like It's 1989

3. Which One Are You: Abbott? Costello?

2. The Fail That's Not Quite a Fail

1. The Most Delicious Thing You Will Ever Put In Your Mouth (and I ain't lying)

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!

Another list.

2012-01-02T21:33:00.000-06:00

So, technically some of my top ten visited posts happen to also be on the top ten pinned list from yesterday... and as I don't want to bore you, I decided to skip the repeats. In all honesty, these aren't EXACTLY the top ten posts. They are actually and in point of fact "The Top Ten Posts from 2011 That Were Not Also Pinned on Pinterest" but that titles too long, so I know you'll understand if I shorten it up, even though the shortened title is perhaps a little misleading and not completely accurate:

TOP TEN VISITED POSTS FROM 2011

10. Mini Tuna Quiche and Lemon Curd Mini-Cake

9. Tubby Finger Puppets

8. Snappy Shoes and Headband Combo

(Rather, mix and match accessories)

7. Ribbon Spider Wreath

6. Tincanmen

5. Going Batty!

Kid Friendly Halloween Garland

4. N'awlins Grub

(Or, if you're from the great north, some yummy New Orleans inspired food and LEMON CAKE PIE. Yes, you read that right)

3. Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Bottomed Topiary

(AKA mini topiaries of the fall variety)

2. DIY Stained Glass

AND, for the finale:

1. MOGO (Make One Get One) Birthday Wreath

(in other words, it's double sided, so TWO wreaths for the price of ONE!)

The most glaringly obvious fact you can take away from these lists is how much better I've gotten with my photography. Not that I'm boasting. I was just ra-heeeeeeeeeeeelly bad before.

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!

Top Ten Stuff.

2012-01-01T23:59:00.001-06:00

Phew!! What a crazy month! I'm taking a brief respite from my respite (seriously, it's more work staying away from the old blog - not to mention pinterest - than it is getting on here...) to pop on here and give you a quick top ten or two! No, wait. Not top two. Top ten or two top tens... oh, you know. My eye recovery is advancing, but at quite a slow pace so I may be somewhat scarce for the next week due to not wanting to make myself blind and all...

My first top ten post I'd like to share with you is my "MOST PINNED" list. You know I'm addicted to pinterest. If you are not addicted to pinterest yet, please go here. And then you can follow me here. Just trying to share the love.

Anyhoo. Don't you love seeing where you've been pinned? I know, I know - it sounds totally vain, but sometimes I need an ego boost. I learned over on The Speckled Dog that you can find out who's pinning your stuff by putting this in your search bar:
http://pinterest.com/source/(your blog address)
Example: http://pinterest.com/source/bugaboominimrme.blogspot.com

Well, after much scientific research and data analysis and recording in true hyper-intelligent fashion (*read sarcasm*) here is a list of my

Top Ten Pinned DIY-y Type Things

10. - A TIE!

Anthro Cardi Knockoff

Comfy Cozy Wreath

9. Brazilian Lemonade, AKA Limeade

(affectionately called "slimeade" at our house)

8. Crazy Cane Wreath

7. Stay-Put Bookmarks

And I believe I can also include the Svelte Belt/Versatile Headband.

(By the way, there will soon be a tutorial for a newer version of the Stay-Put Bookmark, the kind you can find here.)

6. "Pro"crastination Printable

5. Podged Pumpkins

4. 30 Sucks!

3. No-Sew Felt Quiet Book (continued in this post. And this one, too.)

2. Farewell Sunshine Wreath

1. Candy Corn Sunburst

And for no reason other than I like food and eating, I've put my recipe pins in a different list! Gasp! Another list! The

Top 5 Pinned Recipes

5. Baked Chicken and Artichokes

4. Taco Dip Casserole

(Go there for the recipe, but here's a better picture than shown in the post)

3. Spaghetti Squash Casserole

2. Cottage Cheese Pie (oh, man, so good, guys. Good choice.)

And number, 1??

Pumpkin Pie Cake! Mmmmmm!

Because I am a pinterest addict, you can be assured that there will be regular pinterest type posts in the new year. Back later with more stuff for the end of the year/beginning of new year! Happy 2012! (For the record, I have been writing 2012 for about 6 months now, so although I usually have a hard time with that transition this year I should be ok!)

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!

2011-12-26T18:00:00.002-06:00

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas, all! (Or are still having... if you tend to drag the celebration out as we do around here...) I love Christmas time. I only wish it had been white like this.

I admit I like the snow on Christmas much more than in late April, which is when this photo was taken.

Just a quick note to let you know I'll be taking a brief break from this blogging gig - not by choice, mind you, but the specialist I saw (kind of) (ha ha) is "strongly discouraging" computer use for a while...

And since I'd like my eyes to get back to normal as quickly as possible, I think I'll have to listen to him. I decided this while trying - unsuccessfully - to thread my sewing machine.

Plus, the major downside to blogging while temporarily vision impaired is that I can't for the life of me tell if I'm showing you blurry pictures or not. That's crummy.

I'll see you in a week or so. ("See you"... fingers crossed...)

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!

It's a(n easy) wrap.

2011-12-24T17:00:00.000-06:00

I know this idea is nothing new to you, but don't you love that whole "paper bag/twine" wrapping craze going on? How easy can you get, right? (And let's face it, the cheapness factor really helps, too.)

So even though you're aware of it, and have probably pinned it, like I have (here, for instance), I'm going to show you how we wrapped bug's teacher gifts.

But not step by step. That's just redundant and insulting to you, right?

Anyway, we shoved the gift in the little lunch bag, folded the top over once, than folded it down a lot more, laid the tag over it, punched two holes, threaded the twine through (twice), added the tag through one hole, and tied in a bow. Done.

His teachers were all impressed by how cute they were. I had started to feel a little self-conscious when bug was giving them his little bags, because the other kids were giving their offerings of store bought goody bags full of candy and yummies or expensive-looking, amazing smelling decorative candles... and then there's this little lunch bag. But as the other kids and parents filtered out, the teachers turned their attentions to our small offering and raved about the cleverness of the wrapping.

And what was inside? These. In all different colors. Five of them for five teachers. I think they liked that even more than the wrapping.

Oh, and do you like the tags? I did that all in pages on my mac. I was pretty excited that they looked cute even without a cool program like photoshop. So, here you go! If you want to use them tomorrow. Or next year. (It's a jpeg. Just download and you can resize if you need to.)

Merry Christmas! I do wish you all love, fun, family, friends, and a wonderful holiday in general, to everyone! If you, like me, celebrate this Christmas with a reverence and love for Christ, you might be interested in this video.

Or this one.

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!

More Easy Shmeezy Ideas for Procrastinators.

2011-12-23T23:12:00.000-06:00

Need a few more easy ideas that don't take much time? Really waiting until the last possible second here, aren't you?? Well, here are a few oldies but goodies for you, all in one place.

Bowling Buddies

The Svelte Belt

(Or you could make it in bookmark form, as the Stay-Put Bookmarks shown here)

Zipped-Up Rose Headband (no sew)

Rolled Rosette Bib Necklace

Tubby Finger Puppets

Button Earrings

No-Sew Ribbon Headbands

Felt Toddler Watch

Monogramed Keychains

Funky Chunky Wrapped Earrings

The only stipulation is that you are SOOOO not allowed to comment on the horrible photography from my past. Come on, obviously I feel silly enough already.

Good luck. And Merry Christmas.

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!

Easy Shmeezy Last Minute Gifts (for PROcrastinators and forgetors alike)

2011-12-22T22:58:00.000-06:00

I know it seems like everyone in the craft blog world has been ready for Christmas since September. And maybe that really is the case, but I have to say I sincerely hope not. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I'd just hate to be the only one who is STILL not finished. And by not finished I mean: not finished making gifts, not finished baking, not even finished decorating...

Although I have been playing Christmas music since November, so that counts, right?

Anyway, if you, like me are a professional procrastinator (remember this?) OR if you, like me, always remember that one last someone that your brain somehow filtered out of the gift giving list, I've got some easy shmeezy gifts for you. Really. Easy shmeezy. We're talking like an hour or less here. Want to see them?

We'll start out with the easiest of the easy. It takes very little time, effort, materials or skill - that's always nice. I present to you:

You need:
a tile
acrylic craft paint
paint pen
clear enamel sealer
felt
picture hanger
hot glue gun

1. Take a tile. It can be any style, any size (as long as your kid's hand fit on it), any color, anything you want. These tiles came from my stash I got over a year ago at the thrift store - a big old box that boiled down to about 5 cents a tile. Couldn't pass it up. I like the natural colors and the little bit of texture on the tiles.
Now, let your child pick out his/her favorite color. Pour out the acrylic craft paint and smoosh his/her hand around in it.
Then print the hand on the tile - fingers close together, but not touching, thumb to the inside, fingers pointing out at a slight angle. If you are doing only one child per tile, you can print both hands on one heart - I used one of bug's hands and one of mini's hands to make one heart per tile.
Then you'll have to take a break to give the kids a bath. Hey, I said it was EASY, not CLEAN. Next, you'll take your paint pens - the kind that's for fabric (NOT puffy paint. Paint PENS.) Write your child's name across the handprint heart. Finish off with a message.
Let it all dry. Once it's dry, spray it down with a clear enamel sealer.
2. Flip the tile over and put a double layer of felt on the back. Cut it to fit, edge to edge. Just hot glue it down.
3. Take a picture hanger triangle thing and glue it on the back. I tried super glue, Gorilla Glue, and hot glue and in a humongous surprise to me the hot glue worked best. That stuff just sticks like magic to felt.
4. Admire your handy work! You now have a trivet to gift! You can hang it on the wall with the picture hanger, you could place it on an easel, you can put it under your hot pots, sky's the limit!
5. Huh. Look at that. The mystery is revealed...

I think these are perfect for aunts, uncles, grandparents, godparents, you name it! I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, so I won't tell you who these are for.

NEXT UP, easy shmeezy gifts for the girly girl. TWO different types of bows!

We'll start with the easier of the two.

(I looked that up on some French Teaching blog thing and apparently it means "little girlfriend" bow. I think. Correct me if they were wrong.)

You'll need this:

a smallish rectangle of felt
a slightly smaller rectangle of felt in a different color
a very small, skinny rectangle of felt in the first color
an alligator clip
hot glue
scissors
a tiny scrap of felt in matching color

1. First, you'll take the two bigger rectangles and round the corners, so they are more like ovals.
2. Take the larger of the two and squish it at the center so the edges are squished to the back and the middle part is also squished to the back.
3. This is what that rectangle looks like from the back.
4. Now, take the smaller one and squish it so the edges are pinched up to the front. Put this smaller rectangle in the squished in middle part of the bigger one.
5. Wrap the small, skinny rectangle around the two ovals in the middle, making sure they stay pinched the right way. Make sure the ends of the skinny rectangle are both wrapped to the back of the ovals.
6. Put some hot glue on the ends of the skinny strip and glue them down in the back.

You're done with the actual bow, so let's put it on the clip!

7. Cut a tiny scrap of felt that's the same length as the flat straight part of the clip and just a little wider.
8. While squeezing the clip open, hot glue the top of it to the back of the bow.
9. Place the scrap piece of felt on top of this, so you are sandwiching the top of the clip between the scrap and the bow. Hot glue around the edges of the scrap.
10. They are so easy and pretty addicting... so make about 5 more.

Or you could change it up and put three ovals together!

And here's the last one for the night. Still easy, and you have your choice of two different methods of construction.

You'll need this:

A bit of knit (I used part of a sleeve from a cut up shirt. That seam in the middle? Totally doesn't matter. It just needs to be a rectangle.)

A yo-yo. (Don't know how to make a yo-yo? See here.)

A button (covered, patterned, whatever. It needs to go in the center of the yo-yo so keep that in mind when choosing a size.)

needle and thread

alligator clip

hot glue

And I bring you the:

1. Start by threading your rectangle of knit onto the needle and thread. You can choose to use the rectangle the long way or short way (we'll discuss this at the end). Just start at the bottom in the middle and squinch your knit onto the needle kind of accordion fold style.

2. So this all the way through the rectangle and pull your thread tight. (Make sure it's knotted at the end).

3. Now, take your needle and go back down into the middle of the fabric from the top, right next to where you came out of the top the first time.

4. Thread your needle through the fabric in the same manner as before all the way to the bottom. Pull your needle out and pull the thread tight.

Then repeat this going from the bottom to the top, and then from the top to the bottom at least one more time.

5. Finish this off and keep it tightly cinched up by knotting the thread into the fabric.

6. Knot the end of your thread again. Place your yo-yo in the middle of the bow on the front side. Come up through the back of the bow, through the yo-yo and pull the thread tight.
7. Go back through the middle of the bow, from front to back and pull the thread tight.
Repeat this a few times.
8. Add your button on top of the yo-yo, centered. Pull your needle from back to front, making sure to come through one of the button holes.
9. Go back through the second buttonhole from front to back.
Repeat this a few times until the button and the yo-yo are both secure on the bow.
10. flatten each side of your "accordion fold" bow down and trim the very edges - if necessary.
Attach the alligator clip as you did with the above "petite Amie" bow. Just hot glue the top of the clip to the back and then put a little piece of knit over that, sandwiching the clip top.
11. These are kind of addictive as well.

Wait, wait. That's not all. Do you want to see the even easier version of this project? It's the version I usually use, but for all you bow purists out there, I thought I'd show the "correct" version first.

Squinch up your rectangle in the middle, accordion fold style. Hot glue a small strip of knit around this to hold the bow in it's shape.
Hot glue the yo-yo in the middle.
Hot glue the button in the middle of that.
Hot glue the clip to the back.
Trim.
Done.

See? Easy.

Now. If you don't have girls to craft for, or relative of the persuasion who would like little itty bitty handprints (come on, who doesn't like little handprints??) don't worry. I've got two more easy "only takes a few minutes" ideas coming up tomorrow. Yea!

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!

2011-12-21T20:18:00.002-06:00

I've got a tasty dinner recipe that will warm you up - perfect for this time of year! PLUS I'm going to share some delicious cupcakes that I pinned on pinterest that are really easy to make. Just a little plug here, if you're looking for more recipe ideas, you can follow my pinterest board "To EAT". A lot of the recipes I share on my blog are from that board.

Alright, enough talk. Let's show you the goods.

How about some warm and hearty beef stew? That's what I thought. Perfect. Unless you live in Wisconsin, where it has decided that snowing is unnecessary. This is honestly the first December since I was BORN (and maybe before) that it has NOT SNOWED. Not an inch. No accumulation. This winter, it has snowed once. And it melted the next day. And it was before Thanksgiving. If I don't have a white Christmas this year, I won't know what to do with myself. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah. Stew. See, I'm stewing... har, har.

Anyway, I used the same stew recipe I've tried before, and I couldn't find my camera, so I had to use my phone. Fortunately, these pictures are better than the first post about stew. What the heck is wrong with those photos??

My stew ended up a little thicker than I prefer, like you could eat it with a fork. BUT, it was tasty. I found another stew recipe that I am totally going to try next time - you can see it here. Yum. But for now, here's the recipe I've used for the past 2 ish years.

Beef Stew (food.com)

2 lbs stew meat

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons oil

4 cups water

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons garlic

3/4 teaspoon pepper

2 bay leaves

4 carrots

2 stalks celery

4 medium red potatoes

3 small onions

3 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons water

Place beef and flour in a plastic baggie, Shake. Pour oil into a large dutch oven, heat. Add beef cook until brown, stirring occasionally. Add water and next 4 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaves. Cut carrots, celery, potatoes, onion, and bell pepper, add to stew. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until tender. Combine water and flour, stirring well. Pour into stew. Boil, stirring constantly till thick and bubbly.

I omit the celery because mr and I hate celery. Although he did admit to me this time that he doesn't mind celery in stews and soups. Huh. You think you know someone...

Now, I know this next item doesn't SEEM like a side. And you're right. It's really not. If you think it's odd that there are two desserts with this meal, well, you don't know me very well.

I saw these on Apple Rings on pinterest this fall and couldn't resist trying them out. I didn't have a tiny circle cookie cutter, but I did have a small star circle cutter, and I have to admit, making apple rings with star shaped centers was pretty fun.

I think I might do that more often for snack, my kids thought it was so cool. It was also kind of hard. I kept breaking my apple slices trying to get the cookie cutter back out of the apple. Apparently I needed to slice them much thinner... I'd give it a try, though. They were fun and tasty and not overly sweet. This will take you right to How To: Simplify and the apple ring recipe.

And this will take you right to my caramel sauce recipe and tips. Wait, no. Not MINE. The one I always use so it kind of feels like mine, but actually it's Simply Recipe's.

And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for, those yummy cupcakes that are actually easy to make. Wait for it...

Those aren't your ordinary cupcakes. They are Boston Cream Cupcakes. Mmmmmm.... too bad they're all gone. I want one right now....

Ok. You'll find them pinned here.

The only thing I changed from the recipe thought up over on My Ocean of Notions was that I used yellow cake mix instead of white. I use yellow for the actual boston cream pies I make, so I thought why not for this too?

So. In summation, if you're cold try the stew. It'll warm you up. I'll let you know how that other stew is as soon as we make it. Next, make the apples if you want some fun, but definitely use some kind of crazy awesome cookie cutter with a handle or something or you'll want to throw in the towel. Or slice your apples paper thin. And finally, definitely make the Boston Cream Cupcakes. They are easy and tasty. You can't beat that.

And, yes, I will be posting something Christmas-y tomorrow. Glad you asked.

*Be sure to check just below for all the fun parties I link to!