Merry Christmas to one and all -wishing you the best this holiday season!
Remember the reason for this special day. Hug the ones you love. xo
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to one and all -wishing you the best this holiday season!
Remember the reason for this special day. Hug the ones you love. xo
Monday, December 22, 2014
Crafty Christmas Pillows
I think I may have mentioned how much I really do not like working with burlap - it's so messy and I can't stand the fibers that get all over everything. A couple of weeks ago Chablis bought a piece of burlap and some flannel Christmas material to make two pillows and that's how I originally ended up buying burlap to make my Ho,ho, ho Card Holder and my Gift From the Sea frame.
Anyway, last night she begged me to make the pillows before Christmas actually got here. I've been putting it off because the past few days we've been super busy baking Christmas cookies and Christmas lasagna's and honestly, I didn't really feel like it on top of all of that. I know you're all busy too, so you know exactly what I mean.
But Chablis is always so helpful around the house, and I felt bad, so I hauled my butt out of my chair and told her to get my sewing machine and meet me in the office.
The dreaded burlap. I think I may have sworn under my breath once or twice....
We cut out 2 pieces of burlap and 4 pieces of the flannel material because Chablis wanted to make 2 pillows...
Then we cut stocking shapes out of 2 of the flannel pieces. We put aside the cut out stocking pieces and will eventually make hanging stockings out of those.
Then we layered a piece of the cut burlap behind it and I stitched the burlap to the flannel around the stocking shape.
When it was time to sew together the front and back flannel pieces, Chablis asked me if I'd teach her how to do it. I almost fell off of my chair. She's never shown any interest in sewing anything, so I showed her how to feed the material through the sewing machine and let her do it....
After sewing the pieces together she flipped them right side out and stuffed them with some fiber fill....
And finally we stitched the bottom seams together. Aren't they cute? And the best part about it was that Chablis finally took an interest in sewing and she was thrilled with the end result. She kept saying "I can't believe I actually made these." She even mentioned that she was going to go on Pinterest and look for another project to sew.
And I learned that it was well worth my time to get my butt up and do something with my daughter, even though I was tired and didn't really feel like it. We had fun, she learned to do something new and I had a good time teaching her.
I did make her haul out the vacuum cleaner and vacuum up the mess while I sat and ate some cookies and had hot chocolate. LOL!
Anyway, last night she begged me to make the pillows before Christmas actually got here. I've been putting it off because the past few days we've been super busy baking Christmas cookies and Christmas lasagna's and honestly, I didn't really feel like it on top of all of that. I know you're all busy too, so you know exactly what I mean.
But Chablis is always so helpful around the house, and I felt bad, so I hauled my butt out of my chair and told her to get my sewing machine and meet me in the office.
The dreaded burlap. I think I may have sworn under my breath once or twice....
We cut out 2 pieces of burlap and 4 pieces of the flannel material because Chablis wanted to make 2 pillows...
Then we cut stocking shapes out of 2 of the flannel pieces. We put aside the cut out stocking pieces and will eventually make hanging stockings out of those.
Then we layered a piece of the cut burlap behind it and I stitched the burlap to the flannel around the stocking shape.
When it was time to sew together the front and back flannel pieces, Chablis asked me if I'd teach her how to do it. I almost fell off of my chair. She's never shown any interest in sewing anything, so I showed her how to feed the material through the sewing machine and let her do it....
After sewing the pieces together she flipped them right side out and stuffed them with some fiber fill....
And finally we stitched the bottom seams together. Aren't they cute? And the best part about it was that Chablis finally took an interest in sewing and she was thrilled with the end result. She kept saying "I can't believe I actually made these." She even mentioned that she was going to go on Pinterest and look for another project to sew.
And I learned that it was well worth my time to get my butt up and do something with my daughter, even though I was tired and didn't really feel like it. We had fun, she learned to do something new and I had a good time teaching her.
I did make her haul out the vacuum cleaner and vacuum up the mess while I sat and ate some cookies and had hot chocolate. LOL!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Using Burlap for Crafting
I love the look of burlap but I'll be honest, I'm not crazy about the mess it makes when you work with it. It leaves little fibers, fuzz and strings all over everything. Yuck. But the texture is so cool, isn't it? Last week I showed you the Ho, ho, ho Christmas Card Holder I made. Today I'm going to share the picture frame I made as a gift for my good friend Moira.
You know Moi - I went down to Sanibel last August with her and Traci. You can read about our fun filled trip here. Moira and I share a passion for decorating with beach themed items, and after she gave me some gorgeous sand dollars a couple of weeks ago, I had an idea of something I wanted to make for her.
First I took an 8" x 10" picture frame and painted it beige....
I applied a thin coat of watered down Elmer's Glue to both sides of the sand dollars to help make them a little more sturdy. Sand dollars are so fragile and I've found that I break fewer of them if I coat them with the glue mixture. Once they dry, you can't even tell. I took a piece of burlap and cut a piece a little larger than the cardboard insert for the frame. Then I ironed it out nice and flat. I pulled out my stencils and some blue paint....
....and stenciled one of our favorite sayings onto the burlap....
Once the paint had dried I attached the burlap to the cardboard insert and put it inside the frame. Finally I took one of the sand dollars and glued it to the corner of the frame. I adore the look of stenciled letters on burlap.
So the above frame was made for Moira and then I made this for myself. I took one of the arrowhead sand dollars she gave me and gave it the Elmer's Glue dip. Then I took a 4" x 4" frame, painted it beige and simply glued the sand dollar to the back of the frame. This was a super easy project and it's now standing on a book shelf in my office. Isn't the shape of this sand dollar awesome?
I swear it took me longer to clean up all that burlap than it did to make both projects.
You know Moi - I went down to Sanibel last August with her and Traci. You can read about our fun filled trip here. Moira and I share a passion for decorating with beach themed items, and after she gave me some gorgeous sand dollars a couple of weeks ago, I had an idea of something I wanted to make for her.
First I took an 8" x 10" picture frame and painted it beige....
I applied a thin coat of watered down Elmer's Glue to both sides of the sand dollars to help make them a little more sturdy. Sand dollars are so fragile and I've found that I break fewer of them if I coat them with the glue mixture. Once they dry, you can't even tell. I took a piece of burlap and cut a piece a little larger than the cardboard insert for the frame. Then I ironed it out nice and flat. I pulled out my stencils and some blue paint....
....and stenciled one of our favorite sayings onto the burlap....
Once the paint had dried I attached the burlap to the cardboard insert and put it inside the frame. Finally I took one of the sand dollars and glued it to the corner of the frame. I adore the look of stenciled letters on burlap.
So the above frame was made for Moira and then I made this for myself. I took one of the arrowhead sand dollars she gave me and gave it the Elmer's Glue dip. Then I took a 4" x 4" frame, painted it beige and simply glued the sand dollar to the back of the frame. This was a super easy project and it's now standing on a book shelf in my office. Isn't the shape of this sand dollar awesome?
I swear it took me longer to clean up all that burlap than it did to make both projects.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Getting a Little Fresh Air
Last week we had 2 chances to get outside for some fresh air and geocaching. On the first day we picked up my parents, dressed warmly, and headed out. The first cache we looked for was hidden on a gazebo near a park. It took us about 10 minutes and then I pushed something and Dad took a closer look and found the cache!
Another fun geocache was a very sneaky one hidden near this fire hydrant. I've seen fire hydrant hides before and this one was very clever. There was even a decoy cache hidden here. Take my word - it was a sneaky cache!
Then we drove off to the woods to grab a few. It was a perfect day to be out hiking around and it felt great to be outside. Can you spot the cache here?
It was so pretty walking in the woods with the leaves crunching underneath our feet. Check out my mom - 2 knee surgeries last year, and then radiation and chemo this year, and she was out walking in the woods like a champ. I think she's pretty darn inspiring, don't you?
She even spotted a couple of the caches before the rest of us...
This cache practically hit me upside the head as I walked underneath it and totally missed seeing it...
I think we were all happy to be outside doing something together that we enjoy....
We found this geocache laying out in the open, its contents laying in the dirt. We cleaned everything up and then re-hid the cache better than we found it....
The next day Louie and I headed out alone to tackle a series of geocaches that were going to require quite a bit of bushwacking and about 3 miles of trail. My favorite one of that day was this one where we needed to improvise with some natural tools to reach the cache that was hidden about 20 ft. up in the air....
Getting it down was pretty easy.....
But putting it back up proved to be more difficult. Louie was determined tho and finally got the cache back where it needed to be.
I have to say, walking in the woods this time of year is one of my favorite things to do.
Another fun geocache was a very sneaky one hidden near this fire hydrant. I've seen fire hydrant hides before and this one was very clever. There was even a decoy cache hidden here. Take my word - it was a sneaky cache!
Then we drove off to the woods to grab a few. It was a perfect day to be out hiking around and it felt great to be outside. Can you spot the cache here?
It was so pretty walking in the woods with the leaves crunching underneath our feet. Check out my mom - 2 knee surgeries last year, and then radiation and chemo this year, and she was out walking in the woods like a champ. I think she's pretty darn inspiring, don't you?
She even spotted a couple of the caches before the rest of us...
This cache practically hit me upside the head as I walked underneath it and totally missed seeing it...
I think we were all happy to be outside doing something together that we enjoy....
We found this geocache laying out in the open, its contents laying in the dirt. We cleaned everything up and then re-hid the cache better than we found it....
The next day Louie and I headed out alone to tackle a series of geocaches that were going to require quite a bit of bushwacking and about 3 miles of trail. My favorite one of that day was this one where we needed to improvise with some natural tools to reach the cache that was hidden about 20 ft. up in the air....
Getting it down was pretty easy.....
But putting it back up proved to be more difficult. Louie was determined tho and finally got the cache back where it needed to be.
I have to say, walking in the woods this time of year is one of my favorite things to do.
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Ho Ho Ho Card Holder
I had bought some burlap for a project last week and had quite a bit left over. While scrolling through Pinterest the other day I saw a card holder idea and decided to tweak the idea and make one for myself.
First I cut a piece of burlap approximately 5 ft. by 10". Then I ironed it so it was nice and flat.
I folded over the top edge and sewed it about 2" down from the top, leaving both sides open....
I dug through my craft box and pulled out a paint stirring stick. I painted both sides with a light brown acrylic paint....
After the paint dried I drilled a hole into each end of the stick, about 1/2" in. Sorry. no picture of that.
I went out into my craft shed and rummaged around until I found a bag of old clothespins that I bought last summer at an estate sale. I grabbed some green and red acrylic paint and painted up a bunch of the clothespins. Yeah, I know that's a lot of stuff piled up on my craft table but I had about 4 projects going on at once. Does anyone else do that??
I took my stencils and some red paint and wrote ho, ho, ho across the top edge of the burlap...
And finally I threaded a piece of hemp string through the holes of the paint stick so I could hang my card holder from a hook. I stuck my colored clothespins along the edges and as I receive Christmas cards I can attach them to the burlap with the clothespins. I love this idea because usually as I receive cards I lay them on a Christmas plate on the shelf, but this way I can actually see, enjoy and display all my cards.
This was a quick project and it will be easy to roll up and store away with my Christmas decorations. Ho, ho, ho....
First I cut a piece of burlap approximately 5 ft. by 10". Then I ironed it so it was nice and flat.
I folded over the top edge and sewed it about 2" down from the top, leaving both sides open....
I dug through my craft box and pulled out a paint stirring stick. I painted both sides with a light brown acrylic paint....
After the paint dried I drilled a hole into each end of the stick, about 1/2" in. Sorry. no picture of that.
I went out into my craft shed and rummaged around until I found a bag of old clothespins that I bought last summer at an estate sale. I grabbed some green and red acrylic paint and painted up a bunch of the clothespins. Yeah, I know that's a lot of stuff piled up on my craft table but I had about 4 projects going on at once. Does anyone else do that??
I took my stencils and some red paint and wrote ho, ho, ho across the top edge of the burlap...
And finally I threaded a piece of hemp string through the holes of the paint stick so I could hang my card holder from a hook. I stuck my colored clothespins along the edges and as I receive Christmas cards I can attach them to the burlap with the clothespins. I love this idea because usually as I receive cards I lay them on a Christmas plate on the shelf, but this way I can actually see, enjoy and display all my cards.
This was a quick project and it will be easy to roll up and store away with my Christmas decorations. Ho, ho, ho....
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving 2014
Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogger friends. I hope each of you has a day filled with love and joy.
This year I'm thankful that my mom has finished her chemo and radiation and is now cancer free. That's the best gift I could have been given this year.
What are you thankful for?
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Toffee Pecan Caramel Pound Cake
Toffee Pecan Caramel Pound Cake - You have to check out this cake! Are you a fan of Pinterest? I love Pinterest and that's where I saw the recipe for this cake. Here's the link back to the original post. Go over and look at her photos and I think you'll agree. I couldn't wait to make this cake and shove it in my mouth taste it.
It's extremely easy to mix up....
It took almost 90 minutes to bake. My problem with Bundt pans is always getting the cakes out in one piece. The recipe tells you to grease and flour the heck out of the pan, which I did, and it still stuck to the pan. Most of the cake came out in one piece, but a little of the top of it stayed in the pan. I just picked it out and slapped it back on top of the cake....
Then I did what I do best - covered it up and made it pretty with some sprinkled powdered sugar. Doesn't that look nice? You can barely tell....
Here's the link to the original recipe for the Creamy Caramel Sauce. You do not want to omit the sauce. I was seriously sneaking spoonfuls of the sauce and just eating the sauce.... by itself.... I'm kind of nutty that way. I bet it would taste really good over ice cream altho I don't know if it's going to last long enough around here to actually make it on top of some ice cream. We'll see.
The recipe calls for pouring the Caramel Sauce over the whole cake, but I was afraid that would make it mushy and kind of gross after a day or two. So I just made the sauce and let everyone pour as much as they wanted on their individual pieces of cake. Altho some people who shall remain nameless took way more than their fair share of the caramel sauce. Just saying....
In the meantime, go make this cake - It's excellent! I think I'll go eat another piece.
It's extremely easy to mix up....
It took almost 90 minutes to bake. My problem with Bundt pans is always getting the cakes out in one piece. The recipe tells you to grease and flour the heck out of the pan, which I did, and it still stuck to the pan. Most of the cake came out in one piece, but a little of the top of it stayed in the pan. I just picked it out and slapped it back on top of the cake....
Then I did what I do best - covered it up and made it pretty with some sprinkled powdered sugar. Doesn't that look nice? You can barely tell....
Here's the link to the original recipe for the Creamy Caramel Sauce. You do not want to omit the sauce. I was seriously sneaking spoonfuls of the sauce and just eating the sauce.... by itself.... I'm kind of nutty that way. I bet it would taste really good over ice cream altho I don't know if it's going to last long enough around here to actually make it on top of some ice cream. We'll see.
The recipe calls for pouring the Caramel Sauce over the whole cake, but I was afraid that would make it mushy and kind of gross after a day or two. So I just made the sauce and let everyone pour as much as they wanted on their individual pieces of cake. Altho some people who shall remain nameless took way more than their fair share of the caramel sauce. Just saying....
In the meantime, go make this cake - It's excellent! I think I'll go eat another piece.
Linking up with....
Party in Your PJ's # 31
Party in Your PJ's # 31
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
