Marbled Paper Project

I know much of the country is dealing with record snow but here where you would expect to find it, here in Montana, we are trudging through slush. As you can imagine my five year old thinks this is torture he wants it to either stay snowy so he can plan in it or dry off and warm up a touch so he can ride his bike. Anyway the point to this long boring  entertaining  story is that we have been in need of some rainy day crafts. We did this one together the other day and my son loooooved it. I got the idea HERE from a blog I can’t get enough of called Homemade Mamas.

All you need is white shaving cream, a straight edge of some kind, food coloring and the paper to transfer your art to.  Mix it around a little and press your paper on top of your colored shaving cream then remove the paper and scrape the excess cream with a straight edge like this 

Or this……

And you get really cool results like this (drum roll please lol)

This was super easy and a really good time filler. If you make your own show us how they turn out!!

Valentines Sundae

I originally got this idea for a little gift from HERE at JesseKate Designs via Be different act normal. Both sites are packed with incredible ideas just like this one. I was so proud of how mine turned out. For those of you just joining my little slice of blog heaven I am in marketing and make these little gifts to deliver monthly, so check back often to see what I am up to. I think these would be fun gifts for neighbors, co-workers, family, friends, or as centerpieces like they were originally designed for. 

  Also on a personal note I am super excited because today I am the side bar feature on Somewhat simple ahhhhhh I wish you could have heard the pitch of the squeal that came out of my mouth when I got the email woot woot!

Crisscross Coaster Tutorial

I have to start by stressing three things. The first is that I have never attempted a true tutorial before so be patient and feel free to ask questions and offer constructive comments so that I can learn how to do this better lol. Second I am just learning to sew and I am sure that I have a long ways to go to be great so again helpful tips are welcome. Third and lastly I made this project without a pattern so I have no doubts it could have been done better ha ha.

This project came about because my Mom saw a stack of fabric coasters at a friend’s house and borrowed the little cutie for me to look at. After inspecting it I thought I would give it a try.

This is how they turned out. I hope this makes you want to stick around and see how I made them :)

 

I started with six squares that are all 5x5 inches(obviously if you want larger or smaller sizes you just adjust your square sizes). The square and rectangle pattern is going to be the back. The light color is just a filler. And the other two patterns are the ones that you will see on the top where they will crisscross.

 

Next I ironed  the back  piece and filler piece flat and the top pieces are folded in half one time and ironed flat with the the side you want to see facing up.

Next is the layering. First place the filler piece down (you will never see this piece so the side that is showing won’t matter), place on top of that your back piece with the side you want to see facing up.

Now you start to crisscross your top pieces. You want to place them with the folded side facing in and the raw edges facing the outside.

   

Next you want to place some straight pins to hold it all together because if you are like me you move things around a bunch as you sew.

Now just sew around the edges. As straight and square as you can. I didn’t use an exact seam allowance I just went in enough to catch all of the layers.

Now trim off the excess and around the edges and remove the pins.

   Here is a look at the front and the back before I turn it.

 

  Now you want to turn it inside out where your crisscross sections meet up.

Last but not least iron them flat and get ready to enjoy them on your own table or decorate them with some ribbon to give them as a gift!

Mint Chocolate Heaven

During the holiday season my friend Natalie gave our family the most delicious cookies. I begged the recipe out of her so that I could copy her brilliance for valentines day.

This is what you will need:

If you have dealt with the candy melts before and struggled like I did, Natalie also shared the dipping secret with me. We did not use a double boiler all we used was a microwave safe plastic bowl and the microwave. We put in the amount we wanted to use then micro waved for 30 seconds and gave it a stir. We continued this process until all the lumps were gone and added a few drops of peppermint oil and food coloring (yes you can buy the already colored chips but I am cheap), then dipped them like this…..

We set them on parchment to harden and later added a decorative pattern with a squeeze bottle (because that’s what Natalie did and I had to copy her heavenly cookies as closely as possible :)

I let them set up for several hours then transferred them to my cake stand. Seriously if you have the time make this project they are super easy and taste amazing.

I am glad that my Honey was around to help me with this because we got way more done together than I could have on my own (and I ate less of them during the making process because he was watching lol). And of course we gave some cookies and melted chocolate to the Little Guy so he could make his own creations (and be entertained).

 

I wish I could send some of these to all of you but since I can’t I thought the next best thing would be instructions on how to make your own. Let me know how yours turn out if you decide to make them.

Heart Treats

I love that I have found bloggers to follow that share such fun and creative ideas. Yesterday I used leftover candy to make treats with my son and we danced, giggled, and tasted as we went. All because of this easy valentine treat idea that I came across on a fantastic blog called Pleasant Home.

Isn’t this brilliant! These leftover mini candy canes were just about to make it to the garbage, and now they won’t go to waste yeay.

We put white chocolate melts in a squeeze bottle and zapped them in the microwave for 30 second intervals until it was smooth (thanks to Natalie for this part of the idea). Stay tuned this little treasure will come in handy for some Oreo treat we are going to make next week :)

My Valentine’s Topiary

I came across an AmAZing idea and tutorial for this Valentine's Topiary on one of my favorite blogs The Idea Room!! If you have never visited this blog you have to, it is filled with super cute ideas and fantastic directions.

I love the way my topiary came together. I haven’t decorated for Valentine’s Day yet so I just took a few random pictures of how it turned out. I hope you like it!

Homemade Birthday Card 2010

I really am trying hard to send all my friends and family a cute little card on their birthday. I am sure I’m not the only one who made this as a goal for the year, right? So I sat down and made some cards to have on hand.

I would love other ideas so please share or let me know if you have a favorite blog you “borrow” ideas like this from!!

Fishy Fun

I am teaching my son all about fish this week. He is completely baffled by the fact that they can breath underwater lol.

The first project I had him do was to learn about fish scales and fins….

 

The second project took a little more time and preparation but he looooved making it…..

We cut out two giant fish and then cut shapes and circles out of old magazines and glued them on like scales

Then we stapled the two together and balled up magazine pages to stuff him with.

 

and this is how he turned out!

I’m BAAAAck!

Thanks to my hubby I have just returned from paradise!!

Can you believe it? I took this from the balcony of our room!!

We had a great time but can I just say how great it feels to be home and back in my own bed, does that mean I’m getting old? lol. While I get all of my ducks back in a row please go and visit my friend Mrs. E and see what she did to shine up this Amazing dresser and tonz of other cute projects!

Best of 2009

I have seen so many of my blogger idols doing a post like this to end the year and LOVE it. So here are some my favorite posts of 2009. Wishing everyone a fantastic New Year!!

Candy Bouquets

Danish Tin Treats

Gift Giving

Tuxedo Scarf

 My First Apron

Repurposed Spice Rack

Photography Art 

Lets Play Twenty Questions

If you are like me your schedule this week is a little crazy but you will still find time to blog and blog hop. This is a fun “get to know you” game. All you have to do is copy and past the questions to your post and then obviously change the answers to your own :)

If you don’t want to have time to play along at least answer number twenty by leaving a comment with your new name ha ha.

1. What was your high school mascot? Eagle

2. What was your favorite music in Junior High? Mariah Carey everything!!

3. Name one thing many people don't know about you? I have never broken a bone (knock on wood right)

4. Where would your dream vacation be to? Fiji

5. Do you have any phobias? Dark parking lots

6. What was your favorite childhood toy? My cabbage patch doll named Molly

7. What TV shows did you grow up watching? Saved by the bell and Friends

8. Song or Artists you can't get enough of lately? Michael Buble

9. Favorite perfume? Brittany Spears Fantasy (I know your laughing but is smells so good)

10. Do you hang your toilet paper to unroll over or under? Over! Always!

11. What is the best concert you have attended? Black Eyed Peas and Carrie Underwood tie for first!!

12. Favorite TV show right now? Cougar Town

13. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes but it's not pretty :)

14. Favorite movie right now? The proposal (i can't get enough of it thanks alot Brandi lol)

15. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky charms duh

16. Favorite book right now? The Goose Girl

17. What is generally the first thing you notice about people? teeth

18. What are you listening to right now as you type this? hubby playing Mario kart

19. What word describes you best? routine

20. What would your stripper name be? (the name of the first childhood pet you can remember and the street name you grew up on) EbonyTower

Christmas Twine Tree

I saw these Christmas-y Cones (with a fantastic tutorial) while I was blog surfing the other day and I totally fell in love with them. My husband was a good sport and even made them with me (I know he must want something big from Santa huh?).

I think they turned out pretty good!! So if you need a project this week this one is super simple and it’s like a little surprise to see how they turn out.

The Best Snowman Dough (and a little bragging lol)

My son had a blast making this dough and I think it makes the prettiest snowmen because the salt makes it a little sparkly.

The recipe makes this much dough so if you want more than this make sure to double it :)

 

What you need:

1 cup salt
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
Food coloring or tempera paints (optional)

Directions:

Heat the salt and 1/3 cup of water over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. (An adult should prepare this mixture, which gets quite hot and bubbly.) Remove from heat and add the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. The mixture should now look like thick mashed potatoes; stir until it thickens, then let cool for a few minutes before kneading. If the dough feels too sticky at first, your child can work in some extra cornstarch as she kneads. Add food coloring, if desired.

This dough will dry and harden in one to four days depending how thick the project is.

It will keep unrefrigerated for up to 2 weeks when stored with a small bit of wet sponge in a plastic bag or sealed container.

Here are his snowmen, cute huh?

We are going to save them and let him use them as decoration in his gingerbread house landscaping!!

 

 

Ok and now for a little begging bragging.

My Christmas card was featured on Tip Junkie and is now part of their annual contest. So if you want to vote for me they make it super easy.

Anthropologie Inspired Tuxedo Scarf

One day I was blog surfing (gasp I know) and came across this fantastic tutorial for a tuxedo scarf at crafty habit. I ended up making two of these form the fabric suggested and I might even have enough for a third.

The first one I made seemed a little wide for my taste….

So I modified the width of the scarf and the ruffle by almost half and came up with this one that fits me perfectly. I love the purple and I love that it’s a little bit more dressy than the other styles I have!

  

What do you think? And what have you been sewing lately??