Washer Necklaces

I saw the idea for these necklaces on a DIY show of some kind. They are super simple and cheap to make.All you need are some washers from the hardware store, scrapbooking paper, fine grit sandpaper, Mod Podge, cord, beads (optional) and a dimensional glue. #1. Trace the washer onto the back of your scrapbook paper.

#2. Cut out the circle and adhere to the washer with a good layer of mod podge between the paper and the washer (not on top of the paper).

#3. Flip upside down on a piece of wax paper, weight down with a heavy book and let it sit for an hour or two to make sure the paper is firmly affixed to the washer.

#4. Use sandpaper (NOT an exacto knife or scissors) to remove the excess paper from the outside and inside of the washer. Trust me, the sandpaper gives you the perfect edge that you could NEVER get with a blade.

#5. Cover the paper side of the washer with dimensional glue. Be sure to pop any bubbles.

#6. Let dry overnight.

#7. Attach cord and slide on a bead if you want.

Voila!

Christmas Cards

I don't have time to add greetings, address and mail the Christmas cards that I made. :( It's a sad day. The first time ever that I haven't sent handmade cards.

Ironically I had 8 hours to make the cards in early November but as the holdiays approached I had no more time to actually send them. I guess I should have done it before Thanksgiving.

Anyway, no card, no picture of the kids, no family update letter this year, but I can show you what you would have gotten had I actually had the time. :)

These are the cards I made:

Applique Shirts

When I spotted these cute orange, brown and pink prints at Joann's Fabrics I had to find a project to make with them. (I always do that. The fabric proceeds the project for me.) I made one skirt for Kinley and then decided to make a few more.
These are headed to Pennsylvania for my nieces, who like to dress in coordinating outfits. I decided the skirts weren't quite enough so I dove into applique land for the first time and made coordinating shirts. It was easy enough once I got the hang of it.

I printed out letters the right size, traced them onto the fabric, put them on an iron-on transfer, cut them out and then ironed them on to the shirts. After that I set my machine for a zig zag stitch and just outlined each letter....slowly.

Then inside corners were hardest for me, but I eventually got the hang of it. I'm really happy with the way they turned out. Plus, doing the shirts allows my nephew to have something that coordinates with the girls too.

The other little touch that I love about these outfits is that the two oldest kids got the capital letters and the two younger kids got the lower case letters. So cute!

I'm conisdering making the same outfits for my 3 other nieces in Florida so that even though we live hundreds of miles apart we could take pics of the kids and put them all in one frame and they'd all match. It'd be a great gift idea for my mom. We'll see. ;)

Necklaces....on the cheap

Paint chips are all the rage right now, and while I don't agree with robbing a store of hundreds of paint chips to complete elaborate projects, I did use a few to make these easy peasy necklaces.
I made six different shades and they're all reversible! I found the idea and the tutorial at Infarrantly Creative. All you need is a few paint chips, a couple of circle punches and some dimensional adhesive to make your own. I got the chain and jump rings at Joann's and my sweet husband drilled all the holes for me. :)

May the Force Be With You

It would be an understatement to say that our house is full of Star Wars fans, so when my fabulous friend Noel said she found some awesome Star Wars hat patterns and we were the first nerds she thought of, we were honored. When I saw these two AMAZING hats I was more than honored....I was thrilled. I just can't wait to see these on the kids and see the looks on their faces on Christmas morning when they open them.

My favorite part is the hair in Yoda's ears. LOVE IT!!

T-Shirts Everywhere!

Ryker is sentimental. He never wants to get rid of anything. Everything has special meaning to him...even t-shirts that are too small.

You know the t-shirts kids get at every sports camp, church camp, little league team, church program, and every other event in between? Yeah, he wants to keep them all. Forever.

He also thinks he can wear them. Forever.

He doesn't want me to pass them down to Cainan, or sell them at a yard sale, or give them away to needy children. I refuse to let him wear them anymore and I can't stand to have them piling up in the closet. Forever.

So.....

The T-Shirt Quilt

12 shirts, two yards of wide fabric for the strips in between and the backing, a roll of batting and some quilt binding. Tah-dah!

I think he'll either be super excited that he can keep his favorite shirts forever OR he'll be devastated that I cut them up. We'll see what happens on Christmas morning.

The 30 Minute Skirt

I made these two skirts for Kinley this year for Christmas. I still have to make the coordinating leggings and hair accessories but the skirts are the main attraction.The pink and orange one is just cotton with hidden seams but the blue one is made from leftover t-shirts, and since its knit I left the seams exposed.

Seriously. This is the easiest skirt I've ever made.

Three strips of fabric. One hem. One elastic waistband.

The hardest part is figuring out how long each piece should be, but Ashley at Make It and Love It has great diagrams and equations to help you get it just right.

Be sure to like her Facebook page to keep an eye on everything great she makes....and loves. )

Povitica

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

My parents used to make a lot of cinnamon swirl bread when I was growing up and Povitica brought back fine memories of those steamy sweet loaves. Rolled thinner, folded up twice, and filled with cocoa powder and nuts in addition to the cinnamon and sugar it is just what the doctor ordered for a cold rainy fall day.

Once again my challenge went with me to Bible Study and the ladies all loved it. I ended up making one cinnamon sugar loaf, one traditional loaf, and two Nutella filled loaves. Reviews on the Nutella loaf were mixed but the traditional got rave reviews. I will definitely make Povitica again.

The 12 Hour Daring Baker's Challenge

The Daring Bakers go retro this month! Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child! I, of course, made my Wednesday Bible Study girls be the guinea pigs for this recipe, and I don't think they minded that at all. The smell of the buttery croissants in the oven was almost worth it in itself.

Even though this challenge was extremely time consuming it was very simple and took almost no ingredients. It's something anyone could do with a little advanced planning. My only complaint is that even the low estimate on the baking time turned out to be just a tad too long for my taste. I would have preferred my croissants to be just a tad less crispy on the outside, but overall they were delicious. Perfect with a side of berries on a cool September morning.

To get the recipe go to www.thedaringkitchen.com and try these flaky treats for yourself.

Le Fraisier

Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers' host and she challenges us to make fresh fraisiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine.

This was another elegantly simple dessert to make. It is very pretty to serve and it is a delicious light cake with plenty of fresh summer fruit inside. Everyone who tasted my fraisier loved it! I'll definitely be making it again.

I had never heard of a fraisier before so I wasn't sure what I was in for. Turns out it is simply a chiffon cake filled with pastry cream and fresh fruit and topped with a thin layer of almond paste. I chose to fill mine with fresh blueberries and strawberries.

The only thing that I might do differently is skip the almond paste layer. While it made a beautiful smooth top the flavor was so strong that it completely overwhelmed the light and subtle lemon chiffon cake.

Overall I loved the look and the taste of this Daring Baker's Challenge, Le Fraisier.

To make your own fraisier go to http://www.thedaringkitchen.com/ for the recipe and helpful tips.