Little Girls Play Kitchen

Well, here it is! The project that has taken me ALL month to make. I'm not kidding.... I started the end of Nov. and finished it one day before Christmas! (I know, I was cutting it close!) :) The minute I found this adorable kitchen on Knock-off wood.com I knew I had to make it for my girls. The only problem... I've never created something out of wood before... ever! Luckily I have a dad who has built a few things before :) So, I recruited his help with buying the wood, cutting the wood and putting it all together. The rest was up to me. I loved the look of the kitchen that was featured on Knock-off wood.com so I used her kitchen as my inspiration. I used Amy Butler Love to make the curtain, hot pad and hand towel. After I had it all painted I sanded and stained the edges to give it more of an antique look and then added the accessories that I bought from IKEA and Hobby Lobby. I had an absolute blast making this. I had a hard time sleeping Christmas Eve because I couldn't wait to see my girls reaction to their new kitchen on Christmas morning. (BTW.... they loved it!)

If you want the websites I used check them out
Here and Here

Christmas gifts for the neighbors

Roasted (super fattening, irresistible) Almonds

1 tsp cold water

1 egg white

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 C Brown Sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 C melted butter

1/2 C white sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 lbs Almonds

Stir egg white and cold water together until fluffed. Pour almonds into egg mix and stir. Pour sugar mix over almonds and mix.

Spread almonds out on a cookie sheet using parchment paper. Cook at 250* for 1 hr. Stir once or twice. Cook until dry. Sugar should stick to almonds when all said and done. Cool and enjoy!

Kindle Cover

I just bought myself a Kindle and I love it! After I bought it I realized that I needed a cover for it so instead of spending $50 on one already made I took my scrap fabric and made this one. I used the great tutorial from The Sometimes Crafter Here to help me. It works perfect and I feel like I'm livin' in style with my new Kindle:)

Fabric Dolls

I went to a super cute boutique recently and saw some little fabric dolls there and thought they would be super fun to have for my girls. But when I saw the $40 price I decided that I would make them instead:) So, I found this tutorial Here and thought I would give it a try. They were so fun to make and after the girls giggled a little at them they have not put them down. I added little piggie tails to the pattern but copied the rest.

Don't laugh at my paint job:) he he...... It's hard to say NO to a 4 year old who wants her doll to have "sleepy eyes" even when you know that the round dot eyes are much cuter and easier to paint.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween; what a fun Holiday! When else can you put spiders on a cupcake and have it be sooo CUTE?

Decorated with only a Ziploc bag and colored frosting. These pumpkin cupcakes turned out to be a great party dessert for Halloween.

I'm in dire need of some good cupcake decorating bags, but for now a Ziploc baggie seems to be doing the trick. Before I filled the Ziploc with the icing I cut a little hole in the corner. The hole was a little big for the orange icing and super small for the black icing. Once the frosting was in the bag I slowly squeezed the frosting out to create the look I wanted.

Super easy, very cheap and sooo cute!

This was the first time I have ever made cupcakes that didn't sink in the middle:) I was told by a dear friend that if the oven is set at a lower temperature then the cupcakes they will not sink. So, I tried it and it worked perfectly. (Thanks Miranda!!)

Baby S. photo shoot

My good friend just delivered a beautiful baby girl 12 days ago and I was lucky enough to be the one to take her newborn pictures. I'm far from being a professional photographer but I do enjoy playing around with my camera and if I'm lucky:).... sometimes I get some cool shots. So to actually do a real photo shoot for someone was a bit nerve racking. Luckily afters some patience and a lot of pictures I was able to get these shots (oh, and I can't forget to mention that Photoshop helped a ton!!). The top pictures my favorite but the others are really close behind it. Isn't she just the sweetest little baby? It was really fun to do this shoot and I hope that my friend likes them.

Scripture Tote Tutorial II

Remember this? Well, I finally made a step by step tutorial for it.

When I made my first scripture tote I thought it was a pretty easy project but once I started doing the tutorial I realized that it might be more of a "moderate" sewing level than and "easy" sewing level project.

But having said that, I hope this tutorial will make it easy for you to make your very own!

Things you will need.............


*Sewing machine

*Scissors

*Thread to match your fabric

*(1) Placemat-(14" X 19") thinner placemats work better than thicker. Bed Bath and Beyond, Pier 1, Target, and Linens and Things have good selections.
*Main fabric- size of placemat, adding about 1-2 inches to the length

*(2) Handle fabric- 3" x 16 1/2"

*Tie fabric- 4" x 4o"

*(2) Belt loop fabric- 2 1/2" x 4 1/2"

*Pocket fabric- 5" x 8" or any size you desire

*(2) Interfacing for handles- 1 1/2" x 16 1/2"

Plus any extra accessories you might want to add such as....
Buttons, fabric flowers, a monogram key ring, etc
I used all fat quarters for this project. I had to piece together the tie but other than that the fat quarters were just the right size.

Okay, so here we go..................

1) Cut out all fabric pieces.

2) Cut Main Fabric same width as placemat. Add about 1/2" to top and bottom.

3) Fold and iron about 1/4" all around pocket piece. Sew top stitch on the top fold of pocket. Place on placemat in desired area and pin in place. Sew sides and bottom. Leaving top open.

4) Fold placemat in half with pocket on the inside. Stitch both sides. (I followed the seam that was already on the placemat which was about 1/4" in.)

5) Trim extra fabric off to reduce bulk.

6) Fold placemat so you can make the corner (should look like this). Sew 2" in.

7) The placemat should be taking on a nice "tote" form at this point.

8) Trim off corners to reduce bulk.

9) Iron belt loops. Fold one side in about 1/4". Fold other side a little bit bigger. Fold both sides in to measure 1" and press. Repeat process 3 more times.

10) Pin belt loops to main fabric. 2 1/2" down. 3 1/2" apart (give or take to make all the belt loops even).

11) Sew all the belt loops on. The edges will be raw but don't worry the tie will cover it.

12) Sew sides of main fabric, right sides together. About 1/4" (seam width should match the seam width of the placemat in step 4).

13) Fold sides in and sew corners in 2".

14) Trim corners to reduce bulk.

15) Fold handle fabric in half (right sides together) and place interfacing on top. Sew 1/4" seam.

16) Turn inside out and press.

17) Add top stitch to both sides of the handle. This will add a nice finish look to your handle and give it added strength.

18) Fold tie fabric in half (right sides together). Sew 1/4" seam.

19) Turn inside out and press.

20) Cut ends to a point on both sides.

21) Fold fabric under to create the pointed look.

22) Sew top stitch.

23) This parts a little tricky because you are going to want the seams to lay underneath the bag not on the side. This way the bulk of the seam won't show. So, match up corners of placemat and main fabric and sew 1/4" seam on one side.

24) Then fold main fabric underneath placemat, pin and sew other side. This will seam awkward to sew but will make a big difference in the look of the bag.

This is what it look like after it's sewn on both sides. See how the corner seams turn to the inside of the tote? That's what it should look like.

25) Turn main fabric right side out and pull it up tight around the placemat.

26) Fold extra fabric down and pin in place for a finished look.

27) Pin handles in place. I placed mine right above the belt loops.

28) Almost there!

Sew top stitch all the way around top of tote. Sewing a second stitch just under the handles main stitch, giving extra strength to the handle.

29) Add on the belt loop, tie and add any extra embellishments you may want.

and Your done!! You rock!

Now you can sport your new tote next Sunday, every bodies going to love it!

I really enjoy sharing my ideas but I love seeing how your projects turn out even more. So..... if you make this scripture tote using my tutorial send an email my way!! I would love to see how it turned out. :)

(Oh, and this tutorial is for personal use only. Thanks!)