Found!

So, my awesome husband put my cord away where it belonged. That's why I couldn't find it. Figures.
For my first Silhouette project, I made last-minute gift bags for my dino-loving 2-year-old's birthday party guests. I had originally planned to put the adhesive vinyl cutouts on white paper bags, but the thought of all that work getting shredded within seconds by the hands of toddlers was too much to bear, so I rifled through my gift bag stash at 10:00 at night to find something more durable. The only suitable ones I could find had snowflakes on them, but what 2-year-old is going to care, right? It ended up snowing on the day of the party, so it ended up being very appropriate. =)
I purchased the dinosaur images from Silhouette's website and used the Matisse ITC font for the names.(Please forgive the wonky arrangement. The little monkeys were anxious to get at their loot so I had to set up and shoot fast!)


My second fast and easy project was this message on my storm door:

It drives me crazy when people ring the doorbell since it usually happens when the kiddos are sleeping. My husband keeps offering to disconnect it for me, but sometimes it's a necessary evil. Like when I get one of those rare longer-than-30-minute naps and don't hear my 2nd grader knocking on the door after the bus drops him off. It's happened.

Anyway, I had been printing the message on a piece of paper and taping it to the door, but the paper kept getting mangled. This sucker should stay put! I used Silhouette's premium vinyl and flipped the words to a mirror image before cutting so I could stick them on the inside of the door to show through but still be protected from the vicious Minnesota elements.

I have one more thing that I cut out today but I will have to post a picture later after I put it up. Now I must finish my homework so I will have time to play later. Ahh, the suckiness of being a responsible adult...

Doing stuff

Hi everybody (all 4 of you)! =) I just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and I'm actually DOING stuff now! We've had a busy month that included our first ever family vacation, my baby's 2nd birthday, a midterm for me (I'm 96% awesome!), and the arrival of my new baby, a Silhouette machine. YAY!!! Now I can do quick little projects in between the craziness and, let me tell you, I have plans. Lots of them. I've already started and I can't wait to show you.

Since Spring has technically arrived, it's only a matter of time until it stays warm enough for me to do the projects that involve paint, spray paint, and sealer (for some reason my hubby doesn't want me to do those in the basement- haha!). We've lived here almost 4 years and a majority of my walls are still bare, but not for long. Like I said, I have plans. Only one month left of classes and then I have 3 weeks off. The weather should be fabulous by then, so I will get seriously busy while the boys finally enjoy the fresh air and sunshine in our fenced in backyard.

Here's the bummer. Now that I actually have stuff to show off, I can't find my camera cable to upload the pictures. I have looked everywhere I can think of with no luck, so that mean my monkeys were probably involved in its disappearance. That also means I get to spend my weekend putting stuff where it belongs in hopes my precious cable rises from the clutter. Wish me luck!

Fleece baby pants

I'm not giving up on sewing. Not really. Not for good. I was told to change the needle on my machine, and I'll try cleaning the fleece dust out the serger. Hopefully, that will do the trick.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the adorable fleece pants I actually finished. I forgot to take pictures before the baby shower, so the sweet mama e-mailed me a few. (Sorry they are not the greatest quality!)

You wouldn't guess such simple little things would be such a pain. I guess I still have a ton to learn!

I thought the pants looked a little plain, so I sewed a ribbon on the front to look like a drawstring tie. The ribbon matched some onesies I already had on hand perfectly.

In spite of my troubles, I will definitely try this pattern again.

The sewing gods are against me!

I actually made time to sew this weekend! I cut out the fabric for my fab Kitchenaid cover, prepared white fleece for an adorable pair of baby pants to give at a baby shower, and got the quilt binding for my baby's quilt. So what could go wrong? Um...everything, apparently!

I started sewing on the pants first. In spite of my careful pinning, the legs ended up off kilter and I had to unpick and resew in two different places. Then, when I sewed the waistband with a zigzag stitch I realized it had skipped a ton of stitches. I unpicked that, tried again, and the cycle repeated itself two more times. I finally settled on doing a straight stitch and ran out of bobbin thread 2 inches from the end. I changed it and finally finished the pants 30 minutes late for the shower. (Super cute, BTW. I forgot to take a picture but will try to get one soon.)

Tonight, I started putting together the Kitchenaid cover. I sewed on the bias tape and got a little too close to the edge on one spot. I tried again only to realize I had sewed on the wrong side of the fabric. I serged it off (I love a finished edge) and my serger went wonky. I had to rethread my serger 4 times before it started working properly, but then I couldn't find the rest of the bias tape to continue so I moved on to the quilt. All was going well until I hit a major pucker. It was nothing I could fix so I tried to minimize it, started serging again, and the serger went wonky again.

I give up.
I'm pretty sure I'm cursed.

Tooth Monster Pillow

I picked up some adorable fairy fabric a few months ago and have been thinking about making Tooth Fairy pillows out of it. I have all the plans in my head already. =) The only problem is, I have 3 boys and a pink fairy-covered pillow isn't going to cut it for them. I had a few ideas bouncing around in my mind for a more masculine tooth holder but nothing spectacular. Then, today, I saw this:

How cute is that??? I can totally do that.

Giving credit where credit is due:
The post I saw is Mummy Crafts, but originally came from TheLongThread.

Valentines

I love candy, make no mistake. I'm just not a fan of my children coming home with bags full of it every time a holiday rolls around, and I suspect many other parents feel the same way. So, to do my part, I try to find candy-free alternatives for birthday treats (glow bracelets), Halloween (glow sticks and pencils), Christmas (Silly Bandz), etc. For Valentine's Day, we did silly straws and pencils. I picked up the supplies for 46 kids at the Dollar Tree for a whopping $6 and put everything together during an episode of Psych after the kids went to bed. (Normally, I would have them help but I've been swamped with homework and a sick kid this week.)

It's super easy. I typed out the messages on a 4x6 cell table on Word, cut them apart, punched a hole in the top and bottom of each Valentine, and stuck the straw through.

With the pencils, though, I had to make 3 notches in each hole to make it big enough to slide the pencil through. A larger hole punch would have been helpful. Oh, well. They still turned out cute, right?

I hope you all had a fantastic, romantic, sweet Valentine's Day!

Long time, no see

This month last month has been especially hectic with the start of a new semester for me, tons of homework (including two visits to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts- so fun!), a lot of company at our house, hubby out of town for a few days, classes and doctor appointments for the little monkeys, visiting the Minnesota Children's Museum, taking care of sick kids, and helping my 2nd grader understand math homework that is challenging him for the first time ever. (Carrying numbers is a tricky concept!)
Today, I get to spend the day catching up on the cleaning that I didn't do this last week while my mom was here. I also finally made bread! After I got my awesome, amazing, life-saving Kitchenaid mixer and learned how to make bread in it, my family has not been able to go back to store-bought bread. Homemade is just too good! I usually have to make four loaves at least every other week, but I often give some away and we go through the rest pretty darn fast, so when I get too busy to make more we have to use pitas and waffles for our PB&J. Yesterday, my 4-year-old begged me to please make some soft bread. So I did! I also made Cranberry Bread in my Pampered Chef Mini Loaf Pan. YUM!
Last, I made the hummus I've been craving all week. If you've never had hummus, try it! It's delicious and versatile. We use it as a dip for vegetables and pita chips, and I spread it inside my pita sandwiches or on a tortilla for a wrap. Hummus is high in protein, fiber, amino acid, iron, vitamin C, folate, and vitamin B6. This recipe is my favorite and it's super easy. You can also add things like pine nuts, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and spinach, or avocados.

As far as crafts go, it's just been too hard to pull the stuff out and get things made. However, I've made several stops at JoAnn's and have plans to whip out a few simple projects over the next couple weeks. My first is a cover for my beloved Kitchenaid. I'm so excited! As usual, I'll be winging it, but it should be pretty easy. With the weather FINALLY warming up, the 4 feet of snow will be melting so I'll be able to kick the kids outside and actually get stuff done!!! Come on, Spring!

More Scarves

I promise...these are the last. For a while anyway. As long as there are no more winter birthday parties this year. I made 3 scarves this weekend. The first was another skull and crossbones one that turned out much better than the one I made for B (fusible interfacing works really well!) but it was still a pain to sew around those all those curves on 2 ply fleece.

These second and third scarves are for a set of twin boys that aren't very much alike at all. Each scarf was made with that boy's favorite color and a pattern that suits his personality and interests. I hope they like them. They'd better like them! =)

Sewing all these straight lines was a snap after the skull and crossbones! I used fusible interfacing for the pointy parts, which made it much easier to sew them on. As a newbie to the stuff-- and being exhausted and in pain with a wrenched neck-- I didn't think the whole process through and ended up ironing the interfacing to the ironing board in addition to the fleece. Oops! Don't do that. (I think a new sewing board cover will have to be my next project.)

Now I'm going to take some more Motrin, grab my heat pad, and hit the sack. I hope your weekend was as enjoyable and productive as-- but less painful than-- mine. My goal for tomorrow is to (finally) finish little D's quilt and curtain. My first attempt did not go well and I still have some unpicking to do. *sigh*
Good night!

Skull & Crossbones Skater Scarf

My 8-year-old is a skater wanna-be and thinks skulls and crossbones are pretty awesome. For Christmas, I made him this scarf. It was pretty easy and, for the most part, turned out the way I had planned, but let me tell you what I learned: detailed sewing on fleece is not easy. I had a hard time getting the cut out parts to keep their shape, and those eye and nose cavities drove me nuts! See how they're lopsided? Oh, well. I finally just sewed each of the eyes on with an "X" and called it good. Next time, I think I will try using Heat & Bond. Has anyone tried that on fleece? I'd love to hear any other ideas for getting those pieces to stay while I sew them on.
Even though it's not perfect, I think it was a successful experiment and now know what not to do when I make 3 more this weekend for his friends' birthday presents.

To make your own skull scarf:

• Cut 2 pieces of fleece, each in different colors (one for the back, one for the front), to the size you want your scarf. I used one I already had as a guide.
• Find a picture of a skull with crossbones you like. Size it to fit on your scarf, print it and cut it out. The one I used can be found here.
• REVISION: added step- Iron on some fusible interfacing behind the parts you want to cut out.  This makes sewing around the shapes much easier.
• Trace the pieces onto your top piece of fleece near one end of the scarf and cut them out.
• Cut out the nose and eye pieces. (Mine aren't the right size or shape. I'll do better next time.)
• Pin your top piece of fleece to the bottom piece, iron the area with the fusible interfacing sandwiched between, and sew all the way around the edges using at least 1/4 inch allowance.
• This is the tricky part: arrange and pin the cut-out skull and crossbones and carefully sew them down as close to the edge as possible.
• This is the trickier part and why I think I iron-fused the parts the next time: tack the eyes and nose down and carefully sew them down as close to the edge as possible...and then you're done!

The Best Bread EVER

It's not entirely my original creation (it's based on a recipe in my Kitchenaid book) but I have been asked for this recipe many times. It's super easy if you have a Kitchenaid mixer and if comes out great every time! This is the same basic recipe I use for the sweet rolls, and you can use it for dinner rolls, breadsticks, etc. Enjoy!

2 loaves

6-7 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar (or ½ cup honey)

3 ½ t salt

3 pkgs. (2 T.) active dry yeast

¼ cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups very warm water (120* to 130*)

Place 5 ½ cups flour, sugar or honey, salt, yeast, and butter in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and PowerKnead Spiral Dough Hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 20 seconds. Gradually add warm water and mix about 1 ½ minutes longer.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, and mix about 2 minutes, or until dough starts to clean sides of bowl. Kneed on Speed 2 about 2 minutes longer.

Cover dough with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rest about 20 minutes.

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf. Place in greased baking pans. Brush each loaf with vegetable oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. (You can refrigerate dough up to 12 hours.)

When dough has risen to the top of the pan, uncover dough carefully. Bake at 350* until done (it should sound solid when you knock on the top of a loaf). Brush with butter. Remove from pans immediately and cool on wire racks.

About Me

I have so many projects that I want to finish, and a slew of new ideas. The problem is finding the time. Hopefully, I will be able to post a couple of things in the next few days, but in the mean time I'll tell you a little bit about me.

• I'm 31-years-old.
• My husband, A, and I have been married 11 1/2 years.
• I have 3 boys: B is 8 and in 2nd grade, C is 4 and in preschool, and D is almost 2 and gets into everything. Together, they really keep me on my toes.
• I am going to school to get a Paralegal degree and am planning on graduating in 2012. However, being the crazy person I am, I'm seriously considering adding a Marketing degree which will push graduation out another 2-4 years (depending on how much time I want to devote to it).
• My favorite classes so far have been Psychology and Logic. I did not enjoy Criminal or Property Law. The class I am most excited about this semester is Digital Photography.
• I have a tattoo of a frog on my ankle. It's not colored in, though, because that would have hurt too much.
• In my spare time, I enjoy reading (especially a good mystery), watching movies (no horror), sewing, making jewelry, and exercising if I don't have to worry about constant interruptions.
• I am the oldest child in my family.
• I despise playing most sports and am not an outdoorsy person, but I love the sun and playing in the water.
• I hate the cold. So what am I doing in Minnesota??? Good question! The truth is, we want our kids to grow up with grandparents and cousins. It's totally worth freezing our patooties off for a few months a year.
• I enjoy most kinds if music and will happily skip off to a concert whenever our schedule and finances permit.
• I played the flute in my high school marching band and taught piano lessons for a few years.
  
• I hate jigsaw puzzles but love Sudoku.
• Shoes make me happy. My favorite pair is red patent leather 3-inch heels. Beautiful!!
• I spend most days in my pajamas if I don't have to go anywhere, especially in the winter. Why trade my favorite fleece pants if I don't have to?
• My favorite color is blue. Green and red follow closely behind.
• I wore braces twice.
• I broke my ankle by stepping off the curb wrong when I was 6 months pregnant with our 2nd son, leaving me on crutches for the remainder of my pregnancy and a boot for a month after. NOT fun.
• I went by my middle name for 3 years because I hated my first name (too many jokes).
• Baking is way more fun than cooking.
• I love pasta and cheese. Any kind of pasta and cheese. All kinds of pasta and cheese.
• I don't eat red meat. Ever.
• Bananas are gross.
• I think cheesecake is the most perfect food. That, and avocados.
• I love doing laundry but hate putting it away.
• Cleaning the toilets is my least favorite job, but with 3 boys I end up doing it a lot.

That's me in a nutshell. My 4-year-old is saying he wants to play a game with me called "Clean Up the House" so I'd better get on that!

I hope you have a beautiful day.
Charity

What's for Dinner: Potato Corn Chowder

This is a favorite of the whole family, and with a house full of picky eaters that is saying a lot!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups milk (I use skim)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 cups frozen Southern hash brown potatoes (the diced ones, not grated, although those would probably be fine)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 can chicken or 1 cup cooked and chopped chicken (optional)
• onion, salt and pepper to taste (optional)
• bacon bits (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine milk, soup, corn, onions and potatoes in a large pot and bring to boil on high.
2. Reduce temp to medium low for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes are soft.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Stir in cheese.
5. Serve and top with bacon bits and extra cheese if desired.

This is great served with a crusty bread or rolls.

What's for Dinner: Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

This recipe can be found on the Classico website. It's delicious! The pumpkin flavor is very mild, and it's a great way to sneak some vegetables in.

Penne with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

• Servings: 4
• Cook Time: 15 Minutes
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 jar (15 oz.) Classico^® Light Creamy Alfredo Pasta Sauce
• 1 pound(s) penne pasta
• 2 tablespoon(s) butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 jar 15-ounce pure pumpkin puree
• 
  

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain pasta and keep warm.

2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper; cookuntil softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and Alfredo sauce. Add some water to get a desired consistency. Heat until all ingredients are heated through.

3. Serve over warm pasta. Top with parmesan and parsley.

Little Boy Book Bag

My 1-year-old, D, LOVES books. Being the 3rd boy, many of our board books have been...shall we say...well loved. I decided it was time to have some new books and a book bag of his very own, one that wasn't handed down or had one of his brother's names on it. So, for Christmas, I made little D this bag. I used leftover fabric for the the main part and scraps from the pillowcase/quilt/curtain set I am almost finished with for his room to do the handles. Matchy, matchy!

I had planned to do a lining but time was short and I figured it really didn't matter that much since the fabric I used was denim-like and pretty heavy. I serged all the edges so nothing would fray. For the handles, I lined them up with the top of the bag before I folded it over twice, and then double-stitched around the top to make sure the handles are secure. This sucker is made to last! =)

For Christmas, I filled his bag with new board books that I had picked up at the dollar store, the dollar section at Target (love that place!), and on sale at Borders. It was a hit! Whenever we go out, I toss in a few books, some cars, a sippy cup and diaper, and we're ready to go. The bag is big enough to hold all the necessities, yet small enough that D can carry it around and pull stuff out while riding in the car or shopping cart.

Let it Snow Earrings

I had loads of free time during the holidays. It's amazing how easy three kids are when there are nine adults in the house (including kid-loving grandparents) and cousins to play with! =) I took advantage of this time to relax and start making earrings again. These snowflake earrings are my new favorites, especially the silver with pink pearls. You can wear them with jeans, your favorite sweater, or even a little black dress. They are perfect for the winter months.

What do you think? Would you wear them?

What else can I do with the leftover snowflakes (since I bought a bunch)?
All of these pretty little things are for sale in my Etsy shop,
along with other nickel-free earrings:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/cheruba2

Please forgive my photographing skills. I know they leave a lot to be desired. Hopefully, the digitally photography class I'll be starting next week (yikes!) will help a ton. Have a beautiful day!