Burger anyone?

So they gave me a new "job" at church... I'm the new cubmaster and tonight was our first pack meeting... I feel very intimidated by this new job as I know NOTHING about scouts....I have alot to learn... tonight I was just in charge of the food... since I don't know much about scouts I figured I'd focus on what I do "know" which is food (I enjoy eating it quite a bit :-))...


With April fools coming up I thought these mini "burgers" would be a cute idea. I started with an idea on familyfun.com but didn't want to bake the cookies...so here is how I did it.. Buns: Sandies cookies (that's the name brand)
Meat : I can't remember *eek* and I threw away the package, but they are chocolate cookies that look like thin mints.. I think they are keebler brand, they come in peanut butter, fudge or mint. I did the fudge because I know kids don't always like mint.
Ketchup & Mustard: just tinted frosting applied with a pastry bag to make it go faster
Lettuce: flake coconut dyed green (bake it at 200 for 10-15 min to make the food color dry on the coconut)
To get the sesame seed to stick, mix 1 egg beaten with 1 T of water... whisk. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash on the bun tops sprinkle with sesame seeds... bake at 300 until dry. (about 10 min)
Just assemble! (put in the fridge for a 1/2 hr afterwards to get them to "set")

I was thinking you could also make "fries" but didn't have the time/budget for that. Just buy pound cake (a good firm pound cake) cut into shapes like fries. Put under the broiler a few seconds to brown on each side. Then wrap them up in wax paper like at restaurants. Serve with strawberry jelly in a fry sauce cup! (or you could do refrigerated breadsticks cut like fries and sprinkled with sugar)

My little helper

Plate full of burgers! Enjoy on April fools!!

I'm off tomorrow for a week for Spring Break! and boy do we need it!

S

Planning ahead *gasp*

So anyone that knows me well knows that I am usually doing things at the last minute. It's not that I do it on purpose, but things always end up that way.... We are headed out on spring break next week and when we get back I will only have 1 week until Easter and 2 weeks until my twins birthday parties and baptism, and family coming to visit....

So, trying to avoid a super crazy couple of weeks after vacation I made the invites for my daughters b-day party today... she is having a Sweet party.... complete with cupcakes, tea party food, baking hats & lots of treats... Here is the invite... the inside has all the party "details"... I'm excited for this one... (all supplies Close to My Heart, I'm a rep if you need anything)

At the same time (yes I am crazy) will be her twin brothers birthday party, downstairs in our "movie theater"... he is having a safari party (invite ideas WELCOMED)... It will be interesting and this is the first year that they we are not combining their parties.. they are just getting too old to find a gender neutral theme. It should not be too crazy though- they are keeping the guest lists pretty small, just close friends and playmates...

I've been sewing away these last 2 weeks... mostly because that cute little girl in the skirt (a couple of posts ago) had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic and ended up in the ER! We have been housebound for 2 weeks (she is ok now)... so not much else to do than sew...

So coming soon... another skirt tutorial... here is a sneak peek...

now off to find something to make for dinner...

Giveaway....

Amazing Mae is giving away some awesome key fobs... as an owner of one of these awesome things I must tell you that you DO want one.... plus the maker is one of my bestest friends and an awesome crafter...

Enter here...

as for me I have been busily sewing and should have more stuff to share today or tomorrow :-)

Home made gift idea for a boy...

I have 2 nephews, they are 2 and almost 4... I have a hard time thinking of something to make for a boy... I can't just sew them a skirt LOL!!
So for Christmas I came up with this idea... the fleece and the pillow were 1/2 price at Joann's so it was a pretty inexpensive gift...
Sorry for the bad picture, I know it's out of focus but this photo was taken as the gift was about to go in the mail (it almost didn't get there by Christmas) I made the pillow case out of fleece and added an extra layer to make a pocket.... then I stuffed the pocket with a flashlight and a few books to make a "reading" pillow... Just a tip... when making a pillow do not allow for seam allowances, if you have a 14x14 pillow make the fabric 14x14 that way the pillowcase will fit snugly.

Photo Wall

sorry I know the pictures are not great, it's hard to get a good photo of that wall with the bright windows nearby

I've had this idea for a while now and finally got around to getting it put together. I've got a bunch of photos I've taken lately that I've wanted to get up on the wall. In our family room we have a very large blank wall... it needed something...I've seen variations of this around the internet alot and thought I'd give it a try.

It's all from IKEA... which I just LOVE... I love the fact that everything comes in pieces so you can rearrange it all how you want and use things for purposes other than they were designed.

The shelves are from IKEA but I can't remember the name... they are about $5 a piece...

The frames are the CLIPS frames, they are cheap! I think the 9x9 frames were 4.99 for 2. The only downside is they are "weird" sizes... your photo place will probably not have prints in that size so to "fix it".. do this...

-open your photo in photoshop, edit it to get it like you want it...

-crop the photo to the size of the FRAME at 300 dpi... the large square is 19.75x19.75 so I made the photo that size...

-change the CANVAS size (not the IMAGE size) to the size of the PRINT available at your photo printer (I used costco.com and would highly recommend them). In this case I changed the canvas size to 20x30... this will give you a border of "nothing" around the photo, but will ensure that the photograph is the correct size to fit in the frame...

When you get it in the mail, just use and exacto knife and a ruler to cut the print down to size..

clear as mud?

... the long skinny one is still missing a photo, it showed up with a flaw on the print so I need to get them to print another one)

Dress Pattern..

I got a couple of people that would like to know the pattern for this dress:

It is Kristen's Sundress by Bonnie Blue designs.  Any heirloom sewing store would sell it or I'm sure if you google it it will show up online.

Skirt Tutorial

*edited to add.... hi... I feel terrible that I have to add this... but this skirt tutorial is provided for your own FOR FUN at home use ONLY, please do NOT take this and make or sell a pattern of it. I just saw today that someone took my patchwork skirt tutorial and is selling a pattern of it... not cool.. I want to keep putting this stuff up for free and to share, but only if everyone can play nice!****

So for about 1 month, I've been stuck inside due to sick kids.... my only outings seem to be to Dr.'s offices or Church... I'm beginning to lose my mind I think... Today while surfing the net to "destress" after my 7 yr old puked all over my car, I found that cute skirt on the Heather Bailey website... I LOVED IT!!! I finally felt like making something! Luckily I stash fabric, and the skirt doesn't take more than 1 yard of a couple of prints... I even had the t-shirt laying around. I love it when I can make a craft and don't have to buy anything for it!


Okay, here is the tutorial for the skirt. Tonight after I got home from church I decided that it was not fitting her right. My daughter is very tiny and the skirt is very full. I decided that it needed a waistband to help the transition from the full skirt to the smaller waist.
btw--- poor kid was throwing up today but I HAD to try it on her ... she was such a good sport and even flashed me a smile.

To make the skirt I started with a tutorial here... House on Hill Road. I can't leave well enough alone and ended up making some changes. It needed some ric-rac.. I love ric rac.. If I were not 35 years old I would sew it to my own clothes!
First of all- it is IMPEARATIVE that you PRESS and steam each piece AS YOU GO.. Don't wait until the end to do it all.. this is the biggest thing you can do to make your garment look professional and not home-made.

First the pattern...
You need:
2 pieces for the skirt top
2 pieces for the underskirt
2 pieces for the skirt band
1 piece for the waistband
To figure out the size of the skirt top, measure your daughters waist... and double it. Sydney's waist was 20" so I cut 2 pieces of fabric 12" x 40"....she is about a size 6x-7. (I picked the 12" length after I measured how long I wanted it to be on her)
For the underskirt add 3" to the length of the top skirt.... and cut two more pieces... so 2 pieces 15"x40"
For the skirt band cut 2 pieces 3.5"x40"
For the waistband measure your daughter's hips and add 2"... Syd's were 24" so I cut 1 piece of fabric 26"x4".... or just add 4-5" to the waist measurement.

To attach the band to the skirt, refer to the tutorial above.
After you have done that, sew the underskirt pieces together at the side seams. Press open.
To attach ric rac to the hem of the skirt, do the following:
The bottom of the skirt will need to be finished in some way before you sew on the ric rac, I just used the overcast stitch, you can also use a zig zag stitch or a serger.




Next pin the 2 skirt pieces together.
Run 2 rows of gathering stitches along the top of the 2 skirt pieces. Set aside. On waistband piece, sew side seams and fold under one side 1/4" and press. Fold under again 1/2" and press. Then sew along bottom edge, leaving open 1/2" to make elastic casing.

Gather skirt and attach to waistband. When I gather skirts, I think it is easier to gather in sections rather than the whole skirt, that way if the thread breaks you don't lose the whole piece.

Sew skirt to the UNFOLDED edge of waistband.

Measure a piece of 1/4" elastic to size and thread into waistband. Sew casing closed.

Press!

Viola! Finished!
Now to make some changes to the t-shirt---- where is a bedazzler when you need one? (I don't have one any suggestions to add some "bling" to the shirt).

Just had to make one...

Have you seen this???
I saw it today and just had to make one... I think I was born with the "figure it out" gene, either that or the "impatience" gene.. because I saw that the pattern had to be bought... I didn't want to wait for it, so I figured it out today...
The skirt was soo simple, it only took about 2 hrs to sew... I've got stuff ready for a tutorial that I'll post later today...
oh- forgive my model, she has been puking all day and there may or may not be throw up in her hair... (yes, gross I know)

Dessert Idea...

After we had our twins, the thought of getting a babysitter and waiting in line and an insanely busy restaurant on Valentines day lost it's appeal. The last several years we have done a special family dinner.... we decorate the dining room, eat on our fancy china and have yummy food. the only catch, I am the one that prepares the food...

This Valentines day I took the task of trying to replicate one of our favorite dishes. There is a restaurant in Provo called La Dolce Vita.. it has the BEST chicken Parmesan I have ever eaten. (it was better than some of the food we got in Italy)...They serve it with homemade sauce and side of creamy pasta.... So I pounded the chicken thin, made homemade marinara sauce and homemade fettuccine Alfredo... When I was looking at this menu, I was thinking "this is going to be alot of work"... I knew that I had to simplify the dessert portion, no homemade red velvet cake or cheesecake this year...

So instead I made a batch of the BEST brownies... the Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies (recipe can be found on foodnetwork.com) then cut them out with a heart shaped cookie cutter...these brownies are very dense so they are perfect to use with cookie cutters, they really hold their shape. I served them with store bought cookies and icecream and threw on a couple of choc. covered strawberries (you have to melt the choc. for the brownies so I already had some choc. melted, so the strawberries just took a minute to dip)... I thought it turned out really cute and saved me some time too!