Christmas Goodies

I have been saving Crew's formula cans for the last couple months in hopes to find a clever way to use them. Then while looking for cute goody packaging ideas I saw the idea of using the formula cans for our Christmas goodies this year. I just wrapped a 4" thick strip of wrapping paper around them and cut a circle for the lid (to cover the Enfamil label). They were just the right size, and I was able to cram a lot of stuff into the cans. I made matching bows out of coordinating wrapping paper using this tutorial I found on Pinterest.
For the goodies, I kept it relatively simple. I dipped some Oreos in white chocolate and put Landon to work making our version of "bulls eyes"(snap pretzel + Rolo + peanut butter m&m). The "hardest" thing I did was make this toffee. I was surprised at how simple it was to make, and it turned out SO SO SO good! I threw in some Butterfinger Bells (for the kids, since I do not believe in sharing Ghirardelli with children) and topped it off with a few Lindor Balls. We had a blast looking at Christmas lights while passing out the cans to our friends and neighbors.

Landon has 4 teachers this year... So since I didn't have enough cans, I decided to make some of the cute paper gift boxes I've seen on Pinterest.

I used this tutorial and can't stop making these! I even made some mini ones for part of my YW lesson last Sunday. I used 12x12 cardstock and filled the teacher boxes with toffee. I made the labels on Picnik.com and cut strips of scrapbook paper to "tie" the box closed.

More Christmas Decor

I made one more little tree and covered  it with little red rosettes. I just took strips of tissue paper, twisted them up, and wrapped them into roses of various sizes.

They're hanging out on my bookshelf along with this free printable and some branches that I covered in glitter which remind me of something from the Labyrinth. And obviously they're prettier in real life.

Jacob's noticed that I've got a thing for covering stuff in glitter lately. We saw some tiny pinecones on our way home from church and he said, "Those are cute. You should cover those in glitter."
I probably will, even though I think he was mocking me.

Christmas Stockings

I decided this was the year to make our family's Christmas stockings. After perusing Pinterest I came up with a perfect combo of all the styles I loved. This is the Tutorial I used for the shape and overall construction of the stockings. For the tops I used this for the pleating inspiration. I pleated a long wide piece of fabric into a strip the size of the stocking top.(WARNING: Pleating is hard!!! If anyone knows a trick please let me know!) I wanted them personalized and decided to cross stitch some buttons (using a button covering kit) instead of spending a fortune on pre-made ones. I let Landon pick out which pictures to use, although I may remove them and just use the letter button with a plain white button. I can't decide.
For my stocking I wanted something more girly so I came up with a bow top I've seen done on some throw pillows.I love how they turned out, and hope they last a while... or until I get sick of them and decide it's time for a change. Now I just need a fireplace...

Oh Christmas Tree

Let the Christmas decor making begin! My first project was these little tissue paper trees. The best part about them is that I didn't have to go out and buy any of those foam cones. I just took some card-stock, wrapped it in a cone shape around a paper cup, and cut from the bottom to adjust the height.

For the fluffy one, I cut about a million little squares of tissue paper, squished them up, and glued them to the cone. I roughly followed this tutorial.
Well that took forever, so for the next one I just cut strips and frayed them at the bottom. I put glue on the top of the strip and wrapped each one around starting for the bottom of the cone.
I'll probably make one more. I'll share if I come up with something brilliant for that one. Really there are a lot of fun things you could do to make these little trees. Get creative!

Spruce up a T-shirt

First, get a plain boring shirt.

Then, find some lace.  Cut a strip and fold it into a little ruffle.  Sew it down (I didn't even pin it, just folded it down as I went, because I'm lazy like that).

Cut a smaller strip of lace, gather it up and put it in the pocket. Sew right across the top of the pocket.

Better, right?  This literally took 10 minutes!

Halloween Garland

 This was so easy to make! It was also free because I used scraps I already had. I just cut strips of Halloween material and tied them onto a black ribbon.  I tied longer strips of fabric together to hang down on each end. 

Watercolor

I don't like the idea of just buying a bunch of stuff for people for their birthdays. I always feel like I should make at least one of the gifts. So this year for Jacob's birthday I decided at the last minute to paint him a picture of the temple where we were married. I am definitely no artist and working with 99 cent Crayola paints probably didn't help, but it's made with love!

I like watercolors, because if it ends up a little sloppy, you can just pretend its "impressionistic" or something and that you did it on purpose.

Yellow Wedding

My cousin got married here in AZ, but her family and the groom's family were both from other states, so we threw together a quick, inexpensive luncheon for their wedding day.  The centerpieces were yellow squares of material from Hobby Lobby (99cents), some petals, tissue paper flowers that were so easy to make, and a picture of the couple (frames were 3 for $2.50 at Target).

I made the cake and topped it with a yellow tissue paper flower.

 Behind the serving table, we hung some lace that my mom already had, and I made fan circles out of scrapbook paper.  I also got a wreath from the dollar store, made some fabric flowers out of scraps, and added a letter "M" ($1.50 at JoAnn's), and hung it on the backdrop.

For the sign in table, we borrowed a yellow bird cage for cards, and put a yellow candle by a framed  picture of the bride and groom. 

For very little money, and not much time to prepare, we pulled off a cute little reception for their big day!

Gingham Top

I got this (60s?) pattern about a year ago from ebay. I’ve been wanting to make something with it for a while, but kept getting distracted by other projects. Finally I decided I was going to make a blouse from it. I always seem to make dresses and don’t end up wearing them very often so I thought I’d try my hand at a top.

I saw a blue gingham sheet at DI and decided it would be the perfect fabric. So I started my top and then school started and life got crazy, but I finally finished it!

I never got around to making a little ribbon bow like the pattern said to, so I put a little bow brooch there instead.

Antique Wedding Cake

I bought some lace molds to make this cake. The hard part was that the molds don't make clean cuts around the edge of each piece, so that work was left to me. All the decoration is fondant, with the exception of the brooches.  This took  three days from start to finish, and my kitchen was a total powdered sugar disaster by the end!

Baby Blankets

 Lots of people I know are having babies, so I've been sewing these easy baby blankets for gifts.

 I used this tutorial, which shows such a great way to get mitered corners and a border around the blanket.

 I made a taggy cloth to go with one of these, and made some simple rings for the other one.  The rings are great because you can just throw them in the wash after the baby gets them all slobbery. 

 Here's how to make them:

1.  Cut 5 rectangles 4in.x10in.   2.  turn over one of the short ends and sew down.

 3.  Fold rectangle in half lengthwise and sew 1/4in. seam  
4.  Turn tube right side out.

 5. Stuff the tube.

6.  Put the raw end inside the finished one, forming a ring and sew together.  I like to use a zig zag stitch.
7.  Repeat with each tube, making sure to link to previous tube before sewing shut.

Low Carb Pesto Pizza

I love pizza! It's probably my favorite food, however it is not very carb friendly. This version is delicious, and since you can eat the whole pizza for around 300 calories it makes a lovely meal!Ingredients:

1 piece Whole Wheat Flat bread, or a Wrap, or you could even use a pita (I used a low carb wheat wrap)

1 T Pesto Sauce

1/4 C Mozzarella Cheese

1/8 C Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Onion

Red Bell Pepper

Chicken (optional, I just had some left over rotisserie)

Basil

Italian seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 425 and toast your wrap by "baking" it for about 4 min.

Spread Pesto onto crust and layer cheese and other toppings (being as generous as you like with the veggies)

Sprinkle on the seasonings to your liking.

Bake for an additional 5-8min depending on your "crispiness" preference.

ENJOY!

Comment Confusion

I noticed that Blogger wasn't allowing me to comment, so I changed some of the settings and I think it's fixed.  Sorry if any of you were having the same problem!

Pink Drink!

Yesterday Landon asked, "Is Crew back in your tummy?".

I guess this means it's time to throw out the m&m's and get my butt off the couch! This recipe is from the F Factor Diet book. I really enjoyed this diet and felt SO good while on it. This is the first time I've made this and I LOVE it!!Please excuse my pumpkin cup, it's the only see through cup currently unpacked.

Strawberry Yogurt Shake

1 Cup crushed ice

1 1/4 Cup strawberries

1 container (5.3 oz) Fage Total 0% yogurt (this is greek yogurt and I bet Chobani would work?)

1 tsp vanilla

1 packet Splenda (I used 1 tsp of Truvia since that is what I have... plus I hear it's better for you.)

Place all ingredients into a blender. Mix on high until well blended. Pour into a glass and serve.

Serves 1

Nutritional Info: 137 Calories, 19g Carbs, 5g fiber, 14g protein, 1g fat, 2mg sodium.

Scallops...or scales...or petals

It is sooo hot in Arizona right now. Just putting clothes on is miserable. But since I don't think my in-laws would appreciate me going about in my underwears, I have to! So I've been living in light-weight short sleeved tees. I decided to make this one more exciting by adding a little embellishment. After giving up on a hundred different ideas I had, I finally settled on these little scallopy things:

All I did was cut out some circles....

 Bend the tops over like this....

And pin them onto the shirt in two rows. Then I sewed them on!

Oh an since I'm too lazy to stitch around the edges for fray prevention, I just put clear nail polish around the edges... whatever works, right?

I think it would probably look better with more circles or bigger ones.

Clay is Magic

I think the last time I used modeling  clay was in like 4th grade, but when I saw this beauty:

I was inspired to give clay another shot... grown up style!

Really the possibilities are endless!