Teacher Gift

Marinne, my almost 14 yr. old, made these cute apple cupcakes for all of her teachers.  She found the idea online, but we tweaked it to make it better.  The one she saw just had a white cupcake liner, but we made them with red liners so it would look like a whole apple.

She made the cupcakes, frosted them red, stuck a pretzel in the middle, and added a leaf.  The leaf is a green "Airhead" candy cut like a leaf.  She put it in a clear cup, put that in a treat bag, and tied it up with cute ribbon.  I made the tag on Pic Monkey.

Veggie Hummus Pizza

I love hummus and once ate an entire Costco tub single handedly in a matter of days.  I soon found out I was pregnant, which explained my ravenous behavior.  But pregnant or not, hummus is awesome!

This has been my lunch a couple times this week.  It's healthy, tasty, and colorful!  Spread a piece of naan bread (found at the grocery store or Costco) with your favorite hummus and top with sliced fresh cucumber and red and yellow peppers.  So easy, and a delicious way to get those veggies in for the day!

After eating such a healthy lunch, I felt justified in eating a Ghirardelli dark chocolate square... or 2... or 3.

Another favorite healthy snack lately:
carrot chips (I swear it makes them taste better when they're cut like potato chips) dipped in hummus.

DIY Mother's Day Gifts

Mother's Day is coming up fast! Here are some projects I've rounded up from past posts that would make great gifts AND a new tutorial AND some free printables (compliments of Bethany). You've hit the motherlode! (see what I did there?)

For the Accessory Lover:

Mother's Day "Corsage" Brooch

I'm surely not the first to use this method to make a fabric flower, but briefly: I cut two strips of fabric, one about 1.5" wide and one slightly thinner and tapered at the end. Bother were roughly 20" long. Specific measurements are unimportant as you can gather and/or trim to your desired size. 

Next I folded each piece in half and sewed a running stitch (a longer stitch) along the raw edges and pulled on one of the strings to gather the fabric. I then used hot glue to spiral the ruffle around a small circle of felt, starting on the outside edge and working my way around to the center (tuck under any raw/fraying edges as you go). I finished it off by glueing a pretty button in the center and a brooch pin to the back. You can find those at any craft store or even Walmart, usually in the beading section. 

I pinned it to a pretty piece of card stock and labelled it in pretend calligraphy. A simple, pretty accessory (that won't die!) for mom to wear on Mother's Day.

Vintage Buttons Necklace: tutorial here 

For the Decorator: 

Pretty Throw Pillows: tutorials here, here, here, and here.

 Oversized Cross Stitch Wall Art: tutorial here

No-Paint Watercolor Map: tutorial here

For the Organized:

Envelope System Wallet: tutorial here

"Today" Reminder Board: tutorial here

 

For the Cook: 

Ruffled Apron: tutorial here

For the Sentimental:

Sibling Quilt: details here

 

Children's Silhouettes Window Pane: tutorial here

Forget Me Not Cupcake Bouquet and Book: details here

And here are some pretty card and tag printables to go along with whatever you give: PDF here

DIY Button Necklace

I've seen a few button necklace ideas on Pinterest, and decided to make my own!

 I went to SAS and picked out a variety of gold buttons, which was so much fun!  I don't know what it is about buttons, but I love digging through piles of them and finding the ones I like.  When I was little, my mom  would let me buy a few buttons to add to my collection (housed in a Ball jar), every time we went to the fabric store (which was often).  

 I arranged the buttons on a scrap of felt and hot glued them down once I had them arranged.  I also used wire cutter/pliers to snap off the backs of the buttons that were too bulky.  I then cut around the buttons so the felt wouldn't show, then sewed the chain to the back of the felt.

I love the different textures and tones of the buttons, and now this dress won't be so plain!