Diary of a Rather Crafty Girl

Christmas Craft Madness

Oh my goodness I have been on a Christmas gift crafty marathon the last few weeks. I have a list a mile long that I want to finish early since the baby will be here Dec 27th. I know by December I'm not going to feel like doing as much.

However, first I'll show you the halloween costume that I made for myself. I saw this post over at Make It Love It and knew that I had to make one. $2.79 cents for the black tshirt at Joanns and a $1.11 for a bottle of white fabric paint and I was on my way to cuteness. I stenciled using freezer paper for the first time and it was super easy and turned out great. If you aren't familiar with this technique you can check out this tutorial at Julie Ann Art. The technique is so easy but it did take forever for me to cut the stencil out.

Next up, I've been working on little toddler fleece bathrobes. Layla requested a pink Hello Kitty bathrobe which made me think this would be a really cute gift for a few little people on my list. This is one that I made. I think I may add pockets for all of those little treasures that little ones like to carry around in their pockets. I'm also planning on adding an appliqued initial for the recipient. Layla's robe is, of course,  pink with a hello kitty applique and her name embroidered. I'll finish it tomorrow but I'm keeping it to give to her for Christmas as well. I even mastered the bias tape around the edges which I have always been scared to do. I watched a video by Amy over at Angry Chicken that made it all make sense to me finally! I used a McCalls pattern that was super easy.

And what new mommy wouldn't love these cute burp clothes and matching bibs? Seriously I want to keep them for myself! I used a cloth diaper and instead of just putting a strip of fabric on one side, I covered the entire back side with a very soft snuggle flannel.

And bibs to match of course. I used a thin white terry cloth for the back and the matching flannel for the front and pearl snaps because I hate velcro. I just traced an old bib that I had for a patter and added 1/2 inch all the way around. If you need a tutorial this is basically how I made these.

Last but not least I finished a ton of headbands for all of the little girls in Lex's class. I bought the pattern on etsy from Fabric Boutique. It's a great way to use up scraps which I have boxes full of. I made 25 headbands which are reversible. And I used my embroidery machine to make these awesome flower pins that can be attached to any of the headbands. I plan to use them for bows on the packages that we hand out. Now if only I could think of a cute teacher gift to make out of scraps.

And here is another peek at the headbands.

Hope everyone has a great week. I'll try to post more this week as I finish up a few more projects. :)

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese

Yesterday I tried a new recipe and thought I would post it since a few of my wednesday gals asked for the recipe. It was delish!!

PUMPKIN MAC AND CHEESE

{from Better Homes and Gardens Oct 2011}

2 cups dried elbow macaroni

2 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 cup whipping cream

1 cup milk

4 oz. Fontina cheese, shredded (1 cup)

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

1 Tbsp. snipped frsh sage or 1/2 tsp. dried sage

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1/3 chopped walnuts

1 Tbsp. olive oil

 

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Return to pot.

In medium saucepan melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper (to taste). Add cream and milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in Fontina, pumpkin and sage until cheese is melted. Stir sauce into pasta. Transfer to ungreased 2 quart rectangular baking dish.

In bowl combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, nuts and oil; sprinkle over pasta. Bake uncoveredd, 30 minutes or until bubbly and top is golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh sage leaves.

Enjoy!

I finished another boppy cover for the shop this morning and thought I would post it. I think it turned out super cute.

Scrappy Boppy Cover

Last week I went to a consignment sale with my friend Olivia to see if I could find a few baby items that I had on my list. I had bought a boppy at a consigment shop a few weeks ago for $21 and was so excited about the good deal. Then here I found another boppy for $3! Seriously, I couldn't pass it up for 3 bucks! I used my old boppy all of the time so I thot it couldn't hurt to have 2. However, it was one of the old school boppys that was made of a really ugly fabric and it didn't have a cover.  So, I got online and found a pattern and here we are.

I am bound and determined to use the fabric I have to make the remainder of my baby projects and Christmas presents so you're probably going to see lots of scrappy goodness around here.

So, I used lots of scraps for this super cute boppy cover and it only cost me $2.25 for the zipper at Joann's. And I conquered my fear of sewing zippers. Why was I so scared of them? I really have no idea because it was crazy easy. I love that blue fabric with the little hedgehogs. I've been saving that little scrap forever.

Here’s what you need to make your very own boppy cover:

• Boppy Slipcover Instructions
• Boppy Cover Pattern

This tutorial and pattern is from http://economicalbaby.blogspot.com.

This is how mine turned out. I have a feeling I'm going to be making a few more of these.

And here is proof that I can do a zipper.

I'm cutting up lots of scraps for Christmas gifts so check back soon for more ideas for a handmade Christmas.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I changed a few things on the pattern to make it fit better. First I used a 22 inch zipper instead of a 24 inch. I also sewed my seems closer to 3/4 inch instead of 1/4 inch. I didn't want the cover to be baggy. Now if we can ever pick this baby's name I'm going to go back and monogram it on there.

Last night I made the best biscuits ever and they were so easy! I can't remember where I got the recipe but a comment said that they tasted like Popeye's biscuits which was all I needed to try them. I didn't get to snap a picture because they were gone in a flash! This is the recipe. Try it, you won't be sorry.

7Up Biscuits
2 Cups Bisquick or Baking Mix
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup 7 Up
1/4 Cup Melted Butter

Cut sour cream into baking mix. Then add 7 Up until everything is mixed together well. Put a little more baking mix on your cutting board and pat out the biscuits. It is a really sticky batter. Melt the butter in a 9x9 pan. Now put your cut biscuits in the butter. I baked on 425 for about 10 minutes but watch them and they are ready when golden brown.

Ok gals, we've had a great weekend. Yesterday I cleaned in the morning with the kids and then took a much needed nap in the afternoon while Tim mowed the yard and Lex played Mario Kart. When I woke up Tim took the kids to the playground for a little over an hour... heaven! I never have a quiet house like that! So, instead of resting, you know I got busy on something.

I've been wanting to make some caramels. I have no idea why really other than the fact that I've never done it before and thought it might be a good challenge for me. Well, I found a recipe over at Brown Eyed Baker and I have to tell you it was fabulous! I made them strictly by the recipe with no changes. I almost always change recipes but this one was simply delish and I wouldn't do a thing different! This is definitely going to be on my list for Christmas candy.

Today we went to church then headed out to Dewberry Farm with some friends. The kids had a blast and I was completely worn out by the end of the day.

My friend Tanya took a picture of us that we can count as my 27 weeks photo. :) Tim decided to have a pumpkin belly too to match mine.

So, we made it home with 1 small pumpkin and 2 tiny pumpkins which I'm sure we will need to carve this week. My favorite part of the day was Layla riding the pony. She was so excited so we stood in line and she picked the biggest pony (mainly because she really wanted to ride a horse). I put her on and walked with her for the first round then she said "Go stand by Daddy. I can do this by myself". My Little Miss Independent!

Can you believe how big these kiddos have gotten? I love them so much and can't wait to welcome their brother into our family. They are so super excited too! Hope you all have a fantastic week!