Lil' Lovie Dolls

Just finished up a batch of Lil' Lovie dolls to take to Jennybean in Lancaster. Thought I would share since they looked so cute all lined up in a little row. You can also find these sweeties in my Etsy shop. They are perfect for little babies hands.

Grow your own Green Onions

Yet another great idea from Pinterest.

Given my floral background and knowledge of plants I'm ashamed I didn't think of this one on my own but thanks to Homemade Serenity I can share this idea with you.

When you buy green onions use what you need and then put the bulbs into water and watch them grow! I changed the water every few days to keep it fresh and left them in a sunny window.

I'm sure at some point the bulbs runs out of energy but in about 10 days I had enough to use. Genius!

S'mores on a Stick

I have really developed a wonderful problem. Like so many, I am totally addicted to Pinterest! It is the greatest thing ever and I think nothing of spending an hour "pinning" while my hubby watches a crappy football game. And now that football season is over there will be even more opportunities for pinning during basketball, golf, PSU wrestling, oh my!

So I decided to try these cute little s'mores on a stick for Nathan's first sleepover. It really wasn't a sleepover but they pretended with jammies, movie, popcorn, video games, stay up late, and then parents came to take them home to their beds. It was genius really.

This idea was pinned from Pretty Foods & Pretty Drinks blog, check it out!

So gather some marshmallows, chocolate wafers, graham crackers, lolly pop sticks, and your favorite helper and have some fun!

Dip the lollipop stick into the melted chocolate and then press into a marshmallow. This will keep the marshmallow on the stick when you dip it into the chocolate to coat.

Use a piece of Styrofoam to hold your pops as you work.

Once you're finished with the first step let the chocolate harden. Waiting is tough! I popped them into the freezer to move things a long for a few minutes.



Then dip the marshmallows into the melted chocolate. We sort of rolled them against the edge of the bowl to get the excess chocolate off. Otherwise they dripped and made a tasty mess.

Immediately roll the chocolate covered marshmallow into the bowl of graham crackers. I kept the crumbs coarsely chopped for a more chunky look. It was also nice because you got more graham in your bite!

Enjoy!!! And watch out for the helpers, they're sneaky.

Sunglasses Case Tutorial

I don't believe I had ever owned a nice pair of sunglasses. Generally I get the $15 Target variety and treat them like crap. They float around in my purse getting scratched by whatever. The last pair I replaced actually had the tint scratched off the lens! So today I decided enough is enough. I've got skills, and 10 minutes. I can fix this problem.

So I cut a strip of fabric with pinking shears wide enough to accommodate my shades and twice as long, plus an extra two inches. I also cut a piece of Warm & Natural quilt batting the same width and length minus the extra two inches. And I cut two pieces of magnets 1 1/2" long.

I layered the batting on the wrong side of the fabric centering so there was an extra 1" of fabric at both ends. Then I lined up the magnet at the one end of the batting in the center of the strip.

Next, fold the fabric over the magnet and sew. Repeat at the other end as well. Be sure that your magnetic sides face each other so they stick.

Then, fold right sides together and sew both sides.

Turn right side out and use the end of a paint brush to push out the corners.

This is what your closure will look like.

Ta Da!!! Sunglasses case, just like that.

And a cutie pie just for fun!!!









Chocolate Frosting

It's hard to believe but my baby is turning one year old!!! This week has been full of party planning, lists, decorations, and gifts. Tonight was the night for daycare treats. I decided on chocolate cupcakes, in part because that was the box mix I had in the pantry, and also because as much as I wanted to give into my laziness and go to the store, it was cold and rainy and I just didn't feel like making the drive.

For the frosting, I have tried many recipes. In years past I've opted for a cool whip style frosting because I like that it's not too sweet. Tonight I decided to again attempt a butter cream style frosting. I think I just may have come up with a combo that I really like - sweet but not too sweet, chocolaty but not too rich.

Here's my recipe...

4 c. confectioners sugar

4 T. coco powder

1 stick butter, room temperature

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 t. vanilla

1/3 c. milk

1 c. mild chocolate wafers, melted

In mixer, combine first 6 ingredients.

*** I measured out 1/2 c. milk and added it slowly to get the thickness that I wanted. I have learned from experience that it's very hard to thicken frosting once you've added too much liquid.

Then while mixer is going, slowly pour in chocolate and allow it to mix in thoroughly.

I used a piping bag with no frosting tip to get a nice thick swirl.

Enjoy!



Holiday Oreo's

For my son's Halloween party at daycare I signed up to bring cookies. I realized that weekend though that  I really didn't have time to mess with making something from scratch. So I opted to dress up some Oreo's with chocolate and sprinkles. This is something that he can help out with and we were finished in 15 minutes.

You will need:

Oreo Cookies
Milk Chocolate (wafers or chips)
Sprinkles
Wax paper, Saran Wrap, Parchment or Freezer Paper
Cookie Sheet

First, line a cookie sheet with paper you have on hand.

Next, melt the chocolate in the microwave. Stir a few times during the melting process to distribute the heat.

Get dunking...

Tin Can Upcycle - Pencil Holders

I am ashamed that it has been almost a month since my last post, bad blogger!!! I know, life got the best of me. It's amazing how the days fly by when you let them. I try my best to slow life down but that's not easy. Being away from my home 11 hours a day Monday - Friday it's easy to see the days run away from you. I try my best to keep my priorities straight, the few waking hours during the week are spent having fun with my kiddos and hubby. Once the little ones are in bed I'm either crafting, Etsying, or spending some quality relaxing time with my dear husband. And here we are, it's fall, school is in full swing, pumpkins are everywhere, and I have no idea what the Halloween costumes will be this year! But we'll save that for another episode.

For tonight let's take a look at a great rainy day craft... Tin Cans = Pencil Holders

You will need:

•  Scrapbooking Paper
•  Tin Can
•  Glue Gun
•  Mod Podge
•  Paint Brush
•  Ribbon

Measure the height and circumference of your can and cut the paper accordingly allowing an extra 1/2" to wrap the paper over the top edge of the can.

Run a line of hot glue down the can and line up the edge of your paper on the glue. Be careful, the heat of the glue will come through the paper.

Run another line of glue down the can next to the starting point of the paper. Then wrap the paper around the can and press onto the glue. Again be careful, it will be hot!

Bend the top of the paper over the can to cover the rough edge.

Next, carefully run hot glue around the inside of the can on the edge of the paper and cover with ribbon to finish off the edge. Do this working in batches so the glue does not dry too quickly.

Finally, brush the can with Mod Podge and let dry.

I have also done this project with fabric and though it is a bit easier you can see the ridges in the can. But it worked nicely for some Batman cans for Nate's room!