delia creates

Nesting with I Am Momma Hear Me Roar

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today we get to hear from Cheri from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar!

Cheri is one of my favorite bloggers. She not only has clever projects that make sewing seem less fussy and intimidating and more doable and fun, but she also takes time to focus on the other more important things in life with her Wake up Wednesday challenges.

She's gorgeous, she's a great mom, and she was just on the Martha Stewart show yesterday! Way to go Cheri!

Today, she has yet another clever sewing project for us that I can't wait to make myself.

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Hey guys! I'm Cheri from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. I am excited to be a part of this nesting series because I've wanted to share this mother/baby idea for a while. I adapted it from something I saw at a boutique. It's practical and really easy to make.

When my boys were babies I had one nursing shield. However, when it got dirty I was in a pinch. I've seen some mothers do fine with a regular blanket, but frankly I'm not that coordinated :) Plus, as my babies got a little older they'd try and pull it off.

This strap turns any blanket into a nursing shied so you don't have one more thing to pack in your diaper bag. Plus, you can use it with those really thin muslin swaddling blankets that are popular, so you both aren't sweating so much.

I got out some cute fabric and purchased some curtain rings.

I cut a rectangle about 18" by 4.5".

I'm not a fan of trying to invert straps, so I ironed my piece as if it were biased tape. That way I could just sew the edges and skip the inverting.

I folded in the very end and tapered the last three inches as well (so that it would fit better through the ring). Then I sewed around the entire strap.

I folded the end around the curtain ring and sewed it down. If you want to make the whole project even easier, you could just use a cute ribbon in place of the fabric.

And there you have it. It works anywhere with any blanket.

Thanks for having me Delia.
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See what I mean? So fun, doable, and definitely just got added to my sewing to do list.
I like how easy this would be to stow away into the diaper bag.
Thanks for nesting with me Cheri!

Nesting with MADE

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

How about we hear from Dana from MADE today? Yes! :)

This beautiful lady is expecting a girl herself and very soon. She's due a month before me but time will tell if she'll even make it that far.

So...I'm grateful that she was willing to round up this inspiration post for me today. And inspiration is what she does best. From her recipes, to her sewing tutorials, to her photography, to even knitting...this girl is nothing but inspiration. Everything she does, she does with style. Good taste simply oozes from her fingertips.

So let's hear it from her...

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Hello friends! I'm Dana from MADE--a spot for DIY sewing and design.

I'm happy to join the nesting party since I've been doing plenty of that over at our house. Any moment now our baby girl will join the family. So I've been cleaning out closets, drawers, and finishing last-minute projects.

In my very pregnant state I don't have a tutorial to share but how about design inspiration?

Great.

I'm glad you agree (and thank you Pinterest for making that process a whole lot easier). Just a few ways to mix up your baby's wardrobe....

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UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

I'm definitely a girl that enjoys her pink. But something I love about baby clothes these days is the unexpected. Who said a little girl can't wear blue? Especially when mixed with metallic dots? Or how about mustard and purple, or hot pink with orange? YES.

Baby clothes don't have to mean powder pink and rubber duckie yellow. Just browse the standard retail shops and you'll find tons of interesting trends--like the mini Harajuku line at Target; many fun, unexpected looks. Other large retail shops to try: Crewcuts, mini Boden, baby GAP, H&M kids, Forever 21 kids.

And a few boutique-y brands (pictured below): (Pink/mustard swimsuit by marysia swim store, metallic dots onesie by Rittenhouse, spring/summer line by Bobo Choses): SIMPLE SHOES

I don't typically put shoes on my kids till they can walk. Totally a personal preference. I find that the shoes are either falling off or (when the babe is a bit older) the child is kicking me with hard rubber soles. But if I do fancy a pair of shoes with an outfit (they're just so cute! Can't deny that), I like them to be simple and soft.

A few ideas....

Coral and Tusk booties, I Think Sew boot pattern (photo by bad skirt good stuff), Mila Baby Shoe Pattern. CUTE PRINTS

Bye bye teddy bears...hello whales, frogs, foxes, and geometric designs. There are so many cool, fun baby prints out there these days! Of course it's easier to find them on store-bought clothing than on the bolt at a fabric shop. But Spoonflower has revolutionized that problem. Start browsing their baby section for ideas (or to purchase cute knits). And always rummage the men's/women's clearance at stores like Old Navy for cheap T-shirts you can cut up and sew into mini clothes.

(Fish Onesie and Owl Romper by kit and lili, flower onesie by Marimekko, DIY baby romper tutorial by Omi Creates). OLD mixed with NEW

It's fun to mix different styles and tastes together. And this pile of unexpected baby girl clothes totally caught my eye, by Mimi Mouse. Click over for more photos.

COMFY CLOTHES

Above all, when it comes to dressing babies I really love to keep it comfy since all they're doing is sleeping and eating. I guess I'm a "comfort before style" person that way. My kids rarely wear anything but rompers, gowns, onesies, and little pants till they're out of the newborn stage. So avoid the stiff jeans and keep it cozy with soft knits and fleece. (Pink Sweater, towel romper, elephant onesie, chevron flutter dress, ivory leggings) FUN ACCESSORIES

Of course clothing always looks cuter on a fun blanket. Try out Made by Rae's Crayon Box Quilt. Or if you're willing to invest the time, I love making Faux Chenille blankets. And check out Aesthetic Nest's Chevron Chenille version.....so cool!

Feel inspired? Ready to sew? There are tons of baby tutorials out there (and more being added to Delia's Nesting series!) But here are a few to get you going..... TOP: Mooshy Belly Bunny by Chez Beeper Baby, Pea Pod baby carrier by Piccoli Piselli, Pom Pom Skirt by Kojo Designs

BOTTOM: baby cloth diapers 101 by very baby, Peekaboo bonnet pattern by Made by Rae (photo by mariiposa), knot baby hat by prudent baby. Thanks Delia for having me! I'm excited to see your little bundle of joy coming very soon. Happy Sewing everyone and enjoy those babies.

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I absolutely love all the non-traditional baby stuff.

Thanks for nesting with me Dana.

Best wishes with these last weeks...or days! until your baby comes. :)

Nesting with No Big Dill

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have a special treat for day three of my Nesting Series...Katy from No Big Dill!

I love this lady. She is real, she is lovely, she is a wonderful mother to six...count'em 6 beautiful children, she takes gorgeous pictures of her impeccable sewn creations, and her blog is such an uplifting place to visit. Her witty words and creative photography always leave me with a smile on my face and a renewed love for life.

Today she's sharing a batch of bright baby blankets modeled with her incredibly handsome Drummer. Enjoy!

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Hello, friends! I'm Katy from "no big dill" and happy happy happy ;) to be here sharing a tutorial with you.

I just had a baby myself a few months ago, so I wanted to make something that I never seem to have enough of: blankets, blankets, blankets!

Especially if you're enduring some frigid temperatures when baby debuts, it's so nice to have a big stack of clean, ready-to-wrap-baby-in blankets. These don't require a huge amount of experience, so anyone who can sew a straight line can make these. They are easy, but have a touch of quilting, which makes it just a bit classier.

When I made Drummer's blanket a couple of months ago, I wasn't sure how I wanted to finish it, so I started with adding bias, but didn't love the look. I stitched around the edge again and liked it more, then thought I might as well add a third row and that's when I loved it! So, let's get started.

What you'll need:

1 yard of minky dot fabric (I got mine here, but most fabric stores should carry at least a few colors of this) pre-washed.
2 packages of extra wide, double fold bias tape, or you can make your own using this tutorial
thread, either matching or contrasting. I did some of both and thought they were both fun.

Are you wondering what kind of bias you should use? The advantage of store bought bias is that it's easier. It's already made and ready to sew with and the fiber content and starch make it easier to work with since it's more rigid. The downside is it's not as "snugly" as a 100% cotton, or other natural fiber bias, which is ideal for a baby blanket. Store bought does soften up a bit, as you wash it (I made Drummer's a couple months ago and it has softened up), just not as much. If you decide to make your own, make sure to wash the bias fabric beforehand in hot water and dry on high heat so it doesn't shrink after you sew it on the blanket. You could also starch it as you pressed it in half, which might make it easier to handle.

If you are using store bought bias tape, you'll need to attach the two pieces together by opening up the ends and sewing them together. "Finger press" the seam open and fold them using the previous creases as a guide.

Next you need to fold your pre-washed fabric in half (wrong sides together) and make sure they it lays smoothly and on grain. I had to trim 3 inches on either side of this one (fabric cut off grain is one of my pet peeves!) Pin and baste (increase the stitch length to 5mm) your open edges together with 1/4" seam. I didn't do this on my first blanket and now my blanket has an unintended little "pocket". Oops. (I was going to take a photo of it, but Mr. Drummer happens to actually be sleeping with it as I type, which is rare indeed!)

Now set your stitch length to about 2 1/2mm (this is slightly longer than the default setting, which looks a little more professional than a 2). Pin your bias around the perimeter of the blanket. Fold the corners as pictured for a neat mitered look. When you come to the end of the bias, cut it an inch overlapping the other end, fold under 1/4 inch and pin over the other end.

Stitch close to the inner edge of the bias. This first time around you'll want to go slowly, making sure you are catching both sides of your bias. Don't worry if it's not perfect, you can go back later and stitch it on the other side if a few little edges don't catch. The first row is going to look just okay, and then stitch around the outer edge and your blanket is looking even better. By the time you do you third stitching, it will go quickly and make your blanket look amazing with a bit of that quilter's touch.

thank you

!!!

katy

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I love, love, love these triple stitched minky blankets Katy! :)

Thank you so much for nesting with me today.

Nesting with Kojodesigns

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today we get to hear from the fabulous sisters at Kojodesigns. You may remember that we co-hosted Color My Summer together last year...which was a blast.

Kirstin and Jordan are quite the talented duo. They sew {they are finalists in SYTYCS! - way to go girls}, craft, cook, take beautiful pictures...the list goes on. But what I think they do best, is throw a good party.

Today Kirstin is going to share some baby shower planning tips and ideas that will get you positively itching to throw one for anyone you know is expecting.

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Hello friends of Delia!

I'm Kirstin, half of the sister team that blogs over at kojodesigns, and I'm thrilled to be here today.

You see, I absolutely adore Delia. Not only do I love her tutorials and her gorgeous pictures, I just love HER. We have shared the adventure/privilege/chaos of our husbands' schooling these last couple of years. It's especially fun that both of our husbands are finishing up at the same time, so that we're exiting this crazy stage together. I also couldn't be more thrilled for the new addition that they're adding to their family and am so excited about this new "nesting" series!

One of my favorite things about baby-prep is putting together baby showers.

I love baby showers (what a great way to celebrate the little bundle-to-be and help the family get ready for his/her arrival!). I even have an entire list at the back of my planner labeled "Future Baby Showers." Yep, I love them.

And today, my contribution to this fabulous "Nesting" series is a how-to on choosing a baby shower theme. You see, my starting spot for most of the showers I put together is to choose a theme. And I have three very reliable, go-to sources that I'm certain will get your baby shower theme gears turning.

The first baby shower 'theme generator' in my life is Children's Literature. In my pre-stay-at-home-mama days, I was an elementary school teacher. This means that Burke's and Piper Jane's libraries are

full

absolutely overflowing,

and also that I have a whole plethora of favorite children's books authors and series'. Just by browsing through a stack of children's books, you'll have more baby shower ideas than you can imagine.

A few of my favorites?

Cat in the Hat/Dr. Seuss, Pat the Bunny (image and details via), the Itsy Bitsy Spider (image and details via), the Very Hungry Caterpillar (image and details via).

And if you can't decide, a Golden Books themed shower or Storybook Shower are great ways to incorporate a broad love of children's literature into a baby shower! My second baby shower theme go-to is the baby nursery. Start with the theme of the baby-to-be's room, and you have yourself a shower theme.

A few examples? A Whale Themed Baby Shower (for a friend with a nautical nursery)...

...The Little Peanut Shower (for some friends with a gray and yellow elephant room)...

...and The Hippo Shower

(based on the DwellBaby hippo bedding that the mama-to-be had chosen).

The last place that I can count on for baby shower theme ideas is considering the interests of the mama-to-be (and her family). Some examples?

Last summer, we threw a retro garden shower for a friend who loves to collect vintage goodies, complete with retro stylings (a cooler from the 1950s, vintage quilts and blankets covering the back yard), decor made from vintage sheets, and a polaroid photo booth guest book.

Also, my sister recently threw a "French Cafe" themed baby shower for one of her friends who loves Paris and all things french.

And one of my all-time favorite showers was a "She's Ready to Pop" shower for a popcorn lovin' mama-to-be!

Some other ideas? A down home, farm themed shower for your resident cowgirl (image and details via), a Coco Chanel themed shower for you favorite girly girl (image and details via), a Baby Q for barbeque afficianados (image and details via), even a rock 'n roll shower (image and details via)!

I know that your mind is just swimming with Baby Shower Theme ideas already, but when you're looking for baby shower decor, menu and styling ideas, here are a few of my favorite shower planning resources-
Bump Smitten,
Hostess with the Mostess,
Hank and Hunt (LOVE her garland and cupcake topper tutorials),
and Chic & Cheap Nursery.

Thanks again for having us, Delia- we are so excited to see the rest of the "Nesting" series! And happy baby shower planning friends!

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Don't they know how to party or what? :)

Thanks for Nesting with me Kirstin.

Mommy Tags

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first day of my Nesting Series!

Today, I'm going to share a project of my own, that will benefit many of the other projects I'll share during the rest of the series.

I am learning to make clothing for my kids and only my kids really. So I don't want to invest in commercial tags that require you to buy in bulk.

But...my kids and husband don't like it when they can't easily tell which is the front and which is the back to my creations when they put them on- and frankly neither do I!

These easy tags solve that problem, cost almost nothing to make {they just use scraps and stuff you likely have on hand} and make my handmade creations look just a little more polished.

Up to this point, I've either been omitting the tag, or taking scraps of knit t-shirt fabric and writing "love Mom" on it with a sharpie.

I like the idea of my love being infused in each piece of clothing, so I kept with that theme by rounding up some Valentine stamps to decorate my tags with.

I'm sure you could carve your own...and I know I will one day. For now though, I'm keeping things easy.

All you do is take strips of scrap fabric and serge or zig-zag up both sides. I bet you could just cut up the sides with pinking shears as well.

Cut them up {3-4 inches is about right} and iron them in half. It doesn't take long to get lot.

Then grab some fabric paint. I used this textile medium to convert my regular acrylic paint into fabric paint. You simply mix two parts of acrylic paint with one part textile medium.

Then brush the paint on, do a test stamp on paper and then stamp your tags.

I found brushing the paint on to be better than dipping the stamp directly into the paint, because dipping caused the paint to collect around the sides and just got clumpy.

If you're wondering...this stamp is from Stampin' Up. I got it at a garage sale over the summer.

Some of the tags turned out better than others. I just ditched the ones I didn't like...it's just a little scrap after all. Some came out distressed or a little dark but I didn't mind that. Whatever works for you.

I also painted some hearts on smaller tags by hand. A little more time consuming but not too bad.

Now let it dry for a full day, press with a hot iron and you're done!

This is the first pair of leggings that I tried a new tag in.

Success!

Now our baby girl will have a happy Mom and Dad who won't have to spend five minutes figuring out if we put the leggings on right or not. :)

Nesting Series

2012-01-22T21:21:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the fun begins tomorrow!

I'll be sharing some projects of my own over the next four weeks and I'll be having a few guests as well:

Kojodesigns
No Big Dill
MADE
I Am Momma Hear Me Roar
This heArt of Mine
Apostrophy Designs
Happy Together
Sewing In No Mans Land
Simple Simon & Co.
Maryjanes and Galoshes
See Kate Sew
Sew A Straight Line

Excited? Me too. :)

In the meantime, here are some buttons if you want to grab them. See you tomorrow!

ReSewLution

2012-01-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm posting about this little case over at Jessica's ReSewLution today.

See you there!

Bow Beanie

2012-01-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

So technically this is called a butterfly stitch. But I think it looks like a bow. So...

I used this FREE pattern.

Alli Crafts has a bunch of free crochet patterns that are really cute actually. Go check her out.

This pattern is fast, easy, and creates a simply beautiful hat.

If you are beginner I recommend using her 3 month pattern. She lists more details like how many stitches you should have in each round. She doesn't do that for the newborn pattern.

My only changes to the pattern were that I crocheted in the top loops only {which might have made my hat slightly larger than newborn?} and I chained two at the start of each round instead of three.

I think it made my seam less noticeable. Can you spot it?

I used Vanna White acrylic yarn in linen and olive. I really like the colors in her line and the yarn is quite soft. Plus...with it being acrylic, you know it's very washable too. :)

The lovely green one is for our lucky little girl, due on St. Patrick's Day.

And the white one is for someone else who is also due soon. :) I get to meet her this weekend, along with some other fun bloggers.

Don't you think this linen color will go nicely on a little blonde head of Willard hair? :)

The idea for the serged fabric bow are from MADE and the origami box instructions are from Lorajean's Magazine.

Have a great weekend!

I'll be back tomorrow with a guest post and then on Monday for my Nesting Series!

See you then!

Dyed Pink

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest.

When we found out that we were having a girl, I was a bit stunned. Not that we weren't excited, just surprised. I was totally prepared to have three energetic, boisterous little boys.

Boys is what we have and what we're used to. I was making a skirt for the baby yesterday. When I showed my husband, a dumbfounded look settled over his face and he responded with, "Babies wear skirts? So I put that over the onsie?"

Me: "Uh...yeah. Girl babies wear skirts honey."

Him: "Do they have to?"

It's going to be fun getting used to having another female around here. :)

We don't know if we are going to have more children and if those children are going to be male, so I went through some of our boy baby clothes and white onsies and girl-i-fied them by dyeing them.

I have only dyed elastic once and it was gray so I don't know if that really counts. Dying with darker colors is work! Truth be told. It's not my favorite way to re-fashion either. But it was fun to learn and experiment with - once. :)

I referenced this fabric dyeing tutorial from Dana.

For good measure I thought I would add my own two cents and tips...

1. I didn't use the stove boiling dye method, but I added boiling water to one of my batches and it took the dye up instantly. It really made the process go MUCH faster. What took me 8 hours for one batch, took me only an hour with the partially boiled water dye bath.

That's right...I didn't even boil all the water in the batch. I just boiled about 1/3 of the water in the batch and used hot tap water for the rest. Then I mixed in the dye and salt until dissolved before adding the clothes.

2. Stir every 5-15 minutes if you can. I started out stirring every 30 minutes or so with my first batch {with no boiled water) and I got a few garments that dyed unevenly. I was able to salvage most of them with another dye bath but it was a pain to have to do that and a couple never recovered. Don't get relaxed about it. Babysit that dye bath closely. If you boil the water first then you won't have to babysit too long.

As you can see...this one turned out a bit tye- dyed. This isn't even the worst one. I'm keeping it because it's not too bad and I kind of like the lilac color it turned out.

3. Squeeze and rinse....repeat, repeat, repeat. These are baby clothes so I want them very washable. Sometimes baby stains need a bit of warm water to come out. I didn't want these clothes bleeding over everything just because of that. So I rinsed (and rinsed and rinsed) until only trace amounts came off the clothes with hot water. I also washed everything in small loads in like colors with hot once and then cold the second time. Now I feel confident that if I wash it with like colors in warm every once in a while as needed, I won't end up with a bunch of purple and pink tinged clothes.

4. If you use red at all, a little goes a looooooong way.

5. If you're dyeing the fabric to cover up stains, it may not work. Even with dark dyes, some of the stained splotches just dyed darker than the rest. I would say 40% worked and 60% ended up in the trash. I should have taken pictures but I pitched them in the trash wet before I thought that far.

It doesn't hurt to try though. You were going to toss that stained shirt anyway. Why not toss it in the dye bath first to see if you can't salvage it?

And here are some before and afters:

Some turned out really fun.

This one was robin's egg blue before. When it mixed with the violet for 8 hours it turned out this beautiful deep purple hue.

This one is my favorite...also blue to begin with.

Others came out kind of funky.

Like the striped sleeper on the right. I'm still on the fence about whether I want to keep it or not...probably not.

But the one of the left used to be light blue and now it's a pretty Coral color. It also had a stain that dyed out. Win!

I used only RIT dye and these are the colors I used:

Violet (liquid). I pretty much put the whole bottle into 2 batches.

Scarlett (liquid) and Tangerine (powder) with a little Gray powder - to get the coral color.

You can access RIT's color formula guide here to get ideas as well.

I wanted to keep it simple and not buy a too many different colors so I didn't use it as much.

I'm getting used to the pinks and purples. It's taking some time but this project helped a lot. :)

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

It snowed yesterday. It was lovely. :)

We are supposed to get more which I'm excited about, except that I have to drive in it this weekend because I'm going to Alt, and to IKEA. Could it be better?

To celebrate getting snow this week, I thought it would be fitting to re-post my sugar cookie recipe from Amy's 25 days of Cookies. We make them for Valentine's Day every year as well. They are, in my opinion, the perfect sugar cookie.

Enjoy!

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Hello! I am Delia and I blog over at Delia Creates. I am so happy to be here for Amy's 25 days of Cookies.

Today, I'm going to share with you my all time favorite sugar cookie recipe. It was passed down to me from my mother and because of one fairly unique ingredient we call them...

Not sour cream tasting at all.They are irresistibly soft and chewy. If you claim to already have a sugar cookie recipe, just give this one a try...you won't regret it. :)

Ingredients:

Wet:

1 c. shortening {you can use butter but shortening produces a softer, chewier cookie}
2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. sour cream - I like to use full fat
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Dry:
5 c. all-purpose flour, plus 1-2 c. of flour for rolling cookies out
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

- Preheat your oven to 375 and prepare your cookie sheets with a light mist of spray oil.
We live at a high altitude - above 4500 ft. - so I bake them at about 365.
- Beat your wet ingredients together.
- Sift or whisk your dry ingredients together.

- Mix your dry and wet mixes together to get a nice thick dough.

- Flour your counter and rolling pin. Don't be shy with the flour. This dough is quite sticky. But also be careful not to add too much flour or the cookies will taste floury and they will crack easily.

- Take a big chunk of dough and roll it out to about 1/4 of an inch thick.

- Cut and place on the baking sheets.

- Bake for 10-15 minutes...until the top starts to look baked and oh so slightly browned.

For reasons I am not really sure of the cookies bake the best when baked with two sheets at a time. Maybe it's the heat reflecting off the other pan....not sure. But for BEST results, cook two cookie sheets at a time.

- Let it cool on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

- Then let the frosting begin!

This cookie frosting/glaze is from the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook:

3 TBSP. whole milk {I used half and half}
1 TBSP. softened cream cheese
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Mix 2 TBSP. milk and cream cheese together until smooth. Add sugar. Add remaining milk as needed.

I made a triple batch {which was too much}. Some was spooned into a freezer quart sized bag for piping...

And the rest got dyed so my boys could have more fun decorating.

I really like this glaze/icing. It's not too rich and it dries so the cookies won't stick together.

MMMMmmm. But truth be told? I love these cookies un-frosted even more. They are perfectly sweet - not too sugary....just right.

I hope you have a perfectly sweet day!

Button Cuff

2012-01-12T09:23:00.001-07:00

I know I've made a leather cuff before...found here.

But then I saw this cute button-like cuff over at Lorajean's magazine {it's the last picture in the post} and the wheels started turning. I just had to have one inspired by that!

So I made three.

I just cut some leather straps out of scrap leather I got at Hobby Lobby {it's by the jewelry not the fabric, at least at my store} and sifted through my button collection.

Then I machine sewed the buttons on.
{Go here for Disney's tutorial on how to do that. I just omit the taping step}.

Makes it a very fast project.

To make a button hole, just cut a slit at the opposite end.

That's it! Done.

Leather is wonderful like that.

I absolutely adore this floral button and thought it best to let it shine all on it's own.

Of course I had to hand sew this one on.

And here is my almost 31 week belly. Oooof.

Still sporting the belly band but this might be my last week. :)

I think this thicker cuff is almost masculine and more rustic looking.

The white is quite pretty and more feminine.

And I have to say thanks to my 3 year old for picking this nail polish color out for my birthday gift - I turned 28 last month.

We wanted to help our boys pick out something they could give me that would take thought, but not cost too much or be too crazy {or overwhelming choice wise for their age}. So my husband took them nail polish shopping for me.

I was expecting eccentric blues or greens, which I would have loved too. Instead they got me white and this lovely Tangerine Cream color. I have to say I like it quite a lot and I like to think they feel good seeing me wear it. :)

I have another post almost ready for tomorrow but I'm feeling blah. I get like this during the third trimester every time. I just don't feel like doing things that I usually love doing. So...I'm taking an early weekend. Hope you understand.

Have a good one. :) See you next week!

Maternity Pencil Skirt

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

In case you missed my post over at Sewing in No Mans Land. I made this skirt for Kelly's 12 Skirts of Christmas series. I am now 30 1/2 weeks! Wow...this pregnancy couldn't be going any faster, I tell ya.
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Hi there! I'm Delia from Delia Creates. I like to dabble in a lot of mediums but today I'm grateful for an excuse to bring out my sewing machine.

I am expecting our third child this next March and am progressively running out of things to wear that fit.

So on the fifth day, you get a skirt for a nice round, jolly belly. ;) Seems appropriately festive.

I have a older Liz Lange black jersey stretchy pencil skirt from Target that is quite flattering and easy to wear. This is just a copy of it but with a wider, more comfortable waistband.

The measurements I share are for a size medium maternity skirt. I am normally a size 4-6 pant size and am 6 months pregnant. The skirt looks best when you are 5 months along or more...or further along if it's your first. This is my third pregnancy, so I'm already big enough that people are asking "Any day now, huh?" Gotta love the awkward look on their face when I respond with, "Actually I still have three months left. " :) ha ha..

I also kind of waddle already because I have a bad back. Doesn't help my case too much.

Okay...so onto making the skirt.

You will need:

About 1- 1 1/4 yard of knit/stretchy/jersey fabric. I found this cotton knit at Hobby Lobby for about $4 or so - total {with a coupon}.

I used my black skirt as a template and just extended the length a bit.

The front panel to the skirt is about 21 inches wide and 27 inches long at the tallest part. You want it to rise in the middle of the waist about 2 1/2 inches to accommodate a pregnant belly.

You will also notice a slight rise out at the hips and taper at the bottom. I don't think this has to be super exact since you are working with knit and it all stretches anyway.

The back panel of the skirt is about 18 inches wide and 25 inches long. As you can see I cut everything on a fold to make it even.

Instead of an elastic waistband I added a knit one for more comfort. I measured around my lower ribcage where I wanted the top of the skirt to sit which was about 30 inches.

So, this band is 30 inches by 6 1/2 inches {which will be folded in half long ways in just a second.} You don't want to add extra for seam allowance because you want it to be nice and snug. Actually, I wish I had taken another half inch out to make it an even better fit.

Pin your front and back panel together, right sides facing. I used lots of pins because the knit fabric stretches easily and can get uneven while you're sewing.

I sewed up the sides with a straight stitch with 1/4 seam allowance, then laid that seam allowance to one side and sewed a parallel line to the seam. This makes it a little neater looking and reinforces the seam.

I turned the skirt right side out and marked the middle of the front and back of the skirt with two pins.

I then folded the waistband over and marked the middle and sides of the waistband with green pins. The pink pins are solely for keeping the waistband evenly folded while I sew.

Slide the waistband down over the skirt. Match the green pins to the pins on the skirt and the side seams. The waistband is smaller than the skirt so there should be slack fabric between the pins.

Pull the waist band taut to fit the skirt as you sew from pin to pin.

Which should give you a gather at the waist.

The front will be more gathered than the back.

Hem the bottom. I recommend a double needle stitch so that it will stretch with you as you walk.

{I didn't have two spools to do this, so I just sewed two straight lines. Looks okay but bugs a bit me when I kneel and stuff...just saying..}

I finished this off with a quick press from a hot iron and that's it!

Easy enough.

And so comfy.

If you're wondering about this yellow cardigan {that I probably wear a bit too often}go here.

And excuse the picture of my butt, but I wanted to show you the side and the back.

It does like to cling because of the nature of the fabric.

I recommend wearing a slip underneath if you're wearing tights or leggings

Or...if you can find a slicker polyester type knit, it might work a little nicer. My black one is made out of a material more like that, but finding it by the bolt around town is not always possible.

Thanks for having me over Kelly!

Merry Crafting!

Nesting...coming soon.

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have been preoccupied lately with getting ready for our new baby girl to join our family. March is approaching faster than I can believe.

I made these booties from this pattern...

They are made with 100% Peruvian wool and I imagine they are supposed to stretch to fit, because they are teeny tiny. See how little they are in Owen's 6 year old hands above?

I admit, this pattern was a bit advanced for my hands to manage. You can see mine didn't turn out as nice as the pattern pictures. The yarn is so thin and the booties so small...but it was fun to try, and practice, and learn.

And it is so sweet to imagine my little girl's feet will be this tiny...

I also made this hat from this pattern...

My mom had a whole stash of buttons put away in storage for years that she wasn't using! I LOVE buttons, so I snatched those up quick. These heart buttons are from that stash.

I think they are vintage? I love buttons but I'm not really a button expert or anything. So if anyone can shed some light on these...

In preparation for our little girl, I am also cooking up a four week baby series!

I have an exciting line up of guest posters, my own baby projects, and some fun giveaways in store.

Look for it starting January 23.

Have a marvelous day!

Little Man Scripture Cover

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our little Reid is now in Primary!

In our church, toddlers enter nursery at 18 months. They get a little lesson but mostly play with toys. When they turn three {and at the new year} they move into a real Sunday School type class of their own. I can't believe our baby is old enough to be in Primary.

I made him his own scripture cover to take with him just like his brother.

Click here for the tutorial

and here for the original post in which I made one for Owen.

I used pleather so I didn't line it but I did add a button/elastic clasp like mine.

Yesterday was his first time bringing it to church. I think he likes it...yes?

He looks so grown...my baby boy. :)

Hope you all had a nice weekend.

My husband was out of town for a few days so we are loving having him back!

Thoughts on Motherhood

2012-01-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

Today...I want to share something very personal to me.

I want to talk a little about family.

When I was little I always knew I wanted to grow up, get married, have children...be a mother. I think it's something a lot of little girls aspire to be. And now my main goals in life, my dreams are a reality. It's not always as romantic as I imagined it would be, but it's so much more fulfilling than I could have dreamed of.

My husband and my children are absolutely everything to me. Their lives are the fiber with which I weave my life... and a beautiful life it is. I know I need to express gratitude to my husband more often that he has enabled me to live my dream to become a mother.

This is me with my boys when I was about 5 months pregnant. I am much bigger than this now. It's getting harder to get around and it's often frustrating not feeling like myself. But every frustrating moment is checked by the fact that I know how lucky we are to be able to have more children. These boys are lucky.

Having our first child was such an exciting step for us, but adding another one {and now another} to our family really has helped it feel more complete. There is something so special about giving your child a sibling. Seeing them love each other and share unique memories with one another that they will share with no one else. More personalities in the mix also bring more fun to our days.

I'm not saying large families are for everyone, but I know for us that we knew we were meant to have more. After the time consuming baby phase starts to wear off, we feel that tug on our hearts. We count the kids as they get in the car or as we put them to bed and feel like we're forgetting something...that we're missing someone...even though both boys are there. And we know...our family needs to grow.

And so, that is why Mary's story touches me so. After years of trying to have children, she and her husband recently adopted a beautiful boy named Max. They have been such wonderful, attentive parents. You can visibly see how much Max is loved.

But just as we did, they feel that tug on their hearts to have another. To give Max a sibling to love, to play with and to share childhood with.

Mary is actually one of my dear friends from high school. She was one of those people that believed in me even when I didn't deserve it. She saw past my character flaws and brought out the best in me. She is also completely disarming. She'll act dorky and silly and crazy around you within five minutes of meeting you and not really care. You know you'll have fun no matter what and never run out of things to talk about. But in the same turn, she is incredibly driven and goal-oriented. She has a zest for getting the most out of life and actually works toward accomplishing that. I think Max is really lucky to have her as his mom...and Merrill as his dad. They have a stable, loving home that I think any child would be blessed to be apart of.

A lot of successful adoptions happen by word of mouth. So I'm asking you to go to Mary and Merril's site. Get to know them. Help them find another child that was meant to be in their beautiful, amazing family.

My wish for them is that they too will have the joy of seeing their children love each other and grow up with each other.

Here is a list of all their sites:

www.greenmandm.blogspot.com (personal/family)

www.merrillandmary.com (adoption)

www.marryjordan.com/blog (weddings) - she's an amazing photographer and posted last year on my blog here.

Thanks for reading. Have a blessed weekend.

Features: Super Food Pesto and Sew Can She

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning on putting two food posts back to back but I found out that Wisconsin Cheese Talk is featuring a recipe this week, that I created for them.

It's is one of my favorite things to make now {and eat!}and most of the ingredients are easy to find and buy at this time of year which is nice.

Go here to check it out.

I'm also excited to be featured at Sew Can She today.

Go see my ear warmers feature here.

Have a lovely day!

Chocolate Drizzles

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Do you love things that give maximum effect with minimum effort?

Me too...and that's what I'm going to share with you today.

It's these things I like to call...

You know, fancy little chocolates shapes you use to decorate desserts.

I use them all the time when I make cakes. See here and here. I've also made them for church functions from time to time and always get oohs and aahs. But it's SO easy...and very inexpensive.

For family home evening earlier this week, I used them to decorate our banana ice cream. I'm trying to slim down our desserts after the fatty sugar overload from Christmas. Banana ice cream is perfect because all it is is frozen bananas. Seriously...AND it tastes good. I originally posted about it here.

Now to make the drizzles all you do is melt chocolate chips. That's it. A one ingredient topping for a one ingredient ice cream. Love the simplicity. :)

I like to use semi-sweet chocolate chips. This is a scant cup's worth. It doesn't take much to make a lot of drizzles.

Place in a double boiler and melt. Mine is make shift with a small pyrex bowl placed on top of a small pan of boiling water.

Then I place a freezer quart sized bag into a tall container and fill it up with the melted and slightly cooled chocolate.

Squeeze the chocolate to one of the bottom corners, and make a tiny snip. Then drizzle all over a sheet of wax paper...as the name implies.

Let cool until the chocolate is no longer glossy. This can take a couple of hours. Putting it in the refrigerator speeds this process up.

Don't forget to lick the bowl! :)

Then peel off the paper and decorate to your hearts delight.

Makes the ordinary feel a little fancy.

I tried out a few different shapes this time. I think I like the circles best.

I have also done chocolate writing before but it doesn't stand up vertically very well. I had to lay it down on top of a giant cookie I made, like frosting writing. The thicker the shapes the better they hold...of course.

My kind of dessert...Mostly healthy with a little bit of sugary sweet. Yum.

Felt Puppets

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to normalize around here, well sort of...Owen is back in school and I have a stack of projects I have in mind to help us get ready for the baby. I also have a little baby series in the works which will start at the end of this month! My to do list keeps growing and growing!

As I whittle my list down, I thought it would be fun to revisit a post I did for Whip Up back in September.

It's a fun one to make and play with your kids.

Find the original post here.

______________________________________________________________

Hello Whipup.net readers! I am thrilled to be here.

When Kathreen asked me to guest post she said to post about what has been on my mind lately. My thoughts immediately turned to my kids and how I want to pass on the legacy of working with their hands and being creative.

I had this puppet project idea in the back of my mind all summer and decided now was a great time to finally do it with them.
I split the project up over a few days and did things in stages so as to not overwhelm them {or me}. We started with a sewing lesson.

For my two, almost three, year old I made felt lacing cards. There are two felt rectangles that I punched holes in with a paper hole punch. I actually broke my hole punch, so punch at your own risk if you try this. :) I then had him whip stitch the holes with yarn. He did great for about 5 minutes and got halfway up one side then lost interest.

Luckily his older brother was very much into this project and finished his sewing for him. For my six year old, I also taught him how to whip stitch but with needle and thread. We cut the sleeves off some ruined wool sweaters at an angle and sewed up the angled ends. I got the from idea here. His stitches weren’t perfect, but he and I were so proud of his effort. It surprised me to see how much he really enjoyed sewing.

Later, I sat down and made some puppets of my own.
Here’s a quick run down of how I made the felt rat:

Cut two oblong felt semi-circles that are just larger than your hand with fingers close together.
Take one of the pieces and cut out an eye shape. I used a cereal bowl to help me achieve a nice curve.
Using that same curve cut some triangular mouth pieces. You need two curved pieces for the outside of the of mouth and two flat pieces for the inside of the mouth. You also want to make the bottom mouth pieces just a bit smaller than the top.
Take the inside mouth pieces {with the flat ends} and make some mouth embellishments. Cut your ear pieces.

And sew them together except for the tongue. That will be sewn in later.
Now take your curved mouth pieces and sew them to the top and bottom pieces of the front of your puppet.
Then add the inside mouth pieces and sew them to the top and bottom mouth pieces only.

Line the top and bottom pieces together and sew. When you open it up…see the tongue. :)
Line up the front and back pieces and pin the ears in. Sew all the way around.

Now...The puppets were ready to be dolled up. So we pulled out all my scraps and embellished our puppets using a hot glue gun. It would have made for better quality puppets to sew everything on, but with kids they enjoy the project more if it comes together quickly. And to be frank...so do I! :)

My two year old’s felt lacing cards became a funky little robot.

My older son and I made our sleeve puppets into mice. I didn’t plan on having so many rodents, but it just worked out that way. The orange one almost became a cat, but it looked strange so I ripped the ears off and gave Owen's rat a sister.

We wanted to debut our new puppets with a puppet show after bath that night.

They ended up eating each other most of the the time. :) But I should have seen it coming when I made the snake and the bear.

All in all it was a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to try another project with them that stretches their creative abilities.

I think the only thing better than exploring my own creative outlets is sharing them with the next generation.

Hope you're enjoying your day!

Top 11 of 2011 and Giveaway Winner

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

We don't usually do too much for New Years.

Just lounge around and play games. Have some cheese and chocolate fondue. Watch movies. That kind of thing.

I get to lounge around in style though. I treated myself to a new pair of slippers this Christmas in linen and camel colored yarns. I actually did a pattern giveaway for this easy, easy slipper pattern last year. Go here to check it out. I seriously smile every time I look down at these things. They are so comfy and the colors are so me.

I'll probably also be playing with my new lens.

So many of you have recommended the f/1.8 fixed lens, and now I know why. This is one of the first pictures I took with it. It only took one picture for me to fall in love too. :)

Oh and yes...that's our Christmas tree in the background that's still up. It's dying like crazy but I was waiting until my husband was off work to help me take it down; which we'll probably do today.

All right. Enough blabbing. It's that time of year...to reflect on projects past.

I just put together a tutorials and projects page - finally. What a load of work! But it was a good time to help me review my favorite projects from the last year. And here they are...

11. Kid's Can Hold'em Card Wheel

My kids use these all the time. They are so handy and even fun to make with your kids.

10. Sock Keeper

I honestly use this ALL the time. It's so nice to have a place to put all the loner socks until I find the match. And not just a place, but a place I can easily access and see.

9. Frankenstein Hat

This was one of those projects that turned out as good as it looked in my head...which is not as common an occurrence as I would like. :)

8. Lemon Crepe Cake

I crave this every time I see this picture. The slightly tangy, sweet cream cheese filling...hmmm soooo good.

7. Mr. Recycle Head Man

This was an Earth Day project I did with my kids that I definitely want to repeat. The grass starts to get moldy after a month or so, so we don't keep them around much longer than that. But they added a nice, cheerful pop of fun to our kitchen sink window this past April. It was fun to cut their "hair" from time to time because it keeps growing!

6. Lego Birthday Party

I threw my oldest, Owen, a Lego Birthday party for his 6th birthday this year...so why not make this one number 6!

This party was so much fun. He still talks about it and he's about to turn 7 next month.

5. Lil' Mister Bow Tie

I loved making these bow ties for MADE's Celebrate the Boy this year. It's a tutorial for how to make your own pattern for a "real" bow tie. It's much easier than you would think.

4. Best Bread

Just as the title implies, it really is the best bread recipe ever. I got it from my good friend Connie who is a magnificent cook. Everything she makes it always delicious.

The best way to make this bread - at least for me - is by hand. Mixers are handy for many things but I find that when I make this bread by hand, it turns out...well...the best. :)

3. Easy Knit Produce Bag

This was one of those projects that I kind of just came up with at the last minute. I needed a "green" project for my Color My Summer series I hosted with Kojo this last Spring. I wanted to do some kind of crocheted produce bag, but since my crochet pattern making skills are completely lacking, I turned it into a sewn version. I started with one green one, and then couldn't stop myself before I had made a rainbow of bags.

2. Cardigan Conversion

I came up with this project for Cheri's Refashionista series, but it was something I had been needing to do for a long time. I didn't want to throw some of my sweaters out. I had long been in denial that they really were too tight and short to be wearing anymore...especially now while I'm pregnant, so I converted them into cardigans. Now I can't stop wearing them at least once a week!

1. Lego Belt

I think I'll make this my number one favorite because it's probably my boys' favorite. They love customizing their Lego belts every Sunday morning, and I revel in seeing them adore something I created for them. Plus it's really cute to see how much Owen has grown from this picture. What a stud. :)

And that's a wrap. I look forward to another year of creating with all of you!

Oh and let's not forget we have a winner for the Holland Designs Crochet Calendar Giveaway!

Congrats to:

# 91 Jen who said...

Love the calendar!!

You should have an email from me in your inbox.

Please reply by January 7th to claim your prize.

And to all of my readers,

I want to wish you and yours a beautiful, joyous, HAPPY New Year!

Sponsor Delia Creates

2011-12-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

I am pretty excited to announce that...

Delia Creates is now accepting sponsors for January 2012!

Shoot me an email

delia dot randall at gmail dot com

and I'll give you all the details.

You can also visit my Advertise page for more information.

Sweet Granola

2011-12-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

The New Years organization frenzy that happens at our house every year has already begun...but mostly on my blog. As I get things sorted out, how about a healthy breakfast granola recipe to help you start the new year right.?

It's nice and sweet and our favorite way to start the day. I originally guest posted it here on MADE.

Enjoy!

________________________________________

Today I'm going to share a deliciously easy breakfast granola.

It's a family favorite recipe from my sweet sister-in-law Amy.

I like to to call it a sweet granola because it's just that. With two cups of sweetener per batch, it can satisfy your sweet tooth yet still make you feel good about eating it. :)

It's also a wonderful thing to make during the holidays because it fills your house to the brim,

with a warm cinnamon smell. Hmmm..love.

Gather your ingredients:

Dry:

* 5 cups of rolled oats - not the quick cooking kind

* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

* 3/4 teaspoon iodized salt {if you use kosher use more}

* 1/2 cup - 1 1/2 cups of nuts, depending on how nutty you like your granola. You can use whatever kind you like. I used sliced almonds and walnuts.

* Optional - 1 cup or so of coconut shreds and a couple tablespoons of ground flax seed. I didn't add flax this time but only because I forgot {pregnancy brain:)}. It's darn good for you and you really can't taste it.

Sugars:

Mix and match 2 cups of a sweetener of your choosing. Brown sugar, honey, real maple syrup... I just don't recommend white granulated sugar.

I like to use 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup honey.

Quick tip: before measuring out your honey, add a mist of spray oil to your measuring cup first. The honey should slide right out and be much easier to clean up later.

Oil and water:

1/2 cup of hot water

1/3 of oil - again you can decide what kind you want to use. I like to use melted coconut oil because it adds nice flavor.

Now it's just five easy steps...

Step One: Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and mix your dry ingredients together thoroughly.

Step Two: Add your sugars and mix again very thoroughly. You want it as homogenous as possible. Break up all those brown sugar clumps...you almost can't over mix.

Step Three: Add your oil and water. Mix quickly and again...thoroughly.

Step Four: Spread an even layer in a lightly greased rimmed cookie sheet. One batch should fill one large pan. It should look and feel nice and sticky.

Step Five: Bake for about an hour until the oats turn a caramel golden brown.

You need to stir the granola and rotate the pan every 15 minutes during the baking time.

When it's done and still hot it will still be slightly tacky. Let it cool completely in the pan before transferring it to an airtight container. If you leave it too long it will take some work to scrape it out of the pan. When that happens I just get out a metal spatula and pound on it to break it up first.

The granola should last about 7-10 days. I think anyway. Our granola has honestly never made it that far so I really actually don't know! :)

It makes a great snack alone,

but my favorite way is to eat it like cereal in a bowl full of milk.

Oh yum.

Thanks for having me over Dana.

Happy Holidays!

_________________________

And don't forget about the Holland Designs Giveaway! It ends on Friday night.

Holland Designs Crochet Giveaway

2011-12-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

I like to make sure at least one of our Christmas gifts to the boys is handmade every year.

This year I settled on slippers.

I waited until the very last minute to get them done this year though. Reid's were done just hours before he opened them to wear them Christmas Eve night! But they were done! Phew...

Paired with their new pajamas, I thought they looked quite adorable. :)

To make the slippers, I used this boys' loafer pattern from Holland Designs.

It is definitely an intermediate pattern and takes more time than other things I've made in the past, but the results...

totally worth it.

I love the ribbing all the way around.

Lisa's patterns are very detailed and thorough. This pattern spans quite a few sizes so I'm excited to make more in the future.

Actually... I loved this pattern so much, I contacted Lisa to see if she would do a giveaway.

And she agreed!

For all you crocheters, this week is your lucky week!
Lisa is giving away one 2012 Crochet Calendar.

Just perfect for the new year.

There is actually a new pattern for you to try for each month.

If you buy the calendar outright for the current sale price $14.99, that's 12 patterns for a seriously amazing deal.

So...I'm excited to give one away this week.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Leave ONE comment. If you accidentally leave duplicates please erase them.

2. Leave your email address in the comment or make sure your email address is linked to your google profile. I will be using that email to notify you if you win, so please make it one you check often. I will hide your comments/email addresses once the contest is over to protect you from spammers.

That's it!

You have from now until Friday, December 30, 2011, 10 PM MST, to enter.
The winner will be announced on Saturday.

Good luck!

And have a lovely {and if you're out of school like us - lazy} day!

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

Comments have been hidden to protect email addresses from spammers.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas weekend!

We were busy having fun...and now we're pretty worn out. Even the kids! :)

One tradition that we do every year is gingerbread houses. It is SO much work for me and I always contemplate doing away with it the next year, but then my husband reminds me how much my kids look forward to it and how much they love it. And...he's right.

It's no wonder why really. They get to eat as much candy as they want while they decorate their houses however they want. And then they get to munch on it for days afterward {which I think is gross but...I don't say anything}. What's not to like from a kid perspective?

My oldest, Owen, requested that I make a garage for his house next year. I'm hoping that by typing about it on my blog will help me remember. :)

I help wherever they let me. My three year old pretty much let me take over his house, but not without a few of his own touches. And I love it. I love that it looks crazy and messy and nonsensical.

I love even more the looks of pride and glee on my kids' faces when they're done and I've allowed the houses to be displayed prominently in the middle of our dining room table.

So I guess it's worth it.

Still...there are some things that I learn every year to make the whole process easier...

* This year we did candy windows. I used this tutorial for it. The tutorial includes super detailed instructions for every step in making gingerbread houses. I used their recipe which worked pretty good. I still have another that I used years ago that I think works better but for some reason I keep using a new recipe every year. Who knows why. It's probably like my shopping habit. Do you ever see something at one store but then go to 10 different others to make sure that one is the best price/quality? I do. :)

* We used Alison's instructions for royal icing and sugar glue. She also has a great gingerbread house tutorial on her site Oopsey Daisy. I just love love the sugar glue though. I burned it black this year but it worked great. You just burn sugar and use it to assemble your houses. It cools and hardens very quickly.

*Candy tips:

-Instead of buying bags and bags of candy, we go to the bulk candy bins at the grocery store and buy a handful each candy we think we'll use. That way there is less candy waste and less money spent on candy.

- Save your Halloween candy. I did not do this, this year, but you can bet I will next year. I instead saved all the candy Owen brought home from school from all the fun holiday stuff they did and brought it out for this activity.

Those wood logs stacked outside of the door of this house? Unwrapped tootsie rolls! :)

- Think outside candy. Pretzels, Chex cereal, ice cream cones, and other things that you probably already have on hand make great gingerbread house decorations.

* Making the gingerbread.

- Make or find a paper template to cut all of your pieces out with. The first gingerbread tutorial from The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie mentions cutting the gingerbread out, baking it, then using the template to re-cut the pieces after they're baked. I highly recommend this as well. Evenly cut pieces make for a better looking house.

- I also waited until after the ginger bread was baked to cut out the doors and windows.

- Make the gingerbread the day before and let it dry out on your counter top. It spreads the work over two days so it seems less overwhelming, and the stiffer cookie pieces build a sturdier house.

- Make sure you use royal icing. See Oopsey Daisy for a super easy recipe. We've had a few houses die from using the canned stuff.

I dish a little bit of frosting out into a small bowl for the kids to dig into and for spreading. I then put some in a freezer ziploc bag and snip a tip off the bottom for piping...which I make mostly just a mom job. The rest I keep in a large bowl with a moist, clean towel over the top. This keeps it from hardening and drying out until you are ready for more.

- And last. My best tip is to assemble the houses by yourself beforehand {that sugar glue is HOT - I have a burned finger to prove it}, set out the candy and decorations, and have everything ready to go before you call the kids over. That way, you can just sit back, turn up the Christmas music, and enjoy the moment.

...and try not to think about the mess you'll have to clean up for an hour afterward. :)

Stove Top Potpourri

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Do you simmer your apple and citrus peels in a small pot of apple juice, cloves and cinnamon too?

I wish you all had smell-o-vision.

This smells divine. It's one of my favorite things to do this time of year, even after the Christmas decorations are all put away.

Once it starts bubbling I turn it to low and let it waft heavenly scents through our house for most of the day.

I find myself peeling an apple just so I can make some stove top potpourri.

"She could peel an apple...in one long curly strip." - Tom Hanks

Watching that movie is also one of my favorite things to do this time of year. :) It's a good movie to watch while you wrap gifts...

and drink some warm, spicy wassail.

Hmmmm...

Oh, and we have a new winner for the Belleza Mia Lucky Horseshoe Necklace. Last week's winner never contacted me back. So...

The new winner is:

Rebeccarama said... 96: i love it! does this make anybody else think of never been kissed? "it's all about horseshoes!"

Congrats! I emailed you last night. Please check your inbox and get back to me ASAP.

And I guess I need to re-watch that movie too. I don't remember all the horseshoe references.

Since Christmas is only 3 days away...holy moley...did that creep up on you too? I will be slowing things down around here.

Have a splendid Christmas and holiday season!

Cookie Sampler

2011-12-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

We delivered our neighbor gifts last night. It was fun to do all together as a family and I am sooo grateful to be able to check this off my list!

Instead of having the oven going all day, I had the freezer working overtime for some ready to bake cookie samplers.

Kind of like the frozen cookie logs but the dough is already formed and ready to go.

I made double batches of four different kinds of cookies:

Peanut Butter Cookies
Double Dark Chocolate Pomegranate {from MADE - these are a chocolate lover's dream!}
Snicker Doodles
Chewy Gingersnaps

I balled them up...

For the peanut butter cookies I also cross-hatched them, and for the Snickerdoodles I lightly pressed them slightly flat with the bottom of a cup, BEFORE freezing.

Then I froze them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet for about an hour, before transferring them to a freezer zip-loc bag.

It is really ideal to freeze them for 2-3 hours before bagging them, but I didn't have that kind of time. One hour worked fine as long as I put the bags right back in the freezer until we were ready to box them and deliver them.

I made sure there was a mix of a dozen cookies per bag; and I used a smaller sandwich bag to separate the sugar coated ones from the non-sugared ones.

While I waited on the cookie dough to freeze, I folded up some origami gift boxes out of 12x12 scrapbook paper. I use and love this tutorial from Lorajean's Magazine all the time!

I have a large stash of paper I never use. Most of it is not really that pretty, but when you fold it up into a useful box it takes on new life.

I was able to whittle my stash down quite a bit and I didn't have to spend a dime.

The boxes make for a neat, compact package our neighbors can easily slip into their freezer until they are ready to enjoy them.

Then I slipped the freezer bag of cookies in...

with this note.

It gives freezing instructions: frozen cookies will last for about one month.

And adjusted baking instructions: 325 degrees F, for about 12-17 minutes depending on your oven. Because the dough is frozen you want to bake it at a lower temperature for longer. But you don't have to let it thaw. Just pull it out and bake!

The only thing I forgot to include in our note was what kind of cookies we put in. Whoops. Maybe I should call it the surprise cookie sampler. :)

I have to admit...this project created a sugar explosion in our kitchen. My Kitchen Aid was a terrible mess and the floor was sandy with little white sticky granules. The one upside to it though, is that I only made one big mess that I had to clean up just once. All the ingredients only had to be hauled out once, etc. etc.

And now we have a bunch of frozen cookies left over that I plan on using Christmas Eve night, to bake for Santa.

Fresh baked cookies without anymore work, mess and dishes? Beautiful.

I couldn't help but bake some of them up for now too.

The chewy gingersnaps cook up so pretty. I love the cracks in contrast with the glittery sugar.

Yum.

Have a delicious day!