The Craft Patch

A Cute Way to Patch Jeans

2012-02-09T19:39:00.001-08:00

It's about that time of year... you know, when all your kid's school jeans start wearing through at the knee. What do they do at school that makes their clothes come home so destroyed?! Honestly!

I've tried several different patching methods and this is the one I think turned out the cutest.

Materials Needed:
- Jeans with holes in the knees. If you have kids, you should have plenty of these hanging around.
- Extra fabric. I used denim from an old pair of pants I found in my "turn-these-into-a-denim-quilt-someday" pile.
- Fabric glue. I used Alene's because that's what I had on hand.
- Thread. Choose something that coordinates or a bright fun color. It's up to you!

Step 1: Trace a pattern onto the denim over the hole you want to patch.
Step 2: Cut out a square/rectangle of the extra fabric. Make sure the extra piece of fabric completely covers up the design you'd like to cut with plenty of overlap.

Step 3: Use the fabric glue around the edges of the rectangle to secure it to the inside of the pants. Make sure it lines up and completely covers the design you've traced. Don't put glue in the middle of the rectangle because that part of the fabric will show on the front when you're done.
Step 4: When the glue is dry, stitch through both thicknesses of fabric around the design you drew, leaving about 1/4 distance between your stitches and the line.

Step 5: This is a crucial step. CAREFULLY cut out along the line you drew, ONLY cutting through the top layer (the original pant fabric). DO NOT cut through both layers of fabric or you will defeat the whole purpose of this project and will end up with holes in the knees. Make sense?
The jeans pictured haven't been washed yet, but when they do, the denim around the heart design will fray and look even cuter.

Now hopefully you'll have a pair of pants that will last until June!

Pinterest Tested 2/6/12

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Glowing Mountain Dew

This Pin claims that mixing a tiny bit of baking soday, three capfuls of hydrogen peroxide and a 1/4 inch of Mountain Dew will make the bottle light up like a lightbulb.

THE TEST: Does it work? Can I really make Mountain Dew glow in the dark?I gave it my best shot. The kids and I went into the bathroom, mixed up all the ingredients, turned out the lights and shook that bottle as hard as we could. This is what it looked like:

THE RESULTS: Well, the picture speaks for itself. It did not work even one bit! This Pin is a total hoax!
I am a little disappointed, but not really surprised. It was just too strange to be real. I even tried four or five times with slightly different proportions . Then I came back 10 minutes later to see if it was glowing. Nope. Totally doesn't work at all.

The biggest bummer is that I bought a 2 liter of Mountain Dew just to do this test and no one in our house even drinks the stuff!

Oh, well. You win some, you lose some. Maybe I can look on Pinterest to see what else Mountain Dew is good for. Haha.

Savory Cheese Rolls

2012-01-31T18:50:00.000-08:00

I'm reposting this because my mom said the recipe was too vague and the pictures didn't do the recipe justice. So here's the edited version with better directions and better pictures! Love ya, Mom!

Looking for a cheap and delicious recipe to try for this weekend's big game? Or how about something a little different to serve with a hot bowl of soup? My sister told me they make something like these cheese rolls at her high school, so I thought I'd give it a whirl and I'll tell you, they are really yummy. The dough is pillowy soft and the cheese gets all crusty and cooked....ah, I'm drooling.

The recipe is:

TBSP sugar
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour
1 1/8 cup water
1/8 cup powdered milk (I use Morning Moo)
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
2 tsp yeast

Prepare the dough in the bread machine or KitchenAid and let raise to double.

Roll dough into a big rectangle, just like you would for cinnamon rolls. Spread butter over all the dough. (I didn't in the picture....didn't realize I was out when I started making them. The finished rolls were not as good as normal without the butter, so make sure you add it!) Sprinkle with cheese and seasonings. Starting at the long end of the rectangle, roll tightly just like when you make cinnamon rolls. Cut into slices and raise for 20 minutes or so. Bake at 350 until golden brown and bubbly.

Touchdown!

And just FYI, this is one of the things we had at our SuperBowl party LAST year. This year we're making Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn, Jalepeno Poppers, In-N-Out Copycat Burgers, Cream Cheese Stuffed Pretzels and 7-Layer Dip. And no, I'm NOT making that all myself. We're partying with two other families and have divided up the dishes. Can't wait! I could care less about football, but I love any excuse for a party!

Pinterest Tested 1/30/12

2012-01-30T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today I'm testing something new... a hairstyle! I always wonder if the styles I see on Pinterest are doable for real people with real hair and minimal hairstyling skills. So I chose a 'do I thought was doable. :) haha. This is what the Pin looks like:

Prim and Proper Updo

Simple, sleek, elegant. I like it!

THE TEST: Can a normal person recreate this hairstyle at home?

I followed the directions, which were very clear. Basically, you put your hair into a half-pony, tease the bottom of that pony a little, then smoothly tuck the rest of your hair through a hole in the half pony. That didn't make any sense. It would be better to just follow the instructions on the Pin. haha.
I was surprised to find that this hairstyle was really easy! It only took a few minutes. The final results aren't exactly like the original picture, but I wore my hair this way to church and got compliments, so I think that's a good sign. My hair is not nearly as long as the hair shown in the pictures either...it's a few inches below the shoulders with lots of shorter layers and I was still able to pull it off.THE RESULT: A new, elegent hairstyle that takes minutes and is totally doable for anyone at any hairstyling skill level!

Bombs

2012-01-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share one of our favorite family recipes. At our house, we call them Bombs. They are basically a soft roll with yummy filling inside.

To make Bombs, start with a loaf's worth of bread/roll dough. You can use any recipe for the dough (or buy frozen bread dough...which I think is the biggest rip-off on the planet), but this is the recipe I use. It makes mighty tasty rolls.

2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour, approximately
2 tsp. yeast
1 1/8 cup warm water*
1/8 cup powdered milk*
1/4 cup butter
1 egg

* If you don't have powdered milk, you would add 7/8 cup milk and 1/4 cup water instead of the water and powdered milk suggested in the original recipe.

Add all ingredients to bread machine in order listed. Select the dough cycle and let the machine do all the work. I usually add 3 1/2 cups of flour at first, then I test the dough and add more until it feels right--not sticky, not too dry/firm, just nice and soft. When the machine beeps, take the dough out and divide it into 12-15 pieces. Shape each piece into approximately a 5 inch circle.

If you do not have a bread machine, you can make this in a stand mixer (like a KitchenAid). I would mix the sugar, yeast, milk, water, butter and egg together first, then the rest of the ingredients. Just don't put yeast and salt touching eachother---salt kills yeast and your bread won't rise very well!

Next you will need the filling. Anything goes as long as it is not too juicy that it will leak out. Here are some of our favorite combinations:

-Pizza Bomb: spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, and mozzarella (plus any other favorite pizza toppings)
-BBQ Bomb: shredded beef/pork/chicken, BBQ sauce and cheddar
-Joe Bomb: ground beef, sloppy joe sauce and cheddar
-Ham & Cheese Bomb: diced ham, broccoli, onion and cheddar
-Taco Bomb: ground beef with taco seasoning, salsa, onions and mexican blend cheese
-Bacon Bomb: diced chicken, bacon, green onions, ranch dressing and mozzarella

Place about 4 tablespoons of filling ingredients in the center of each dough circle.

Bring edges up around the filling and pinch to seal the dough.If there are any holes, the filling will leak out all over the pan!

Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet.Let dough rise in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown on top.

Here's what they look like all baked, cut open and oozing with cheese and sauce.

They are Hawaiin Bombs, by the way---Canadian bacon, pineapple, green peppers, sauce, cheese. And they were delicious!

These would be a great food for the SuperBowl. They make a great dinner paired with a big salad. We also love taking them on car trips and picnics because they are still tasty even if they're not piping hot.

Pinterest Tested 1/23/11

2012-01-23T04:06:00.000-08:00

Homemade Laundry Soap

The Test: Is this recipe for laundry soap actually cheaper and does it wash clothes as well as regular detergent?

I went to Wal-Mart to see if I could find all the ingredients I would need and guess what? Wal-Mart had everything and all the ingredients were even next to each other on the shelf in the detergent aisle! I was thinking I would have to hunt all over the store, but nope. All together. How nice! This is what I came home with:
The total came to $16.55 including tax.

Another hesitation with this project was if it was time consuming to put together. I grated the bar soap and stirred everything by hand in less than 20 minutes. It was easy! I would recommend wearing a mask (or tying a scarf around your face like I did) while mixing to avoid breathing in the dust. It made me choke a little.

So my next question was how many loads I would get out of one batch. The original post said it only takes one tablespoon per load. So I measured, oh yes I did! And I was going to do it one scoop at a time until my brilliant husband stated the obvious and had me see how many scoops were in a two-cup measuring cup and then just figure the results from there. Duh. haha. According to my calculations, I will get 462 loads from this one batch.

That means the cost of this detergent is 3.6 cents per load. The detergent I was using before cost 5.3 cents per load (and it was a cheap brand that I got on sale).

The original recipe says that the oxygen cleaner is optional. If you left that out, the detergent would be even cheaper...2.7 cents per load. Don't know if it would clean as well though.

Now for the big question...does this stuff actually clean clothes as well as store-bought detergent? My answer is yes. I can't tell a difference from what I was using. I'll post something if I stop feeling that way after I've been using it for a few weeks.

This Pin passes The Craft Patch test for sure!

THE RESULTS: A homemade cleaning solution that seems to work as well as store-bought detergent. It was easy to put together and it really is cheaper.

The $1.60 Ruffle Shirt

2012-01-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

I love when stuff goes on clearance after Christmas. Especially if you have the patience and wait until it goes to 90% off. Thanks to Melissa at 320 Sycamore for giving me the heads up... I got these shirts at Target for $0.80 each. Can't beat that!

No offense to Santa, but I don't really care for the Christmas logo. So what's a girl to do? Cover it with ruffles, of course!

I used Sachiko's tutorial found on her blog, Tea Rose Home. Easy (she had great directions) and I love the way it turned out! The perfect shirt for kicking around the house...it's comfy and stylish! Plus if it does get splattered with baby poo or pasta sauce or cleaner, it cost $1.80, so it's no sweat.

I bought a second set of shirts and I can't decide what to do with them. What t-shirt transformations have you seen that you just love? Or have you seen something at the store that you'd like me to recreate? Ideas appreciated! Just remember that it has to cover the front center since the other shirts also have Christmas logos on them.

A Sweet Deal: Three Ways to Repurpose A Photo Clutch

2012-01-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

I was browsing through Joann’s Christmas clearance aisle yesterday and stumbled upon these babies:Because everything was 90% off, these cute photo clutches were only $1.49! My store had this purple/pink color and black too.

Don’t need to carry photos around? Here are three creative ways to repurpose your sweet deal photo clutch:

1. A receipt organizer. My purse is always a mess of crumpled receipts. When I need to find a receipt, it would be so nice to open up this cute book and flip to a specific receipt that was all nicely tucked away.

2. An on-the-go quiet book. Then you’d always have something to entertain the kids when you’re waiting at the doctor’s office or the grocery store. Just include a dry-erase marker and the possibilities are endless: tic-tac-toe, matching, practicing letters, the Dot game…

3. A home décor reference book. Have you ever seen something at the store or hesitated to jump on a good deal because you weren’t sure it would match your wall color or the fabric on your couch? If you compiled a little book with fabric samples and paint chips and kept it in your purse, you would never have to wonder again! You could just flip open to the right page and see if it would match the rest of your room.

Well, what are you waiting for? Run to your local Joann’s and see if they still have these photo clutches in their clearance aisle!

Pinterest Tested 1/16/12

2012-01-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Pinterest Tested! Ever wonder if that miracle cleaner is really miraculous? Or what about that homemade facial cleanser? Does it work? This is the place to find out! Each Monday I am testing Pins that catch my eye to see if they really live up to the claims made on Pinterest.

Today I am testing this Pin:

THE TEST: Are baking soda and hydrogen peroxide a miracle cleaner for bathroom gunk?

Lately I have been noticing the gross build-up around my bathroom faucets, so I thought I would try it out.

I mixed up the cleaner, applied it to the faucett, let it sit for 10 minutes, then scrubbed everything with a toothbrush.

Here's what it looked like before and after:

Can you see a difference? The brown stuff is a little lighter. But yeah, not a whole lot, huh?!

I think the cleaner did a much better job on the knob tops. They went from brown and crusty to only slightly old looking. Definitely an improvement!

The crusty stuff at the base of the round knobs didn't look like much of a change. But I know it did clean a lot of it off, because when I poured water over the handle, all this gunk came shooting out:

THE RESULTS: I think the cleaner worked. I just wouldn't call it a miracle cleaning solution...the difference after cleaning just wasn't miraculous enough to me. I do love that the cleaner didn't have a strong odor, that I had the ingredients on hand and that it was inexpensive.

P.S. If you know how I can get these knobs looking a little less shabby, I'd love to hear suggestions.

Paper Clip Love Birds

2012-01-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I made these little love birds, and I have enjoyed pulling them out each year for Valentine's Day. I think they are so cute...they just make me happy! They are also really easy to make and you probably already have all the supplies you need to make them. Yay!

Here's how:

1. Gather materials. All you need is scraps of red/white/pink paper and two paper clips per bird. I prefer the big thick paper clips...they make stronger birdie legs.

Step 2: Bend the paper clips into legs by following the pictures shown below:

The last bend you will have to make is so they stand up. I had to wiggle and bend and wiggle and bend until mine stood up on their own.

Step 3: Cut out a bird body (front and back), a wing, and a beak from coordinating paper. Tape or glue the tops of the paper clip legs to the back side of the paper body and glue the other paper over the paper clips, sandwiching them in so the pretty sides of the paper are showing. Add a beak, wings, and eyes and you are done! If you wanted to get fancy, you could even add a little feather sticking out of the tail.

Now you just need to find a perch for your happy little love birds!
ETA: If your love birds are a little tipsy, you could cut out a coordinating circle of cardstock to use as a base. Glue the legs to the paper and your birds will be a lot more stable.

Make Your Own Scratch-Off Cards!

2012-01-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, I used to beg my mom to let me scratch the little silver circles off of ads and sweepstakes that came in the mail. I get the biggest kick out of that! Recently I saw an article at BHG about making your own scratch-off cards and I about died. I can make my own?! Of course I had to try it out to see if it really worked. And guess what? IT DOES! Wahoo!

I decided it would be fun to give my husband a scratch-off card for Valentine’s Day. Here’s what it looks like:

Under each heart is a different gift. I will give him whichever one he scratches off.

Materials Needed:

A Valentine’s Day card
Con-Tact paper
Acrylic paint
Liquid dish soap
Paint brush
Small paper cup or something to hold paint
Scissors
Pencil
Penny

Step 1: Prepare your Valentine card. I made mine in Photoshop and it took all of ten minutes. You could just as easily make one in Word. Print it out on cardstock.

Step 2: Cut a strip of Con-Tact paper big enough to make four hearts. Lay it on top of the hearts on your card and trace them onto the paper side of the Con-Tact paper.Step 3: To make the special scratch-off paint, mix two parts acrylic paint with 1 part liquid dish soap. I just eyeballed the measurement.

Step 4: On the shiny side of the contact paper, paint a thin coat of the special paint to cover each heart. Let it dry, then add a second and third coat if needed. Remember, you don’t want to be able to see through the paint.
Step 5: Cut out the hearts following the lines you traced. Peel off the paper backing and place the sticker over the hearts on your card.
Step 6: Include a shiny new penny with the card so your Valentine will have something to scratch with!

Pinterest Tested 1/9/12

2012-01-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Anyone else addicted to Pinterest like I am? Who even needs Google anymore? When I want to find something fabulous, I can almost always count on Pinterest weeding it down for me.

The problem I've found is that some of those miracle cleaning solutions or delicious looking recipes fall flat when I actually try them.

So every Monday I am going to test an idea from Pinterest and tell you whether it actually works or not! It will be like the Mythbusters of domesticity. Woohoo!

So let's get started with a bang...two tests!

I, along with half the U.S. population, am trying to lose a few pounds for the New Year, so here are two healthy options to help me stick with it. (By the way, dieting stinks! I hate it! I can't wait to be done!)

Test #1--Banana Oatmeal Smoothie:

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie

The first time I made it, I used almonds and I did not like the texture...too chunky! Maybe my blender is weak sauce, I don't know. So I substituted peanut butter instead. I didn't have yogurt and didn't want to have to keep that on hand, so I used milk instead. With my substitutions, the recipe looks like:

1 banana
1 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup rolled oats, raw
2 tablespoons peanut butter

This has turned into one of my favorite breakfasts! The oats make the smoothie taste like cookie dough. It's absolutely delicious!

The way I made the recipe, it comes out to 570 calories. So even though it is a healthy breakfast, it's not low calorie.

THE RESULTS: Delicious (with tweaking), nutritious, but make sure you watch the calories!

Test #2--Healthy Cookies

No Fat, No Sugar Healthy Cookies

These cookies intrigued me. How can it be a cookie without butter and sugar? I followed the directions exactly, except I omitted the raisins. I don't love raisins in cookies and didn't have any on hand, so that was an easy choice. Although the finished cookie is not super sweet, it has potential! The cookies are like a cross between banana bread, no-bake cookies and a granola bar. Yum! The flavor was very mild (especially without the raisins), so I think next time I make them, I will add orange rind, craisins, more cinnamon and maybe a touch of nutmeg. I also want to try subbing the bananas for pumpkin puree. The best part of this cookie, though, is the calorie count. If you skip the raisins and divide the dough into twelve cookies, each cookie has only 57 calories! That is awesome! Here's what my cookies looked like:
THE RESULTS: A great healthy cookie base, good texture, needs a little extra pop of flavor. Excellent nutrition and calorie count!

Valentine's Day Gift Idea: Picture Scavenger Hunt

2012-01-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

Today I want to share something that MR. Craft Patch actually came up with. He is such a good gift giver! I look forward to any gift-giving occasion just to see what he will do. Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I thought I'd share what he did for me a few years back...

On Valentine's morning, he handed me an envelope with one picture in it:

Then he explained that in order to get my present, I would have to find it. I went to the location of the picture and found another envelope with another picture:After several more locations and envelopes, I finally came to the last clue: But when I got to the car trunk, the candy was not the only thing in there. He had also bought me a pair of shoes that I had been swooning over for a long time, but had never wanted to spend the money on.

Shoes, chocolate, and a sweetly planned delivery? Does it get any better? What a hunk!

I thought his picture scavenger hunt was such a fun idea that would be great for spouses and kids alike. I know my own kiddos would think it was awesome to hunt for their presents. Give it a try this Valentine's Day and tell me how it goes!

Valentine's Day Breakfast

2012-01-04T19:22:00.000-08:00

I love to make fun meals for my family for holidays, so on Valentine's Day, I surprised my family with a special breakfast:
It's a heart-shaped Egg McMuffin with ham hearts and pink milk. My kiddos flipped over this. They were so excited!

This is an easy breakfast to make. I cooked the egg inside a metal cookie cutter, sprinkled it with cheese and cut the bread into heart shapes and toasted them.

I have also done special dinners for Valentine's Day before. This year I will be making:

Heart-shaped mini-meatloaves

Potatoes sliced thin, cut into heart shapes, then oven-roasted

Pink dinner rolls

Strawberries

Pink milk

Can't wait!

Save Those Extra Buttons!

2012-01-04T18:19:00.000-08:00

Today I put on one of my favorite sweaters and noticed that one of the buttons was gone. Aw, stink! At first, I was feeling grumbly until I remembered that I always save the extra buttons that come on new clothes. I grabbed my sewing notions box, dug down to the bottom and dumped this out on the kitchen table:
Yep! I have been saving the extra buttons off things for years now. Whenever I buy a new outfit, I write a simple description of the article of clothing on the bag with a Sharpie, then stuff it into a bigger sandwich bag and bury it back down at the bottom of the sewing notions box. And today it finally paid off! My sweater was good as new in no time!

So next time you buy a new shirt, save those extra buttons! It could save your favorite sweater some day down the road.

Family Tree Art

2011-12-31T06:52:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year, I decided to make family tree pedigree charts for my parents and my in-laws. This is how they turned out:
I used the names of my ancestors to form a tree shape! This version does look a little funky because I blocked out some names so that I would feel comfortable sharing on the internet. But I think you still get the idea.

I can't give you a step-by-step tutorial, but here are some general instructions if you would like to attempt a project like this:

1. I gathered all the names for my chart. Here are some websites that might help you: Family Search, Ancestry, or Roots Web. This step might require calling grandparents or other relatives.

2. I typed each name into Photoshop and warped the text to make the names look like branches. To warp text, click on the tab LAYER, scroll down to the word TYPE, and click on WARP TEXT. Then you can choose what shape you want to warp the text to. I chose to do all of the names using the ARCH setting and I just made some arch up and some arch down. This gave me the best results.

3. I created a leaf graphic and added one to the end of each name wherever I could fit them.

4. I downloaded a digital scrapbooking paper that I liked and used it as my background.

I printed mine out 11x14 and wouldn't recommend going any smaller. The names get really small and hard to read. In fact, bigger would definitely be better. I also framed them before giving them as gifts.

Hope that helps get you started!

PVC Playhouses

2011-12-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

I am excited to show you this project today. For Christmas, I decided to make playhouses for my kids. I saw this and this on Pinterest and they really got my juices flowing. Here are the results:

They are fabric playhouses over a frame made of PVC pipe! How cool is that?!

Just ignore the wrinkly fabric...they had to be hidden away to keep them a surprise for Christmas morning and I haven't gotten around to ironing them yet.

I made them a custom size so they would fit over my kids' toddler beds. We live in an apartment and don't have any other place big enough for them. Plus what kid doesn't want a playhouse fort over their bed?!

The PVC and connections for BOTH playhouses cost $50. And a bonus is that it's easy to take the frame apart for storage or transportation.

Here's a view of the roof from inside the playhouse:I used sheets for the playhouse coverings. I needed two matching sheets for the walls and one coordinating sheet for the roof for each house. I got the pink set (full sized) for $1 on clearance at Walmart (a big score, I know!), and the rest of the sheets from thrift stores on their $1 deal days. The total for all the fabric for BOTH houses was $6. I totally scored on this one. It can be really tough to find matching sheets at a thrift store, but I am here to tell you it can be done!

I used scraps of fabric I already had for the little details, and I spent about $1 on clear vinyl for the windows (don't skip the clear vinyl...it's one of my kids' favorite parts!)

That puts the total for two playhouses to $57. I am very pleased with that!

The hardest part of this project was measuring and making the fabric coverings fit the frame right. The triangle pieces on each end were such a pain! I had to pin, sew, pick it all out, pin again, sew again, etc. until they looked decent. They aren't perfect, but I tell you what, the kids don't care. They LOVE their forts! They were the hit of Christmas for sure.

I'm linking up! Party time!

Top Ten Projects of 2011

2011-12-28T13:04:00.001-08:00

Today I am linking up with Southern Hospitality's Top Projects of 2011 Party! Here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:

1. Kitchen Towels That Won't Fall Down

2. Thrifted Pillowcase Skirt

3. Mason Jar Pour Spout

4. Fabric Flower Tutorial

5. Felt Book of Favorites

6. Handmade Doll Clothes and a Little Closet

7. Circle Shirt Tutorial

8. Felt Name Book

9. Self-Bound Flannel Baby Blanket

10. Baby Shower Bouquet Tutorial

Looking forward to more great projects in 2012!

Gift Idea: Family Home Evening Chart and Lesson Binder

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun and different gift idea for the mother of a young family. If you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, then you know what a challenge it can be to come up with a good lesson for Family Home Evening each week. I thought my sister would enjoy having a little help, so I put together a binder full of FHE lesson plans complete with a song, lesson, activity and sometimes even a coordinating treat. The binder includes:

story board characters all cut out, colored and laminated,

games stored neatly in envelopes and all ready to go,

visual aids for the lessons,

and all sorts of coloring pages and activities.

I also gave her an FHE chart. Originally I was going to make one, but I found one at Deseret Book on sale and couldn't resist the ease of buying vs. making.

I pulled a lot of the material from this awesome blog. Emilie deserves a medal in my opinion. Her lesson plans are awesome! And she provides great printables and links to coordinating games from The Friend magazine. There are many other great resources available on the Internet if you search for them.

My sister seemed to like the gift and I feel good knowing the next time it's 5:00 on Monday night, she'll have a resource to help her and her family have a great time together.

Nazareth to Bethlehem: A Felt Advent Calendar

2011-12-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

While visiting home for Christmas, I finally remembered to take pictures of my mom's advent calendar. She made it at a church craft day years ago and I just love it! The whole thing is made of felt with gold ribbon on the top and bottom edge and a dowel at the top. And the felt is glued on, not sewn! This project would come together really quickly if you want to try to replicate it.

Each day Mary and Joseph move one step closer to Bethlehem.

They stick to the felt with the scratchy side of the Velcro. They are also lined with fusible webbing to make them stiffer.

The other ladies at the craft day wrote their numbers on, but my mom cut hers from felt instead. I like that so much better! I'll be sharing a tutorial on how to cut out nice numbers from felt sometime soon.

On Christmas Day, Mary and Joseph finally make it to the stable...

and Baby Jesus is laid in his manger.

How To Make A Felt Picture Book Part 1

2011-12-26T15:47:00.000-08:00

There may be better ways to do it, but I thought I'd share how I go about putting a felt book together.

Step 1: Draw the image (or print out clip art) you would like to use. Make sure it is the right size to fit the pages it will be attached to.

Step 2: Begin cutting out parts of the picture to use as pattern pieces. I use clear tape to hold the paper to the felt so it doesn't move around while I'm cutting.

Note that if it's a piece that needs to go under something else, you'll need to cut extra felt around some of the edges. See how I cut extra around Ariel's head so it would stay under her hair?

In the photo below you can see how I have all the pieces cut out (except for the sea shells) and how I cut the paper to make the pattern. Pretty much any time you need a new height or color, you need a separate piece. So the arms and head are the same color, but they are three different pieces. And the band around her waist is higher so it's a separate piece. Make sense?

Step 3: Stitch your picture to the background page! I have found that contrasting stitching adds so much to even a simple shape. I don't use any kind of adhesive or fusible webbing. I just hold it in place and stitch, but you could certainly try fusible webbing if you're worried about pieces moving around. I also don't always use embroidery thread (because it's more expensive and I already have regular thread on hand in multiple colors). To make eyes, I just pull the thread up from the back, tie several knots and the put the needle back through the page. And just an FYI...googly eyes do not last in books like these. Kids pick them off every time without fail!

Hope that helps give you an idea of how to make a book like this. If you need clarification (I think I would if I read this post. ha), leave a comment and I'll try to help!

Part 2 will show you how to bind the book, so check back soon!

To see the finished book, click here.

To see a boyish book, click here or here.

Boyish Felt Name Book

2011-12-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas present, this time for my nephew!

Click here to learn how to make a felt book.

Click here to see a girly felt book.

Click here to see another boyish felt book.

Girly Felt Name Book

2011-12-26T13:55:00.000-08:00

I finally get to post some of the Christmas presents I've been working on over the last few months. First up is a felt name book I made for my niece. Each page is a letter in her name and a picture that starts with that letter. It's a mixture of hand-stitching and machine stitching.

Don't you just love this polka dot felt? I found it at Hobby Lobby. They have the widest selection of felt around and it's cheaper too!

Click here for a tutorial on how to make felt books.

Click here and here to see boyish felt books.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We're at Grandma's house and having a grand old time. We've been baking, shopping, playing games, staying up late talking, building gingerbread houses, watching Christmas movies, wrapping presents, singing carols, and shopping some more.

Can't wait for the big day tomorrow!

Check back soon... I'll finally be able to post all the handmade Christmas gifts I've been working on!

My Favorite Four-Ingredient Quick Dinner

2011-12-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

Who is feeling the Christmas rush? I sure am! I am doing mostly handmade gifts this year and I did not start early enough! I've got so much to do and so little time! EEK!

Since it seems everyone is busy this time of year, I thought I'd share my favorite quick dinner. It takes four ingredients and is ready in the time it takes to cook pasta. My favorite part about this dinner is that it's easy to keep all the ingredients on hand for a dinner emergency.

I ususally buy chicken when the big packages go on sale for a good price. Then I dump the whole package in the crockpot with an onion, cook for 5-6 hours until chicken is done, and freeze individual breasts. Then I always have cooked chicken ready for recipes like this one.

Italian Chicken and Pasta with Vegetables

2 cooked chicken breasts or 2 cups diced ham or whatever you have on hand
1 bag frozen California-style vegetables
16 oz. pasta of your choice (I prefer thicker varieties like penne or shells)
italian dressing

Start water boiling and cook pasta. Cook vegetables in microwave according to package directions. When the pasta is done, toss in vegetables and meat. Add enough italian dressing to coat everything and you've got yourself a delicious, nutritious dinner!If you have more time and less ingredients, you could try making your Italian dressing from scratch. Here's my favorite recipe:

Seasoning Mix:

1 TBSP garlic salt

1 TBSP onion powder

1 TBSP sugar

2 TBSP oregano

1 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp thyme

1 tsp basil

1 tsp parsley

1/4 tsp celery salt

2 TBSP salt

Mix dry seasonings together. Store in an airtight container until you're ready to make dressing.

Dressing:

1/4 cup vinegar

2/3 cup olive oil

2 TBSP water

2 TBSP dry seasonings mix

Whisk all ingredients together before serving.