Craft Anyway!

Easter Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:52:00 +0000

I had my first experience with royal icing when making Easter cookies this year and I must say that it was a very positive experience. Just look at how cute these little egg shaped bunnies turned out!

I must give a HUGE thank you to Callye over at The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.

She makes the most AMAZING cookies and has provided wonderful recipes and tutorials on her blog. I used her sugar cookie recipe and followed her super tips to make the softest, most yummy sugar cookies. Then I went to town with her royal icing recipe and tips to decorate these cute little things.

I was so happy with how these cookies turned out. They tasted just as great as they looked.

And because I was already making cookies, the K-ster had to get in on the action. So I let her cut out a bunch of cookies to give to her cousins for Easter and I decorated them for her to practice with the royal icing. They turned out pretty darn cute too, if I may say so.

(Please excuse the quality of some of these photos. I was in a huge hurry to photograph them and did not get many great shots.)

A butterfly.

A bunny face.

A chick.

A fatter version of my egg shaped bunny.

A flower.

A skinny bunny.

(This was actually supposed to be a carrot, but the leaves broke off after it was baked, so I worked with what I had.)

Cute and delicious. Who could ask for more?

Seersucker Skirt

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:21:00 +0000

So, I know I haven't posted in awhile, but as many of you probably understand, life sometimes gets in the way of the things we want and love to do. Fortunately for me, I've still been able to sew and craft, but I just haven't had much time to blog about it.

So my "returning post" is to show off this super cute, seersucker ruffle skirt.

I must admit that I was never the biggest fan of seersucker. But when I came across this wonderful tutorial over at Dana's blog Made, I suddenly fell in love with the fabric. So I ran over to Joann's and picked out this cute purple with white polka dots.

The main thing about Dana's skirt that I loved as much as the seersucker was that she finished the hem simply by serging the edge. Lucky for me, my wonderful aunt (thank you!!) has allowed me to borrow her serger to try out before buying one of my own. This was my first project using the Serger. My response? DEAR SWEET SERGER, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN MY ENTIRE LIFE?

Anyway, I love how the skirt turned out, and will probably be whipping up a few more, because they're perfect for skipping in.

And I was also informed that she could wear them to ballet class, because they're perfect for spinning and dancing in as well.

Faux Chenille Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:35:00 +0000

I don't know if you've seen some of the great faux chenille blankets floating around Blog Land, but I instantly fell in love with the idea when I came across this lovely version over at Aestetic Nest. You should definitely check out her tutorial, because it is excellent.

When I found Anneliese's tutorial, I decided I wanted to make a faux chenille blanket for the little cutie that I talked about in my last post. And here's how it turned out.

Unfortunately, I decided to do so just one week before I would be meeting him. My recommendation is to start this one early, because it is definitely time consuming.

I had to sew EACH.AND.EVERY.LINE.

And then cut EACH.AND.EVERY.LINE.

But it was so worth it. With a cute, quilted print on one side and super soft, brightly colored "chenille" on the other, who couldn't love a blanket like this? Mommy and Daddy loved it so much they were using it themselves. I'm sure they'll give Daniel a chance to enjoy it, too.

Appliqued Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 04:49:00 +0000

So don't judge, but the projects I'm about to share with you were Christmas gifts.

I know. It's February.

But in my defense, one of the receipiants just got his gift this past weekend, so I didn't want to spoil the gift by posting about it before he got it.

Okay, that makes it sounds worse. Maybe I should 'splain. He didn't get his gift because this little bundle of joy just joined the world on February 5th.

See? I couldn't put this one out there before he even got his gift, right? Right?!

But I digress. Onto the projects at hand. The first--appliqued stuffed blocks.

Daniel and Isaac, both sons of very good friends of our family, received the same gifts. They're babies and they're boys--a combination that makes gift making difficult.

But I came across this tutorial over at Sew Like My Mom and thought it was a great gift idea for the babies. Super cute and soft.

And for each of these little cuties to wear...

You can never go wrong with an appliqued onsie when it comes to babies, but an appliqued vest and tie? To. Die. For.

I came across this idea at Lemon Tree Creations. I used some fabric scraps I had on hand for the tie and black corduroy for the vest.

I'd like to be able to report that the boys simply adored their gifts, but, well, they're babies. But their parents loved them. :o)

Linky Followers Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:21:00 +0000

Cheri from It's So Very Cheri started this awesome blog hop so we can all try to keep our Google Friend Connect followers!

Here's what she said...

*********************************
Many of you have probably already heard that GOOGLE Friend Connect will go away on Feb 29 for any one that is not with blogspot, but rumor has it that it is being completely phased out for everyone soon.

There is good news

There is a NEW awesome tool–Linky Followers

It has so many amazing features (that GFC never had). If you have not signed up you should. (yes you can have both.) I love the new tool so much and want everyone to enjoy all the new features.

…and did I tell you its super easy and FREE!

What better way to celebrate a fun new blogging tool than to have a party so break out your poodle skirt and saddle back shoes cuz’ we’re having a LINKY FOLLOWER PARTY HOP~

RULES:
1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate. {You can have both the LINKY FOLLOWERS & GFC on your site but you must have the LINKY FOLLOWERS to participate in this party hop.}

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3.Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER– just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE. Click on "GET THE CODE HERE" and enter it into a post on your site.

You can grab the party button code in the FOOTER at Its So Very Cheri. You can grab info from my post if it helps you with your post.

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want) –leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

If you want to add the BLOG HOP to your own site you will get lots of new followers–(see rule #2)

…So do ya want to go Cruisin’?

I plan on HOPPING from BLOG to BLOG to follow everyone who follows me.

The internet it seems, never gets old.

Welcome to the new world of
LINKY FOLLOWERS...

**********************************************

Pinteresting Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:35:00 +0000

Since the Super Bowl is this weekend, I thought I'd share a few of the super YUMMY ideas I've found via Pinterest. I'm actually going to try some of these, so I'll let you know how they turn out.

Aren't these the cutest football cupcakes?

Source: http://www.cutefoodforkids.com/2012/01/26-football-shaped-food-ideas.html via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest

Football shaped cheese and crackers with instructions on the easy way to cut a football shape into the cheese.

Source: http://gimmesomeoven.com/ via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest

Deep Fried Pickles are a great addition to a football party. She also has a recipe for the ranch dipping sauce.

Source: http://www.mamalovesfood.com/ via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest

I LOVE mozzarella cheese sticks, and this recipe by Taste of Home makes them super easy to make. You could even make them a healthier option by baking, instead of frying.

Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/ via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest

She Knows has EIGHT different recipes for these great bite-sized pinwheels.

Source: http://sheknows.com/ via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest

Since I don't really have a team to route for (our "family team" is the Miami Dolphins, who did not make it), I'll just be enjoying the food and the company of friends on Sunday. Have fun!

Fabric Donations {Giraffe Grins Charity}

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:29:00 +0000

You may remember from this post that I am now an affiliate for the Giraffe Grins Charity. It's a wonderful charity started by Dee over at The CSI Project that makes and send bright and cheery pillowcases to children's hospitals in the hopes of brightening the day of a sick child. I will be sending pillowcases to the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse, NY.

Source

Just before Christmas I received my first very fabric donation to be used for this purpose. This generous donation came from one of my fellow substitute teachers from the local school district where I work. So, thank you!

I'm still looking for donations, though. If you'd like to get involved with the Giraffe Grins Charity by sending fabric donations, please contact me at mitchetr192(at)gmail(dot)com. For those of you inquiring about quantities, the tutorial I'm using for the pillow cases requires 1 and 1/2 yard of fabric (for the body) and 1/2 (for the trim) to make two pillowcases.

I'm very excited to get started on making pillowcases now that the holiday chaos is over and the dust has settled. I'll share before shipping them off!

Pinteresting Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I think the word is pretty much out...

Pinterest is ~~slightly~~ majorly addicting.

But how else would we find lovely inspiration such as this big, beautiful flower headband by The Little Giggler.

Source: http://www.thelittlegiggler.blogspot.com via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

Or these genius snowman kits (which I will be making...eventually) by Going's On At The Glenn's.

Source: http://glennfamily3.blogspot.com/ via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

And how about this gorgeous dress made by Stephanie over at Pinafores & Pinwheels for Project Run and Play.

Source: http://pinaforesandpinwheels.blogspot.com/ via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

And don't forget all of the yummy recipes that pop up. One of my family's favorites are the Chicken Enchiladas by Jamielyn at I Heart Naptime. So del-ish.

Source: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/ via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

In the spirit of the upcoming Super Bowl, I thought I should include these adorable AND tasty Football Oreos, also found at I Heart Naptime.

Source: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/ via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

So I was thinking I'd start sharing some of my favorite Pinterest finds with you each Friday. You could also see everything I've pinned by following me, too. :o)

Have a good weekend!

New Look, New Pages, New Buttons

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:43:00 +0000

You've probably already noticed the new look of Craft Anyway! Pretty nifty, huh? It's actually a premade template by Dani over at Blog Designs by Dani.

She has super cute premade templates, backgrounds, and headers (for free!), but she also takes custom template designs for as little as $50 and extras for as little as $3. I know right?

So thanks, Dani, for providing me with this awesome free template to spiff up Craft Anyway until I can afford to pay you. :o)

I've also added a couple of new pages that you can access from the Page Bar. It looks like this...

I did this to help clean up the home page, as I had many buttons starting to pile up between the blogs that I link up to and the blogs that have featured me (woo who!). So check out those pages, click on the buttons, and show them some love!

Now that you've looked at that wonderful Page Bar, you may also have noticed the page titled "Buttons." That's right folks, I have finally designed my own buttons.

Want a Craft Anyway! button? Of course you do! Have one, I insist.

Did I mention or feature your blog post? Want some recognition? I would. Do it up.

So, although the changes come a little late for the new year, I'm pretty excited about them. If the changes cause you any problems with navigating or accessing any part of the blog, please let me know so that I can fix them! Enjoy!

{Also new, my signature!}

Pattern Review {Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop}

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:50:00 +0000

If you're a regular reader of Nap Time Crafters (and why wouldn't you be?!) then you probably already know that Amy also writes and sells patterns over at Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop. Her patterns are super adorable, so when I had the chance to test run one of her newest additions to the shop, I was thrilled!

Introducing, The Harper.
**This just in...Amy is currently having a sale over at her shop. So if you want to save on this and her other awesome patterns, scroll to the bottom of this post to find out how!!**

So cute, right? I think my favorite part of this dress are the ruffles that seem to be playing peek-a-boo from under the skirt.

And for those of you who are afraid of zippers (such as myself), you don't have to worry about installing one in this dress, because the button-up flap on the front eliminates the need for a zipper.

The possibilities for this dress are endless. Mix it up with different fabric combinations, as I did by making my own bias tape. Or, as Amy mentions in the pattern instructions, lengthen the sash so that it ties in a bow instead of buttoning.

The pattern is so easy to use. Just print out the pattern pieces and tape them together, which she makes very clear by labeling where everything connects. Then follow the step by step instructions which have coordinating photos for those of us that are more visual, such as myself.

Once again, Kaeleigh was just a big ol' goof ball while we were shooting. Even the hubby tried to get her to cooperate (something he rarely gets involved in) by coaxing her to act like she does at her dance lessons. He was going more for the ballet side of her dance lessons.

We got tap technique instead. It's a good thing she's cute.

And to pull it all together, I whipped up this quick flower barrette. I free handed two flowers and two leafs out of felt. I sewed a button to the center of the flowers, then hot glued the leafs and an alligator clip to the back. EZ-PZ.

Amy is currently having a super duper sale. To save 20% on all Peek-a-Boo Patterns now through January 28th, use the code "2012" at checkout!

Now, go check out Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop to pick up The Harper PDF pattern which comes in infant sizes 3 months through a girls' 8. If you do make The Harper dress, I'd love to see your version!

A few shout outs...

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:58:00 +0000

Unfortunately, I am not Super Woman. I know, you are all so disappointed to receive such awful news, but I had to give it to you some time.

Due to this horrific reality, I was unable to make gifts for all of the people on our Christmas list this year. Fortunately, I was still able to buy homemade for a few. For those that I couldn't, I was able to find appropriate, yet unique gifts via Pinterest (oh, what a wonderful online tool).

My father is not a professional photographer, but he loves learning about and practicing with his Nikon DSLR (the same one he so graciously allows me to use for all of my "photography"). That's why I knew he'd love this.

No, this is not a real Nikon lens. Why? Well, because we do not have a money tree growing in our backyard. (But that would be pretty awesome, wouldn't it?) It's actually a travel coffee mug!

I got this from the PhotoJoJo Store. You should really check out their stuff. They've got plenty of pretty cool photography accessories, for you and your camera. If you love photography, or know someone who does, you'll definitely love this shop.

My father-in-law is always difficult to buy for. He loves baseball, so this year I went that route when I started my idea search. Surprisingly, I came across a pretty cool idea early in the shopping season.

A "home plate" welcome mat. I thought it was awesome. If I was into baseball (I find the sport incredibly boring), I wouldn't mind having this at my front door. I bought it from UncommonGoods, another place to find unique gifts for some of those "hard-to-buy-for" friends and relatives.

Jewelry is always a good option for mothers and mother-in-laws.

I ordered each of them one of these aluminum cuff bracelets with the words "love my grandkids" stamped on the inside and little boys and girls stamped on the outside to represent each of their grandchildren.

They were handcrafted by Hope of My Heart Designs, but I actually got a great deal on them through a fantastic site called Groop Dealz. They sell handmade items at great, reduced prices for a limited time. If you're looking to buy handmade, you should most definitely put yourself on their mailing list!

The last handmade gift that we purchased was for my nephew, Oliver, who you may remember from my post about his robot themed birthday party. In sticking with the robots we got him this cutie.

Isn't he the cutest little thing? He was handmade by LittleBrownByrd Creations, who makes these oober adorable robots in different sizes, versions, and themes, each with a little heart on its chest.

Even though I couldn't make all the gifts we gave this year, I enjoyed buying a few, especially those that were handmade.

Sorry for the Radio Silence...

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:29:00 +0000

What a year it's been so far. I know, I know. We're less than three weeks into the year. Yet, it feel likes it's been an eternity.

First, my baby boy got extremely sick just after Christmas. My spunky, energetic Ayden was suddenly a grumpy, cuddly toddler and I'm not gonna lie--it scared me. Within a week we made a trip to the emergency room and 3 trips to the doctor's office. We never actually found out why he was so sick (the doctor assumes it was a virus of some kind), but when he finally woke up one morning with his usual perky smile on his face I was relieved.

So even though my baby was back to being himself, our house was not. I swear, it looked as if a toy store had vomited all over our living room. Dishes had been piled up for days. Laundry hadn't been done in probably two weeks. Man, oh, man, was I overwhelmed.

Lucky for me, I got caught up on the house work just in time for this:

One full day of ice, followed by one full day of snow. We got two snow days in a row, right before a three day weekend.

The first day was great. I sewed all day (I was testing a pattern for Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop...more on that in another post) and when they announced the second day off I was super excited to be able to finish up before the weekend.

{The branches on this tree are normally too high for us to reach when standing underneath.}

But...did you know that sewing machines don't work when you loose power? Yeah. Neither does the television, the internet, the stove, the microwave, the coffeepot, or the HEAT. It got boring and COLD pretty darn fast.

We packed up and ate dinner at my parents', who still had power, and planned to camp out at the in-laws, who didn't have power, but do have a propane fireplace. Fortunately for those of us who prefer sleeping in our own beds, the power came back on at 7pm.

But why stop there? A sick child and a huge ice/snow storm just didn't seem exciting enough for the first few weeks of the year.

Let's add in a little surgery too. That's right. I had my gallbladder out on Monday, so I've had my butt pretty much parked right here for the last three days.

I'm doing alright, but I'm pretty sore. My wonderful hubby has been a huge help. He had Monday off for the holiday and then took yesterday off to be with me. He's been keeping my "supplies" fully stocked for me.

My mother has also been great by taking care of the kids so that I can have some peace and quiet to relax and heal. I do miss them and being able to cuddle them, but I'm not allowed to pick them up. And Ayden's still too little to understand that his momma hurts, so it's best that they have their fun at Grammie and Poppy's and I rest on my own.

My grandmother did surprise me with a super sweet (literally) gift yesterday.

She made this cute chocolate box for me. And then filled it with chocolate strawberries.

It was much fuller, but I may or may not have already eaten most of them.

So, while I'm on the road to recovery there won't be much crafting going on around here, but I promise to get the posts going again soon. :o)

Build Your Own Fort Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:50:00 +0000

If you're on Pinterest (and why wouldn't you be--it's like the coolest, most addicting website on the face of the planet), then you've probably seen different versions of the "fort kit" floating around. I pinned this one as inspiration for my nephew-to-be's Christmas gift. And this was my end result...

I made a cube-ish bag with a shoulder strap to hold all of the fort "materials." I got the basic design from the Ruffled Silhouette Tote Bag made by Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous. I just modified the measurements of the bag to what I need to put inside and the strap to the little one who would be carrying it.

Every fort needs a sheet or two, but sheets with ties attached are much better. So I stitched the edges of 16-inch strips of double fold bias tape closed and then attached one to each corner off a twin sized sheet.

I did this for two sheets because two sheets means a bigger, cooler, awesome-er fort. And who doesn't want that?

Other things I included in the kit: rope, flashlight (with batteries), large clips, and clothes pins.

To pull it all together I printed off the "Deluxe Fort" tag (which I modified slightly from the original using Picnik), laminated it, and attached it to the handle of the bag with a book ring.

And there you have a Build Your Own Fort Kit.

This project was featured:

Toy Car Storage

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:21:00 +0000

My nephew, Peter, loves toy cars. He loves toy cars in all sizes, but the kid has a backpack full of matchbox cars. So when I came across Kimbo's toy car storage idea over at A Girl And A Glue Gun, I knew it was a perfect Christmas gift for him.

Here's how his turned out...

I changed a few things from Kimbo's design, like using a double layer of felt to give the backing a little more stability. And I made more pockets in each row.

Peter also loves the Disney's Cars movies, of course, so I used a Cars themed flannel for the pockets.

I also used a dowel across the top, but used cording instead of ribbon, because I thought it would hold up a little better. You know--Boys will be boys!

And to personalize his car storage, I used a freezer paper stencil to add "Peter's Cars" to the top.

I wouldn't recommend using freezer paper to stencil on felt, as it didn't adhere very well and I had some of the paint seep under the stencil. I may try a vinyl stencil instead.

But the outcome was great, and now his toy cars can be proudly displayed instead of stuffed in a backpack!

This project was featured on:

Little Chef Hat & Apron

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:45:00 +0000

Last year, my sister had my grandfather make my niece a super cool custom play kitchen for Christmas. (Sorry, I don't have a picture, so you'll just have to take my word for it.) She still loves playing with it all the time, so I thought this year I'd make her a whole bunch of felt food. Then my sister rained on my parade and said she already had way more play food than she could ever use.

Well, phhhft. Fine then. I'll just make her this super cute chef hat and apron instead.

I tried to get pictures of Kaeleigh modeling it for me before giving it to her ~~just in case~~ because Christmas is super hectic and I wasn't sure I'd remember to snap a picture then. Most of the pictures, however, looked like the one above. She was certainly in a silly mood that afternoon.

This hat was so quick and easy to make. I followed Amanda's tutorial over at The Little Giggler.

The apron was just as fast and simple. I got the tutorial from Jess at Craftiness Is Not Optional.

It just ties in back so she'll have plenty of room to grow.

And guess what...

I actually made my own bias tape for the first time for this project! I was surprised at how easy it really was, so I'll definitely be doing it more often. It's a much cheaper option and ensures a perfect match to your project!

Turns out I did have a chance to snap a quick picture of Julia wearing her new chef hat and apron, though.

She loved it! :o)

And just for good measure, one more of the goofy K-ster...

Travel Coloring Kits

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:12:00 +0000

Everyone in my family travels a lot, all for different reasons, so I thought travel drawing kits like those made by Cook Clean Craft would be a perfect Christmas gift for each of the kids. She used markers in her kit, but I'm not so brave.

So I used crayons instead.

I ended up making four of these and they were super cheap, too.

I bought the crayons during back-to-school sales at a whopping forty cents a box, each coloring book from the dollar store, and each kit used one-and-a-half fat quarters at a buck a piece.

To give the kits structure, they're "stuffed" with a piece of cardboard (which I already had on hand, so it was free) and they tie shut with ribbon (which I also already had).

If you decide to make some of these, I'd just like to suggest using corrugated cardboard versus flat cardboard (like that of a cereal box). The first two I made with cardboard from cereal boxes and they're rather flimsy. The second two were made from diaper boxes and were much more stable.

The kids (and their parents) loved them. One of my sisters loved them so much that she's asked me to make a couple for her to give to friends as birthday gifts. I'm thinking about making a tutorial for the coloring kits when I make them. It would be my first tutorial...what do you think?

Santa Belly Ornaments

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:54:00 +0000

Each year, I try to include a new Christmas ornament in each gift we give to our nieces, nephews, and children of friends so that they can add them to their collection. So, before we get too far away from Christmas, I guess I should share the ornaments I made for all of the kids this year.

I originally found the idea for Santa belly ornaments on A Crafty B via Pinterest. Hers turned out so cute, I thought they were a great idea to add to this year's gifts.

I wanted to add a little sparkle to change mine up a bit, so I sprinkled the black paint with black glitter before it dried.

Turns out K-ster's toy tea cups were perfect little perches to place the ornaments in while they were drying.

{And a quick tip, if you decide to make these yourself: Use a dry erase maker to sketch lines for the belt onto the ornament before painting. If you make a mistake, you can erase it. Then, just fill in between the lines with paint, dust with glitter, and allow to dry. I was able to erase the marker left behind once the paint was dry.}

I added one of the ornaments to the outside of the kids' gifts.

By the way, you may have noticed how I wrapped our gifts this year. I wanted to go simple, with the brown kraft paper, but still keep it cute and crafty.

So I used my scrapbook paper stash to make some bright, personalized gift tags and them wrapped each package with twine. I was very happy with the outcome. :o)

Homemade Cocoa Basket and Spiral Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:47:00 +0000

First, I will apologize for the length of this post. It's pretty lengthy, but totally worth it, I swear.

My little K-ster takes ballet and tap lessons at one of the local dance studios. So I had to put together a cute little Christmas gift for her ballet teacher and her assistant.

Enter the Homemade Coca Basket...

Everything in this basket (minus the basket and paper filler) was handmade in some way. It was actually one of my favorite gifts to make.

I got the idea for monogramming the mug from Design Mom. I just picked up the white mug at Walmart on clearance and the Porcelaine 150 paint pen from Micheal's. These pens are super cool, and I plan on buying them in all sorts of colors and decorating anything possible.

To transfer the image I wanted to paint onto the mug, I just rubbed pencil on the back of my template, taped it to the mug, and then traced over the letter with a ballpoint pen. When I removed the template, a nice, visible outline remained on the mug. Then I used the paint marker to trace the letter and sketch it in. The paint has to dry for at least 24 hours before being baked. Once baked, the mugs looked like this...

To make the mocha cocoa mix and the mini-marshmallows I used Willow's recipes over at Will Cook For Friends. (She made her marshmallows into cute little ghosts for Halloween...make sure you check them out!)

After I blended up the cocoa mix, I put it in this jar with a cute ribbon and tag that I made on Picnik.

To make cute little mini-marshmallows, I placed the warm, marshmallow "batter" into a piping bag fit with a star tip and piped out what seemed like a million little star shaped marshmallows.

If you decide to do the same thing, I would recommend making half a batch of the "batter" at a time, because I could only fit about half into the piping bag. By the time I finished piping that much, the rest of the "batter" had already hardened in the mixing bowl. Oops.

So once the marshmallows had set and been dusted with sugar, they went into their own jar with a matching tag.

Put everything together in a basket with red, festive paper filler and this message tag...

And voila...a wonderful homemade gift!

Here's the K-ster with her teacher, Stephanie at the party.

But, wait, that's not all!
(I told you this was a long post!)

They also had a Christmas party during their last class before holiday break. I had just come across these adorable and fun spiral cookies on Pinterest from Sprinkle Bakes.

These were seriously so much easier than I thought they were going to be. And the recipe is so versatile. You can chance up the colors of the dough and/or sprinkles for different events and holidays and you can use any flavor extract you like.

Heather used strawberry flavoring, but I used almond and they were super yummy.

Mmmmm...so good.

I think Kaeleigh enjoyed the cookies and her party.

Meet My Brother...

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:50:00 +0000

Meet my Brother...

Okay, that was TOTALLY not the Brother I was talking about. But if you're interested...

Readers, meet Thomas. Thomas, meet readers.

Oh, and he just got engaged on Christmas. That's his step-son-to-be, Brody, in the picture with him.

So, congratulations to him, blah, blah, blah, [just kidding...love you Thomas :o)] now MEET MY BROTHER...

Thaaaaaat's right folks. I finally got my new sewing machine [thank you Hubby] AND. I. LOVE. IT.

It's a Brother CP7500 with digital controls and display...

and 70 different stitches...

My old machine needed to go. With only two stitches (straight or zig-zag), no way to do a buttonhole, and way too many unserviced years of use, I just could not sew with it the way I wanted to.

A big, ginormous THANK YOU goes out to both my husband, who bought the machine for me, and my Aunt Keli, who very slyly found out what type of machine I wanted and passed on the information. AWE.SOME.

I've already completed my first two projects using my new machine, but I can't share them yet. (They're late Christmas gifts for people who have not yet received them and I know they read my blog!)

But check out who else wanted in on the action...

The Hubby actually sat down at the machine and sewed for the first time since 7th grade home-economics. Look how fantastic he did!

So proud. :op

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I'll be catching you up on all of the fun handmade gifts I gave this year--the main reason I've been neglecting the poor blog for the last few weeks, but it's worth the wait, I promise!

Giraffe Grins {The CSI Project Charity}

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:46:00 +0000

I'm sorry I've been kind of neglecting the blog lately, but with Christmas coming up I've had about a googol (a real number, I swear!) things going on all at once. But I had to take the time to do this post...

I am a regular follower of Dee over at The CSI Project. There are two reasons you need to go check it out...

Reason #1 -- Her blog runs a weekly crafting challenge during which anyone may submit a project they've done that fits with the week's theme. All of the projects are submitted just as in a linky party (including having to link back to The CSI Project in your blog post) and a special guest judge will go through all of the submissions, make a "Top 10" list, and choose one winner.

Last week's winner of the Neighbor Gift Idea challenge was Amanda at Shindig Parties with these super cute Christmas Kisses.

And to make it that much more fun, one challenge participant will be randomly selected to win a gift from the weekly sponsor.

And reason #2 -- She has started a wonderful new charity called Giraffe Grins.

Dee spent some time in a children's hospital in her hometown and remembers a big giraffe painted on the hospital wall that used to make her smile at a time when she and her family needed a little light in their day.

As Dee quoted on her charity page, "It’s the little things that mean so much." Remembering this and her giraffe, she has been bringing a little cheer to children's hospitals by sewing bright, happy pillowcases for the children to use during their hospital stays.

As you may already know, I have two children of my own and when they're sick, I know that it really is the little things that count. So when Dee asked for readers to get involved I knew that I had to help.

So I am now a Giraffe Grins Affiliate! What does that mean, you ask? It means that I will be sewing bright, fun, cheery pillowcases to send to the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse, NY.

I'm so excited to get started once the holidays are over. And YOU can help! I will be taking fabric donations to make the pillowcases. Fabrics should be brightly colored, fun, and cheery. Remember, we want to brighten a sick child's day. If you're interested in making a fabric donation, please contact me at mitchetr192(at)gmail(dot)com.

And don't forget to check out the Giraffe Grins page over at The CSI Project!

"Cute As A Button" Baby Shower

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:44:00 +0000

You may remember these "Cute As A Button" baby shower invites that I posted about here as a sneak peak into my contribution to my best friend's baby shower that her mother and I planned.

This is my best friend, Mallory, and I when we were both still in college about 5 years ago.

This is one of my favorite pictures of us. :o)

{She and her husband own and operate a new photography business called J & M Expressions. They do wonderful work, so if you're in the New York/Pennsylvania area and you're looking for a photographer for any event or occasion, you should check them out!}

The shower was this past weekend and everything went great, so I wanted to fill you in on the "crafty" goodies I contributed.

Let's start with the cupcakes...

They weren't my best work, as far as I'm concerned, but Mallory loved them. To make the button toppers, I just frosted little, round shortbread cookies and used green Nerds candy as the "button holes."

I made that awesome stand too.

I just spray primed and painted two metal stove burner covers and a candle stick (both from Dollar Tree) and glued them together using E600. It held 14 cupcakes, so I'd definitely love to make one a little bigger to hold more, but it worked well for this party.

I was in charge of all of the "whimsical" decorations, so I thought this button bouquet was perfect for this theme. I had seen a few versions of them on Pinterest, so the idea wasn't originally mine, but I don't have a specific source to cite here. But feel free to check out my Pin Boards if you're interested!

I bought all of the buttons from Oriental Trading for super cheap. They were only $6.25 for one pound of buttons, so I got about 1600 buttons for under 15 bucks. The K-ster helped me pick the buttons for each flower, which was a huge help since it prevented me from lingering over color combinations so I could just focus on assembling flowers.

This was my first ever attempt at putting together a set of buntings...

And here they are hung at the party...

I can't wait until I can finally get myself a Silhouette Cameo so that making these will be faster and easier. I cut each flag AND letter by hand. It took me forever. I love the results, but the Silhouette would have come in handy here.

If you've read my post about my new sister-in-law's bridal shower, you know that I'm not that into shower games. Fortunately, neither are Mallory or her mother. Mallory requested this instead...

Each party guest filled one out and signed it for Mallory to put in the baby's scrapbook. There were a few that were really touching (okay, really touching...I cried) so she plans to frame them for the nursery. I designed these using my word processing program. They were actually super easy.

I love making diaper cakes. I've made quite a few of them for friends and family having babies, so I had to make one for Mallory, too. She and her husband are planning to use Seventh Generation brand diapers (they're chlorine free...hence the reason they have a beige color). And the results...

This was the first time I used the paper filler between each tier and I kind of like how it gives the cake a bit of fullness that my previous diaper cakes didn't have. I'm pretty sure I'll be trying it again with my next cake.

As a final touch, I wanted to do something fun for the three of us (Mallory, her mother, and myself), so I thought these button bracelets would be cute...

These were so easy. The first one took a bit of time, but once I had figured out a good system, the others were finished in no time. The K-ster had to have one too, of course. Hers is the purple and pink bracelet.

This one ended up being mine. I had no idea what any of us would be wearing, but I happened to choose the color combination of each bracelet perfectly. Mallory wore the bright bracelet and her mother wore the black and white bracelet. Mallory wore her bracelet to work (she is currently working as a substitute teacher) and the kids loved it!

That was everything I did for the actual party. Everything else was part of her gift. Like this button monogram (once again, currently being spotted all over Pinterest) done in light blue and burnt orange (the nursery colors).

She had requested this a few months ago, and was super excited to get it.

Such a cute baby bump, huh?

When I saw this Stencil Alphabet Art that Destri made over at The Mother Huddle, I knew I had to do one for Daniel's nursery.

What do you think of mine? Destri used fabric for her letters, but I actually used scrap booking paper and loved the results just as much. It took me awhile to find a stencil that was the right size and had the entire alphabet on the same stencil (as I said, small town and not many places to shop). I eventually found one on my first ever trip to Hobby Lobby (yes, my first ever...I'm now in love).

I also made her car seat canopy like the one I made my friend Kim a couple of weeks ago.

I love that fabric. It's so bright and fun.

I lined this one with corduroy instead of fleece, mostly because the local Joann's didn't have a fleece that matched the fabric, but it ended up adding a nice touch to this one.

I also made her a diaper pouch using the same fabrics. I like how the corduroy looks here.

And stuffed it with a travel wipe container, a couple of diapers, and a tube of diaper cream.

And after all of that, I was wiped out. Now, on to Christmas crafting!

Baby Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

So there's no where to shop around these secluded parts of Northern New York. And I don't just mean I'm bored with what we have here in Ogdensburg. We seriously have NO WHERE to shop. So to accomplish any type of holiday shopping, we have to make a two-and-a-half hour drive south to Syracuse. In the past I've done most of the shopping online, but common--it's not as much fun! So this year the hubby and I planned a weekend trip to Syracuse ALONE. As in, WITHOUT CHILDREN. Yes. Amazing, I know.

Then I got an invitation for one of my good friend's baby shower. Guess when it was. Yes, during our amazing weekend. I was bummed I wouldn't be able to go, but I did manage to get her gift made, packaged, and dropped to her before we left.

An infant carseat canopy.

This is their fourth child and they've always chosen not to find out the sex of their babies before they were born. Exciting for them. Not so easy for gift buying/making. I've been seeing a lot of baby stuff in bright colors combined with grey, so I thought a cute grey print with bright yellow accents would be pretty gender neutral.

Here it is all laid out flat.

I actually got the idea from Cally over at Calico.

The outside is grey and white quilting cotton and the inside is yellow fleece. Instead of velcro straps, I just used some yellow bias tape I already had on hand to make ties. It looked a little unfinished at that point, so I trimmed the edges with some yellow ric-rac. And voila!

The thing I think I like most about this canopy, though, is that it attaches in a way so that the handle is still accessible. This should keep baby nice and cozy warm all winter long by keeping the chilly wind out.

I also made her this super easy and useful diaper pouch using Anna's tutorial at her blog NoodleHead.

It's the perfect size to hold a plastic wipes case, two diapers, and a tube of diaper cream.

I'm thinking I need to make myself one now that the K-ster is out of diapers and Flyin' A is old enough that I don't really need to carry a big bulky diaper bag anymore. This is so easy to just throw in the car or my purse and go. EZPZ.

31st Annual Essex Fall Craft & Fine Arts Show

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Every year for the past four years I have joined my grandmother, aka Nonny, and aunt, Keli, in Essex Junction, Vermont for their annual fall craft show. Kaeleigh went with us the first and second years, but wasn't old enough to really appreciate the idea of a craft show. This year, however, she tagged along again and fully enjoyed herself.

Here's a picture of the four generations about half way through the day:

This show always has hundreds of vendors, so we do a process of "shop first, buy later." When we find a vendor we'd like to buy from, we write them down so that at the end of the day we can go back and get what we want. This way we don't 1) overspend early in the day and 2) have to lug around big, heavy, or awkward items all day.

Kaeleigh caught onto the process pretty quickly, which she made evident when she found the vendor selling Hello Kitty themed jewelry. She spotted Hello Kitty from five booths down and took off running. When I caught up to her she said, "We have to write this one down!" We all had our good laugh and kept on shopping.

She also loved these super cool glass bead earrings by Novation Glass, so she got those as well.

And Momma had to get herself some awesome new stuff, including this really fun wooden pumpkin to add to our fall decor.

The pianist, Sergei Novikov, that was selling these CD's is at the show every year playing his music at the entrance.

I don't know why we never stopped to check out his merchandise in the past, but we did this year and all four of us fell in love with his soothing and relaxing music. I chose to buy his Christmas Piano Album Part 2 because I thought it would be great to play while visiting with guests during the holidays. I think I'll be getting one or two of his other albums next year.

I've been searching for little tin stars like these up in Northern NY to a version of this project for next year's patriotic holidays, but have had no luck in finding them small enough.

But, voila, there was a vendor (actually the same one that I bought the wooden pumpkin from) selling these babies in every size you could ever need. I only bought three, now I'm wishing I had bought more. Darn. It. All.

Food. I can never leave this show without food of some kind.

This sweet red pepper jelly by Catamount Specialties of Vermont is OUT OF THIS WORLD. I bought two jars and I plan to ~~eat every drop of it myself~~ share it with guests.

This next contraption is a special one.

If I hadn't actually seen what this baby is used for, I couldn't have even made a guess. Last year I bought some super cool vertical potted plant hangers, called hanging "Potgenies." I don't have a picture of those, but this year I bought this vertical potted plant stand, the Original "Potgenie." Once it's actually set up, this is what it looks like.

Source: This isn't the same vendor that I purchased my"Potgenie" from, but it's the same idea.

I can't wait to use it in the spring. I'll be sure to share pictures.

So we had a good time. And I think everyone, including the newest craft-show-goer, loves the items they purchased.

Oliver's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Meet my nephew, Oliver.

Cute, I know.

His name is rather uncommon currently, but cute none-the-less. Especially since we can call him Ollie, which on occassion gets turned into Ollie-Wallie. You know, like from Wall-E, the movie?

Source

Anyway...this has kind of gotten his mother (my sister, who you can see here) into all things robots for this little guy. His first birthday party was robot themed, so she asked me to make him a robot t-shirt.

My inspiration came from Emily over at The Boy Trifecta who made an adorable little robot applique onsie for her son for Valentine's Day, which you can see here.

And here is how my version turned out:

And a close-up of the applique:

I can't say how he felt about the t-shirt, because he honestly probably could have cared less about what he was wearing. Especially when you can just stuff your face with M&M's until the colored candy goes running down your face.

This kid also loves to snuggle, especially when he's got a nice silky, soft blanket in hand. His blanket of choice is a small, pink-"ish" blanket that used to be my niece's. I say pink-"ish" because it's been very well used. This, combined with the fact that it was pink(-"ish"), often made people do a double-take when they saw Oliver with it, so my sister was looking for a "stand-in."

This is what I came up with:

One side is super soft and cuddly. And the other is cool and silky. Plus, they're blue and brown with a nifty little "O" monogrammed onto them.

He liked them, but I'm afraid to report he still prefers the wornout, pink version better. I guess I can't win them all.

My sister also asked me to decorate the cupcakes. If you know me, you know that I also love to decorate cupcakes. (Notice I said decorate, not make. Two very different concepts.) I have the book What's New, Cupcake? by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson (see there website here) which has the instructions on how to make a cupcake robot. So...

I think he turned out pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

My sister didn't want to have to disassemble the robot during the party, so I also decorated an extra batch of cupcakes using some super cool metalic sprinkles we found at the local grocery store.

And the birthday boy thoroughly enjoyed them. :o)

Happy 1st Birthday, Ollie!

This project was submitted to:

A Baby Shower...

noreply@blogger.com (Trina Rae) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:39:00 +0000

So in less than two weeks I am co-hosting my best friend's baby shower. This is Mallory and Josh's first baby and I'm super excited for them. I've got plenty of projects going on for this occasion, but I wanted to give a "sneak peak" with a couple of shots of the invitations (minus the private and personal information, of course).

The theme is "Cute As A Button" and I think these invitations compliment the theme nicely while still looking classy instead of cheesy, cause I hate cheesy. What do you think?