trick or treat bags

Sorry I'm late getting these up as an idea. Maybe for next year? Anyway ...

I've been stockpiling felt and a friend was commenting in early October about wanting a particular shade of green to make Frankenstein face trick-or-treat bags for her little boys. I had the right shade so I gave her what I had and some black ... and she gave me the idea. So I sat down with my girls and let them choose what color they wanted for the background of their bags, and gave them options for the shapes on the bags. I did all of this free-hand.

1. I had 2 9x12 sheets of felt (I think that's the size - whatever you get in the little sheets at craft stores) to be the bag. I cut about 1 1/2 inches off one end of each to be the handles.

2. Before I put the bag together, I cut out and sewed on the character shape things. Not sure what to call them. I sewed all the way around the face cut-outs on the jack-o-lanterns. At first I didn't but it looked funny so I went back and fixed it. The stitching looks awful. Do not examine these bags too closely.

3. I sewed the handle on each side of the bag.

4. I put the bag wrong-side out to sew all way around the edge, leaving the top open of course, and then flipped it right-side out.

They're fairly small bags but I have small children (the oldest is 5) and really - how much candy does one kid need anyway. They filled the bags twice - once at a church party, and once going around our neighborhood complex.

I'm really getting into this sewing thing. I like the idea of creating stuff, and I like the little rush I get when I finish something because I can say, "I made that!" Wait until I can get some of my Christmas gift projects up here. I'm making most things this year and that makes me a little giddy. (And a little stressed because hello - Christmas is in less than 2 months.) I just came up with some ideas so they're not started yet, and other things are mid-stream.

in the groove

I don't know if I'm starting to worry Adam a little bit or what ... but I just came home from a quick run to Walmart with t-shirts and fabric to make 2 more t-shirt/skirt playdresses. This is new for me. Really new.

The two shirts are pink (one dark, one light) and the two skirts are a really soft corduroy in two different shades of blue with flowers all over them. I'm totally in love with this fabric, not to mention that I'm stunned our Walmart is actually carrying fabric again (it was just brought back after about 3 years of nothing) and it's even really cute! Yay!

I have SM's Christmas dress done except for running it through my friend's Serger and hemming it. I've been itchy to do something else but needed more bobbin spools for my sewing machine. After going to both little fabric shops in town and Walmart 2 or 3 times, I finally found the ones I need today so I can get going on switching between projects because I don't have to rethread my one bobbin spool with a new color every time. I have the squares cut and pinned for the Christmas present doll blankets - I can finally start sewing them all together, and now I also have the two extra dresses to make. Those aren't waiting for Christmas - they're short sleeves so the girls can wear them right away. They need new playdresses anyway - they're outgrowing what they already have. RG gets SM's hand-me-downs but SM needs new dresses because she has now outgrown all the hand-me-downs we got from friends.

Height Chart & Chalk Board Menu

Pinterest (love that site!) reminded me of a couple of craft projects that I needed to do, so we got the supplies on Saturday at Home Depot

First up: Oliver's Height Chart

We made these for the other kids years ago

It is one of my favorite things we made for the kids

I wanted a physical way to record their height

but didn't want to use a door frame, because when we moved, we would not be able to take that with us

So we made these charts out of fence board, spray paint, a measuring tape hot glued down the middle

I like the way I did the names on the other kid's better

I can always change it later (nothing a little paint won't fix!)

Then you record their heights on one side and pictures of them at that age on the other

We measure the older kids every 6 months

It is fun to see how much they've grown!

Project #2 Chalkboard Menu

Ever since the kids started school, as soon as they get home they ask

"what's for dinner"

and then they ask that again every two minutes or so

either because

they never listen to my answers

or they forget just 2 minutes later :P

So I made a menu board for the week

That way they can quit asking

It also helps me with planning!

Fence board, primer, sanding, spray chalk board paint

let dry and done

I was so happy when they got home from school yesterday

"What's for dinner?"

I pointed to the board and they didn't ask again

YAY for things doing what they are supposed to do

Now, what question are they constantly going to ask now that I have solved that one??

Christmas project 5

This project is half done ... or it's 2 projects with 2 more to go. I'm making winter/Christmas playdresses for my 4 girls. I got the idea last year from someone I went to church with - she bought a cheapo t-shirt from Walmart for her daughter and attached fabric to the bottom for a skirt - voila! A playdress!

I got the turtlenecks on clearance from the boys' section for 2 bucks apiece last January, and made sure I got them in the sizes I'd need now. They actually might last until next year as well, which would be awesome. The two big girls have red tops and the two baby girls have white, because that's what they had in the correct sizes. The new baby will have a different style - I'm not going to attach her skirt to a onesie because new babies go through onesies so fast. She may get a jumper - I'll wait and see after she's born.

I ordered the green fabric from fabric.com, and had to order some more because I didn't know if it would go with the red or not. Obviously, it worked. I'm waiting for round 2 of my fabric order. Basically, I cut the fabric into a rectangle measured to fit onto the shirt, and then sewed it with one seam which I attached at the side. A friend showed me how to do a gathering stitch, which I didn't know the first thing about but I do now! She also let me use her serger, which I very much appreciated. I hemmed the dresses at mid-calf and did a wide hem so they're pretty long, and the length can be altered next fall so they could still fit next year. White tights, black shoes, and we're in business.

The idea of making the top of a dress (armholes and sleeves) is still rather intimidating and there are a couple of other things about skirts that I need to figure out (how to put in an elastic waistband). But the t-shirt/skirt dress - I'm good! When the rest of my fabric gets here, we'll see if I manage to do the other two by myself!

The photographic evidence that I actually made clothing that my children can wear:

Christmas project 4

Or maybe this is project 1 for round 2. I'll just keep going with the current count for now. Here are two sections of my felt garland - I have no idea how long it is. I just used the entire spool of ribbon and kept laying shapes on it until I ran out. I used Christmas cookie cutters as my stencils onto the felt, sewed everything straight onto the red ribbon, and decorated with glitter glue. It could go around the Christmas tree, across the mantel, or over a door. I haven't decided where I'm going to put it yet when we decorate for the holidays.

Pumpkin Mousse and Gingerbread Pie

What started as a delicious cookies and dip combination turned into an amazing pie.  Lots of compliments and requests, so here it is. 

GINGERBREAD (two pie crusts and then some)
-Cream together 3/4 cup butter and 7/8 cup brown sugar.
-Stir in 1 tsp lemon zest, 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice, and 1/2 cup molasses.
-Gradually beat in 2 eggs.
-Sift together 3 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ginger, 2 tsp allspice, and stir into everything else.
-Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to firm it up before rolling it out. For cookies: cut out shapes, bake at 375 for 10 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. For pie: roll out and place in a greased pie plate, and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

PUMPKIN MOUSSE (enough for two pies)
-In a saucepan, stir together: 1 15 oz can of pumpkin (1/2 of one of those large cans), 1 cup heavy cream, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg. (I accidentally put it 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, plus some ginger, and it worked great.)
-Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently for five minutes.
-Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla.
-Chill for at least one hour.
-Whip 2 cups chilled heavy cream into stiff peaks. Gently stir in half the pumpkin mixture until fully incorporated before folding in the remaining mixture. Chill.
-For pie: pour into the baked pie shell and refrigerate overnight (to stiffen up the mousse). If in a hurry, put it in the freezer for 45 minutes.

Minny's Chocolate Pie

After seeing the movie The Help a few weeks ago, I was craving a chocolate pie. I know, I know...the chocolate pie is supposed to gross you out, but maybe it's the pregnancy thing. Anything chocolate -- especially fudgy-chocolate -- sounds divine. I went in search of a chocolate pie recipe, and after some searching, I found the gem below. It's the actual recipe used by the food stylist from the movie. I've made it twice now, and it's quick, easy, and tasty. I have yet to go at the whole thing with a fork, but I do have eight more weeks of pregnancy left, and I'm not saying no to anything!

1 1/2 C sugar
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1/2 C butter, melted
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 tsp salt
1 5 oz. can evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 refrigerated pie crust (or...I got REALLY bold and made my own!)

1. Place pie crust in a 9-inch pie plate and prick the bottom and sides with a fork.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Mix sugar, cocoa, and butter in amixing bowl.
4. Add eggs and beat for three minutes.
5. Add salt, milk, and vanilla.
6. Pour filling into pie shell and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and middle is partly set.
7. Cool completely, then refrigerate. Serve with whipped cream.

A few notes:

• I had the best success making the entire thing with the whisk attachment on my Kitchenaid. It seemed to hit the perfect consistency. If I did it by hand, I got a lot of bubbles that kept the pie from being as pretty as it could be.


• Also, let the pie cool COMPLETELY before trying to put Saran wrap over the top; otherwise, the top layer will stick to the wrap. If the pie is cool first, it will peel off easily -- no sticking!

back to work

Yeah, so, um ... my 12 Months of Christmas have not exactly gone according to plan. I'm chalking it up to the fact that I've spent a majority of this calendar year pregnant, along with starting to homeschool our older 2 girls.

Today, I finally just had enough and sat down and sewed my April project - a felt garland. I've had all the little shapes cut out for months, and bought the ribbon and thread earlier this summer. Last night I started pinning it and today I finished it. No pictures quite yet because now comes the embellishment with fabric paint and glitter, but that can't be done until after the kiddos go to bed. My girls MUST TOUCH EVERYTHING. Drives me nuts. But really, this puts me in a crafting mood. I actually want to work on more stuff. Part of nesting, since the baby is due in about 3 more weeks? Probably. But still. I'll take advantage of the motivation while I've got it - lightning strikes so rarely around here.

Anyway, so I missed 5 months of Christmas projects - April to August. I'm happy with the 3 projects I did at the beginning of the year, but I'm going to start over on the 12 Months thing. It's one of my bucket list things to do so it needs to be done right.

my first order!

I just got my first order from fabric.com delivered - so excited! Yes. Yes, it's true. I was happy to buy fabric. Go figure. I got flannel to make my traditional swaddling blanket for the new baby ... no pink! The print is flowers so it's definitely girly, but the colors are yellow, orange and multiple shades of blue and green on a white background. Adam and I are so over pink - there's tons of it in our house. Clothes, toys, bedding, the bed itself ... Time to introduce some complementary but different colors into the scheme.

I also ordered fleece to make a blanket for a new niece coming in November - when I made the order, we didn't know if it was a girl or boy yet, so I got fleece for both. We found out yesterday it's a girl. I'm stocked up for when another nephew joins the family! I make fleece blankets with the knotted edges for all of our nieces and nephews - I did a full run of them for everyone the year after we were married (we had 6 total from both sides of the family then), and since then, I make them as the babies are born. Anyway, I'll take pictures of the blankets when they're done.

And I got some Christmas fabric for one of my projects - making playdresses for the girls. I got the fabric for just one dress which will have a white top. I didn't get fabric for the red or green tops yet - that's harder to order online because the red/green has to match. But this fabric does have some red in it that may match with the red tops - I haven't checked it yet. If it goes well, I'll order more if needed. The dress idea is to attach fabric for a skirt to a regular shirt. Last January, I went to Carters and got turtlenecks on clearance (from the boys section, since the girls section had nothing I could use) for just 2 bucks apiece in red, green, and white. Based on the shirts I got, SM and RG will each get a red and a green top, and JE will get only a white but she'll have plenty of things to grow into. I just need to figure out something to do for the new baby - maybe a jumper to match JE's skirt with a white onesie underneath.

advance planning

It's apparently a whole year of Christmas stuff ... this morning, I randomly told Adam that I already have an idea for Christmas presents for our girls. I want to make little blankets for their dolls with fleece left from making blankets for some of my nieces and nephews (I make a fleece blanket every time there's a new baby in our extended family). And if the dolls have blankets ... maybe they'll need a crib. Or two. Or a miniature bunkbed ... that we could also paint pink! Heh. I think Adam would kill me if I even suggested that, even though we do have more pink paint. We're about pinked out here and need some other colors in the mix, not just this solid wall of PINK every time you walk into their bedroom.

Anyway, so that's something new on Adam's furniture-craftsman list, when he finishes fixing the dining room chairs and building me another bookcase - doll furniture. I know it's early to be thinking about Christmas presents, but when you're planning to make them and you're as inexperienced as we are, you need to start sooner rather than later.

As for my monthly Christmas projects - I'm behind because I gave Kera's sewing machine back to her. I was given a sewing machine to keep by another friend but she hasn't come over yet to show me how to use it (it did not come with a user's manual). I have my April project cut out - just waiting on the sewing and then I'll need to take some time to add the details. Fun with glitter glue! I think the May project can be done all by hand - no machine sewing involved so maybe that one will get finished first. And I have June's project mapped out. It's my first Advent calendar. I want to do two and they are totally different, but I don't know how the 2nd one will work out. It took quite a bit of thinking to figure out the first one but I think it will be cool. Hopefully by the end of next month, I'll be caught up and able to start fresh for July.