Lucy Little Flower Dress

When I saw this dress on Pinterest I knew I wanted to make it for someone.  The pattern itself cost me $5, but the money also goes to a good cause.  I decided to make it for one of my nieces for Christmas.

http://createhopedesigns.bigcartel.com/product/lucy-s-little-flower-tunic-dress

I made the 12-18 month size and I love how it turned out.  Since it's winter I added a long sleeve onesie underneath.  It's a fairly fast sew and would have been even faster had my kids not needed any attention! :)  The neck and arms are done with elastic thread.  I can't wait until my little one is old enough to start making her some.  I don't have anyone this size to try it on, so you get a picture of it laying down.  I can't wait to see it on my niece though.

Stained Glass Cookies

I haven't pinned this recipe (don't know how yet!) but I soon will.  My kids and I learned to do these years ago from my cousin and we decided to try them with grandkids this year.  They were fun and turned out cute! 

Dough:

4  eggs

3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

4 c. flour

Candy:

3 c. sugar

1/2 c. karo syrup

3/4 c. water

add food coloring for desired color.

Boil to 290 degrees (just past soft crack).

Pour onto foil.  Break into small pieces when cool and store in containers

Trace pattern onto foil.  Put foil on cookie sheet.  Roll dough into long skinny snakes to outline design.  Make sure to pinch dough together where it starts and stops.  Bake at 350 for 5 minutes.  Let cool and then fill with heaping amounts of candy.  Cook 3-5 more minutes at 350 until candy has all melted.  Let cool completely possibly overnight.  Use heated ice pick or nail to put a hole in the corner for hanging ribbon through.

Hang and enjoy!

Cinnamon Ornaments

My kids have their own Christmas tree that they decorate themselves.  One of our advent activities was to make Christmas ornaments for the tree.  I decided on cinnamon ornaments.  I had pinned the recipe and we got to work.  I combined a couple different recipes.  One from Martha Stewart and one from McCormick.  It makes your house smell heavenly. I cooked them in the oven for 2 1/2 hours on 250.  We decorated them with glitter glue the next day.  The kids had a absolute blast!!

Tile Coasters

I found this idea on pinterest and knew I wanted to try them.  We were looking for an craft for our Relief Society Meeting so I practiced on a set before hand.  They were real simple to make and didn't take more than an hour from start to finish.  My kind of project!  A super cute and inexpensive gift idea.

I bought the tiles at Home Depot for .16 a piece.  I cut my paper 4x4 and then used some mod podge to adhere the paper to the tile.  Once that's dry, I used some clear spray paint and gave them a good spray. I had to make sure all the edges were sprayed good so the paper didn't peel up.  I used some felt pads on the back to lift them off the table.

Perfect coasters for your drink!

The Grateful Tree

Last night for our Family Home Evening I decided to do a grateful tree.  I had some brown wrapping paper that I drew a tree on.  My husband used the circle punch to punch our fall colored "leaves".  My oldest was able to write his own, but my younger boys would tell me what they were grateful for and I would write it for them or I'd let them just "write" on a few.  It turned out to be a great way to remember all that we have been blessed with and the kids had a fun time doing it.  I hung it up on the wall  as a reminder to my family.

Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting

It's Fall time in Utah and to me that means 3 things: yummy smelling candles burning all day, busting out the sweaters and boots, and pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING! I have been on the search for a pumpkin cookie without chocolate chips. I know, I know, I'm the odd one out, but I don't love them in pumpkin cookies!When I saw these pumpkin cookies over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe I knew I had to make them!

I whipped them up last night and delicious doesn't even describe them! They are so moist and soft...and the best part--no chocolate chips! And the frosting...oh my word! It is a little bit of caramel heaven. I didn't frost them all and put it in a tupperware container and it does go slightly hard, but nothing 10 seconds in the microwave can't fix!

My little boy keeps coming over to the counter and signing "more please"! I think that's a sign of a hit cookie!

Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting
*Makes 2-3 dozen cookies
INGREDIENTS:
Cookies:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
Frosting:
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars for the cookies. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the pumpkin. In a medium bowl, sift together the baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, salt and flour. Add the dry mixture to the pumpkin batter and mix until combined. Drop the dough by large tablespoonfuls onto a lightly greased (or lined with parchment or silpat) cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
For the frosting, in a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cream, brown sugar and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla. Let the frosting cool to room temperature and stir in the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar. Spread the frosting over the cooled cookies.

 

*Please excuse the beautiful cell phone pictures...my camera is currently sick.

Halloween Girl

This year for Halloween, I decided I wanted to make something for my little girl out of some candy corn fabric I already had.  I settled on the Circle Skirt by Made.  The hardest part of this pattern is getting the pattern piece dimensions right, and that really isn't to hard either.  I bought 1 1/2 inch black elastic to attach to the top.

For the top, I decided to stitch a bat onto a onesie.  I used the same fabric as the skirt.  The bat was from Country Living and I just trimmed it down to a size that would fit across the front.  I zigzagged around it in black just to make sure it stayed.  I bought some black pants to keep her little legs warm.

The cute little hat and flower my mom made for her.

She looked adorable in her Halloween outfit.

Gotta Start Somewhere!

Since the creation of pinterest, my mind has been overflowing with ideas.  Ideas about sewing, crafting, eating and organizing.  After talking to my sisters and mom, we've decided to put together a little blog that will let us share what fun things we come up with.  We hope you enjoy and maybe gather a little inspiration for yourself.