Ruffled Scarf...

The best intentions -- my intentions were to post at least 5 days a week -- but with 2 sick kids and a busy week - those plans changed.

In the last week I think I've made 4 ruffled scarves.  Inspired by Creative Little Daisy:  http://creativelittledaisy.typepad.com/creative_little_daisy/2011/01/i-hereby-award-myself.html ; tutorial for scarves here:  http://justanotherhangup.blogspot.com/2010/12/easy-peasy-scarf.html .

Each scarf took only about 15 minutes and is so cute.  I get complements whenever I wear it.  I added a singed flower to the scarf - inspired also by Creative Little Daisy -- tutorial here:  http://creativelittledaisy.typepad.com/creative_little_daisy/2010/12/singed-fabric-flowers-a-little-how-to.html .  I made a smaller version of the singed flower and glued it to a hair clip for my daughter's hair.  Turned out great!  One of these days I'll remember to take pictures of all the things I  make!

Hull-Free Carmel Corn

Today I made one of my kids favorite snacks....Hull-Free Carmel Corn...so delicious!  I got the recipe from my sister in law.  She often makes this at Christmas as a gift for her kids teachers.

the recipe:
bring to a boil:  1/2 cup light Karo
1 cup butter (don't use margarine - it won't taste the same)
1 cup brown sugar

boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat - stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda.  Make sure you have this in a large pan - as it will expand when you add the baking soda (learned the  hard way on this one!).

Spray large  baking pan (I use a large foil roasting pan) with non stick cooking spray.  Pour in 1 bag (7oz) Mike-Sell's Puffcorn Delites - original (I got mine at Walmart this week for $1.50/bag).  Pour caramel mixture over top and stir well to coat.  Bake at 250 for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  If it seems like it's getting too dark, turn the heat down a bit.  Pour onto waxed paper to cool and break apart.

I occasionally make this when my neighbors and I get together for our crafting night  - and it's a huge hit!

Honeybun Cake

 Today Mama also made this cake: 

receipe found here:  http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/honeybun-cake-2/

I cut the down the glaze to 3/4 and used 1/2 applesauce/half the oil it called for.  This is soooo delicious!  I could barely wait until it came out of the oven.  After the kids have some for an after school snack, I'm going to deliver some to my neighbors - so I don't devour it all by myself!

Glass Etching

I just love glass etching!  There are so many neat things you can etch!  A couple of months ago for my friends birthday I made her this gift:

She has 2 children - ages 6 and 7 - so I traced their handprint onto contact paper - then cut it out.  I put the contact paper on the glass candle holder - one hand on each side - then thickly spread the etching cream over the rest of the glass.  I also cut the year out of contact paper to etch into the bottom, so she would know what year it was when she received this.  I put a candle in the middle then put a small bag of beach glass around the bottom of the candle.  When the candle burns down a bit it will glow through their handprints.  I thought it turned out so cute! 

I already had the etching cream, sponge brush and contact paper on  hand - I purchased the candle, glass candle holder and beach glass all from Michaels - with sales and coupons!

Re-Purposed Jeans

A few weeks ago I was getting ready to have my neighbors over for a crafting  night (6 of us neighbors get together every couple of months and spend a nice long evening crafting together in my basement).  I decided to raid hubby's closet for jeans that no longer fit and went to town re-purposing them.  I made trash bags for each of us (for dry trash only).  They turned out great!

Each pair of jeans made 2 trash bags.  I lined them with fabric I had in my stash.  I filled the pocket with rice and sewed it shut, then hot glued non skid drawer liner to the back to keep it from sliding off the table.  They all stayed on the table the entire 5 hours we were crafting.  I like that I can use the pocket for a pin cushion also if needed.

Giveaway at Lilypaddesigns.blogspot.com

Kristin at:  http://lilypaddesigns.blogspot.com/2011/01/big-news-and-big-giveaway.html  is having a giveaway!  Check out her blog and craftiness!

Faux Chenille Scarf

I made something I'd never made before on Christmas Eve.  I needed one more gift - for my nephew's fiancee - so I made her a faux chenille scarf out of flannel.  I was so pleased with how it turned out.  Tutorial here:  http://www.imfulr.net/chenillescarves .  You use 2 yards of woven (pattern is same on back as on front - not printed on front and white on back) - cut 7 inch strips on the bias - piece together where needed.  Stack 5 layers on top of each other - and sew the length of the scarf - every 1/2 inch.  I think I ended up with 13 lines of stitches.  I just scissor trimmed the sides - did'n't bother to use the rotary cutter and ruler.  Then you cut the top 2 layers inbetween stitches - turn over and cut the top 2 layers again.  Can't cut the middle layer - or the scarf will fall apart.  I fringed the ends by cutting through that middle layer 4 inches up on every cutting line  It doesn't look like much until you throw it into a hot washer and hot dryer.  It fluffs up like chenille.  They say the more you wash and dry it - the softer and fluffier it becomes.  Now I need to make one for myself!

First Post! I've never been good at titles....

November and December have been very busy - crafty months for me.  I've been making so many different things I decided to start writing things down - so I don't duplicate things for next year!  This year for teacher gifts I made adjustable aprons, homemade hot fudge, snowman soup and included a cookbook my mom's group put together a couple of years ago.  I was pleased with how the aprons turned out.  I followed this tutorial:  http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-sew-an-adjustable-chefs-apron/ .

The snowman soup turned out great too!  I  used ingredients from our local farm market/bulk foods store to make these -- and purchased the 12 inch cones from Joanns.com.  I used 2 bags for each - one for the hot chocolate - rubberband the top and cut off the extra before adding the mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.  Double bagging it keeps the chocolate chips from sinking into the hot chocolate mix.  In addition to making these for both teachers, the principal, and secretaries - I made them for all the kids in each of my kids classes.  They turned out so cute!   Candy cane was added for stirring!

Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the little jars of hot fudge sauce. 

I was the room parent for my son's 3rd grade class - so I was in charge of planning the winter party.  Our theme was the Arctic - we had an Arctic fishing game - where the kids went "fishing" and had to answer questions correctly to win a prize - we played "winter wind" where the kids lined up on each side of the table and had to keep a couple of ping pong balls from rolling off the table by blowing them back and forth. 

For our craft I found great snowflake fleece at Joanns and decided to make scarves for the kids.  I made the girls green and cream and the boys brown and blue - both with snow flakes on the fleece.  I was afraid if they wore them to school they would get them mixed up - so I appliqued their names on each one.  I cut out 4 inch letters with my Cricut - then cut the names out of fleece...and sewed them on using a small zig zag stitch.  The kids part of the craft was to put beads on the fringes (I had previously fringed each scarf).  They had the choice of using pony beads that changed colors when they went outside or using blue pony beads - then they tied a knot after each bead.  It was a big hit!

For our snack I made them each a bag with pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and covered with sprinkles, cake balls ( http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cake-balls/ ), peppermint meringues      ( http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/peppermint-meringues/Detail.aspx ), and pretzel rounds.  So yummy!

In their goodie bags in addition to the snowman soup, I also made each one a tic tac toe game - using arctic animals made out of shrinky dink - instead of x's and o's.  They turned out great!  I love shrinky dink!  I made 20 different animals  - 10 of each - so there weren't many duplicates.

Every year I tell myself not to put so much time into the kids school parties - and every year it doesn't work out for me.  The kids only have one party at school each year...and I want them to be able to take something away from it - I want them to have fun.  Oh well, another  year done!