Sunday, December 30, 2012

The Sewing Bug

It is true, I have caught the sewing bug.  Just this week I decided to take a break from sewing and ended up making a new skirt from a pair of my husband's shorts!!! But more on that later.... :D

So a friend of mine wanted me to make three and a half Wee Mouse Tin House's for her kids for Christmas. It took me a while because I only work at night after the kids are in bed.  But here they are!  They turned out really cute and I learned how to embroider a little!  If you want to make these for someone you know go here. 



They turned out really cute.  Each Altoid tin has a pillow, blanket, sheet, mouse and teddy bear. The mini Altoid tin doesn't have a pillow or mouse because it was too small.  

Next time I'll post about my homemade wallet I made for Christmas!  Stay tuned!  Thanks peeps! :)



Sunday, December 16, 2012

Wagon Train Pasta

So, I'm going to break from my usual and post a recipe.  It was super delicious and R even had seconds!  I've given up on my son, B, he'll never eat dinner...

Wagon Train Pasta

3 c uncooked wagon wheel pasta
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp minced garlic ( I just used a whole clove...)
1/8 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1/2 lb ground beef
2 T grated parmesan cheese
2 T seasoned bread crumbs (or plain bread crumbs + italian seasoning)
1 1/2 c meatless spaghetti sauce (I'll be honest.  I didn't measure.  I just used a big can.)
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, i n a large bowl, beat theegg, salt, garlic and pepper.  Add beef and mix well.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs; mix gently.

2. Crumble beef mixture into a large skillet.  Cook over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Stir in the spaghetti sauce.  Reduce heat.  Cober and simmer for 2-4 minutes or until heated through.

3.  Drain pasta; place in a serving bowl.  Add beef mixture; sprinkle with 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese.   Mix until pasta is well coated and cheese is melted.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

It was soooo good.  I found this recipes on my allrecipes.com app. If B is up all night, there won't be leftovers tomorrow.

Coming soon:  Wee Mouse Tin House craft and post-Christmas gifts.  I can't post them now, because they haven't gotten them yet!! :D

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Belated Halloween Project

 So lately I've been trying to do a lot more projects with my boys.  It's fun to do things alone without them, but it is so much more fun when I do it with kids!  R and B get so excited and have so much fun spending time with mom doing grown-up things.  

While looking through an old magazine, I saw this jar project and thought it would be fun to do with the kids.  Well, it was a little too tricky for R, but he gave some good  input.  We made two and gave them away.  I wish I had taken a picture of the second jar, because it turned out a lot better.  Oh well. :D 
Isn't it great?  R wanted it to have a scared face.  I didn't have construction paper at this point, so we used a marker.  Needless to say, use construction paper!  The marker never fully dried.  

NOW, remember this beauty of a shirt that I started on forever ago?  Well I finally finished the project!!! Drumroll please....




TA-da!! I love how cute it turned out.  Sorry, it's fuzzy.  I used my phone...I made this skirt and matching bow tie for my friend K and her two little kids and finally sent it in the mail to them.  So, I can post it! It was a first attempt, but I looove repurposing!! I am trying to do it as much as I can now! I can't throw out old clothes!  The bow tie wasn't too tricky and I added some lining from an old tie to make it a little puffier.  If anyone reads this, and wants more detailed instructions, just let me know.  I love to help out.  :D

So that's it for now!! I'm working on a wallet and a few other projects and I will post when I get them done! 





Thursday, September 20, 2012

Sweet Girls Skirt

So, I know I've been a slacker.  I admit it.  I pumped everyone up for my new blog and then didn't do anything except make the page pretty, for a month.  I know.  I'm sorry!  So, this is me posting for the first time!  I started an online job and learning the ins and outs has made me pretty busy.  But enough of that.

I've been wanting to make some cute little girl stuff for a while now.  The only downside is that I don't have a little girl!  So I am making this skirt for my friend K's little girl and will, eventually, hopefully one day soon make a matching bow tie for her baby boy!

I started with an ordinary blouse/shirt like this:


And turned it into a skirt like this!! I'm still not completely done but I'll run you through the steps.  Sorry, I didn't take more pictures.  I know I should have.  I will next time!

Step 1. Choose desire shirt and unpick seams.  This one was good because it had a top section and a bottom section.

Step 2: sew any seams back together that you may have mistakenly ripped out.  When I was ripping out along the edges, I accidentally ripped out some of the side seams so I sewed them up and sewed together the bottom of the skirt where the buttons end.

Step 3: Pin on ruffles/lace/rick rack if desired, and sew!  My mom gave me all of this lace, and I am so happy!  It was already ruffled so all I had to do was pin it onto the inside and sew right down the middle!

Step 4: Make an elastic casing or sew on elastic.  If your shirt is knit, you can sew an elastic right onto the inside without having to hem.  Mine is not knit, but the top was already folded over about a 1/4 inch from the ripped seam.  After I measured my elastic, I folded it over and pinned in place and sewed it shut.  Don't sew it completely shut, however, because you need to be able to put the elastic inside of it.

Step 5: Attach safety pin to elastic and weave through the casing. (I haven't gotten this far yet.) Overlap ends with zig-zag stitch for stretching and growing if wanted.  Sew casing shut (I'll probably do it by hand.)  And you are done!  I wish it took me as long to sew this skirt as it did to write this post! Haha.  One day...

Next up for me is bow ties!  




My friend S. is having a baby boy so I'm making a few for her.  I'll also make a bow tie from the rest of that pink shirt from above. Here are some that I already made modeled by my little studs.  These are made from re-purposed ties that my husband no longer wears.  The link for the tutorial can be found here.



Since then, my bow ties are looking a lot better and less bulky.  This one has an elastic neckband instead of a velcro one.  My next one is sure to be even better!  So stay tuned!  Let me know how your little girl skirts go, if I have so inspired you to make one!  Keep on Craftin'! And come back for more projects!  I am excited!