Ironing Board Recover

IRONING BOARD RECOVER

So my ironing board cover looked like it had been through war. The batting was no longer thick and could not keep the grid from underneath from showing thru. It was time. I tried to buy one that would fit but I have an odd size board, 15 "w x  53" l. Couldn't find anything remotely close. I found this youtube video that helped me to recover and my very basic sewing skills were enough.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV7ocoiil2o)

I headed out to get pick up new batting and some fabric at Joann's . I used roughly 2 yrds of fabric.

Although I chose two different fabric patterns for the fun factor.

 Easy to follow video and was done in an hour 1/2. Not bad for am amateur sewer.

 END OF YEAR SUMMER GIFTS

FOR TEACHERS OR ASSISTANTS

This is such a great idea for Assistant teachers, classroom helpers and so many others

we don't want to forget at the end of the year. I swiped the idea off Pinterest http://webcodeshools.com/Pinned_Sisters_End_of_year_Teacher_gift/ .

  I made mine with glass drink containers from Home Goods and filled them with Crystal light, 

watermelon candies, and sunblock. You can fill them with anything you like.

I printed out the tag that I copied off another pic and think its sweet. Thanks for viewing.

Pin Cushion Cathedral Window Pane

Cathedral Pin Cushion 

You can never have enough pin cushions if you do any kind of sewing at all. I am always reaching over and grabbing ahold of one for various projects. While browsing a new sewing project I came across the cute Cathedral Window Pane Pin Cushion by Kim. I fell in love with the look and had to make one.  http://gogokim.blogspot.com/2011/12/cathedral-window-pin-cushion-tutorial.html

I grabbed some scraps that I had in my box and started cutting.

Thankfully I had a cute button to add to the front for a little bling.

Think I will make more for Mothers Day.

Super easy to follow and best of all quick and easy. You Go Kim!

American Girl Party

Our American Girl Party turned out perfectly. Lia started to plan her 8th birthday party some weeks ago. She was determined to have an American Girl Party at home with everything she imagined. With the suggestion of my sister-in-law I created this life size AG box for the girls. It was just so much fun to watch them all get in and they couldn't help but smile. I printed out each girl's name on red background and added a velcro strip, then just switched it out for each one, that way their name was on the box. I took each girls photo. They will get a copy of their pic with their thank you note. This box was used to ship a golf bag and clubs, so it worked just right for this project. Although one or two girls had to duck down a bit.

Below was the doll table I made from some board wrapped in a pink plastic table cloth and set atop a box. The hats I made from scrap paper with glued on pom poms and fur trim at the bottom.  Then I attached a elastic string to keep it on the dolls heads. We set the table with small plates, forks and cups. Then we made these mini purses for both the dolls and the girls that come in the pre-packaged AG Purse Favor kits. They were filled with mini red licorice.

We set up a hair salon with chairs and spray bottles along with clips ties and ribbon. That way the girls could do the dolls hair. Our craft table was filled with AG scrap paper & stickers for card making. We created Cootie Catchers from the AG pre-packaged craft kit as well. Then as a group game we played AG Bingo which was a big hit! 

 Cootie Catcher

I kept the food simple. Bagels, fruit cups, celery & carrot cups, chicken nuggets and PB&J sandwiches. The yummy dessert table was filled with vanilla cupcakes with red tipped icing and sprinkles that I made in these super cute paper cupcake baking cups that I found in Home Goods. Strawberries dipped in white chocolate and blue sprinkles. Red & blue jello topped with whipped cream, red jellybeans, star shaped sugar cookies with icing and of course home made chocolates in star and cupcake shapes.

I used plain red paper goodie bags for the favor and then using my Cricut Die Cutter made these star shapes for the front of the bags, filled them with small note pads, nail files, AG stickers and chocolate, then tied them with a matching ribbon.  And added a "thanks for coming" address label I made on the front.  

This was one of our best "At Home" parties.

Lia was the so happy and all smiles!

RAINBOW CUPCAKES!!!!
HAPPY BAKING!

Made these for Lia's class to celebrate her birthday at school.

They look so good I want to eat them now! 

So Delicious Pancakes!

I can't help but imagine a better breakfast than pancakes. They are just the most welcoming of meals when starting the day. My girls never turn down pancakes when I offer to make them. I do opt for easier box pancakes on a weekday if I am in a hurry but the weekends I will give a little effort. These buttermilk pancakes are just so good and they always come out yummy. Light and delicious and never rubbery. I copied the recipe from somewhere but had to make my own buttermilk as I don't keep it on hand.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. white vinegar

1cup milk

1 beaten egg

1 cup of flour

2 tbsp. melted shortening

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

So Delicious Pancakes!

To make my own buttermilk I add 1 tbsp of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk, stir and let sit five minutes. This is just a homemade buttermilk substitute, if you have buttermilk on hand just use that.

While you wait you can mix all other ingredients and add beaten egg & shortening at the end.

Finally add the buttermilk mixture and stir with a wire wisk. 

Pour out your pancakes to desired size and serve anyway you like.  

You can add fruit or chocolate chips if you like in the batter, but

I prefer to add fresh fruit on top! ENJOY

Paper Birdhouse

Sweetest Birdhouse Ever,

Happy Valentines Day! So even though its February I am already thinking about Spring. I just love this Birdhouse template and the way it came out. I found the template at Inspired Papertrey Ink. Just so cute I had to give it a try and I love the way it came out. I will definately be making more of these and filling with treats for friends. These will be great for Spring gifting, such as candy eggs for my girls at Easter. I did have some issues with the adhesive though. My Thermo Web tape runner didn't hold, so I had to use double sided tape and that did the trick. I embellished with a Prima flower I had in my stash and stamped a small butterfly, punched it out and tied with some jute.  I am now on the hunt for some fresher papers that would compliment the design of the birdhouse for a different look.  LOVE THEM!