Beaded Flower

Recently I acquired a bunch of seed beads. For a couple of days I sat there sorting out the colors and just couldn’t decided what to do with them. After searching through some of my books I came across a beaded flower and tried it out for myself. I just wanted to show you the results. I thought it turned out pretty nicely. The little flowers are easy to make and they probably only take about 5-10 min a piece.  They are small and can be used for many different types of crafting projects.

If you are interested in learning how to make these cute little embellishments leave a comment with your email address and I will send you a tutorial.

 

Happy Crafting

My First Sewing Project

My First “Real” Sewing Project

 

 

What a great start to the new year.  As I stated in an earlier post, I received my first sewing machine this year for christmas. I was so excited to use it that I went to our local Wal-mart the day after christmas and picked up some cheap material that had gone on clearance. After reading the manual from cover to cover, I took my material and started cutting and measuring. I did not have a pattern to go off so I just winged it.  The same day I went and picked up my cheap Christmas Material from Wal-Mart I stopped by our local Joanne Fabrics and bought some clearance material for other projects. I wanted to use the material that I bought from Wal-mart to practice on, However what I thought was going to be just a practice piece ended up being something that I thought turned out pretty nice and I wanted to share.

The tote bag is reversible. I honestly did not think I would enjoy sewing as much as I did after working on this project. There is so much you can do and so much to learn. I am just soaking it all in. I have so many ideas and I can’t wait to make them. I am truly looking forward to being able to make my sons Halloween costumes in the future along with clothing items for myself since there are not many adult clothes in my size and shopping in the older children’s section does not help me look 30.  The list goes on and on of gift ideas that I can make for my family for their birthdays and holidays. Now I just have to learn to read patterns, reasons for using different types of stitches, and some other things that I’m sure I will learn with more experience. I look forward to showing you more of my projects as they are finished.

If you have any advice or links on sewing for beginners please leave them in the comments section. I really would like to get into quilting and making clothes. Thank you to all my family and friends for all the support this past year and for all your encouragement for our future.

Happy Crafting during 2012 from my family to yours!

And Then There Was Silence

I hope everyone had a great Christmas this year. I know our family did. My son walked away with a houseful of Thomas and I received everything I wanted and more. My Husband also got what he wanted, so all in all being with our family this was the best Christmas so far. I’m sure we will have many more wonderful Christmas’s to come.

I have to say, I give a lot of credit to the people who host Christmas every year. With all the work that goes into just one day I feel like I just got Married all over again. I absolutely loved hosting Christmas this year, but I think if I ever get the chance to host again I will definitely be more organized the next time. I have to be grateful that my new place has the space to hold our family comfortably. I really didn’t have to worry about seating or food too much so that was a relief. All in All I think our First Christmas in our new place went very smoothly.

This was a year for many First’s in my family. We moved into our own place this year, We hosted our First Christmas, I received my First Sewing Machine, and that’s just to name a few. This was also my first year of going shopping the day after Christmas. I can honestly say that I think it will be my last. I have to give my husband the most credit as he was the one driving all day, taking me from store to store to find a few things. I really couldn’t imagine driving in that mess yesterday by myself. I honestly think that 70% of the people in Wisconsin forgot how to drive yesterday. There were accidents all over and people cutting people off, It was just a mad house. Also for being the day after Christmas you would think people would be in better moods. Every store we went into their were people yelling at each other and basically pushing people out-of-the-way to get that holiday discount. So having trucked my husband and my son through all that yesterday, I have decided that next year we can wait a few days before popping into the stores to see what’s left on the shelves.

I will be back on here sharing our crafting projects as soon as I organize through everything that we received this year and get it put away.

I’m very interested to hear about everyone elses Christmas’s and after Christmas shopping adventures. If you have any stories please share them in the comments section. I know I wasnt alone out there yesterday.

Happy Holidays,

Slow Cooked Bone-In Turkey Breast

This is the easiest way to make your holiday bird so you can spend your time with your family and less time in the kitchen.

 

I wish I had a photo for this recipe however I forgot. I promise you though, this is one of the tenderest turkeys your will ever eat. I love turkey and chicken, However I have never had turkey like this before. If you have a Bone-In Turkey Breast trust me this is the recipe for you!!

 

My Husband has just recently bought us a 7 qt. Crock-Pot Slow Cooker. I love it!! There is so much you can do with a slow cooker, but I would have never have thought to put a turkey in it. One night  I had the worst craving for turkey and mashed potatoes, so Jason got up took the crock pot out and told me it would be ready by morning. Sure enough when I woke up in the morning the house was filled with the lovely aroma of a cooking bird. My mouth just started to water. Around 10 am I was eating the most tender turkey I have ever had. I told him I had to share this recipe with everyone. So he wrote down what he did. Really it’s so easy that we slept though most of the cooking time.

ingredients Needed:

• 6-7 Qt. crock Pot
• 7# Bone-In Turkey Breast
• 6 cups of Apple Juice
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp Liquid Smoke
• 1/2 cup chopped Onion
• 1 stick of salted Butter
• 1/2 cup chopped Celery

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients into the crock-pot
2. Set on low for 10 hours
3. After the 10 hours pick out the large chunks of meat and separate the meat from the bone.
4. Strain the liquid and save for the gravy.

Gravy Directions:

1. Add Rue to the strained liquid.(Rue = 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of butter.
2. Heat to a boil. Then turn off.
3. If making your own Rue saute in a pan untill golden brown. Then turn off.

That is it. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family did. This may not be the healthiest way to make turkey, However its the easiest and it tastes so GOOD!!

 

Happy Eating!!

Fuzzy Sticks Christmas Tree Ornaments

 

 

A while back I had purchased a package of Fuzzy Sticks (pipe cleaners) at our local dollar store for $1.00 . I was trying to figure out what to do with them and decided to do what everyone does with them. So here are some quick 5 minute or less Christmas Tree Ornaments or Gift Topper ideas. I was really amazed at what I was able to get done while I was waiting for dinner to finish cooking. This is great for kids to do or as a last-minute decoration idea. I really liked working with the Fuzzy Sticks and I can’t wait to get spring colored sticks to continue working with them.

Below I posted the instructions and supplies that will be needed for each ornament. I hope you enjoy making these as much as we did!

 

Candy Cane

Supplies Needed:

• 1 White Fuzzy Stick
• 1 Red Fuzzy Stick 

Instructions:

1. Bend the White Fuzzy Stick in half and then twist it together tightly
2. Do the same for the Red Fuzzy Stick.
3. Take both your White and Red Fuzzy Sticks together and twist them tightly as evenly as possible.
4. Lastly bend one end to make a hook

Thats it!

 

Wreath

Supplies Needed:

• 2 Green Fuzzy Stick
• 1 Red Fuzzy Stick

Instructions:

1. Take your 2 Green Fuzzy Sticks and twist them together.
2. Then bend it in half.
3. Take your bent half and your other end and bend it into a circle, twisting the ends together tightly.
4. The next step is take your Red Fuzzy Stick and cut about 1/3 of it off to make your bow.
5. Bend the Red Fuzzy Stick to make a small bow.
6. Then cut off another piece of the Red Stick about 1 inch long.
7. Attach your Red bow to your Green wreath with the 1 inch Red Fuzzy Stick.

All there is to it!

 

Christmas Tree

 

Supplies Needed:

• 2 White Fuzzy Stick
• 1 Red Fuzzy Stick
• 2 Brown Fuzzy Sticks
• 2 Green Fuzzy Sticks

Instructions:

1. Take your first Green Fuzzy Stick and bend it into a triangle, securing the ends at the top.
2. Take 1 of your Brown Fuzzy Sticks and cut it in half. bend it to make a 3/4 rectangle and twist the ends over the triangle to secure it.
3. Take the other 1/2 of the Brown Fuzzy Stick plus the other whole one and wrap them around your rectangle.
4. Then take your second Green Fuzzy Stick and size it up to the triangle making sure the ends stick over the bottom and over the top about a 1/2 so you can twist it on to the triangle.
5. Do the same with another strip of the Green Fuzzy Stick.
6. Make sure your 2 Green strips are secured to the bottom and the top.
7. The next step is to take 1 of your White Fuzzy Sticks and bend it into a star.
8. Cut a 1 inch Stick out of your other White Fuzzy Sticks and wrap it around the middle of your star and the top of the tree, so to secure the star on top of the tree.
9. Then cut an extra 5   1 inch strips of white and 5    1 inch strips of the red.
10. Take your strips and wrap them around the green spreading them out as you go.

All Finished!!

 

Like I said these are really quick to make and the kids will love to help. I hope you enjoy. Please comment back and share your Fuzzy Sticks Ornaments.