Pom-Pom Tree for Valentine’s Day

Tree of Love

Fun Valentine’s Project for you and the kids

Week 4 of the 5 Weeks of Love Challenge

I saw an idea like this as I was searching for a something else and can not find where I saved the website name. So if by chance anyone knows who just recently did a tutorial for something like this let me know and I will be sure to put their name on here as an inspiration to how this project came to light.  This was a lot of fun to work on with my little one. We played a counting game while we were holding the pom- poms on to set.

I wasn’t really sure how this was going to turn out but I wanted to give it a try anyway. I added the feathers for some extra flair and texture.

Honestly I think the hardest part was getting the support at the bottom just right to support the top.

The materials I used were

• Pom-Poms
• Chinelle Fuzzy Sticks
• Glue
• Feathers

These look really cute in the window cill or the table as Valentine’s Day Decorations. I made a purple one for myself. I thought it was one of those things that would look nice on a shelf in my crafting area.

Happy February!!!

Valentine’s Day Charms

Week 1 of the 5 Weeks of Love Challenge

I have recently started working with beads again. It really started by me going through all my stuff after christmas this year and organizing it. I came across this huge bag of glass beads that I have collected over the years. I sat down and organized them by color and realized that I had some really cool looking beads. So as the ideas started rushing into my head the next thing I knew I had 5 Charms/Keychains done. After finishing them I sat back and realized they would make great gift topper or just a great side gift if you are giving a a lot of small items for valentine’s day. These would also make great valentine’s for your kids to give to their friends as they make great charms for backpacks and other accessories.

Small little trinkets like these are things that your loved ones can carry around all the time, to remind them that you were thinking about them and that you loved them. These are quick to make and they don’t cost a lot to make either. These are great projects for you and your children to work on together. There are plenty of pretty plastic beads for the younger children to be able to string together and wear.

The only supplies I used were a handful of glass and Tibetan silver beads, embroidery floss, clear bead string, and a plastic circle of some kind. I use the plastic reminder pieces for knitting/crocheting. I look forward to making some more of these in the future. I would like to make one for myself using Swarovski Crystal Elements. I think that would really sparkle.

Beading can be a very expensive hobby so its best to look on Craigslist, Garage sales, or even your auction sites like Ebay and Listia can have some great deals on bead lots. You don’t need a lot of beads to make something small and beautiful like this. Just enough to give it some color and class.

Valentine’s day doesn’t just have to be about the celebration of love between a couple. This can be a holiday about celebrating the love of everyone around you. Here are some other great charms or key chain ideas that you can make for your loved ones that celebrate the love of a life. As much as we know that Valentine’s Day is just one of those made up Hallmark type of Holidays why not take the time to tell all the people who you care about that you love and appreciate them. It never hurts to take the time to show someone you care or that you were thinking about them.  

I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed making them. I look forward to another great week. I am still looking into finding a blog for our Featured Friday spot. I do have a couple of blogs in mind I am just not sure on how to contact them to ask them permission to feature them on this site. Untill next time…..

Happy Crafting!

This was the bead project I worked on with my little guy and an idea for the younger kids to give as gifts or to make for themselves.

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!!