Sneak Peak

A couple of new headbands that I will be adding over the weekend!

How to Make a Fabric Yoyo

I feel like I've been away for ever!  Even with the unusually warm weather, the winter illnesses are here in full effect.  My kids seem to be sharing germs with each other, making it extra tough for me to find the additional time to work on my blog.  I'm finally here and able to get started on the project that I wanted to share using that fabric I showed you a while back.  The first part of the project  is a simple tutorial on how to make fabric yoyo's.  I love using yoyo's to make  hair clips and headbands, but they have been around for ages and others have used them to make blankets, plush animals for children, wall hangings, embellishments for pillows, dresses, and much more.

Things you'll need:

*Scissors or a circle cutter
*If you're using scissors, something circular (between 3 and 4 inches in diameter)
 to trace and a fabric pen or pencil
*Fabric
*Coordinating thread and needle

I recently purchased a circle cutter made by Olfa for about $17 with a Joann's coupon.  Most craft and sewing shops carry them.  Before I had this, I used an upside down cup to trace my circle and cut it out with fabric scissors.  The diameter of the circle should be double the size that you want your yoyo to be, plus you need to add an additional 1/4".  So, if you want a 2" yoyo, you need the diameter of your circle to be 4.25".  Trace and cut out your circle.

Next, thread your needle with a coordinating thread.  I like to double the thread, it just feels like it holds up better.

Take your circle and hold it so that the wrong side of the fabric is facing you.  Fold over about 1/4" of the fabric and begin to straight stitch around the circle, folding in a little bit as you go.  Stitches should be about 1/4" apart.  The knot at the end of your thread should be facing you so that when it's finished, it is on the inside of the yoyo. The picture below gives a good explanation of this.

I usually make about 9 or 10 stitches and then I pull the thread through, but do as many as you feel you're comfortable with so that the thread doesn't be tangled or knotted up.

Once you have made it all the way around, make your final stitch so that you needle is right next to your original knot, but pull the needle out on the right side of the fabric, (the opposite side of where your knot is).  Then pull the thread until the fabric all comes together like a little pouch.

  You can adjust the center and the folds with your fingers to make them look even.  Once it looks good and fairly tight, push the needle back through, right next to where the last stitch was made, so the thread comes out on the inside of the yoyo.  See below.

Now tie off the thread and cut it close to the knot.  You can used your needle to tuck the knot into one of the folds if necessary.

And there you have it, a cute little yoyo! 

Enjoy:)

Fabric Flowers

These brooch pins have been pretty popular lately so I decided to make up a few more.  I originally made them for one of my craft fairs, but I think I only sold one.  I was pretty disappointed because each one takes about 40 minutes from start to finish and I made 20 of them.  I put a few up for sale in my Etsy shop and I am happy to say they seem to sell pretty well!

Here's a sneak peak at a few that I will be adding to my shop tomorrow.

Custom Orders

I have to say I really enjoy doing custom orders.  Here's one I just finished up for one of my awesome regular customers.  It's an order to give as gifts in her child's classroom.  One pair is different because they're for her daughter, to coordinate with a specific outfit.  I think they came out really cute.  Instead of attaching them to my usual hang tags, I made little heart tags and wrote "Happy Valentine's Day" on the back. 

Here's another custom order I worked on this week to accessorize an outfit being worn to an anniversary party.

I'm really happy with the way this one came out, I hope my customer is too!

I'm Back!

Ok, today I'm back on schedule.  Last week I had every intention of putting up a new post, but between having a huge cold and a bunch of orders, it just didn't happen. 

I'm sure some of you have heard of Pinterest.  It's my new favorite site.  If you haven't checked it out, I recommend doing so, I have found so many yummy recipes and craft inspirations there.  I was recently looking for a fun dessert idea for the kids and came across a picture of rainbow cakes in mason jars.  I thought I'd adjust it a bit and make rainbow cupcakes for my kids and I have to say, they came out fantastic!

Here's how I did it.

Ingredients:  A box of white cake mix, plus all of the ingredients it calls for
                     A can of frosting
                     Plastic zip sandwich bags (six bags)
                     Sprinkles for decoration
                   

First I prepared the cake mix as directed on the box.  Next, I scooped 2-3 big spoonfuls into each plastic bag.

I added food coloring to each of the bags to make a different color of the rainbow.  On the back of my food coloring box it tells the ratio of drops to mix to make the colors not included (orange and purple).
Once the colors were added, I sealed the bag and squished the color around in my fingers to mix it.  I had some trouble getting the corners of the bag to mix, so I used a little spoon and mixed it up.  A little messy, but it worked.

Next, I placed the cupcake liners into the pan and started layering the colors.  I started with purple so it would be the bottom of the cupcake.  I cut a small hole in a bottom corner of the bag and squeezed enough to cover the bottom of the liner.  I did the same thing with blue, then green, yellow, orange and last, the red.

 The box said to fill the liner half way and this would make enough for 24 cupcakes.  Maybe because this was my first try, I ended up filling my liners a bit more than 3/4's and ended up making 12.  If you hope to make 24, I would make two boxes just to be safe.

I baked them according to the box temp. and time and then checked them with a toothpick to make sure they were done.

Once cooled I frosted them.  My kids prefer vanilla or butter cream frosting.  I happened to have some pretty sprinkles in the cabinet, which I added to an extra special touch and I have to say the looked so pretty! 

Here's a shot of the inside.  The kids were really impressed.  They only took about 15 minutes more than the usual cake box cupcakes to make but they are so much more fun.  I will definitely try this one again.

This week's sneak peak

I planned to have a few more of these photographed for you, but the stomach bug hit our house this week and it has slowed me down a bit.  I plan to have these listed in my Etsy shop by Monday along with a few other colors.  They are so super cute, my daughter says these are one of her new favorites!

**Also, here is a coupon code for all of my new followers for 15% off.  Type in HAPPYNEWYEAR at checkout to receive your discount. 

Coming this week, a fun new desert tutorial that I recently tried out.  The kids went wild when they saw it!

For The Love of Fabric!

I confess, I'm a bit of a fabric hoarder.  Here's a pix of some new fabric that I just ordered from Mimi's on Etsy.  She has the most BEAUTIFUL fabrics and I've been drooling over this set for a while.  Here is a link to her shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/mimis?ref=seller_info  I feel like a kid at Christmas waiting for a gift I've been wanting forever.

I have big plans for this fabric, which I'll will be sharing with you soon:)

Sneak Peak

Here are some more items that will be added to my Etsy shop.  I'm hoping to get a few added tonight and a few more over the weekend.

Quick and easy strawberry banana smoothie

This super quick and easy recipe is a favorite in my house.  My kids are pretty picky eaters, one will not touch milk and so this one way I can get him to get at least one glass of milk a day.  It takes just a couple of minutes to make and they think they're having a really special treat!

Ingredients:

A blender or processor
4 or 5 strawberries
1/2 of a banana (I use a slightly over ripe banana, it's super sweet and blands easily)
1 cup of milk
1 cup of ice cubes
1/2 Tbsp of sugar

For my daughter's last birthday, she was given a slushie maker, which came with flavored syrups.  It was a great gift and we used it quite a bit this summer.  I like to use it for this recipe because it is a bit smaller than my regular blender and it comes with its own tall cup and lid, plus it has a long staw with a spoon on the end that the kids love.  I bought a second cup set for my son so they can both have one.  It's similar to a Magic Bullet, which could be used to this recipe just as well.

First, add the milk and icecubes into the cup.  Next, wash the strawberries and chop them into small chunks.  Add the strawberries, then add the banana and sugar. 

Now screw the bottom, blade portion of the slushie maker onto the top of the cup,  put the cup onto the base and blend for about 30 seconds or until all of the ice is chopped into slush.

And there you have it, super quick, easy, delicious and healthy!

Enjoy!

Fun with photos

Yesterday was a lounge around sort of day and by early afternoon I was a bit bored, though not motivated enough to do the things that need doing, like folding laundry cleaning etc. 

So I went and sat in the front yard while the kids ran around.  It was an unusually warm day, in the 40's.  I brought my little point and shoot camera out with me and started snapping pictures from my lawn chair.  I fiddled with a few of them last night on Picnik, which is a photo editing site.  They turned out pretty good!