St. Patrick's Day Table Runner

Here's a little project you can complete in a couple hours or so!

I had quite a bit of green felt that I planned on using 

for a Christmas decoration...

 but didn't :)

I cut a piece and just stitched a couple borders around

in light green thread with my sewing machine.

To create the four-leaf clover...

I printed a free coloring page and taped it to the runner...

...then sewed directly on to the paper template.
Use a wide-stitch setting.

Carefully tear away the paper from the stitching. 

 Some areas feel like it's pulling apart a perforated piece of paper. 

Pick apart left behind pieces. Use a needle or pin if needed.

Pull left over thread through to the back with a needle, knot and trim.

There! All set for St. Patrick's Day! 

(still need to fill my Ikea bowl with something?)

maybe.

Baking Tip

If you have a Kroger grocery store or one of it's affiliates, you might want to considering buying cupcake/muffin liners there.

 I've discovered that their brand of foil baking cups 

actually come with paper liners as well!

They separate each of the foil liners with a paper liner 

and as far as I'm concerned 

I am getting extra liners for baking!

I confess I haven't counted the foil liners 

to see it they are including the paper liners in their count of 24. 

I am trusting advertising on this one :)

Every little penny counts when buying, right?

Happy shopping!

{and baking :}

Linking to :: Posed Perfection31 Posed Perfection 32

Modern Cardboard Reindeer

Hats off to all the professional bloggers who up-keep their blog during 

this busy holiday season! 

How do you do it ?!

(It's a good thing I'm not a professional blogger ;)

So, the very day I saw Taryn's DYI Wooden Reindeer project 

I found this branch in my backyard. 

It is actually one branch split off into two, but my huz said it looks more like antlers if I used it like this. And he trimmed it down.

(I think he was right :)

With this branch, I thought of doing a larger/modified version of Taryn's craft.

Ultimately, I did faux-wood.

This is just painted cardboard to look like barn wood! 

I love it!

This is the awesome tutorial I found online that will teach you how to paint the cardboard to look like wood
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E0FslTNyU4)

I just taped the antlers to the board after painting and 

used a shiny red plastic Christmas tree ornament for the 'nose'. 

You could hot-glue the ornament, but I just used the blue tacky poster stuff.

It should store easier that way as well. 

Supply List:

brown cardboard, branches, tape, black craft paint, white craft paint, lg paint brush, small paintbrush, red ball ornament, blue tacky or hot glue

Hope you are having a great holiday season so far!

Linking to: Blog Hop/Posed Perfection, Play. Party. Pin, Made in a Day, Tatertots Palooza, The 36th Avenue

3-D Pumpkin Wreath

 My friend and neighbor made this cute little stuffed pumpkin a few years back.

Isn't it so cute?

So, I had this idea to add it to

my entry-way grapevine wreath 

as a bold statement type of design. 

 From the front it looks fabulous! 

From the side....

not so much.

I usually have the wreath hanging more flush with the door. 

With a 3-D object, that didn't seem to work out as well :) ha ha!

So, I added a ribbon thinking it would 'hang' a little bit better.

I think it does.

I just used brown thread and tied the pumpkin to the wreath
and used a bit of blue painters tape on the back of the pumpkin as well.

I have another pumpkin like this with different fabric and

a grapevine wreath for my linen closet door in the bedroom hallway, but

it's a narrow space, so I decided against adding the 3-D pumpkin there.

 I think this is one design/wreath you will either

love it

or

hate it! 

Linking To: Post Perfection Blog Hop, Live Laugh Rowe, Made in a Day, The 36th Avenue, Tatertots and Jello

Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat Decor

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

Hello All!

Well, November is upon us.
Which means to come...

Good Food and Family and Gratefulness :)

What a great combination!

Have you officially packed away your Halloween decor?

If so, get it back out! 

My cute, little daughter has come up with a genius idea...

A black Witch's Hat easily turns into a Pilgrim Hat!

Just take the peak of the witches hat, turn it inside out, then push
the peak back inside itself halfway to create a round shape.

This particular hat has a little structure to it, so it holds its shape pretty well. The more satin-y witches hats may be a little more trickier to form the round shape.

I added a felt 'strap' and a foil buckle

Fold foil into a square-type shape and cut the center out.

Using pre-cut felt rectangles, cut (2) length-wise strips
the width of the buckle hole.

Sew the (2) strips together and trim the excess from seam

Wrap felt around hat and adhere. I just used the
reusable blue tacky gummy stuff :)

Adhere foil buckle and you're done!

If I had had ribbon, I would have used that, however the felt worked out just fine. Plus, I used a little blue tacky to adhere the hat to my faux mantel. 

Linking to: Fall Party at Posed Perfection, Posed Perfection Blog Hop, Crafts ala Mode. Made in a Day, Crafts ala Mode, The 36th Avenue, Tatertots and Jello, Loves Grows Wild

Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween, my friends :)

May your home glow with the spirit of fun as you hold your candy bowl
(and sneek one or two or five of them!)

May you walk through rustling leaves and up & down steps (a zillion times :)
with your darling trick or treaters!

May deliciously frightful Jack - O - lanterns greet you and smile at you
on this Halloween Night!

Toasting 101

Toasting Almonds

Toasting Nuts and Seeds could not be easier!

You just have to keep an eye on them so they don't burn.

Toasting adds a lot of flavor without having to use any additives.

I've seen toasting in the oven, but I just use my

skillet 

and 

stovetop!

There's no need to add any oil to the skillet, just use raw nuts and seeds.
The oil they already contain helps toast them.

You'll want to have a layer of nuts or seeds 

that don't overlap much if possible, so they toast pretty evenly.

Turn on the burner to high, 

 but once you hear them start to sizzle,

turn the burner OFF.

Stir the nuts/seeds constantly - keep 'em moving!

Or they can burn. 

When they start to turn a golden brown they are done.

Remove them to a glass bowl to cool. 

Give Sunflower Seeds a try!

Sesame Seeds were a little too strong in flavor..
may need to use without toasting. 

Use the nuts or seeds in salads or homemade granola bars! 

I have a recipe for a peanut butter granola bar I will share in another post!

Linking To: Sugar and Dots, Made in a Day, Posed Perfection, Crafts a la Mode, My Love 2 Create, Tatertots and Jello