Table Runner

I recently came across a post on Pinterest that I had to make on my own, a table runner made out of burlap and lace. It was so elegant and simple looking that I had to tackle it! I went to my local fabric store and picked up some red burlap, my kitchen is in reds and teals, and some cream lace. I don't own a sewing machine (yet) but I love to sew with my grandmother. I went over to her house showed her what I was doing and it took us less then 15 minutes to get it done! I wanted my table runner to hang over the sides of my table just a little bit. We laid it out and stitched the sides to secure the burlap, it unravels very easy. We then pinned the lace in place and sewed it down. In the end this is what we had: 

This is the site that I got off Pinterest from my original idea. http://www.ilovefarmweddings.com/2011/10/24/farm-inspiration-lace-details/
 I was just so excited to find red burlap!!!

Easy Christmas Wreath

I have been wanting to make some wreaths for a while now and finally had the chance to make one before Christmas. It hung proudly on my door all month and was relatively easy to make. 
I started out with three different colors of green felt. I used a leaf template to trace over and then began cutting out the little leaves. This was the most time consuming part of the wreath. 

After all of the leaves were cut out I started gluing the leaves onto the wreath form. I just used enough glue to get the leaves to sit in place. 

Once I had the leaves glued on I started to make the poinsettia. I decided to use a large red and a small white poinsettia. I basically used the same pattern as the leaves just in smaller portions. Once those were cut out I began assembling them. I started by gluing them onto a circle and then layered them to look like a poinsettia. In the middle I added some clear gems to give it some sparkle!

To hang on my door I used a green ribbon and just secured it in place by tying a knot on the bottom. 

Enjoy!

Cold Winter Days

Sometimes in the mornings I don't like to get up. . .well lets face it that is all the time. In the winter especially, I am all cozy under the covers then the alarm goes off and I have to get up or hit snooze ;) 
Well today I was happy to get out of bed, because the night before I put something in the crock pot that would be ready for breakfast in the morning. I had this recipe on Pinterest and repinned it and was thinking I really wanted to try it out. It is Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal and it is soooo yummy! 

http://holidayfoodpins.com/2013/01/03/yum-throw-2-sliced-apples-13-cup-brown-sugar-1-tsp-cinnamon-in-the-bottom-of-the-crock-pot-pour-2-cups-of-oatmeal-and-4-cups-of-water-on-top-do-not-stir-cook-overnight-for-8-9-hours-on-low/

I started with some Gala apples, these are my favorite, not too sweet but just right! I chopped them in nice size chunks. Then threw them in the crock pot. Then put the brown sugar and cinnamon on top. I increased the brown sugar and cinnamon to a half cup brown sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. 

Once these were in I put the oatmeal on top 2 full cups. Then poured 4 cups of water over the mixture. DO NOT stir this mixture, the crockpot magically does this for you when it cooks. 

Turn the crockpot on low and cover over night. While you sleep the magic is happening and when you wake in 8-9 hours you will have yummy Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal. It is definitely something to get out of bed for. Enjoy!

Things to do with Corks!

So I have a TON of wine corks that I have been meaning to do something with. No I did not drink all of these to get the wine corks, some bars, people, and ok I admit is some are from me too! Collect them for me and then I pick them up from those people and places. I have been wanting to make several things with the corks so I started with these nifty little ornaments or key chains. 

These were so easy! I took my drill and drilled a hole clean through the cork so I could string the wire through, then I hot glued the holes and placed the beads on both ends and WA LA!!! Super cute and easy.

Next I wanted to make a wreath, I have seen these all over Pinterest on several different boards. I got a grape vine wreath and hot glued each of the corks on individually, this took some patience because I needed to make sure that the cork stayed in place. Then I would move back and forth creating the design I wanted on the wreath. This is what I ended up with. From there I put a ribbon around the top and hung it on my door!

Next project I made was a Christmas Tree. This one was also pretty easy, just placing the corks where they would fit the best and then I added in some bells and beer caps.

Corks are so fun and easy to work with! I love doing these kinds of things, to make it more fun you can always drink some wine with your crafting, just in case you need another cork!

Winnie the Pooh Baby Shower

It sure has been a fast month! I can't believe how quick December went by! On that note, I have for you the complete Winnie the Pooh Baby Shower details! 

Before the shower I needed to make up some cute signs that I knew my friend would want to use in the baby's room. I decided to paint a cute saying from Pooh Bear that states: "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts." I thought that was perfect for a mom-to-be to think of her new bundle of joy, so I had to paint it! I also added some little bees that I embossed in gold. 

The next thing I painted was a sign for the 100 Acre Wood. This was so simple and turned out perfect!

I also made a banner that said "Silly Old Bear" with some cute paper behind it. The banner is made out of burlap triangles, paper, and help up with heavy twine. 

For the party favors I had searched all over my town for some honey scented soap or candles. Then I finally went to the Dollar Tree, best idea ever! I don't know why I didn't go there first! I was able to get honey vanilla soap to go with my wooden honey servers. I got those from this website http://www.craftparts.com/ and they are very reasonable. 

I also put on the box of soap: From the mama to bee, I thought that was a cute idea. These were given to party guests as the favors. 

Now for the actual party! We started by getting everything decorated and prepared for guests. We had the shindig at the mama-to-be's home which was great because everything could go straight into the nursery. 

The first thing guests were to do when they entered into the party was to grab a wishes for baby paper and fill it out.  

All of these turned out so cute! Everyone had a blast thinking of what to put as their answers. 

After everyone had finished those, we got down to eating! We had Veggies from Rabbits Garden, Mini Corndogs from Piglet, Chicken Salad Sandwiches, a Honey tasting bar, and some other finger foods. 

After dinner we played games. For games I did not want to do anything too embarrassing or gross (i.e. measuring the mom-to-be, or sniff the diaper) I stuck to classics that are lots of fun! The diaper bag game, where you guess what is in the diaper bag. The purse game, whoever has the most items listed in their purse wins! Old Wives Tales Questions, which was a hoot because some were obvious, but others were really tough! Guess how many bees are in the jar, I made chocolate covered pretzels and then put yellow stripes on them making them into "bees". 

After all the games were played we ate our cupcakes, which were the best cupcakes in the world! They came from Jilly's Cupcake Bar, here is the website they are to die for! http://jillyscupcakebar.com/

Overall it was a wonderful day!

Winnie the Pooh Baby Shower Invites!

A while back I started to plan for my friends baby shower. They are doing their nursery in Classic Winnie the Pooh. . .So I decided that too would be the theme for the shower. 
I knew that I wanted to make the invites and had so many running through my head, but couldn't decide exactly what to do. 
Then after a trip to Hobby Lobby one day, I saw the perfect solution: 50% off of paper supplies! I was so excited. I grabbed up a kit that had 50 pre-cut cards and envelops in a paper bag brown color, some stickers, a bee stamp, Embossing ink pad, and gold embossing powder. I had already bought card stock so all I had to do was print and cut. 
I was so excited. When I got home I went to the computer and got started on the invites. The first thing I did was find a cute Classic Pooh picture. I thought this one was perfect!

After finding the picture I had to decide on how to word my invite. I looked up several different samples but then I just put it simply as You're Invited. . . I also added some embossed cute bees to the front of the invite. I thought this was perfect since Pooh loves Hunny! 

Then I had to decide on the inside wording. I went with a quote from Winnie the Pooh, it reads: 

I chose to go with this one because we are having a luncheon at the baby shower. On the inside I used three shades of card stock cut into a square and two rectangles. One listed the location and hostess/phone number. The other larger square said "A baby shower luncheon in honor of (put mothers name) to be held on (date and time)" then  "Thanks from the mama to bee!" 

On the inside of the card I had some loose items to state where the baby registry was located and then I added in something special. Since it's upside down. . .I have no idea why! It says: Bring with your gift a children's book to add to Baby Boy (add first or last name) collection. 

I hope you all have enjoyed this I am so excited to post the next part of the shower! The things I made and cooked! 

Mmmmm Doughnuts

So the other day I really wanted doughnuts, then I remembered how easy it is to make them with just biscuit dough! My grandmother always made these for us when we were kids and now I am going to continue making them. 

These are super easy and anyone with a stove could make them. 
This is how, add in your oil (I used canola) enough oil should be in the pot to cause the doughnuts to float. Allow the oil to heat up place on medium high to initially heat then turn down to medium once oil is hot enough. 
I took the biscuits out of the package and then cut the centers out with a knife. I rolled the centers into doughnut holes, perfect for popping! I dropped them into the oil and flipped once they began to float to the top, the dough drops to the bottom initially. After flipping allow to cook for another minute of two depending on how dark you want your doughnuts. 

After I took them out of the oil I placed them on a plate with paper towels to drain the oil then sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar mixture (you could use powdered sugar or icing if you so choose) 
Once the topping was on it is time to dig in! These pair beautifully with a hot cup of coffee. Enjoy!