Goals

Does anyone else find the world of crafting/sewing a little overwhelming at times? I read my favorite blogs, usually every day, and find myself adding more and more projects to my list, but can't seem to find the time to start cranking things out. Maybe if I make a list on my blog, then I will actually follow through with it. 

Here's a list of things I want to get done by Christmas:

1. Advent calendar (actually this needs to be done by next week...ack!) DONE!

2. Christmas decor inspired by THIS project from Crafting with the Stars. I've got the canvas, and paint, but need to pick up some modge podge, paper, and crackle medium. DONE!

3. Gathered clutch from THIS tutorial. I ordered some Amy Butler fabric from fabric.com which should arrive on Monday specifically for this project.

4. Gathered flower leather purse from THIS tutorial, although I think I'll use vinyl because for some reason leather scares me (to sew with... not in general!)

5. Chic Cocktail Swing Jacket using THIS pattern from heidiandfinn. 

6. Party dress using THIS pattern, also from heidiandfinn. 

7. Christmas wreath just like ... well, shoot, I can't find the post... but, it's a yarn wrapped wreath alternating in white and red and green felt holly... you know, you've probably seen it.

8. Baby shoes using the pattern I bought about two months ago... 

9. Carmen tunic using THIS pattern that I won during a giveaway a few weeks back.

10. A wall art piece that I fell in love with at a store in University Village that was $225! I had one of those "I can totally make that" moments. I have no pictures to show, but hopefully when it's done it will look nice enough to take pictures of!

Okay, I think that's enough to keep me busy! 

And as always, if you happen upon this blog, please leave a comment, a little inspiration (I sure need it!), or just say hi! I hope you all had a wonderful, and filling, Thanksgiving dinner!

What I've Been Up To

The sewing and crafty time has become scarce around here lately. Nug Buns hasn't been sleeping too well, maybe it's teeth, maybe not. I've been thinking she's teething for months now with no confirmation, so I'm not so sure anymore. Either way, I am seriously lacking energy during the day due to the not-so-restful nights.

I've had a lot of school work lately, too (I'm working on my Master's degree).

And I've been watching two little girls part-time on early release days from school.

So, with that said, here's something I did manage to do recently...

Burp cloths for my husband's coworker's wife who is expecting a little boy any day. I just made your standard rectangle burp cloth this time around. I love the pattern I have used in the past from Homemade by Jill (btw - she's hosting an awesome giveaway, so go check it out!), but I was feeling too lazy to snip the edges to make 'em fray, so I went with the rectangle. I was happy to bust out some of my paper crafting supplies to add a little homemade tag because I rarely work with my scrapbooking/card making goodies anymore.

I'm dreadfully behind on my sew along advent calender (also hosted by Homemade by Jill), so I'm not going to post pictures just yet. Hopefully soon, though.

Hope everyone is ready to enjoy all the yummy Thanksgiving goodness that we're in for this week! Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday!

One of those days...

Today was one of those days... you know, those days, where no matter how hard you try your baby won't take a nap (and didn't sleep well last night), you're exhausted, nothing is getting done and it's just flat out frustrating...

I needed to do something, anything, to bust out of the funk. So, I sewed.

We are full fledged into the world of solids and with that comes the need for bibs and lots of 'em!

I'm happy with how it turned out considering it was my first attempt. It's so easy, even YOU can do it (yes, you!). I traced around a burp cloth that we use all the time, cut out a piece of flannel and a piece of terry cloth (so you can use it as a wash cloth to clean up the mess). The trickiest part of this whole thing was the button hole. My sewing machine has one of those fancy button hole feet that is supposed to make making button holes a breeze....yeah, no breeze felt over here! After messing with it for an hour, I gave up and asked my mom to come over and show me how to make button holes the good ol' fashioned way. It's actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it. If you don't want to go through the trouble, though, just sew a piece of velcro on there and call it good.

Next up, a coffee cup cozie using this tutorial from House on Hill Road. This baby took 15 minutes. Seriously. We all have 15 minutes to spare, right? OK, maybe not, but it was so easy and I love a little instant (or 15 minute) gratification! I called my hubby up and asked him to bring me a pumpkin spice latte after work so I could show off my new creation.

This baby is mine, but I will definitely be making a few of these puppies as gifts!

I Won, I Won!

Woohoo! I won a pattern giveaway over at From An Igloo!

Thanks to Lille Skapet I am the proud new owner of the Carmen Tunic pattern! I'm thrilled because this little tunic is stinkin' adorable and I love that the pattern is made for size 9 months to size 6! I'm going to get some use out of it, that's for sure! 

I've got about a bajillion projects floating around in my head right now. I've decided to completely bypass Thanksgiving decor and head straight for Christmas. I just can't keep up, so figure I just had to pick one holiday and stick with it. 

I'm participating in a sew along with Homemade by Jill right now and working on this lovely advent calendar. It's looking pretty cute so far and I'm excited. 

Anyway, this has been quite the rambling post. I'm new at this crafty bloggin' stuff, but it's a blast and totally addicting. I'm sure I have zero people checking out my blog, but if you happen to stumble across it, please leave a comment, say hello, and send some of that crafty blog love my way!

Book Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain

I recently finished reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein for my book club. I don't think this is a book that I normally would have chosen for myself to read, but I'm glad that it was on the book club list because I enjoyed it very much.

It's unlike any other book I've read because it's written by a dog. Well, not actually by a dog, but it's written from a dog's perspective. Enzo, the dog, to be exact. The book takes place in Seattle which was fun for me because I live only an hour south of the Emerald City. 

While this book definitely tugs at the heart strings, it's also a powerful tale of the strength and loyalty of family. I don't wait to give anything away because I think this is a great read, but I will leave you with this: ill mother, crazy grandparents, dad chasing a dream, wonderful little girl, and human-like dog. I'm sure most of us can relate to at least a few of those, so that alone makes this book an easy one to connect to.

More Apples

Remember that big ol' box of apples? I still have it. I've been staring at it all week thinking that I really need to do something, anything with those apples. So, today I made pie filling to freeze. Since I've never done this before I decided to start small (and not make filling out of the entire box of apples).

So, I got started...

I used about 15 medium sized Granny Smith apples and placed them in a stockpot with 2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg. Then, let the apples sit for about 30 minutes.

After sitting, the juices from the apples begin to fill the pot. I cooked the apples over medium heat until sauce thickened.


By this point, this apple goodness was smelly so yummy that I decided to make a pie tonight and only freeze half of the filling. 

And, boy, I'm sure glad I did. It was delicious. I even forgot to take a picture before diving right in!

Happy Cowlloween

Nug Buns made a very cute cow for Halloween!

We had a wonderful time parading her around downtown.

Our little town closes off the main road downtown and all of the shops and houses along the way are open for trick-or-treaters.

I had so much fun seeing all of the kiddos dressed up and it definitely inspired me to make Nug Bun's costume next year. That and the fact that there were at least 5 other cows ... that's what I get for buying her costume at Costco!

Apples, Apples Everywhere

My sis-in-law gave me a HUGE box of apples on Sunday that she got from a friend who went to a local orchard for the last of the season picks. She got these giant boxes of apples for six bucks! They are mostly Granny Smith's with a few Fuji's. I'm thinking of making and freezing some pie filling and making applesauce. But, today I used this...

to make this...

and this...

The whole house smelled wonderful. I just may love the smell of freshly baked apples as much as I love the smell of pumpkin.

The first thing I made was Apple Crisp.

Here's the recipe:

5 cups sliced and peeled apples

Sugar

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. flour

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. walnuts

Coat sliced apples with suger (I used 3 tbsp.) and place in 2 quart baking dish. Mix oats, brown sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Cut in butter slowly until mixture is crumbly. Add walnuts and pour mixture over apples. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Delicious!

The second thing I made was apple puree for Nug Buns. I used the Fuji apples for this. I think the Granny Smith's would be too tart for her.

I steamed 6 apples for about 15 minutes. After they cooled, the skin peeled right off. Add the apples to the food processor with 1-2 tbsp. of the water you used to steam the apples and puree it up! So easy to do and now Nug Buns has some yummy apple goodness to try tomorrow!