Taking a breath!

Well, December certainly was a busy month! Now I need a good long break from the hustle and bustle. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your families. Sorry I haven't posted recently. I haven't had time for much since before Halloween! I made handmade gifts for all the adults in my family, but I didn't get a chance to take pictures of all of them. I always forget that part. Here are some of the things I did get pics of...

I made "scarves for my sisters", using my precious leftovers of Anna Maria Horner flannels and voiles from my giant log cabin quilt. These went to my sister, my two step-sisters, and my two sisters-in-law. 

I made remote caddy pillows for 3 of my brothers-in-law. Just pillows with pockets, handy for remotes, iPhones, or snacks. ;) Sorry, no pics. 

I finished this crossword quilt for my brother-in-law, who was requesting a quilt. Really, my sister was requesting a quilt for him, since he kept stealing the one I made for her. :) For the "answers" I used his name, and names of his family, as well as some other things. I embroidered all of the letters, and I also embroidered a couple of pharmacy related items (mortar and pestle, and pill bottle), since he's a pharmacist. I used a couple of charm packs of Kona Cotton in the Silent Film palette, as well as some white and red. Some of my favorite colors together. 

I used some Kona Cotton in Ash for the back, as well as some leftovers of charm squares from the front. 

Here's a close-up of the pill bottle. 

I also made a bike lunch bag for my step-dad, and some heart quilted coasters and hot pads for my mom. Again, no pics of these. Don't know what I was thinking... 

The hubs surprised me with an old Singer sewing machine. I think it's from the 1920's or something. Supposedly, it runs, but I haven't tried it yet. Right now, it's just a gorgeous decoration for my dining sewing room. :) We also just celebrated our 10th Anniversary this month! Told ya it was busy... 

Of course, I've also been busy keeping the kids occupied. I love when my son is out of school! I usually get an extra half hour to sleep in, and we get lots more time to play. We had to make some cookies for Santa, and my son had his heart set on gingerbread cookies. It was my first time making them, and they turned out pretty good. Really soft too! Of course, we loaded them up with sugar so Santa could go into a diabetic coma! 

Here's the recipe I used, in case you want to try it:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

2/3 cup molasses

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp

1 large egg, beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups flour, plus extra for dusting

Preheat oven to 325F. 

Place brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, and ginger in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.

Stir in butter gradually, stirring well between additions to combine. Add egg, vanilla, and salt to sugar mixtrure, stirring to combine. Pour into a large bowl and add flour gradually, stirring to combine.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough comes together and is no longer sticky, adding flour by the tablespoon if necessary.

Roll out half the dough on a floured work surface to 1/8-inch thick. Cut dough into desired shapes. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until edges are slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating. 

*Note: I halved the recipe, and I made my cookies a little thicker, probably closer to 1/4" thick. They were great! 

Hope you all have a wonderfully Happy New Year! Wow... 2014! Time flies!

Taking a breath!

4th Anniversary Fruit Roses

I made these fruit roses for my husband for our 4th Anniversary. They were probably the easiest ones I've made so far, since I didn't really have to do much. I just bought the silk roses and the mini plastic fruits at Michael's, then glued the fruits to the inside of the roses with a hot glue gun, and they were done! It helps if the roses have a slight "opening" in the middle, but it's not necessary. On some of them, I had to glue the fruit to the inner "bud" portion of the rose. You can use any fruits you want. I just thought it would be neat if the fruits were a little "camouflaged". My husband didn't notice the fruits at first! Then he looked again, and said, "What's on these roses?":) I had to explain it was our "Fruit" Anniversary. You can do this craft activity with your older kids, but be careful if you are using a hot glue gun! :)

Have fun!

4th Anniversary Fruit Roses

3rd and 5th Anniversary Roses

Okay, so, when I know there is something I absolutely cannot make myself for cheaper than I can buy it, then I just buy it. "Just Paper Roses" is one of those websites that I keep in my "brain file" for when I need to buy a cute, unique anniversary gift. I ordered leather roses for my husband for our 3rd Anniversary, and wood roses for our 5th Anniversary. I knew there was no way I could make them as pretty as these! I'm crafty, but I'm not that crafty! This website offers all kinds of unique "roses"! They have roses for the 1st through the 15th anniversaries, and also the 25th and 50th. They also sell special occasion "roses" for a new baby, birthdays, graduation or a special day. They offer other unique gifts as well... frames, special toilet paper, stuffed bears, and more! Check out their website for some unique gift ideas. I think it is great! 

Here are the leather roses (3rd Anniversary)...

All the roses come with a little tag that you can personalize...

Here is the wood rose (5th Anniversary)...

3rd and 5th Anniversary Roses

2nd Anniversary Cotton "Roses"

I LOVE giving a little something from the traditional anniversary gift list every year. I made these cotton roses for my husband for our 2nd Anniversary. Most of these "roses" are pretty easy to make. They just take a little patience. For the harder ones, I try to get ideas online, or I just order them! :). You can make as many or as little of these as you like. I usually buy some roses for my husband, then add a couple of these homemade ones to the vase! :) You could probably do this craft activity with your kids too! 

What you'll need:

Cotton Balls

Green Plant Stakes

Green Floral Tape

Silk Leaves (optional)

What to do:

Take a cotton ball and shape it into a "rose" shape. I usually just tug the cotton gently with my fingers until it sort of resembles a rose. I also poke the top center a little to make it look like the inside of a rose. Shape the bottom of the "rose" by tapering it off a little bit to resemble the beginning of the stem. Poke the plant stake through the bottom portion of your "rose" with the pointy side up. Gather cotton around the plant stake, then begin securing it with the floral tape by wrapping it tightly and twisting it down and around the stake. If you would like to add leaves, make sure they have a little bit of a stem on them. Then, stick the stem portion in between the stake and the tape as you are wrapping it down, making sure the leave portion does not get wrapped up in the tape. If you want, you could probably add color to these roses by spray painting them or something. :)

2nd Anniversary Cotton "Roses"

1st Anniversary Paper Roses

Okay, so I didn't actually make these for my husband for our 1st anniversary. I didn't think of the "anniversary rose" idea until our 2nd anniversary. But, I wanted to post this idea in chronological order starting with the 1st anniversary! So, I just made these paper roses today. I had seen ideas like this online, and thought, "Why should I have to pay someone else to do something that I could easily do myself?" The ones I had seen online used regular paper, which is not as easy to work with as tissue paper! And silly me, I started trying this craft with regular paper from my printer and kept getting frustrated until I glanced to the left of my desk and saw a big stack of tissue paper sitting there! Duh...! Then, as I started making these paper roses, I reminisced on my childhood school days when we made tissue paper flowers for Cinco de Mayo...  Anyways, I LOVE giving gifts from the traditional and/or the modern gift list for anniversaries! That's why I started making roses (for the easier anniversaries... I obviously can't make a crystal rose!). These paper roses are pretty easy to make, and they are a cute way to say "I love you" to your significant other on your special day! :) Your kids can help with this project too! 

What you'll need:

Green Plant Stakes (for the stem)

Green Floral Tape

Tissue Paper (any color is fine... well, maybe not black..)

Scissors

Silk Leaves (optional... I didn't have any on hand)

What to do:

First, make your "roses". Cut a medium strip of tissue paper in a wavy pattern, then start rolling it up loosely to form a rose shape. As you roll it up, hold the bottom of the paper (about 1/2-inch), and pinch it together so that the rose will stay together and keep its shape. When you're done making your rose, you should have a small "stem" of paper at the bottom. This will make it easier to attach to your plant stake. Take your rose stem and attach it to the plant stake using floral tape. Just hold the "stem" and the stake between your fingers, then start wrapping the tape down and around the stake until the rose is secure. If you would like to add leaves, make sure they have a stem on them, then add the leaf stem to the stake as you are winding your floral tape down. Be sure to only wrap up the stem of the leaf and not the leaf itself. :) When everything is taped and secure, you have made your Paper Roses! Enjoy!

1st Anniversary Paper Roses