Thanksgiving Place Cards

I made these place cards for the kid's Thanksgiving table this year. This is the first time we have gotten together with friends for Thanksgiving in probably 5 years. We usually keep it small with just our family for the holidays, but think that it will be a lot of fun!

I used my cricut paper doll cartridge to make these cute little figures and color matched the hair for each child. Aaron keeps asking why he can't carry his around. I told him he needed to wait until Thursday, then he can carry and bend it all he wants :)

Tomorrow I will be busy making pies and this fun turkey cheese ball! My friend, Tanya, said that her sister makes a turkey shaped cheese ball every year for the table and the kids LOVE it! I saw a picture online (below) and think that I will pattern mine after it. I am not going to put cheese detail on the crackers....that's just too much effort, but I am going to make a cheese ball and put lots of crackers and pretzels in it for feathers and wings. We'll see how it turns out!

Marble Magnets!

My friend, Tania, taught me how to make these fun magnets a couple of years ago in Kodiak. We made them for the parents of the kids that we babysat that year. They turned out so cute! I love being down in the lower 48 around the holidays. It is SO MUCH EASIER to find craft supplies! We couldn't get these marbles on the island, so her sister sent her some from Maine. Now all I have to do is go down the street to Joann's or the Dollar Tree store---and spend a lot less---no shipping!

To make some of your own all you need to do is brush a thin layer of mod podge on the back of the marble (on the flat side). Apply a circle of scrapbook paper, a photo, or a little crayon masterpiece (like the one Aaron is doing below).

Let dry. Then add a magnet onto the back using some tacky or all purpose craft glue and let dry. That's it!
Here are some with paper behind.
Aaron's crayon drawings. He made these as gifts.
Photos

Kaylee loves playing with the photo magnets on the dishwasher. She likes looking at family pictures and pointing to each member. She gets excited every morning when we come down the stairs and I stop and let her look at the family collage frame on the wall. So these are perfect for her.

Pjs without a pattern!

I like sewing pj pants like this because it eliminates the guess work from a pattern. No matter how accurate I am with the weight and height of my child, the outfit inevitably ends up being way too big. That's just the way sewing patterns are. Always, in my case.

To sew pj pants without the hassle of a pattern, just grab a pair that you already have. I used an old pair of Aaron's. They are about 3" too short for the child, more like capris so I added inches on each side accordingly.

I folded them in half, laying the fold of the pants on the fold of the fabric.

Cut out the pants, making sure to leave at least 1/2" for seam allowances. Add inches in areas that you are trying the increase the size in. If the pants are already the correct size, just add the 1/2" for the seams. You will need around 2-3" on the top for the elastic casing.

You will need to cut two sections like this. One for each leg.
Here they are! I use pinking shears so that I don't have fraying.
Fold them inside out and sew along outer leg edge (from the bottom, to where the crotch begins to curve). Trim close to seams.
Turn one leg right side out and stuff it inside the other leg. Make sure that the long seam that you just sewed on each leg matches the other.
Pin
Sew the crotch seam. Begin at the waist, sew along and end at the top again. Sew once more close to the seam line to reinforce since this area will get a lot of wear.

Turn pants right side out. Almost done!

I used 3/4" elastic. So my casing is 1 1 /2" to make sure it is roomy enough for the elastic to slide through. I folded down the top of the pants 1 1/2" and sewed around, leaving a 2" gap to insert my elastic into later. Since I used pinking shears, there was no need to do a double fold seam.

Sew once more around the waist at the very top, close to the edge (1/8"). This keeps the elastic from rolling after pants have been washed a few times.

Fold up hem. This one is about 1". Sew around on both legs. Flannel is so easy to work with. You don't need pins since it pretty much just sticks together.

Cut a piece of elastic the same size as the waist of the recipient. Attach a safety pin to the end and string it through the casing. When the safety pin reaches the other side, pull both ends together and remove safety pin.

Sew ends together. Stretch the waist, pulling the elastic back into the opening. And sew the gap closed.

That's it! Pjs without a pattern! Now if for some reason you need to make these for like 6 people you don't need to buy several patterns--- you just need some of their old pants :)

I made 4 pairs of these, 2 for Dallin and 2 for Aaron in less than 2 hours. Add a custom decorated t-shirt (still working on those) and they have funky Christmas pjs! The nice thing about these is that the boys picked out their own fabric awhile ago when Joann's had them for $2.49/yard. So I know they will like the funky patterns!

I am still deciding what kind of pajamas to make for Kaylee. If I knew she wouldn't trip all over it, I'd make her a cute nightgown. She'll most likely end up with flannel pants and a matching button down pajama top. I still have time...

Doorway Puppet Theater!

( Pardon the half-naked baby. I feel like I am saying that frequently on my blogs lately. She isn't always that way!)

My sister, Stacy, always sends the kids the most creative and fun gifts. She made us this doorway puppet theater 4 years ago and the kids LOVE it! You can put a tension rod through the top casing and put it in any doorway for an instant theater!

Derrick made a PVC pipe frame for ours so that the kids could use it wherever they wanted. But we could easily slide a tension curtain rod in it and put it in any door frame.

We've enjoyed many shows, very silly shows, in our theater. She included a bunch of puppets with the theater as well that were adorable.

Using the one that Stacy made, as a guide, I sewed up one as a Christmas gift this year for family.

I seriously thought about making a tutorial, but since it was my first time ever doing it....it would have taken forever to get it right, and I'd probably do some things a little differently the next time. SO...if I make another one, I'll do it. I think the style of the one that she sent is so much cuter than any others I have seen online.

There are so many ways that you could do this! I had a lot of fun making it and used fabric in my favorite color scheme. Derrick was great for input and took care of Kaylee while I finished it up this afternoon.

We are sending two tension rods to go with this. One is inserted through the top casing, and another in a casing which I sewed right under the square opening in the middle for added support.
Derrick picked up 8 puppets at the Dollar Tree Store to send along with the theater. I made pockets in the back to store a few of them in, just like Stacy did. Thanks for the inspiration sis! :)

I hope the kids like their gift!

Here are some tutorials and ideas online.

Country Living

Make And Takes

Angry Chicken

Little projects for my little girl...

I made this fleece hat for Kaylee this afternoon. She needed one with some sort of straps to keep it on her head! She is getting better with keeping accessories on, but still sometimes thinks it is fun to throw them out of the stroller and watch them as we keep walking and they fade into the background. Thankfully I've noticed when she does this, and we haven't lost any binkies, hats, or shoes...YET.

I didn't have any instructions for making this hat, it was kind of trial and error. The first beanie section that I made was too small. I took out the seams and made them smaller (3/8" instead of 5/8")...still too small. So I had to cut out 6 more triangle sections and make another one. Luckily the second one fit!

I used the triangle pattern piece from this hat as my guide, then adjusted accordingly to make it bigger after the first one bombed. Then I added a band around the bottom. I made rectangular tubes for straps, sewed them onto the sides, right about where her ears would be. Then I sewed the bottoms of the tubes closed, and added velcro to the insides.

Last, but not least, I made a pom pom and sewed it to the top. I've made the kids lots of fleece hats, but never attempted the chin straps. I think it turned out cute! I made a pair of Halloween leg warmers for Kaylee to wear over her leggings with her pumpkin costume. I used a pair of socks that I bought at Joann's for myself on clearance last year. These were SO EASY to make! I saw the tutorial last year on THIS site and wanted to try it, but it got put on the back burner of crafty projects. After making her a pair and seeing that it takes only 5 minutes...I will be making more. I bought her 3 pairs of Baby Legs when she was a newborn and even on clearance they were $7/pair. These ones were $1.

Oh, and one more thing!!! POPCORN! Those who follow MAKE & TAKES have already seen this I'm sure. It was posted on there this week.

Homemade Microwave Popcorn in a brown bag....no oil necessary! I've heard of this method before and tried it with the boys today. They loved it! We put 1/4 c. of popcorn kernels in a brown lunch sack, folded down the top, twice, and microwaved it for 2 minutes. Then I sprayed it with butter flavored cooking spray (since it is fat free) and sprinkled with salt. A healthy snack, perfect for the kids in the afternoon.

Our Blessings Tree & a Recipe!

We made a "Blessings Tree" for Family Home Evening this week. The kids had fun pasting each leaf on our tree and we have been blessed with MANY things! Everything was cut out on my cricut for easy prep.

(No, I didn't put this upside down for a special effect. I am having issues with blogger today!) I love that Aaron was grateful for fabric. I asked him why and he said, "Because you can make ANYTHING out of fabric!"

Also, a recipe!

Here is a super easy recipe for chicken crescent rolls.

2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls (16 rolls)

2 chicken breasts

1/2 c. fat free cream cheese

1/3 c. diced green onions

Boil and shred chicken breasts. Add cream cheese to warm chicken and mix until softened and melted through. Add green onions.

Evenly distribute chicken mixture onto crescent roll triangles. Roll up and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake @ 350 for 14 minutes.

These make a great dinner or appetizers! They can be served warm or cold.

Monster Bath!

I ♥ Target! The kids and I went there today with 3 things on our list; no shopping cart necessary. I just put Kaylee in her stroller and we went in.

One thing led to another and we ended up with an over-flowing stroller and shopping basket.

All of the cute monster decor was 75% off! I saw their collection a few weeks ago and LOVED it, but couldn't justify spending the money. So I only bought a table cloth and paper cups/plates for Aaron's Halloween party.

I am so glad that I waited. When we got home I realized that I had a lot more stuff that would look cute in the kid's bathroom besides a new shower curtain. So I re-purposed some placemats, a lunch tray, and a cup for their bathroom. Then we added some monster figures, a shower curtain and a couple of hand towels. Aaron had fun helping me put it all together!

We already had this shelf from IKEA, we just added the monster.

I love these little guys! Moral of the story...you need to go to Target....soon!

Now I am not so sad that we have another year until we pull the Halloween box out since I was able to find a place to put these cute little monsters year-round!

Oven Fries!

French fries with no oil?! Yep! And they are soooo good! We have these weekly. Baking times vary as ovens vary, but I'll share what works for us.

Potatoes (red, yellow or russet)

Non-stick cooking spray, butter flavored (it is fat free!)

salt

garlic powder

dill weed

Peel and cut up potatoes to wedges or fries. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spray the tops of the potatoes and sprinkle lightly with salt, and liberally with garlic powder and dill weed.

Bake @ 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until the bottoms of the potatoes start to brown. Flip fries and spray with cooking spray one more time. Bake another 10 minutes or until the fries are soft when poked with a fork. Place on top rack and set oven to BROIL. Broil 3 minutes, watching closely to make sure they don't burn, until they are golden brown!

These are wonderful and have lots of flavor and better yet---they aren't fried! Enjoy!