Vintage Inspired Embroidered Onesies

I think I'm in love! I absolutely love vintage embroidery and haven't done any embroidery in years. So I thought it might be fun to add a bit of detail to these plain white onesies for Ruby and it was SO much fun! And addicting! I don't think that she will have a plain white onesie in her drawer left soon.

I love how they turned out so sweet and classic. Bright colors, but subtle at the same time. And since embroidery floss is so inexpensive, and I inherited a bunch of it years ago....they were cheap too!

I think they'd make fun baby shower gifts for the future. Maybe add a little name on the bottom or an initial.

If anyone has a great way to transfer images to onesies, I'd love to hear about it. I printed out some designs that I liked and thought it would be as easy as putting it under the white onesie and tracing it. Wrong! It was very hard to see and it isn't that easy to draw on a onesie with a pencil. SO...I ended up looking at most of the designs and lightly free handing the basic shape with a pencil and then just stitching it on there without any guide to go by.

I'd love to do more intricate ones, so if you have ideas, I'm all ears. I used to have some of the old iron on designs from the 50s, but got rid of them on one of my craft closet clean out days and I'm kicking myself now!

I will attach links to the designs I found in case anyone else would like to try one too! I used google images to find these by simple typing in "vintage embroidery patterns".

Scotty Dog

Bird

Dress

Berries

After I embroidered each one I fused a piece of interfacing on the back to cover up the strings and any knots. I thought that would be nice and soft against baby's skin. Then I stitched a circle around the entire design, making sure to carefully tuck in any knot or thread so that it didn't irritate baby's skin. I stitched mostly circles, but with the bird pattern, I turned it into an embroidery hoop. Even though the interfacing was fusible, I knew it would peel after washing, so that is why I added the round hoop shapes. To keep the facing on. I've washed several of the onesies and they are holding up perfectly.

There are SO MANY darling designs out there. I can't wait to embroider more projects soon!

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

These cookies are SERIOUSLY good. The perfect chocolate chip cookie. I found this recipe from the New York Times and knew I had to try it, but I am a serial offender when it comes to NOT reading through the entire recipe before starting it. I made some substitutions (nothing major, but I'll list them below and link to the original recipe) but didn't notice that the dough was supposed to refrigerate 24-36 hours before baking until we had already started making it. What?!?! Who makes a recipe like that? Don't they know that when a mom and her children are baking cookies that it means that they want them.....NOW? So we didn't wait. We baked them and they were FANTASTIC. Maybe sometime we'll wait the 24 hours and see what that does for the dough, but we've made these several times and they are always amazing.

So here is our version of these wonderful cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted

2 cups all purpose flour

1 2/3 cups  bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (kosher)

2 1/2 sticks  unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. chopped pecans

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate chips and nuts in and incorporate them.

3.  Preheat  oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

4.  Using a medium cookie scoop, drop dough balls on baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

5.  Cool 2-3 minutes on sheet and transfer to cooking rack.

Makes 5 dozen cookies.

I have a fun family activity that we did using this cookie dough. I'll share it on here sometime. Until then, enjoy our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

 

The Easiest Felt Flowers...Ever.

I apologize about the link party! I completely forgot about it until I was going to bed and have a serious head cold which I blame. Yesterday was just plain AWFUL. Especially since the baby has it too.  Please join us next week for the "Get Your Brag On" Party!

I don't have much patience for hair bows and don't care for big ones....like anything bigger than 2". I know I'm not normal. I saw something on pinterest the other day that said, "The bigger the Bow, the better the Mama".....if this is true I have failed! Kaylee didn't wear a single elastic band as a baby. I tried gluing tiny bows on her hair at about 4 months old, but even that was a pain. When she had more hair I started getting tiny clips or barrettes and then ordered some little bows that she's used since. I just hated making them because they are so tedious!

That is until I found this tutorial. And there are a bunch more out there that are quick too. I'll have to check those out too. These flower clips take about 90 seconds start to finish! I stacked layers of felt and cut several petals out at a time which made it nice and quick. String them together, a couple of hand stitches and they are ready to glue onto a clip.  I've decided that little elastic bands aren't the devil and have put some on Ruby. She looks so sweet and since they are subtle and the bows and flowers are tiny it doesn't distract from her face. Now that I have 2 little girls it will be fun to make several of each color so that there are plenty to go around.

Soft Sugar Cookies With Whipped Frosting

These sugar cookies are amazingly soft, moist, and melt-in-your mouth. And they should be. They have butter AND oil in them. I only use half of the oil that the original recipe calls for and they are still amazing. I love the recipe I use for rolled sugar cookies, but these soft sugar cookies are right up there on the yummy-scale. A nice variation and better than the store bought ones. Pair them with marshmallow frosting and it's the perfect confection. My kids will vouch for that.  I made a huge batch of these for the primary kids at church. It went along with a lesson that I prepared for them last Sunday and they were a HIT!

Sinfully Soft Sugar Cookies

adapted

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup confectioners, sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4  cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

To make nice fluffy cookie dough, keep your kitchen mixer going the entire time. Beat butter until nice and fluffy, continue to beat (lowering speed) and add in sugars. Stop mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Add eggs, 1 at a time, followed by the oil. Add baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly.

Roll dough into walnut sized balls and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 11 minutes, or until bottoms are slightly brown. Cool 1 minute on pan and transfer to a rack. Store in an airtight container.

Whipped Marshmallow Frosting

via

3 large egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, combine egg whites, sugar, salt, and water. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved (or mixture registers 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high until glossy, stiff peaks form (do not over beat), about 3 minutes; reduce speed to low, add vanilla extract, and beat just until combined. Use immediately.

**my frosting ended up a bit runny. Any number of things could have contributed to that, so I added a little cream of tartar and 1/2 c. powdered sugar and kept beating and it stiffened right up.**

Enjoy!

Frame Accented Music Wreath

I come from a very musical family. My Mom and siblings, 6 aunts, and many of my cousins play musical instruments and sing.  My Mom has played the violin for over 40 years as well as the piano, guitar, mandolin, and hammered dulcimer. So I thought she might enjoy this wreath centered around her passion for her birthday.

I made a book wreath several years ago and that was fun, but I LOVED how these sheet music wreaths turned out.

After I made a violin framed  one for my mom, I decided to make a piano one for my aunt who taught me how to play....for free. She gave up her time once a week for almost 2 years and taught me to play. In turn, I've taught piano for the past 8 years as well as played the organ and piano almost every Sunday for the past 15 years. What a blessing her gift was to me. So I made this one and it will be sent on its merry way to California. I hope she likes it.

And I may be partial to the piano, but out of the two, it is my favorite wreath.

The process is very simple and straight forward. I made sheet music roses---a ton of them. Here is the tutorial that I used to make mine. I used a hair clip to hold the tip to roll it nice and tight. It worked like a charm. Each wreath used 60-70 roses sp it was a good activity to do while watching a movie at night. We had a box of old sheet music and books that I used for this project. I think "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash ended up on one of the sections of the wreath. I have no idea where that came from.

As you'll see by scrolling down to the bottom of the post, the violin frame was different than this one. The violin one was purchased at Michael's for $1. When I went back, they didn't carry them anymore so I found this one at Hobby Lobby with a coupon for $4. I loved it. I went online and printed out a wallet sized clip art image of a vintage piano and placed it inside of the frame. Then I pulled off the hinge on the back so that it would sit nice and flat against the wreath.

I cut strips of sheet music and started wrapping and hot gluing to cover the green foam. That way, if there are any gaps, the green won't show. This is only half of a wreath base. I used a serrated knife and cut the base into 2 sections. 2 wreaths for the price of one, and it is nice to have a flat back to make hanging it easier.

Then I glued. And glued and glued. 1 wreath took almost 4 full sized rods of hot glue. And I only got 1 glue burn....not too shabby.

I decided where I wanted my frame and hot glued it to the base. Then I glued the roses around it. Nice and tight together.

And here is the finished product. I LOVE it. Maybe someday I'll sit down and make one for myself, but for now I think I am done with making paper roses. I need a break!

I glued a loop on the back out of twine for a hanger and since the wreath is not very heavy, it worked out great.

It would also look nice on a shelf or top of a piano.

And here is my mom's violin wreath.

Thanks for looking!

Using a Diffused Flash

I'm not a photographer, but I do enjoy trying out new things to get better pictures of my children. I recently got my first DSLR camera. I've used my Canon Powershot for the past 4 years and was very happy with it, but am having fun learning about my new camera too.

I learned a tip not too long ago that I wish I had knows years ago! I HATE using the flash and rarely use it. Ever. It looks awful when I do, and totally washes out any image with it. So I usually rely on sunny days with lots of natural light for any photo that I really care about. The above photo of Ruby was taken on a cloudy day when the sun popped out for about 5 minutes. But then it went back...and I still wanted to take more photos of her happy little self.

via

via

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When I saw this quick tip on how to get great photos indoors, I had to try it! I used a small white piece of cardstock and covered the flash and here are my results of my little experiment... (any professional photographer will laugh at this because they all know about this, but I just figured it was flash or no flash....I love the in-between).

 The first one at the top of the post turned out so pretty! So I decided to test out the diffused flash. It certainly brightened it up without washing her out like the middle photo did.

To see other tips that I have discovered, click here!

Simple Wedding Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for the Kindergartner's "Q&U Wedding" a couple of weeks ago. Every year the teachers put on a wedding for the letters "Q" & "U". It is a fun way to instill the fact that they are forever united as they start to read and write. It's a kooky event, but they love it! After the wedding in the cafeteria, the students all go back to their classrooms for a reception.

They were dressed in their best wedding attire, had snacks, and danced...a lot. It was a great day and our family was able to go and spend the day with Aaron at school.

I found a chocolate/soap mold online for a couple of bucks and used that to create the cupcake toppers. It was SO easy and quick. I thought they turned out darling and they were a huge hit with the kids and teachers. Much more so than if I had used picks.

I used a 2D Wilton top for the icing. Another easy technique with great results. I was able to make 24 cupcakes, frosted and topped with chocolates in less than 2 hours. Not too bad!

I'm not sure what I'll use this mold for in the future, but it is so cute I'm sure I'll find a reason to pull it out again!

Just Like Grandma's Waffles

My Grandma Eva always made the best waffles for us when we would stay with her. THE BEST. Super light and crispy. They melted in your mouth. She also had so many delicious things to put on them. Homemade jams, pear conserve, homemade maple syrup (well, from the extract). She would make her batter the night before and it had to sit all night before cooking. It was a yeast-type batter.

 For years I tried to find recipes that came close, but none ever did. I don't plan things like breakfast out in advance. Heck, these waffles were made for dinner since I don't get up early enough to feed my children a hot breakfast. We just aren't much for eating a lot in the mornings. So I wanted something that compared to Grandma's, but was quick to whip up.

And one day I finally found it! Seriously, the BEST waffles I had ever made. I double the recipe when I make these. There are rarely any leftovers, but if by some chance we have a few, I throw them in the freezer and they reheat well in the toaster for a quick breakfast.

My favorite way to serve them is with my homemade Warm Berry Sauce. It takes about 5 minutes to prepare and is so delicious on pancakes, waffles, pound cake, etc. (Recipe below) I could seriously eat this stuff out of the jar with a spoon.

Just Like Grandma's Waffles

source (Best Ever Waffles, food.com)

1 1/3 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 eggs , separated

1/2 cup butter , melted

1 3/4 cups milk

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.

Separate the eggs, adding the yolks to the dry ingredient mixture, and placing the whites in a small mixing bowl.

Beat whites until moderately stiff; set aside.
(This is very important to make the waffles nice and light. I actually put them in my stand mixer bowl and use my kitchenaid to beat the heck out of them for a few minutes).

Add milk and melted butter to dry ingredient mixture and blend

Fold stiff egg whites into mixture.

Ladle mixture into hot waffle iron and bake.

Warm Blueberry Sauce

2 1/2 cups fresh or individually frozen mixed berries

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine the berries, sugar, and 1/4 cup of the apple juice in a medium-size saucepan. Warm the mixture over moderate heat, stirring it occasionally.
While the berries heat, blend the cornstarch into the remaining apple juice, using the back of a spoon to dissolve any lumps.

Increase the heat under the pan and bring the sauce to a boil. Stir the cornstarch mixture again and then stir it into the fruit. Cook the sauce at a low boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Cool the sauce for 5 to 10 minutes before serving (it will thicken as it cools). Makes about 2 cups.

You can use any berries for this recipe. See our Blueberry Sauce recipe here.

Our Quiet Book

It's happened! After almost 9 years of wanting to make a quiet book for my children, I have finally done it! And it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and it wasn't as time consuming as I thought it would be! It could be because I've had layouts in my mind that I wanted to make for years, so it was just sitting down and putting them together.

A lady at church invited some of us young mothers to her house to browse through a couple of quiet books that she had when her children were young. It was a lot of fun and gave me some ideas the motivation that I needed to get started. I went home and didn't do much for a couple of days, then I decided to put a page together. It didn't take long at all and I was hooked. I set a goal to do one page every day until General Conference. It seemed like a realistic goal, but I had days that I couldn't work on it. In the 14 days before conference, I was still able to finish 12 pages. Usually doubling up and doing 2 on the days that I could work on it. Here is what I finished in that amount of time.

Some things that I would recommend for making a quiet book: Minimal Velcro! Velcro is loud. It's perfect for a busy book, but if this is going to church with you, I'd limit how much you use. I think I used it on one page.

Minimal Felt as well. Felt doesn't wash well and wears out quickly. I used it in a few places, but for the most part I used cotton. Since cotton frays, I used a zig zag stitch to sew the fabric on without having to hem it. I used sturdy cotton for all of the pages. A large rectangle of it that I folded in half and made 2 pages on. Then I flipped it in-side-out, sewed up 3 sides, slid a thin layer of batting inside, and then sewed up the top and top stitched the entire thing (on my machine, no hand-sewing here....I'm horrible at it) and that created 2 pages. They are a bit bulky, but I was able to fit more pages into my book that way.

Puffy Paint/Fabric paint works well for adding details. Easier than hand stitching (although hand stitching would probably look better), and it dries within a couple of hours.

Eyelets are inexpensive and work great to bind the book with rings. This also allows you to take the book apart and add more pages or split it up among a few kids at a time if they all want to use it.

Here are the pages that I created. I don't have patterns to share, but thought that this give you an idea if you are looking for some fun layouts. Just simple shapes. As you can see, I used a lot of scrap fabrics to create mine. It really helped me go through my stash and organize it. It also helped me create some schemes. I'd find a print I liked and I'd create a page to go around it.

Barnyard: I bought the wooden farm animals. 4 in a pack at Michael's for $1. They are glued onto popsicle sticks.

Does it Fit?: My kids love all of the fun erasers that have come out. I used a ring one for this page.

Woodland Campout: This page is definitely one-of-a-kind. I asked the kids what they thought should be under the tent and they decided that a penguin in underwear would be funny. So I cut one out of a scrap piece of fabric. Definitely original. It says "Keep Out!" I made little fabric pockets and put woodland finger puppets inside. I'm not sure where I got them from. We've had them for years.

Train Tracks: Not my favorite, but it works. I used puffy paint and created a pocket with Velcro for the little train to be stored in.

Treasure Chest: My friend gave me  a little lock and key for this one. She also had a cut out of a treasure box to use as a pattern. I put some fun things inside. It was a lot of fun to make this page!

Button Fish: The fish button onto the matching color and are stored in the fish bowl which is a pocket.

Jungle: I made a pocket out of some scrap flannel and added a zipper and felt leaves. Finger puppets (purchased at IKEA a few years ago) fit perfectly inside.

Insect Jar: Scrap vinyl worked perfectly for the "glass" on the jar. Wooden bugs (4/$1 at Michael's) and a $1 magnifying glass.

Clothes Line: Mini clothespins and fleece cutouts. Store in fabric laundry basket.

 Numbers/Shapes Flower: Each petal folds over. Numbers and shapes are revealed.

 Mittens: Fleece mittens, left open on the bottom, for little hands to slide inside.

My Purse: The little fabric purse holds Kaylee's felt make up perfectly.

Put together with rings and stored in a little tote bag, all ready to go. It isn't perfect, by a long-shot, but it works for us!