PINTEREST

Haven’t heard of it? What?! You must be living under a rock or a cave if you haven’t. I HAVE been busy, just haven’t been blogging about it. I’ve found some great stuff – crafts, recipes, etc. that I’ve tried out from Pinterest. I’ll be blogging about each of them and my reviews of each project. If you’re not currently on Pinterest, let me know and I can invite you. BUT BE WARNED – It can be VERY addictive.

One of my most recent projects. Making my own Laundry Detergent. I spend many many hours doing loads of laundry. When you have 6 people in your family it adds up quickly, and so does the cost. I do approximately 8-10 loads per week. As much as I love the smell of Tide and Gain, $20 for a large container of detergent just isn’t cutting it anymore. So I made my own which I found here. It’s lasted much longer and I don’t have to use as much. My laundry still smells clean but not perfumey. I do like a tad more scent to my clothes so I use a scented fabric softener and it does the trick! I give this pin a THUMBS UP in my book. It’s saving me money and it works wonderfully!

COCOON

One of my sweet blog followers, Sarah, requested a picture of my finished cocoon. So, without further ado, here it is!

GRANOLA

Basically I took two granola recipes and combined the two. I took a few things here and there, omitted a few things and VOILA! THE. BEST. GRANOLA. EVER. I didn’t take any pictures, but take my word for it. You’ll be impressed. I promise.

Granola Recipe

· 6 cups oats

· 1 cup cranberries

· 1 cup coconut

· 1-2 cups pecans (chopped)

· 1 tsp salt

· ¼ cup brown sugar

· 1 T. cinnamon

· ¾ cup honey

· ¼ cup maple syrup

· 2 tsp vanilla

· ½ cup vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Combine wet ingredients and microwave for 2 minutes bringing to a boil. Stir wet ingredients then add to the large bowl of dry mixture. Mix thoroughly. Spread Granola on 2 cookie sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool. Store in air tight container.

FABRIC BANGLES

I made these with my nieces for Cousin’s Camp…

A friend of a friend had put this up on her website with a SUPER easy to follow tutorial. The girls LOVED THEM. They thanked me endlessly for showing them how. I informed them that they could use an old t-shirt (jersey knit – with some stretch to it) to make these bracelets. I just hope they don’t go home and start cutting up clothes and then say “but Aunt Kristy said we could.”

Here is where you can find the tutorial. Thanks Missy!

Owl Bib

While I sit around and wait for this baby to arrive, I’ve added a few more things to my to do list. I found this cute Owl Bib and decided to give it a try. It was really easy to make, and turned out really cute.

It started off with a few different pieces. Eyes, nose, and the owl’s body. The most time consuming part was hand sewing it all together. I did the wings a little differently also.

Here is the owl mostly put together… minus the wings and ties.

Finished Product! I made 2 more rectangle as wings and attached them to the inside of the body (instead of the outside a the pattern wanted)

COCOON

Who says that butterflies are the only ones who need these. Not I. I found the cutest pattern from a blog called Tots and Bottoms for a baby cocoon. My good friend Brittney asked one day if I knew how to make them. I had never tried, but the pattern looked simple enough. So I went out, bought the yarn and got working. It took me about 1 1/2 – 2 hours (which is pretty fast) and it turned out ADORABLE! So cute, I might make one for myself with this little nugget that should be here in a few weeks. I’m no photographer (as I’m also no Martha) but it’s fun to add new things to the list.

Crafts for Baby Alana

What have I been up to? Well, everything to put it shortly. However, it hasn’t stopped me from crafting, it’s just stopped me from blogging about it. So here is a quick catch up to what I’ve been up to.

I’ve been so consumed with home, family, etc… and on top of it all I’ve made things for other’s. I realized that I have been neglecting the baby that is inside me and decided to get working!! I started making this little girl headband after headband. I am also working on a blanket and will be doing a hat and booties also. Crafting is my ME time and it’s such a great release to do things creative. Here’s a little taste…

{Alana’s baby blanket. It’s the exact same one I made here. I used a purplish/pink color. I’m about 1/2 way through. It still needs a border and the ribbon, but I think she’s going to like it.}

{These flower headbands were fun to make. I did the satin flowers and then attached elastic bands to the back. Simple and Dainty. The white one is for Alana’s blessing day.}

{These I made from premade fabric flowers that you can get at any craft store and then attached the elastic to the backs again.}

{And these bands I crocheted. The cream one is from super soft yarn. The white and dark pink ones are from crochet thread and turned out so perfectly. I can’t wait to dress this baby’s head!}

{ I just clipped on flowers I had made for Kalea and Mia. It’ll be fun to reuse these over and over in different combinations.}

And onto what I WILL be doing. I’m going to try and make a tutu for the baby. I bought two different kinds of tulle and some ribbon. I found a tutorial on YOUTUBE on how to make one that requires NO SEWING. Which appeals to me, since I don’t own a sewing machine. We’ll see how it turns out. I’ll be sure to post pictures when it’s finished.