Finishing Touches

I finished this baby blanket. It wasn’t hard by any means, but it was time consuming. And it turned out a little smaller then I wanted, but it’s for a baby so I was ok with it. Here is the finished project.

Homemade Kettle Corn

DROOOOOLLL… I love this stuff. I wait every year for the NC State Fair to come in October so I can stuff my face full of this stuff. It’s one of my favorites. Well after many many tries, I have perfected popping this delectable snack on my stove… without burning it… which is a challenge in itself.  It’s really easy (once you get the hang of it) and TOTALLY worth it. Here’s some step by step instructions. Try it!!

What you’ll need:

• A bag of popcorn kernels – 1/2 cup
• 1/4 oil
• 1/4 sugar
• salt – sprinkle to your hearts desire

Make sure you use a large pot that has a fitted lid.
Take your oil and pour into pot.
Heat your burner to a medium-high heat.
Drop in 3 popcorn kernels.
Put your lid on and listen carefully.

When you hear 3 pops, take off your lid and add in your 1/2 cup of kernels and your sugar and stir around (do all of this quickly). Replace your lid again and lower your heat a little (medium- low). I keep the pan moving back and forth until I hear popping. Once it gets pretty active in there lift your pot every 3 counts, and then lower it on the heat again. Repeat. Sometimes I don’t even put it back on the heat and I just keep my shaking it back and forth in the air. Make sure you have one hand firmly on the lid and use 2 pairs of oven mitts (one for each hand) because the oil may pop out of the lid a little. Once the kernels have stopped popping open your lid and add your salt. I usually just put some in the palm of my hand and sprinkle it (like feeding the chickens). Be sure to stir it so the salt covers evenly. It’s really hot when it first comes out so let it cool (especially for the kids). The darker pieces are where the sugar has caramelized. Sooo Yummy!! Enjoy and don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t come out perfect the first time. Practice makes perfect!

HEADBANDS

So I made some headbands for a friends baby shower. These were the EASIEST thing I’ve made so far. All you need is:

Fabric flowers
Elastic
Needle and Thread
Felt
Hot glue gun

You take your elastic and measure the length. I did newborn headbands and it needed 14” of elastic. Cut your elastic. Take your needle and thread and sew your two ends together (it doesn’t have to be perfect). Once your ends are sewn take your felt and cut a small circle (you may need felt on the back of the flower – which means you’d need 2 circles cut out). Hot glue one circle onto the back of the flower (if needed) then take your elastic (where the end is sewn because it doesn’t look very pretty) and hot glue it between both felt circles. Wahlah! You’re done! Super easy, cute, and dainty!

        

I forgot to mention… You can buy fabric flowers at any craft store in their scrapbooking isles. I bought these ones at Michaels. Also, you CAN dye your elastic to match if you’d like. I’ve never done it, but try and out and let me know how it goes!!

**Thanks to Suzanne for the cute baby pictures.**

Here are the other lengths if you want to make some for older girls:

Newborn: 13 1/4”
3-6 Months: 14 1/2”
6-12 months: 16”
12 Months-Teen: 17 1/2”
Adult: 18”

I WANT TO MAKE THESE!!!

My friend Lindsay told me all about these and they looked super easy to make. So I looked them up and I am IN LOVE. My girls are getting to an age where they aren’t really thrilled with hair bows (or impressed) anymore. Luckily for me, baby girl #3 will be able to wear them if my older girls do not. But I LOVE THEM!

I found them HERE.

APRIL SHOWERS, BRINGS MAY FLOWERS

I have another baby shower coming up. What better time to make a baby blanket. I wanted this one to be different. It’s a work in progress…

First you make one of these…

Then you make like a thousand more… In different colors… And connect them all together…

This is the end result (Just not mine because I need more pink yarn. And I’m doing a slightly different color scheme.)

You can find the pattern here.

RETIRING

Well, not forever, but for the season. Winter has pretty much come and gone in our neck of the woods. I was SO busy and SO thankful for everyone who like my stuff enough to buy something from me. But don’t fret, I’ll be be back next fall and winter. And I think I’ll stock up and make a bunch throughout the summer to keep me caught up. I’ve been very blessed with all of you supporting me and even giving me suggestions and ideas throughout.

I am going to keep making things, mostly gifts. Baby blankets, booties, etc. I made this for a good friend. It turned out so cute that I’ll probably make one for our little girl… eventually.

**I think the brown ribbon around the edging really makes it. Other ideas I thought of  was skipping the ribbon and maybe putting a cluster of flowers in a corner.**

GIANT BIRTHDAY COOKIE

This thing turned out to be a HUGE pain at first… There are a few things I would have done differently. To start… You can use whatever size pizza sheet you want. I happened to buy a 13” pan… a 16” pan would be perfect, in my opinion. It would have been just fine but I made a bunch of mistakes. Learn from them.

1. Make sure you have enough room on the edges for expanding. It WILL drip over and burn at the bottom of the oven. I would give yourself 1-2” at least. I ended up taking out 2 1/2 cups of the dough. Which is GREAT because then you have it on hand to make regular cookies later on.

2.If you’re super worried about spilling over then put another LARGE cookie sheet underneath. Problem solved. I learned this he hard way. Mine spilled over, set my oven on fire (after getting the cookie out in time), and filled my house with smoke. It was a learning experience, to say the least. But you know what?? The cookie was REALLY good and everyone ate it up.

3. After it completely cools decorate however you see fit. It happened to be my daughter’s 5th birthday, so I piped some frosting and WAHLAH!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.
2. Gradually add flour, salt, and baking soda, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Spread in greased 14 inch round pizza pan. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes. Cool cookie in pan on a cooling rack. Decorate as desired.