No Sew Turkey Shirt

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 1 comment
It's hard work finding an appropriate gift to send to a nine month old for each holiday.  Someday, she will appreciate sugar and plush items, but for now, it's pretty much about pleasing my goddaughter's mama and I.  I'm sending along a little turkey shirt for her to wear this year now that she's worn her Halloween outfit-it's time to look forward.  I found a brown shirt for two bucks at the craft store, and I used scrap fabrics to cut out the turkey body and feathers (here is a free template for the turkey body). 
I used light weight steam a seam, which requires zero sewing.  Here are the steps for using this stuff, but it really just requires an iron, and this makes fabric stick to fabric.  If you wash and the edges lift off a bit, just iron it down again and it's good as new and requires no sewing machines.  If you can cut, you can cute-se-fy anything. 
I ironed down my feathers, then added the turkey.  You could also use fat ribbon scraps-the steam a seam works on ribbon too. 
See, peeling off that steam a seam and it sticks. 
I did add some button eyes, but you could color these on with permanant markers, use black fabric and more steam a seam, glue these on, or get mad, call me a liar and refuse to visit my blog ever again.  Ever.  Because I did say there was no sewing, and here I snuck a little in, but the black button eyes were worth it. 

DIY Personalized Plates

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 7 comments
A year or so ago I made some plates using a ceramic pen, since then I learned you can do this same thing with a sharpie....uhhh....score.  I happen to have quite the collection of sharpie markers, and it's certainly more affordable then buying ceramic pens in every color.
It's a super simple process.  I'm making some kid friendly Thanksgiving plates.  I found a pumpkin I liked, and I scribbled pencil all over the back of what I wanted to outline on the plate. 
 I center it, then traced over the lines on the front. 
 This transfers the pencil to the plate to give me an outline I can go over with permanent marker.
 I colored it in with sharpies, and then you just bake at 300 for 30 minutes and it's set. 
 I'd hand was these, but they are user friendly at this point. 
Another cute version, grab plates (from the dollar tree) and let the kiddos draw a picture of the family for serving platters, or individuals for table setting.  My pal Gust drew these little jewel for me to show on GMT Thursday.
 I also grabbed some mugs and found some fun fonts online and used the same process to make Anthropologie-ish type mugs. 
 Oh the possibilities.....


Pumpkin Soap

Monday, October 29, 2012 No comments
 I saw this adorable idea at cleanscent for making pumpkins shaped soaps, and I'm pretty sure these were a requirement this year in my life called 'fall 2012.' 
All you have to do is shre some soap using a cheese grater.  I added about 4 drops of orange coloring (they sell stuff to color soap where you buy soap squares in the craft store, or you can use food color).  I also added some cinnamon scent (they also sell scents, but I used the flavoring from my kitchen oils).  A little goes a long way! 
 I worked it with my hands and squished it into a ball.  I wanted little pumpkins soap so they can be used and discarded easily, so I only shredded 2 soap cubes.  You could also grate any store soap, or hotel soap assuming it's one of the softer soaps that will grate up easily. 
 Once it's in a ball, I used a knife to carve the lines and pushed a stick in the center (you could also use cinnamon sticks-but sticks are free around my house). 
How easy are these little guys?  Now I'm off to make a few hundred more for the one guest I'll have over this fall. 

Day to Day Baby Memory Calendar

Friday, October 26, 2012 5 comments
 I've seen versions of this calendar idea all over the net, and I have a few hundred of these berry baskets (no lie, I've blogged about this before, sent these out, built house, and solved world peace using these guys, with hundreds left to go).  One of my favorite people on planet earth is pregnant and she's a scrapbooker, and a memory keeper,and I just think she can get behind an idea like this too.  I saw another version using a bread pan, but I took 6x4 notecards and I cut down 365 of them to 3x3.  I found this stamp from the craft store.  It goes with smash books....
 I stamped each day of the year on the card, but I didn't stamp the year.  Unfortunately, the particular stamp didn't give you the option of not stamping the date, and so I went ahead and inked the second half and just put a little piece of newspaper to 'catch' the date, so only the month and day remain on the card.
 The idea is that each year you write the year  and little memories of things that happen on that day.  The next year you repeat and can reflect back on the year before etc, and document little memories for years.
 I cut down card stock to 3x3 as well to separate the months.  I used little stickers to put the date, with a few decorations, but the container is pretty full, so no doodads or buttons for this one.  I also added white garage sale tags I stamped with the month.  I stuck one on the front and back to create a hardy little divider. 
 See....
 I added a little tag and bow, everything is better with a bow.  And then it's off to be filled with memories, hopefully a few of which will include visits from Aunt Christy.

Chili Cheese Frito Pot Pie

Thursday, October 25, 2012 No comments
I assure you, this is not a calorie friendly recipe.  I am going to pretend I invented it b/c I've never seen anything like it, but....in a world this big, I have no doubt it's been done before!  Basically, I decided to solve my bread to chili ratio.  When I eat chili of any sort-I have to do a lot of running, but it's worth it to consume those delicious calories.  I also realize that frito pie is a staple in the south and a little more foreign in other parts of the country....world, but man, if you only knew!  So....I had all the makings for chili, but I also had some pie dough that was about to go bad.  I used a hodge podge of stuff from my kitchen and....yum. 
I took a ramekin and just put some crushed fritoes (just enough to cover the bottom) to help the bottom of the pie from being too 'wet.'  Not necessary, but I had a mini bag of chips so....who doesn't want fritoes with their chili? 
 I topped my fritoes with some chili I made in my crockpot the day before-just pick your fav.  I topped the chili with some onions and some shredded cheese. 
 I added a little top and cut some slits so it could 'breath.'  I'm not really sure this was necessary, but.....let's pretend.  If a white crust disturbs you...and it disturbes me, add an egg wash (the white of the egg mixed with a little water). 
 I baked my pie about 30 minutes (until the crust was brown....everything else was already cooked, the cheese just needed to melt, and it had plenty of time to do that...
And there you have it-carbo loading, crap-o loading, winterizing your menu, just a weird thing I put together with weird stuff in my fridge that was pretty tasty.....whatever-it worked! 

Flower Bows

Wednesday, October 24, 2012 No comments
 I found 'the perfect outfit' for Blythe, and it only lacked a hair accessory.  So, my simple solution-I had a pack of about 6 of these hair bands from the dollar tree (I usually use these for tutus...it may be the first time I actually used them for their real purpose).  So....15 cents for the hair thing, then I had some little beads already, and I found these flowers at the craft store. 
 I usually make these curled edge flowers with silk fabric.  Here is that simple tutorial....I just decided I couldn't house anymore extra fabric in my house, so I bought these flowers with a discount. I sewed the beads in the middle, and then used a piece of felt and hot glue to attach the flower to the band. 
 And here the outfit is, complete with hair accessory.  Sparklie tulle....very princess-ish.  It was the kind of outfit that I couldn't leave in the store when I saw it.  The nice thing about being an aunt is the ability to make frivilous purchases.  I mean....essential. 

Recycled T-Shirt Bib

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 1 comment
OK, I've seen this idea around the net for several years, and I even had a shirt for the last year, but it was just a matter of finding the time to put it together...come to find out, it took no time at all, just the stars aligning, which equals finding the perfect outfit for my niece, but realizing I needed to include something for her little brother.  I had this old baseball shirt, but how great would it be for some of those free shirts you get at games that have all sorts of ads etc on the sleeve and back, but your favorite team on the front (yes, they are still my favorite despite their late season games)?  Basically, I took a template (here's a free link) and taped it together....
I found the center of my bib and then found the middle point and the fold so I could cut the entire thing at once....
Here it is cut out.  The shirt was a little small, so I ended up pieces some of the top pieces by cutting excess shirt and stitching it to complete the shape. 
I used the back of the shirt for the back of the bib, but an alternative fabric would have been cute.  I pinned both pieces together with the right sides facing each other on the inside.
I stitched all but about two inches, then I pulled it through so it was right side facing out, and I finished up the last little bit by hand. 
I sewed on some Velcro to the top so it closes, a button would work too. 
This would be really great for old band shirts, college shirts, or just fun fabrics.  It's once of the easiest projects I've put together and it's definitely my first of many bibs., plus-I'm indoctrinating my nephew young into the sports teams I would like him to follow, root for, play for, own...whatever. 

Texas State Fair Pecan Pie

Monday, October 22, 2012 7 comments
Every year I get a cookbook from the State Fair.  I began this tradition many moons ago, and I've never been disappointed in the recipes I've tried.  Pecan pie is one of my favorites, and this recipe was DELICIOUS, AND it had a lot fewer ingredients than some of the other yummy pies I've posted about in the past. 
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching it's time to pull out this recipe and prep the oven....
Best Texas Pecan Pie by Janis
Ingredients:  1 stick butter, 1 c. light karo syrup, 1 c. white sugar, 3 large eggs, slightly beaten, 1 t. vanilla, 1/8 t. salt, 1 C. pecans (chopped)
Instructions:  Brown butter in a skillet until golden brown, don't let it burn.  Cool butter. 
Combine Karo, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt; mix until blended. Stir in cooled butter. Place choped pecans in bottom of 9' unbacked pie crust.
Pour mix over pecans.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, lower temp to 325 and bake for another 50 minutes. Cool; serve with whipped cream.