Acorn Squash

I have found the easiest way to do this is in the microwave!

Cut an Acorn Squash in half and scoop out all the seeds
Place in a microwave safe pan and heat for about 13min
Let cool for a few minutes so you don't burn your fingers
Scoop out all the insides and place in a blender
Add about 10 oz of water to start-you may need to add more if it is too thick to blend
Blend, when all smooth pour into ice cube trays and Freeze
When they are all frozen place in Ziploc bag with the name of the item and the date!

Boa Scarf

I decided to make a boa like scarf out of some extra yarn that I had for my little step-sister to be able to play dress up with.

I skein Fun fur type yarn (now I took my one end for the inside and my one end from the outside and knit them together to make it a bit thicker so that the needles holes didn't show through and it made it a bit fluffier and more boa like!)

Size 5 knitting needles

CO 8

Knit until it is the length desired

Bind off

There you have it simple as that, and cute too if I must say so myself.

Chuggington Train or Car

I made this adorable train out of Felt, and I had so much fun!! We gave it to one of our second cousins for Christmas.

1.5yds of Red Felt (or color of your choice)
.5 yds of Black Felt
.25 yds of White Felt

First, I cut out the shape of the side of the train, I guessed with this as I only had a picture off the Internet to go by.  I cut out two of these pieces.  I then cut a long piece of felt 6" wide and about 32" long to attach to these as the middle piece.  I also cut out all the wheels, I used one of the covers for my little man's bottles since they were bigger and a perfect circle.  (I put 4 wheels on each side, so that was 16 circles that I cut out of the black felt).  I also cut out some black pieces to attach the wheels to the train, I used the parts between the circles that were left on the felt.

Next comes the sewing and there is quite a bit of it just a heads up.  I sewed two of each circle together, so I could lightly stuff them, so leave a small opening so you can add some stuffing.  Once I filled them, I sewed up the last little bit by hand.  If you are making a train you don't want them too big as trains don't really have thick wheels.  If you are going to use this idea to make a car, then stuff them full and you may want to make the circles a bit bigger.

For the main part of the train you are going to always keep the long piece straight, DON"T TURN IT, only turn the shape of the train.  I started half way on the bottom of the train and started sewing.  Now remember when you get the the corner, just move the foot of the sewing machine up and move just the shape of the train so that it lines up nice again. Below is a picture, but it is kind of hard to show in picture form.

When you are all done with that one side the train should look like this. Now the middle, straight part looks funny but that is because it is standing up on it so you could see the train shape. Looks pretty good!

Next, you are going to take the other side of the train and pin it to the straight piece.  Make sure you line these up correctly or you will end up with a  really funny looking train.  The hardest part is probably making sure everything lines up good.  Then sew that side. Oh I forgot to mention earlier I used 1/4 in seams, sorry about that. This is what it should look like when both sides are done!

Now if you notice at the bottom you should have a hole left where the two ends come together, this is intentional, as now we are going to stuff it, so it maintains the wonderful shape.

Before you stuff it tuck in those ends a bit so that when you sew it up it is a bit easier and you don't have to try and jam them in there with the stuffing.  Just a hint!

 Now you are going to sew up that seam.  I used black thread here, so you could see it a little bit easier.

You now have the base of your train all finished.  So here comes the fun part, attaching all the decorations. Because this is a cute train, I made a face for it out of white and black felt pieces.  I then also made the side decorations. (I put all of these on before attaching the wheels so I knew where to place the wheels).  You can attach these by either hand sewing on all the pieces or you can hot glue them on.  I used the hot glue, and then I put the wheels on by hand sewing because I wanted those to be a bit more secure.

Pretty cute huh?

For the wheels, I first sewed the spacer(I don't know what to call the thing that connects the wheels together so we are going with that since it is an easy word) to one wheel and then to the other.  Do this for all the wheels so you could have two wheels connected to each spacer.  I then hand sewed them on to the train evenly spaced on each side so they matched.

I think it turned out quite nice for a first attempt at something like this.  I was really pleased with the outcome and I think he was too.

Here are both of the trains that I made, with the book that he got!

Stain Remover

This works wonders on all kinds of stains that come with babies, so it has been tested on almost everything under the sun.  It even got blueberry throw up out of a white comforter!

1/2 c hydrogen peroxide
1/2 c baking soda
water

Mix the baking soda, peroxide, and a small amount of water in a bowl.  When the baking soda is well mixed, pour into a squirt bottle and fill the rest of the way up with water.  Before you use it each time you will need to shake it up, but it works wonderful!

Facewash

I have always had really bad acne, and have never found a face wash or scrub that works.  I have been trying to get it under control since I was a teenager.  Unfortunately with this pregnancy it just got worse, so I was willing to try just about anything.  So with nothing to loose, and after reading about it I decided to try honey!  Yep you read that right HONEY! And let me tell you what, it is the most amazing this I have ever used and I don't have a single pimple on my face!  Do you know how long it has been since I have been able to say that? It is wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone who has any type of skin problem.  After all what do you have to loose?

Tutu

I made my adorable little sister a tutu for Christmas since she loves to play dress up!

All you need is

Ribbon- 60inches

Tulle- 1.5 yds light pink, and 2 yds hot pink

Cut the Ribbon to 60 inches.  Tie a knot 20in in on each side.  The section between the two knots is where you are going to tie all the tulle to the ribbon.  Then you have two long ends to tie together around the waist.

Lay the tulle out so that is has the natural fold (just like it does when it comes off the bolt), roll up from the folded side so that it is a long roll. 

Cut the tulle every three inches,  Then you unroll them all and cut them all in half.  Take the strips of tulle, fold them over the ribbon and make a knot, around the ribbon. Continue this until all of the tulle is used up.  I then spread them out slightly along the ribbon.  This makes a very fluffy skirt!

MIttens-Adult

Home spun yarn (blue) -Color A
Fun fur yarn (cream) -Color B
Angel Hair yarn (grey) -Color C
Size 6 knitting needles
I used the yarn that was left over from making the scarf to make the mittens so I did not buy any additional yarn

CO 12 in color A

Row 1: knit 2, purl 2 (repeat pattern until end of row)
Row 2-8 Repeat row 1, so you have a nice ribbed effect for the cuff of the mitten

Row 9: In color B knit row inc in the first and last st knitting all stiches between

Row 10: Purl

Row 11- : Repeat rows 9&10 until you have 22 st on needles, end on inc row, don't purl yet

Purl 10, place stitch marker on needle, purl 2, place stitch marker on needles, purl rest of row

Knit 10, move st marker, inc 1 in the nxt 2 sts, move st marker, knit 10
Purl

Knit 10, move st marker, k1, inc 1 in nxt 2 sts, k1, move st marker, knit 10 Purl 10 (move to stitch holder), remove st marker, p6, remove st marker, slip last sts onto a different st holder

*You should have 6sts on your needles with those stitches you are going to Knit row, Purl row until it is long enough to encase your thumb.  I did a total of 6 rows.

Decrease on the 7th row by k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1
Thread yarn through remaining stitches, and sew up the side seam of the thumb.

From the second stitch holder, purl all stitches back onto the needle, the add on the stitches from the next needle holder by purling them all onto the needles.  It should look like the picture above, when all the stitches are back on the needles.
Knit row
Purl row
In Color C:
Knit row
Purl row
Repeat the two rows until you have 6 rows
In Color A:
Knit row
Purl row
Knit row
Purl row

*Now we are going to start decreasing to form the top of the mitten- If you have larger hands then knit and purl a few more rows before you start to decrease. These mittens when finished look long and skinny, but they fit wonderfully as the yarn forms to your hand, just an fyi

Knit 2tog, k4 (repeat until end of the row)

Purl

Knit 2tog, K4 (repeat until end of the row)

Purl

Knit2tog, K2 (repeat until end of the row)

Sew yarn through the remaining stitches, and sew up all the side seams.

There you have it some nice warm mittens!

Scarf

I decided to make this for a Christmas present. Don't tell it was really easy to make and quite inexpensive since it was made up of left over yarn that I had.

I used 6 different colors of yarn so it is really up to you what type you would like to use.
Size 11 knitting needles

CO 20 st (in 1st color)

Knit  row

Purl  row

Repeat until you have 7 rows ending in a Knit row
Color 2
Purl row
Knit row

Color 3

Purl row

Knit row

Repeat until you have 6 rows

Color 4

Purl row

Knit row

Repeat until you have 4 rows

Color 5

Purl row

Knit row

Repeat until you have 10 rows

Color 6

Purl row

Knit row
Repeat until you have 6 rows

Now you are going to repeat the pattern of all the colors, but your color 1 from now on will be 8 rows so you come out even and ending on a knit row each time. Just do this until it is long enough for your liking.  I did this pattern 4 times, and it is the perfect length for me. Bind off, and sew in all the edges.

Stay warm!

First Christmas Cookie

Here is a couple of pictures of my adorable little man eating his first Christmas cookie!  I think he really enjoyed it, what do you think?

Christmas Cookies

I love to bake, and one of my favorite things to bake are sugar cookies.  There is just something that I find so relaxing about the whole thing and it really gets me into the holiday spirit. So I am going to give you my favorite cookie recipe, it is from one of my taste of home magazines, but I tweak it quite a bit.  I actually have two that I bake, so I guess I can give you both!

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies: (4 dozen)
1 c butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese

1 c sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 1/4 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda

In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, and cream cheese until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg yolk and extracts
Combine flour and baking soda, slowly add to the wet mixture.
Cover and Refrigerate until it is easy to handle (about 1-2 hrs)
On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough, and cut with cookie cutters!
Place on a baking stone or cookie sheet (I prefer the stone as it keeps them really soft)
Bake at 350 for about 10min. (I like mine pale still so they melt in your mouth, with no crunch, but firm enough that you can frost them.)
Cool and then Decorate as you wish!-This is my favorite part

Sugar Cookies:  6-8 dozen(depending on how much dough you eat in the process)
1 c butter, softened

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1/4 c half and half cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

3 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beat in the cream and the extract. Combine the dry ingred., then slowly add to the wet mixture.  Cover and refrigerate until easy to handle (1-2hrs).  On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough, and cut with cookie cutters.

Place on a baking stone, and bake at 325 for 6-8 min. Cool and then decorate as desired!

Creativity

My creative juices have been flowing like crazy with the holidays coming up.  So I will have quite a bit of posts coming.  Unfortunately a lot of them are Christmas presents so they will be posted after they have been given.  Just wanted to keep everyone informed that I am very hard at work, but they must stay a secret until after Christmas.  So keep your eyes open as there will be a lot more to come!

Containers

I love the way that the frosted containers looked, when they have the names etched on them such as flour, sugar, and so on.  But I am way too cheap to spend the money on them.  So I bought a 4 piece set of containers on sale for $12, much better than the normal $25 or higher.  I then also got a can of frosted glass spray paint-this was also on sale for $3, and I'm sure I will find some other uses for this great new friend! Got out some of my scrapbook stickers and got to work. 

First I put the letters onto the container to spell what I wanted to label them as. 

Second I taped off a box around the letters and then put newspaper all around it so that it would not spray the rest of the jar.

Third, I sprayed the jar with the frosted glass spray paint.

Forth, when the paint was still a bit tacky I removed the letters and allowed it to finish drying.

Fifth, I enjoyed my new project.  Just what I wanted at a much lower cost.

I only labeled two of the jars, one flour and the other sugar.  As I am not quite sure what I want to put in the other two, but am content with them having no labels.  I just wanted some nice containers to put on my kitchen counter once my kitchen is finished!

Wake up call!

It has been a bit of a rough week in this house.  The hubby is sick and no offense to him, but when he is sick he snores so loud making it difficult for me to fall asleep.  Because of this small problem I have gone to bed no sooner than 1am TWICE this week.  Not too good for a pregnant mommy, who needs some extra sleep.

Since I was already lacking in the sleep department the little man has decided that he is not going to sleep well either.  So the other night he was up from 11:30-1:30am! YIKES.  Talk about a tired mommy, he then decided it was a good idea to be up for the day at 6:30 and that no naps were needed for the day.  This made for a very, very tired mommy.

I am still not quite sure what went wrong or why he was so upset because he cried off and on for the whole 2 hours even while holding him.  We gave him some Tylenol, since daddy is sick, and on top of that it looks like he may be getting another tooth in any day.  Then we gave him a few ounces of milk to see if maybe he was just a little extra hungry. No luck with either of those.  Finally exhausted beyond belief, I took him back upstairs to his room and rocked and rocked and rocked.  He fell asleep while we were rocking... and I almost did.  He laid down so nice in his bed, and mommy slept on the couch just in case he were to get up again, and also to get some good sleep with no snoring.

As much as it was awful at the moment, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I got some great quality time in the middle of the night with a wonderful little snuggle bug.  I just don't hope it returns anytime soon. I mean really who can resist that cute face even if it is in the middle of the night!

Silly guy...

The little man just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It is hard to believe he is 10mo old now and has his first tooth.  He doesn't really move too much, he has the army crawl down but only in reverse, and then he will scoot around on his bottom a bit if he wants to go forward.  He refuses to put any weight on his feet which I find really humorous...reminds me of a certain sister of mine! 

He loves his puppy! I'm so glad that the two of them truly get along so well, they are best buddies and they seem to keep each other very entertained.  In fact, first thing in the morning when I get him up mommy gets a big hug and kiss, and then he starts looking over my shoulder for his doggy.  Then he has to get down and give the puppy a hug and kiss, it is quite funny!

This is him after some blueberry crepes, he seemed to love them, but he loves his food.  I don't think we have found a food yet that he doesn't like!  You can see a little tooth in this picture too, if you look close!

Best Brownies Ever!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Frosting 

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm.

Note: These don't even need the frosting they are so rich and fudgy by themselves, and trust me I usually love the extra chocolate.

Sorry for the lack of picture I love them so much I ate them a bit too quickly, maybe next time I make them I will remember to take a picture before I indulge!