Ruffled Zipper Pouch - Easy Peasy!

I like to sew.

I'd like to be good at it.

I am most certainly a novice sewer.

In middle school sewing class when most people were making pj's and pillowcases, I decided to make a robe for my dad.

And make a robe I did.

It was bad.

One arm was longer than the other, the collar was crooked, and there were holes in weird places.

But my dad still wore it. :)  He's great like that.

Well, Since 7th grade sewing I've tried to stick to easy projects.

The last few weeks I've started making these super cute, and super easy zipper pouches.

I love them because they are so fab, useful and can be whipped up in just a short time!

I like to add a little ruffle or something extra and cute to the front, and the matching printed lining just adds to the fab-ness of it all!

 Not sure if I can pick a favorite...

 I've made so many, and they are wonderful!  They make great gifts, and they are perfect for keeping things neat and organized for traveling.

I think the small one would be perfect to give as a gift with a gift card tucked away inside.

I don't have a tutorial for you because, well, I can barely sew, let alone sew while taking pictures!

However, it is super easy and chances are, you don't need a tut... however, if you want one, here is a super great one, that explanines it better than I ever could! :)

I hope you give it a try...

Happy Sewing!

Crabby Patty Cookies!

Maybe you've seen hamburger cookies around???

I've seen them around so many places that I don't even remember where I first saw them.

The first time I made them I wanted to make sure they really looked like hamburgers.

So, I asked my niece {whose 5} if she could tell what they are.

and she said {in a voice as if to day "duh! of course I do"}

"Crabby Patties!"

They were such a big hit the first time that my sister called me up a few weeks later asking for the recipe because her hubby was requesting them. {he he he!}

Funny right!?

And so, from day one until forever, they will be known as crabby patty cookies!

{That's right - Crabby Patties - like from Sponge Bob!}

 The first time I made them I spent hours making tons of tiny {i mean seriously tiny} sugar cookies to be my "buns", but I have since come up with an infinitely better idea!

Here is what you will need to make them;

• Vanilla Wafer cookies {these replace the sugar cookies that I originally made}

• Some kind of chocolate covered cookies - Chocolate covered Oreos would work but I prefer Grasshoppers because they are cheaper and you get more for your $$

• Icing - You will need red, yellow, and green - or you can just use white + food coloring.  The icing is going to be your ketchup, mustard, and lettuce - and its gonna be awesome! :)

So... a crabby patty is made in a few easy steps.  

I mean seriously easy!

1. Start with two vanilla wafers and one grasshopper.

2. Put a little icing on the bottom wafer {rounded side out} and "glue" your grasshopper cookie to the bottom wafer.

3. Start topping your"patty" with your different colored icing.

 There really is no rhyme or reason to it, just make sure to put lots of icing near the edge of the cookie so that it oozes out once you put the top cookie on.

See how you only see a little of each color, but just enough!

We made a whole bunch!

I had lots of help from my little sister, even my teenage brothers helped!  And they had fun! :)

Now just a little note - I wasn't exactly sure at first how they would be with the vanilla wafers as the bun since they are crunchy.

But the wafers soften up a bit because of the icing and they were perfect... SO much better than making sugar cookies!

But *beware!* these cookies are sweet!  They are delish, but best when eaten one at a time! ;)

Fun, Girly Button Bracelet

Have you noticed I've been a little MIA lately???
Sorry about that.
I haven't really been in the mood lately for crafting... no ideas flowing... I hope I'm not the only one who goes through this. :)  But... I think my craftyness may be coming back {fingers crossed!}

One of my recent fun projects is a new button bracelet!
Have I mentioned how much I adore jewelry?

I have.  Oh good.

I love anything fun and girly and this bracelet is totally both!

You only need a few things to make one of these;

chain

a handful of buttons

jump rings

clasp

jewelry pliers (or needle nose pliers)

Start out by putting a jump ring through one of your button holes as shown.

 The size of the jump rings you use depends on the size of your buttons.

 Attach the jump ring with the button on it to your chain.

 Now repeat lots and lots of times!

To make sure your bracelet is nice and full and evenly buttoned, alternate which sides you put the buttons on as shown below.

 Figure out how long you want the bracelet to be, and once you've put on enough buttons, add a clasp to one end and a final jump ring to the other.

 Now show off your fun dangley bracelet !

I made one for my little sis, and she loved it!

Its such a fun, feminine bracelet, and the best thing is that you can make it to fit your own taste and style. . . big buttons, small buttons, funky shaped buttons, and any color you like!

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my ideas and creations with you!

I'm grateful for you all!

No Flour Peanut Butter Cookies + Printable Recipe Card

Ummmm. . . I love me some peanut butter cookies!

They are so yummy and they remind me of being a kid. :)

I've got a super good recipe for peanut butter cookies requiring no flour!
Lots of us are trying to reduce the amount of flour we eat these days, or gluten, or maybe you just want one less ingredient in your recipe.
Whatever the case may be, these are the cookies for you my friends!

Don't those look good?!  They taste good too!

Here is everything you'll need to make them.

 Mix ingredients together in order shown. (recipe below)

 Scoop onto cookie sheet and give them their famous peanut butter cookie sugary criss-cross

 Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes - until they are just slightly brown - and there you have your cookies!

And if you like them you can print out my little recipe card.  Maybe even put it in your new recipe book.  **wink, wink!**

From Photo Album to Fab Recipe Book!!

Does anyone else have piles of recipes, recipes sticking out of every recipe book, recipes crammed in kitchen drawers???

Well, I don't anymore!

I made a recipe book from . . . a photo album!

Brilliant, and absolutely perfect!

Plenty of room for all my recipes, i can add and remove recipes whenever I like, and since they are in the little plastic sleeves they stay clean, even when spill and drip everywhere!

It is super easy and customizable.  

*Fabulous!* 

So here is what I used;

photo album

dividers

hole punch

recipe cards/printouts

The bulk of the work was already done for me because I started with a photo album.

Here is what the finished project looks like.

First step, cut the dividers the same size as the photo album pages.  Make sure to keep the side with the tabs on it.

Cut as many as you need and hole punch in the appropriate places.

 Add your category titles in your tabs.

Its perfect because you can add whatever categories you use most.

 

 All thats left is to insert all your favorite recipes.

The photo album is great because the photo openings are just the right size for your recipe cards.

I had all my recipes typed up on the computer and just printed them out in 4x6 format and voila!

They fit like a charm!

 Ahhh, look at those super organized recipes!

 All that was left was to add a little title to the front of my new recipe book.

Go ahead, Make one!

Lets make Calzones! + a recipe

We all love home made pizza!  Every now and then Hubby and I love a Friday night pizza party!
But pizza is a pretty common thing.
We like to change it up sometimes and instead of pizza, we make calzones!

Yummmmm.

How much would your kids each love to make their own individual calzone!?

You can use whatever pizza crust you'd like, but here is my recipe which is super good - better than any pizza place I've ever been to thats for sure!

1 ½ C. warm water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 C. flour
1 ½ tsp. salt
1/3 C. Parmesan cheese
1 T. Italian seasoning
2 ½ tst. active dry yeast

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  If too dry add a little water at a time.  Mix well and let rise for about an hour.

Now kneed again and you’re ready to make your calzones! (or pizza, but in this case, calzones)

Ok, so one batch will make four big calzones, or six regular sized.
So separate out your dough and roll it out pretty thin, about a quarter of an inch.
(Make sure your surface is good and floured.) 
 Now add your toppings.

 Yummy cheese, olives, pretty much whatever you like.
You can even add anchoves if your like my hubby.  *ewww!*

But the great thing about calzones is that everyone gets their own, so I don't even have to deal with the fishy-ness.  :)
Important note - Make sure you don't put sauce into your calzone.
Sauce in your calzone = big mess.

Now you fold over the top of your dough and kinda roll/pinch the edges together to make sure they are nice and closed.

Now put them on a baking sheet and bake at 450° for 15-20 minutes-ish.
**Baking time will depend on the size of your calzones and the thickness of your dough.**
You'll want to keep a close eye on them and take them out when they start to get slightly brown.



Once they are done, serve with some marinara or spaghetti sauce for dipping and enjoy!

 Y-U-M!  Let me tell you, it was goooood!

So go ahead and give it a try. . . or just save it for a rainy day.

You are my sunshine printable

Remember me?

☺

It's been a while.

But I've got a little something for you today.

A very Springy/Summery printable!

This song has a special place in my heart.

I remember it being sung lots when I was a kid, and my hubby likes to sing it to me now. 

*blush*

 And we all can use a bit more sunshine in out lives.

Not to mention my love of all things yellow!

So enjoy this printable. . . I hope you can find a use for it!

A "Joy Jar" for my love

So I a while back I asked for ideas for an anniversary gift for my hubs.

I got many super great suggestions. . . some I'd already done, some I'm saving away in my memory bank for later and one that I thought sounded perfect for this year.

A wonderful reader, Nancy, gave me the fab idea to make my honey a

Joy Jar!

I started by typing up lots of different moments of joy we have shared over the years - fun memories, favorite moments, things like that.

{This was really fun to do. . . thinking back over all the things we've done together!}

Once they were all typed up and printed out, cut them into strips so that each strip has one moment of joy on it.

{I think I had about 70-ish}

 Next I took each strip and curled it around a pen.

You could just as well fold them up, but I liked the fun look of them being curled.

 Next Step - stick all your curled {or folded} strips of paper into a jar.

 Now, decorate up your jar to your hearts content.

 I didn't do a whole lot as I wanted it to remain somewhat "manly".

 Last step, I added a little note.

And that's that.

An easy gift that turned out to be very meaningful!

My hubby really enjoyed reading all the different "Joys".

He pulled out a few every day and was always excited to see what the next one would be.

I plan to refill his "Joy Jar" often as I think of more moments of joy!

This is a wonderful craft that could be given to pretty much anyone. . . a parent, or friend, anyone you cherish and want to remind of all the good times. :)

Thanks Nancy for the fabulous idea!