Cookies revived

We'll I've made a post before about perfecting my cookies. They were too flat and I researched what would do that and changed the recipe to find fluffier cookies. But talking to a friend (and fan of my cookies) he asked me why my perfect cookies needed perfecting?  Then I remembered that they once were fluffy. What changed? I got a Kitchen Aid. LOVE OF MY LIFE. but, I realized it was the source of my problem. Too much mixing. I tried my original recipe again changing only the amount of mixing. Ahhhh! That was it!  Taste and fluffiness are just like I remember. Thanks for the reminder Ryan!

Portable DVD player head rest strap

So through the past couple road trips we've done as a family I've grown to love our DVD player but HATE the case that "supposedly" strapped to the head rest. Needless to say before my upcoming trip with the kids I was determined to find a replacement. Stores did not stock what I had in mind and the Internet had only one type available. It was also $25 and it wasn't that spectacular.
Then I got to thinking... Why don't I make something? I figured it wouldn't hurt. I used the fabric from some old shorts(that I loved so much they fell apart) and some scraps from other projects.
This is what I came up with. It's easy to strap on, secure, simple and.... Best of all FREE. It took me 20 min to sew! Now it's not super pretty and of course it would look way better if I did it again, but who cares I still love it!

**Okay Step-by-step:
1- First I measured the DVD player and Car headrest.  Car headrest (circumference, distance between the bars) DVD player (thickness, length, width, width of swivel thing...)
2- I cut and hemmed a strip of fabric a little smaller (about an inch) than the distance between the bars of the headrest and a little bigger (about 3 inches longer) than the circumference of the headrest.
3-added Velcro at the distance of the circumference. Of course the Velcro was big enough to account for stretching of fabric and any miscalculations I might have. also so I could strap in on fast and easy.
4- sewed some ribbon the length of the height of the DVD player, and wide enough apart to accommodate the swivel part of the DVD player.
5- because the ribbon wasn't stretchy (i needed a little stretch, but not too much) I added some ribbing fabric  in the middle of the ribbon (cause that's what I had, any stretchy material will do).  This allowed me to put the DVD player in the ribbon and strap it to the headrest with enough room to account for the roundness of the headrest.
**side note about the ribbon, if i did it again I would do a stretchy knit fabric in place of the ribbon.

ETSY SHOP

So, I just opened up an Etsy shop. http://www.etsy.com/shop/LBsCrafts I know I only have one item, but I'm going to create more soon. (I'll take ideas) The item I'm selling are my Dinner Menu Frames. But I decided to let you know about my discount code for those who read my blog.  Just enter FRIENDSNFAMILY in the coupon code spot and get 30% off. If you're in my neighborhood I'll reimburse you shipping and bring it to your door.  I'd love for you to spread the word to all your friends and send them to my shop.  These would make great Christmas gifts. 

Halloween Project

We decided that Carter would be the best Perry the Platypus from the show "Phineas and Ferb". So I went on a search for a pattern for footy pj's for the base of the outfit. Luckily my mom had one.  Everything turned out better than I thought.  The bill is going to be tough.  It fits on Carter's binky but he hates it on there.  And the fedora is black pin stripes, not brown like it should be, but it'll have to do.

                                               Agent 'P'                                                                       Perry the Platypus



 

 

dress into skirt

I've found it very frustrating to have plenty of cute skirts, but not be able to wear them cause I'm pregnant or still haven't lost my baby fat.  Now you could say to me, just buy new skirts, but I can't seem to find any I love the way I love what's in my closet.  So I've sent myself on a quest to find the solution.... and here it is in all its glory!

I had this dress, size 8, that I had my bridesmaids wear when I got married.  My sister hated the way it looked on her and gave it to me. I liked it at the time, cause I was smaller.  I grew out of it with my first pregnancy and then shrunk back into it between my two kids.  This time, though I thought I had shrunk back into it, but broke the zipper when I tried to put it on.

Now what do I do I thought? Trash it?  No, if Pintrest has taught me anything it has taught me try to recycle it before you trash it, what could you lose? I thought, why not make it into a skirt.  So I bought a new shorter zipper and attempted to put it in.  It was too hard for me.  I'm an amateur sewer at best and that was beyond me.  Then as I was looking for ideas for the young women in our ward for DIY skirts, I came across a skirt that used a t-shirt fabric to make a stretchy waist band and mixed with a tutorial on how to make maternity pants with an old t-shirt, I had an epiphany.  No zippers! A waist band that grows and shrinks with you!  Genius!

Now I'm not the kind of person who always remembers to take pictures along the way of crafting, so I only have pictures of the final product.

 yes I'm standing on the tub.  I don't have a long mirror.  So that's what it looks like on.  Long enough that I'm not tugging when my kids sit on my lap at church, and to hide my ugly knees.

 laid out so you can see kind of what I did.  I cut the dress at the waist.  I cut an old t-shirt at the arm pit. And sewed the raw edges together.

 see how I have the t-shirt inside out? wrong side to right side.

 that's so when you fold it down the right seam is showing.

 Like this.

My before picture, with my sister wearing the dress.

Back Log

 

 Chocolate Chip Cookies:

No, I did not get these on Pintrest and I'm not giving out the recipe, I just wanted to show how I've perfected my own cookies!  I think I nailed it this time, and I documented the changes and we are good to go.  My best tasting and best looking.  I'm excited.  I gave these to the new neighbors who move in across the street.

Kid towel with built in head towel:

I made one for Kendra and I used a rag not a hand towel, it seemed kind of small as she's getting older.  The hand towel is a little big but still better.  I got these towels from Ikea.

 Step one-
place hand/head towel in the center right sides together, pin in place. Sew along edge.

 step two-
fold towel in half, right sides together and pin top of hand/head towel, and sew.

 Walla!

Hem Shorts:

I saw this for just making long pants fit you, but I had a pair of pants that the knees got holes in.  I cut them off above the hole, the cut off and inch and a half of the bottom. I sewed them together and got this.  Now someone more experienced would be able to do a much cleaner job, but this works for me.

Menu Frames:

I actually saw a smaller simpler version of this at my neighbor's house and looked it up on Pintrest and was disappointed to not find many ideas/recreations.  So I went to Ikea for some cute cheap frames and got out my cricket. I gave one to my other neighbor as a thank you gift and her friend saw it and bought two from me for gifts, then her Mother saw it and wants three.  I'm selling them for $20.  I love them and it helps with the weekly problem of "What do you want for dinner?".