Cupcake Toppers

Cupcakes who doesn't love them!! Last weekend was my daughters 1st communion so when planing the party I didn't want to go the cake route, cupcakes is where its at these days lol I knew I wanted to add something super cute to them and that's when I found cupcake toppers..there like scarpbooking for cupcakes  whats not to love about that..The best part they are not over priced and you can print them at home. I found mine on etsy.com from Lovepartyinvites she will even do a custom order for you!!

Mother's Day Gift Idea

It's that time of the year again to celebrate the mothers in our life's. Every year since as long as I can remember my mother has said the same things to me "Don't get me anything, Save your money" or when I was little "I don't need a gift, You just being good makes me happy" lol and the top one that I even find my self telling my daughters now "Make me something, Mommy loves that so much better then any gift". So this year I am having my daughters go the make something route for grandma..

Where to find a good idea...well of cause Pinterest :) Have I said how much I love this site? 

Drawing on plates with Sharpie Markers

This is by far the cutest and super easy homemade gift to give mom's.

All you will need is a plain white plate that can be found at your local dollar store and a few sharpie markers.. My daughters did their hand print's & the year. Once you are done drawing just bake in a 350° oven for 30 min's. 

  
That's it..your done and now grandma can always remember when her babies where little.

I'm Back :)

WOW is all I can start with, what a crazy few months it has been! I would like to take a min just to update and let everyone know i'm back and in the next few months some new and exciting post's are in the works..

Back in Nov we bought a new house that of course needed TONS of work. My husband and I gutted the whole house and have been putting it back together room by room by our self's to try and save money. It's been a lot of work, But we are very happy with the end result and of cause the money we have been able to save doing all the labor. 

One of our daughters favorite new spots in the house is there reading nook, set off to one corner of our living room. I have found giving them this small area their love for books has grown so much in just a few weeks time.

Just a small book shelf turned on its side with this super cute rug that can be found at Walmart.. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Kids-Teach-Me-Alphabet-Nylon-Rug-Multi-color/21944084 with my most favorite part The land of nod inspired floor cushion. Tutorial for this comfy cushion can be found at  http://www.livingwithpunks.com/2010/05/tutorial-land-of-nod-inspired-floor.html

Ruffler Foot Attachment Review/How to

Dear Ruffler Foot where have you been all my life??? But in truth I do have to say this was not love at first try. The idea of it was.. ruffles made that easy??? could it really be, oh yes this little mid evil looking piece of metal is my new favorite toy in the sewing room. Once you get the hang of it, you'll want to ruffle everything you sew :)

I'll start with price.. they can range from $7.50 (on sale) to $79.99. Shop around, check you local fabric store, amazon.com, eBay. I paid $20 from amazon.com, from singer it would have cost $49.99. There are a few none brand names out there  that work just fine, the most important thing to know is if you have a low shank machine or  high shank.

OK now onto how to use it so you can start ruffing away. The first thing you will need to do is oil the ruffler foot. You will need to check your instructions on how to do this but here is a photo of how some need to be oiled.

Now that oiling is out of the way, it's time to attach the foot to your machine. To do this you will need the screw driver that your machine came with to remove the screw holding your presser foot on, so that only the shank is there.

You will attach the ruffler foot to the shank using the same screw you just removed, also the part of the ruffler that looks like a U will need to hook onto the part that holds the needle in.

WooHoo it's attached :) now to start ruffling!!! All ruffle feet come with 4 setting. 1,6,12 & * and a adjusting knob.The * setting will only sew one stitch and will not ruffle or pleat, the 1 setting will sew a ruffle every stitch making a tight ruffle, 6 will make a ruffle/pleat every 6 stitches and 12 you guessed it will make one every 12th stitch. The screw / adjusting knob on the foot is for how deep a ruffle/pleat you want. Some ruffle's will just have a screw and some have number's, for the ones with just a screw, the tighter the screw the tighter the ruffle, with one that has number setting, adjusting knob to 8 will make a deeper ruffle/pleat.

When feeding the fabric into the ruffler foot you will need to make sure it is between the black  forks and under the fabric guide.

There is a learning curve but once you have master this attachment you will definitely be asking yourself the same question..Dear Ruffler Foot where have you been all my life lol

   

What a Busy,Fun Summer!!!!

Hi Everyone, Sorry it's been awhile since my last post, I decided to take the summer off from writing this year. I had one of those mom moments when you look at you kids and think one day I am going to wake up and they will be all grow, one of those moments when you think..when that happens will I look back on their childhood and feel like I enjoy every second of them. In a day and age when so many parents have to work sometimes you just have to remember to stop and smell the roses.

For our busy, fun summer I tried to keep it low cost, because lets face it when you stop to smell the roses your not making any money lol.. We did a family trip to visit friends and family, countless family party's & alot of pool time :) My daughter also joined cheer leading so I really enjoyed being able to watch her practice. She'll be 8 in Dec, just started 2nd grade and sometimes I feel like if I blink my eyes she'll be 16 and starting to drive. As a mother of two little girls I want to be able to look back years from now and know I gave them all the right tools to be independent woman someday. This summer I had them in the kitchen a lot, just as my mother use to do with me,.I wanted to share with you all one of our favorite summer recipes, Zucchini Pie..It's super easy and tastes SO good!!!!

Zucchini Pie

Ingredients

3 Cup Thinly Sliced Zucchini
1 Cup Bisquick Baking Mix
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
1/2 Cup Grated Cheese
2 Teaspoons Parsley
1/2 Teaspoon Oregano
Pinch of Black or White Pepper
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 Cup Oil
4 Eggs

Directions
This is the super easy part and the kids love to mix :) just get a good size bowl and put all ingredients together, mix well, Then pour in a  greased baking dish. For this size I use a 9"pie pan or when I double the recipe I use a 13x9 dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

End of the year Teachers Gift

Its the same question I seam to ask my self every year, What am I going to get for my daughters teacher?? This year her teacher was wonderful!! One of the best we have had so far. So what do you get for the person that has helped your child so much. This year with the help of Pinterest (love that site) we found this homemade super cute idea. My daughter loved being able to make her teacher something and it was also a great time for me to get some one on one time with my daughter. 

What you will need: 

Everything I found at the dollar store

A small box ( something a good size to fit on a desk)

1 to 2 boxes of crayons

Glue

and goodies to fill the box. I went with school stickers, hand sanitizer, note pad, pens, white board markers.

But even baked brownies or cookies would be a really cute idea.

To make the box all you have to do is glue the crayons to the sides of the box. I used a hot glue gun, I found it went a lot faster but just about any glue will work. may just have to wait for a side to dry before going on to the next side.

Multiply Size Sewing Patterns- How to use

Multiply size patterns for a beginner can be a bit intimidating, but at times they can really be great. In our family we have little girls from birth - age 10, so  being able to buy just one pattern to make around 4 sizes of an item can be a real money saver. But how do you use them? I have tried a bunch of things over the years and this is what I have found works best for me.

All you will need is the pattern, scissors, marker and tissue paper! ( just plan old gift tissue paper most dollar stores carry it) I used blue when I took these photos because that's what I had in the house, but white is easier to see.

Lay pattern under tissue paper then trace all marking & lines for the size you need. I like to start with size small and work my way up getting all the sizes done, that way the next time I need to use the pattern I will not have worry about doing this so I can get right to sewing :)

Once you have the whole pattern traced all that's left to do is cut. Super easy right!! I like to store all of the pattern pieces together in a gallon size zip lock bag.