Happy Holidays!

I'm taking a smallish holiday. I hope everyone is having a blast with friends and or family!

UNDERPANTS!

Our good old pal, Shaun the Sheep, was in need of some sassy new britches this holiday season.

 

It seems like in every episode the sneak some red "y fronts" in.

I always have to point them out when spotted like some weird "Where's Waldo".

 

I was totally inspired by pickled_peppers post on craftster however, our Shaun has a tail!

 

 

For most of the skivvies, I crocheted while Shaun was wearing them, which made for some cramped shoulders and headaches. But something tells me it was worth it.

 

Shaun is still wearing them today. 

Woody LIVES!

Two years ago, right before Christmas, Will's Woody Doll got decapitated.
I'm not kidding. The head came clean off as if someone who had great talent with a laser gun made a perfect cut along his neck.

 

On a side note, Will was given Buzz for Thanksgiving not a month before the "incident" occurred. 

You've got a friend in me, INDEED!

 

Like I said, this incident happened 2 years ago.

Thanks to some pretty powerful glue (E6000),

and the fact that I never throw anything away (Woody AND his hat).... 

 

Will get's to be reunited with his old pal this year at Christmas!

YEE HAW!

 

 

Little question:

Is it naughty to REGIFT something to the SAME PERSON?

Your thoughts?

Super Easy Pumpkin Muffins!

I probably make these mini pumpkin muffins 3 times a week, I love them so.
What's even better than the taste is....
ONLY 3 INGREDIENTS!

PREHEAT oven to 400 degrees
Don't forget to spray your muffin pan.
(I prefer the silicone mini muffin pan Ruby got me for Christmas years ago but this will work with any muffin-y type pan. Perhaps you may need to adjust cooking time accordingly)

Above I mentioned 3 ingredients, here they are:
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 can of pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie filling, keep it pure baby!)
About 1/3 of a bag of chocolate chips.

That's it! No water, oil, eggs, or anything!



DIRECTIONS:

First mix the cake mix and pumpkin until smooth.

Then add choc chips in and combine.

Throw the pan in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

DONE!

So super easy

These are going to mix up way thicker than a usual muffin batter.

Don't be afraid!

As I said above, I favor the mini muffin pan. I also love to use a melon baller to scoop it in. 

A big THANK YOU to Mother in Law Lynda for tipping me off to the melon baller.

While the muffins are baking we love to eat the extra batter.

It's totally okay because of the "no eggs" thing. YAY FOR BATTER!

Here they are all baked, cooled, and ready to eat.

I recommend coffee to wash them down.

Mmmm, coffee.

TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF!

Here's another Christmas pressie checked off...
This time it's a stitchery for a family that requests shoes come off upon entry.

 

I just love the look of "Redwork" for crossstitching.

 

I also wanted to try the style of "Blackwork" stitching.

 

Do we sense a theme?

Anyway, I just hope they enjoy the humor in it as much as I do!

Lego Princess Leia Cupcakes!!!

My dear sweet princess-esque daughter is turning 6.

Cupcakes must be made!

 

This same little girl also loves Lego Star Wars.

I can so get behind this.

 

I decided to use my silicone minifig mold to create some almond bark rebel love.

 



It sets up so fast, which is awesome because I only had the one mold. I use my other one for the crayons and non-food craftiness.

Next, I'm going to talk about some decorating issues...
Don't, I repeat, DON'T use the Wilton Edible Markers!!!!
They don't adhere to almond bark and run out SUPER FAST! Total waste of time and money.
I, dare I say it... had a bad feeling about this. (heh heh)

What DID work was Wilton's Color Dust!
HOORAY!

I got a really great bold color by mixing the Color Dust (sometimes called Luster Dust) with Mint Extract.
I opted for the Mint because that had the highest alchohol content. I'd read that's the trick, the alchohol evaporates leaving the color melded in place.
Here's my tip:
I'd go for Vanilla next time...The Mint was inhaled intirely too much and I had a headache for 2 days. I think my sinus cavity was burnt too. (Kind of kidding about that last, but it sure felt invaded! LIKE HOTH!!!)

Then, to do those OH SO ICONICALLY AWESOME HAIRBUNS...

 

 

I used M&M's. Brown ones. 60 of those suckers I had to pick out of the bag. I love my daughter that much!

They were glued with some pink frosting I happened to have on hand. I tried to tint it brown to blend in, but couldn't quite commit to enough of the gel icing color. I'll admit it, I got scared. This was going to be the "icing on the cake" so to speak; the "crowning moment". I lost my nerve and just said to heck with it. Make it PINK!

Besides, the actual cupcakes were going to be iced with pink, so I justified it as a pretty little hair ribbon Leia decided to wear that day.

No one pointed it out, so I didn't say anything either.

For once....

 

 

 

The next day being Friday (I started this process on a Wednesday for a Saturday party) I baked the cupcakes and let them cool overnight in the refridgerator.

 

Saturday was party day so I slapped on some pink frosting and Leia took her rightful place of honor!



 

Morgan said to me "Mom, I love these cupcakes."

I couldn't help myself and responded

"I know."

 

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY MORGAN!!!

 

 



Knitted Hood Teacher's Gift

This is another Teacher Christmas gift, this time for Miss Morgan's Kindergarten teacher.
We caught Mrs D., sans hat, while she was manning the crosswalk one particularly blustery day and ALL thought she could do with some warm knitted goodness atop her head.

The pattern is "Through the Woods" by Kalurah on Ravelry.

I thought it was well written an easy to follow. I especially LOVED the picture tutorials on the crochet cables!

I hope Mrs. D doesn't mind me trying on her hood for picture's sake!

This was such a fun project to hook, I started one for myself right away... IN RED!



 

Grandma, why are your teeth so big?

Sherlockian Heart Hot Pads!

Here are the Hot Pads I made for the "Holmes for the Holidays" Swap (reciepient: Alchamy513) on Craftster that originally made an appearance in this post .

 

 

I got the pattern from The Purl Bee: heart shaped pot holders

 

Really easy directions for the sewing.

I just LOVE that red ticking fabric!!!

 

I do also have to say...

This is the best I've EVER done sewing bias tape!

I may no longer live in fear of it.

Thanks again, Mrs. Hudson. You are an inspiration to all!

Angry Birds: McLaughlin Style

I got home from doing a bit of shopping and what did I find?
Morgan and Will took our thrift store bowling pin set and created their own Angry Bird Game.
CRAFTY CLEVER KIDS!

Those kids just kill me sometimes! 

Sherlock Apron Set!

Another Craftster Swap !

This time it was "Holmes for the Holidays".

I love BBC Sherlock and that was the theme, all Sherlockian wonderfulness was included actually...but I have a super soft spot for the BBC show.

 

My partner stated in her questionnaire she would like something wearable so I opted to do an apron/hot pad set.

(The hot pads will appearing in a post here soon. This post is all about the apron)

 

 

I mashed up about 4 different aprons I found on the Internet and for the basic shape made a freezer paper pattern of an apron I already had.

Oh, and guess what?
The apron is reversible!

First the Sherlock side:

I found this fabric at JoAnns. It was so reminiscent of Sherlock's apartment wallpaper I about squealed in the store!

 

The second side is Moriarty!

I loved the little pin dots on the black fabric. Subtle, yet stylish...like our Moriarty.



 The pockets for each side I pulled off with my "go to" fabric markers.



 

 

The bottom skirt has box pleats and for not doing too many of those in my life, turned out pretty good.

 

I think Mrs. Hudson would be proud!

 



Ice Cream Pint Cozies!

Will's Christmas present for his preschool teachers...
Ice Cream Pint Cozies!
The stitching is done with "free motion machine embroidery" which is kind of a new thing for me.
It was so fun and zen, I think I'll be doing quite a bit more in the near future.

 

I plan to grab some Cold Stone Creamery Gift Cards to go with the gift so the cozies can keep something cozy. 

 

I really like using a small hairband for the rubber band. They come in such fun colors and do the job they were meant to do. 

 

Anybody have a favorite flavor?

At Cold Stone, my faves are Coffee or Pumpkin.

My add in is oreos!!!! 

Mmmm, ice cream.

New Plates!

For my 9 year anniversary (which is pottery in case you were curious) the husband wrote on a post-it then stuck said sticky paged miracle to one of the kids plates.
The post-it read:
"Should we get new plates?"
We should and we did!
At first, I wanted to go all fun Cath Kidston. But then I got overwhelmed with trying to find exactly what I wanted AND have the plates be dishwasher/microwave safe.

I felt like the pickiest person ever, and gave myself a headache.
I took the attitude instead to go basic white and then go for fun with accessories.

 




So off to Target I went!
We like to roll fancy around here.






A bonus that's occurred with the new plates is Morgan WANTS to eat off of them. I'm so ready to get rid of the non-stacking-well plastic plates the kids use. They have their use for sure, but I so like things to stack nicely. My hang-up....maybe I need some help?

Thank you Lee for a wonderful 9 years!

You are....awesome!

(bit of a private joke there, couldn't resist) 

Crafty Morgan Turkey Day

Miss Morgan decided everyone needed some Turkey Plates and Napkins on Thanksgiving this year.
We swiped some paper plates from my dad (who always has some on hand) and went to Turkey Town!

She was so proud of her work and everyone was happy to know they had a special place to sit! 

Big Blanket DONE!!!

So in my previous post "Starting to Look Like a Thing" , I showed a peek of

the beginning of my blanket.

 

I finished it!

 

 

It's pretty long. What I failed to take into consideration was I was using worsted

where Uber Cool Crocheter Lucy @ Attic24

used more of a sport weight.

It didn't help the situation when I added about 70 stitches across to accomodate

for a queen size bed.

Hers was for a "full".

 

It's going to be a comfy thing for sure, and will totally keep my feet

nice and toasty at night!

 

I opted to add a fun border.

As long and weird as it may be,

I am so very happy with how my big fat granny stripe blankie turned out!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!