Be Mine...

Valentines Day is almost here! Love is in the air. I always take time to right down all the things that i love each Valentines Day. Kinda like Thanksgiving...and writing down everything you are thankful for. Here is my list.....
I LOVE...
My Lord
My Husband
My Beautiful Little Girl
My Sweet Baby Boy
My Lovable Hugable Doggie
My Family (far and near)
That i'm able to be a stay at home mom
Chocolate
Sewing
Photography
Baking
Painting
Being Crafty
To take my kids for a walk
My Life

This is just a few things that i have time to write down. What are some of your loves?? I hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful friday...and Valentines Day!

xoxo

Inspired Crown.......

Frontier Dreams: Wool Felt Birthday Crown Tutorial

I found this tutorial for a crown. I have been wanting to make my little ones a felt crown for awile...and the inspired me. :)

Black Apple Doll

This Black Apple Doll is soooooo Cute!! Got all the supplies out to make this today!! :)

You can find the tutorial here.

Thanks Martha........

Found this tutorial on Martha Stewart's website. There is also a video. I LOVE TUTU's and Petti Skirts!!

I have to make this for my little princess. :)

Tools and Materials
Satin charmeuse (1 1/2 yards)
Nylon chiffon (about 3 yards -- see measurements below)
1-inch-wide ribbon elastic
Iron-on interfacing (1 1/2 yards)
1-inch-wide ribbon in coordinating color
Button
Iron
Sewing machine
Pins
Needle and thread
Scissors



Pettiskirts How-To
Cut the Pieces
1. Satin charmeuse: one 7 1/2-by-48-inch rectangle.

2. Iron-on interfacing: two 2-by-48-inch strips.

3. Nylon chiffon: six 3 1/2-by-46-inch strips; twelve 4 1/2-by-54-inch strips; enough lengths of 2 1/2-inch-wide strips to make 48 yards.

4. 1-inch-wide ribbon elastic: one 17-inch-long piece.

5. 1-inch-wide ribbon: two 18-inch-long pieces.

Make the Waistband
1. Iron a strip of interfacing to the wrong side of the satin charmeuse rectangle along each long edge.

2. Fold the satin charmeuse piece in half widthwise (to make a 7 1/2-by-24-inch rectangle), with right sides facing each other. Match edges and pin along short side.

3. Starting at one end of the pinned short side, sew a seam along the side for 2 inches and backstitch to secure. Leave a 1 1/2-inch opening and begin sewing again to finish the edge, backstitching at both ends.

4. Flip the the waistband right side out and fold in half lengthwise by folding the top half in toward the center, matching the raw edges at the bottom. The fabric should be right side out on the inside and outside of the waistband. Press the fold and pin the raw edges.

5. Straight stitch all the way around the waistband, 1 1/4 inches down from the fold.

6. Straight stitch all the way around the waistband once more, 1 inch down from the first stitch line.

First Tier
1. Sew 3 of the 3 1/2-inch-wide nylon chiffon pieces together, end to end, to make one long strip. Repeat to make a second strip.

2. Shirr along one long end of each strip.

3. Attach the shirred side of one strip to the outer bottom raw edge of the waistband. Repeat with the second shirred strip and the inside bottom raw edge of the waistband.

Second Tier
1. Sew 6 of the 4 1/2-inch-wide nylon chiffon pieces together to make a long strip. Repeat to make a second strip.

2. Shirr along one long end of each strip.

3. Attach the shirred side of one strip to the bottom edge of the outer first tier. Repeat with the second shirred strip and the bottom edge of the inner first tier.

Ruffle Fluff
1. Sew enough 2 1/2-inch strips of nylon chiffon together to make two 24-yard long strips.

2. Shirr these strips down the middle of the strip (not along an edge as before).

3. Pin the stitched line of the shirred strip to the bottom edge of the outer second tier, and sew in place along the stitched line. Repeat with the second shirred strip on the bottom of the inner second tier.

Ribbon Elastic
1. On one end of the 17-inch elastic piece, attach a button. On the opposite end, sew a buttonhole.

2. Attach the 18-inch pieces of ribbon to each end of the elastic.

3. Attach a large safety pin to one end of the ribbon, and feed through the waistband channel.

4. Button the elastic and tie ribbon ends in a bow. Cut ribbon ends neatly to finish.

Fabric Flowers
Tools and Materials
2 colors of lightweight fabric, like the nylon chiffon used for the pettiskirts
Sewing machine
Scissors
Needle and thread in coordinating color
Hot-glue gun and glue sticks
Small pin back
Embellishments: bows, sequins, appliques, etc.

Fabric Flowers How-To
1.Cut a strip of each color fabric 3 1/2 inches wide by 2 yards long.

2. Shirr each strip down the center of the strip.

3. Twist the shirred strips together.

4. Beginning at one end, roll the strip, securing it to itself every few inches with a needle and thread. Continue until you have reached the desired size of the flower. Cut off excess.

5. Using a hot-glue gun, attach a small pin to back of flower.

6. Embellish the flowers with bows, sequins, appliques, etc.

Mile Stones.........

My little boy just keeps growing and growing! WAY to fast if you ask me. :(
But he has been doing something lately that i just have to share. He has found his feet! :) So sweet to see him find his feet. I snapped a few pics of him doing this this morning. If you have read my blog you may have noticed that i'm pretty shy about posting pics of my kids. But this one i think i will share. :) Well as soon as i get it downloaded onto the computer....hehe!

Music Monday......

Got alot of things done this weekend. Unfortunately i could not find my go to "Clean the House" music. :(
This is the one song that gets me going! Happy Monday!!

Cutest Nap Mat Ever.........

I found a tutorial on a blog that i happened upon. I printed the tutorial...but can't remember the blog! :O To the person that i got this off of....THANK YOU!! I wish i could find your blog again. I totally give you full credit for this. Thanks for the tutorial my little darling girl is going to LOVE it. Also going to be great for gifts. :)

Empanada.....

Found this Awesome recipe here

Empanada dough:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter, cut into pieces

1 large egg

1/3 cup ice water

1 tablespoon vinegar (we didn't have white vinegar, so I used white wine vinegar and they were still great)

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and butter. Pulse until completely combined. It is important the butter is cold for this to work. The dough will look like damp sand. In a small bowl mix together the egg, vinegar, and water. Pour this into the processor and pulse until the dough comes together. Turn out on a board and give it two or three quick kneads. Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for at least one hour.

Take the dough out of the fridge and cut your dough into 12 equal pieces. I do this by cutting the disk in half, cutting those pieces in half, and so on until you have 12 pieces. With a rolling pin, roll your ball of dough into a flat circle about 1/8" thick. Place a spoon of filling on top and fold over your dough to make a half-circle. Now crimp the sides until the pie stays closed. Place the empanada on a baking sheet.

I find it easiest to do all this near my fridge. That way I can keep my dough balls and the empanada tray in the fridge so the dough stays nice and cold. If it warms up it gets hard to handle.

At this point you can either cook your empanadas at 400 F for 25 minutes, or freeze them on the tray for later.

Chicken Filling:

For a quick meal, I just use one of those cooked rotisserie chickens from the grocery store.

1 whole chicken, meat removed and shredded

1 T cumin

1 onion, chopped

2 T olive oil

salt & pepper

1 t mexican oregano

2 T cream

1/4 c tequila

Heat oil in a pan on med heat. Add onions and cook until softened and beginning to caramelize. Deglaze the pan by adding the tequila. Add to the pan the shredded chicken, cumin and oregano. Lower heat and cook for five to ten minutes before adding the cream. Turn off heat and allow the mixture to cool a bit before making your empanadas.