Pretty Purse

I was feeling ambitious after I made a few baby blankies and felt like going for something a little more "involved," so I went with a ruffled purse design I found on a cool blog. My first attempt (below) went pretty well, but there are definitely things I will improve on with my next purse. Mainly the measuring...measure twice, cut once. Isn't that how it is supposed to go?

My little ruffled purse

Ruffled front

The back side

Inside with divider

Size reference

More Baby Blankets

With a few babies joining our extended family, I wanted to make some more super soft baby blankets as gifts. I made one "taggie" edge blankie and one edged with ric rac. I found some great fabrics and of course use the ultra soft minky dots on the reverse side.

The finished blankies together

Pink Minkey side

Pattern closeup

Pink Taggie Blankie for Baby Ellie Rose

Monkey Nap Blankie

Closeup of fabrics and trim

The Finished Monkey Nap Blankie for Little Miss Genevieve

Springy Cookies

Recently, I cam across a lot of great articles about cookie decorating using Royal Icing, so I thought I'd give it a try! It was quite the process, but the outcome was worth it. Next time (and there will be a next time), I need to make the icing a little more runny. it was a little thick and hard to "flood" the cookies.

Funky Felt Wreath

My recent obsession with felt continues...

I love how this wreath turned out, but it was a time consuming craft and involved cutting out more than 200 circles out of felt. Then pinning the, all to the styrofoam wreath form.

Shabby Chic Paper Heart Garland

So this post is a little late for Valentine's Day, but I wanted to share it nonetheless. I pulled out all of my scrapbook and card-making papers and embellishments and made a little garland.

Taggie Baby Blanket

Recently, I had the opportunity to reconnect with an old  friend from my elementary and middle school days. It was wonderful getting to re-know her as an adult. The fun part too is that she is pregnant with her first child and invited me to the baby shower. 

I wanted to give her something unique and of course handmade, so I experimented with a baby blankie with taggies all around. I have heard about how babies love to play with the ribbon "taggies" in their hands or suck on them, and plus, it looks adorable and adds a funky factor! The ribbon tags were sewn over 5 different time, so they are secure.

It turned out to be a hit at the shower and she was excited for the little peanut to make it his/her favorite blankie!

Since the parents don't know the sex of the baby yet, I went with a gender-neutral pale green Minkee dot fabric for one side (wish you could feel the softness, I'm in love with the fabric), and a fun and modern baby patterned cotton for the flip side. (The Minkee is upside-down in the first two photos...oops)

I finished it with a matching felt flower and included some petals of the cotton fabric. I pinned the flower to the solid green side. 

I can't wait to make the next one...luckily I have a pregnant cousin!

A birthday worth baking for

Give me a special birthday, national holiday (observed or not)...I mean, give me sunny Saturday afternoon for that matter...I don't need much of an excuse to whip up something sweet. It's too hard to resist. All i need is a reason to share the goodness! My dad's birthday was the perfect reason to make a few treats this weekend...and I figured it would be a great chance to try out some news recipes I had been eyeing.

First was the Apple-Cinnamon-Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies. (Note: I have a tendency to LOAD my cookies up with lots of extra ingredients. The more the merrier right?!) It's also worth noting that I rarely follow complete recipes. Not because I feel like I could make it better, mostly because I seldom have EVERYTHING it calls for! So I improvise! Keeps ya on your toes!

Of course I didn't have the dried apple slices the recipe called for, but I did have some crisp fuji apples that were just waiting to be used. I was also out of unsalted butter...but I did have some healthier coconut oil, which I thought worked well with all the flavors. The cookies were nothing short of a chunky mess at first....but after time in the oven....they turned out better than expected. Look at all those chunks!!

Then I made some Peanut Butter Cookies - dipped in chocolate and rolled in crushed peanuts. Oiy! They also had Reeces Pieces inside...i couldn't resist. My mom was a happy camper sitting in the sunshine, dunking her peanut buttery cookie her her afternoon cup of tea!

And if that wasn't enough for our small gathering of 6 people.....i made some Chocolate Brownie type things, topped with a layer of marshmallows, peanut butter (there must've been a sale or something), more chocolate and rice crispies. The result was a rediculous mountain of awesomeness!! I mean, a picture tells a million words. Needless to say, I left most of these with the fam, so I wasn't left at home alone with these temptations. At least I have the memories right?!