Paper Roses

We made these paper roses for our teacher appreciation day at school this year, but these cuties could be made and given to friends or family you may be visiting this summer. They are cute by themselves or in a bouquet. We put these in a little baby food jar for a few days, and really enjoyed them!!

You will need:

~Square paper (your choice of color) the size of square paper determines the size of the rose. we used about an 8x8 size then rounded the corners...

(We used magazine pages in shades of red, pink, and orange, I really like how they turned out using something recycled!)

~Popcicle sticks

~Glue (craft glue or hot glue)

I found this simple tutorial which will show you how beautiful these can get, and teach you the steps.

To personalize your rose, you can write a short sweet note on the front (or back) of the popcicle stick. Or add a little strip of magnet to the back. Its sure to bring a smile to someones face!

Twin Dolls

My little girl was invited to her best friend's birthday party in another city.  So she came up with the idea to make twin dolls, one for her friend's present and one to keep!  Now they will think of eachother everytime they see their doll.

So my mom had an old (and I mean old) pattern for a Raggedy Ann doll that I used, I just embroidered a different face and sewed on different hair. 

If you want to know a really great way to sew yarn hair on a cloth doll, click HERE.

I used two different coordinating fabrics for their clothes.  One had the green dress and blue apron and bloomers and the other had the blue dress and green apron and bloomers.  The clothes turned out so cute!  My daughter chose the faces she liked from some different choices I drew.  She stuffed the doll for her friend and felt like she really helped make them.  She says they were stuffed with love!

They love their new dolls!

Superhero Cape

My two year old LOVES super heros, particularly Superman!  So of course I had to make him his trusty cape that has now become an everyday part of his wardrobe.

To be honest with you, I made this cape quite a while ago and didn't take any pictures along the way to show you how to do it, and, I really just made it up as I went along.

So, I have found some instructions HERE for a really great superhero cape with a velcro closure like mine.  (the velcro is good for easy opening in case the cape is pulled, no choking!)

Every kid needs a cape.

Crochet a case for your iPhone!

When I saw this tutorial to crochet a super easy case for an iPhone, I had to try it!  I know it looks like a sweater, and summer is just getting started, but my phone will now be protected from falls and scratches!

All I did was follow this really easy pattern I found HERE, then I sewed on a big leather button and a hair tie to keep it closed.  EASY! 

Now you make one today!

Recovering outdoor throw pillows

So here are some pictures of a little park bench improvement project I just did. 

I had an old weathered park bench that I painted white and a couple of old throw pillows that I recovered.

My old bench before

The old throw pillows before

First I recovered the piping from the old pillows.  You can find that tutorial HERE.

Then, you can find the tutorial for the rest HERE.

Adding the piping to the pillow material can be tricky, but HERE are some instructions to help.

 

The final bench... I think it's quite an improvement, don't you?

Homemade Soft Pretzels with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

I found this fun recipe on one of my favorite blogs, HERE.  Try it today!

Soft Pretzels with Honey Mustard Sauce

Ingredients: 

• 1 package of active dry yeast
• 5 cups flour
• 1 1/3 cups warm water
• 1/8 cup warm water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• Water, baking soda
• Sea Salt

Honey Mustard Sauce:

• 5 ounces creme fraiche (or sour cream)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons dijon or german mustard
• Salt and sugar to taste

 Directions:

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/8 cup warm water.
2. Stir in 1 1/3 cups warm water, brown sugar and flour. Beat until smooth.
3. Knead dough until smooth and elastic.
4. Heat oven to 475 degrees.
5. In a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons baking soda to each cup of water. Use enough to fill the saucepan; bring to a boil.
6. Tear off some dough and roll a pencil shape with your hands. Pick up both ends, cross to form rabbit ears and then twist the ends and pull the back to the rest of the loop (making a pretzel shape).
7. Place twisted pretzels in water/baking soda mixture for 15 seconds until pretzel dough is golden or yellow in color. Remove pretzels from boiling water and place onto cookie sheet. Sprinkle tops with sea salt. 
8. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until pretzels are golden brown (see picture above).

Honey Mustard Dip

1. Stir creme fraiche (or sour cream), honey and mustard until creamy.
2. Add sugar and salt to taste.

Chicken "Divine" with Homemade Alfredo sauce

Chicken "Divine"

Here is another delicious chicken casserole recipe to feed a hungry family!  I found it here at The Cottage Home blog.  I wanted to make this the other night for dinner, but didn't have any alfredo sauce, so I made my own (I've also included this recipe at the end).

Chicken "Divine"

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (10 oz. each) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Chardonnay)
• 1 jar (16 oz) alfredo sauce, such as Classico (or make your own)
• 2 cups (4 oz) grated smoked gouda
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 cups cooked penne, macaroni, or orecchiette pasta
• 2 cups shredded roast chicken
• 1/4 cup italian style bread crumbs
• Paprika for sprinkling

Directions:

1. If you are going to make your own alfredo sauce, do this first (see recipe below).
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  
4. Add the onion, thyme, kosher salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  
5. Add the wine, increase the heat to high and cook until all the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. 
6. Remove from heat.  Stir in the alfredo sauce, 1/2 cup of the cheese, the milk and nutmeg.  
7. Then stir in the cooked pasta, broccoli, and chicken and mix thoroughly.
8. Transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish. 
9. Top with the remaining cheese and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle with paprika, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  
10. Uncover and bake until golden brown, 10-15 minutes more. 

Easy Homemade Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley (optional)
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder (optional)
• pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.
2. Cut the cream cheese into smaller chunks and add it to the saucepan.  Use a small whisk to mix it until it is smooth.
3. Add the half and half, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, parsley and pepper. Stir together until well mixed.
4. Remove from heat and let it thicken up as it stands, stirring occasionally.

Yum!