Head Sock Tutorial

A head sock like the one I wore for the Evil Queen costume isn't that hard to make if you have a little guidance.  I have broken it down into five steps.

Materials:

• scissors
• 1/2 yard stretchy fabric (fleece, knit, spandex, or something similar work best)
• chalk

1. Fold your fabric in half and place it on the floor.  It only needs to be long enough to have room above your head and extend to your shoulders. Lay your head on the fabric so that your profile is centered on your doubled piece of fabric.  Have someone trace your profile with a piece of chalk.

*For some reason I look like my nose has a huge crook in it and I have long chin hair. Lovely.  Thanks to my husband for the profile drawing :)

2. Cut your fabric leaving two inches extra around the entire piece. You will have two pieces.  If it looks like it will fit Big Foot, you're doing it right.

3. Place right sides together. Sew around the perimeter using 3/8" seam allowance. Leave an opening on the face front so you can see out of it.
*If you are using a stretchy knit or spandex, I would suggest using a ball point needle in your sewing machine.  

4. Try the sock on over your head.  Make any adjustments necessary.  Using a piece of chalk, draw an outline of where you would like the openings to be on your face.  This may differ depending on if you're making the sock for a ninja mask or more like a ski mask to rob a bank.  Just kidding about the bank part.  Don't use this tutorial for those purposes.

5. Cut out your face openings. Since you're using a knit, spandex, or fleece material, you don't need to worry about the edges unraveling.  Turn the sock right side out and wear your new head sock! Who's the fairest of them all now?

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,  Sat: It's Overflowing  Sun.: I Heart Naptime,

Mirror, Mirror

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Our neighborhood Halloween party was Saturday night.  If you're a Facebook fan, you may have read that I decided to dress as the Evil Queen from Snow White this year.  It was so much fun!

Here's the breakdown of my costume:

• gold crown I made from foam and stick on jewels
• head sock I made from black spandex
• dress from choir in high school
• store bought cape I embellished with purple satin on the collar
• necklace from my collection

This was a pretty easy costume to put together.  I searched and searched for help making my head sock.  There weren't any tutorials out there! I thought I would give you an overview of how I created mine so if you ever have to make an evil queen, ninja, or ski mask, you'll have a resource.  Stop here to check it out!

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,  Sat: It's Overflowing  Sun.: I Heart Naptime,

DIY Foaming Hand Soap

Ok, Pinterest lovers.  You know those things that you pin and wonder if they even really work? I have to say I was skeptical on this one.

I usually use the Bath and Body Foaming Hand Soap in all the bathrooms in our house.  I love the way it smells, and I love the foam feature because it doesn't leave the sticky, soapy residue on my sink top.  I always wait until it's on sale and use a coupon, never paying over $2/bottle.

Now that I have a toddler, going to the mall is not quite the same as it used to be.  I never go. Even if I do go, I don't really get to shop.  Therefore, my soap stash has dwindled to nothing.  SO, while I was at Target, I noticed Method soap was on sale for a steal.  I decided I was going to try to make my own foaming hand soap using the Method soap and my Bath and Body foaming dispensers like I saw here on Pinterest.

Guess what? It works wonderfully!

Here are the simple instructions:

1. Pour approximately one inch of hand soap into the foaming hand soap dispenser.  
2. Fill the remainder of the dispenser with water.
3. Slowly tip the dispenser back and forth, combining the water with the soap.  DO NOT SHAKE!!

It is going to take us months before I use up all this soap!  I am excited to see how much money I'm saving as well.

Use any liquid soap and try it out!

Easier Than I Thought! 

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,  Sat: It's Overflowing  Sun.: I Heart Naptime,

Top to Skirt & Hat

When you love to sew, you start seeing clothing as pieces of fabric, no matter what the style or size. Sharing my philosophy,  my mother-in-law brought me some of her old knit shirts.  One in particular caught my eye.  I had an idea to turn her old orange and white striped tank top into a skirt for my little girl.  With the left over fabric, I decided to make a hat for a new baby a friend of ours had.

To make the skirt, I followed the same process as I did here when I made my own skirt from a dress a few months ago.  Paired with black tights and a black top, it's a cute Halloween outfit.

For the hat, I used one of my little one's infant hats as a pattern and just winged it.   If you like the idea, you can find a comfy knit hat tutorial here.

The flower bow was simple enough as well.

1. Sew a basting stitch down the ribbon
2. Ruffle the ribbon by pulling on either end of the basting stitch
3. Begin gluing the ribbon on the outer edge of a 3" felt circle using your glue gun
4. Continue gluing the inside ribbon edge as you wind the ruffled ribbon in towards the center
5. Glue a decorative button in the center and attach the felt circle to the hat

This would be cute to attach to a headband or a clip too!

Now the new baby has a hat to wear and my little one has a skirt.  Either can be worn to celebrate Halloween or support the hometown football team.  Go, Bengals!

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,   Sat: It's Overflowing Sun.: I Heart Naptime,

Pumpkin Crunch

This recipe is a fantastic dessert to take along to a party or family get together.  Everyone needs one of those recipes this time of year, and you can't go wrong with this one.  This is what I brought last weekend to a bonfire.  Everyone enjoyed it and asked for the recipe.  Take a look:

It is a little bit like apple crisp using pumpkin instead.  The best part is that it is quick and easy to throw together. All it takes is mixing some ingredients and baking.  Everyone can handle that, right?

Good.  Let's get started.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 c milk
• 1 (1lb 13 oz) can of pumpkin pie mix
• 1 c sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 1/2 stick margarine, melted
• One box of yellow or white cake mix

Beat eggs, mix with milk, salt, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and pumpkin.
Pour into a greased 13 X 9 pan.

  Sprinkle dry cake mix and nuts (optional) over top of mixture and then drizzle w/butter.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until browned.

Serve w/cool whip or whipped cream if desired.

See? Just like that, and you have a delicious dessert to take to those family gatherings!

Added bonus: your house will smell wonderful while it's baking!

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,   Sun.: I Heart Naptime,

Pony Treat Pail

My little cowgirl's outfit just wasn't complete.  Every cowgirl needs a horse! I have been obsessed for weeks trying to incorporate a horse into her Halloween ensemble.

When we went through McDonald's yesterday afternoon, I was pleased to see the Happy Meal came in a Scooby Doo treat bucket.  BINGO!  The light hit me that I could use the bucket to create a pony pail that would double as her treat bucket.

That very afternoon, I created her pony pail.  It's a little Pottery Barn Kid'sesque, don't you think?

When she woke up from her nap, I asked her if she knew what it was.  She said, "Forsee, Mama.  Wow!"  I must have done something right.  My almost two year old not only recognized it as a horse, but she also loved it.  She was even more delighted when I explained to her that she was going to use it on Halloween to get candy.

Even though I created this for a horse, I can see this being used as an idea for creating any animal.  What about a bunny or a chick for Easter? It doesn't have to be an animal though.  Dressing up a sand bucket or fabric grocery bag with fabric or trim to match a costume would be just as fun!

The treat bucket was really easy to make. I used scissors, a glue gun, and fabric scraps. I love free projects!

Check it out:

I took this pail

Cut a rectangle of felt so it would fit around the pail and overlap on the top and bottom about an inch or so.

Then, I cut the face pieces by just winging it.  I used a few hand puppet faces for inspiration from google images.  Mostly, it was just trial and error cutting scraps of felt and cordoroy until I had these pieces. I ended up changing my mind on the nostrils.  The string wasn't going to work.

Using my glue gun, I glued the felt to the bucket. For the top and bottom edges, I tucked the felt over the edges and glued them down.

Then, I glued the felt pieces to the bucket to make the face.

To create the hair, I folded the piece of fabric in half (hot dog style) and cut the piece to create a fringe while leaving a solid edge on the bottom like this:

Then, I folded it in half again the other way to create two rows of hair and glued it on the inside edge of the bucket.

The horse ears were also glued on the inside edge of the pail.

Finally, I cut the Scooby Doo plastic piece from the handle and wrapped the handle with twine so it would look like a rope for the horse reins.

Now my cowgirl has a pony pail to store all her goodies in!

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,   Sun.: I Heart Naptime,

Easy Chicken Bake

In the last few weeks, I have made this easy chicken bake twice.  It is my go-to easy dinner recipe. I used to make this years ago but was recently reminded of it. It's easy to put together and tastes great.  A winning combination!

Ingredients:

• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 can of cheddar cheese soup
• 2 cups of rice (minute rice, long grain, or brown rice)
• 1 cup of water
• 4-6 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 packet of onion soup seasoning OR dry ranch dressing packet  *the onion soup has a strong onion flavor while the ranch dressing flavor is very mild 

Instructions:

Mix together the soups, rice, and water.
*As you can see from the picture, I used a mixture of brown and white rice because that's all I had.  It turned out just fine.

Pour mixture into greased 9x13 baking dish

Place chicken breasts on top of the soup mixture.

Sprinkle seasoning packet over chicken breasts.

Bake at 350 for an hour to hour and a half.  It is finished when the edges of the rice are brown and crispy looking and the chicken is fully cooked.

I tried my darndest to get a good picture of this dish.  It pretty much always ended up looking like this: chicken with seasoning and rice.  You get the idea.

Feel free to share any variations to this recipe you might have in the comment section.  I would love to see them!

Tray Transformation with Homemade Chalk Paint

We have an upholstered ottoman in our great room that serves as a coffee table as well.  That means we need to have a tray or solid surface to be able to put our drinks or snacks on the ottoman.  About a year ago, my mother in law gave me this wood tray.  It needed a little work.  I finally got around to giving it a mini makeover.

Recently, I have been reading all about chalk paint for furniture.   Since I had some black brown paint left over from the butcher block island, I decided to try out a DIY recipe for chalk paint and paint the tray.

For those of you unfamiliar with chalk paint, it is pretty much the same as chalkboard paint.  The flat finish allows the furniture to be painted with no prep work required (no sanding or priming).  A wax coat is applied when finished to give the color depth as well as provide a protectant for the surface. That means it won't look like a chalkboard. The wax provides a slight sheen as well. You won't want to draw on it after that!

A small makeover for the tray:

If you would like to try chalk paint for yourself, here are the materials I used:

• plaster of paris
• latex paint
• empty container for mixing
• paint stirrer
• Minwax finishing paste wax
• soft cotton cloth 
• paintbrush
• sandpaper

There are many, many homemade recipes for chalk paint.  After a lot of research, I decided to go with this one:

• 3 parts paint
• 1 part plaster of paris
• water

How much water you will add will depend on the consistency of your paint. I started with just a tablespoon of water and kept stirring my mixture and adding water until the consistency was that of cake batter. 

I painted two coats.  The first coat left the surface a little bumpy with a lot of brush stroke lines. 

The second coat smoothed everything out.

Then, I sanded the edges to give it that weathered look. The wood showing through underneath gave it a nice contrast.

Finally, I applied two coats of wax by following the directions on the Minwax can.

Serve up the snacks!

I would like to use chalk paint on a bigger scale project next.  This was a test project.  It passed the test!

The most appealing aspect for me was that no prep work was required.  This small scale project was a great place to start and try out the chalk paint.  Plus, now I know I don't need to spend a ton of money on Annie Sloan chalk paint.  I can mix my own colors!

If you would like more information on chalk paint, this is an interesting comparison of different recipes versus the professional product.

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,   Sun.: I Heart Naptime,

Burgundy Mushroom Sauce

I am not a huge red meat eater, but I will agree to eat steak every night of the week if it means I can make these mushrooms.  They are the best things EVER!!

Have you ever heard of the Pioneer Woman?  While perusing Pinterest, I found this recipe of hers.  I feel akin to her since my guy is definitely a meat and potatoes kind of man.  Apparently she has another version of burgundy mushrooms that take 8 hrs to make that are supposed to be to die for. However, this is a burgundy mushroom sauce.  It is super quick. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 stick of butter
• 3 chopped green onions
• 3 finely chopped cloves of garlic
• chopped mushrooms (I have tried several kinds and never been disappointed.  You pick the variety.)
• 1 1/2 cups of red wine (again, variety at your discretion)

Melt your butter in a hot pan

Add green onions and garlic and brown

Throw in the mushrooms.  Stir until a golden brown.

Add wine. 

Stir and simmer until liquid is reduced by half.  Then they will look kind of like this:

Continue to simmer while your steak is cooking.  It won't hurt!

 Pioneer Woman suggests adding parsley, but I'm not a big fan of parsley.  Your choice.

Serve over steak and potatoes.  The rich flavors meld together, and the juices combine to equal a delicious treat for your taste buds.  You would pay at least $30 for a steak dinner like this at a restaurant! YUMMY!

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,   Sun.: I Heart Naptime,

I want to be a Cowgirl, baby!

While walking through JC Penney a couple weeks ago, a sales associate stopped me to ask if I needed a plain white shirt for the little one.  She was marking all of them down to $1.  It was meant to be.  I actually had been in search of a plain white dress shirt. I didn't want to pay the high price for a western wear shirt.  I needed one that I could embellish to become a cowgirl shirt for HALLOWEEN!

Every time I say, "Halloween," my little one says, "yee-haw."  We have been practicing cowgirl speak. I know she's mine, but it's quite adorable.

Anyway, here is the sample of the transformation of the shirt:

And here it is paired with the $3 skirt I scored at Old Navy:

The added fabric at the bottom helps the outfit look more cohesive. Keep scrolling to see the boots and the hat too. 

Want to know how I did it?  Giddy-up! Let's go!

First, I gathered my materials.  Along with the red and white fabric (3/8 of a yard), I purchased trim and snaps.

After pinning the red piping to the collar, I topstitched the trim to the collar.

Next, I used craft paper to create a template for the shape of the upper portion of the shirt.  Then, I used the template and traced around it on the checkered fabric.  I left a 1/2" around the edge.

I pinned the piping to the bottom edge of the fabric and sewed it on. Once it was attached, I flipped it under and pressed the raw edges to the back side.

After that, I placed the red and white fabric on the white shirt and folded the raw fabric edges under and pinned (this is why I left 1/2" when cutting the template).  I used the iron to help me smooth the fabric and crease the edges so they would stay folded under.  The buttons had to be removed on the one side for the fabric to lay flat.

Finally, I topstitched the fabric around all the edges.  I went very slowly and carefully.

I repeated the process by flipping the template over to cut out the other side to complete the shirt.  

I replaced the buttons with pearl snaps using the spool method. The pearl snaps covered the button holes perfectly.

Now my little one has an authentic cowgirl shirt. I also decided to add fabric and snaps to the sleeve cuffs. Paired with jeans, this shirt would be adorable any time of year! Even though I made this in toddler size, the same process could be applied to any size of shirt. 

To complete the outfit, we borrowed the boots from a friend. She loves to watch her feet while she knocks the heavy heels on the floor. The girl never stops moving.

 And we already owned the hat. Here she is practicing her pink piano. She better not be thinking of performing in any saloon!

Have you ever tried to get pictures of a toddler?  This is pretty much what I felt like doing too once she decided we were done.

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  A Bowl Full of Lemons,   Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:   Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday: Blissful and Domestic,  Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,   Sun.: I Heart Naptime,