For my star!

While I process my other photos, here's our most recent fun to tide us over.

 

Earlier this week, he wanted frosting on one again. That day we'd cut a heart. After his first bite off of it, he said, "Hey, it looks like pants now!" I was thinking it looked a bit too much like what the pants cover, but I love the innocence just the same!

Have you made anything fun today?

The computer is back...

...but the programs aren't reinstalled yet. =) So, I have all sorts of posts being saved up to publish, just as soon as I can process the pictures. (Yeah for Lightroom!)

A preview of things to come:
Science experiment
Paper project
Vinyl project
and always some more crocheted projects!

I'm so glad to be married to a man that knows about computers--I'd be lost without him!

New posts coming

I'm still here! Sorry there aren't new posts yet. I'd like to post about some projects, but I don't have any pictures! What's a post without pictures? Boring like this! It's all for the greater good. Our computer is recovering after some surgery/transplants/face lift/whip-it-back-into-working-for-us, and my pictures are waiting patiently on the camera in the meantime.

Come back soon! The doctor (aka: Handy Computer Guy Hubby) predicts a speedy recovery.

Newest Vinyl Project - Letters

Here is the "in-process" photo of our most recent project.

I'm so excited!!!

I'll update when it's complete!

Coffee Cup Collars

I've been wanting to make these for a while, and I finally got around to it this weekend.

They're reusable Coffee Cup Collars for your To-Go coffee cups!

I love that the warm yarn keeps your cup a little more insulated, keeps your fingers from getting burned, and they're terribly cute.

We'll be selling them in our ArtFire Store in sets of two. They'd make great Christmas or birthday presents for the coffee or tea lovers around you.

Custom designs or color requests are available!

Jewel Afghan - Work in Progress

This yarn was given to me years ago, and I'm finally getting around to using it. One reason is that I hope to be able to use any leftovers to keep adding to my Ugly Blanket. That reminds me, I'll have to post an update on that soon, too!

Dear, sweet, loving, adorable hubby picked out this pattern. I love him dearly (since he's so dear, sweet, loving, adorable and all), but this is not the easiest pattern here! Actually, let me rephrase: it is a very easy pattern as far as stitches--a lot of chains with a few sc and dc thrown in--the problem is that the repetition of the pattern is about 7 or 8 rows. So as far as the beginning and ending of each row, it's not the type of pattern that becomes a very mindless repetition after a few rows. I have to pull out my book and follow it every time I start or end a row.

Don't get me wrong, I like the way it is turning out so far. It's kind of a dated color of yarn, so I wanted the pattern to make it look less dated. Hubby insists he still likes it, so I'll keep going! Updated posts will follow.

Gingerbread Man Haircut

We're back with more goofy cuts!

Another favorite way to have a fun sandwich is to use cookie cutters. Today, I decided to use our Gingerbread Man. For added fun, he needed a haircut.

Add a little crazy frosting, and there you go!

Ah, film...

There is a delightful conversation going on at our house right now:

Daddy is explaining to our little guy about cameras and film and developing.

 
What makes it even more fun is that the camera is probably from the 60s,

 so the technology of it is even more different than we grew up knowing about film cameras.

"Want to take Mama's picture?"

"Can I see the picture now?"

"No, remember what I said about film and developing? It takes a long time. ...and we don't have any film."

Black Bean and Vegetable Soup Recipe

It doesn't look like much yet, but it smells *really* good! It's still cooking...

Here's my inspiration.

My adaptation:
Ingredients
2-3 T. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 med. yellow onion, diced
1/2 bag baby carrots or 3-4 large carrots, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1-2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
2 cans water
black pepper

Warm olive oil in large pan or stock pot; add garlic and onion. Add carrots and celery; allow to cook for a couple minutes. Stir in chicken bouillon, black beans, tomatoes, and water; sprinkle on pepper. Bring to a rolling boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for as long as possible.

Our time is starting to run short today, so we'll see if we're able to have it for lunch or not. If it doesn't work out, I'm going to put it in the Crock Pot before church tomorrow or warm it up for Monday's supper. It will be a great and warm dish for a rainy day like today!

I'll report back if I have any changes to the recipe after we taste it.

Fleece Find

Here's my exciting find of the day:

2 yds of fleece, $3!! It's too bad our house is currently mid-project with a lot of rearranging going on. I can't wait to make a couple little blankets!

Hat Fail

When I started this project, it didn't even cross my mind that I might not have enough yarn.

Clearly, I didn't have enough yarn. It didn't end as well as the last one.

Keep in mind that this is what I was going for.

Also, I'm not cool enough yet to have one of those Styrofoam heads. Orange Balloon will just have to fill in. Ha!

Anyone have any brilliant suggestions for me to salvage this project? This yarn is years old, so there wasn't anything remotely similar at the store. Will I just need to pull it all out? Will I have to do the brim in another color? Should I try for a stripe look for the brim? I'll take any suggestions and see what I can make for a solution.

Floppy Hat

Here it is! My denim yarn has turned into a denim Floppy Sun Hat!

Thanks for the pattern, Michelle!

What I would do differently next time:
I think I may have done the brim just a little too tightly. I used Size G hook for the brim, but I was pulling it really, really, really tight. I ended up having to do several extra rows, and it was pretty difficult to get the hook in the loops sometimes. But, I'm still happy with the end result!

Come back in a day or two to see "the one that got away..."

CrockPot Brat/Sausage with Ginger Ale Recipe

We love using the CrockPot around here.

This is a favorite recipe of ours. If you're a crazy one that doesn't like brats (sorry, Moe, I couldn't resist it! =) ), then you can use Polish Sausage or anything similar in this recipe. I have not tried it with Italian Sausage, but it might work.

Ingredients:
4-6 sausage links (We've used venison brats, and they are usually frozen when I put them in.)
1 can Ginger Ale (12 oz.)
1 med. onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
2 T. packed brown sugar
2 T. red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Throw (or "gently place" depending on how daring you are that day) everything into the CrockPot. Cover; cook on low for 4-5 hours.

This is what it looks like at the beginning:

This is what it looks like afterward:






Oh wait, we were too hungry, and I forgot! Well, just imagine a bun, brat, cooked onions, and a little spicy brown mustard. Yum!

Edit: We got one!

With a touch of freshly made Pico de Gallo. Oh. My. Yum.

Can't wait to use this yarn!

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!!

I can't wait to show you how it turns out. (Let's hope it works...)

Goofy Cuts

Every day at lunchtime, I hear, "Mama, may I please have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?" (Yes, it really is phrased just like that, because he knows that if he doesn't ask nicely, the answer will definitely be "No.") Man, can they turn on the charm when it means the answer might be yes! Even at 9:30 in the morning, "Mama, may I please have a jelly bean?" Wow. Thanks for asking nicely, but the answer is still no.

I digress.

Back to PB&J. For what seemed like forever, the question was followed with, "Can you cut it corner-corner?" Oh, did I ever LOVE that!! --especially before everything was enunciated so specifically and it came out more "core-core."

Somewhere along the line, he started asking for "goofy cuts." That basically means that you stick the knife in the sandwich and start cutting every which direction. Every once in a while, I do my best to outsmart him (please, no comments) and make the sandwich or the "goofy cuts" even before he gets in the room. It's SO delightful to see his face split into a huge grin, "Awww! You did goofy cuts!" Huh! It's like I've done this before or something! Mama can learn almost as quickly as kiddos, right?

In honor of fall and the much anticipated trip to the Pumpkin Farm, here's what we came up with yesterday:

So, what's YOUR favorite way to make/eat/cut your sandwich?
Straight down the middle?
One diagonal cut?
Four squares? Four triangles?
You'd like a Dagwood instead?