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Sunday, March 21, 2010

T~Shirt Sleeve Ties Tutorial

You and your child will love wearing these to any function!
Wear at playtime, game time or any time wear!


Step #1 ~ Gather up your materials

What you will need...

(2) - 4 1/2" x 2" of some adorable fabric
(2) - 4" x 1" Felt (color doesn't really matter for these, just not too dark)
(2) - 3/8" x 12" Ribbon
(2) 3/8" x 3 1/2" Ribbon for Trimming

Sorry the trim ribbon is not in this picture.
Note: You don't need to add the felt, but it helps and is nice.


Step #2 ~ Fabric Tubes

Start by taking your first piece of fabric and fold in half (wrong side out)

Place 1 felt piece on top of your folded fabric (again, you are placing this on the wrong side out)

Sew a running stitch along the edge making a tube. Trim excess fabric and turn inside out. (right side out)


Step # 3 ~ Adding Ribbons

Now take your 3/8" x 12" long ribbon and tuck into ends of your fabric tubes. (using a straight stitch, sew to secure into place)

Do this to both ends of each fabric tube.

Next, take your trim ribbon and either sew them or glue them to each end, covering up your thread from the straight stitch.

If you find using a sewing machine tricky, like I do at times, you can just hand stitch this whole project.


Step #4 ~ finished tie backs

And you are done! Ready to wear! Dress up any shirt with these cute tie backs.


Of course these can be made in many different fabric prints and colors. And as I mentioned earlier, you don't have to use the felt, but I like to because it gives it a soft, non flimsy feel. Without them the fabric just bunches right up and you don't get to fully enjoy the beautiful fabric you use because you just can't see it.

Another way to make these...

If you don't care for ribbons and bows, or if it is a distraction to your little one, you can make them without ribbon.  Just add length to the fabric and felt piece. For example: cut your fabric at 5 1/2" x 2" and your felt at 5" x 1". Then add some velcro to the finished fabric so you can just fold them over and secure them into place. This would be good for little ones who like to untie things. They are also good for sports teams. The ribbon doesn't get in the way as they play.

Uses: Tie Back T-Shirt Sleeves on hot days or just to dress up a shirt, use as pony tail covers (when using velcro style) and even wear them as cute bracelets. Make them larger for mommy's writs and have a matching set! ***For bracelets, if the velcro is uncomfortable, just use snaps.

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Saturday, March 20, 2010

Easy Bake Oven Review


The beloved EASY-BAKE Oven & Snack Center is back in its original aqua color. The classic side-loading oven that bakes with a light bulb returns to let bakers-in-the-making whip up tasty snacks for friends and family, including cakes, brownies, cookies, and much more. The oven comes with three different mixes, two baking pans, two utensils, a pan pusher, two warming cups and recipes/instructions. One 100-watt standard light bulb is required but not included. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

HASBRO/Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $29.99


I received the Easy-Bake Oven & Snack Center for my girls from Hasbro. I love that they went back to the original Aqua color. Very fresh looking. This is such a fun way for girls to bake up a sweet and tasty treat. I have been baking a lot of cookies and cupcakes for birthdays and this oven came in handy. While I was baking, my 3 girls made some little cakes in their Easy-Bake oven. Aprons on and everything. They even cooked daddy a cute little birthday cake with their oven. I was so proud of them. I love having this for my girls. I remember how fun it was baking along with my mom. Thank you Hasbro.

Things that I love....
Fun Fact – Check out this years Easy-Bake Baker of the Year

Isn’t she just so excited! I love it and just had to share. Maybe next year your daughter could win!
The featured product {s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. Disclaimer/Terms of use.

!!! Just for the fun of it !!!
~ Easy Bake Ovens Over the Years ~
I know there are more out there, but I thought these were cute!


Kenner Easy Bake Oven from 1964

Kenner Easy Bake Oven Image
Kenner Easy Bake Oven from 1971

Coleco Micro Range Oven Image
Coleco Micro Range Oven from 1978

Holly Hobby Oven Image
Holly Hobby Oven from 1978

Betty Crocker Easy Bake Oven Image
Betty Crocker Easy Bake Oven from 1983

Easy Bake oven from 2005

Photos courtesy of Google Images ~ Thank you!
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Rainbow cupcakes

My kids and I had a fun time making
some rainbow cupcakes for St. Patty's Day.
I know I always seem to be a day late
and a dollar short when it comes to the holiday posts!
Sorry.
But these are pretty cute and really could be used anytime.
What a fun birthday cupcake this would make.
A special little surprise when they bite into it!

The cupcake was very easy to make,
and just a little bit messy!

What you need:
White cake mix
Food colors
Frosting

Just make the cake mix according to the directions on the box.
Then split the mix into 5 bowls
Add food coloring to each bowl to make
red (9 drops)
orange (4 red, 4 yellow)
yellow (7 drops)
green (7 drops)
blue (8 drops)
Then drop a spoonful of each color into a cupcake liner
(I like to spray my liners just a bit for easy removal)
Start with blue, then add green, yellow, orange and red.
I spread the colors out a bit so that they would reach the sides
but you don't really have to.
I love how you can see the color through the wrapper!Then I took my white whipped frosting and added
lots of yellow food coloring and one drop of red
to try and make "gold" frosting.
Close enough!Beautiful and delicious!Would love to see your version if you try these out!
The idea came from Family Fun!
My kids really liked them!!!Jamie's Signature #2
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Friday, March 19, 2010

Alice in Wonderland Movie Review





We took the kids to see the new 
"Alice in Wonderland" movie.



We all loved it. At first I was a little worried it might be too old for the kids. Worried it might scare them a little, but NO WAY. They loved it. Definitely a film to take the family to.


 I loved the new story line! I felt sorry for Alice in the beginning for being at such a drab engagement party. LOL But so excited for her throughout the movie because of how the story played out. Very empowering in the end for Alice. Love that! 


The characters were so interesting. Just look at these photos and you will fall in love with them. Each one had a unique characteristic about them. Very quirky and cute too! I loved the costumes, makeup and little funnies throughout the movie. So many laughs and giggles. 


The only negative thing I would say is the movie was a little dark. But that could have been our theatre. So not sure. If you saw this movie, What did you think?


I can't give away too much of the story because I don't want to ruin it for you. So I will leave it at that. 


Hee! Hee! Go See it!







I recommend this movie for sure. And I am going to add it to my movie collection. You should too! And don't forget to come back and share what you thought of the movie. Would love to hear your thoughts.



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Thursday, March 18, 2010

♥ On a Personal Note ♥

Dreams do come true!!!


Would you believe that my hubby found this on Craigslist? Yep. We have been looking for a boat for sometime. Now, I would love to get a beautiful new Party Boat. Wouldn't we all! But FREE is good. It even has a little cabin in front where the kids can ride, okay PLAY. LOL

The kids were off to school and my hubby decided to go get this to surprise them. We have been dragging them all over the place looking at boats. I mean like day drives to make a deal that never panned out. So when they saw Daddy drive in with this, they were so excited. They ran straight out there and explored.  So adorable. Oh and sorry about my sons eyes being closed. Don't know what happened there. LOL The kids are also in their play clothes. One of the nice days outside. I think it hit low 70's that day. Much nicer than the cloudy, cold days we had been having.

So anyway, there was one catch with this boat. NO trailer. Good thing hubby is a contractor. He took his big truck and trailer to pick this up. Plus he is great at building things. So he has a job to get this beauty on a trailer and in shape before summer hits. We plan on camping in Tahoe this year. How fun would it be to watch all the jet boat owners smirk and giggle as we dock this boat. 

I told Hubby that I need to add a few things to the back of the boat. Just for giggles.

"Don't Laugh. At Least We Have a Boat"


Oh and did I mention the guy we bought it from was an older military guy who loves to document things. He took over 100 photos of Hubby during the whole process. So funny. He had them on disc before Keith could even leave the driveway. I just have to show you a couple of them.

~ He had to be creative with loading it ~


~ Isn't this funny. He snuck in a few of these ~
Very neat guy. He even sent home Gold Coins for the kids. How Sweet.


~ Almost Done ~




~ And he even took some shots of the truck and Keith driving away. He said he would email them over.  Funny. I can't wait to see them. ~

So, any names for the boat? Would love to hear them. Gilligan Maybe? Ha!

K, well I just wanted to share that with you all. Hope you have a fun day!


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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Princess Room Decor

I saw the cutest thing for a little girls room. 
I would love to properly tell you where I saw this, so please, if this was your idea, let me know so I can share your link and blog. I loved your idea so much, I just had to make one for my daughters birthday. I searched for the blog I saw it on with no luck. So if you see this let me know or if any of you wonderful bloggers recognize this, then please share the details. LOL


Update: Found the Blog(s). Two of them. Yeah! Thank you so much Shannon for sharing the links with me. I am so glad I can now tell everyone where I found this idea. Yeah.
One Crafty Mommy
Shannon @ One Crafty Mommy is where I saw this beautiful project. Make sure you check out hers too!
Making
And she got her inspiration from Tiffany @ Making the World Cuter. So go see the original. It is a must. She has a BOYS one and a Family Rules One. Cool!

Click on the picture to zoom in


So for mine, I added a few more lines because my board was too big and I wanted a few personal touches.

What you will need....

  • Wood - mine is 12 x 24
  • Scrap book paper in various colors (strips)
  • Mod Podge
  • Paint Pen (I used Black)
  • E-6000
  • Picture Hanger


First I cut scrapbook paper into strips. (12" x 2") Tore the edges to give it a different look. Then glued them with mod podge. 

Then after letting the glue dry completely. (at least 2 hrs.) I started adding my text and embellishments. I was going to use different colors but was happy with the colors of the scrap book paper. I wanted it to pop, so using just the black paint pens made it look just how I wanted. 

I used E-6000 to glue on a Picture Hanger (on the back) and it was ready to hang.

We love how it turned out!
My princess at her party!

This would also make a wonderful gift for any lil girl. I am making one for lil boys too. I will have to post that soon too!

~ The Words We Used ~
and thanks again "mystery blogger" for you great inspiration and borrowed words!

A Real Princess
Shares her toys
Says Please and Thank You
Smiles A Lot
Plays sweetly with her sisters
Keeps her room tidy
Takes good care of her animals
Is quick to say she's Sorry
Has very good manners 
Thinks her big brother is cool
Is Kind & Loving
Loves to Learn new things
Makes lifelong friends
Eats her vegetables
Kisses Momma & Daddy daily
Sees the good in everything
Lives Here

Reader Photos ~ Thank You for Sharing

Don't you just love her name. LOL I love her take on this project. So, cute!
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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sticker Book Tutorial ~ Part 1


Remember Sticker Books? 
Yeah, the one above is mine. Isn't it cute? I think so. 
Do any of you have or had this one?

This cute lil sticker book stored all my precious stickers. I recently pulled out my keepsake chest to show the kids things from when I was a kid. Pictures, drawings, stories, and the most popular was my sticker book. I found so many stickers I forgot I had. It was so fun. So the kids wanted their own sticker books. The one in the tutorial is the first. I couldn't find what I wanted but soon improvised and got this. Although it is still a work in progress, I think it is turning out pretty darn cute. What do you think?

What you will need....
  • 8 x 10 photo album with photo pages that slip in. No the pull back sticky kind
  • Letter Stickers ~ these are  American Girl chipboard letters with sticky backs
  • Scrap book paper with pictures for embellishing
  • Scrap book paper for other embellishing
  • Paint pens
  • Glue (Either Deco glue or E6000 depends on the type of album you get)
  • Sponge for spreading out the glue
  • Clean work surface but one that you can get dirty. LOL
... Here is what you will do ...

After you gather all your supplies and are ready to start... 


Cut out shapes from the scrap book papers and begin laying out all of your letters and pictures on your book. Make sure everything is straight, even, level with what you are wanting before you glue them on. Don't forget to use your paint pens to add words and fun lines to your book. I wrote out Sticker book with my paint pens. I will probably add more fun squiggly lines too. Just be creative.


Next, remove the paper from the back of your letters (if they are stickers) and apply them to the book. Then begin gluing on your scrap book paper cut outs. I used homemade deco glue.

Home Made Deco Glue

1 cup glue + 1 cup Water = Deco Glue 

Make sure to stir well. Add glue or water according to texture. Using different glues sometimes makes a difference. I get my gallon of glue at the home improvement stores.

I also used E-6000 for securing the paper images first (you know, trial and error). My photo book is a shiny plastic material and the Deco Glue was not enough to hold. The E-6000 was perfect for securing them to the book. Then I went over the top of the pictures with the Deco Glue. This way they will have a protective seal over the paper.


I will be back next week with Part 2 of this project. I just had to share what we have done so far. They are loving it. And maybe I will share some of my stickers with you in my next post too. You will either laugh at me or with me. LOL See you again tomorrow for Marketing Mondays.

Have a Craftastic Day!

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