Sunday, February 23, 2014

3-2-1 Cake

I love the idea of mug cakes.  It's the perfect sweet treat for yourself without having to eat the same dessert for an entire month.  They and fast, easy, and mostly delicious.

Check out this link for some amazing recipes! The nutella is my favorite.

Of course, this can't be the perfect.  These mug recipes are faster than making a real cake, but sometimes I feel like by the time you get all of the ingredients out to make this, you may as well make the entire cake.  Never fear.  There is a solution!

Presenting the no hassel, super easy peazy, delicious 3-2-1 cake!

This is what you need:
-1 box of angel food cake mix
-1 box of any other kind of cake mix (I used red velvet)
-water

 Combine your two cake mixes together and store in an air tight container. It's ready for you to use whenever you're craving something sweet (which is literally ALL the time for me).



Find your fave mug and put 3 tablespoons of your mixture into it.
Add 2 tablespoons of water.  Stir
Place in the microwave for 1 minute. (See where the '3-2-1' comes from?)
Eat your heart out. It's especially good with caramel, chocolate, and/or ice cream!























Literally the easiest thing ever, right?
I got this recipes from one of the teachers in the schools that I'm working in now.  Genius.
I brought it home and made it for my Dad and sister, Jill.  They would not believe that it was going to work until they tried it, and of course they LOVED it.  Dad asked me for the recipe about 6 times that day (which is amazing in itself since my dad probably couldn't even tell you which container holds the flour in our kitchen).

Thanks for reading!

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Baby Crafting Fever

You know how most people get baby fever?  I, on the other hand, have baby crafting fever.  There are just too many adorable sewing projects out there for babies.  I have a whole list of baby crafts I want to make.  I just need more of my friends to start having babies!! (Come on people.  Is that really too much to ask?)

Stacey is going to her godson's baptism this Saturday.  She wanted to get him something with Winnie the Pooh because that's what his parents decorated the nursery in.  We found a few patterns for the hooded towels for babies and decided to make on that looked like Pooh! I think it turned out pretty well!


I used this tutorial as my base pattern.  There are a ton of different ideas on this site!   I looked at about 100 pictures of Pooh to figure out how to make the face, but it was actually pretty easy.  Can't wait to see how cut this little looks in his towel.

I am totally loving this one.  Anything with Olaf and Frozen makes me smile :)
Be prepared for more baby crafts coming up!

Thanks for reading.


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

DIY: Overlay Lace Sweater



"NICE SWWWEATUURR!"
This is what my sister Kara always says when she likes your sweater.  It's kind of a family saying by now.

I have been in love with the lace overlay over-sized sweatshirts that everyone has been wearing this year.  I knew this would be easy to make once I got my hands on the right materials.  I have been dying to wear something other than the winter colors.  When I found this pink/coral sweater, I knew it was perfect :)

All you need to make this is:
-one slouchy comfy sweater (Mine is from Old Navy.)
-a yard of lace (mine is from JoAnn's)
-matching thread

Really, you don't need a tutorial for this.  All you do is cut out the lace to match the size of your sweater and sew it on.

Here are some tips along the way.

1. Use a paper bag to make a rough pattern for your lace.




2.  Use the pattern to cut out your lace.  I cut mine out bigger than the pattern just to make sure I had enough.

3. Now go around the seams of the sweater and cut away the extra lace.  Pin the edges of the lace to the seams on the sweater.  Also pin the middle of the lace down to the sweater too so it doesn't shift.  Don't be afraid to use tons of pins here, especially around the outside edges.



Keep snipping and pinning.  Pretty soon it will look like this:



4.  Time to sew it on!
Before you sew the outside edges, I recommend that you sew the lace down in a few places on the front of the sweater.  Not only will it keep it from moving while you are sewing the edges, it will help keep the lace from bunching away from the sweater when you are wearing it.  I chose about 20 random places on the sweater to make a few stitches between the lace and the sweater.  You won't even see these stitches.

Now use a zig zag stitch to sew the edges of the lace to the fabric.
Start by sewing the top down first.  Sew down one side and then the other.  Sew the bottom down last.  This will keep the lace even while you sew.

And tada! You're done!




Not only is it super comfy, but it's a great layering piece too! 


Happy crafting!