Just wanted to share a Craft, A Simple Sewing Project and our Christmas Tree!

 

This is the dragon hoodie I made for my grandson for Christmas. His mom said he loved it! I’ll post a picture of him in it soon!

This was really easy to make with a hoodie I purchased at Walmart and white felt for the teeth and eyes.

This is one of my flour bag gift bags I made. I just added a little wrapping paper trim at the top and ribbon handles. I saved all my flour and sugar bags to make all different size gift bags, because, all my friends and family know that I love to bake!

This is our tree this year. My sweet hubby cut a piece of plywood and painted it, then mounted a little train track on it!

I love that it is an electric train!

Next year we’re going to add another track and train!

I Have A Big Girl Camera!

Last Thursday was our 30 Wedding Anniversary and my sweet husband surprised me! He kidnapped me for the evening! Yup, he said he was just taking me out to dinner, but after dinner he headed South instead of North. I was pretty tired from the hike I'd been on earlier that day, so he suggested I just take a little nap. Well, I'm really good at sleeping in a vehicle, so I went right to sleep. When I woke up we were just nearing Manti, Utah. Yup, that's wear we got married. He was such a sweetie to take me there. Of course by then it was getting really late (it's 3 hrs away) so we stayed at a motel. My sweetie even packed an overnight bag for me.

My present from my sweet hubby was a big girl camera! If you don't follow Pioneer Woman, that's what she calls a camera with a lens and a neck strap. So, now I need to learn how to use this baby! Good thing I have a 14yr old son who's already figured a lot of it out!

I knew right away that I needed to make a strap cover for my camera, so I did a little looking around to see what I wanted to make. I came up with this French Block print with a hand pleated and twisted red ruffle. On the right side of the strap I made a little pocket to hold the lens cover. I'm pretty happy with it!

Checkered Dress Redo~What should we do?

Sloan and I found this dress at a garage sale a while back and I thought it had potential!

So, I shortened it, shortened the sleeves, took off the pocket and changed the buttons. Sloan thinks there is to much black and white going on. Now she wants me to make a skirt out of it. She wants to know what my blog friends think? Can we make this work for a cute school outfit?

Tote Bag Made Out Of A Drop Cloth!

Linking with Tickled Pink No. 504 Main Fridays!

I'm linking with Bobby Pins Boardwalk for the Boardwalk Bragfest!

I'm linking up with The T~Shirt Diaries for Upcycled Awesome, be sure and check out the other projects!

I'm joining Kara's link party over at Creations By Kara for Look What I Made!
I'm also linking up with My Life With Rats and More for Wobble Over Wednesday! Be sure and join us and meet some new friends!

I'm linking up with Tea Rose Home's Link Party! Here's my latest project~

I made this tote bag and small zippered pouch the other day. It's made out of a drop cloth and the rosettes are made out of the hem that I cut off the edges of the drop cloth. I've been making pillows out of drop clothes with similar pattern and I thought it would make a fun tote bag!

I lined both of the bags with muslin and the tote bag has two inside pockets. I want to make a few more, so I was wondering if anyone is interested in a tutorial?

Metamorphosis Monday, Sock Monkey and Italian Meatball Pasta Bake

I'm hooking up with Tea Rose Home Link Party so be sure and check out everyone's projects!



Today I'm linking up with Between Naps On The Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.




The fabric on the left is the fabric I bought at our local second hand store, D.I. The other fabric I found at Walmart.

These little skirts are what Jennie and I made out of the fabric.




I love the girls in these skirts!

Now for some more Sock Monkey Adventures, and The Sock Monkey Giveaway!


Jennie and the kids and I took Sock Monkey shopping the other day. This is Camden and there are lots of really fun little shops!

Sock Monkey got an easy ride in my purse! Notice my little helpers pushing the stroller!

Time for a water break! Sock Monkey doesn't even mind that it says dog water!


Time for lunch at Cappy's Chowder House! Sock Monkey and I ordered crab cakes!


Jillian dined in her stroller and Sock Monkey was there for her when she needed a little love!

~THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED~

Ok, now for the giveaway! Sabrina from Riyah~la Designs is offering one of my readers a sock monkey designed just for them! Sabrina hand sews these little guys and they are so nice and soft!

I had so much fun with this little guy! And so did Jillian my granddaughter. I ended up leaving him in Maine because Jillian fell in love with him and she named him Wow Wow! That's what she says when she sees him.

So, I know you'll love one of Sabrina's sock monkeys if you win!

So here's the rules for the Sock Monkey Giveaway~

This rule is mandatory! Go to Riyah~li Designs and pick out something else that you really like,
then come back here and tell me what you like in a comment.

Extra entries~

Follow my blog, if you already do or are just now following, just tell me in a comment.

Make Riyah~li Designs Etsy Shop a favorite, let me know you did it in a comment

Like me on Facebook (top left column of my blog), let me know you did it in a comment.

Like Riyah~Li Designs on Facebook, let me know you did it in a comment.

Follow me via Networked blogs (top right hand column of my blog), let me know you did it in a comment.

This giveaway is open until Friday, May 28 at 6pm. Open to anyone in the U.S.





I wanted to make something with pasta for Jennie's birthday last week and she helped me come up with this yummy Italian style pasta. Jennie buys her herbs from World Spice, they are dried but fresher than what you get at the store so you might want to cut back the amounts of the spices and add more after the sauce is made. Herbs tend to lose their potency if they've sat on a shelf too long. You could also add browned hamburger instead of meatballs or just leave them out.

Italian Meatball Pasta Bake

3 cups dry penne pasta
1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/4 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp dry thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
8oz tomato sauce
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
2 lb bag frozen meatballs

Cook pasta in salted water until just barely done. Don't overcook. Set aside.

Cook meatballs in the oven following package directions.

Melt butter in a saucepan and saute the garlic. Whisk in the flour, cook for a minute then the milk. Whisk and boil for at least 1 minute. Add spices. Stir in the tomato sauce. Add the egg to the noodles and toss it around till it coats all the noodles. Stir in the sauce, meat balls and mozzarella cheese.

Pour into a greased 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. In a small bowl mix the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the pasta. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes to crisp up the bread crumbs.

Homemade Bracelets out of Shoelaces and Pepperoni Pizza!

I'm hooking up with My Frugal Family for Talented Tuesday! Be sure and check out all the other projects!


I found this great tutorial on Obsessively Stitching a while back for these super cute, super easy bracelets! They're made out of shoe laces from Dollar Tree! Yup, $1 made 5 bracelets! I made them for Sloan, and she gave one to a friend and I still have the other shoe lace left to make more! You just need a little bit of elastic and some rhinestones. I couldn't find the rhinestones at the Dollar Tree the day I was there, but they did have silver metallic puffy paint in a package with some other colors, so I just bought that. It gives it some sparkle and it's easy. I just put it on the shoe lace the night before and let it dry overnight.


Pepperoni Pizza Crust

1 cup hot, but not super hot, water
1 tablespoon yeast
2-3 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Toppings

1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 package pepperoni, we like the Kroger brand
3-4 cups mozzarella cheese

For crust

In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, place the hot water. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of flour and the salt and mix, adding more flour to make a soft dough that just pulls away from the sides of the mixer. Knead for 5 minutes. Put in a greased bowl and cover with a towel and let sit for about 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 425 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with Pam. Work dough out onto cookie sheet with your hands.

Mix the tomato sauce with the seasonings and spread half of it onto the pizza dough, cover with pepperoni and cheese. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until it starts to brown.

A Winner! Metamorphosis Monday and Tomato Salad

I wanted to announce the winner of the 500 Business Cards from U Printing!

The winner is~

Michelle Someday Crafts said...

I would really like some business cards for my blog!!!! I just became a follower!

Congratulations Michelle! Contact me so I can get your information to the sponsor. Thank you everyone for following me and making this giveaway fun. I really enjoy reading everyone's comments!

It's Monday, so I thought I'd share another project from my living room makeover. Be sure and stop by Between Naps On The Porch for lots of other projects.

This is my living room couch before. Kind of boring and blah.


Here it is with the new pillows I made. I'm really enjoying how they turned out. I cut my own stencil out of freezer paper, then I just pressed it onto the pieces of drop clothes that I used for the crown pillows. I was able to re-use the crown stencil a second time. I couldn't find my exacto knife and I had to use a box cutter!


For the pillow with the French Block and burgundy fabric, I took apart one of my old burgundy pillow and re-used the fabric. The largest pillow is made from a drop cloth and the gathered inset is made from some extra fabric I had. I also re-cycled the stuffing from my old pillows. Chauncey and Sloan loved pulling the batting into nice small pieces. That makes the pillows nice and fluffy!


My sister and law brought over several containers of cherry tomatoes and I knew I wanted to make a tomato salad with them and I knew just what kind of dressing to put on it. Hmm, this salad turned out so yummy and makes me think of summer!

Tomato Salad

3-4 cups cherry tomatoes
1 small onion, sliced thin
1 can olives, chopped
1/2-3/4 cup sliced pepperoni
1/2-3/4 cup sliced Porcelini peppers

Dressing

3 tablespoons pepperorincini juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, grated
salt and pepper to taste
6-9 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Put all the salad ingredients in a bowl and toss. In a small bowl whisk the pepperorincini juice, red wine vinegar, grated garlic, salt and pepper really well. Whisk in the olive oil and pour over the tomato mixture. Mix well, chill and serve.




Be sure and stop by Leslie Loves Veggies for a chance to win a Wolf Design Leather Jewelry Case! This is a picture of the one I like. You can find all the details at Leslie Loves Veggies Blog!

Pioneer Woman's Macaroni and Cheese

Today is the last day to sign up for the 500 business card giveaway. You can sign up here.



Ok, here'a cheesy picture of me modeling the collar and cuffs I made out of a man's shirt. I thought they were fun. I found the directions for them over at Disney's blog, Ruffles and Stuff.

Now here is something else cheesy! This is Pioneer Woman's recipe for macaroni and cheese. I thought Chauncey would have fun making this because he loves the stuff in the box! He was surprised at how easy this was to make. He really liked the part where you add the cheese! I thought it would never work to put the sauce on the macaroni and have it be ok to eat at that point, but the sauce makes the noodles cook just perfect. You could eat it at that point, but we put it in a casserole dish and covered it with cheese and baked it for a little while. It was even better!

Pioneer Woman's Macaroni and Cheese

4 cups Dried Macaroni
¼ cups (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
¼ cups All-purpose Flour
2-½ cups Whole Milk
2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
1 whole Egg Beaten
1 pound Cheese, Grated
½ teaspoons Salt, More To Taste
½ teaspoons Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salts and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.

Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.