Monday, July 30, 2012

Butternut Squash Carbonara and 100 Fans!

ok, we still do Emeals and I still love it. Because I get took cook things like Butternut Squash Carbonara and it's LOW FAT. Yum.

Here's how you make it:



6 slices turkey bacon

2 c diced butternut squash

1/2 box thin spaghetti

(2 egg yolks, 2 T FF milk, ¼ c Parmesan cheese)

(1 t minced garlic, 1 T sage - chopped, pepper)


First, get your water boiling for the pasta and start cooking that. then you can cook the bacon in a big skillet, i use my nice 10" skillet with a little FF cooking spray. Once the bacon is cooked, take it out of the pan and let it dry on some paper towels.
once you take the bacon out, cook your squash in the bacon fat. there won't be much at all since it's turkey bacon but it helps. at this point also add your garlic, sage and pepper to your skillet. you can also return the bacon to the pan too. if you need more cooking spray go ahead. i used quite a bit. 
the squash takes about 10 minutes so plan accordingly with your pasta because the rest of it goes fast. once your squash is done, take it off the heat. 
take your egg yolks, milk and parm cheese and mix it in a small bowl. then add your pasta (with a little water) to the pan, mix everything up.
add the egg/cheese mixture to the pan, let it coat everything nicely.
Done.

Delish, and I'm not much of a squash person. but, seriously yummy.






And....we've reached 100 fans on facebook!! YAY!

I'm so excited to have more readers!



Monday, July 23, 2012

Chocolate Chip S'more Cookie Cups

Seriously, all I'm going to say about these is YUM.

So easy to make. All you need is:

Package of ready to bake chocolate chip cookie squares
Mini Marshmallows
Chocolate bar
Mini muffin tin


press the cookie squares into the muffin tin cups
sprinkle on the marshmallows
put a piece of chocolate in the middle

bake at 350 for about 12 minutes

seriously, that's it.
oh and EAT THEM ALL



Saturday, July 21, 2012

Dixie Cup Dispenser revamp

I bought a dixie cup dispenser a while ago and it wasn't horrible looking, just plain. So I decided I'd try my hand at using mod podge (but it was the martha stewart version, kind of eh about it) and some scrapbook paper.

Honestly, one of the easiest things I've ever done.

Materials:

Scrapbook paper
Scissors
Mod Podge (or any other decoupage medium)
Dixie cup dispenser
Ruler/tape measure

1. Measure around your dixie cup dispenser, and mark lines on your scrapbook paper
2. Cut the scrapbook paper to size, being sure check your measurements. What's the saying "measure twice, cut once"? yeah, do it that way.
3. First layer of mod podge is to glue your paper to the dispenser. let this dry for a few hours.
4. Now you can add a coat to the top, make sure you do an even layer.
5. You can do an additional coat if you want, this will help keep it waterproof.
and Voila!!


Isn't that pretty?!
If you don't have scrapbook paper you could also use comic book pages or even a picture!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Pink and Zebra TuTu


This one's also no-sew. But it was made with ribbon, and in a nod to my daughter's big girl room theme (Hot Pink and Zebra!)
Here's the TuTu:

Same basic principle as before only instead of the cotton loops i used one large piece of satin ribbon, and a lot of tulle. (60 pieces) it wrapped tighter than on the cotton so there was room for more, which just means more poof!

So, I wrapped all the tulle, then I cut lengths (about 17" long) of grosgrain ribbon (be sure to use Fray Check or a lighter/match to secure your ends!) and tied a knot between the other knots above. nothing too techinical.


Another advantage of having it on the ribbon is that the length can be adjusted as your little girl grows!


*Idea for this method is from Treasures for Tots*

Thursday, July 12, 2012

No-Sew T-shirt Scrap TuTu


I don't sew, I love to knit, I can even get away with some basic crochet stitches, but I can't sew. Someday soon I'd love to learn but for now I avoid it like the plague.
I've also avoided making any TuTus for my soon to be 3 (yikes!) year old daughter. I know there are some no-sew versions out there (and I haven't tried them) but I had some old scrap t-shirt fabric lying around (cotton loops) they are 30" long scraps of t-shirt. you can make scarves or headbands or bracelets with them but I figured why not give the TuTu idea a shot.

Materials:

~40 strips of tulle cut into 6"x18" strips. (it came out a little short so i'd probably make the strips longer next time, these strips were bought as a Snow White TuTu kit, but my daughter loves Spiderman,same colors so I improvised.)

Cotton loops
--I got mine on clearance at Michael's so I'm not sure if these are even sold anymore, however you could always cut a band off of a child's shirt and use that!
Ribbon (optional, i'm going to add some as soon as I get my hands on Spiderman ribbon)

Finishing touch, in this case a foam Spiderman magnet that i hotglued to the finished TuTu

Hot glue gun (duh!)

This doesn't take long once your tulle is cut to size and they are a blast to make!
Naturally if you want a bigger TuTu, don't wrap it 3 times, only do twice. The loops stretch as you wrap the tulle! So keep that in mind when you start. You can see from my photos how the TuTu grows in size from start to finish.







Sunday, June 24, 2012

Blog Design Info

I've put up a page for blog design info with prices and all that junk. ^ up there ^

What I've listed is all I can think of for now but I may or not add new things on there. As always, if you are interested and have any questions at all you can contact me by email!

Thank you!!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Knit Baby Set


I was commissioned to make a baby hat for a very dear friend of mine. She asked only for the hat but of course I coulnd't resist going a step further (or two) and making matching booties and a blanket.



Yarn: Patons Beehive Baby Chunky in Violet
The hat was made using this pattern from Ravelry. The Blanket was made using this pattern. And the pattern for the booties is here.

The blanket or booties didn't call for the ribbon but I wanted them to match the hat so I went ahead and added it. I didn't get the greatest pic but the yarn is super soft and I'm glad I got extra!

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Giveaway Winner!


We have a winner!!!
I was a little unsure of how to do this since it was my first one and all, so i just copied all of ya'lls entries into word and numbered them all, adding in your other entries.
So, out of 37 total entries, our winner is.....E @ Stories of a Growing Family!
Congrats E!!!
Looking forward to the makeover!!

Thank you to everyone that entered! I'll be doing another one soon so keep watching!



Wednesday, June 13, 2012

T minus 48 hours

Until our first giveaway deadline!!!
I've been away from the computer lately but I'm anxious to get to work on whichever blog wins!
There are only 2 days left to enter so if you haven't yet, what are you waiting for?!

Just a reminder, each "action" (liking us on FaceBook, following on Pinterest) is an additional entry!

I've also added a "subscribe" option -------> over there if you would like to be notified by email when I post!

Good luck to those that have entered!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Knit iPad2 Case


I realize that my photography skills, or lack therof are leaving a lot to be desired but it's the best shot i could get of this with my camera phone. This was knit on a round loom (mine is the Orange loom from Boye with 36 pegs) The knifty knitter version is green.

This is the Pattern

Use bulky yarn, or use double strand worsted weight yarn.

E-Wrap for 12"
Cast off
Sew up one end for the bottom.
Take the top of your sleeve, crease it in half, put half of the stitches back on the loom, and continue to e-wrap a flat piece (left to right then right to left, or honestly it doesn't matter which direction you go, whatever you're comfortable with)
Do this for another 6"
Bind off

You are done!!

Now, if you don't want to cast the whole thing off and re-do 1/2 stitches you can just cast off half of the stitches, cut your yarn to weave in and continue making the flap from there. I might try this next time as I had a small issue with the stitches lining up with the rest of the work.
Obviously you can change the pattern and knit the whole thing instead of e-wrapping, finishing with a button, or adding in cables, which will be my next attempt. Overall it's a great way to get familiar with loom knitting and it's something else do make besides a hat!

If you like this project please feel free to Pin it!

Happy Knitting!