Hello Kitty Printable Behavior Chart

I have a four year old, and sometimes she needs a little motivation. I saw some behavior charts online but since she's obsessed with Hello Kitty I thought that I would whip this up to put on her door.
My plan is to laminate it and use a dry erase marker so that I only need one copy and it can stay on her door with a command strip.

**** If you have already downloaded this, you can now download the new version with customizable fields****

Get the new version here!

Enjoy!

Zig Zag Ombre Cowl

This cowl pattern is adapted from a free pattern I saw on RAKJ Patterns. Instead of making an entire scarf, I just stopped after 6 repeats of the pattern, and sewed up the seam. *UPDATED with better pictures. 5/22/14*

Now, because of all the color changes it does take awhile to finish, but I think it's worth it. I love the colors. For this cowl I used Bernat's Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) yarn in Tealish, Turquoiseish, and Robin Eggish. This created a beautiful Ombre effect. There are a few colorways in this yarn that would make a beautiful ombre look.
If you do not want to deal with the color changes it would also just make a pretty texture effect. I do love the original pattern but this was a fun way to change it up and still get the look I was going for.
The lesson here is,don't be afraid to experiment with existing patterns and make them your own!

A Quick Time Out for: Nerium International

A very good friend of mine, Elisa has embarked on a new journey in her life. She has become an independent brand partner for Nerium International. What? Never heard of it? Well, I hadn't either until she told me about it and while I haven't tried the products (yet!) I'm intrigued. If you have heard about it then you know just how great Neurium is , the company has a stellar reputation for being so young (Launched in 2011).  Their products have been featured on many news and print outlets.
What I found most fascinating are the Before and After photos. They are just amazing.
Please check out and like my friend Elisa's Facebook Page and whether you need some products or are thinking of becoming a brand partner for yourself, it's worth the few minutes of your time to look into a wonderful line of products and a wonderful company.

Back to your regularly scheduled crafting-and don't forget our giveaway!!

Giveaway!

It's that time for another giveaway! I am a little frustrated with Facebook, in that a lot of my posts are not being seen by my readers and they want me to pay for my posts to be seen. So, if you happen to already be a fan of my page on Facebook, please make sure that you check the option to "see in my newsfeed"

With that said, on to the giveaway!


Now that we've reached 800 fans (I know, right!?) I wanted to do something special for you guys.

^^^ The giveaway info is up above! ^^^

It lasts for one week starting tomorrow 2-25 and runs until 3-4. Good luck!!

Update!!!
We've now reached over 1,000 fans and I've also decided to add another prize for the winner to choose from.
Our 4 choices now are:
-A Photography Prop ( a baby cocoon/nest or hat)
-A Crochet Cowl- choose from one of the styles from my Etsy shop
-A "Nelson" the Owl Amigurimi, colors/details winner's choice also...I haven't decided yet if I am going to start selling these so if you want one, enter the giveaway!

"Nelson"

-A choice between a Baby Stats or Wedding custom Subway Art digital file. (all examples of these are on my Etsy shop as well)

Winner will be posted here and on FB/Twitter so be sure to check it out!

Easy Apple Jell-O Poke Cake

 

 

This cake is one of my favorites to do in a pinch. The best part is the combinations are literally endless. But the main staples are a box of cake mix, a box of instant pudding mix and a packet of dream whip.

Normally I do a chocolate cake with some kind of berry Jell-O, but this time I saw the Jolly Rancher Apple Jell-O and thought I'd give it a try. Next time I will probably add some caramel syrup to the pudding/frosting to make it a caramel apple cake.

This cake is super easy to make, made even easier by using the throw-away pans.

Tip: I make this cake the night before it's needed, just to make sure it's nice and cold/set. If you're in a hurry though, you can do it about 5 hours ahead of time.



Step 1: prepare cake mix as usual, you don't need to grease the pan. 35 minutes at 350 in my oven and it's perfect. When the cake is almost done baking, prepare your Jell-O. I use the smaller box, but if you have a big box, go for it, it'll just make the cake more Jell-O-y.










Jell-O is ready to go!

 Step 2: As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, go nuts and poke a bunch of holes in it.
Then pour on your Jell-O, cover it and stick it right in the fridge

 

Step 3: The Frosting- These directions are also on the back of the Dream Whip box- With an electric mixer, combine 1 packet of instant pudding mix (4 serving size), 1 packet of Dream Whip and 1.5 cups of cold milk. Mix on high until stiff peaks form (if you're using skim milk this might take awhile) That's your frosting, it's that easy. Keep in mind, this cake needs to stay refrigerated, so only take it out when you're ready to serve. Enjoy!!

 

 

Some flavor combos:
Vanilla cake - Orange Jell-O , vanilla frosting w/orange rind it takes like a Creamsicle
Chocolate cake- Raspberry Jell-O, chocolate frosting
Vanilla cake- Lemon Jell-O, vanilla frosting
Chocolate cake- Cherry Jell-O, chocolate frosting - a family favorite!

One thing I've been wanting to try but haven't yet is to layer the Jell-O. If someone wants to try this let me know how it comes out!

*You could also make an adult version and instead of the cold water in the Jell-O add some Vodka for a Jell-O shot cake! *

Easy Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

 

 

 

I made this for Thanksgiving and again for Christmas and I had to share. It's so yummy, and quick, and super easy. It's fattening as all hell but oh well, it's that damn good.
Now, I did this in a 9x13 pan because we have a large family but if you want to cut the ingredients in half you can and it will fit nicely into an 8x8. Also a nice variation is to add cauliflower. It is so good.

Ingredients:
2 Bags frozen broccoli - the steam-able ones work great.
1 Cup Mayo
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
 Velveeta - I use about 4 oz, softened
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 packet Shake N Bake seasoning mix -chicken or extra crunchy varieties work well.

Preheat oven to 350, lightly grease pan.
Steam broccoli in microwave, drain. then combine with mayo, soup, shredded cheese and about 1/2 of the shake n bake packet. melt Velveeta in microwave until it is soft and combine with other ingredients. Top with more of the shake n bake crumbs. Bake for 45 minutes or until cheese is brown and it is bubbly.

Seriously, one of the best recipes for broccoli casserole I've ever had.

Personalized Baby Stats Info Subway Art

I made one of these for both of my girls and now I have added them to my shop.
They are fully customizable, and I just acquired some new clip art (licensed for commercial use) with some really fun images, Superheroes, Princesses, Baby Animals, Star Wars and more!

I haven't had a chance to update the shop with the new image choices yet, but a quick email to me and I can let you see the full range of choices easily. these can also be made for older kids and would be great birth announcements or like I have, keepsakes for their bedrooms.

The only thing that isn't customizable is the font- however I am considering making up different font styles in the future- these will have a different look.

For pricing and other options please visit my Etsy store.

Loom Knit Red Sox Dog Sweater

Loom Knit Red Sox Dog Sweater

This sweater was made on the Red Knifty Knitter Loom. And the Red Sox “B” is a crochet applique. This dog is 11” from neck to tail and this fit perfectly.

When you are knitting a project like this one that requires leg holes before you start you should mark on your loom where your leg hole stitches will be. I use 4 stitches as a guide and I center them off of the starting peg. I mark mine by writing on my loom with sharpie but you can easily use stitch markers instead.

 

Materials:

Super bulky yarn in grey, and red

Bulky yarn in white for outline

Red Knifty Knitter loom

Loom tool

Crochet hooks 5.5mm (for “B”) and 4.5mm (for outline)

Tapestry Needle

 

Pattern:

 

E-wrap cast on

E-wrap for 10 rows

Make brim (if you need help with this there are tons of YouTube videos)

Starting with row 11, e-wrap around to last peg, do not join! For the next row e-wrap in the opposite direction, this will make an opening at the bottom of the sweater.

Continue alternating e-wrap for 10 more rows

Row 21- make leg holes 

(This diagram is for the small blue loom but the same principal applies, also ignore the part about the cables that was for a different sweater)

I'm going to name the pegs A and B, A being the peg on the left and B on the right. Take B, put it on peg A, so now you have two loops, knit off stitch, place back on peg B. it sounds complicated but it's really easy. Then continue for the next 3 pegs until you have 4 empty pegs. After you have your 4 empty pegs, wrap your working yarn around them as a foundation for the next row and continue on knitting around the loom again until you get to your next leg hole pegs, repeat cast off of 4 stitches, and finish the row.

After the leg holes are made, continue with the e-wrap and turn pattern for 25 more rows (a total of 46 rows- this includes collar rows)

Cast off the same way you made the leg holes, leave a 6” tail. You will have a loop left, just weave your tail yarn through the loop and secure into the inside of the sweater. Now turn sweater inside out and sew up the seam ½ inch below the leg holes to the collar to close. Weave in end.

That’s it for the main sweater. If you would like to add the applique, please follow this pattern and sew onto sweater.

Happy Knitting!

*You may sell items from my patterns, all I ask is that you credit my blog*

 

 

Hello Kitty Party

This past weekend was my oldest daughter's 4th birthday party! Today is her actual birthday and while I'm still coming down from the weekend I thought I'd share her birthday party. It was Hello Kitty themed and she loved it. I had a lot of fun planning it and luckily for me HK is absolutely everywhere so it wasn't too hard to find ideas for the party.

First were the invites, these were again done by my lovely friend. She did an amazing job as usual!

 

Everything after that pretty much fell into place, I decided to go with a small HK cake and coordinating cupcakes. All of the toppers were purchased at Party City. The cake pan and cookie cutters were from Amazon. For the round chocolate decorations on the cake, I got those at JoAnn fabrics in the cake section. They were an easy add on and a less painful way to decorate than piping all of the detail on the cake.

We did another bounce house this year, even though it was much colder than last year all of the kids still had a blast

.

Door sign from Etsy

Cookies were decorated with edible markers

 

She's 4!!

Fall

 

 

 

         I love the fall. I love the leaves, I love the colors, I love the crisp air, I love football and I love taking pictures. I'm still learning my camera (Nikon D3100) but anytime I can I'm enjoying snapping some pictures of the season. This year I was lucky and able to get some great pictures of the leaves. I had my camera on the P setting and seemed to have good luck with it. I'm trying not to use the flash whenever possible and staying away from Auto mode.
I'd love to take some photography classes at some point but for now I'm just going to practice!