Circle Skirt with Flower Hair thing to match!

I have found the best skirt tutorials on pinterest!  The circle skirt is by far my favorite.  It is so fast and looks so cute on my girls.  I followed this tutorial on Made's blog.  With the extra fabric, I made flower hair ties to match.  This is one of my favorite skirts that I made. I need to get some better pictures, but this will do for now.

Thing 1

For Dr. Seuss day this year (yes, it was a while ago), my daughter needed a costume.  I didn't want to spend much money on it and we decided to do Thing 1.  I got some red sweat pants and a red shirt, cut out a white felt circle and wrote "Thing 1" on it, and then worked on her wig.  I just bought some bright blue yarn, crocheted a kind of headband/beanie type thing to fit her head, and then tied a bunch of blue yarn "hair" to it.  I thought she looked cute, though she was embarassed to wear the wig at school, so it didn't stay on for very long.

CTR Towel

I needed a quick and easy gift for a nephew's baptism, so I found this tutorial on the Rachel Berry Blog.  So I whipped up two (I have a neice who will need one soon!) and they turned out great!  I attached the poem below and tied it up with a ribbon. Easy as pie!

My Baptism Towel

This baptism towel is to help remind you

Of your baptism day all the years through.

When you come out of the water all clean and pure,

Dry off with this towel and you can be sure,

That you are as clean as this towel is white.

And the Holy Ghost will be with you both day and night.

For the Holy Ghost is your gift after the laying on of hands,

And will be a comfort and a guide if you obey God's commands.

This CTR emblem will help remind you to be strong

As you continue to learn right from wrong.

When your towel becomes soiled, remember that we, too,

May sometimes make mistakes and we've been taught just what to do.

Just as you can wash your towel so it can again be clean,

The wrongs you make can be washed away and never again be seen.

Your Heavenly Father loves you, remember always to pray,

And He will be beside you for forever and a day. "

Bookmarks

I saw an idea for cute bookmarks that I wanted to try. They turned out really well. My kids were so excited to get new bookmarks! It was very simple to do with my Cricut. Using my Sure Cuts a Lot program, I welded together 2 basic shapes and cut those out. I cut out letters in a contrasting color and glued it to the bookmark which I folded in half where they are welded together. I added a magnet so the bookmark can be held together over a couple pages.  I think adding a ribbon onto the end would also be a nice touch.  Super quick and easy to do. 

Homemade Bread

I have had so many people ask me how I make my homemade bread, that I thought I would just show you how on here.  Here are two things to remember. First, it is super easy. Don't think too much about it.  Second, do not be scared of yeast.  The worst that can happen is it won't rise. It's ok.  You'll do better the second time.
This is a very basic recipe that you can change to cinnamon rolls, cinnamon swirl bread, or add some herbs for any number of variations.  It only uses six ingredients and everyone should have them and keep them in food storage. Then you'll know you can always make bread. And believe me, you can live on bread. When I make it, we often just have bread for dinner cuz that's all everyone wants to eat. It is it's best right out of the oven, but it is also great toasted with cinnamon sugar or jelly on top.  It also does well for grilled cheese sandwiches or french toast.  Ok, so here it is:

2 cups warm water (not hot, just warm)
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup oil
6 cups flour

Put them in a mixing bowl (I use my Kitchen Aid but you can use just a regular mixing bowl and mix by hand.) in the order I put them in. **Note: I am not an exact measuring person. I use a heaping half cup and the flour is whatever. Don't worry about it. :) Use your dough hook or mix with wooden spoon until it is all mixed and pulls away from the side. If using a stand mixer, I just set it on the lowest setting and put away all my ingredients and by then it is done.  This is what is should look like.

Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled.  I will mix in the morning before I head out to do errands and then by the time I come home for lunch, it is ready.  It will look something like this.

Now dump it onto the counter and start kneading it down. Punch it, roll it. Get all the air out.

Now cut it into three equal pieces. Use a knife--do not pull it as it will break apart the properties of the yeast.

Form each ball into a bread loaf and place in greased bread pan.  Cover and let rise. (A few hours)

Preheat oven to 350 and then bake for 20 minutes or a few minutes longer until golden brown.

Remove from pans. I just place mine on the kitchen towel I have been using when covering them while rising.

I like to butter the tops right when they come out of the oven.  Just gives them a little extra flavor!  Hope this helps. Please comment if you have any questions or if you try it out. Tell me what you think!  Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day

After spending some time surfing blogs this morning, I was in the mood to create something for my front door. (I still had my Valentine's wreath up.)  So I grabbed a cheap old frame and painted the cardboard backing green. Then I cut out the vinyl with my Cricut and placed it on the newly painted backing.  I added a shamrock ribbon and hung it on my door.  Simple, yet I'm very pleased with it.

No Sew Tu-tus

You've probably seen these before, as they are so simple and so many have done them.  My girls have been asking for matching tu-tus and I finally got around to making them today.  I had some leftover tulle from a Halloween costume, so it was perfect. First you cut a length of elastic to fit your child's waist and then sew it together (or put a snap on it for 100% sewing free).  Then cut your desired length of tulle and tie it to the elastic. Do this all around and that is it. I added a ribbon for a little something extra. The girls loved them.