It's Baking Season

If it were up to me, it would always be baking season. 
At our house, it pretty much is.
Hello, my name is Liz, and I'm a cookie-aholic.

Have you ever noticed that cookies and, well, everything taste so much better when you use "real" ingredients?  {Real butter, and we're blessed to have fresh eggs daily, and mmmmmm, vanilla}.  A good vanilla makes all the difference, in my opinion.  And I use vanilla in EVERYTHING, whether it calls for it or not ;)

Ever thought about making your own?
Me neither.
Until I started cringing every time I had to fork out lots o' bucks for tiny little bottles of vanilla {which was pretty frequently}, and until I kept reading about how easy it is to make your own!  And until I thought, 'hey, this is a great gift idea!'

All you need are glass bottles, vanilla beans, and vodka ;)

I purchased my glass bottles on Amazon, and I think I got 12 of them for about $10, including shipping.
I got the vanilla beans through Beanilla.  They offer a HUGE assortment of different types of beans.  I chose the Madagascar ones because of their flavor and price.

And I can't even tell you what kind of vodka I used.  A cheap kind.  Jeremy picked it up for me ;)

You just take and slice the beans down the middle, drop a couple of them in each bottle, add the vodka, and voila!  Let it sit for a few weeks, and you have your very own vanilla.  The best part?  When you're running low, top it off with more vodka, and perhaps another bean.  Easy peasy.



Oh, and did I mention they make the cutest gifts?

Hair Clip How-To

We've been busily crafting hair clips the last couple of days.  Mostly during naps and after bedtime for the littles because Taylor needs all attention on her while she's awake ;)  It seems as though some of you think they are just as adorable as we do.  I've had inquiries regarding how to purchase some {thank you!  Most of the money is going straight toward the girls' dance costumes for their Christmas recital, but I've promised them that they can keep some of it to do with what they please.  We are planning on putting some in the Etsy shop, so if you are interested, let me know which designs, and we'll create a custom listing}.  And others have been curious as to how to make their own.  Well, we love to share, so here ya go.  A little mini tutorial for these little felt hair clippies.

First, we start with wool felt.  It holds up well, and looks beauty-ful.  You'll also need scissors, a snap clip, embroidery floss, needle, and any embellishments you choose.

Next, you'll want to cut the felt into the shape of the clip.  You'll need two pieces.  One for the top, one for the bottom, and you'll want the felt to be a tad bigger than the clip so that you can stitch around it.  Take one of the pieces {this will be the bottom}, and poke a little hole near the back of the felt so that you can slip the clip in. 

This is the under side.



Then you'll snap the clip closed on the felt, and proceed to the top portion.  Stitch your embellishment on the top piece.



Time to make a clip sandwich.  Take the top felt piece and position it on the clip that is snapped into the bottom portion.  Then stitch around using a blanket stitch {or any other stitch you wish.  I just like this particular stitch because it finishes it off so well}.



And voila!

I love making these clips because they don't take too much time, they're super adorable, make great gifts {truth be told, I wear them myself}, and you can put all of the supplies in a little tin and take it with you for craftiness on the go!

Enjoy :)

Contain those Crayons!

Whew, it's been busy! In between the house building mishaps {oh yes, there have been a few}, errand-running, preparations for recital, and the usual, I have tried to squeeze in a little craft time. It's been nearly impossible, but a necessity. You see, I made some very sweet little dance necklaces for my tappers {stay tuned for pictures of those later}. My only concern was an adorable little boy who happens to be in my class. I just couldn't see him super excited about a necklace, so . . . craft time to the rescue! Surely I could find something to make him as an end of the year gift.

How about a Crayon Keeper? I love these things. Several years ago I made a couple for my older girls, and they still use them regularly. I like to use wool felt. It makes an already simple project, super easy peasy.

Anyone ready for a tutorial? I know, it's been awhile.

Here we go!

I use three pieces for the keeper. Two that get sewn together initially, and one for the outside to cover up threads and such that you don't want showing.

A project just isn't a project without a cute little applique embellishment.

Side note: Our class is dancing to "Sea Cruise", so I think this little fishy will be perfect!

I was in a bit of a hurry {shocker, I know}, so I didn't sew the fish on. I just used my handy dandy Steam A Seam 2 and ironed it right on. It's not goin' anywhere!

I suppose you could just attach the third piece of felt to the outside using a sewing machine {or even iron it together with Steam A Seam, but I love the way embroidery floss and a blanket stitch finishes it off.

See?

And the inside, with all those gorgeous new crayons!

Now, find a coloring book, and you've got the perfect gift for any child on your list!

I plan on making more of these soon! :)

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