Easter Cookies

I had my first experience with royal icing when making Easter cookies this year and I must say that it was a very positive experience. Just look at how cute these little egg shaped bunnies turned out!

I must give a HUGE thank you to Callye over at The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.



She makes the most AMAZING cookies and has provided wonderful recipes and tutorials on her blog. I used her sugar cookie recipe and followed her super tips to make the softest, most yummy sugar cookies. Then I went to town with her royal icing recipe and tips to decorate these cute little things.

I was so happy with how these cookies turned out. They tasted just as great as they looked.

And because I was already making cookies, the K-ster had to get in on the action. So I let her cut out a bunch of cookies to give to her cousins for Easter and I decorated them for her to practice with the royal icing. They turned out pretty darn cute too, if I may say so.

(Please excuse the quality of some of these photos. I was in a huge hurry to photograph them and did not get many great shots.)

A butterfly.

 

A bunny face.

 

A chick.

 

A fatter version of my egg shaped bunny.

 

A flower.

 

A skinny bunny.

(This was actually supposed to be a carrot, but the leaves broke off after it was baked, so I worked with what I had.)

Cute and delicious. Who could ask for more?

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Seersucker Skirt

So, I know I haven't posted in awhile, but as many of you probably understand, life sometimes gets in the way of the things we want and love to do. Fortunately for me, I've still been able to sew and craft, but I just haven't had much time to blog about it.

So my "returning post" is to show off this super cute, seersucker ruffle skirt.

I must admit that I was never the biggest fan of seersucker. But when I came across this wonderful tutorial over at Dana's blog Made, I suddenly fell in love with the fabric. So I ran over to Joann's and picked out this cute purple with white polka dots.

The main thing about Dana's skirt that I loved as much as the seersucker was that she finished the hem simply by serging the edge. Lucky for me, my wonderful aunt (thank you!!) has allowed me to borrow her serger to try out before buying one of my own. This was my first project using the Serger. My response? DEAR SWEET SERGER, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN MY ENTIRE LIFE?

Anyway, I love how the skirt turned out, and will probably be whipping up a few more, because they're perfect for skipping in.

And I was also informed that she could wear them to ballet class, because they're perfect for spinning and dancing in as well.

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Faux Chenille Blanket

I don't know if you've seen some of the great faux chenille blankets floating around Blog Land, but I instantly fell in love with the idea when I came across this lovely version over at Aestetic Nest. You should definitely check out her tutorial, because it is excellent.

When I found Anneliese's tutorial, I decided I wanted to make a faux chenille blanket for the little cutie that I talked about in my last post. And here's how it turned out.

Unfortunately, I decided to do so just one week before I would be meeting him. My recommendation is to start this one early, because it is definitely time consuming.


I had to sew EACH.AND.EVERY.LINE.

And then cut EACH.AND.EVERY.LINE.

But it was so worth it. With a cute, quilted print on one side and super soft, brightly colored "chenille" on the other, who couldn't love a blanket like this? Mommy and Daddy loved it so much they were using it themselves. I'm sure they'll give Daniel a chance to enjoy it, too.

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Appliqued Gifts

So don't judge, but the projects I'm about to share with you were Christmas gifts.

I know. It's February.

But in my defense, one of the receipiants just got his gift this past weekend, so I didn't want to spoil the gift by posting about it before he got it.

Okay, that makes it sounds worse. Maybe I should 'splain. He didn't get his gift because this little bundle of joy just joined the world on February 5th.

See? I couldn't put this one out there before he even got his gift, right? Right?!

But I digress. Onto the projects at hand. The first--appliqued stuffed blocks.

Daniel and Isaac, both sons of very good friends of our family, received the same gifts. They're babies and they're boys--a combination that makes gift making difficult.

But I came across this tutorial over at Sew Like My Mom and thought it was a great gift idea for the babies. Super cute and soft.

And for each of these little cuties to wear...

You can never go wrong with an appliqued onsie when it comes to babies, but an appliqued vest and tie? To. Die. For.

I came across this idea at Lemon Tree Creations. I used some fabric scraps I had on hand for the tie and black corduroy for the vest.

I'd like to be able to report that the boys simply adored their gifts, but, well, they're babies. But their parents loved them. :o)

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Linky Followers Blog Hop

Cheri from It's So Very Cheri started this awesome blog hop so we can all try to keep our Google Friend Connect followers!  

Here's what she said...

*********************************
Many of you have probably already heard that GOOGLE Friend Connect will go away on Feb 29 for any one that is not with blogspot, but rumor has it that it is being completely phased out for everyone soon. 

There is good news

There is a NEW awesome tool–Linky Followers

It has so many amazing features (that GFC never had). If you have not signed up you should. (yes you can have both.) I love the new tool so much and want everyone to enjoy all the new features.

…and did I tell you its super easy and FREE!

What better way to celebrate a fun new blogging tool than to have a party so break out your poodle skirt and saddle back shoes cuz’ we’re having a LINKY FOLLOWER PARTY HOP~

 RULES:
1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate.  {You can have both the LINKY FOLLOWERS & GFC on your site but you must have the LINKY FOLLOWERS to participate in this party hop.}

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3.Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER–  just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE.  Click on "GET THE CODE HERE" and enter it into a post on your site.

You can grab the party button code in the FOOTER at Its So Very Cheri.  You can grab info from my post if it helps you with your post.

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want) –leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

If you want to add the BLOG HOP to your own site you will get lots of new followers–(see rule #2)

…So do ya want to go Cruisin’?

I plan on HOPPING from BLOG to BLOG to follow everyone who follows me.

The internet it seems, never gets old.

Welcome to the new world of 
LINKY FOLLOWERS...

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Pinteresting Friday

Since the Super Bowl is this weekend, I thought I'd share a few of the super YUMMY ideas I've found via Pinterest. I'm actually going to try some of these, so I'll let you know how they turn out.

Aren't these the cutest football cupcakes?



Source: http://www.cutefoodforkids.com/2012/01/26-football-shaped-food-ideas.html via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest



Football shaped cheese and crackers with instructions on the easy way to cut a football shape into the cheese.



Source: http://gimmesomeoven.com/ via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest



Deep Fried Pickles are a great addition to a football party. She also has a recipe for the ranch dipping sauce.



 Source: http://www.mamalovesfood.com/ via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest



I LOVE mozzarella cheese sticks, and this recipe by Taste of Home makes them super easy to make. You could even make them a healthier option by baking, instead of frying.



Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/ via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest



She Knows has EIGHT different recipes for these great bite-sized pinwheels.



Source: http://sheknows.com/ via http://pinterest.com/trinarae/ on Pinterest



Since I don't really have a team to route for (our "family team" is the Miami Dolphins, who did not make it), I'll just be enjoying the food and the company of friends on Sunday. Have fun!

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Fabric Donations {Giraffe Grins Charity}

You may remember from this post that I am now an affiliate for the Giraffe Grins Charity. It's a wonderful charity started by Dee over at The CSI Project that makes and send bright and cheery pillowcases to children's hospitals in the hopes of brightening the day of a sick child. I will be sending pillowcases to the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital in Syracuse, NY.

Source

 

Just before Christmas I received my first very fabric donation to be used for this purpose. This generous donation came from one of my fellow substitute teachers from the local school district where I work. So, thank you! 

I'm still looking for donations, though. If you'd like to get involved with the Giraffe Grins Charity by sending fabric donations, please contact me at mitchetr192(at)gmail(dot)com. For those of you inquiring about quantities, the tutorial I'm using for the pillow cases requires 1 and 1/2 yard of fabric (for the body) and 1/2 (for the trim) to make two pillowcases.

I'm very excited to get started on making pillowcases now that the holiday chaos is over and the dust has settled. I'll share before shipping them off!

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Pinteresting Friday

I think the word is pretty much out...

Pinterest is slightly majorly addicting.

But how else would we find lovely inspiration such as this big, beautiful flower headband by The Little Giggler.

Source: http://www.thelittlegiggler.blogspot.com via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

Or these genius snowman kits (which I will be making...eventually) by Going's On At The Glenn's.

Source: http://glennfamily3.blogspot.com/ via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

And how about this gorgeous dress made by Stephanie over at Pinafores & Pinwheels for Project Run and Play.

Source: http://pinaforesandpinwheels.blogspot.com/ via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

And don't forget all of the yummy recipes that pop up. One of my family's favorites are the Chicken Enchiladas by Jamielyn at I Heart Naptime. So del-ish.

Source: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/ via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

In the spirit of the upcoming Super Bowl, I thought I should include these adorable AND tasty Football Oreos, also found at I Heart Naptime.

Source: http://www.iheartnaptime.net/ via Trina @ Craft Anyway! on Pinterest

So I was thinking I'd start sharing some of my favorite Pinterest finds with you each Friday. You could also see everything I've pinned by following me, too. :o)

Have a good weekend!

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New Look, New Pages, New Buttons

You've probably already noticed the new look of Craft Anyway! Pretty nifty, huh? It's actually a premade template by Dani over at Blog Designs by Dani.

She has super cute premade templates, backgrounds, and headers (for free!), but she also takes custom template designs for as little as $50 and extras for as little as $3. I know right?

So thanks, Dani, for providing me with this awesome free template to spiff up Craft Anyway until I can afford to pay you. :o)



I've also added a couple of new pages that you can access from the Page Bar. It looks like this...

I did this to help clean up the home page, as I had many buttons starting to pile up between the blogs that I link up to and the blogs that have featured me (woo who!). So check out those pages, click on the buttons, and show them some love!


Now that you've looked at that wonderful Page Bar, you may also have noticed the page titled "Buttons." That's right folks, I have finally designed my own buttons.

Want a Craft Anyway! button? Of course you do! Have one, I insist.

<a href="http://craftanyway.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s388/mitchetr192/175button.jpg" alt="CraftAnyway" width="175" height="175" /></a>

  Did I mention or feature your blog post? Want some recognition? I would. Do it up.

<a href="http://craftanyway.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1049.photobucket.com/albums/s388/mitchetr192/175featuredbutton.jpg" alt="CraftAnyway" width="175" height="175" /></a>

 So, although the changes come a little late for the new year, I'm pretty excited about them. If the changes cause you any problems with navigating or accessing any part of the blog, please let me know so that I can fix them! Enjoy!

{Also new, my signature!}

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Pattern Review {Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop}

 If you're a regular reader of Nap Time Crafters (and why wouldn't you be?!) then you probably already know that Amy also writes and sells patterns over at Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop. Her patterns are super adorable, so when I had the chance to test run one of her newest additions to the shop, I was thrilled!

Introducing, The Harper.
**This just in...Amy is currently having a sale over at her shop. So if you want to save on this and her other awesome patterns, scroll to the bottom of this post to find out how!!**

 

So cute, right? I think my favorite part of this dress are the ruffles that seem to be playing peek-a-boo from under the skirt.

And for those of you who are afraid of zippers (such as myself), you don't have to worry about installing one in this dress, because the button-up flap on the front eliminates the need for a zipper.

The possibilities for this dress are endless. Mix it up with different fabric combinations, as I did by making my own bias tape. Or, as Amy mentions in the pattern instructions, lengthen the sash so that it ties in a bow instead of buttoning.

The pattern is so easy to use. Just print out the pattern pieces and tape them together, which she makes very clear by labeling where everything connects. Then follow the step by step instructions which have coordinating photos for those of us that are more visual, such as myself.

Once again, Kaeleigh was just a big ol' goof ball while we were shooting. Even the hubby tried to get her to cooperate (something he rarely gets involved in) by coaxing her to act like she does at her dance lessons. He was going more for the ballet side of her dance lessons.

We got tap technique instead. It's a good thing she's cute.

And to pull it all together, I whipped up this quick flower barrette. I free handed two flowers and two leafs out of felt. I sewed a button to the center of the flowers, then hot glued the leafs and an alligator clip to the back. EZ-PZ.

Amy is currently having a super duper sale. To save 20% on all Peek-a-Boo Patterns now through January 28th, use the code "2012" at checkout!

Now, go check out Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop to pick up The Harper PDF pattern which comes in infant sizes 3 months through a girls' 8. If you do make The Harper dress, I'd love to see your version!

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