Creative Crafty #13: Crochet Infinity Scarf

An old family friend once taught me to crotchet and luckily to this day I haven't forgotten. Although, I wouldn't exactly say I know every stitch. Honestly I don't know any true stitch by name, instead i make them up as I go using no pattern or guide other than my own imagination and creativity. In the past I have kept it simple making only hats because I could quickly crank through them especially when using bulky yarn.

This Christmas as I was scrolling through Pinterest I notice that folks were making infinity scarfs. For those who don't know that is the scarf with no end, rather a big loop. I like the idea of these scarfs and decided to take a stab at one and give it to my boyfriends mother for Christmas. It turned out great!  I was plenty thick, warm and cozy for those Wisconsin winters and winds. 

My boyfriends mother said she loved it. She was wearing it around when a friend of hers commented and asked to have one made for her! I, of course, obliged and sold her an infinity scarf made of similar bulky yarn. Now she asked if I made mittens! Looks like I will be making another trip to the crafts store! HAHA! 

Until that trip I have decide to whip up a few more infinity scarfs with the yarn I purchased on my last craft store trip. The colors are purple, teal, green and ivory. I am hoping to have them finished and up on Etsy by next week for anyone who may want to purchase one.

New Purple Infinity Scarf

Happy Crafting!  Enjoy!!! 

Lost Adventure #10: Teaching Shane to Snowboard

Winter is my absolute favorite season which is part of what makes Christmas my favorite holiday. I love the winter because there is so much to do. Snowmobiling, cross-county skiing, snowboarding, tubing or skating all allow you to be active but without sweating profusely. My favorite winter activity is snowmobiling which is how I ended up meeting my boyfriend. Seeing we already both enjoy the hobby I decided to expose him to my second favorite winter hobby, snowboarding.

We decided to go with my friend, Michelle, while we were home with my family during Christmas. She is an experienced skier, I have about 2 years of snowboarding and he had no experience. I tried to convince him to take lessons but instead he wanted me to teach him. I suppose I didn't do to bad. He was connecting turns by the end of the day. Of course he encountered all the same struggles all rookie snowboarders have like spending most of the first day on your butt and not being able to turn left, and of course the forever feared...chairlift. 

Overall he did really well and I got to spend absolutely amazing day with two of my favorite people. :) She was patient and kind while we waited for him to come down the mountain. Yet another reason I love her. 

Let it Snow!!!

Tasty Bakes #6: Ladies Only Lasagna

A few friends of mine have been trying to plan a reason for us to get dressed up and go out. The only issue is that we all don't have that much money. Our solution? We brought fancy to us...kinda

We decided that the three of us would meet at my place because I have two spare beds. I would cook a lasagna and the other two would bring the desert and drinks! This was probably the best plan we have ever had because there was no worrying about how to get home or tipping a bartender etc. Only catch was we each had to dress up. I know it was a really crutch to bear.

Valerie and I

Kathryn and I

On schedule they both came over, one earlier to help me prepare the lasagna and the other later with some wine once she had finished her graduate school work. I followed my mom's lasagna making advice and it was a hearty meal. Our dessert made by Kathryn was a yummy Oreo cheesecake and an excellent follow up to the lasagna.

Yummy Lasagna

My how to: 

Cook noodles as usual. Cooked hamburger in a pan with various seasons and a small amount of pepperoni chopped up. In a separate bowl, I added in parsley and various cheeses to a small container of ricotta cheese. We also mixed up a couple different tomato sauces and added in spices as well.  Then we layered it together and baked. I am fond of using sharp cheeses because it makes each bite more flavorful. 

Our Christmas Dinner Party

Once everything was finished cooking we all sat down at a lovely candle lite dinner accompanied by Frank Sinatra on my vinyl record player. It turned out to be an amazing evening!

Happy Eating!!!

Tasty Bakes #7: Christmas Cookies and Chocolate

Every year, while I was growing up. my mom and I would make Molasses cookies while my dad was out hunting. These past few years I did not get the opportunity to this, nor did I even get to eat any molasses cookies. This year I decided I would attempt them on my own.

Some of my Molasses and Chocolate Chip Cookies as well as Homemade Reese

I Googled for a few recipes and finally decided on one I found on the Betty Crocker website. I followed the recipe for the most part. Instead of 1 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, I did 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of light brown sugar. I also mix in the spices and salt to the flour before adding it to the rest of the mixture. I also use the metal rim from canning jars to cut out the cookies. Other than that I pretty much follow the recipe. They turned out super tasty!

Seeing I was going home for Christmas I decided I would make chocolate chip cookies and homemade Reese cups as well. The chocolate chip cookies were pretty standard issue. I followed the Nestle Tollhouse recipe that comes on the bag. The homemade peanut butter cups I followed this instruction I found through Pinterest. Instead of layering the chocolate I made sure that the chocolate fully encapsulated the peanut butter mixture inside.  These also turned out great!

Everything was delicious and it felt good to be able to bring home so much tasty baked good. It was also rewarding to know that I made it all without using a mixer!

Happy Baking!

Creative Crafty #11: Foam Core and Recycled Fabric Deer

One of the first projects I found on Pinterest was this adorable fabric and foam core board deer. In the instructions on the actual website it recommended purchasing a book in which the pattern for the deer existed. I was too cheap, stubborn and lazy so instead I just winged it.

I pulled some old craft paper out of storage and made my own pattern. I have been trying to clean out some of my craft items I have collected over the years and found this the perfect use for some left over scraps. It did involve much tweaking but after the fabric was cut it was smooth sailing. It currently resides at my friends house in which she used it for a holiday party. :)

Light-weight Deer Mount

I plan to re-trace the cut-out to have a pattern to work form next year. I am not super crazy about how it turned out this time because I am a perfectionist. I learned some lessons about which type of fabric to use as well as how to apply spray adhesive. I still found it a cute decoration to add to my slew of Christmas items!

Creative Crafty #12: Cork Board Earring Display

This project came to me as I was wondering through the Dollar Tree in search of some cheap holiday decorations. In the isle with photo frames, I couldn't help but notice this untreated 8.5"x11" frame. It seemed to hold so much potential.

Frame in Pieces 

I have been flinging around ideas of how  to store my jewelry so that I actually wear the 100+ pairs of earrings I own. My earrings were living in a big tub where I never saw them and so I would only rotate between the few pairs that I kept out. Being the visual person I am I had been looking for a fun and decorative way to display them. So when I stumbled upon the unfinished frame it hit me. All I had to do was paint it add some cork board. BOOM! I had fun way to tack up all my colorful earrings where I would see them every day.

Once I painted the frame with a lavender color

There is a step here that I did not photograph. I measured the inside of the frame and cut a piece of cork board so that it would sit snugly inside. After the piece was cut I used spray adhesive to attach the cardboard backing that came with the frame. Once the two pieces were adhered I inserted it inside the frame and used hot glue to keep them together. I also bent the metal tabs back into place to make sure the back wouldn't fall out.

During the process of drawing on the Zebra Print

I love prints and I am especially fond of Zebra as most of my friends know. So I decided to draw on a zebra print down two sides of the frame once I already assembled the pieces together. Once I finished decorating the frame I scrounged up clear tacks to hang all the earrings off of.

Finished with some of my earrings

I made two of these and gave one to my friend for a Christmas present. I have found mine really useful. I actually have been much better about mixing up my earring selections each day. Hope you love it!

Happy Crafting!

Creative Crafty #10: Presents, Pinterest, and Parties

The Christmas season is over and I am feeling completely exhausted. Living in Massachusetts and having friends and family in Northern New York, New Hampshire, and WI meant my boyfriend and I spent a copious amount of time traveling this holiday season. Out of shear curiosity I decided to GoogleMaps how much we traveled. The conclusion, in just under 2 weeks we did 220 miles by snowmobile, 800+ miles by car (in a snow storm as well), and 2000+ miles by plane. Getting to spend quality time with both of our families made all the travel worth it.

It would be a safe bet to assume that this past weekend that I vegged out, but of course not. Saturday was a craft supply shopping extravaganza with a close friends and fellow crafter. I even finished an infinity scarf that night. Sunday, not to be out-shined by Saturday, was a fun lunch at PF Chang's in Providence Place with my cousin who lives in CT. She apparently is a bad influence because we ended up shopping for another solid 3 hours.( I shall note that almost every store was 40% off clearance so it was a steal.) I did find a super cute skirt suit for only 50$ at The Limited. From now on I think I will only buy clothes this time of year when all the stores are trying to clear out old merchandise. (Ok, so that's not entirely true but I will try! HA!) 

Anyways, to get back on topic, let me catch you up on my last month of crazy fun holiday projects and baked goods. Avoiding the Black Friday madness (which last year I stupidly participated in) I wandered straight into an unhealthy addiction to pinterest in search of yummy goodies and present ideas for my family this year. As a result I have been quite busy but slacking on my blogging efforts. I have listed below the links (as I get those posts done) to the projects and adventures that occurred over the last month and have made them all separate entries for a matter of organization.

1. Foam Core and Recycled Fabric Deer
2. Corkboard Earring Display
3. Ladies Only Lasagna
4. Christmas Cookies and Chocolates
5. Crotched Infinity Scarf
6. Ceramic Mugs decorated with Sharpies
7. Teaching Shane to Snowboard
8. Getting back on the Horse....Power!

All in all, I had an amazing first Christmas with my boyfriend! In all its craziness it was really nice to have him there with me through all of it. He was the first one I ever shared Christmas at my house with and definitely handled his own in my rambunctious family. (I should mention every holiday there is a Nerf gun war, which is a down grade from what used to be shooting real guns at trees and small animals in the back yard.) He stood strong under fire while I was scavenging for "bullets" to feed his assault. We had a great deal of fun and it was a really good experiment that really reminded me again how great we get along and how much I love my family . :)

Hoping you all had fantastic holidays as well! 

Happy New Year!