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Saturday, November 13, 2010

Huge Favor

Dear Blogging Friends and Followers,

I have a huge annoying favor to ask, it might seem kind of crazy, which it really is.  I am changing this blog’s address over to: 

http://www.stuff-by-ash.blogspot.com/

I will no longer be posting here at this address.  But I can’t figure out how to take you with me without disrupting things.  Would you please come follow/visit me at my new address instead?  Pretty please?

I just posted a new fun Fall Décor project that I know you’ll love!

Thank you a million times for your cooperation and kind comments,

Ash

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cute Turkey and Some “Craft Goodies”

Ucreate posted THE MOST ADORABLE turkey ever!  He looks so easy and cheap (not that he looks tacky cheap but the supplies are inexpensive ;0)).  image

 

I was curious to see who was the master mind behind this cutie so I hopped over to Craft Goodies.  Can I just say that I am totally smitten with her cute craftiness!  I was so disappointed when I got to the end of her blog pages, yes I looked at every single last post she has ever made.  So much cute stuff!

A few of my favorite things:

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Peppermint Swirl Ornament

 

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Hand Stitched Nativity Ornament
(there is a whole set . . . and . . . . wait for it . . . you can purchase them {HERE} at her Etsy shop!)

 

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She also has these super cute “Word of the Month” kits that you can buy finished or unfinished.  I am soo excited for this “Frosty” one!

Chunky Monkey Pancakes

image{THIS} is what we had for dinner last night.  Tried a new recipe from Our Best Bites, Chunky Monkey Pancakes.  They were a hit, scrumdiddlyumtious!  And the Little Miss had a ball mashing up the bananas for me. 

We skipped making the “Peanut Butter Syrup” and spread peanut butter on the pancakes then topped them with syrup.  (I know, talk about the healthiest dinner ever!  We had fruit, does that make it better?)

{Photo courtesy: Our Best Bites}

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Read With Me Wednesday: Pink and Say

I just finished reading Forge, the sequel to Chains by Lauire Halse Anderson.  My wonderfully thoughtful cousin brought it to a family function this Sunday, and I was so pleasantly surprised!  I literally had just finished reading Chains again and was anticipating getting Forge from the Library, but was still on the waiting list!  Anyway, Forge reminded me of another great book, Pink and Say by Patiricia Polacco.  I ran to library to check it out so we could read together for story time!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

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Pink and Say
by Patricia Polacco

Pink and Say highlights the brief but intimate friendship of two young boys, Pinkus Aylee (Pink) and Sheldon Curtis (Say), during the Civil War. When wounded attempting to escape his unit, Say is rescued by Pink, who carries him back to his Georgia home where he and his family were slaves. While the frightened soldier is nursed back to health under the care of Pink’s mother, Moe Moe Bay, he begins to understand why his new found friend is so adamant on returning to the war; to fight against "the sickness" that is slavery. However it isn’t until marauders take Moe Moe Bay’s life, that Say is driven to fight. Although ultimately, both boys are taken prisoners of the Confederate Army, fortunately Say survives and was unable to pass along the story of Pink and Say to his daughter Rosa, Patricia Polacco’s great grandmother. As it was told, Pink was hanged just shortly after being taken prisoner, therefore Patricia’s book "serves as a written memory" of him. At the end of the story Patricia bids the reader, "Before you put this book down, say his name (Pinkus Aylee) out loud and vow to remember him always."
One of the more heartwarming moments of the story is when Say tells Pink and his mother that he once shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln. Convinced that his encounter is a "sign" of hope, Say reaches for Pink’s hand, exclaiming, "Now you can say you touched the hand that shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln!" At the end of the story when the boys are separated, Pink reaches for Say one last time to touch his hand.  (The Story (From Leah Polacco))

Monday, November 8, 2010

I {Heart} Thanksgiving Printables

Now I don’t want to be negative or anything, but the other day I was reading through my blogs in my Google Reader and came across a crafty blog where the author was discussing how she thinks Thanksgiving is boring!  I was shocked, maybe I took it a little to seriously, but still was shocked!  I won’t go into Christmas decorations being put in the stores earlier every year, blah, blah, blah, Christmas music, blah, blah, blah, commercialization, blah, blah, blah.  I won’t rant about those, but really Thanksgiving gets passed over.  And I don’t think it is boring, but to each their own. 

Now I am going to get to my point.  There are a ton of cute printables (FREE!) out there in blog land.  I have been waiting for just the right ones to print off and add to our Thanksgiving decorations (which only consists of a wooden turkey my mom just gave me, and some fall pumpkins that aren’t too Halloweeny, so they are staying out for another month). 

I just uploaded these two puppies at Sam’s and cannot wait to go pick them up tomorrow afternoon!  So excited!  I have empty frames just waiting to be filled.

{THANKSGIVING SUBWAY ART} by Bunch of Craft

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There is also {THIS ONE} from Craftily Ever After, but I felt like other matched our décor a little better. 

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The {SECOND ONE} I am printing, is also from Craftily Ever After:

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I think I am going to print some of these off for my the sisters I Visit Teach to give to them this month!

Larry the Turkey Cupcakes

Larry the Turkey
This is another one of my favorites from last year.  Honestly probably the fanciest and funnest (I know, not a word) cupcakes I’ve ever made.
I originally found the idea HERE at Duncan Hines.
I somewhat tweaked the decorations, here’s a little break down of what I used:
Larry the Turkey2
It is looking like we might be having Thanksgiving at our house this year, I am wondering if I’m going to be crazy enough to make these . . . maybe . . . we’ll see. 

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Oreo Turkeys

It is only the fifth day of November and already my “Thanksgiving” bookmark folder is bursting with fun ideas!  I can’t wait to try them all out!  First I wanted to share one of my favorites from last year.  I made these cute little Oreo Turkeys from Cookies and Cups with my friends’ little boy who was about three at the time.  We had so much fun, even though a lot of our “Turkeys” turned into spiders, but still a fun project!

Oreo Turkey

image For complete instructions click {HERE}

 

And I can’t help but share a fun song for the kiddos about a turkey named Albuquerque.  My students last year loved this one!  It is even more fun (if your kiddos are old enough) to have them try to spell “Albuquerque”!

Albuquerque Turkey
Sung to: "My Darlin Clementine"

Albuquerque is a turkey
And he's feathered and he's fine
And he wobbles and he gobbles
And he's absolutely mine!
He's the best pet you can get yet
Better than a dog or cat
He's my Albuquerque turkey
And I'm awfully proud of that!
And my Albuquerque turkey
Is so happy in his bed
'Cause for our Thanksgiving Dinner
We have spaghetti instead!

Song Found: www.canteach.ca

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Winger’s Sticky Finger Freakin’ Amazing Sauce

Did you survive Halloween?  We did – barely!  We visited family in Oregon and had a blast Trunk or Treating in the drizzly Oregon weather, but my daughter LOVED it.  I don’t know which she loved more getting candy, or handing out candy with her Nana.  Hope your Halloween was fun and safe also. 

Before we move on from Halloween and into Thanksgiving I have  a question for you.  My Sister-In-Laws (Sisters-In-Law, I don’t know which it should be??) and I were having a discussion and I couldn’t help but wonder what y’all thought.  She pronounces Halloween, “Hall-o-ween”, like you walk down the hall.  But I pronounce it, “Hal-o-ween”, like your Uncle Hal.  We finally came to the conclusion that this was because she is from Oregon where they talk weird, have no mountains, and don’t pump their own gas.  And I am from Utah where we talk perfectly normal but sometimes spell things differently than we pronounce them (ex.  Huntington, is pronounced “Hunnington”.  And Hurricane, is not like the hurricanes that are tropical storms, but “Hurra-kin”)

Ok I really have a blog post for you, actually a recipe!  I stumbled upon this while looking for something new to try out for dinner and it has become a favorite of ours.  Bonus:  it is sooo simple!

 

imageWinger's Sticky Finger Freakin' Amazing Sauce
by Family Favorite Recipes 

For the sauce:
**Covers about 8 sticky fingers
3 Tbsp. Franks Hot Sauce (It has to be Franks Hot Sauce... no other sauce will taste as good)
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water
Heat up hot sauce, brown sugar and water in a saucepot until all the sugar dissolves (we actually doubled the recipe and it was the perfect amount for the chicken and for dipping).
That's IT for the sauce! Isn't that easy?? We like to dip popcorn in it :) Mix it with a little bit of ranch to make their creamy amazing dressing.The possibilities are ENDLESS with this sauce!


For the Sticky Fingers:
1 c. oil
1 pkg. frozen breaded chicken fingers
In a frying pan, heat oil and cook chicken fingers until crispy and warm. Pour sauce over (or put them in a Tupperware with some of the sauce and shake it up until the chicken is completely covered in sauce). Serve with ranch (we like to make the Hidden Valley Packet Ranch prepared with buttermilk instead of milk) or blue cheese dressing.
PRINT RECIPE

 

When I make these we have them on whole wheat wraps, you can get them in the tortilla section at Walmart, with sandwhich fixins.  I am so lazy that I don’t even make the chicken like the recipe says, I just grab a giant bag of Tyson’s Breaded Chicken Breasts and Tenderloin from the freezer isle at Sam’s Club.  The chicken and sauce are also yummy in a salad, if you are a salad kind of person. 

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Mummy Pops and Royal Icing Eyeballs

One last, last minute super easy Halloween treat for the year!

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I’m sure you’ve seen these fun little mummy pops around the web.  I think they originally stared at How Does She?  This is my own take on it! 

Supplies:
White Almond Bark
1 Package Oreos
Sucker sticks
Ziplock baggies
Royal Icing Eyeballs (see recipe below)

I made my own eyes out of royal icing and since I made the whole batch of royal icing for just a few eyeballs I had a ton of icing and made some little spiders (I know, spiders have eight legs, not six, but it looked better this way . . . )

I used Almond Bark from Walmart, it had kind of a off white tint to it, I wondered if you used chocolate melts if it would have been a truer white.  Does anyone know?  I used one pack of Oreos and one package of bark, but could used a little more bark, I had about five Oreos left over. 


178_0190Twist/wedge apart Oreo cookie.  I used a small knife to get it started. 

178_0191 Dip top of sucker stick in melted white chocolate.  I love my little fondue pot!  It makes projects like this so easy.  No burned chocolate or having to reheat. 

178_0192 Place dipped part of stick on one side of the cookie. 

178_0193 Gently smoosh cookie back together. 

178_0194 Let chocolate harden, to speed up this process place in the fridge for a few minutes. 

    178_0200 Dip cookie pop in melted white chocolate.

178_0201   Coat well, tap off extra. 

178_0199Add eyeballs before chocolate hardens.  Let chocolate set up, again place in fridge to speed up the process.

178_0204Fill ziplock baggie with melted chocolate, snip off the end.  Pipe on melted chocolate to look like mummy wrapping.   

178_0202Add royal icing spiders, let chocolate set up well. 

178_0210 Place a piece of styrofoam in  bucket stick sticks into.  Pretend like styrofoam got covered up with little accoardian paper filler things and there there it is wrapped in cellophane, tied with a cute bow and a tag with a cute little mummy that says, “Some MUMMY loves you!”

 

Royal Icing Eyballs
Gourmet Mom on the Go

Ingredients:
Royal Icing (recipes below)
Black Food Coloring (or cocoa powder)
Wax Paper
Circular cake decorating frosting tip or Ziploc Freezer Bag

Directions: Tape wax paper to counter or table. Using black food coloring, tint 1/4 of your icing black (if you don't have black food coloring, you can use cocoa powder to make a dark brown--add a little water if your icing gets too thick). Using a cake decorating bag with a circular tip (or simply use a freezer ziploc bag and cut off a tiny bit of one corner if you don't have cake decorating supplies). Using white first, squeeze out a counter full of dots:
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Add a small amount of black for the pupil (you can still do this while the white is wet):

Let dry overnight, peel off (the kids love this part!) and store in an airtight container, they will last for months. Pull a few out anytime you want to jazz up your food!

ROYAL ICING (Egg White Recipe)
Ingredients:
3 egg whites, room temperature
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Combine ingredients, beat at high speed for 7-10 minutes.

ROYAL ICING (Meringue Powder recipe)
Ingredients:
3 tbsp. meringue powder (you can get this in the wedding/cake supplies at Wal-Mart)
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
6 tbsp. warm water (in humidity use less water)
Beat all ingredients until icing forms peaks at low speed. Yield approximately 3 cups.
Notes: Please keep icing covered with a damp cloth or paper towel while not in use, otherwise it will harden. To attach eyeballs to food, moisten the back of the eyeball with a little water and it will stick to most anything. (Gourmet Mom on the Go)

 

This is my counter full of eyeballs.  I had a lot so I thought it would be fun to make some spiders for the mummies too.  I did a small circle for the head a larger one for the body and little lines for the legs.  I now have enough eyeballs to last us a lifetime!

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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pumpkin Reverse Appliqué T-Shirt

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{Supplies}

178_0118 Coordinating thread
Small SHARP scissors
Fabric (orange and green)
T-shirt (I actually found mine at the Dollar Store)
Pins
Pattern/Picture
Ribbon
Embroidery thread (green)
Sewing machine

 

{How To}

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Cut a square out of the orange fabric, big enough for you chose pattern and then some.  Pin orange fabric on the INSIDE of your shirt, wherever you want your pumpkin to be.  We choose the top center, on the chest. 

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Pin your pumpkin picture onto the FRONT of the shirt, printed mine of the internet.  I actually did a Google search for “pumpkin appliqué” and got a lot of great results. 

178_0122 178_0123 178_0124Sew around the outside of your pattern, VERY CAREFULLY!  This pumpkin had a bit too many small curves for me, so instead of unpicking my horrible sewing and trying again, I sewed around my pumpkin five or six times, trying to sew close to what I’d already sewed but not right on top of the stitching.  In the end, I liked the look this gave. 

 

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Be careful not to sew the back of your shirt to the front, or the front to the back.  I did not once, but twice!  Only sew the front of the shirt, otherwise you won’t be able to fit a little person in there!!

 178_0126178_0128 Here is what my shirt looked like, remember the orange fabric you pinned the back, obviously you want to be able to see that so here’s what you’re going to do next:

 

 178_0129 178_0130 178_0131178_0133Using your small sharp scissors, carefully cut on around the inside of your stitches.  Getting as close as possible to them, with out cutting them.  

Now you have your pumpkin, but it needs a stem.  I wanted my stem to go behind my pumpkin, so this is what I came up with:

178_0134Cut a little slit at the top of the pumpkin, but not through the stitches, just above them.   178_0135To make my stem I used a piece of brown ribbon, cut, folded in half, sewed together the open edge.  This will go on the inside of the shirt, so you won’t see it.  So I didn’t worry about hiding seams, or as you can see changing my thread color.   178_0136Insert sewed end of ribbon through the slit so that the sewed end is inside the shirt 178_0137 178_0138Pin and sew on top of the ribbon, I tried to blend this in with the stitches I already  sewed. 

Pumpkin, check.  Stem, check.  Now for the leaf and vines.  178_0139Cut out two leaf shapes, place wrong sides together, sew around the edges, turn right side out.   178_0140Put some of the leaf in that slit you made to make it look like it’s coming from the pumpkin and the stem.   178_0143178_0145To sew my leaf onto the shirt, I used coordinating embroidery thread, sewed up the middle and around the edges.  As you can see I did not to a great sewing job with the machine, but I thought it helped the leaf to match a little better so I left it.  178_0146 178_0147 As a finishing touch I used the same green embroidery thread and stitched on a few swirly vines.  

   178_0152Pretty happy with my finished product, and it even survived the wash.  I had fears it would completely come apart, but it made it!  My pumpkin was a little bumpy, which added character to a pumpkin, but wouldn’t look so great if it was an initial or something.  So my tip would be, chose something with a simple shape that will be easy to sew around.  And make sure when you are pinning you get everything nice and flat and tight.  Oh, and it was super fast, it took me about an hour from start to finish. 

 

 

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I’m excited to make some different versions using this technique, Wal-Mart has a ton of plain long sleeved shirts for $3 right now!

 

For more help and tips you can visit:
Crafting in the Closet and Sugar Bee Craft Addition



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