Hanukkah Subway Art

Feeling left out, I created my own. Now I'm going to post it so everyone can see that there are others out there who celebrate something different that Christmas :)

The skirt that almost kills me

I love Dana over at MADE. She's amazing, has beautiful children - and somehow figures out how to come up with the most excellent ideas. Except for this one (TOTALLY joking - just frustrated with this skirt). We're still on the Made for Kids board.

I've made this particular skirt for a friend's daughter - but I have made them for a fundraiser in purple and as a Thanksgiving skirt in brown. They are absolutely breathtaking. The girls love them - and no matter where we go, we get compliments.

The instructions Dana gives for this skirt are very good. As you can see below, you need to tier the skirt according to a formula - and then add the fluff.

Adding the fluff is the hard part. Nylon chiffon is pretty easy to work with - but you need so much of it for this project. I buy it precut and then put two layers together. Then I gather. Dana does a great job of teaching you how to do this the cheater method. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to do it on my machine - so I do it the old fashion way.

Once it's gathered, you have to then sew it on. I like the look of overlap, so you have to get close to the other layer.

I never have good luck with the final step - adding the elastic. The folding always gets bunched up. My guess is that my tension is too tight on my surger. Either way, the nice thing about this skirt is that I don't have to worry - it'll never show!

See how it twirls? It looks nice when they are just standing too!

I think Dana has this down as a beginner- intermediate project. Do not attempt as a beginner because you may give up sewing all together. Don't ask me to make it for you - this is my last one. My girls each have two and they are done.

Hints that I learned:

1. You have to know how to gather, how to put two uneven pieces of fabric together and make it work.

2. You have to understanding how your sewing machine works - and how to undo what your sewing machine just made you do. :)

3. If you have a taller child, make sure you take into account all the calculations. Do not make the tiers wider (to make the skirt longer) - just add another tier.

4. This skirt can take upwards of 6-8 hours. Do it over multiple days. Breaks up all the work.

5. Take your time. Rushing this (or waiting to the lsat minute) does not work.

Swim Pants

Switching from Yummy to Make for Kids, I'm working my way through my Pinterest pins. :)

Below is a picture of my oldest who does not like flashes on cameras (sadly, she has me for a mother - who can't figure out how to turn it off on this camera). She's a swimmer - a really good swimmer. And she goes to meets almost every weekend in the Fall and Winter. We live in cold country, so walking around with a towel wrapped around her is not an option - but neither are traditional pants.

I found this pair for $30 + shipping. Our local Target had their comfy towels on sale for $4 a piece - and with elastic, my total came to $8.50 (yes, there was tax, but I have the 5% off Target card!). That's a huge savings considering that I know that she's going to want another pair :)
I made them big because I know she's about to hit a growth spurt. Plus, she loves things big and comfy :)

How did I do it? I took a pants pattern that I already had for her size, cut the pants, made sure I surged the edges as the towel shed like crazy (if you don't have a surger, just do a tight zigzag stitch over the edges). Elastic replaced the ties they had in the original - and TADA - swim pants!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

We're going to start in the Yummy section of my Pinterest. As you can see - it's getting bigger and bigger (this may be a long project!). But the one I have been wanting to try - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake!

I had my assistant help me with this one. It's hot here in beautiful IL - and he had already gotten breakfast on his shirt. :)

After we were done with the mixing, etc - Lukey helped me clean some of the utensils. (Warning - this takes a lot of bowls, measuring cups, etc.) My other assistant, hubby Steve, took care of the dishes - but he was none to happy about the huge mess....
Until he tried these. They ARE yummy. Definitely can taste the chocolate - but it's not overwhelming. The cheesecake kind of cuts down on the sweetness of the cookie dough. The instructions were very good - and without pictures, you can make this. Cooking time was a bit on the low side - so make sure you read the instructions on waiting until the top is crispy.

I would say that this is an intermediate recipe + : meaning that if you are starting to learn how to cook, wait on this recipe until you get a couple of easier recipes under your belt.

Also, while this recipe can be used with stuff you have around the house, you'll definitely want to think about timing. It takes a couple of hours for it to 'cure' in the fridge - so don't use this as a last minute dessert.

Enjoy :)

3...2...1....

And I'm starting.

I'm starting to think that I might have a bit of ADD. Or perhaps I just have a lot of energy. But I like to do things - sitting and I don't go well together.

So today, I start blogging again. You'll see random things here. Projects I'm working on. Tutorials of things that I think others would like to do. My attempt to go through all 900+ pins I've done on Pinterest (I'm done with 20 - only 880+ to go!!). Tutorials that I've done - and what I thought of them. You name it - you'll see it!!

Toni :)

Wow...a new start

I'm starting a new project. It's big. And should be fun. It'll all start on August 1st. Get ready :)

5 Things I love...

Since I did one post in January, and February isn't looking much better, I figured I'd do a "5 Things I Love" post.

1. I love Dana over at MADE. She comes up with some really cool ideas - and her pictures rock. I also love Anna over at Noodlehead - she has some of the best patterns I've ever used. But Julia is my favorite to read - hands down.

2. I love the ideas that Erin and crew come up with at Unclutterer - her new book has given me the ideas to make changes in my own house. Reducing our house almost by HALF (seriously, we totally cleaned house in the basement and the 2nd floor - only the 1st floor left!).

3. My children. Each one reminds me of me - and their own little personalities. I never thought being a mom would be as fun as it is.

4. My job. I love my job as a nurse at the local health department. I love my patients (most of them), I love the people I work with. And I love the idea of working there for the rest of my career.

5. My husband. Who not only gets me, but supports me in whatever crazy idea that I swear we have to try. I need to remember to thank him more often :)

What do you love???