Fancy Pin Cushion Tutorial

Here's the perfect gift for that crafty person in your life! A best friend, a teacher, sister, mom- options are endless. I'm making this for my mom and sister! It's super simple and very cute. I saw something similar to this a few years ago and have been wanting to make it ever since!

I have been using this...

and it's not very cute. So I've now replaced it with my new fancy pin cushion! Here's how to make yours!

Supplies:

asian sauce dish (or other small dish with a flat center)

heavy duty magnets

E6000 glue

Head to your local asian market and pick up a pretty sauce plate. Their also called sushi sauce plates. Their also available on Amazon if you don't have a handy local Asian market. They also have some cute sauce plates at Crate and Barrel. I liked the color options in the Asian sauce plates for me.
Glue your heavy duty magnets (I got mine online at createforless.com) to the bottom of your dish with your E6000 glue. I would use 2-4 magnets on the bottom. 1 magnet makes it a bit wobbly. I liked 3 magnets the best as it made the pins distribute the most evenly in the dish.

Wait for it to dry, then flip it over and drop in your pins!
So easy and so cute! I'm loving this cute little dish of pins next to my sewing machine!

Cooking Birthday Party

My oldest turned 6 this past week! To celebrate, she had her best girlfriends over for a cooking party! We had so much fun. Here's some of my crafty details:

The Invitation: I used my silhouette to cut out a recipe card for the invitation. The message reads like a recipe but we put in details about the party, like pre-heat your oven to 5-19, and cook from 1pm-3pm. I think they turned out super cute!
The School Treat: 31 M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies ready to go!
The Decor: We went with a pink/brown theme. I had these tissue balls already. We hung streamers, put vinyl "Happy Birthday" on the mirror, a cute table runner, and matching bunting! Pink Gerber Daisies finished off the look.
A Few Favorite Things: Besides the food they cooked, we served a few of my daughters favorite things- Whole Wheat Banana Muffins, Watermelon, Fishies.
Drinks: My daughters favorite drink is Sunny Delight (which I never buy. They only get it at Grandma's) She was so excited I got these for the party. I replaced the ugly wrapper with a custom label that said Happy Birthday Jayne!
Make Your Own Pizza: For the first activity, each girl got to make her own pizza. We had the dough already made. They got to roll out their dough and add their sauce and cheese.
Decorate Your Own Cupcake: For dessert and our next activity, each girl got to decorate her own cupcake. We had strawberry and chocolate frosting's (keeping with our pink/brown theme), and a medley of toppings. I put them in the center of the table on a lazy susan so they could spin it around and choose their topping.
Craft: For the craft, each girl got to put together and decorate her own cook book. I had pre-printed 5 recipes for them and a title page. They used markers, stickers, and puffy paints to decorate their books and pages. I also had a fun word search with cooking words/terms that they could do while waiting for other girls to finish.
Goodies: Instead of a goodie bag, each girl got their very own personalized apron! These were set out so as each girl arrived they put on their aprons for the party. They were so excited they go to take them home!
Add in a little sidewalk chalk, hula hoop, and chatting, and you've got yourself a fun party!! Thanks girls! You were adorable!

Turning 6 Birthday Oufit

No Birthday would be complete with out a new outfit to wear on your special day! This year I wanted to make a tiered ruffle skirt and matching ts-hirt. My daughter loved it!
I used my silhouette and the new fabric interfacing to cut out the cupcake and candle and number. The number was my daughters idea and I think it was just perfect!
The ruffle skirt was a combination of patterns. I love the fabrics. They look so summery to me.
I also added a cute custom hair clip in coordinating fabric. The birthday girl was happy!!

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

I found this recipe on All Recipes and I LOVE it! It is my favorite home-made dressing! Wow! You gotta try it!

1/2 C. Balsamic Vinegar

2 T. Chopped Onion
1 T Soy Sauce
3 T. Honey
1 T. White Sugar
2 Cloves of Garlic Minced
1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper
2/3 C. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

I put all of this in my Vitamix blender and it turned it into this perfect consistency! We've had salad almost every night with this dressing! Enjoy!

Mothers Day Subway Art

What do you think?

I finally tried my hand at subway art! And it was really fun! Here's the picture from pottery barn I was trying to copy.

I did this for my mom for Mother's Day. Since she has only lived on a few streets in her whole life, I decided to use the addresses and street names from all of the houses she has help design and build over the years. Yes, she builds houses with my dad. How fun, huh. I love how it turned out. I decided to use canvas instead of a frame and cardboard. I also used contact paper to put the words on, then painted it and peeled off the contact paper to reveal the letters in white. I love that it looks like a real painting and nothing's going to peel off. I can't wait to try my next one. I've got some ideas for it.... :-)

The Versatile Blogger Award!

Wow! What a fun day! I've been awarded the Versatile Blogger award from Sweet Peas and Bumblebees! Thanks so much! Here's the details:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you for the award.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to 7 new-found bloggers.

4. Contact those bloggers to congratulate them.

______________________________________________________________

7 Facts about me:

1- I started sewing when I was 8.

2- I love chocolate and have to have some (usually just a little) every day.

3- I can live off limited sleep, which comes in handy.

4- I love trying new recipes and try to try something new once a week.

5- Our family is huge college football fans.

6- I love reading and read a new book almost every week.

7- I love crafting but I'm not a big scrapbooker. I do digital scrapbooking now and love it.

7 New-To-Me Bloggers I Love:

1. Oopsie Daisies : She has some adorable crafts
2. Little Lovelies : I want this craft room!! Such great ideas!
3. Paisley Passions : A great place to link up
4. Maisonnette : Gorgeous fabrics and super fun projects
5. Pleasant Home : Beautiful Photos, LOVE the projects and quilting!
6. Running With Glitter : Overall great blog. Great features and great variety of projects!
7. Civil War Quilts : I LOVE civil war reprint fabric and learning the history of blocks. I love this site! Barbara Brackman is very talented.