Mini French Breakfast Muffins

I know the picture Isn't that great, but these muffins are to die for. Not too sweet but perfect to fulfill your sweet tooth. I got this recipe from THIS blog. I'm going to make more for Jason's Christmas party at work and Christmas Eve.

In the recipe it calls to sprinkle cinnamon sugar when done baking, I did that but also made a sugar glaze that really made them perfect. I think the next time I am going to add lots of lemon to the glaze so it has a lemony flavor. Yeah, good idea.

I advise everyone to try this recipe!!!!!

Been Busy

I know it's been almost a month since I've last posted something. I had the flu, been busy taking care of sick kids, constantly cleaning, shopping for Christmas gifts for the boys, and doing lots of sewing. I've been trying to make gifts for Christmas because money is tight these days. Here is a sneak peak of some gifts i made some sweet girls.

The Girly Twirly Skirt Tutorial

I finally got the guts to post my first tutorial.
The skirt that I made is for size 3T. If you need any measurements for other sizes you can email me, along with any questions and I will try to help you out as much as I can. I apologize ahead of time for the long tutorial. I am visual type of girl and hope you are too! Good luck.



1. Choose your fabric. I chose two heavy cotton fabrics that compliment each other.



2. For the main part of the skirt cut 2 on fold.  21 1/4" wide x 9" high.



3. For the drop waistband cut 1 on fold.  12 1/2" wide x 5 1/2" high.



4. For the hem band cut 2 on fold.  21 1/4" wide x 6" high.



5. With right sides together, sew both sides of your drop waist band together at the edges. Then finish raw edges. I used pinking shears. You can use zigzag stitch or a serger.



6. With right sides together sew both strips of the main skirt together at the edges. Finish raw edge.



7. With right sides together sew both strips of the hem band together at the edges. Finish raw edge.



8. Fold the strip in half all the way around and press it down with an iron to make a firm crease. You should have a large circle when done. (see next photo)



9. It should look like this.



10. This is what all pieces should look like at this point. You should have 3 all together.



11. With right sides together take the hem band and line up the side seams with the side seams of the main skirt and pin all around.



12. Sew the hem band and main skirt together and finish raw edges.



13. Turn the skirt over and press the seam with an iron.



14. Gather the top of main skirt with a gathering or basting stitch. I set my basting stitch on 1. When you start your basting stitch I do a couple of back stitches to secure the thread so it doesn't pull out when you gather it and do not back stitch when your done. Make sure you have enough thread to pull on to gather the fabric. ( I think this is the hardest part)



15. Your gathered skirt should look like this.



16. With the right sides together pin the gathered part of the main skirt to the drop waist band. Make sure the seam of the waist bad in centered in the back with the 2 side seams are even on each side of the main skirt.



17. Sew the pieces together with the gathered side up. Finish raw edges.



18. This is what it should look like at this point.




19. Fold the top of the waist band over about an inch.



20. Pin all the way around the band leaving an opening for the elastic.



21. Sew all the way around the band making sure you leave the opening for the elastic.



22. I sew again around so I have two rows of stitching. I do that so it stays secure.



23. You may want to measure the waist of the child and cut the elastic an inch smaller than their waist. For the size 3t that I am making, the average waist measures about 19-20 inches.
24. Insert a large safety pin into one end of the elastic.



25. Thread the elastic with the safety pin through the opening of the waist band.



26. When it is threaded through, pull both sides of the elastic out of each end of the waistband and overlap each other and lay flat then sew the two together.



27. Push the elastic into the waistband casing, even it out and sew the opening closed.



28. I like to sew a vertical stitch on the center back seam to secure the elastic in place so it doesn't move around and twist.




ALL DONE !!!!
Congratulations. Sorry about the long long tutorial.

Coming Soon......

The Girly Twirly Skirt Tutorial!

Buffalo Chicken Soup

I got this recipe from my 2008 Better Homes and Gardens Magazine that I had stashed away in my recipe folder. This soup is a must try. It is soooooo darn good. I served it with fresh french bread.

Ingredients
1 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 lb. deli-roasted chicken, skinned, boned, and coarsely shredded
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 14-oz. cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
1-1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. bottled hot pepper sauce
1-1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (6 oz.)
1-1/4 cups crumbled blue cheese (5 oz.)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (2 oz.)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions
1. In 4-quart Dutch oven melt butter over medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in broth, milk, and the 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce. (I blended all the ingredients together to make it smooth)
2. In bowl toss together mozzarella, 1 cup of the blue cheese, Parmesan, and flour. Add gradually to soup, stirring after each addition just until melted. Stir in three-fourths of the shredded chicken; heat through. Top with remaining chicken, blue cheese, and hot sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Cheesecake Pops

The other day I made the cheesecake pops to take for my MOPS and small group. They were so delicious. I wish I had the time to make them pretty with different sprinkles and such. They were a pain in the butt to make because I didn't have the time for the cheesecake to set overnight after I baked the cake. I should have just spent the $10 and bought one.

It was so hard to make the cake into a ball and stay on a stick so I could dip it in the chocolate.

I think the next time I make them it will be easier. First time is always a learning experience. They are weird looking but darn good.

I also made cake pops that I threw out because they tasted disgusting. Too darn sweet.

Sock Monkey blanket

All week long while taking care of sick boys-- I've been working on this blanket for my friend who is having a baby boy in January. I had to get it done this weekend because she is only in town Sunday and Monday. It was fun trying to figure out how I was going to make a sock monkey out of material. It came out ok. I had a different vision of how it was going to look, but I guess it will have to do.

Countdown to Halloween

A couple weeks ago I wanted to make the boys a countdown to Halloween calender. I got the idea from my sister-in-law Cassandra last year when she emailed me an advent calender from Pottery Barn Kids for Christmas. I looked on the Pottery Barn website to get an idea for the Halloween one and it was over $50! I thought to myself "I could make one of these for much less". I went to the fabric store and bought all the felt I needed to make the calender. I started to cut out the squares and brainstormed how I would make the calender. I was so excited.

A day later I took a trip to "The Christmas Tree Shops" and found an almost identical calender like the one at Pottery Barn for $5.00!!! So I bought it. I figure I would save a lot of time and aggravation. Now I have lots of time to start my Christmas calender!

The $5.oo Christmas Tree Shop Calender

The $50+ Calender

All the felt that I bought.

The Girly Skirt

Back in high school, I took a class for four years called Fashion & Designing. I absolutely loved it. Each year I got better and better at sewing. My senior year of high school (my final project) I had to design and make prom dresses, and then we had to put together a fashion show for the whole school to showcase our work. I wish I had photos of the dresses I made. They were beautiful. I donated them to a couple girls that couldn't afford dresses. It was so much fun. I thought about going to FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC, but, went to cosmetology school instead.

Lately, I decided that I wanted to start sewing clothes again using patterns. I haven't done that in about 15 years.  So I did. It was refreshing. I made these outfits for some of my friends and families little girls for their birthday. I got the skirt pattern from Pink Fig

The pattern is called the Girly Skirt. The tops were bought at a store and I cut out the the letter out in material and used no sew adhesive to attach the letter or number onto the shirt.

I can't wait to start more cute projects.