Thursday, June 30, 2011

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whoever came up with this idea is a total genius! Why didn't I think of this before?? An Oreo cookie inside of a homemade chocolate chip cookie is having "The Best of Both Worlds." 

I only made 2 of these yesterday when I made a batch of cookies for my husband, because if I didn't like them, I didn't want to waste my Oreos. That would have been a crime! :) But now I am wishing I had made more of them! They are pretty rich but very very good!


You'll need:
Cookie dough (homemade or store bought)
Oreos - I think double stuff would have been better

1. Mix up your cookie dough (if you have store bought, skip to number 2)
2. Take an Oreo and place a scoop of cookie dough on top and a scoop on bottom of the cookie. 
3. Make sure the dough covers the Oreo entirely. (it may crack or break some)
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes 
5. Let cool and enjoy!!

Warning: These make very large cookies!


Don't have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe? 

Here's my favorite!

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
nuts (optional)
Chocolate chips

Cream sugars, butter, and shortening together. Add egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix in nuts and chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-9 minutes.


I also saw a suggestion for putting a nutter butter inside...What would you put inside your cookie?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Dress up Magnets

At my moms house, my daughter loves to bang on my mom's washing machine. My mom kept talking about wanting to get magnets to put on there for the jellybean to play with, but wanted something a little cuter and more fun than just alphabet or number magnets.

So last week when my parents were cleaning my sisters room (and my cleaning I mean throwing lots away), my dad found this little wooden bear dress up set but without the box it was supposed to go in.  


Cute huh?


I placed them face down and glued magnets to the back of each. I used some model car glue that my husband had laying around. It works pretty good!

Edit: The model car glue didn't hold enough. I suggest using Super glue instead. 


Let them dry for several hours and then tested them out on the fridge!!
Now she has magnets to play with at "Mum-mum's"! (She just started calling her Mum Mum)


Check out the face on this one! Poor guy has 2 pairs of pants and no shirt! 

What are you making today?

Monday, June 27, 2011

Adorable Giveaway at Little Miss Momma!

Thank you all so much for being so understanding and patient with me these past few weeks. We had a week of emotionally and physically draining days and then came back just to get some summer colds. Yeck..

I am getting back into the swing of things and hope to be posting more this week! Especially since my little jellybean's birthday party is next week!! 

On another note, check out this ADORABLE Lisa Leonard giveaway over at Little Miss Momma!



I fell in love with this bracelet as soon as I saw it! 

There are multiple ways to enter so go on over and enter!!!

Happy Monday!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Brief Absence

 Please excuse me this week but I will not be posting as my Uncle has passed away of a heart attack and I will be traveling with my family to attend the funeral. I will not be posting at all this week at least and possibly through next week.

Thank you very much for your understanding.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Sprayed vases

This is a simple craft. You need some yarn, rubber bands or twine, some spray paint and a couple vases! First you need to clean off your vase if it has been sitting a while like mine. Start at the bottom and tape your yarn to the bottom of the vase then just start randomly wrapping and crossing the yarn around the vase until you get to the top. When you get to the top you can tape the yarn to the inside of the vase. Then cut your yarn and start spraying! When it dries remove your yarn and Ta Da! 
The flowers I have in mine right now remind me of Christmas but I was just trying to show you all what it would look like with some flowers! 

See ya next week!! 

Sarah

Thursday, June 9, 2011

A little bit of craftiness

This week has been a crazy one for sure! My little one is trying to cut 4 teeth at once. The one eye tooth finally pushed through but the other 3 are still hanging out. Can't wait to have my happy little girl back! These have for sure taken a toll on her!

Amidst all of the fussy teething, I have gotten very little crafting accomplished, but I thought I would share with you the little bit I have managed to complete. (Please excuse the not-so-good photos. All I had access to at the time was my cell phone!)

1. Shorts for the baby - more on these later. I'm still working on more pairs and didn't get a great picture when she wore the first pair. Its been pretty hot here lately and she really doesn't have many pairs of shorts. I can't wait to show you the ones I'm working on! Expect a post on these later on!

2. New decoration filler for one of my bowls - 


These are just yarn dipped in glue and put over a balloon, then popped after they are dry. 
I also need some other decorations for the top of my piano where this bowl sits.



3. Etching on glass mugs for Father's Day - 

We give a gift to each of the Father's at church on Father's Day (We have a small church currently). My dad had me test out a mug to see if he liked it for the gifts. Hard to see the words, but he loves it! The other ones won't have as many words on them. This one has words that are special to him like Dad, Daddy, Daddio, Papa, Papi, etc.




4. Testing art projects with my mom (a 3rd grade teacher) for next year -

My mom is teaching art for the 3rd - 6th grades next year at the school my sister attends. She is testing out her projects before hand to make sure they are kid ready and kid safe and if any adjustments need to be made. I often get to help be a guinea pig for these projects...And I don't mind one bit!! 

First we tried beaded pens:


I used 2 colors of beads and made my pen striped. We decided this was a good project for teens, but not younger. My 11 year old sister got very frustrated. We also found out that bigger beads do not stick.

To make these, put Elmer's glue decently thick on the pen, sprinkle your beads over the top and gently press into the glue. Allow to dry completely, then layer a mixture of glue and water over the top of the beads to seal them in. We placed them on aluminum foil to dry.

Next we tried pop bottle spinners. These were a success and pretty neat!

First we took electrical tape (it said colored, but we only had black) and wrapped it around the already cleaned and delabeled (is that a word??) 2 liter bottle from where it gets flat to about 2 inches from the bottom.


Then, we measured and marked 3/4" around the top of the bottle.


Then, using an exacto knife, cut from the mark all the way to the bottom. If you leave a little tape uncut, the bottle won't rip further. It was difficult on this part to get the lines straight, but it doesn't really matter too much. You can make a small slit with the knife and cut the rest with scissors.


Then push the top of the bottle down and pinch in the middle to crease.



Here's where it might get a little confusing. The top and bottom of each strip need to be folded at a 45 degree angle in the opposite direction so the wind can catch the edges. The easiest way to explain this is to take the left edge of the strip at the top and fold to meet the top of the tape. Repeat with each top edge. Then, take the right side of the bottom of the strip, and fold to meet the bottom tape edge. I hope that makes sense! Click on the picture to enlarge for a better look.



Decorate the rest of the bottle any way you like with pieces of tape.

Then drill a hole into the middle of your cap. You can also hammer a nail into the middle to create a hole.
Straighten out a paper clip and put through the hole. Place a large bead on the end and bend back around. Curve the other end into a hook.


Screw your lid back on tightly and hang outside for the wind to catch!



Hope you all have a great week! 

Check in tomorrow to see another post from Sarah!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Help Help Help!!!

I am slowly learning, but I am not very good at all this blogger technical stuff... Can any one help? 

I ruined my navigation bar, which wasn't very good in the first place, and I also no longer have an about me section and I can't figure out for the life of me how to get it back! :( 

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 


Please excuse the lack of posting...my little one is trying to cut eye teeth and they have pretty much put our entire week at a stand still! I am, however enjoying the extra cuddle time with my baby! 

Cute and Easy Mail Organizer

 In case you missed it, here is my guest post from Craft Goodies last week!

I don't know about you, but our mail always seems to pool somewhere in the kitchen. Usually the counter, or the kitchen table. And when company comes over, it gets shoved somewhere and usually thrown away at a later date....a much later date! Then you can't find the bill you were supposed to pay or the RSVP you were supposed to send in and .... Its a vicious cycle!

 But I am here to help you! Today I'm going to show you how I made my mail organizer and how you can make your own! 
You'll Need:
2 yards of fabric - Main fabric and lining
Matching Thread
Sharp tipped scissors
Ruler
Rotary cutter (scissors are fine too)
Cutting mat
Grommets (Whatever size you like)
Hammer
Cut your fabric to these dimensions:

15 1/2" x 15 1/2" - cut 1 of each material
4 1/2" x 15 1/2" - cut 2 of each
6 1/2" x 15 1/2 - cut 1 of each
3 1/2" x 2 1/2" - cut 1 of each


This is what it will look like all laid out. The final product will be 15 x 15

 Starting with the top pocket, place fabric RIGHT sides together, and stitch along one side with a 1/2" seam allowance. Don't forget to back stitch at the beginning and end!

Press seam completely open.


 Now fold your material right sides facing out and press. This will give you a crisp edge.

Stitch across the top with a 1/4" seam allowance. This will be the top of your pocket.

Repeat with remaining 2 pockets.


Now take your 3 1/2" x 2 1/2"  piece and sew right sides together around the edge leaving a 1" opening for turning.


Clip corners...be careful not to cut your stitching.


Turn your pocket right side out and use a chopstick to push out the corners. Fold your opening inside and pin. Sew completely around the edge of your piece with 1/8" seam allowance.


Now we're going to measure for the placing of our small pocket and also mark where our other pockets will be. Measure in from the left 9 1/4" and make a mark at both top and bottom. 


Then measure in another 4 1/2" and make a mark on both top and bottom. (You can change these measurements if you want different size pockets.)


Using your ruler, make a faint line from top to bottom from each mark. Then measure 1" up and 1/2" from each side. This is where your small pocket will sit. Stitch in the ditch (on your previous stitch) on the left side, bottom, and right side of your small pocket to attach to the big pocket.


Now we're going to attach our pockets. Take your front 15 1/2" x 15 1/2" piece and measure down 2" from each top corner. Lay your top pocket on these marks and pin down.


Sew the bottom of the pocket down 1/4" up. 


Lay the top of the next pocket on the line you just stitched. Pin and stitch bottom. Repeat with last pocket. 


The tops of your pockets will not be attached at this point, but we will fix that later.
Keep the top of your bottom pocket pinned.


 Going from top to bottom, stitch the lines we drew earlier. We made 3 pockets out of our big pocket on the bottom!


Now take your backing fabric and lay face down on your pocket piece. So it will all be right sides together. Make sure your pockets are all flat! Its not a bad idea to press one more time before this step.


Go pin crazy here. Pin all the way around your organizer making sure to pin each pocket edge down well.
Stitch completely around the edge with a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving a 3-4" opening to turn.


Clip corners and turn right side out. Push corners out with chopstick.
Fold the edges of your opening in and press. 
Stitch 1/4" around the edge of your organizer. 
This helps give a more finished look as well as sew up your opening.


Now on to hanging! 

There are 2 different tools you can use for your grommets. I like to use the tool that comes with the grommets for the pinching, but the other tool works too and is great for punching the hole.


Decide where you would like your grommets to be. I placed mine 3/4" in from the top and the side.
Make a small mark directly in the center of your grommet.


Using your punch (or your scissors) cut a small hole around your mark. The hole should be about the diameter of a pencil.


You may need to use your scissors to finish off the hole completely.


Push the grommet through the hole you just made. It will be tight.


Place the grommet back on the back side of your organizer with the sharp teeth pointing down.


Place your tool on your grommet. My husband pounded these in for me.

Make sure you don't pound them in too much or it will warp the grommet.


Flip it over and there you have it! 


The tiny pocket is perfect size for an envelope of stamps! 


I am using the top pocket for bills to be paid, the next is for other mail that needs action, like a phone call. 
My address book is a little big but it fits in the left pocket and the other 2 pockets are perfect side for a notebook and some pens! Or whatever you would like to make them as!


Last step is to hang up on the wall and Enjoy!



I hope you enjoy making your own mail organizer! 
Come over and visit my blog any time! I'd love to have you!

Thank you so much Wendy for letting me share!