Easter Silhouette

I did do a little crafting for Easter...I made this cute Easter Silhouette for my sister in law.  I did buy another canvas to make me one and never got around to it.  Oh well I'm posting this so next year I can be more on the ball and get another one done!  It was super simple...I bought some canvas at Hobby Lobby, cut a bunny silhouette from my Silhouette Machine.  I placed the vinyl on the canvas, spray painted the blue.  After it was dried I peeled it off and added the flower tail, and used my die cutting machine to cut the little pennants out.  I hot glued them on a piece of ribbon so hopefully they will be more durable. Here is a little video that was put out by Mormon.org it couldn't explain Easter any better: 

How to Whiten and Clean Pillows....

I am so embarrassed to show you this picture....but I wanted you to see first hand how awesome this really works!  I have tried to whiten pillows before and have had a hard time finding a solution.  But I found a little secret, to me anyways...Borax!  I have yet to find it at Walmart or Smiths, but I can always find a box at Macey's or Payson Market Place. 

1 Cup Oxiclean or another good detergent
1/2 Cup Borax
1 Cup Bleach
HOT HOT Water....
I ran mine through the wash and let them sit in the soak cycle, I also did an extra rinse.

In the dryer I added a tennis ball so my pillows didn't loose their form! 
After I saw how clean a new my pillows looked I've worked to get all of them clean! 

Fabric Bin turned into baby blankets....

I was so excited to start sewing for baby girl and I had a TUN of cute fabric in my stash to work with!

 I made this strip quilt, and put minky on the back so it would be a nice blanket for her to snuggle with.

 I made 4 of these mitered corner blankets out of all the flannel I had in my stash.

 Finally I started making baby girls crib set.  I'm putting her in Emma's room and the wall is already painted a turquoise blue so these colors will go really well in there.

 My sister in law helped me make a crib skirt while our husbands watched the super bowl.

Then tragedy struck at my house...my Mom's Sewing machine that I inherited when I turned 18 died, and I didn't have the money to go get it fixed.  A dear sweet friend of mine gave me a new machine that she had and never used.  It was the most touching and kind thing ever.  I cried about it for days and felt so guilty taking it from her.  Such a sweet sweet gift and it will defiantly be used and cared for!

My sister in law sandwiched the quilt for me...I put it off for so long every time I bend over I feel a sharp pinch up my back.  So she saved the day and sewed the ric rack and quilted this fun pattern on it.  I just love love love how it turned out.  Now I need to get my new machine out and  make my binding and hand stitch it on.

Sami's Peanut Butter Cups

These are MY favorite Christmas candy...I have a hard time sharing these, they are SO much better than the good old Reese's!

This is the process I came up with to make these after a few years of trial and error this is what works great for me!  Phil bought me a mini crock pot a year ago so I melt my chocolate in their (I buy the bag of fountain chocolate from Hobby Lobby and use a coupon on it.)

 

I melt my chocolate and spoon little amounts into each cup, I then get a paint brush and paint the sides of the cups, then tap the tray on the table and set in the freezer for 5 minutes.

 I then make the Peanut Butter Mixture...note I do three trays of the peanut butter cups at a time to make the process go a lot quicker! 

 

Mix in your Hand Mixer: 

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons softened butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar

 Pull your cups out and fill your cups with peanut butter mixture....

 Spoon a little more chocolate on top, tap the trays once again to make the chocolate go smooth and even on top.  Stick back into freezer for 5 min. 

 Flip them over on a clean surface, and put into mini wrappers.  Store in a air tight Tupperware someplace cool until ready to devour. 

Christmas Teacher Gifts

I had a ton of scentsy product on hand and decided they would make great gifts!  I used my Stampin Up Digital Studio program and designed this little printable, and used my top note die to cut the cute paper behind the saying.  I just used some scraps of ribbon, and little paper clips to tie it all together!

 They turned out really cute, and me and Ezra had a lot of fun putting them together.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Board

I kept seeing these darling signs on pinterest and at boutiques and thought it would be pretty easy to make one of my own.  I found a scrap board in my garage and printed out a stencil on my silhouette machine.  I painted the board white, then waited a few hours and taped the paper stencil on where I wanted it.  Make SURE your board is completely dry, I've gotten impatient in the past and completely ruined a project no waiting long enough!

 I LOVE LOVE LOVE these stencil brushes, they are more than the cheap black paint brushes but if you wash them out when your done they will last a long time, and they make your project look more professional. 

 I just dabbed the paint on and waited for it to dry, then I pulled my paper stencil's off....

 Finished project!  Love decorating for Christmas!

Hashbrowns Galore....

Every year we go get around 200 bags of potatoes!  I usually get myself 2 bags of Russets because they'll last until Spring.  We love hash browns but they take forever to make if you don't have premade baked potatoes.  So one day my husband and kids scrubbed 25 lbs. of potatoes and we baked them.  I put them in two bowls and let them cool off overnight in the cool garage.  The next day Ezra helped run them through my super awesome bosche attachment that shredded them like a breeze!

Look at all those hashbrowns...I know silly!  But we figured that's over a hundred dollars we would of spent at the store if we bought premade ones!  Now I can make funeral potatoes, and breakfast in a breeze!