Guest Posting at Two Girls Being Crafty!

Hey!  Head on over to Two Girls Being Crafty to see my quick little tutorial for their 12 Days of Christmas series, on how to make this little guy as a teacher gift!

Don't forget to tell her I sent ya'!

Pinterest Inspiration: Men's Shirt to Peasant Blouse

This week's

was inspired by...

Peasant Blouse Tutorial from madebylex.com

Isn't it so stinkin' cute???

Here's what I used:

I picked this baby up at my local thrift store for fifty cents.  The guy at the register said something like, "Wow.  This'll make a great Halloween costume, huh?"  When I told him that I was actually going to wear it, he looked at me like I was completely nuts.  Which, maybe I am, but I digress...

I loved the fun paisley pattern and the colors on this shirt...but let's face it...that collar and those cuffs.  Not so much.

And here's what I made:

Waaaaay better, don't ya' think?  Oh, yeah.

Instead of adding a cuff to the sleeves I simply added another turned under casing and elastic, to give them a loosely gathered look.

I love the way it turned out!  The tutorial was easy to understand and had great results!

If you happen to have a spare button-up shirt lying around I recommend giving this one a whirl!

Feature Friday: Maybe Matilda

This week I'm featuring one of my very most favoritest blogger buddies, Rachel, from Maybe Matilda.

Here's a little bit more about Rachel, in her own words:

"My name is Rachel (not Matilda, sadly) and I'm a chiropractor's wife, new mom to a darling little boy, and an obsessive crocheter. I'm a New Yorker who started crafting while my husband went to chiropractic school in Iowa, and we're now living in the Salt Lake area of Utah (I just keep moving West! I'm learning to pretend to be a country cowgirl).

I joined etsy while I was pregnant and Matilda was on the "maybe" name list for a girl. Once we learned we were having a boy, I had to use it on something, and here we are! Along with crochet, I also love to sew, quilt, and alter/upcycle clothing."

Rachel has such an incredibly fun and creative blog!

She always has such fun how-to projects.

Painted Doily Tee

Button Earrings

She's quite a seamstress.

Button-Up Cardigan Cowl

Pleated Necktie Necklace

She's full of great advice and tips for Etsy sellers.

Photography Tips 

Packaging Tips

She shares really fun crochet projects.

Ruffles and Dot Baby Blanket

Knotted Crochet Headband

She's also hilarious.

Rachel sells her stunning crochet patterns and handmade crochet items in her Etsy Shop!

Baby Owl Hat

Crochet Rose Headband Pattern

If you are looking for a fun DIY gift idea for the holidays this year go check out her patterns...you won't be sorry!

Pinterest Inspiration: Crockpot Enchiladas

This week's

was inspired by...

Crockpot Enchiladas from thekitchn.com

from my Things to Eat board!

Lately I have been obsessed with cooking with my Crockpot.  It's sooooo easy to throw everything in early in the day, when the house isn't so crazy, and let dinner cook itself.  Especially in the cool Fall and Winter months.  It's wonderful to have the aroma of a hot-cooked meal wafting through the house throughout the day.

And, yes.  I did just say wafting.

Anyway...here's what I made:

Again, not such a great picture.  i blame it on the fact that it's dark by 4:30pm here, and I had to use my *gasp* flash to take a decent shot!

I followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of using cheddar cheese instead of Monterey Jack ('cause that's what we had).  Everyone loved it...although the bottom layer did get a trifle bit too crispy. In the future I will probably change the setting to my six hour setting, instead of four.

I served it with rice and salad and topped it with a little sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro.  Yum!

Definitely a keeper!

Feature Friday: The Orange Windmill

I'd like to take a moment to introduce you to one of my amazing new friends!  Her name is Shirley and she is the owner of The Orange Windmill on Etsy!

Here's a bit about her in her own words:

"I love journaling - I've been doing it since I was a young girl.  The best part of Christmas for me was the excitement of receiving a new diary - fresh, blank pages ready to be filled with all my secrets!  And being able to create journals for me is a wonderful dream come true for me!

The process of making journals is therapeutic for me, allowing me to work in silence.  (I'm the mother of a three-year-old and a baby, so silence is appreciated!)  I liken the process to Michelangelo's view of work, who said, "In every block of marble i see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action.  I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it."

I've named myself The Orange Windmill because I'm Dutch (the windmill is iconically Dutch), and my favourite colour is orange.  For all of you windmill fans out there, sorry, I don't make windmills."

Large Brown Leather Journal

Shirley makes all of her journals from scratch!  She hand-cuts the leather for covers and tears each sheet of paper individually.  She then binds each section of paper directly and permanently into the leather.

Embossed Rust Leather Journal

(You can see the wonderful binding details on the outside of the spine of each journal!)

Each journal also has a thick leather cord used as a closure.

Mini Chunky Journal

As you can see each journal is truly a masterpiece in itself!

Emerald Green Journal Set

You can see more of her beautiful creations by visiting her shop, The Orange Windmill.

You can also get to know Shirley through her BLOG, Facebook Page, Twitter, and Pinterest!

If you are looking for a beauiful one-of-a-kind gift for someone special this Christmas...or if you just want one yourself...be sure to check out Shirley's wonderful selection!

Pinterest Inspiration: Rosemary Olive Bread

This week's

was inspired by this

Rosemary Olive Bread

found on my Things to Eat board.

Doesn't this bread look AMAZING???

I know.  I can see you drooling from here.

...aaand here's what I made:

Ok.  So I know that my bread doesn't look beautiful enough to be in a magazine spread.  BUT.  It tasted heavenly!

I doubled the recipe to make two loaves and used dried rosemary instead of fresh and regular whole wheat flour instead of bread flour ('cause that's what I had on hand).  It was super simple to make...and made my house smell divine.

Does it look picture perfect? Nah.  Does it take gourmet?  Oh yeah.

Have you made this bread?  What did you think of it?

Feature Friday: About Me ~ A to Z!

I've seen this little survey going around the blogiverse, and thought I'd share a little about me, too!!

A.  Age:  32 B.  Best Friend:  My Hubby...and my sisters! C.  Chore That You Hate: Dishes...ugh. D.  Dogs:  none E.  Essential Start To Your Day:  Prayer F.  Favorite Color:  Purple...any shade, but most of all vibrant deep tones! G.  Gold or Silver:  Gold H.  Height:  5'1" I.  Instruments You Play:  Does your voice count? J.  Job Title:  Mom and Wife! K.  Kids:  Five ~ Ellie, Ben, Lilly, Maddie, and Amelia L.  Live:  Rural UT M.  Mother's Name:  Joy N.  Nicknames:  Rae Rae, Stubby O.  Overnight Hospital Stays:  With each of my babies P.  Pet Peeve:  People not using their turn signals when driving! Q.  Quote From A Movie:  "I'm out of it for a little while, and everyone's having delusions of grandeur..."  ~ Han Solo, Return of the Jedi R.  Right or Left Handed:  Right S.  Siblings:  Matt, 'Manda, Sam, Abby T.  Time You Wake Up:  About 6:00am. U.  Ultimate Vacation:  Anywhere that I can relax and not be stressed out!!! V.  Vegetable You Hate:  Okra...it's slimy. W.  What Makes You Run Late:  Kids...and being overscheduled! X.  X-Rays You've Had:  Collar bone, when I was 9, I think. Y.  Yummy Food You Make:  Chicken Tikka Masala...mmmmmm..... Z.  Zoo Animal:  Red Panda

Halloween

Hope you all had a fun and festive Halloween yesterday!  Hope no one is suffering too bad from a sugar coma...

This isn't really a how-to post, per se, but since I haven't had anytime to make anything new except for Halloween costumes I thought I'd share those with y'all!  (Warning: I have the cutest family in the world.  Don't be offended...but they really are.  I'm just giving you fair warning.)

First up is my hubby.  He teaches 5th grade.  He wanted to be something tough for Halloween.  He picked Wolverine.  But there was no way I was gonna make him a yellow spandex super-hero outfit...sorry, hon.

Here he is stealing a baby pumpkin...the brute!

He settled for a stream-lined trimming of his chops and beard, a white t-shirt with a flannel shirt over top and jeans.  He's pre-X-Men Wolverine/Logan.

But he also kinda looks like an over-worked dad who didn't get enough sleep...

Yeah.  My hubby is the best dad ever.

Next up is my oldest.  She's cute.  She's 10.  She's also a little odd.  She came in a couple weeks ago and announced that she knew what she wanted to be for Halloween:  Ludwig von Beethoven.  Yup.  My kid is awesome.

Here she is...

She really wanted to make sure she got his 'scary eyebrows' down.  I think she hit it on the head.

Next is my son, who is 8.  He wanted to be Aang, from Avatar: the Last Airbender.  He begged us to shave his head...so we got pretty close.  His costume was made from a thrift store bathrobe, and an old orange shirt of my hubby's.

His staff is a wrapping paper tube, wrapped with a piece of the t-shirt.  The funnest part of this costume was taping an arrow on his head an spraying it blue with colored hairspray!

Here's my next daughter...she's 5.  She wanted to be Toph Bei Fong, also a character from Avatar: the Last Airbender.  Her costume was also made from refashioned thrift store finds, elastic, and one of my shirts.

I crocheted her 'wig' and added bangs and a pom-pom embellished headband...she's so cute!

Here are the benders together:

Next up is my 3-year-old.  She's a doll.  And a bit dramatic.  And she wanted to be Rapunzel.  Of course! Her costume was a thrift store find that had seen better days...I made new sleeves and fixed the hem, and then made her a long yarn wig on a crocheted cap.

You should hear this kid sing "Flower Gleam and Glow..."  It's classic.

Here's my littlest squish.  She was a little bear.  Can you stand the cuteness?  I thought not.

I know it's a bit of a cop out to use a *gasp*completely store-made costume...but guess what?  I'm completely ok with that this year!  Besides...she's so. dang. cute.  She doesn't even really need a costume!

Lastly, here's me.  I was a gypsy (so baby could be my dancing bear, of course!)

My costume was just bits and pieces of clothes I already had...I bet you're jealous of that skirt, right?

And here's the gang all together!

Hope you all had a fantastic Halloween!!!