Summer Adventures

Wow, I can't believe that it is almost the end of July already! School starts again at the end of August, so I am running out of summer vacation. Lately I have been busy with camping trips and going away parties, so I haven't posted here as much. Sorry! But here is a picture of a recent craft project that I put together:

I made it for my friend Andy--the handsome guy on the right. He's leaving for Law School this week, about halfway across the country. Our group of friends have known each other as early as preschool, so we have a lot of memories. I thought a great way to allow Andy to take these memories with him to school would be to create him a photo collage. But just a photo collage in a frame seemed a little too "girly"--so I made it into a magnetic board that he can use to put up notes, messages, pics, etc.! I printed out a TON of pictures, cut them out, and arranged them into the collage you see. The only thing that I did to make it magnetic was to buy a 12x12 piece of metal to put in my 12x12 picture frame! I also made Andy eight of my dictionary magnets with various nicknames or important words. He like it a lot, and I loooved making it. Printing out all those pictures really took me on a trip down memory lane...

I'm going to miss you Andy!!! Good luck in law school!

Party Pictures!

This past weekend B and I threw a Housewarming Party! Lots of friends and family came over, and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! Here are some pictures of some yummy foods that we made:

I made ice cream cone cupcakes that were a big hit. The vanilla frosted ones were carrot cake, and the chocolate frosted ones were confetti. Delicious! And much easier to eat than normal cupcakes since you had the ice cream cone to hold on to!

More of my homemade crackers. Yet another big hit!

This is B's amazing salad. Watermelon, feta cheese, and mint. I know it sounds weird, but trust me it is DELICIOUS!

I am now off for 6 days of fun with family and friends! First it's Ashland with my mom and Grandma, then camping with friends. I am so excited!!!

Late Night Crafting Adventures!

Have you ever had a crafting idea late at night, and just couldn't sleep until you'd tried it? That exact thing happened to me the other night. I had just come across a box of picture frames while unpacking the garage--nothing too exciting, but it stuck in my mind nonetheless. And then just as I was getting ready for bed I was struck with an amazing craft idea--turn them into customized dry erase boards! My mind started racing with the different possible backgrounds... They couldn't be too dark, or the dry erase markers wouldn't show up. But I didn't want just solid backgrounds either. Hmmmmm. And that's when it hit me: fabric!!! At this point I just had to give up any hope of falling asleep and rushed to my craft room.

I found these leftover fabrics from a quilted pincushion that I made for a Secret Easter Bunny gift exchange. I liked how they coordinated together, and they would be the perfect background for my dry erase boards! The Adventure was underway!

I then took three of these picture frames and wrapped the backs in the fabric above. It was THAT easy!

Then I nailed some picture hooks on the wall, and I was done!

The glass of the picture frames works really well as an erasable surface for dry erase markers. I love having them in my craft room where I can quickly jot down crafting ideas, shopping lists, or amazing raps that my friends come up with!

More Cracker Adventures!

Today I made two different batches of crackers using variations on the cracker recipe I used earlier this week. They were super delicious! And the recipe is so simple!

First you mix all your dry ingredients--flour, salt, and whatever extras you want for flavor. I chose cracked pepper and garlic powder for my first batch, and garlic salt and shredded cheddar cheese for my second batch!

Mix in your wet ingredients--olive oil and water. Then knead your dough until you have a cute little ball.

Then you roll out your dough and cut it into cute shapes.

Then simply bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees and you've got delicious crackers! These are the finished cheddar crackers, my husband's new favorite. The possibilities with flavors are endless, I am so excited to continue to adapt this recipe.

Tomorrow I embark on a cupcake making adventure! Wish me luck!

Adventures in Cracker Baking!

B and I are throwing a little party this weekend so I have been focused more on baking recently than crafting. I made some crackers yesterday that turned out beautifully! I was extremely pleased with them and am going to make some more tomorrow to have at the party!

They were crispy and flavorful, and extremely easy to make. I'll have to take more pictures tomorrow as I make more batches. I will also be making cupcakes in all shapes and sizes, so stay tuned!

4th of July Adventures!

I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July weekend--I know I did! B and I went up to Gig Harbor with a bunch of friends for the weekend. The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, the fireworks were slightly terrifying, and the friends were amazing as always. Just an amazing weekend overall! Before we left on our 4th of July adventure, I did hem up the skirt I made from a men's dress shirt:

Before I had just used the shirt's original hem, but it was very obvious that it was from a shirt.

So I decided to hem up the bottom of the skirt so that it was even all around. Since the sides of a men's dress shirt are hemmed higher than the front and back I had to hem it up quite a few inches. I was afraid that would make the skirt too short, but I actually like the length!

This was such an easy project, I will definitely have to do it again!

Adventures in Shirt Refashioning!

I was recently looking at Urban Outfitters online and came across this skirt:

My mind immediately went to a pile of men's shirts in my craft room. When we moved I had my husband toss out all the shirts that he doesn't wear anymore, and of course I couldn't just get rid of them. I am a terrible hoarder--everything has crafting potential in my eyes! So today I decided to try to turn a men's shirt into a skirt. I'm not quite sold on the finished product, I don't know if this is something that I would wear out in public:

What do you think? Is it too obviously the bottom half of a men's shirt? I might try sewing a straight hem on the bottom instead of using the existing hem. Any feedback would be most helpful!