So recently I have been sewing more.  I have made several dresses that are adorable, but given them away without photographing my work…  I will have to get some later when their girls get big enough to actually wear them…

But, here is one I made for Autumn’s second birthday party.

It was a horse themed party and oh so fun for our kiddos!  I loved getting to try out a new pattern and having such a cute model and event to sew for!  Someday maybe I’ll get a girl and get to make things with ribbons and bows, but for now, I am getting a sweet feeling sewing for my girlfriends daughters.  So, here is the dress, I’ll probably put the pattern on here later if anyone wants it and some sweet pics from Autums big day!

There are many more pics from the event, so comment if you’d like to see them and I will get the pics to you!

So, I have wanted to post some of these for awhile now, but I needed a day when i could actually put my pictures in and have just now gotten around to it.  So, sorry there are a bunch of posts from today!!!

Another thing I have been wanting to do forever is a family portrait.

Now, we moved into this huge, rambling, 1904 home and as much as I love the history and character of it, I want to add our touches to the mix.  So, I got this idea to meld a contemporary design with a classic.  This was the result and I am sooooo pleased!  My sweet hubby helped me print these out on canvas and then stretched them on frames and used the nail gun (which by the way is super harder to use then I thought it would be) to anchor them to the stretcher frame.  I then went to Hobby lobby where I found 1/2 off frames and got these.  I just am in LOVE with the way it turned out and it really was a simple at home project that you could do yourself.  You may not have access to a canvas printer, but you can certainly use a regular glossy print and put it under glass for a fun look too.  Just make sure to take your picture somewhere like in front of a window with a light fabric, so that you are back-lit, and that will create a natural silhouette effect.

I have been feeling the creative, crafty itch again… I started sewing more, making hair accessories, but Wednesday I felt like making something extra sweet.  What better then cookie mix in a jar?  I had a birthday lunch to go to and I thought this would be a great gift!  I was suprised by how easy it was, how festive it looked, and of course how scrumptous it was…  So, I am passing it on to you, I will probably repeat this at the Holidays and try things like Spiced Ciders, Extravagant Hot cocoas and Brownie mixes too.

Here are the 3 recipes I tried, have fun and enjoy.  Feel free to vary it up and rename them…

Cowboy Cookie Mix in a Jar (thanks to allrecipes.com )

Ingredients

1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking pwdr, 1 1/3 cup flour, 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 1/3 cups rolled oats.

Layer indgredients in order given, press firmly in jar.  Include a card with the following directions (make it look pretty and feel free to change the wordage), then make sure to add a pretty fabric and some ribbon:

Preheat oven to 350*, grease coolie sheet, mix together 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1 egg, and 1 tsp of vanilla, stir in entire contents of the jar and mix it good, shape into heaping spoonfuls, place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet, and bake for 11-13 minutes, cool slightly and enjoy tremendously!

Kiss Me Cranberry (thanks to allrecipes.com )

Ingredients

5/8 cup flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Layer indgredients in order given, press firmly in jar.  Include a card with the following directions (make it look pretty and feel free to change the wordage), then make sure to add a pretty fabric and some ribbon:

Use the same baking guidelines above but bake for 8-10 minutes instead!

Butterscotch Delight (thanks to allrecipes.com )

Ingredients

1 1/8 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking pwdr, 1/2 cup backed brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 cup flaked coconut, 1 cup high protein crisp rice and wheat cereal, 3/4 cup butterscotch chips, 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Layer ingredients in order given, press firmly in jar.  Include a card with the following directions (make it look pretty and feel free to change the wordage), then make sure to add a pretty fabric and some ribbon:

Bake like above for 8-10 minutes.

Can you say Moo?

Well, we can!  Today our family celebrated the 5th annual Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A.  Warm nuggets, cool milkshakes, savory sauces, waffle fries, and fresh squeezed lemonade… ahhh…. what more can a family of cow dressed wanna bees ask for?

Seriously, we got on our computer and went to www.cowappreciationday.com and found the tools we needed to transform into cows.  We printed out ears, a nose, black spots, a Chick-Fil-A sign and completed our outfit with a wicked tail!  We taped and bobby pinned our new found appendages on and loaded up the car.  On the way I was a little nervous that I looked a little like a sad cardboard cow, but then we pulled up next to a bunch of high school girls who were decked out as well and I could have cared less.

Now, what do you get if you dress up in full regala you wonder?

nuggets with dipping sauce… waffle fries… milk… soda…

how about a wrap? fruit… Club Chicken…

The honor of being a true cow is that you get any combo meal on the menu.  So hurry up, its only today… Lots of fun and free food and foolishness…  Yeah for Chick-fil-A!  I am already looking forward to next year!