Sweet Peas and Bumblebees: February 2011

Monday, February 28, 2011

Menu Monday

I am a menu planner. It helps me in so many ways!! The best thing about it is, that I know exactly what to get when I go to the grocery store on Monday and I don’t have to make 500 trips back to the grocery store that week. It also helps me prepare the night before, like taking the meat out of the freezer so it has a chance to thaw. If I don’t make a menu for the week, it is inevitable that I am stressed out around 4:00 p.m., when I am trying to come up with what I am going to make for dinner that night! Every Monday I will share with you what I am going to make for dinner for the week. I hope it helps you as much as it helps me!

Monday: Swedish meatballs over egg noodles, green beans

Tuesday: Pizza rolls, salad

Wednesday: Soup, grilled cheese

Thursday: Waffles, bacon, canned peaches

Friday: Eat Out

Saturday: Ham and bean soup, rolls

Sunday: Roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

I am always looking for healthy snacks that my kiddos will love! Someone brought this dish to a potluck and I knew I had to try it at home. This recipe is a twist to the normal chips & salsa and SO delicious! My daughter helped me make the cinnamon chips and thought it was SO MUCH fun! She also ate a TON of the fruit salsa which is huge for her, considering I had to literally make her eat a slice of strawberry at breakfast the other day. This would be an amazing recipe to make for a snack, pot luck dinner, or any other occasion! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Fruit Salsa

Fruit of any kind, diced (it is best to use a variety of colors)

I used what I had (strawberries, mango & mandarin oranges), but a wonderful assortment of colors would be (kiwi, strawberries, mango, blackberries, mandarin oranges, etc)

Sugar

Dice fruit and place in small bowl. Mix in sugar to taste.

Cinnamon Chips

Flour tortillas
1/4 cup Butter or margarine, melted
Cinnamon and Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter or margarine. Brush over one side of tortilla. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Use a pizza cutter and cut into 8 triangles. Place cinnamon and sugar side up on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly browned and edges curl up. Remove from baking sheet and cool.

Enjoy!!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Beaded Watch Band

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE LOVE new jewelry! Even better than new jewelry is finding that piece that matches my outfit completely. {Yes, I’m one of those matchy matchy people that wants everything to coordinate perfectly! =) } So, a little over a year ago I decided to start making my own jewelry…beaded watch bands in particular. I think I’m up to about 15 different watches in my collection….love them!!!!
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own beaded watch…they are super fun and easy to make!

Stretch Magic 1 mm beading cord
Bead reamer
scissors
super glue
LOTS of beads (I have quite the collection, but these watch bands are MUCH easier to make with a bigger selection to choose from.

I probably have more beads than I know what to do with, but I always have plenty to choose from…at least that is what I tell my hubby every time I order more! =) Here are some great places to get a wide selection of beads….Hidden Hollow Beads and Fire Mountain Gems. I am seriously addicted to both of these websites!

To get started:
Begin by laying out your beads on some sort of soft cloth. The cloth will help keep your beads from rolling away.

Your length from the clasp on the left to the clasp on the right will depend on your wrist size. Here are the measurements I use:
Small: 5: – Medium: 5 1/2” – Large: 6” – Extra Large: 6 1/2”
I have a smaller wrist, so I usually make myself a medium band. Sometimes it just takes some playing with to determine your perfect size.
Continue to lay out your beads, spacers, and clasps until you have filled out the entire length. In the middle I usually just use the same beads in an opposite direction on each side. This makes it easy and insures that you don’t have the same beads directly across from each other.

VERY IMPORTANT: Make sure that the beads between your clasps and your spacer (in the middle) are the same length. This is where having lots of beads makes it a lot easier because sometimes it takes some playing around to find the right combination of beads to line up.

Once all of your beads laid out, you can start to use your bead cord to put it together. Start on the right front between two beads and start stringing the beads through the cord in a clockwise direction.

Continue in a circle, remembering to to add your spacers in the right spot as you go.

When you add your clasps, make sure they are all facing the same direction. I always hold them so that the back is facing up. If you do that same method for each clasp you’ll get it right EVERY time!

Once you’re back to the beginning of your circle, it’s time to tie your knot.

Leave about 1 – 2” on each side of your band so you’ll be able to tie it easily. As you tie a double knot, make sure you pull it tight so you don’t have any slack in your cord. After you tie your knot, add a tiny dot of super glue to the top of the knot. Hold it for about 30 seconds so that they glue has some time to dry before it touches any of the neighboring beads.

Let it dry for several minutes before you snip the ends of the bead cord right next to the knot. Now you’re ready to add your watch face. These “solid bar ribbon watch faces” are available at many places on the web, but I like eWatch Wholesale because it seems to have the biggest selection.

These watch bands are seriously addicting to make….happy crafting!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Pacifier Clip

Both my kids have been ADDICTED to their pacifiers!! We have to have them where ever we go….home, church, stores, car, etc. I don’t mind that they like pacifiers, but it drives me crazy that it always seems to fall out of their mouths onto the floor. G-R-O-S-S!!!

I have looked and looked for a good pacifier clip in the stores and have never been successful. One day I found a post on Make It and Love It for a tutorial on how to make a pacifier clip and I have been making them ever since. I have made them for my son, made them for my daughter, and of course made them for baby gifts.

They are amazing!! They are as cute as can be and hold on really well to their shirts. They would work with really any pacifier because they simply snap onto a clip or the pacifier.

Click here to learn how to make one!!!

Snuggly Animal Blanket

I have always LOVED snuggly blankets for babies, but when I saw this one, I KNEW I had to make it. I stumbled across the pattern on Shannon Fabrics, Inc..

Isn’t this the most ADORABLE thing you have every seen????? This is such an easy sewing project, and my baby LOVES it already! Well, I think I was more excited about it than he was, but what can you do! Winking smile

Want to make one too????

Here is what you need:

A small stuffed animal (I used a TY Pluffies dog)
Two 20x20 pieces of minky fabric

To Get Started:

Carefully cut the stuffed animal in half across the waistline. Remove a little of the stuffing and the bag of pellets in the bottom. (Poor little guy!)

Hand stitch the top of the body and the bottom of the body closed, and then gather so that it measures 3 3/4 inches across.
Square up the blanket pieces. It is the easiest if you lay right sides together with the grain and nap (very important!!) going the same direction.

See how if you brush the fabric, it is smooth one way and ruffed up the other way. Just make sure both pieces of fabric are going the same way when you cut them and pin them.

Ruffed up

Smooth

Cut a 3 inch triangle piece off of two opposite corners.
Use a plate and round the other two corners

Sew the top part of the body onto one squared corner and the feet onto the opposite one. Make sure to place them tummy side against the side of the fabric (right side of the fabric) you want to show when you are looking at the stuffed animal.
Put the fabric right sides together, pinning frequently (Minky fabric tends to slide A LOT), making sure the grain line is still going the same way.
Sew around the blanket leaving an opening so you can turn the blanket.
Pin and hand stitch the opening shut.
Top stitch 5/8 inch around the blanket edge to finish your blanket.