Football Baby Blanket

We are HUGE football fans. My husband played in High School and College and I wanted to play (but wasn't allowed). Now we both settle for watching the Louisiana teams and cheering for our favorites...the NEW ORLEANS SAINTS, the NSU DEMONS, and the LSU TIGERS.
Here in Illinois, we have a nice little group of people from Louisiana and we get together with them often during Football Season. I decided to make my youngest this blanket and surprise some of our friends with a blanket for their little guy.

I am also adding my own tutorial for the blanket. I hope if you're a football fan like me, you'll enjoy making it as much as I did!

Choose your fabrics wisely. You don't want to make a blanket for a team you don't like rooting for. I've chosen minky brown for one side and an LSU cotton for the other.

You will need:
1 yard of minky or another soft fabric
1 yard Team fabric (can be a heavier fabric than cotton if desired)
1/4 yard of white fleece or another fabric that won't fray
White thread
Brown thread

First, wash your fabrics. You don't want them to shrink on you later.
Next, take your brown fabric and fold it in half. Then in half again.
Cut the fabric in a oval fashion (as if you were going to cut 1/4th of the oval). When you open up the fabric it will make the football shape.
Fold the fabric back up. Fold your other fabric in the same manner. Place brown fabric on top of other fabric with folded edges meeting. Use this as your template to cut the fabric.
Unfold fabrics.
Cut white fabric into laces for the football.
Place on brown fabric and sew down.
Turn brown fabric face down on top of other fabric.
Sew along edges. leave a 6in opening so you can turn the blanket right side out.
'Finish' blanket by sewing edge closed and sewing along edge of the rest of the blanket. This will give it a finished look and close the gap in the fabric.

The tutorial I used for this blanket can be found here: http://thrivinghomeblog.com/2012/01/football-blanket-tutorial/

Burlap Wreath

I've tried to be very crafty lately and wanted to surprise my husband when he got home after a trip. I also wanted to make my home a little more inviting. I found many different wreaths that looked cute and easy to make but I decided, like I usually do, to take the ones I liked and make them my own.

Here is my finished product.

I love how the yellow flowers pop and how the stark white Fleur De Lis looks.

I didn't get all the pictures I wanted during the process because my phone died. 

I'll post the ones I did get.

What you will need:
2 burlap rolls - brown - approx. 10yards
1 roll colored burlap (I couldn't find any rolls so I bought 1 yard of yellow burlap)
green metal wreath (mine is about 18 inches)
Ribbon or patterned burlap (mine is a Damask Canvas ribbon)
Fleur De Lis wodden icon - 12"
1 pkg pipe cleaners to match burlap color
scissors
Hot Glue & gun
paint (acrylic paint of your color choice)
paint brush

not pictured: hot glue sticks/gun, scissors, paint, & paintbrush

First!!!

Paint Fleur De Lis and allow to dry

Wreath making:

First I cut a bunch of the pipe cleaners in half. 

Next you take one of the rolls of burlap and secure an edge to a crossbar at the top of the wreath.

Then you take the burlap from the back of the wreath and pull about 6 inches through. 

Do this through all 3 openings in the wreath form. 

I went from left to right and once I was at the bottom I went middle, top, middle bottom. 

Each time you get to a cross bar, attach the section with a piece of pipe cleaner.

Once you have gone all the way around. Fluff and adjust your sections to make them nice and full.

Now, take the ribbon and from the front of the wreath, find a starting point 

and attach it to a piece of the wire form with your pipe cleaners.

Move the ribbon around the wreath attaching at intervals to your liking.

(My ribbon was only 3 yards and did not make it all the way around the wreath.

 I used this section to place my Fleur De Lis.)

For the flowers:

First you need to take and cut your burlap into strips. As you can see I couldn't find a tape measurer so I used a large candy bar I had in my office as the guide. It is about 3 inches wide.

For the small flowers I cut the burlap in half (making it go from about 36 inches in length to 18)

For bigger flowers leave burlap longer.

Now for the hard part. Fold burlap lengthwise. Take one edge of it and place a small amout of hot glue.

 Roll this up tight so that the end stays together. Continue to roll two or three more times.

It should look like this: 

 Now, you  should continue to move the fabric around the bud/center you just made. But instead of pulling it tight around the middle, let it be looser and gather it together around the bottom. 

I glued as I went so it stayed together.

Continue to wrap and glue.

 Once you get to the end of the burlap, glue the end down so the rough edges aren't showing

Then you will flip your flower over, trim excess strings, and glue the bottom together.

And here is your finished flower!

 For larger flowers, only fold the top of the burlap down about 1/4 of the way. 

(or you could cut your strips larger)

Here is what my flowers all look like close up on the wreath.

Once you have all your flowers made and you find the placement you like on the wreath,

use your hot glue to glue them into place.

Next step is to flip the Fleur De Lis over and to hot glue 3 full length pieces of pipe cleaner onto it.

One near the top, one in the middle, and one near the bottom.

Make sure to only glue about an inch to an inch and a half to the decal.

After the glue is dry and hardened, use the pipe cleaners to attach it to the wreath.

Now, you're all done and can display it beautifully on your front door!

Good Luck and Happy Crafting!

~Amanda Storrs~

For more tips/tricks, here are the sites I used as my tutorials:

Wreath Ideas:

here is the one I used

http://thesassymomma.com/2013/08/28/diy-fall-burlap-wreath/

This one may be easier but I'm not sure

http://roomsforrentblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-burlap-wreath.html

Flowers:

http://www.diyinspired.com/how-to-make-a-burlap-flower/

You've been EGGED!!!

Well, this is my first official post. I usually type up the post and e-mail it to Beckie.

So, on Pinterest (which I'm a HUGE fan of), I found a post that said:

You've been EGGED!

It was super cute so, I had to make my own. My family was going to 'egg' people's houses today but, alas Mother Nature decided to throw another fit and make it cold and rainy. As soon as we get some houses 'egged' I'll post the pictures.

Back to the pin...I thought it was a super cute idea to 'egg' people's houses during the Easter season and to remind them that Christ is the reason for this season also.

Fab N' Free is where the Pinterest link brought me. I really liked the idea, but decided to make my own sign.

 

Click the image for the jpg or get the pdf HERE.

What you need to do to 'EGG' someone is take 12 plastic Easter eggs, put candy or a trinket in 11 of them. Keep the 12th empty. Hide them in someone's yard and tape the sign on their door. The 12th egg is empty in order to remind us that Christ's tomb was empty and that He is Risen!

I hope y'all take some time as a family and go 'EGG' some friends or neighbors.

Happy Easter!

~Amanda Storrs


Added 4/15/14:

Here's one of the houses we "Egged"!!

See the hidden eggs? It's still so cold up here that there are no bushes to hide them in, just the bare skeletons of them.

Amanda's Fancy Ham Pasta

I sat down at the computer to eat my dinner -- romain lettuce, a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese, and a ribbon of ranch wrapped up in a tortilla. Mmmmmm.... Sounds good, right? Don't get me wrong, this is a delicious meal considering my other options this late at night with two indecisive and never agreeable children. I wanted quick and easy, which this was. Okay, back at the computer, I opened up my email and saw that my little sister had emailed me pictures of the dinner she served tonight along with the recipe for it.

Talk about a good smack down! My little sister out "mothered" me, once again. This does NOT happen often people! bwaaaahhhhh :( okay, I lied. She is a better mommy than me. Ugh. ;) Love ya little sis.

Here is the recipe for her fantabulous "throw together whatever is on hand" dish. Her little ones wanted to name it. I think they did a pretty dern (yes, I meant D-E-R-N) good job -- much better than my Stravocadanerry Smoothie name, don'tcha think? 

Fancy Ham Pasta

1 pkg spaghetti noodles
Ham (about 4 thick cut slices) - diced
1-2 cups Broccoli - diced
1-2 cups Cauliflower - diced
1-2 Cups Spinach - diced
1/2 stick butter
2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
4 slices of Swiss Cheese -dice into small pieces
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp (to taste) Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb blend
1 Tbsp (or more to taste) Tony's Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning
Olive oil

Direction:

In a pot, pour heavy cream, Mrs. Dash, and butter. Turn on Medium/low and allow butter to melt. Mix occasionally.
In a larger pot, fill with water, add some oil (just a little). Bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add pasta. Cook as directed on box.
In a large skillet, put diced cauliflower and about a tablespoon of oil. Sautée on medium heat for a few minutes. Add in diced broccoli, continue to sautée for about 5 minutes or until veggies are softer. Stir occasionally. Add ham to veggies.
Add in diced spinach. Mix. Cook for about 2 minutes.
Sprinkle with about 2 Tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese. Mix.
Pour Cream mixture into skillet with veggies. Stir.
After noodles are done cooking, strain water and add pasta into skillet.
Mix everything together.
After plating, sprinkle with the diced Swiss cheese. 

ENJOY!!!

What kind of throw together meals do you make?

Amanda's 30 Random Acts of Kindness

My little sister is always helping me with blog posts and ideas. When she decided to do 30 random acts of kindness leading up to her 30th birthday, she automatically thought of me. I think that should count as one, except that it isn't very random, but it is very kind.

So her first few days were snowed in and she had a little difficulty doing those randomly.

RAK #1 - Shoveled neighbors driveways (somehow they found out or they tried their own RAK and shoveled her driveway the next morning).

RAK #2 - She had a friend that was feeling down about a few things, so she dropped off a surprise on her porch hoping it would help cheer her up. She included the friend's favorite drink and some chocolate peanut butter balls (I'll have to add that recipe later.) Here's a picture of the goods:

RAK #3 - She stopped at a mom & pop doughnut shop, purchased a couple, and then paid for a doughnut for the next two customers and sat down to eat (not knowing the next two would come in while she was still there).

Unsuspecting person #1 was an older lady. When the owner told her the total for her order she was surprised it was so low. He told her someone had paid for a doughnut for her. The lady asked if it was him. He said no and handed her a little card that my sister had made (see below). She was so excited!

Unsuspecting person #2 also thought it was awesome. He stated to the owner that he works at a radio station and said he was going to talk about it on his show that day. Then, he left money to pay for a doughnut for the next person!

Oh, and then, the doughnut shop owner came out and gave her a little heart shaped cake and told her thank you and happy birthday! How sweet is that?

RAK #4, 5, & 6 - For these she stopped at 3 different Redboxes and left a package of popcorn along with a card. How exciting! You go to rent a movie and get a free pack of popcorn too.

RAK #7 - At a bank she left a treat in the tube-y container thing that gets sucked up in the drive-thru (embarrassing that I can't think of what it is actually called).

RAK #8 - She left $1.00 with a card on the security desk at the library: "For a cup of hot cocoa."

RAK #9 - Then, on a stroller in the library she left a couple bucks with a card for the mother to get some ice cream for her child.

Now as sweet as the last two were, I really thought it kind of funny that she left one for hot cocoa and one for ice cream. This isn't a warm southern area either! It's a snowy state! But she assured me that it is warm inside the buildings.

9 down and 21 more to go!

Way to go Lil' Sis! I'll continue to add to these as she "commits" her charitable actions. 

If we all did these for our birthdays, we would have a better community and beyond (I just thought of Toy Story there). Have you done any RAKs lately? Do you have any ideas for my sister to try?

Mamie Sue's Oreo Eye-Balls

Alright, I'm going to go ahead and publicly admit this: My sisters are ALL much, much more creative than I am. I'm not jealous though. Nope, not one bit. Okay, okay, maybe a teensy weensy tiny smidgen. 😉 But that's it. Anyway, let me show you an example of Mamie's creativeness.

She had to come up with a few desserts for a Halloween party. What kind of a party doesn't have Oreo Balls? So she made those simply devilish desserts a Halloween twist.

I'll post step by step directions and pictures soon. Here are her Oreo Eye-Balls.

Amanda's Zucchini Bread

This recipe my little sister sent me. I can't wait to try it:

AMANDA'S ZUCCHINI BREAD

1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded zucchini (I normally puree it in my food processor.)
1/4 cooking oil
1/2 cup walnuts/pecans (optional)

Grease the bottom and 1/2 up the sides of a loaf pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine egg, sugar, zucchini, and oil. With mixer going, add all the dry ingredients one at a time, leaving the flour for last.
Continue mixing until just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in oven for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

My version: If I’m going to freeze it, I’ll take it out a little early, so that the bread is sticky, but cooked through. Also, I always double the recipe. It’s easier in my opinion.