Fleece Pillow Cases

These fleece pillow cases were SO easy to make!  I just folded my fleece in half, and then laid a standard sized pillow case on top.  I cut it out with an inch seam allowance on each side.  Then you just sew up the sides and hem the opening.  Finished!

Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Houses

I had a Christmas cookie decorating party for the kids.  I invited five other moms and their children to come over and decorate cookies.  This is what they made!  The sugar cookie recipe is below.  Here is a tip that I have learned, I always set my oven at 325 when baking, and I bake items for much less than the time stated in the recipe.  In this case, I did 325 for 4 min, 5 min for bigger cookies.  This way the cookies do not brown and become hard and crunchy. 

I am also planning on making gingerbread houses with the kids tomorrow.  We did it last year, and I decided to make it a tradition, it was so fun.  Here is the recipe and directions for that: gingerbread houses.  I will post some pictures after our festivities tomorrow!

Sugar Cookie Cutouts (from Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Cookies)
2/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 recipe for Powdered Sugar Icing

1.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter with and electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 sec.  Add sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.  Beat in egg, milk and vanilla until combined.  Beat in as much of the flour as you canwith the mixer.  Stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon.  Divide dough in half.  If necessary, cover and chill dough about 30 min or until easy to handle.
2.  On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time until 1/8 inch thick.  Using a floured 2 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes.  Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3.  Bake at 375 fro 7-8 min or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.  Frost with Powdered Sugar Icing. 


Powdered Sugar Icing
In a bowl combine 3 cups sifted powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk or orange juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Stir in additional milk or juice, 1 tsp at a time to make drizzling consistency. 

More Little Girl Skirts

The leopard print skirt is for my daughter Rebekah, and was a nightmare!  It's made out of a stretchy velvet material, that curled up after I ripped the seam out.  The tag says it's Children's Place Stretch, 76% cotton, 20% polyester, and 4% spandex.  I had to sew up at least 7 holes after I finished it because I didn't realize it had rolled under so far.  I opted to sew a ribbon on the bottom instead of hemming due to the rolling.  I wasn't expecting it to become curly, but I think it still looks good.  The rest of the skirts are headed to my niece!  I have been really busy with the almost Christmas crunch, so keep checking back for new projects!

Little Girl Gifts - Poncho and Skirts

My second little girl poncho turned out a little different.  Again, my rectangles turned out to be parallelograms.  It was impossible to sew them together so they would make a triangular poncho, but I like this shape just as much.  I hope my niece will love it, her favorite color is purple!

The skirts are for my other niece.  I am actually making her a total of 5, they were pants that she outgrew in length, but still fit around the waist.  The purple butterfly embroidery was actually the bottom of the pant leg.  I used one leg to fill in the middle of the skirt, and added a butterfly from the other leg to the front hip.  I also added a butterfly to one of the back pockets, which I adhered with Steam-A-Seam instead of sewing the pocket closed.  I think they both turned out really cute!  Stay tuned for 3 more skirts and hair bows!

Mending and Knitting - Snow Day

Snow Day!  This is what I did today during the blizzard, lots of mending for my mother in law.  I was able to fix 10 things for her, which means I only have 4 left, but those are not the fun ones.  Have I ever mentioned that I hate to sew buttons!  If anyone has any tips and trick for doing this, I would much appreciate it!  It's not that I don't know how to sew on a button, it's just that it needs to be done by hand, and I was trying not to sew them on too tight so that you can still button it, which made it difficult.  Anyway, I've also been doing a lot of knitting lately.  Can you guess what these will become?

Today's Simple Joys: 

 

Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert

Blueberry Cheesecake Dessert
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
half stick of butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
4 cups whipped topping
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups powder sugar
4 Tbsp corn starch
2 cups water
1 qt. blueberries

1.  Mix graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup sugar, and butter.  Pat into greased 9 x 13 pan.
2.  Beat cream cheese and milk until smooth.
3.  Fold in whipped topping and powdered sugar.
4.  Spoon over crumbs and refrigerate until ready for topping.
5.  In saucepan, mix 1 cup sugar and cornstarch.  Stir in water until smooth, then stir in berries.
6.  Cook until thickened, stirring often.
7.  Cool blueberry mixture until room temperature, spoon over dessert.
8.  Refrigerate until chilled.
9.  Cut into bars and serve.

I first made this dessert for a church party, and it was a huge success.  It helps to make sure that the cream cheese is soft, otherwise it will be a little chunky.  I don't remember where this recipe came from, it was in my cookbook on a hand written note.  If you'd prefer to buy graham cracker pie crusts already made, the filling is enough to fill two crusts.  I hope you enjoy it!

Wedding Card

 

Congratulations to my good friend Melissa and her soon to be husband David!  They are getting married tomorrow and I am so excited to share their special day.  Here's the card I made for them.