grand adventures

pinned from Pinterest here-I couldn't get to the original to give credit!

Tonight I will be flying over the Pacific ocean on a 15 hour flight from L.A. to Australia. By myself.  Get this, when I arrive in Melbourne, it will be Wednesday morning. Tuesday, March 13, 2012 will not have existed in my lifetime! Weird. I am not very good anymore at doing wild and crazy and brave things like this. I used to love myself a grand adventure, but life experiences have really toned me down. I mean, REALLY toned me down. I'm trying to keep myself optimistic but I'm a lot nervous and only a little bit excited to make myself do this. What if I get on the wrong plane and end up in Thailand? What if I have to use the bathroom? (Like I could make it 15 hours without using the bathroom...) What if I can't get out of the bathroom? What if I have to sit by a really large man who falls asleep on my shoulder and snores and drools on me? What if they won't let me in the country? What if nobody comes to pick me up?? (You know who you are!!! You'd better be there to pick me up!!) The way that luck's gone lately, I'm sure it will become a really great story to share someday...

“It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily.
"So it is."
"And freezing."
"Is it?"
"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately.”
― A.A. Milne

Wish me luck- and Keep Smiling!

girly gloves part 2

Since I've been working on my 'to do' pile and since now that it's spring, winter has finally arrived in our neck of the woods, I decided to finish up these fun gloves like the ones that I made for Christmas gifts for the girls' friends here.  I had bought some ear warmers to try it on as well and they turned out absolutely fun!

 This set was definitely my favorite.

 My camera did not like all the pink on this one, but My Angel will...

 These will match Our Princess's new grey dress coat.

And these were just for fun!

A couple of helpful tips:

Make sure that when you attach the flowers to the gloves, the thumbs are facing opposite directions or one flower will be on the palm of your hand. :o)  

I'm not confessing anything here, just make sure you're paying attention.

When attaching the flowers to the headband, stretch it out a little bit as you attach.  Otherwise, the flowers will be totally separated from each other when you put it on.  Looks a bit dorky.

Happy Crafting!

 

cheesecake tarts

Check out these yummy creatures.  I made them before Valentine's Day, but never got a chance to post them. I was looking for a fun idea for a lower-fat/calorie treat and discovered that won-ton wrappers are a fabulous solution.  Compared to pie crust and pastries, these guys come out ahead by a long shot. And they are crispy and cute, too!

Place the 'raw' wonton wrappers in a mini muffin tin. I thought the round ones fit better in the pan than the square ones.  If they are too cold, they have a hard time molding to the shape, so all you have to do is place it on a warm frying pan for just a second to make it more mold-able. Seriously just a second, though, or they bake, and then try to mold them!!
Bake these shells for 8-9 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from pan to cool.
 Meanwhile, whip up your cheesecake filling.

Cheesecake Filling
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 (8 oz.) container cool whip
1 cup sour cream
Beat cheese until smooth, then add sugar, sour cream and vanilla.  Blend well.  Fold in cool whip, mixing it in well.  Let it set up in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.
(Low fat or fat free ingredients can be used, it's just not quite as fluffy, a little more runny-ish.)

After it sets up, scoop a spoonful into each cup.  Top with strawberries or blueberries or kiwi or whatever makes your heart happy...

Or if you don't believe that a treat is a treat unless chocolate is involved, melt some semi-sweet chocolate chips and drizzle on the top!

And oh-my-gosh look how fun this will be for Easter!!

Enjoy!

perfection

“We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy—not guilt trips!”
Russel M. Nelson

What Does It Mean to Be Perfect?
Elder Cecil O. Samuelson

"There is an understandable goal to follow the Savior’s direction to “be ye therefore perfect” (Matt. 5:48). While this goal is admirable and appropriate, it is unfortunate that some consider that this perfection must occur immediately. A careful study of the footnote in our scriptures to this verse teaches us that the notion of being perfect means that we are “complete, finished, fully developed.” Thus, while we should be engaged in the process of perfection, we need to acknowledge that achieving this goal will likely take a long time for all of us. The Lord said, “Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected” (DocandCov 67:13). This is good advice for all of us.

Be sure that you do not have higher standards for yourself or others than the Lord has established. Find satisfaction in your progress while acknowledging that perfection may still be distant.

May the Lord bless us all to understand clearly our potential and place. May we have the courage to stand tall in the face of our challenges, the wisdom to get help when we need it, and the faith to know that the Lord will bless His servants who are doing their best."


This has been one of my very favorite talks in the whole world.  If you have some time, it's a fun listen with a lot of laughs. She very simply puts it all into perspective:
A Change of Mind, A Fresh View, A Turning of the Heart
Johanna Flynn

Keep Smiling!

fabric watch bands

A while back I made the cutest watch ever.  I used the cluck cluck sew tutorial and that watch became my best friend in the whole world.  I loved it with all of me!!  I wore it every day, whether it matched what I was wearing or not.  It had a snap that held it together and after a while, it would just randomly come unsnapped and fall off.  Then one day it was really gone.  Like somewhere on the side of a mountain because I was camping, gone. (I know, who wears an absolutely darling watch camping?? That's the attachment I had...)  I was SO sad. AND mad at the stupid snap for being so unreliable.  Since then, I tried making some new watch bands with buttons instead of snaps, thinking that it would be safer.  They turned out ok, but kind of bleh.  Not quite what my head had in mind. 

 

 So I've been thinking in my head for a while about trying them this way.  It took a few tries to get my hands to be able to see it the way my head did, but I finally figured it out, and they come together in no time at all.

I got some fun watch faces from http://www.ewatchwholesale.com/.  They are pretty large ones which made it all the easier.  The ones I used had 1 inch bars to attach to, so that's how I measured my fabric pieces.  My fabric pieces ended up being a 3 1/2 inch by 12 inch rectangle.  The key is to remember that it has to be enough to fit over your hand to get to your wrist.

After the rectangle was cut, I folded it hot dog, then hamburger.  Then if you notice above, I trimmed off about a half an inch on the raw edge corner, coming up from about an inch and a half.  This is so that it fits nicely underneath the watch face.  Then I sewed it up the hot dog side ,right sides together, all the way from one end to the other.  Then I turned it right-side out.  I use a knitting needle head to do this part.  It's the best use I've ever found for a knitting needle...
It helps to press the tube at this point with the seam in the middle.

 Next, I cut a piece of 1 inch elastic 1/2 inch longer than the diameter of my wrist, which was 6 1/2 inches. Using a large safety pin, I threaded it through the fabric tube.

Then, leaving the pin in one end to hold it, I threaded the other end of the elastic plus the fabric through the bars in the watch face, with the seam of the fabric on the bottom. I had to work the fabric around to get it in a spot where I could pinch both ends of the elastic together.

 Carefully holding the ends together, I sewed the elastic only together. Make sure the band isn't twisted before you stitch it up.  I trimmed the ends of the elastic as small as I dared so there would be less bulk.  I'm thinking now that it would be less bulky to sew the elastic one piece on top of the other instead of ends together, like that makes any sense to anyone's brain but mine...

 Next I folded the raw edges of the fabric under about a fourth of an inch.  Then I overlapped them to finish it off.  I tried to keep it right on top of my elastic seam, once again to avoid bulk.  This would be the part that would be wise to stitch together by hand, but I don't believe in hand sewing unless it is seriously life or death.  You should have seen me squeezing the little band with the big watch face under the needle of my machine.  It's kind of like fitting those last several dishes into the dishwasher, when I should just be washing them by hand. Anyway, make sure that you catch all the edges.

All that's left after the ends of the fabric are stitched together is twisting the band around so that the sewn edge of the band is right underneath the face. You think that baby's gonna fall off? Ah, nope!  And they turned out so fun, I'm already smitten!!

Happy Crafting!