Hand Warmers

I don't know about you, but my hands are always cold.  Especially at work.  I did a little searching online and found that it was pretty easy to make some.  I looked at several different tutorials and came up with my own. 

First, I cut four pieces of fabric (I used flannel) in 5-inch by 5-inch squares.  

With wrong sides together, I stitched all the around, leaving a little opening one side.  I clipped the corners, turned the squares inside out and poked the corners with a crochet hook (it was the only thing I could find!). 

 

I filled each hand warmer with about 2/3 cup of rice.  This seemed to be just the right amount for a 5-inch by 5-inch hand warmer.  I sewed the little opening closed and was ready to heat them up in the microwave!  I tried a few different times to see what worked best and found that 45 seconds in the microwave was perfect.  

I actually used these at work today.  Our office is quite chilly and my hands are always cold.  I'm also going to be giving these as some Christmas gifts as well.  I just need to make up a little tag with instructions on how to use.  These little hand warmers are great way to use up scrap pieces of fabric and super easy to make.  I know I'll be using them a lot this winter!

O Christmas Tree!

Last Saturday, Jeremy and I went to Giordano's Tree Farm in Freedon, NJ.  This was our first time here.  They had a nice selection of trees and we were able to find a tree that would fit in our apartment.  And you can't beat the price...$40 a tree, any size, any type!  That's pretty cheap for cute your own in New Jersey. 

Giordano Tree Farm

Jeremy with our tree!

All decorated!

Craftaholics Gift Swap!

Back in November, I signed up for a gift swap over at Craftaholics Anonymous.  My partner Natalie and I exchanged emails and she was excited to see that I was from New Jersey.  She grew up in Sussex County, which is the same county I grew up in!  Such a small world!  She told me her fabric stash has lots of bright colors and polka dots.  So this is what I came up with!

I sewed a cute little zipper pouch with a detachable handle/key chain and made a snowman ornament (with glitter of course!).  I really hope she liked everything!

Christmas Cards

I'm really slacking with this blog lately.  I guess that's what happens with Christmas right around the corner!  This year, like most years, I made our Christmas cards.  I tried using what I had since I have tons of paper and envelopes.  The only thing I did buy was the base for the card.  I didn't have enough of one color and wanted them to all look the same.

For the tree, I stamped the image using black StazOn ink.  I used StazOn because I was going to color in the image with Stampin' Up watercolor pencils and then use a blender pen to give the tree a watercolor look.  I colored the entire tree, stump, and star.  Then went over with the blender pens.  I used markers to color in the ornaments and garland.  And of course, the tree needed some sparkle!  So I used Dazzling Diamonds for the star and ornaments.

After I finished coloring and blending, I corner punched each tree and then glued them on to red card stock.  By the way, I love the Martha Stewart Adhesive Tape Roller!  And I love the fact you can buy it at Michael's and use a 40% coupon.  Once the cards were assembled, I added more sparkle with these little stick-on gems I found.  I'm really happy with how the cards turned out.  And I realized I never took a picture of the inside!  I printed off a little saying, backed it on card stock, and signed the cards.  Here is a picture of the finished product!

Applesauce!

A few weeks ago, I went apple picking with Jeremy and my sister, Amy.  We picked over 60 pounds of apples and our (well...Amy and I) goal was to make applesauce, can it, and give it as Christmas gifts.  We went to Pochuck Valley Farm in Glenwood, NJ and picked as many apples as we could stuff into the three bags we bought.  I'm not really sure what types of apples we picked, but we had a mixture of both green and red types.

After picking over 60 pounds of apples, we went back to my mom's house to start making the applesauce.  Amy has fruit and vegetable strainer for her KitchenAid mixer.  This is the best thing to have if you are making tons of applesauce!  All we had to do was cut up the apples and cook them down before sending them through the strainer.  The strainer does all the hard work.  It separates the seeds and stems from the sauce.  A bowl catches all the apple sauce (see the pictures at the beginning of this post).

Once we had enough applesacue to fill some canning jars, we put the sauce on the stove and let it boil for a few minutes.  Once it was boiling, we put the sauce in the jars and placed the jars in boiling water for 15 minutes.  You can find the instructions on canning applesauce here.

In case you were wondering...60 pounds of apples produces over 20 quarts of applesauce!  We canned most of the sauce, but froze two large batches to serve at Thanksgiving. 

Check out the large, silver stockpot behind us.  It's filled to the top with applesauce!

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

Here is a simple recipe for a yummy cinnamon swirl bread.  I made this for breakfast the other weekend, and it was delicious!

Cinnamon Swirl:

1/3 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Bread:

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 c. milk

1/3 c. vegetable oil

Directions:

(1)  Preheat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease and flour a 9x13 loaf pan.

(2)  Combine the cinnamon swirl ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

(3)  Prepare the bread - mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl.

(4)  In another bowl, beat together the egg, milk and oil.  Combine with the flour mixture until moistened.  It's okay if the batter is a little lumpy.

(5)  Pour half of the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture.  Pour the remaining batter on top and sprinkle with the rest of the cinnamon mixture.  Using a knife, swirl the cinnamon mixture with the batter.

(6)  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

(7)  Cool in pan for a few minutes.  Remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack. 

(8)  Slice and enjoy!

Long time since last post...

And this is going to  be a quick post as well!

I just signed up for the Craftaholics Anonymous gift exchange!  I have never done one of these before...so I thought I would try it out.  Plus, it's an excuse to make something for someone!  If you are interested in joining the gift exchange, check out the info here!

I have been crafty quite a bit lately...I finished some Christmas gifts, made 20 quarts of applesauce with my sister, and did some baking!  I try to post some pictures and recipes soon. 

Faux Caramel Apples!

I saw these last year, but never got around to making them.  Then, a few weeks ago, I was going through Google Reader and spotted this tutorial.  I ran to the store, picked up some styrofoam apples (Walmart had nice ones for only $1).

I changed up the tutorial that I found since I didn't want to buy a massive amount of popsicle sticks or a huge bag of corn cob litter.  Instead, for the handle of the caramel apple, I used sticks that I found outside.  For the nuts, I used pieces of cork that I found at Michaels a while back.  The pieces came in a little bag, and I thought it would look just as nice as the corn cob litter.

To make the apples was super easy.  First, I put a stick in each of the apples.  Then, I mixed together some mod podge and caramel-colored paint.  After I got the right color, I poured the paint on top of the apples.  Once all the apples were covered with paint, I sprinkled the cork pieces to the wet glue/paint.  I set aside the apples overnight to dry and then sprayed them with glossy finish.  

I am quite pleased with how they turned out and they look so real!  I posted some in my etsy shop and will definitely need to make some more for myself!

Two years ago today....

We walked down the aisle!  Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband, Jeremy.  You are the best!

Photographed by Kurtis Wiersma

What I've Been Up To

I've been slowly starting some Christmas gifts.  I actually finished one project!  Right before our trip to the Jersey shore, I made some headbands following this tutorial.  The only thing I changed up was instead of using elastic, I used 2 hair elastics.  The hair elastics didn't pull my hair and kept the headband in place.  I also wore the headband during the 5K I wogged (walk/jog, I decided what I really did was not running at all, so I can't call it wunning...so it's now known as wogging) last Saturday. 

The one Christmas gift I finished was for our nephew.  After looking around on some blogs and websites, I came up with a fishing set.  I sewed up some fish.  Added button for eyes and sewed in some washers for the mouth.  I then made a fishing hook out of felt and put a strong magnet inside the hook.  I made the pole out of a wooden dowel and string.  I wrapped felt around the handle to give a good grip.  I really like how it came out! Check out my model... ;-)

The other project I've been working on, but haven't finished, is some felt food for our 4-year old niece.  She is always playing her in kitchen and 'cooking' up some meals for everyone.  As of right now, I made about a dozen raviolis, four strawberries, two carrots and one bean.  I want to make a few more beans and then some more fruits and veggies.  I love making the felt food!  It's so easy to make and everything is super cute. 

And that's what I've been up to for the past few weeks!  Hopefully I will finish up a few more things this week to post soon. 

As for my cooking...not too much going on with that.  But I am planning on making some pot roast this week!

Craft Hope Project 9

I came across Craft Hope about a year ago, but never helped with any of the projects.  The most recent project, project 8, was to make towels and washcloths to send down to the Gulf Coast to help clean the oil off of animals.  It felt really good to help out in some way.

Craft Hope just announced project 9, which is to make colorful pillowcases for the organization ConKerr Cancer.  The pillowcases are given to kids in the hospital, to help make their room more cheery and to help make the kids smile.  

I can't wait to get to pick out some bright and colorful fabrics!  I know what I'll be doing this weekend.

Ocean Beach 2010!

This past week, Jeremy and I spent a few days at the beach with family.  My mom rented a house in Ocean Beach, NJ and it was just a short walk to the ocean.  The weather was perfect and the ocean was warm!  I'm not a huge fan of swimming in the ocean, but it was too hot not to go in.  

I woke up early Thursday and Friday to take a walk on the beach and collect some shells and sea glass.  I didn't find too many things, but my cousin and I did find a baby hermit crab!

Most of our time there was spent relaxing, oh, and eating!  We had happy hour, went to the boardwalk, got ice cream.  It was a great little break from everything!  Below are a few more pictures from our trip.

I cannot believe we are in the last week of July.  Where has the summer gone?  But I have to say, this summer has been quite relaxing and doesn't seem to be nearly as busy as last year.  I have actually been able to enjoy the pool!  But the end of the summer also means time to start working on all those Christmas presents I want to make this year.  Anyone have any ideas on what to make my nieces?  They are between the ages of 4 and 6.  I think I have everything else figured out for the rest of my family members.  

Oh, and one last thing.  I sold my very first item on Etsy two weeks ago!  Woo hoo!!

Mini-Vacation!

Jeremy and I off for a little vacation to the beach. 

This is what it looked like the last time we went...  It rained the entire time.  The wind blew and I thought the windows were going to shatter.  So let's hope for some good weather this time around!

I did get around to make a quick beach blanket.  I love the colors!  It was a simple quilt, with 10x10 blocks and I used a sheet for the back. 

I'll be sure to post our vacation recap when we get back!

My Little Garden

I finally got around to taking some pictures of my window boxes.  For the window boxes, we used old wooden crates that Jeremy's mom gave us.  They are more shallow then your typical window box, so this year I just planted some begonias.

Here is my lawn, well, window box, gnome.  Isn't he cute?  And I did paint him.  Painting is not one of my strong points when it comes to crafting.  But I still like him!

So that's our little garden.  Jeremy did contribute to it and made a little rock area (he majored in geology and loves rocks...).

My Flower Boxes

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  I really haven't been crafting all too much...  But I finally planted flowers in my window boxes and in some of the extra flower pots I had.  Since Jeremy and I live in an apartment, we don't have a yard where I can have a beautiful flower garden.  So our little patio with window boxes will have to do until we get a house.  I will try to take pictures tonight.  

I was thinking the other night that I should probably start working on Christmas gifts.  I know Christmas is over six months away, but I want to actually have most things made before December.  I was rushing way too much last year to get everything done. 

So stay tuned for some pictures of my 'garden'!

Strawberries and Watermelons

I finally got around to making some more bowl fillers.  I wanted to make some summery decorations to have around our apartment and to sell at my etsy shop.  For the strawberries, I just followed the basic felt food pattern of sewing up the sides of a half circle, stuffing it, then stitching it closed.  For the watermelons, I looked online for some ideas and came up with my own pattern.  I did both slices and wedges for the watermelons.  Everything is made out of muslin and then hand painted.  I'm really happy with how these came out!

Running!

This entry isn't a crafty one...but it is about one of my 'adventures'.  An adventure into the world of running.

I definitely don't consider myself a runner what-so-ever.  It all started last year when I decided to run my first race, a 10K, at the annual Dash for Dad in Alexandria, VA.  I was running in honor and in memory of my dad, who passed away in June after battling prostate cancer.  I got myself an awesome pair of sneakers and started practicing.  I didn't start training until July, which was only running between 15 and 20 minutes three days a week.  The most I ran during my practices was maybe three miles and a 10K is 6.2 miles.  And I didn't run the entire time, I usually walked. 

The race day finally came, and I was very nervous and anxious.  I didn't know if I was going to be able to finish it.  But I just kept thinking of my dad and everything that he went through to fight the cancer.  All the chemo treatments, surgeries, hospital stays, and doctors visits.  I had my ipod playing during the entire race, and I put songs on there that my dad loved.  Every time one of those would come on, it made me want to keep on going and it put a smile on my face.  To me, when those songs came on, it was my dad's way of saying 'keep going Heather...you're crazy for wanting to run 6.2 miles, but you can finish!'.  And I did finish.  I finished in 80 minutes and 35 seconds.  And I didn't run the entire thing.  It was a combo of walking and running, which I call 'wunning'.  I felt really good after finishing and I was proud of myself.  Jeremy and Elysia (Ox) also ran the race too.  Of course, Jeremy kicked our butts, but he is a runner.  Ox and I didn't start running until after we signed up for the race, but we still did it and we finished.  Here are a few pictures from the Dash for Dad 2009 10K. 

Well, the wunning continues in 2010.  Ox and I, along with her brother CJ, ran a 5K last Saturday.  I wasn't prepared for this at all.  I figured I would walk the whole thing, since it was a run/walk.  Well, the race started, and Ox and I stayed together.  We ran the entire first mile in 11 minutes and 35 seconds (we both usually run a mile in a little over 12 minutes).  After the first mile, we separated, but still kept up with one another.  By the middle of the second mile, my legs were exhausted, so I walked a little then would run a little.  And I just continued doing this until the end of the race.  Near the finish line, I could see Jeremy, Elizabeth and CJ (he finished before me).  As I was getting close to the finish line, I saw the clock and I was excited.  I was going to finish in under 40 minutes.  And I did.  I finished the 5K in 39 minutes and 38 seconds.   Here are a few pictures from the Main Street 5K.  Yes...Ox and I are matching and we are wearing our Dash for Dad t-shirts. 

So the next race I have planned is a 5K in June and the 10K in September.  I'm hoping to find some other ones during the summer to help keep me practicing.  I'm hoping to improve my endurance and my time.  I want to run an entire race and keep a consistent mile.  I'm running to get myself into better shape, get my heart healthy, and to make myself feel better about exercise.

Business Card/Credit Card Holders

A while back, I made one of these for my cousin.  Recently, my aunt asked if I could make her a few to give away as end of the year gifts to her class mom's (she is a preschool teacher).  While I was making them for her, I figured I make a few extra to post on etsy and to have some on hand for last minute gifts.  On one of them, I added a button and elastic to hold the case closed.  I was thinking that these would make a great way to display a gift card and would add a little something extra to the gift.  Here are a few pictures.