Christmas 2011 Crafted Gifts!!

This year I had tons of ideas to hand make gifts for people, all of which included sewing.  Now I haven't been sewing that long, but I seem to be getting better with each project.  The first thing I completed was for my sister in law, Lydia, who loves the Atlanta Falcons.  Last year at their grandparents', her grandmother had made me a tote bag that Lydia also really liked, and I asked for the pattern to try to make it one day.  So when Lydia said she'd like something Falcons related, I knew instantly that I'd make her this bag for Christmas.  When my sister was here for Thanksgiving, she saw it too and thought it was really awesome, and now wants one for the New York Jets. lol.  Maybe for her birthday....this year she got something else (further down on this post).  And maybe one day I'll make myself a Hokie one!  Here is the bag, took me about 2 days to make it.

So the next project I worked on was for my mother in law Susan for Christmas.  Again, I got this idea from her parents' house at Christmas last year.  They had this really cute placemat/table runner set that was snowmen and was quilted.  So my idea was to make her a table set, but I didn't exactly know what fabric I wanted until I went to the quilt store.  I saw this striped snowflake pattern and loved it!  (I love snowflakes anyway, and this was really cute.)  Then I found a complimentary fabric to use with it, along with a stencil to do the quilting.  Second project ever to actually quilt, and it turned our really well I think!  Final product was 1 table runner (more like a table center piece) and 6 placemats.  Only 4 are in the picture because there wasn't enough room on my craft table lol.  Here are a bunch of pictures:

And last but not least is a New York Jets santa for my sister Ashley.  I searched forever to try to find a decent Jets fabric to use, but all of the team logo fabrics were way to "cheeky" to use for a nice old-time Santa Claus, so I went with using the Jets' colors instead, and then made a Jets football for him to hold.  For the football, we found an ornament at Hobby Lobby (my favorite store ever!!) and then spray painted it white, and painted "Jets" on it with some green accents.  Maybe once I get to NY next summer, I'll find something else to accessorize him with, but we'll see.  Here is the Santa, made in a day.  And I finally took the time this go-around to make templates so future Santa's won't take nearly as long, or use as much material!  :-)

That concludes my Christmas gift post.  If you see anything you like, let me know!  :-)

Another Baby Project Completed!

It seems like all of our friends are expecting these days, which is great!  I love making baby stuff, and especially had a great time making these items for our friends Adam and Nicole.  They are expecting their first child about mid January. 

The first is a baby afghan, in a square for swaddling should they choose.  I was sneeky when I asked her what colors she was thinking for the nursery.  We had gone to a quilt shop to get fabric for my mother-in-law's Xmas gift (next post), and I just brought it up so she could show me about the shades she was thinking in the fabric. :-)  Then I got some yarn and started right away!   Here is the afghan, measuring about 30" square, using the Caron Simply Soft brand.  And after you wash it, it is soooo soft!

Entire blanket

Close up of the mini squares

Close up of the edging

So with her green theme, she wanted to add some brown in there as well, but the brown I found just wasn't the right shade, hence the shades of green.  But when I think of that color combination, I think trees, and then the thought to make a monkey popped into my head!  So I searched online, and found a free crochet pattern to make a sock monkey.  Rather than making him brown, I used more green to match the blanket and it was super cute in a different color.  Here he is!!  I think he's just adorable. :-)

And I hardly ever get to take pictures of the couples with the gifts I make for them, but I was fortunate enough to give this to them in person, and snag 'em for a picture!  :-)

Breakfast Casserole! Mmmm....

I love breakfast casseroles, but I really dislike the ones that have that sponge-like texture to them.  It's a weird consistency and kind of gross in my opinion.  Then one day for a food day when I worked at the bank in KS, my friend Katy brought in this one.  I had to have her recipe!  It's so tasty, no sponges, and even has a slight kick to it!  Yummy Yummy!  So here is the recipe, along with a picture.  You can prepare it the night before as well (except for the eggs and cream part, do that in the morning).  Just make, let all ingredients cool before combining, stick in the fridge and complete the eggs and cream part in the morning, bake as directed! (I had to do this for Thanksgiving since I didn't want to get up at 5 AM just to make breakfast lol) Enjoy! :-)

Ingredients:

·         1 bag frozen hashbrowns

·         2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese

·         2 cups shredded Colby/Monterey jack cheese

·         1 pint whipping cream

·         6 eggs

·         2/3 cup butter, melted

·         Breakfast meat of choice, I use about 1 ½ packages of Jimmy Dean’s Sage sausage in the roll

Directions:

1.       Put hashbrowns in a 13x9 pan and pour melted butter on top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

2.      Brown/cook the breakfast meat.

3.      Layer cheese over hashbrowns then add breakfast meat.

4.      Mix eggs and cream and pour on top of casserole.

5.      Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until eggs are set.

Thanksgiving (Finally!)

Okay so I know it's been a while since Thanksgiving rolled around, but I've been busy! 

My sister Ashley flew in from VA all the way out here to AZ to come visit, and my grandparents came into town as well (they're already in AZ, just a little drive to get here).  They visited for a few days before and after Thanksgiving, so we got to spend lots of family time together.  We went wine tasting once before, and once after Thanksgiving, which was fun (there isn't a lot to do around here anyway!) and we found a great white wine from Kief-Joshua Vineyards for Thanksgiving dinner....while Ashley oggled the one owner behind the counter, who reminded me of one of my brother's friends from HS.  Anyway, sorry Ash, I think he's got a girlfriend. :-p  Here's a picture of an American flag blowing in the wind right outside of Sonoita Vineyards and their picturesque view:

So Thanksgiving Day came around, and with 5 adults to feed, I had to come up with something that would be somewhat easy to make in the morning.  I decided on a breakfast casserole recipe from my friend Katy in KS and always popular cinnamon rolls!  (The breakfast casserole recipe will be in a separate post for easy searching later.)  Here's a picture of breakfast!

Now time to stuff the turkey!!  This was Chris's job, since we got a ginormous 26 pound bird this year!  We had to put the roasting pan and rack in the sink in order to get it all in there without having a turkey wind up on the kitchen floor!  Check out the wingspan on this thing!

And now for the finished product after many hours of cooking, along with our dining room table set up and all the deliciousness of the serving table:

And what Thanksgiving dinner wouldn't be complete without some dessert??  I had to yoink these pictures from my sister because apparently we didn't take any of the desserts.  They were all so delicious!! :-)

And thus concluded our Thanksgiving Day...and I will leave you with a picture our puppy (small horse), Lane, snuggling on Ashley's lap (who you can't see lol).