Macie's birthday gift...

I got a bit carried away.. but,here it is.. in all it's glory.. all that's needed is a picture of the birthday girl in it!

TuTu take Two

And.. a headband to match...
this one is for my great niece. Her birthday is coming up and I just knew she had to have her own tutu and matching headband. I plan to make a shirt to go along with both.. wish me luck.. I'm flyin' by the seat of my pants here!

Elastic 16 inches, sewn to 14 inches
Red,White and Black tulle cut to 14 inches allowing for 1.5 inches to be tied. This time instead of tying each piece in 2 knots, I did the good old loop tie.. fold in half, place looped end under elastic, bring ends up and through loop, pull to tighten. I didn't tighten these all the way until the entire tutu was complete. I went back to adjust and tighten all at one time.. this way I avoided having to trim the ends.
The headband is a pompom made from about 2 yards of the 3 colored tulle. I used the ends of a spool of ribbon ... place a piece of ribbon between the 2 pieces of cardboard take from the ribbon spool, begin wrapping the tulle through the center hole, around the cardboard, back through the center hole until you've used all the tulle. With scissors snip, snip, snip the tulle, making sure you DO NOT CUT the ribbon inside... yep.. I sure did.. when you've cut all the way around pull the cardboard apart, do not remove completely, tighten the ribbon now in the center of the pom pom... or if you happen to cut the ribbon, wrap a new piece around and tighten. Tie off. I added an alligator clip to the pom pom then attached that to an elastic headband I made. Sorry.. no photos or measurements of the elastic piece.. I just didn't think of it...

No... it's not a wreath!

I know, you can't believe it.. but, it really isn't a wreath.. I decided to try my hand at a No Sew Tulle TuTu. There are plenty of tutorials out there.. I searched pinterest,youtube,google.. all are good.. I however am all thumbs and had a struggle in tying the tulle once I had cut it.. honestly.. can it be easier? Evidentally it isn't for me! haha..
So, here you go

No Sew TuTu or Almost NO SEW Tutu

3 rolls of tulle
1/2 inch width elastic band *I cut 16 inches, sewed it to 14 inches* mine is for an infant so you may want to make your's larger.
either good scissors or a roller cutter
I tried both.. liked scissors better.

Measure your tulle to the desired length, in this case, 16 inches. I am sorry to say I didn't count how many from each roll I cut. I just used the entire roll. I then tied 2 of each color to the elastic until I had it as full as I liked. again, I didn't count. Sorry. I'm not a tutorial writer.. just someone who likes to share.

I plan to make several of these as I have 2 grand daughters with a 3rd due in a matter of weeks. I'm also going to make tulle pom poms to go on headbands. I would LOVE to see all 3 grandbabies in matching tulle and headbands.. a Yaya can dream, right?

*I went back and counted the tulle pieces.. 88 for this particular tutu. You could do less I'm sure as it's pretty fluffy. AND, side note.. it fits a 3 year old.. not an infant so take that in to consideration!*

L.O.V.E.!!!

no explaination needed...

Sold!

Whipped up this blue/white and silver wreath for a friend.. Now to make one for myself!

New Wreath

I know, it's... well... BLACK... but if you look closely you'll see a bit of silver running through it.. and there are glitter snowflakes.. and silver ribbon..so, I'm using it for my Winter wreath... definately not what you usually see for winter.. but it suits me fine.
I made this one the same as the last few.. a pool noodle, taped and glued together. Cover with matching ribbon, deco mesh, wire and a few minutes.. viola.. it's a wreath.
Sophia, my 3 year old grand daughter told me she's tired of me making wreaths, wreaths, wreaths... umm... err... I say.. get used to it. it's an addiction I think I'll have for a while! hahahah...

Baby Shower... take 1

Yesterday Julie and I hosted a baby shower for Courtney and Ellie.. so exciting to know in just a few short weeks I'll have a new granddaughter.. in that few short weeks I'll also have a new grandson.. we're hosting a baby shower for Cindy and Connor after he arrives.. she's working up until delivery so it's difficult to pinpoint a date..
Anyway, back to the shower for Elie .. she got lots of good things.. and lots of pink. Her Aunt Tori made the cute cake! Thanks Tori!
I won't bore you with 70 pictures.. but I would if I thought you would hang on and view them all! LOL..
Zeke was so excited to help open gifts.. he didn't care they weren't for him.. he just loved helping! I wish I had video of his excitement.. he was so darn cute! Ben missed the entire thing.. he was napping.. which could be a blessing.. LOL... he's been known to try to monopolize Mommie's time...

Is it soup yet...

Yes! Indeed it is! I love soup.. almost any kind.. however, I only make vegetable and potato soups ... I did attempt chicken noodle in the crock pot... ONCE... never again.. the pigs loved it. me.. not so much!
When my daughter, Courtney, was on a mission trip to Gaitlinburg TN several years ago she worked as a hostess at The Burning Bush *no longer there... sad*.. then at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant...

can we all just stop and sigh here? Fried apple pies, ice cream? Need I say more? .. oh.. right.. soup.. yes, soup..
Anyway, Rick, Spencer and I visited Courtney one weekend and went to the restaurant for lunch.. oh my gosh.. the food was wonderful.. the atmosphere awesome.. I mean, where else can you sit in a porch swing at a table and have lunch?
The appeitizer was vegetable soup... everyone gets a small bowl.. it was heaven. I can remember the soup but nothing else of what I had for lunch... not one bite.. ha! I came home, did some reasearch and discovered the place was owned by Stokley's.. yes, the one and same known for their vegetables sold in most stores.. so, I emailed the company.. imagine my suprise when I got a reply.. I asked for the soup recipe and was told they will give out almost all recipes.. with the exception of their soup recipe.. HOWEVER, if I used a can of each kind of their vegetables with the juice, added an onion and some beef broth I would probably come up with the exact same taste.. guess what.. I did.. and I do.. each time I make the soup it takes me right back to the mountains of Tennessee and the summer my babygirl was there..

Crockpot Vegetable Soup

1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can lima beans
1 can butter beans
1 can diced tomatoes *I puree mine.. don't like the tomatoes*
1 large onion, chopped
2 or 3 potatoes, diced
1 box swanson beef broth
16 oz tomato juice.. more to taste if you like
salt and pepper to taste, although I personally don't use salt

I put all the ingredients in my large 6 qt crock pot, cook on high all day ..
it's really good the day it's made... but the next day.. even better! Serve with crackers and grilled cheese sandwich! YUM!

Happy New Year!!

I watched the ball drop this year for the first time in years.. the way I see it a New Year is coming on Jan 1 if I'm asleep or awake.. I prefer sleep. This year my friend Carol and her husband, Shane spent the New Year with us... although it wasn't a planned New Year visit it happened none the less. Carol and Shane came up to visit for Christmas, she got sick and ended up in the hospital .. when she got out she took a day to recoop before hitting the road back to Winter Haven FL... so, we spent our first New Year's Eve together in a long, long time.. it didn't matter that we probably both needed a nap in order to see the new year in.. we were together.. and it was nice.. Dick Clark has aged.. so have we... but, still. it was fun.. Now at 12:01 I was ready for it to be over.. my eyes like the backside of my lids too much to stay awake for too long..
Today we had our last Christmas dinner of the season.. I love this dinner.. it's my Mama's family dinner and I'm glad to say even though Mama has been gone for 10 years my sisters and my brother still try to get together with as many family members as we can. It's great to see everyone .. catch up on the gossip.. see who's missing so we can talk about them.. remember those that aren't with us any longer.. it's always been the last hurrah.. the one more little tid-bit to end the Christmas holiday on a good note.. something my kids always looked forward to when they were young.. now I'm hoping my grandkids will enjoy it too.. Sad that some family members choose not to come... it's their choice.. and to be honest, their loss as they are losing touch with family.. and family is important.. So many young folks these days don't get that.. sad...
I'll clean out this week .. we have a baby shower to get ready for on Saturday.. So, to say I'm ready for the Holiday to be over isn't true.. I love the whole she-bang.. the more the merrier for me.. and I enjoy decorating, cooking, baking, visiting, watching Hallmark Channel nonstop.. I'll also enjoy dismantling the whole house.. bit by bit.. with the Christmas movies blasting.. I make it an occasion.. and not a sad one.. I will enjoy it to the very last minute.. and .. I hope you did too...