I’m so excited to have another guest tutorial on Just Sew Sassy!!

Dana from Wonder Forest, has the most unique, creative blog!  I LOVE her vintage style.  Go check out Wonder Forest and you will find so many fun projects and tutorials…

Check out this sweet little ipad cover

And I’m loving this Lemonade Sign she created!  Can you say artist!!

Looking for a bit more retro??!!  Dana has a super cool Etsy Shop where she creates the most darling little plush animals.

Could you just eat this little deer up!

So are we super lucky or what?? Dana is sharing one of her fabulous vintage tutorials with us today!

Take it away Dana…

Hello Just Sew Sassy readers! I am so excited to be here today!  My name is Dana and I am an artist/designer/plush creator from Ontario, Canada. You can find me over at my blog Wonder Forest on a daily basis!  I also have an Etsy shop for my plush critters.  Now let’s get on with it!!! If I told you that this vintage soda pop crate only cost me .25 cents, would you believe it!?

Well guess what, thanks to a little garage sale digging, and some at-home supplies it did, and I’m going to show you how to create your own .25 cent masterpiece. Alright, I can’t guarantee that yours will cost only .25 cents as well, that all depends on what you have at home already.   I found this handmade shelf thing at a garage sale for (you guessed it) .25 cents!  Sure, the workmanship was a little sloppy, but I kind of liked it that way.  When I got it home I spray painted it with one coat of Rustoleum white and scuffed up the edges.

It kind of reminded me of one of those old pop crates that they used to use back in the day, so I grabbed my handy dandy Cricut machine and set out on my new project.  I used my Plantin Schoolbook cartridge to cut out the letters that would be my new stencil.  I set them at about 2.5″ tall.  If you don’t have one of these magic machines, you can always just use a stencil or cut your own!

When my little bug dude stopped cutting, I peeled the paper away to reveal my new stencil.  (make sure to keep the inside pieces of the O’s and P’s, etc. because you will need them!)

Then I cut out the words and taped them onto the side of my shelf.  This is where you’ll want to tape the middle of your P’s and O’s down too.

Next, I grabbed a trusty old stamp pad and a rag and went to work. Immediately I loved the look that the ink was giving the letters. Just like old vintage letters were stamped on the side of the crate!  I dabbed and scrubbed the ink in lightly.

When I was done I was so excited to peel the stencil off to see my creation!  Here we go….

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! All this shelf/crate needed now were some hooks to hang it by…. I snagged these off of an old picture frame and screwed them into the top:

Then the fun part came… hanging it and filling it up!!

Easy as pie!! No one will ever know it only cost me .25 cents!  I now challenge you to make your own for .25 cents or less!! I hope to see you all over in my neck of the woods soon! Thank you so much Staci for having me! xo Dana

So before I get going, I have to tell you that these cookies are sooo goood. Like surprisingly delicious.  Like, you have no idea until you try them.

I got the recipe from the back of a bag of ground flax.

Yep, it’s one of THOSE kind of recipes:)  (Just wait til you see what’s in ‘em)

Grandma Miller’s Flax Raisin Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter

• 1 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 1 cup milled flaxseed

• 3 cups all purpose flour

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup flaked coconut

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 2 cups rolled oats

• 2 cups raisins (boiled in 2 cups of water)

• 1 cup slivered almonds

• dash sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  In a large bowl cream together butter, sugars, and vanilla til light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well between each addition.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually stir into creamed mixture.  Fold in flaxseed, oats, raisins, almonds, and coconut.  (If mixture appears too dry, add milk or water.)

Drop rounded spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in preheated oven.  Remove to a wire cookie rack and cool completely.

This recipe makes A TON of cookies!!

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk, YUM!!

So I have a confession.  Yup, another one.  Ok, ya ready…

Quilting is my favorite.

Don’t get me wrong, crafting is soooo much fun, re-purposing, decorating, baking, all SOOOO fun!!

But I started this whole crafty journey with sewing blankets and quilts,

(my 1st baby blanket, hee hee)

and that’s what I still love to do:)

So when my best friend asked me to help her make a quilt for her friend’s wedding gift, I was jumping for joy!!

She picked out the most gorgeous fabric (I don’t know the name of the line, but if any of you recognize it, let me know:), we figured out a pattern, and whipped up this gorgeous quilt!!

The back side is made with oh so soft minky:)

Machine quilted with loops…

This was a hard one to give away…  One of these days, I will make one to keep:)

Linking up HERE

Including:

I’m so excited to have our first guest tutorial on Just Sew Sassy!!

Kimberly from Mommyhood Craft Corner, is bursting with talent and inspiration!  Are you looking for some darling projects to do with your kids, go check out her blog!!  I can’t for you to see what she has for us today, but first check out some of my favorite projects she has made…

I LOVE this seed pack tutorial

Need a cute idea for a little girl’s birthday party, check out this adorable princess party!!

And I think this artwork box is such a clever way to store your kid’s masterpieces:)

Alright Kimberly, take it away!!!

Thank you so much for allowing me to share this tutorial with you!  My name is Kimberly and I share my children’s craft projects at my blog Mommyhood Craft Corner; I’m so glad to be here at Just Sew Sassy!

This photo is of my one year old son dressed as a prince (minus a crown) for his sister’s princess-themed 4th birthday party. My daughter was decked out in all her princess glory, and it seemed appropriate that the little guy should get to dress up, too, so I gathered a few craft supplies I had on hand and made this little Prince’s Tunic for my little boy.

It’s very easy, because this tunic is made with felt and materials that don’t have to be hemmed. And if you aren’t handy with a needle and thread, I would assume you could use craft or fabric glue of some kind to get the job done, as well!

Little Prince’s Tunic

This tunic should fit children wearing size 24 months and under. You can trim the felt down to fit much younger babies, as well. I “eye-balled” everything when making this little tunic and made it up as I went along, so the instructions do not have precise measurements, but they should guide you through theprocess just fine. Let’s get started…

Materials:

• 2 sheets of felt for the body

• 1 sheet of felt for the front design

• Ribbon for initial and shoulders

• Beads for decoration

• Needle and thread (or glue)

• Pins for securing while stitching

• Scissors

Step 1: Design the front of the tunic.

• From a sheet of felt, freehand draw and cut a shield-like shape or any shape you like for the front of the tunic. Secure it with pins onto the center of the piece of felt you want to be the front of the tunic and stitch it on.

• Next, cut some ribbon to the length necessary for creating your child’s initial and stitch it on top.

• Finally, stitch on some beads for a little extra dose of royalty.

Step 2: Create the form of the tunic.

• Cut the bottom edge of the sheets of felt which will be the front and back of the tunic. I just curved the corners, but you could do something more creative (like a scalloped edge or “dental molding” shape). You can draw your cut lines onto the inside of the felt before actually cutting, if you like.

• Lay the two pieces of felt on top of each other and cut the scoop at the top which will be the neckline. You may want to start small and then keep cutting it larger until you feel confident that your child’s head will fit through.

Step 3: Create the shoulders.

• Lay the front and back pieces of your tunic on top of one of another with the wrong sides out.

• Now stitch along the edge of each shoulder to secure the sheets of felt together.

Step 4: Embellish the shoulders.

• With the same (or different) ribbon you used for the initial on the front of the tunic, cut two lengths of ribbon to be used on the shoulders. Cut your ribbon pieces a little longer than the width of the shoulder they will be attached to, so you will have some length to tuck underneath at the edges.

• Now pin your ribbons in place with the edges tucked under and stitch them on.

• Add a few more beads across each ribbon (you can’t see them well in my photos, but they are there).

You’re done! Now find your precious little prince, dress him up, and party!

His sword was created with a bubble wand and some cardboard painted green. Watch him and Grandma taking out those ferocious balloons from his sister’s birthday party! What a handsome little fella!

Thanks for stopping by Kimberly!!

These cookies are melt in your mouth DELICIOUS!!!

I was browsing pinterest for a bit (if you’re not hooked yet, go check it out:) and I came across these yummy looking sandwich cookies.  The recipe came from Jun-Blog…

I knew I had to “pin” them for later!!!

Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1/2 tsp vanilla

For the Dulce de Leche

1 can condensed milk

Making the Peanut Butter Cookies

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Whisk the flour and baking soda together.

In a large bowl, mix the unsalted butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in the egg, peanut butter and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended.

Shape into 1-inch balls and arrange about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Press flat with a fork in one direction and then press again in the perpendicular direction to give a crisscross effect.

Bake one sheet at a time, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand a couple of minutes on the baking sheet, then remove to a rack to cool.

Making the Dulce de Leche

In a double boiler (a homemade double boiler can be used), (I just propped a big glass bowl on top of a saucepan of boiling water, and added the sweetened condensed milk to the glass bowl)…Heat the condensed milk for about an hour while stirring it every so often. As the milk cooks it will get thicker and take on a darker caramel color. The dulce de leche will further thicken as it cools. If you prefer a very thick and more caramel-like dulce de leche, heat the condensed milk up to 90 minutes.

Store the dulce de leche in an airtight container and refrigerate.

Spoon a heaping amount of dulce de leche between two peanut butter cookies, forming a sandwich.

Let cool on parchment paper.

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk, YUM!!!

How is your summer!!  Ours has been so stinkin busy!!!

I was beginning to go crazy with all of our summer plans zooming around in my head…

I needed something to “display” our plans, for my husband everyone to refer to:)

I painted an old frame, wrapped some fabric around the inside cardboard, and stuck some vinyl on top!  (For a more detailed tutorial go HERE.)

Easy Peasy:)

Using a dry erase marker, update your “busy” summer every week!!

My head isn’t spinning (well, maybe a little) nearly as much!!

I can get through this summer, and so can you!!  Enjoy it:)

Linking up HERE this week!

Including:

I entered my lemonade stand into the outdoor spaces contest over at CSI Project, and guess what!!!

Linda, from Craftaholics Anonymous was the judge, and I feel honored to have had her pick my project!!

Just had to share my excitement with you!!  I’m in Colorado this weekend for my cousin’s wedding.  Be back next week for some more fun:)

Thanks again to Ami for sponsoring such a fabulous giveaway!!  And thanks to all of you for your participation!

The winner of the item of choice from the AliLilly Etsy Shop is…

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

1

Timestamp: 2011-07-08 01:21:47 UTC

Kassi @Truly Lovely, who said “I’m a public follower of Ami’s blog!”

Congratulations Kassi!!!

Winner has 48 hours to contact us and claim your prize!  Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!

This summer is flying by fast!!  Too fast!!  Thanks go out to all of our fabulous sponsors, and amazing readers for making our month of giveaways a success!!

PS.  We still have our last one open from AliLilly, so head over HERE to enter:)

So far we’ve soaked up as much summer fun as we possibly could…

“Our Summer Adventures”

at the zoo…

My mama and me…

Kissing cousins…

Isn’t my nephew yummy!!

“we made it to the top of the world…”

Cabin Buddies

Watermelon eating contest…

Phew!!  It’s been a super fun, super busy summer!!

We’re keeping it low key for the month of July due to family vacations, reunions, and plans, but we’ll surprise you here and there with some fun tutorials, recipes, and ideas.

SO DON’T YOU WORRY!!!

Enjoy your summer, we’ll catch ya later:)

Linking here:

Thanks to Tammy for sponsoring such a fabulous giveaway!  And thanks to all of you for stopping by to participate!!

The time has come to announce two more winners!!

The winner of the sling purse from She Wears Flowers is…

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

14

Timestamp: 2011-07-05 05:00:33 UTC

Congrats to Ali Teuscher who said, “Shared on my facebook!”

And the winner of the little boy’s tie from Just Sew Sassy is…

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

11

Timestamp: 2011-07-05 05:02:59 UTC

Congratulations Rita who said, “I follow your blog.”

Thanks again for entering!!  Winners have 48 hours to contact us and claim your prizes!!

***Only one giveaway left to enter this month… Don’t miss your chance to win an item of your choice from AliLilly’s Etsy Shop!!***