Mario/Luigi Hats

Can you tell what Adam wants to be for Halloween?

"It's Luigi time!"

I know it's early for Halloween, with back to school and all, but I wasn't sure I could make these hats. Luckily, my friend Natassia sent me this awesome tutorial on the Groovy Kids blog. (Thanks Tassia!)

Go check it out now, I'll wait. These were quick & easy. I was able to make two during nap time.

I'm not going to retype up everything she did. However, I made a few changes that made it work better for us.

For the hat: For the kid hat, I went smaller and used a 10 inch dinner plate for the circle of the hat. I used a 12 inch bowl for the grown-up hat. Stick with the 4 1/2 interior circle -- seriously, the fleece stretches like crazy.

I wanted the brim a little larger than the tutorial. I traced the brim of a hat onto a cereal box and cut it out for the foundation inside the brim. I also used this as my template on the fleece fabric. I cut the cardboard about a quarter inch smaller than the fleece all the way around.

Then I gently curved by bending it through my fingers.

For the circle: (I just just used the inexpensive white felt rectangle, instead of buying white fleece. It was a bit see-through, so I used wonder under to double the layer.) I cut a rectangle of white felt. I traced a cup that was about 3 1/2 inches diameter. Then iron on a square of double sided fusible webbing/wonder under to the back side behind the circle I traced.

Have you noticed wonder under can be a beast to remove?! Open your scissors and score an X into the paper backing. It should come off easier for you. Don't go too hard or you'll go through your fabric. Fold over your white felt, and iron so the wonder under seals in place. You should have a double thickness now. Cut out the circle.

Use some of your scraps to make the letter. Iron a piece of wonder under on the back side. Draw your letter. Remember since this is the back, you'll want to draw the letter backwards for Luigi's "L." Luckily, Mario's "M" is the same both ways. Go ahead and cut out the letter. Remove the paper backing, and center it on the white circle. Iron it in place. This should hold it long enough for you to sew.

Sew around the M as close to the edge as you can get.

Okay, moving on to the rest of the hat. I'm going to assume you read the tutorial from above, and you have cut out and sewed everything else like she said. Go ahead and stick your curved cardboard into the brim of the hat. Trim the cardboard if it sticks out anywhere.

Sew the back of your brim closed.

Now for the M: Line up the bottom of your circle with the bottom of the line of the hole of the hat. Pin in place. Make sure not to catch both layers of hat. You should be able to put your hand in between the two layers of hat.

Switch to white top thread. Move the rest of the top of your hat aside, so you aren't sewing your hat together. Sew around the edge of your circle.

Now, put center the brim of your hat with the circle. Pin in place. Sew around the edge of the brim to secure it to the hat.

Supplies:
1/2 yard of green or red fleece
1 white rectangle of felt
1/4 yard of wonder under/double sided fusible webbing - medium weight
thin cardboard (cereal box)

1/2 yard & 1 white felt will make two hats. I think I could have folded the fleece differently to use 1/4 yard...but I couldn't do the math in my head with two busy kids at the store.

Making Fake-Up

Hadley loves my make-up. She is ruining it, as I find her sneaking if it is anywhere in her reach.

I found this great tutorial for pretend make up on the Playing House blog.

I got some cheap make up at the dollar store,
cleaned out the cases, and put glitter foam in the holes.

Since I'm inpatient, I used hot glue because
I knew I wouldn't have to wait for it to dry.

Hobby Lobby has a 5 pack of glitter foam that I loved!

You can make a lot of make up with this pack!
In fact, I have a ton left...anyone need some?!?

The Physician's Assistant

This past week, I had my year check up with my oncologist.

Dr. M, my oncologist, is a gray haired man that reminds me of someone's grandfather. He goes straight to the point, and doesn't mess around. His vocabulary is far more advanced than mine. He speaks to me by using words such as "nodules" and "nebulous."

I dread these appointments. Aside from the whole cancer thing, It's difficult to discuss such personal issues, with an older man, when one us isn't wearing our pants. I know no woman enjoys those types of exams. I suppose I'm fortunate enough to be able to have "mine" checked out quarterly. I don't even change the oil in my car that often.

As added bonus this week, Dr. M had a female P.A. he was training. She sat in our conversation, as well as the exam. If the exam is not awkward enough, Dr. M took extra time so he could show off my area, and describe in great detail (with excellent vocabulary), to his trainee. She was nice enough, but it's not the time one wants an audience.

Finally, Dr. M tapped me on the knee and said that I could sit up. In that moment of sweet relief, I see the P.A. has slipped on a pair of gloves and asked if she could also examine me. I know from my education background, that students learn best with hands on experience. What was I going to do? She already had her gloves on. I laid back down and hummed the Star Spangled Banner. Awkward.

All I know is I'd better not get charged twice.

Sausage & Herb Stuffing

image courtesy of foodnetwork.com

I have revamped this recipe to make it easier. Plus, I just wasn't getting the results I wanted with thick chunks of bread. Our stuffing would fall apart, and while everything was tasty, I wasn't a big fan of eating individual bites of celery, sausage, and bread.

The original recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa. The recipe can be found here. There is a quick video. Watch it, as it clarifies a couple of steps in the directions.

2 boxes of stove top stuffing - favorite flavor
1 bag of dried cranberries, 6 oz
1 pkg. Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage links
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 large onion, finely diced
parsley to taste
1 large granny smith apple, diced (unpeeled)
1 stick of butter

1. Cook sausage. Remove casings, and brown sausage in large skillet. Drain & set aside.
2. Dice celery, onion, & apple. Saute in large skillet with olive oil until vegetables are soft about 10 minutes. Add parsley, salt & pepper to taste.
3. In large pot, boil 3 cups of water. Add 1 stick of butter. Once butter is melted & water is boiling, add 2 packages of stove top. Stir, remove from heat, and cover with a lid for 5 minutes. (This is the package directions)
4. Combine everything, including cranberries, in the large pot & stir. Add cranberries to your liking. (I used about 3/4 the package.)

Put everything in a large, sprayed 9 x 12 pan. Spread out in pan. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

I cooked this in my largest rectangle pan, and it filled it to the top.

Paula Deen's Raspberry Streusel Muffins

Click here for recipe

I had a bunch of berries bought fresh and had frozen. Which may have been my problem in this recipe. Paula calls for fresh, and what I had was frozen, previously fresh. I did let the berries defrost (well most of the way) before I put them in. Since I had some raspberries and lots of blueberries that is the combo I used. We loved the blueberry part, and not so much on the raspberry. The raspberries did not retain their shape, and kind of made a mushy mess, albeit tasty, in the bottom of the muffin.

We loved the streusel! I would make these again, and just use blueberries.

Greatness

The reason I don't take pictures professionally.

Imagine if someone had paid me for this.

Baby Shower Gifts

Here's a ballerina piggy bank I made for a friend's baby shower. It was super simple! I lucked out and found everything at Hobby Lobby.

I should have planned ahead and took tutorial pictures, but I didn't, so imagine.

You need:
- 1 painted piggy bank
- 1/4 yard of tulle
- ribbon 7/8th inch thickness
- 1 bow (I'm good at making hairbows...but Hobby Lobby had these already pre-made, and with a 40 off coupon, it was too tempting to go the simple route. I just broke off the clip & hot glued that sucker on.)

For the tutu:

1. Fold the tulle in half (so you have a long skinnier piece.)
2. Use a needle and thread on the open ends and sew a running stitch from one end to the other (start with a knot.)
3. Gently pull the thread to create a gather. Measure against your pig's belly to make sure it's the right distance. Adjust gather as needed & then tie off with a knot.
4. Use your glue gun to glue the tulle, sewed side closest to the slot. (I went right at the end of it, so that it doesn't block any of the hole -- I'm feeling a lot of "that's what she said jokes" in this post.) Then glue gun a ribbon to cover up thread. Glue a hairbow on one ear & you are done! So easy!

I finished it all of with a paper mache gift box!

You need:
mod podge
5 sheets of 12x12 scrapbook paper
tulle - optional
paper mache box

Directions:
1. Measure one side of the box without the lid.
2. Cut paper 1/4-1/2 inch shorter than measurements.
3. Mod podge the paper on the box. Use a light coat. When dry, add a 2nd light coat.
4. Repeat steps for lid.
5. Let box & lid dry separately overnight.