Cute Pincushion

I am currently in the process of starting adventures in sewing in an attempt to open an Etsy store and make some extra moolah. In my adventures, I have been in need of a pincushion to put my needles on. After searching the internet for some inspiration I decided to make my own. I have combined ideas from these two (one, two) tutorials. I love the second one and will probably make my own once I find a cute flower pot some where for cheap.

Here is what I created with out even having to sew!

Isn't it super cute? Do you wanna know how to make one? Awesome. You are in luck.

I have created a little tutorial for you. {Please bare with me because this will be my first tutorial with pictures and I'm sure it wont be perfection.}

First, gather all of the materials you will need:

a glue gun, scraps of fabric, a toilet paper roll, a rubber band, and some batting or polyfill.

Prepare your items:
-Cut your toilet paper roll to your desired height. {mines about 1.5 inches tall}
-Cut a square large enough to stuff with desired amount of batting/polyfill
-Cut a strip of fabric wide enough and long enough to cover your toilet paper roll. {make sure its at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch wider on each side than needed}

Step One:

Make your batting/polyfill into a ball and place in the center of your square fabric. Gather the fabric. {I found it best to gather the centers of the square before the corners to ensure the stuffing stayed in} Wrap rubber band around the bottom to secure. 

Step Two:

Smother your toilet paper roll in hot glue and wrap the fabric around it. Then glue around the inside of the tube and tuck your edges around and inside. {use a popsicle/craft stick to do this and save your fingers from burning!}

Step Three:

Take your "cushion" and tuck it into the top of your tube. Adjust it to the desired height and poofy-ness that you want and then glue it down from the bottom. {i just poured it in there thick}

You could add a Fourth Step by finishing it off with felt on the bottom. I made this at like 11:30 last night and was not willing to cut anything else out. But, if giving it as a gift it would be super cute with felt on the bottom and maybe some ribbon or ric rac  around the tube. 

See, isn't it super easy? Do you want to make one? Go for it!! 

If you do I would love to see what you created! 

And that my friends, is my tutorial and super cute {no sew} pincushion!

Coolest Bed(s) EVER!

I was over on Design*Sponge today and looking at their Before & After's and stumbled upon the coolest idea for my boys toddler beds ever!!!

Seriously, how cool is that? The great thing is that it's made from pallets. So it's super inexpensive to make because you can find pallets at hardware stores or like us, they are just delivered to our work. I love the rustic look put think it would even be cute painted. I cannot wait till our kiddos are big enough to sleep in toddler beds. Here is the link to learn how to make your own kid a super awesome bed for virtually no cost! Lori Danelle

Pizza and a Tutorial

After my One Sauce: Three Ways post I decided to add some of my favorite meals that we eat on my blog.

So tonight we are having pizza. I pulled out my left over dough that I had thrown in the freezer and let it thaw over night in my fridge. Took it out kneaded in a little more flour and rolled out onto my corn meal dusted cookie sheet. I spray it with some cooking spray so my rolling pin doesn't stick to the dough but you can do whatever you like. After rolling it out I poked it with a fork and sprinkled on garlic powder. Once the over was heated throw it in for 10 mins so it gets nice and crisp. Take it out, spread on your sauce, sprinkle with toppings and cheese, then put back in over for 12-15 mins. Once it is cooked and your cheese is oozing with goodness it is ready!

How to make dough:
(found in Better Homes & Garden cookbook)
2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
2 tbs cooking or olive oil

1. Mix warm water and yeast (to make sure the yeast is still good) then add in 1 1/4 cups flour, salt, and oil. Sometimes I add a little sugar or honey (1 Tbs) to sweeten it . Beat with a mixer on low for 30 seconds making sure to scrape the sides. Then beat on high for 3 mins. Next, Stir in as much of the remaining flour as possible with a wooden spoon.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed in more flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Divide dough in half (using a plastic putty knife from a hardware store works great!), cover and let rise for 10 mins.

{This is where I freeze half of my dough and continue to work with the other half, but if you have a big family you probably want both halves of dough.}

Roll dough out to desired shape and size. You can use it to make thin crust, mini pizzas (just half the dough again), or even calzones! If you want stuffed crust just roll the dough over string cheese sticks and voila!

-Heat oven to 400
-If making pizzas, poke with fork, bake for 10  minutes then top and bake for another 12-15 mins.
-If making calzones, bake for 25-35 mins at 375, until the crust is golden brown.

Now for the TUTORIAL:
How to make your blog post titles in a cute font:
I have read and read and read how to do this on kevinandamanda.com so many times but was nervous about it. After deciding to not be a wuss, I attempted to do it and boy was it easy! She has TONS of cute fonts and great tutorials! Go HERE to learn how to do it. Trust me, its easy.