Luv&Stitches

February Photo A Day Challege! 2012

2012-01-31T15:05:00.000-08:00

I'm doing it, will you?

photo credit: Fat Mum Slim

MIA

2012-01-24T14:27:00.001-08:00

I've been MIA for like evah, and I'm sorry... I'll be back in Feb I promise!

For now follow me on Pinterest = Denise Cozzitorto or Instagram= neesypea

Smooches! <3

Fall Votive

2011-11-22T18:54:00.001-08:00

FallVotive1, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

Dollar Tree votives, tea lights, glue stick, fall leaves.... last minute holiday table decor!

Collect those pretty Fall leaves from outside. Put some washable glue on the back of the leaves, then place on your glass votive, add a battery operated tea light and enjoy! Once you are done with these, simply peel off the leaves and wash the glass with soap and water :)

These will be on my Thanksgiving table!

1960's Record Player

2011-11-17T18:24:00.001-08:00

005, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

If you ever need a new needle for your vintage record player, I highly recommend this place...
http://www.needlefinder.net/

I was able to email them pics of my old player and they figured out what needle I needed in no time!!

Yes I Am

2011-11-11T19:55:00.001-08:00

YesIAm, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

So happy Cuties are back in season! :)

Custom Hats

2011-11-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

CustomGirlHat, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

Cute little hats made for 6 month old babies!

Get yours in the Etsy shop!

Twenty Pounds of Apples

2011-10-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

I recently took the kiddos to an apple orchard that is about 30 minutes from our home. Apple Hill. I've been going here since I was a kid and it was fun to take the littles up there to start a new Fall tradition!

Anyway this place has fresh picked apples, natural apple juice, apple donuts & fritters (my personal favorite) and every other kind of apple something or another you can think of!

Needless to say I came home with a lovely bounty of appley goodness, which included twenty pounds of apples for $19.50! What do you do with 20 pounds of local Jonathan apples you ask?

I'll show you...

Apple Pie. I actually made two, but when warm apple pie comes out of the oven it's hard to photograph when it's almost half eaten!

Apple Sauce. Made about 12 pints, so good and just a little bit of sugar was needed!

Then I turned the applesauce into Apple Butter! This recipe is what I used to make it (in the crock pot!), and it is to die for good!

And we still had about 15 apples left over for snacking!

Whew, I think I'm all appled out, until next year! ;)

Halloween Candy Corn Wreath

2011-10-10T23:06:00.001-07:00

Halloween Wreath, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

My Halloween wreath made with hot glued candy corn! Bought the grapevine wreath at Micheal's, spray painted it black, and there you have it! I'll be adding it to the front door with some orange ribbon later.

Update: 10/24/2011

Here it is finished and hanging from the front door. The only thing I would do different a (and still might do) is apply a clear spray varnish on the candy corn, because after a few days of being out doors they are starting to get moist (ew) ;P

2011-07-18T07:17:00.000-07:00

My amazing and talented husband entered an animation contest through the Sydney Opera House. The competition was held for pros as well as amateurs. The competition has three rounds total, this is the first round of his story, the overall theme for all the competitors is "escape" and they all had to use the music tracks provided by the Sydney Opera House. This is the first time he has done anything like this before, as far as animation goes, and the story line is pretty cute! I would love to see him go to the next round, so please help us out!!

Please vote for his first 30 second animation clip by signing on to YouTube and clicking the thumbs up button under the video, which is entitled "IT", if you don't have a you tube account, please sign up for one!

Here is the main video page, user name cozz601 titled "IT"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arrJKC0VFmc&feature=player_embedded

Or scroll through the others here, but remember there are only 23 that qualified (not the 40 something shown), and only "thumbs up" one!

http://www.youtube.com/user/SOHCompetitions

xo

:D

PS Visit Nathan's Blog too!

Pink.

2011-06-28T14:51:00.001-07:00

Pink, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

for poppytalk's Summer Colours Week!

Yellow.

2011-06-27T08:48:00.001-07:00

Yellow, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

for poppytalk’s summer colors week.

June 27, Monday - Yellow
June 28, Tuesday - Pink
June 29, Wednesday - Blue
June 30, Thursday - Rainbow
July 01, Friday - Red

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-06-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-05-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

Water Table

Strawberry Preserves

2011-05-27T14:25:00.001-07:00

strawberry preserves, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

Bought a half flat of strawberries today, from a local strawberry stand.

Made five pints and two 4 oz jars of low sugar preserves, yum yum!

Fruit Salad Baby Buggy

2011-05-25T10:10:00.001-07:00

Fruit Salad Baby Buggy, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

Made this for my sister in-laws baby shower over the weekend. It came out so pretty, I just wanted to share!

Directions on how to make one are here.

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-05-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

New Friends

New friends, a photo by neesypea on Flickr.

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-05-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

Three

My "baby" is Three!

2011-05-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

On Mothers Day in 2008, Holden Ellis was born 7lbs 13oz...

Happy Birthday Big Boy!!

Vintage Camera Night Light

2011-05-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have a small collection of vintage cameras, which I have lovingly displayed in a corner of my home. I had one camera in particular, a Brownie Hawkeye, that had seen it's better days, but saw saw that the broken flash could be re-purposed into something awesome!

I had on hand a LCD "tea light" that I bought from the dollar store around Halloween time, and it was just the right size for this project. I armed myself with the latest and greatest tools (a butter knife, and two screw drivers). Then I was all set to turn this old camera and it's flash into some sah-weet mood lighting.

Sorry for the shoddy photos, I did this project on a whim, and took the pics as and afterthought!

Here's how it worked...

Had to pry this baby open with the butter knife, it took some strength let me tell ya!

This little piece was already part of the flash housing and fit the rubber part of the LCD light perfectly.

After the light was in place I assembled all the pieces back together, it all fit like a dream!

All done.

The only downside of this piece is that you have to unscrew the back of the flash plate every time you want to turn on & off the light, but it all came together rather easily and I'm super pleased with the end result!

♥

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-05-07T03:51:00.000-07:00

Juice pops

Freebie Friday : Homemade Pennant Bunting

2011-05-06T03:23:00.012-07:00

I love the idea of hanging pennants/bunting, whether it be made from paper, recycled materials, or fabric. It adds such a touch of happy to any room. I had big plans to make both of my boys personalized bunting for each of their rooms, but never seem to have the time to sit at my sewing machine anymore. I do however have mad skills on the computer from time to time so, I thought why not make printable paper pennants!

My little Holden is turning three next week (sniff sniff) I thought these pennants would be a perfect little happy b-day surprise for his room...

Since I love a good freebie and like to share with my readers, I'm offering you a free printout of these pennants. Download it & save it to your computer, add the font you wish then print onto cardstock (multiple times if you wish) use a hole punch at the corners, add some ribbon and attach to your wall!

This is for your personal use only, if you make some of this pennant bunting from this printout I would love to see it! So don't be afraid to let me know, link back here, or upload a pic to my Flickr Pool!

Enjoy :)

Free Pennant Bunting Digital PDF, Click the picture below...

xo

Some of My Favorite Things...

2011-05-03T03:19:00.001-07:00

Via Etsy, LOVE!

Faux Wood Floor Drop

2011-05-02T03:09:00.003-07:00

Something you may not know about me, or maybe you can tell...I dabble in photography. I actually studied photography (a little bit) back in college, you know the REAL kind of photography re: film ,chemicals, and what not. I miss those days.

Anyway now that I have kids, digital photography is addicting! I stumbled across this awesome site a few weeks ago, Lemon Drop Stop, they make backdrops and floor drops for photographers. When I saw the faux wood floors, I just had to have one!

See, isn't it cool?

Now if photographing kids ain't your thang, here's a pic with one of my hobo bags for my Etsy shop...

So many possibilities I tell ya!

If you would like to win one of these awesome backdrops, head on over to the Laura Winslow Photography Blog. She is hosting an awesome giveaway that's making this photog mama drool! :D

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-04-30T03:30:00.001-07:00

Cleanliness.

Plush Owl Pattern Revisited!

2011-04-26T09:18:00.004-07:00

Back by popular demand!! The first pattern got lost somewhere on the interwebs when I shut down my website (sorry about that!) so please enjoy the new one!

Plush Owl Pattern
copyright www.HeydayFashion.com
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY NO RECREATING FOR RESALE

Owl Body ----> Here

Owl Parts Placement ----> Here

Owl Parts ----> Here

Instructions ----> Here and Here.

<3

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-04-23T02:52:00.002-07:00

Happy Easter!

Snickerdoodle Muffin

2011-04-18T03:05:00.003-07:00

I'm always baking snickerdoodle cookies for my family (they are a big hit here) and when I came across a snicker doodle muffin recipe, I had to try it! The recipe I found was missing something, so I adapted it to suit my tastes, and man does this make a good muffin, Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup white sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 eggs
1 & 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Topping:
1 tbsp cinnamon
3/4 cup white sugar

Directions:
Cream together eggs, butter, sugars, vanilla, and milk.

In a separate bowl mix all dry ingredients together, flour, oats, baking powder and baking soda. Slowly add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beat until everything is incorporated well.

Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 of the way full with batter. Mix the topping together 3/4 cup of sugar plus 1 tbsp of cinnamon, and sprinkle generously over muffin batter cups before baking.

Bake at 400 for 15 - 18 minutes.

Makes approx. 18 muffins

I made these in my Pampered Chef stoneware muffin pan, and they were delish!!

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-04-16T08:43:00.001-07:00

Tomato Sprouts

Etsy Coupon Code

2011-04-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

Now at the shop... http://www.heydayfashion.etsy.com

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-04-09T03:37:00.001-07:00

Photo by the (almost) three year old.

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-04-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

Hubby's 30th

(Easter) Egg Shakers

2011-04-01T03:52:00.004-07:00

I made these last year and forgot to post about it! My toddler was in Kindermusik last year and loved the little egg shakers they used in class. Instead of shelling out the big bucks for theirs, I made ten for under two bucks!

Found the eggs at Walmart, these were the only plastic eggs I found that didn't have little holes in the top or bottom of the egg, which is crucial to this project (you don't want any moisture to get in!)

Anyway, I filled the eggs with what I hand on hand: black beans, lentils, popcorn kernels, and rice. Then glued them shut with a nice strong craft glue like E6000. The rice and the popcorn kernels make the best sound! This is a great inexpensive project for you little music lover, and a year later they have held up well!

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-03-26T03:40:00.000-07:00

Splash.

Rainy Day Activities

2011-03-24T11:46:00.004-07:00

The weather here has been awful, windy/rainy, I feel like our house will be blown away Wizard of Oz style at any moment! Of course I have one busy toddler who doesn't want to be cooped up inside either, so we had to break out some rainy day activities yesterday.

First on the list: Egg Carton Caterpillars!

Do you remember making these as a kid? I do! Just cut up the bottom half of an egg carton, preferably the paper kind. Paint, add embellishments (we got ours from the Dollar Tree) and presto instant rainy day friends :)

WIP Wednesday

2011-03-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

More blocks for my floor pillows, Windmills :)

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-03-19T04:08:00.000-07:00

Ebay Splurge.

WIP Wednesday

2011-03-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

Working on a patchwork pillow or two...it's called a Patience Corner :)

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-03-12T06:39:00.004-08:00

Organizing.

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-03-05T04:40:00.001-08:00

Bubbles.

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-02-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

Lunch.

WIP Wednesday

2011-02-22T21:34:00.004-08:00

I thought I would introduce a new little segment here on my Luv & Stitches blog. WIP (Work In Progress) Wednesday! I always seem to start these fun projects, but hardly ever get to finish them in a timely manner, now that I have to little ones to look after...sigh. So I figure if I post here, I can get my butt in gear and get some of these things finished! So I'll try to post my tribulations on Wednesdays, can't promise every Wednesday though! ;)

We bought this Ikea childrens Latt table back in September, the raw wood was just screaming for something to be put on it. So a few months later and lots of food, paint, and markers stains as well, I thought it was time to do something about that! Details on what I did to come, so stay tuned! Waiting for the weather to get better so I can finish the other chair and table...in progress!

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-02-19T19:24:00.003-08:00

Park.

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T09:53:00.000-08:00

Ever since my oldest has been going to preschool, he has been bringing home the most amazing artwork! And every once in a while he'll bring something home he made especially for me, it just melts my heart to no end.

Today was one of those days, here are my Valentine "flowers" from the sweetest two and half year old ever...

What an easy project to make too. His teacher just traced his little hands onto colored construction paper then glued them to Popsicle sticks, added some paper leaves and put them in a cup. Wha-lah, the cutest little flowers anyone ever did see!

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-02-12T07:20:00.001-08:00

Toddler Valentines.

Be Mine

2011-02-10T12:37:00.004-08:00

My 2.5 year old is in preschool this year, and we had to make Valentines for his classmates! I didn't want to do the whole candy thing, so this is what I came up with...

Supplies:
Valentine Pencils - From the Dollar Tree
Glitter Glue - Dollar Tree
Googly Eyes - Dollar Tree
Pom-Poms - Dollar Tree
Fun Foam - Micheal's Craft Store
Tape
Constriction paper
Hot Glue

I have a die cutter, so I cut out the fun foam with my heart shape die cut. I hot glued on the googly eyes and pom-pom noses, then added glitter glue for the smiles.
Once the faces were dry, I taped the pencil to the back of the hearts and taped another smaller heart, made out of construction paper with my little ones name on it!

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeesy, and pretty cute to boot, no?

New Monogram Hat

2011-02-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

I have a new hat in the shop!

It's just a twist on our regular ear flap hat, but now with a cute little Monogram.

Ashley, of Ashley Nelson Photography was kind enough to photograph it for me, here is her cutie patootie son modeling the new hat...

Get yours here ♥

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-02-05T07:14:00.002-08:00

Sprinkles.

Homemade Play Dough

2011-01-31T11:36:00.004-08:00

Today was one of those days...had to keep the kiddo happy & occupied, so homemade play dough it was! I found a ton of great recipes from this site...
Play Dough Recipes

We went with the cream-of-tarter recipe, because I had all the ingredients at hand.

Update: This stuff stayed fresh for a week!

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-01-29T07:01:00.003-08:00

He Loves Me.

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-01-22T03:54:00.002-08:00

Sodor.

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-01-15T06:52:00.003-08:00

Bath time.

Hello 2011!

2011-01-08T11:27:00.001-08:00

Some cute vintage inspired rings added to the shop!

A day in the life: Weekend Picture

2011-01-08T06:47:00.001-08:00

Painting.

A day in the life: Weekend Picture 1

2011-01-02T06:19:00.009-08:00

Picky eater.

I don't have enough discipline to do a real 365 photo set, but I can recap my week into one weekend photo. So here is the best of a typical day in the life of me!

Have a great weekend, and oh hey Happy New Year! :)

My Baby's Stocking

2010-12-14T16:07:00.001-08:00

I just finished making a stocking for the baby...

I was trying to match his brother's that I made a couple years ago!

The stockings are just made out of a quilting weight cotton on the outside, inside I used fusible fleece, and the folded over top and letters are made out of regular craft felt. I used a stocking template that I found on Martha Stewart.com and improvised the rest!

Paper Snowflakes

2010-12-11T08:23:00.001-08:00

My sister in law came over to make some paper snowflakes with me and the boys, and she said she used to make snowflakes out of coffee filters. So we tried it, and they turned out better than the regular paper kind. Since the filters are already circular, they were made into perfect snow flakes!

Just fold the filter in half, then in half a couple more times and make your cuts, it was super fun!

Here is a site to help with the cuts...
http://www.papersnowflakes.com/patterns.htm

My Under $5 Holiday Wreath

2010-12-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

I kind of threw this together last minute, but for under $5 I thought it turned out cute!

Wreath form I got ant my local craft store, on sale for $1.99
Bunches of berries at the same craft store, $0.59 each
Poinsettias I had from another decoration that I bought from the Dollar Tree a few years ago, so basically free
Round ball ornaments also came from the Dollar Tree, I think it was a 15 pack for $1

Total= $4.17

Just hot glued all the pieces on the wreath and easy peasy Holiday Wreath!

Beaded Candy Cane Onaments

2010-12-01T09:39:00.003-08:00

These are so easy to make. Some of you have probably made them before, I know I made them when I was a kid and just had my 2.5 year old help me make some to fill in our tree!

Beaded Candy Cane Ornament

Supplies:
12" White chenille pipe cleaners
20 Clear translucent tri-beads
18 Red translucent tri-beads
Scissors

Instructions:
1. Measure and cut the pipe cleaners to 6 inches for each ornament

2. Start with two clear beads turn end of the pipe cleaner around the bead.

3. Feed the rest of the beads continuing with 2 red beads, followed by 2 clear beads etc, until all the beads are used up.

4. When the last bead is added, bend the pipe cleaner around the bead.

5. Bend the top into a candy cane shape.

You can add ribbon to hang on your tree, but we just hang the ornament as is.

You can also use all translucent beads or green and translucent beads to make pretty variations, enjoy!

Bread and Butter Pickles!

2010-06-08T19:21:00.003-07:00

My neighbor, just brought over 7 pounds of cucumbers from her garden this afternoon. So I took it upon my self to make some bread and butter pickles! Can't wait to eat them in about 4 weeks or so!

Recipe

Ingredients

6-7 pounds of pickling cucumbers - I used regular, but smaller pickling cucumbers will make for a crisper pickle
5 cups white vinegar
5 cups sugar (I only used 3 cups)
1 tablespoon of pickling salt
1/2 tablespoon mustard seeds
1/2 tablespoon pepper corns
Pinch of ground cloves or 1/2 teaspoon of pickling spice
1 teaspoon turmeric (optional for color)

Directions

Combine vinegar, sugar, and spices in a pot and bring to boil, let simmer for about 5 minutes. Slice cukes 1/4" thick and pack in hot jars. Slowly pour the hot pickling liquid over the cucumber slices, leaving about a 1/2" head space. Make sure there are no air bubbles by running a knife or chop stick around the inside of the jars, wipe rim clean, add lids and finger tighten. Process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Wait 3-4 weeks before eating. Enjoy!

Victory Garden!

2010-05-29T18:01:00.000-07:00

I've been busy building my first veggie/fruit garden. Last year was a flop, but this year, holy moly, I'm impressed! I started from seed in early April, heirloom pear tomatoes, burpee big boy tomatoes, pickling cukes, regular and yellow zucchini. Got some free strawberry and cantaloupe plants from a friend. And bought bell pepper, hot banana pepper, cherry tomatoes, mint, and stevia plants from my local nursery.

I just made simple 4'x4'x8" wooden boxes for my raised beds, and added some peat moss, top soil, and mushroom compost from Lowes.

So far so good, here's when I planted the first seedlings around the end of April.

Then we had a couple weeks of off and on rain, and the garden exploded!

First little harvest do far...

♥

New in the shop!

2010-04-15T13:03:00.002-07:00

Inspired by the dogwood trees that are blooming in my yard!

New for spring!

2010-02-28T12:25:00.003-08:00

Home grown sprouts

2010-02-05T11:20:00.006-08:00

A recent trip to my local grocery store left me super disappointed when I was searching for fresh sprouts to add to my sandwiches. I thought they should be pretty easy to grow yourself. So I started surfing the web and sure enough you can make sprouts right on your windowsill, using all sorts of regular dried beans.

I came across this website classbrain and followed the directions, using a glass mason jar to sprout my lentils.

I bought just a regular 1 pound bag of my store brand's lentils. I was surprised how quickly the lentils started to sprout. By day six I had about 2 one inch sprouts coming from each bean, that tasted crisp and fresh. I couldn't ask for a better tasting sprout! (Click the photo above to see my process larger)

From what I've read, lentils are a fantastic source of B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, zinc and much more. Since you can eat sprouts raw, you retain all of that incredible nutritional value, which is an A+ in my book!

The only thing I would do differently next time, is maybe buy organic lentils in bulk. I'm thinking a better quality bean might grow a heartier and longer sprout. I'm also thinking of now investing in a fancy schmancy sprouter, since this was so easy to do!

Below is a close up of day 3 when the lentils began to sprout, and day 6 when the sprouts were ready to eat!

Let me know how your lentil sprouting goes! ♥

Homemade Pop Tarts! (Vegan)

2010-02-01T08:50:00.009-08:00

Okay, so I LOVE pop-tarts, who doesn't? I don't however love that they are filled with HFCS, artificial colors and flavors. So I thought I would make my own, I know ambitious right? heh heh. I was searching different recipes online and most were vegan, so I came up with this recipe that is sure to please anyone!

Ingredients ~

Dough
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup veggie oil
1/2 cup ice cold water
1 tbs sugar (optional)

Filling
All fruit spread or preserves, preferably strawberry

Icing
1/2 confectioners sugar
1 tsp water
1 tsp of the above filling
Rainbow sprinkles

Directions
Mix flour and sugar with fork. Stir in oil and water, whisk with fork to thicken.
Pour in flour and mix with fork. Roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut roughly into 10 - 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch rectangles. You can make them square if you wish or use your favorite cookie cutter shape. I wanted them to resemble real pop-tarts, so I left mine rectangleish. This should make about 5 tarts.

With a spoon put a dollop of your fruit spread in the middle of each rectangle, leaving about a 1/4 inch all around the sides. With your finger dab a little water on the edges and place another rectangle dough on top, pressing the sides down to seal. Take a fork and dip it in a little flour and press all four sides closed, making a nice seal. With a tooth pick, poke little vent holes on top.
Bake at 400F until for about 15 minutes or until the edges turn a nice golden brown. Let cool completely before icing.

To make the icing mix all the ingredients together until smooth, and more water if needed. Spread thinly over your tarts, and add sprinkles. Eat and enjoy!

I hope you liked this recipe as much as I did, is was a nice little treat for me on a cold and snowy Monday!

♥

Pitas and Falafels

2010-01-28T22:32:00.004-08:00

I realize that most of my posts lately have been about food, but I can't help it, I'm preggo and preggo ladies like to eat :)

I've still been on the chickpea kick lately, so I whipped up some delicious falafel burgers on homemade pita bread. The bread was actually really easy to make, I don't think I'll ever buy it again. I used plain all purpose flour for mine, and found the recipe here.

For the falafel burger I pretty much winged it, once I have a nice recipe I'll share. I roughly used this recipe and added rolled oats and bread crumbs.

Anyway it definitely curbed my cravings, so this preggo lady is full and happy!

Yummy Hummus!

2010-01-03T13:34:00.003-08:00

Now that I'm preggo with number 2, all I've been craving is hummus! I have never been a fan of store bought hummus, so I always make my own.

Here is my favorite basic recipe...

1 can (15oz) Chickpeas, drained but reserve 1/3 cup of liquid
1 tbl Olive Oil
1/2 - 2 tsp Cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper

Cumin is the main ingredient for hummus to taste like hummus, I use it sparingly though so I would suggest starting out with 1/2 tsp and then adding more to your liking.

Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse, add the reserved chickpea liquid and blend until smooth & creamy. Serve with homemade pita or tortillas chips. Or spread in a half pita with some sprouts and roasted red peppers, for a delicious & healthy sandwich!

You can add to this basic recipe to make different flavors of hummus. I sometimes add a 1/4 of cooked black beans and a clove of garlic, for a great tasting black bean hummus. Or you can add sun dried tomato paste and fresh basil. The possibilities are endless!

For the chips, I use about 3 white corn tortillas cut in eighths, coat lightly with one tsp olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Spread them out on a cookie sheet, and then bake for about 15 minutes at 350 until crispy. Alternatively you can make these chips with wholegrain flour tortillas or pita bread too, so good!

Enjoy ♥

Pumpkin Soup

2009-11-03T13:26:00.005-08:00

Oh how I love Fall and the cooler weather. It makes me in the mood for warm soup in bread bowls, stripey socks, and wool scarves.

Here's a soup I made recently, that was oh so good!

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups mashed cooked fresh pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup half and half or milk
Sour Cream

Put cooked pumpkin, salt, ginger, nutmeg, olive oil, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Slowly add in chicken broth and blend together until smooth. In a large sauce pan melt butter and flour to create a roux. Slowly pour in half and half and then stir in pumpkin mixture. Simmer on low until soup starts to feel thick. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds with a side of crusty bread. Serves 4-6.

~ I bought a pumpkin pie pumpkin or sugar pumpkin from the grocery store, it was about 6 inches in diameter, and yielded about 2 cups of pumpkin once cooked. Pumpkin pie pumpkins are very hard to cut into! I actually put the entire pumpkin in my stock pot and boiled until the skin was soft. Then I cut the pumpkin in half and scooped out the seeds (roasted them later) the pumpkin came off the skin perfectly!

Free Alphabet Poster

2009-09-25T09:17:00.005-07:00

I don't have a whole lot of money to decorate my kids room, let alone my whole house, so I've come up with some fun and cheap ideas to make mi casa all fancy like over the years!

I've been drooling over some gorgeous alphabet prints over at Etsy for my son's room.

I especially love petitcollage's Animal Alphabet Silkscreen Poster and pennypeoples's Alphabet Print.

Both of these prints inspired me to come up with my own alphabet collage to adorn my little ones wall...

I printed this out with my regular ink jet printer and slapped a $5 Walmart frame around it, and whoo hoo instant art!

I made this print in 6 different colors, so you can print them out too.

The size of the poster is 8x10 inches, just click the link below to see the original size, then right click to save to your computer and print.

Brown
Green
Teal
Orange
Pink
Purple

Enjoy! ♥

New items!

2009-09-01T14:40:00.004-07:00

Please check out our new items at the Etsy Shop! ♥

DIY Clothespin Holder

2009-07-19T19:21:00.020-07:00

I recycle as much as I can, but sometimes there's that inevitable What the heck can I do with this?! moment. For example, I've been hanging on (no pun intended) to this small plastic hanger that was part of some packaging that I received...

It was too small to use for clothing, and it wasn't made out of recyclable material, ie no number 1's or 2's on it. (That's all we can recycle here in Charlotte)

I knew that I could do something with it and then it came to me...

Below are directions to make you own clothespin holder, with a good ol' wire hanger :)

------------------------------------------------------------

Materials Needed:

1/4 yard *cotton fabric. One main color and one complimentary color for lining
Matching thread
Wire hanger
Wire cutters
Clothespins

*If you are going to keep your clothespin holder outdoors, I would suggest making it out of oil cloth

------------------------------------------------------------

Directions:

1. Cut off the top of your hanger with wire cutters, set aside.

3. Print pattern piece by clicking the picture below.

4. Cut out two 8x10 inch pieces of fabric from your main color and two pieces for the lining.

5. On the wrong side of one main fabric piece and one lining piece, trace and cut out opening from both pieces of fabric. Satin stitch both pieces together, wrong sides facing, along the raw edge to keep from fraying.

6. Pin all pieces of fabric together, with main color pieces facing right sides together. Sew all around the edge with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, leaving about a 1 & 1/2 inch opening at the top as shown.

7. Square off your bottom corners by sewing straight stitch about 1/2 inch from the corner. Turn right side out. (I pinked my edges, but you can leave them raw)

8. Insert wire hanger top and fill with clothespins.

Hang on your clothesline and enjoy!

Lie Barry

2009-07-12T16:42:00.005-07:00

Oh I love the local library, especially when you can "order" the book you want online and your local library will email you when it's ready to be picked up! Yeah, I'm lazy like that! ;p

Anyway, one of the recently rented library rags that I picked up is Beyond-the-Square Crochet Motifs.
Wow there are some beautiful motifs in this book, I didn't know where to start, I wanted to make all 144 of them!

So I broke out some of my cotton crochet thread, a teeny tiny crochet hook, and made some motifs into necklaces...

Motif #143

Whatta ya think? ♥

Rag Rug Finished!

2009-06-25T16:24:00.001-07:00

I finished that rag-rug I was working on, it came out to be about 24 inches wide. Now I making one for our little guys bathroom in red & white to match his Dr. Seuss theme he has going on in there!

I never did get around to making that tutorial video either, but I did come across these fabulous blogs that will help you (if you are so inclined) in making a rag rug for yourself!

Rag Rug Cafe - Great site with videos if you don't know how to crochet but would like to make a traditional rag rug using the toothbrush method

Moda Bake Shop - How to make a braided rag rug - super easy!

Craft Stylish - A fabulous blog & post on how to crochet (or knit) with fabric!

Enjoy ♥

UPDATE:
Here is my rough pattern, ymmv! I used a Boye size Q 15.75mm hook and my fabric strips were about one inch wide.

dc= Double crochet

Chain 4, join to form a ring

1st round - ch3 (acts as first dc) 9 dc crochet in the ring, join (10 stitches)

2nd round - ch3, 1 dc crochet in the first stitch, 2 dc in each of the other stitches, join (20 stitches)

3rd round - ch3, 2 dc crochet in the first stitch, 1 dc crochet in the next, repeat, join at the end (30 stitches)

4th round - ch 3, 1 dc crochet in the first stitch, *2 dc crochet in the next stitch, 1 dc in the next stitch, repeat from *, join(40 stitches)

5th round - ch3, 1 dc in the next 2 stitches, 2 dc in the next, *1 dc in each of the next 3 stitches, 2 dc in the next stitch, repeat from *, join (50 stitches)

6th round - ch3, 1 dc in the next 3 stitches, 2 dc in the next, *1 dc in each of the next 4 stitches, 2 dc in the next stitch, repeat from *, join (60 stitches)

7th round - ch3, 1 dc in the next 8 stitches, 2 dc in the next, *1 dc in each of the next 9 stitches, 2 dc in the next stitch, repeat from *, join (72 stitches)

8th round - 1 dc in each stitch around, join fasten off, weave in ends

If you want a bigger rug, repeat rounds 3-7 until you gt your desired size, always end your rug with a single row of dc/hdc/sc (or any decorative stitch) all around.

Got Ravelry?

2009-06-15T04:47:00.003-07:00

I've known about Ravelry for some time now, but never joined. Why didn't you twist my arm and make me join? Now I'm super addicted, what a great community. I'm neesypea over there too, so add me ok?

One of the things I've been working on is a crochet rag rug....

It's for my downstairs bathroom, which is painted a deep sky blue (the people who lived here before us, painted it that color), and I added apple green as an accent color.
I keep running out of fabric though. It took a lot more fabric strips than expected, but I'm determined to only use what I have, so we'll see how it turns out!

I'm working on a rag-rug crochet pattern and video on how to prepare your fabric strips, to share with all y'all as well! Stay tuned!!

♥

Plush Owl Pattern

2009-04-26T18:24:00.004-07:00

Update: 04/26/2011 New Pattern added!

Owl Body ----> Here

Owl Parts ----> Here

Owl Parts Placement ----> Here

Instructions ----> Here

Hey all, I've decided to add a new segment of sorts to this ol' blogaroo!

I will try post a pattern or tutorial for a super sweet craft project every month (or so), just for you!

First installment, a plush owl pattern... :D

Plush Owl Pattern
copyright www.HeydayFashion.com
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY NO RECREATING FOR RESALE

Materials Needed

Main Fabric: Faux fur, minky, fleece, felt, or printed Cotton ~ 1/4 Yard
Contrasting Fabric ~ 1/8 Yard
Craft or Wool Felt
Buttons or Doll Eyes
Fiber Fill
Matching Thread or Invisible Thread

Instructions

1. Print out owl pattern onto card stock or paper and cut pieces out.

2. Trace the pattern with fabric pen or pencil, onto the wrong side of fabric.

3. Cut out main body and wing pieces from fabric.

4. Trace and cut out eye pieces onto contrasting fabrics.

5. On one piece of the main body fabric (right side up), pin outer eye pieces in place, *top stitch into place.

6. Pin inner eye on top of the outer eye pieces, *top stitch into place.

*You can also glue the eyes into place, if desired.

7. Sew buttons or add plastic doll eyes in the center of the fabric eye pieces for added character.

8. Place beak in the middle of the eyes, pin, and top stitch or glue into place.

9. Sew the wings, right sides facing, leaving one side open as shown. Turn wings right side out
Pin wings in place as shown, match up the raw edges to the sides of the opening on the wings, to the main body and pin into place.

10. Match up body pieces, right sides facing, and pin together. Sew along the edge, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance and a one inch opening at the bottom as shown.
Remove pins, clip excess fabric and notch curves, turn right side out. Stuff generously with fiber fill. Hand sew bottom opening with matching thread or invisible thread.

Enjoy your cute plush owl!

If you made this project, please be sure to let us know! Link back here or upload your cute creation to our Flickr Pool

xo
Neesy Pea

Pinafore - Popover

2009-04-16T15:37:00.003-07:00

I came across a cute little vintage pattern from a 1970s craft book I collected from a thrift store. I tweaked the pattern slightly and came up with these, it would fit a 12-18 month old. I tried to model it on my 11 month old son, but he wouldn't have it! lol...they are both reversible.

I thought that maybe I would like to make one of these in a "big" girl size for me, kinda like an apron, and I found this awesome crafty mama's pinafore tutorial here, so I may have to give this a go too!!

♥

Dutch Oven Bread

2009-02-19T13:23:00.002-08:00

dutch_oven_bread1
Originally uploaded by neesypea

My Mother bought me a Dutch oven as an early birthday gift. I christened it by making some No Knead Crusty Bread. It’s cooling right now! I can’t wait to devour it!

I'm usually horrible and making bread, it's either too dense or not done enough inside. This bread came out picture perfect and so so delish!!

Snow Cream!

2009-01-20T07:08:00.002-08:00

It's snowing today in Charlotte, NC! So I had to make Snow Cream!

It tastes great, like a lighter version of vanilla ice cream, I bet it would be good with chocolate chips also! :D

Laundry Soap

2009-01-06T09:08:00.005-08:00

I like being frugal and I try hard to come up with ways to be more economical as well as saving money. I recently was introduced to the process of making your own laundry detergent. I received a sample and was hooked. I had to try to out for myself, and boy is it easy and cleans just as good as the commercial stuff.

There are loads (no pun intended) of "recipes" out on the net for making your own laundry detergent, just Google it and you'll see what I mean.

The three basic ingredients for making home use laundry detergent are Borax, Arm & Hammer Super WASHING soda and a bar of soap. Now the Borax is super easy to find, it's usually in a box by the rest of the household cleaners at any major supermarket or big discount store. The Washing Soda is a little harder to find, your best bet is to call around before trying to find it or order some from the Internet, and no baking soda is not the same.

The bar soap varies on personal preference, really you can use anything, though most recipes call for a laundry bar soap. There is Fels Naptha, Octagon, and Zote (dollar stores) which are all high contenders in the homemade laundry detergent set.

I used Kirks Castile, which is a natural soap made with coconut oil and has a nice clean scent. I have read that the other bar soaps that will work for your soapy endeavors include Pure & Natural (3 bars for a buck at Walmart), and Ivory. You can even try even nice scented soaps like Toms of Maine or Mrs. Meyers, the possibilities are endless. I've even read that you can also use a little essential oil to boost your linens in to high scented gear, if you so desire.

If you can't find any of the basic soap making ingredients at your local grocery, try buying from this site, Soaps Gone Buy

Below is the soap I made in dry form. You always want be careful when making your own soap, do not inhale or ingest any of this and be careful around kids and pets.

1 Cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 Cup Borax (Any brand will do)
1 Bar Kirks Castile Soap, grated

The hardest part, and really it's not hard at all, is grating up the bar soap. I had a hand grater that worked perfectly. You can also use a regular cheese grater or even your food processor if you wish, just make sure to thoroughly clean all your components before using them again on food. Once the bar soap is fully grated, combine together with the borax and soda. I poured my soap into a ball jar and am now ready to start washing. That's it, your done, that took maybe 15 minutes! I still have enough borax and soda to make about three more batches, and all it would cost me is the price of another bar of soap. Easy peasy.

Now, I know what your thinking, how well does it work? It works great my friend, great! You only need one tablespoon for a normal load, maybe two if you have some really dirty duds. This soap dosen't suds up like regular commercial brands (which is great if you have an HE machine) so I was a bit skeptical at first. But everything came out nice and crisp with a slight clean scent. You can even add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to your rinse cycle to make you clothes super soft!

You can make your own laundry soap in liquid form too. Here is a link from the Simple Dollar on how to do so and here is a great video that shows the process amazingly well!

If you don't think you are brave enough to make your own laundry detergent, I recommend buying from this site Simply Clean Ok. I've tried this soap and it's quite lovely if I do say so myself!

Enjoy and go make some soap! Next up, felted wool dryer balls :)

♥

Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act

2009-01-02T14:46:00.002-08:00

"This plush is Art for Art's sake, not intended as a toy."

I changed things up a bit with one of my best selling plush TOYS.

I hope we can change things!

Save Handmade, please. Help spread the word that handmade is OK!!

Snowman Brownie Pops

2008-12-19T07:00:00.005-08:00

I got very inspired when I saw these snowman brownie pops from Williams Sonoma, I wanted to try them for myself!

I used a pre-packaged brownie mix, baked it and let it cool. With a 1 inch ice cream scoop I formed little balls of brownie to make the snowman shape. Then I stuck dowel rods in. I would recommend using lolly pop sticks, but this is all I had at hand. Next, I put the brownie pops in the freezer for one hour, to make sure they kept their shape. Once frozen I melted white chocolate chips over a double broiler and dipped the pops in and decorated them with colored glaze! It was pretty easy, not quite as fancy as the Williams Sonoma pops, but they'll do for me!

Another inspiring blog that is all about the Cake Pops is Bakerella, wow she has some amazing ideas here!

Enjoy :) ♥

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

2008-12-13T07:20:00.004-08:00

The baby needed a stocking for his first X-mas... made with cotton stripey fabric and felt! I just love the faux blanket stitch on my machine, it's perfect for appliques.

smile

2008-12-11T05:39:00.002-08:00

smile
Originally uploaded by neesypea

My paper punch scraps smiled at me this morning!

Free Shipping + 10%!

2008-11-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

To celebrate this holiday season Heyday Fashion is offering you Free Shipping, and if you buy at least $50 you will receive an additional 10%.

We appreciate your business and hope you will shop with us again!

Offer valid December 1st thru December 12th, 2008

Please remember to place your order no later than December 12, 2008 to insure Holiday Delivery

Best Wishes & Happy Holidays!

xo

Neesy Pea

Heyday Fashion

Homemade Organic Applesauce

2008-11-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

My neighbor gave me this huge bucket of apples from her tree, so of course I had to make applesauce!

I used this recipe ...
http://www.pickyourown.org/applesauce.htm

I haven't canned any yet. I left the skins on too, and the applesauce turned pink, but it was sure yummy. I'm going to make baby puree to freeze next, but I'll take of the skins first.

I'm not sure what kind of apples they are, my neighbor didn't know either, I did a Google search I think they might be Rome or Arkansas Black apples.

It was fun, but the applesauce came out super thick! I think it was because I only have the food grinder attachment for my kitchenaid and I actually need the fruit and veggie strainer as well.

Fabric Sale

2008-10-20T11:54:00.004-07:00

I have some fabric for sale of anyone is interested...

Triple Fudge Choclate Chip Cookies

2008-10-12T07:47:00.005-07:00

I was in a festive mood yesterday so I decided to make some Halloween-y cookies.
I adapted a cookie recipe to my liking, and they came out oh so delish!

Here's the recipe...

1 stick Sweet Cream Butter
1 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/3 cup Chocolate syrup
1/2 cup Buttermilk or (1/2 tablespoon lemon juice in 1/2 cup Milk)
1 3/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 cup Milk Chocolate Chips, set one cup a side
Festive Sprinkles

Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended. Combine cocoa and buttermilk and chocolate syrup in a separate bowl, beat until smooth. Add to creamed mixture. Add flour, baking soda and salt, beating just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes or until centers are almost set. Remove from cookie sheet while hot, let cool.
In a double broiler (or microwave) melt the remaining milk chocolate chips until smooth & creamy, spread or dip half of the cooled cookies in the chocolate and add sprinkles, place on wax paper while the chocolate sets. Eat and try not to devour them all in one setting!

Time for Candy Corn!

2008-10-05T11:43:00.003-07:00

It's my favorite Autumn treat...

Back in stock, $10 each ♥

Oatmeal Cookies, Yum!

2008-09-27T06:31:00.005-07:00

1. Anthropolgie Apron, 2. Baking Oatmeal Cookies - Vintage Book, 3. Baking Oatmeal Cookies - The Recipe, 4. Baking Oatmeal Cookies - Oats, 5. Baking Oatmeal Cookies - Crackin' The Eggs, 6. Baking Oatmeal Cookies - Sifting, 7. Baking Oatmeal Cookies - Mixture, 8. Baking Oatmeal Cookies - Perfect Portions, 9. Baking Oatmeal Cookies - Fin

Miss Monkey Boutique

2008-09-22T05:28:00.003-07:00

You can now find my cute Ice Cream Cone Rattles at Miss Monkeys Boutique in Concord, NC

Check it out!

Triple Coupon day!

2008-09-18T08:25:00.001-07:00

hahaha! I crack my self up! It was triple coupon day again at my local grocery store, so one 75 cent coupon = $2.25, match those with stuff that is on sale and you get mega savings people!!

Trip#1
$37.98
Coupons Tendered + Store Savings = $35.43
Trip#2
$50.46
Coupons Tendered + Store Savings = $43.99
Total - $88.44
Savings - 76.87
Total Out Of Pocket - $9.02/w tax

Here's my bounty...

Rainbow buttons

2008-09-14T14:49:00.002-07:00

What to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon? Color coordinate your buttons of course!

New Bags!

2008-08-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

click

Ice Cream Cone Rattles

2008-08-27T11:51:00.001-07:00

This was a collaboration between me and my mother. I told her what I wanted and she crocheted them up for me and I stuffed them and added the rattle...

Here's Holden "modeling" it for me in his vintage jon-jon outfit.

Now available in the shop!

Thanks!

2008-08-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

The awesome Jenny Harada made our baby a cute monster!

Holden LOVES his flying "H" Monster!

The Art Of Couponing

2008-07-24T13:40:00.001-07:00

So coupons, yeah they're cool, even cooler when they are doubled or tripled!

One of my local supermarkets is having a triple coupon event starting today through Saturday. So that means if you have a 75 cent coupon it's worth $2.25!

I got all this stuff for free or nearly free...

Grand Total $165.91 in groceries and I only paid $23.55, go me :)

I just got started in the art of couponing, man it's addicting! I learned a lot from this site A Full Cup and have saved so much. I made a vow to never pay full price for groceries again, I will always use my coupons!!! :D

Test Kitchen!

2008-06-11T12:19:00.001-07:00

We have a new bundle of joy added to our family, a baby boy named Holden!

Now that I'm busy being a new mommy the site is still currently on Hiatus, but I just added some cute new Fruity Cutie Mary Jane shoes to the Etsy Shop, check them out ...

Click here for the Heyday Fashion Etsy Shop

Hello My Name Is Gallery ~ Plush Show

2008-04-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

If you live in or around New Haven Connecticut please stop by
Hello My Name Is Gallery on April 5th!

I made a cute eggplant plush for this show!

xo
Neesy

Charlotte Craft Mafia in The Press!

2008-03-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

If you don't know already, I'm in a local Craft Mafia group here in Charlotte, NC.

The Charlotte Craft Mafia is featured in the Charlotte Observer today in the Style Section. We are all so excited since this is our first big press that we've received as a group!

You can read the online version here
CCM Observer Story

And you see a slide show of our pictures here (I'm the preggo lady)
CCM Observer Pics

Crammed Organisms Plush Show

2008-03-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Open to all, deadline is March 29th, 2008

Gallery Crawl Show!

2008-03-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

Charlotte Craft Mafia Gallery Crawl Show This Weekend!

Come join the CCM on Saturday March 8th, 2008 at the Century Vintage from 6pm-10.

We'll have super fine handmade wares, yummy baked goods and more!

Hope to see you there!! ...
Century Vintage
1608 Central Ave
Charlotte, NC