Transformers Birthday Cake

At our house, I usually make the birthday cakes.  The kids get to choose the color of icing and the character they want on it.


Our middle girl turned 4 this past Sunday, she picked Transformers.  I knew that cartoon would come back to bite me in the butt. 

So I scoured and looked and tried to figure out HOW I was going to a Transformers cake... I couldn't find anything so I figured we would just get a cake topper from Amazon when we ordered her present... We forgot-which ended up fine because her present was late anyway.. 

So I scoured and looked on Pinterest. I'm not an artist.... Then, two days before I made the cake, a light bulb turned on.  So I started looking some more for how to transfer an image.  I found a few great links (here and here), after discovering I did not have the right ingredients to make the decorating gel, I went with the second link as I had everything to make butter cream icing.  

I found a black and white coloring page of the Transformers symbol, printed it off.  Put it on a plate, put wax paper over and proceeded to outline with my buttercream.  Froze it for 15-20 minutes while i decorated the rest of the cake, minus the top.  Then came the interesting part... While it didn't flip great, enough went onto the cake for me to able to freehand, then I did the rest of the top. 

The biggest part-she recognized it.  :D Better than other character cakes I've attempted.   

Sorry I didn't get any pictures during the process, I was trying to hurry as Eva refused to nap and hubby was trying to keep her occupied in the other room so it was a surprise.  

On other notes... Kmarts are being closed, so watch the news and maybe you can get some good bargains! 

~Tabitha 

Baby Shoes

I'm starting my baby sewing-other than the quilt which I have half done... 

I moved my sewing list around a little, so the first thing I made is this cute little pair of baby shoes, with more to come.  I found this pattern on Pinterest when Grace was a baby and we LOVED them. It took a few tries to get them just right and the first couple pairs fell apart quickly because I didn't leave enough seam allowance for my mey=diocre sewing skills.  Also remember, the heavier material you have, you do need to add 1/4 inch or so, because they will be thicker once they are done. 

Yeah.. I forgot to turn part of it right side out before I sewed.. :D that's what happens when I sew at 6AM. :D 

Since this baby is coming in the spring, I am making 2 pairs out of fleece and cotton and 2 pairs out of flannel.  They will keep those cute little toes warm and are a lot harder for baby to kick off. A bonus for my budget-it's all made from material I have sitting around the house. 

The actual pattern is definitely newborn/0-3 month size, of course, depending on your baby they could fit for longer-but my little ones grow fast.  When they start walking (if they haven't started pulling socks off their feet first), put some craft paint on the bottom in a pattern for grip-also works great for socks.  

Here's the original pattern with tutorial and print out from Family Centered Blog.  My sister has been buying these type of shoes off Ebay for years, but my baby's feet just don't fit those-and I can make them warmer than what you can buy them by changing up the material.  The last pair I made for Grace, I used jeans and sweatshirt material-kept it soft against her foot, but firm against the hard, outside ground (and gravel and wood chips at parks and grandma's house).  I love this pattern and have enlarged it myself by simply adding a few inches to everything, about 1/2 inch at a time as she grew. 

The pair of newborns took me about and hour to make-with help from the girls of course...And Eva's constant 'when are we gonna make my dolly stuff mommy!'. :D  But I know their learning, so God is working on my patience in that aspect.  

All my pieces cut out.

The heel 

The toe covering-you sew the part that goes on top first, with right sides together, cut slits-or make button holes, I've done both-for the elastic then turn it so the seam is on the inside when you sew it all together. 

Now little bundle of material? That's the baby shoe!! When you sew it all together, you are sewing it inside out.  The first couple pairs of shoes I made, I forgot that and had to take them apart and redo them.... twice..each... Yeah.... Like I said, mediocre skills lol.  When you have it all sewed together,  you turn it right side out and insert your elastic through your hole in the toe and the top of the heel; pull it as tight as you need, sew the end together, tuck the ends in and done.  

This is an easy pattern, and can really be made with any material-the original tutorial I had saved she used cotton and leather for the soles, but from the picture on the website she has updated that some. It takes maybe 1/2 yard of material-I'm not really sure since I always use scraps, and these are a great scrap user-upper as they don't take much.  I do have to admit that the hardest part is pinning all the pieces together.. It's just SO LITTLE.  LOVE IT! Lol 

Enjoy making these cute shoes! 
~Tabitha 

Copy Cat Taco Bell Crunch Wraps

I admit it, we eat out more than we should-but we're working on that.  One of my husband's favorites is the crunch wrap at Taco Bell. So last year I went in hunt of a recipe. 

Sorry about the shadow, the lights just weren't cooperative

Not to hard to do with Pinterest. While it doesn't taste the same, it IS thicker-and cheaper than Taco Bell-and more customizable.

So Here you go.

Copy Cat Crunch Wraps
1 package burrito size flour shells (make sure they are the burrito size!!)
1 package regular size flour shells
1 package tostada shells
Nacho cheese sauce 
Salsa
Shredded cheddar
Lettuce
Sour Cream
1 recipe taco meat (1 pound browned, ground beef with taco seasoning)

After your meat is browned and seasoned, take another pan and heat up some oil in it-have an extra lid (just a small one will work) handy. Take a burrito shell (for my little girls I just use a regular shell) and spread your nacho cheese sauce about the diameter of your tostada shell-make it thick, you want to taste it.

 Then the taco meat. 

 Then the tostada shell-we're at the end of the package.  If you use regular size flour shells, there isn't enough room for a whole tostada, so the broken pieces work great for the girls, but they will tear through the outside shell. 

 Then the rest of your toppings. Sour cream and salsa first. Shredded cheese last-it will melt when you cook it.

 Now take one of your regular size shells and tear it in half, put half aside. Tear one half in about a 2/3 section, then put on top off all that yummy filling, use the rest to make sure it's all covered.  Fold up the bottom tortilla around the top,  mine always comes out as a hexagon-but hey, it works. 

 Plop it in your hot pan with the oil folded side down and put a lid on top, you are basically making a sandwich press here to keep it all together. 

 Flip it over and cook the other side a bit. 

Repeat until you have enough for everybody.  Usually we only use about a half pound of meat, but it makes for a great quick lunch.  The kids love it, though the girls usually end up unwrapping theirs and eating it like a salad-but hey, they eat it.  

For us, it's cheaper than just tacos-because of the amount of ingredients used.. While it's more of a variety, it's less per each one.  A package of tostada shells (about 20 I believe) lasted us two months.. A package of burritos shells will do about a meal and a half since Andrew eats a big one (little pig lol).  And I get the regular size at Dollar Tree.. I did attempt to make the cheese sauce homemade...but we agreed the $2 for a month of meals was just worth buying it premade. 

Enjoy! 

~Tabitha

DIY Essential Oils Storage - Guest Post

I have used essential oils for several years now. I have gotten oils from different companies, and I've had times where I use them more than other times. I also use tinctures (some homemade, some purchased), homeopathics, herbs in capsule form, and random other natural cures (like raw honey for example). I have a strong passion to avoid pharmaceuticals, and my family hasn't needed a doctor, other than for stitches [eeeeek] for over 5 years now!
I recently signed up with Young Living Essential oils, and fell in love with the quality of their oils over what I had previously been using! I could tell a HUGE difference, in the smell and in how well they worked. But as I looked for how to store my oils, I was having a lot of trouble, as everything is SO expensive. So, what's a mama to do? Pinterest - of course. What else? Only I wasn't coming up with much that didn't require power tools, and as much fun as those are,  I wasn't in the mood to go ask hubby or my dad for their "toys". I just wanted something I could do, in my home, without their ... errrr.... "Help" (??) yeah. Their help. ... ok, well, anyway, I wanted something that I could do on my own.
So I kept searching. Pinterest now adds pins that it thinks you may like - so of course there were some "off topic" - which is EXACTLY where I found my inspiration! (Have I mentioned how much I love Pinterest?!) So a post for "lipstick storage" popped up - and while the title had me skimming past, the photo caught my eye so I clicked the link. It showed how to use cardstock to make dividers in a drawer for lipstick. I thought, ok, I'm totally adapting this and using it for my oils!
Next, I scavenged the house - I'm good at THIS,  partly because I can't seem to figure out how to throw crap away ... ... I'm not a hoarder, but I hoard some things some times. .. Anyway.... I found a shoebox, and then I cut off the sides of a box that was bound for the trash bin, I got out my rotary cutting mat and my craft knife and set to work, having no real clue as to what I was doing.

I started my daughter with the craft paints and the shoebox - she's my artist.

And I started in on the cutting the dividers. My son decided to help.... "help" (?) yeah. Help.

It really was quite simple. And I impressed myself.  Just measure your oil bottles - for me I didn't measure the largest I have (I buy lemon oil in 4 oz bottles and lavender in 2 oz bottles, and I have some repurposed 2 oz bottles that I've used for my homemade blends, with carrier oils - pre mixed, to just grab and use! Wonderful for my "use on the chest for congestion" blend) ... Back to the point - after measuring, you can mark how large you want each section to be. I made mine 1 1/2 inches, but if you only use 15ml or 5 ml bottles you may want yours to be smaller.
Then measure how tall your bottles are and decide if you want half of them in the divider, or the whole thing, and if you're measuring for multiple bottle sizes, you may want to use your smallest bottle for this size. This will be how wide to cut your dividers. Then the slots will be 1/2 way up each piece.

After I fit them all together to make sure they worked, I painted. Things are so much cuter with a bit of craft paint, don't you think? Well. I do.

(I found 1 of the side pieces under everything as I cleaned up -- I might go back and paint it to match. I think my creativity may be done for awhile though lol)

  (please ignore the background *cringe*)

 (again with the background *eeeeek*)

Didn't Sierha do an excellent job painting?! I knew she would!!

(ugh .... won't even ask again that you ignore that background :-) )


Now I need to order some labels, so I can find my oils... because now I can't see the side of the bottles. A few different companies have these for sale - I even saw some on Amazon.


So, for now at least, I have all of my oils in one spot. I do keep getting more oils, though, so I'm sure I'll need another one sooner rather than later.

Saving Money on Christmas

So many people have money issues around this time of year and we are no exception. So here's a few tips on saving money over Christmas. 

-Save up during the year.  This seems like a no brainer, right? I know it's easier said than done when you are living paycheck to paycheck, but if you can even save $5 a paycheck through the year, that will give you a good head start on money for presents or extras during the holidays.  Many banks have a 'Christmas account' for this very reason.   Some people will buy the presents throughout the year and stash them somewhere. Either way you choose, it will make it so the entire amount isn't hitting you all at one time. 

-Take advantage of the sales.  While I have to admit, the sales seem to be getting worse each year,  you can still get some usefulness out of them.  We had our toy list and went shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday for the presents.   

-Consider Alternatives.  Instead of buying something brand new from Toys R Us or another store, check Ebay.  Keep an eye on Amazon sales-they had some great ones leading up to Black Friday this year.  Instead of buying the name brand, look for a different brand that is just as good. While I know this won't work with all the things (Transformers are huge in our house right now-got a good thing to buy an off brand, been there, done that), there are some things it will work with.  Instead of an iPod, consider Sony brand.  I have a Sony mp3 player and LOVE it-especially for 1/3 of the cost.  For computers or other electronics, consider looking for the equivalent in an up and coming brand (I bought a Toshiba computer YEARS ago before many people used them at a fraction of the cost they are now).   If somebody on your list loves crafts, wait for the sales at your favorite craft store, I'm told Hobby Lobby had some great sales store wide and JoAnn's always has SOMETHING on sale.  Also consider homemade gifts, depending on the gifts and what you have on hand, this might not always be cheaper-but it can definitely be more personalized! 

-Don't forget about the dollar stores!  While we didn't get the main gifts from the dollar stores, we are utilizing them for the stocking stuffers.  

-Don't underestimate the power of memories.  We didn't have a lot of presents when I was young. Christmas especially was never something my parents went all out on like my friend's families.. but I cherish the memories we made instead of the things we got.  Making cookies with mom, driving around looking at lights, singing Christmas carols, decorating the tree.... It's the little things they will remember, not the stuff. 

And most importantly (for your checkbook anyway)

-MAKE A BUDGET.  Decide on a number, whether it's an overall or per kid, decide how much you can afford to spend and choose the presents within that price. The past years we've done $20-$25 per kid, then a little more for us... For the most part, we are both in on finding the presents for each other. We are both practical people and want something we can use so it works for us.  Our stocking stuffers are the only surprise this year lol.   Next year we have decided we will make an overall budget (and save up during the year) and stay within that number.  The older kid toys do cost a little more, and babies or toddlers are just as satisfied with what nobody else is playing with after they get their new toys as they are with the box and wrapping paper.  


I hope these tips help somebody.  Have a Merry Christmas!

~Tabitha 

Christmas Stockings

Woohoo! Got two stockings done!  I started last January or February with Eva's, then went on to Andrew's. I'm now working on crosstitching the front part of Grace's.  We bought the fabric, which is just a Christmas red cotton for the backings when we bought the pattern book and Aida cloth. I did forget to buy red thread, but I have maroon, so figured it would work just fine. 

So here's how I did the stocking part of the stocking. 

Two down! Five to Go! 

 This is the outline to tell me what to cross stitch where.  I added 1/4 inch to it for seam allowance, which I didn't end up needing, so when I get Grace's down, I'll not do that. 

This is the finished crossstitched design.  I added a 1/4 inch seam allowance before I cut, with Grace's I'll add a half inch. 

I put my fabric and my aida cloth right sides together pinned and sewed all but the top edge.

 Then I took my zig zag scissors and trimmed the extra red fabric so there wasn't as much in the seams when I turned it right side out. 

 The back half of the stocking, I did a rolled hem to stop the fraying since my sewing machine doesn't do a zig zag stitch. 

 Then again I pinned the right sides together and sewed around the edge.  I added some lacy ribbon for the hook part for when I hang them. 

 I was using the edge of my foot on my machine to make sure the seam was even all the way around.

And here we are.  I did the hook backwards on Andrew's, but it should work just fine. 

Now all we need is command hooks to hang them on the wall. :) 

~Tabitha

Baby Sewing List

Since I'm about half way done with this pregnancy, I'd say it's about time I start on my sewing list.  

So here goes my list of what needs done at least, along with a few links I've saved on Pinterest for patterns. 

-Make the baby quilt.  I do have some material picked out for this, but I'm still on the the hunt through my scraps for more.  This is going to be my first real quilt I've made, so things could get a little interesting. 

-Make prefold diapers.  I have an awesome friend that sews (much more experience than I am, so she is helping me) she already made a bunch of diapers for me from this pattern..  This pattern will use up a lot of the old clothes we have sitting around that nobody wears anymore.  I already have the covers, but my diapers fell apart with Grace and the prefolds or flats fit a little newborn butt a lot easier than the All In Ones I currently use.  I'm shooting for 4 dozen, that will make sure I have around two days worth. 

-Make nursing pads.  For this, I'll either enlist the help of my friend, or take the stuff to my mom's.  Guess we'll see how the winter goes.. A zig zag stitch on a machine is a must, and as much as I love my old one, it just doesn't do the job.  I've got a pattern pinned, but I know I already have on printed out from Hillbilly Housewife blog that I love.  I made two dozen when I was pregnant with Grace, but they seem to have gone the way of socks in the dryer-nobody knows!!! So here's the basics... You want three layers of flannel, one layer of fleece.  Take a cereal bowl, lay the top side down and trace around it.. then make a pie shaped cut out of it (this will contour it and also give you scraps for stuffing homemade stuffed animals or a pillow).  You want to put all four pieces together and zig zag the 'pie' ends together first, make sure you get them all.  Then zig zag around the edge and you're good to go.  This may not seem like much, but I had to really leak to soak through.  I'm gonna make another two dozen of these, because I leak, and I can never have enough nursing pads. :) 

-Make Nursing Bras. Yes, you read that right. But no, I won't show you how lol.  I have attempted this, many times in fact and they never come out... So I'm sending this project to my friend.  Because she looked at the instructions and said 'oh that's easy'. LOL  So I'm buying regular, comfy bras, sending her my stretched out and broken nursing bras for the hardware and letting her deal with it lol!! Here's the pattern, though. 

-Make Nursing Tanks.  Call me crazy, but I'm going to try it anyway. lol  I have a ton of tank tops sitting in a box.. I much prefer to be covered and not have to worry about showing skin-really the only time I do layers constantly is when I'm nursing.  I have on boughten nursing tank and I LOVE it... So here's hoping.  It's really the same method as the nursing bra-except I'll have to buy a package of those fasteners. 

-Make Post Partum Pads.. Now, I do have some disposables that I will probably use the first few days, but I don't see them making it past there.  I LOVE my light days, and once I figured out what I was doing, they were easy peasy.  I already have a pattern cut out, just need to dig through the scraps and find the correct material (cotton, flannel and maybe a layer of fleece). Here's the pattern I'll be going off of as far as layers. 

A few things for fun, if I have  time and material. 

-Make cloth wipes.  I already use towels, but something is just cute about having 'fancy' wipes lol.  Yeah, I'm weird.  Here's a pattern. 

-Make some baby toys. Now this one, I have a little more time as baby won't need toys right away.. But I've been seeing this pattern for awhile and keep wanting to do it. 


That's everything on my Pinterest board, so that must be my whole list, right? LOL  I have to finish Christmas stockings before I try that though.  

Are you sewing anything right now? Let me know in the comments.

~Tabitha