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20 Classic Summer Dessert Recipes

Summer is nearly here, and with it, tons of outdoor parties and requests to bring "a dish to pass". If you are outside of Minnesota, that means pot luck. Now, everyone will be going to Pinterest looking for the newest and cutest idea....but not you, oh no. You're going to click on one of these links, make one of these nostalgic gems, and grab all the attention because people are going to straight up go, "Oh man! I remember these from when I was a kid!" and gobble everything all up. Then there … [Read more...]

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A Tale of Two Elephants-a pattern review with bonus cocktail recipe (yeah, it was that kind of project)

So, here's my review for this month. I decided to make elephants for my little carnies as part of their Valentine's Day gift. I had no idea what I was doing... I chose the DIY Fluffies Love Elephant pattern. My pattern was delivered, and I printed it out, looked it over quick, and didn't think much of it...then I sat down to make these guys and read that the seam allowances WERE NOT included in the pattern. No problem, I thought. I'll just trace 1/4" around all the pieces. Ah? Nope. I was … [Read more...]

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The Banyan Tunic-a pattern review

Well Hello. I am so excited about this pattern! It's the Banyan Top & Tunic from Figgy's Patterns available at Go To Patterns.com (affiliate link) Here is the cover shot for the pattern. As you can see, it comes with a "boys" and a "girls" option, and tunic or tee length for the girls.  Georgia already has a top like this from Old Navy or Target or something, and I love it on her, but it's a little too short to wear with leggings, and I was already trying to work out how to hack a … [Read more...]

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Another Pattern Review, and a lesson learned.

Time for another pattern review! So this time I tried sewing for me. It's the Luna Top by Liola Patterns from Go To Patterns. This is what it's supposed to look like: Cute right? I mean, if you're familiar with Y seams, this thing is a breeze, and very slimming with the darts and such....but if you should happen to disregard that old idea that you should prewash your fabric, then perhaps your garment will shrink, like a lot. Add to that the midwestern phenomenon that is "Winter Weight" … [Read more...]

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7 Christmas traditions my family does every year that you can totally steal.

So, I come from a very large family, and my very large family likes to do Christmas LARGE.  Here's a list of a few of our traditions. feel free to steal or riff on any of them: We make Lefse This one comes from my mother's Norwegian Grama. Lefse, say it with me lef-SUH, is a very thin tortilla like thing made from potatoes, flour, and lard. To eat it, you spread butter and sugar on it, fold it up and gain weight. Making lefse is a process, and a mess, so my mom usually picks a day, and … [Read more...]

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The Anywhere Dress-A pattern review

  Holy crap you guys, WHERE did November go? Did you ever have one of those months where you just look around and go, "Did I nap or something?"...Yeah, that was November. So, here it is, my pattern review for November on December 2nd. So this month, I decided on The Anywhere Dress from Go To Patterns (affiliate link) This has to be one of the easiest dresses I have ever made. Ever. Like almost easier than a pillow case dress. It's true to size and according to G, very comfy. As I … [Read more...]

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Carl Pants- A Pattern Review

You guys, I got picked to be a Brand Ambassador for Go To Patterns! This means you can look forward to pattern reviews from me for the next six month! YAAAYYYY *muppet arms* For my first review, I chose the Blank Slate Patterns Clean Slate Pants or Shorts. (affiliate link) I love them. I whipped up some pants for my 1 year old fairly quickly. This pattern has a number of options, and I chose no fly (but I stitched in a faux fly), no back pockets (after the welt pocket option kicked my ass), … [Read more...]

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Easy Lunchbox Napkins: with or without a serger

Back to school this year is just about as late as it can be-September 8th! This year, my daughter is in first grade, and since she eats about 4 things, I pack her lunches for her. I decided to go green ( and cheap) and use some scrap fabric to make her some lunchbox size napkins. I'll show you two ways to do it. ( with and without a serger) The first, fastest way: Step 1: Cut out some 7" squares of quilters cotton fabric. (You can make these the same on both sides, or mix it up a … [Read more...]

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Daddy’s t-shirt upcycle and a pattern review.

I GOT A SERGER FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! After, I'm not kidding, YEARS of dropping hints to my husband, and explaining what a serger is at least a jillion times, my man came through. Freakin love that guy...Here's the first thing I made: I used the Costal Craze Baggies pattern by Peekaboo Pattern shop and I love how they came out. So, I started with this t-shirt someone gave my husband, because it was my first time with both the pattern, and the serger. Normally, I'm not a fan of alcohol … [Read more...]

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A Dragon Birthday Party, and a word about first birthdays

First? Can I say a something to you new parents planning your little anklebiter's first birthday? YAY YOU! You made it through the first year....I'd like to say the next years will be a breeze, but that would be a big friggin lie. Now, I'm sure you feel all this Pinterest-y pressure to throw a huge, perfect celebration with everybody and their brother invited. You know what I say? EFF THAT NOISE. Seriously, your kid is not going to care if you have 4 people or 400 at his first big … [Read more...]