Bags, Bags, Bags .... GIVEAWAY!

Christmas is over. Boo. Did you get everything you were hoping and dreaming for?? Me either. I should tell you that the reason I didn't get everything is because I was dreaming for world peace.... but that's a lie. It's because I wanted a treadmill (and someone else who would run on it for me), no luck. One thing I can almost always count on for Christmas is a new bag. My mother is the Queen of Bags. She is a true connoisseur. She started buying me purses when I was about four, maybe even earlier! My husband was less than thrilled with my collection of handbags and I truly think he is at a loss for why a person needs so many different kinds. I've stopped trying to explain and he has stopped asking so I think we have reached an understanding. 

Because I love bags and because I love Etsy and because I know that I am not the only person in the world that didn't get everything that they wanted for Christmas and because well, January can be sort of a bummer month and Miranda and I thought we should kick it off with some fun, I want to introduce you to Allison. She is the owner, seamstress and creative genius behind Daisy Lane Design...look at all her cute bags!!

(Oh and guess what?? She is going to GIVE YOU A BAG!!! Well, you have to win it, but still.. a FREE BAG!!)

Hi! I'm Allison. I'm a wife, a stay at home mom to two young kids, and the owner of Daisy Lane Design. I mostly design bags, totes and purses, but I love trying new things and often find myself up to my elbows (ok, over my head) in new projects. I made my first bag as a Christmas present for my best friend, Holly, in 2007. Within a few weeks, she showed up at my house with fabric and orders for three more Holly Bags. Most of my bags are named for the people who inspired them. I make my own patterns, but oftentimes someone will ask "can you make a bag that....?" and then a new bag is born. I do a lot of custom orders.

 I first realized I might be able to make something of this little venture when I started posting pictures of my stuff on Facebook. The response was unexpected! Of course all of my first customers were my friends, but it gave me the boost I needed to explore getting serious.

 About that time, I discovered Lisa Lam and her blog, u-handbag.typepad.com. For anyone looking to learn about bag making, Lisa is a generous and gracious teacher. (She also has a fab book, and another on the way!) Armed with some new skills, I dove into the local craft scene, a Facebook page and an etsy store. It's busy, but it's fun and I am so glad I took this leap. This "work" makes me happy, is something I can do during the hours my kids are at school or napping, and is starting to contribute to our family. What more could I ask for?

A few months ago, a friend of mine found a great jacket at the thrift store that she thought I could turn into an interesting bag. It lingered in my closet for several months while I worked up the nerve to cut it up. Once I took that first cut, the bag came together like a jigsaw puzzle - snip a piece off, make it work for a bag. It was really fun! I posted the bag to my Facebook page and it sold that day. Apparently, other people were interested in the idea as well. So I was off on a treasure hunt for more amazing jackets that really wanted to be bags. This is my 6th jacket bag and I'm as in love with the idea as ever. I never know exactly what they are going to look like. They are casual and slouchy and nipped and tucked in places to make up for the fact that they were once a worn garment, and they are completely one of a kind. 

The bag I am giving away is a medium sized purse. It measures 17" across on the bottom, 16" across on the top and 14" at the cinched "waist". It stands 11" tall with a 14" strap. The front pockets, original to the jacket, are working and perfect for a cell or your keys. There is a little peek-a-boo of the inside fabric on the bottom  to even out the front cut of the jacket. The inside of the bag has an open pocket and the bag closes with a magnetic snap.

Isn't she so cute? Don't you want that cute brown bag?? I know, I do too. Here's how you can get it...

#1 - Go look at Daisy Lane Designs shop and come back and comment about what bags you like.

#2 - Head over to Facebook and "Like" Daisy Lane Designs and then come back here and comment that you did it.

#3 - Follow our blog publicly (through Google Connect) and leave a comment here that says you did it.
#4 - Head over to Facebook again and "Like" The Pinterest Project page and leave a comment here that says you did it. 


Look at that, you have FOUR chances to enter!! The lucky winner will be announced on January 6th! This could be your shot to make up for your bad Christmas presents (or just get another cute bag for your collection!)

Breakfast in a Basket

I hope you all aren't sick of Christmas related posts...I just wanted to share one more thing with you, and since this one could be used for an "anytime gift" basket, I figured it was ok for me to include it.

In my ever expanding family (in laws, nieces, etc...) we have adapted the tradition of drawing names to save a little money.  As much as I love buying presents, it's kind of nice to have just one person to focus on (after the kids and husband, of course!).  This year we decided to draw names as couples, and I picked my sister and brother in law.  They were married just a few short months before I got married - and I know they love making fun breakfasts together.  I had seen some really cute pins on pinterest that inspired this gift idea.

I scoured the internet for fun "mix in a jar" ideas.  I wanted a muffin mix and a cocoa mix.  There are some really cute layered cocoa gift ideas (as pictured above)...but I got to wondering...how practical is a jar of cocoa mix that is topped with marhsmallows and chocolate chips?  How do you get to the cocoa underneath?  It seemed like it was more for looks than functionality.  Then, one of my favorite bloggers (Annie from My Baking Addiction) came to the rescue with her Hot Cocoa recipe.  I whipped up a batch and then unabashedly copied her way adorable Hot Cocoa mix tag.  Then I made a Dried Blueberry Muffin mix.

In the basket, I added: 

 - 2 aprons

- 2 rubber spatulas

- a juice carafe and juicer

- Trader Joe's cinnamon crumb coffee cake mix

- Trader Joe's cranberry bread mix

- Trader Joe's cranberry apple butter

and I bought a mini donut maker and an electric griddle that I wrapped separately to give them.  

Added a tag and some cute red and white striped twine and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the whole gift idea.  They live in snowy Utah - wouldn't this be a great way to spend a chilly Saturday morning?

Oh, and PS...that cocoa mix?  To. Die. For.  Some of the best cocoa I've ever had.  I even threw in a few peppermint baking chips which melted and tasted like Christmas in a cup!

If you build it...

Christmas can stress me out... there, I said it. I know it sounds ugly, but it's true. It has stressed me out pretty much since the day I got married for one simple reason... I have SO many more gifts to get. My husband is not really a fan of shopping so the day he said "I do" it became clear that I would be adding his entire family to my shopping list. This stresses me out. It's a lot of pressure to make sure you are getting everyone the right gift!!! Add to that fact that my brother in law has six kids, (yes, six and yes, it boggles my mind too at times) and I can get overwhelmed at the task. This year was a little different, however. This year I had found a great present idea!

Megan and Andy Made

I decided to make all of my nieces and nephews a fort kit! I used to love building forts when I was a kid so when I saw this pin, it was perfect. I went to my trusty Target and gathered up the supplies that I thought I would need for this kit, including some sheets and got to work.

Because I had bought a jersey knit sheet set for my kit it came inside a handy little bag, and who am I to not put a handy little bag to good use?? That bag became the fort kit bag!  This led to another pin - freezer paper stenciling.

How About Orange

Since I needed to find a way to add the words "Fort Kit" to the bag and I don't have a fancy smancy lettering machine, I got out the old freezer paper and went old school.

I printed out the wording that I wanted onto a plain sheet of paper and then traced it onto my freezer paper (shiny side down). I then took out the exacto knife and cut all of the lettering out. Once I was happy with my handy work I found my iron (yes, I had to literally find it - I am not a fan of ironing). I ironed a piece of an old t-shirt so that it was wrinkle free and then ironed the freezer paper (shiny side facing the t-shirt) to the t-shirt. I then ironed another piece of freezer paper to the back of the piece of cloth. **I used the cotton setting because I was ironing a t-shirt, but I would use the appropriate setting for your fabric.** Once the freezer paper was good and stuck to my cloth, I got out some stencil paint and painted my lettering. I am inpatient girl and let's face it, I do all this crafting with the small windows we call nap time, so I went and found my hair dryer (and yes again, I had to literally find it) and dried the paint faster. Once my quick drying paint was finished I just peeled off the freezer paper and TA-DA a stenciled piece of fabric.

Now that I had a label, it just had to be sewed onto the front of my bag. After pinning it down and sewing it onto the front of the bag... time to fill this sucker up!

I put into my fort kit a king size sheet, 50 clothes pins, clothesline rope and flashlights (six to be exact). You could get as fancy as you want with this. You could even add a book to read or headlamps. I stuck with the basics. After everything was neatly packed into the sack, I tied it up and under the tree it went! I know that this was not the most high tech gift the kids got this year and I know it didn't come with cool games and music, but I hope they liked it. It was something that seemed like it could be so much fun to me!!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and are gearing for a super fun New Year!!

Tradition!

When I was growing up, there were 2 holiday traditions that I remember distinctly now that I am an adult.  The first one was that we each got an ornament to open on Christmas Eve.  Every year, my parents would carefully select an ornament for each child and wrap it.  It was generally an ornament that represented us in some way, and our name was written on the back.  The idea was that as an adult, you'd have years worth of ornaments for your first Christmas tree.

The second tradition I remember was that my grandmother (who lived in Maine) would send us a box of Whitmans Sampler chocolates every year with our gifts.  We'd save the box for Christmas morning and then open it and pass it around bright and early while we opened our gifts.  In a house where sugar cereals were non existent - this was a BIG and exciting treat!

I'm determined to bring a few traditions to our own little family now that more of our Christmas mornings are spent apart from extended family.  I brought in the box of chocolates tradition, and I decided that a cinnamon roll breakfast was absolutely necessary.

Enter Pioneer Woman via Pinterest:

These rolls are pretty much fool proof -don't let the yeast scare you - and they taste amazing.  They are fluffy and soft and full of cinnamon-y (or chocolate chip...yes chocolate chip) goodness.  

For the full recipe check out her Cinnamon Rolls post and Chocolate Chip Cookie Sweet Rolls.

I've done both, and they are quite simply, perfection.

Happy customer (wearing his much hoped for Cam Newton jersey)

What are your Christmas traditions?

Merry Merry!

Jamie and I are still recovering from too much food...
...and presents
......and not enough sleep.  (soooo...look for Hit or Miss Monday to return next week!)

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday as much as we did!

Merry Christmas (and happy returns...?) from us (and our kiddos!) to you!

Pot Pie?? Yes Please

There is something about cold that demands pot pie. I'm not sure what it is about an entire pot pie all to myself that makes it even better, but it does. Before you get too comfortable with the image of me huddled over a pot pie, furiously shoveling the entire thing into my mouth... I am talking about a cute  little individual pot pie in a cute little ramekin. There, image fixed (I hope).

When I was traveling in England during college, we ate at a little pub that had a steak pot pie - so good. It didn't hurt that it was a cold day and I was starving. When I saw this pin, I instantly thought about that pot pie and how good it was. 

Simply Delicious

This is one of those recipes you just have to make. I was a little skeptical that it wouldn't live up to my expectations, but it really is a keeper. There is something about breaking open the puff pastry crust and getting a bite of the tender meat and carrots that is just, YUM!! I even baked the leftover puff pastry so that we could have some extra  "dipping crust." I highly suggest it. 

Steak & Mushroom Pot Pie - adapted from Simply Delicious

Printable Version

adapted from Simply Delicious

Makes 4-6 pot pies

3 lb. stewing beef
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
12 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cup strong beef stock
1 tbsp corn starch mixed with 3.5 tbsp milk
salt & pepper to taste
1 roll ready-made puff pastry, rolled out slightly
1 egg, beaten
1 cup frozen peas
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp each thyme, rosemary and oregano (I used fresh because I had it, but you can use dried)
2 bay leaves

For the filling, brown the beef in a large pot. Remove and set aside. In the same pot, saute the onion and carrots until soft and fragrant (about 10 minutes).
Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute for 5 minutes before adding the paprika and herbs.
Pour in the stock and add the browned beef back into the pot. Stir to combine everything and reduce the heat. Cover the pot and allow the stew to simmer gently for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

When the meat is really tender (when you press a piece with a spoon it should break apart), turn the heat up and pour in the corn starch mixture. Allow the sauce to simmer rapidly and thicken for about 10 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 375°
Divide the beef and mushroom filling between 4-6 oven-proof dishes (depending on size).
Cut the pastry into squares big enough to cover the dishes, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Brush the rim of the dishes with some of the beaten egg then place the pastry on top and pinch the pastry onto the rim.
Cut 2 slits into each pie to allow the steam to escape and brush with the rest of the beaten egg.
Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is cooked through and golden brown.

Did I mention that it was seriously good? Go make some pot pie. You won't regret it. 

PS - HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS!!!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...

I have a slight magazine obsession.  We have a lot of magazine subscriptions that come to the house...sometimes they pile up before I can even get to flipping through them.  And then once I DO flip through them, I never want to get rid of them.  In fact, when we most recently moved, I admitted defeat and put boxes and boxes of magazines out to be recycled.

But every month, we get a bunch more, so I already have a nice little stack laying around.  When I saw the opportunity to use my magazines as Christmas decor, I jumped all over it.

Gather your materials:
- old magazines
- spray adhesive
- glitter

That's it!

This is not a complicated project by any means, and I'll do my best to explain the steps, but you may want to read a few blogs for better instructions!  Check out Just Like Martha, Michelle + Ellie, or Jaderbomb.

First, bend the spine of the magazine so it breaks a little bit.  Then, you'll take the upper corner of the page and fold it in towards the center of the magazine spine.  Once you have done this with all (yes all) the pages in the magazine, start at the beginning and fold the page over again towards the center.  This will cause a little overlap at the bottom, that looks like a triangle.  Fold the triangle part of the page up so the bottom is flat.

Yes, you'll do this with each and every page too.  This is a good time to catch up on your DVR'd shows.  Once all the pages are folded, your magazine will look like this:

Now, spray the adhesive on it and douse with glitter.  Shake and repeat!  

Quick - you can make a few before all your guests arrive for Christmas dinner...

Stockings, Take Two

Miranda and I have been talking about Christmas stockings for weeks and since we both ended up making them this year, let's consider it Stockings O' Fun Week...

A couple years back I bought some really nice Christmas stockings after Christmas on clearance. I loved them. I even bought one extra stocking with our future child in mind. Yup, I thought I was being pretty slick! Then it happened. We moved. We moved and we had a moving company pack us. For those of you that have never had someone else pack all of your worldly belongings - don't. I am STILL looking for things a year and a half later. Guess what one of those things are?? My lovely stockings. What's even worse? I have the one stocking that I had bought for our future child (who is now here) and I don't have the stockings that I bought for Allen and myself. How is that possible??

Since my stockings have been MIA this year, I have been one the lookout for another solution. Enter Pinterest.

Imperfect Homemaking

I am not a matchy Christmas decorator like some people (MIRANDA), but I do like everything to have a really homey feel. I think that's one of the reasons that I fell in love with this idea. What is more cozy and homey than a comfy sweater? Keeping in mind that I had no interest in cutting up one of my own comfy sweaters, I was off to goodwill!

I found a couple perfect candidates for a stocking at the local goodwill and they were only five bucks. I was trying to tell my mom about the sweater/coat things that I bought and she informed me that they are boiled wool. So there you have it, I used a couple of boiled wool jackets. 

First things first - lay your sweater out and make sure that it is big enough to make a stocking out of. Next, turn your sweater inside out. Don't roll your eyes at me as though that's obvious. Sometimes people (like me) forget the simple steps and then have to re-do the entire project. Just sayin'. 

After your sweater is, a-hem, inside out, lay a stocking you have on hand down on the sweater.  I used the lone stocking I had left from my moving fiasco. 

Grab a marker and trace the stocking right onto the sweater. Don't be scared, you've turned it inside out, right?? Here comes the hardest part... sew along the line all the way around the entire outline of the stocking.  The one thing I will say about this step is that it can be tough to sew around the edges. It could just be my machine though. I had to sort of pull the edges through a little to get it started. Once you've sewn the entire stocking, all that's left is to cut it out! Because everything is already sewn up the sweater won't fray when you cut it. After it's all cut out, just turn it right side out and you've got a stocking!

Because I used such a thick sweater, I had trouble getting the ribbon I wanted to use into the seam so once the stocking was all finished I sewed the ribbon onto the back so that I would have a way to hang the stocking.

And finished...

What do you think??

Now if you'll excuse me - I need to bake some cookies for Santa... or Allen. 

The Stockings Were Hung by the Chimney With Care

I need to start off this post with another confession.  This is one tidbit of information I generally keep to myself because I'm not proud of it.

I am OCD about coordinated Christmas decorations.

There, I said it.

I know, you're scratching your head wondering what the big deal is...but if you have kids, imagine all the sweet little handmade ornaments that come home from daycare, church and school...and imagine those sweet little handmade ornaments hung on a tree that has been painstakingly color coordinated.

Yeah, it doesn't happen

I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW.  This makes me, like, the world's worst and most uncaring mother.  I am ashamed!!!  But I cannot help it!  I HAVE to have a beautifully decorated and coordinated tree.  When my now almost 11 year old was younger, I bought a small artificial tree to display all his special ornaments on.  Fortunately, he thought it was awesome and so did I!  It also sadly means that all of my husband's Tar Heel and Carolina Panthers ornaments get left alone and sad in their boxes when Christmas rolls around.  Ok, add bad wife to bad mother.

So now that you all hate me and think I'm a bad person, let's move on.

I've been obsessed with neutrals lately.  I'm normally a person who loves color (I once painted my bedroom a vibrant teal!) but this year I want to be surrounded by white furniture, calming neutrals and the occasional pop of color.  My tree this year is white and silver with some red.  My new love of neutrals presented a problem with stockings.  And surfing Pinterest did nothing to cure me of my neutrals addiction:

I saw some white stockings at JoAnn's earlier this month, but they were $20 a piece - which I did not want to spend.  So, I did what I had to do - I took matters into my own hands and created new stockings for the family that showcased a beautiful white quilted fabric and the burlap I love so much.  There are a lot of complicated stocking patterns out there on the web, y'all.  So let me share with you what I did.

1. I took a stocking we currently had, traced around it on the fabric I liked.

2. Place the right sides together, fold the top of each side down like a cuff and pin it with the wrong sides facing out.

3. Sew around the stocking, using a decorative stitch at the bottom of the cuff that was folded down (the stocking will still be inside out at this point, but I didn't have a picture of this step)

4. Turn the stocking right side out
5. I had a bunch of bias tape I never use, so I actually used this to make the loops and sewed them onto the stocking
6. I also had a handful of pretty, white snowflake ornaments that I bought at Target (4/$1)  I used a safety pin to pin these to each stocking - this way the embellishment can be changed out year after year
7. Bought the white, glittery letter for 99 cents a piece at Michaels and hot glued an initial to the snowflake

That's it, folks.  Honestly the hardest part was sewing the curve around the toe area - which is why each stocking is a little different :)  I'll pretend that it's homemade charm!

Now - I am in the process of making 2 more stockings that will go up there when I'm done.  That's a LOT of stockings.  And stocking holders are stupid pricey.  So after seeing this pin...

...I went in search of something similar.  I already had an adjustable tension rod laying around, and decided that I would use it to hang my stockings with.  I can easily fit 6 stockings on this rod.  I found the silver Command hooks at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $4.99 a piece (MUCH cheaper than stocking holders!)

Christmas Crazy math: $20x6 stockings = $120
                                   $10 (ish) a piece for stocking holders = $60
                                    ______________________
                                    $180 for stockings/holders.  INSANE.

Miranda Math: $20 for 2 yards of white quilted fabric
                        $0 for burlap (already had)
                        $0 for bias tape (already had)
                        $0 for snowflake ornaments (already had)
                        $6 for 6 glitter initials
                        $0 for tension rod
                        $8 for 2 Command hooks
                        ____________________
Total Cost:     $34 for 6 stockings and holders

TA DA.

Yes, I'm proud.  Very, very proud.