So You Think You Can Sew

 

Last month I entered the Princess Dress that I made for my daughter in the So You Think You Can Sew Contest.  Not really expecting anything to come out of it, I was competely surprised when I read this post  that announced the 12 finalists in the contest and I was one of them!

The contest starts next Wednesday and  there will be different themes that each of us have to sew something for, without any patterns.  Voting will be open for 1 day!  So I will let you all know so you can head on over there and vote.  

I am really nervous about this contest.  There are some seriously talented ladies that I am competing against.  And the day the contest starts is the day my classes start at ASU.  Talk about one busy month!  

There are great prizes for the top 3 finalists in the competition! Wish me luck!

Want to check out the blogs of the lovely ladies that will be joining us? 

Ashley from Art with Ashley, Kirstin from Kojo Designs, Jill from Made it on Monday, Shelley from Custom Slipcovers by Shelley, Jen from Eating my candy..., Mallory from Split Ends and New Beginnings, Margaret from A Heart for Simple, Amanda from Tenderfeet Stitches, Jenny from Jengerbread Creations , Dresden from dresdencarrie, and Krista from Lazy Saturdays. 

Remember to Vote for us Daily!

Top 5 Posts of 2011

We started our blog in August of this year and have absolutely LOVED every moment of it!  Since then we now have over 460 followers and over 165,000 pageviews.  Thank you for all of your support!  For today's post, we decided that we wanted to post our TOP 5 Posts of the Year!  These are the posts with the most hits!

Coming in at #1 is...

Homemade Mod Podge

#2

Temple Picture made with Homemade Mod Podge

#3

DIY Temple Pictures

#4 

Burlap Wreath Tutorial

#5

Old Window Makeover

There you have it!  Thank you SO much for all of your support and for such a fun year!  We are SO excited for the start of the new year and have some really fun announcements coming up!

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Izzys Place GIVEAWAY- CLOSED

This Giveaway is now CLOSED!
We are having a giveaway from an awesome tile pendant company called Izzys Place.

Check out some of my favorite pendants they have in their shop.

I need to wear this one...Love it!

♡ Love ♡

Love this Sock Monkey also!

This one is very cute too!

Beautiful Monograms!

Yep! I agree!

Aren't these all so cute?
For the giveaway, the winner will receive a pendant of their choice from Izzy's Place Zibbet shop.
First, lets get to know Pat from Izzys Place!

Blog- www.izzys-place.blogspot.com

Facebook- www.facebook.com/myizzysplace

What is your favorite hobby other than making pendants? I am an avid knitter. I knit 365 days a year. Love the feel of the yarn and the colors. Always amazes me that you can make something so incredible from yarn.

What is your Inspiration? I love the idea of creativity in my pendants. Small things can say so much. If people love them and they make them smile, that’s a good thing.

Favorite Quote? It's a beautiful thing!

Favorite Holiday Tradition? Being with my children and grandchildren. The laughter, excitement and anticipation. They sustain my being and keep me young.I love all aspects of crafting and feel everything handmade comes straight from the heart.

How to ENTER 
(9 ways to Win!)

Leave Us a comment below for each entry!

1. Go to Izzys Place and leave a comment telling us which is your favorite product.

2. Add their Shop to your Favorites on Zibbet!

3. Like Izzys Place on Facebook.

4. Leave them a comment on their Facebook Page telling them Babblings & More sent you.

5. Follow Babblings & More Blog! We love new friends!

6. Like Babblings & More Facebook page.

7. Share this Giveaway on your Facebook Page!

8. Follow Babblings & More on Twitter.
9. Vote for us on Pickett Fence Blogs! Just click this button...

This giveaway will be open until January 3rd at midnight.  The winner will be announced on January 4th.

And for our Babbling and More Followers, Izzys Place is having a special of Buy 2 get 1 FREE and FREE Shipping Always!

Just leave a note to the seller at check out that says "From Babblings and More"

Visit them at www.zibbet.com/izzysplace

The BEST Homemade Pizza Recipe

I have looked and looked for the perfect pizza recipe and I finally found it!  It is SUPER fast and easy and the pizza turns out great every time! 

Here is the Recipe...

The BEST Homemade Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

1 envelope of Dry Yeast

1 tsp Sugar

3/4 Cup Warm Water

1 3/4 Cups Flour

1 tsp Salt

Directions:

1. Combine yeast, sugar, and water. Let sit for 6-8 minutes.

2.  Combine Flour and Salt in a separate bowl.

3. Mix water and flour mixture together and knead for about 2-3 minutes (I just use my Kitchenaide).

4. Roll out on a floured or greased surface and spread out on a greased pizza pan.  

5. Apply sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice.

6. Cook in a preheated oven (475F) for 10 minutes.

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Tuna Macaroni Salad

Growing up, this was one meal that I loved to eat!  Tuna Macaroni Salad.  Now I make it for my kids and they love it as well!  We like to eat it with cheese and crackers.   There are no exact measurements, it's just a throw everything together salad.

Tuna Macaroni Salad

Cooked elbow noodles (rinse them until they are cooled)

Chopped lettuce

Chopped tomotoes

Canned tuna

Salt and Pepper

Mayo

I usually add the tuna, mayo, salt and pepper together first and mix.  Then I add the noodles, lettuce and tomato.  Stir and serve.  This salad needs to be served right away and doesn't save well.



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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Non-Alcoholic Eggnog

Non-Alcoholic Eggnog Recipe

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar 

2 cups milk 

Pinch of Cloves

Pinch of cinnamon 

1 cup cream 

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1 In a large bowl, use a whisk or an electric mixer to beat egg yolks until they become somewhat lighter in color. Slowly add the sugar, beating after each addition, whisking until fluffy.

2 Combine the milk, cloves, and cinnamon in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Slowly heat on medium heat until the milk mixture is steamy hot, but not boiling.

3 Temper the eggs by slowly adding half of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly while you add the hot mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

4 Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to thicken slightly, and coats the back of the spoon. It helps to have a candy thermometer, but not necessary; if you have one, cook until the mixture reaches 160°F. Do not allow the mixture to boil, or it will curdle. (If the mixture does curdle you may be able to save it by running it through a blender.) Remove from heat and stir in the cream.  Let cool for one hour.

5 Mix in vanilla extract and nutmeg.

Chill.

 Yield: Makes 1 quart. Serves 4-6.

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Bugs and Bubbles Soap Co. WINNER!

Bugs and Bubbles Soap WINNER! 

Min: Max:  

Result: 13 

13. Kimberly @ The Brown Eyes Have It said... What a fun company! I'd love to win. :) I really like her facial soap gift set.

Congrats KIMBERLY!

We will be sending you an email shortly! Please respond within 48 hours.
If we do not hear from you, we will pick another winner. 
Thank you so much!   

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Christmas Blocks

Here are some Christmas blocks that I made with my boys for Christmas Presents. They had so much fun putting these characters to life. We made a Christmas Tree, Santa, and Snowman out of 4x4 posts.

I had my husband cut the 4x4 post

2 1/2 in for the head,

4 1/2 in for the torso

and 6 1/2 in for the base.

You will also need:

Red, green, and white paint

And Black and Orange, Yellow (for the Snowman and Santa)

Random sizes and color buttons

White Feather Boa (for Santas Beard)

Heres the Christmas Tree which was the easiest to make out of the 3. All I did was paint the blocks green then sanded the edges. Then I hot glued on some of my colorful buttons all over the place. For the star I glued a wooden star that you can get at craft stores or a small ribbon at the top.

Heres the Snowman which I painted white then sanded the edges again. I painted the eyes and smile "rocks" with black paint with a Qtip. Then the nose just a triangle with orange paint.

For the torso I glued on 3 buttons.

Heres the Santa which I painted red. I then sanded the edges and the face 3/4 of the way off just on one side. I got a Qtip again and dabbed white paint on top for the cap. Then I painted on just eyes and a nose with black paint with a fine tip paint brush.

For the beard I cut the White Feather Boa 4 inches long. Then, hot glued it onto the face just in a U shape on the checks. That way it droops down the torso.

Then on the torso block I painted a belt with black and yellow paint.

There they are.

Merry Christmas!

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Christmas Wreath

We were one of the blogs that participated in the 12 Days of Christmas over at Everything Under the Moon!  We were excited to do so!

Our posting day is today! 

So you can head on over HERE and check out our before and after pictures of a Christmas wreath we "fluffed" up!

Friday Friend Feature - My Favorite Finds

Last Saturday we were featured on My Favorite Finds blog. She featured our CTR Blocks post.

This is a great blog to spend some time checking out!  She has some great ideas on cooking, organizing your home and even parenting. She has so many yummy recipes that I am dying to try out!

I really like her Menu Planning tab!  The question I ask myself every day is "What should we have for dinner?"  She pretty much has the whole year planned out and even the links to find the recipes at!  You have to go and check her out!

Visiting Teaching- December 2011

This month for my visiting teaching I found this site with a really cute idea.  I always like to give my sisters a little something- especially the ones that I cannot get a hold of and won't answer the door.  It is nice to leave something at their door.   

HERE is the site.  

I just changed it up a little so I didn't have to buy a whole bunch of stuff. 

You can find the Visiting Teaching Message HERE.

The finished Project- called Surprise Snowball

Here are the things I included in the Snowball...

Andies Mints

Pretzels

Kit-Kat Candy Bar

Crayons

Sunflower Seeds

Yeast

My favorite- A Glass Ornament with a Atlas cut up in it.

Here is all of my Surprise Snowballs

All of my sisters LOVED them and it was nice that every gift had something to do with the lesson.

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Giveaway! Bugs and Bubbles Soap Co.

This Giveaway in now CLOSED!

Check out these soaps. These are darling little soaps from a Homemade soap company called Bugs and Bubbles Soap Co.

Each of these soaps have so much detail and personality!

Wouldn't this high heeled shoe be so cute for a Bridal Shower Gift?

Or these for a Birthday Party or Baby Shower?...

Lovely Stocking Stuffers?...

Well Dawn, the owner of Bugs and Bubbles has allowed us to host a giveaway for them.

We ALL LOVE FREE Things, especially for Christmas!

But before we get to the giveaway, I asked her a few personal questions about herself. So lets get to know Dawn at Bugs and Bubbles Soap Co.!...

Do you have a blog? Bugsandbubblessoapcompany.blogspot.com but I am not good at keeping it up to date.

Facebook? www.facebook.com/bugsandbubbles

Twitter? www.twitter.com/bugsandbubbles

What is you favorite hobby other than Etsy? I love cooking. Making different meals, with different ethnic inspiration for my family. And being a mom :)

What inspires you? My kids. They are so full of life and energy. Also, things I see every day, patterns, colors, shapes, I love them all.

Favorite quote...Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.- Aristotle

Favorite Holiday Tradition? Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas Morning, so good and gooey!

Personal favorite item you make and use? Oatmeal and Honey Facial Bar. I do love it. The glow my skin has is awesome and it feels so silky and smooth, not dry.

Now on to the Giveaway!...

She is going to giveaway to One Lucky Winner one of her Best Sellers!

A Back To Basics Tea & Herb Soap- Honey, Ginger & Oatmeal.

Ways to ENTER (9 ways to Win!):

Leave Us a comment below for each entry!

1. Go to the Bugs and Bubbles Soap Co and leave a comment telling us which is your favorite product.

2. Add their Shop to your Favorites on Etsy!

3. Like Bugs and Bubbles Soap Co. on Facebook.

4. Leave them a comment on their Facebook Page telling them Babblings & More sent you.

5. Follow them on Twitter.

6. Follow Babblings & More Blog! We love new friends!

7. Like Babblings & More Facebook page.

8. Share this Giveaway on your Facebook Page!

9. Follow Babblings & More on Twitter.

Bugs and Bubbles Soap Co. are letting all of our Babblings And More followers in on a Special Code!

Everyone who purchases from Bugs and Bubbles Soap Co, and enters the secret word "EXTRA" in the notes to seller, will receive...

A FREE Sample of her new Sparklingplum Bath Salt.

Good Luck and Support Handmade!

Ends Dec. 20th at Midnight! Winner will be announced Wed. December 21st!

Oh Christmas Tree!

One of my sons has been wanting to do this project for a while now.  So we decided to do this last night.  We made Christmas trees!

Materials needed:

Waffle ice cream cones

Green frosting

M&M's

Sprinkles

All the kids frosted their cones and then decorated them!  They had so much fun!

The rule was: You make it, you eat it!

And they enjoyed the eating part too!

Merry Christmas everyone!

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