Baby Bow Tie Tutorial

With a little man on the way, I have been looking for sewing projects for boys.  This little bow tie tutorial is perfect and could be made for babies or grown men.  I am thinking of making a matching one for my husband and making him wear it with the little one for some cheesy pictures.  Don't tell him, but I think that would be super cute.

I made 3 in different prints.  I figure baby boy can't always be preppy, sometimes he can be a little more stylish.  Oh, and they will probably get spit up on, so back ups are great.  :)

These take about 10 minutes each and use a sewing machine, a glue gun, and those little things we call hands.  Super fast and easy.  Beginner project for sure.

When you finish sewing them all up, you sew snaps to the back on each side as well as snaps to the onesie/bib/t that you are going to be putting them on.  That makes it easy to take off just the bow tie and wash the outfit.  Perfect!

I used this tutorial from One Young Love.  Lots of great pictures and step by step instructions.  If you think this is beyond your skill level, think again and give it a try.  It really is SO easy.

photo credit: here

Here is a little snapshot from the One Young Love blog.  She did a great job and picked some really cute colors!  What an awesome gift for a baby shower.  Love it.  Now get out there and make some adorable tiny bow ties!

How to Juice a Prickly Pear by Hand

I have a new obsession with prickly pear lemonade.  A M A Z I N G !  I use crystal light lemonade and mix in a little of my fresh squeezed prickly pear syrup.  Wow.  It is sweet, mellow, and so refreshing.  The only problem is the prickly pear is PRICKLY!  Here is a step by step tutorial on how to juice it without getting really painful stickers all over yourself.

First: You need the right tools.  Tongs, serrated pairing knife, a fork, and a cutting board.  The tongs can be used to pick the fruit off the cactus.  Look for fruit that is bright purple or deep in color.  It should come off fairly easily with a little twist.  You also want to see purple on the stem of the fruit when it comes off the cactus.  This will yield the most juice.

Step 1: Hold the fruit still with a fork.  

Step 2: Slice off both ends with your knife.

Step 3: Slit the fruit down the middle, just enough to cut through the skin.

Step 4: Slide your knife under the skin and peel back to reveal the fruit.

Step 5: Continue peeling back the skin and place the peeled fruit in a bucket/bowl.

Step 6: Let the fruit sit overnight in your fridge.  I find this helps the juice come out.

Then you can pass the fruit through a fine mesh strainer or a tea strainer and you have your juice!  No prickles and not too much work.  Plus, you can skip buying the 400 dollar juicer for your summer fix.

I freeze the juice too and am making popsicles this weekend...  Good LUCK!

Candied Orange Peel Recipe and Tutorial

I love candied orange peel from the store, but homemade candied orange peel is amazing.  It takes a lot of work and time, but the end result is worth it.  I used 4 pounds of oranges and it made enough to give 4 small jars for Christmas presents.  I would do at least this amount. The more you do, the longer they will last before you have to make more.

Ingredients:

Oranges

Sugar

Water

Start by peeling oranges, then cutting away the pith.  Get as much of the white off of the peel as you can.  Then place the peels in cold water to cover and bring to a boil.  Strain and repeat for a total of 3 times.  Rinse with cold water each time.

Place 1 part water and 1 part sugar in the same pot and bring to a boil.  This will be your sugar syrup.  Place the orange peels in the syrup and simmer until translucent.  The syrup should remain at a simmer until you are satisfied with the results. I simmered mine for about an hour.  This can vary from 30 minutes to 3 hours depending on how thick your peels are.

Remove (strain) from the syrup and lay out to dry.  When they are partially dry (not soaking wet) place them in a bowl of sugar and coat.  You can save the syrup and use it for iced tea or other cooking with sugar syrups, it is a great addition to a fruit compote, smoothies, or a pancake topping mixed with berries/syrup.

Allow the peels to dry until they are to your liking.  The humidity and temperature will make a huge difference in your drying time, so be patient and keep an eye on them.  I left mine out for a day on my counter, you don't want them rock hard, just firm and not wet. (in Arizona)

To finish them you can either dip them in dark chocolate, stripe them in chocolate, or leave the plain.  They will be devoured either way.  :)

Flower Cupcake Tutorial

Start by filling a piping bag with your frosting.  I used a #104 tip from Wilton.  I like to use my plastic scraper to get the frosting nice a tight and into the tip.

Start with the fat side down and pipe your first petal.

It should look like this.

Then pipe all around the cupcake in a single layer of petals

Do the same thing on top of the first round, but a little shorter.

Then, for the third layer, turn the tip a little more up and down and make little short petals.

Then top with sprinkles or little pearly dragees.  

They are so easy and turn out beautiful.

Fabric Placemat Tutorial

I love quick and easy projects like this one that is both functional and decorative.  This fabric placemat tutorial can also be used to make coasters, mug rugs, etc.  It will only take an afternoon to make a whole set.

You can cut it any size you want really, some people like smaller placemats, some like them larger.

Super quick and easy!  Good luck and happy sewing!  If you make a placemat or coaster from this tutorial I would love to see pictures. 

Tips for Setting up a Desert Buffet

No party is complete without an amazing desert buffet.  There is more than just making the deserts and picking out candy though.  The display and set-up of the buffet is just as important as what you put on it.  One of my main responsibilities at my last job was to prepare each buffet and set it up.

 Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning/setting up a desert buffet:

1. Think height.  It is visually appealing to have items staged at different heights.  Use cake stands, platforms, risers, stack plates under linen, etc.

2. Think color.  You don't want to place all items of a similar color in one place unless you are going for a one colored buffet.  It tends to look blah.  As in the photo below, you can alternate colors and still carry a theme.  ( ie: pink and orange )

3. Think pairs.  If you have similar items, put them together.  Ex. sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies/ brownies and blondies/ chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.  These fondant covered sugar cookies and madeleines look great together, and have more of a wow factor when paired.

4. Think grouping.  If you have a lot of different items all over the buffet, try to group them together so they look more appealing.  The cupcakes have been placed into little groups with the candy.  They look more unified and bring out the color scheme even more.

5. Think Signage and Decor.  You can't expect people to know what you are serving, and who wants to eat a raisin cookie you thought was chocolate chip?  

Simple signs and decorations make your buffet look more put together.  No one will be guessing if that is Grandma's fudge cake, or Vanilla Raspberry Cupcakes.

Little cupcake decorations, plants, flowers, etc. can make your buffet POP!

Other things to consider:

People love chocolate, always have at least one chocolate item.

Cookies are a no-brainer.  Everyone will eat a cookie.

If you put it on a stick, it is instantly SO COOL.  Try it.

If you are running out of ideas, try filling in your buffet with candy.

Guests will appreciate little bags to take home goodies.  You can find color coordinating paper bags at most local craft stores.

Top your cupcakes with toppers.  It adds extra height and color.

You can find tons of cupcake topper templates on-line, buy them at Wal-Mart, or make you own with paper and toothpicks.

All of my photos are from my friend Glorianne's beautiful wedding.  She made a huge variety of sweets and did a fantastic job getting everything ready to set up.  She pre-filled her candy containers, packed her items neatly and labeled them, and had a list of everything that should be on the buffet.  She also had the signs ready to go, as well as decor and flower petals.  All I had to do was come and set it up.  It is easy when you are prepared and ready to let your buffet sell itself.  

  

Super Easy Place Card Holder Tutorial

One of the many projects that I made for my wedding were these place card holders.  I used them to decorate my dessert buffet. (More pictures to come)  They are easy to make and add a lot of personality to your party!  Use them for almost anything you need a little holder for : signs, pictures, table numbers, place card holders, etc.

What you will need:

Glue gun

Moss (I used preserved Reindeer Moss which can be found at your local craft store)

Florist foam

A cutting/work mat or table

Knife

Silk or real flowers ( I used silk so I could make them far in advance)

Take the florist foam and cut it into handy pieces with your knife.  You can make them pretty much any size.  Then take the glue gun and start gluing the moss around the foam until you can't see it anymore.  Voila!  Moss covered and cute...  Next you will place the flowers into the foam, cut the stems short and poke them in securely.  Then you can add your metal stem/holder.  You can purchase them or make them yourself.  (Tutorial to come for making them yourself, super easy!)

Be very careful as the glue from the glue gun is HOT and you will be placing your hands all around it in order to place the moss on the foam.

I added hand stamped and laminated signs for my dessert bar, but you could just put cards, photos, or whatever you like!  Get creative.  And THAT is IT!

Bridal Underwear Tutorial

Do you love those cute little undies that say "Bride to Be" or " Soon to Be Mrs. SO and SO"?  Me too!  I of course always want to make my own, and I actually like them better than any of the ones that I saw on-line to buy and they were way cheaper to make myself.  Here is a short and simple tutorial on how to get those adorable panties to wear around on your honeymoon.

Step 1: Find some super cute and comfy underwear that have a large backside.  Preferably 100% cotton as the transfer method is the most successful with cotton.  I found these ones for around $5 or $6 bucks for a pack of 3 at Wal-Mart.  (Hanes)  Wash and dry them before you begin.

Step 2: Find an image that you would like to transfer to your panties.  I found mine at Wedding Chicks.

You can get the image above  here.  Just input Brides name as Mrs. and grooms name as your new last name.  Then where it says Month Date Year, you can input whatever you would like the bottom to say. 

 Ex: Month-Forever, Date-&, Year-Always. Get it??  Then you pick your color and click submit.  For this project, I chose a dark color and all the same color for each element.  Keeping it simple makes the transfer easy to read.

Step 3: You are going to need to flip your image.  Mine is already flipped above, but all you have to do is right click your image once you save it to your desktop and open it in Paint.  Then go to the top where it says ROTATE.  You will flip your image vertically and then rotate it 180 degrees so it is upright. 

Step 4: Print your image onto transfer paper and then cute around image, leaving rounded edges.  While you are printing, you can preheat your iron.  Next you need to find a hard surface to iron on.  Preferably something that won't burn.  :)  I chose a cheap tv table to iron on.  It also helps if it is about waist level as you can get more leverage to apply pressure.

Step 5: Then you are going to place something stiff, like a piece of cardboard inside the underwear to create a nice tight fit and to separate the layers of material.  Next, place your design carefully in the middle of the butt and iron firmly.  Make sure you get the edges really good, they tend to peel away.  Iron for a few minutes and then remove from heated area and let cool completely.  Then you can peel away the backing and VOILA!

Panties for under $5 each!  These would be a super easy gift for your bridesmaids with their names or something funny on them too.  You could even tie-dye white underwear and then go nuts with the transfers.  The possibilities are endless and they take less than 20 minutes to make from start to finish!

Here is another little something you could use as an iron on.  I just used a free bird graphic and typed Bride underneath and flipped it.  EASY AS PIE!  Good luck!