Mickey/Minnie Mouse Applique T-Shirt Tutorial

I never thought I would say that, but is good to be home... I don't mean HOME HOME, I mean cold Utah!

Our vacation was GREAT! The kids enjoyed every second of it and the SEVENTY EIGHT degrees felt really good... But is good to be back!

When we decided to go to Disneyland, I started to think of ways that I could save money and still make the kids happy, with something special. Then I came up with the idea of Mickey (for Noah) and Minnie Mouse (for the girls) t-shirts!

I [heart] how they turned out...

Here is what I did;

What you will need:

Mickey Mouse head pattern (I printed out of the internet)

Pins

9" Fabric (bought mine at WalMart for 0.25 - will yeld 4 shirts!!)

Thread

Fusible web/interfacing

Plain t-shirts (WalMart again - 3.50 ea.)

Decide how big you want the design. For mine, I printed the Mickey's head on a 8"x11" sheet.

Pin to the fabric and cut out..

Now you have the 'head'. Just lay on top of your shirt and apply the fusible web/interfacing on the WRONG side of the fabric - between the fabric and the shirt.

With a hot iron press the design (this will 'activate' the fusible web and it will glue to the shirt).

Then,  zig-zag all around it. You can also sew the edges, but I didn't want to fray when washed, so I zig-zagged!!

 

And for the finishing touch, I made bows for Minnie's head and matching bows for Becca to wear and a headband for Kimmy!!

I just LOVE it!!

Here are some more...

With the matching bows...

Don't they look ADORABLE??

And best of all, I made FOUR t-shirts for each one for less money then a Disney bought shirt!!

Not bad... They came out a little less then $4 each!!

For Noah, I made one Mickey Mouse and three ties...

He looked soooo HANDSOME...

Next time I will show how I made the bows...

So long...

Valentines Topiary.

Last week while looking for some ideas for Valentines decorations, I came across this cute idea over a craft blog called Because I Can! And decided to give it a try.

I loved how it turned out and, best of all, the final cost was a little over FIVE dollars! Can't beat that!!

Here's what you need:

*3 packages of heart picks (2 big, 1 small) - All a Dollar = $3

*Moss (leftover from another project, but the tag said 0.99!) you can get this at All a Dollar too.

*Foam floral ball - 5-in. - WalMart = $1.97

*Flower pot/container (I used one that was my potting shed, that I actually found in the garbage!!)

*Hot glue gun

*Floral foam (I didn't have any, but I was so excited to this, that I used PLASTIC BAGS!! It worked great!

First pull the hearts off the wooden picks. There will be a hole in each heart, but they will be hidden, so don't worry about that!

 I also used a couple of the wooden sticks that I had just pulled the hearts off of as a "dowel" to hold the ball. Just bunched them together and stuck them into the ball. But you can use wood a dowel and wrap with floral tape.

Then just start randomly gluing the hearts onto your ball, leaving spaces between each one.

After that you fill in the cracks with the floral moss. I didn't even glue this stuff on, I just stuffed it into the cracks and it stayed just fine and I didn't have to mess with more glue! This part was a little messy though! Again I used the picks to help to fill in...

Then put the floral foam on the bottom of your bucket (I used the plastic bags, since I didn't have any foam on hand!), stick your topiary in and cover it with more moss.

Look at her!! I think "she" is gorgeous!! And I MADE IT!!!

For the finishing touch, tie a ribbon around the sticks and there you have it! A super cute Valentine topiary for very cheap!

Beef-Stuffed Zucchini

I made this a few times already and everybody here loves it! Super easy and fast!

Here is what you will need:

4 medium zucchini

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 egg

3/4 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce (can add bbq sauce instead)

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Montrey Jack cheese

Addicional marina or spaghetti sauce.

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each with a sharp knife to allow zucchini to sit flat. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4-in. shells.

  

   

Place shells in an ungreased 9X13 microwave-safe dish. This time I used my super practical microwave steam pan. If using the 9x13 pan, turn off microwave turntable setting. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove from heat; stir in egg, marinara sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and cheese.

Spoon about 1/4 cup into each shell. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the Monterey Jack cheese. Microwave 3-4 minutes longer and zucchini are tender. Serve with additional marinara sauce.

Yumm Yumm!!

My Garden Plan!!

Today we have such a nice weather!! It gave me the Spring Fever!!
I went outside to check my dear garden! It looks kind of sad now...

I am sooooo excited to start gardening again! This will be my second year!
I loved it last year, and will do it again!

Since we've moved into this house, ten years ago,
I always wanted to have a vegetable garden!
I even dreamed about!! But it was always something...

Then last year I decided it was time!! I researched lots of different methods
and decided to try Square Foot Gardening and I really liked it!

Before I planted my first seed, we had to WORK a lot!!
I really wanted to have a functional and PRETTY garden...

So I draw what I wanted and hubs built it for me
 (with MY help, of course :D)

Here are the boxes that hubs built out of vinyl fencing material...

They are awesome!

I took this picture in May...

Here is in July... By the end of August, it was hUgE!!

Last weekend we decided what we want to plant and today I made 'the plan'. 

Now I just have to wait until we come back from our (so deserved)

vacation to start my seeds!! See ya...

February is a LoVeLy month...

I love this time of the year, for three reasons:

1. I am starting to plan my garden!

2. Spring is getting close (finally).

3. It's Valentine's Day!!

And talking about Valentine's Day, I haven't figure it out the

Values By The Month program yet to post here, but I will tonight!

But I made the poster with the scripture of the month.

As you can guess, this month's value is L.O.V.E. and kindness!

If you want a copy, let me know and I can e-mail it to you.

I am planning on framing (8x10 frame from the Dollar Store) and displaying it on my kitchen,

what do you think? A good reminder, I guess...

The giving of LOVE is an education in itself.

E. Roosevelt