Felt Donuts

Hang on to your keyboards ladies! This is going to be a good one. Have you ever done a project that just made you stare at it and smile... like even 12 hours post completion? Well, let me show you what I've been up to.


Are they not just the cutest little things?

Of course I'm going to give you the step by step tutorial so go grab yourself some felt, embroidery floss, polyfil and your sewing machine. I'll wait right here...

Ok, start by printing this template, (double click to enlarge)

pin the base piece to your felt.

Cut out two of the base pieces. I folded my felt in half and cut them out together so I knew my cuts would be exactly the same. Make a cut on the line from the outside of the circle to the middle point on the inside and make a small circle in the middle.

Once you have cut your pieces, sew them together using a 1/4" seam allowance making sure to backstitch at the beginning and end. Repeat for the inner circle.

Once you have the circles sewn,


turn your tube right side out.


I stuffed mine with the polyfil from a pillow that my washer tried to eat for lunch. Fill it until it's firm and the ends are starting to come together.


Tuck one end into the other and hand stitch closed.


Now, if you are a glazed donut kind of girl, you are finished. But if you prefer some icing and sprinkles, keep on goin'!

Cut out a topping template and cut one from a coordinating felt.

If you are planning to add sprinkles, I found that it is easier to do them before you attach the icing. You could also use seed beads to make the sprinkles if you wanted a little more sparkle than embroidery floss has. Then use a cross-stitch, blanket or whip stitch to attach it to the top. Make sure to do the inside and outside circles.


That's it! Aren't they precious?

You can do strawberry icing with sprinkles


or just some glazed varieties.




My nieces love Krispy Kreme so I think I'm going to go there and see if they would give me a new box and make a dozen for the girls. My little guy asked where the Chocolate Covered Kreme Filled was so I guess I'm going to try to make him one of those next! I'm using my favorite one as a pin cushion now.


Check out the Link Party tab in my sidebar to see where I will be sharing this week!

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Epic Fail and a Mistreatment

Epic Fail. That's all I can say. We'll, I guess I'll say more because that is what us bloggers do, but that pretty much sums it up.

If this blog were my job, Donald Trump would have "You're fired" me. If this blog were my child, it would be naked on a commercial with Sally Struthers. I failed.

I seriously had the best of intentions, I had all these great ideas in my head. Great tutorials to share with you. Insanely funny humor to get you through dinner with the in(out)-laws and the long checkout lines at Walmart. Hold please... Walmart Management... if you are reading this... I'm pretty sure the reason you put 30 cash registers in your store was for last week. Why in the world were there only 4 open? Anyway, back to me and what remains of this blog. It just didn't work out that way. I could give you 57 reasons why, but I'll spare you. Life happens I guess. I was sad (and mad) at myself for not making the time, but it's over now, everyone lived and I'll get over it... I hope.

On to happier things like window mistreatments! I picked up this Robert Allen fabric scrap at the Thrift Store for $0.79. Some bozo cut a circle out of it about 2 foot from the end. Why would you do that? Anyway, there was enough left for me to mistreat my kitchen window.


I started by hemming the edges and sewing a tube from the fabric. I would give you the measurements but they probably wouldn't help you. If you want to try this simple shade, just measure the length and width where you want them to go, double the width so they have a front and a back and add about 1"-2" on the sides for your seam allowances.


After I hung it up it was a little boring. I didn't want fancy, ruffly or fru-fru, but I also didn't want boring. I tried doing a few little pleats but that didn't work. I didn't have any trim so that was out. What I did have was more fabric so I cut 2 pieces about 3.5" wide, and put RST (right sides together) and made 2 smaller tubes. They were an abscessed tooth kind of pain to turn without my moms little turner do-hickeys but I managed.


I tied a loose knot in them and pinned them around the top and bottom. It was just enough to make them more than a plain valance but not so frilly.


Aren't they pretty?


Just keeping it real... Yes, the dishes from Christmas morning breakfast are still in the sink.


I'm proud to report though that since this photo was taken, the dishwasher has been loaded and emptied.

Now I just need to run to Lowe's and get new faux wood blinds since this is one of the last sets of mini-blinds left in the house!

Check out the Link Parties tab in my sidebar to see where I'm sharing this week

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Magic Reindeer Food Printable

We are doing a cute little Reindeer Food craft at my son's school on Thursday and I thought I would share the printable label in case you want to make some too!

Click the image to enlarge & print/save.
To make reindeer food you'll need oatmeal or other dry cereal, red and/or green sugar crystals (easily made by mixing a drop of food coloring in a bowl of granulated sugar and sprinkles. You could also add red & green M&M's if you can bear the thought of putting perfectly good chocolate on the ground, chocolate morsels or mini marshmallows.

In mine, I put oatmeal, red & green sugar crystals and chocolate mini-morsels.


I was trying to pull a fast one on ya! Do me a favor and pretend that my label is printed in color, mkay? I should have added a color printer to my Christmas list! Santa.. are you listening?


This is a great craft to do with the fam on Christmas Eve. It just adds to the magic of Christmas!

I'm linking to the parties on the tab on the right! Check them out for more great ideas!

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The Christmas/Winter Buffet

I totally missed the boat on having this post ready for all the great parties that happened last week. Something about finishing the bathroom kept getting in my way. I guess, if it's still not 12/25 though I'm not technically late... am I? It's so unlike me to not have my halls decked and my tree trimmed on the Saturday after Thanksgiving but I just couldn't make it happen this year. To NEVER let this happen again, I put on my calendar for 11/1/2011 "DO NOT START ANY MAJOR PROJECTS UNTIL AFTER 1/1." I finally got around to putting up our tree, although it still doesn't have anything on it other than the topper and some ribbon, and our buffet decorated.

Since I have bought myself a new computer, a TV for the living room, a miter saw and a million other little things,I had to do it on the free. No cheap here, gotta be free. So I went rummaging through the attic and the basement and found the things I needed to turn our buffet from this fall get up

to this Christmas number.

I added a burlap runner on the top because the buffet may or may not have a few scratches. I left the books, the lamp, the candle holders and the round mirror. I added a large wreath layered on top of the mirror.

I found the big star, the finial thingymabob

and the reindeer
at yard sales and had them in my stash of "I might use this one day crap!"

I robbed a silver frame from on top of the fridge

and added a few balls,

sparkly picks and snowflake ornaments to fill in the gaps.


I have a touch of anxiety that it doesn't have any red in it but I just can't make red work in the dining room. I'm saving that for the living room and kitchen. I'll be showing you those a bit later.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

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Peace be with you! Ornament Idea...

My mom and I were browsing this little store that is filled with jewelry, all for $1.00 each. Some of it is cute. A lot of it is super tacky and some of it is just plain weird. Among the rows and rows of jewelry, I found a couple things that I wouldn't dare stick in my ears but I had bigger plans for them. A pair of HUGE (for an earring) peace sign earrings. I instantly thought about the Pottery Barn glitter peace ornaments. So, in my little box of craft supplies, I got out this stuff.


I covered the ornament in with a coat of Mod Podge.

I blurted out a curse word when the top to the extra fine glitter popped off.

I considered being the sparkliest member of the Blue Man Group.

Then I shook off the extra glitter, pulled off the earring hook and tied a satin ribbon through the jump ring that came on the earring.



My niece is going to love this! She's a competition cheer/gymnastics girl and her gym colors are blue and black so it'll fit right in on her blue and black tree!

Check out the parties in my sidebar for more great ideas!

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The Bathroom Reveal

Ladies, I've waited a long time to say this... The bathroom is 95% done. A mere 27 days ago (that seems like 7 years!) my bathroom looked like this

and today, I welcome you to our new, crisp, clean, relaxing bathroom.


Everything you see is brand spankin new, except for the vanity and if I have my way, it will be out soon too or at least get a new coat of paint.

Behind the scenes we replaced the wiring, added a new light over the tub, a new plug over the vanity and replaced the plumbing. We replaced the drywall, tub and toilet, faucets, added bead board, new fixtures, new moldings and hardware throughout. We tiled the tub surround (6x6) and floor (12x12). It is basically now a new bathroom.




I bought a few brushed nickel accessories from Ross on the cheap and a new shower curtain from Walmart. Actually, I bought 3. I started with a blue, textured woven curtain in a tight chevron pattern, but I just wasn't feeling it. So I bought the white waffle weave curtain from Target and it was too white with all the other white in the space, so I then I bought a brown ribbed panel curtain from Walmart (On clearance for $5.00!) and I love the contrast it gives. (Note to self: Iron Shower Curtain)

I put a few branches that I robbed from another arrangement and put them in a thrift store vase and I love the simplicity of it. Now I'm on the hunt for a neutral print to hang over the toilet.

I'm on the fence about a towel bar. I feel like the area under the window is too bare, but my heart starts racing every time I begin to put a hole in the bead board. I just don't know. I thought about 3 towel hooks under the window since the white towels that previously hung on the towel bar caused many a death threat to those who wiped fawnky hands on them or gasp, used one to dry off when the laundry was a bit behind. What would you do?

I've got to give a HUGE thank you to my mom! If you count the many times I said "we" I really meant mostly my mom. I really hope that one day I have 1/4 of the knowledge she has about fixing things. She's pretty awesome... but I still get nervous when she says "Hand me the hammer!" Thanks mom! You're the best mom I could have ever asked for!

Anyway, that's my bathroom. I'm going to be cleaning the rest of the house for the next 42 years, but somehow I'm going to sneak in a few handmade ornament tutorials under $1.00 in the next few days or so.

Be sure to check out the Link Parties tab in my sidebar to see all the great places I'm linking this project up to!

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Remember Me?

Oh. My. Geez. I've missed blogging and all my pretty followers! We have been working around the clock to get the bathroom finished and I'm so excited to say... It's almost done! I got to take my first shower in almost 4 weeks last night and it was wonderful! No, you sickos! I've been having to take baths and I hate them. I'm a once a month bath kind of girl.

Today we are going to hang the crown molding, do a little more trim work and begin the deep clean. Apparently, I've dropped a few blobs of mud, dripped a little paint and got messy grouting so I think I'll be spending a ton of time on my knees scrubbing the floor here shortly.

I L.O.V.E. how everything has turned out! Everything is new, clean, crisp and relaxing... well, at least it will be once the ladder, the tools and all the random screws and paint cans are outta there.

I'm hoping to get it finished today, and put a dent in the rest of the house cleaning. The miter saw is set up in the living room so everything is covered in dust. Our dining room was transformed into our tool barn and the kitchen was used as a holding spot for all our materials. Needless to say, it's been hard living through construction. But we did it. We had fun. We laughed a lot. I almost cried once or twice. But very soon, it will all be over and we'll have a beautiful new bathroom to enjoy!

I hate to post without photos, but it's just too close to complete to show you progress now! So, you'll just have to come back to check it out!

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