Oct 28, 2011

Peanut Mallow Clusters | recipe

Growing up, we had a neighbor who would bring us this huge concoction of homemade goodies every December. It is what I looked forward to all year. I mean, this was the jackpot of jackpots of homemade goodness! Candies, homemade dips, treats. Not just a small basket, we’re talking practically a huge crate full of dozens and dozens of treats! Every thing in the basket was pure heaven, but there were two things I went for first, the cheese dip (which I havn’t had in years because I don’t know the recipe) and the Peanut Mallow clusters. mmmmmm… peanutmallow clusters.

After I moved to TN,  no more goodies for me, so I searched and searched for a good recipe to match those clusters I longed for each winter. And I’ve come close to duplicating hers. Everyone loves them around here. And I hope one day, to delight my neighbors with goodies, like my old neighbor did us.

clusters

Ingredients:

    • 1/2 bag  Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
    • 1 Sqaure Unsweetened Chocolate (chopped)
    • 2 Eggs
    • 1 1/4 C Powdered Sugar
    • 1 TBSP Butter
    • 1 tsp Vanilla
    • 1/2 TBSP Salt
    • 2 C Mini Marshmallows
    • 2 C UNsalted Peanuts

Mix it Up:

Beat the eggs until foamy. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix.

eggs

In a separate bowl melt the chocolate chips and chopped unsweetened chocolate. Then melt the butter. mix the two (it’ll get clumpy.)

Pour the egg mix and chocolate mix together; add salt. Add in peanuts and marshmallows.
Mix it all up until peanuts and marshmallows are covered.

mix

Drop by rounded tablespoonful's onto waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

scoops

ENJOY!

We never keep ours refrigerated. I always wonder how they don’t make you sick with the raw eggs… but Craig eats them by the dozen and he’s never been sick.  Idk. Keep em in the fridge if you want. hah.

bite

# kristanlynn
xoxo  

Oct 18, 2011

i HEART maxi’s | Make your own maxi skirt

fall love maxis

I’m in love with this outfit! Comfort: CHECK. Stylish: CHECK. What else could I want?!

Is it odd that I’ve never worn a maxi skirt before?? This is because I’m too tall, ever single maxi skirt/dress I’ve tried on in the stores come’s above my ankles… not pretty!  I wanted one, especially lately, they’re every where!

What was a girl to do?
Make one!

idk
(Mom got me a remote clicker for my BDay + a tripod! I’m in love!)

squirell

kisses

porch

Shirt: Wal-Mart  (oh hell yes… Wal-Mart! hah)
Skirt: Made by me. 
(make yours by using this tutorial)
Necklace: Rue 21
Belt: Forever 21

What are your favorite ways to wear your maxi? Do you dress it up, dress it down?

# kristanlynn
xoxo  

* Linked up of at the Pleated Poppy for WIWW

Oct 15, 2011

Burlap Pumpkins | Tutorial

burlap pumpkins

So, I’ve been seeing fabric pumpkins all over Pinterest. I knew I wanted to make some, but I wanted to put my own twist on them- burlap. I found this tutorial last year, and used it as a base. Since I used burlap, I had to make a few changes, but it’s pretty much the same process she did. They’re super easy to make!

Materials:

    • Burlap
    • Yarn
    • Yarn Needle
    • Fiber Fill
    • Thread and Neede (or sewing machine if you’re laze like me)
    • Hot Glue Gun

Please excuse my horrid pictures, I snapped most of them at night and our house has very poor night lighting!

073

First you want to cut your burlap, you want it twice as long as it is wide.

My measurements were:
10 x 20 | 8 x 16 | 6 x 12

Next you need to fold the piece of burlap length wise in half and sew  it up, forming a tube.

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Since we’re using burlap, and it likes to fray like CRAZY, I went back and finished the edge with a zig zag stitch.

Take one of the open edges of your tube and sew it together, again going back and finishing the edge with a zig zag stitch. (This will be the bottom)

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You should have something that resembles a pillow case now. Go ahead and zig zag stitch around the top open edge:

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Now we’re done with the sewing machine.

Take your yarn and yard needle. Along the bottom sew a basting stitch with your yarn. Tie a knot at the beginning (leaving 2 inches of excess yarn, this will help you close up the gather in the next step)086

When you get to the end, don’t tie it, you want to pull and gather your bottom edge, then tie it with the excess 2 inches of yarn you left at the start:

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Turn it right side out and fill with filling. Once you have enough filling in there, you’re going to do another basting stitch around the top (again, tie a knot at the beginning, leaving some excess yarn). Then just pull the yarn and tie it together, forming a ball:

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Here’s what it should look like at this point:

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Let make it look like a pumpkin!

Take a long piece of yarn and your needle, pull it through the center of your sphere, leave a 2 inch tail, turn the needle around and go back through the center.

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You should have your tail, and your long piece of string now, pull them tight so the center starts to pinch. Tie in a knot.

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Then bring the needle/yarn up the side and through the middle again (needle goes top to bottom). Pull tight (as tight as you can without ripping the yarn) This is what forms your pumpkin.

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Keep doing this all the way around your sphere until it takes the shape of a pumpkin. When you get to your last one, just tie it with the tail you left, and snip the excess.

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For the stem, I just took strips of burlap, rolled them up and hot glued them, like so:

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To attach them, just put a bunch of hot glue on the bottom of your stem, and on the top of your pumpkin and hold down for a few seconds.

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There ya go. You’re done.

top

flowers

I’m horrible at explaining things, so feel free to email me with any questions!

# kristanlynn
xoxo  

Oct 8, 2011

Hot Cinnamon Milk | recipe

When the weather gets cooler, there are tons of things we look forward to. Hot cocoa is definitely up there on my list! I’m always craving hot beverages, but I try not to drink coffee after 5PM. So hot chocolate is my go to. Last winter I found this recipe over on Spatula and Spoons and it’s replaced my hot chocolate. It’s creamy, yummy and a nice break from the normal hot chocolate. Perfect for this fast approaching holiday season!

recipe

Ingredients: (Makes 1 Pint)

    • 1 C Powered Milk
    • 1/2 C French Vanilla Cremer (I love Great Values, it seems to be a tad creamier tasting)
    • 1/2 C Sugar
    • 3/4 tsp Cinnamon

Just mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, then pour into a pint jar. That’s it.

Enjoy a cup by mixing 1/3 C of Cinnamon Mix with 1/2 C of hot milk (or water).

close up

Tip: Add a scrap piece of square fabric to the lid, under the band. Then attach a cute tag with “Wishing you the warmest of holidays” and the mixing instruction’s. Hand out as gifts this holiday season. This is what our close friends and neighbors received from us last Christmas and it was  HUGE hit!

ANOTHER TIP: Change up your coffee routine. Use a few tablespoons in your morning coffee instead of your creamer. It’s DELISH!

cinnamon milk

# kristanlynn
xoxo  

Oct 7, 2011

High Waist Ruffle Skirt {a sewing tutorial}

ruffle skirt

I always wanted to be a teacher, an English teach to be exact.

The only problem is that I SUCK at explaining things! So bear with me through this tutorial. hah.

walkingdress

(It started out as a long dress/skirt, but ended up being hemmed into a knee length skirt)

flowers

Materials:

    • 1-2 yards fabric (depending on waist size and length of skirt)
    • thread
    • 2” wide elastic
    • sewing machine
    • measuring tape
    • garment pins
    • (ya know, the usual sewing supplies)

Lets SEW!

Ok, lets start with the measurements. First, measure your little one’s waist. Take that number and double it (for extra ruffles, times it by 2.5). Add 1/4” for seam. That’s your width.
Now measure form the waist to where you want the dress to fall, add  7 1/2” (for top and seam). That’s your length.
(Adelyn’s waist measures 15” so I just used the width of the Yard and just cut the length off.

Cut your fabric (you may have to cut two pieces, a front and a back, depending on your width).
Then you’re going to cut another strip the width of your skirt fabric x 2.5” (This will create a casing for the elastic band. it will not be seen, so you can use any scrap pieces you have that are long enough)

Start by hemming the top of your piece of fabric, (Fold over 1/4” and stitch)

Then fold over a 2.5”, this will be the top of the skirt. (Don’t stitch down yet)

054

Take your strip, and hem the edges.

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Line your strip with your  hem and pin it so it stays in place. Sew that down using a straight stitch (Leaving the sides open, as this will be the elastic casing) (You want to make sure that you leave atleast 2” in your casing for the elastic.) Try to keep the stitch matched with the hemming stitches.

057

Now you can hem the bottom. To get a good finished hem, fold the bottom 1/4 inch, press w/ iron, sew up, fold AGAIN 1/4”, press and stitch.

Once your hem is finished, it’s time to feed the elastic through the casing. You want the elastic to be the same measurement as the waist it’s going on. (Feeding it through is a pain, be patient. hah)

Once it’s through, it should look something like this:

058Notice I didn’t cut off the salvage ends. hah. I’m lazy, plus I knew I could just sew it in the seam and cut it off later.

Pin the elastic in place
059

Then match up unfinished edges, right sides together and sew it up. If I had a serger, I’d use it for this step. But I don’t so I use a straight stich, then trim the excess and go back amd zig zag stitch to help keep it from turning into a fraying mess when I wash it.

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068069

Uhmmmm. That’s it. Oh yea… and I just took a scrap strip and used it as a sash. I knew she wouldn’t keep it on. so I didn’t take the time to actually make one. BUT a sash would look super cute!

162

dress

Aren’t you just dying over that fabric! Oh my. I love it. If you NEED it, I guess I can search for the receipt to let you know the name of it, cause I definitely do not remember the name of it.
Super simple, made it in like an hour (well…… …. I could have… but I made it a dress first, and after snapping some dress pics, I decided to hem it into a skirt… she kept tripping, and I knew we’d end up in the ER if I kept it long.) I loved it as a dress, but I love it as a skirt too!

pickin

NOTE: I am not a professional seamstress! LOL. I just wanted a fun fall skirt, and this is what I came up with.

# kristanlynn
xoxo