1 Year Anniversary!

It is a big weekend for Fabric Nerds! Tomorrow is officially our 1 year anniversary and I can not believe it! I feel so blessed to have been able to start a business that I absolutely love and to work with such amazing customers everyday.

Fabric Nerds would not be where it is today without all of you. So as a way to thank you for helping Fabric Nerds be a success, this weekend (Fri-Sun) take 20% off your total purchase in either my etsy shop or at fabricnerds.com  Use coupon code: 1YEAR.

I am excited to see what this next year brings!

Happy shopping and Have an Amazing Weekend,

<3 Kris

LABOR DAY WEEKEND SALE!

AND SHOP!

FABRIC NERDS IS HAVING A LABOR DAY WEEKEND SALE. SAVE 15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE UNTIL 9/3. USE COUPON CODE: LABOR

"Little Monkey" Blend Fabrics

LITTLE MONKEY IS HERE!!! (or almost here) There was a slight delay in shipping but Little Monkey will be arriving Tuesday!!! Get an awesome new line 15% off using your Labor Day coupon code: LABOR!

Here is a closer look at the prints that are available at Fabric Nerds:

Alphabet in White

Jungle in Blue

Cloudy Day in Blue

Hanging Around in Green

Chevron in Light Blue

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends

Kris <3

Fabric Nerds

Celebrating 2000 Fans!

We are celebrating the success of 2000 Facebook Fans!! I wanted to thank all of my customers and supporters in helping make my little Fabric Nerds dream come true, because without all of you Fabric Nerds would not be here. I figured what better way to say thank you than a giveaway! Hop on over to our Facebook page to enter our celebration giveaway where you have the chance to win a HALF YARD BUNDLE of the upcoming line "Little Monkey" by Blend Fabrics. Retail value $23.00!!

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

Bit by the Sewing Bug

I think a couple of weeks ago I was bit by the sewing bug, because I just want to keep creating :) 

I have been making some dolls as Christmas presents for little munchkins in my life. After posting pics of them on Facebook I keep getting asked the same question...Are they for sale? So I have decided to make a new Handmade section in the shop. So stop on over and check it out!

Here a a couple of handmade dolls that just made their debut in the shop...

Eye Patch the Pirate

Sunflower the Ballerina

Keep checking back because each week will bring new creations!

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

A Handmade Christmas: Ballerina Doll

These last few months I have really been working on living a simpler life as a family. Putting our energy into what we find important and not what other people tell us is important. One area that I am working on with my kiddos is that "Momma doesn't need to buy you everything you see." In the past my husband and I have agreed to disagree in this department. I admit it..I was a spoiler and my husband well not so much.  In these last few months I have really done a 180 in attitude change on this topic and completely agree with my hubby. Our kids currently have more toys than a lot of kids I know, not just due to me but they also have a grandma and an auntie that love to spoil too ;) Having sooo many toys, I feel takes away that something special each toy holds.

My attitude change brought up a question to myself; "Whatever happened to simple, imaginative fun?" When I was a kid my brother, sister, and I used to pretend that our swingset was an obstacle course that we had to get across, it was so much fun. I got a couple of stitches from it but it was a blast! I used to wheel around this old little shopping cart and pretend nature was my grocery store. Leaves were steak, sticks were fruits and vegetables, and hands down this grocery store had the most beautiful flower arrangements. My sis and I would sit in mom's hosta garden by the driveway and create little homes in the hostas for our My Little Ponies and Glo-Worms.  [Daydreaming down memory lane] :) 

I want that for my kids. I want their creativity and imagination to take the spot/need of wanting "things". Seeing them run around the backyard, letting their imaginations take them away just brings me so much happiness. Last night Abby was a cowgirl and she was warning the town folk to watch out because Old Man Luke was back in town. She would warn them by "yodeling" <3

With this want for simpler came the goal to make this Christmas for my kids a complete no store bought Handmade Christmas. I am not making other family members give them a handmade Christmas, but as far as my husband and I, our gifts to everyone are going to be handmade this year. They are both still young enough that whatever momma or daddy makes is special. I hope by having a Christmas like this it will begin to instill in them that toys and presents don't need to come from a store for them to be awesome, fun, and special.

I just completed my first handmade present. Yay! This one is for my little dancing cowgirl Abby. I found this wonderful softie and doll pattern shop called Dolls and Daydreams. The owner Sarah is the biggest sweetheart around and her patterns are absolutely adorable. She has so many to choose from that it was hard to decide, but I absolutely fell in love with her Ballerina Pattern and knew it would be the perfect doll to make Abby for Christmas. Her instructions were easy to follow and the doll itself was surprisingly really easy to make. If you have some sewing experience you are good to go! 

Meet Amelia the Ballerina. I gave her red hair of course :) and prettied her up with different shades of pink since Abby tells me her favorite color is no longer purple but now pink. 

Let me just warn you...doll making is addicting! I am contemplating on selling some in my recently reopened handmade shop Abby's Attic  because her patterns are just so much fun and easy to create. I have been checking out her other patterns to see what I should make next. I am thinking a pirate doll for Luke. 

Have any of you guys had a Handmade Christmas? What was your favorite handmade item you ever received?  Mine was a beautiful topsy turvy doll my mom made me one year. I remember playing with her all the time.

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

Up and Running on YouTube

I have been brainstorming for a while on what I could do to add to the awesomeness of what Fabric Nerds has to offer. After talking with a couple of friends and running around some ideas, I came up with what I think is a great addition to the Fabric Nerds website...YouTube Tutorials! 

After getting over my camera shyness :) and figuring out how to take a video and semi edit a video, I came up with my first tutorial. The first tutorial is on how to make quick and easy Fabric Braided Coasters. It is a perfect project for all those scrap fabric pieces you have lying around that you don't have the heart to throw out but they are not big enough to do any of your projects in mind. They would make awesome gifts for a house warming party, Christmas, etc... when given as a set. They are quick, super easy, and one of those projects I just love because the color combination possibilities are endless.

Here is a sneak peak of what mine came out like...

Well I hope you like it. Bare with me through these first couple of videos as I try to learn the art of movie making :)

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

Birthday Celebration!

Tomorrow I turn the BIG 3-0! I am still unsure how I feel about it yet.  I know it is far from old but at the same time I feel like I am officially a GROWN UP, even though I have been married for 6 years and have 2 beautiful redheads and adulthood has been around for awhile now. :)  To celebrate this momentous occasion my hubby and I are headed out of town to BOSTON!!! Back in the day (before kiddos) we would make it a yearly tradition to head up to Boston catch a baseball game and explore the city. It's one city that this country girl actually loves! Since having the kiddos sadly me and the hubs have not gone on an overnight trip by ourselves in the last 5 years! So needless to say we are in desperate need of some ALONE time. A HUGE THANK YOU to my Mom, Sister, Brother-in-law, and Mother-in Law for tag teaming the kiddos to make this trip happen for us!

I was reading this article the other day called "Turning 30: 30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know" and I am glad to say I have done and know majority of the items on that list YaY! After reading it I was thinking about things I have learned in these 30 years and here they are...

1. Having a couple of AWESOME friends that you can count on any time day or night to be there for you (and vise versa) is so much more important than having tons of "Acquaintance Friends".
2. Sadly some people even as adults, will just never grow up and leave the high school drama behind. Accept that fact and move on to what is important in YOUR life.
3. Life is short. Make the relationships you have with people count and be worthwhile.
4. It's important to stop at times and take a deep look at the life you are living. Are you content and happy where your life has taken you? If not stop and alter that path to help lead you to the contentment and happiness we all deserve.
5. No matter how much you want to, you can not change someone. The only things you have control to change is yourself and your behaviors/actions in situations.
6. Living a simple life is not wrong. It may go against the grain of society and people might think you are an odd duck for not caring about the materialistic things in life, but it is NOT wrong. 
7. Finding happiness and joy is so much easier when you look at the simple things life brings you instead of all the other stuff.

That is all I got so far. All of these 7 things have been huge life lessons for me in the last couple of years and they are still work in progresses but I am getting there. 

What are some life lessons that you have learned along the way?

To celebrate my BIG 3-0 Birthday even more, Fabric Nerds  is having a HUGE one day only sale. Tomorrow, Fri July 20th take 30% off all orders $30 or more!! Use coupon code: BIG30. (Note: All orders placed on Fri-Sun will be shipped out on Monday)

Happy Fabric Shopping! 

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend full of family, friends, and fun!

<3 Kris

Easy Peasy PJ Pants

This past Father's Day (or as my daughter calls it Daddy's Day) we decided to go on our first family camping trip. To make it a little extra special I thought I would whip up some camping pj's for the munchkins. My kiddos are 21 months and 4 years old, so anything Momma makes them is always awesome :) I did some searching on Pinterest and found a super easy tutorial at this awesome blog, My Cotton Creations. Her photo tutorial has great detail and is really easy to follow. I whipped up these pj pants in no time! Just a bit of a warning once you realize who easy they are to make you might decide to stop buying pj pants and making everyone you know a pair :)

Here are some photos of the kiddos modeling their pj pants on our camping trip...

All the fabrics you see in the pj pants can be purchased at Fabric Nerds. For my daughter's pants I used Daisy Cottage Main Print and Fly a Kite Yellow Gingham (for ruffles seen in first pic). For my son's pants I used the picnic print from the Crabtastic Line. 

A HUGE ONE DAY SALE at FABRIC NERDS is coming up next Friday, July 20th. I am celebrating something BIG and wanted to celebrate BIG with all of you. Stay tuned during the week for more details on this BIG event.

Summertime Recipes: Part 2

My husband, bless him, gets up at 5am for work. Call me a late sleeper or a lousy wife but my body will hate me for the rest of the day if I wake up before 6am. So needless to say I am not up at 4:30 cooking up some breakfast for my man. Because of this, his breakfast typical consists of some type of variety of Pop-Tart. Definitely not anywhere near a contender for the most nutritious, filling, or energy packed breakfast. These past couple of weeks I have started to make some giant muffins the night before. They are quick, easy, and absolutely delicious (plus this recipe will save you money and a trip to the bakery). The best part of this recipe is its versatility, you could use it for all different muffins such a blueberry, banana nut, strawberry, the possibilities are endless.

Peach Crumb Muffins

Ingredients:

Big Muffin Tin

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

3/4 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 - 1 1/2 cups diced up fresh peaches (or your fave add in)

Topping:

1/2 cup white or brown sugar (your preference)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, softened and cubed

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Line muffin tin with muffin liners (or just thoroughly grease muffin cups)
3. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
4. Add oil, egg, and milk into dry ingredients mixture, and mix well.
5. Fold in peaches
6. Fill muffin tins up to the top (this will create nice giant bakery style muffins)
7. Make Crumb Topping: Mix together white/brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter until stars to resemble a nice crumb topping.
8. Sprinkle crumb topping over muffins
9. Bake for 22-24 minutes in the oven or until done (mine took 23 mins, check if they are done by inserting a toothpick into the center)
10. Enjoy this bakery worthy breakfast you just created!

<3 Kris
Fabric Nerds

Summertime Recipes

I just love the summer time and all the yummy fruits and vegetables it brings. I love to experiment with my cooking and baking this time of year and around by me there are tons of different Pick your Own Farms that help with my experiments. Check out Pick Your Own Farms, it's a great site to find farms near you. I have been getting a little more courageous and creating my own recipes incorporating some of these yummy fruits of summer.
The first recipe I made is a Raspberry Swirl Angel Food Cake with a Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze. It is by far one of the best cakes I have ever made and is a great light dessert for the summer heat.

Raspberry Swirl Angel Food Cake 

w/ a Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

Ingredients:

1 box of angel food cake mix (or you attempt angel food cake from scratch)

1/2 cup of Raspberry Jam (approx)

Pint of Raspberries

Glaze:

1/3 cup of whipped cream cheese (approx)

1 Tbsp of lemon juice (or more to taste)

Splash of vanilla 

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Make angel food cake according to box directions (Reminder: DO NOT flour or grease bundt cake pan)
2. Stir approximately a half a cup of raspberry jam in a bowl until jam becomes more liquidy and less jammy (don't you love my complex and technical terminology)
3. Gently fold in the stirred jam to the cake batter until you see a nice swirl of raspberry throughout
4. Pour batter into bundt cake pan
5. Bake according to box

Glaze: (All to taste. Make it as lemony or not so lemony as you wish)

1. Beat cream cheese in mixer until smooth and creamy
2. Add in lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix until creamy
3. Gradually mix in sifted powdered sugar until you get the right fluid consistency (if the glaze is not liquidy enough just mix in either a little bit of water or more lemon juice until your preferred consistency)

Constructing the Cake:

1. Once the cake has fully cooled, remove it from the bundt cake pan and flip right side up.
2. Take a spoon and  drizzle glaze all over the top of the cake
3. Make a ring a glaze around the center hole of the bundt cake (will be used as glue to hold the raspberries)
4. Once cake is glazed fill the center of the bundt cake with raspberries and make a ring of raspberries around the hole of the cake

Enjoy! It is absolutely delicious! I have received nothing but compliments and wanting the recipe from everyone that had a piece.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a delicious Peach Crumb Muffin recipe! Great for summer breakfasts!

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

Kona Modern Quilt Giveaway

This week's giveaway from my Quilt Market adventure is a FQ Bundle of Kona Modern Quilts by Cynthia Frenette for Robert Kaufman Fabrics. The bundle consists of 6 FQs and retails for $16.00!!! 

Enter by making a purchase at www.fabricnerds.com (no minimum purchase required) by Weds. July 4th and your name will automatically be added into the drawing. Winner will be chosen by random using random.org and announced Thurs. July 5th


Good Luck Everyone!


<3 Kris

World of Couponing

Yes I am one of those :)

Last week I posted a status on my personal facebook page about an awesome deal to get Big G cereals for .38 cents a box. I thought I was the only one who would care but was so excited I just had to write about it. To my surprise I got an outpouring of responses.  While I do not take couponing to an extreme, what I do, do majorly helps our family out in the finance department. 

We are a young family of 4 living in NJ and are a one income family. When we had our youngest Luke (who is now 21 months) my husband and I had a long talk about whether or not I should go back to work.  Daycare in New Jersey on the cheaper side near us would run about $1800/month for both kids, which was about what I was bringing in before we had Luke. It would have been a complete wash, so we made the decision for me to stay home. We told ourselves to give it 1 year. If we could make it past the first year we could do it. It has now been almost 2 years! (yay!) I am not going to lie some months are stressful in the finance department but we get through them together. We have had to change our way of living and thinking in many different ways but from doing that I have found my family and I find such happiness in simpler and littler things than we ever had before. 

My husband is not a doctor or a big CEO of a company to have made our decision of me staying home easier. We are just an every day blue collar working class family getting by. My husband works harder than anyone I know to provide for all of us and I could have never asked for a better man to call my husband. I can only hope that one day my daughter will find a guy who is as much a family man as a working man as her daddy is.  Being able to stay home with the munchkins has given me the opportunity and the time to finish up my Master's that I stopped once my daughter was born and has also given me the opportunity to venture into the world of business ownership. While I may have student loan debt that my great grand-kids will probably be paying for me and we can't take big fancy vacations right now. I can honestly say I am happy and content with every choice we have made and I see nothing but positive things for my family in the future. We have become a very close knit family already.

Now onto the savings!!

Just took a trip to Target & Shop-rite and shaved about 50% off my total. Here is how I did it:

Target:

Note: Target allows you to stack coupons by using a Manufacturer and a Target Coupon)

• Archer Farms Trail Mix is on sale for $2.99 -Target has a coupon for 1.50 off 2   (Knocks each bag down to $2.24)
• Right Guard Hair/Body Wash is $3.49.  Target  has a coupon for $1 off 1 (print x2) and Coupons.com (use zip 90210) has a coupon for $2.00 off 2 knocking the price down to $1.49 a bottle.
• Nabisco Crackers (I bought Ritz and Wheat Thins)  On sale for $2.00. Target has a coupon for $1 off 2 boxes and Coupon Suzy (type in zipcode 90210) has a coupon for $1 off 2.  Price per box is now at $1!
• Dial pump soap - $1.27  Target has a coupon for .50 cents off/1. Making total .77 cents
• Up and Up ibuprofen - .99cents/24 count   Target has a coupon for $1off/2. Total .98 for 2 bottles!
• Right Guard Deodorant $3.34  Target has a coupon for $2off/2  and  Coupons.com (use zip 90210) has $2 off/2. Total cost $1.34/deodorant!

Total before coupons: $26.89 + tax

Total after coupons: $13.89 + tax

TOTAL SAVINGS: $13.00!!!

Shoprite:

Note: Shoprite doubles most coupons which are under $1.00

• Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal (Caramel Nut) On Sale for $1.99 Coupon at Kellogg's (free membership) .50cents off/1  Total price: .99cents!
• Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal (Honey Nut) On sale for $1.99. Coupon at  Coupons.com (use zip 90210) .70 cents off/1 Total Price: .59 cents!

Total before coupons: $3.98

Total after coupons: $ 1.58

TOTAL SAVINGS: $2.40!!

For the little shopping I did today I saved my family $15.40 and everything bought were things we use and need.. no extreme 70 jars of mayo here! ;)

A lot of you are saying no way can I take the time to figure out sales and coupons and when they line up, right? Trust me with 2 young kids running around, school work, etc.. neither do I. But today is your lucky day because there are FREE websites to do that for you. check out Krazy Coupon Lady and Coupon Mom. They will match up sales and coupons, what the best deals are, and where to get the coupons, for grocery stores, big chains (e.g., Walmart and Target) and pharmacies.

I dare you to give it a try. I guarantee you will be hooked when you start to see the price drop at the register!

Happy Couponing Everyone!

<3 Kris
Fabric Nerds

Chevron has Arrived!!

Boy are these babies popular! They have been on back order since March, but they are finally here! I love getting Friday UPS deliveries like these!

Both Aqua and Gray Chevrons are available in the shop in both yardage ($4.50/half yard) and in fat quarters ($2.50).

 

Get them while you can, these Chevrons sell out fast!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.We are heading out on Saturday for our first family camping trip for Daddy's Day and the kiddos couldn't be more excited!

Here's to a Sunshiny Weekend!

 ♥ Kris

Flower Doodle Giveaway

Next up in the giveaways from my Quilt Market adventure is a FQ Bundle of purple and green coordinating fabrics from the Flower Doodle line by Kim Schaefer for Andover Fabrics. The bundle consists of 5 FQs and retails for $13.50!!! 
Enter by making a purchase at www.fabricnerds.com (no minimum purchase required) by Weds. June 20th and your name will automatically be added into the drawing. Winner will be chosen by random using random.org. 

Good Luck to everyone! 
♥ Kris

DIY Photo Canvas

This past Friday night I had the joy of a quiet night alone (hubby had a guys night & kids asleep) so I decided to have a Crafty Mama Night, got a Mike's Strawberry Lemonade, put on some Gretchen Wilson, and conquered a pile of crafting supplies. My outcome...

I must say I am so completely happy with how it turned out! We redid our living room about a year ago but our walls for the most part were still bare. I love how this canvas wall adds some color to our walls and but more importantly shows what this room is about... our family. It's where we play games, watch movies, build blanket tents, and just be together as a family.

So getting to what you all want to know. How did you do it? Well for starters my inspiration comes from Pinterest (of course). Pinterest showed so many different ways on how to make your own canvases but fell in love with this one over at Girl. Inspired. She also has a tutorial if you want to check out hers. But here is mine:

These are a quick, fun, and easy way to decorate your house. I now want to make more for presents. The best part though...the cost! Here is my total:

1 hr Photos Printed ( One-11x14"  Six-8x10"  Four 5x7") =$32.00 

Canvases= $30.00 (Michaels at 40% off and had a 20% off entire purchase coupon)

Mod Podge = $4.50

Brushes = FREE (already had)

Scrapbook Paper = $3.00 (Michaels)

Brown Paint = FREE (already had)

Grand Total= $69.50 

Which is around the cost of One 11x14" professional canvas and I made 11!!! 

Supplies Needed:

Printer Paper

Tape

Mod Podge (Matte)

Blank Canvases (try to get ones with flat sides without folds, makes life easier when modge podging)

Scrapbook Paper

Paint in your choice of color

Foam brushes

Photos

Rotary Cutter or whatever you prefer for cutting straight

Straight Edge Ruler

Steps:

1. Take your printer paper and cut to the size of the canvases you will be creating. Tape them on the wall to get the idea of the layout you want. This was my layout...

2. Get all your supplies and and start to cut strips of your scrapbook paper into the width and length of the sides of your canvas (Note: Cutting the paper just a bit thinner than the width and shorter than the length I found worked better)

3. Once you have your strips cut for your first canvas, brush the Mod Podge along the sides and glue on your strips. Once your strips are glued on apply Mod Podge to the front of your canvas and glue your photo on. 

4. Allow to dry completely (approx 30 mins). Once canvas is dry, apply a coat of Mod Podge over the entire picture and sides. (Do not worry Mod Podge dries clear)

5. Once your canvas has completely dried take your paint color of choice and "antique" sides and corners with your foam brush. This step helps to hide the seam between the photo and the scrapbook paper while adding character to the photo. 

Made a little mistake with the paint? No problem! Since the Mod Podge has dried completely, if you make a little mistake a damp cloth easily takes the paint right off

  

And remember that DIY projects are not to reach for perfection, but instead to try something new and have a little fun!

Happy Monday!

<3 Kris

Fabric Nerds

END OF THE BOLT SALE

Fabric Nerds is having an END OF THE BOLT SALE!  Prices have been slashed to make room for new fabrics in the upcoming months. Fabrics being added throughout the week, so keep checking back.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

<3 Kris

http://fabricnerds.com/SALE

Freezer Meals: Take 1

Yes, I have jumped on the freezer meal bandwagon and I am loving it! I made 2 family dinner servings of 5 different freezer meals. That's a total of 10 meals prepared and ready for the freezer or the crockpot in only a couple of hours!! How could you not love that?! Last weekend I had one of those rare nights when both kids were asleep by 7pm (I think it was all the geocaching we did that day). I figured I would seize the opportunity to start meal planning before I was ready for bed. Here is part of the outcome my couple of hours of hard super simple work...

The meals I made were:

Semi-Homemade Meat Sauce (1 dinner worth)
Homemade Meatballs (for either Meatball Parms or Spaghetti) (3 dinners worth)
My famous Sausage & Peppers (2 dinners worth)
Ring Around the Rosies's Teriyaki Chicken (2 dinners worth)
Homemade Sloppy Joes (2 dinners worth)

Unfortunately, when it comes to my own recipes for cooking I don't usual follow the "recipe" the same time twice. I do know though that I love finding new recipes to test out, so I will attempt to make some recipes for the meals I made.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR ALL MEALS:

 -Gallon Size Freezer Bags
 -Sharpie Marker

Note: I like to write the date, what is in the bag, time in the crockpot, and anything else that needs to be added into the crockpot

Semi-homemade Crockpot Meat Sauce (Freezer Version):

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef browned

2 16oz an of tomato sauce (i use Hunt's Basil and Oregano)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

Freezing Directions: While browning ground beef, Mix all other ingredients in a medium size bowl and divide in half. Put one half in a gallon size freezer bag, and keep the rest to the side for later (italian meatballs). After ground beef has been browned and slightly cooled add that to the freezer bag with other ingredients and gently shake to mix in ground beef.  If you do not want to freeze, skip the freezer bag part and cook on low in Crockpot for approx 4hrs

Italian Meatballs (Freezer Version):

Ingredients:

3lbs of ground beef

2 eggs

1/2 cup of milk

1 cup of breadcrumbs

1 tsp of salt

2 tsp of oregano

2 tsp of basil

1 tsp of garlic powder

1 tsp of ground black pepper

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1 Tblspn of oil

Crockpot Meat Sauce

Directions: Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand. Heat up frying pan with a Tblspn of oil. Roll meatballs into golf size balls (i like to use a cookie scoop to do this) and place in heated frying pan. Continue to turn meatballs in frying pan until cooked on all sides. Remove meatballs from frying pan and place on paper towels. Continue until all meat mixture has been cooked. Divide meatballs evenly (makes about 60) and place in 3 freezer bags. Put a 1/3 of reserved sauce from recipe above in bag with meatballs and gently shake to mix. When ready to use, cook in crockpot and add a jar of your favorite sauce (or create sauce above minus ground beef). Cook on low for approximately 4hrs.

Serve over spaghetti or on italian rolls with parmesan & mozzarella cheese for meatball parms.

As the week goes on I will figure out how I make my sausage and peppers and sloppy joes and will get them posted for you all. For now I hope you enjoy these recipes. You will definitely not be disappointed with them, especially the Italian meatballs, they are DELICIOUS!!

Happy Hump Day!

<3 Kris
Fabric Nerds

Fondant: (n) Adult Play-Doh

This past weekend I was super busy getting ready for my best friend's baby shower. We have been friends since the 6th grade and we are so similar in so many ways that I think we were separated at birth and just lived on different sides of town (my side being the better one ha!). She has done so much for me in the past that I wanted to do something a little special for her shower so, I volunteered to do the cupcakes, cake, and fruit salad. In the past we have always gotten together before a party that we are either helping with or hosting and bake up some delicious creations. This was my first solo run with fondant...ahh!  The theme of her shower was Peter Rabbit so I hopped on Pinterest and Google images to get some ideas of what I wanted to do. 

First I found these super cute cupcake liners on Amazon, and these adorable picket fence cupcake wrappers by Wilton at Michael's..

These two things got the vision in my head that I needed. So I headed to Michael's and Shoprite to buy my cake mixes and decorating supplies. I borrowed a beautiful cupcake tower from another friend of mine so I knew I wanted to make a cake to go on the top tier and then also 48 cucpcakes for the other tiers. For two days I attempted to make a 3d version of Peter Rabbit (umm yeah wasn't happening.) So finally I decided to go the route of "simply adorable" (simply the keyword)  and had fun making miniature size vegetables for Mr. McGregor's garden and this was my outcome...

My friend and her husband are not telling anyone the name they have chosen so I made a cute wooden sign and made it looked etched in with "Welcome Baby". I am quite pleased with the final result on my first solo project.

 A lot of people asked me at the party how I made the sign look like wood grain and it was actually quite simple. Here is my little secret...I used Duff's butter cream fondant from Michael's it has a creamy color look to it and as far as fondant goes actually tastes pretty good. I took a clump of fondant in the amount of much I thought I would need and took 2 toothpick scoops worth of brown gel colouring and then rolled the fondant into a fat log shape. Then I took the log and folded it in half and rolled it into a log shape again. Then I folded that log in half and rolled it into a log again, and continued with this pattern until I had a nice wood grain look and rolled it out. I took my back end of my knife and made little indentations in the fondant sign to give the effect of an old piece of wood. I then attempted to make the words look burned into the wood bydotting a brown food color pen in to the fondant to form the letters.

My cupcakes I wanted to look like a carrot patch and a flower garden so I used a #233 icing tip which is a multi-opening tip. I put the chocolate cupcakes in the picket fence wrappers and the vanilla in the peter rabbit liners...

I was also in charge of the fruit salad and for anyone who knows me I can't just go simple for most things so I went on Pinterest and found this adorable picture of a baby in a cradle fruit salad. Here was my early morning attempt and I have to say it came out stinkin cute!

If you guys have any questions on how I did anything or where I got stuff please feel free to ask. I am not one to keep my techniques or were I found things a secret :)

Hoping you all have a wonderful week!

<3 Kris

A Plan (Thankfully) Interrupted

So as you all know my hubby was away this past weekend and I planned on doing a whole bedroom makeover for him while he was away. I had my mind set to finish our quilt and give our bedroom a more "grown-up" look and then I got ambushed by cuteness! How could I say no?!

So needless to say my bedroom did not get the makeover it so desperately needs but I am so completely happy that I got ambushed by this cuteness. It was a mini wake up call to chill, throw my to do lists out the window, and enjoy the weekend with my beautiful munchkins <3

Our weekend was filled with FINGERPAINTS...

OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES...

SPRINKLERS...

AND SMALL TOWN PARADES.

Kiddos with their Nana

 It was a terrific weekend for my family and I. A great reminder for me that sometimes I need to just throw out my to do lists/plans and just sit back and soak up the day and the freedom our military men and women protect and fight for us to have and enjoy. 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and continue to have a terrific week ahead :)

<3 Kris

**FQ BUNDLE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT** 

Our winner for the FQ Bundle of Savannah Bop was Beth Miller! Congrats to Beth!