Look what I made! I came across this blog and thought it might be false advertising. Really? An apron in an hour? We'll see about that! I went to my local fabric store and picked out some really cute fabric (fyi: cute fabric=cute apron). Then I came home and, get this, made an apron in an hour! I often like to host dinner or luncheons where I am still cooking when my guests arrive. I don't want them to see me in one of my well-worn aprons...I want to look put together so I thought this would work nicely. Plus, my sister's birthday is coming up (surprise Janette!) and I wanted to make her one. This is the perfect pattern if you are a little rusty on your sewing. Enjoy...you'll be surprised at how talented you are!

1 Hour Apron

Look how pretty these origami boxes are!


Hey all. Have you been thinking about Valentines Day? I have the perfect gift-wrapping idea. I came across origami boxes that are easy to make and dah-ling. All you need is two squares of paper (I used 12x12). You can choose paper for any occasion like Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day (filled with chocolate gold coins of course) Christmas, Birthday etc. Fold them a few times and you end up with a great way to present a gift, candies, cookies or a special note. I included a tutorial below...take a look:


Thanks to my 7-year-old son for filming...he's a rock star.

I just added doilies and ribbon to make them look Valentine-y.


This box has Oreo truffles in it. They look so festive in my little homemade box. If you haven't made homemade Oreo truffles, stay tuned and I will show you how to do it...three ingredients and BAM you're done! They are delicious.

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg Oreo Sandwich cookies
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
candy melts, your color choice

1. Finely crush cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency.
2. Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.
3. Roll the mixture into 1″ balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet. Refrigerate for an hour to make the truffles firm.
4. Melt candy melts as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. You can sprinkle the tops with cupcake sprinkles or decorations if desired.
5. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy! Printable recipe.


Mix the crushed Oreos with softened cream cheese. You can mix it by hand or with a mixer.

Roll the "dough" into 1 inch balls. Refrigerate to make them firm.

Dip in candy melts and let dry. You can find candy melts in any cake decorating aisle at a party or grocery store. Walmart even carries them.

They are moist and delicious. Great to put in your (just-folded) origami box and ready to give as a thoughtful gift.


If you don't have the time or energy to make Oreo Truffles, make some of these:


With these: Oreo Cakesters and a 1 1/2 inch heart cookie cutter. The best thing about these is you get to eat the scraps. *our secret*

I love Valentines Day. It is such a fun day to show everyone how much you love them. I love to give little gifts to my kids, siblings, friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers you name it. As I was doing a little research I came across this blog and thought I'd died. The treat bags were so cute I thought I'd make some. The Farm Chicks has all of the cute bag templates available to download FREE. Make them this Valentines Day and impress the ones you love.


All you need are the downloaded templates printed and cut, glue, or double-sided tape, candy and Pinking shears (optional).
Download and print the template here.



After printing the template, cut around the edges of the bag leaving the top uncut.


Fold the sides in using the bottom of the bag as a guide. Glue. Actually I used the double-sided scrapbook tabs (glue didn't work out for me).


Then following the guide, cut the top of the bag. Pinking shears makes it a little more fancy.


Fill the bags with candies, cookies, rice crispy squares, brownies etc. Using the FarmChicks bags makes your Valentines gift extra special.

My mantra each day is "I'm not Martha Stewart". I have to tell myself that because I think I wish I was. In reality she has a team of people that come up with and execute "her" ideas. I am just me with simple ideas. So, when I decided to make play dough for my son's pre-school Christmas party, I actually thought Martha would have been proud of me. It was easy to make and the kids loved it (although they all mixed the colors and ended up with an interesting brown color). Try it the next time your kids are bored. They will think you are amazing.


Cooked Play Dough (I doubled the recipe for each color)
*Ashli B.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water (add food coloring to the water before you add it to mixture)
1 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. cream of tartar or alum

In a saucepan, mix all ingredients. Cook over medium heat until mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan. Knead at least 5 times or until play dough consistency. Keep in airtight container.
Printable recipe

This year I am hosting my annual Sister's Retreat. When it is my turn to plan the SR weekend I try to have a variety of things for us gals to do. I don't exactly live in a (ahem) metropolitan area so it will only take an afternoon to shop at our one and only mall. I thought to throw in a little excitement, we'll make a craft. I went to a jewelry show years ago and the hostess was displaying her wares on a frame like this. I thought I would see If I could make one. It is so easy to do and a craft you won't feel ashamed to hang in your bedroom. All you need is a cheap frame. I got this one at Wally's but I have also seen them at the dollar store for...a buck! You also need some screen (like to fix a screen door) also at Wally's, a staple gun or glue gun and some masking tape; oh and you need some earrings to hang.

Remove the back from the frame. Notice the mat left around the edge...this is good to keep on so you can staple the wire to the mat.



Place a cut piece of screen on the back of the frame opening. Staple the screen to the mat. Use plenty of staples to keep the screen in place. Then use Masking Tape to tape the screen down. That's it! Now put it on an easel or hang it on some pretty gold nails in your closet.