2/26/10

I HEarT cOcoNut CooKieS!!

I am so sad, I can't find Duncan Hines' Coconut Extreme cake mix anywhere! They used to sell it at our local grocery store, then they stopped carrying it and the only place I could get it was Walmart Supercenter. Now it is nowhere to be found. These cookies are awesome!! I made them once for my husband's bake-sale at school, and a lady came by and bought one. She was a little skeptical at first when he told her they were coconut. She walked away, took a bite, turned right around and bought two more. What a bake-sale success!! I thought I would give out the recipe so others can enjoy them if you can get your hands on one of the coveted cake mixes. If not, this recipe works great with any other type of cake mix, they are so quick and easy to make too!


Cake Mix Sugar Cookies
1 pkg. cake mix
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla


Mix all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl (either with an electric mixer or by hand). Roll into 1" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 mins, or until cracks form on top. Frost with desired frosting.


I told ya these babies are easy. I like to make them if we are needing a treat in a hurry. We like to use the pre-made lemon frosting to frost the coconut cookies. Other variations that we have found to be especially delicious are yellow cake mix with strawberry frosting, and devil's food cake mix with cream cheese frosting. This recipe can be used to make homemade oreos by frosting the bottom of one baked cookie with cream cheese frosting, and placing a second cookie so the frosting is sandwiched between the two. Any questions please let me know in the comments. Happy cookie making!!

2/23/10

Sewing 101: Picking the perfect fabric. Natural Fibers

 
I love this skirt from Matilda Jane, the colors are so much fun for spring. They have such unique items for girls, it makes me want to start a new sewing project! I was thinking about when I started sewing, and a really sweet lately taught me the basics. Even though she did an awesome job explaining to me, I still made lots of mistakes, and still do. I thought it may be helpful for new sewing people (what is the correct term anyway?? I'm sure I would get into some major pc trouble if I put seamstress!) to have a synopsis of some of the basics, so I thought I would start with picking the perfect fabric.

Probably the most important step in taking on a sewing project is selecting the correct fabric.  When I first started sewing I thought all fabrics were basically the same, I mean they all come on bolts right? Wrong, after a few failed attempts to try to make heavy fabric work for a sun dress, just because it had the perfect color scheme proved to me that I must bow down to the fabric. It determines your destiny.  So, what is important to consider when searching for that perfect cut of material?

Ask yourself a couple of questions: What am I going to use this garment/item for? What kind of wear and tear is this item going to receive? If I am going to wear it, what time of year am I planning on using this for? If it is something I am going to wear, I would consider other garments I wear that are similar to my anticipated project. Check the labels, a lot of times there is a trend of what type of fabric it is.

There are two main types of fabrics, natural fiber fabrics, and man-made fabrics. Natural fiber fabrics sound like what they are, they occur in nature. These fabrics tend to be more comfortable and they breath while you wear them. They are not as durable as there man-made counterparts. Man-made fabrics are made from chemicals and are usually more durable, but less comfortable. Below is a chart that describes the advantages and disadvantages of natural fibers. I will include one later for man-made material.

2/5/10

Baby Boy Necktie and Bowtie onesies pattern

I just love these cute little onesies. They are very simple, I just used Heat n' Bond to glue them to the onesie, then used my sewing machine to zig-zag around them. Quick and easy! If you are interested in the pattern, please see below.
Bow Tie