Ric Rac Giveaway from Beautiful Additions

Want to brighten up the winter months by adding some colorful ric rac to your stash??

Check out Beautiful Additions on Etsy. Juli, who owns Beautiful Additions, has all sorts of colors and sizes of ric rac. She also has organza bags (you could use them as shower favors or wedding favors!) and all sorts of neat ribbon.


She's here today with a giveaway for Monkey See, Monkey Do readers! One lucky reader will win this 34 piece bundle of multi sized ric rac in various sizes and colors. (Each piece is one yard long!)



To enter, you have to follow Monkey See, Monkey Do and leave a comment saying what item from the Beautiful Additions shop you like best.


For a second entry, "Like" Monkey See, Monkey Do on Facebook and then leave a comment saying so!

This giveaway will end December 7th at 8 am EST.

Baby Winter Hat with Earflaps

I'm [apparently] really into hats.
{Proof is here, here, here, and last week's whale hat creation.}

I made this super cute hat for my super cute child.

The top part of the hat was made using this tutorial. I made it smaller to fit my little guy and then I added earflaps and a chin strap.

I am constantly kissing those chubby cheeks.

Another Repurposing Project

I found this wire basket in the our barn. So I spray painted it. No big plans for it yet, but I’m going to use it in some way!

Have I shown you our barn? It’s kind of neat. It needs some work, but it has all kinds of treasures I’ve discovered. Some have already been repurposed.

I have more projects in the planning stages.

Projects in the Beginning Stages

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I started a bunch of projects the other day. I had tremendous energy and got to work on a few things I’ve been wanting to do!

Here are some sneak peeks of projects I’ll be showing over the next few weeks!

1. I ironed some fusible fleece interfacing onto some fabric I’ll be using to recover a computer chair for our kitchen.

2. A hoodie for my 2-year old. It needs a new zipper and some sort of embellishment on the back. This is from an old t-shirt and is perfect!

3.Don’t let all the button holes go to waste! I’ve come up with a perfect way to re-use the button collars from polo shirts. You’ll have to stay tuned for that.

4. My husband’s Christmas gift in the beginning stages. He follows my blog now on his feed reader at work, so I’d better not say anything about it!

5. This is not really a project but it is a storage solution for my scissors! I started hanging them on my wall organizer. (I still haven’t utilized that dowel rod for a roll of paper yet.) It keeps my little guy from getting a hold of them.

Pumpkin Spread

I found this recipe in my Martha Stewart magazine (November 2011).

It is for using up left over pumpkin from a can.

Beat 2 sticks of softened unsalted)butter -- I used salted butter and then didn't add extra salt later with 1/4 cup plus 2 T pure pumpkin puree, 3 T maple syrup, 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice and 1/2 salt with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy. You can store it in your fridge for up to two weeks.

Yum. Makes a great toast topping.

Dry Erase Calendar Project Part 1

This is a calendar holder that my mom bought my grandma a LONG time ago. I used it for a regular calendar for a couple years.

It needs a new life.

Today, I finally got around to spray painting it white. (I’ve been waiting for a nice day and both kiddos to be napping at the same time. These things don’t happen often.)

I’ve got big plans for this thing. It’s going to be a dry erase board in my kitchen.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this thing’s transformation. It will include glass & scrapbook paper.

Pumpkin Pie Shake

Here at my house, we love pumpkin recipes.

{I don't like pumpkin pie, though! Weird, I know!}

I've got a super wonderful pumpkin cake recipe I want to share in a few weeks. That way, you can test it before Thanksgiving and find out how wonderful it is.

I found this recipe at Dukes and Duchesses. It is a Cooking Light recipe.

Pumpkin Pie Shake

Serves 4

2 cups vanilla reduced-fat ice cream, softened

1 cup fat-free milk

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3 tablespoons frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

Combine first five ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Pour 3/4 cup ice cream mixture into each of four glasses. Top each with about 2 teaspoons whipped topping; sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice, if desired.

New Email

I've made myself a new email address:

monkeyseemail (at) gmail (dot) com

If you ever want to contact me regarding projects, suggestions, or questions, feel free to email me at my new super-cute email address.

No spam. No cutesy forward thingies. Thanks.

And thanks for reading my blog. Seriously. I never thought anyone would want to read about what I have to say or what I make. It's neat that you do.

Color in Unexpected Places

I opened my little storage box on my machine (not sure what the proper name is for this box!) and I was delighted to see all my colored thread.

I Love Mason Jars

I would love to make this crayon keeper someday! Right now, we have to keep the crayons under lock and key because our walls have been used as a canvas twice now.

Felt Flower Tutorial

Want to make some felt flowers? There are lots of options to use these fun crafts! You could use them on wreaths, as package toppers, as pins, on headbands, or hair clips.

I'll show you how to make three different types of felt flowers. You'll just need some felt and your glue gun! (And some beads, if you want.)

To make the spiral flower, you’ll start with a circle with imperfect edges, like this:

Starting at one side and cutting around the circle, cut the circle into a long strip.

Place a tiny drop of hot glue in the center and start your coil here.

Continue coiling the the strip around itself. You don’t need to glue as you go.

Next, to secure the flower, place a big dot of hot glue onto another piece of felt (this will be the base of the flower and will not be seen after you’re done). Stick the flower to the glue. Go back underneath the flower and glue as needed to secure all the coils.

Place a dot of hot glue in the middle of the flower and add some beads. When the glue dries, cut around the base of the flower.

To make the round flower, cut a strip of felt about 1/2” wide by 12” long. (The longer the strip, the larger the flower’s diameter.)

Place a tiny drop of hot glue and fold the felt around the glue. Start coiling the strip around itself.

Continue coiling the felt; no need to glue as you go.

Place hot glue on a piece of felt. Stick the whole coil on it to secure. Cut around the felt when the glue is dry.

To make the loopy flower, you’ll need a 1” x 12” piece of felt.

Fold the strip in half.

‘

Make small cuts in the felt all the way down the folded strip. These cuts should stop about halfway across the width of the felt.

Begin by coiling the felt around a tiny dot of hot glue. Continue gluing along the base as necessary to secure the flower as you coil the felt around itself.

Pretty!

(Too bad my pictures aren’t so pretty! It is rainy and dark here!)

Project Fail: Toddler Slippers

I tried to make some slippers for my 2-year old.

They have a few problems.

I used this pattern. It is a good pattern, just didn't fit my little guy. Also, I was in a hurry and didn't pay attention to the markings on the pattern. This resulted in awkwardly placed velcro and an unfinished edge.

The moral of this story is that I should take my time while sewing. I am busy with my kids, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't take the time to properly mark my fabric before sewing a project.

I hate when I waste time.

Whale Baby Hat

I love to make things for my two sweet boys.

However, I sometimes get in a rut when it comes to embellishment ideas for their clothing.

Flowers and ribbons are so cute but just don't cut it. And I find trucks, cars, and many animals far too detailed to cut out well.

I wanted to make my 3 month-old a hat for fall. [One that actually fit his large head.] I used an old t-shirt.

I used this tutorial to make the hat but drew a larger pattern.

I decided on a whale made from fleece.

I hand-sewed it onto the hat after free-hand cutting it.

I think anything would look cute on him. But maybe I'm a little biased.

My {Newest} Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I am always up for trying a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. I'm constantly seeking the 'best'. If you've followed my blog, you'll know I've touted this one as the current 'best'.

All that has changed, my friends!!

I found this tremendous recipe via my friend Kristen’s blog, 'Confessions of a (Not-So) Domesticated Newlywed'. Kristen and I have known each other since second grade. She has a blog and has great recipe ideas.

We just saw each other two weeks ago at our ten-year class reunion. I figured I didn’t have much of an excuse not to go since I now live in my hometown! I’m so glad I went; it was great to catch up.

At first, I laughed a little bit that the planning committee thought we needed name tags. I mean, we only graduated with about 150 others in our class! I recognized most of the girls that were there. But I was surprised to find I did need name tags to ID some of the guys!

But here are my friend Kristen and me:

This recipe for puffy peanut butter cookies was amazing. I’m always looking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe and right now, this is it!!!

I'm convinced that the recipe rocks because it starts by having you melt butter and peanut butter together and yields a very chewy cookie.

You have to try it.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

Here's a fantastic dessert (found on allrecipes.com) that I've already made twice this fall.

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup margarine, melted
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Mix well, and spread into the prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the pumpkin mixture, and pat down. Sprinkle chopped pecans evenly over the cake mix, then drizzle with melted margarine.
4. Bake for 60 to 80 minutes, or until done. Top with whipped topping when ready to serve.

Felt Travel Car Mat Tutorial

What did you do with your extra hour?

This morning, courtesy of the end of daylight savings time, we were up at 5:30 A.M. Before church, my super duper husband took our two-year old on a hike at 8:30 am. The baby fell alseep for a little nap and I found myself with an hour on my hands.

So I made this.

I started with my abundance of felt.

I chopped up a few pieces. I have a big scrap of blue felt from a bolt (not the little squares) so I cut two 10” x 18” pieces for the base and back. I cut a 4” x 12” piece of gray to hold the cars and a smaller brown piece for the road. I used yellow scraps for the yellow line.

I started by sewing the yellow pieces onto the brown road. Then I sewed the road onto the blue base.

For the gray, I sewed just the vertical lines (I did mine at 3” increments). The horizontal bottom will be completed when sewing on the back blue piece.

To make a connection piece, I used an elastic hair tie sandwiched between the base fabric and the back fabric.

Next, sew the back fabric onto the base.

I added a button to keep the whole thing closed.

I let our little guy take it to church. He liked putting the cars into the pockets. It kept him occupied for a good portion of the service!