Tutu's and Tutu Wands!

     My friend Jen and I really wanted to learn how to make tutu's and now was the perfect time.  Her adorable little daughter is going to be turning two and she has decided to have a two-tu cute birthday party for her and her friends.  This meant lots of tutu making for us and a ton of fun!  These tutu's are really very simple and my two girls are even able to make them all by themselves.  They have now made several for their friends.  We also decided to make some tutu wands for the kids at the party.  So, I will try to keep this How-To as simple as possible.  You will need elastic and tulle for the tutus.  We found it much easier to buy these rolls of tulle as opposed to buying it by the yard.  We tried both ways and the rolls seemed much faster.  

So, just measure out a yard of the tulle and cut.  Next, fold the tulle in half so there is half a yard on each side and begin rolling it up into a small roll.  The whole point of this is to be able to cut the roll in half so that you will get two long strips out of that one yard. These are going to be your strips for the tutu.  Two of these rolls did about a tutu and a half.

This is what your rolled strips should look like

Next, measure out the amount of elastic that you will need for the child's waist and sew the two ends together.  The elastic does seem to stretch out a bit as you tie on the tulle.  This is the next step.  We found something to place the elastic around and started to tie on the tulle strips.  Take your strip and fold in half so you are grabbing the center. Place the center fold behind the elastic and so that the fold part is at top and just pull the tulle through that fold. (loop or whatever you want to call it)

It should look like this

You can get creative with this and alternate colors, do multi-color, or just one.  There are so many fun colors to try and they even have some with glitter which looks very pretty.  Here are a few of the finished tutu's we made. 



Here is a quick tutu wand tutorial.  Using the same tulle rolls, cut 16 6x5 inch squares. 

Using embroidery thread, place eight of the squares on top of each other and tie very tightly in a knot in the center.

Do the same with the next set of eight squares and the tie both sets together. 

Cut off all the extra string and begin to separate all of the tulle so that it begins to form a ball.  We bought the sticks for the wands at Michaels for .29 and we were able to get three wands out of one stick.  Cut the stick and place some hot glue on the tulle in a spot that looks like it's not as fluffy and glue onto the stick.  Add some matching ribbon and you are done!  Hope you enjoy!



Easter Lemon Meringue Nests

The last couple of days I have been very busy cooking and getting projects ready for Easter. Today I made a recipe from My Sweet Remedy and if you get a chance to make them, it is a must!

Here is a picture of theirs from My Sweet Remedy

And Here is mine, not bad:)

Here is the Recipe:

Meringue Nests

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 1 pinch of salt or cream of tarter

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. In an electric mixer (make sure your bowl is grease free), beat egg whites and salt until it starts to form soft peaks.
3. Slowly add the sugar 1 tbsp at a time while beating at high spead.
4. Beat until the egg whites are shiny and the peaks are firm.
5. Add egg whites into a piping bag and use a decorating tip. I used the Wilton open star, just as they did.
6. Then fill the circles with the meringue filling. Make sure to fill the whole circle. To complete the nest, pipe one more ring around the edge.
7. Bake for 2 hours. Let cool completely.

Lemon Custard

• 1 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 2/3 cup water
• 4 egg yolks
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 lemon juiced

1. In a double boiler put the following: sugar, corn starch, salt and water. Boil until thick and stirring continuously.
2. Add egg yolks and continue stirring.
3. Add butter, lemon zest and lemon juice.
4. Remove from heat and let cool
5. Cover with plastic wrap right on top of the custard and put in the fridge until ready to use.



Travel Pillowcases

  As soon as I saw these travel pillowcases online I knew that the kids and I had to make them.  With all the road trips and sleepovers, my kids will get good use out of these.  The best part is they have a shoulder strap to carry and a pocket on the front to hold books, paper, pens, coloring stuff, small toys, or pretty much anything they can stuff in them.  I knew my four year old would totally get a kick out this because he is always shoving little treasures into bags and such.  I was right! As soon as his pillowcase was done he instantly started loading it up with treasures lol!  We had so much fun making these and my girls even had a friend over who got to make one with us.  I'm sure that you could make these any size but we used a half a yard of fabric for each pillowcase.  The first thing we did was to cut out the pocket and sew a hem all the way around to give it a finished look.  We then cut out a letter for each (the first letter of their names) and sewed it onto the pocket.  Next, we cut a long and fairly thick strap out and sewed it in thirds overlapping each other so that it was strong.  Then we sewed the strap to the top back of the pillowcase.  We also sewed the pocket to the front of the pillowcase.  Finally, with both RIGHT sides together we sewed the pillowcase on three sides to give it it's form and then sewed a hem on the open side.  Not much to it and the kids all love them! 

Rider with his Toy Story pillowcase

Kierra and hers

Abigail and her pillowcase

Darien and her pillowcase

Kierra pinning on the pocket

Darien sewing



An Easter Inspired Chandelier

The last couple of weeks my sister and I have been getting our Easter decorations ready. One  of the projects we did was an Easter egg chandelier for the middle of our family table. For this project you will need:
1. One picture frame.
2. Glass egg shaped ornaments.
3. Various paint colors.
4. fishing line.
5. Ribbon
6. Bunny shapes (optional)

The Finished Project

The Bunnies made of scrap paper that matches the table

The vintage frame used

Paint the inside of the glass bulbs

Hang the eggs with fishing line

Before the Bunnies

Easter Table Centerpiece

     Easter is just a few days away and I have been looking for that one centerpiece that is easy to do and makes an impression.  I think I found it!  After searching online and seeing so many variations of this, I stuck with everything I already had in my house so it didn't cost me anything. (which I love!)  So here it is.....



     I am totally diggin this Easter egg tree!  I used sand, glass filler rocks, tree limbs from my yard, some plastic Easter eggs, a clear glass vase, and some fishing line.  Hope you enjoy!  

                                                                                       Blessings, Jen :) 

So Simple DIY Cake Stand

  I love this do it yourself cake/dessert stand.  Simple, cheap, and cute = my kind of project!  All that you need is a plate, candle holder, and E6000 glue.  I bought my plate and candle holder from the dollar store and already had the glue so this cost me a mere $2.00.  If you don't already have the glue on hand, I believe it costs around $3.00 at Walmart but it goes very far and is one of the best glues I've used.  So, just put some glue on the candle holder and press it onto the bottom of the plate.  I can't wait to use this at our Easter table. :)

Everything that you need

Finished product

Of course we had to make some brownies so we could use it :)

Blessings, Jen

Pajamas & Pancakes

One thing I love is parties. I came across this cute little girls pajama and pancakes party at Amy Atlas designs. I hope it gives you some inspiration.



What a great book to go with the party!!



For more on this party go to: Amy Atlas