Gettin' Ready for Christmas!

Christmas time is by far my favorite time of year, but only because no one really decorates for July 4th. Otherwise, I'd be all over that summer-time goodness.

This will be my first Christmas (after 9 years of living here) in New York City, and so I decided that my boyfriend and I needed all the essentials, but wouldn't it be nicer if they were home made? So I set out to make our stockings. So far only mine is complete, but I'll finish his this week. I don't have a sewing machine, so everything was done by hand, and I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. I've never been any sort of seamstress, much to my mother's dismay, I'm certain, but with a little creativity, I made things easier on myself and completed my stocking out of an old, much abused, much loved t-shirt. My boyfriend's will be made out of the same thing, and thus they will be uniquely us, and anyone of our friends who sees them will recognize that these t-shirts they used to see regularly have finally moved on to a better place.

Without further ado, my stocking!

First I downloaded and printed templates from Marthastewart.com Then I realized that you needed a photocopier to blow up the image 300%, so I made my own pattern. I laid a small boot of mine across the t-shirt and drew around it, modifying here and there until I had something that looked quite stocking-ish.



Then I cut it out. It's not very easy to cut up an old, favorite t-shirt, but I did it without crying. I pinned the cutout side back to the rest of the t-shirt, and I cut out the other side right away to avoid battling nostalgia.



I took all the pins out and then noticed that it had been pinned perfectly for stitching. So I pinned it back up and got my needle and "thread" ready. Knowing that I don't sew well, I figured if I used a GIANT needle (I think it's a crotchet needle?) and ribbon the stocking would still look festive, but it'd take much less time to complete, and my awful stitching would be less noticeable. I was right!





I probably should have used a whip stitch, and I will when I do the second stocking, but mine turned out fine.



Yes. It is hideous. But! It's much better when turned right-side out!



A little loop of ribbon sewn onto the back allows the stocking to hang.

I used Stiffy (he he), a liquid fabric stiffener, to make the folded-over cuff firmer. I've embellished it a bit with felt snowflakes I glued onto the cuff, but I don't have any photos of that. Anyway, happy holidays and happy crafting!!

-Bea

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day Crafters!!!

I hope you are all having a relaxing holiday with family, friends and delicious food. I, Bunny Hurst, am celebrating my first Thanksgiving with my in-laws to be! I'm super homesick for my mom... so I thought I would contribute a little taste of home to the celebration. I made my mom's green bean casserole, fashioned from the Frenchs' recipe....only I used Trader Joe's French Onions! Sacrilegious?! Maybe... but still delicious!

Sneak Peak!

Now that you've cooked with Bea, here is a little bit about me...or what I'm crafting..

Save-the-Dates for my Spring 2011 Wedding!! Some friends and bridesmaids helped make them last week. Didn't want to ruin the surprise for all the guests to be, but here is a sneak peak pic and information on where I got the idea.




I got the idea from Brides.com. They had a Guest Blogger, Amanda Nistor, from Ruffled showing off a stamp kit and the process. I had seen similar ideas on other blogs that used typewriters or calligraphy... but I really loved the look of these!

Can't wait to show you more!!

Please comment with other wedding blogs you love! I'm loving the ones I mentioned above and am on the hunt for inspiration...

Perfect Pumpkin Fall

Tonight I went by Michael's to pick up some essentials ;) and then hurried home to try out a recipe.

I rushed through my dinner (a pork chop my feller made and froze earlier in the week) so I could savor dessert! Pumpkin smoothie! It's very pumpkiny, but if you're anything like me, that's a good thing. Recipe and photos!



Obviously, you will need some pumpkin. The nicer way to do this is surely by scooping out fresh pumpkin guts yourself, but when I read the recipe, I just couldn't wait to devour it, which is why I opted for Libby's. So into the blender it went!



Then I "measured" out 1/4 cup of light brown sugar.



Note the mug. I stopped traditionally measuring things when I moved in with the feller. My old roommate had the measuring cups, and all of his were in metric. I eyeball everything now, and though it sometimes makes for overly fluffy cakes or slightly dry pancakes, everything is prepared with love and extra thought.

That said, toss in 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon!


Great. Before adding my 2 cups of milk


I tossed in some ice. The recipe I found suggests that you actually freeze the pumpkin pureé for at least 24 hours, microwave it a bit to pour it into your blender, and make the whole thing without ice. Again, I just couldn't wait!


I suspect that the whole thing is EXTREMELY pumpkiny without the ice. With it, I'm loving it. In fact I finished my whole glass while blogging this, and I think it's time for a refill! Enjoy!



-Bea

Hello!

Hello!

We're Bunny Hurst and Bea Anderson, and we're here to get inspired, create beautiful (hopefully) things, share our love of family, home, and great food, and just have fun writing and posting about the things we do and the things we love.

We're always looking for crafty ideas, and with the holidays practically here, you can bet there will be a ton of pretty pictures invading this space soon.

Welcome to our blog, sit back, relax, and have some cocoa.

xo,
B & B