A Warm Noggin

Last week we had a nice welcome to Fall with some very chilly weather.  Even at the beginning of this week we woke up to a rather freezy home.  Since Fall brings lots of walks in the neighborhood crunching on pretty leaves I thought I would make Ellie a little something cute for that sweet little noggin of her's to keep her warm.  Anyone else take an hour to get around the block too?  

This is the Sweet Pea Pilot Cap from Meg over at Sew Liberated.  I just adore this little cap.  Not only is it a breeze to put together but the outcome is just stunning.  I love the vintage feel of it!  If you have never been to Meg's blog you must go take a look.  Her pictures are these amazing little peeks into her creative mind plus she shares her love of Montessori and how we can raise our children to the best of their natural abilities and who doesn't want to do that?

I know Eloise looks like she is missing a hand in this picture but I assure you that she is just tucking it in her onesie, I told you it's been chilly here!

Happy Wednesday!!

Something for the Babe

We, or should I say Eloise, received a little something fun in the mail not too long ago that I have been meaning to tell you about:

Where's that from you say?

Oooh, the White House...all the way in Washington D.C.?  Now, that's fancy!

What could be inside this pretty little envelope?

Nice!!  An embossed letter of some kind.

Now, what's this all about?

Oh!  A personal birth congratulations from the President and First Lady of the United States.  

How nice of Barack and Michelle to send some kind wishes Eloise's way :)

No, really that is so sweet of them!

Okay, so to be honest we do this with each of our kids.  Once they are born, we send each child's birth info to the White House Greetings Department and whoever is President and First Lady at the time signs a sweet little note to the newborn.  You can find all the information about it here if you want to do this for your own little bundle of joy.  Personally, I think it's a great piece of their history to have stashed away in their keepsake box.  I mean how cool is it to have ANY President wishing you a 'happy life filled with chances to learn, ideas to explore, people to love, and dreams to fulfill.'?

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies for All!

Okay, so remember all of these little babies that I had leftover from this post here:

Well, here is what I did with them...I made some very scrum-di-dil-ly-um-tious Peanut Butter Cup Cookies!  Yes, they are as good as they sound.  Granted you must have a love for peanut butter and chocolate.  If you are one of the lucky ones out there who think that peanut butter and chocolate is one of the greatest taste combinations known to man, then you will L-O-V-E these!!

So here is what you need:

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

2 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups chopped peanut butter cups

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter, shortening, white and brown sugar together.  Add in peanut butter, then your eggs one at a time and then the vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix together flour and baking soda.  Add the flour mixture to your peanut butter mixture until well incorporated.  Then stir in chopped peanut butter cups.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until just browning.  Do NOT overbake!!  Let cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from your cookie sheet or they may fall apart!

So, what I like to do first is chop up my peanut butter cups and then place then in a ziploc bag and store them in a freezer for a few hours.  Let's face it frozen peanut butter cups are the bomb, try it you'll love them!  But really, I think baking these cookies with frozen peanut butter cups really helps them from not melting all over the cookie.  They keep their shape a bit more and you'll get that pretty bakery cookie look which is so appealing to the eye!!

Okay, so then take your butter and shortening and cream them together in your mixing bowl...

Add in your white and brown sugar too..

Next cream in your peanut butter...Mmmm!

Then, add in your eggs (and vanilla)...one egg at a time so that they both get mixed in nicely.

Then, mix together you flour and baking soda and add it to your peanut butter-y mixture!

Once it's all incoporated well, stir in your frozen peanut butter cup chunks.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Ugh, why do cookies take soooo long to bake!?!

Once they are slightly golden brown they are done.

FINALLY!!

Don't forget to let them cool for a couple of minutes before removing to a cookie rack!

We want them pretty and all :)

Enjoy!!

Fall Boo Frames

So, with the Fall season on our heels I was in the mood to start doing a little decorating in my home.  I really love Fall, especially for the rich orange, yellow and brown colors as well as for my favorite holiday...Halloween!  

I made this fun Halloween frame collage this weekend:

I love it!  Not only does it have all those lovely Fall colors I think are rad, orange, yellow and brown, but it also has one of my favorite candies as a background...the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  Uh, chocolate and peanut butter...need I say more?  Okay, okay so I'll admit that I just might enjoy those teeny tiny little Reese's Pieces a smidge more...YUM!...it's all because of E.T. I swear!!

Okay, so to make yourself these fun Fall Boo Frames you only need a few thing:

You'll need a couple of packs of these...

And 3 of these 5 x7 frames.  I found mine at Michael's in a pack of 5, with a 40% off coupon they were less then $10!!

Okay, so unwrap all your Reese's cups and be very careful so you don't rip any of the wrappers!

You'll be left with all of these...

But don't worry, I have a use for them that I'll show you later this week :-)

It's like the chicken and the egg, it's hard to say what came first...me wanting to make something with those yummy peanut butter cups or me wanting to make this frame collage.

Alright, so back to the frames...

Next you are going to take 3 wrappers and line them up so you like the way they are sitting for your background.  I used some scotch tape pieces to keep things in place while I figured out what I liked best. 

See, there's all my little tape pieces!

Once you have it figured out tape the wrappers together on the plain backside.  Then, remove your tape from the front cause we all know that that just looks tacky :)

Next, cut the excess wrapper away from your frame's back cover so that it will fit in there nice and snug. I just used my rotary cutter for this step.

See, all lined up and pretty!

Put your frame together, like so, and check out your work!  

Next, just trace some letters on black card stock and either glue of tape in place on top of your wrapper collage.  Then, put your frame together again and you are all done!  

Easy as can be, right!

Ahh, it's beginning to feel...

a lot like Fall around here :)

YAY!!

Guest Blogger: Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Hey all!  So, today I have Sumo from Sumo's Sweet Stuff visiting for another fun blog swap!  If you don't know Sumo you should, she is amazing and she has such a great blog.  Everyday she has something going on...seriously, I don't know how she does it!   Alright, so without further ado, I introduce you to Sumo!!!

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited to be blog swapping with Maggie today! Isn't she fantastic??? I've loved becoming cyber friends with her; she's just the sweetest!

I'm Sumo, from Sumo's Sweet Stuff!

My real name is Summer, but my husband nicknamed me Sumo when we were dating. (Should I be offended?) Now he's got all of my family, as well as lots of our friends, calling me Sumo. I think Aunt Sumo sounds pretty great, don't you? I live in Utah with my husband, and our two beautiful daughters - Reece & Remi!

Growing up, I never used to be all that domestic or crafty, so I think no one is more surprised than my mom at how I've ended up where I am today! I started Sumo's Sweet Stuff last May as a place to keep some of my crafting projects so that my personal blog wasn't overrun with them. Somehow, that developed into a place to host giveaways, share tutorials, share recipes, and feature fellow bloggers' ideas and blogs! I also use my blog to promote my etsy shop, so if you're ever in the market for some baby girl accessories, come on over! Every Monday is Market Yourself Monday, where you can link up your latest projects, and visit other blogs to get some inspiration!

Here's a little peek at some of the things you can find on my blog:

Zipper Flower Tutorial

Easy (and tasty!) Bon Bons

Feather Wreath

Chalkboard Block

Seasonal Wood Board

Three Tiered Shirts


T-Shirt Dress


Fabric/Elastic Headbands


Interchangeable Headbands

Dipped Nutter Butters

You can find something every day of the week at Sumo's Sweet Stuff:

Market Yourself Monday

Tutorial Tuesday

Mouth-Watering Wednesday

Things to Try Thursday

Feature Friday

Showcase Saturday

Sponsor Sunday

I also am involved in a joint blogging venture - Win, Lose or Blog. If you aren't following already, you should get on over there and do so! We have a lot of great sponsors, and not all of the prizes donated are going to the contestants - they are also going to people who comment! Plus it's just nice to cheer for those lovely ladies. We're also starting to do some giveaways, so what's not to love? Season 2 is underway, which means you better get over there and get involved!

Thanks again for having me! I hope to see you all over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff soon!


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Thanks Sumo!!  See, I told you she has an amazing blog!!  Everyday is filled with such bloggy goodness!  Okay, well head on over to her place and enjoy, pronto!!