Link Party: What We Wore and Made Wednesdays #3

sorry about my lame-o face, I was sick most of the week, this was before we headed out to Thanksgiving
Sweater - I think Ross

Pants - Mervyns once upon a time

 Shoes -Jelly Pop

Mermaid Necklace - Black Apple on Etsy

 note, my boobs aren't that lopsided, I just can't dress myself.

 Undershirt - Old Navy

Pants - Forever 21

Vest - Charlotte Russe

Scarf -Somewhere in Thailand

 yes my eyes are closed, come on I was sick this was the best out of like 12 self timer shots

 Nimbus Tee -Teefury

Cardigan and Pants - Forever 21

Booties - Walmart

Shoes for a short time period -Costco

Hope you all had a spectacular Thanksgiving. I was kind of sick. Bummed that I was too yucky to hit the mall at midnight but what can you do. I'm hoping to do an Advent Calendar round up on Friday so I hope you guys will link any advent calendar projects in addition to whatever you were planning to link since I would love to feature many of your cool projects in the collection.

Show and Tell:Christmas Craft Day 2011 #1

 (Linda with awesome winter decor, just battery operated lights and some cool branches from Michael's that she chopped up)

My friends and I do a Christmas Craft Day every year. It started off just as a day to put together Christmas cards and bake cookies  but quickly evolved to crafts of all sorts. You can see the awesomeness from last year here. This year there was an outcry that we needed more than just one day so we've planned a few.  So here's what we made at our first Christmas Craft Day of the year.

My sister made these darling shirts for the naughty girls out of ribbon. She made some similar turkey ones for Thanksgiving that she liked so much she did this. We sewed these one and she glued the turkey ones and says she much prefers the glue style.

Our cute exchange student friends Seema and Lamia made a ton, and by a ton I mean a gazillian gift tags. They were so cute.

A few of us made wreaths. This one by Leah was made with real clippings, like from the yard, and a wire. Awesome right?!

There was knitting and crocheting (I think there was both). After Heidi whipped out a wreath she worked on her family stockings.

Laurel, host mama of exchange student Seema made 5 super adorable stockings. Here's Seema holding the one that was created for her.

I made a few ornaments that are going on a wreath and helped friends with sewing stuff. But my wreath isn't quite done so this is all you get for now. I had crazy mod podge fingers after finishing the ornaments.

And my ultimate favorite part of the day was that everyone showed up with a giant box of craft crap. It was awesome.

Rae Gun Finds: Crafty Wood Cut Outs

I had the pleasure of visiting a brand new shop called Crafty Wood Cut Outs that's just a little drive down the freeway from me that's really neat. Those of you who find yourself in Utah County should definitely check it out.

While I am not much of a wood crafter, I'm so much more comfortable behind a sewing machine, I had a lot of fun seeing all the amazing projects that they sell and picking one out for myself. It's always good to try new things right? They have all sorts of kits of unfinished wood as well as paper, paints and more perfect for all your crafty needs including some special holiday and season appropriate choices.

(it's hideous right?)
Now I really really wanted this post to be a cute tutorial on how you can use mod podge fabric on cut outs the same way you would  with paper but after did my first pass I was hating how it turned out. Nothing to do with the technique or cut-outs just the colors and it was so so red and so not me.

So I ripped off all the fabric and started again. And while it didn't involve mod podging I like the result so much more. But you should know if you have some cool fabrics you can totally use them in these kind of projects. Super thin fabrics aren't the best but medium weight fabric works really well. I ended up with a few letters solid with gold glitter and a couple more textured with white and gold. I keep going back and forth between whether I want them all gold and glittery or if I like the diversity how it is.

I really like how the bells turned out especially the one in the C. Cute right? Oh and one last tip did you know that you can use was paper for crafting too? Yup if you put down a bit of wax paper when you're painting or gluing or whatever it makes cleanup a cinch and you don't have to worry about your work surface.

Any ways if you're into the wood crafting stuff i encourage you to go "like" Crafty Wood Cut Outs on facebook since they are working hard to open an online shop in the next month or so.

What's for Dinner: Week 103 aka call for soup recipes

(rolls from Thanksgiving)

Today my friends and I are having our first Christmas Craft Day of the season. A few of them demanded asked for more this year instead of the one we had last year and I love crafting with friends so I'm wasn't about to say no. I'll be making a big pot of soup and rolls and probably grab some salad stuff on the way home from church plus we'll have whatever munchies they decide to bring, it's going to be fun. As far as the menu for the week goes there are a bunch of repeaters since I ended up getting sick last week and didn't feel like cooking at all.

And if you haven't noticed I started a weekly link party (on Wednesdays) for food, fashion and crafts (or if you have any tips those are welcome too!) I'd love it if you guys would link your favorite soup recipes since I want to do a soup round up sometime soon since I'm a huge huge soup fiend and it is soup season.

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Potato Corn and Turkey Chowder Salad and Rolls	Grains and nuts: granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: lettuce, spinach Fish: salmon
Monday	Seafood Quiche
Tuesday	Ravioli and Marinara
Wednesday	Eat Out
Thursday	Meatball Sandwiches and Salad
Friday	Salmon Cous Cous and Wilted Spinach
Saturday	Tomato Soup Salad and Rolls

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I've very thankful for all my readers and love that you let me share this part of my life with you and let me have a peek at yours as well. How amazing is technology.

Just a reminder that you can get free worldwide shipping in the Rae Gun Etsy shop all weekend by entering the code GOBBLEFS into the coupon code on etsy when you check out. I've also got other promotions all weekend that you can enjoy in addition to free shipping. See this post for details and codes.

Link Party: What We Wore and Made Wednesdays #2

Ruffle Shirt - Made by Me

Cardigan - Kimchi Blue

Jeans - Forever 21

Shoes -Payless (we're breaking up with this pair

they are starting to rub way too much)

 Bow Shirt - Charlotte Russe

Undershirt - Old Navy

Jeans - Charlotte Russe

Shoes -Jelly Pop

Snitch Necklace - Brat Boutique on Etsy

Tank - Target

Pants - Old Navy

Cardigan - Charlotte Russe

Shoes -Nordstrom's Rack

Potter Lumos Necklace - PrettyLittleCharmsUK on Etsy

Welcome back. I had so so much fun looking at each of your projects, outfits and other creations last week. Thanks for playing! Here are a few of my favorites from last week. For those of you who have never done a what I wore post, I have to say knowing I'm going to take a picture of my outfit and just looking at my outfits on the camera each day has really helped me out. I'm kinda liking this.

What We Wore and Made Features

You guys are amazing. I had lots of fun looking through all your amazing creations, recipes and outfits. Here are a few of my favorites from last week's party.

• Marine Corps Ball  how amazing is that dress, they are such a cute couple!
• Fabric Covered Necklace it's just marbles and fabric cool eh?
• Jewelry Wall Hanging
• Monster Pants does it get any more awesome? I need a pair for myself.
• No Sew Scarf yeah so my mom made one for my sister in just a few minutes, we're kinda in love
• Belted Cardigan I love how she spun this outfit, too cute.

<a href="http://raegunwear.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BFifh-4qJ8s/TT-J23AQTrI/AAAAAAAACuY/wqlfU1Hnuxg/s175/kitty%2Bsquare%2Bcopy.jpg" /></a>

Feel free to grab a button if you were featured. I'll have the link party up tomorrow and I look forward to seeing more amazingness from all of you

Rae Gun After Thanksgiving Sale 2011

Just a quick note to give you all the details of this weekend's upcoming sale. I only do one sale a year so if you've been eying my baby and toddler clothes, want to get ahead on Halloween orders for next year or have a gaggle of pregnant friends or family that you'll need baby shower gifts for now's your chance. Sale starts Thursday November 24, 2011 and runs through Monday November 28, 2011. Check out my Shop.

Please read all the info so you know how the sales, codes and discounts will wok.

• FREE SHIPPING all weekend starting on Thursday through Monday. Enter the code GOBBLEFS into the coupon code section during the Etsy check out and it will automatically adjust your price.

• 10% OFF on your entire order on Saturday and Sunday only.  Since on Etsy you can only use one coupon code at a time if you want to get both the free shipping and the 10% off  enter the code above for free shipping in the coupon code section and in the notes to sellers section (where you'll also write the size info) please write THANKSGIVING10OFF and I will refund you 10% after you pay.

• BOGO on Friday and Monday buy one item get one READY TO SHIP item of equal or lesser value half off. So the half off item must be something from my "ready to ship" section and it must be of equal or lesser price to what you purchase at the regular price. If you want something more expensive feel free to buy a few regular price items (for example you can buy a set and a bottom and if that adds up to the same or more than a jumper you can get the ready to ship jumper half off). Since on Etsy you can only use one coupon code at a time if you want to get both the free shipping and the BOGO  enter the code above for free shipping in the coupon code section and in the notes to sellers section (where you'll also write the size info) please write THANKSGIVINGBOGO and I will refund you after you pay.

• EARLY BIRD CUSTOMER CHOICE  so to make life easier for all of us who will be trying to take advantage of all the great deals around town I'll be doing an early bird special order sale. Here's how it works. You'll get free shipping plus the discount of your choice: either 10% off the entire order OR BOGO buy any regular priced item get one ready to ship item of equal or lesser value half off. To do this message me on Etsy (to raegun) your list of what you want to order and what discount you want by Wednesday 10:00 pm PST . I'll set up the listing with the prices adjusted already and you'll need to check out and pay by 11:59 pm PST on Thursday (11/24/11). 

Please note. I'll do all the refunds at once. So on Tuesday. Depending on how many orders I get it may take a couple days but they will all be done next week. I'll be adding more ready to ship stuff but there is a limited amount so if you're interested in the BOGO please know that is is first come first serve.

Also I will be out and about shopping on Friday and Saturday. I'll try to find my way back to a computer to relist things but if something you really want that is showing up as sold when you get there  feel free to send me an message on etsy and as long as it's a made to order item that I can make another of I'll set you up a reserved listing as soon as I get back.

Okay I hope that all made sense please ask me any questions if something is confusing. Oh and as you can see above I'm doing aprons. I'll be adding more to the shop all week. Check out my Shop.

Naughty Time: Easy Turkey Craft

Last weekend we had a fun little play date at our home. One of our friends brought his kiddos over to play with the naughty nieces while his wife was out of town. The friends showed up in full batman and spiderman costumes (it was awesome). It took some time to get them to take off their masks because they were afraid that we'd "know who they were". Oh yes a kid's gotta protect his/her identity after all.

My sister brought a fun craft for them. It was so easy I thought some of you might like to do it on for Thanksgiving (or even on Thanksgiving if you need something for the little ones to do)

What you need

• paper plates
• construction paper
• paint
• double sided tape or glue

What to Do

1. Cut the plates in half.
2. Depending on how old the kiddos are either cut the pieces or have them cut the pieces (brown body, white and black eyes, orange beak and red gobbler, it's called a gobbler right?)
3. Have them paint the feathers. And let dry (we played some rounds of hide-n-go seek here it was awesome)
4. Have them take or glue the pieces on.
5. Marvel in their creativity

What's for Dinner: Week 106

 (Sausage and Ricotta Pizza)

I'm in charge of green beans, rolls and dessert (which I'm doing a version of this amazingness). What's your job for Thanksgiving?

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	I'm eating Popcorn and watching Breaking dawn! but making Spicy Fish and Cheesey corn potatoes for the hubby	Grains and nuts: granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: lettuce Fish: Fish
Monday	Meatball Sandwiches and Salad
Tuesday	Seafood Quiche
Wednesday	Some kind of Pasta
Thursday	Thanksgiving Feast
Friday	Left overs
Saturday	Eat out

Mini Collage Upcycled Lid Ornament

I'm guest posting today over at Craft Snob as part of the handmade Ornament Paraded. There's been tons of fun ornament tutes and even more to come. Check out how I remade old canning lids to make cute collage ornaments here.

For those of you visiting from Craft Snob. Welcome it's great to have you. I hope you take a peek around. Here are a few of my personal favorite posts if you need somewhere to start.

• Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake no need to pay 8$ a slice at the cheesecake factory ever again.
• Hooded Scarf It's a scarf with a hood, super functional and super cute. The perfect gift for the person you have no idea what to give.
• Melted Snowman Ornament Quick and easy cute ornament.

Tutorial reposted below.

What you need

• Mason Jar Lids (reuse them or buy a pack for a little over a dollar for 12)
• Mod Podge
• Pictures (either print them small or use wallet sized prints)
• Other embellishments (sparkles, jewels, feathers, words, etc)
• Ribbon
• A small scrap of felt or other fabric
• Background fabric or felt
• Top glaze (I used Aleen's Paper Glaze for one and Mod Podge's Dimensional Magic for the other
• Hot Glue Gun
• Foam brush

 (click on the image to enlarge)

 What to Do

1. Cut out picture and background paper or fabric. (I wish that I would have cut the background circles a little bigger than the lid so it would wrap fully around the edge)
2. Apply a layer of Mod Podge and put the background paper/felt down and do the same to the back of the lid.
3. Arrange your picture and words and apply those using Mod Podge (one I used plain and one I used the sparkle kind). Do that by first putting a thin layer over your background and placing your pieces and then applying another layer of Mod Podge.
4. If you want to add any sparkles or other embellishments you can do that now. If you want more of a glazed look like I wanted you can use paper glaze or dimensional magic. Just read the packaging for details on how to apply it. It's best to work from the outside in. If you are using 3D embellishments (like the snow flake) you can just throw them on after you put the glaze on. You can add more glitter also if you want. I used a pin to move air bubbles out of the way and move glitter when it was too concentrated over faces. Let it sit overnight.
5. If you cut your background pieces big your edges probably look nice and covered but I didn't think that far ahead so I wanted to add something. On one I just used a thin ribbon and on the other I used chunky glitter. I applied it using tacky glue.
6. Next make a ribbon hanger. I just made a loop and tied a bow at the ends of a strip of ribbon. Next hot glue it to the back of your ornament by sandwiching it in between the back of the ornament and a piece of felt.

Super easy and fun. I love them because not only do I get to repurpose something but it's like a little memory. With the stripe one I'm taken back to the matador and bull costumes I made for my nieces and hubby last year and with the other one I'm reminded of the good times we had at my oldest niece's 4th butterfly birthday party this year. I hope you have fun making them and I'd love to hear from you and see picture of yours too.

What We Wore and Made Wednesdays Link Party: 1

 Tank Top - Charlotte Russe

Cardigan - Forever 21

Jeans - Forever 21

Boots - Costco

Necklace - Ball and Chain on Etsy

A couple things, I've been feeling a super lazy about getting dressed lately and happened to come across the pleated poppy's What I Wore Wednesdays Party and I've decided I could definitely use some accountability not to wear work out clothes all day. And I've been wanting in on the link party fun so I've decided to give it a go. You can link up fashion, craft or food posts. I'd love it all! So here we go. (sorry for my lame pictures this week I took them all at night)

Ravenclaw Tee - Ript Apparel

Cardigan - Charlotte Russe

Jeans - Forever 21

Shoes -Jellypop

Lessons From Mary Poppins: The Good of A Sloper II

 (oops forgot to take off my glasses)

If I didn't scare you off with Part I and you're curious about making a sloper here's my quick and dirty explanation. They actually sell basic sloper patterns that you can use to fit your own body but what I did was have a friend pin a bunch of fabric to me, mark it all up and make a custom sloper out of cheapo fabric. Here are the basic steps

• Take a piece of fabric that is big enough to cover your front and back top.
• Slit a hole in the middle so your head can go through so part of it hangs over your arms and you've got fabric covering your torso in the front and back.
• Have a friend pin the fabric to you so that it fits like a tight shirt. Have her mark the shoulder lines, a high neckline and right around your armholes. Under, to the side of the boobs and in the curve of your back have her pin and mark all around the pins, this will help you make the darts.
• Now that all the lines are marked have her free you and lay your pattern out. Cut the front separate from the back.  Fold each piece in half and even things out with a ruler and artist curves (or just try to smooth out the curve freehand). No one is even so just average things out it should fit okay since most patterns are made by cutting things on the fold. Copy it onto some paper or more cheap fabric.

• You should have something like this. This can be used as a pattern if you just one one dart at the bottom you can "transfer the darts" basically close the side dart so the paper touches and there is no gap which will increase the dart at the bottom.
• Now use this as your pattern but add a seam allowance (5/8 is a good one) and cut the back in half so when you put it on it will be like a backwards vest or a bodice before the back zipper/fasten is sewn in.
  
• Baste all the pieces together including the darts.
• Try it on and make adjustments to improve the fit. Feel free to fool around with the fit, neckline, etc.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this since I did mine about 5 years ago. I remember reading an article about this in Threads a few years ago but the search results aren't turning it up. If any of you guys have helpful links or pictures please put them in the comments or email me the pictures and I can update this post.

(I used the same base pattern for both Mary Poppins layers as this dress above)

Once you have a sloper you can manipulate it to make any silhouette and you'll know that it should actually fit. Cool huh?

What's for Dinner: Week 105

(Chicken Lentil Curry Soup and Naan)

Day	Main Meal	Goals (Veggies, Whole Grain, Fish)
Sunday	Chicken Parmesan and Afredo Pasta	Grains and nuts: granola bars, ww pasta Veggies: lettuce Fish: Fish
Monday	Ricotta and Sausage Pizza and Salad
Tuesday	Mulligatawny Soup and Naan
Wednesday	Spinach Artichoke Chicken Sausage Latkas and Apple Sauce
Thursday	Spicy Fish and Cheesey corn potatoes
Friday	Eat Out
Saturday	Seafood Chowder