Yoda Onesie

My friend recently had her second boy and pinned this on her Pinterest board.  So cute!  I hadn't given her a baby gift yet and thought I could pull this off.

My version.

I made my design using my Silhouette software, a lot of circles and rectangles put together and tweaked.  The ears were a leaf image and for the cane I used a candy cane image, deleting the stripes of course.

I used a printable heat transfer for dark fabric, printed it on my 7+ year old injet printer, and fed it into my Silhouette machine to cut around the image.  A couple of minutes with the ol' iron and ironing board and viola!  A cute Yoda...didn't know that was possible, but here he is.

I hope she likes it!  Congrats, Rachel!

Oh, I also gave her a laminated set of THESE, one of my go-to gifts.

Book Review: The Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Really enjoying this book and series.  I like it better than the first series the author did, not as gory because the characters tend to fight clockwork/metal robots.  No blood and guts, just shredded metal.  I was a little sick of the whole "love triangle" problem that seems to be dominating all teen fiction books since Twilight, but surprisingly enjoyed this one.  And it is carrying into the next book, of course.  If you enjoyed her Mortal Instruments series, you would enjoy this series as well.



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Book Review: A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander

A Crimson Warning by Tasha Alexander

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is book six in this series.  Loved the first three, not so much the last two.  This sixth installment is much more in the style of the first three and I fell in love with the series all over again.  Lady Emily is back to her snooping ways and trying to solve the latest crime that is sweeping through London's fashionable during the Season.  I read it in a day and enjoyed much of it.  A couple of slow parts, but I trudged through them and was not disappointed in finishing it.



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Book Review: Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett

Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Wanted to like these, a series of murder mysteries solved by a bookstore owner in a cute, quaint New Hampshire town.  Very "Murder, She Wrote" via Angela Landsbury.  Alas, the characters are not complex enough and solving the case seems to take too long to hold my attention.  I probably would have liked them more if a few of the chapters left you hanging a bit...it was too easy to put down at times.  Don't think I'll continue with these.



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Milk and Cookies Shirts

In the spirit of overachievement (not a word, I know), I made each of the birthday boys a shirt to wear at the party.  Alas, no good pictures with the boys was snapped....and heaven forbid they both agree to wear them on the same day after the party so I can take a couple of photos.  I give up, so here you go.

Just pretend there are two cute little redheads wearing these.

Book Review: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Good book, wanted a little more to sink my teeth into, but I can't complain overall.  Really enjoyed the ending as all the characters found some kind of resolution and it tied up nicely.  Interested in reading more from this author.



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Milk and Cookies Birthday Party

Two of my boys birthdays are a month and two days apart; one in December before Christmas and one right after New Years.  While they're young, we are doing a combo party in January for both boys.  So far, no one is complaining and it's easier to throw a birthday party after the Christmas holidays.

My 4 year old loves milk and my 5 year old loves cookies.  Only natural to do a milk and cookies party to celebrate what they both love.

Milk bottles with cookies and cream flavor milk straws.  Prize bags filled with cookie making supplies for our cookie contest winners.  In the very back were bags for our guests to take extra cookies home.

The print is from HERE.  Glass jars and cake stands collected through the years.  The cake stands are on inverted glass bowls for a little extra height.  Labels from HERE.

I made sugar cookies with royal icing, my son's favorite chocolate chip cookies, and my favorite chocolate creme filled cookies.  Each family brought a plate of cookies to share as well.  We had LOTS of cookies.

Straws in milkshake glasses

The milk straws are at all of my local grocery stores and come in a variety of flavors.

Cookie mix in a jar party favors.  The polka dot top is a piece of scrapbook paper.  The cookie shaped tags were made on my Silhouette.

Paper cups for the little ones.  Cookie stickers made on my Silhouette and stuck right on the paper cups, so easy.

Carafes for white, chocolate, and strawberry milk.  I thought chocolate milk would be the most popular, but strawberry won out big time. 

Made a small 6 inch cake for each birthday boy.  Cut the cake in half horizontally, filled with some cream cheese frosting, topped with a sugar cookie and cute candles.

Sign made with my Silhouette.  Took me about 15-20 minutes, no joke.  I don't have a use for it anymore, so if anyone wants it, I will mail it to you.  First come, first served.

 My boys had a great time and all the guests seemed to enjoy themselves too.  

Happy Birthday A and T!

And NOW.....2012 can begin for me....whew!

Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Engaging, interesting read.  Very much like Hunger Games in style and some of the subject matter.  Not for the light of heart or those with a queasy stomach, but if you can handle the violence in Hunger Games, you can handle this one.  I enjoyed this despite the gross parts because there was a nice romance side that broke it up a bit for me.  Looking forward to the next book in this series when it is released.



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