I am alive!

Wow! It is amazing how life changes your priorities and just like that a fun blog got forgotten.  I was reminded this morning about this blog that I started when someone commented on one of my posts.  My post about the Hunky Bill's perogie maker. My kids are no longer little ones, they are now 15 and 13 and amazing teenagers that I am so grateful for.

I have started a little side hobby business selling handmade sewn items.  Mostly scrunchies and tote bags, but I can't wait to find more time to make new things. 
I sell my items on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/sugarmaplecreation and you can find all my instock items there.

Saturday DIY

My Daughter and I made this cute little headband and it took all of about 10 minutes.  You only need 3 items and a hot glue gun.

I am the queen of looking for tutorials.  I googled - DIY felt flowers and there were a bunch of ideas ranging from very simple flowers to very fancy flowers!  We went with the simple flower.

Find some fancy ribbon and a plain headband.  Wrap your ribbon around the head band and carefully glue the ends down with some hot glue.  Make your felt flower, glue it on and you are done!
I did add a small circle of felt to the bottom of the flower to hold it onto the back of the headband.

links
Felted Flowers 5 Ways

Wheat Belly

Well I have been up to a lot lately but I just haven't put it down into words. Aside from knitting(a lot) over winter I picked up this book to read.

I have always been interested in health and this book caught my attention. But it caught my attention because I switched to a gluten free diet a few weeks before I saw this book.

Not eating gluten is the key for me when it comes to feeling like a million bucks. All of my food cravings went away, I don't go through the day feeling hungry till the next meal and I sleep so much better. Oh, and the energy, I have so much energy!

If you have been searching for a way to lose some weight, feel better or just want to try something different I encourage you to pick up this book.

Fun Fur Knitted Purse

I knitted up this purse for my daughter's friend that is having a birthday soon. The pattern is from Lion Brand, Fun Bag.

It was very easy and quick to knit up. I made a few changes by making the bag a bit smaller and I didn't have enough yarn to add the ties. I also knitted the handles with a cast on of 7 sts instead of 9

Carnival Party

It is that time AGAIN!!
Happy 7th Birthday to my very big boy!

My son wanted his party at a local fair with a bunch of rides for the kids to go on. So I thought it would be cute to do a carnival theme and I found a Carnival Set from Typewink on Etsy. It is adorable! it came with a bunch of printable items.

Popcorn cupcakes anyone?

the cupcakes were a huge hit.

I was worried about the warm weather melting the marshmallows but it actually made for a nice soft gooey marshmallow to bit into, they were yummy and so fun to make.

My Friend Jen had the perfect idea to hang the Happy Birthday Banner in the tree, it looked great!

Tinker Town!

This place has been around since I was a little girl! I have memories of being on the same rides that are still here!

The loot!
each child got

a sucker

a box with two bags of fruit gummies and 2 pieces of hubba bubba

a mini Knex box/ girls got a recorder(flute)

$5 gift card to Chapters(book store)

(The little printable box was party of the party package)

I packed everything in these little premade popcorn bags that I found. The set came with a printable popcorn box but unfortunately I misplaced the file and didn't have time to get it printed for the party. I printed out little "thank you" labels and attached them to the bag.

Pink Zebra Party

It is that time of year again!

Happy 5th Birthday Baby Girl!

I love planning my kids parties. My daughter wanted a Zebra party so I went with a pink, black and white theme. First I ordered a party pack from print.creat.celebrate on Etsy.

I ordered the Pink Zebra party set and made the invitations, party hats, banner and cup labels.

Time to decorate!

I made simple tissue paper poms(same as last years party) I love the look of them so I had to make them again.

A few games.
We played musical chairs(always a favorite) and pink the tail on the Zebra. we used a fancy pink feather for the Zebras tail and my daughter helped colour the zebra for the party.

Time for cake!

I made this Zebra cake. I have never made a two tiered cake before and really wanted to give it a try. I baked 2 8inch and 2 6inch cakes, put homemade strawberry jam in between the layers and decorated with white butter cream icing and zebra ribbon. I also used a cake board and dowels as per Wilton's suggestions. I would have hated the cake to fall into itself so I used the board and dowels to be on the safe side. The cake actually took no time at all to put together and I was very happy with the results. My daughter loved her "mini wedding cake"

Time to go home.

We always do a Pinata at our home parties and finding a Zebra Pinata was tricky. So we had a great idea to turn Pinkie Pie into a pink Zebra!

Goodie bags consisted of bubbles, a giant jeweled ring(the boys got silly putty!), candy from the Pinata and a marshmallow pop that I made a few days before the party.
Just melt some chocolate melts, put pop sticks in your marshmallows, freeze your marshmallows for a few minutes in the freezer and then dip them into the melted chocolate. Put them on wax paper and set them in the fridge to cool.

I can not believe my baby girl is already 5 years old, the time has seemed to go by so fast. I love throwing parties for my children and celebrating them.

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. ~Oprah Winfrey

Knitted Sundress

Perfect Sundress by Lion Brand

I knitted this very cute sundress for my daughter(she picked the colours). I used an Acrylic and Cotton blend yarn from Bernat, Baby Cakes in Ballerina(pink) and a soft purple that is currently unavailable. This yarn is a worsted weight, easy to knit with but I am hoping it washes well, only time will tell.

I knitted the largest size and should have knitted the size 4, but at least my daughter can grow into it over the next couple of years. This is the first garment that I have ever knitted and although I found the pattern easy to follow I had a difficult time with sewing it together. The pattern has a lot of decreases and this left some messy edging when I was finished. I am not too happy about that part, but all in all I think this dress is adorable, and most important after all my work my daughter wants to wear it!

The purple trim and oh so adorable flower was done by my talented Friend Jen T. She saved me after I was having a hard time getting the trim done correctly, and she crocheted this very cute flower that my daughter just had to have.