Crafty Corner: A Cop and a Superhero...

I made my way to the land of potatoes to visit my dear friend M this past weekend. It was a delightful weekend spent with her family- super cool husband K (who is really good at SongPop) and three super cool kiddos who made me giggle with their wacky antics and witty banter. (Thanks for a great vacation, friends!)

Before heading out west, I wanted to make a few little items for the boys...it was my first time hanging out with them and I wanted to ensure they would be my best friends right away and forever...bribery seemed to be a logical way to accomplish this mission.

So with a little inside scoop from their mama, I found out that older brother is in love with all things police, middle brother thinks he is Batman, and baby brother is just very, very cute:

He is...isn't he! I got him a few board books to help in the development of his little baby mind....books about Minnesota in hopes to woo his parents to move closer to me with some sneaky subliminal advertising...

Moving on to the big boys....I had some fun sewing plans in mind for their gifts.
For Mr. Batman...a cape! There are many cape patterns out there and I found one that was simple and easy to work with: Batman Cape Pattern
I used felt which needs no finishing of the edges (awesome for us beginners in the world of sewing). I cut out the pattern and taped it together, then folded the black felt in half and placed the pattern on top:

Then onto the logo:Batman Logo
I first cut the oval, then the bat and sewed the bat to the oval. Easy peesey:

Took the newly sewn oval + bat and sewed to the cape. The pattern had a rounded bottom edge so I cut out 'Batman-y' peaks to make it look more 'Batty'. Added some Velcro to close at the neck and we had a cape. I am pretty sure he liked it:

For the officer, an official vest. Again, lots of patterns out there online but I found this one - Kid Vest.
I could see the potential to embellish it to my own needs and got to work.

I first had to modify a bit since the pattern was fit for 2-4 year olds. I got a size 6 tshirt from a friend and used it as a guide to make sure it would fit his size. I traced a new pattern (just a little bigger than the original) to work from and started cutting (again, this was all made with felt):

The vest body consists of 3 parts...one full back piece and 2 front flaps.

The tutorial I was working from said you could line the edges with another color and to do this before sewing the pieces together. I highly recommend this is done...cleaner finish. I cut 1 inch (approximately..I kind of just eyeballed it) pieces to fit each edge and pinned them into place before sewing:

Once completed, I then sewed the large pieces together (from the inside) with a small seam allowance (1/4 inch) to finish it off:

Now for the embellishments. I won a cool patch on ebay (A real County Sheriff badge from their home town...score! Blotted out in the photo to protect the privacy of the kids/family) and sewed it to the front lapel, added a pocket to the other side for all of his police accessories and used iron on letters on the back to let everyone know that he is an official officer:

Oh, and Velcro closures on the front:

And I'm pretty sure he liked it:

It was such fun to put these together and to especially see the kids get so excited to use them...Batman flying around the park and Mr. Officer 'stopping cars' as we crossed the street because 'they saw that I'm a real officer'! Imaginations run wild, kids...enjoy:)

Say Cheese...

I've got a few fun (and fairly easy) sewing projects that I have been working on this week that I am eager to share with you...however, the projects are gifts for 2 little kid friends who have yet to receive them. Since I don't want to ruin the surprise, I will hold off a week until said kids are gifted. I instead offer you a cute picture of my Small Group from church (Can you say group selfie? Nailed it...just like Ellen at the Oscars) because they are delightful and I like them. Until next week.

Baby P is #1!

I just have to gush a little about niecy number 3. She is adorable. See exhibit A:

Also, she just turned the big 1 this weekend and (despite her being a little under the weather to start off her day) it was fun to spend some time with her and her mama/daddy to celebrate....gifts:

And cuteness:

And cake (which she enjoyed after I left but I still got a picture):

Big sista B (plus family) and I went in on an indoor climber for the little lady to enjoy as the winter months roll on in the coming months...gotta keep those large motor skills sharp:

I think she likes it! Love you Miss P...can't wait to see you grow and learn so much this next year...I can already tell you are a baby genius:)

Mama's Barbecue

Lately, I have been trying to prepare one big recipe on Sundays to enjoy for the week to come. It's nice to know there is a meal already prepared for me (by me) after a long day of rockin' and rollin' with my toddlers and it's fun to try cooking new things. It's also fun to cook tried and true recipes that you know will be amazing. One of these comes right from my mama's kitchen. All my young life, we referred to them as Barbecues (for which she lovingly now gets teased). I think it must be a Central Wisconsin small town thing....and since I was born and raised a Cheese Head for a good chunk of my youth, I only later learned that the rest of the world calls them Sloppy Joes.

No matter what you call them, they are yummy and easy to put together. You will need:

Brown 1 pound of ground beef....chop up one green pepper and one small onion. Add to the browned beef and let the veggies sweat it out a bit.

Add in one can of tomato soup, a swirl or two of ketchup around the skillet, the same with the yellow mustard.

Mix it all up and let it simmer together for a few minutes- then add in the spices. My mom never really measures the spices....she says just add to your liking and go with what you feel. Embrace your inner Julia Child and spice away...I would say the chili powder is your main attraction and add in the others to your taste. She also sometimes tosses in some cayenne for a little zing, some chopped up organic celery for a little extra crunch and a pinch of brown sugar to cut the acidity of the tomato.

Yum. Also, there are a few specific sides that always go along with Mama's 'Barbecue'. Cool Ranch Doritos, Milwaukee's Baby Dill Pickles and Cottage Cheese (with chives). You gotta have them...it's just the rules. At least that's how I remember it as a kid. Enjoy.