Good to be Home

 I've been on vacation--and I'm so glad to be home.  Being with family and friends is always fun, but I am ready to be home.  My parents garden this year is amazing--gives me something to strive for when my kiddos can help a little more.  When I around my mom I get so many ideas for sewing and crafting.  After the laundry is done and put away I plan on posting some fun stuff this week.

Amen to that

My sisters SIL had this article up on her blog.  Just thought you would like to read it too...

Click to Enlarge & Read

This is why I'm so tired at the end of the day and just look at my hubby when he asks--what did you do today?

Oreo Cookies

Homemade oreo's are the best.  They don't taste like the store bought high trans fat ones--they are just pure yumminess.  They are easy to make too.  I have been making these since I was in high school and have stumbled upon a few tricks to making the process easier.

This little scooper makes a difference--it's small and helps keep your hands & counters clean.  The scooper is on parchment paper.  I buy precut parchment paper (I don't have a silicon mat)  The paper makes clean up a breeze.

The Recipe...

2 Chocolate Cake Mixes (try to use two different types--not german chocolate)

1 1/2 C Shortening

4 Eggs

Do you like my super tub of crisco?  I kept running out so I went for the super tub.

I like to add one cake mix--then wet ingredients

Then the next cake mix..this batter is thick if you are doing it by hand make sure you have a good spoon.

Use the wonderful scooper to but balls of dough out--you can obviously use your hands for this too.  But just to worn you it makes your hand greasy and creates little crumbs of cookie dough on your counters.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes (I live in a high altitude and go for the 12 minutes)

While you are baking, this batch filled four cookie sheets, start the frosting

Frosting Recipe...

1 package Cream Cheese

1 stick Butter

4-6 C Powdered Sugar

Vanilla &/or almond extract to taste

Cream the cream & butter before adding sugar add powdered sugar slowly.  I mix in vanilla then a little almond extract to give it a good flavor.

Once the cookies have cooled slightly (you don't want to melt the frosting)

Frost to your hearts content.

Put a dollop of frosting on--don't waste your time spreading it around.

Sandwich a lid on and the frosting will naturally spread out.

Once they are all frosted I like to store them in the fridge in an airtight container.  If you accidentally left your cookies in the oven for too long the frosting will help to soften the cookie.

Enjoy!

Stars & Stripes

My house is a mess and I have company coming to stay for a few days.  So what do I do...sew.  Our family 4th of July party is tomorrow and there are always a lot of photographs, I want my little ones to be decked out in patriotic outfits.  Here is the outfit I made for my little girl.

There is a flower on the left shoulder

She had fun wearing the dress for the photo shoot

And she found a treasure.

She has been collecting a lot of "treasures" lately.

I followed this pattern to make the basic dress, the ruffles are four inch strips of material, the collar is 5 inches folded in half.  The base of the dress is made from a white t-shirt I found on clearance at a fabric store.