I Can Dabble

DIY - Personalized Hooded Towels

2012-01-23T16:01:00.000-05:00

There are a ton of tutorials out there in the blog world on making your own Hooded Towels. And there was one I ran into that included personalized name embroidering. Well, I wanted to recreate that towel without having to buy an expensive embroidering machine. So this is what I came up with!

I followed this tutorial from One Simple Bliss. But instead of using a decorative ribbon I created this…

It’s made by using the freezer paper stenciling technique (view my tute here.) I cut out a 24w x 3h inch piece of fabric from an old white t-shrit, ironed on my stenciling and painted it on.

What do you think? Personalization at a fraction of the cost!

Personalized Halloween Lollipop Cards

2011-10-18T12:33:00.000-04:00

Want a fun, personalized way to say "Happy Halloween!" to your family and friends? How about an adorable Halloween Lollipop Card?!

Start by taking a picture of your kids. Have them fist up one hand and hold it out in front of them (or in this case, Nate wanted to hold his arm out to the side)

Edit your photo with a little wording:

Have your photos printed on 4x6 or 5x7 paper. I like to print my photos at Costco. They are quick & cheap.

Cut 2 small slits (using a box cutter) where the fist is and insert a lollipop.

There you have it! An adorable way of saying "Happy Halloween!" Try this for Valentine's Day, Christmas (maybe us a candy cane instead of a lollipop), or maybe even to say Thank You.

Pantone Fashion Color Report – Fall 2011

2011-10-02T21:14:00.000-04:00

So, after this chilly East Coast weekend, I'm ready to admit it really is FALL. And to kick off the season, I decided to update my blog colors.

Don’t you just LOVE it? These colors inspired my new blog color scheme for Fall 2011.

Cedar, Teal & Bamboo

Hope you guys ~~like~~ love it too!

It's her blogiversary... her blogiversary.

2011-09-29T13:42:00.001-04:00

Happy 1 year blogiversary, Mindy!

Mindy is the creative mind behind the photography, crafting, mommy blog, "a {day} with lil mama stuart", and her stuff is fantastic! Check out her space in the blog world, I know you'll love it as much as I do!

And to celebrate the birth of her blog, she'll be hosting a few give-a-ways! Yay!

To Pierce or Not To Pierce — Part Deux

2011-08-22T17:29:00.000-04:00

So.. remember when I ask this? Thank you for your advice and experiences. After a few more discussions with the Hubster, we decided to pierce Jules' ears! And man oh man it is super adorable!

We ended up taking her to the Piercing Pagoda at our local mall -- recommended by both a family friend and a friend of a friend. We went early afternoon on Sunday after both kids were fed and happy. I was totally nervous. We walked around the mall for about 20 mins and finally ended up at the Piercing Pagoda kiosk. I browsed through they selection of piercing friendly earrings. I knew I wanted a pair that had the safety backs on them -- this limited my selection a bit. But we found a pair that both the Hubster and I liked. It wasn't too small that the earring might pull through the hole itself, and it wasn't too big that it looked Gotti on my little Jules. We ended up with a pair that was 14K white gold with a little lavendar stone in the center.

The piercer (is this what you call someone who pierces ears??) had me sit down in a chair and hold Jules in my lap. She put on a pair of latex gloves and pumped hand sanitizer into her hands. She grab a little alcohol swap and wiped down both of Jules earlobes. She then took a little pen and marked a dot in the center of each earlobe -- this is were it got fun. We went back and forth a few times to get the dot just right, and the entire time the piercer (?) was super patient and helpful. We finally got the dots just right. She told me to hold on tight to Jules arms with one hand, and her head with the other.

Squeeze! Cry! Cuddles! First ear done!

Squeeze! Cry! Cuddles! Second ear done!

Jules maybe cried for a total of 15 seconds before she was back to her normal self starring at all the sights of the mall.

I love it and am so glad I got them done.

DIY - Picture Frame Bow Board

2011-08-19T09:46:00.000-04:00

Want a cute way to organize clips and bows? Make a Picture Frame Bow Board! Like all my other craft tutorials...this is way, way easy to make. And I'm sure you already have all the supplies on hand.

What you'll need:

Picture frame
Scrap fabrics
Ribbons
Glue Gun

Step 1: Remove the backing and glass front from your picture frame. You won't need the glass front for this project, but don't throw it away, I'm sure you can find some use out of it!

Step 2: Hot glue your scrap fabric directly onto the picture frame backing. (Don't you just LOVE the fabric I dug out of the reminate section of JoAnn's?)

Step 3: Lay out your coordinating ribbon in a crisscross patter directly on top of the fabric wrapped backing. Adjust your pieces to your liking. Add a dab of glue to the ends of each ribbon and glue to the back of wrapped backing.

Step 4: Put your frame back together. And there you have it! A beautiful bow board! You can even add a little decorative ribbon flower to give your board a little "oomph"

I'm so excited I get to start making cute little handmade bows and clips for Jules. If her hair is going to be anything like mine as a child, she'll need PLENTY of hair bows to tame the wildness!

To Pierce or Not To Pierce...

2011-08-01T18:30:00.004-04:00

That is the question.

So, Jules is 2.5 months old and since that day at the hospital when the doctor announced, "It's a GIRL!", I've been debating on when to get her ears pierced.

I think it's ADORABLE to see a little baby with tiny earrings on her tiny little ears. But I am totally torn. Do I pierce her ears after her 4 month shots? Or do I wait until she's older and let her make that decision on her own? Will she tug on her ears and get them infected? If I want too long, will she be too scared to get them pierced?

I don't know what to do!

Do you have a little girl of your own? Does she have her ears pierced? Yes? When and why did you decided to do it when you did.

DIY - Barefoot Baby Bloom Booties

2011-08-01T14:16:00.001-04:00

Try saying that three times fast!

Aren't these the cutest!? They are super soft, and super cute! Make one in every color to pair up with a little cute outfit. LOVE!

What you’ll need: (Note: I made this pair to fit just right on Jules (2.5 months). So you’ll need to adjust the measurements for your kiddos feeties)

T-shirt (I used one purchased from Michael’s, on sale for $2)
Glue Gun
Coordinating Needle & thread
Coordinating felt (you only need a little for each shoe, so go digging through your scrap pile!)

For this project, I wanted to do AS LITTLE sewing as possible, so for the straps, I trimmed off the finished hem of the t-shirt (be sure to cut as close to the hem line as possible). Each shoe will need two-3 inch straps.

Cut out a coordinating felt circle (approx 2.5 inches) and sew on both straps (I think the picture better describes the process)

Next, create a 5 petal flower template on a piece of paper. My flower ended up being approx. 2.5 inches. Pin the template on your t-shirt and cut out 18 flowers (9 for each shoe).

Take one petal and fold it in half. Then fold it in half again. Do this with 4 petals. Arrange each petal onto your felt circle so that the corners meet in the middle. Now hot glue the puppies on. You’ll want to also hot glue each petal fold to itself… again… the picture probably describes it better than I can.

Now take your next 4 petals and fold them the same way. This time when gluing them on, rotate your felt circle so that the new petals are lying across ½ of 2 bottom petals (yes, yes, just look at the picture)

Take your last petal piece and fold it in half. Roll one corner into the other, kind of creating a cone shape. This will create the bud of the flower. Hot glue the bud to the middle. Take the top layer of petals and add a dab of glue to the center and adhere it to the bud. This will give your flower more fluff and body.

And there you have it! SOOOO adorable! I could probably make 10 pairs outta 1 XL youth t-shirt! Less than $0.20 a pair!

Photoshop Tutorial: Rounded Photo Edges

2011-07-25T16:17:00.007-04:00

Learn how to go from this…

To this…

It’s super easy, and it gives your photos a “finished” look.

Open up your photo in photoshop.

On the tools window, select the Rounded Rectangle Tool. Adjust the radius of your rectangle to 20px (or more if you like it rounder) Draw a rounded rectangle around the parts of the image you want. (note: if you change the opacity of the rounded rectangle, you’ll be able to see what will be kept and what will be discarded.)

Next using the keyboard shortcut, hold down the “Ctrl” and “Alt” key at the same time while also clicking on the rounded rectangle layer on your layers palette. You'll know you’ve done it correctly when you see the dashed lines around your rounded rectangle.

With your rounded rectangle still selected, go to Select --> Inverse.

Now click on the photo in your layers palette. Then hit “Del”. Now go back to Select --> Deselect

Crop away the white area… and there you have it!

That was pretty easy, no? Now go and try it out for yourselves.

Google is retiring Blogger...

2011-07-07T13:09:00.000-04:00

... the name that is.

Looks like Google is trying to rebrand Blogger and Picasa. Read the CNN article here.

DIY Baby Feeding Rag

2011-06-24T14:01:00.007-04:00

What do you do when you have tons of newborn baby hats and your infant is now 1) too big for them and 2) living in a hot and humid state?

Turn them into handy Baby Feeding Rags!

Now, I really know nothing about sewing. Heck, I'm just happy I finally learned how to get my sewing machine up and running! I'm sure there is a better (even a correct way) of doing this, but this is how I did it.

Here is what you'll need:

Newborn baby hats (one hat yields two feeding rags). I used Gerber hats.
Coordinating towel
Thread
Sewing Machine

First disassemble the baby hat. It will look like this when you are done.

Next cut your towel to size. Lay the wrong sides of the fabric and towel together and pin.

Now you'll want to sew them together leaving about a 1/4 inch seam. Sew only 3 of the four sides (I left the shorter side open) You'll need this to turn the rag right side out.

Trim the excess fabric so it'll look nice and neat.

Turn the rag right side out, sew the opening closed.

And there you have it, a cute, handy and absorbent feeding rag!

You can also see this posting over at:

Craft-O-Maniac,

Oven-Baked Blueberry French Toast

2011-06-23T21:52:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, summer is finally here! And with summer comes sweet, juicy blueberries! Kick start your summer weekend with this yummy recipe for Oven-Baked Blueberry French Toast. (Recipe from Cripple Creek Bed & Breakfast Cabins)

Ingredients:

2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
Day old french bread, cut 3/4 inch thick
2 cups fresh blueberries
Syrup for serving

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon with a mixer until well blended. Then add the eggs (one at a time). Next add the milk.

Arrange the bread in the baking dish and spread the blueberries on top (little people do well with this step!)

Next, pour the cream cheese mixture over the bread. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before baking.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown. Serve this yummy dish drizzled with maple syrup. Now that's how I like to start my weekend!!

Freezer Paper Onesies

2011-06-21T14:52:00.001-04:00

Looking for a way to dress up a plain old white onesie? I've got 2 words for you -- FREEZER. PAPER.

Really! Freezer Paper is similar to wax paper, but it's only waxy on one side. It's PERFECT for cutting out stencils and ironing them on to fabric.

I put together a couple of personalized onesies for my new little god-daughter. Here are the instructions.

What You'll Need:

Onesies
Freezer Paper
Fabric Paint
Assorted Paint Brushes
Pencil
Scissors
Iron

First, Pre-wash your onesie. While your onesie is being washed, stencil out some designs on the non waxy side of the freezer paper. For this design, I decided on a cupcake pattern with baby's intial on it.

I traced the cupcake top and bottom separately since I knew I wanted to use more than one color.

Ok now cut out the pattern and iron it onto your onesie (remember... waxy side down).

Choose your fabric paint and start filling in your pattern. I found it best to use a sponge brush and blot the color on rather than painting it on with strokes.

Let your paint dry for at least 30 minutes (longer if you have the patients) before you peel off the freezer paper. Once you've peeled off the freezer paper, be sure to heat set the color into the fabric.

For this cupcake pattern, I did one layer at a time, starting with the bottom of the cupcake, then the top, then I finished by free handing the sprinkles and initial.

Wah-Lah! Adorable personalized onesies for the little people!

1 2 3 Peanut Butter Cookies With Chocolate Chips!

2011-03-16T23:32:00.000-04:00

This is one of those cookie recipes that you can quickly whip up in minutes -- Literally! And you probably already have all THREE ingredients in your pantry/fridge!

Here's What You'll Need:

1 cup of creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup of sugar (if you like it a little sweeter, bump it up to 1 full cup)
1 large egg
1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix your peanut butter, sugar and egg together in a bowl.

Once mixed you can stop here and scoop on to an ungreased cookie sheet ... OR ... you can add Mini Chocolate Chips! I added Mini Chocolate Chips to 1/2 my batter and left the other 1/2 as plain peanut butter.

Bake your cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Hope you enjoy these cookies as much as our family did!

Easter Egg Wreath

2011-03-14T16:11:00.000-04:00

I've seen many-a-craft blogs on decorating your own wreaths, that I decided I'd try one out for Easter. This is my first, so don't be too harsh! :)

What You'll Need:

Wreath (I picked up this one at Jo-Ann's for a couple of bucks.)
Plastic Easter Eggs
Ribbon
Glue Gun

There really isn't much to it. Just glue the eggs on, following a pattern that looks pleasing to you. Slap a big bow on top. And hang on your front door for everyone to enjoy!!

I realize that the wreath looks like its missing something... perhaps I should glue on more eggs? What do you think?

Valentine's Day Cupcake Liner Topiary

2011-01-28T16:29:00.000-05:00

Now isn't this just the cutest! I found this tutorial over on Craft-O-Maniac the other week. I had to give it a try.

I picked up most of the supplies at the Dollar Tree (Gotta love Dollar Tree!) Click here for the tutorial.

I'm def going to make one for each holiday to add color to my foyer table.

How to: Pull String Piñata

2010-08-02T10:03:00.002-04:00

(NOTE: Parttimecrafting.blogspot.com has now been renamed to ICanDabble.blogspot.com.)

Can you believe it? Nater will be TWO in less then 2 weeks!!! We've been planning his Fire Truck Themed party for months now and have been searching high and low for a pull string Fire Truck Piñata — No Luck. Seems like ALL the fire truck piñatas I found needed to be cracked open with a bat. Not so toddler friendly.

I bought one anyway and decided to do a craft tutorial on how to turn it into a pull string piñata!! Yay for me, yay for you!

What you'll need:

Piñata
Lots of Curling ribbon (the type of ribbon used to tie balloons) cut approx. 30-36 inches long
Tape
Tissue paper
Elmer's glue
Sponge brush
Box cutter

Step 1: Cut a 3-sided trap door on the bottom of the Piñata. I made my cuts about 3.5 inches long.

Step 2: Poke a small hole in the middle of your new trap door.

Step 3: Take a curling ribbon and insert through the small hole in the middle. Knot off the end that is on the outside of the Piñata. Make sure the knot is large enough that it won't pull through the hole when tugged. Close the trap door. (The other end of the ribbon should be now hanging out of the trap door) This is the ribbon that when pulled will release all the candy goodness inside.

Step 4: Start individually taping the remaining ribbon around the trap door. Make sure you have enough for each child to pull (Note: In my picture, I taped the ribbon to the door itself. After I was done, I realized it would have probably been a better idea to tape it AROUND the door and not on it! Ugh.

Step 5: Cut four 4x4 squares of coordinating tissue paper.

Step 6: Using a sponge brush, brush a thin layer of Elmer's Glue over the trap door and edges of the ribbon. Lay a square of tissue paper on top. Repeat Glue, Paper, Glue Paper. The last layer should be of glue to seal everything up. Let your glue dry.

Step 7: Trim the ribbons so that they are of equal length.

Tada! You've got your self a toddler friendly, treat dispensing piñata!

You can also see this posting over at:

Craft-O-Maniac,

Super Hero Cuffs

2010-07-16T10:38:00.000-04:00

It's a bird! It's a plane! No. It's Super Nater rockin' his super hero cuffs! Schweet!

After working a full day, commuting about 1 - 1.5 hours each way and spending time with my family, I am not left with very many ~~hours~~ minutes in the day. So I am ALL about finding easy crafts to create -- and this is one of them!

What you'll need:

The cardboard roll from a roll of paper towels (one roll makes 2 sets)
Color felt
Elastic
Hot glue gun
Scissors
Box cutter or exacto knife or other hole making device

Step 1: Take your cardboard paper towel roll and cut it down the middle from top to bottom.

Step 2: Measure and cut out 2 1/2 inch sections. One roll should yield 4 cuffs.

Step 3: Cut out different color felt pieces to cover the bare cardboard strips. (Using the cardboard roll helps give shape to the cuffs. ) Be sure to leave an additional 1/2 inch of felt on each side. Using the glue gun, glue the strip onto the roll and wrap the extra 1/2 inch of felt around to the back and glue on as well.

Step 4: Using a box cutter, exacto knife, hole punch (whatever you can find), make an incision on either ends of the cuffs. String through some elastic band and knot off at the ends. This will keep your cuff secure and in place when battling the evil doers.

Step 5: Using scrap pieces of felt, cut out different patterns and hot glue them on.

Super Easy. Super Cute. Nater Tater just loved them!

Tutu - Part Tu

2010-06-30T14:06:00.000-04:00

Here's another version of the Elastic Band Tutu, but instead of using an elastic band, I used ribbon. Before you start adding on the tulle to the ribbon, be sure to knot off both ends leaving about 18 inches of ribbon to each side. This will be used to tie the tutu around the waist.

This will be one of the couple of Tutus I will be donating to the Tutu Drive 2010. I had made two earlier, and had Rusty model them. Well I wasn't thinking! Because the Tutus that are getting donated to the Alexa Foundation need to be new and never used. The kids that these dress up clothes are going to have very weak immune systems, so they need to take every precaution to make sure no germies get them sick. Hello Nelly?! Why didn't I think about that? So brand new Tutus will be made, sealed and donated. :)

Tutu Made Simple

2010-06-22T23:26:00.000-04:00

Okay, so this has got to be the easiest Tutu tutorial ever! It takes no time to make and comes out super cute!

(I don't have a cute little girl to model my Tutus, so I used Rusty instead. Yes, he is a boy dog... but really, it's OK, he didn't mind)

What you'll need: (this makes a size 2T-3T)

Elastic band (19 inches long)
Needle & thread
Tulle. I bought mine in rolls at a fabric store for $2.99/roll. Each roll was 6 inches wide x 2 yards long.

That's it... really.

Step 1: Take your elastic waist band and overlap the ends about 1/2 inch. Stitch together.

Step 2: Take your tulle and cut into 24 inch strips. For my tutus, I used about 35-40 strips.

Step 3: Take one strip of tulle and fold in half. Insert folded end behind your elastic band. Pull loose end through the hole to form a "knot." I think this picture can describe it better than I can.

It also makes for easier work if you wrap your elastic band around a chair. I used my son's chair that was in the play room. It was the perfect width. PS: don't mind the lovely artistic work on the furniture -- courtesy of Nater Tater.

Step 4: Repeat step 3 until your tutu is as full and fluffy as you'd like. The pattern I used for the Pink & White Tutu was 3 pinks/2 whites. And for the Red & Black Tutu, it was 2 reds/2 blacks. Tulle comes in a variety of colors... so the possibilities are endless!

After you have all the tulle on and in place -- tighten each knot slightly. This will help them from getting undone.

Step 5: Admire your work! :)

See. I told you it was EASY!

Both Tutus will be donated to the Tutu Drive 2010 for the Princess Alexa Foundation. If you feel inspired to make your own and would like to donate it as well, visit here for details.

Samster Mommy's Tutu Drive 2010

2010-06-22T08:45:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite blogger, Samster Mommy, is holding a Tutu Drive 2010 for the Princess Alexa Foundation. The Princess Alexa Foundation was formed in August 2008 in memory of Alexa Aigner, a beautiful 4-year-old girl who loved dressing up to escape the reality of cancer. Their mission is to celebrate the childhood spirit of seriously ill children through dress up and play. Amazing, no?

My next couple of tutorials will be on making Tutus and donating them to Samster Mommy's drive. They are pretty simple to make and if you feel the urge to get crafty... come join me and help by donating your creations too! I'll have more details on where and when to donate.

Let's do this, and help Samster Mommy reach her goal of 100 Tutus!!!

Cake Pops

2010-06-21T11:29:00.000-04:00

I found this clever idea on someone’s blog last week (sorry, I can’t remember which one) and thought it would be perfect as a sweet treat for Nater-Tater’s 2nd birthday!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Colored melting chocolates (I used Wilton® Candy Melts)
8 inch lollipop sticks
1 box of cake mix (I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme Devil’s Food. This particular cake mix calls for 3 eggs, 2 cups water, 2/3 cups oil)
1 container of frosting
Wax paper

Step 1: Pull together your cake mix following the directions on the box. Mix, grease, pour, bake. When baking is complete, let it cool for about 15-20 minutes before moving on to step 2.

Step 2: Take your cake and start crumbling! I used 2 forks to crumble my cake pieces. You can also use your hands to make for a faster process. You’ll want it crumbled fairly well… think bread crumbs.

Step 3: Next, mix the frosting into your cake crumbs. Start off with 3 large spoonfuls and add more if you need to. I used about ¾ of the container. You’ll want your cake/frosting mix “wet” enough to form balls.

Step 4: Form the balls. You’ll want to keep them about the size of a golf ball… any bigger and it will be too heavy. Trust me. I tried! I even tried to form ones that look like small hamburger patties, but they didn’t do so well during the dipping process. So stick to golf ball size pops.

Lay your cake balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.. If your cake mix starts to get too warm and starts sticking to your fingers, just put your mix in the freezer for a few minutes, then go at it again. Once you have all your cake balls made, put the entire cookie sheet in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Step 5: Melt your chocolates! The Wilton Candy Melts do really well in the microwave.

Step 6: Take your cake balls out of the freezer and insert lollipop sticks. I dipped the stick into a little bit of the chocolate before inserting them. This helps hold it in. Next, you’ll want to roll your cake pops into the melted chocolate. Gently remove from your melted chocolate and let the excess drip off. Lay your dipped Cake Pops back on the wax lined cookie sheet. Let cool.

Step 7: Once your cake pops have cooled and harden, you’re free to enjoy! I added a little extra touches by drizzling some with more melted chocolates and pop out numbers (made with free handing melted chocolate onto wax paper)

Super cute, no? And it’s tasty too!

Body Pillow Case

2010-06-19T21:46:00.000-04:00

Last year, my parents went to Vietnam on a mini vacay and brought back this super soft, super cuddly, body pillow for Nater-Tater.

As cute as the butterfly and two-toned green pillow case is... it just doesn't go with the "Disney Cars" themed room he has. So as my first project with my newly acquired sewing skills, I decided to make a new body pillow case for him.

We still had Nater-Tater's Disney Cars crib bedding, and the flat sheet was just the right size for this.

First, I removed the green butterfly case and laid it directly on top of the folded flat sheet. I trimmed the new flat sheet to fit (leaving approx. 1 inch extra around)

Next, I folded down 1" on the top (what will be the top) and stitched it right down the middle (leaving a "pocket" where I will be inserting a strip of fabric that will hold the pillow case on.) Repeat step to bottom of case.

Next, stitch the long sides together, but be sure not to stitch the openings of the pockets closed! Then string the strip of fabric through the top and bottom. To make this step easier, pin your strip of fabric to a safety pin, it'll help you guide it through.

Finally, insert body pillow into your new case, tie off the ends and enjoy!

Sew, you think you can sew?

2010-06-17T13:49:00.001-04:00

Yes, yes. It's true. I am FINALLY ready to teach myself (of course, with the help of you, right?) how to sew!

I've been following Samster Mommy's blog and have been inspired to start crafting and sewing. She makes it seem so easy! So I thought, why not give it a try!

But like many of my other hobbies, I tend to start it... but never continue it. So before I decide to invest in a sewing machine, I borrowed my moms. (Thanks Mom!) I brought home this machine, took it out of the box and guess what? No user manual! But have no fear... there is this thing called the internet. I google'd "Shark Euro-Pro Sewing Machine" and found an online user manual! SUCCESS! After about an hour of flipping back and forth, reading and re-reading the manual I still could not thread the sewing machine! FAIL!

So what would be the next sensible thing to do? I gave up. Sike. I logged on to the trusty YouTube and searched for videos on how to thread a sewing machine. With luck and about 20 minutes of play, pause, play, pause, I was able to get my machine up and running!

Watch out Martha Stewart, Nelly's in the house!!