Tales of a Crafty Mommy

Wow!!! This took me ages to do and to be honest, I just wasn't sure how in the world to use Flickr. Why do I end up figuring out most things during the middle of the night? Probably because that's when everything is so quiet and I can actually focus on ONE thing at a time. Been there too? I thought so! Well, yes, it's official. I have now created a Flickr account and I am so excited about it! I can't wait to see the things you make with the tutorials and recipes I have posted on the blog thus far. I invite you to upload them to the group called Tales of a Crafty Mommy . Hope the next two days before the end of the year go wonderfully for you! 2012, here we come! ~ Fabi

Right now there are 16 patterns on sale!!! WOW and for only $3 each. This is a great time to stock on some new patterns for your shop or leisure sewing.  You'll recognize on Etsy and other handmade shops that a lot of people use these patterns. Each pattern contains many, many pictures and guides you step by step in the process. Most of the patterns use less than 1/4 yd of fabric or 1/2 yd. Perfect timing to use up your fabric! Get started on sewing a new clutch or a passport pouch today with the instant download link available. Click on the left margin of this page and it will take you directly to Keyka Lou Patterns.

A few days ago, my baby boy turned ONE.  Happy Birthday, Sweet Guy! We celebrated his birthday with a Jungle Themed Party. So lots of green, brown, and yellow! We had giraffes, hippos, and elephants. For this occasion I wanted the birthday table to look like was in the jungle, so I went to JoAnn's (perfect excuse to go!) and found fabrics that would match my theme.  The backdrop, green and white leaves, complimented the banner really well. It looked like the banner was in between all the leaves. For the table, I used a giraffe print flannel fabric also from the Nursery Prints section at JoAnn's. Then I used some wrinkled paper and put some more hippos around the table. As far as food, we had Monkey Bread, sugar cookies, chips, hamburgers, and cake. You could also make Jungle Cakes, Muddy Cakes (Brownies),  and have animal crackers. Gotta have Monkey Bred! Cake Toppers made with Create-a-Critter A special note to my baby: We have been so bl...

I originally intended this dish for my daughter thinking she would like the idea of eating 'jungle cakes.' We've been talking about jungles for a couple of days, so I figured this would be a good dish to make in light of our conversations.  She had a fun time helping rinse the spinach leaves and cutting them up with her fingers so I could puree it in the blender. I gave her and her brother some to try. They both had the cutest green faces! (wish I had gotten a picture of that!)   You see, spinach is one of my personal favorite vegetables. My Grandma' used to make it for me all the time when I was growing up. I really want my children to like it too. I guess it's work in process, right?  My sweet little boy, on the other hand, had a blast eating this dish. I mashed a little bit (it turned as a really smooth texture) and put some on his tray. He did great feeding himself.   So one child loved it and the other one hated it. Either way, I had fun making this...

My husband and I are both huge fans of our pressure cooker. We use it for cooking beans, some meat dishes, and now to make chicken stock.   Here's what we did.  Ingredients:  (yields 1 gallon / 4 liters) 1 tray of drumsticks (family size) 1 bunch of leeks 2 carrots  Mrs. Dash 1 head of garlic  2 onions (we used white onions) Thyme Salt and Pepper  1 green apple  Steps:  Using extra virgin olive oil, sauteed carrots and onions.  Add chicken and season with Mrs. Dash  Add leeks, thyme Add enough water to cover all the ingredients Seal in pressure cooker and let it cook on high for about 50 minutes. Take off lid, add more water or salt if necessary.  Slice an apple and cook it with the chicken stock Continue cooking everything down for another 45 minutes.  Once everything is cooked and desired consistency is reached, drain stock onto cheesecloth.  Hope this recipe is useful to you!...

This Strawberry Chocolate Napoleon dessert has got to be one of my favorites. MMm chocolates, strawberries, and cream. Perfect. Combination!  The best part is that I get to share this recipe with you! Ingredients: Mascarpone Fresh Strawberries Puff Pastry Sheets Heavy Whipping Cream Confectioner's Sugar Fresh Vanilla Beans Steps: Prepare puff pastry according to instructions on the box. Rinse and slice strawberries Make a mixture of mascarpone, heavy whipping cream, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla beans. Once the pastry sheets have cooled,  prepare the napoleon in layers.  Each layer consists of puff pastry, with sliced strawberries, and cream mixture. Then start a new layer following the same steps.  Drizzle some chocolate sauce.  Enjoy! 

Crescent Rolls, such versatile dough! Great for salty and sweet treats and snacks for just about everyone.  This time, I made Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Crescent Rolls.  So easy. So tasty. So simple.   Only three ingredients. Have you got them at home? (very possible!)  Ingredients : 1 can of Pillsbury's Crescent Rolls Miniature Marshmallows Creamy Peanut Butter  Steps : (this treat can be made by your little ones too!)  Preheat the oven according to instructions on the can.  Spread the rolls in a pan.  Spread peanut butter (pb) on the rolls with a spatula.  Put marshmallows on top of peanut butter.  Roll up the crescent rolls.  Bake for 7 minutes or until dough looks golden brown. Mmm so gooey!