Just 4 You | less cake {more frosting}

Here Comes the……Bills!

Authored By: ellie g Author/Writer
May 15, 2010 --4:10 AM

When I got married, I had several bridal showers. And, God bless my darling Grandmother, she felt that she needed to bring a gift to each one. By the last one, she had run out of gifts. But, she decided to scour her shelves and give me a large box full of things she found in her pantry.

She was embarrassed, and apologetic. She said it’s all she could find, and it’s just poor manners to come to a shower without a gift. (Mostly I think she just didn’t want OTHER people to think she didn’t have a gift.)

Regardless, I ended up with light bulbs, aluminum foil, sandwich bags, tape, and some home-canned peaches and pears.

Embarrassed? Never! It was literally my favorite gift. I got so tired of frames, and toll painted (excuse me) crap. Dish towels with birds on them. And a delightful pewter serving tray embossed with squirrels and bunnies. Huh?

And then, when we made our first trip to the dreaded WalMart, as a married couple….
Holy giant bill, Batman!!
Hundreds of dollars to set up a house. (especially if you haven’t been living on your own. Which I hadn’t…for the year prior to my marriage) You don’t realize that you’ll probably need: toilet paper, elastics, a stapler, garbage cans, mops, brooms, plastic wrap, bandaids, pencils, garbage bags…and on…and on….and on.

Call me cheap, call me clever. Whatever. I love this gift.

And in all actuality, it’s NOT cheap. Start adding up…and you’ll be floored. And even if the Bride and Groom don’t realize it right at first….they’ll soon realize what a great gift you’ve given them.

I try to stick to things that are NOT brand dependent. Like, I don’t love the idea of giving laundry detergent. That’s a very personal thing. And I don’t give garbage cans….’cause sometimes those need to fit in a certain type of space. I give off brand stuff all the time. I’m not proud. I have yet to find a difference in off brand aluminum foil. (you’ll notice name brand baggies. That’s cause they were on sale today. And cheaper than the off brand)

The great thing is that it can be as expensive, or as cheap as you’d like. And it’s an awesome group gift. The more money, the better.

I always package it in a utilitarian bin. I know, I know, it might look cuter in a cute boxie thing. True. It also ups the price considerably. I’d rather put money into the items, not the box. Plus, the wrong color box, might sit in storage, unused. I KNOW this is going to storage. To actually store stuff.

See, it’s all about the packaging. After the items are arranged inside. It’s time to wrap.

Here’s a tip: use glue dots to stick smaller, lighter items to the bigger ones in the back. It looks better, and they don’t sink to the bottom. The dots are easy to remove because most things are packaged in something that will be thrown away.

Welcome back, my good friend, clear cellophane. You just make everything look classy. And have you noticed my love for all things black & white? Yep. We’re in love.

A quick ribbon mix, and a tag. I’m loving this giant monogram. There’s nothing that makes a new bride giddier than seeing her new last name. (I’m loving the houndstooth print as well.)

Good luck to you, young bride and groom. You are in for years of expensive trips to the store. And thousands of boxes of baggies. But, at least you have something to start off with.

Can you hear it?
Duh, dum, duh, dum….
Here comes the bills!!

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She Thinks She’s the Pink of Perfection!

Authored By: ellie g Author/Writer
May 10, 2010 --12:15 PM

First…still on cloud nine after the weekend’s festivities. Not Mother’s Day so much. (although that was lovely) I just cannot believe that all these people have been looking at my blog. Almost 600 this weekend alone. WHAT? Thank you, if you have stopped by. I’m loving this!

Second…if you can name the movie from which the title of this blog entry comes from, we are officially besties. Like, I feel intensely close to you right now. If you can’t name it, don’t worry. We can grow closer in other ways.

It’s the “perfection” I’d like to speak of today. And how, sometimes, being able to roll without it is how genius happens. Now, I’m a perfectionist. Don’t get me wrong. I will sit and change the font on a design project for hours. Or use 10,000 pins to keep my binding straight. But there’s something so cathartic about letting little imperfections go. Or making something that isn’t completely symmetrical. It’s kind of therapy for my undiagnosed OCD disorder.

So, for you perfectionists, let’s take this one on as a free form of therapy! Yes?

I had a baby shower this weekend. I love the chance to give a gift to a new mommy. And lots of times I’ll make a blankie or something. I just didn’t have the time this go around. But I’m still nearly morally opposed to giving an out of the package gift.

This is a “Bundle Me.” Made by one of my very favorite companies, JJ Cole.
(PS….I am not affiliated with them in any way….just a fan)
Anyway, these little beauties are a great gift. However, I still like to make them a little personal. Plus, if you buy your Bundle Me in a gender neutral color…then Mommy can remove your personalization and use on a different baby of a different sex. BONUS!!

Start by finding a fun material. Turn it over and sketch a flower, or some other basic shape. (I’ve used big circles for boys) Remember that we are working on embracing imperfection here! Notice that I fixed a couple areas…but symmetry is not as cute. Promise.

Cut out your shape.
Here’s a tip: I’ve actually never used a white fabric. Obviously, as you can see, the marker is showing through quite nicely. I considered starting over…but with all the other things that will happen to this little flower, it’s not going to be a big deal. Next time I’ll know.
Look at me roll with the punches! Cyber-self-high-five! Add at least one other contrasting fabric as well. Mine is the flower center.

Pin it on and go around it with a wide Zig-Zag Stitch. Leave around a 1/4″ edge. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Particularly in the center. Just make sure that the backing stays flat. It tends to want to bunch.

After it’s all stitched, take your thumb and forefinger and scratch all the edges. We WANT them to fray out. That’s why this project is so awesome. No interface, no perfection, no problem.

How cute is that? It’s kind of awesome. It’s funky, it’s girly, it’s never going to be mistaken for someone else’s Bundle Me. And when girly girl grows up…and baby brother comes…Mom can un-pick it in about .05 seconds. Then add some Navy and Brown. It will be great.

Finishing touches, for me, always involve a stellar wrapping job. It makes even the cheapest gift look priceless. And I’m pretty much having an affair with cellophane wrapping. It never disappoints me. Never.

Go off and make yours today. And even if you don’t have a need to make one of these little beauties, decide that you’re going to do something un-perfect. Leave that little mistake, work through it, don’t start over. Find a happy accident. You’ll be glad you did. And through that mistake, you’ll find that you’re right in the middle of “The Pink of Perfection.”

(did you figure it out yet….? It’s gonna bug you all day)

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Filed Under: just 4 you, kiddos, NOT crafts, sew what?

Such a Treat

Authored By: ellie g Author/Writer
May 7, 2010 --4:46 AM

My Father, who passed away when I was 8 years old, was a candy maker. A good one. And when I grew old enough to use the stove without causing significant distress for my Mother, I decided that I ought to take over the candy making for our family.

My Mom’s a superstar. Just get used to me talking about her, and saying what an amazing gal she is. But one of the many things she does well…is let me try. And try, and try, and try. I know it’s the reason I’m able to do things successfully as an adult. I’m just not afraid to try. (and probably fail a couple times)

If you added up all the brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk, from all the burned and ruined batches of caramels…well…let’s just say it was a lot. But she didn’t ever say anything. And now, I’m kinda a pro at it.

But enough about me, let’s talk about you. And how you need a cute idea for an amazing woman in your own life. This project is 2 fold…but pretty easy…and SUPER cheap. (as long as you don’t have to make 50 batches of caramels to get a good one)

It starts with this awesome hot pink mini lunch box. And the “what could I do with that?” thought. (that thought also comes up a lot when an item is on SALE. Somehow that just justifies a purchase!!)

It continues when I decide that this little box wants to be filled with treats. Caramels. Here’s the recipe:

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/3 c. Brown Sugar
1 1/3 c. White Sugar
1 1/3 c. Butter
1 1/3 c. White Karo Syrup

The Caramel needs to be stirred CONSTANTLY. No stopping. So make sure you pee before you begin. Then cook over medium heat to soft ball stage. It’s about 240 on a candy thermometer. But the best way to tell is to drop a bit in a really cold cup of water, and stop when it gets firm.

When it’s ready pour it into a buttered glass dish. How do you know if you succeeded? Well, they’ll probably taste good no matter what. But if the caramel forms a “skin” on the top pretty quick, and holds it’s shape after a couple hours. You’ve succeeded.

Cut it up and roll it in pieces of wax paper. Twisted wax paper just makes me giddy. It’s just so “Candyland”. It makes me want to jump on 2 greens and stop by Grandma Nutt’s house on my way to see Lord Licorice. Could that possibly look cuter?

Well, it could…if you add a little black and white, and a splash of color! Oh little lunch box…you’re going to make a special lady so happy!

This one is going to my son’s teacher. She is a completely special lady, and has been such a great influence in his life!

And my closing remark is this: most likely, you already have a gift for Mom. And this probably isn’t enough for her anyway. But would you maybe take a second to think of someone who’s missing their Mom? Someone who desperately wants to be a Mom. Someone for whom this weekend isn’t their favorite. And maybe consider trying to brighten their day?

I promise….you can’t go wrong with treats. They solve so very many problems. In fact, I think wars could end…if they’d sit down for a caramel.
Right?
It could happen.

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Filed Under: Dinner 'n Treats, just 4 you, NOT crafts