Big hoodie made smaller!

I bought my husband this hoodie hoping he'd love it. A great colour on him, snazz up his life. He never worn it. It sat in his closet for a year, moved across the country, then continued to sit sadly until today. 

The kids were napping, and I was freezing in the A/C. Hmm I thought, I could use a new hoodie. 

Total time was about 10 minutes, plus the optional 'bonus shoulder tuck' was another 10. 

Here's what to do:

Turn the sweater inside out, and smooth it out. Follow its seams, don't fight them because you will be cutting away all the extras and it will be wonky if you work against them. (See the armpits below- that's working with the seams) 

Next:

Lay a hoodie on top that fits the way you like. Pin, trace or just cut the excess off. I just cut. I'm a bit of a rebel that way. 

Now:

Pin the sides up. Normally for me, pinning is optional, but since I wanted my armpit and wrist seams to match up, I actually took the time. 

Sew that bitch up. When you get to the armpit, don't round the stitch, lift your foot and rotate the fabric. I could give you reasons why, but just trust me. 

Boom!

BUT BUT BUT, if you look closely, the shoulders are a little too long. 

So if you are feeling like a little extra credit, here's what I did. It's not pretty on the inside, but looks good on the outside. 

Cut about an inch triangle out. 

See the little seam? That will now make your new opening fit with the existing shoulder. 

Turn your sleeve right side out, this will make the shoulder easier to see/sew. 

Pin and sew. 

 Hello smaller shoulder. 

Easy Halloween ghost craft

I needed a quick and easy craft and here it is!

Take some form of material, stuff it with something, tie it off and hang it up!

I cut up a Halloween table cloth that was getting mangey. I made different  sized squares (for mommy, daddy and baby ghosties!)

I stuffed the 'heads' with plastic bags I had been stock piling. I used my daughters cheapie hair elastics to tie them off.  Next I used a hole puncher to get the string hole. I threaded some twine I had and voila! Easy peasy Halloween craft for pennies!

EASY Holiday leftover ham and potato casserole

I always seem to be the lucky one who gets to keep the leftovers. Probably because of my love for creating new recipes out of whatever I have left in the fridge. 

Ham is one of my favorite leftovers to nab. It last for days, freezes beatifully and is undeniably tasty!

I threw this casserole together last night and it did not disappoint. 

Here's what you need:

1 cup leftover ham

7 medium potatoes cut (peel if you feel sassy) boiled til soft

1 diced onion

1 cup of any veggies you like (I used broccoli, green pepper and carrots) 

1 can of cream of something soup (I used celery)

1cup shredded motserella 

1/2 old cheddar

Salt and pepper to taste

EZ

Place veggies veggies and ham in a pan and cook them til they soften. 

Add potatoes, then the cam of soup.

Once that's all blended, mix I the cheese.  Just for a sec. 

Transfer into an oiled bakiing dish. 

Cook at 350 for 25-35 min. 

You can make any substitution or use a GF soup and this is a GF recipe!

Eat. 

Friendly English muffin face for kids

Continuing on my quest for healthy eating, I made this English muffin face for my daughter. She's really into the show 'Super Why' and this is supposed to be Wyatt! The likeness is uncanny I know...

Kids Halloween Breakfast

My daughter loves Halloween. A great way to encourage her picky eating has been making themed foods. I call this the 'goblin hand' made using avocado and toast. She loves it and gobbles it up!

Lemon dill hot dogs

Nut Crumb muffins

I recently bought those insanely addictive Coconut Crusted Cashews from Costco. My family managed to crush the huge tub in 3 days. 'What' I thought 'a waste of those yummy crumbs at the bottom of the container'.

So you know what I did? Dumped those little bad boys into a container and put them in the cupboard until inspiration grabbed me. 

My niece, daughter and I were making muffins yesterday and guess what we sprinkled on top? Yep, nut crumbs!

We made very easy blueberry chocolate chip coconut dusted muffins! The girls just loved sprinkling on the coconut dust, they felt so fancy!