Shabby Baby Banner

I've always wanted to make a "shabby" banner, the ones that have strips of torn material and ribbon hanging.  Of course, I realized that stripping the material and tying it would take a little time, but the look makes it all worth it!

This banner was made for a vintage-music themed baby shower. I was thankful to have the burlap BABY pennant taking up some of the space by the time I had torn and tied a while!

For this banner, I used strips of cut burlap, torn muslin, and other torn thin cotton material, and several varieties of ribbon.  (To tear material, snip it where you want to begin, then tear it all the way to the end of the other side.  Be careful not to tear too fast or it will get wider or thinner!) The pennant was cut from burlap.  I actually cut it double so that the fold is hanging over the jute cord.  I cut a piece of poster board and glued it in between the two layers of burlap - just to make it more sturdy.  The chipboard letters were covered with music-themed scrapbook paper and hot glued to the front of the pennant triangles.

The pennant was hung on the fireplace and went home with the parents-to-be for the baby's room. It will be a sweet addition to their other accessories, plus a reminder of the shower anticipating baby's arrival!

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Coffee Filter Pom Pom Balls

To make vintage looking coffee filter pom pom balls, boil tea bags in a large pot.  Turn off heat and allow the tea bags to set a while.  Place coffee filters in the tea and soak to absorb tea.  I did some for about five minutes and left some in for a day.  

The five minute ones were just ivory colored and the others were as in the picture above and below.  It didn't get any darker, but could have with more tea bags.  Some tea grounds seeped out after a day or so, but it just added colored spots to the filters and made it even neater - so don't worry about that.

Place the wet filters on a cookie sheet or baking pan. It's okay to overlap some, but be sure to pull them apart to hasten drying time.  I put them in a warm oven (to warm setting) for 30 minutes or longer.  Sometimes I would take them out when they weren't completely dry and let them finish drying on the counter.  FYI:  It took over 100 filters to make one pom pom ball!  Thankfully, filters are cheap!

Gather the filter in the bottom center and twist to keep the "flower" in place. I did groups of three together, then secured with a floral pin - which look like a long staple.

This ball was bigger than it appears.  It was big enough so that the floral pin didn't poke out the other side.

For the white pom poms, I just used the filters as they were - without dipping them in a liquid.  If you want them to look more vintage, you could dip them in water, then dry.  I just didn't have the time with the white ones.

Because I used a smaller styrofoam ball for the white pom poms, I used straight pins.  I put three "flowers" together, then inserted them as shown below.

Continue with the filters until the ball is all filled.  Insert a floral pin into the ball, but not all the way down to the ball.  This will be your hanger.  Be sure to wait and do this when you're ready to hang them or tie your string (I used jute) on with the pin....otherwise you might have trouble finding it! (or I would, anyway!)

My pom poms were tied to an old ladder above the table.  A little time consuming, but so much cheaper than the store bought pom poms, plus the vintage look needed for the shower.

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Mocha Punch

For a vintage-themed baby shower yesterday, we served a pretty colored Mocha Punch.  A friend has this beverage server, which is BEAUTIFUL, and I remembered that at my nephew's wedding they had a Mocha Punch.  My niece-in-law shared the recipe with me so that we could serve it to the guests.  I'm not a coffee drinker, but it's really good!

I'm sharing the two variations of the recipe.  We used the bottom recipe for the shower. FYI:  I didn't read the instructions, so didn't have everything refrigerated in advance.  We cooled it off with ice to speed up the cooling process and it worked just fine!

Mocha Punch

Brewed Coffee (1/2 gallon) - 64 oz
Sugar (1 cup)
Milk (1/2 gallon)
Chocolate ice cream (1/2 gallon)

Instructions:
In a container combine coffe and sugar
Stir until sugar is dissolved
Refrigerate until chilled
Just before serving, pour into a punch bowl
Add milk, mix well
Add ice cream and stir well
(Some recipes added 1 tsp. of vanilla)

Recipe Variation:

20 cups of brewed coffee
1 cup vanilla creamer (liquid)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream
1/2 gallon milk

Follow directions above....

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5 Minute Chocolate Cake

A friend posted this recipe on Facebook last night.  I look forward to trying it!  However, it could be dangerous that all of us could have cake in a matter of five minutes.  Maybe just as a special treat from time to time, not a nightly thing! :)  Thanks, Jamey!

This would make a perfect gift for someone!

5 Minute Chocolate Cake: 

2 Tbs of sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

2 Tablespoons cocoa

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Mix, then add:

1 egg

2 Tablespoons Milk

2 Tablespoons oil

A pinch of salt 

Vanilla (a few drops) 

Mix together and microwave in a microwave-safe mug for 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Enjoy.

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Felt Christmas Tree Wall Decoration

My mother-in-law had a cute felt Christmas tree on her wall this year.  It was perfect for the little great-grandchildren our family has been blessed with in the past few years.  I was thinking how cute it would be to have some kind of felt decoration on the wall for each holiday or season.  A snowman for winter, a heart for Valentine's Day, a bunny for Easter, maybe a flower for the spring.  The possibilities are endless!

The tree is probably stapled onto the wall, but you could even glue it to cardboard and just stand it against the wall if you didn't want to staple it.  The "ornaments" have a piece of velcro (the rough part of velcro) attached to the back.  Children can decorate and redecorate the tree over and over again.

Lots of fun for little ones!

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Caramel Ice Cream Dessert

My sister gave me this recipe recently.  A friend had made it and she said it is great! I'm looking forward to making it some time!

Caramel Ice Cream Dessert
2 cups flour
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup oatmeal
1-1/2 cups chopped pecans
2 sticks butter or margarine
1 12 ounce jar caramel sauce
½ gallon vanilla ice cream


Combine first 5 ingredients, mix well. Spread on a cookie
sheet lined with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes
(will need to watch so it does not burn). Stir every 5-10 minutes
to toss the mixture so it is nicely browned and the pecans
are toasty.

Cool crust mixture and layer ½ of crust in the bottom of a
9x13” pan. Heat caramel sauce to warm and pour half over
crust. Spread softened ice cream over sauce and add another
layer of caramel sauce. Top with remaining crust.

Freeze for at least 1 hr. Cut into squares and serve. Can be made
into 2 9” pie pans. (I usually have some of the crust mixture left over)

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Homemade Gift Week #2 - Picture Frame

Here's a very cute and very versatile picture frame you could make for any occasion!  It is laying down instead of standing up because I kept getting a glare on the picture. 

Take a wooden frame and paint it.   Paint a mini bulldog clip and glue to the front glass.  Insert a piece of scrapbook paper (cut to appropriate size) into the frame, and clip a photo to the front!  

This gift was made by my niece.  Thanks, Shanelle!

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