Flat Bottomed Make-Up Bag

I've been meaning to make myself a makeup bag for quite some time. The one I'm using now is from the dollar store. It's doing the job, but it's pretty cheaply made. I like a bag big enough to hold all my makeup that I use on a daily basis, but small enough that I can easily fit it into my purse to keep it with me "just in case". (Obviously, I have a fairly large purse.)

I have some plaid fabric that I really like, but wasn't sure what to use it for. I decided to use that for my bag today. It's mostly blue and green, but is a pretty thin material. I also had some material that was a little thicker, which happened to match the green in the plaid print, so I thought I would line the bag to make it a little more sturdy so it could stand on it's own. 

I started with 2 large rectangles of each fabric. 

(The size will vary depending on how large you want your bag to be. I didn't measure anything because I wasn't sure what I wanted yet. I trimmed as I went to get it to the size that I chose.)

Next, cut the rectangles in half. Decide where you'd like the zipper to be. I decided to place the zipper about 1 1/2 inches below the top of the bag. Cut this size piece off only one set of the squares.

Taking the 2 smallest pieces, place them together (both right sides out) and position the zipper. I kept the zipper closed as I stitched about half way.

Keeping the needle lowered, raise the foot and pull the zipper back. You can then continue the stitch until you're all the way across. Repeat with the larger part of this square on the other side of the zipper.

Open the fabric to the correct position and stitch close to the zipper to keep in place.

After stitching one line, the backside of the zipper was still a little "flappy" for me, so I decided to go over it again and stitch closer to the outer edge of the zipper.

Stitching the second line is completely up to you, but, personally, I really like the look of the second line.

If you want a loop handle on your bag, take an extra piece of fabric.

Fold this piece a third of the way in lengthwise, then fold the other side right over the top. (Pictured below) Iron in place. Fold directly in half. Doing this will give you a simple, but thick, sturdy loop without any fraying edges.

Sew along both edges.

*I'm sorry...I forgot to take a picture of this next step.

Now take the two largest squares and place them together (right sides out). Lay them down (lining side down), position the looped handle where you would like it to be, then place the zippered piece right over the top of it (lining side up). Sew along all four edges being sure to keep the zipper and handle in the correct positions.

Take another extra piece of lining fabric and sew along the bottom hem.

Fold this piece in about 1/4 inch, then again in half and sew in place. Using the zigzag stitch, follow the remaining three edges. (This should be both sides and the top.) In this picture you will notice how it looks at this point. 

If you would like a flat bag, you can simply turn the bag right side out and you will be done!

OR....if you want a flat bottomed bag, pinch each corner and sew straight across.

Cut off the excess corners and zigzag stitch.

Now, you can turn it inside out and admire your new makeup bag!

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars

Even after making all these snacks and treats for my husband, he is still ravenous when he comes home from being on campus all day. He has a tremendous amount of weight to carry around because of the books in his bag, has to walk 6 blocks to campus in the cold, and doesn't even have enough room in his bag for his water bottle, much less a full lunch. I'm all ears for anyone with ideas for snacks that take up very little room and are filling!

He loves Rice Krispie bars so I decided to make him some, but wanted something with a little more sustenance to get him through the day. Peanut butter works, right? I figured a little more protein couldn't hurt. 

Grease a 8x8 inch pan lightly with butter or nonstick spray. Measure out the rice krispies in a medium-large bowl. Set both of these aside. 

Combine sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. 

Quickly transfer to the bowl of rice krispies and stir well. 

 Firmly press mixture into the prepared pan and let cool before cutting.

Ingredients

3 c. crispy rice cereal

 1/2 c. sugar 

1/2 c. light corn syrup 

1/2 c. creamy peanut butter 

Directions

Grease a 8x8 inch pan lightly with butter or nonstick spray. Measure out the rice krispies in a medium-large bowl. Set both of these aside. 

Combine sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. 

Once boiling, remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. 

Quickly transfer to the bowl of rice krispies and stir well. 

 Firmly press mixture into the prepared pan and let cool before cutting.

Crock Pot Yogurt

It seems like there aren't a whole lot of people that really like plain yogurt. I don't think they realize that you can make it taste super yummy with just a few additions. You can add honey, vanilla, berries, granola, etc.  SO good! If you buy quite a bit of yogurt (or even sour cream), you will love this! 

There are many recipes to make yogurt, but most of the time it's a lot of steps. With this recipe you can make over a gallon of yogurt with little effort! I made this with my mom this weekend. We didn't know how long it would take to heat so we didn't get completely done until about 2am. You may want to start it a little earlier than 9:30pm. :)

Thoroughly mix your milk and dry milk. Pour the liquid into your crock pot, cover, and heat it on low until it reaches 180 degrees. 

(This crock pot was missing the knob so we weren't exactly sure how hot it was and we kept switching it. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to heat it to the right temperature, but it may be different once you know what setting it's on. I've also heard you can heat it on stove top if you're in a bigger hurry. Otherwise, it works very well to just throw it in the slow cooker, and do your own thing without worrying about scorching it.)

Once it reaches 180 degrees, turn it off and let it cool down to between 100-115 degrees. (Takes about  45 minutes to 1 hour.)  Then take out a small amount of the warm milk and mix it well with the yogurt. Slowly stir it back into the crock.

Carefully funnel the milk into clean jars. (Our batch filled 4 quart jars and one pint.) Place, uncovered, in the oven (no heat!) and turn on the oven light. Keep oven door closed and leave undisturbed for 10-12 hours.

After that time has passed, screw the lids on and carefully transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours.

Once cooled, you can spoon it up! The texture is more like sour cream. (You could totally use this as sour cream, too!) It's runnier than Greek yogurt, but thicker than regular.

Mix it up with a little honey and berries! This would be great topped with a little granola, too!

This batch will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week and a half. If you don't use it up by then, you can supposedly freeze it, too. I can't imagine not using by then though since it's so versatile! You could use it as a substitute for oil, butter, mayo, heavy cream, and buttermilk when baking or cooking, use it as plain sour cream, or sweeten it up with berries as a yogurt parfait, or toss it in a fruit smoothie!! So many options!!!

Ingredients

1 gallon whole milk

3 cups dry milk

1 (6 oz) Chobani yogurt, plain

Directions

Thoroughly mix your milk and dry milk. Pour the liquid into your crock pot, cover, and heat it on low until it reaches 180 degrees. 

Once it reaches 180 degrees, turn it off and let it cool down to between 100-115 degrees. 

Take out a small amount of the warm milk and mix it well with the yogurt. Slowly stir it back into the crock.

Carefully funnel the milk into clean jars. 

Place, uncovered, in the oven (no heat!) and turn on the oven light. Keep oven door closed and leave undisturbed for 10-12 hours.

After that time has passed, screw the lids on and carefully transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours.

Enjoy!

Homemade Mod Podge

 When making the headband stand, I needed some mod podge to paste the fabric to the canister. I had the supplies I needed so I was able to whip some up quick. Since this is homemade mod podge, without the sealant that the store-bought stuff contains, after a couple years your creations will most likely begin to wear down or even become a little discolored. This may be important to some people, so I thought I would mention that. I'm sure I'll probably be replacing my crafts with something newer or more updated with my decor after awhile so it doesn't really matter to me, personally.

To make homemade mod podge, all you need is 1 (4 oz) bottle of original Elmer's school glue, 1/3 c. water, and a small container. 

Combine water and glue and mix thoroughly.

Transfer to an empty container. I used an old hair product container with a wide mouth so that I could dip my brush right in. 

 

Headband Stand

  As I started to toss an empty oatmeal canister in the trash, I realized I could make something with it. I was thinking of doing some sort of piggy bank for one of my little siblings, then decided on decorating it as a headband stand for hair supplies. It was either a really good idea or just expanding my potential for becoming a hoarder at a young age...I won't dwell on that thought too much just yet.

I grabbed some fabric and made up a quick batch of homemade mod podge, found some scissors, ribbon, and a hot glue gun.

Measure the size of fabric you want to cover the cylinder.

Using a foam paint brush, completely cover the sides with mod podge. Carefully apply the fabric and press firmly in place.

 Once it's securely in place, brush evenly over the top of the fabric with more mod podge and let cool completely.

Cut out a circle of fabric and hot glue around the lid.

Cut out another circle of fabric (the size of the inside of the lid) and hot glue in place.

Once canister is completely dried, decorate with ribbon, etc. as desired.

You now have a headband stand! Use the inside of the canister as storage for binders, clips, hair flowers, or whatever else you would like.

Funky Bobby Pins

After seeing many people with super cute hairstyles using colored bobby pins, I decided to make some for my sister. She just had a birthday and she is now 14 years old! Crazy how fast time goes by! These are super easy and fun to customize. I'll show you what I did so that you can make some, too!

Start with your favorite colors of nail polish, some bobby pins, and 2 envelopes (or paper).

Fold your envelope in half length-wise and slide the bobby pins on. You can color either side of the bobby pins, but I chose to do the straight side. (Which is actually the correct way, believe it or not! I never wear them correctly...)

Start polishing your pins as desired. I did 1 thin coat, let it dry, added another coat and let it dry. Then, I added some crackle polish to a couple and some polka dots/stripes to others. Let them dry again.

Carefully transfer to your clean envelope and add a top coat. Let dry completely before wearing. (They smudged a little on the paper when I was transferring so they still look a little sloppy. Once you take them off the paper, they are smooth and even.) I'm not sure what I think about the two crackle ones on the far right. My favorite is the polka dot on the left! 

Easy Cheesecake

This is my first experience "blogging".  Bear with me... :)

I love to bake.  One of my favorites is cheesecake.

I decided to start with an easy cheesecake.  It's yummy and it only takes a few ingredients.

I did rush this a little, decreasing the cooling time, so it turned out a little softer than I would have liked.  I would definitely suggest following the correct cooling times so you have great taste AND texture.

Starting with the crust, you need:

graham crackers
sugar
butter
rolling pin
plastic ziploc bag

1.  Crush graham crackers into a fine crumbs.

2. Mix 1 1/2 c. crumbs
    1 T. Sugar
    1/2 c. melted butter
     Stir until moist.

3. Press crumbs in a 9 inch spring form pan.

4. Using Reynolds wrap, make a little boat for your cheesecake.  It will be sitting in water and because it is a spring-form pan, you need to protect your crust from getting wet.

5. Mix 2 packages soft cream cheese, 1/2 c. sugar, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla with an electric mixer. Add 2 eggs, one at a time.  Mix until blended.

6. Pour onto crust.

7. Place spring form pan in your "boat".  Set your cheesecake in a larger pan so you can pour water around it.  This will help so your cheesecake won't crack or souffle.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

I topped my cheesecake with a homemade caramel sauce that I got from my sister, the host of this blog.  I will have to have her post her recipe.  Delicious!  Enjoy!