Homemade Crazy Crayons - A Homemade Stocking Stuffer

I have made these homemade crayons a few times for gifts. They are such a wonderful gift, all colorful and shaped like hearts. I made some for my niece for her birthday a few years ago and also made a batch for a college care package that I sent to my sister (check out this notebook doodle treasure bag I made to put the crayons in!) And this year J is getting some in his stocking!

Anyone with kids has a ton of broken crayons in a box somewhere. Homemade crayons are the perfect solution! Take the broken and sad crayons and turn them into beautiful new crayons, perfect for little toddler hands (and big kid imaginations!)

before...

after!!!

These crayons are really easy to put together. The hardest part is peeling the crayons. I found that if you are having trouble getting the paper off of your crayons, just soak them in some cold water for a few minutes. That should make it easier. If that doesn't work use an Xacto knife or a vegetable peeler and very carefully peel off the paper.

Homemade Crazy Crayons

What you will need:

• a bunch of old crayons
• a cutting board
• a large kitchen knife
• a mini muffin tin or silicone candy mold (oven safe)

Preheat the oven to 170F. If using a flexible silicone mold, place it on a cookie sheet for stability.

Peel all of the paper off of the crayons. Soak crayons in cold water if the paper is being stubborn.

Cut the crayons into pea sized bits. 

Arrange the crayons in your mold, you can do any combination of colors you like! (J loved helping me fill the cups with chopped crayon bits!) Fill the cups as full as possible, the crayons will melt together and will not overflow.

Bake at 170F for 15-20 minutes, just until the crayons have melted.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the mold. If you are using a metal mold and you are having trouble getting them to pop out, just stick the mold in the freezer for a few minutes and then they should pop out very easily. 

45 Homemade Stocking Stuffers

19 days until Christmas!

Here is a great list of little gifts you can make to fill up those stocking that have been hung by the chimney with care.

*UPDATE (12/10/13) - I realized that I should have included links to the tutorials for all of these ideas so you can just click to the link and get crafting! Quick note about tutorial links: There are tons of really great tutorials floating around the internet machine and I just linked to a few of them. Also, I haven't tried all of these yet so please don't blame me if they don't work :)

1. headband (t-shirt head band from A Beautiful Mess)
2. hair clips (here is a beautiful pearl clip inspired by Chanel from Clones n' Clowns) 
3. small dollies or softies (check out my mermaid dolly tutorial review)
4. Peter Pan collar necklace (glamorous necklace tutorial from A French Diary for your Zooey Deschanel wannabe!)
5. sleep mask (Breakfast at Tiffany's Holly Golightly sleep sleep mask tutorial from Oh Lovely Lolo)
6. crayon roll-up-also for markers, pencils, paintbrushes, knitting needles, makeup brushes, etc... (use my tutorial)
7. brooches (sweet sequin heart brooch tutorial from Vivid Please)
8. friendship bracelet covered ear buds (for tangle-free earbud cords use this tutorial from Kiss Me Awake)
9. animal masks (crazy cute raccoon felt mask tutorial from Mom Spark)
10. felt food (apartment therapy's list of free tutorials)
11. i-spy bag (great for little minds! tutorial from A Little of This, A Little of That)
12. painted/dyed wooden spoons (love this idea to add a little color to your kitchen, tutorial from tessacotton)
13. washclothes (my mom crochets washcloths on long road trips and while watching sports with my dad. I have a few that she has made and I love them! I use them for cleaning and for bathing. make some with some lovely cotton yarn for yourself using this tutorial from Ball Hank n' Skein)
14. scraper sponge (these are wonderful for getting stubborn grime off of pots and pans, even non-stick! here's a tutorial from Maggie's Crochet)
15. treasures bag (use my notebook doodle treasures bag tutorial)
16. homemade crayons (use my homemade crazy crayons tutorial)
17. body sugar scrub (so many recipes to choose from, this one from Wellness Mama sound good!)
18. homemade lotion (here is a whipped body lotion from The Bikini Gardener) 
19. homemade soaps (this is a tutorial for beautiful purple marbled lavender soap is from Lovin' Soap)
20. coupon wallet (there is probably a good free tutorial for a coupon wallet out there somewhere but the reviews on this instant download by iSew on Etsy makes it worth the $8)
21. pickle aka mini emergency kit (make one of these mini emergency kit for anyone, but especially those with kids. its full of everything you could need to get out of a pickle :) Use this DIY tutorial from Tidy Mom or make up your own!)
22. fruit preserves/jelly/jam (every year my cousin makes jelly to give out to all the households in the family, I can easily say that that jar hardly makes it into the new year before its gone! here is a recipe for crockpot apple butter from The Brown Eyed Baker [she is my favorite food blogger!])
23. camera strap (check out my tutorial review)
24. coffee cozy (here are my doughnut cozy tutorial, rocket ship cozy tutorial, conversation heart cozy tutorial)
25. pincushion (one can never have too many pincousions! This tutorial fromPaper. String. Cloth. is so cute and looks pretty simple to put together, you could make one for every stocking on your list!)
26. needle book (I've made a few of these over my sewing lifetime and I could use a few more! Use this tutorial by Jessy Ratfink on instructables.com)
27. Peter Pan /Robin Hood hat (I recently made this for my nephew for his Halloween costume, it turned out really well and was super easy! I used this pattern and tutorial from Sew in Harmony)
28. hot chocolate spoons (I remember seeing these in a coffee shop when I was a little girl and thinking they were the most magical thing ever! Make some using this tutorial from A Beautiful Mess to flavor warm milk for hot chocolate or coffee for wonderful mocha.)
29. sunglasses case (use my Audrey sunglasses case tutorial)
30. reusable lunch bags (i'm planning on making a few of these for my kiddos when we get to the school age. I love the idea of not throwing away plastic baggies every day. use this tutorial from i heart nap time)
31. marble maze (what a great little toy for busy toddler minds! use this tutorial from Our Little Corner of the World)
32. Altoids box Thumbelina bed (this would probably be super easy to make up a pattern for, but save yourself the trouble and buy this one from mmmcrafts on etsy for $8!)
33. lost tooth pillow (this monster tooth fairy pillow is just too darn cute for words! email Just Another Hang Up for the PDF)
34. finger puppets (there are tons of finger puppet patterns out there, but I am loving these cute little penguin puppets. they remind me of the penguins from Mary Poppins. use the free PDF from Red Roof Patterns)
35. matching memory game (I remember loving memory games as a kid and this tutorial by Craftiness is Not Optional looks so simple and inexpensive)
36. quite book (this is a highly personalizable gift. you can make pretty much anything you want for you little person. check out How to Make a Quite Book for more info)
37. neck tie (the Hubs is one of those dads who wheres a lot of ties, I love the idea of making him one that is just his style and personalized. use this tutorial from Molly's Sketchbook over at The Purl Bee)
38. bow tie (check out my tutorial review)
39. scarf (this is such an easy and quick t-shirt infinity scarf tutorial)
40. hat (crocheting a hat can be such a relaxing thing to do while watching a movie or chatting with friends,check out these 38 free crochet hat patterns for beginners on All Free Crochet)
41. gloves/mittens (up-cycle a sweater and make these beautiful felted wool mittens using this downloadable PDF from RebeccaMeaDesigns on etsy for $8)
42. socks (I have never made socks, but I wish I had some cozy homemade knitted socks. especially if they had a great Fair Isle design. *hint hint mom* use this great tulip sock knitting pattern from Whit's Knits over at the The Purl Bee)
43. Sharpie painted coffee mug (I made a mug for the Hubs last January for his birthday. it said, "COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS" and he loves it. I would recommend using a special oil-based paint pen specifically for using on glass. get some really good tips and tricks from DIYopolis and a full tutorial from A Beautiful Mess)
44. gift card envelope with a fabulous gift card (use my tutorial)
45. coasters (use my kiwi coasters tutorial)

I love stocking stuffers! Hope this  list is inspiring and that it gets you crafting and filling those stockings!

If you have any more ideas or if you have a tutorial on your blog leave a comment and I will add it to the list.

XOXO,

Coco

Mermaid Dolly

Has anyone else noticed that there are only 20 days until Christmas?!?!

Last year I was super good about making as many gifts as I could. I also blogged a Christmas post every day leading up to Christmas. It was great! I posted most of the tutorials for the gifts that I made last year before Christmas day. This meant that the pictures of the gifts I was giving were on the blog before they were unwrapped by the people they were made for. I kind of figured that most of my family wouldn't read my blog and they would still be surprised. Turns out they do read it, and I ruined Christmas. Okay, maybe not ruined, but I learned my lesson. I won't be doing the same thing this year. I will, however, be posting some great Christmas tips so make sure you are following (Bloglovin', Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and by email!) so you don't miss anything!

I am really behind on my gift making this year. Really, really behind! I have made one gift. Out of 26. Yup. 26. I will have to average more than one gift a day to get these done on time for the big 25th. SCREAM!!! 

Oh well, it is what it is. My family is wonderful and they will all understand. Right, family? You won't be mad? Please don't disown me for not having your gifts finished in time to put them under the tree.

Because I don't want to spoil any surprises, today I am going to share a little dolly that I made for the Hubby's cousin's daughter. We saw them for Thanksgiving and that's when we gave it to her so she has seen it and I am not ruining Christmas by posting this. She is about 18 months old so I knew a little dolly would be just perfect! 

I've been so into mermaids recently. Who isn't into mermaids?

This is the cutest little mermaid dolly (thank you Wee Wonderfuls by Hillary Lang!) I made this little treasure in about an hour and a half. Love it! 

I love making my own patterns, but I also love to find great patterns and tutorials that someone else has already figured out. I saw this little mermaid on someone else's blog and fell in love with its sweet style and petite size. Its perfect for little hands to love. It also makes a great stocking stuffer, in fact I am planning on making one to put in A's stocking (that is if I have time.) 

I would totally recommend this book. Wee Wonderfuls by Hillary Lang (check out her blog, too!) is full of great patterns for really sweet little toys. I am so glad I got the book. Her patterns are really easy to follow and the dolls are so cute! I'm thinking about working through the book and making every doll, a la Julie and Julia. But not until after the holidays!

What are you working on this holiday season? Are you like me, and have bitten of a little more than you can chew? Are you going to finish in time to open on Christmas morning? 

Good luck!

XOXO,

Coco

Paleo BBQ Sauce

Summer = BBQ

Summer is such a great time for food. Grilling out on the deck with a beer and tons of friends and family around to just enjoy the season. That's the American dream, right? Its what all the commercials tell us we should be doing this time of year, and I am fine with that! I love me a good cook out and all the food that comes with it.

The problem is that most of the foods served at cook outs are not health-friendly, much less paleo or Whole30 approved. Among the mayo soaked pasta dishes crazy sweet deserts BBQ sauce is can be one of the biggest "no, no"s out there.  Its usually packed with sugar and preservatives.

The solution? Make your own!

It takes about a good full afternoon to make and can this sauce. It needs time to simmer so all the flavors can meld.

This BBQ sauce is to die for! My family is full of BBQ lovers. We are that family that would make a detour just because there was a local BBQ legend 20 miles up the road. Every Friday is unofficially BBQ Friday. Needless to say, we have tried a lot of different sauces. Mustard based, vinegar based, tomato based, smokey, sweet, spicy. From Maryland to Texas and everywhere in-between.

Needless to say we have some pretty refined BBQ taste buds. And this recipe was declared a home run! My brother told me to slap on a label and sell it. Its got a great smokey flavor and is slightly sweet, but not overwhelming. So far, I have served shredded chicken and ribs with this sauce.

I would like to experiment farther with this recipe and replace the applesauce with peach sauce or maybe chop up some roasted peaches, apricots or apples. Perhaps add some smoked peblano peppers or something spicier. I will let you know if I get around to messing with perfection.

This recipe produces quite a lot of sauce, enough for a good sized party with lots of leftovers. I ended up with 8 jars worth of sauce leftover after my big family dinner. I transferred the sauce to canning jars,submerged them in water and boiled for 45 minutes until the jars sealed themselves (the button on the lid sucked itself in).

Paleo BBQ Sauce
(adapted from The Domestic Man)

2 tbsp coconut oil
2 medium onions, minced
2 28oz cans whole tomatoes in juice
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup apple sauce (or honey)
6 whole dates, chopped (or date molasses)
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp chili powder
4 tsp hickory liquid smoke
4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (check your label, see note*)
1/4 cup horseradish mustard
1/2 tsp all spice
1 bay leaf

In a dutch oven, heat up the coconut oil on medium for a few minutes. Add the onion and saute until the onion becomes translucent, about five minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and just as it starts to boil, set the heat to low. Simmer for two hours, using a potato masher to break up the tomatoes as they cook. After two hours, remove the bay leaf and blend the sauce in batches until it’s smooth. Return the now-smooth sauce to the dutch oven and simmer for another 30 minutes. Or, if you have an immersion blender, you can just blend it in the pot. If the sauce isn't thick enough, you can add some honey or molasses and cook it for another 30 minutes or so.

This sauce can absolutely be canned. To do so, submerge it in a hot water bath for 45 minutes, using this method from The Domestic Man. It should be good for a year after that point. After opening, I suggest finishing the sauce within a month.

*Note about Worcestershire sauce: I didn't realize Worcestershire sauce has soy sauce in it until after I made this sauce. Oops! If you have a soy allergy, make sure to read the label! The Original Worcestershire Sauce by Lea and Perrins doesn't have soy. It does have molasses and sugar, so its not Whole30 approved.

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Whoopie Pies

I am not a huge fan of oatmeal cream pies, all wrapped up in their plastic wrappers, tasting way too sweet and kind of bland. But theses little whoopie pies are incredible. I mean out of this world good! The cookie part is soft, chewy, and lightly spicy; and the marshmallow cream filling is light, fluffy, and just sweet enough to keep you coming back for more.

I really can't recommend this recipe more highly. I think I tasted them and said "OMG!" I'm a little ashamed to admit that I let such a trendy saying escape my lips in reaction to these wonderful little whoopie pies, but it was a moment of pure bliss. Thank goodness the only person home with me at the time was my 16 month-old, and I don't think he will tell on me.

Homemade Oatmeal Cream Whoopie Pies
(Adapted from Whoopie Pies, by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell)

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (not fast-cooking)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars on low speed. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes

In a food processor or blender, process 3/4 cup of the oatmeal until it resembles whole grain flour. Transfer the ground oatmeal to a medium bowl and add the remaining oatmeal, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the oatmeal mixture to the butte-sugar mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.

Using a spoon or cookie scoop, drop about 1 tablespoon of batter onto one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake on sheet at a time for about 11 minutes each or until the cookies begin to brown. Remove from the oven and let the cakes cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Classic Marshmallow Filling
(Adapted from Whoopie Pies, by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell)

• 1 1/2 cups Marshmallow Fluff
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable shortening
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In the work bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the Marshmallow Fluff and the vegetable shortening, starting on low and increasing to medium speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low, add the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla  and beat until incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

***TIP***

Spray the measuring cup and spoon/spatula with cooking spray before measuring Marshmallow Fluff.

Assembling the Whoopie Pies

Lay out your cakes in pairs (one for the top and one for the bottom) with the flat sides facing up, spread the buttercream on one of flat-sides of your cakes. You can do this with a spoon or a knife, or used a pastry bag or a cookie scoop. Top this with another cake to create a sandwich. Repeat with the rest of your pies.

On the last post, Birthday Cake Whoopie Pies, I praised the book Whoopie Pies: Dozens of Mix 'em, Match 'em, Eat 'em Up Recipes, by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell. I really do love this book. I have gotten many a great recipe from this book. 

Paintbrush Roll-Up (tutorial) - DIY Easy Sewing Project

My sister, Annie, is way cooler than me. She is four years younger and ever since she was able to be awesome she was as awesome as awesome is. I mean she had three Halloween costumes this year: Frida Kahlo, Max from Where the Wild Things Are, and Davis Bowie. I mean if thats not awesome, I don't know what is!

 

Annie is an amazing artist. She is an art major and one of her favorite mediums is painting. I have been meaning to make her some art supplies totes and cases. I want to make her a pencil case, a bag, a sketch book cover, a colored pencil roll-up, and so many other things! At the rate I'm going she will be graduated and on to living her awesome life before I get any of it made.

For Christmas I made her this awesome Paintbrush Roll-Up. Its really easy, a perfect beginning sewing project. It doesn't take a lot of fabric and can be put together in an afternoon.

Confession: Every once in a while (read: more often than I would like to admit), when I make up my own patterns, I have moments of sheer stupidity. With this project it was that I totally forgot to cut two pieces for the main body of the roll-up. It was a moment of "OMG! Corey, what were you thinking?" Thankfully, this was not a big oops, easy to fix, just cut one more piece of fabric. The only fabric I had that matched the other fabrics was a scrap from another project, so I stitched up the scrap and went with it. The only problem I had with this scrappy fabric was that it had a slight stretch. I would not suggest using anything with stretch.

Paintbrush Roll-Up
What You Will Need:

• two pieces of fabric cut to 22" x 19"
• one piece of fabric cut to 22" x 2.5"
• two pieces of fabric cut to 18" x 2.5"

Fold each 18" x 2.5" (the long skinny pieces) in half right sides together. Stitch up the long sides using a 1/4" seam allowance. Hook a safety pin in one end of one of the tubes, feed the safety pin back through the tube until it comes out the other end. Keep pulling the tube thought itself so that its all right-side-out.

Fold one end of the tubes inside and stitch it up. 

Pin the 22" x 2.5" piece along the right 22" side of the main piece, right sides together. It should be 1" from the edge. Stitch along the right side edge of the 22" x 2.5" piece. Fold and press the 22" x 2.5" over so that the right side of the fabric is on the right side.

Layer the two large pieces of fabric on top of each other with right sides together. Pin the tie strips, with the unfinished ends stitching sticking out and the strips on the inside of the sandwich. Make sure you leave a hole for turning, I make this with thee pins as I did in the picture. Using a 1/2" seal allowance stitch around the outside edge of the sandwich, leaving that hole for turning. Trim the corners. 

Pull the sandwich through itself so its right sides out. Press. Fold the raw edge that was left for turning to the inside and pin. Fold up the bottom (the 18") edge 5", pin in place. This is what will create the pocket for the paintbrushes. Top stitch around the edge of the whole roll-up, using the edge of the presser foot lined up with the edge of the fabric as a seam allowance.

Using chalk or a washable fabric marker marker the stitch lines for the pockets. These lines should run the full length of the roll-up. The lines can be the same width or various. I made the pockets varied from 3/4" to 2" wide. Stitch along these lines from top to bottom. Make sure you don't catch the ties in the process. Brush off the chalk or use a damp cloth to gently rub it off. 

Add paintbrushes (or pens, pencils and markers) and fold over the top edge (should be about 4").  Roll up the case and tie  it off. There you have it! Good to go to art class!

I just LOVE the way this turned out! I can't wait to give it to my sister. She will have many more paintbrushes than I do to fill it with. I am sure she will love this as much as I do. Yay for easy sewing projects that turn out so wonderfully!

Here are some more photos to show how great this project is.

 

P.S. This is perfect for pencils, colored pencils, markers, a highlighter collection, pens, crochet hooks, short knitting needles, etc...