My Favorite Buttermilk Syrup

Don't let the name fool you - Buttermilk Syrup is the yummiest thing you will ever make to go along with pancakes, french toast, etc for breakfast. I love Buttermilk but my husband doesn't - and even he loves this recipe. In fact, I might as well not even serve a breakfast requiring syrup if I don't have any of this homemade delight on hand. You won't even know that there is Buttermilk in it! Try it - I guarantee you'll like it!

Buttermilk Syrup

1 1/2 cups Sugar

3/4 cup Buttermilk

1/2 cup Butter

2 T Corn Syrup

1 t Baking Soda

2 t Vanilla

Combine the first five ingredients in a large saucepan (it will boil up and make a mess if you don't use a very large pan!). Bring to a boil; boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Enjoy!

My Racetrack Car Carriers

So - I created a path between the boxes to get to my sewing machine yesterday and it felt soooooo good to actually be creative. These racetrack car carriers are oh-so-easy to make. Even free-handing the racetracks ended up not causing me too much grief. Here are my finished products:

Son #1 requested the figure 8 racetrack.

Son #2 seems very happy with the oval racetrack.

Here they are all wrapped up. I know I've said it before . . . . . and I'll say it again, and again, and again . . . . sewing projects really are all about the fabric! Goodness knows I have plenty of scraps to do a little project like these, but really, how can you pass up a trip to the fabric store to find just the perfect car fabric for something new? BTW - I followed the tutorial on Creation Corner's blog (see the post below) and these were incredibly easy and fast to whip up. The boys love them! Make one for the "boy" in your life!

My project today is going to be cleaning and re-organizing the craft room/computer room to make room for some of the stuff in those boxes that husband brought home. I think I'd rather be crafting!

Racetrack Car Carrier

Oh how quickly summer flies by when you're having fun! I can't believe how fast it really is going. I haven't gotten much done by way of craftiness lately - funerals, vacations, stay-cations, work (a little here and there), and a craft room full of boxes . . . husband is not teaching in a classroom next year but doing a district job and therefore many of the boxes from his classroom move have found their way inside our house and some are currently blocking access to my sewing machine and craft table . . . . hum . . . . how long can I last without crafting? For now I'll just have to blog-stalk and find cute things to add to my already long list of crafts to make. Today's addition . . . . Racetrack Car Carrier from Creation Corner. I have two little guys who would LOVE these. I HAVE to make a "quick" stop at the fabric store tomorrow and I've added a couple of squares of black felt to my list. Goodness knows I have plenty of scraps for the rest of the list of supplies.
Now if I can just make it to the sewing machine . . . . . wish me luck and strong arms for lifting the boxes out of the way!

ABC's in a Can

One more fun idea from Brown Paper Packages . . . ABC's in a Can.

Feel free to save your lids and send them my way!

Book on Ring

I spied . . . these cute Books on a Ring over at Brown Paper Packages

a few weeks ago and have been saving up my lids just for this craft. (Maybe I should say . . . starting to buy and use frozen concentrated juices just for this purpose.) I have so many ideas in mind for this one. Stay tuned . . . . a few more apple juices and we'll see what I come up with. What a great idea!

Another Birthday Cake

Last month, I posted about a website I had discovered that had great and easy-to-decorate kid's birthday cakes. Well we tried another one this weekend and loved it. Really, if we can do this, anyone can.

I always wanted to do something special (but yet homemade) for my kids' birthday cakes. This website really makes this easy. One thing to note about this Fish Tank cake - we couldn't find the green fruit chews and spearmint leaves the directions called for, so we made do with some other fruit chews that I found at the grocery store. My kids don't usually eat fruit roll-ups/chews so this was a new experience for us. Just use what you can find and make it work.

Here is the website one more time. And here is the Fish Tank cake for son #1's fourth birthday. Yes, he got a real fish tank with two goldfish as part of his birthday presents.

Somebody Stop Me!

So my friend ended up having a girl . . . and of course that means another new ric rac blanket. I'd seen this cute owl fabric and had been thinking it would make a great blanket - sure enough it did. It's all packed in to a gift bag with a girlie outfit for giving tomorrow. While I was at the fabric store I found more great boy fabric (trucks and boats) so someday soon another will be made . . . really, somebody stop me!

This is a picture of two burp cloths that a friend of mine from Oklahoma sent me when son #2 was born. I've been wanting to make a few to have on hand for gifts. So simple but so cute . . . Take a flat fold diaper, cut a piece of fabric that roughly fits in the center part. Sew it down with a fun ric rac border. Wha la . . . . Simple and yet so cute!