Homemade Silver Napkin Rings

Good Morning!

Yesterday I showed you how I plan to set my table for our Thanksgiving meal and today I thought I'd share how I crafted some cheap and quick napkin rings from old spoons.

Although they are not really "rings" per say, they are made to hold napkins and I think they turned out sort of cute.

With the help of a scrap piece of wood, a hammer and a old washcloth I hammered the rounded part of the spoon until it was flat.

Like this!

Then it was time to bend the handle.

To do this, I held the spoon down on my work-space with one hand and with the other hand bent the handle up towards the ceiling.

Like this!

I then gently continued to bend the handle up and over until it almost touched my work space. . . 

Like this...

To use, I simply folded my napkin into thirds and slipped the spoon onto the napkin.

For name tags, I tucked a little piece of card stock under the handle also.

I think the whole look is very fun!

Bye now,

Robin

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Thanksgiving Table

I have the honor of hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for my family again this year so this weekend I played around with my table settings until I came up with something I liked.

Using only items I already had, this is the look I will try to recreate come Turkey day.

Starting with a pretty lace table cloth, I layered on a handful of silver candlesticks. . . 

Added some of my favorite silver serving dishes . . . .

Last year my six year old nephew requested a cornucopia so I decided we should use it again.  

We actually have two; one for the adult table which I filled with leaves and tiny pumpkins and one for the kids table that we fill with kids snacks that they can munch on throughout the day.  

My nephew gets a kick out of it.

This cute basket will hold the rolls and makes me smile as it reminds we of a similar one we used for special meals while I was a kid.

Our everyday flatware and dinner plates look a little more fancy along side everything else on the table.

Crisp white napkins and a homemade napkin ring crafted from old spoons finish off the look.

I think I'm ready.

With this task complete I can now focus on the yummy stuff . . . like baking pie!

How about you?

Will you be hosting this year?

I hope you enjoy your time with friends and family.

Robin

Oven Baked Bacon

My hubby is a BIG fan of bacon.

Poor man has been deprived of his favorite many, many times simply because I have been lazy and unwilling to deal with the mess that frying up a package of bacon entails.  

That is until very recently when I happened upon a new fabulous way to prepare my man some bacon.

Bake it!

Say What??

Yes, Bake the Bacon!!!

Now I'm not sure if this is a new thing or has been around for a while and I've just been living under a rock in the boonies...

But it's a game changer for me and I've just have to share it with all of you!!

No more grease splattered cook top to clean up and tiny grease burns on my hands.

No more fanning screeching fire alarms between flipping bacon and calming a panicked puppy who thinks the world is coming to an end from all the racket made by said screeching alarm.

(seriously happens every time!  grrr)

Now preparing bacon is a breeze.

Simply line a shallow pan with aluminum foil and lay the bacon out on the pan making sure the pieces are not touching.

I use two cookie sheets for one package of bacon.

Then place the pans in the oven, turn it on to 400 degrees and bake for about 15 minutes, less if you use a convection oven.

The result is perfectly crispy bacon  - - - hubby approved even!

Clean up is a snap too.  

Just let the grease cool in the pan and then roll up the aluminum foil and toss in the garbage.

See what I mean - - Game Changer!

Now I have no problem making hubby some bacon.

He's a happy man!

Bye now,

Robin

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Easy Faux Fur Cowl Scarf

Morning All!

Old Man Winter has made itself know to those of us in Minnesota this past week.  

No easing in to colder temps and snow for us ... no sir.

Just here's temps in the teens and a bunch of snow to get you started.

Thanks Old Man Winter - - your the best!

It does make it the perfect time to show you what I've been up to in my studio lately.

I'm sure you've seen this type of thing in the stores lately and if your at all like me their soft, cozy look has you wanting to take it home.

The only thing that stopped we was the price tag.  

They range in price between $25 to $35 that I have seen which I thought was ridiculous.

Hoping I could make it for cheaper I stopped off at my local JoAnne's and found what they call Swirl Fur.  I bought two yards for $15 dollars with a coupon -- that's more like it!

Ridiculously easy to make, I snapped a few photos while I sewed one together.

Follow along if you'd like to make yourself one in ten minutes tops!

Let me just say, this fabric makes a mess like nothing I've ever seen before.  Clean's up nicely with a vacuum and I promise once all your seams are finished it will stop shedding.

I took my finished cowl outside and gave it a good shaking once it was finished and now it's perfect.

Here I am trying it on for the first time.  It's become my favorite scarf to wear.  I wear it all the time.  

Inside ... Outside... Whenever I get a little chilly.

Now I prefer cowl length scarves like this but if your the type of person who like to be able to wrap a scarf around your neck a couple times you could easily double the length of the fabric to make it work better for you.

They would make great Christmas gifts too!  

hint, hint

Happy Sewing!

Robin

Sewing a Sweatshirt Pillow

While cleaning out my kiddos closet the other day I just couldn't bring myself to let go of an outgrown sweatshirt.

After a little brainstorming I decided to transform the sweatshirt into a accent pillow for the family room.

This was seriously the quickest project I accomplished all week.  

Fifteen minutes, tops and I was done.

Here's a quick run-down of how I put it together.

The kiddos now think I'm a genius... and surprise, surprise they want their own!

Have a great day now,

Robin