Ugly Sweater Christmas Ornaments

I felt like crafting! So I started making Christmas ornaments. Christmas in July is the official name for this!

Supply List:

felt 

fabric pen

scissors

embroidery thread

embroidery needle

embellishments 

fabric glue

wire 

wire tweezers

wire cutters

Directions:

Make a little shirt pattern and start tracing the shirt pattern on to felt.

Start cutting out the shirts with sharp scissors. 

Each ornament needs 2 felt shirts and a wire hanger.

Using a piece of wire - twist into a hanger shape that fits the shape of your shirt. I only had red wire - but silver or black wire would have looked better. 

The hangers were really simple to make.  It might help to make a hanger template on a pice of paper and use that to make all of teenagers the same size.

Using a contrasting embroidery thread sew the two shirts together with the hanger included. 

Using some Christmas themed stickers and little rhinestones. Add some fabric glue and embellish the felt sweaters.

The more little embellishments added make the sweater look "uglier." These are so fun to make! I am thinking packaging up 3 or 5 sweaters about giving them for hostess gifts. I also like to bring everyone an ornament - whenever I go to holiday lunches.

Watermelon, Feta and Fig Salad

Today after some humid tennis - I mean I was sweating profusely after about 5 minutes of play. I decided to make my favorite refreshing salad.

This salad is so simple to make and can be made in less then 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

arugula

olive oil

salt and pepper

watermelon cut into cubes

feta cheese cut into cubes

figs sliced in half

balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Toss a few handfuls of arugula with a small drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Scatter the dressed arugula onto a rectangle shaped plate.

On top of the arugula - add the watermelon and feta in a checkerboard type pattern. Add the figs along the outside of the pattern. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper.

This salad is so delicious and light. Enjoy!

Farmer's Market Chopped Veggie Salad

I am obsessed with chopped salads. I have been making chopped veggie salads every week since mid June!  I can add them to a pasta or an orzo salad. But my favorite way to serve them is over a bed of lightly dressed arugula.

There is no recipe for this salad - I often just chop what ever veggies I have. This veggie salad has green bell pepper, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, carrots, radish, cucumber, green onion and some chives.

I actually had some celery and red onion and I didn't have enough room in my serving bowl! 

Since I have been making so many chopped salads - I invested in a chopper. I bought the Sharper Image chopper from Bed Bath and Beyond (with a coupon!). 

Everything tastes better in the summer and even better if you can eat outdoor! 

Shark Week Sugar Cookies

Every year during Shark Week I make Shark cookies.

The shark cookie cutter is from Sur la Table.

My sugar cookie recipe made so many sharks!

I frosted each shark with a little melted white chocolate and coated it with blue sanding sugar. So easy! I actually ran out of blue sugar and white chocolate and I still have 50 more sharks to decorate!

Shark week cookies = who ha ha!

Red, White and Blue Bracelet

I crafted today while I watched Wimbledon, I made these cute little bracelets to celebrate the 4th of July. Each bracelet took about 45 minutes to make.

Supply List:

waxed linen cord

jewelry glue

beads in red, white and blue

large jewelry clasps

scissors

ruler

Directions:

Cut the waxed linen into 9 inch pieces.

The waxed linen cord is in the beading section.

I bought both the waxed linen and jewelry clasps at Michael's. 

Using your jewelry glue - add a glob into the larger end of the clasp and put about 7 to 9 pieces of the waxed linen cord into the clasp.

Wait a few minutes for the glue to dry - then spread the linen out like an octopus and start randomly beading.

The wax will hold the beads in place. I happened to have some red, white and blue beads - left over from when I made the Flag pins for Meals on Wheels. But I also bought some crystal beads in two different shapes at Hobby Lobby.

Once each strand has 15 to 20 beads in any random pattern - cut the wax cord into a 7 or 7 1/2 inch length. Then add a glob of glue to the other side of the clasp and add all of the beaded cords into the glue.

Wait a few minutes for the glue to dry and your bracelet is complete. 

 The waxed linen cord also comes in black and I was thinking with orange and black beads for a Halloween bracelet.

Happy 4th of July! God Bless America.