Easy Granola Recipe

I used to buy organic granola by the deliciously expensive box weekly. Greek yogurt, berries, and granola are a breakfast staple in our home. Making our own granola is easy and very inexpensive. Of course I have to share my favorite recipe and I'm sure you have most of these items in your pantry. Warning: Your house will smell amazing while this bakes, prepare for drool! ;)

The Cast:

2 1/2 cups oats

2 Tbs brown sugar

2 Tbs pure maple syrup

1 Tbs honey

A pinch of salt

1/4 cup of melted butter

The Plot:

Preheat your oven to 325F.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Bake on a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet for 35-40 minutes or until golden but be careful not to burn. Stir the granola 1/2 way through baking.

Cool and store in an air tight container.

After it's cooled, feel free to mix in dried fruit, seeds, nuts, or whatever else you like. This is a great base recipe and you can always tweak it to fit your tastes.

Are you all as in love with granola as we are? 

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DIY Easy Minky Blanket Tutorial in Only 30 Minutes

It's a boy!

My (husband's) niece is having a boy in a week or so and while this isn't her only gift, it is my favorite one! I'm only 26 and certainly not old enough to be a great aunt (ugh!) but my husband's sisters are much older than. Besides, nothing makes me happier than new babies in the family!!! This is such a lovely blanket and the best part is that it comes together so quickly!

I made this one with the following items:

1 yard minky fabric

1 1/2 yards patterned fabric

Scissors

Pins

Sewing machine

Coordinating thread

Place both cuts of fabric back to back with the patterned fabric hanging over by 2-3 inches on each side. You can leave less for a thinner border. Whatever amount you leave will be double the thickness of what you will see. 

Fold the patterned fabric in evenly with the minky fabric. Then fold in again over the minky fabric and pin into place. This will create the framed blanket look. 

I fold the corners like this (above) so that they look neat and even. After pinning the entire perimeter, sew two seams for a finished look at the end.

 

It still needs to be washed and ironed before being wrapped but I think it came out pretty well. All in all it only took about 30 minutes of nap time. Plenty of time left to bake a loaf of bread and clean the pantry out ;)

What kind of homemade items do you give as gifts for babies?

Easy DIY Men's Crocheted Hat

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! In all my crafting for Christmas, I didn't make my husband anything. Needless to say, he felt a bit left out. He wanted me to make him a beanie style hat, or toboggan as he refers to them (weird! I know!). Here is a super easy men's hat that I made using a tutorial on YouTube. I'll link you to it at the bottom.

You'll need an H or I size crochet hook and a small weighted yarn. It would be helpful to know how to make a chain and a single crochet stitch before beginning. The whole hat is done with a single crochet stitch which makes it a great simply project if you're a beginner. All in all it only took about 2 1/2 hours and I'm not a quick crochet-er ;).

The hubs was kind enough to let me take his picture while wearing it.

Here's the link: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KobDydvvmmU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKobDydvvmmU

Happy crafting and Happy New Year!

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Easy Sew Toddler Pajamas

POOF! All of a sudden I have become a lot more comfortable with my sewing machine. I have a basic Singer that was a gift 4-5 years ago from my mom&dad. I have made skirts, dog beds, pjs, and curtains and all have been ok. Tonight I made some pj pants for my 19 month old daugther without a pattern. I used this blog to guide me in making these pants. 

http://mycottoncreations.blogspot.com/2010/07/christmas-eve-pajama-pants-tutorial.html?m=1

Start to finish they took about 1.5 hr for my first pair and that included my sewing machine giving me fits for about 25 minutes. Follow the instructions and if you have any questions feel free to ask! :) these were super fun to make. Thank goodness because I am totally anti-patterns ;).  Happy crafting!

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