Winner

Well, all good things must come to an end, even the blessed month of November. And with that comes the end of the contest I'm so THANKFUL (I finally finished that). I must admit, I'm a little disappointed in myself because I got hung up on a few project 'snags' and didn't accomplish nearly as much as I had hoped. But that also might be due to a terrible obsession habit I have of making lists longer than are even humanly possible to complete. Oh well. I did get a lot done even if I didn't get all of it done.
I was also sorta sad that only 4 people actually entered the contest. Maybe I shouldn't write that publically on my blog, but it's true. So, instead of being sad about it, I'd love your feedback so that in the future I can do better. What do you think I could have done different to stimulate more participation? In hind sight I think one thing I could have done different is to just say leave a comment with a link showing a project you got done. Maybe people think it is too difficult to email? I did that hoping to make things a little more personal...but perhaps it was too much effort? Too weird for strangers? If you have any ideas I would love to hear them--Leave a comment.
Okay, enough said.

I numbered the enteries as from 1 to 4. Number 1 (Melissa), 2 (Katie), 3(Nola), 4(Abby).

On to the winner....

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 3 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

NOLA

Congratulations! I'll email you to get measurements and so you can choose your fabric etc.

Abby

Abby of Sew Much Ado has been working VERY hard to get these adorable Ruby Lou dolls done! She's in the process of making a pdf pattern so you can download it and make a sweet little doll yourself. They are so cute, what little girl wouldn't want one? Here's what Abby has been up to this month and I bet she is so thankful to finally finish that! Good job Abby!

Nola

Good job to Nola who finally finished these cute little leg warmers for her daughter. She is busy trying to move, but squeezed in the time to make these just in time for the cold winter (and for the I'm so Thankful I finally finished that contest)! They turned out so cute! Good job!

Katie

Congratulations to Katie from notes from a very red kitchen who finally finished a darling little stocking for her daughter! She even has a tutorial for the stocking here. She is an incredible writer, crafter, seamstress, and a great wife and mother (and teacher, at least I think so even if she says she's not) Good job Katie!

Only 7 days left!

Dresser before and after

Before.

A free dresser from freecycle needing a little love.

I started this dresser on November 1st. So you might be wondering why it has taken me 3 weeks to paint it?! It didn't. I painted it in one day, but then there were complications. I seriously think it is impossible to do a 'simple one-hour project', at least for me. Oh well. It's done and my boys' room is finally put together (it's only been a little over a year since we moved in=)). All I can say is, I'm so thankful I finally finished that!

The BEST homemade pumpkin pie (recipe)

Here's how to turn this:

into this*:

*Please note, I did not cook my child.

1. Get a pie pumpkin and cook it. You can do this by cutting it in half, removing the seeds, covering it in plastic wrap, and cooking it in the microwave for 15-25 minutes depending on how well your microwave works. When the 'meat' of the pumpkin is soft, spoon it out and puree' it in a blender.

2. Then use this recipe to make a delicious pie!

1 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3 cups pumpkin glop
1.5 cans (12oz each) of evaporated milk

Note: if you do not have cinnamon, cloves, allspice and ginger, you can substitute 3 teaspoons of "pumpkin pie spice". It's not exactly the same, but it will do.

Don't be surprised if the mixture is very runny! It may start as a soupy liquid, but it will firm up nicely in the oven!
Bake at 425 F for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

This is hands down THE best pumpkin pie I have ever had. It's really good with homemade whip cream too!

I got this recipe from this site. It has some other recipes that I really want to try like homemade pumpkin cheese cake (I'm already dreaming).

Does anyone have a good homemade pumpkin pie ice-cream recipe? That is my favorite and I'd love to make it!

I spy bag tutorial

I made an I spy bag for my son several months ago and he loves it! It is great for church, the car, air planes, the doctors office, or any time you need your child to sit still for a little while. And, they make a perfect stocking stuffer. Since they are so fun and versatile, I've decided to make a tutorial.

Description: an I spy bag that is 8" X 8" with a 3.5" X 3.5" window.
Materials needed:
Fabric rectangle 8.5" X 16.5"
Clear vinyl (heavy weight) square 5" X 5"
Approximately 4-5 cups of dry rice
Small 'I spy' items
Thread

Directions:
1. Cut a piece of fabric 8.5" X 16.5"

2. 2.5" down from one end of the rectangle and 2.5" in from each side, cut a square that is 3.5" X 3.5"

3. Cut a square piece of heavy weight vinyl 5" X 5".
Tip: make sure to use the heaviest weight of vinyl you can find. If you use lightweight your sewing will tear it and the items could also cut it.

4. Place the square vinyl on the wrong side of the fabric centering it over the square whole you cut. Use masking tape to secure a couple of the corners to keep the vinyl from sliding.

5. Use a blanket stitch from the right side of the fabric to sew the vinyl into place. It's fun to do a contrasting color that makes the peek hole stand out.

6. With right sides together, fold your rectangle in half 'hamburger' style. You will have 3 raw edges. Sew around these 3 edges leaving a 4 or 5 inch gap. Turn the bag right side out.

7. Put a variety of I spy items in the bag. You can find lots of little things at the dollar store. Fill the bag a little over half full of dry rice, 4 or 5 cups.

8. Turn in raw edges where you left the filling gap and edge stitch shut. Hooray! Now you have a nice I spy bag for keeping your child sitting still.

I have plans to make a little laminated label with each of the items listed on it. That's in the works. I'm going to attach it with a ribbon and sew that on to a corner.