Fruit Galore

This is my latest fruit platter! I tried something new with the cantaloupe this time! I think I'll do it again!

This has got to be one of my favorites! I just love the clean look!

Pineapple, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Strawberries, and Raspberries! Sorry, it's harder to see because of the saran wrap.

Like the little fans of Honeydew and Cantaloupe on the sides?

Dessert!

Cookies anyone? I just love the strawberries and figs down the center! I thought it added a good touch! We've got Caramel Pecan on the right and Chocolate Chip Cookies on the left!

An Oatmeal Raspberry Bar with Raspberry Sauce and a Mango Puree! What do you think of my plate design?

Simple and Elegant! This is Coconut Chocolate Cake!

This is another Oatmeal Raspberry Bar! I used a Key Lime Puree to do the simple swirl underneath! It's eye catching!

Fruit and cheese platters, plus a salad and entree plate

Fruit Platter! I like this presentation if I must say so myself! I propped the cantaloupe and honeydew up on the pineapple and strawberries then fanned them out. In the center are some blackberries on one side, and raspberries and blueberries on the other side!
Cheese Platter! I think the presentation is a little jumbled, but that's okay. The symmetry of triangle and square cuts catch the eye! We've got Colby, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Mustard, and Caraway Seed among others!

Beet and Orange Salad with a Mango Coulis! There are two different types of beets, red and golden! The Mango Coulis I used was really a part of the next dish, but I thought it would add a great look!

Grilled Pork Chop with Swiss Chard, Pineapple Rice, and a Mango Coulis Sauce!

Colorful Salads, Plenty O' Cheese, and Fresh Fruit :)

I love the blackberry against the red and green in this Mixed Green Salad with Shaved Beets! There are many colors to this Asian Slaw :)

Cubes, chunks, and slivers! You can cut cheese in all sorts of shapes and sizes! This platter has Cheddar, Swiss, Basil, Brie, and Goat Cheese!

I'm quite happy with this cheese platter :) We've got Mozzarella, Sage, White Cheddar, and Lemon Cheese along with dried Apricot, Pineapple, and Pear. I also used some fresh Kiwi, Raspberries, and Blackberries!

Thanks to my Manager's berry border idea, this platter came out fairly well! Mango and Orange added a nice change!

Happy Hour Fun

These two platters were for Happy Hour held every Friday! I was told by one of my co-workers that this fruit platter was my best yet! Cool! What do you think? I decided to cut some of the melon into smaller pieces and then put them into a shingle-like pattern. There's also some dried pineapple and peaches on the ends!


The wonderful world of cheese! I included some Cheddar, Brie, Lemon, and Boursin cheese!

Jr. Crafters Night!!

Our Inspiration!  We didn't actually use the instructions because, who does that?!

This is Penelope (we gave her a blogging alias).  She is cutting her first piece of fabric for the front of her laundry bag.

This is Pocahontas (she chose her blogging alias!).  I had her measure and cut her front fabric piece.   

Penelope needed a mental health break, and therefor did what any typical 11 year old would do.  Placing one's skirt on one's head is clearly the most obvious thing to do.

Back to business.  We found a Tupperware lid for our laundry hole. The girls traced the circle and cut them out.

Again, Penelope needed a break, as did "Daisy" (who's name has been changed to protect her true identity). 

Pocahontas pinned the right sides of the front and back piece together.  (I used bias tape on the holes to finish the edges.)

Penelope did a great job using the sewing machine.  She sewed three sides, leaving the top open.

Pocahontas, having never used a sewing machine before did a great job as well! I had her leave a bigger seam around the edges so there was plenty of room to work.

We finished the bags with straps at the top to hang.  Also, the girls want you to know that they are in their PJs because studies have shown that wearing jammies while sewing promotes creativity and focus.  Not to mention gets them to bed sooner.

Curly Cues

I love that the carrots and beets were shaved for this Iceberg Salad! When taught how to plate, I was told to stay in the middle of the plate and build high! What do you think?

Cheese Platter

Well, another Friday has passed! The cheese and fruit platters were yummy as usual. Here is this weeks cheese platter! It includes Goat Cheese, Lemon, and more. I added an array of color with Kiwi, Dried Apricots, Strawberries, Blackberries, and Blueberries.

Hootie Hoo! Owl Softies!

For their 2nd birthday, I decided to make my cousin's twin son and daughter these owl "softies" from a pattern I found online.  They were SO much fun to make, I decided to make one for a co-worker's new son.  I used left-over fabric from the baby quilts I made for the twins two years ago - glad I am a fabric hoarder!  You can see the quilts I made in an earlier post. 

I used three fabrics for the body plus some craft felt for the eyes and beak.

I think my favorite part is the dangly legs!

Fun project! 

So, for those of you willing to spend a little time behind the sewing machine, here's the link.  They really were pretty easy, just a little time-consuming . I probably spent about 3 hours on each one. 
http://www.newgreenmama.com/2010/09/hootie-upcycled-owl-tutorial.html

Cheese Platter

First, I would like to thank Bonnie for asking me to be a part of her crafty blog. Crafts are so much fun! I will be contributing pictures of my food presentations I put together at my work!

Cheese Please! Every Friday we have a Wine and Cheese Party, where I put together both a fruit and and a cheese platter. Here is this past weeks cheese platter! A few of the cheeses I used were: Blue Cheese, Brie, Colby, Swiss, and a Lemon Rind flavored cheese.

Knit and destroy!

Has anyone else literally been awake at 3am thinking of how scary and difficult a gusset heel must be? NO? Ok its just me then.

Knitting has taught me that you'll always be intimiated by your projects until you just get 'em started!

This is my first pair of socks! I recommend starting with smaller feet than I did, sorry hubbies...

Introducing...Krafty Krissy!

I would like to introduce to you a dear friend, Kristina or Krafty Krissy as she is known in the blogger world!  Kris is a true artist.  I am looking forward to her posts on the beautiful array of foods she prepares as well as the pottery and other Krafty projects she comes up with!  Please check out her blog to the right, you will be happy you did!  Welcome Sister Kris!

Quilts fo yo crib!

I'm unsure how this obsession began - probably watching my mother and grandmother carefully piece together quilt tops and assemble beautiful finished products...  I love my home made quilts and I will never get rid of them, except to pass them on to my own children some day.  Crib-size quilts really are pretty easy, as long as you keep them SIMPLE! Patchwork quilts are the best kind, in my opinion.

This was the first quilt I ever made.   My dear friends from work provided the fabric for the squares, and I put them all together.  We presented the finished quilt to our co-worker and friend, Dave for his new son. The best part about this quilt is that it has four different personalities wrapped up into one.  

Quilt #2 - for my friend Kelly's baby shower.  Fabrics are from Hobby Lobby. The layers are bound together with yarn ties and the edges are actually the backing wrapped around the front side creating a nice border.

Quilts #3 and #4 - My cousin Emily had the most beautiful twins, a boy and girl.  I tried to stick with Emily's fun style with the fabrics I chose (Hobby Lobby). 

Welcome Lisa and Katie!

So, I have decided I need to space my posts out a little so I don't poop out.  That's right, I said poop.  So, I would like to welcome two more contributors to the God Help the Sister Crafty Blog - my sister Lisa and my dear friend Katie!  Both very creative girls that I am sure will add so much to this blog.  I am looking forward to seeing my sister's decorating and party endeavors, and Katie's beautiful knitting projects!  Thanks for joining ladies!
In their honor, I would like to post a couple photos of their work:

For Easter one year we had the whole family decorate Easter eggs using sharpie markers and they came up with some great designs! I will post those pics at some point. Lisa usually shows all of us up with her fun creations! Welcome Lisa!

While sitting around the living room one day, Katie and I decided that the pheasant above the fireplace needed a little something.  She actually knit this tiny hat and scarf just for Phranny (that's the pheasant's name, by the way).  Since this time, the pheasant goes through several wardrobe changes throughout the year, much to my husband's dismay.  I will share those photos at some point.  Welcome Katie!

Mr. Army Man Pageant

Some families sit around the table telling stories, some argue about who gets to host Thanksgiving dinner, some just watch TV in silence.... Not my family.  Last year at Easter, I hosted Easter dinner at my house - about 25 of us.  Instead of sitting around after dinner, we had a little competition - an army man pageant.

The army men came from the Dollar Tree - I think they came in packs of five or six for a dollar.  The embellishments came mostly from Lisa's scrap booking box plus some ribbons and felt.

We basically gave everyone an army man, set out the embellishments and let everyone go to town!

I am always amazed at how creative my family is...

We voted on the best, and the winners received tiny golden trophies (also a find at Dollar Tree).      I would LOVE to hear your ideas for the next family gathering!  The cheaper, the better!

Oh Baby!

I had the honor of co-hosting a baby shower for a dear friend, Trista on a beautiful August afternoon.  Her sister Kristina and I planned over the internet for weeks (Before Kris moved to CO).  One of my favorite parts about this shower, aside from the amazing friends who were there, was the cohesiveness of the entire event.  We took the color theme from the bedding Trista picked out and Kris and I ran with it! The best thing was that we didn't have to break the bank to pull it off!

That's the beautiful Mommy-to-Be on the right.

I stayed with a three-color scheme and found table cloths, napkins, plates, cups, etc at Party City that coordinated well.  The key was to alternate colors.  Not all table cloths were the same color, not all napkins, plates, etc were the same color. 

Tissue paper poms were so easy to make. Here's a link to the Martha Stewart web site that takes you through the steps to make these fun decorations.  http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/tissue-paper-pom-poms-how-to

Any easy addition to the tables - lots of dots!  We cut out a bunch of circles from scrapbook paper and used them on the tables that needed a little extra something!

Simple and inexpensive, these cupcakes are even prettier with fabric flowers found at the Dollar Tree.

Kris is quite the crafts-woman!  This was actually a lot easier than she thought it would be. She started out by cutting straight into the melon from two sides, then she scooped out the melon and carefully carved the zig zag pattern.  Orange halves were attached with tooth picks.

The Dollar Tree is really such a great place to find little tubs for things like this - we used them for note cards, favors and door prizes.  Then Trista took them with her at the end of the day to use in the nursery for small items.  One small touch that goes a long way is printing out instructions for your guests.  We printed out signs asking guests to address an envelope, take a favor, etc and put them in frames that we sent home with Trista.  

A gifted artist, Kris painted some wall hanging letters for the nursery which really added to the decor of our guest book table.