Michelle Barneck - 9/264 - A Little Tipsy

Ruffles and Burlap Fall Wreath with Flamingo Toes

September 10, 2014 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

Hello A Little Tipsy Readers! My name is Bev and I blog over at Flamingo Toes. I’m so excited to be here visiting today!

At Flamingo Toes I love sharing sewing and jewelry projects – as well as things I make for my home. We just moved across the country this summer from California to Tennessee so I am having a lot of fun setting up our sweet little farmhouse and exploring the area. I am so ready to experience our first real Fall – we don’t exactly get much of a season change in CA.

Today I’ve made up a Ruffles and Burlap Fall Wreath, inspired by the colors of Fall and all these pretty pots of mums I am seeing everywhere. I think I’m going to get some for our front porch!

Isn’t it fun? I paired up some fun fabric ruffles with this super cute lace covered burlap ribbon that I picked up at Walmart. The whole thing is so easy to put together, and since I’m kind of fickle with my decor, I’ve made it so it’s super easy to change up whenever you want!

Won’t it look pretty with some pots of mums around the door?

So let’s get started. Here’s what you’ll need:

Straw Wreath (mine is 14″)
Burlap Ribbon – I used 1 1/2 spools
Fabric for ruffles
Needle and Thread
Pearl head pins in different colors
Gingham ball trim, or something similar

Begin by wrapping the burlap ribbon around the wreath. I left the plastic wrapper on but you can take it off.

Continue until the entire wreath is wrapped. Pin the ends in place on the back, or you can hot glue it.

Measure around the wreath, then double that amount. Cut four pieces of fabric 5″ x that measurement – so about 5″ x 10″ or so. Fold the fabric pieces in half, then sew a running stitch along the top raw edge. Gather up the fabric ruffles so they fit around the bottom of the wreath.

Wrap the ruffles around the bottom section of the wreath as in the picture, leaving a space of about 2 inches between the middle two ruffles. Pin in place. Cut a piece of fabric about 3″ wide and long enough to wrap around the center of the wreath once. Fold the long sides in and wrap this around the middle of the wreath, covering up the raw edges of the two inside ruffles. Pin the piece in place on the back.

Add some decorative touches by placing pins in the burlap.

Mix and match your colors and scatter them around the wreath.

Add a couple of little strands of cute gingham pom pom trim, or something else that looks great with your fabric. Pin it in place in the back of the wreath.

I love that since the pieces to the wreath are all pinned in place, you can easily change it out if you want to update it or just make something else entirely. You can definitely glue everything down though if you want something more permanent.

That’s it! So easy right?!

I hope you give it a try!

I’d love for you to come visit Flamingo Toes sometime! Here are some of my other favorite projects!

Thanks for having me Michelle!

Photo Birth Story with Intel AIO

September 9, 2014 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

#spon: I am in a partnership with Intel. Through this partnership I gain access to content, product, or other forms of value.

As many of you know, a few weeks ago we were blessed to welcome a new addition in to our household. It has been a whirlwind filled with lots love and a few tears, but we are so thankful to have this sweet little guy in our home.

I love the new trend of capturing birth stories through photographs. I really wanted to have a photo birth story of my own there’s just one problem, I have c-sections. They only allow one extra person in the room during my sweet little ones birth and that’s my husband. How is that fair? Because my body requires help for the birth of my little angels I don’t get to witness or document the miracle? I tried my best to get them to let me have two so my husband could watch and my sister could take pictures. I got permission from my doctor, but the anesthesiologist whom I will lovingly call “Drill Sergeant” put the kibosh on that. Boo. I handed my big girl camera to my husband and said a silent prayer that somehow I would end up with something besides blur. With this kind of thing you only get one chance.

Everything went smoothly with the surgery and I kept reminding my husband to take more and more pictures. I didn’t get to see the baby for more than a second or two in the first ten minutes so I really wanted some good shots of him brand new. They brought the baby over and “Drill Sergeant” snapped a couple shots of all of us (that and the fact that my spinal worked like a dream being his redeeming qualities). Once back in recovery my sis was able to capture moments of both my husband and I as we got to know our little guy.

A few days later and home from the hospital I picked up my camera to download the photos and see what we had to work with. I popped my sim card straight in to my new Intel AIO and could not believe my eyes. There were some really beautiful shots! I was so thrilled. I got right to work choosing favorites and editing them.

The Intel AIO made it so simple to put our birth story together. I love that it is a portable touch screen desktop so I can work on it in whatever room I’m needed and choose whether or not to even set up the keyboard and mouse (which by the way just requires plugging a tiny piece in to a USB port, so easy). I set the AIO up right on the kitchen counter so I could be in the middle of the happenings with my family. Then, when I’m done I just fold up the stand and put it away.

The wide screen gives you the ability to view many photos at once even with the extra large icons. It is also perfect for photo editing giving you tons of room to work with so when your tools are up you can still view a large photo and don’t have to adjust the zoom. I got the photos all edited in an evening and the next day put them in to a slideshow. Simple as that and now I have such a neat visual documentation of our special day!

I love my new little guy, my visual birth story, and my Intel AIO!

Chocolate Banana Twinkie Cake with Today’s Creative Blog

September 8, 2014 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

Hello everyone, I’m filling in for Michelle while she snuggles on that baby! I’m Kim from Today’s Creative Blog and InspirationDIY.com where I share all things creative and inspiring. I love sharing practical ways to decorate your home, like my son’s teen bedroom or delicious Crockpot meals for my Slow Cooker Sunday’s.

No Bake Chocolate Banana Twinkie Cake

Today I’m sharing a super easy NO Bake Chocolate Banana Twinkie Cake. “Easy” and “No Bake” are sometimes the best words you’ll ever read when searching for a dessert recipe.

I have a teen son who is always hungry. Always! It’s not uncommon to have 3 or 4 teen boys roaming around our home and it’s best if I keep them fed. I usually try to offer something with a little nutrition, but there are times, they just want good ole American junk food. This is when Twinkies come in.

Boys can put away a box of Twinkies in about 5 minutes, so I figured they would also enjoy this no bake cake. It is SO easy to put together, perfect if you’re in a pinch for dessert and it’s pretty tasty.

How to Make a No Bake Chocolate Banana Twinkie Cake

All you need is a small box of chocolate pudding (I used cook and serve, but instant would work too), a box of Twinkies, banana’s and whipped cream.

Using a 9 x 13 in baking dish, I started by unwrapping about 9 or 10 Twinkies, then cutting them in half.

Lay them in your pan, creamy side up.

Add Banana’s – I slices up 3 large banana’s and placed them on top of the Twinkies. This is where I couldn’t decide if I wanted to put the pudding first, then the banana’s…..either way would work and since my pudding was still cooling, I went ahead and assembled my banana’s.

Add Pudding – Once my pudding was finished, I poured it over the banana’s and Twinkies. Then place in your fridge to cool. I didn’t let it cool because I had teen boys ready to eat.

When you don’t let it cool, the whipped cream kinda melts……..but guess what? Teen boys could care less.

I thought about making real whipped cream, but again……the spray whip was so much faster and I knew they wouldn’t appreciate the difference. I sprayed the entire can over the pudding and should have placed it back in the fridge, but my son had a spatula out and ready. So I handed it over, but did beg for a quick photo.

It’s not pretty, but it was pretty good. You can see that the whipped topping was starting to melt.

Had I been making it for any other occasion, I would have been more patient to let the pudding cool. Using instant would have been a good choice.

No Bake Chocolate Banana Twinkie Cake

9 – 10 Twinkies
1 small box of cook and serve or instant chocolate pudding.
3 large banana’s
1 spray can whipped cream. (cool whip or whipped cream works too)

Cut Twinkies in half and assemble in a 9 x 13 baking dish with the creamy side up. Layer banana’s over the Twinkies. Spread pudding over the banana’s and Twinkies. Let it cool if you’re using the cook and serve type. Once it’s cool, add whipped cream to the top.

Cut and enjoy!

For more inspiration, join Kim over at Today’s Creative Blog or InspirationDIY.com

Like Pinterest? Kim’s got some rockin Pinterest boards!

Arm Warmers from Brassy Apple

September 5, 2014 By Michelle Barneck Leave a Comment

Fall Fashion is my favorite time of year! Over on Brassy Apple I love upcycling and RE-fashioning items for me and my kiddos to wear! Take the chill off of the winter season without over roasting your kids in a bulky sweater or too many layers. Or if you kids are like mine they are cold one minute and “So HOT” the next they are running to change into a tank top! Here’s the solution – pair a t-shirt up with some inexpensive arm warmers made from tube socks! So easy to slip them on and off quickly.

The basic shape and construction are SUPER easy to do and anybody can do it!

DIY arm warmers REfashion - BrassyApple.com

SUPPLIES:

A pair of long socks (or tube socks) Pick out your favorite pattern/color, etc
Sewing Machine
Scissors
Thread
measuring tape (optional)

EMBELLISHMENTS:

Buttons

Rhinestones

grommets

scrapbooking brads

ribbons – all different widths

lace

rep gathered ruffles

tulle

ric rac

zippers

pre-made appliques

faux fur

jingle bells

rosettes

snaps (if you want to change out your embellishments)

etc., etc., etc.

Step 1: Pick out your favorite pair of socks. They can be Holiday, solid colored, patterned etc. Make sure to buy the Knee Length or Tube Sock style.

Step 2: Measure the length you want your arm warmers to be. You can measure out how long you want them to extend up your child’s arm by placing the sock on their arm and eyeing it out. You want the sock to reach to or just past their first knuckles. Or you can measure with a tape.

diy arm warmers - BrassyApple.com #refashion #fashion #kids

Step 3: Measure and cut off your socks to the desired length. Be sure to cut from the toe end. We want to keep the other finished end intact.

Step 4: Turn your socks inside out and find the “heel” spot. *(note: some socks are made without a built in heel. If yours do NOT have a rounded heel in them please proceed to step 7)* Pull the heel up as shown in the picture making sure the other sock fabric is separated. We will be sewing and cutting the heel out to create one long tube.

Step 5: Pin the heel area as close as you can to the “bottom” of it to create a straight “tube” when it is sewn together and cut off.

Step 6: Sew a straight line across the bottom of the heel to close this section and cut off the excess.

Step 7: Turn your socks right side out and lay them flat placing the “heel” seam on the underside. This will ensure that the seam isn’t on top of their arm when they wear the warmers. Cut a small slit for the thumb. **One slit on the right inside and one slit on the left inside.

Cut your slits on opposite side of each other so the heel seams remain on the underside.

The basic shape and function of the arm warmers is done. Now it’s time to EMBELLISH!!! (if you want to) You can add embellishments to any part of the arm warmers you’d like to – the top, the bottom, along the top or all over!!! Just have fun with it! This is a great project to do with your girls or a group of girls too! Here are photos of some I created to give you a jump start with your own ideas! If you create some – tag me on Instagram (@BrassyApple) so I see your creations!