A Trip To The Zoo!

We took a much needed break this weekend and took a trip to the zoo. Katie loves going to see all the animals and to ride the choo-choo. It is hard to get pictures of the little munckin lately, she is always giving me her *cheeeezzzeee* face (bottom right photo). She got to see the monkeys (top left) and the kitty cats (top right). She was a little scared of the rhinos, but I think her favorite of the day were the snakes and turtles. Yuck! She is such a girlie girl usually. No dirt or bugs for this girl! She's getting so big, almost 25 months old now.

Friday Featured :: Growling Monkey and Co.

My Etsy shop of the week is Growling Monkey and Co. who is a new seller. I discovered her cute onesies as I was browsing through pounce. I thought this was a great item to feature in the political environment we are living in these days. She has fun halloween onesies and bows also, at great prices! This republican onesie shares the stage with an equally as cute democrat onesie. A great way to show your spirit during the 2008 Presidential elections. Your baby will look adorable!
She is a new seller on etsy, and while she states in her profile she has been selling her goods for years, she is awaiting for her first etsy sale!

Touchdown Chili Recipe

I love SEC college football. In fact, most people I know love SEC football. When summer starts to turn to fall, all our attention turns to the college football prospects and schedules of our favorite teams. I have a personal attachment to the University of Georgia Bulldogs, class of 2003 here, they are my team through thick and thin. And well...it takes a lot of lovin' to make up for the show they put on last weekend against Alabama. It doesn't help the matter that just a year ago me and my family moved to Alabama, and YAY!, I get verbally harrassed just about everywhere I go.

Football, fall, family, and food. All go hand in hand. I always love to whip up something special for game day. I am going to do a short series on my blog every Thursday and include delicious recipes that you could try for your football festivities, they will be just as great otherwise also. I must add that I love to cook and trying out new recipes is a favorite hobby of mine. Any recipe I share with you will have been thoroughly tested and approved :)

Touchdown Chili

This recipe is pretty simple to throw together, aside from the fact that there are a lot of ingredients. But I promise you will not be disappointed. And, when you happen to add some of these ingredients to your pantry to try this recipe, I promise you will use them again and again! I think it is oh so important to follow this recipe to the 'T', at least the first time you try it. It will easily feed 6-8 people. Sometimes I halve the recipe for me and my husband and I still can freeze two bags to eat later.

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs ground beef


• 1 diced yellow onion


• 6 oz beer


• 1 tsp brown sugar, black pepper, and salt


• 2 tsp red wine vinegar, hot sauce, ground cumin, and lemon juice


• 1/4 tsp garlic powder and ground red pepper (cayenne)

• 1 can black beans and 1 can kidney beans (drained - choose the size can based on how much you like beans in your chili)


• 37 oz tomato sauce


• 4 tbsp chili powder


• 4 tsp worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. In large 5qt pot, soften onions over medium heat, slowly adding beer until beer is mostly evaporated. Add beef and brown until cooked through, drain.
2. Add all other measured ingredients, mixing well. Bring to boil, cover, simmer on low, ENJOY!!

Great additions that we love : Rice, Frito's corn chips, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. YUM!

**The picture is from the etsy shop of a great new etsy seller http://www.aprilink.etsy.com/. Her listing is for some very unique party invites, click the pic to find out more!**

I'm in an Etsy Treasury!

I have just joined a great team on Etsy. It is the SEUS team, south eastern United States. They are a great group to be a part of, we have so many new treasuries each time they come available. If you are part of etsy and live in the south east, we would love for you to join our team! We represent the following states:AL, GA, MS, LA, TN, FL, AR, NC, SC. You may contact me through my store at http://www.katiesuecrafts.etsy.com/ and I will help you join our team!

Christmas Time!!

I have been trying to come up with some fun ideas for Christmas. I have found a new love of felt. I like how easy it is to work with. I have made three Christmas ornaments these past couple of days. Here is one of them. A cute little Santa you can hang on your door knob or he looks great in a wreath. I slipped in a cute picture of Katie helping take pictures! You can see all my ornaments at my store.

A martian named Lex

Here is my newest project! I am participating in a month long contest on etsy.com, some of us in the forums are making fun halloween inspired things. We are going to have voting starting October 1st.
This is my martian friend Lex. He is completely designed and handmade by me. I also wrote a cute little short story of how he became an Earthling that comes along with him.

Katie Caterpillar Toddler Shirt

Brand new Katie Caterpillar Toddler Shirt! I made this cute little caterpillar out of some scrap fabrics and added some decorative sewing to make a fun shirt. It is about 60% hand-sewn on a 100% cotton Old Navy white t-shirt. Virtually any size is available, but of course the custom nature of this project will create a different look everytime.
Katie had a blast in our photo shoot outside! Check out more information at my store!

Frank Part 2

Here are some extra pics of Frank. See more in my Halloween in July post. I designed this guy myself. His green parts are made of an upholstery green microfiber. The purple and brown he wears are made of blend fabrics. He is all hand stitched except for his two halves were machine stitched together, as were his arms and eyebrows :) He is filled with polyster fluff. Frank was made with 'lots of love and wants you to adopt him today!

Happy Halloween in July!

I am starting to make some halloween things for my shop and decided to try to make a plush doll. OH MY! I had no idea just how hard it was going to be. I am a very slow at sewing and stitching, but I think that my little Frank came out really cute. I spent 2 whole days dawn till' dusk (and then some) working on him. He is a tough little guy, I put him through quite a bit. He's not so perfect, but that is just the way he is. I mean, made from scratch by his master with some spare bits from here and there....well, he has his quirks!

Halloween Fall Mini Tote

Today's project is a cute little tote for fall or halloween. I have lot's of this pumpkin fabric from years ago and I have made these little bags before. Sewing isn't my favorite thing to do, but these are pretty much just straight lines, so I can handle it! It turned out really cute, perfect as a gift bag or even as a bag to carry your lunch in to work. I can make this same bag in any fabric or design, so if you have something in mind, just let me know!