Superhero Wrist Cuffs

I made my [almost] 4 year old nephew some Superman and Batman wrist cuffs for Christmas! It's easy to make, after figuring everything out from the first prototype.

Materials:
* 1 paper towel tube

* Felt fabric in colors of your superhero(s)

* Plain white paper

* Superhero emblems - I Googled the images and traced right on the computer monitor, hah!

* Scissors

* Double stick fusible web - I used the Steam A Seam brand

* Pencil

* Ruler

* Duct tape

* Velcro squares - Do not use sticky back ones (lesson learned, with sticky and gluey sewing machine needle)

* Iron and ironing board

* Sewing machine and threads matching felt fabric colors

Instructions:
Don't throw away paper towel tubes!

Get a ruler and pencil, draw a line down the middle [the long side], and cut it in half.  The pencil mark is just a guide, so don't worry if you don't cut right on it.

Open the tube, and draw a line inside the tube [the short side] at the 2 inch mark, and cut out. This is for one cuff, so you'll need to cut a second to make a pair of cuffs.

Get duct tape and cut a small piece to tape and smooth the edges. Do it on both ends, and be sure to have enough to wrap over the top and down the inside/backside [where it curves in].

Now you need 3 longer strips of duct tape to wrap all the way around, to make it sturdier. I see it as a top, middle and bottom section.  I prefer to tape the top and bottom sections first, then the middle. Set aside for now.

Now you need two strips of about 2.5 inch x 7 inch of felt fabric for each cuff base. The length is just an estimate - you may want to measure the child's wrist prior.  You'll need 4 strips for a pair of cuffs. I chose black for batman, and blue for Superman.  This is where I messed up the first time, and forgot to take pictures when I did it correctly. You want to sew the velcro squares on first before sewing the two strips together.

See there is no velcro here, and you do not want this:

  

This is what you want to do: On one strip, sew the hook part of the velcro at the bottom, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch clearance. [See the pictures with the blue cuffs below]. On the second strip, sew on the loop part of the velcro at the top, and again leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch clearance. Sew the 4 sides of the velcro, in addition to an "X" shape across the middle to make it more secure.

Stack the two strips together. Make sure the top strip has the loop velcro (the fuzzy side) at the bottom -and when you flip the stack of strips around, the hook velcro (the prickly side) is on the top. Test it out first! Then sew the along the long sides. Now you have a felt "tube". Pretend that the velcro is there.

Get the duct taped paper towel tube strips, and you should be able to slide one into the felt "tube". Sew the two short sides together. Now you should have a finished plain cuff base. Set aside. See how the velcro hook is at the top here.

When you flip it over, the velcro loop is at the bottom. This way, the child's wrists won't get scratched when putting it on themselves. Again, learned it the hard way as I tested it on myself. Haha.

Find the superhero emblems online, and enlarge/reduce to no more than 2 inches wide. Trace on paper and cut out. You have to do this in layers. For example, for Batman, I cut out an oval, and a bat. For Superman, I cut out a "diamond" and a "S".

Get your package of double stick fusible web and follow its instructions.  For mine, I cut a piece of fusible web bigger than the shape I need.  I took the cut out oval and traced it on the side the instructions said to. Note: When you trace, you need to have any letters reversed. It does not matter for shapes such as ovals, triangles, bats, etc. But for example, the "S" for Superman will have to be reversed.

I took off the backing (at the bottom) and stuck it onto the yellow felt. This is where the "double stick" comes in so handy because it sticks to the fabric as you are cutting, so you get straighter and sharper cuts, and it doesn't go all over the place....the oval could turn into a triangle. ;) It'll make sense when you're doing this, hopefully. Repeat with the rest of the shapes.

Now it's time to iron, one layer at a time.  For the Batman cuff, iron on the yellow oval onto the black cuff base, then the black bat onto the yellow oval. Follow the fusible web instructions, as other brands could be different. I prefer to I used a thin wash cloth over the felt emblem when I iron. And do not move or wiggle the iron once it's placed on top (lesson learned!) Leave it alone for 15 to 20 seconds, and lift up to check.

Once you ironed the emblems onto the cuffs, velcro it together so it maintains its shape when it's cooled.

DONE! And you are officially the coolest mom/dad/relative/friend EVER. ;)

p.s. I hope I included all the steps. Comment below if you have any questions. And the next time around, I would use thicker/better quality felt fabric.  I just got the cheaper kind that comes in a package. It's just for more durability and sustainability...I will let you know how long they last with my nephew! Hehe.

X'mas Sugar Cookies

Here is my 2nd sugar cookies icing attempt. If you remember my 1st attempt, the royal icing was a royal mess. However this time around, it was definitely better.  I am confident that the next time will be perfect. I think I'll add some corn syrup to the icing - it's supposed to give it a nice sheen rather than a matte when it dries.  I am just a beginner, but I had so much fun making these.  Here they are, all baked and iced:

I used the "wet on wet" icing technique a lot. I like how the colors dry smooth, and somehow looks more professional to me. For example, with the white star and red polka dots in the above picture, I iced the entire cookie with the white, and while it is still wet, I added the 5 small red dots.  The dots will get bigger by itself so be sure to make the dots smaller than what you like, and they will be the perfect size when it dries. And I used tip #3 for everything. Another cookie with the same technique is the top part of the Christmas stocking in the above picture.  I outlined it in white, then filled in with green, and added small random dots of red while the green was still wet.  Then I used a toothpick and swirled it around. It made a cool pattern.  

Speaking of toothpicks, I used them on every cookie, to help the icing fill out into small areas. It it too hard to pick out my favorite cookie...I like that each is one is different, and I love them all. 

I purchased these cupcake to-go boxes a long time ago from an online warehouse place.  I thought they would come in handy one day, since I used to make a lot of cupcakes and such:

Anyways, I put the cookies in the containers and decided they were missing something...and needed an extra boost...like glitter!  So the cookies came back out. I hustled my way to Michael's and got some pearl dust (edible glitter) and new, clean paint brushes.  I dry "painted" the pearl dust right on top on the dried icing. It made each cookie so much prettier. Sorry for the bad picture here:

Shimmery and much prettier:

The set of paintbrushes was about $5, and the Wilton's pearl dust was $4 a jar (in white and gold). It looks like this:

Now they sparkle! Such a little thing that makes a big difference, at least to me. You can see here that on the candy cane, I only put the pearl dust on the red parts:

Kind of hard to see in this picture, but believe me, they are all glittered up:

Christmas Cards

I was Googling for Christmas card ideas and finally found "The Inspiration". It was super easy [if you know your way around Microsoft Word or Powerpoint, and Photoshop], and creative.

I made them in all different colors - green, navy blue, turquoise blue, red, and light blue:

Here is a close up:

It is a 5" x 7". I made the 3 different ornaments and the patterns on Microsoft then Photoshopped.  I printed it to a 4" x 6" size on white cardstock paper. Then I used hand punches in the shapes of circle, heart and star.  It gives it a cool unique look, with depth and texture, and the background color coming through. I simply glued the white cardstock onto the colored cardstock.

Another close up:

Inside, I glued (glue dots are awesome) a picture of our family, along with the cutest Christmas quote by Dr. Seuss:

"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store?  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?"

Here is the work in progress, over baby dolls and puzzle pieces - what a mess!

I was hand stamping my "signature", if you will. A few years back, I saw the stamp at Michael's and had to get it. It has a barcode, and on top it says "Made just for you, because you're...PRICELESS".

=)

I got the easy "peel and seal" (is that what they are called?) envelopes, 100 for $13. That's the way to go when you're making ~90 holiday cards every year. No more wetting a paint brush to seal the flap!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

p.s. Stay tuned for my Christmas sugar cookies with shimmer, and cool superhero wrist cuffs (for my [almost] 4 year old nephew).

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels

Make this easy yummy chocolate treat as gifts, or for yourself! It is so versatile, and you can use nuts, sprinkles...anything you like. But let me warn you, it gets real messy, real fast. ;)

What you need:

Around 35 pretzel rods [and extras in case a few breaks in the process] 

12 oz [baking] milk chocolate chips

6 oz [baking] white chocolate chips 

Shortening

Tall microwavable glass or mug

Microwavable bowl

Cookie sheet lined with wax paper

Fork

Pan of warm water

Treat bags and embellishments

Directions:

1) Line wax paper on cookie sheet and set aside.

2) In a tall glass or mug, add the milk chocolate chips with a tablespoon of shortening.

3) Melt milk chocolate - Put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Take it out and give it a stir.  Put back in microwave for 20 seconds, take out and stir. At this point, the chocolate should be pretty much melted.  Every microwave is different, so it'll be trial and error, but remember to not over heat it.

4) Place the glass or mug into a pan of warm water to keep the temperature up. 

5) Dip pretzel rod into the chocolate [but not the entire rod!], take it out and put it on the cookie sheet to dry. I have found that by twirling the rod at the tip of the glass makes a beautiful pattern, and each pretzel will be somewhat uniformed - you won't have one that has too much chocolate, etc. This is the point where you can add sprinkles or nuts when you rest them on the pan.

6) You will be able to make a little over 30 chocolate dipped pretzel rods.  Place all in the fridge for the chocolate to harden. Once harden, take them out of the fridge and back on the kitchen counter. [The top two resting horizontally broke]

7) In a microwavable bowl, add white chocolate and 1/2 tablespoon of shortening together.

8) Melt white chocolate - The same procedure as milk chocolate, but with 15-20 seconds per "round" as you only have 1/2 the amount this time. 

9) Get a fork and stir the white chocolate. 

10) This is where it gets messy. Take the fork and generously dip into the white chocolate. With a wind-shield wiper and/or figure 8 motions, whip it back and forth over the chocolate covered rods. The messier, the better! It doesn't matter what it looks like right now. Trust me, they will be perfect.

11) Put it all back in the fridge for a few hours. You want to make sure they don't smear when you put them into the treat bags.

12) ENJOY!  

I used a plain cardstock paper and glued a X'mas scrapbook paper on top.  Then stapled on the left and right side. Perfect - who won't like these?!