Wool Dryer Balls..to the test

Okay so recently I have been looking for more ways to cut on our household spending and I've been hearing about MANY people using Wool Dryer Balls to cut cost and time in drying. So of course I had to give it a shot however I've been seeing them being sold on ETSY for almost 5$ per ball plus shipping. Okay it's always great to support other WAHM's however I knew I could do this for a much more practical price. So to google I went and I found a tutorial here (http://goodmama.typepad.com/goodmama/2008/05/make-your-own-wool-dryer-balls.html) Not only is Goodmama Awesome for sharing this tutorial but she is also a WAHM. Anyhow I followed her instructions with some wool I had leftover from a purse I made last year and I bought a new roll (on sale of course).


So here are the supplies that I started with ...

I got this roll of wool from Joann's on sale so after making three full wool balls I only ended spending about $1 per ball (I love being thrifty). The directions that the Goodmama gave in the tutorial were very simple to follow. Wind core and felt in the washing machine..I wound my cores to measure about 5 1/2 inches around.

I show four balls because that is what I intended to make but ran out of wool so for now I have three completed and one core.

After felting them in the machine and fully drying them twice I feel that they may need a few more washings to be fully felted (I threw them in with wash loads that were able to be washed on hot). However they are fully usable and saving a ton of time in the dryer.

The Goodmama tutorial suggest that you wind them to be 10-10 1/2 inches around however I experimented and did one at 8 1/2 one at 9  and the largest at 9 1/2 inches around. I ended up liking the one at 9 inches the best (the middle ball in the picture). So in the future I will wind the last core to the 9 inch size.

I laundered a full load of king size sheets and two VERY large thick towels. They normally take about 80 minutes to dry and this go round with my new wool dryer balls they took 40 minutes...YES 40 minutes. This week I will repeat the same load and try for 30 minutes. I am very happy with the outcome and am saying GOOD BYE to dryer sheets because this load came out SO SUPER SOFT...I cannot wait to see just how much time this cuts off all my dryer loads ;o)

If you can sit for twenty minutes and wind yarn (super easy) you should try this and see what kind of savings in time and money you get out of using them.

Giveaway prize sewing

Okay so as you all know I did a giveaway and sewed up a clutch following the tutorial from Noodlehead. I had a lot of fun sewing up this clutch and thought that I would share the end result with you all.

So all in all I was pretty happy with the outcome...Following the tutorial was very easy and the pictures were awesome (because I a complete VISUAL learner). I would suggest this tutorial for the beginner that has had some experience with zippers.

The only things I was not to happy with was that I currently have no zipper foot which makes zippers kind of a pain and my top stitching could have been cleaner.

All in all I love the overall look of the clutch and would only change two things if I were to make it again.
1-Make it slightly larger.
2- Make the front panel more pleated.


Well Amylee I hope that you enjoy it and get much use out of it ;o)

To the Bat Cave

As I am usually lost in Girl Land making dresses, purses etc.... when Little Man has a request I usually try to deliver. On Monday this week he was running around the house with a blanket tied around his neck. Being that he is 3 1/2 I kinda expected the Super Hero faze soon. The blanket however was not complying to his liking and ended up becoming more of a dust mop (yuck).

He threw off the blanket and said "This is exasperating (yes, he knows the word and it's meaning..some days it's all I hear) Batman does NOT have to put up with this...I need a REAL cape!!!" As you may have guessed my son is very strong willed... and as I said before I usually try to deliver upon his BOY request.

After I picked myself up from laughter overload I told him,"Okay mommy will she what she can do" So I went to my good ol' Google and pulled up a bunch of Batman capes and he sat with me saying I want a little this and a little that....after 30 min I had me a final drawing.

So after 4 hours of sewing and doing an applique on Satin (pulling my hair out). I have the final product and one HAPPY Batman. All in all I say mission accomplished!!

I see a few flaws and things that I could have done better but the smile on his face is all I need to know that I did a job well done!!

Cake Flop...

So last weekend was Mother's Day as we all know. My family all know that and I have a thing for trying to make desserts into a more fun experience. As they have all been privy to my many failures as well as my successes. I have never been a great baker unless it's a cake. Now I must pat myself for the fact that I can make some pretty darn sweet cakes!!!

So on Thursday last week I saw the post from Amy @ Living Locurto. I have seen these Cake Pops sweep the party circuit and then I saw her post with the paper flower ones and thought **LIGHT BULB** I can SOO do that and with my own twist!!! I am lucky enough to have two of my three SIL and Mother IL and Grandmother IL live close so we usually celebrate all together. My thought was to make cake pops and do an arrangement so that we could ALL enjoy them. You normally get flowers so what could be better than flowers you EAT?!?!

All day Friday Little Man and I ran around and gathered all our supplies. I followed the tutorial over at Mama Stellato (She is amazing!) and I baked the cake and got all the balls assembled and onto sticks and froze over night. That next afternoon we were headed down south (2hr drive) and I made sure to coat/decorate/freeze the pops that morning for 2 hrs before we left. I packed a great cooler with plenty of ice to keep the pops cooled.

As we were on out way down my SIL called and said her water had broke (she was roughly 37 wks) so we headed straight to the hospital ;o) It was a great change in plans as we were not expecting little miss to arrive for another week or two.

So my pops survived that evening in the cooler and over night at the hotel in the freezer again. That Sunday morning (Mother's Day) little miss was born, everyone healthy and beautiful!! I assembled my cake pops at the hotel as I was going to bring them to the hospital after our Mother's Day breakfast. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast and then arrived at the hospital to soak up more baby time and low and behold I open the cooler (all restocked that morning with fresh ice)  to find ALL my cake pops had melted!!!!!!

What a disaster!!!

From here I was going to put them into a great pot I have..

(At least I have a photo to remember them by...haha)

My husband is always great about letting me experiment with desserts although he is a plain yellow cake/ chocolate frosting guy .. he cheered me up and onward we went.

I may again try to make cake pops for my sons birthday ;o)
             
(I never let a failed dessert WIN!!)

And the winner is....

Okay so after some technical difficulties today I am up and running and excited to announce the winner of my first giveaway. I am well aware that this week was FLOODED with giveaways due to Mother's Day this Sunday..I was hoping to get more entries in but I am still happy to get my toes wet and give one deserving fan a great gift. 

Drum Roll..... Amylee is the winner!!!

I will contact you via FB and you can decide what solid color you want to pair with my black/white combo. 

Thanks to all you ladies for joining me thus far and I hope that you all stick with me as I build my blog and share my creative world ;o)

My Etsy-versary Giveaway Details

Okay so time for the details on my FIRST giveaway. I am so excited to have hit my 1 year mark on my ETSY and feel the need to celebrate ;o). So I have chosen a great prize (so I think) for a few different reasons. 1-I myself have been dying to make one. 2- Although I do make a ton of children's clothing/accessories I feel the mommas need some love too. 3- I have some great fabric in my stash perfect for this. 4- This goes with EVERYTHING!!! 

Consider it an early Mother's Day gift ;o)

Giveaway Rules:
   *Giveaway will start on FRIDAY (April 29th) and end THURSDAY (May 5th) 12pm MST.
   *You must "LIKE" my Facebook page www.facebook.com/KayzKreations
   *Visit my ETSY page http://www.kayzkreations.etsy.com/
   *Then return to my blog and leave a comment saying you've liked me and what your favorite item from my etsy is.

Extra Points:
   *One extra point for posting giveaway on your facebook (each time)
   *One extra point for becoming a follower of my blog.
             **Leave a comment sayng you've done so**

The winner will be announced FRIDAY afternoon (May 6th).

I will use the random generator the pick the winner.


So now the PRIZE:
One lucky winner will win a Pleated Clutch. I have two great black/white combo fabrics in my stash.The winner can pick the print they want and one solid color they want for the interior and front band.


I love http://www.noodle-head.com/ and she is always fun to read ;o) If you're not a fan of hers you should be!!!!

So let the fun begin and GOODLUCK to you all!!!!

Here goes nothing...

Okay, so I've recently hit my first year anniversary for my ETSY store and have been having soo much fun. I have been keeping up with people and gaining new fans through my facebook page but sometimes I just want a better way to chat with my fans. So here goes nothing...I am now a blogger. If you all bear with me I will get better at this as times goes by I promise. So with my new addition of blogging and hitting my first year anniversary on ETSY I am having a GIVEAWAY.

Who doesn't love a great giveaway right?? So I will be announcing all the details by Friday Arpil 29th.