Yonanas review and honest opinion

For a very long time I had been wanting a yonanas. The promise of changing a boring 'ol banana into ICE CREAM was quite wonderful to this once morbidly obese girl. I did a lot of searching and reading online and a lot of reviews complained of the price of shipping. I cannot find the shipping cost on the yonanas site or online. My husband just happened to see one in a cooking store and I saw that as a sign that I must have it. So we toted our wonderful new toy home.

Since I have had the machine for four months now, I think that I can give my honest opinion.

I've only used it twice.

For me, one banana is all I need in a day. I know that bananas are healthy but they are also high in calories. To make a single serving of yonanas you need at least three bananas. Approx. 170 calories and 40 carbs in one banana. So one serving is 510 calories. Honestly for that I'd rather have some cookies or some REAL ice cream. In the yonanas defense, they do provide a recipe book that I made none of. It was really just adding ingredients after you pushed the bananas through. The one good thing about this monster machine is that it IS easy to clean. So after realizing how many calories I threw into my face so easily, I put it away.

The second time I cracked out the machine was for my daughter. She is 9. When I handed her the bowl, she picked up a spoonfull and made a funny face. She took a bite, told me it tasted 'gooey' and set it down, saying she'd eat more later (which she didn't). And so, our big machine sits on a shelf in the kitchen until our next yard sale. I hope that no one thinks I'm a meanie for posting my honest review, but I wish I would've realized and known all of this before I shelled out $70. I don't like how many bananas it takes, my daughter doesn't like the texture and my husband doesn't want to have to wash the machine when he's done. So it's a no go for us.

My project for U Create challenge ~Tohoku Pattern~

I've been wanting to do a project from U Create FOREVER. This months challenge was a bag made with the pattern from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar. The bag she had posted looked a little difficult because there is a pleat in the front. Her tutorial and directions walk you right through it, though. I really think anyone could make this one. For the fabric I used a baby lulu velvet that I've been saving for just the perfect ocassion. The red velvet went really well with the texture of the lulu. The lining I used is from an estate sale I went to last week. At first I thought it would look odd together but it really looks quite smashing.

I meant to make this as a Christmas gift but I really think I'm going to have to keep it! The pattern is only three pieces and didn't take long to make at all. Instead of the straps she made, I decided to use just one strap. I also made the strap ruffled to add a little more frilliness. The pattern also called for a different inside pocket. Mine is a zippered pocket sewn into the lining. Since I made it for me I also added a makeup bag so the inside wouldn't get dirty. If you are the crafty type, I encourage you to follow and try the challenges! I'm already looking forward to next months!!

Fabric Birthday Card

Today is my nephews first birthday party!! There really wasn't a birthday card cute enough for my little man and I didn't want to spend six dollars for a piece of paper that would be thrown away at the end of the day. So aunt Lacey came home and created a 'card' perfect for this special ocassion!

I realize the bottom doesn't exactly measure up correctly but this is my first one. Tutorial on the way!

Birthday Board and How-To

True Story: I texted my sister in law and told her to give my one and only nephew 'LOTS OF BIRTHDAY KISSES'. Then I realized that his birthday isn't for 2 more days....

I'm pathetic when  it comes to remembering important dates! I saw the cutest birthday board on Pinterest and couldn't resist making my own.

I was going to take pictures for a tutorial but it is really so simple it's easier just to explain.

I started with a scrap piece of wood I found at my moms house (My hoarding of crafts does help out sometimes). I sanded and painted my beautiful board. For the graphic I printed off this amazing picture onto fabric and then mod podged it onto the board. I can't resist a little pink so I dabbed pink onto the edges then sanded the edges down for a shabby look. A final layer of clear spray paint adds a little shine.

For the tags I had some new ones from last Christmas left over. I dunked them in vanilla flavoring for about 15 minutes then I baked them in the oven for about 10 minutes. The tags come out all warped so I stack them in between foil and put something heavy on them until they flatten out and cool down.

Not sure that it matters but I put everyones birthday on the tags with Sharpies new paint pens. I swear I've used them every day since my daughter unwrapped them on her birthday :)

The knob I bought at lowes. I am NOT savvy with electric tools so I super glued it to the board and let dry overnight. I used twine to hang the tags and think it turned out pretty swanky! I will be making these for Christmas since they are basically free to make and super cute!

Mail Call! Fabric Envelope

I have this AMAZING AUNT. I can remember when she went on vacation, I usually got to go to. My parents weren't very adventurous and didn't like to go anywhere outside of a 200 mile range. Going places with her and my cousins was always an adventure. I love my aunt SO MUCH. She is my second mother. Every year for birthdays and holidays, the kids and I get a handmade card and sometimes a tiny trading card will fall into our hands as we open the card. She is SO talented, and I keep every little thing she makes because it is so amazingly beautiful. I was thinking how I haven't done anything special for HER in a very long time. Nothing says "I love you" like handmade. I keep seeing fabric postcards all around the internet and wanted to take it one step further. This envelope is a little smaller than a large manilla envelope. It was so fun to make. I used paint,  tulle, muslin, woven cotton, glitter, modge podge and ribbon. The "You are loved" on the back is a piece of twill I wrote on. After it dried I added modge podge and glitter. I then sewed two pieces of tulle over the top. It looks pretty swanky in real life!

I put a 'patch' of muslin on the right upper side for the stamps.

Instead of a zipper or resin snap I made the envelope with ties. I tied them in little tiny bows and tucked them inside of the envelope.

Next time I will use a zipper and tack it into place so that no one opens it before it is delivered. I really thought the mail lady would flip out and tell me about some sort of regulation that I didn't follow. Instead, she smiled really big and told me how pretty it was. It was only $1.30 to mail :) I'm not sure if it arrived safely or not but it was SO FUN to make. I will definitely be doing this again!

Pencil Case Party Favors

My daughters birthday flew around (as always, too quickly!) and she hadn't been feeling good all week. The doctor told us that she couldn't attend p.e., ride her bike or do any running or strenuous activity. I have been promising her a slumber party but we had to postpone it since she was sleepy and it wouldn't be much fun having a party when she didn't feel good. So I promised that we would have the slumber party later, saved all of the things I had made and bought for it and decided to send cupcakes and party favors to her class so that everyone could at least KNOW it was her special day!

After scouring pinterest for ideas on party favors I decided I didn't want to make or send sugary sweets or junky toys which usually get thrown away a couple days later. I decided to make pencil holders!

I would post a tutorial but there are hundreds of pencil case tutorials on the internet already. It really is such a simple project! I added a loop to them so that they could be hung up. We are CONSTANTLY losing pencils at home, so I thought this would be a convenient way to keep track of them for homework time.

I made the teacher one also. The fabric was a yummy baby lulu velvet that I've been hoarding for a special ocassion. She is really the best teacher alive, and nothing is too good for this super woman. It doesn't show up as beautiful as it is :) Instead of candy, I stuffed the bags with pencils, a crazy straw, fruit roll ups and other useful things. For the label I printed a cute little owl saying to match the bags.

After school one of the girls in class ran up to me and asked me, "HOW DID YOU MAKE THOSE? I LOVE IT!". It seems they were a real hit and the teacher had them leave the cases in class to keep track of their pencils. Maybe everyone will remember my sweet girl everytime they grab a pencil!