Sweater Pillows

Since I have not been doing much crafting lately, today's post is brought to you by mom from Red Maple Cottage.
She used sweaters found at a Thrift store to recover pillows for the front porch at Red Maple Cottage.

This a great idea for sweaters that are to small that you don't want to get rid of. These sweaters cost about $2.50 each. 

First, mom cut off the sleeves and collars, forming a square that would fit over the pillows. 

The pillows were ordinary throw pillows that mom had outside already. 

After mom cut the sweaters to fit the pillows, she placed the sweater on the pillow (as if it was wearing the sweater) and sewed up all the openings. 

Add in a matching blanket...

And Ta da....nice place for Miss Lilly to curl up. 

The snow flake that was on the pillow in the first picture and on the table in this picture is just a felt ornament from the dollar store. 

The 12 Months Before Christmas- January

Hello Folks,
It's a new year at Red Maple Cottage.
Mom is calling it The 12 months before Christmas. 
She has picked themes for each month and has tons of sewing, crafting, decorating and party ideas. 
So let's get started!


January ( A Partridge in a Pear Tree)

The theme of this month is Winter. 

Twas the sickness before Christmas

I am still alive! I got a small little stomach bug last week that I just can't seem to shake, but it certainly shook up my whole routine. I haven't posted on here, I haven't been to the gym, I haven't kept up with the house chores, and I haven't done my Christmas shopping.

Don't worry I haven plenty to post. I just need to sit down and work on it. Here is what have to share with you in the next week :

• cupcake apron
• Cookie Swap
• My Christmas mantle
• Strawberry White Chocolate chip cookies
•  Ornament Scrapbook
• a giveaway
• reindeer candy wrappers

Check back later today!

We have a winner

The winner of the two scottie dog paintings

 according to Random.org is.......

meg @ Raising Genius Fish

Congrats to Meg. An thank you to those that entered. 

Blog search

I have been looking for a really great blog that I came across a few nights ago and apparently did not follow or bookmark. So I have been  googling everything I can think of that I saw on said blog. I have yet to find it again, but have come across some really great blogs...such as

Review: Maybelline lots of Lashes Mascara and Baby Lips Lip Balm

This is my first product review as a  bzzagent. I received these samples (full size products.. for free in exchange for my review) of Maybelline Lots of Lashes Mascara and Baby Lips lip balm.

I was definitely sold on them as soon as I used them. 

Let start with the mascara. 

 At first I didn't think I would like the mascara, I already have thick eyelashes and don't use allot of mascara. One or two swipes at most. When I first opened it, I was rather disappointed that it was very hard to remove the original green top, but I love the new brush. Notice how it is tapered at the end. It's called The Great Little Grabber. I really don't like that name, it sounds painful. But the brush is great. It got the lashes at the corner of my eye and I also used the end to get my bottom lashes without getting mascara on my skin. oh come on you know it has happened to you. I didn't like that it wasn't waterproof. It's "washable". However, I have been using it for a couple weeks now and I have not had an issue with it running, even after I did at the gym. It is available in three shades and will cost you about $6.40. I think that is a pretty fair price.

Now on to the baby Lips lip balm

I used to only use lip balm when I had chapped lips or in the summer (I am prone to sun poisoning on my lips). I now use Baby Lips lip balm everyday instead of lipstick. My lips are always soft now. I love that it doesn't have the weird lip balm sent/ taste. I love the smell too. My favorite is Quenched, which is one of the clear varieties. The other clear variety is peppermint. It is also available in 4 tinted varieties ( Cherry Me, Pink Punch, Grape Vine and Peach kiss). It has a SPF of 20. You can pick one up at most retailers for about $3.99.


For more information and some fun activities, check out Maybelline New York's Facebook page

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey day. I made Thanksgiving dinner for the first time this year. I loved do it and I think it went well. My bonus mom (my mother in law ...we don't like the in law thing) works for  Weight Watchers, so I decided on a healthy appetizer.

I got this idea from Family Fun. It was very simple and so cute. The body is a melon that i cut on the bottom so that it was flat and would not roll. The head is a pear upside down secured with half of a wooden skewer. Raisins for eyes , yellow pepper for the beak and red pepper for the ....um whats that thing called? all secured with tooth picks. The feathers are an assortment of cheese cubes and grapes.

Plus it made a great center piece for the table. If you want to make your own fruit and cheese animal, experiment and have fun! The turkey design could easily be made into a peacock, or let your creativity flow and come up with your own. It makes a great diet-friendly appetizer or even light dessert, especially when paired with the Sensa Weight loss System.
























Disclaimer: Sensa is a paid sponsor of Cupcake Daydreamer. 

Don't forget to enter my Etsy giveaway