Wild + Free Doggy Hoodie: Iron-On Transfer

Project #2 of my iron-on transfer obsession.. a doggy hoodie for Atari!  I bought this hoodie at American Apparel and just gave it an extra little pizzaz with another doodle I did combined with the ever amazing Cricut Explore One.  I'm very fortunate that my dog actually likes wearing clothes. He's learned to associate clothing with going somewhere special.  This trip really was special because it was Atari's first camping trip ever!

I wanted something covering most of him while we hiked to give critters less furry goodness to jump onto.  Plus, he gets cold very easily and usually needs a jacket or hoodie on when it's chilly at night. So, I decided to make one of his existing hoodies twice as adorable.  (don't judge me, my dog is my child.)

Atari's first experience with a creek was interesting to say the least.  I put him on a rock in the middle of it and left him.  It took him about 10 minutes to muster up the courage to walk very slowly through 1/2 inch deep water to get to the bank.  Needless to say, I'm a horrible dog parent because I just stood there cracking up.

I guess this was his vengeance for my laughing at him and leaving him in the middle of a creek.  He tried for 15 minutes to wiggle out of the hoodie.  Below is the result.  Little booger!

His plan of revenge backfired because he got a bath under a cold spring water pump after the hike ended. 

I will be DIYing some more doggy shirts in the future!  I just think they're too stinking cute!

Happy Camper - Iron On Transfer T-Shirt Design

Of course, another camping inspired post.  I doodled this little tshirt design on a piece of paper and fell in love with it... so I put it on a shirt.  Because that's what you do with things you love, right?  You wear it on your sleeve.  Or your torso, whatevs.  This was my first endeavor into Iron-On Transfers... and let me tell you, I'm obsessed!  Seriously, I want to iron-on EVERYTHING.  I even made a hoodie for Atari.. he's wearing it in this pic, but that will be another post for another time... 

My new Cricut Explore One made this little project so ridiculously easy!  All the supplies came from Michaels, of course.

This trip, we stayed at Breakneck Campground in Portersville, PA.  Check out the adorable hut we stayed in that hung over the side of a gorge.  I would live here.  Like seriously.  If you've never visited Pennsylvania.. I highly encourage you to do so and check out all the natural beauty it has to offer.  I cannot wait to explore more hidden corners of this beautiful state I live in.

Vegetarian Campfire Pasta Recipe

VEGETARIAN CAMPFIRE PASTA

from EAT+SLEEP+MAKE

Ingredients:

1 lb. Linguine

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic

Dried Oregano

Dried Basil

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

1 Pack Cherry Tomatoes

1 Pack Sliced Baby Bellas

1 Bunch Fresh Basil

Shredded Italian Cheese (your preference - I like a Parmesan, Asiago and Romano mix)

Step 1: This part you do at home, pre-camping.  Make your pasta, drain it and place back in pot.  Add about 1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and press the 3 cloves of garlic into the pot.  Add about 1 tablespoon of Oregano and Basil.. Salt and Pepper to taste.  Mix it up and let it cool.  Once it's cool, place in a large ziplock bag and refrigerate until you leave.  You'll need to keep this in a cooler until you're ready to cook it at the campsite.

Step 2:  Once you're ready to cook, cut 4 pieces of foil, pretty large, drizzle some olive oil on it, then ration out the baby bellas.  Drizzle a little more olive oil on top of the mushrooms.

Step 3:  Portion the pasta out over the mushrooms.  Drizzle a little more olive oil over the pasta.  You want to try and make sure the mushrooms are between the pasta and the foil on that bottom because the pasta can burn.  Now sprinkle some of your shredded cheese over the pasta.

Step 4:  Close up your foil cocoon.  I usually cut 4 more squares of foil to put over the packets and roll the sides together.  You want a little bit of air in the packets, so don't roll them too tight.

Step 5:  Place the packets on your fire or camping stove for about 5 minutes.  The pasta will warm up quickly... the length of cook time depends on how well done you want the mushrooms.  I like mine slightly raw.  

Step 6:  Open one end of your packs and empty onto a plate.

Step 7:  Add your garnish!  I love adding diced cherry tomatoes, chopped fresh basil and some more Italian cheeses.

Step 8:  DEVOUR IT!

This time, I paired mine with a simple Arugula Salad with Greek Vinaigrette.  It was the perfect crisp compliment.  And of course, wine is a necessity!  My favorite is Mirassou's Pinot Noir.  Also, for those that cannot live without meat, a great way to add protein to this dish is to roast some Italian sausage over the fire, cut it up and toss it into the pasta.  Easy peasy!

What are your favorite camping recipes?? I'm always looking for new, delicious stuff to try!

Get the printable recipe HERE

#MichaelsMakers: Harvest Inspired Tablescape Using Craft Pumpkins

I'm not even going to acknowledge the fact that summer is over.  I love fall, but, this year, I feel like I need a little more summer in my life.  This challenge of using craft pumpkins seriously was a challenge, just because I had to break out of the summer mentality to get the autumnal feeling in order to find proper inspiration for this.  I cheated a little, though.  I kept things green and did away with the traditional red and orange colors that find their way into most fall decor.  I really really really love the look I came up with for my mom and dad's dining room table.  They always host our gigantic family Thanksgiving dinner, so I figured it was the perfect place for this.  

For my craft pumpkin DIY I kept it simple.  I drilled a pattern of holes all around them.  Then one bigger hole in the bottom.  I stuffed a bunch of twinkle lights inside and voila.  I think it adds the perfect amount of shimmer to the table without being too obnoxious.  

I also made this adorable little bunting with doo-dads I found near all the scrapbooking supplies.

These little flags that I used for place cards were also near the scrapbooking supplies.

I grabbed a few hay bunches and log slices and a bunch of eucalyptus, as well.  I placed the eucalyptus into pottery I had made in high school that my mother, so lovingly, still keeps displayed all over her house. (Do you see the little unicorn that photobombed my shoot???)

For the big centerpiece, I picked a bunch of fake flowers from Michaels that I thought would give this the perfect rustic-ish, harvest-ish, fall-ish feeling... there are even some feathers in there, too.  Oh, and a little wooden owl hiding in there for the kids to find.  This was so much fun to put together with my mom!  She's definitely the one I get my craftiness from.  

Here's my project from last year, that I still adore!

Now go check out all the other incredible craft pumpkin projects from the rest of the Michaels Makers team and GET INSPIRED!

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DIY Lunch Notes with Cricut Explore One

As I'm sure a lot of you already know, Michaels recently released a brand new Cricut - the Cricut Explore One.  I had the opportunity to try out the machine to create these adorable Frozen Lunch Notes!

This Cricut comes with the free Cricut Design Space software that allows you to cut printable images, upload your own images and fonts, and has 25+ free 1-click projects and 50+ free images built in.

I decided to make these little lunch notes for my sisters-in-law to put in my nieces and nephews lunches.  My mom always used to put little Suzy Zoo notes in my lunches for me and I adored it.  I still have some of them!  These are most definitely more extravagant than what we had back in the day, but so worth it if you have the Cricut!


I decided to do the multi-layer images because... well, they're fun.  I cut down on the number of colors in them, though... one feature I love about the Design Space software.  You can sort and group the coloreds pieces for cutting.

I also love that the software is cloud-based.  So you can work on your ipad, then finish up on your computer.  It's SO convenient!

Another thing that I find AMAZING about this machine is that it can cut felt AND leather! Whaaaaat?  I will for sure be utilizing that feature in the future.  I have some very cute leather cuff ideas floating around in my head.

 Now of course, I chose some of the most intricately detailed designs available in the Frozen cartridge... just a word to the wise.. don't use these ones unless you're doing them on a large scale.  I did them WAY too small and had to leave some of the details out.  I'm still happy with the result, fortunately... you can still tell it's Elsa and Anna!  What are your favorite projects to use your Cricut for?

Michaels Makers Summit + Free Workshops w/ Creativebug!

I'm sure most, if not all of you are aware that Eat+Sleep+Make was invited, along with the other Michaels Makers, to attend the Michaels Makers Summit in Santa Rosa, California last weekend.

Holy moly you guys.  I had no idea what to expect.  What was waiting for us all, was breath taking!  All of the events took place at The Ranch Above St. Helena.  Look at the photo below for the views.  Crazy, right??  We were perched atop a mountain, a beautiful, curvy, lush mountain in the middle of wine country.  The house where we took all of the workshops was a dream!  Check out the photos, because words cannot do it justice.

They honestly had every last detail planned, down to the throw pillows on the sofas.  Upon arrival we received goodie bags, filled with snacks and random items we might need during the trip, including a Michaels branded portable battery charger and a coloring book and colored pencils!

Even the pool was celebrating with us!

The whole group!  Too bad we couldn't bottle all of the creative energy floating around there and share some of it with all of you.  It was almost tangible.

Yeah, we totally drank an absurd amount of champagne.

The workshops we took with instructors from Creativebug were so far above anything I expected.  We had an absolute blast. 

And GREAT NEWS - Each of the four classes we took are available online for FREE on Michaels.com until 8/22!  You can re-create one or all of our summit projects!

Follow Livia on Instagram @thegreenvase

Follow Yao on Instagram @yaochengdesign

Follow Courtney on Instagram @ccerruti

Follow Annabel on Instagram @littlepincushionstudio

The views from The Ranch were breathtaking... and we were also lucky enough to be able to stop at an overlook of the Golden Gate Bridge before we flew out.  It's so hard to believe that man built that... It's incredible.

If you follow ESM on Instagram, you probably have seen most of the pix below, but I figured I'd share them again here for those that have not seen them.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with Michaels and all the blessings that come along with it.  I made some great friends this past weekend, learned a lot, and left feeling so inspired and rejuvenated.  

Thank you Michaels, Creativebug and SPM for such an amazing experience!

An InLinkz Link-up