DIY Pom Pom Shorts

I have a super exciting (very long) post for you guys today!  I made these adorable Hawaiian print shorts with little pompoms along the bottom for a themed party we had here.  Although, I have wanted to make these shorts since last summer and never got around to it until now.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to do it properly without a pattern but I decided to take the plunge and try it anyway!

What you'll need:

• shorts as template
• tissue paper
• fabric
• trim
• scissors
• thread
• sewing machine
• elastic for waistband
• pins

Start by grabbing a pair of shorts that fit similar to the way you want the ones your making to fit.  I picked these crochet ones from Forever21, but wanted to make them a little looser.  Fold the shorts with the front side out and trace onto tissue paper.

Lay the tissue paper pattern with the long straight edge along a fold, this will make one leg of your shorts.

Cut around the tissue paper allowing some space for seams and extra at the waist for your waistband.

Repeat those steps so that you have two legs.

Then you are going to put the two pieces right sides together on top of one another.

Remember, RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER.

Pin along the curved sides and sew.  Next you will need to sew the crotch, to do this you want to sew the small straight edges together (the part thats pinned in the picture below).

To do the waistband, I simply folded the top over at the height I wanted (tip: put your shorts on inside out to pin where you want things to be!) and sew across, leaving a small opening to feed the elastic through.

Measure an elastic the size of your waist, leaving some for extra to overlap to sew it together.  Feed this through the top of your shorts.

They will look something like this:

Now try the shorts on again, and mark how short you want them to be, I also marked on the sides where I wanted the little curve to go.  Cut them the length you want then then fold over a little along the edge and hem.

Then stitch on the pom pom trim.

Rock your shorts at your next Hawaiian getaway! Or at a Hawaiian themed party because there's still snow on the ground!

Shout out to my roommate for the fantastic photo-bomb,

 

 

Cookie Skillets

In honor of The Bachelor finishing, most nights the roommates and I cuddled up on the couch with some sort of snack (usually junk food) and watched Juan Pablo make a fool of himself.  

So naturally, nothing says girls night like Cookie Skillets.  Seeing as most of my roommates had never experienced the glory that is a cookie skillet, I had to take their skillet virginity.

They are ridiculously easy to make, you just have to make sure you don't overcook them because you want them to be gooey and oh so delicious.

Start with a frying pan (or two, or six)... they can be any size.  Take some cookie dough, I usually just opt for the store bought variety for this but if I have some homemade kicking in the freezer I'll use that.  Press it into the frying pan and bake at 350 degrees.  I usually bake it for 10 minutes, but it depends on what size your frying pan is!

See how it's crispy on the outside and barely baked in the middle.... that's what you want!

Now load it up with whatever you can get your hands on.  We started with ice cream, then some whip cream and some chocolate sauce.  But you can put on whatever your little heart desires.

Then DIG IN !!

Or pause for an Instagram break.....

Girls nights are the best nights... am I right?
I'll leave you all with everyone's favourite Free Spirit, Lucy's song entitled, "ees okay."  (the lyrics are in the description and are absolute genius!

 

 

Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Cupcakes

In preparation for St Patrick's Day festivities I made up this yummy chocolate cupcakes with Bailey's buttercream (okay, there's also Bailey's in the cake).  These are easy to whip up and so far have been a huge hit with everyone who's tried them.

To make the chocolate cake you will need:

• 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
• 1 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup of Bailey's

For the icing:

• 1 cup butter
• approx. 4 cups of icing sugar
• 3 tbs. Bailey's

I piped on a classic swirl using a Wilton 2D tip and sprinkled them with four leaf clover quoins from Bulk Barn.  I could eat the buttercream with a spoon, it is to die for.

Any reason to bake cupcakes is fine with me.
Hope everyone has a lovely and safe St Patrick's day!