Snack Time!

Did any of you happen to see the “yummy” fabric we got in the other day, which just happens to be one of my favourite things?!?

POPCORN!!!!!! Oh how I love this snackie food, in all it’s buttery goodness, topped with lots of flavourings sometimes too! I love it at home but of course, it’s even better at the movie theater, well, usually lol! Some theaters definitely have better popcorn than others but I still love it all! My favourite movie theater is Landmark Cinemas because they have the huge recliner seats and you’re kind of separated from the people beside you, which is a huge bonus to me lol! You may laugh at this next part, although I think it’s much more common these days but I take a blanket with me to the movie theater, and I’m not alone, heck, they even sell them at the theater too lol! Anyways, I always keep a minky blanket in the car just for this purpose as we are sometimes, spontaneous movie goers, so therefore, I’m always prepared! Because of this, I’ve asked Melissa to keep her eye out for a popcorn or movie themed minky so that I can make an even better Minky movie blanket…think of all the prospective customers you’d get if you walked in with a custom popcorn blanket lol!

Sadly, she’s been unable to find any such minky butttttt I thought she had found some and not told me because on Friday, with hands full, I tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to open a box and all I could glimpse was popcorn!!!!!! I was overjoyed and quickly threw the items I was carrying (yet again, I’m glad we deal in unbreakable items lol) and proceeded to rip open the box and there it was…….a small, 44″ bolt that was obviously cotton, not minky, and I was immediately saddened!!!But then, the more I looked at this very realistic popcorn, I kinda began to love it!! Seriously, how fun is it!!!!

So on I went about my day and totally forgot about the popcorn! I made my post about that days shipments and it was fun that so many of you were thrilled with the fabric and suggested uses for it were given, but then….it happened!!!! I read a comment from Dawn Telfer that blew my mind!!!! She said, and I quote, “My daughter makes microwave popcorn bags and loves using the Timeless Treasures “Cats in Movies” fabric but this new fabric would be fun too!”!!

Isn’t this amazing!! Now, I could be behind on the trend, as quite often happens, but….I had no idea that this was a thing?!? It never would have occurred to me to try this…..until now and all thanks to Dawn’s daughter!!!!! Let me also just say that this is obviously a business for her and I’m certainly not trying to “steal” from her as I will not be making these to sell but did I immediately look it up so that I could make them for Christmas presents for my people?!? Absolutely I did because she inspired me so much!!!!

I was actually giggly as I googled it and saw there was so many tutorials on these amazing little bags and of course, I loved the idea of a reusable popcorn bag that would provide you with the yummy snack with no additives or chemicals!!

I read through a few and they were all pretty much exactly the same so I ended up using the DIY Reusable Microwave Popcorn Bag by Hello Sewing because I read the “about” section of the Creator, Helen Spencer, and it “spoke to me” lol…..”I’m a hopeless craft and coffee lover”….uh, hello…that’s me too lol! I also liked that she included instructions and tips and hints on how to use the bag properly as well!

I went to work making 4 of the bags and as you can imagine, it’s a super quick project! I decided to use fabrics from my stash for the interior, specifically chosen for each person! Before I knew it, I was taking one that I made as a “tester” and within 3 minutes I was a’munching on some yummy popcorn! Here’s what I ended up with….

I just love them!!! I will be honest, I was so nervous to actually use it lol! I was sure it was going to combust into flames so I didn’t leave it even for a second! I will also say that I have a new microwave but it’s not a very strong one, it does the job except for popcorn lol! Before I made this bag, I used an Epicure Steamer to make popcorn in the microwave but I felt like I was ruining the steamer because I had to leave it in for almost 5 minutes and there would still be a ton of un-popped kernels in the bottom, but you could smell that it was beginning to scorch or burn the steamer!

One of the tips that Helen gave was to set the timer at 5 minutes on the highest temperature your microwave does instead of using the popcorn button, not that you’re going to leave it cooking that long though, so don’t panic lol! You stand there and listen for the popping to stop and then it’s done! This worked so much better in my microwave than the popcorn button! It started popping right away and I had barely any un-popped kernels! I let it go a bit longer than I should have but even then, there was no smoking or burning and after I emptied the popcorn out, I fully inspected the bag and it was still 100% perfect! Because I didn’t add anything to the bag other then the kernels, I don’t feel like it will need to be washed after every use, although, you certainly could if you wanted to!

I’m so excited and happy with how this little gift turned out! I whipped up this little instruction tag on my Cricut so all that’s left to do is add a bag of kernels and it will be complete!

I’ve been having so much fun making a few little practical “Mom-made” gifts this year, ones that I feel like they’ll actually use and enjoy getting lol!

What has been your favourite handmade gift you’ve given? Do you have a standard one you make repeatedly?

I hope you all have an amazing week and find some time just for you to do whatever it is you want…including nothing at all! Cheers all!

Shawna