Makin it Domestic

Time...

2011-07-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on everything. I have making shirts and shorts out of the hubs old stuff for the boy, dresses for the girl. Blessing dresses for the babes, cleaning my sewing room, I don't so much have time for tutorials but I can show pics. Just not today. When I get back on top of things I will post something good. It may be awhile.

Pink Ruffle Cake

2011-04-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Looking for the Sew into Spring Link Party? It's here: Party

My Daughter's birthday is tomorrow and so on Saturday we had a cousin, family party. I started making fancy cakes like a flower, a carousel, a butterfly when she was two. It doesn't matter how bad they turn out I still continue to make them. I am really pleased with the results of this years cake. I write this like I was in a contest. Maybe in my thoughts. Anyway, I saw this cake originally posted on The Pioneer Woman and the true link is from I am Baker. She bakes and does some cool things. But when I saw this cake I think I may have drooled a little bit.

See...Drooling a little aren't you. Anyway, here is my creation. I couldn't go down as far on the plate as I would have liked because my cake plate had a lip thing on. It was pretty easy as far as cakes go. The one thing I did learn is that you can't have a warm house or your roses slide off the cake and melt. A little time in the fridge fixed that though..

Without further adieu....

Linking up here: Today's Creative Blog

It's Time to Party!

2011-04-14T20:29:00.000-07:00

I am so excited. April 15th has arrived and it is time to party! I will be here and there posting some of the things I have been making for my kids. I have had a few mishaps in my sewing lately but hopefully I can fix them and it won't be a big deal or noticeable. So..without further adieu...

Here are the rules:

1. Please use my button and post it on your site so we can spend the news.
2. It must be a sewing item, preferably clothing but I am not going to be too picky.
3. Please leave a comment on others items so we can all feel loved.

BROOKE

Let's Party!!

2011-04-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, late time I talked about having a party. Let's do it! Here are the rules. It will start on April 15 and run until May 15. We are going to call it Sew into Spring. Here is what it is all about.

I am on a limited budget and my kids need summer clothes. So I decided that I wanted to make as many clothes for my kids without spending tons of money. So all of you sewers out there, get on your sewing cap and start sewing. You can sew, glue, refashion, upcycle, really however you want to do it as long as someone can wear it. No pet clothes.

Let's get started. Ready, Set, GO!

Busy, busy, busy

2011-03-17T21:02:00.001-07:00

I just wanted all of you who ever check this blog, I have not forgot about it. I do intend to post again someday. I don't know how diehard bloggers do it. If you know the secrets, let me know.

I work full time at a job outside my house.
I have two kids ages 4 and 2.
My husband had double hernia surgery awhile ago and is mostly recovered.
My husband also started school on the same day he had hernia surgery.
I can only park one of two cars in our two car garage.
We are finishing a master bedroom and bathroom above our garage.
I still have to cook and clean and do laundry for my family.
I am not a night owl, I like to go to bed by 10pm. Old huh?
I am not a morning person either. 2 pm is good, i think
I don't exercise, cause I am lazy, need to, people are wondering if I am prego

I am not trying to complain about my life in any sort of way. I have a wonderful family who is very supportive and loving. My life is good just a little cuckoo. Sewing and crafting has really just become a thing of the side and not too often. I am sorry to neglect this blog, however I have realized my priorities especially my top ones don't involve blogging everyday for hours. They involve a 4 and 2 year old, husband, work, and making life work how we can. Do our very best at it and learn to like it even though it is not ideal.

I do have lots of plans and ideas though. When I finishing my cooking, cleaning, raising kids or lets just be honest. If I have a spare moment when I don't want to do the other things I will sew. I do have some before and after pics from our house remodel and some building projects and I had a thought to see how many clothing items I can make my kids for summer without spending a buck. Do you think I can do it? Would you be in if I had a party? What should we call it party? No names come to mind. Let me think about it for a week or so. Then maybe in mid April we can get this party started.

Thanks for stopping by those who are devoted or just happen across this blog. I really do love my followers and sorry that you feel neglected.

Goals?

2011-01-08T16:48:00.001-08:00

I think that we all make goals to one degree or another. Many make resolutions but a goal and a resolution to me are really one in the same. I make goals every year, probably every day. My every day goal list really is called a to-do list but I jot down the things I would like to accomplish that day.

Last year about spring time, I made this full page, typed out list of things I would like or needed to get done on the yard and house. Some were little things like clean furnace room and some were very large like finish house. Some got done (like furnace room once upon a time) and some didn't (like the house). But it is really a list of goals I would like to work on to accomplish. I hung that list upon the fridge and kept it there for about 6 months. In that time period, a lot of those things did get done. When I took it off the fridge not nearly as many go done because I no longer saw everyday, every time I opened the fridge. When I saw that list, I wanted to cross off as many things as I could. Deep down, to be able to cross one item off the list just felt so good.

Since I am a list person and you all know I make lists, it feels good to be able to write those things down. I make lists in my head all day long but then I forget about them and they get filed away somewhere up there most likely never to be found again.

The whole point of this rambling story:

It is good to have goals or things you would like to accomplish, even if it is just for the day. This way, I think I stay focused on the project at hand and am less likely to let the ADD in my brain take over.

So for 2011, I want you all to pick one word that is going to sum up the year 2011 for you. Think hard and it can be whatever you want it to be. Leave it as a comment and then attach that word to the top of your goal list and put that goal list somewhere you can see it everyday, several times maybe.

My word: FOCUS

Reminds of a story that President Uchtdorf told in a talk about a plane crashing into the Everglades and killing all those on it. It going something like this:

There was a plane flying over Florida area when the pilot notices a red light started flashing. They (him and copilots) were so focused on why this red light was flashing that they did not realize that the plane was slowly descending. They did not realize how much they had descended until it was too late and crashed into the Everglades. Sad story but the parallel to our lives is that we tend to focus on so many little things that we may not think are little that we miss the big picture of what is really happening.

For me, I am so busy doing all of my little things (primary, work, dinner, managing life) that I miss what I need to be focusing on (my kids, my family). Get it?

Anyway. My list of goals for 2010. Not listing them all because you probably all don't need to know. But keep me accountable on the ones I do list.

1. Give my kids the gift of me

2. Exercise and eat healthier for my family

3. Read and study scriptures daily

4. Attend temple regularly

5. Be okay with who I am

That is good for right now. I could add a million things onto that but start small and simple and add later. And I know I have said this before, but everyone really should read "the Happiness Project". Great book, I am not saying that you all are not happy but she really does have some great insights on a lot of things.

Good Things:

1. Goals

2. Health

3. Family who helps a lot

4. Love

Sweet Potato Casserole

2010-12-23T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a recipe from another sister, I am not sure where she got it from. So good. My husband hates sweet potatoes but he ate this and said it was good. It is that good.

3 cups sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
4 T melted butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping
4 T melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:
Cook sweet potatoes, I put mine in the oven until they are well cooked let them cool and then peel off skins with my fingers no knife needed. Put them in a bowl add rest of ingredient (minus the topping ones) and mix together with mixer. It will be creamy. Fill a casserole dish. Then mix together topping ingredients and spread over sweet potatoes.

I probably use twice as much sweet potatoes as called for so I get more vegetable value and sugar.

Enjoy!

Once you make these, you will never go back. Trust me.

Pomegranate Salsa

2010-12-23T19:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a super delish recipe that one of my sister's made a year or so ago and I could eat the whole thing. You can't judge until you try it.

3 T Fresh squeezed lime juice
2 T honey
1/2 tsp salt
2 med avocados peeled and diced
2 med oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 pomegranate seeded
1/4 c sliced green onions
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced

Here are the real instructions.
Mix lime juice, honey, and salt. Dump avocados into this mixture. In a separate bowl, peel and section oranges and then cut them into chunks. Seed the pomegranate and put the onions, cilantro and jalapeno pepper into the oranges bowl. Finally pour the lime mixture over the pomegranate mixture and toss.

Here is what I do.

Dump all into a bowl and mix until well mixed.

Serve with chips.

Hint: Cut your pomegranate in half and fill a bowl of water and seed under the water. It is much easier to get them all out under the water.

Enjoy in the delish!

Summer shirts to....Winter Shirts!

2010-11-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

I am so excited about this one. I have had this in my head for a long time and now it's out.

Have any of you noticed the trends with long sleeve shirts lately?

What I am talking about is the sleeves. They look like a short sleeve shirt with a long sleeve underneath in a different color, print, or fabric. Will one day while I was out shopping for winter shirts I noticed this (it was actually months ago). My son has a bunch of summer shirts that aren't quite too small yet and are still useable but next summer they will be too small.

The solution??
Make long sleeves. This is so simple and you can do it no matter what size shirt. Heck, you could do this to your husband's shirts if you wanted too. Mine would be less than thrilled if I did this to his shirts. But nevertheless you can always try.

Here are the directions:

First, pick out the shirt that you want to use. Lay it out flat and measure the opening of the sleeve. So layed flat, if it was 3 1/2 inches wide then you would need 7 inches wide. Then using a long sleeve shirt as a pattern I measured how long I needed the rest of my sleeve. For example, if the sleeve on the short sleeve shirt from the shoulder seam was 4 inches and the sleeve from the long sleeve shirt was 12 inches then you would need to cut your sleeve that you are going to add 8 inches plus 1 inch of overlap for a total of 9 inches.

With all of your measurements ready it is time to start cutting. I went to a thrift store months ago with this project in mind and found men's t-shirts in the the best condition as possible and for cheap as possible. I got most of mine for a buck. I made sure they had neck ribbing on in case I wanted to add ribbing to the sleeves. With that done, I laid the t-shirt out and took my measurements of the sleeve that I wanted and started cutting.

Make sure you cut your sleeve out on a fold so you don't have a seam on top and bottom of the sleeve. I cut my sleeves from the bottom corners of the sleeves so I could use the hem from the bottom of the shirt as the hem for my sleeves. I also tapered the sleeve so that it would be not as wide near the wrist. You can make it the same width all the way down or taper it. Be careful not to taper it too much or it will be too tight.

Once you have your sleeve cut out, turn right sides together and sew starting at the hem and going along the edge. I used a serger. The nice thing about knit is that is doesn't fray. Once I had a sleeve looking thing, I pinned the long sleeve into the short sleeve and sewed around it.

On most all sleeves unless it is not hemmed they have a hem line. I sewed directly on the seam of the previous hem line in a matching thread so you would never know it was added later. Once you have sewed your sleeve on you are done, unless you added the ribbing for the hem. The sewing was a bit tricky and you had to maneuver it carefully so you don't sew the sleeve together.

These turned out so great and I saved money too. Always a plus if you ask me. A beginner could totally do this. It took about 5 minutes start to finish. Happy long sleeving all of your shirts!!

Note: The lighting in my sewing room is really terrible. Waiting for a new light.

Chicken Cutlets with Basil Parsley Sauce

2010-10-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

Chicken Cutlets with Basil-Parsley Sauce

This is from Rachael Ray, I wish I could claim it but I really do not have those kind of skills.

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken cutlets
Salt and pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano, a couple of handfuls
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 clove garlic
1 (3-ounce) jar pine nuts (pignoli)
1 lemon, zested
2 eggs, beaten
Olive oil, for shallow frying

Basil- Parsley Sauce:

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
1 Roma or plum tomato, seeded and finely chopped, for garnish

Directions

Season the cutlets with salt and pepper on both sides turn lightly in flour.
Combine next 7 ingredients in food processor and pulse-process the crumbs to chop the spices, garlic and nuts and evenly distribute the flavors throughout the crumb and cheese mixture. Transfer the mixture to a plate. Beat eggs in a separate shallow dish.
Heat a thin layer of oil in a large skillet, just enough to coat the bottom of the pan, over medium to medium high heat. Coat the cutlets in eggs then breading and add to the hot oil. Cook cutlets in a single layer, in 2 batches if necessary, about 3 or 4 minutes on each side, until cutlets' juices run clear and breading is evenly browned.
Return food processor bowl to base and add basil, parsley and lemon juice. Add a little salt and pepper. Turn processor on and stream in oil until a loose paste forms.
Serve chicken cutlets with a generous amount of basil and parsley sauce poured over the cutlets. Garnish the chicken with finely chopped Roma tomato. Serve Cheesy Risi e Bisi alongside.

I did not serve with Cheesy Risi e Bisi because peas and rice to me do not mix. Plain rice was fabulous.

Prize Winning Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins...Totally lowfat...Just like Great Harvest's

2010-10-11T20:10:00.000-07:00

They are not really prize winning but they should be and they are to me each time I eat them. I said low fat but I am pretty sure they are fat free after all candy corn is.

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 16 oz pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I always use half applesauce)
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
12 oz chocolate chips (I am fairly certain I use way more than that, that is waht makes them fat free)

Bake at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes. Here is my tip. I love them at Great Harvest how they are huge. So I always fill my muffin cups to the top so they are huge muffins. Love them so much. I Think I could eat them everyday.

Halloween Shirts

2010-10-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some Halloween shirts that I made from one shirt I got at a thrift store. I used the sayings on the shirt and then made one entire shirt out of the original shirt for my daughter. Due to some cutting on the shirts by my adorable 2 year old, my daughters shirt is not very straight. And because I can't find my normal needles I have yet to put the eyes on the mummy on my sons shirt. Hopefully we will get some good use out of the them at least for the month.

Fall Garland

2010-10-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Here is a simple Fall Garland that I put together today. It was very simple to do and turned out great.

Supplies Needed:
Styrofoam pumpkins or gourds
Ribbon (can use jute)
fake leaves
glue gun
large yard needle
drill and drill bit

Okay, first I gathered my supplies and then with the drill and drill bit, I drilled through the middle of my pumpkins and gourds. Then I wanted to use jute but I could not find mine anywhere in the house. I had some orange polka dot ribbon that is 3/8 inch wide. I threaded my large yarn needle with the ribbon and threaded through the pumpkin and gourds. I had to use a little thing to push my needle through. Once I got that done, I made sure there 6-10 inches between each fruit item. Are pumpkins a fruit or a vegetable? Not really relevant I guess. Then I started gluing the leaves between the fruits. I made a loop on each end of the garland and hung it up. When I looked at it hanging up some of the ribbon was all twisted and such so I glued some more leaves on both sides of the ribbon so when it twisted you wouldn't see the veins on the leaves. It really added to my lack of Halloween decor items.

Happy Weekend!

2010-09-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend me and the hubs are going south. I am so excited because their is this thrift store down there that I could and do spend hours in. Last time my sisters and I spent about 3 hours and $150 between all of us. It is really that good. I am not looking for anything big like furniture but some additional dress up stuff and anything that hits my fancy. Deep down I would like a Fuschia-purpleish bag but that is not very probable that I will find that. Hopefully, I can find some fall stuff to play around with. Hope you all enjoy your weekend and happy crafting.

Make Christmas

2010-09-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, I sat back after Christmas and realized I spend entirely way too much at Christmas time. I thought to myself that I am a fairly talented person I should be able to make most of my gifts. So, since then I try to do my very best and make all of my Christmas gifts. Not only does it save money, I get to enjoy something that I love to do. I usually sew a lot of things, make crusty bread for my dad, home decor items and so on.

This year I just discovered my daughter is really into the dress up. For Christmas this year she is getting dress up clothes, shoes, tiaras, necklaces and so forth. Well, I thought a lot about my son and decided we are going to do that for him too. He mostly likes to wear my daughter's stuff. I have gotten a few things like the shoes and I hit a gold mine at the dollar store for pirate, knight, and army stuff. Oh, I got a fireman's hat too. Now I just need to fill in the rest with the clothes. Dresses, skirts, gloves for the daughter, and scrubs, vests, chaps, pants for the son. For the rest of the family, haven't got quite that far yet. I am working on it though. I do have a few items. For the family we draw they ususally always get pajama pants, or holiday pillowcases or something like that.

So, I was wondering do you make Christmas? If so, what do you make? Are you an early shopper or a day before shopper?

Let me know, I am always looking for new ideas and we can share back and forth with everyone.

Happy Making Christmas!

Next time I Post will be fall related. I hope

Alphabet book Brooke Style

2010-08-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter is 4 and learning to write her letters. She is kind of struggling a little bit so I had this brilliant idea (I thought so anyway) way back in June and finished it August. It didn't take me that long literally, I just have been busy.

Supplies Needed
variety of cardstock 8.5 X 11 cut in half hamburger style
writing paper with the lines and dots on it
glue stick
stickers
laminator or get it laminated
book rings
dry erase or vis a vis wet marker

Okay. First, I decided on what colors I wanted to use. I chose a variety of pinks, purples, greens, yellows, and a cream color. Not very gender neutral but the boy will use it too if it makes it that long. I cut them in half hamburger style.

Once I got that done, I cut out of the writing paper rectangles to fit on the bottom of the paper. I think mine were about 3X4 ish. I made it so there were 3 lines on it. I glued it to the bottom half of the paper. Then with a sharpie I wrote all the alphabet, one letter on each card. First in solid lines on the first row, on the second row with dots, the third row nothing. I did that for each letter, each number 0-9, her name, brother's name, and mom and dad's name. Once I got that done, you can add your stickers as you like. Initially, I was going to cut all the letters out of felt and sew them on so that she could have something to trace but I started doing that with the letter A and it was very difficult so I stopped. Then I took them somewhere to get them laminated. Once they were laminated, I punched a hole in the corner of each one and put a book ring through them.

My daughter loves them, she is not to the point where she can do the third line yet. It makes her feel good that she can write the letters. She still needs lots of work. On the top of the paper she can draw things that start with the letter for example and apple for A. My daughter just mostly draws smiley faces because that is what she can draw. It is a really good educational things yet they don't even know. The book ring allows for taking cards in and out if the card gets overused. When you write on the letters you can wipe them off with a paper towel dry or wet.

Repurposed One Shirt into a New Shirt

2010-08-24T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the story:

I got a shirt at Kohl's and when I got it, I thought it was cute. It was $4. Not bad. Well, I got it home and tried it on and it reminded me more of nighttime attire. So I had an idea. Make a new shirt. I cut all of the embroidery off the shirt and left the remaining for another project which I haven't quite finished. Anyway, I went and bought my favorite colored tshirt and laid out the embroider appliques onto the neckline area of the shirt. I hand sewed them on. It still needed a little something so I got some ribbon the 1/8 inch type and weaved and twisted and knotted my way through the appliques and across the top of the neckline. After doing this I decided that next time the ribbon needed to be wider. You live you learn right? After I hand sewed the ribbon on I went over it with my sewing machine because it would be sad if all the ribbon came off in the washer. I then had the idea of adding pearls and beads to the shirt to but decided I liked it this way. I love how it turned out and when I wear, I get asked a lot where I got my shirt. That just makes any girl feel good. Right?

This was a little time consuming but I like it and it is unique. Try one for yourself today!

I need some help with the pictures obviously. I am still learning

Runner Rug?

2010-08-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from Jen @ Tatertots and Jello. I used placemats, they were what I could find that was the color I wanted and the price. I ended up paying $2 a placemat, I think. I used 4 placemats and put brown woven ribbon on one side and a limey green ribbon on the other side. It was kind of creative sewing and don't look really close. It was hard to get right to the edges of the ribbon on both sides but I did my best. I am all about reversible things so this works great. It is going in my craft/sewing room. When I get done with it I will reveal the whole thing. It is going to be nothing fancy, but is taking awhile to gather all of the things I want.

Berries are on!

2010-08-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

This was actually a few weeks ago but the berries were on and I made jam. It is so delicious and very easy to make.

Here's the recipe:

5 cups mashed berries
1/2 cup corn syrup
3 Tbl clearjel
2 cups sugar

I mix the sugar and the clearjel together and kind of sift it to make sure there are no lumps. Then I add everything else. We love strawberry, raspberry, raspberry with huckleberries in, and blackberry. That is all I have tried. Happy jam making to you.

beach towel bag

2010-08-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

I know, beach towel bags again? This is actually an easy project but hard to explain. I will do my best.

Supplies needed
1 beach towel of your choosing
1 regular towel in coordinating color or not cut in half length wise
1 yard of rope

First lay your regular towel out and fold in half hot dog style. Cut down your fold. I would suggest serging or zig zagging this side to control the fray before you do anything else.

Next you are going to fold over the ends of your regular towel that you just cut in half. Fold over about 2-3 inches. You will be putting rope through this so make it big enough that it will hold it but be fairly easy. When you get that done, pin your regular towel onto 1/4 of your beach towel with the part that you will put your rope through above the towel. Sew the towel on and then fold up the rest of your towel and sew it on. I put my towel on the white side of the beach towel. When all sewed up, fold up beach towel and flip into bag and tada you have a beach towel bag. You can stuff your flip flops and and extra clothes, sunscreen, a book, whatever it is all there.

Have fun at the lake with your new towel.

Cowboy Table Runner

2010-08-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

This was something I made for my family reunion auction. A little complicated but totally doable. First, I found pictures that I printed off the internet in the size I wanted. I then pinned them to a piece of white fabric and started cutting the outline. I had to be careful on the small pieces to make sure I didn't cut them off. I put wonder under on the appliques and ironed them on and then zig zagged around each piece. Then I found red cowboy fabric in my sisters stash and made a border and a back. I put a thin layer of batting between and pinned it all around. I used my machine to do the stitching. It was fun, but definitely my first time, and you can tell so don't look too close. When I was done with that, I used bias tape for the binding. Mostly because I was in a hurry. But then I had to do it twice cause the first time didn't work to good, so I might as well have used my own bias tape. Oh well, you live and learn right. I really liked how it turned out. It took a long time and only sold for $6. Definitely worth more, but it's a family thing, so I can't complain.

Cinnamon Chip Zucchini Bread

2010-07-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

This recipe is so yummy. I wanted to share and since it has been so long. Here's to back in the saddle for today! Courtesy of The Prepared Pantry

Cinnamon chip Zucchini Bread

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cups cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together, add cinnamon chips at the end. Makes 2 loave pans of the most delicious bread. Bake for 55-60 minutes.

I sprayed my pans and then floured them. After they got out of the oven I let the bread sweat in the pans a little hoping they would all come out and they did. Wonderful!

Cinnamon chips are like mini chocolate chips. You can't eat them plain because they melt at a higher temperature than our body temp. You will probably not be able to find them in a grocery store. I order mine through Alison's Pantry They are about 5.99 for about a pound bag. You can also order the from The Prepared Pantry. Good luck. Also, at Christmas I make regular white bread and at the end add the cinnamon chips. It tastes just like cinnamon burst bread from Great Harvest. My neighbors love me for it.

Enjoy!

I miss blogging

2010-06-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

I miss blogging. I really do like my job but it leaves me with not much time for sewing and crafts. I have lots of ideas but no time. My sewing machine, I call her Sophia and my serger Janie, they are feeling neglected. They want some me time. Summer may be around to stay unless it keeps raining. I have been getting things done non crafty like laundry and dishes and stuff though. I guess that is good it doesn't do anything for the creative right brain. Really the best I can do with the laundry is see how many swirls I can get my soap around the washer agitator. Pretty boring. I am however finishing my craft room. So excited. Right now it is painted and it waiting for the trim to be hung up on the walls, the floor is done and the room is waiting for some magical touches. I got a little cubby like thing at the thrift store that still needs some attention for the fabric and then some decorations. Can't wait, I hope moving day comes soon. Hope you all have a great Father's Day weekend and hope to see you again soon.

Freezer paper stencils

2010-06-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some more auction items. They are all freezer paper stencils. So fun and they turned out so good. I could make a million, but then what would I do with them all?

Aren't these cool? The tealish colored one looks better than it is.

Auction Items for Reunion

2010-06-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you might be wondering "what the heck are auction items". In my family, every year we have a family reunion. One the of things we do while together has become one of the most exciting for many family members. After lunch on the last day (usually a Saturday), we have an auction. The money raised goes towards the costs of the reunion. We have been doing this for about 5 years now and it gets a little bigger every year.

How it works:

When we send out our invitations for the reunion we put a little reminder that we are having an auction and to be working on your stuff. We try to do this because we do mostly handmade items. It can be anything you can make and some store bought stuff pops in too (mostly candy). We have had jewelry, purses, aprons, bridles, cookies, fudge, caramel apples, jerky, Christmas ornaments, pillowcases, coupons for babysitting, really the items cover a wide range of stuff.

In the past, I have made some pleated purses, homemade candy, crocheted scarves, clothes, I can't remember but a variety of things. This year I actually started a box of stuff that I come across or make for the auction. When it is done, I put it in the box. That way I won't have to remember where I put it all. This year I am making freezer paper tshirts, a table runner with appliques, a bag, and a few other things. I will post pictures after I get them all done. So far I have one tshirt done. It is really fun for the kids. In fact I think they like it the most. Every year we have raised about 400-500 dollars. That pays for our camping sites and part of the food. It works out for everyone I think.

Here is one shirt. I think it turned out cute. The colors are corally orange, yellow, and a dark purpley plum. I tried to do these freezer paper style and that worked but the spray paint did not work. It bled everywhere and I got overspray. Big mess. What I did was use acrylic paint and added 1 part of fabric medium to 2 parts paint. Mixed it up and painted away. What the medium does is allow the fabric to be washed and to be permanent. My family made a quilt 7 years ago for my parents for the 40th anniversary with everyone's handprints on and it has been washed several years and not a single one has faded.

Anyway, the paint and medium together worked like a charm. I have a few more to go and it is so much fun. My daughter thinks it is great also. She always wants to help with everything. Love her.

So look forward to a future post with the rest of my auctions items on display.

Teacher Appreciation Gift

2010-06-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

School is out and it is probably too late to post this but who cares, it's my blog. I had been planning to post about the levi apron but Kim @A girl and a glue gun beat me to it. I did mine a little different. On the army side holes I just cut them at an angle, added my fabric to the outside, and then added my kids handprints on the bottom and put a little poem about ten little fingers in the bag and I was done. I didn't take pictures. Sorry.

Jessica's "Daily Affirmation"

2010-06-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Check this video out. We all need to do this everyday. Have a great day!

New Dress

2010-06-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a while but my house is clean, kids are fed and I am blogging away.

I got this fabric at Walmart for $1 a yard. That's right 1 buck. So I should have bought a lot but I am on a budget so I just purchased what I need. I think I got 2 yards. So 2 dollars in so far and I will have a dress. I had to buy a zipper and matching thread and that was way more than the fabric so I think I did it all for around $8. Still a good deal and so cute. The best part...I always cut my dresses a little longer than the pattern so there won't be any growing out of for a while. This is for my daughter. She actually likes it.

I used a Simplicity pattern. I don't always use patterns. I had this in the stash and I like how the sleeves were. The dress has tulip sleeves that cross over. When I follow (mostly) a pattern what that really means is I cut out my fabric using the pieces, look at the directions, find an easier way to put together and add different things, like belts, flowers, shorten, lengthen. So I guess I really used a guide and then went my own route. Here are the pictures.

Don't you love the food in the pictures!

Interfacing to the Rescue

2010-05-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am very sorry that my posts have been a little pathetic. Cleaning mitts, come on we all know I am not a big cleaner, should be, wish I was, but reality has set in and I am not. In my dreams, my house is always spotless. The work thing has caught me a little off guard and hopefully in the next few weeks it will have all settled. Until then, here is slightly pathetic part 2 or is 24? I lost count.

I am not a high maintenance girl. Sometimes I wish I was a little higher to maintain. The one thing I do is wax my eyebrows. No, I don't pay for it I do it myself. A few years ago (more like 7-10) I bought and eyebrow wax kit.

In the beginning it had strips of papery like stuff that you would cut into strips to use to pull off the hair and wax. Well, I have since used all the papery things and was left with a whole lotta wax left. I did not want to throw it away, that would be wasteful and it was still useable. So for awhile I did nothing, that included not waxing the eyebrows, they were beginning to form hedges. I looked at all sorts of stores, Target, Wallies, I looked all over and couldn't find any of the strips. I could find the whole kit again but I didn't want to spend the 8 dollars for the whole kit. Them the lightbulb came on and it may have flickered a little but finally it was as bright as ever. I could use interfacing! I know what you are thinking, "Seriously Brooke, interfacing to wax my eyebrows, yeah right". Well you can and I did.

Supplies needed:

non fusible interfacing, the fusible kind might hurt a little bit you know with the iron and all.
home wax kit (for eyebrows)

Simply cut your non fusible interfacing in to 1/2 inch strips about 3-4 inches long. Heat your wax up. Apply only in the areas where you would like to remove hair. Put the strip of interfacing on top of wax and press. Wait a minute or two. And...

get ready for it ...

grit your teeth...

brace yourself...

and

Yank or just pull on the interfacing opposite the direction of hair growth.

Then say "ouch that hurt a little bit".

In the end, this worked great and I have less hedge like eyebrows. If you have never done this before, go conservative. Having more eyebrow than wanted is much better than no eyebrows at all.

This worked for me and if you do this kind of thing, I hope it works for you. Pathetic it may sound and be but it worked and is a less expensive option than buying a new kit.

New stuff on etsy shop

2010-05-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

I just posted new stuff on etsy. I posted some Moby Style Wraps and hair bows. Hopefully this weekend I can add some diaper clutch changing pads and some more bags. Enjoy

Gone but not forgotten

2010-05-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

I haven't been around much lately. I have been busy doing a little bit of everything and is only going to get busier. I got a full time job. It should be really great. May even lead to part time in a few months. We will see. What this means now is that I have to readjust and change my schedule and ways. I have been a SAHM for the last four years. Working from 8-5 is going to be an adjustment but hopefully it will work. My posting and time for crafts has also taken a definite hit. I will still try to do this in my spare time, it may be really spare though.

I would love to host some tutorials from you and your friends. If you want to do something shoot me an email and I would love to do something.

Here's to change...again and again.

Joy Journal

2010-05-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

Today I am posting about joy. For those of you who know me you have already heard this. You can skip this. For those of you who haven't I guess you can skip too.

I have two kids ages 4 and 1. After I had #2 I had a case of the blues, post partum depression, I have 2 kids, I am too busy and so on and so forth. Well at the beginning of this year (my baby is really almost 2) I decided that I needed to get over it and move on. I had kind of decided that I really wasn't enjoying life as a mother or even as a me. The kids were stressing me out, lots of bawling, remodeling the house, you name it. Everyone kept telling me that it will get better, but in my mind it never would. So when I decided to get over it, I needed something to focus my time on and a whole lot of other things. I started this blog, I decided I needed to spend some time on my hobbies (if I remembered what they were) and start to enjoy life. I started a joy journal.

You can use anything for your joy journal. You can make your own notebook, use a tablet, type it on a blog, your own personal journal, use pictures if that what you like. I use a notebook I got at Michael's for a buck.

At the start of this i would write everyday or every few days. The more I wrote the easier it was to see the joy everyday, in the kids, the hubs, it is really everywhere we just need to look for it. It won't find you, you have to find it. Anyway, they were just simple things like laughter, smiles, loving family. They were things I don't always notice and that I have come to take for granted. Go for it, try it and make your own joy journal and see if it changes your outlook.

The Happiness Project Book by Gretchen Rubin, talks about this. It is a good book by the way. For me, by doing this little things has made me realize I love being a mom, having fun with the kids, and that is did get better and continues to in different ways.

Here is a little thought shared by yours truly for a post Mother's day thought.

We become mothers for a variety of reasons I guess. Sometimes as I go throughout my day and have a zillion things go wrong or worse think I am crazy, I wonder why I signed up for this thing called motherhood.

You find out you are pregnant and you and your husband are elated. It is exciting to have a baby. The moment you first feel it kick or that you find out if you are having a boy or girl. What is there not to be excited about. Nothing. You didn't think about how the baby was actually going to get out of the womb and then nobody tells you anything about the after effects of having the baby. You know what I am talking about, the weight gain, trying to shed the weight gain, breastfeeding, getting no sleep, trying to figure out if the baby is hungry or just exactly why it is crying and don't even let me get started on the hormone changes your body decides to go through at this time too. It is pure bliss.

As months go by you think you have the hang of this baby thing. You pride yourself on being able to get 6 hours of sleep or even better go throughout the day with less sleep and try not to be too ornery. That is just when it begins. No one tells you will become the person that takes away their bottle, their precious and most loved binky, their blanket if they happen to have one, change them from a crib to a bed, and yes potty train them. The bottle, I could do. It seemed to be a fairly easy transition to deal with, even the bed wasn't that bad, the binky on the other hand it is a little bit harder. They get so attached to it. It is the equivalent to mountain dew for some people or perhaps a cigarette for others. I mean, we all have our vices, we just don't realize what they are to us until we have to give them up.

I decided to potty train today so we left somewhere and came back and took a nap and after that we put panties on which was about 4pm. Well, at 8 pm we had already gone through 4 additional pairs of panties and it doesn't seems to phase her too much. I have kept my patience though. Tomorrow is another day and we will start again. Motherhood.

So anyway, my point in all of this is that we didn't sign up for all of these other things that we have to do along the way. But at the end of the day, I get to look at the most beautiful thing as I put her to bed 2 hours late because she won't stay in bed. And the minute they hand you your newborn baby in the hospital that moment is a moment you will never forget how you felt. Just like Heavenly Father said, I never said it would be easy, it will be worth. Jesus Christ gave his life for us and it was worth it to him to make that sacrifice for me. Motherhood may not be easy, but is always worth it. It is so pleasing to me every time my daughter does something that I know I have taught her or when she turns around and has two binkies stuffed in her mouth, or when she really does want to hold your hand to walk across the street, or when she says please and thank you. Even though several times a day I think it will just be a few more days before they admit me to the nut house I become a mother because that is my divine role, because these are the moments that I have waited for, and because I love it.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's day to all you crafty Momma's. Good work on keeping everything fun and making it look so easy. Hope everyone has a great day!

Balance

2010-05-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I am really trying to find some sort of balance in my life right now. The kids, the house, the blog, the yard, and the whatever else. I have realized although I want to post something everyday, I really don't think I can. I have two kids ages 4 and 1. My husband owns his own construction business which I do the books, I am in the primary presidency, I drive for preschool, and a whole lot of others in the mix. I know you all are busy too, but I can't let this take over the majority of my life when I have more important things (kids) to attend to. I am really going to try to post 2-3 times a week. If I can sneak in more I will. There is certainly not a lack of ideas, they seem to flowing freely. I just really need to have a balance of something. I wanted to do this because I thought it would be a fun thing to do, but to also release some creative juices, and a release from the mundane household tasks I do. So if you don't see something new, check back I am around. I love my followers because it makes me keep going. For awhile there, I thought maybe no one was looking. Slow and steady wins the race.

How do you all balance your time, kids, blogs, and everything else we do? Let me know some great ideas.

Jewelry Box Redo

2010-05-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

Before: Jewelry Box I got at a thrift store for 1.50

I pulled everything out of it. The organizer things are glued in very well so be careful to not break them

Before I painted, I took off all the hardware, I took out the glass, handles and part of the hinges. I chose (actually my daughter chose) a paint color. I used acrylic paint, spray paint may have worked a little better I just used what I had. I painted everything that would show when you opened it.

My fabric choice. Choose a fabric you want on the inside of your box. If your box is in good shape, which mine was, you wouldn't have to change out the inside. I wanted it to be a little bit more fun and colorful. I am so glad I did.

When I got all the pieces out I covered them with fabric. For the drawer, cut the bottom off of your pieces by about 1/8-1/4 of an inch so the drawer will be able to slide in due to the added fabric. I put the long pieces in first and then on the sides I also need to trim down the side to make them narrower so they would fit in. Some of this is trial and error. I had to adjust mine after I got them covered. I hadn't thought about the added fabric.

Put all of the pieces back in. I used a glue gun for all of this. I love the way the fabric looks on the inside. I didn't match stripes throughout. I would suggest using an allover print fabric so you wouldn't have to try to match.

The finished product. I love the way it turned out. So does my daughter. This project did take about 1-1 1/2 hours to complete, but well worth my time.

Arghh!

2010-05-03T22:19:00.001-07:00

I am tired and I obviously need help. I can't get my photos to show up. If I don't post your button or image it is not because I don't like you or want to it is because I am very technically challenged and can't figure it out. Any help would be great.
Thanks in advance

Award

2010-05-03T22:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Kim @ A Girl and A Glue Gun for this fun little award.

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging world.”

Thanks to Kim@A girl and a glue gun for my award.
Of course, awards come with rules…
1. Put the logo on your blog and/or within your post.
2. Pass the award on to twelve bloggers
3. Link to the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and the link to the person from who you recieved the award

So here we go:

I love the Rosette Cardigan @ Little Inspirations. So cute

Love the Shirring that I am seeing a lot. Over here she made a cute little dress. Shirring is definitely on the list for me.

Love the pleated dress@ Makeit-Loveit.com Ashley does a great job on everything

I really like this Mother's Day gift Idea here

My husband will love the pancit recipe over here
Super Cute Minkee Blanket here

Cute Quiet Book over here. She has great patterns

These just look plain delicious. Recipe here

I totally need some of these. I will be relooking at this here
These are cute stencil wall art here

It is super fun to build your own furniture. Check it out here.

Love the wreath @ Dejavu Crafts

Spring Cleaning Mitts

2010-05-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Have you been over here? These girls have each taken on an assignment each day for the last week to spring clean something everyday. I have been thinking that I should take on these tasks everyday and spring clean or really just clean period.

Today that is what I did. I made a list of all the things that needed accomplish and started with a few things. On the list today was clean out kitchen cupboards, clean blinds upstairs, and while I was doing the blinds I washed the inside windows. With my cupboards, I pulled everything out, got rid of what I didn't want anymore, vacuumed, and wiped down all the cupboards. I did the silverware drawer too.

With the blinds, I used a handy little mitt. Now I wanted to use the Swiffer duster but couldn't find mine so I improvised. This little mitt worked great. I closed my blinds one way wiped it down dry and closed the other way and wiped that down. Now that is not the nitty gritty but that works for me.

So for the tutorial today: Cleaning Mitts

I can hear you all screaming with excitement. I had some terry cloth in the stash so that is what I used. You could probably use anything that is absorbent or will grab stuff. Cotton probably wouldn't be the best. I have some extra minkee, buy why waste good minkee on cleaning?

Cut out 2 10x7 inch rectangles. When you have those cut out, cut a hand shape with the thumb but not the individual fingers. I also made one with no thumb. I made this about twice as big as my hand. Big enough for my husband to use. We would not want them to miss out on using this for cleaning. Unless it was for the car engine.

I had some extra elastic left over from another project. It is 1 1/2 inch elastic. I cut off about 7-9 inch piece and sewed it together.

With the mitts, I turned them right sides together and serged all the way around leaving the bottom open. You can do this on a regular sewing machine just make sure you zig zag around the very edge of your seam to prevent fraying. Terry cloth frays easily. Then I put the elastic in the inside (where the right sides are) and serged around that as well.

Turn it right side out and get to cleaning.

Very simple and great for cleaning. You could use this to clean your windows, bathroom, really whatever your cleaning heart desires.

Linking Up Here:

Meal Swap @ Tatertots and Jello

2010-05-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today, I was featured here.

I chatted about meal swap. Head on over there for more information. Thanks for stopping by. Have a happy Sunday.

Eyeglass case Purse

2010-04-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my daughter's birthday. She got 7 chapsticks. She loves them all and has to wear all 7 at a time. Anyway, I decided she really needed a purse of some sort to put them in. Since I am purse sort of gal I made one.

Supplies needed:

Eyeglass case (larger the better, I used a sunglass case)
spray adhesive
glue gun
ribbon mine was 3/8 inch a little wider would have been better I used what I had
flower or embellishment or nothing
fabric can use 2 of the same or 2 different

This was a little more complicated than I thought it would be. There are no set instructions as you just really have to adjust to make it work. So here are some guidelines.

First take your eyeglass case and open it up. Place it on the fabric that you would like on the outside. Cut a square about 3 inches bigger than the case.

Glue it on with spray adhesive. Press the fabric to adhere to the case. You will want to do this with the case closed so it will work when you open it. When you have the main sections done work with all the corners or round ends and fold it into the inside of the case.

With hot glue, glue the edges in the inside of the case. Cut off excess fabric.

To the inside, Cut a square of fabric larger that both sides. I did this with hot glue it seems to work a little better. Start with the middle part, put a line a glue and attach fabric then do each side trying your best to smooth it out and then do the edges. Cut off excess.

Place your handles with ribbon on the edge that opens. I did mine on both sides so there are two handles. The handles are about 8 inch long strips of ribbon. Now that you have that done you will have raw edges on the edges. Get your ribbon and hot glue over the top and bend it over on each side. Glue in place. Because we have added fabric to the case it will not shut all the way. You can add a ribbon with velcro or just leave it. I just left mine because what was going in it was not going to fall out. I added a flower to the outside of the case to finish it off.

Have fun and enjoy your little purse. You wouldn't have to add the handles and then you could have a clutch. Which bring me to another idea entirely of itself. I will show you later.

Pleated bags in shop

2010-04-25T07:39:00.000-07:00

I just posted these cute bags in my etsy shop. Don't forget the giveaway I am sponsoring is today. Go here to get your name entered in on that giveaway. If you don't win and want one let me know. I custom make bags for $25 with $5 shipping. I will be adding more to my etsy stop in the upcoming weeks. Have a Happy Sunday.

Go and enter.

Onesie skirt

2010-04-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

Remember the dress that I made of the onesie here. Well I had the bottom part of the onesie that I did not want to waste. I cut off what I needed and then went to town.

The bottom of the onesie. I measured a piece of fabric about 1.5 to 2 times the width of the onesie and put right sides together and sewed down the side. Then I gathered the top and pinned it to the onesie. I sewed around the top to secure it in place.

Here is the bottom of the onesie with the skirt attached.

This is the elastic. Have you noticed that wide elastic on top of skirts is apparently all the rage these days? This is 1 1/2 inch wide elastic. I cut off a piece and then sewed it on top of the skirt.

And there you have it. A finished skirt with built in bloomers. Convenient.

Well, I couldn't stop there because now I had the middle part of the onesie that I shouldn't waste either. So I made a headband.

Here is the middle part.

I shortened it a little by serging one side of it. Then I put that seam so it would be covered and folded the piece into thirds towards the middle. I pinned it and then zig zag around the middle. I did the stitching in white but you could use a contrasting color if you wanted to.

Then I made three rosettes using torn fabric and hot glued them on. That is the finished product.

All done.

Here they are together. Just for you I am putting them in my etsy shop. That way you don't have to make them. It is really easy though. And wasteless. Happy Friday. Don't forget to head over here for the giveaway that I am sponsoring tomorrow and all week next week

Car Seat Clippies...there is a video tutorial

2010-04-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a video tutorial for some clippies that go on your car seat tent. You can find instructions to make a car seat tent here. This video will show you how to adjust your straps to add button holes to add clips into the button holes. Remember when you watch this that I am not an expert videographer by any means. You will find out when you watch this too. Anyway, with the clips for car seat tenst, I just like things to work in a few different ways if possible. This is my attempt to do just that. Hope you like it.

This is sad. You see I made a video for you to do this with since I am not great at tutorials and it got almost all the way uploaded and then it said "BIG FAT ERROR" really it just said error but that is what I saw.

So here it is:

Follow directions on cutting out the straps for your tent. Before you start any sewing make 2 button holes on end, the skinny end. Next put a piece of velco on the opposite end on the the button holes. With the other piece of fabric lay it down next to your button holed fabric. You are going to put your other piece of velcro on the opposite end of the where the velcro currently is. When you get that done, cut your button holes with a seam ripper. Then sew right sides together on the 2 long and 1 short side. Turn it right side out and then top stitch all around the four sides. Sew it on to your car seat tent as directed. Then run and get your daughter's hair bows or flowers or make two new ones to match. When you have them you slide them through the button holes. Voila! Multiple uses for hair bows or flowers. The more things that have more than one use the less stuff we have.

Sorry about the video. I will try to get it working later.

I was featured

2010-04-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to post this. I was featured here. This is like a milestone. Hurray! Did you also notice the new design I have going on here? I think it is hot. The Girl Creative designed it. She did such a great job and would really like to thank her so much for working with my pickyness. You can find here here.

I am working on a couple of projects that I will post soon. I ran out of paint on one of them. I am very excited about it because it will go in my new craft room that we are in the middle of finishing. I have some very simple projects coming up. Check back soon to see new things all the time. Thanks for stopping by.

THe FInished Tryde Table

2010-04-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

I finished the table from a few weeks ago over the weekend. Two coats of black paint. I really like it. It was a much needed asset to my living room. Hope you like it and it inspires you to build one too.

Everyone can do these types of projects. With a little willpower and some tools your can make your own too. Linked up with http://asoftplace.net

Jewelry Holder

2010-04-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out how to arrange my pictures. Sorry.

We all know that I can't pass up a good deal. I got this at the thrift store I think for 1.50. Normally I probably wouldn't have paid that much except I have been looking for one for a while now. So I did it. I was boring. I am not sure what it was used for but now it has a specific use.

I started out my spray painting it brown. When that was dry, I didn't have what I wanted so I improvised and spray painted it a creamy white color. After that was dry I just roughed up the edges with sand paper and hung some necklaces on it. Fun and very easy.

Meal Swap

2010-04-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to post this for awhile now. It is nothing crafty but really is a time saver.

I gathered 2 of my friends and decided to do a meal swap. What this includes is you cook one night a week for your family and two other families. It has to be a main course and a side dish. For example, lasagna and french bread, soup and salad, hamburgers and fries. You get the idea. Then you deliver your meals. In our group if the meal is already cooked we deliver about 5:30 or so. If they have to cook the meal (put it in the oven) we try to do it an hour early or me, I like to do it when I get it done. So last Wednesday I made lasagna and french bread. I baked the bread Tuesday night and made the lasagna Wednesday morning. When I had it all done I delivered it about 2 ish. Now it doesn't usually take that long to make those items. I had to run to the store and grab a few things.

The thing I love about this:
1. I don't have to cook every night
2. I get a variety of homemade meals
3. I cook one night a week

This means that honestly I probably get healthier meals than I probably would cook myself, and I get more time to produce crafts. I love it and so does my family. Another added bonus is that I don't have a dirty kitchen all the time and my kids don't cry during the hour that I would normally cook dinner.

We only do Mon-Wed. My sister does Mon-Thurs. We decided not to do it on Fridays because that is typically date night or the night of a million activities.

Now you can get your craft on for longer hours with meal swap. Grab your friends and try it. Try to find families roughly the same size to make your meal prep easier. Have fun and enjoy your non cooking nights.

Brooke

Shorts Refashion

2010-04-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

I Got a pair of shorts at DI. I knew exactly what I was going to do with them the minute I saw them. They have some embroidery detail on the front and back pockets.

I cut them off just barely enough so that it was one continuous section across the bottom of them. Then get a piece of fabric of your choice and measure 1.5 times (2 times if you want it full) of the shorts. Sew sides seams together after putting your fabric with right sides together. Then gather the top of the fabric. To gather you will want your stitch length on about a 4 which is a basting stitch. Once you have it gathered, with right sides together pin the skirt part to the shorts. Sew along below your gathering stitch so it doesn't show.

I like to serge the seam after so nothing frays. You can also do this by zig zag if you don't have a serger.

To make the belt, I cut the same 1.5 times and about 3 inches wide. Put right sides together and sew along side and on one end. Then start pushing it through so the right side of the fabric is facing. Do this until it is all out.

Then sew the end of it. Loop through the belt loops and you are done.

She loves it. Wore it all day yesterday and thinks it is her new dancing outfit. This is really easy to do and thrifty at the same time.

Frilly Socks

2010-04-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Apparently it is baby week here this week. I am making some baby gifts and wanted to get them all done. Sorry, Krissy if you already know what you are getting. I may have surprises up my sleeve.

I remember when I was little more like 7ish, I had these sock that my mom thought were great and I did not think so. Well, now that I am a mom, every girl should have frilly socks. Right? So today, I am going to shoe you how to make your own frilly socks for every girls dream.

Anyway, I got some plain white socks at the dollar store (pack of 2).. They are a nylon cotton blend. Nothing fancy. Then I went to the fabric store and got some eyelet that already has it gathered. I am not sure what that is called.

Now, I could have measured but I didn't want to come up short because the next step depends on how much you stretch your sock.

Put your sewing machine on zig zag. Place the eyelet under the sock top when it is folded down and pin the end in place. Next, pull the sock up so it is not folded over. Start to sew around the sock placing the eyelet along the sock as you stretch it. You don't need to stretch it a ton just a little bit as you go along. You want to stretch it some so you can pull it on your babies foot and it would be too tight on their leg. Once you get all the way around the sock slightly overlap the eyelet and sew down the side and finish with fray check. I did it this way because I was unsure of how much the stretch would be. You could pre measure and then serge the seam together and then sew the eyelet on but doing so would limit your stretch on the sock. Is everybody following me. I am not sure I am. Fold the sock back over and repeat on the other sock. Fairly simple and cute as ever.

Onesie to Dress

2010-04-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

This is so easy. I just had an extra onesie. I found a flower pattern on some material and cut out. I sewed that in the center of the top and then cut off the onesie below it. Then I found some fabric, sewed the sides together and gathered the top and then attached the onesie. Be careful so the onesie doesn't stretch too much. Then hem the bottom. So easy, so cute. Would make a great gift.

What to do with the bottom of the onesie? I have plans for it to. Just wait will post later in the week.

Diaper/ wipe holder changing pad

2010-04-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

This totally needs a better name but I am not producing names right now. Anyway, it holds some diapers, diaper creme or baby powder, and a wipe holder ( like Huggies or Pampers).

I bought a vinyl tablecloth and a remnant for the front. I just cut out about how big I would like. Rounded the corners. I doubled the pocket part. I sewed the different pockets on and then flipped everything right sides together and sewed around all but left an opening to flip it right. Once it was flipped, I top-stitched around the whole piece. I then folded it up to see where the ribbon would go with velcro. I sewed the ribbon and velcro on. To fold it up, I flip the flannel side so it would be on top and fold in thirds. This is wipeable as well as machine washable. It will probably not hold up for an incredibly long amount of time because of the vinyl. So I would say machine wash sparingly.

Would you like the pattern? Would you like to buy one off my etsy shop? Let me know. Sorry, I am still getting the hang of tutorials. I will get better. I have several more in the works.

Scrapbook Magnet Board

2010-04-12T13:20:00.000-07:00

This is an easy and fun project!
You need:
wood framed magnet board (I bought mine at Roberts with a 50% off coupon. It was about $15.)
paint
scrapbook paper
glass rocks
circle magnets
Mod Podge
glue (I used E6000, but hot glue would work, too)
sandpaper

For the magnet board:
1. Remove the metal sheet and paint the wood. Give it at least two coats.
2. Arrange the scrapbook paper around the frame until you like it.
3. Mod podge it on. Make sure to do a coat on top, too.
4. Sand the edges really good to give it a worn look.

For the magnets:
1. Use the glass rocks to trace circles onto your paper and cut them out.
2. Put a layer of Mod podge on the paper and attach to a glass rock.
3. Let them dry.
4. Glue magnets on the back.

Car Seat Blanket

2010-04-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm Kristine, Brooke's SIL, and I thought I'd share this car seat blanket I made recently. For me it was an inexpensive way to make our blue plaid car seat look more girly for the little one that will be here soon! Plus it's great for keeping her wrapped up and warm without worrying about the blanket falling off. And it can stay with the car seat so it's ready to go when we are, and really easy to clean. I had seen several similar blankets and wanted to make my own! I free-handed this pattern so I could be sure it would fit our car seat. I drew the pattern on several pieces of newspaper taped together. It's a clover shape, approx 54 inches in length and width. I had 1.5 yards of the pink fleece and 3 yards of the cotton (since it is 44" wide- I had to do some piecing; it would work great if you could find a cute home decor fabric that is 54" wide, then you wouldn't have to piece it), and I had plenty of fabric left over. After cutting out the shapes, I sewed the two pieces right sides together, leaving an opening to turn them. Then I stitched around the outside at about 5/8 ". I measured and traced lines onto the fabric to match the 5-point buckles on my car seat. Then I sewed rectangles around the lines with a buttonhole stitch, cut the slits open with a rotary cutter and then zigzag stitched around the slits to keep them from fraying. Pretty simple!

House plants

2010-04-09T15:01:00.000-07:00

The semi ugly pot

my color

almost there

Tada Okay the ribbon is kind of wild

I have some houseplants that needed repotting. I like the nice expensive pots you know like the ceramic or the pretty glazed ones. Well, we all know I am thrifty. I buy the 2-3 dollar pot in the size I would like and then spray paint whatever color I choose. My outdoor pots I spray painted a copper color. What is so funny about this is that I have gotten a lot of compliments on my pots and everyone wants to know where I get them from. Ha! Ha!

Homemade Bisquick Mix

2010-04-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

Homemade Bisquick Mix

Makes 7 cups

6 cups flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup vegetable shortening (I used powdered shortening)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt three times in a large bowl (I didn't do that)
Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store mixture in airtight container in the fridge up to 4 months. Use it whenever recipe calls for bisquick.

My notes: I didn't want to have to store in the fridge so I used powdered shortening. When doing this you will have to use more water when you mix it up. We just had pancakes with it for breakfast and it was great.

To make pancakes or waffles:

2 cups of mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2-2 cups of milk

If you like your pancakes thinner use more milk. If not they will be thicker pancakes. I used 1 1/2 cups milk today and they were a little thicker. Easy and good. Probably less expensive too.

Tryde Side Table

2010-04-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I came across Ana from Knock Off Wood. She is amazing. I instantly got the building bug.

Today while my kiddos were mostly napping I made a table. It is not perfect and it is really out of square but for a first timer I think it is great. It cost me under $20 to build. I still need to sand it and paint it. It is for my living room between my couches. Right now I currently have a plant there and piles of stuff. So hopefully it will look a little nicer when I have it all done. I will give a before and after of the space in upcoming posts. I am going to paint it black, rough up the edges a bit and polyurethane it. Will be so happy when it is all done. Pretty easy for beginners like me.

Ana is great because she gives you free plans to build knock off designer furniture. Check her out, if you haven't already.

Journal

2010-04-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

The finished product

adding the name and the tags

tracing the outside of the notebook

finding the coordinating paper

Supplies needed:

composition book

scrapbook paper

modge podge

scissors

paint brush

embellishments

letters

What I did here is very simple. I took a compostion notebook three or four coordinating papers of my choosing. On the paper that I wanted as the base, I traced the outline of the book on the back and cut it out. I then got out the modge podge and paint brush and painted the glue on the back of my paper. I used tags and just cut them to the size that looked about right, not too big or small. I got my paper and traced the tags on them and cut out as well. I happen to have vellum sayings so I cut the ones out I wanted and glued them on the paper then onto the tags. I added my daughter's name on the bottom with stickers. Someday I will get a cricut. I tied a little piece of grosgrain ribbon through the hole in the tag and glued on. Cute and simple. I glued my tags on with modge podge and then put them under a heavy book. Hot glue might work even better.

Now I have a journal or baby book type thing that I can write stuff in and she can color or as she gets older use for her own journal.

Easter Baskets

2010-04-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

The finished product.

The modge podge is not quite dry here.
I dislike Easter baskets. I kind of feel like they are useful for one thing and then they go back into storage. So this is my solution:

I got these little baskets at the dollar store. I got out the scrapbook paper and cut out letters of my kids names. If you have a cricut this would be a lot easier for you. I just cut out free hand. They are not perfect but good. I then modge podged them to the baskets and did 2 coats over the names. I added a cute ribbon and I am done. Very simple yet cute and reuseable. I love that I can put their socks in it after or jewelry and just let them fill it with whatever. It could double as a cleaning basket for the before bed clean up. I got the baskets in colors that would mostly match the kid's bedrooms so that they wouldn't look to off. I think they would be cute no matter what color. Enjoy!

Pursed, bags, diaper bags, church bags, call it whatever you like they are just CUTE!

2010-03-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

This one has long strap so you can where it diagonally across your body.
This is a bigger bag. A binder can be put in this one.
This is more of a small purse like bag. Bright and cheery
This is my own purse-onal purse. I carry it around and people tell me they like it a lot.

I make bags. All kinds but recently have kind of found a niche of bag sorts. I make them all sizes, colors, add different things to them, and I love it. I sell them at a local store. $25 is the price. I usually choose super eclectic fabrics to make them stand out a little more. Here is a few of my samplings. My samplings were really above. I will get this blog thing figured out someday. Anyway, I am willing to do custom purses for the same $25. If I have to ship it I will add $5 for shipping. I put a pocket with two sides to the pocket. If you want one and I know you do, let me know. Happy Day!

Quilts

2010-03-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

I sewed a couple of quilts for humanitarian efforts for my church not too long ago. This is sooo easy. Once again I went through my fabric box or in my case boxes and got out all the plaid fabric. Cut it into 6 inch strips and started sewing. I decide how wide I needed it to be. I was making a full size so it was 72x86. They wanted them a little short. I would sew strips together until I got to that width, cut and start a new row. Kind of wild but I liked it. Would make a great picnic or in the car quilt.

So sad...

2010-03-31T12:22:00.000-07:00

I started making the heart quilt on Moda Bake Shop with my variations and about a third of the way through my sewing machine broke again. So sad. But I have a picture of what I got done. It is so cute. Instead of ricrac like they show, I gathered ribbon and sewed where the ric rac goes. I love it. I also did a color theme of brown, varying shades of pink and white. It is very easy to make. So even if you know how to sew a little, I think that you could do it. The other things is, instead of buying a jelly roll and a charm pack, I went through my fabric and picked out all the mostly coordinating pieces and just used those. That way I am doing it very inexpensive and using my scrap fabric too. You should try it. I don't know what I am going to do with it since I am not having a baby. I may give it away or my keep it for myself for when I do. Who knows. I actually cut out two sets of the hears so I could make two if I wanted to. I just might.

Still around

2010-03-13T13:38:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to tell the two people who occasionally look at this that I am still around. I have been super busy with a variety of stuff and have crafty concoctions brewing in my head. Just need to finalize them into the item. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will get something going on here. Until then...get your craft on and show me what you've got.

Office Chair Mat

2010-02-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

You know those office chairmats that you can buy for what seems like a lot of money and about 4 months later they are cracking all over and there are holes in them so they are really not that useful anymore? I have a solution. Brian's dad made something similiar with parquet flooring and I thought what a great idea. I got a piece of 1/2" plywood and cut it down to size. Well the size I thought would work and it doesn't so now I have to change it. Just a few cuts thats all. Then at Home Depot they had clearance vinyl tiles. I just tore the paper off and attached them to the plywood and voila a chair mat that won't crack. What a concept!

Deliciousness

2010-02-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

For Valentines Day I had two different things going on that I needed dessert for. So I made a red velvet cake and donuts. Not just any donuts. I decided to make filling for the donuts. Three fillings later I was mostly out of my mind. Lemon, raspberry, and bavarian creme. Well, mostly bavarian creme. I thought I only needed one box of vanilla pudding but I needed 2 so I added a box of lemon. So really it was lemony bavarian creme. We still ate them. In fact, while I was making the glazed donuts everyone ate the filled donuts so I don't even know what they tasted like. All that hard work with no reward. What a shame. And even worse I don't have a picture of the finished donuts. Anyway, neither dessert was too hard to make. I decided though, that I think I like to make fancy cakes. Not the ones with fondant frosting cause that is just gross. Fancy cakes that look pretty and taste even better. SO if you have any great fancy cake stories or cooking stories let me know. I am always up for something delicious.

Cute Photo Holders

2010-02-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

I made some cute photo holders. Super easy to make. I used elmer's glue cause I didn't have anything else. I tried to pull all of my scrapbooking stuff to do this with and surprisingly I didn't have much. So I created. You could change this however you wanted to. Personalize your family's name, recipe, whatever it could really work. Use whatever colors you like. I cut the paper at about 2 inches by 3 3/8 ish. Found some ribbon out of my pile, tied it around the clippy parts and knotted it. Made a little flower and added a few other details that I had around the the house. Makes great little friend gifts, neighbor girl gifts, you name it, it makes it. Enjoy!

Doorknob Valentines Pockets

2010-02-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

So I had an idea. When I was growing up my family made Valentines packets and hung them up to exchange valentines. Well, my kids are little, so I decided to make my own. I got some fabric about 6 inches wide added a pocket to hang on their doorknob. It took me about 10 minutes to do and I think it is great. My kids are kind of indifferent but they are 1 and 3. Tomorrow it might be another story.

A few more things...

2010-02-10T15:32:00.001-08:00

Here are some more little things. I love to sew. Some people scrapbook, I sew. I love it. For Christmas, I found this fabric at the thrift store a couple of years ago actually, but I decided to make a circle skirt for my daughter. Relatively easy. I had just enough left over that I made my son a vest with my own pattern and they were so adorable. I will upload a picture of the vest later.

A cute tiered ruffle dress.

Family Sign. Wooden letters with scrapbook paper on them. I have paper for these sorts of projects. Paint the letters and trace the letter onto paper. Cut out and mod podge the paper onto wood. Add layers if you want and then add some embellishments. I get compliments on these a lot.

A close up of said Family letters.

Quilt. I make quilts for my kids beds. I do the sew and flip style. Then add some shams and pillows and bedskirt in coordinating fabric..

Here is a few projects with lots more to come.

Variety of things I have crafted in my house...

2010-02-10T15:26:00.001-08:00

Here are some things that I have made:

Dried leaves on mulberry paper makes for a pretty wall hanging.

Double Crocheted rosette added to a alligator clip with a rhinestone center. I actually add this to the center of other bows to add a little extra something.

Bumper Pads. I have a girl and a boy. I am too particular to just have one set of bumper pads so I made two. A girly flower and plaid, and a boyish polka dot and sail boats.

A flower arrangement. Okay, I will be the first to admit I am a cheapskate. I got these little hangers from Joann's on clearance for a quarter. The paint was chipping off and they were ugly. I spray painted them white, it took a couple of coats. Off to the dollar store I went and picked out some spanish moss and a couple of flowers and voila cute wall hangings. I get comments on them every time someone sees them.

Headboard

2010-02-10T15:18:00.001-08:00

This is a headboard my husband and I made together. I had wanted a headboard for years and the ones I liked were just expensive. One day, I thought, "why don't I just make one?" Well, I told my husband about it and at first he said no. Lots of work. Then I told him I was going to make it myself and then he said I will help you.

It was actually very easy.

First, measure the width of your bed and then add about 2-3 inches depending if you want it to overlap your bed a little. Get a piece of plywood from Home Depot or Lowe's. You can actually have them cut it down to size in most cases. Get your favorite fabric and batting and go to town. I used faux suede. I came across it and Joann's when it was $3 a yard. Hard to pass up. I stapled my batting on so it wrapped around the back just slightly and then stretched the suede over that and stapled again on the back. Then I added the wood to make it a finished look. You wouldn't have to add the wood if you didn't want to. When choosing your fabric make sure you get upholstery fabric so it will be extra heavy. If you have stripes or plaid you will also want to be careful when you staple to make sure the lines are straight.

Enjoy!

Makin It Domestic

2010-02-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Hi, My name is Brooke Crandall and after reading all of the craft blogs and what not, I decided to have my own. It will be all about crafts, cooking or lack of, decorating, and whatever else my little heart desires. I cannot guarantee how often I will post but will certainly make the best of it. So here is to becoming more domestic.