Cupcakes

I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to get anything completed it seems so there have been no new posts. Sorry about that.


Here's something that I did manage to do though.

The kids took cupcakes to school for their birthday and then I made more for their party last Saturday.

Here are the one's that Abigail took to school. They're supposed to be like dreamsicles.




Kirsten's are just plain cupcakes with star shaped sugar cookies on top.



Addison's were little hamburgers. I'll post a picture of them when I find one. lol

Before & After

Well, I don't really have a 'before'. I forgot to take a picture until I had already started painting so I guess it's really a during & after.


When I was in the thrift store there was a little wooden sign that said 'no vacancy' on it. I paid $3 for it which is probably too much but it's one of the few times that I've looked at something and known exactly what I wanted to do with it so I paid the $3.


While I can certainly relate to the 'no vacancy' sentiment (since I usually feel like my house runneth over) I wanted to do something else with the sign.


Here's the during....




It started off an off white color.


As you can see, I painted the outside red. Awhile back, I bought some chalkboard contact paper. That's what I used for the center.




I haven't yet decided whether I want to distress it with some sandpaper or leave it like it is. What do you think?


I'm quite happy with it either way. Now, I can write what we're having for dinner instead of having to answer all four kids and the hubby individually. (They never ask when anyone else is around to hear the answer too so I have to keep answering the same question over and over. lol)

A new site to love

I know we've all had those moments. You know the ones. You've got a great idea for a craft. You've either found the perfect pattern or you've spent countless nights in bed, unable to sleep, putting together the perfect plan for your craft.


You finally get everything together, attack your craft with gusto, and in the end, much to your surprise,






Well have no fear! Today I was hopping around looking at new (to me) blogs and happened across Craft Fail. It's an absolutely wonderful site.



In looking through I saw several things that had me saying to myself, 'Oh my gosh! I did that too!!'



Go check it out. It will make you feel so much better about the things that have gone wrong.

Halloween bags

I found a pattern and let the girls make some no-sew bags using bandannas.

Unfortunately, they put too many books in theirs and ripped them before I could even get pictures.


So, when I was in Hobby Lobby the other day (or every other day it seems) I found some Halloween bandannas. Since they were on sale I decided that I would make some of the no-sew bags for the girls. I looked again and came across .these instructions.





I used the orange bandanna on one side and the other side is a black bandanna with spider webs on it. Also, I tweaked the pattern just a little. I wanted the bag to not be so deep so I folded the top edges down about 2 inches and tied it in with the others. I also hope that will help to give it a little more strength near the handles. (That's where the girls bags ripped.)

I've only gotten this one made so I'd better find the time to get the other two made before next Saturday. I hope they like them

Hand warmers

I don't know if you're aware or not, but fingerless gloves are back in.


In a big way at our house.


Kirsten has been wanting some sssssoooooo baaaad (or so I'm told.)


Well, the other day she was putting away a basket of clothes and found a pair of black gloves and asked her Dad if she could cut the fingers off. Of course he said sure.


When I got home later she was thrilled to show me what she had made.




That's great....except they're MY gloves....or is that were?


Since she wanted that kind of thing I dug out an old pair of their tights--I don't think they ever wore them--and made a slightly different pair.





She thinks they're 'all that' and wore them to school.


By the way, the shirt she has on was a turtle neck the night before with long sleeves. She didn't wan't a turtle neck and the cuffs were stained so a pair of scissors took care of that. :0)

Monsters

When I made my little owl for my Toy Society drop the kids all thought that was a great idea. The girls decided they wanted to make their own. Here are the first two that were made.


They decided on monsters.






I'm really impressed with what they came up with. They did everything all on their own. I didn't see any of it until they were done.


I haven't dropped them yet, but hope to very soon. (Mostly I need to remember to grab them when I'm leaving the house so that I'll have them with me. lol)

Getting ready...

I am so ready for Halloween and the fall. It's often still very warm here by Halloween but I'm thrilled with the temps being under 100 to say the least.


In keeping with getting into the spirit of the season I finally finished this little piece that I started sometime after Halloween last year.


I just used an old frame, some scrapbook paper, and chip board letters.






I had mostly finished it last year but just wasn't happy with it.


I finally decided it needed a little sparkle so added just a dusting of glitter on the frame. I like it better now so I guess it's finished. But who knows, I may decide to add to it later.

Anniversary gift

Today is my 14th wedding anniversary. My how time flies!!

I took a child's board book and transformed it into a little book of reasons that I love Dax. It was fun to do and I hope he enjoys it. With a house full of kids and a looming deadline at the office we've pretty much given up the 'big' anniversary celebrations of the past. Now we're content with a little reminder of how important the other is to us and some reminiscing.

Here's the book:
(Sorry about the blurry pics. It's hard to get good ones with this little camera)

My first drop

I made a little stuffed owl for my first toy for The Toy Society.





At least an owl was my intention. I didn't have any pattern and was just playing with some scrap material and that's what I came up with. The kids said it was an owl right away so I felt better about it.


Anyway, I dropped him off at the local library this morning. I hope he finds a good home.


Of course, now the kids each want me to make one for them too.


If you haven't checked out The Toy Society's blog you really should. It's such a neat idea.

And another.....

I've made another book bag. This one is for Addison. She's crazy about bunny rabbits so I bought the tapestry piece that I used for the pocket. The green fabric is a heavy fabric used for work pants that I had in my stash. My great aunt had given it to me years ago. I'm glad I found a use for it.



I lined the bag and the pocket with frabric from a sheet that had those sweet little rose buds on it. I just love that stuff for little girls (babies especially). It just looks so sweet and innocent.

Anyway, Addison is happy with it and that makes me happy with it. And to make it even better, I only spent about $3 on it. Can't hardly beat that!!

I still need to make one for Kirsten. Hers will be cat themed. I've bought a piece of fabric for the pocket but put it away and now I can't find it anywhere. I do that so often that you'd think I would learn by now.

Recycled containers

Over the weekend I recycled these empty containers instead of throwing them away. The large one originally was full of pretzels and the two smaller ones had peach salsa.



I spray painted the tops of all of them red. Then I hot glued the ribbon around them with a smaller piece of ribbon to tie the tags to. For the tags I just used some that I had bought in the scrapbooking department awhile back.


I love the way they turned out. It's a great thing to do with containers once they are emptied. I just wish that all of my pantry could look like this. Maybe in time I can get it all organized and cute looking as we use up more jars.

Already?

I don't know if you're ready for this but it's already only 100 days until Christmas!!


Check out this site.








She's got great ideas and will help you to get started with your Holiday planning. Imagine that. Doing it (or at least part of it if you're like me) before the last minute.

Chore organizers

I've been trying for awhile to come up with some way to keep track of the kids' chores. Both for them and for myself.


We've tried lists, charts, and a handful of other things.


I finally settled on this.







I used toilet paper tubes and covered them with scrapbook paper. Then I stapled them across the bottom. They are tied together in pairs--undone and done--and hanging on the inside of the pantry door. The chores are written on wide popsicle sticks. They all go in the unfinished tube on the end.

The kids each have chores that are theirs alone (make bed, clean bathroom, etc.) and then they have to each choose 3 from the unfinished tube each week.

I had tried something similar on the back of their bedroom doors but those got a little torn up. With them in the pantry I can keep a better eye on what's going on.

Hope this is the one that works.

Quick recycle

Our dogs have both recently destroyed the nice fluffy cushions in their kennels. I hate the idea of them being in there just laying on the hard plastic bottom so I had to do something about it.

I had an old blanket that I had found on the side of the road. I used it just folded up for the dogs to lay on the floor. I cut it to fit the kennel, used a double thickness, and just stitched around the edges.





It's not beautiful, but it does the job (and it was free). And, I still have enough of the quilt left over to make two more....just in case the dogs tear these up too.

Ready for fall

I'm tired of summer and I'm ready for fall.


I finished this up yesterday which only makes me more ready.


(Sorry the picture isn't better. It was hard to get a good picture because it's long and narrow--for my camera anyway. Oh, and it hasn't been washed and ironed yet.)

I got the pattern here.


Isn't this bird the cutest?



I used some squares from a moda halloween charm pack to make the border. I'm really please with how it turned out.


I had a few strips left over so used them for a piece on the back.




Then I used brown bias tape for the binding.


It was a lot of fun to make. Dax asked what it was for and I told him 'Whatever I want.' lol

Are you ready for fall, too?