Friday, April 27, 2012

I probably should just delete all of my old posts and start fresh, but for some reason I just can't do that. So much has happened since I posted last, I don't even know where to start.
  • We have moved. 
  • My husband has had lots of health issues leading to him not working since 11/2010.
  • We had a beautiful baby girl.
  • We have an adorable brand new niece.
  • We have remodeled my parent's house.
  • We now eat gluten, casein, soy and corn free.
Everything that has been happening has forced me to look for ways to be more efficient. My latest effort has been making mixes for the baked goods that we make all the time. Let's face it, it isn't hard to make a cake or cookies from scratch, but it does take a little more time. Time that I don't have on a lot of days. I am praying that this will make it easier to stay on track with our schedule and food budget.

Today I made brownie mixes. It didn't take more than a couple of minutes more to do 6 batches than 1. I think I saved 45 minutes by working ahead. I need to look for some reusable containers for my mixes next. Right now I am just putting them in Ziploc bags. Not perfect, but it will do for now.

I am attaching my printer friendly recipe for fudge brownies. Hope you enjoy!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Hanging Chair

Instructables has a tutorial for a hanging chair made from a pallet. What an awesome idea! I'm thinking this would be a great project for E.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Ruffled peasant top

Confessions of a Sewing Dork has a great tutorial for a ruffled peasant top. I love it. Maybe the girls and I could have coordinating tops.

Friday, April 2, 2010

My Frugal Lifestyle: How To Make Spray and Wash

My Frugal Lifestyle: How To Make Spray and Wash

The laundry soap I made this weekend has been working really well. I used the recipe from the Duggar Family site. It made 10 gallons of soap, so I shared with my mom, my mother-in-law and two friends. I forgot to pick up stain treater at the the store this weekend. Sounds like a perfect time to try this recipe.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Easter parade part 2

I know everyone will be thrilled to find out that Easter can be celebrated this Sunday. I finally finished all of the sewing!!!

I am so glad I made shirts to go with the girls' jumpers. They look much nicer than a plain white t-shirt. I used Butterick 3905 and it turned out nicely. I will be tweaking the instructions some to avoid sewing bias tape to the inside of the shirt as an elastic casing, but they were an easy project. This pattern is great for when you only have a little fabric left. I was able to cut a size 5 shirt with an extra inch length out of 1/2 yard. Since K is skinny, size 5 works well for her even though she is normally a 6 or 7.


The purses were made from the skirt leftovers. There was too much fabric to just throw away, but not enough to make anything to wear.

I am so happy to check Easter sewing off my list. I think I will stop to eat before starting the next project.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

License plate map

Isn't this the cutest idea for license plates on C.R.A.F.T.? I think E might like this for his birthday. Now to figure out how to collect that many plates in a couple of months. If you have any you are willing to part with, please let me know.

Easter parade part 1

I was happily sewing my way through birthdays and planning summer wardrobes, when I realized Easter was less than two weeks away. How did I miss that? Yikes! Time to start sewing in double time.

My first projects were dresses for the girls. A friend had given me a huge bag of adorable Daisy Kingdom dress panels. I was so glad I sorted them all in December when I was making Christmas dresses. There were two prints that would be perfect for K and A. I already had a busy day planned on Sunday, but I stayed up late and finished both dresses. Yeah! Finished with Easter sewing!

Not so fast. M's first words when he saw the dresses on Monday were, "What will D and I wear? We need special Mommy clothes too." Time to start sewing again. When I pulled out the dress fabric for the girls, I noted a couple of prints that would work for camp shirts for M and D. Since I wanted to make them a little different than the shirts I made for Christmas, I decided to add a contrasting pocket, cuff and collar. Fortunately, I could use the same patterns, so I didn't need to alter another pattern.

Monday and Tuesday I worked on the shirts. (I'm really not an extremely slower sewer, I just have 5 kids to "help" me.) The whole time I was working on them, I couldn't stop thinking that I needed to applique t-shirts to match. I could see exactly what they needed to look like.

This morning I started on the t-shirts. I just could not stop myself. Unfortunately, I tried to save time by using a store-bought pattern instead of drafting one myself. I guess God wanted me to practice patience and self-control today. I had to tear out the collar in both shirts twice, and I still think the fit could be better. I have added drafting t-shirt patterns for the boys to my to-do list. I was so glad I had been collecting old  t-shirts. I didn't need to purchase anything at all. You have to love free Easter outfits!

M was so excited to see his new outfit. He truly is a joy to sew for. He showed it to everyone that stopped by today, and made sure they were very careful not to get it dirty. It has to be just like Mommy made it for Easter morning.


D was too filthy from playing outside for me to get close to him with his new clothes. I am hoping to try them on tomorrow before he eats breakfast. He isn't too picky. As long as they don't poke, squeeze, or fall off, he will be happy.

Did you notice that I didn't post any pictures from the girl's dresses? Well, I decided that they should have new shirts and purses to go with their Easter jumpers. Guess what I am doing tomorrow. If things go well (meaning Granny takes the kids to her house for a few hours tomorrow afternoon), I should be able to get the girl's things finished and posted. Maybe then I will have time to take pictures of the pillowcase dresses for the girls and pencil skirt for me that I made last week, or sew the last three tooth fairy pillows that I have the embroidery finished for, or work on the doll clothes for the Spingjita auction, or the capes for the auction, or recover the glider, or.... I'm sure you understand.

Linked to:

Wardrobe Wednesday at Brown Paper Packages








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