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On My Needles and Nighstand for February

2012-02-29T09:11:00.003-06:00

I'm joining up with the Yarn Along at the Small Things blog again, it's such a lovely idea, and I had so much fun last time looking at everyone's contributions, especially my friend and co-author Dora. As she mentioned last time, we're close friends but we live so far away and the rare times we carve out for phone conversations can be so jam-packed we don't always get around to talking about these everyday things, like what we're reading and knitting.

Between my ongoing scripture study, fun reading, pre-reading books for the kids, reading with the kids, etc., I usually have close to a dozen books going at once, but this week is a quiet book week. From the bottom, the green leather cover is my Bible and Book of Mormon combo, always on my nightstand and usually the first thing I open when I wake up.

Riding the Bus with My Sister is a book I've been reading to the kids, we're almost done. It's not written for children, and has some adult themes in it, which is why we're reading it aloud, so I can edit as I go. But it's a well written, honestly reflective true story of one woman's relationship with her sister who has a cognitive disability resulting from a brain injury at or before birth. I decided to read it to my kids because I felt like it was a great look beyond the stereotypes, a look at two real women trying to work out the terms of their adult relationship, trying to learn how to respect each other. Even though the one sister's disability is more obvious, they're both carrying baggage, and both dealing with sibling issues we all deal with to some degree or another.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a book I'm pre-reading for the kids, just started it last night. So far I like it, the language is beautiful, the illustrations are beautiful, it has elements of fantasy and fable, and a likable main character.

The biography of Thomas S Monson I've read most of on my own, and I'm reading it bit by bit to my children. We're all growing to love our prophet more and more as we learn more about him. We've been working on it since the beginning of the year, and I've noticed that when we have occasion to hear him speak, my children are more attentive now, after hearing so many stories about his boyhood they feel like he's someone they know.

Last on my nightstand is Square Foot Gardening, pretty much a fixture there from February through October. That's a well loved copy I bought on Father's Day for my dad when I was twelve or so. I read it before I gave it to him and got so excited about the ideas that he let me help him plan the garden from then on. With my dad gone, it's a tangible reminder of the times we spent gardening together. Not an adequate substitute for being able to call him on the phone with my gardening questions, but... well, it's something.

I included a picture of my phone open to the Audible app, with the most recently listened to books showing. Audible has become such an integral part of my 'reading' life, I couldn't leave it out. Especially in the context of a yarn along- you can't read a book while knitting, but you can listen to one! Audible has fulfilled lifelong yearnings for me, now I can read while driving, knitting, doing housework, gardening, cooking, you name it. It's great!

I just finished listening to That Distant Land, by Wendell Berry. I'm a little over halfway through Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, which I read a few years ago when it came out, but am thoroughly enjoying listening to now, and the kids and I are listening to Blackout by Connie Willis. I listened to it last fall, but I loved it so much I wanted to listen again, and decided to have my kids listen to it. Besides being a great book, it taught me so much about the London Blitz, more than any history text ever had. I mean, I hardly even realized what the London Blitz was before I read this book, and now I can't believe my ignorance. It inspired me to check out some non-fiction accounts from the library to learn more about it, and I hope my kids will do the same. The last one up there is A Prayer for Owen Meany, which I just downloaded but haven't started listening to yet. I've read it at least twice, but the last time was over a decade ago, and I'm really looking forward to delving into it again.

I just have to note, as I sit here writing about books, my three children are lounging on the couches each absorbed in their own book. My seven year old son, a late-blooming reader who finally got the hang of it, is deep into the Secrets of Droon series, I think he's on number eleven. My middle daughter is indulging in Harry Potter number five. I'd hesitated to let my kids read past number four in the Harry Potter series, because it gets so much darker, but when Oliver Twist popped up on her reading list (Ambleside Online year 5), I realized that Dickens can be pretty dark, so I told my older two that if they'd each read a Dickens novel, then they could read Harry Potter five. They've been racing to finish, and the eleven year old won the race last night, much to her delight. So this morning I told her she could read it during school time, I figure she's earned it. My thirteen year old is still plugging away at David Copperfield, she's nearly half way through.

Last, we have the socks, just barely still on my needles. All I have to do is bind them off and they'll be done. You might notice that the toes look odd. My son requested toeless socks, because his feet "always get hot". I tried to talk him into vented socks, but he really wanted toeless, and what's the point of having a mom who can custom knit socks for you if she's not willing to customize them to your heart's desire? I supposed they'll be good with sandals this summer.

Langos - Hungarian Fried Bread Recipe

2012-02-29T07:58:00.000-06:00

Hungarian Fried Bread or Langos is a yeast bread with mashed, boiled potatoes in it and fried in oil. My Mom and I often grabbed some from a street vendor in Budapest and had it for dinner. It was always delicious and I loved it fresh and hot, with sour cream and cheese on top! Of course you could ask for it with cinnamon sugar on top....

or jam .

But I always had mine with a sliced garlic clove rubbed all over it, topped with sour cream and shredded Gruyere or Emmentaler cheese.

Langos Recipe

3 large potatoes, boiled, still warm

7 - 7 1/2 tsp instant yeast

3 tsp sugar

4-6 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 1/2 - 3 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, mash warm potatoes, sprinkle yeast and sugar on top. Add flour starting with the smallest amount, oil and salt. Mix until combined.

2. Turn out on floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, adding flour as needed. The dough should be smooth, elastic.

3. Grease or spray a large bowl with cooking spray, put dough in and cover. Let rise in a warm place until double in size.

4. Separate dough into 1/2 c size portions. Shape portions into balls.

5. Cover and rest for 20 minutes. Heat about 1 inch oil in a frying pan to 350 Fahrenheit. Roll out or flatten balls with hands to about 1/4 inch thick. Let rest for an additional 5- 10 minutes.

6. Fry them one at a time until golden brown on each side.

7. Drain on paper towels and serve them warm with your favorite topping.

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Tips for Making Your Own Pattern

2012-02-27T01:30:00.000-06:00

More and more people make their own patterns from store bought garments today. It is pretty simple, but more importantly it satisfies our crave for DIY. There are many great tutorials on the web on how to draft a pattern from a shirt, shorts or a skirt. Dana from Made cuts apart an older clothing item. I used this method too, when I made a tunic pattern for my youngest. Ashley from Make It and Love It shows us how you can draw around a pair of shorts and our very own Idealeon blogged about recreating her favorite shirt the same way.

I have done both. I cut apart an old shirt and drew around clothes that fit well. They both work great, but I am always looking for ways to make things easier. Cutting clothes apart can be tedious. And I may not have anything I want to cut up. Drawing around a store bought item is easy, however some areas are harder to navigate around to copy just right. I never really liked fiddling around to make sure it lays down just so, with the right seam showing.

So, I started using pins. Put cardboard or foam board underneath the paper you are drawing the pattern on and place pins at short intervals . You can use this trick for marking pocket placement, button holes, armholes etc. Then just connect the holes and you have the perfect copy!

See how easy it is? Plus the clothes stay in place and it is so much easier to draw around it to get a good outline!

I also like to use a ruler to help me draw perfectly straight lines. And I use pins for all curved lines.

Easy, simple and makes copying store-bought clothes more accurate!

Thanks to Idealeon for this tip: "Make sure you use your see-through ruler and add 5/8 inch or whatever you like to sew at on to every seam edge. The line created by the pins is the 'stitch line' or the 'sewing line.' "

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New Technique Learned - Sewing with Elastic Thread!

2012-02-26T07:57:00.005-06:00

I am still quite a novice in the sewing department and most of my sewing involves patching the knees of my son's jeans (an arduous and unfortunately never-ending task apparently). But I have this fun, lovely shirt that I bought in Melbourne 5 years ago and the sleeves are just too long and the cuffs too wide to roll up.

I finally had the brainstorm to sew some elastic on the cuffs so that the sleeves wouldn't continually flop down over my hands. I found this great tutorial on sewing with elastic thread in the bobbin and it worked like a charm! The tutorial is from bellajeanboutique and says and shows it all in a quick 3-minute video. What a great solution and easy to do as well!!

While I was at it, I also repaired the necklines of two clown outfits. AND I took a cute, but horribly stained summer dress of my daughter's and changed that into a skirt.

It looks super skinny with the 3 rows of elastic, but it fits my petite little one like a charm! Fun stuff, eh? It's great learning something new!

Have a nice day!
Janice

Quilt Squares on Felt for Kids

2012-02-25T00:00:00.000-06:00

Recently a friend asked me if I would make some quilt shapes with felt on the back to be part of an exhibit at the Children's Museum of Houston. The exhibit is called "Cum Yah Gullah" and debuts on February 25th. My kids really LOVE going to this museum!

So, after making the shapes, and put them together in a few designs and thought they could make a really good activity for kids to learn shapes and puzzle-making skills.

Here is how I made them:

Supplies

2 1/2 inch strips of fabric(or scraps)

5 inch squares of fabric

chipboard (like the back of notepads)

felt

ruler

iron

pins

rotary cutter

rotary mat

Use square corners to make exact measurements

Cut 4x4" square and triangle, 2x2" square and triangle. Cut other shapes you want like circle, rectangle, star, other polygons, but they won't 'puzzle' together.

I made a 'quiet book' a few years ago that had gray shapes on the fabric page, and the child would match the colored felt shapes on top of them. On the page next to it, I had 4 blocks of color that the child would use the same shapes to match to the correct color. I would show pictures, but it is somewhere in storage.

4x4 triangle with 1/4 seam allowances

2x2 triangle with 1/4 seam allowances

Use the 45 degree angles on your mat and square off the fabric. Using a rotary cutter makes this process super quick! Lay the cardboard piece carefully with 1/4 inch seam allowances around the piece.

Use the cardboard with the iron to make sharp exact edges

Use some folded towels to iron on for pinning (see second photo below) unless your ironing board allows for pinning. I wanted to work on the floor for this project, so I used towels. (Just keep an eye on the iron! Don't leave it on the towel unattended!)

Double up! It goes faster, but make sure it is 'tight' or the sizes will differ.

Hint: Use pins to hold the corners down and iron. Separate the fabric before doing this.

Lay them with a little space between. Pin and sew very close to the edge. Cut last, bending the felt and cutting just within the edge to hide the felt under the edge of the quilt piece.

Nice color scheme- thanks to the fabric manufacturers...

These really stacked up nicely! 142 pieces in all.

Finished and ready to go!

idealeon.com

Etsy Shop

Stitch in Color Summer Dress

2012-02-24T23:15:00.003-06:00

As part of Fabric Fascination's Exchange Program, I got a half a yard of Stitch in Color by Moda. In return, I had to come up with a project and write a tutorial. It took me a while to figure out what to make. Originally I was going to make a fun tote bag, but I found that Kym beat me and made a super cute one for herself.

Since the fabric is so fun and bright, my next thought was a skirt for a little girl. But I have 4 boys, no girls. After some thought, I decided to make something for Wendy's little girls. My project started out as a skirt and soon turned into a fun summer dress. I had a lot of fun designing the dress and sometimes even making it up as I sewed.

With a few measurements, you can make this dress too. Here is how....

Stitch In Color Summer Dress Tutorial

Materials needed:

- 1/2 yard of Stitch in color fabric
- 1/2 yard of grey quilting cotton (or your choice of contrast fabric)
- 1 package orange double fold bias tape
- metal snaps
- 1 1/2 elastic

Now for some simple math....{quick note, I calculated 1/4 inch seam allowance for everything}

Let's start with the skirt:

Measurements needed:

- from belly button to desired length (skirt)

- around the waist

for the width waist measurement x 2 or 2.5 + 0.5 inches
for the length length measurement + 2 inches

This will give you the TOTAL skirt width and length. In my case the measurements came to 43 inches width and 14.5 inches length.

From the length, I subtracted 5 inches for the grey contrast band on the bottom of the skirt. My finished skirt measurements were:

Stitch In Color 43 x 9.5

grey cotton 43 x 5

With right sides facing, sew together along the width.

Iron down the seam, center and pin bias tape to the seam. Sew bias tape on with 1/8 inch seam allowance along both sides. Sew with longest stitch length your machine allows 1/2 inch from the top of skirt to gather the skirt. Set skirt aside.

Front Panel and Pocket:

Measurements needed: length, measure from about 2-2.5 inches bellow the collar bone to belly button
width, measure distance starting and ending 1 inch from sides

Cut Front Panel rectangle from Stitch in Color Fabric : length x 2
width

Fold in half right side facing, using a can, curve the tops. Sew around 3 sides, leaving the bottom width open.

Clip curve or use your zig zag scissors to cut around. Turn right side out.

Pocket : it is totally up to you how big or small you want the pocket. I cut a 14 in x 4 in rectangle.

Fold in half right sides together and sew around 2 open sides, leaving a portion of the 3rd open side open. Turn right side out.

Iron in opening and iron down.

Fold bias tape over the width of the pocket as show in the picture and sew it on.

Pin Pocket to Front Panel and stitch around 3 sides leaving top open. (As you can see I added a Snap Top to the Pocket as decoration before I sewed it on.)

Sash:

Use the waist measurement and cut a {waist width + 4.5 inches} x 5 inches rectangle. Fold in half, iron in 1/2 inch.

Open folds and sew sash together at ends, fold in half again, iron if necessary to make sure you have crisp fold lines. This will come in handy later.

Assemble Dress:

Grab the skirt and start pulling the thread to gather it. Make sure it matches the sash length. Adjust if needed. Zigzag over gathers.

Place sash over the skirt with fold line towards the skirt. Make sure the back seams line up.

Overlap skirt by 1/2 inch, pin to sash.

Sew Sash on Skirt, with right side up (you should have the dress right side out) , 1/8 inch seam allowance. Place Front Panel inside sash opening, center it in the front. Make sure sash comes up to the pocket (trim Front Panel if needed). Pin and sew along Front Panel length.

Mark about 4 inches (center) from the back seam of the Sash on each side to place Metal Snaps. (My picture shows the snaps already attached and they are closer. Mine are only 2 inches away, 4 inches would have been better.)

Open Sash up and using some scrap fabric punch holes for Metal Snaps on the side facing out and use direction on package to attach the bottom Snaps. For a great tutorial on attaching Snaps, visit Make It and Love It.

Elastic: to get the length, take the waist width, divide by 2 and subtract 4 inches. That's your magic number!

Center elastic inside Sash fold, pin middle of elastic to the seam of the Sash facing inside (opposite the Snaps. Sorry, my picture does not show it.) Now, here comes the tricky part. I wish I could show you but my camera was kidnapped and some pictures got erased. From the middle mark, stretch your elastic 2.5-3 inches and pin it to the Sash. Repeat with the other side. This will reduce the Sash size and give a nice comfortable waist with enough stretch to be able to put the dress on comfortably. Sew elastic (just the sides) to the Sash side that is facing in, towards the Front Panel.

Fold together Sash, so the elastic is completely enclosed and start pinning the Sash closed. Make sure you pin in the middle and both end of the elastic!

Starting at the Front Panel, sew Sash closed with 1/8 inch seam allowance. When you get to the elastic, you will have to stretch it with both hands as you sew. I had to have it stretched the whole time, and this was the hardest part. Having crisp fold lines comes in handy here! The edges will line up so much easier.

The worst is over. Onto the Straps! Now, try the dress on the recipient and measure from the top of the Front Panel, over the shoulder and across all the way down to the Skirt. Add 3 inches. Cut two pieces of rectangles, your measurement x 4 inches. Fold in half wrong sides facing lengthwise, iron in 1/2 inch on all sides. fold together and sew all around. Pin strap end to Front Panel and sew on.

Add Snap Tops, this is purely for decoration.

One more time try the dress on and mark the placement of the Snap Tops. Coordinate it to the Snap Bottoms on the Sash.

I also added Snaps to the Straps where they meet. Keeps them in place better.

Once I marked it with a needle, I made the hole in both at the same time.

DONE!

Now I am off to make another...for the little sister!

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Nerf Vest

2012-02-23T00:30:00.000-06:00

My 12 year old has a huge arsenal of Nerf guns. He bought most of them with his own hard earned money. Every other Friday he has a Nerf gun fight with his friends. They divide up the guns, the Nerf darts, they take apart the couch and build bunkers and forts in the halls and the middle of the living room. And they shoot at each other for a few hours. It usually takes me a week to find all the stray darts they failed to pick up.My inconvenience is a small price to pay for the fun and laughter I hear from my room, where I hide out during their battles.

I noticed that every time we go to Walmart or Target, he wistfully looks at the Nerf Vests.

However, he really did not want to spend his hard earned cash on a vest.

So, I decided to make one for him. He picked the fabric, and I just rummaged through my stuff and made do with what I had.

I took the easy road wherever I could. Bias tape all around! I used a T-shirt he had to make the pattern. I should have narrowed the shoulders for a true vest, but he told me not to bother.
I guess he has some plans for me to add something?!

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Spinach Strawberry Salad and Sweetheart Rolls

2012-02-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

So I'm clearly just starting to get my act back together from the holidays. I intended for this post to arrive before Valentine's Day, since it would make such a perfect Valentine lunch. But I'm a little (or a lot) late. Aside from a Valentine treat, it would also be a delightful anniversary treat or even a great "I-love-my-girlfriends!" brunch dish. The salad provides a nice contrast on the plate between the green spinach leaves and the bright strawberries. It's sweet and tangy, with a bit of crunch.

The best part of this salad is the dressing, though. (Isn't that always the case?) Here are the ingredients needed. I'll list the recipe at the end of the post.

Combine all dressing ingredients and mix or shake well. Reserve until right before serving, and then drizzle over the salad and toss to mix. Avoid over-saturating; a little flavor goes a long way.

The heart-shaped rolls aren't really a recipe, but just a "twist" (ha ha!) on a family favorite. I usually tie these up into "Cheesy Knots."

Separate the breadstick dough and roll into long snakes. Shape into hearts on a baking sheet. Melt 1/4 c. butter and mix in enough dry Parmesan cheese to make a thin paste. The example in my picture is actually thicker than I usually make. Brush the cheese mixture over the rolls.

I usually sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan liberally over the tops before baking for extra cheesy crunch. Bake at 350 until golden brown. In my convection oven it usually only takes about 10 minutes or so.

Spinach Strawberry Salad
1 pkg pre-washed baby spinach leaves, torn
1 pint strawberries, quartered
1/4 c. slivered almonds

Dressing
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. cider vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. minced red onion
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Enjoy!

Alphabet Wall

2012-02-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

I do have to admit that I have had this on my wall since we did June's Monthly Challenge. But now that I got my ugly round table out of this room (Yippy!), I'm now ready to show it off. Letters D, E, I, L and R were hung as is. I added a coat of paint to C, F, O, Q, T and Y. And I Mod Podged scrapbook paper to letters A, B, K, N, P, S, V, W. Letters M, U, X and Z were homemade, while letter G was remade, with good reason.

I have to add my experience that I used to make a point to my husband when I came home from Joanns fabric store. I had gone to buy some 1/2 off letters WITH kids in toe. I came home and realized I make bad purchasing choices when my thought process goes something like this, "Do I want my G to be big or...stop poking your sister. Okay, these are half... get off the cart son." and on and on. I came home and took out my purchases and wonder how in the world I would buy such a terrible G. I really should not take kids shopping with me when I need to think ;) Ha ha.

Reversible Bubble Bag- It's Catching!

2012-02-19T07:21:00.000-06:00

So Dora isn't the only one who's addicted to making these Reversible Bags. I was lucky enough to get to be one of her pattern testers, and after I made my first one, I couldn't stop. There's something so fun about the reversibility, and it goes together fairly quickly, so you can get a finished result in one afternoon, which is always gratifying. Once you have the basic pattern down it's a great base for endless fun variations.

For my first one, I upcycled an old linen shirt from my stash of hand me downs that don't fit. I love upcycling old clothes, because it gives you extra details built in, like the buttons in the picture above. For the reverse side, I used some canvas that I had hand-dyed with indigo awhile back. I was excited about the combo, but once it was done, eh. I love how it looks with the linen side out, and even though you can't really see it in the picture, I love how the blue peeks through the eyelet holes of the linen. But with the blue side out, and that lacy detail on top, it just looks too country 90's for me. Also, I was too lazy to change out my thread so I used red thread for the topstitching, and I'm not an accurate enough seamstress to do that. But my daughter loves it and has already claimed it as her crochet bag. I made two short straps instead of the long strap in the pattern because I didn't have enough of the linen fabric left to cut out a long strap.

For my second bag I went to the goodwill and found a tweed skirt and sweater that were approximately the same width. I wish I had some process pictures, because it was a fun process, but I was working late at night and the lighting was terrible. This one went even more quickly than the first, because I didn't have to sew the side seams or the top hem. I just cut off the sweater right below the arms, then laid that on top of the skirt and cut a piece the same size. The bottom hem of the skirt became the top elastic casing on the bag, the part that folds over and shows on the sweater side. I also decided to switch things up with the pockets, as you can see, I used the opposite fabric for the pockets to provide some contrast. I didn't have much of the tweed left, so I just made a small heart-shaped pocket. For the pocket made out of the sweater material I just cut off the end of one sleeve and sewed the bottom shut. I meant to try out the long strap on this one, I even bought the hardware, but it was for my seven year old niece and she requested the shorter straps. She's very happy with her new church bag, perfect to fit in her scriptures, drawing supplies, etc.

I have another bag in the works, but I don't have any pictures of it yet. My other daughter has already claimed it as hers. Thank you Dora for a great pattern!

Do-It-(for)-You Desk

2012-02-18T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm excited to show off our finished desk. Of course, it wasn't me who build, but I'm still really proud of it. I've been wanting desks for our school room and found this desk at Pottery Barn. I love that you can rearrange the desk to where the cubbies are on the right or left side of the desk. I was really excited to find that Ana White had building plans for this exact desk. Definitely made my husband's job easier.

Pottery Barn's Bedford Small Desk Set

Our DIY desk.

I am SO happy with the writing surface. My hubby did a beautiful job. It needed to be strong, solid, dark, very smooth and don't forget pretty. That's not asking too much, right;)

Notice the cubbies are now on the right. I love that function. We plan on having two of these desks. I feel that it gives me lots of options for different seating arrangements.

Off the needles and on my feet!

2012-02-17T06:55:00.000-06:00

Remember these from my yarn along post? They're finished! I love how they turned out, I love the colors, and they actually fit my feet just right. I call them my Pippy Longstocking socks, but I could call them my Frankenstein socks, too, because I didn't follow one pattern but took bits from several. I did them toe up, two at a time on two circular needles. Two at a time because I am exactly the kind of person who would fall victim to second-sock syndrome. "I just did that, you mean I have to do the exact same thing all over again?" I get bored too easily. Toe up because I can't stand the thought of wasting yarn. I would agonize over the length of the cuff if I started top down. Make the cuff too long and you run out of yarn before you reach the toe, make it too short and you have leftover yarn, horrors. I did save a little yarn for future repairs, but I saved exactly the amount I intended to. I also like that with two up it's easy to try the socks on as you go.

I used Judy's Magic Cast On for starting the toe, which is marvelous, so easy and completely seamless. I also followed her instructions for adding stitches until the sock felt like it was a good circumference for my foot. When I got to the arch in my foot, I added some ribbing on the sole to draw it in and guard against bagginess, inspired by my Smart Wool socks. Then I followed a free pattern from Knitpicks for turning the heel. Once those danged heels were turned, I did 2x2 ribbing all the way up for the cuff, because I just like how snugly it fits that way. I used Jenny's Surprisingly Stretch Bind-Off to bind them off, and it definitely lived up to it's name, you couldn't ask for a nicer, stretchier bind off. So there, now you know why I called them Frankenstein socks, I couldn't follow a pattern all the way through to save my life. I've been wearing them as much as I can possibly get away with, and lovingly handwashing them in the sink then hanging them to dry each night. At this rate I may wear them out more quickly than I knitted them!

Crafty Kids: Make Quidditch Brooms

2012-02-15T06:31:00.000-06:00

My kids are all on a Harry Potter kick lately, but especially my son. My girls have read some of the books before, but my husband started reading them aloud at bedtime, they just finished the third book, and this is the first time my son has been introduced to him. So he's constantly whittling sticks into wands and daydreaming about other ways to make "Harry Potter stuff". I found this great idea on the Made by Joel blog, about making your own broomstick. I especially loved how he used the hose clamp to attach the 'broom' part to the stick, is just seemed so much easier than trying to wrap and fasten twine tightly enough, plus it allowed my son to use his very own screwdriver from his very own toolbag, and any time I ask him to go get his toolbag you can just see the joy on his face as he races into his room for it.

He and I went on a walk while his sisters were at art class, just the two of us, to look for a good broomstick and gather broom material. I forgot to take my camera, but it was a lovely walk, and I kept thinking how lucky we are to live twenty minutes from a major city but still have woods to walk in, natural materials available to gather for projects like this. Once the materials were gathered, it was a simple matter of distributing the broom material around the handle, sliding the hose clamp over it, and then, oh joy, the seven year old using his screwdriver to tighten the hose clamp.

We finished just as dusk was setting in, which made for some dramatic pictures of the new broom in action:

This project got a thumbs up all around. I loved it because I don't get to craft with my son as often as with my girls so it was a fun bonding time. I also loved that except for the hose clamp, the materials were free and all natural, and that the project was EASY, we finished it in less than five minutes once we gathered our materials. He loved it because, well, he's a boy and now he can fly around on his Quidditch broom to his heart's content, his Quidditch broom that he made with his own hands using his own tools. He's full of ideas now on fancying it up, and wants to make them with all his friends at his upcoming Harry Potter birthday party.

Valentine's Day Cards

2012-02-12T21:27:00.000-06:00

I pinned this cute Valentine ages ago on Pinterest as a really cute idea. As we were getting ready for a homeschool V-day party I remembered that I wanted to make these cards.

We took pictures in front of the chalkboard.

Created each card using Picasa.

Printed them at CVS, cut slits and added suckers.

Was this more work than having the kids sign their names to the cards? Maybe so, but it was a heck of a lot more fun. We have Grandparents near by and instead of a sucker, I think it will work to slide a flower into the slits.

Crafty Kids: Crochet

2012-02-12T06:13:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago we went to visit my sister, and while we were there my niece celebrated her seventh birthday. The kids and I had picked out a book for her (yes, I'm the book aunt), but my girls wanted to make something for her themselves. They've both recently started crocheting, so I suggested they crochet something for their cousin's new American Girl doll. The eleven year old is newer to crochet, so I suggested she do a simple scarf. The thirteen year old was ready for more of a challenge, so I suggested she do a hat with bear ears like the ones I knitted at Christmas. The great thing about this hat is that while it looks like a more complex project, she still only had to do single crochet, no increases of decreases, nothing fancy. The only thing that was different from previous projects she'd done is that she was crocheting around and around in a spiral instead of back and forth in rows. Come to think of it, that actually made it easier, it's always so hard for a beginning crocheter to get the beginning and ending of rows right without accidentally increasing or decreasing.

I have to share a great visual with you. Years ago, after trying to teach my girls how to knit several times, I finally gave up and took them to a class at the local yarn store. I was amazed to see that the teachers didn't try to teach them how to hold the thread in their left hand to get the proper tension. That's the part that I just couldn't teach them to get the hang of, it's actually, in my opinion, one of the most difficult parts of learning to knit. But the teachers just had them let their yarn hang loose from the project, and actually pick it up and wrap it around the needles each time. A very slow process, yes, but slow knitting is better than no knitting. They explained that they've found that eventually each knitter figures out for themselves the best way to keep the tension. So when my girls wanted to learn to crochet recently, I remembered that. Sure enough, one of my daughters at least, has figured out a way that's comfortable for her to keep the tension:

Who would have thought? But for now, it works for her. Who am I to interfere?

Here are the finished scarf and hat, didn't they turn out great?

I intended to write up the pattern we made up for the hat to include in this post, but as I started to write it, I realized that it really needs a tutorial with pictures. I'm sure my girls will be happy to crochet hats for their own dolls, so check back in a few days for the full tutorial.

A Really Big Picture

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

This was an awesome project that cost me $10 and took me 10 minutes (slightly exaggerated) to complete!

First I took a picture of S and R out front. I tried to get them both smiling and both looking at the camera. But they were so

interested in that little bird splashing in a puddle on the driveway.

HA! I wish. My backup attempt was letting them watch Wonder Pets on the ipad.

For shame...

I followed Mandy's instructions from her blog. Dora did the same project too: temple wall art. I had printed my picture at Office Depot and Dora did hers at Staples. Office Depot's printer is really old. I saw Dora's and Staple's printed much better.

Here's the finished product on their bedroom wall. I love going in there and seeing my girl's sweet faces. I have been searching and searching for just right thing for that wall. This goes perfect with the rest of their room. I'd love to get large vinyl lettering

of "I am a Child of God" to put to the left of the picture. The centering on that wall has to be shifted to the right due to the closet and bedroom doors.

Valentine's Day Boxes

2012-02-09T17:41:00.000-06:00

We just had our homeschool Valentine's party. Loved that it was a week early. My youngest's valentine box "got" to be her stuffed dog's dog house. I realized it would be a bad idea to stick her name above the door, but it made a really easy functional valentine's card box.

My next child loves to help me and I was terrible. She picks up the paint brush and asks if she could help paint the branches and

I said no, you have a nice shirt on. I guess I was having too fun reliving my childhood. So, I made sure the next morning before baths I let her paint a squirrel however she wanted to and we put it in the tree. She loved it and was so excited for the party.

My son wanted his valentine's box to be a tank. I told him I wasn't quite sure how to make that. My 10 year old volunteered to help him and together they made an awesome box. They were cute and asked if the could take pictures of the process so I could put it on the blog.

10 yr old's instructions

1. You need one oatmeal box, cut in half and one box of Corn Flakes. Cut holes in the boxes. The hole in the corn flake box needs to be smaller than the oatmeal box.

2. Mix white and green paint together.

3. Roll a piece of green construction paper tightly and stick it in a hole. The gun can be as long as you want it.

4. glue oatmeal box to the corn flake box and paint the whole thing green.

5. Glue the wheels on the tank and add heart bombs. Add bottle cap to top.

6. After collecting cards, open and enjoy.

Fork, Knife and Spoon

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-06:00

I've had this blank wall in my breakfast room that has been begging to be decorated. I came across this and decided that would be something I could do and like.

I love working with wood and think it's awesome to be able to complete a project without assistance or supervision. After I drew my utensils I showed my husband that I was ready to use his Dremel. He looks at it and says, you don't want to use dremel, you want to use a jigsaw. Hmmm.

Lucky for me he said that knowing he could borrow one from a friend. I just set it up on the living room floor and figured out how it use it and cut away.
After sanding it, I used satin paint called Caviar. I attached them to the wall with command strips. Those things are awesome.

I'm happy with the outcome and feel it was a simple enough project, that if I get sick of it, I won't feel bad replacing it. With this done, I'm thinking I'll cut out the silhouette of a rolling pin and hang that above the wet bar on the other side of the breakfast table.

Side note: I was told this cute little saying to help you remember what side the fork goes on when setting a table. "The knife and the spoon had a party and the fork left" Also, just from doing this project I learned something new (albeit, a tad shameful) I have been setting the table wrong all my life! I was on my last coat of paint and had the thought, "Oh no. I cut the knife facing the wrong direction!" Apparently, you are SUPPOSED to have the knife face into the plate, as it is more safe. So now, neither my kids OR I have an excuse for setting the table wrong!

Notepad of my Daughter a la da Vinci

2012-02-08T08:10:00.003-06:00

My daughter Sophie is studying fashion design in Madrid and a recent assignment was to photoshop her own face onto a work of art. She chose the da Vinci painting 'Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress'. I loved how well this turned out that I decided to use this for a notepad to have with me all the time to admire!

First I loaded the photo into my standard Preview option. (On my Mac, Preview is how I look at .pdf files.) There I selected out the portion I wanted and I saved this to a file. I used this new picture to make another mirror image version and saved that separately. I then put both facing each other into a Word file and printed it out on thick paper (160 gr.) using my laser printer.

I cut some paper to size for the pages, folded them in half, lay them inside the cover and sewed the whole thing together down the middle. I thought I was all done - ha! The stitching was way too tight making all the pages almost completely ripped down the middle and the folded edge was horrible.

Not discouraged, I took apart all of the pages and now had a separate front cover, back cover and a lot of individual pages to go in between. I lined up the pages and poked holes at even distances. I lined those up with the covers and made appropriate holes there, then sewed the whole thing up with some pearl cotton.

That turned out pretty nicely, but the edge was still fairly raw and I decided to add a little bit of extra decoration. I tied a few more strings of matching pearl cotton to the top back and covered the edge with a strip of paper. (Too bad I didn't think to add the edging before the stitching - I think it would have looked nicer, but it certainly would have been harder to glue on the edging to the unsewn pages.)

I braided the strings and added a couple of charms. The final touch was added a coat of Modge Podge to both front and back covers.

I can't wait to show my friends, but that's actually because Sophie did such a great job to begin with! I just took advantage of it!

Have a great day!
Janice

Baking Soda Clay Revisited

2012-02-07T07:21:00.003-06:00

Some time ago I promised a few commenters that I would look into baking soda equivalents for us folk living in Germany, plus how well the baking soda clay takes to food coloring. I'm happy to report that I've finally done this and with a happy degree of success!

I recently made 2 batches of baking soda clay:
The first one used a surprise find at the Mix Markt in Betzingen: a 500 gr. box of Natriumhydrogencarbonat (only 55 cents (€)!). The Mix Markt carries a line of products largely from Russia and eastern Europe and they have 100 stores throughout Germany, so hopefully you German followers can find one.
The other batch I made with Natron, purchased at the cost of 1 kilo for 2.31€ from Lebensmittel.de but they charged a whopping shipping cost of 4.90€! Never again will I do that for a lone purchase!

In any case, both batches turned out just beautifully! (Oh, I did try some very cheap Waschsoda at one point but although my hands got very clean it did not ever produce a working clay consistency.)

Here are photos of each clay in the mashed potato stage (so right at the end of cooking) with the matching baking soda packaging.

Then I divided the cheapie batch to try out the various dyes I have. Yellow was the winning color and I used
4 drops of McCormack's liquid food coloring in one batch,

two small blobs of AmeriColor's gel food coloring in the second batch

and a tiny pinch of powdered German Lebensmittelfarbe from Birkmann in the third batch.
In each case I kneaded in the coloring and, although each a different shade, they are all quite pretty.

I then made a bunch of stars and, as you can see, I also dyed a separate small portion with some red gel food coloring and rolled a rope of that together with a rope of plain white to get those swirly marble effects.

After they air-dried for a day or two, I did a bit of doodling on a few of them. For that my Stabilo fine-tipped Write-4-all worked best. Some of the stars did crack a little bit on the back side, but I will admit that I didn't put too much time into making these perfect. My heart ornaments were much better.

Have a great day!
Janice

UFOs - UnFinished Objects

2012-02-04T12:21:00.001-06:00

We all have UnFinished Objects laying or rather hiding around the house. A knitting project started a few months ago still sits on the desk only to be moved around. A stack of fabric all cut out, ready to be sewn into pajamas, shorts, shirts and skirts is getting higher every month. Half strung bracelets and necklaces can be found here and there among beads. Unfinished scrapbook pages piling up.

I am just as guilty as everyone else, although I usually do end up finishing my projects. Even if it takes me a few weeks (months). But, there is one project I started on about 3 years ago that was finally completed only last week. A Family Home Evening board. 3 years ago (or maybe even 4?) I had our boys paint wooden tags. And then I was supposed to paint a simple board and put hooks in it.

Sounds really simple, doesn't it? Well, it should be. But it took me this long to actually make up mind to do it!

Well, at least it is done. Although I think it may be time to make some new tags...

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Sweetheart Necklaces for my Valentines

2012-02-02T00:01:00.000-06:00

I went shopping at a bead shop last week with a coupon- buy one get one free. If only I didn't know I could get unlimited amounts of strands with this deal I wouldn't have bought so many. Oh, well. My little girl was with me and was so very patient that I let her pick out a strand of the most beautiful ones (she liked). She chose some lavender cut glass hearts. And so I made a Valentine's Day necklace for each of my girls. Here are some instructions:

Materials:

-Double loop jump ring(prevents catching on ribbon)

-20 gauge wire (about 2 inches)

-3/4 inch bead heart

-braided cord clasp

-12 inches ribbon/lace

-round nose pliers

-needle nose pliers

-jewelry glue

Insert wire. Bend the wire with round nose pliers like the pictures illustrate.

Bend the bottom of the wire into a small loop, trimming excess wire.

Cut the ribbon 12 inches to make a short necklace/choker. Melt the edges of the ribbon with a match to prevent fraying.

Here are the instructions for clasps used for fabric or braided material.

Fold a couple small folds into the ribbon. For the lace, I tied a knot in the end for more grip. I put a couple small drops of glue inside the clasps, one in the upper, one in the lower parts of the clasp. Use needle nosed pliers to fold them closed securely. These felt pretty tight and secure.

I did replace the jump rings with my own to make sure the metal was strong enough. This is a Jump Ring Opener. It was only $2 at Hobby Lobby. It is one of the best tools for the money! It's awesome. I highly recommend getting one of these if you use a lot of jump rings.

I made one extra and put it up for sale in my etsy shop.

Reversible Bag Revisited With Sewing Tips

2012-02-01T00:56:00.000-06:00

OK, I may be a tad bit addicted to making these. Reversibility opened up a whole new world! No more having to decide between favorite fabrics. With the right color combination I can use 2 instead of just one. The first bag was an experiment, I wanted to see if my idea would work. I was so pleased with the results, that while I was still working on the pattern, I started to make a second bag. And a third.

I finished Reversible Bag #2 and started working on #3. Unfortunately, my sewing machine started acting funny. My top tension was off no matter what I did. I struggled with it for a few frustrating hours, then I had to admit to myself that I needed to call the only person I would ever want to tinker with my machine. Thankfully, I was able to drop it off at Melvin's, an elderly gentleman, who is a genius when it comes to sewing (yes, he sews with great skill) and sewing machine repair. While I was there, I got a lecture from him. Yes, it was a real lecture!

I am passing along what I can remember, and hopefully others will be able to benefit from it also.

"Are you using the right thread and needles?"

That was the first question Melvin asked me when I told him that my upper tension was not right. {I tried adjusting it, trust me. And got in trouble for that too!}

About threads:

"You wouldn't think about putting kerosene in your car. Then why do you use low quality thread? Using high quality thread will make you machine sew smoother and you will have less problems." Yup, I got lectured for using cheap thread. It frays, clogs up your machine with bits of thread, lint and does not last as long. Get the good stuff! It is better to splurge and get high quality thread in a few essential colors, than having cheap thread in a myriad of colors and shades. And never, ever use old thread. I know it is tempting to stock up on thread at garage sales or happily accept decades old thread from Grandma's sewing box, but it is not a good idea. We all know what happens when something gets old. Enough said.

Updates:
Links about types of threads: Link 1, Link 2,
Link to article about quality of sewing threads: Link 1,
And the brands I got from Melvin: Mettler and Gutermann you can find both at Joann's.

About needles:

Do not use all purpose needles! (That's pretty much all I had). For woven fabric use sharps, for knits use ballpoint. You do not have to throw away your all purpose needles, they are great for polyester. Do not be afraid of changing needle sizes during projects. A lot of people make the mistake of using a medium size needle for all their projects. Please don't. Your thread will pucker and your tension will be off if you do not have the right size needle for the job. Here is a great article on how to choose the right needle for the fabric you are working with. And change those needles often! A good rule is to change your needle after about 4 hours of sewing time. You read it right. Every 4 hours of sewing time. So stock up when there is a sale!

About tension:

Do not touch the dial! Do not change it! If you have good thread and the right needle size, you should not have any trouble with tension. I am talking about the upper thread tension. I hope you already know not to EVER change the tension on the bobbin. If you really need to play around, get a new bobbin case. But do not mess with the bobbin tension that came with your machine. EVER!

In general:

Do not let others use your machine! Seriously. Melvin will not even let his mother or wife sew on his machine! If you really need to help a friend out, do the actual sewing yourself. You know your machine. You know its quirks and how to handle it. Your friend does not. She may unintentionally do something that you will end up paying for later.

Melvin is definitively old fashioned, but I trust him. When I dropped my machine off, he told me it will be ready later the same day. I was not going to be able to come back, so I told him not to worry about it, I will pick it up next Saturday. He stared at me and said, "But that's a week from today. What are you going to do all week?" Hmm...take care of the kids, clean my house, homeschool, have a life. OK, I did not say my thoughts out loud, I just told him I can always cut patterns out. He just shook his head. "A whole week without sewing? No. How about tomorrow? Can you come and pick it up tomorrow?"
We finally agreed that my husband will swing by after work on Monday. Melvin was happy with that answer. I know my machine is in good hands and he will do his best. I also asked him to go ahead and do the yearly maintenance work also (a must: take your machine in once a year have it cleaned thoroughly and checked over).

Can't wait to get my machine back. I know it will sew like a dream again! Then I can finish the third Reversible Bag and start on some pants for the boys. They need shorts and the warm weather is around the corner in Texas!

{Note: my machine is back and it is sewing so much more quietly, smoothly and no trouble with the tension...It just needed a good cleaning. - and I am almost done with the 3rd bag!!!}

A couple more pictures of the new bag, just to show off.

Oh, see the DIY tag peeking out?

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DIY Clothing Tags/Labels

2012-01-29T22:12:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wanted to add tags to your sewing projects? I have. But I always figured it was really my vanity and pride that wanted to simply show off rather than my practical self wanting to use tags for practical reasons!

I think I spent way too much time analyzing my inner purposes for something that really does not matter from an eternal perspective. I realized that just because I think that tags add to projects and because I simply like them, it is not going to make me a better or worse person. Now, if I went ahead and ordered 100's of high quality woven tags for a few hundred dollars - that would be different. But spending $20 to make enough tags to last me most of the year? Should not be a complicated decision.

I did some research, and found several economical ways to make your own labels {I am sharing the links, just keep reading}.
I already had stamps and fabric ink (not necessary, you can use acrylic paint also). All I needed to get was the right material to stamp on.

I tried stamping on ribbon and twill tape, but I did not like how they turned out. I read a lot of blogs, sites and a few books on fabric stamping and found an idea for special cotton tape . I played around with carving my own stamp, but then I ended up using a couple of the boys' letter stamps. PS for Paul Street, the name of my Etsy shop.

Overall I am happy with how they turned out. Next I am going to try to make each boy's very own label I can use just for them.

Ready for some more ideas for making your own clothing tags/labels?

See Kate Sew will show you how she used Spoonflower to print her custom labels on a yard of fabric.

SewLikeMyMom shares a great tutorial on designing the labels on Microsoft Word, printing them on iron on transfer paper and ironing them on satin ribbon. {This was my second choice and I will try it to make some personalized labels for each of my boys.}

DuhBee just printed the labels right on the specially prepared fabric.

Lil Blue Boo made simple tagless labels.

I wish I had a typewriter! I love how Make Something used an old fashioned typewriter to type on the fabric. Brilliant!

If you have a serger and scraps of fabric, Delia Creates will show you how to make some cute tags. She uses stamps to customize her labels.

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Fruit Loop Patterns - a simple math lesson

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-06:00

I have been homeschooling our boys for 8 years now. I remember doing all the fun preschool activities with my first two boys. We had so much fun playing and learning. Then they got older and almost overnight, they lost interest in fun activities. Instead we focused on reading, writing stories and reports, watching the History Channel and National Geography and doing science experiments. While we were learning with my older boys, I started teaching my 3rd son reading, writing and math. However, I never did repeat the playful learning activities. I realized that even though my barely 6 year old child has an amazing vocabulary and can tell you about the "special cells in your blood that eat the old cells" and can easily talk about Jupiter and Mars or even understands slavery, he missed out on the simple fun of learning.

I started changing our homeschool to help my younger 2 boys have fun and learn through playing. This morning we talked about patterns and made Fruit Loop Bracelets. We talked about how each pattern has a beginning and an end. How patterns repeat the same cycle and while they were making (and eating) their Fruit Loop bracelets, I set up a few patterns for them.

What comes next? So much more fun then using plastic links!

They made their own patterns up and then happily gobbled up their creations.

It was a lot of fun and it brought back memories for my older sons. Now I need to go and stock up on Skittles and M&M's.

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YARN ALONG

2012-01-25T19:07:00.000-06:00

I am joining in the Yarn Along along with Rachel. I always think about posting in-progress pictures of projects, but I never get around to. This is great excuse and maybe it'll even motivate me to finish them sooner!

On my nightstand:

Feelings Burried Alive Never Die - I am going to be the first to admit that I have a lot of emotional baggage. While I may not agree with everything the author says, in general I do believe that thoughts and attitude shape our choices, who we become and our future. I was born in a country famous for depression and its citizens' negative attitude. Since moving to the USA, I did change. I was able to gain some ground on controlling my negative side, but in recent years the challenges I have been facing have left a huge emotional mark and I feel I lost the balance I gained. I am about 1/4 through the book, so far so good.

Suite Francaise - I started this book a few years ago and never finished it. It got lost in a pile of stuff only to be found recently. This book is a hidden gem. 1940, Paris. The Nazis are pushing into Paris to occupy it. I love how vividly the author describes the different emotions and how people can do things they never imagined doing in extreme circumstances.

The Cleansing of America - I am a fan of W.C. Skousen and his work. His understanding of the gospel is inspiring.

The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos - just got it! I hope to improve my photography skills. Since I only have a little point and shoot, most photography books are completely useless to me.

A Murder of Quality - a spy novel. Just barely started.

Joseph Smith Rough Stone Rolling - Just put it on my nightstand. Seriously. Maybe a couple of hours before I saw Rachel's post. But it is there, which means I will read it. Or at least start.

Now, let's see what's on my needles.

Box cardigan in the making....with a beautiful self striping cotton yarn!

And socks...super soft merino wool.

On My Needles and Nightstand

2012-01-25T16:14:00.001-06:00

I spotted this yarn along on Small Things this morning in my feed reader and found the idea so charming I had to participate. She says:

Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading?

Knitting and reading happen to be two of my favorite things also, and I enjoyed looking through the pictures linked up and reading about what people are reading and creating. Here's mine:

I'm nearly finished with a pair of wool socks I started for myself a few weeks ago. Toe up, two at a time on two circular needles. I had a hankering for some Pippy Longstocking socks, I think these colors give that vibe, don't you agree? Starting at the top of the book stack, I've been pretty diligent with my daily scripture reading lately, prodded by my seven year old son who wants to finish the Book of Mormon before he turns eight and gets baptized in March. My day always goes better when I start it off with scripture. As far as literature goes, I vowed at the beginning of the year to read one book at a time and just finish it before starting another one. Unfortunately, I started with Middlemarch, and that's proving to be a book I can only read so much of at a time, and it's over 800 pages long. I'm enjoying it, but I need something lighter sometimes. Also, I keep coming across great book suggestions on various blogs and checking them out from the library, so of course they have to be read and returned. Bird by Bird, a non-fiction book on writing by Anne Lamott is charming so far, I've only scratched the surface. The next two are both Cybils finalists I'm pre-screening for my kids. The Inquisitors Apprentice feels a little convoluted to me, but I like the characters. I just noticed the authors name on the spine, Moriarty. I wonder if that's a pen name, a nod to Sherlock Holmes nemesis. Icefall, I actually finished already, but I'm reading it aloud to the children. I can't say enough wonderful things about it- it has everything you could hope for. Great writing, good storytelling, likeable and engaging characters, a plot suspenseful enough to keep you guessing 'til the end, and the whole thing is a deep metaphor for the power of words and storytelling and faith to change the world. Definitely a must-read. Not pictured, I just realized, is Blackout, by Connie Willis, which I've already finished, but the kids and I are listening to it together on Audible. It's not written for kids, but it's great and really brings World War II London alive. Wendell Berry is at the bottom of the stack, and I'm actually listening to his volume of short stories, That Distant Land, on Audible, and I must have loaned out my paper copy so A Place on Earth is standing in for it. Wendell Berry's writing is part of my personal cannon, only below scripture in it's life-changing significance to me. I've read all of his novels and many of his essay collections, but I'm winding through them on audio, just for fun. So that's what's on my needles and on my nightstand!

A Lovely Christmas Present

2012-01-24T09:15:00.001-06:00

I was so lucky to get this Musterbuch (German for 'book of patterns or samples') from my sister-in-law. She found it in an antique shop in Poznan, Poland where she lives and thankfully thought of me! I have seen collections of tatting, fine crocheting, ribbon lace, embroidery, etc. like this in museums and always longed for something similar for myself, but have yet to do such intricate work myself.

Inside the embroidered fabric wrapping, are 3 thick sheets of paper, each mounted with beautiful samples of tatting, fine crochet work and, I believe, ribbon lace.

According to the information my sister-in-law got from the antique dealer, these were made by a Polish woman (either of German descent or attending a German-run school) who had to make these samples to show off her proficiency for a degree in needleworking. Interestingly, the woman's name is Helene, the same name as my youngest daughter, so that has made this little collection even more meaningful.

This was a wonderful surprise present - one I'll always treasure - and my sister-in-law was thrilled with my effusive thanks! I hope you enjoy these photos as well.

Have a super day!
Janice

Temple Wall Art

2012-01-22T11:09:00.000-06:00

Recently I saw Mandy's (Sugar Bee Craft) Giant Picture Tutorial. I knew it would be great for many things and I pinned it for later. Then, I read President Thomas S. Monson's challenge for 2012 and I felt it was really important for me to do something to help us remember his wise words. I do believe that if we follow his counsel, we will have a much more fulfilling life.
After reading through his talk several times, I decided on what I wanted to use.

Attitude - we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.

Believe - in yourself, in those around you and in eternal principles.

Courage - to face whatever challenges may come our way.

It is a fairly long quote, not something I wanted to stencil. At first I was going to try vinyl but felt that was going to take longer than I wanted, then I thought about printing it out and frame it, but that would have been too small to see. Back to Mandy's great idea - it was perfect for my purpose. I just needed a picture. I asked my talented sister-in-law, Carlen if she had a picture of the Seattle Temple I could use. She takes wonderful pictures and I really hoped she had some. Thankfully she did, although they were from a friend of hers. She kindly offered to go and take pictures for me if that was not what I wanted. The pictures she sent were perfect, just what I needed. I added the text, then went over to Staples to have them print it out. I asked for 2 engineer's sizes, I was not sure how big I wanted it to be.

This is the picture I used with the added text.

I used black foam boards from Hobby Lobby and they worked out great.

I ended up using the smaller print. And using glue, I added a hook.

This is the bigger picture. It is huge, more than twice as large as the other one and I am not sure where I will put it yet. Maybe the playroom?

This is quick and very satisfying project. I am grateful for all the talented and wonderful bloggers, friends and family who are willing to share their ideas and knowledge!

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Katara Pajamas for my Avatar the Last Airbender fan

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-06:00

My oldest wanted a Halloween costume as Katara from Avatar the Last Airbender, but this last Halloween was not the best time for it- (not that Christmas time is much better!) I bought a pajama pattern to use to make it and ended up not even opening it.

Finished

First, I found a dress and shirt that I knew fit her well and used them as the base for the pattern. I allowed extra room around the chest and waist since these are pj's and she is very particular about comfort.

Pattern like I want it to look before adding seam allowances and pattern pieces

I drew with rulers and careful hand the entire layout of the dress. Then I folded it down the center and made sure it was symmetrical (change drawing/trim to even out).

Paper placed over Pattern and traced to make smaller pieces of the pattern.

Next, I put the tracing paper over the full drawn dress and made each piece by tracing and adding seam allowances.

Always remember to do seam allowances if you make a pattern!

Close-up to pattern pieces

Purple pieces

White trim pieces

Cut and Ready to Sew

Cut and place on the appropriate fabrics and cut and sew! If you have a basic knowledge of how a garment is pieced together, you should be fine. This one didn't have sleeves! Yea! That's the beauty of making your own patterns- you make them as simple as you want.

She loves wearing this to bed, and it looks so cute on her!

Crafty Kids: Get Creative with Food

2012-01-20T11:18:00.000-06:00

I've had a love/hate relationship with Martha Stewart Living for years, I love looking at all the pictures and getting inspired, but I hate how it makes me feel like my real life will never be good enough. I subscribed once or twice, and the magazines would pile up month by month, hanging around the house as reminders of all those great projects I was never getting around to doing. Then I stopped subscribing and just let myself pick up an issue once a year or so. But somehow, the latest issue showed up in my mailbox, with my name on it. I don't remember subscribing, but there it was. I paged through it and realized that it's not so daunting these days, partly because my kids are older and my life runs a little more smoothly, with more time for creativity, and partly because this blog has kept me more on the ball in following through on my crafty inspirations. The first thing I spotted were some delicious looking coconut macaroons with a pool of luscious caramel in the middle. This is one of those, "Why didn't I ever think of that?" moments. Macaroons are so easy to make, why did I never think to make them as thumbprint cookies and fill them with something delicious?

I got my daughters on it right away, isn't is great that they're old enough to cater to my whims? Of course they were as excited about the cookies as I was. The two of them, along with their seven year old cousin, mixed up the cookies all by themselves and baked them. For the macaroon part we used this tried and true recipe from the Baker's coconut bag, it's so easy, you just mix everything up in one bowl, the only thing they needed help with was separating the egg whites from the yolks.

By the time we got to the carmel step I'd lost two helpers, but my eleven year old helped me melt some caramel candies along with a little milk, and she spooned it into the cookies. They came out beautiful and delicious! Next up, we're going to try some with nutella, mmm....

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THE PERSONALITY NECKLACE - and how to attach front drilled pendants to a necklace

2012-01-19T08:57:00.005-06:00

I finished a new jewelry project last night and showed it off to Wendy today. When I asked her what she thought, her answer was : "That's a personality necklace." She nailed it. This necklace does need someone with the right personality!

I designed it around the gorgeous blue, large sliced agate pendant. It took me a while to find the right beads, shapes, colors....finally it feels everything came together. I wish I had a glass display case, I could just put it in there and admire it.

I have always been fascinated by stones and I love the look of sliced agate pendants. Finally I was able to use one I absolutely love. And I got to use one my favorite findings! I have been asked before what are some tools or materials I always use or could not do without when it comes to jewelry making. First, it's wire protectors! These little bitty horseshoe shaped findings help prevent fraying at the clasp.

Which is the most common place for wire to weaken and eventually break. I use it in all of my jewelry. I discovered them a few years ago, when they were only available in just a few places. Today, you can even find them at Hobby Lobby!

They are super simple to use, just thread the wire through, add the clasp and the crimp bead, crimp, and start stringing!

Another great advantage is that it gives your work a more professional, clean and finished look.

Another great product is bails. When you come across front drilled beads, a beautiful sliced geode or stone, you have to either use jump rings or make your own loop from wire to be able to attach it to your design. Or you can use bails, which are fun, easy and look great too!

Picture is from Artbeads.com

Here is a simple bail. There are beautiful designs out there that can make a pendant really stand out. No need to fuss with jump rings or making the perfect loop from wire. Just put the pendant in the middle of the bail, push small tooth into the hole of the pendant and squeeze the bail shut. That's it. In about 3 seconds, you have a great pendant ready to put on a chain for a simple necklace.

If you want to spice up your design a bit with charms, add them before you close the bail shut.

That's it. Bails and wire guardians make your life much easier and add so much to your piece!

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Reversible Bag

2012-01-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

{ If you subscribe, you got the first bit of this post already thanks to my 2 year old, who cleverly figured out how to publish a post, while I was working on it.}

This simple bag was inspired by drawstring bags. I have always liked the simplicity of drawstring bags. I was doodling around one day, trying to figure out how to make a drawstring bag have a more grown-up look, but still keeping the casual side also....and slowly this bag began to take shape. The drawing has been sitting around for a while and I even forgot about it, until recently I came across my notes (thank goodness for early spring cleaning!) Finally I sat down to make the pattern and a bag. As I was picking the fabric from my stash, I had a hard time choosing. I loved the yellow and the gray fabric too. Sometimes being indecisive works out great, because after spending too much time on trying to figure out if I wanted the mustard yellow linen on the outside or the gray canvas on the outside, it was easier to alter the original pattern to make the bag reversible.

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SPOTLIGHT - Story-gami

2012-01-15T12:27:00.005-06:00

For Christmas, I gave my 8-year old an origami kit called Story-gami by Michael LaFosse and Richard Alexander. This has been an absolute hit and I thought I'd share it with you. Included in the kit are origami (Japanese folding) paper, a book and a DVD with great little story adventures that result in a beautiful origami work.

My 5-year old has been able to do these as well: each day I'm in charge of pausing the video while my two kids go through the demonstrated fold which comes as part of the story. We love this kit; the nice, kid-friendly storytelling approach to creating something quite intricate out of a mere square of paper is excellently done.

Have a great day!
Janice

Lemon-Rosemary Cookies

2012-01-14T17:36:00.003-06:00

Lemon-Rosemary Cookies

I made these awesome cookies over the Christmas holidays to give them to family members and neighbors . It seemed kind of strange at first to mix up something as savory as Rosemary into the cookies but believe me, they are worth it ! Plus I am always trying to think out of the box when it comes to cooking, I guess I get bored too easily. Or I am just too spoiled by my family ( both of my brothers are chefs, one in Scotland the other in Hungary ). So I guess I'm also trying to show them that I could cook something edible too : ) My point is, try things that seem weird or strange at first, you might be surprised how delicious these concussions turn out to be.

Lemon-Rosemary cookies

1 c butter ( softened)

3/4 c sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbs chopped, fresh rosemary

2 tsp grated lemon zest

2 1/4 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

Mix the butter, egg, sugar until creamy. Add remaining ingredients, then let the dough chill in the fridge for an hour. Heat oven to 375 F . Make little dough balls and place them on cookie sheet, bake them for 10-12 min. I like my cookies on the chewy side and my oven has a mind of it's own and if I don't pay attention to her she becomes very temperamental, so I took the cookies out at 10 min. Let them cool and sprinkle them with powdered sugar. They are so beautiful to look at and they taste amazing!

BTW I named my oven Gertrude.

Handmade Sketchbook

2012-01-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

I'm pretty pleased with the sketchbook I made for myself on Thursday. It was very easy to make (just paper sewn together basically) and I like the unusual but nice square shape. I've started doodling in it already!

This doesn't involve any fancy work.

1. I used nine pieces of 20 cm x 40 cm paper and folded each individually in half with a bone folder (to make a very good crease). Stack these in each other.

2. I cut my piece of decorative paper to be 30 cm high (to include a pocket about 9 cm high) and 42 cm wide. Fold up the pocket (9 cm from the bottom). Your paper should now be approximately 22 cm high. Crease well. Then fold in half (the left side over to the right) and crease well. Open up again.

3. Using a ruler and the tip of your bone folder, draw a crease line on both the right and the left edges, about 3/4 cm wide. Fold this in and sew down each hem, sewing the pockets closed.

4. Line up your pages in the middle and carefully sew down the middle.

The full instructions for this easy sketchbook with very nice detailed photos can be found at: http://boygirlparty.livejournal.com/217584.html

I'm thinking of making a mini calendar in a similar fashion to carry around in my pocketbook. I'll probably use the same paper, which is actually a nicely textured gift wrap paper.

Have a good day!
Janice

Articles of Faith Chain

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

I made these this morning as a model for my Activity Day girls to see. Every time they pass off memorizing and understanding an Article of Faith, they will add a number representing it.

Last year, we tried to teach them basic macrame and then use that to put the numbers on, but it took longer than we expected. I like the ball chain- more durable and easy to add to.

It can be worn as a large bracelet or anklet, or they can attach it to their backpacks or scripture cases.

Each chain is about 9 inches long. Each set of ball chains will make 12 chains.

To make a necklace, you would cut each about 18 inches long to make 6 necklaces from each package.

I found a set of three 36-inch ball chains and 18 connectors at Michael's. I already had the wire, wire cutters and round jewelry pliers, which are all from Hobby Lobby. All the of the beads I also found at Hobby Lobby last year.

Ivory Soap Explosion Experiment

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

I saw this fun science experiment on Making Memories With Your Kids and did a quick research to find more information. I promise you this is so much fun, you will not regret it!

What you need: 1 bar of Ivory soap (or more) quartered, 1 bar different brand of soap

First of all, let your kids hold the soap bars and compare how they feel. The first thing they should notice is the difference in weight. Ivory soap is much lighter than any other brand. You can ask the kids why is one brand of soap is so much lighter than the other. If they answer that there must be more air inside the Ivory soap....they are right. You can always do a buoyancy test too. Ivory soap will float, while other brands will sink.

Next, ask them what they will think will happen to a bar of soap (Ivory) that has a lot of air in it, when you put it into the microwave?

Place it on a paper towel and heat it for 1 minute. Make sure you watch what happens! It is so much fun to see the chunk of Ivory expand.

The very same thing happens to popcorn. I'm sure most kids know there is air and moisture inside corn kernels, and as the moisture inside the kernel gets heated it expands and the inside of the kernel explodes. The very same thing happens to a chunk of Ivory soap. Ivory soap is whipped full of air and therefore it contains some moisture. When you heat it up, all that moisture will make the soap expand. It hardens into a leathery, crumbly pile. Crumble it in your hands and you will get feather light soap flakes.

What will happen to other soap brands? They will simply melt or burn. Try only a small chunk. Trust me.

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Crocheted Scarf

2012-01-11T08:16:00.003-06:00

I did it! I finally turned my soft and snuggly Lion Brand Homespun yarn into a soft and snuggly scarf! And although it took me longer than 90 minutes (as was 'advertised' on http://craftdisasters.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-gifts-90-minute-scarves.html), I will admit that I ripped it out multiple times because I was inept at turning and counting. (Okay, I was trying to watch some movies at the same time.) I also made it twice as wide. But the extra width covers my neck very well and it is super warm.

My wider version of Craftdisaster's pattern:
Using a 10.0mm hook and Lion Brand's Homespun yarn, I chained 20 for the base and then double crocheted (dc) across the row, starting in the 3rd chain from the hook. To turn (which I suspect I did incorrectly, but it resulted in that nice scalloped look), I turned my work over, chained 3 and then did 18 dc's across, starting after the 3 chains. (I think that I probably should have chained 21 at the beginning to do 18 dc's to have straight sides, but I'm not quite experienced enough to be sure. That will happen some day I hope!)

Have a super day!
Janice

Pattern and Instructions For Roll-Up (Wood Carving) Tool Case

2012-01-10T14:27:00.000-06:00

I was asked by one of our readers to share the pattern for the simple wood carving tool case I made for my son. With small adjustments in size you can customize this for anything: markers, knitting needles, crochet hooks, crayons, play tool set etc.

Since I did not take pictures of the process, I get to show off my amazing drawing skills....

Material list:

double fold bias tape
lining (I used canvas)
fabric (I used faux leather)
quilter's cotton batting or felt
2 D-rings
1 inch elastic

Cutting Directions:

body - cut 22 x 11 inch rectangle from the lining, fabric, and felt or batting

pocket - cut from lining 11.5 x 4.5 inch rectangle

flap - cut from lining 13 x 4 inch rectangle

strap - cut from fabric (outside fabric) 18 x 3 inch rectangle

elastic - cut two 5 inch pieces and one 11 inch piece

Instructions:

The links will take you to a PDF version of the following picture instructions.

case 1

case 2

#1-2 : Round corners.
#3-4: Sew on the bias tape.

To make the strap, refer to this previous post. Here is some additional pictures for reference. Hope this helps!

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Spotlight: Words of Encouragement

2012-01-09T13:43:00.000-06:00

Ira Glass is the consummate storyteller, one of those people who's so good at what he does he makes it look deceptively easy. His words here apply to any creative endeavor, so I thought I'd share them here, with all the wonderful creative people who write and read this blog. We can be so impatient with ourselves when we're learning new things, so quick to give up. I chide my kids for this tendency even while recognizing it in myself. It's like Dora's 5 year old said last week, "I want to be good at drawing WITHOUT practicing." Adults, and even older kids, would know better than to say that out loud, but isn't it what we secretly feel?

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

I've transcribed the words as best I could for those, like me, who may be reading this feed off their phone, and may not be able to watch the video:

"Nobody tells people who are beginners, and I really wish someone had told this to me, is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it, and we get into it because we have good taste, but it's like there's a gap. That for the first couple years that you're making stuff, what you're making isn't so good, okay? It's not that great. It's trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it's not quite that good. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, your taste is still killer, and your taste is still good enough that you can tell, that what you're making is kind of a disappointment to you, you know what I mean? A lot of people never get past that phase, a lot of people at that point they quit. And the thing I would just like to say to you with all my heart is that most everybody I know who does interesting, creative work, they went through a phase of YEARS, where they had really good taste, and they could tell what they were making wasn't as good as they wanted it to be, they knew it fell short, it didn't have the special thing that we wanted it to have. And, the thing what to do is...everybody goes through that, and for you to go through it, if you're going through it right now, if you're just getting out of that phase, you've gotta know it's totally normal, and the most important possible thing you can do is do a lot of work, do a huge volume of work, put yourself on a deadline so every week or every month you know you're going to finish one story. Because it's only by actually going through a volume of work that you are actually going to catch up and close that gap. And the work you're making will be as good as your ambitions. In my case, I took to figure out how to do this than anybody I've ever met. It's takes awhile, it's going to take you awhile, it's normal to take awhile and you just have to FIGHT. YOUR WAY. THROUGH THAT."

I love the point he makes, that if you're starting a creative endeavor, and you can tell that what you're doing is inferior, then great! It shows you have good taste. And I love his advice on how to cross that gap, how to get to the place where your output matches the vision in your head. I watched it twice and made all my kids watch it, too. Many thanks for one of my new favorite blogs, Amber June Studios, for posting it.

Craft Kids: Make Their Own Birthday Gifts

2012-01-07T16:33:00.000-06:00

Easy Button Tie Backs

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These are what my eleven year old daughter is taking to her cat-loving friend's birthday party tonight, didn't they turn out great? And they were sooo, easy.

A couple of years ago for my daughter's birthday this same friend brought her an original art piece, an adorable oil pastel of a cat and a dog drawn by the girl herself and set in an inexpensive frame. My daughter loved it:

When I made a comment to her mom about what a great gift it was, she said something revolutionary to me.

She has put her daughter entirely in charge of coming up with birthday presents for friends. She doesn't buy gifts, she doesn't worry about making them. She may help buy supplies when asked, but the idea for the gift and execution are entirely up to her daughter. Wow. How liberating is that? And isn't it great when teaching your kids valuable life skills actually means LESS work for mom? So I've kept that in mind, and whenever possible over the last couple of years, my kids have made presents for their friends. By whenever possible, I mean, when I know the friend will be receptive to a handmade gift, and when time permits. When time doesn't permit, a good book is out fallback gift. Luckily all of their friends are receptive to handmade gifts and books- but I realize that this wouldn't work for every social circle. So my daughter has a birthday party to go to tonight, in fact, a party for the very girl who started this whole homemade present thing.

I'm not quite as Zen as my friend is, I can't completely let go and leave my kids to their own devices, but with this birthday party coming up, my daughter and I got online and looked at Craftgawker and Pinterest together for inspiration. I found this great button hair tie idea, and it looked like something my daughter could do entirely by herself. Even better, when we were at Grandma's this morning she had all the supplies, including lots of cute fabric scraps leftover from various quilting projects. I let my daughter pick out the fabric to use entirely by herself, with no input from me, but the actual covering of the button with the fabric turned out to be too fiddly for her- it was a little fiddly for me, but I managed. Then she attached the elastics by herself, and even designed and printed up a little card to put the elastics on, so they look "professional". She's excited about her present, and it does my heart good to see the next generation growing into the DIY mindset.

Simple Comfort Food - Meat & Veggie Loaf

2012-01-06T10:29:00.004-06:00

Over the holidays we have been overindulged with delicious foods made by my mother-in-law. Now it's time to come back to reality and the best way is a healthful way - less calories, limited portions and old-fashioned good taste. I've modified a Weight Watcher's recipe for this Meat & Veggie Loaf that we all love. It is delicious, full of nice shredded veggies and fairly simple to make.

Meat & Veggie Loaf

1. In a large skillet, sauté 1 chopped leek (approx. 1 cup, including some of the green) on medium high for about 7 minutes. Add 1 cup shredded carrot (approx. 2 medium), 1 cup shredded zucchini (1 medium) and 2 minced garlic cloves. Cook for 3 minutes, then set aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.

3. In a small bowl, crumble 1 slice of white bread and soak it in 2 tbsp. milk for 10 minutes.

4. In a large bowl, combine 1 pound/500 gr. ground meat with 1 large egg, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp. thyme, 1/4 tsp. ground sage, the cooled veggies and the soaked bread. Shape into a loaf on a lightly-greased baking dish and bake for 1 hr. 15 mins.
Guten Appetit!
Janice

Timeless Pearl Earrings Gift Idea

2012-01-05T14:28:00.000-06:00

Late last year, I made a pair of white pearl earrings to send to a friend. I wanted to create a timeless design that will withstand the quickly changing trends and can be worn anytime knowing that you will look great.

Right before I put them in the gift box, I snapped a couple of pictures then mailed them.

Fast forward to this year...
Right after New Year's Day as I was updating my calendar I realized that I already have several friends whose birthdays are coming up very quickly. I like to give handmade gifts. However, sometimes sickness, an especially busy week or just feeling a creative block when it comes to making something prevents me from doing anything. And I always feel bad after a last minute rush to the store to grab a gift I feel is only a half hearted attempt.

As I was looking at all the birthdays, I admit I felt a bit discouraged. I really thought that this year I am going to have to give up on handmade gifts. Then I though about making some gifts ahead. I sat down with my bead box and after making a few pairs of earrings, doubts started to come. How do I know R will like these? How about B? I cannot remember her favorite color! And then I got tired of thinking up new designs when I felt I had to. Obviously this was not working. I went to the computer and started looking at all the earring designs I have made, in the hopes that my creative juices will start flowing again. I came across the simple and timeless white pearl earrings and I decided to try something new.

I went ahead and ordered enough supplies to make 20 pairs of pearl earrings with small gift boxes. Once the supplies arrived, I set down to make all the earrings at once. I worked quickly and was not put off by the repeated design. I put them in the gift boxes and stashed them in the closet. I still hope to be able to make something unique for friends, but it feels great that I do not have to stress about it. Knowing that I do not have to run to the store last minute when I do not have the time to make a gift feels great! And I know I am giving something I can feel good about to friends.

Here is the supply list with links if you want to recreate these earrings.

pearls
bead caps
small round beads
earring wire
ball-end head pins
gift boxes

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Raspberry Supreme

2012-01-02T14:08:00.000-06:00

Does your New Year's Resolution include any of the following:

loosing weight,
eating healthier,
swearing off desserts

If your answer is 'yes' to any of the above, stop reading right now, because I am going to tempt you with a sinfully delicious dessert!

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While we were busy with our early 'spring cleaning' marathon, I found this recipe in one of my storage boxes.

Over a decade ago, a dear friend from the Northwest shared it with me. It brought back memories of the baby shower she helped host for me, dinner at her house and she bought a whole Raspberry Supreme cake just for me when I was staying around the clock in the local children's hospital for over a month with my sick newborn. We both moved and lost touch, but I will always remember her friendship and care.

There is one ingredient, that is not easy to find in most areas and once we moved away, I had to forget about making Raspberry Supreme for a time. Thankfully, the Internet and Amazon came to the rescue and I was able get Danish Dessert Raspberry without any problems.

Raspberry Supreme - needs at least 4 hours to set in the fridge, so plan ahead!

White Cake:

1 box white cake mix
1 c sour cream
1/2 c vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 c powdered sugar
1 pint of whipped cream (home made is best, but you can use Cool Whip also)

Glaze:

1 package Danish Dessert Raspberry
2 packages frozen raspberries (about 5-6 cups), thawed, drained, juice reserved
water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour your pan (you can use a jelly roll pan, 9 x 13 baking pan or two round cake pans).
Mix all cake ingredients in a bowl and beat on medium speed until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until done. (Baking time depends on your pan, you can use the baking time on the box for the different pans as a guideline.)
While cake is baking prepare the glaze by putting the reserved raspberry juice into a measuring cup and adding enough water to make 1 3/4 c liquid. Pour juice mix into a small pan and mix in Danish Dessert. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. The mixture will go from pink to a deep red and will get thick. Remove from heat, cool and add raspberries.
While the glaze is cooling, prepare the frosting. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar, then blend your home made whipped cream or Cool Whip into the cream cheese mixture.
Spread cream cheese frosting on the cooled cake and top with raspberry glaze. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

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Reader Favorites from 2011

2011-12-31T14:17:00.002-06:00

I suppose the urge to look back and take stock, to measure and quantify and look over what we've done over the past year is somewhat cliched, but nevertheless irresistible, at least to me. I enjoy checking our blog stats anyway, to see what strikes a chord with people, which sites are the most effective at steering traffic our way, etc. So I thought it'd be fun here, at the end of the year, to see which posts you, our readers, visited the most in 2011. Since we have multiple blog authors I've made two lists, one that shows the five most visited posts overall, according to our stats counter, and one that shows the most visited post by each contributor. Each of the ladies that contributes to the blog is so talented, and each brings different things to table. It was fun, and sometimes surprising, to see which of their posts got the most hits. It's a good thing I had quantifiable stats with which to compile this list, because I could never pick out my favorites, there are too many to choose from. I'm grateful to be in the midst of so much creative inspiration, and I'm grateful to our readers for, well, reading. Speaking for myself, just knowing that people will look at the things I post is such a great motivator to do more, and do it better. I've learned new skills and definitely improved my ratio of started vs. finished projects, and for that I thank you.

So, without further rambling, here are the five most visited posts blog-wide from last year, in descending order:

Bleach Pen T-Shirt Stash

Bleach Art Linen Table Runners

Slouchy Bag Pattern

Rainbow Rug from T-Shirt Yarn

Handmade Gift Ideas

And the top posts by contributor, in alphabetical order:

DORA

Bleach Pen T-Shirt Stash

IDEALEON
Simple Brown Skirt

JANICE
Stray Sock Doll Tutorial

KRISTIN
Ring Bearer Pillow

LORI
Peppermint Topiary Trees

RACHEL

Rainbow Rug from T-Shirt Yarn

WENDY
Exact-O Art

It's a great list, and of course there were so other great and even wildly popular projects that didn't make the list. What were your favorites? If you follow the blog, what was that post that made you think, "Hey, I want to see more of what these ladies are doing, I'm going to follow this blog and read it every day!"?

Buon appetito!

2011-12-30T11:38:00.000-06:00

Last night I made pasta for dinner using my new pasta maker. Hubs gave me the Atlas 150 for Christmas this year. After watching lots of youtube videos, I dived in. I used a recipe from a video that made the whole process look really easy.

Egg Pasta:

3 1/4 all-purpose flour

dash of salt

4 eggs

I ended up using a bit more flour and almost 5 eggs. I fiddled with the dough till I was happy with the consistency. Maybe I should of kneaded more before I decided it was too dry, but I was happy with my choice. After lots and lots of kneading (approx. 15 min) I came out with a nice size ball of dough. It was VERY easy.

I am sorry I didn't take more pictures of the process of rolling out the dough. My settings go from 0 - 9. The instructions left me on my own, they were pretty minimal. I went pretty thin, up to 8 of the 9.

For my first time, it looks like I know what I'm doing :) Isn't it pretty!

And here comes the fun part. It is SO cool.

Ta-Da!! Pretty, pretty homemade spaghetti noodles.

It really takes no time to cook. It's crazy. Apparently, I can dry the pasta out really well using my little tree rack and have them for use just like store bought pasta.

Here it is ready to eat. It was a success. The fam ate it up. I also served homemade meatballs.

After dinner, hubby and I used the remainder dough and ran another cycle. This time we only ran the dough through till we got to the 4 (maybe 5) setting. We ran it through the same spaghetti attachment and ended up with much thicker noodles.

Books, Books, Books and De-Cluttering Tips

2011-12-29T14:43:00.001-06:00

I love books and this Christmas I was blessed to receive quite a few from family and friends. I got a great mixture of reading materials, two sewing books I have had my eyes on for a couple of years, great fiction books, and a few inspirational books from LDS apostles. In the last few days I have already read some of the books and it has been really great to curl up on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa and forget about life and just read for a while.

I will also get to learn a new skill this year...

I already have a project in mind that I need to start working on soon, before it gets hot here again. We also spent the last few days doing early 'spring' cleaning. I went through all the closets, clothes, craft stuff, storage boxes and the garage and collected all garbage and at least a dozen bags packed to take to a donation center.

I have to admit it was a bit painful to go through my storage bins. I have been saving clothes to refashion, so I had to make the tough decision to only keep a few and donate the rest. It feels good however, to have more storage space and more organized closets. Also, now I have room to put a long table we have been saving, in the walk-in closet to use as my cutting table.

I also searched the web for some tips on de-cluttering (and to making me feel better about getting rid of so much potential projects). Here are a few of my favorites:

"Use the “one in, two out” rule. The rule: whenever you bring in an item, you have to throw away two other items. First you cheat, by throwing out two pieces of paper, but soon you will have to move to big stuff.
Clothing rule: If you haven’t worn an item in 1 year, sell or donate it.
The One-Year Box. Take all your items that you unsure about getting rid of (e.g. “I might need this someday…”), put them in a box, seal it and date it for 1 year in the future. When the date comes, and you still didn’t need to open it to get anything, donate the box WITHOUT OPENING IT. You probably won’t even remember what there was in the box.
Ask yourself if you really need something. If you hesitate, you don't.
Get rid of unwanted or bad pictures. Eliminate ruined shots, cut-off shots, blurred and too light, too dark shots, bad photos and those completely black prints and slides! You will never use them and just think; they will insult your photo prowess!"

Web sites I used:

http://zenhabits.net/15-great-decluttering-tips/

http://www.oprah.com/home/Peter-Walshs-10-Tips-to-De-Clutter-Your-Home

http://www.reduceclutter.co/declutter-tips/

The Stockings Were Hung By The Chimney With Care

2011-12-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

I finished!!!

Yes, a whole year late, as this is my youngest's 2nd Christmas. (Oops). But, hooray! It's done and I loved stitching it. If you haven't seen these felt applique stockings before, they are made by Bucilla and come as a kit.

Mini-Present - Nice Idea although Last Minute!

2011-12-24T05:20:00.003-06:00

Last minute 'brilliant' ideas would work out so much better if 1) you aren't having heating issues and 2) your printer has enough ink! Regardless, I managed to get these little Matchbook Pads made before our Christmas Eve celebrations start in 4 hours and I think they will be appreciated by my mother-in-law, who will now have her youngest grandchild right in her purse!

A very Merry Christmas, everyone!!
- Janice

Wood Carving Set Case

2011-12-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

My 12 year old is getting an expensive set of wood carving tools for Christmas. Not the type you get from your local craft store. The tools are Swiss and will last a lifetime. He is also going to take classes at a local wood shop starting in the New Year. To hold his tools (well, we got 3/4 of all the tools he needs, he can get the rest later), I made him a simple roll-up case, so he can have his tools and his protective glove (not here yet) in one place.

It was a last minute project and thankfully I had all the materials on hand! I am already thinking about commissioning him to carve us a Nativity set for next Christmas....

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Last MInute Knitted Hats

2011-12-23T08:58:00.000-06:00

Over the Thanksgiving break, I made a trio of baby hats for a lady at church, my first and probably only ever commissioned knitting job. I didn't mind doing it, but the yarn she gave me was super fine lace weight yarn, and those little hats took forever to make! But I did find a great pattern, that save for some Kitchener-ing, was super easy and super cute, with little bear ears. Here's the one I made at Thanksgiving:

At the beginning of December I thought, "I could make that hat for all my little nieces and nephews, if I used bigger yarn it'd go quickly, and I bet I could even figure out how to adapt the pattern to make a dinosaur hat for my dinosaur-loving nephew." But my better judgement dismissed that as crazy-talk, six hats? No way. Then a couple of weeks later, the idea resurfaced. I didn't have any knitting projects going on and my hands needed something to do. So I bought enough yarn for one hat to see how fast it went. I finished it later that day, so I went out and bought the rest of the yarn, and I did it. Six hats in four days:

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As you'll notice, I did figure out the dinosaur hat, too. It wasn't perfect, the center point isn't shaped exactly like the others, but for my first attempt at pattern making on the fly, I'm pretty pleased with it. Now back to the yarn store so I can make some hats for, ahem, my own children.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T14:41:00.000-06:00

Last night we assembled our gingerbread house. We have been buying gingerbread house kits for years and we always had success.

Obviously, not this time.

Like most women, I dream of the perfect Christmas.
The whole house sparkling and everything decorated beautifully, all presents wrapped perfectly and neatly, having a huge feast prepared with delicious and beautiful cookies and desserts...everyone singing Christmas songs, and we are all happy and filled with the Christmas spirit.

I will be the first to admit I never had a Christmas like that, something was always missing. But other years at least I felt more put together, like an imperfect gingerbread house standing proudly. Not this year.

This year I feel like our poor gingerbread house in the picture: not standing, just existing. But I am immensely more grateful for the birth of Christ this year, for His redeeming sacrifice and for His love. I know that through Him, everything is possible. It is possible for life to feel normal again, for a broken heart to heal and feel merry and joyful again. I know this because of my testimony in Him, because of the wonderful promises of the gospel of Christ, because I know Christ lives and because I know He continues to guide us through a living prophet today. I realize sharing my feelings of faith may cause some of you to feel uncomfortable and may even turn a few away, since this is a craft blog after all. But it is who I am and this Christmas season I wish to share this huge part of who I am with you. I hope that you can feel my sincere intent.

This Holiday Season, regardless of our faith or traditions, I hope we can all recommit to live together more peacefully, to share our hearts and talents with each other, and to recognize that even when we may feel lost or broken, we are never alone.

May your Christmas be all that you wish for!

Slightly Healthier Goody Bags

2011-12-22T14:15:00.000-06:00

After two cookie exchanges in three days, we were all cookie-ed out. We try not to be all about the refined sugar anyway, so we wanted a goody bag to give out to friends and neighbors that was more reflective of who we are, but still yummy and appealing. Someone came up with the idea of apples and caramel sauce. I bought bags and bags of small organic Honeycrisp apples (my favorite!), and we got to work. It was really a family effort, and unlike many family projects we embark on, we managed to have fun doing it. My daughters cut out the Christmas trees and glued them on the bags, my husband and son made the caramel sauce, and I made the jar labels. The girls did most of the assembly, too. It's great to have older children! I love how they turned out, and the ones we've given away so far have been well-received. The goody bag, or tin, is one of my goals every Christmas that usually goes unrealized. I'm proud of us for simplifying it to the point that we actually got it done. Now it's time to make the rounds and deliver them all!

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Cloth Wrappings!

2011-12-20T11:12:00.004-06:00

This year I FINALLY went to my large pile of cute Christmas fabric and used some of it for wrapping most of the presents! I am SO happy. I have wanted to do this for ages, but still have a surplus of Christmas paper to use up -- paper that I brought with me to Germany 10 years ago, if anyone can believe that. A number of years ago, I had sewn some Christmas sacks to put the goodies into and those will come in handy for the larger items that I decided didn't needed to be wrappred. Just for fun, a few times I left the sacks on the front step because we have no chimney for Santa to climb down.

Next year: crocheted ribbons to tie them and home-made tags!

Thanks, Rachel, for the inspiration from your Book-a-Day post!

Keeping the Holidays Simple

2011-12-19T15:57:00.000-06:00

I had originally intended to write this post just to brag about my serendipitous find of the perfect hallway table just when I needed a place to display my nativity collection. I try to keep my decor minimal- no end tables and such, and our bookcases are too crammed full of books to use as knickknack display, so I was stumped about where to set out my nativities. Then last Saturday my neighbors set exactly what I needed out on their curb! It fit perfectly on a previously empty wall, didn't interrupt the flow of the room, and even fit in with the modern decor I'm going for. It makes me warm and fuzzy all over again just thinking about it. And it makes me smile to think about my daughters and I, still in our fancy dresses after attending the Nutcracker at possible the most hoity-toity opera house in the country, dragging in "trash" from the curb.

But, as I took pictures for the post, those nasty little inner voices started nagging at me. The items on the table weren't "styled", some spots looked cluttered, some bare, there was no extra greenery or bows, or anything to dress it up, the wall behind it is just a blank wall, no beautiful pictures or clever vinyl words. How could I take pictures of this and put it on the internet, who would want to look at it? My exciting find seemed suddenly less exciting. But then I realized the my table with its little collection, unstyled as it is, has a purpose, and a lesson to teach.

Why is it unstyled? Because my children endlessly pick up and play with and re-arrange these figures, and extra greenery and such would just get in their way. I've carefully selected these nativities over the years to be child-friendly, from the plastic Fisher Price set my mother-in-law bought to the olivewood set from Jerusalem, none of them are breakable. These sets, and the books I've collected telling the nativity story in various ways, form the backbone of my (never completely successful) strategy of keep-it-simple, keep-it-Christ-centered. I remember my girls at 3 and 5 years old playing endlessly the whole month of December with the various nativity figures, acting out the Nativity story over and over. Now they're 11 and almost-13, and they're working on memorizing the whole story directly from Luke, but they still have their favorite nativity pictures books, and they still find their way over to the table, joined by their younger brother, to act out the story with the little figures. The eleven year old even put together the Lego nativity scene in the picture below out of minifigures we already had on hand. I love seeing their creativity blossom as they get older. Of course I've fantasized about handcrafting my own nativity for years, I even got as far as Mary and Joseph felt finger puppets one year, and every year I feel terrible that I haven't done it, but looking at our collection, and thinking about what it's taught my children, my heart eases a little bit. What I've given them may not be perfect, but it's enough.

A New Shipment of Silk

2011-12-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

I was so excited to receive this package after a couple weeks of bidding and buying. This is a stack of 6 Silk Saris. I plan to make several nursing shawls and regular shawls out of them.

One of the exciting things about ordering packages from India or other countries like it is the whole experience of the packaging. The wrapping consists of brown paper, fabric (crepe silk?) and LOTS of tape. I've received a package from India once that, if it wasn't for the extraordinary amount of tape holding it together, I was not convinced it would have made it delivered in one piece.

There was another time that stuck under the tape was a very, very long dark strand of hair. I don't doubt it was from an Indian women with beautiful long hair taping the package. I was amazed the hair made it all the way here!

Anyway, I hope you all can find time for simple excitements during the holidays. I just wanted to share mine!

Christmas Gifts For The Kitchen

2011-12-16T00:30:00.000-06:00

Remember the Hot Handle Holder Pattern? I am making a few Christmas gifts, and decided to make a matching set of hot pad holders and hot handle holders. I made 2 sets in the last couple of days, I need to crank out a few more though, and then make a custom vest for my Nerf gun loving 12 year old for Christmas. That should be interesting...I have an idea and I have been looking around and of course he has his own ideas, so we shall see if I can make it happen.

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Book a Day, or an Exercise in Flexibility

2011-12-14T13:43:00.004-06:00

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So how are the holidays going for you? I think for we crafty, DIY people, the holidays can sometimes be daunting. We want to lovingly hand-craft everything, from gifts to decorations to food, and it's just too much all at once. Each year I force myself to do less, and to be less exacting about the things I choose to do, and while it's still a busy, stressful time, it's gotten better. It's always a conscious exercise for me, though, it doesn't come naturally.

My sister mentioned at Thanksgiving that one of her friends had a tradition of wrapping up one book a day for her children during the month of December, so they could open a book each day and read it. Over the years I've amassed quite a collection of Christmas books to display and read, but I liked the idea of wrapping the books and making a special deal out of one each day, a literary advent calendar. Books are really important to us, so I decided this was a project worth doing. I don't really do wrapping paper though, so I decided to sew little bags for the books that we could re-use each year.

I try really hard to not just knee-jerk run to the fabric store every time I start a new project, so I investigated my stash, but nothing promising turned up. I was really, really tempted to just go out and buy some burlap, add some red ribbon, and call it good. But as a last ditch effort, I rifled through a bag of clothes a relative had given me, and found a huge, cuddly, fleece sweater. In red. Now I was getting somewhere. Further investigation turned up a man's button up shirt in a bright solid red, and one in a red plaid. To contrast with all the red I found a long brown linen dress, and a beige and white check gingham piece of fabric that I've overlooked earlier in my stash. I laid the books out on the clothes as you can see below, and cut out my fabric:

For the sake of conserving fabric,and for cleaner lines, I didn't want to do drawstring bags, so I just made a simple fold-over flap witih a ribbon closure. I don't have a tutorial because it was first of all, very basic, and second of all, pretty down and dirty sewing. As you can see in the pictures, some of the bags I didn't even turn, just left the raw edges facing out- for artistic effect, of course. I planned to add numbers to the books by just glueing on ribbon- Roman numerals instead of Arabic ones, since the straight lines of the Roman numerals are easier, but when after three or four days I hadn't gotten to it, my eleven year old daughter volunteered, and get this- I let her do it all by herself. A personal triumph for a mom who tends to micromanage everything. It's not the perfectly polished job I would have done myself, assuming I ever got around to it, but it's done, and she's thrilled with it, and in years to come I know I'll feel very sentimental every time I look at them and think about her doing that for me:

Are these as pretty and polished looking as I imagined them in my head? No. But are they done? Yes. Do they look cute all in their basket if you don't get close enough to notice dangling threads and wrinkles? Yes. And most importantly, are my children enjoying opening their books each day to read? Yes. Numbers and all, the project wasn't even finished until the 10th day of the month, and to tell the truth, we haven't caught up yet, but I'm okay with that, too. It's done, so next year it will all be ready to go right on time, like a little gift I've given my future self.

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