Spoiled Rotten

On the way home from my last road trip with the kids I ended up in a town about 60 miles away.... oops. I didn't have a map in the car, but I didn't really need one because my brilliant hubby is a walking map. I just called him and he gave me instructions on how to get home.

Sweet man that he is I received this in the mail. He doesn't want to lose me :)


It's a gps navigator. I figured out how to hook it up and locate the satellite now I just need a class on how to use it's cool features and how to not look at it while I drive... it's so fun to see your little car driving around the map!

Getting Feet Ready for Summer

I have had the worst feet- probably because I always go barefoot! My heels would get so dry and cracked and it was ugly and painful. Well, somewhere in blogville I read about a remedy that has really worked for me (I'm sorry to the original post author- I can't find you anywhere to link to you!!).

Anyways, you wash your feet with a cleanser that has at least 2% salicylic acid. I used Clearasil Ultra daily face wash. Then use a pumice stone or callous razor to carefully remove any dead skin. Slather your feet with Vaseline or a really great foot cream and put socks on for an hour or two. Use this treatment every other day for a few days and your feet will look so much better! After getting your feet looking great just use the treatment once a week for general up keep.

This is so much less expensive than other fancy foot creams and treatments (many of which contain the same active ingredient: salicylic acid) on the market.

Children, the elderly, and pregnant or breast feeding moms might want to check with their doctor before using repeatedly- although there is no warning on the face soap tube.

Simple Crochet Stitch Markers

The stitch markers that came with my beginning crochet kit are a PAIN to use. And why deal with pain when you can avoid it??!

Always seeking the simple I came up with a few easy-to-use substitutes: my two favorites are baby hair clips and/or safety pins. Simply open and close them over the stitch that needs marked and then EASILY move them to their new spot when you crochet by.

Yard Sale Geek

Yep, I'm a geek. Last Friday I was running little one to school and instead of digging through the pile of flip flops by the door I just grabbed a similar looking pair- why bother I wasn't getting out of the car anyway!

Until I saw the yard sale sign. It was in a wonderful neighborhood. Small, old homes, neatly kept.... I couldn't resist. I pulled up to see a lady hauling off a truck full of stuff. Would there be anything left?

Yes! There were some treasures that were just for me! It was an estate sale of a woman that loved to sew and craft. I found two boxes full of wonderful fabric scraps as well as large pieces. Some of them are vintage gems.

I passed on the big box of polyester.




A few partly finished projects that I can't wait to work on.



Some pretty baubles for 25 cents a pair.


My heart did a happy dance all the way to the car even with my chipped nail polished toes and mismatched shoes.

Clarks Shoes

Pinching Your Pennies just sent me an email with the info that Clarks shoes are on sale at 6pm.com They are 70% off! I've heard that they are well made and comfortable shoes. They had quite a selection when I visited the site. Good Luck!

Insurance

I'm feeling the love. About a month ago a hail storm hit our house. After the pelting we had so much fun chasing each other around the yard trying to get chunks of hail down each others shirts and pants.

Well, the storm damaged the roof. We called our insurance company, State Farm, and they sent a man out to do an inspection. He checked everything. They even checked the playhouse roof! He said there was damage on every roof and within three days we had received a check in the mail. So, now we can get everything fixed.

I'm so grateful for a good insurance company and a neighbor that let us know about the damage on his roof!

More Printing On Fabric

My brain is still buzzing with ideas about printing on fabric.

One idea I had was for transferring patterns: instead of dealing with transfer paper, iron ons, or tedious tracing I just printed this embroidery pattern straight onto the fabric.

If you like vintage looking patterns check out doe-c-doe. She is an embroidery expert and has some fun free stuff! She also has some amazing trendy projects!


I'm gearing up for summer vacation and looking for fun, kid friendly activities. I found this sweet coloring page at Activity Village . Hey, you could use it to entertain your munchkins while you stitch away. They have some fun Father's Day cards to color too.

Make Your Own Printable Fabric

Wow, I'm so excited about this new craft idea I'm about to pop. Martha Stewart sent out a daily craft email showing how to make cute bibs. They were nice. But what caught my eye was that you can make your own printable fabric sheets! Am I the last one to figure this out or is it something super cool and new to you?!

You just iron freezer paper (shiny side down)to the back of a fabric and cut it to 8 1/2" x 11" or whatever size paper your printer takes. Then choose a graphic, picture, or text and print- pull off the freezer paper backing and start sewing--- the options are ENDLESS!


Here is a mini pillow and a gift bag that I whipped up to give an idea- but you could even design and print your own fabric (in small pieces of course)....

Ugh my mind is racing so fast my head is starting to hurt.

I found these inspiring ideas at etsy, cb2, urban outfitters and pottery barn. You don't just have to make pillows- you can design your own fabric for any project.... you can print pictures of your ancestors and make a family heritage quilt, you could make patches to sew on clothes, etc., etc.

For some cool free graphics try graphics fairy or the vintage moth. Let me know what you make!

Create

Why do you enjoy creating things? I love this short video my neice and sister shared with me. It is called Create- and it is amazing. Let me know what you think too.

Quilt Block Duvet

Mmm, still didn't get the closures sewn on the back but I am headed out of town and wanted to post before I boarded the plane.... so, here it is.... be back sometime next week.

I found a group of fabrics that I just loved at Twiddletails. I knew they would be perfect for the quilt in my daughter's green room. To simplify things I just made a duvet rather than a true quilt. I ran out of fabric so I ended up running to Hancocks for a few more yards.

By the way the fabric collection is called Woodland Blooms and it is on sale this week- lucky you!

I cut solid pieces for squres and then I used my scraps up by randomly cutting the leftover pieces and sewing them together to make additional blocks. You need 49 12 1/2 inch squares.

If you want your pattern to fit a standard Full/Queensized comforter 86x86 then you will need to add a border around the edge. If you want to cover a plain white comforter there are some great prices at Ikea. Or you can cover an old light colored comforter that you think is to ugly to use anymore... reusing and recycling is fun!

If you'd like more instructions I've included directions in my freebie section on the right.

Almost Finished

I have finally almost finished a duvet for the bed in my daughter's green room... it just needs to have the closure sewn on the back.... I'm so glad that it's almost done because I am getting so bored with this project... even though it is really easy to make a duvet I just let it drag on and on and on.... do you ever do that?

Travelling On a Plane With Children

Since traveling 18 hours (back from Australia) on a plane with a newborn and a two year old (many years ago)I've learned a few things about traveling with children.

Tip one: Give your child the appropriate form of Tylenol 30 minutes before take off. If you've ever travelled with a bad head cold and felt the pressure in your ears you know why those little ones scream- it hurts!

Tip two: Take snacks.


Tip three: Pack some quiet toys that you aren't too worried about losing. I make a run to the dollar store or some other similar place and pick up a few new coloring books, small toys, etc. Depending on how long the flight is I may add a nicer toy or two. Then I wrap them. At certain points through out the flight the kids get to open one present each. For instance they open a gift at take off, one hour in the air, during a lay over, etc.

Opening the gifts through out the flight breaks up the trip for the kids and gives them something to look forward to. I hope your summer trips are fun and happy!

Mother's Day Coupons

Did Mother's Day sneak up at your house? I just emailed my loving hubby a wish list at work. He promptly called back and asked if I would like to order my own presents.... well sure, no better way to get exactly what I wanted. In his defense he is usually on top of these things but we have been out of town and life has been more than a little crazy.


I don't know about you, but I enjoy receiving sweet coupons. Here are some easy ones to print and give to your loved ones (if they need a gentle reminder that Mother's Day is this week). Then they just have to fill them out and give them back...
color version
vintage version
sometimes Mother's just have to do these things.
Happy Mother's Day!

Child Sized Mask Pattern

Well, we had a great trip and we were able to see our oldest daughter graduate from college. Happy day!!! Just eight more to go ;o)

Since we don't watch TV- just carefully selected videos and dvd's my children have developed a rather unusual selection of favorite characters. This little guy loves the Lone Ranger.

He asked me to make him a mask. How could I say no?! Here it is! The free pattern is here, or scroll down on the right to find it under the free stuff section.

Oops- forgot to specify the exact elastic size. I used black 1/4 inch elastic (but it doesn't really matter).