Dog days of summer ....

We've been hit with the dog days of summer around these parts! So despite wanting to run around outside, we've been trying to stay in during the hottest part of the day. So today, we pulled out some crafting supplies and made pen holders for the DS (something we've been meaning to do for quite some time!)





And you end up with this:



It was fun and a great way to spend time indoors and hopefully I will do less searching for missing pens! =)

Just in case ...

you were wondering. Even if it's 93 degrees out, laundry will still take some time to dry if there is a lot of humidity in the air.

And also, when it's 93 degrees out, you might feel too tired to do anything but figure out ways to stay cool!

That is all =)

New Art Gallery!

Our house got a new art gallery installed today.

The kids love it as well!

I've been wanting to do this for a while. We've been thinking of ideas on how to display the kids' art work. First I thought about frames, but, those are really expensive and plus, you never know what size art work they will produce! Then we thought about getting some cork board. But most of them were too thin, the pins would have gone right through and made marks on the wall behind it (which dh was opposed to doing because he doesn't want to patch a million holes LOL!) I asked around for ideas - and heard lots of great ones, but none I could make work in our house.

Finally, this morning I told dh, forget it looking "nice." We are not a real gallery. All that is important to me is that we hang up some of the kids stuff because they make so much and I feel like we display so little of it. So go buy 4 eye hooks and some wire and even if it doesn't look "professional" it will be awesome!

So, he did. And we hung it up tonight. And I have to say, I LOVE it. I absolutely love it. I just keep walking by and looking at it. The kids, they love it too. It may not look professional, it may not look like a real gallery, but you know what, it's our gallery. And that makes it wonderful in my eyes! =)

Estate Sale finds ...

I went to an estate sale Friday. I was hoping to come home with tons more (the ad for it was so promising). Instead I came home with very few things.

The little mason jars are salt and pepper shakers. I have the perfect spot to display them. I think they are beyond adorable and with all the mason jars I am quickly collecting, I decided these were a good splurge!
I was also glad to find the pyrex there - I'm going to try to make bread in there next time to see how that goes. I'm trying to find ways to replace my nonstick kitchen items, so I'm crossing my fingers it works!

But my favorite thing is this old blue milk jar. I LOVE it. I am staring at it right now. The clear one is cool too, but seriously, the blue one takes the cake. I will searching for the perfect place to put it - where hopefully the kids can't break it. But seriously, the minute I saw it, I knew it had to come home with me!!

I'm still not sure where to put it, but I will figure something out!

Clutter Challenge!

I hope you'll come over and join us. And I'm also praying and hoping I can round up a few give-aways or something for the people who are a part of the challenge - so if you have something to donate or offer, that would be beyond fabulous! =)

New Things

I received some new toys in the mail today!

I've already "read" them all. So inspired to do lots and lots of sewing now. Too bad my funds to buy fabric and other items aren't unlimited LOL! They are all beautiful books and I have a feeling I will just pull them out and randomly look through the pictures when I need a good dose of inspiration!!

Another item arrived in the mail today:




This goes along with what came in the mail for me last week:



(Which by the way, aside from Christmas, this is the most mail I have received in such a short period of time!)

And clearly, sewing is on my mind these days, along with some pattern drafting. No, I don't want to do anything too fancy, but I figure it would be fun to try to learn, especially for these children who seem to not be the perfect any size on premade patterns (they are too short, too tight, too long, too loose - I can't win LOL!).

So I will be quite busy with that.

In addition to all of that, my reading list is much too high. And for kicks, I started a new cross-stitch project. Since the 10 in progress weren't enough to grab my attention this weekend! =)

Linen Bread Bags

The beauty of making bread at home is I never have to worry about the plastic bags that store bread comes in. Which is a beautiful thing.

However, we have been storing bread at home in plastic zip lock bags, which I dutifully wash and reuse until it just can't be used anymore.

Except, now I have a thing for plastic. As in, I want plastic and my food to touch as little as possible.

So, thanks to Cluck and Tweet, I got the idea to make these linen bread bags. Mine isn't as pretty as the one on their blog (but don't worry, some embroidered one are coming!) but I wanted to whip a couple up ASAP t o start using.

Anyway, I love my new linen bag and plan to make quite a few more! =)

Bread Crumbs!

Over the weekend I made bread crumbs. Surprisingly enough they are super easy to make ... although I guess it isn't that surprising, but seeing as I've never done it before, it was surprising.

I made plain bread crumbs and Italian bread crumbs using this and this recipe.

We had an overload of good bread in the house this week and so I had plenty of bread to pick from.

I love it. I will probably spend the week trying to make as many things with bread crumbs as possible now LOL! And better yet, no packaging to throw away!

Camping out in the backyard!

aka having fun on a budget!

1. Gather supplies:

(we bought the firewood and chocolate. Everything else we already owned!)

2. Start a fire:


3. Roast marshmallows and make smores:




4. Enjoy the time with your family and then spend the night in the tent!

Above All, Be Kind

Just finished reading Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times.

Definitely an interesting read and a worthwhile read. She gives lots of scenarios and how parents dealt with them - she even includes a few brief interview with kids who are humane and what their parents did to get them there.

I'm glad I read it. I wrote down a few other books to read from her recommended reading section. Also has a few facts on sweatshop labor, child labor, etc, etc to get you thinking about how what you are doing every day impacts the great world outside your door and on the other side of the planet.

The only downfall, is every example she uses works out perfectly and well and beautifully and wonderfully. Now, chances are, you aren't going to talk to your child about something and have it end so perfectly - however she does acknowledge that at one point and says if it doesn't go so smoothly at your house, just keep trying. Which I did like, but it would have been nice to read about a family who had to keep trying too, ya know? Also, and this is totally personal and not because the author is a bad writer, but she clearly has issue with people eating meat. The topic of vegetarianism comes up time and time again. The kids she interviews in the back, she makes a point of saying in each of their blurbs when they became vegetarian - I admit, it got old. It felt like her first goal with the book was to teach you to raise a humane child and the second goal was to convert all readers to vegetarianism. I have nothing against it, and have cut back on meat at our house, but we'll probably never go completely meat free and I felt like I was being preached at a bit on the topic. That, is totally me. You might read it and not notice it, but it kept jumping out at me on the page!

Anyway, I think the biggest impact the book left on me is that I can talk to my children about some of these issues - at age appropriate and I can say to them we are picking this product because we not only like it but we believe in the values of the company. And that kids can get involved in some bigger issues even at younger ages and if we see a spark like that in our child, run with it with them, even if you don't necessarily agree with them. (An example in the child protests against animal testing but his mom is a doctor who believes animal testing is important for humans in the long run. The mom didn't agree with her son, but she didn't try to squelch his passion for it either).

Anyway, I give it 4 out 5. And really would encourage you to read the book as well!

Back ...

Without meaning to leave. All last week I was hit with something nasty and yucky. My darling sister kept calling me Swine Sister as she was convinced I had swine flu. I'm starting to think I had too with how awful I felt. I did go to the doctor and she didn't want to test me for it so, I probably I just had a bad cold!



They did make u wear face masks in the waiting room though - they started that policy last year if you were coughing (which both my daughter and I were) but this time we went in I noticed you also had to wear them if you had any flu-like symptoms. (And yes, I am in my pajamas in the shot. And after they took me to the room, I fell asleep waiting for the doctor. I really didn't feel good and getting dressed and sitting up too long were just not happening!)

Anyway, things here are going well now. Except my garden isn't planted. I was going to do it today, but you know the soil is just too hard. I think we are going to buy some top soil and peat to mix in there to help it out. So, no planting just yet.

I have about 12 projects that are on my finish ASAP list - I have 5 of them done now which feels very good! Of course, I started a few that weren't on there at all which is almost like cheating! LOL!

I had a birthday last weekend. I am now 30 years old! I love birthdays and loved this one too! I got some gift cards I'm anxious to spend at Jo-Ann's, itunes, and Target. And I got a bit of spending money too. My kids made signs to hang all over the house - I LOVED it! My husband made a fabulous dinner, got my parents over here and was just awesome to me =) That's what makes birthdays so special I think!

I also got this book

And I'm so excited about it. Other bloggers kept talking about it and I just knew I needed to have it after hearing about it. I haven't tried any recipes yet, but I have bookmarked a ton that are on my must make as quickly as possible list! Tomorrow I need to make some bread and will hopefully get to try at least one recipe in here!!

But I have to say, I am so GLAD to be back and feeling better. And I have lots of great ideas in my head, lots of things I want to make and create, and some fun things to tell you about!! =)

Learning to embroider ...

This week I learned, well, am learning, how to hand embroider.
I saw a project a while ago on craftzine and wanted to copy it. Of course I saw it forever ago and didn't bookmark it, so I can't give credit to the original creator, but I needed to embroider to complete it.

What I am making is a gift (which means you can't see pictures until it's been given and opened. Sorry) and I thought the gift would be even better if I got the kids in on it too. So not only have I been stitching away this week, but so have the girls.

Now, I won't tell you that our stitches are perfect and uniform and even. They are not. But they are turning out really well. And the girls are doing a great job with it. Miss M is already planning out her next few projects. I believe Miss A might have another one in the works as well. They've made great progress this week though and it's neat to sit down and be able to do this with them!









I love having this to do with them. And maybe their other projects will come to fruition and maybe not, but at least for now I'll have this week to remember stitching and learning along right beside them!



My project is done now. But never fear - it was so great, I have another project on the list! =)