This Mom's Many Hats

Happy Valentine’s Day

2012-02-14T05:05:00.000-08:00

Have a happy day everyone!!!

(those are pancakes if you were wondering.)

Feeling a Little Down?

2012-02-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

I know we have had an unusually warm winter in this part of the country but don’t forget it is still flu season. I’m doing fairly ok. Not really sick, just maybe a little run down (or on overload).

Looking at our snowman today, made me wonder, how many other people might not be feeling up to par.

In an effort to stay ahead of the game, I thought I would publish my own PSA. Don’t be fooled by the extra sunshine, remember to maintain your health. Always get the rest your body needs. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and eat something healthy everyday.

Seriously, I hope you all are doing well. Take care of yourself. Spring is almost here, I can feel it!!!

(Hmm, Maybe that’s what the snowman is doing…He’s looking for spring??)

I am surprised that he is still standing. Really, how far can he tilt????

Still here and with a flash back

2012-02-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

I know I’ve been neglecting you all for ohhhh sooo long. Geez, I missed the whole month of January. Aside from the three kids…in two different schools and four extra curricular activities, the jewelry business and the feeble attempts at maintaining the house I have another project on my plate that has been monopolizing my attention. As some of you know I not only sell jewelry on my website but I occasionally participate in vendor shows.

Well now instead of waiting for the right show at the right place with timing that suits me… I’m co-organizing a vendor show with a friend of mine. In about a month from now, 40 local vendors will be coming together to sell their handmade crafts and art work
Myself included!

It’s been a wonderful learning experience and a great deal of fun to fine so many talented people and pull them all together. I’m sure it will be a great success for all of us but I didn’t want to just post (brag) about what I’m occupied with right now.
I thought it would be fun to share a blast from my past.

A week or so ago my Mom came over with this….

Finger Puppet Gloves!

A few decades ago, when she was in nursing school, I “helped” her with a class project (Ok, so I did it for her but I had fun doing it). I think it was for a pediatric class and she had to come up with some sort of toy for the patients in a hospital. I bought a cheap pair of garden gloves at the hardware store and used a bunch of acrylic paint and some embroidery floss. (I’m sure I had most of that on hand already. I have inherited a pack-rat gene somehow????

Anyway, I think I did ok showing ethnic diversity but I may not have been entirely politically correct. I might have gotten carried away with the American Indian??? Nonetheless, my kids have had a little fun playing with them.

I do have a few more ideas for some posts in the near future. I promise to do my best at not taking quit so long next time.

I hope you all are well and I’ll be around to visit your blogs soon. Miss ya!!!

T’was the night before Christmas…

2011-12-19T07:05:00.000-08:00

(that's my boy posing for the camera...I'm so proud)

Anyway,

I had some fun this year making shirts for the kids…and me.

This is a fun, simple way to add a little of your own touch to a T-shirt.

All you need is a white shirt, gel glue and dye.

Pre-wash the shirt then put it over a piece of cardboard that has been covered in plastic. Use the gel glue to write a verse or phrase that you like. You can also draw a picture or design. Let the glue dry at least 4-6 hours.

Once the glue has dried, you can dip the shirt into a bucket of dye. Use any color you want. I followed the instruction but the color didn’t come out as dark as I would like so I would say go stronger on the amount of dye you use.

After the dye process (which takes about 30 minutes to an hour depending on the color and how dark you want the color) wash the shirt in your washing machine and dry in the dryer.

Here’s the one I did for myself.

Have a very wonderful Holiday!!!

Hair today, gone tomorrow...

2011-12-13T06:59:00.000-08:00

For what feels like forever, my daughter and I have been growing our hair out to make a donation. While it might not seem labor intensive it didn’t come with out its hurdles. When you have a 6 year old there can be a few battles about knots and tangles in her hair. I mean you pull a blanket over your head and run around trying to scar your bother and there is a fair amount of static built up. Crawl around in the grass and dive under that tree to get a ball and your going to come out with some issues.

Bath night is always such a joy. Thank goodness it’s hubby’s job. “Daddy that hurts” “Daddy, your pulling too hard” “Stop yanking on my hair!” Aahhh the memories they’ll have.

I know I sure went through an awful lot of conditioner. And this may sound strange but I get hair headaches. Don’t laugh, it’s true. All that hair pulling down can make your head tired. And if you pull it into a pony tail that get’s it our of you face but man…nothing feels better that taking it out at he end of the day!

So for a few years there has not been more than a tiny little nip to the ends of our locks. My daughter had her hair in a braid most of the time just to keep it somewhat under control. I did what I could to make mine look presentable and tried to keep from looking like one of those older women desperately holding onto youth by having long hair. Not sure I pulled that off??

Either way, the time had finally come. We reached our goal of 12 inches. We took some time one evening taking a bunch of silly hair photos. Then this past Saturday we were off to the salon. The first time ever for my daughter. I always cut the kids hair at home so they don’t know what the salon is all about. She had a few questions on the way about where she was going and what they were going to do to her. Would she be in a different room? Was it going to hurt? How would they do it?

She was such a wonderful little trooper!!! The look on her face when they washed her hair and massaged her head was priceless. I think she’s ready to move in there.

Silly Moustaches...

Cousin it...

Yes, that is the front of our faces...

Ponytails GONE!!!!

Before and After....

What do ya think?

Big difference huh?

Here and here are a few places you can check out if you’re thinking about donating hair.

Tis the Season...

2011-12-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

It seems that this time of year more so than any other brings people together socially. I’m someone that could stand to plan a gathering and do something festive all year around. I love to have friends over and have that “party” atmosphere. Sometimes it can be as simple as having another family come over for pizza night. We have the kids make their own pizza then send them outside to run themselves silly while the grown ups talk.

Other times it’s a bigger gathering with more of a theme. I have a pumpkin carving party every October, where the neighbors come over and we eat tons of food and carve our pumpkins then line them up on the step out side to take an after dark pumpkin picture.

You could invite a bunch of people over and ask that everyone brings an appetizer. That always seems to be a hit. I love appetizers, why not make a meal out of them.

Or host a cookie exchange. Get 10-12 bakers organized and each participant makes 10 -12 dozen of one type of cookie. Then you come together and swap so you go home with a tray filled with all sorts of different treats and you didn’t have to spend days and days in the kitchen. This concept works well with soup too. It’s so nice to have a freezer filled with containers of soup all winter.

This past weekend I went to a Gingerbread decorating party (without kids). It was so relaxing to sit back with some wine and decorate our houses while catching up with our gal pals.

Here’s my creation….

To keep the festive feeling going, I had a Christmas party the next day with just my family.
I pulled all the tree trimming supplies out while hubby mad a few bloody marys.

The kids got to decorate their own gingerbread house and since I had already done mine, I was less “type A” about how they did their decorating. Worked out great for all of us.

Hubby strung the lights while the kids and I worked on the gingerbread house and then we all moved in the living room to hang the ornaments.

I guess I was focused on the tree and sadly my house did not survive for very long.

What fun ideas do you have for sharing time with the people around you??

Just Say'n...

2011-11-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween. I think it’s a fun holiday that brings out your inner rock star or gives you the chance to be something different…out of character, even if for just a day. Plus you get candy to boot. Nothing wrong with that.

Then BAM, we’re into Christmas??!??

While I’ve never been much of a Christmas person. I am seeing it differently now that I’m a Mom. I am working at finding the magic of it each day. However, I think it is commercialized to the hilt and that it can be difficult to see the magic through all the extra hustle and bustle, the increase in traffic, the over-stocked shelve and crowded isles. It becomes so easy to loose sight of that little baby. I mean that is what created this holiday, right? That tiny baby, in that far off land…born in a barn. Any of this ringing a bell? I think that story gets a little misplaced sometimes when the grouchy driver is blowing his horn or the snarky sales clerk grunts at you.

Anyway, all of that aside there is a holiday that’s falls between the two. Anyone? Anyone??

I know, I know, it doesn’t get much attention. Well, I mean how much can you commercialize a day about food? It’s about food isn’t it? Oh, wait, no, that’s why there is so little attention to the day. There aren’t too many ways for someone to make a buck. Unless you’re a grocery store but everyone eats all year round anyway so not a huge difference here.

They don’t write songs for it. (That’s why the Christmas music starts the day after Halloween). There’s no over packaged candy or treat. No magical fairy tail land to make a movie about. But it is something deserving of a little attention. So, while you’re eating your “fun size” candy out of that black and orange wrapper and listening to How Grandma got run over by a reindeer, take a minute to be grateful. Think about something you have struggled through and overcome. Think about a new friend you made. Think about those who have sacrificed so you could have more. Think about the things you are grateful for and it will help you get ready for the next holiday. The one about that baby.

Meanwhile, from Me

The Hubby...

And our three little turkeys...

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Subtle Decorating

2011-11-02T05:36:00.000-07:00

After repainting most of the rooms in my house I was on a mission to also come up with new wall décor. For the one wall in my kitchen I already had two metal pieces that I thought would look good against the new color. Then I found a triple picture frame that would be just right for….

Hmm??? Something?

I liked the shape and that it would hold three photos. I thought about maybe adding some black and white photos of each of the kids. Then after I had it in place I thought it would be better put to use if I could pull the colors of the room together.
The rest of the living room - kitchen space has brown, beige and little pops of apple green.

I tried to stage photos of real items that I could then use in the frames but I wasn’t having much luck at the time with getting the right look out of the pictures. Then I found some scrapbook paper that would do the trick nicely.

I wanted mushrooms to pull out the beige color but the sepia image of the daisies works too. The green apples were perfect. I originally wanted coffee for the brown color but the chocolate made for a good substitute.

It didn’t take long for my brain to start spinning out new ideas on what other things could go in those frames. It quickly turned into the perfect place to add holiday or seasonal decorations. I made them all on the computer or added some simple artwork by hand.

Here’s the one I use during Halloween

For now, this is what I have for Valentine’s Day.

I put these three together last St Patrick’s Day.

This one is for Easter.

I put this out for the fourth of July.

Next month I’ll get this set in the frames for Christmas.

Right now I have a simple “Give Thanks” in there.

It reminds me daily that I have so much to be grateful for.

Do you have any ideas for subtle decorating? You know, something simple in a tiny space that is a little unexpected.

Check out some other cool ideas here.

Bewitching Bottles

2011-10-30T14:09:00.001-07:00

I love to decorate my kitchen windowsill with bottles. You can see here that I used to collect different colors and change them out for various holiday/seasons. After I redecorated the kitchen/living room those colored bottles didn’t seem to work any longer.

Until Halloween…Then anything goes, right? For the last few Halloweens, I’ve been looking at bottles at the craft store that have spooky labels on them. I never bought them because I always thought they were too expensive. So this year I decided I was going to make my own.

Late August early September I emptied a small bottle of pinoli nuts. I liked the shape and at first I thought it would make a nice tea light holder. Then right after that my husband emptied a glass bottle for one of his meds. Then I realized I could use both of them for something fun and the challenge grew. A quick look around the pantry and in the frig and I realized that in no time I could manage to empty out several bottles and use them to make my “Potion” bottles.
Once I had a few bottle together I started getting them ready. I washed them out and removed the labels.

For the more resistive labels, I used cooking oil on a paper towel to loosen the adhesive. After they were all label free, washed and dry it was time for some paint. I have seen some people use acrylic paints to decorate their own colored bottles but they all seem to look streaky. I heard that oil based paint might work better so off I went to the home improvement store.

I bought a half pint can of high gloss black oil base paint and I was good to go. I poured about a third of the paint into one of the bottles and rolled it around the inside. Then poured the rest out into the next bottle and so on until all the bottles were coated with paint.

While the paint was drying I got started on some labels. I wanted to find some brownish, parchment looking paper but didn’t want to pay for it so I used regular white paper. I found a list of “ingredients” by googeling “witches brew”. I found a few fonts that looked the part and printed them out.

To give the paper and aged look I used shoe polish. First some tan and them around the edges with brown. I tore the label and used a match to burn the edges. Glued them onto the bottles and lined them up on the windowsill.

Now it looks like all I need is a cauldron and I’m ready to get started on a ghoulish concoction.

Here’s a list of the “ingredients” that I came up with…

Old Hag Cackle Extract
Vanishing Cream
Mummy Dust
Black of Night
Eye of Newt
Toe of Frog
Wool of Bat
Toil and Trouble Tonic
Ear of Troll
Dragon’s Breath
Hell Broth
Vanishing Cream
Mermaid Scales
Poison # 26
(Only use after midnight)

Not all the bottles were painted. I kept a few clear so I could fill them with different things. The poison bottle has purple colored water,

the mummy dust is a mix of salt and pepper.

and the hell broth has red colored water.

Did you guess what any of the bottles were used for originally?

From left to right…

Blue Curacao
Sambuca
Green Olives
Porto
Red-hot sauce
Florastor
Tonic water
Capers
Tequila
Pine nuts
Sesame oil
Taco sauce
Red-hot sauce #2

Have a fun Halloween!!

No Sew Halloween Costume

2011-10-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

I like to make some or all of the kids costumes when I can. This can be tricky if they choose something challenging or when they are changing their minds every few days. I have learned to wait until I get really close to the Halloween before I purchase any supplies. This year my son (3 yr.) started off saying he wanted to be Buzz Light-year. That is what he went as last year and I’m not so sure he understood that he could be something different. Then he said he would be a fireman. Great. We have a hat in the dress up box and his coat has some bright yellow on it so we’re most of the way there.

Then he said he WAS NOT going to be a fireman! Ok, now what?

I asked what he thought about a skeleton and then his face lit up with excitement.

I had an idea that was going to make this the easiest costume for Mama to make.
Wooo Hooo!!!!

I already had all the supplies I needed.

Black pants and a black T-shirt. Already had those items in the dresser.
A sheet of craft foam. Had a large enough piece left from a previous project. (ok, so I’m part pack-rat)
White(ish) contact paper. I had some left from lining dresser drawers and I had used this same stuff when I did the ceiling fan makeover in our bedroom. It looks a little like white/gray marble when you see the whole sheet but cut up I thought it would be perfect as a dirty bone.

I used my seam ripper to remove the pocket from the T-shirt.

I made some rough sketches of bones to use as a pattern. I first cut them out of paper and then traced them onto the back of the contact paper.

It took a little time to cut out all the bones but I sat on the living room floor and watched Jailhouse Rock while I tinkered away at the costume.

I used google images to find the outline of a skull and then traced that onto the craft foam. I cut out the eyes, nose holes and a slit for the mouth and then used a marker to draw in some details. All that is left, is to staple a piece of elastic on and the mask is all done.

I had some gloves that I found last year that have bones on them but you could use the same technique as the rest of the body if you want to. The best part is that I can peel the contact paper off after Halloween and use the pants and T-shirt again.

I think he’s going to look pretty cute.

What’s your easy last minute costume idea???

Something for the walls... part two

2011-10-25T10:13:00.001-07:00

Several months ago I saw this new (new to me) technique to use aluminum foil to give a contemporary look to a common piece of furniture. I came across a blog (I wish I new which one) that had done this technique on a small dresser/ side table. I wanted to give it a try but on a smaller scale.

I had my eye on this tray for a few weeks and it finally got marked down and moved to the clearance section. At $4.00 I couldn’t go wrong. It was already cream but to make sure it blended with the other items in the room, I gave it a light coat of paint.

I cut several pieces of foil into various sized squares and rectangles. Then I used decoupage to adhere them (shiny side down) to the bottom of the tray. I glued a small picture hanger to the back and on the wall it went.

Hmm, I wonder what I can do this to next??????

Something for the walls...part one

2011-10-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

After repainting the powder room I needed to also update the decorations on the walls. I held onto an idea for a while but needed the supplies and the time to put it all together.

I started an obsession over frames almost two years ago. I wanted to find some realty big frames for our family photo shoot in the park. Big enough to hold up around us while we got our picture taken. I found two while on vacation at the beach in 2010 and they worked out great. I just couldn’t stop. I kept finding frames and a new collection by surprise began.

During one of my stops at a local antique store I found this frame for $2.00.

At the time I didn’t know for sure what I would do with it but I couldn’t pass it up.

$2.00!!!!

Ok, so it needed a little love.

I removed the backing and pulled all the pins and staples out. A good sanding and a few coats of paint and it was as good as new. I sanded a few areas a little more to give it an aged look but a clean and pretty aged look.

Next, all it needed was some chicken wire. Not as easy to come by as you might think. I did find small rolls at a local hardware store but the smallest roll was $21.00. I just couldn’t justify spending that and only needing about one tenth of the roll.

Father-in-law to the rescue. We stopped in there for a quick visit on our way to the beach this past summer. (They live half way in our trip East) He has one of those Grandpa like garages that has a little of something left over from every project he has ever done. Low and behold, in the corner behind the fishing rods was a tiny roll of chicken wire!!!! Perfect! (and free)

Tacked a piece on the back of the frame and added some black wire to the top as a hanger.

Now all it needed was a few decorative clothespins. I glued strips of scrapbook paper on the clothespins and sanded the edges.

Now I can pin up cute little notes.

I saw a bunch of frames at that same antique store just yesterday…Should I go back and get them????

Just in case...

2011-10-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

No, I didn’t forget that I have a blog. I just put a few things on the back burner for a little while. This time of year is generally busy in this house. This year is especially busy. The In-laws came for a visit. I planned a family party and a kid party for my now eight year old. (Not sure what’s easier to cope with… Hosting my Family or 9 little girls). And on top of that I’m working like a fiend to get ready for a vendor show this weekend. You know, for that little jewelry business I have.

Anyway, since I have re-prioritized temporarily, I need to delegate a few tasks. So if you should happen to be here helping out, there are a few things you might need to know to make life easier.

If you run the dishwasher, you need to twist the door to the right then push down on that side before you close the door. Then you have a 50/50 chance that it won’t leak while it’s running. Watch out for water on the floor when it’s done. My cute little blonde butterfly daughter fell on the opened door twice. (Nope, didn’t learn after the first time she fell)

If you need to use the oven, add at least 25 degrees to the temp you really want. Then once it’s preheated and you open it to put your stuff in you’ll need to turn it off and then back on. Make sure you hear the thermostat click on. Not sure what happened but we think it got fried during a power serge. Just a little temperamental now but it usually gets hot.

If your drive my van and it’s raining, don’t try to adjust the wipers. They started hitting each other last year and we had them “fixed” and now they do what they want. They always work but they just go at what ever speed they feel like. Unpredictable but doable.

If you need to talk to the hubby get eye contact first. You’ll have a better chance that he might really be listening. But be careful, he’ll hear the first few words and try to analyze how to fix the problem before you’re done talking so sometimes the point you’re making gets lost. Good luck.

I think that covers most of the quirks here.

Do you have any funny little quirks that you’re dealing with in your daily life? I’d love to know I’m not alone.

A quote to live by

2011-09-06T05:50:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I lost a very dear friend. He was the husband to one of my most special friends and a very extraordinary man. At the funeral there was a line out the door for three hours straight, filled with people who admired and loved him. At the church one of his favorite quotes was read. Ever since then, I’ve had a copy of that quote in my wallet. I occasionally read it and wonder if I am living up to that standard. In difficult situations I sometimes wonder to myself “How would Ed handle this?”

When I revised my photo gallery wall, I made sure to add a framed copy of this quote….

“To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Do you have a quote that mean something special to you???

Back to Reality

2011-08-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

I know I’ve been absent for a few weeks. The chaos of daily life hit hard a few days before leaving for vacation. I had planed on getting a few things done before going but time moved on despite my protest. So there was no updated blog post, no auto-reply set on my e-mail, no new photo for my face book page… Oh well, shame on me. I did miss hopping around the blog world and commenting on your blogs. I hope to get to you soon!!!!

We had a great time at the beach. We went to stay at my friend’s place. (The same place we visited last year). Thank goodness for people like her. The kids loved the ocean. My oldest has just recently learned to swim and was thrilled to be capable in the water this year. My perceptually challenged child was able to walk a straight line this year and not tilt over as the tide went in and out. My little man had a blast in the world’s largest sand box. I even had fun joining in on the sandcastle building.

You truly get a sense of how big the beach and the ocean is when you are watch three little people. Not the most relaxing time I’ve had at the beach but at the end of the day… F.U. N.

But wait…

What’s that you say…

I’m just now starting to get back in the swing of our regular routine and here we are looking at the last day before school starts.

Thankfully I washed the uniforms, bought new school shoes, and organized school supplies in the new backpacks before we went on vacation. Whew.

Here and here are few ideas on making the back to school transition a little smoother.

How’s the end of summer going for you????

Photo Gallery

2011-08-04T07:51:00.001-07:00

This spring the entry hall into my house was on the list for rooms to be painted. After it got a fresh new color it was time to put the pictures back on the wall. I made a few changes from what had been there before we painted. I added a few new pictures and I pulled out some old photos and got them framed. I also framed a quote I like and hung a few skeleton keys for a little added interest.

To get everything back on the wall and make sure it looked balanced without making too many holes, I mapped things out first.

I traced each of my frames onto pieces of paper and then started taping them to the wall. This way I could move them around until I liked the way it looked. It was like shuffling pieces of a puzzle to get the right fit. After the paper pieces were lined up just right we started replacing them one by one with the framed photos.

I’m real happy with the way they turned out and I love looking at all the memories.

Collection by Surprise

2011-07-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

Did you ever take a look around and realize that you have started to collect something and you weren’t really even aware of it???

It suddenly occurred to me that there are quite a few frogs around here.

Last year when I redecorated the kitchen I wanted to add a little whimsy so I ordered this cabinet door handle for one of my kitchen cabinets.

When I went to pick it up I saw this little guy and grabbed him to go on the pantry door.

I’ve had this hide-a-key frog (empty) sitting on my front porch for a few years now.

On a trip home from the In-laws two years ago I bought this big toad at a roadside stand.

This past spring, this cutie moved himself into my rock garden. He’s about the size of a dime.

Take a look around. What do you have more of than you realized???

Simple Summer Planter Project

2011-07-12T06:32:00.001-07:00

After the beach trip last year, we came home with several shells and other collected items. They were all put on a shelf in the garage and then moved around a few time before I finally came up with a plan for them.

First, I found a paper plate holder thingy (for a lack of a better term). You know, one of those things that should be used to give stability to your paper plate for picnics. I had one floating around in my pantry. I have no idea why I only had one but now it too finally has a good use.

Then I covered it with some small fish tank pebbles.

Nope, don’t have a fish tank but I have three different bags of fish tank pebbles just taking up space in the garage. (I keep everything. My Grandmother was part packrat and I got that gene from her).

The pebbles help the shell sit level on the dish.

A couple tablespoons of soil and a few “hens” from my chick and hen plants and I had a new planter. I toped it off with some more colored stones, pebbles and coral to finish my simple summer planter. It adds a nice touch to my patio and it needs very little attention. It gets a little mist from the kids spray water bottles and that’s all the watering it needs.

Happy Summer!!!

Happy 4th Weekend

2011-07-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday weekend.

We kicked off our 4th of July weekend with a few festive cocktails.

Red:
1 oz. Vodka
½ oz. Triple Sec
1 ½ oz. Cranberry pomegranate juice

Rim glass with blue sugar

Blue:
1 oz. Vodka
1oz. Blue Curacao
1 oz. Ginger ale

Rim glass with red sugar

Cheers!!

Reusable (green) Shopping Bag Tutorial

2011-06-27T04:46:00.000-07:00

I have several different shopping bags from various stores in my collection. In the back of my mind I have thought of making some of them for myself. I kind of wanted them to all match each other. (Ooops, is my OCD showing again???)

Anyway, a few months ago, one of my girlfriends showed me a magazine with this cool idea for painting a monogram or initial onto canvas. Right away, I thought it would be the perfect fit for my matching shopping bags.

It took me awhile to get that project to the top of my “to do” list but here’s the “how to” for you.

I started with about a yard and a half of unbleached, heavy cotton utility fabric (thicker than muslin). Washed and dried the fabric for pre-shrinking.

Cut the fabric in half and make two bags. To make the straps you will need to cut 4 strips of fabric that are at least 25 inches long (longer if you like long straps) and 1-½ inches wide

Then make a template for pressing the edges of the straps over. I use a piece of cardstock when I make purse straps. Cut a strip of cardstock the width of the strap. Here it is about an inch wide. Then place that on the center of the fabric and fold the sides over and iron.
Watch out for that steam!

Now take two of the strap pieces and place the raw sides toward each other and sew them together. Try to stitch as close to the edge as you can.

Stitch the strap on both sides. Then do the same thing with the other two pieces and set the two finished straps to the side while you work one the bag.

You should have a piece of fabric that is around 16 – 17 inches wide and about 40 long. I like to make my hems on the bias edge whenever I can. Fold and press the edge over and then fold again so that you will end up with a one-inch wide top to your bag. Do this on both ends of the fabric, as you will be folding in half and closing the sides to make the bag. I stitch along the edge that was folded over as well as the very top to give a little more stability.

Here you can see how the top is stitched as well as how the straps are attached

Before I close up the sides, I like to put the straps on. I measured the center of the strap in from the edge of the bag at 5 inches. The top of the bag has a good one inch hem, place the end of the strap to cover all of that top width. Once the strap is in position, sew around all four sides and then sew an “X” through the square. This will give the handles extra strength when your bag is full of goodies. Make sure the strap is not twisted when you sew the other side onto the bag. Once both straps are on then you are ready to close up the sides.

Fold the fabric in half to form a bag and line up the top and the straps to make sure everything is squared. The first seam is done with the bag right side out (yes, that’s right). Sew both sides together. Start at the top and go down the side until you are about 4 inches from the bottom.

Then bring the bottom of the fabric up to meet the end of the stitched edge and sew each side so it looks like an inverted Y. This will give the base of the bag a true “bottom”.

After you have completed this on both sides then turn the bag inside out and do the same thing again over the first seam. This will give the bag a finished look.

Now for some monogramming fun.

Use paper doilies and a little fabric paint to stipple a design onto the bag.

Cut your initial out of a sheet of cardstock (unless you have letter stencils) and stipple the fabric paint on your bag.

Here’s an extra idea for those of you with a website or etsy store.

I used stickers to create a negative stencil for my web address. Sponge on some fabric paint then remove the stickers.

Now you can really multi-task…Shop and advertise.

Have fun crafty people!!!!
For more fun ideas hop on over to see Jen at Craft-o-maniac …

Clever Ideas 2

2011-06-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Way back when…I did a post about some of my clever ideas. It was a fun post and I started jotting down more ideas right away, for a second post. Um, it’s been awhile and I could only come up with a few more ideas. Sadly, I must be all tapped out of “clever ideas”.

Anyway, here are the additional ideas that I came up with.

If you’re having a hard time hiding that extra long electrical cord try coiling the cord. Wrap the cord around a pencil to shape it into a spring. After a minute you can slide the pencil out and the cord will lie down nicely.

This one is to help with those wire rack shelves. I have them in my pantry and it’s can be hard to get a can to sit right on them without tipping. Cut a sheet of poster board to fit the size of your shelf and then cover that with some contact paper. The contact paper makes the new shelf insert easy to wipe off and keep clean.

Did you ever come up short on silverware? There are times when the dishwasher isn’t full yet but I’m out of spoons. Or when you have extra people in for birthdays or the holidays and you need a few extra sets of silverware to go around. You can get some nice silverware at most discount stores and hold onto them for times like these. I bought two draw organizers and put the second set in one and then stacked them on top of each other.

This one was on my list but I already did a post about how to flavor popcorn.

Don’t forget about making coffee cubes for you iced coffee too.

Okay, I’m out. Do you have any clever ideas to share???

Powder room Makeover

2011-06-07T11:22:00.001-07:00

Here’s the latest addition to the whole house makeover. You might remember that I started re-decorating everything at the beginning of last year. You can go back and check out the living room here and don’t forget the ceiling fan too. Then there is the kitchen here, right down to the magnets. Around here, if it stands still it’s getting painted.

So this spring, I decided that the powder room needed a little freshening up. It was one of the first things I decorated when we moved into this house. I always liked the way it looked with the rag roll treatment on the walls. I just wanted to give it a facelift with a new color.

Rag rolling is a paint treatment that literally rolls the paint on the walls with a rag. It gives the wall a patterned effect that almost looks like some sort of wallpaper.

To rag roll you need:
A plastic container with a lid.
Paint
A rag (I used a piece of old sheet)
Glaze
Latex gloves

Mix equal parts of glaze and paint. I used sample size jars of paint and still have a little bit leftover. A little really goes a long way.

Stir the glaze and the paint together in the plastic container. Get your gloves on and wet the rag with water. Ring out all the excess water and then dip the rag into the paint. Make sure it is covered with paint and then squeeze the extra paint off back into the container.

Now crumple the rag up in a ball. Place it on the wall and then slowly roll it along the wall in random directions. You can go over the same area as you move the rag from section to section. As the rag is rolled it leaves paint behind in its path. Go as light or heavy as you want, just try to be consistent in the room.

Here is the before when it was a sage green. When we moved in I just put the green over the existing beige that covered every wall in the house.

For the re-do I had to cover the green and give the room a new base coat.

This time around I went with two shades of blue. (Go figure)
When using two colors the technique is the same you just do all of one color. After the first coat is dry move on and do the same thing again with the next color.

Now, I couldn’t just paint and change any of the other details….
So I spray painted the Light and turned it from the standard brass in all the houses on my street to a hammered silver.

I also hit the towel rod, the outlet cover and the light switch plate.

I even put a coat of paint on the silver hook to make sure it had the same finish as the rest of the fixtures.

I hung an empty frame from the hook to jazz up that boring mirror.

Even the candle got a new dress. I didn’t think that Yankee candle would make my favorite scent in the color I wanted and the green did go with the new paint color so I cut a placemat and wrapped it around the candle. Vola. It matches!!!!

I have a few ideas for the wall decorations but I might need a little time to get to them. Don’t worry; I’ll be sure to share them with you as soon as I get them done.

Random thoughts, ideas and comments

2011-06-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

Did you know I have a blog???
Yep. Sure do. I left it blowing in the wind for a month but I have one. You’d think I could be a little more attentive to the poor thing and post something new a little more often. Geez. Slacker.
Let’s just say there are times when life is a circus act and I’m juggling way too many things. I know you all can relate. Many thanks to you for sticking in there with me!!!!

I’m out of my rhythm so I thought I would just toss out a few sporadic and disconnected thoughts running threw my head. Lucky you….

Poor planning…

Sometimes the best-laid plans get de-railed. Did you ever feel like no matter how hard you’re trying things are just not coming together the way you’d like? There is a new development going in, not too far from my house. When I pass by this road with the pole in the middle, it strikes me funny. I’m sure it’s temporary with some sort of plan to move it or at least I hope so. But there are just days when I feel like this. “Huh, seemed like a good idea but this isn’t exactly what I had in mind????” Lesson learned… Always have a plan B.
(BTW~~ Iggy did ya see your friend in the photo?)

Memorial.
I think everyone should witness a full military funeral at some point just to witness the honor and protocol, not that anyone should have to feel that kind of loss of a life. We loss our Pap-paw the week before Memorial Day. He was my husband’s grandfather. He had almost 30 great-grandchildren (3 of them are my kids). He was a good guy and lived a full and long life. He was 92. On a moments notice we packed up and drove out to Central PA. The emotional toll was heightened by having to teach our little ones about death. To verbally go through what was happening and what to possibly expect before it happened and then to process it for their little brains after the fact was extra difficult on us. Getting the kids threw it all was one thing but being there for the formality of a color guard, 21 gun salute and a bugler playing taps off to the side, just brings every man to his knees. The folding and presentation of the flag is beyond words. If you never have before, say a prayer for our military men and women and their families.

To do, to do, to do…
Is it me or does the “to do” list grow by 2 for every one thing that gets crossed off???
I now have so many lists going that I think I might need to make a list of which list I should do first.

Trapped in adolescence.
Did you ever watch someone repeatedly go from one bad relationship to another? Makes you wonder when they will finally grow up. It’s like that starry-eyed teenager that changes who she is to try and make a boy happy or ditches her friends because he wants to go out. How long can you hold onto a lost youth before you wake up????

When did sleep get so illusive?
Remember when we were kids and you never wanted to go to bed because the fun would stop. Now as an adult you start thinking about going to bed earlier and earlier in the evening.

Laugh like a kid.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could bottle up some baby giggles and open it up anytime you wanted something to smile about? Better yet, let’s find a way to bottle up the energy that children have so you could run and jump and scream and laugh and play all day long… and still not want to go to bed. J.

Glass half full.
There will always be people who hurt those around them again and again. Thankfully, there are even more people around who just make you feel good. I so glad to have so many wonderful friends in my life. You guys rock!!!!

Taking all bets.
So anyone want to guess how long it will take me to post to my poor little blog again???

From Coffee Table to Window Seat

2011-05-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

I have been looking for a chair or some sort of seating for my living room for nearly a year. I’ve seen a lot of things I like but none of them have fit into my budget. Several weeks ago I had a sudden urge to go to the local goodwill. There I found what was labeled as a “TV stand”. It looks like it could have been a coffee table. Either way the measurements were perfect to fit in under my window. The best part was the budget… $15.00!!!!

SOLD!

Thank goodness I have vision and thank goodness the hubby has learned to trust that vision.

Here’s the “window seat” before I got started. It’s sitting on a bench to raise it off the floor and make it easier to work on. The ends have some storage areas, which will help control the overflow of toys in the room. The doors were just awful looking with a deep grooved pattern and outdated handles.

You can see it’s pretty beat up in a couple spots.

Here are the doors after a good sanding.

I also lightly sanded the rest of it to help get it ready for some primer and paint.

The grooves on the door were fairly deep so I coated them with a little spackle to help fill them up and smooth out the door.

Here they are after priming and a coat of paint. You can still see where the grooves were. But that’s okay I had a plan….

I found some textured paper that matched the colors in my room. You can’t really see here but I crumpled the paper to give it a more aged look. Then I used decoupage to cover the door front with the paper.

Hubby helped me add some decorative molding to frame out the paper. You can also see here that after the decoupage dried I went over the raised areas of the paper with some sand paper to help with that “aged” look.

After all the molding and paint was done I covered the whole thing with some glaze tinted with brown paint.

Between coats of paint and glazing, I worked on finding a cushion for the top. I came across a body pillow that was close to the size I needed.

It just needed a slight alteration. I had to cut off a few inches and stitch the end closed again. The first row of pins will be the new end. The other row of pins was just to hold the stuffing back while I sewed up the end of the pillow.

This is the area where I needed seating and storage.

Looks much better now huh??

The seat was $15.00
The pillow was $10.00
The paper, molding and fabric to make the pillow cover all came in under $16.00. All the other supplies were things I already had from other projects.
So for around $41.00 I have a great custom piece of furniture that provides seating and toy storage.

Hmm, I wonder what I will do with the other things I found while thrift shopping????

New Arrival

2011-05-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

There has been a whirlwind here the past few days. The humans successfully pulled off a beautiful first holy communion and the critters have welcomed and baby bird into the world.

Friday evening we peeked in to get a glimpse of the little guy (or gal) working hard at entering the world.

By Saturday afternoon we saw a hungry little thing waiting for Mama to come in with something yummy (to birds anyway).

We think this Robin might be a new Mom. She laid three eggs this time around but it seems this guy is the only one to hatch. She may be a little more skittish or not know enough yet to keep them warmer. We usually have a robin nest somewhere in our yard each year and she will usually produce 2 to 3 rounds of babies and usually 3 babies each time. This Robin may be dealing with her first nest. We hope this birdie gets some feathers soon.

The next creature on the critter watch is still safely tucked away.

According to Hubby this is a praying mantis nest. They should start hatching towards the end of the month. I hope I can catch it on film.

New Neighbors...soon

2011-04-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

Spring is in full force.

Last night’s weather produced some really fierce winds. At times it sounded as if the roof might just peel back off the top of the house. I went out side today to check on the Mama Robin who has taken up residence in one of our pine trees. I thought for sure her nest would be gone.

Still here.

Although, I thought Hubby said there were three eggs??? Bad angle perhaps? I did kind of snap and run. I took the photo quickly so I could get away from her spot. I could hear her chirping away at me from a nearby tree. She was not too happy that I was poking around her space. Maybe next time I’ll focus better. Can’t wait to see the new babies.

Fabric Carrots

2011-04-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

I saw the fabric carrots here and here and decided I needed to make some for myself. They used Styrofoam as the base to build theirs but at $3.00 apiece I needed to find something a little more frugal.

I decided to make mine from empty toilet tissue and paper towel rolls. Free!!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Several cardboard rolls (T.P. paper towel, wrapping paper…)
Scissors
Masking tape
Old new paper
Fabric
Greens or something for the top

First I cut the tube down the middle then tapered them so I could form a cone shape.

Then tape them into the shape you like. I stuffed mine with newspaper to give a little more stability.

I had some leftover orange fabric from a window treatment I had made a few years ago. I tore that into pieces about 1 ½ to 2 inches wide and 8 to 10 inches long. Using a hot glue gun, I attached the fabric to the cardboard forms.

I bought one stem of greenery at the craft store for $1.50. That was the only expense for this project and it was enough to make 17 carrots.

Once the “carrot” was covered with fabric, I poked a hole in the top and glued in a piece of greens.

After the green part was in then I folded the rest of the fabric in and glued it down.

Don’t they look great on the pedestal plate my girlfriend gave me???? Just waiting for the Easter bunny. Don’t worry; I set some real ones out for him.

Have a wonderful Easter!!!

Postcard from "to do" land

2011-04-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick “hello” to everyone. I’ve been working like mad to get everything crossed off my list. I pulled out all the Easter decorations and made a few new ones. The forsythia has been set out. A bunny or two has been tucked here and there. I decoupage a few eggs and created a few fabric carrots. (I’ll tell you later how those carrots came to be). It really looks like spring has sprung all throughout my house.

I’ve also been prepping for the upcoming first communion. After checking the list, I see… the veil, earrings and rosary bracelet have been completed but you’ll have to wait for the next postcard to see/hear about those. I hope all is well, I’ll check back in with you soon. Happy Spring!

Letter to my blog

2011-03-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog,

I know I have not been doing the best job of keeping up with you lately. Not only have I been lax at making new posts, but also I have been neglectful of commenting on other blogs. I’m sorry to say it might just get worse before it gets better. It’s not for a lack of ideas or desire just very limited time right now.

I do have several blog posts that I’m planning but those projects need finished first. On top of the many projects I’m working on we have some planning to focus on with my big girl making her First Holy Communion in less that five weeks. I still need to steam the dress, finish making the veil and size her rosary bracelet. (There’s a blog post there just waiting to happen).

With that event comes the panic to finish household projects so things look good for all the subsequent guests attending her reception/party. Oh, yes, more blog posts waiting to get photographed and published. (Too many ideas in my head not enough time on my watch.)

All this while I also decorate and plan for the bunny's visit. (You bet, more blog posts there too)

I know there are other blog authors who are also busy so I’m not trying to sound like I’m making excuses, just maybe asking for a little leniency towards how often I get to you. Not that I don’t love you but I am spread a little thin. Miss you greatly and promising to check in as much as possible until my “to do” list clears up somewhat and I get back to more regular posts and comments.

Sincerely,

Rebecca

(owner of too many hats)

Are you sick of dinner?

2011-03-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

I’ve been really sick of dinner for some time now. I’m tired of eating the same old stuff and even more tired of cooking the same old stuff. It’s been more than just a rut. It’s been more like a total loss of desire. I’ve pulled out cookbooks and gone to the computer looking for inspiration but still feel bored. I’m not going to go too far out on a limb in the creativity area. I don’t have that the time with three kids to be overly fancy. I tend to avoid recipes that have a laundry list of ingredients. Short attention span maybe??? Besides, since I’m cooking for kids, I need to keep things fairly simple and recognizable for their sake. There’s nothing worse than cooking meal at the end of a long day and then sitting across the table from a wrinkled up nose.

One night, I made an off the cuff remark that the kids could plan dinner. I said it with the sentiment of a punishment in mind. I guess that’s how I’ve been feeling about the kitchen lately.

To my surprise I was met with excitement.
Huh?!
I quickly changed the tone of my voice and continued on with the thought as if it was some grand new scheme of mine. (I meant to do that the whole time).

So we started to talk about what things made a healthy meal. We discussed what the different food groups were and what things sounded like they would be good together. The girls (7 & 5) came up with a quick list of some of their favorite things and I pulled out paper and a pen. I had each of the girls come up with a plan for one dinner and they each picked a night that they would be the chef.

The next day I made a trip to the grocery store and that evening we started our cooking team. For two nights I had a little helper making dinner with me. We talked about cooking terms and how to time things to be finished at the same time. They were so interested in seasoning and how flavors came together. They were slightly intimidated with the stove and some of the sounds of food cooking at first. A little talk about safety and their confidence bloomed in front of me.

After the first week I thought I would continue as long as they showed an interest. I don’t want it to become something that they are not enjoying. Although it started as a threat or an intended punishment, I want them to be excited about cooking. It’s not like they have never helped before but now the planning and the scheduling of it has giving them so much more ownership. I can’t believe how they look forward to their night.

I new it was a hit when my second grader got off the bus and before she was half way up to the house she wanted to know who’s turn it was to cook that night. When I said it was her night the response was “YES” with a cute little dance move.

The change was more than I could have expected. We’re several weeks into it and they are still excited to cook and they are very complimentary of each other’s skills. Sometimes they like what the other has made so much that that becomes part of their choice for the following week. Sunday afternoons have turned into a planning meeting for the week to come as they pick their dishes and what day will be their turn in the kitchen. The best part for me is the special one on one time I get with them to do what was becoming mundane and tedious for me. Our little man (2 ½) has even gotten into the game. His job is to sprinkle cheese on our Friday night pizza and set the timer. He is thrilled with himself for being such a big boy and cooking like his sisters.

So what do you do to keep from getting boarded with your daily routines?
Do you have any fun ideas to make cooking more interesting?
What’s for dinner tonight?

Happy Irish...

2011-03-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

I’m not Irish but I’ve always loved St. Patrick’s Day. In my younger days it was just a fun “holiday” to drink beer and have Irish coffee all day. I could do without the corned beef or the cabbage but I do love anything potato so that was always a plus. Now I have an Irish husband. Well, He’s 7/8 Irish. We are sure to make a big deal about St. Patrick’s Day around here. Hubby’s grandfather was even born on St. Patrick’s Day so there is all kinds of celebrating going on. AND his name…is Patrick. Go figure. This year the old bird will turn 93.

Happy Birthday Pap paw!!!!

We do all sorts of things to get in the spirit. Last night we made chocolate covered pretzel rods for the kids to share at school (naturally they are green). Everyone will be decked out in his or her best green attire, the girls will have green fingernails and we’ll be making our rainbow cake today. I’m sure I’ll awake to a messy kitchen Thursday morning. That mischievous Leprechaun comes in through the night and turns things up side down! Last year he spilled “Lucky Charm” cereal all over the place.

I decorate as much for Saint Patrick’s Day as I do for any other holiday. Most of the house is coated is something green.

Here’s a new decoration I added to the collection this year.
I stated with a plate, chalkboard contact paper, a pattern of a clover and some leftover (post-Christmas discount) ribbon.

The image I found for the clover was fuzzy after being enlarged, so I had to trace around the edge to get a better image.

Then I cut it out and traced it onto the contact paper. Once I had the contact paper cut out I positioned the chalkboard clover on the plate. I used some hot glue to attach a piece of ribbon to the back of the plate and…

The kids love being able to change the message.

Have a fun and mischievous Saint Patrick’s Day!!!!

March is here!!!

2011-03-01T05:19:00.000-08:00

Last Year I decided to make a new door decoration for Valentine’s Day. I was in the midst of re-decorating EVERYTHING and my house was torn to pieces. It was hard then to get to little projects. I tucked the “leftovers” away and held onto the discarded grapevine hearts for a year. A few weeks ago, I pulled them out and turned them into something for Saint Patrick’s Day.

I cut all the red and pink ribbon off and then cut the hearts from each other. I reconfigured their arrangement and wired them back together. After Christmas I try to hit the discount bin for things I can use toward other holidays. I get all things red to use for Valentine’s day and everything green I can find to use for Saint Patrick’s day. I snagged a spool of this shinny green ribbon for 25 cents. It added a great splash of color to my new shamrock. I think it looks cute on my all season chair planter.

Happy March!!!!

Beach or Shore???

2011-02-22T06:55:00.000-08:00

Since we just got hit with yet another bout of the white stuff I thought it would be a good time to take a trip to the beach albeit a virtual trip.

I know I’ve mentioned it before but I have some really great friends. Several live close to me and I get to see them regularly. Others live some distance away. One of those friends is truly an amazing person. I love her dearly as a friend, role model and a priceless mentor.

This past summer, she offered us a week in her condo at the beach.

(The view from the patio)

This was our first weeklong vacation in about 6 years. That alone was a blessing. Then to stay in someone’s home for free was really really nice. Especially for the germ-a-phob in me. Knowing I was in a home that was only used by family helped me relax so much more.

This place was so inviting and very spacious. It’s in a private locked building in a more residential area. The beaches to the north and south are more public and touristy but this one was way more private. There was no through traffic and the restaurants and shops were all out on the main road into the beach. That meant only those living in the neighborhood were coming and going. That set the tone for a quiet relaxing week.

Here are some shots of the condo.

The girls stayed in this room. They loved having separate beds but being in the same room.

They had their own bathroom too.

We had a full sized kitchen and it was stocked with all the things you might need but not think to pack for vacation. Plus she told us to eat any/everything we could or wanted.
And not only that but when we got there she had a huge tray of her homemade baked Ziti waiting for us. What a gal!!!!

Here’s the dinning room. Plenty of elbowroom and the other half of the room was the perfect place for the kids to spread out all of their toys.

(Someone wants a cool-pop)

Nice cozy living room with the most comfortable denim furniture. There was a beach view out the front window or you could step out onto the patio for a better look.

A big 15 by 15 foot patio with a partial wall was a great place to set the kids out but keep them contained and safe. Sitting here after they were all tucked in for the night was a nice way to end the day too.

Here’s the sizeable master bedroom. We had plenty of space to set up the pack-n-play for little man’s bed.

Our bathroom was in here.

It gets even better. Not just a beautiful place to stay, we were right across the street from the beach and a 2-minute walk to Asbury Park’s boardwalk. Now, on top of this plus making us a meal for our first evening, she also had toys for all the kids, new buckets and shovels to take to the beach AND she had photos of my kids all around the room so they would “feel like they belonged”. Too sweet!!!!

(This was the best walk of my life!!!)

Aaahhh. I feel relaxed just thinking about our trip to the beach or is it the shore???
I’m still not sure?

What I do know is that we have wonderful memories of a fun family vacation.

(The most fun by far on a bike ride!)

(I had to have a soft-shell sandwich while we were there)

(My little man went exploring)

The best way to start your day....

Shirt + Bleach = New Design

2011-02-14T06:44:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

I made that pink shirt for Valentine’s Day and here’s the one I made for St. Patrick’s Day. (I was busy last week)

I was watch some DIY show a few years ago and this guy was spraying bleach on some jeans to give them a aged faded look. In the back of my head I thought “Someday I’ll do that trick but not on jeans.” Last year I tried it on a few shirts for other people and more recently I’ve made a few for myself.

You need:
A T-shirt (pre-wash before you do your project)
Something to use as your stencil. (Paper, stickers, contact paper…)
A spray bottle of bleach
A large piece of cardboard covered with a plastic bag
A bucket of soapy water
A well-ventilated workspace

It works best on cotton fabric and something that is solid, not having a pattern already. Then anything goes for your design. It can be something abstract, a shape or letters. Originally I made some with initials. I cut out paper letters in different fonts and sizes then scattered them over the front of the shirt.

The more I make the more creative I get and I’m also learning new tricks along the way to make the process easier. I have discovered that the shirt comes out better if the pattern is stuck to the shirt for the bleach process. I started to cut my patterns out of contact paper.

You can draw out whatever shapes you want and then the contact paper works like a sticker to adhere to the shirt temporarily. If your lucky you can save yourself a few steps by finding the shape you want already made. You can use a sticker or a simple paper decoration.

If you can find a paper cutout of the shape or logo you want, use a glue stick to adhere it to your shirt. The paper only needs to sit still for a few minutes and then the glue can be washed off in the washing machine.

Don’t forget you can use Google images to find all sorts of shapes and logos if you need to make your own pattern. Then you can copy and paste it into a word document and alter the size to suit your needs. I made these shirts for the kids and me. Their logo needed to be a little smaller to fit their shirt. You can see in the picture that the smaller shirt folded over on itself when I pulled it off the cardboard to put it in the bucket. Those few seconds were enough to leave a mark. I can hardly notice when she has it on but I did learn to blot the bleach from the contact paper or pattern before I move it to the bucket. You can also see in the photo how different shirts react differently to the bleach. I got my shirt at Wal-mart and the girls' at Target. My guess is that different manufactures use different dye. Just something to think about if you want to do several shirts for a team, family reunion or something like that.

From the bucket of water I go to the washing machine and toss the shirt in with a load of clothes. (The bleach is so diluted after the bucket of soapy water that it can go into any load of clothes without worry of fading other clothing.)

After the shirt is washed you can be finished or you can continue to decorate. Here’s the heart shirt after the bleach treatment.

Then I used some fabric paint and a stamp from my kid’s card making kit to add a few red hearts to the design. Squeeze a small amount of paint on a paper plate then I rolled it out with a brayer to get a level area to dab my stamp into. This helps to make sure you get a nice even coat of fabric paint on the stamp. A quick test on the paper towel and then a few stamps on the shirt.

Over the weekend I had the luxury of flipping through some magazines and I think I found yet another technique I can use to decorate some more T-shirts.

I can't wait to see how they come out!

iCandy

2011-02-08T06:21:00.001-08:00

Admittedly it’s time for me to post something a little lighter. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner I thought I would share the craft we made for the kiddos to take to school.
I found this cute printout on the Family Fun web site that looks like the menu for an iPod. You can even change the song or fill in your kid’s name as the song title.

You will need:

Several copies of the “i Pod” printable
Boxes of candy conversation hearts
A bag of kisses
White string or cord (I used lanyard cord)
Red or pink paper
Tape, scissors and a glue stick.

I cut the cord about 4 feet and taped a kiss to each end.
Then fold the cord in half and tape the fold to the side of the candy heat box.
Wrap the box in a strip of colored paper and tape.
Cut out the menu and control pad for the iPod and use a glue stick to attach them to the box of candy.

Each of my girls made 15 for their classmates and I made a few for a play group that my younger two had here at home. Each kid had custom songs that included their names in the titles so their “valentine” is already signed.

We sat around the table and made all of them in a day with several breaks to go play. The most fun is watching them hold the kisses up to their ears and dance to the pretend music.

To Tell the Truth???

2011-02-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

Do you tell the truth? I’ve read a few blogs that boast about how they are “keeping it real”. (Scoff). How real can it be when you are saying what you want people to know about you and taking the pictures and then editing them to suit you. We all do it. Who wants to show themselves in a bad light? Literally and metaphorically. (Why do you think my house is full of dimmer switches? Everyone looks good in low lighting).

There was a snippet on the news last week about how people are becoming depressed from reading their friends face book page. The theory is that you read a one or two sentence fragment from someone’s day. What you then do is interpret that as the other person’s reality. They post about making plans to go out for dinner or they post a picture from vacation and you suddenly feel inferior or that you have less or that your life is not as much fun as theirs is. Is that really a truthful representation of that person’s life? It’s one sentence from the day or the week. They have hand picked what they feel like sharing. Is it a clear “truthful” image?

What about face to face? Do you tell people you know when they have a bad haircut or when that style needs to go? It’s outdated. No one liked that style on Kate Gosselin and it’s time they tried something new. Or do you end up sounding like their mother? You know how a Mom will give you that backhanded compliment. “Honey you look nice, when are you getting your hair cut?” Which is where I get my theory on why so many people can’t take a compliment. You know, you say something nice and the other person doesn’t believe you. They think you are saying it just to be nice or make them feel good. They think you’re not being honest.

Do you speak up and let friends/family know when they are out of line? What if they are loosing perspective on the big picture? How long do you “ride the storm” before you put the cards on the table? Are we not raised to tell the truth? Isn’t there a certain price to pay for being honest? They say the truth hurts but who gets hurt? What are you willing to risk to be honest? Is the truth worth it? What if they are only hurting themselves? What if they are hurting you? Can you really get someone to understand you or your point of view?

What if you hold it in? Does that work? Who benefits from saying nothing?

Are you honest with yourself? I think there can be a fine line between one’s own reality and their denial. I’ve watched people blame others for problems in their own relationship. I’m sure you know someone who has said they are “fine” or “dealing with things”. They say they are just having fun, because on some level they know they are not being very smart. We have all been there where you loose sight of what is right or wrong because you think you are getting what you want. Are you happy in the end or did you just learn a hard lesson? Was it worth it?

Do you tell the truth? Always?

Funk

2011-02-01T07:18:00.000-08:00

I’ve been in such a funk these past few weeks. Bla. “Bla” is my new motto or so it would seem. I really don’t like being this way and I really want to shake it off. Not sure where this funk came from but I would like to send it back. It could be from starting the year out with a house full of sickies. The desperate need to sanitize, fumigate and generally de-germ the place is not the most fun way to use my time. Doing this and tending to others while also being sick…not so much fun either.

Maybe it’s from the weather. I’m not much of a winter kind of person. I don’t like the cold, the seldom seen sunshine and the sloppy wet mess that is everywhere within minutes of yet another snowfall. I’d love to hibernate, tucked safely in my bed for months if it were possible. Push comes to shove and I’ll go outside but I grumble all the while. I’ll go out and shovel only because it bugs me to have snow on my drive or walk ways. My job when the kids want to sled is to make sure the hot chocolate is ready when they come back inside. I went skiing once and the best part of that was watching the skiers come down the hill while I was sitting next to the fireplace in the lounge with an Irish coffee in hand.

Not even food has been able to make me happy. I usually turn to a pan of brownies for a little pick-me-up but now they are just “ok”. See. Bla. I’ve been to know to survive for days eating only Doritos. I can easily go through a bag in two sittings (ok… one) if my mood is low enough. Now, I’m just not interested. Oh, I’m still eating them, just not feeling any pep in my step yet.

I’ve got projects to distract me from the bla. I’ve made my list of goals but can’t find a place to start. Last year I was soooo ready to get things under way that I had supplies set up and first thing January 2nd I started on the total makeover project. Maybe it was overestimating what would be done in a year and not reaching that goal that is keeping back now???? Maybe it’s having so many projects that I want to start that I just can’t choose where to begin. Maybe it’s the annual “freeze” on spending from the hubby that has me down? It happens every year about this time, after the holidays and before the tax refund. I usually shop to pick up my spirits and to make myself go out of the house. I am quit the frugal shopper and never spend excessively. Nonetheless there is a “hold” on funds. Bla.

Hmm, maybe it’s just a general burn out. I seem to be chasing my tail more often than not. You know, you spend all your time doing something but never cross the finish line. With all the towels, sheets and clothes for 5 people I am running up and down steps constantly doing laundry and putting things away yet the baskets seem to be in a perpetual state of overflow. Between loads of laundry I try to put upstairs stuff, upstairs and downstairs stuff, downstairs but it all magically reappears where it doesn’t belong. I can spend the better part of the day cleaning crumbs off the table, sweeping the floor, wiping off countertops and washing dishes/loading the dishwasher and when I turn around I see a messy kitchen. Always.

At the end of it all I’m in a funk and to top it off I’m mad at myself for being in a funk. I have no right. I should be so blissful for all my blessings. I should express my gratitude for my good life. I should be thanking my lucky starts that I have it as good as I do; others are not so lucky.

Go away funk and don’t come back!!!!

Good News, Bad News

2011-01-21T05:32:00.000-08:00

Good news…
I finally posted something.
Bad news…
It’s only the second post for the month of January. I think I’m breaking some bloggy law. That’s just sad. Really!? Only 2 for the month. Aw, come on.

Good news…
I’m starting to feel human again.
Bad news…
Still can’t call it a healthy house just yet, runny noses everywhere.

Good news…
I have my New Year goals organized.
Bad news…
Now I have to be accountable for my New Year goals.

Good news…
I’m really feeling my creative juices today.
Bad news…
Snowed in with the kids home means limited time to accomplish anything very creative.

Good news…
Snowed in with the kids home today.
Bad news…
My house is going to be a mess. Oh wait, there's nothing new there.

What’s your news????

Sluggish

2011-01-03T09:24:00.001-08:00

I’m feeling a little sluggish at getting back to the blogging thing. Ok, getting back to the daily life thing. I can say that all the Christmas décor has been cleaned up, packed and stacked away for the year. Not that I’m in a hurry or anything but it does help me to focus more on moving forward and getting ready for a new…everything. Month. Year. Goals.

Well, it sounds good in theory. I’m usually chomping at the bit to get my goals down on paper and organize my thoughts on just how to tackle each one of them. Not so much right now. There are some goals floating around up there in that dusty thing that I use for a brain but I’m just not too sure about them. Some are way too unrealistic and I know I won’t achieve them and I’m all about obtainable goal making. So scratch those off the list of possibilities. There are some goals that might sound good in theory but the means to achieving them would ultimately cause more hardship than what it’s worth…or so it seems from my current perspective. I’m still taking a look at the goals from last year to see what went well and what still needs to be addressed so there are a few waiting in limbo while that all gets sorted out.

Maybe I just enjoyed the time off too much. Kids home, no time schedule to follow, Hubby home co-parenting going well = my life made easier. Maybe I just need to have more coffee. I can even use my new travel mug thanks to a dear friend who was worried about my issue with aspiration. Seems I can’t drink and drive, or walk or well, anything. Just can’t seem to drink at all from that old travel mug. Almost chocked just having my morning brew while setting up at a vendor show once. (Whoa, way off track. No wonder goals are an extra challenge this year).

Maybe I’ll be more goal oriented once I get January on the calendar and get back into a daily routine. I said maybe.

How about you??? Do you have your goals ready for 2011?? Are you ready for a new year or still stuck in vacation mode??

Cookies and Cocktails

2010-12-21T07:28:00.001-08:00

The cookie exchange was a hit! It was a ton of fun to say the least. There were some yummy appetizers and cookie themed cocktails to get things started. Then we played a fun game molding play-doh into the shape of various Christmas words while teams tried to guess. Which is even more fun than it sounds when you get a bunch of women together and give us a drink.

Here’s a look at the cookie table before we all started to divvy up the sweets.

Here’s the cookie tray I put together after I came home. I think it looks pretty nice. These are just a few of them. There are plenty more that are still wrapped up.

Here’s the cocktail menu from the party. You could have a Gingerbread Mantini, a Frosty or an Oatmeal Cookie.

You can see the “frosty” drink sitting there next to the menu.

I put the Gingerbread Mantini together the other night for hubby and me.

1 oz vodka
1 oz hazelnut liqueur
½ oz butterscotch schnapps
a splash of dark rum
fill glass w/ ginger ale (3-4 oz)
Garnish with a gingerbread man cookie

Cheers!

If I don't get back to blog-land, I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Holiday!!!

Trade ya some cookies

2010-12-17T05:08:00.001-08:00

It’s that time of year where kitchens are filled with the smell of baking cookies. Or so I hear. I didn’t grow up with the tradition of baking cookies for the holidays. I’ve never really been much a baker either. I’m sure my Uncle would love to tell you the story of the first time I tried to bake some cookies for him. Maybe that experience had something to do with me not really enjoying the task of baking.

Now that I’ve entered the land of Mommyville my kids are asking to bake cookies for Santa. I hear other Moms talking about the cookies they are making so I’m attempting to shift gears a bit. I have the supplies all lined up to do some special Santa baking this weekend. I’ll also be attending a cookie exchange.

It’s similar to the soup swap I did last winter. I’ve participated in a cookie exchange before and it’s really the best way to get a beautiful tray of cookies with out having to do all the work your self. Depends on how many people are in the exchange group. Usually 8 to 12 other people. So you pick one cookie to make and you bake enough of that one cookie recipe so that each person gets 10 to 12 of those cookies. The others in the exchange all do the same with different recipes. After you all trade off you end up with several dozen cookies all yummy and looking so festive on your holiday table.

When I first mentioned the cookie exchange to my Canadian friend Mary, she fired back an e-mail with tons of great recipes. (Thanks girly!) I’ll be trying some of those with the kiddos. Another friend (knowing my lack of confidence in this area) also made a recipe suggestion. (Thanks Nancy!)

This year I made thumbprints. Raspberry with white chocolate drizzled on top.

I think they look pretty good, I hope they taste good too. Now if I can just get my Christmas cards in the mail I might start to feel accomplished.

What do you do to get ready for the season?

Lost but not Forgotten

2010-12-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything. I don’t want you to think I’ve forgotten you or how to create a blog post. As many of us do this time of year I have gotten caught up in the day-to-day and trying to get it all done.

I finally pulled out all my favorite decorations and it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas around here. I promise not to take so long in getting my next blog post up and in the mean time I’m going to try and check in with you all and leave a comment or two.

I hope you are all doing well. Keep the holiday madness/stress to a minimum.
‘tis the season.

Grateful

2010-11-24T07:26:00.001-08:00

First off I want to thank everyone for your kind words and your jewelry orders during this year’s open house. Greatly appreciated!!!

I also want to thank you for visiting this blog, leaving your comments and building our virtual world friendships. I have fun writing this blog and reading your feedback. It’s been fun getting to know some of you.

I wan t to wish you all a safe and very Happy Thanksgiving.

Here’s to you…

It’s a Pumpkin Martini.

I started searching for recepies weeks ago but couldn’t come up with one I liked. There are several out there and they’re all just a little different. Some call for cream other say rum. Most all of them say vodka but they want you to use pumpkin flavored vodka or to get pumpkin syrup. Both are very hard to find. I even stopped at Starbuck’s to see if they would sell me some Pumpkin syrup. They have it for their drinks but that is one flavor they don’t sell. (What???) Ok whatever.

Here’s what I came up with and it seems to be pretty good. (Hubby and I had one last night)

While you get your ingredients, chill your glass with some ice water.

2 oz vodka
1 oz of Pumpkin flavored eggnog (or pumpkin pie coffee creamer)
t. Brown sugar
½ t. Pumpkin pie spice

Pour everything into a shaker.
Dump water out of glass. Dip your finger into some eggnog and run it around the rim of the glass. In a dish sprinkle some brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice and rim your glass. Shake the drink and pour it into you glass. Garnish with some nutmeg or a cinnamon stick.

Cheers!!!

Shopping for Jewelry

2010-11-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few pointers to think about when you are considering jewelry as a gift.

Once you’ve checked your list and you know whom you’re buying for think about what you may have seen that person wearing in the past. Don’t go too far off the beaten path. If you only see this person in tiny earring or basic colors this may not be the person who would love the extra long, bright orange, dangling earrings. Stay with colors you know they like and will wear as well as a style that is similar to what you have seen them in already.

Some women have their favorite pieces and that is what they wear on a daily basis. They might enjoy something like a zipper pull to add a splash of color to their jacket or purse.

Any jewelry makes a great gift all on it’s own or you could pair it with a top or sweater. If you are doing this you have two different directions you could go. One is to stay in the same color pallet. So if you are giving a beige sweater as a gift you could choose jewelry that is in the brown family.

Or you could go with jewelry that makes a statement. Turquoise earring with a white or brown top can be very eye-catching.

This green necklace looks good with same colored top...

...or it gives an added punch to this teal sweater.

Something with several colors can work with a variety of shirts….

This long multi colored necklace can be worn long or wrapped and worn as a double layer shorter necklace. See how it seems to change with different tops.

If you’re still at a loss I like these simple malachite earrings. They are a dark gray metallic color and will go nicely with any outfit. This is what I put on when I don’t have something to match what I’m wearing.

If you want to go with earring but can’t make up your mind

try the earring of the month club.

It’s a gift that keeps coming.

You can order 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.

I will send a different pair

of earrings to the recipient each month.

(E-mail me for prices)

Check out more ideas on my website or see the “open house” post.

Happy Shopping!!

OPEN HOUSE

2010-11-16T12:06:00.000-08:00

For the past several years I have hosted an Open House for my jewelry business. Last year I became very sick, stayed sick for some time and I needed to cancel my usual open house. This year I thought I would try an on-line Open House.

For the next several days, take a look around and browse for some holiday gifts or maybe get yourself something new for the season. You can look here or over at my website. There the showcase page will show you items that are in limited supply or one-of-a-kind. The catalog page shows items that you can custom order in the color/style of your choice. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

This post shows some of my new designs and some of my best sellers as well as my favorite items. I’ll be posting some other info this week to help you shop for your jewelry so check back. You can place an order via e-mail. Payments are made via Pay Pal with an invoice sent from you to my e-mail address. (rebecca.designs@hotmail.com).

In the mean time think about who might be on your list…
Mom, Grandma, Sister, brother’s girlfriend, teacher, babysitter, secret Santa at work, I even have a few gifts just for him. (I'll post those soon!)

Most of what you’ll see is made with supplies I keep on hand but some things may need to be ordered and a few things are special beads that I have a limited supply of so check the description for availability.

Remember I can make any change you like to whatever design you like...just ask.

Let me know if you need help shopping.

These book marks make a nice gift finished or I can also put them together as a Do-It-Yourself project with directions and photos. Great for the crafty person on your list.

I have eye glass necklaces in any color. I also make necklaces for ID badges.

Here's an example of a necklace and earring set. We can put together any style of necklace and/or earrings in the color(s) of your choice.

"Hoop Loops" are a fun way to jaze up your store bought hoop earrings. Order gold or silver and any bead colors.

Just a few of my earrings. There are other styles too.

Hmmm, what about a bracelet. Don't forget you're not limited to what you see, I'll make whatever you have in mind.

That should get you started. If you haven’t seen what you’re looking for pop on over to the website to see some more options. Check back here too for new additions as the days go by.

Happy Shopping!!!

Excuse me, is my crazy showing???

2010-11-12T06:04:00.001-08:00

I have a friend and she wanted to get a family pictures taken. Seemed like a good idea but did you ever notice that sometimes what seems simple can grow out of control???

So my friend, she has a girlfriend who is a photographer. Now I’ve seen these pictures and she’s really good. She just has a special knack. She’s a natural. So I can see why my friend really wanted this woman to take her family pictures.

Now these pictures are not the kind in a little room with a painted backdrop hanging behind you. They’re the kind where everyone is outside and there are real trees and grass and rocks and maybe a creek. The kinds of pictures that make you look like this beautiful playful family out being one with nature. You know where you get an image in your head then you have to start going through hoops to live up to that image.

(I know this is where it almost starts to get, hmm, just a little close to the edge).

Ok, back to the story of my friend. She needed clothes for her family of five. Something for herself, her husband and their three children. Now this would be simple but sometimes she’s got to go that extra step to be different. So there was no way she was going to put them all in white shirts and jeans or all in black. And nothing too matchy matchy either. Noooooo. They had to have a color scheme and one that would look good in her living room. Yep that’s right, couldn’t take picture of her family and then have them clash with the decorations. (See, there’s another step closer to going right over the edge). She wanted clothes that made them look like they all belonged together but that they didn’t all have the same shirt on in different sizes. (She did them in pastels one year and they looked like a bowl of sherbert so I know she wanted to do better this time).

After several trips and quite a few stores she found a color pallet that she really liked and that would look good on little girls, a toddler boy and a Mom and Dad. Now she was ready to schedule something with her friend the photographer. So a few e-mails to get some ideas tossed around and to pencil in a few possible dates. Then she got a phone call from her friend explaining that due to reasons beyond her control they would not be able to do this photo shoot for another 6 to 8 months.

(insert pout lip here)

After getting this news, she thought to go to her husband to process the information and consider their options. Should they throw in the towel or try to use another photographer?? She had these clothes that she liked and worked hard to find and was so worried that her husband would tell her to return them. Anyway she sent a quick e-mail to him at work to get his feedback and maybe a little “Awe honey, it’ll be ok” from him. However, in her haste, she sent it to the wrong e-mail address. Not just any address either. It went out on an e-mail loop…to 20 plus people…to her photographer friend…and ALL of their friends.

(GASP)

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

(“Idiot” hits self in head)

So a little damage control and she did her best to move on and forget about her stupidity.

So her dear sweet friend moved on past the blip and sent her a list of photographers that might be able to do the same thing for her. Hmm, ok. She looked at the different web sites to get a feel for each one; She picked her favorite from the list and then made a phone call. The one she called had just had a major computer malfunction and lost hundreds of photos. After a good 20 minutes on the phone and some female bonding and a few tears from the other photographer (still trying to absorb what she was dealing with) they said goodbye and my friend moved on.

Checking out a few other photographers but not feeling it she was getting so frustrated and disappointed and worried (she tends to obsess about things). So through another friend she found a photographer and scheduled a date for outdoor picture in a nearby park.

As the days passed she realized that the weather was not looking good. Now her obsession became the weather channel and the Internet radar. She watched the 10-day then the 5-day forecast like a 1950s Father pacing in a delivery waiting room.

Her husband was making (in his mind) attempts to calm her. He had the idea of bundling the kids up in their coats staging the photo area and pulling them out of the car quickly to get a few quick pictures then pushing them back into a warm car before they got too cold. Clearly he did not know what was going on in her head. A photo shoot does not work like that. She wanted a good hour or more of different areas of the park and various setting/poses. Casual shots not plastic smiles that make a feeble attempt to hide how cold everyone feels.

The morning of the photo shoot with an expected high of 45 degrees, she called the photographer and rescheduled. (Here comes the step that may have sent her over the edge) The day that the weather and the photographer could work was a weekday…at 2:00 in the afternoon. Not just nap time for the toddler but also one of her kids would need to be pulled out of school and her husband was going to have to take a half a day vacation to accommodate this new schedule. (Luckily for him he new this was not the time to get in her way or make any complaints) It wasn’t until afterwards that I think she started to see how crazy she was getting over this idea.

The day of, the weather was perfect! Her husband quietly grumbled while he unloaded all the props from their van. Oh yes, she had props. Some had been worked on months ago. There was a wagon, a wicker chair, three kid sized chairs, a blanket, some hats and two very large frames. You know, to hold up and stick your head through for a playful photo. She bought those frames in August for these pictures and spent hours scraping and sanding and painting them to get just the right look.

So now after months of planning, obsessing, praying for good weather, holding her breath that the kids would not fall down at school and get a scrap and a brief wrestling match with the toddler to get the marker out of hands so he didn’t end up with a pink mustache. (Can’t wait see if you’ll be able to see the pink dot by his ear)

After all that, now she waits to see the end result. I wonder if anyone will ever tell her how crazy she gets over little things. Does she know???? Will she ever get a grip???

Naaaaaa.

Time to move on...

2010-11-01T07:32:00.001-07:00

Flip the page on the calendar. It’s November. Time to get ready for Thanksgiving. As much as I love Halloween, I also hold a pretty soft spot in my heart for Thanksgiving.

It’s a no pressure holiday. You don’t need to buy a special outfit or get a gift that someone will only return or stick in a drawer to be forgotten. You come together with friends and family and share a meal. You spend time thinking about what is important to you and the things that you are grateful for.

Some good food. A little wine. A slice of pumpkin pie.

Better start getting ready.

The big spider has been taken down.

The little spiders have been chased away.

All the bones have been collected.

Jack-o-lanterns and sculls are accounted for.

No more haunted house. The ghosts will have to go away until next year.

It’s turkey time.

It’s time to pull on a sweater and heat up some cider.

It’s time to pull out the cookbooks and gather the recipe cards.

Can you smell all the yummy food??

Gobble gobble

Carving Party…Ready

2010-10-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

Things are coming together for the annual Pumpkin Carving Party.
A few nights ago I emptied out the recycle bin and the kids and I sat around the table making a can toss game.

We had so much fun talking and planning the festivities. With a few sheets of construction paper, a little creativity and the can game came to life.

Every year I put some orange light bulbs in the front porch lights to add to the mood. I pain them myself which is probably horrible and I’m sure they sell colored bulbs but I can’t let go of the DIY. I think they look like candy corn after they have been lit for a few hours. I just add another coat of paint each year.

The Pumpkins are ready and waiting.

I have tons of patterns to choose from.

The carving tools are sorted.

Lots of candles available for the group lighting

The slow cookers are on and I’ll be making a rice crispy spider soon.
The garage is getting cleaned out now and things are coming together.

I hope you all have a fun and safe Trick or Treat!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Fun

2010-10-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

I love it!!!
I love the fall to begin with then you toss in things like Halloween (dress up) and Thanksgiving (food) and what more could a girl want????

I’ve always loved Halloween. I’m not fond of being scared but I do like the dressing up thing and then the candy is just icing on the cake. You get to be whatever/whoever you want. You can let your alter ego out and no one thinks twice about how you look. This was always great for those of us with sub par self-confidence. I remember being out trick-or-treating and thinking about what kind of costume I would make for the following year as I went door to door.

Even now I like to get creative and express my inner gypsy. Or maybe it’ll be biker chick this year. Hmmm, could do the witch …or ????? Hmmm, what will it be????

Well, costume or not, I love to see all the kids running from house to house bags open wide. Their energy is palpable. This neighborhood is great for the event too. The local police and fire companies drive slowly thru the streets and flash their lights tossing candy out and waving to the kids.

In anticipation each year we host a pumpkin carving party. I think of it as one of the high lights to my year. The house is full of friends and the kiddos play and run and scream and giggle all evening long. Everyone is laughing, eating and having such a good time. It fills my house with joy.

At the end of the evening we line up pumpkins on the front steps for a photo shoot.
Here’s some from previous years.

What do you do for Halloween???

Flavored Popcorn

2010-10-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

I had an impromptu play date a week ago and needed some quick, fun snacks for the kids.
So why not let them “spice up” their popcorn?
This is also a fun thing to do for family movie night.

You can usually find most items already in your pantry.

Microwave popcorn
Paper bags
Spray butter (helps the flavor to stick)
Dry ranch or Italian dressing mix
Parmesan cheese
Packet of hot chocolate

After the popcorn is popped, pour it into paper bags for each flavor or for each person. Dump one flavor into each bag, close the bag and give it a good shake. (Kids love this part) You may need to use a little spray on butter to help the flavor stick to the popcorn. (I ran out of hot chocolate once and tried to use coco instead. If you need to do this, you must also add a little sugar)

If you like spicy, taco seasoning works good too.
Can you think of another way to flavor popcorn?
What do you like for a fun snack?

S'more this, S'more that...S'mortini

2010-10-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

I love S’mores and I don’t know too many people that don’t like them.
You can check out my frozen S’mores here. And now they even have S’more goldfish crackers.

I guess you can S’more just about anything.

This S’more post is for the over 21 crowd only.

A few weeks ago we had some friends over for the evening. While the men got the kiddos into their PJs, us Ladies sat out on the back patio for a nightcap.

I made us a couple of S’mortinis.

I like this drink in a chilled glass so while you’re getting your ingredients ready fill your glass with ice water and set it aside.

In a baggie crush up some graham crackers and dump them on a dish.
Dump the ice water out of your glass. Use your finger and a drop of chocolate syrup to make the rim of the glass sticky. Then press the rim of the glass into the graham crackers.

Drizzle some more chocolate syrup along the insides of the glass.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice pour…
2 oz chocolate liquor
2 oz vanilla vodka (or regular vodka and a few drops of vanilla extract)

Shake well and pour into glasses then garnish with a few marshmallows.

CHEERS!

Wow, Monday must not be going well for me if I’m starting the week with a cocktail.
I hope you’re having a good start to your week.

Ten-Minute Project

2010-10-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

It really did take just about ten minutes to make. Thank goodness too because that’s about all the time I had to work on something. It’s go, go, go over here. I keep thinking that I’ll have time to get bigger projects done or that I can sit down a put together a nice blog post. Funny thing about time, the more you think you’re going to get the less that you really end up with.

Anyway, in my continued effort to organize and to help increase the independence level of my girly girls, I made this hair clip organizer.

I had some extra wood tags in my craft drawer and some old ribbon. (The tags come in a sheet and you pop out the size and shape you want. They’re nice to add to special gifts or for little craft projects.)

I painted the tag and then added a decorative flower to the front.

With some hot glue I attached a strip of ribbon to the back of the tag.
I slipped a small ribbon through the hole to use as a hanger.

Since my sewing machine was already out for another project I just changed the thread color quick and stitched a hem on the bottom of the big ribbon to give it a more finished look.

Now all their fancy hair clips have a place of their own. The girls have been wearing their fancy hair clips a lot more now that they can see and find them so easily.

Yep, I made most of those hair clips too. They needed them for different outfits. What can I say, I love to accessorize.

This organizer hangs on the wall behind the bathroom door. It's low enough that the girls can reach their clips but high enough that little man can't reach.

Burns and First Aid

2010-09-27T05:50:00.000-07:00

Remember, I mentioned that we made a trip to the beach this summer? Well, along the way we stopped over to visit with the in-laws for a few days. It was a nice way to break the drive in half and the hubby got to see his folks and his three brothers. (I’ll post the beach trip soon)

One evening his youngest brother hosted a family gathering so we could all get together and catch up while the kiddos played. They have a huge back patio and it makes the perfect place to cook and eat outside. This night the menu had steamed crabs and corn on the cob among other things.

The crabs were being cooked outside in a propane-powered thing that looked something like those things people are deep frying turkeys in now. Once the crabs were done the plan was to clean out the vessel and cook the corn in the same contraption. First, the crabs were lifted out in basket and then the water needed dumped out. This is where things took a turn for the worst.

As he was pouring the water out in a back corner of the yard near the compost pile, the water hit a railroad tie and bounced off spilling over right into his boot.

Quick thinking hubby grabbed the bucket holding the soda bottles, drink boxes and half melted ice. By this time his brother had made his way over to the hose and was already running cold water over his burn. Unfortunate, when he removed his boot and his sock, a layer of skin pealed off as well.

It was horrible to witness. The panic and the feelings of helplessness were overwhelming. Thankfully, none of the kids were close enough to be in any danger. My sister-in-law took her hubby to the hospital for a quick clean up and bandaging then they were back home in time to enjoy a few crabs and some corn on the cob. (And a beer or two)

He suffered a second-degree burn on the top of his foot and ankle. Because of the position of the burn he need to take a few days off from work to keep from moving his foot. The first several days were the most painful but he is doing just fine now.

It was a fluke accident but isn’t that how these things usually go???

Below I have listed a few tips on recognizing the degree of a burn and some basic first aid. I hope you never need to use this info.

1st Degree burn:

The surface or outer most layer of skin is damaged but still intact

Most health care providers will do little to nothing for a first-degree burn. Run cold water immediately to easy the pain and then only time will heal. Some people like to use burn cream or the ointment from an aloe-vera plant.

2nd Degree

A second-degree burn means the damage has extended through the epidermis to the second layer of skin. Second-degree burns also are known as partial-thickness burns. There is a loss of skin function due to open skin
Blisters are the first sign of a second-degree burn. As the epidermis is destroyed, it begins to separate from the dermis. Fluid builds beneath it, causing blisters. Eventually, the blisters will spread into one another until the very thin epidermis falls away, exposing the raw dermis underneath.
Once the epidermis has separated from the raw dermis, the victim begins to lose fluid, heat, and the ability to block infection. The raw nerve cells of the dermis also mean second-degree burns are the most painful.

To treat, submerge the burned area in cold water (as cold as possible). Keep the cold water on the burn until medical help arrives. If the burns are minor, keep them in cold water for at least five minutes.
If the burns are extensive, you can apply a cool, wet cloth to the affected area—but only if the dressing is wrapped in plastic. Cloth tends to adhere to burns, and it can worsen the pain if a physician has to pull it off to treat the burn.
If the burns are minor, you can treat them in the same way you'd treat first-degree ones. You won't need medical help. Simply pat the area dry and place a loose sterile cloth over it and possible take something to reduce the pain.

3rd Degree

Here the burn has destroyed both the epidermis and dermis. The victim has the same trouble with fluid loss, heat loss, and infection that come with second-degree burns. Third-degree burns also cause nerve death, so the victim may not be able to feel anything in the area of the burn.

Check for swelling. First-degree burns cause only mild swelling, while second-degree burns produce moderate swelling. Third-degree burns cause severe swelling, and fourth-degree burns cause no swelling.
Assess level of pain. Both first- and second-degree burns cause pain. With third- and fourth-degree burns, pain is generally absent because nerve cells have been damaged.
Look for blisters. Second-degree burns produce them, while the other three classifications do not result in blistering.

4th Degree burs have total loss of skin Call 911!!!!!! Keep victim as calm as possible until help arrives.

Stay Safe!

Poached Pears and Good Friends

2010-09-20T05:41:00.000-07:00

What a weekend. It was go go go all weekend long around here. Friday night was the local October fest full of food, vendors, rides, music and BEER. Then Saturday stated early with my favorite, the Covered Bridge Festival.

After riding the rainbow train several times, walking back n forth checking out all the crafts and indulging on some fried pickles and a funnel cake we headed back home.

There was just enough time to mow the grass, hide the dust bunnies and put dinner together. One of my favorite things to do is spend time with other families. You get in some much-needed adult time, enjoy good food and listen to laughter fill the room. The kids run around like a bunch of wild banshees and giggle the whole night.

Aside from trying to recreate the whole evening in general I will be making the pears for dessert again. This was a new recipe and it was a hit!

6-8 pears
1 cup white wine
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
3 T. lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
3-4 whole dried cloves
¼ tsp. Ground nutmeg
8- 10 T. caramel sauce/dip

Peel pears, leaving whole with stem intact
Place upright in slow cooker
Combine wine, sugar, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
Pour over pears.
Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
Cool pears in liquid.
Transfer to serving dish and place 2 tsp of liquid in dish.
Drizzle warmed caramel sauce over pears and serve.

Share them with friends and they taste even better!!!

Back to school routine

2010-09-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

It always seems to take a few days/weeks to get into a routine again after summer vacation. I’m always looking for new ways to make things easier for all of us when it comes to getting ready and out the door on time. Last year I started using cubbies to help the kiddos find their clothes in the morning. That has proven to be very useful in reducing our morning stress. Nonetheless, I still need a little more help.

I find myself yelling every morning; “Are you done getting dressed?” “Did you brush your teeth yet?” “Hurry up and brush your hair!” Then it never fails that we are headed out the door and someone has to run back in to go potty or we’re at the bus stop and I realize that someone has a milk mustache.

So in the hope that I could reduce the amount of yelling I do and get all little people organize on time I made a chart.

I made a table in word and then used google images to give each item an icon. I taped the paper to an old cookie sheet. And I used yard sale stickers to color code some magnets for each of the girls. The trick is keeping little man from moving their magnets around. (Boy, that really bugs them).

The first day it was a novelty and they spent extra time running back-n-forth to move their magnets over but now it seems to be streamlining their routine and keeping them on task without my yelling. WooHoo!!!!

Got any other helpful hint I could use????

Undocumented language

2010-09-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

It’s a strange language that can be difficult to interpret. After years of working as a therapist I have an increased ability to understand almost anyone. I’ve worked with health care professionals from dozens of other countries some with very thick accents. I’ve had clients recovering from a variety of illnesses that have affected their speech and ability to speak. One thing I have prided myself on is being able to decipher what others are trying to communicate.

Vocabulary list:

Sam-bup
Poll up
Gis-scunk-sticks
Jew bob
Warroo
Pa panno
F_ck
Scoom

Where did this list a words come from you ask. These are the words first spoken in this house as one of my three little people made their first attempts at getting a point across.

Let’s review:

Sam-bup ~ Momma, sam bup and come get me. (Stand up)
Poll up ~ Can I have a poll up? (Lollypop)
Gis-scunk-sticks ~ This diaper is gis skunk stinks. (Disgusting)
Jew bob ~ Jew bob going potty. (Good job)
Warroo ~ Dada, warroo? (Where are you)?
Pa panno ~ Can I play with the pa panno? (Piano)
F_ck ~ I need a f_ck. (fork)
Scoom ~ I also need a scoom. (Spoon)

I’ve loved hearing these words over the years. At 7, 5 and 2 most words are pronounced clearer now and they keep getting better each day. I’m a little sad to hear the “baby” leaving from the vocabulary.

Labor Day tasks...DONE!

2010-09-08T12:09:00.001-07:00

A long weekend around here brings up the same conversation each time. Hubby wants to cook out on the grill and have friends over and I want to use the extra time to get stuff done. There is the ever growing “to do” list and long weekends seem to be the only time to make a real dent in them.

This past Labor Day was no different. Same conversation…same outcome. We get tons of stuff done (the more done the better mood I’m in) and then we cook out on the grill without having company over with the promise to have friends over soon. Funny, the same conversation and I always win. You'd think he'd learn????

After a few trips to the hardware store, we managed to get several little jobs done. Many of them have been on the “Honey do” list for some time and some of them were newly added after scoring big at the neighborhood yard sale.

Since we have been using our patio more and more I’ve been wanting to make it feel more like an outdoor "room". On one side I have curtains hanging that slide open and close as needed. To help give it a “wall” on the other side, I’ve wanted to hang some sheets of lattice up for privacy.

This first one made a huge difference already. Maybe I can get hubby to hang another one next month???

We put some landscape fabric and rocks down under the deck steps to hinder the weeds from filling that space. The rocks were from our wedding so it’s nice that I have a place for them now. Rather than in the bags tucked in a corner of the garage. (They were used to weigh down buckets from our centerpieces and I had to save them.)

Hubby replaced the support brackets for the curtain rod on the patio. The first set got bent during the last big wind.

Lots of painting got done...

Buckets from our wedding (Ok so it was 8 years ago. Maybe I have some packrat in me but I get it honestly. Grandma B would be so proud)

Anyway, I gave them a fresh new look and turned them into mood lighting for the evenings. (I painted 2 others that will be for plants)

I found this metal decoration weeks ago and liked the shape. I painted it to coordinate a, little better and hung it on the patio.

(I hit a few birdhouses with a coat of paint too but they still need a little more detail work before they are done.)

A few weeks ago I came across this chair at an antique/consignment store. It was in good shape except for the paint and it was on sale for $8.00.

I spent another $8.00 on fabric to make a slip cover for the cushion. I even had enough to make a back pillow too.

Last but not least, I painted not one but two chandeliers. Remember, the one was from my dining room and the other was just $1.00.

I pulled all the wire out and took apart anything that was electrical.

I disassembled everything, painted it all and then put it back together. Then I add some glass votives and tea lights.

This one is done and I plan to use it out in the yard on this Shepard’s hook during parties. In the mean time I’ll keep it under the deck on the patio until I get enough votives for the bigger one.

Look, it's blue.

It feels so good to cross so many things off the list. I wonder how long I can keep this going????

Yard Sale Finds

2010-09-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

Every year our neighborhood does a community yard sale. In the past I have set up tables and priced my treasured items and then stood outside for hours trying to make a deal with countless numbers of individuals. One year I had several of my friends come join me and bring their stuff along for the selling fun. (That really was the best year as far as fun goes.)

This year I closed the garage door, put on a baseball cap, tossed the little man into the stroller and off we went to make a deal from the other side of the table. After a few hours of walking and a trip back in the van for pick up, I came home very happy with my stash.

There is something for everyone.

A new (to us) movie for the girls to add to the 100 we already have.

Three chapter books (never opened) for the big second grader and a “learning to read” book for the Kindergartener for a total of $1.00.

Here’s an awesome “big boy” tool bench for the little man.

My little "butterfly" tripped over my (okay… Dada’s) tripod the last time I was taking jewelry pictures and she bent the one leg beyond repair. I had to return the one the kids got him for Father’s day since he didn’t really like the legs. So, how lucky was it to find one made better for much less money???? Now I can start taking jewelry pictures again and list more items on my website.

I scored this chandelier for just a $1.00. I have a plan to paint it and turn it into a candle light for the patio.

I was going to use this one that I took down out of our dinning room during the makeover (No, I didn’t forget and yes, I will post about that soon). Anyway, now I have a bigger one for more light and a second one to use somewhere else. Hmmm????

This coffee table was easy to get home. We carried it across the yard from next door. She made sure I had a plan to refinish it or paint it or something. (I always have a plan) I want to change the height (or length) of the legs to make it a little taller and use it for a kid’s table outside. It’ll be great for guests and parties. The table they have now fits about one and a half kids yet I have squished 3 around it.

Isn’t this a fine set of wood working tools? Ya never know when I might pick up a new hobby. I have tons of free time.

What would a long weekend be without a trip to the home improvement store? After collecting all our yard sale finds I had to get some paint and some wood to complete all my “plans”. I also persuaded Hubby to purchase several kid size chairs for the new table. They’re on sale…it’s a bargain… right? That’ll cover what I’m doing for the rest of this weekend and the next few blog posts.

So, do you yard sale? Are you a seller or a shopper??? What are you doing with your long weekend?

Who's your Daddy???

2010-09-03T07:20:00.000-07:00

During our journey to the beach a few weeks ago, we made a stop over at the in-law’s house. It not only allowed us to break up the drive but it gave us the opportunity to visit with Hubby’s side of the family. He has three brothers and a dozen nieces and nephews. (Not to mention his parents and his grandfather).

It’s a cute small town where almost everyone knows each other. People often take a double take at my husband. They know they know him but are a little confused as to which one he is at first.

This goes for my son as well. Now that he is two he knows who Daddy is but he really needs to take a good look at everyone when we first get there. The first hour or so of the visit he just stares at his Uncles. When he was younger he did get confused a few times.

That’s not Daddy holding him. I showed him the picture today and he said “That’s Daddy”. Poor kid…so confused.

Alone time

2010-08-31T12:54:00.000-07:00

During our trip to Oglebay I took advantage of some alone time to walk to the glass museum and tour the gardens. I think I found my new obsession for next spring summer. I know it’s early but my 2011 goal is to start building an “English garden”. I would be thrilled to share my yard with a few of these beautiful creatures.

Here’s a Tiger Swallowtail

This is a Silver Spotted Skipper

This one is called a Painted Lady

I stumbled on a few others but the photos didn’t all come out so great. Either way this next one is by far my favorite.

I’m still not certain of his name. He looks a lot like a Zebra Swallowtail or a Pale Swallowtail but the coloring is off some. I think he is fabulous whatever his name!

Now if I could just find that plant. I think I need to start my garden off with that flower, what do you think?

Back to blogging and Oglebay

2010-08-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

It’s been a crazy few weeks here sorry for the interruption. We had a long weekend trip away with Grandma, then home for four days. Just enough time to do laundry and repack for a vacation at the beach. Then we were gone for another 10 days. I came home to a mountain of laundry and just four days to get ready for school. The kiddos still had one more summer activity to attend and I had to shop for school shoes.

Now with one more little birdie out of the nest and off to Kindergarten and the big girl loving second grade I guess I need to get myself back to the blog (among other things). I’m still trying to adjust so be patient with me.

I’ll tell you about the beach trip soon. First let’s go back a few weeks to the resort weekend with Grandma (aka Mimi).

Mimi wanted to have a trip with the kids so after some thought we came up with a plan to go to a local resort. It’s not far from where we live and could be a day trip. Since the kids love the novelty of staying in a hotel and after the fun of our February trip we planned a stay at the lodge for a long weekend and made a mini vacation out of the trip.

We went to Oglebay in Wheeling WV for three nights. I had been there before but not since high school. Boy, things can change in a hundred years. It was the perfect place for a family getaway. Not too long in the car, which is good being that the kids start asking if we’re there 2 minutes into the drive. The whole place was full of kid and adult friendly fun. Never a dull moment.

The whole stay put me in mind of scenes from Dirty Dancing. It was picturesque from every angle and there were events and activities all day everyday. The 1700 acre estate turned resort has a spa, a golf course, driving range, tennis courts, riding stables, hiking trails, an indoor and an outdoor pool, mini golf, a playground, pedal boats, fishing, a mansion museum, a glass museum with glassblowing demos and workshops, and a zoo with a train. On top of all that they also plan daily activities in various locations throughout each day. They offer tiny tot book break for 5 and under, story hour for kids 5-9, art exploration, bird watching, butterfly watch, nature walks, culinary demo/workshop, tea time, wine tasting, a light show on the water fountain and an evening campfire complete with s’mores.

If you stay at the lodge most of the activities are free for the guests and they have a trolley to take you from place to place that runs through the park all day long. And you get to start your day with an amazing breakfast buffet. The rooms were small but had everything we needed. We did have to request a refrigerator but it was delivered in minutes and came to us already cold. The lodge was rather large but the way things are laid out and with so many trees around you really felt like you were in a small country estate. The lodge rooms open inside to the main hall to go to the event rooms, restaurants and the indoor pool. Each room also has it’s own door outside to a courtyard. This was great for the kids. I could open the door and they had so much extra space to run around while we got ready to go or had an evening cocktail on the patio.

Our fisrt day we started things off with the zoo. After checking out the meerkats and the reptiles we went to feed the goats.

Although that was exciting, we moved on to see what else was to encounter.

I have never seen a black swan before.

Yes, they were really that close. I did not need to zoom in for the photos.

There were planty of other animals too. Zebras and Otrich to name a few. After we walked through the zoo we decided to ride the train through for a second look.

Little man was thrilled to be on "Thomas".

The girls were happy to be sitting down.

The next day we hit a few of the other activities. I quickly decided to move the blonde up front with me so I could keep a better eye on her.

Note to self... Never give a long metal stick to a two year old. ALSO, never give a rock hard ball to a two year old.

While Mimi and the little man took a nap Dada took the girls fishing. My big girl caught her first fish like a pro.

My other cutie looks a little concerned with her catch. Nonetheless there were some perturbed fishermen that didn't get such nice trophies. (They did get the left over bait.)

On our last day we strolled the gardens and visited the mansion.

It was a very busy three days.

Thanks for the good time Mimi!!!!

Just a brief interruption

2010-08-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry I’ve been MIA from bloggy-land. I’d show you a few pictures of where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing but it took me three hours to find the camera today. Now I have no idea where the little thingy is that I put the memory card into so I can get my pictures to the computer. Not to mention that there is a mountain of laundry calling for me and oodles of unpacking and reorganizing to do. I promise that soon I will be re-grouped and there will be a real blog post. BTW… The beach was a blast!!!!
Back to posting and commenting soon!!

Where to go and what to do???

2010-08-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Summer time is generally when most people plan to take a vacation or an extended weekend trip away. Some like to do the beach thing and others prefer the mountains. So are you a sand and surf kind of person? Do you like the feel of sand between your toes? Does the smell of salt air make you want to jump on a boogie board and hit the waves? Is your idea of relaxation sitting in the sun, flipping through a trashy magazine?

Maybe you would much rather head for the hills. Do you want to be surrounded by trees and listen to the sound of trickling water cascading down the mountainside? Would you like to spend your time climbing over the rocky hills or meandering through the woods or chasing butterflies in the garden?

Maybe fishing or hunting is your game (pun intended). A shopping spree doesn’t sound too painful to me. There’s always Europe. If you like that sort of thing. I mean it’s just a bunch of old building and history. (Yes, that was sarcasm) Some people really enjoy the details of architecture form eras gone by. Some people find history fascinating believe it or not.

So what do you think? What is a good plan for a vacation? Are you a summer traveler or do you yearn to hit the slopes? Do you need to travel far from home? Or do you like to uncover the secret treasure in your own zip code.

I recently spent some time at a resort very close to where I live. Close enough that it could have been a day trip but for the fun of it we went and stayed for three nights. Every since the February adventure the kids have been asking and asking to spend the night in a hotel. It turned out to be the most fun filled, activity packed weekend I can remember having in a very long time. (I promise to dedicate a special post to tell the whole story soon).

Let’s get back to your thoughts for now. What is your idea of relaxation? Where is your dream vacation? Do you have special packing tips? Any helpful hints for the novice traveler???

Mommy's medicine cabinet on the go.

2010-08-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

Summer time and kids go hand-in-hand with the occasional “boo-boo”. Summer usually means you're on the go more too. With trips planed and kids unpredictable it gives me a little peace of mind to know I can make “all better” even if we’re not at home.

You know I love to save my wipe bins to organize and I’m sure you’ve seen more than one post about me using google images.

Surprisingly, I found an unused bin. After 2 minutes on the computer I had a first aid kit ready to go.

(Pull up Google, click images, then type in what you need. Right click on that image and “copy”. Then open a word document. Right click and “paste”. Print. Cut out. Tape. All set!)

I pulled my most used items out of the medicine cabinet and I’m ready for the traveling brush burn or other minor injury.

Oh don’t worry I have a bottle of wine to cure Mommy’s boo-boos.
What are your on-the-go tips????

What to do with Banana Peppers

2010-07-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

(First off sorry for the blogging delay. Lost my mojo for a few days. I know, no excuses. Geez, I'm not even on vacation yet. I hope to be back with the program now. Thanks for the kick in the pants blue violet!)

Back to the topic...

You may remember several weeks ago I had the weekend project of planting my spring flowers. Along with them I also planted a few banana pepper plants.

I’ve never done any gardening beyond herbs. This was my first adventure into a food item. I’m not sure what possessed me to buy pepper plants. I guess I needed something to fill the blank wall on the back of the house and couldn’t find the right flower. I didn’t want to try tomatoes since I’m not overly fond of them and I didn’t want a kitchen full of something that would go to waste.

Well, they grew a lot better than I anticipated.

Now what do I do with a kitchen full of peppers.

Let me just tell you there are not that many recipes for banana peppers. Most of them are variations on how to pickle them. I might end up doing that next but for starters, I went with stuffed peppers.

I found a recipe on cooks.com and then I changed it. I do that to recipes. …add a little more of things I like… omit things I don’t really care for ...Ta Da. New recipe. So here’s the recipe I ended up using.

1 small chopped tomato (I know, I said I’m not fond of them but I like to cook with them)
1 ½ cups cheddar cheese
½ lb. sweet sausage cooked
¼ lb. of cooked crumbled bacon
8-10 slices of un-cooked bacon
8 –10 banana peppers (hot or sweet)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the peppers length wise and clean out the seeds.

In a bowl mix together the cooked sausage, cooked bacon, tomato and cheese.

Stuff each pepper as full as possible then wrap with a slice of bacon and place in a baking dish.

Place the dish in the oven for 25-35 minutes or until bacon is cooked.

They were really yummy as an appetizer.

To use up the left overs the next morning, we made our version of an “Italian breakfast”. (It’s a dish that is served at a local restaurant that we make here at home occasionally). Take the leftover cooked (stuffed) peppers and slice. Toss the peppers and all their fillings into a skillet with some scrambled eggs and sauté. You can also add some pepperoni, green or red peppers and onion if you like. Top with some more cheese.

It looks like a mess but it sure is good!

Do you have any other ideas for banana peppers???

Hot or Cold???

2010-07-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

It’s no surprising announcement that I like my coffee. I like hot coffee, iced coffee, happy coffee just about any coffee. With that said, I’m not one of those “have to have it every day” kind of people. For me my coffee should be part of an experience. Even if it’s just the three minutes I give myself to sit down and sip a mug full. I can’t drink on the run and I really don’t enjoy having it while I’m busy trying to get other stuff done. I am completely incapable of drinking from a to go mug. Not the kind that you get at the drive thru with the little hole in the plastic lid. I can handle that. It’s the nice travel mugs you fill up at home and take with you. Nope. I either spill it on myself or somehow aspirate and end up chocking. So fine, I’ll stick to my regular mug and sitting at home. My favorite coffee is the cup that comes with a good friend. Coffee is best as a social event.

When I’m cold, I like to curl up with a nice steamy cup-o-Joe. The warmth from the mug soaks into my hands and almost makes my whole body relax. When it’s hot out, I can find just as much relief from a nice iced coffee.

For the kid party the other day I had a huge pitcher of iced coffee made to give the Mommies a special treat.

Here are a few of my tricks for a refreshing iced coffee drink. Let’s say you want to end with a pot of 8-cups of coffee. Scoop a heaping 6 scoops of coffee into the filter but only pour about 5 or 6 cups of water in the coffee maker. Start the brew and wait a few minutes for the coffee maker to do it’s job. As soon as it’s done brewing take the pot off the hot plate and turn the coffee maker off. I open the lid to the pot and let the heat out. Slowly I will start to add ice to bring up the water level to the original desired amount (8-cups). Be careful not to add too fast you don’t want to crack the glass. If you rather, you can transfer the coffee into a plastic pitcher and add you ice there. Once I have the water level up I add some creamer. I like the flavored creamer. The cold creamer will help to chill your drink off a little faster too. I always add more creamer to iced coffee than I would add to hot. You might need to play around with amounts until you get the ratio that works for you tastes. Now pour into a glass filled with ice and enjoy.

If you have planned ahead you might be able to pour that drink over some coffee ice cubs.

The day before I made the iced coffee I took the leftover coffee from the morning pot and poured it into an ice cube tray. With coffee ice cubes I could make sure the coffee was really cold but didn’t have to worry about it become diluted.

I’m pretty sure everyone enjoyed their drink.

Hot or cold…what’s you favorite??
Do you have any ideas on how to jazz up a coffee drink?

Kid Party Survival

2010-07-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

It’s a crazy month when you have two kids having a birthday one week apart. For now things aren’t too bad. Little man just turned two so no need for the kid party just yet. Besides, being born so close to the fourth of July, He got a parade on his birthday. One week later his sister turned five.

With yet another older sister in the house “kid parties” are a familiar topic around here. Sometime they can discuss possible themes 6 months or more in advance of the actual birth month.

This year, the now five-year-old, picked; princess Fiona, Tinkerbell, mermaids… no, no wait…
M & M!!!!!
That’s right she wanted an M&M candy theme party. Ok by me!!!!

So let’s get started. Every kid party needs; some decorations, a craft, a few games, snacks, a treat or cake and goodie bags. Since my new addiction is making T-shirt dresses (even for their dolls) I had to make a dress for the birthday girl. Finding the fabric was not as easy as I thought it would be. The M&M fabric was discontinued in 1999. Aaaaagh!!

No worries. Through the magic of the internet, I was able to find some fabric and get it shipped to me 2 weeks before the party. It was green non-the-less, HER FAVORITE COLOR!!!!

With the kids off to camp for a few hours I was able to make the dress with only a two year old as a witness.

With the party girl decked out in her best M&M attire we needed to continue the theme for our guests. I found a font I liked and printed out a pattern then traced it on some felt. I used “tack it over and over” to make appliqués for each guest to wear on their shirts. (In the invite I asked that guests wear a shirt to represent their favorite M&M color).

With that out of the way I was ready to move on to the décor. Since a few of the guests had older sibling I needed to make it simple for the Moms so I thought we could have the festivities in the garage and let the older ones play in yard while the little ones partied in the garage. My brilliant friend likes to use tablecloths as a backdrop for her kid parties so taking a cue from her I covered the garage in bright colored tablecloths to set the scene for some M&M fun.

With some bright colored plastic plates and a several gift bags I was able to make it rain M&Ms in the garage. I glued a few plates together and cut out 60 some little “m”s and then glued them onto plates and gift bags

and suddenly we were in M&M land.

Now for the crafts and activities. Coloring pages were a little more difficult to come up with than I thought. You’d be surprised what comes up when you google “m”!!?!!?!! I like to use Google images and usually, I can find what I need, especially if I type in “outline” or “cartoon” after the word. Since I couldn’t find coloring pages for M&Ms I printed a few M&M images out then traced them onto blank paper with a sharpie and then made several copies.

I even personalized one of them to hold a card for the birthday girl. Coloring is a great activity to have the kiddos do while they wait for all the guests to arrive. It keeps them busy and quiet while you wait.

After coloring, we moved onto M&M bingo. In a word document I made a table and then copied and paste multiple images into each block to create a variety of cards for bingo play.

They weren’t the most aggressive bingo players I’ve ever seen but they did do a good job at marking off their cards.

I found some foam smiley face beads that I called “M&Ms” and the good little kiddos made their own M&M necklace for their craft project then we were off to the next game.

Instead of pin the tail on the donkey we played put the M&M back together. A few sheets of poster board and looking at an image of Ms. Green and I was able to create a suitable likeness.

Part of the fun for me was watching the face of my slightly OCD five year old as the blindfolded kids put Ms. Green together.

Needless-to-say she quickly repositioned her after the participants were finished placing their body parts where they thought they should go. (Poor kid; I should start her therapy now huh???)

After this fun it was time to move to the patio for some cup cake decorating. (I like to slide an activity in wherever I can. It eats up time and keeps the little hands busy) Rather than the traditional cake I opted for cupcakes and asked that they be plain so that the kiddos could decorate their own.

A few tubes of icing and a bowl or two of M&Ms and chocolate chips and they were good to go!!!!

I was actually surprised that they were almost more interested in decorating than eating. There were towers of icing and toppings.

Toss in a few drink boxes and it’s snack time. (I did have some trail mix earlier loaded up with what else but M&Ms??? And I had to have something special for the Mommies… some high-test iced coffee. I’ll post about that soon.)

All in all a great party. One word of advice, keep your checklist with you! Once everyone was gone I realized that I had more prizes to fill their goodie bags with. Oh well, passing them out will be an adventure for us to have in the next day or two. With the kid party done all I have to do is survive the Family party this weekend. Now, where is that bottle of wine?????

Stress Management!!! ?

2010-07-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Quick update:
My friend had her baby!!!!
The terrible two are in full force just as they should be.
I’m running around like a mad woman trying to organize things for my soon to be 5 year old to have her M&M candy party. (I’ll be sure to post all the details if I survive)

Did you ever notice how any given day can unexpectedly turn into a stressful heap of “Aaaaaaa, get me out of here!!!!”?

Stress is everywhere. Even good things can bring on a certain amount of stress like having a baby, getting married, starting anew job. Then there are the unforeseen things that just pop up like a flat tire, a broken coffee maker when you really need some caffeine or the Sunday driver that pulls out in front of you when you’re already running a little behind.

As a therapist, stress management was one of my treatment goals at least 80% of the time. If it wasn’t a treatment goal I made sure that the topic came into conversation on a regular basis. Even though stress is such a huge part of our day-to-day life and something that we know has a big impact on us when the chips are down, it is rarely ever handled in a healthy manner.

We yell, we hold it all in, we snip at innocent bystanders, we eat, we drink, and we loose sleep. Stress can build to the point of causing additional health issues.

On a good day most people will do at least a few things to take care of themselves. Let’s make a good choice for something healthy: choose fruit or veggies over that bag a chips, choose water over that soda, choose to take a walk rather than sitting in front of the TV stewing over whatever it is irritating you, choose to call a friend and vent. Getting it off your chest really does help. Sometimes it’s just the opportunity to hear it out loud or the feeling that someone else knows or even validates what you are feeling.

We can make good choices but we rarely do. Do something today to help ease your stress. Make it a habit and when things are raining down on you, you‘ll be better equipped.

Let’s start off today with something simple like deep breathing. The next time you need to “count to ten” you’ll know how to get the most out of your ten.

First off, correct your posture… head up, shoulders back. Inhale through your nose and take in as much air as you can. Fill your lungs. Your inhale should take a good 2 to 4 count. Pause for a second and then release. Exhale through your mouth nice and slowly. The exhale should take at least twice as long as the inhale. A good 4 to 8 count. Rest, and then take another breath. Be careful if you’re not used to this you could get light headed.

I’m going to periodically check in to remind you to decompress you stress. I’ll toss in a few other stress management techniques along the way and in the mean time you keep practicing your deep breathing.

Inhale...

Exhale...

Breathe...

Back to Blogging Soon

2010-07-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

It has been such a busy, busy holiday week/weekend. A play date one day, off to the local theater for a kid show of Cinderella the next, then to lunch with the wild kiddos. Check in with a friend to see if she’s had that baby yet….NO. Go to an outdoor concert to start the 4th festivities (on the 2nd) then to a friend’s house to run off some steam and get the little man covered in sand. Quick bath and catch some fireflies. Next day, up to serenade the “baby”. Little man is officially TWO! Let the terrible twos begin! Out the door for the best parade in the state, grand marshaled by our towns own Bobby Vinton!!! Tailgate there for a good 3 hours, home for a short nap (baby and Dad only) then off to a friends house for swimming, cook out, bon fire, more lightening bugs and fireworks!!!!!
Sleep hard and fast because we’re up early for church then a few chores while the big 2 year old naps then to a family picnic. Whew, got the girls off to art camp, time for mama to re-group and get ready for another busy week. Back to some real blogging soon, there are all kinds of topics floating around my head.

Proof that I'm nuts

2010-06-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me you’re probably thinking, “Huh, we didn’t need proof”. For those of you on the fence, let me gently push you over.

Remember the cute little T-shirt dresses I made the other day for my girlies???

Well, I just had to do it…

Oh yes.

I had left over ladybug fabric and leftover t-shirt fabric that I had cut from the bottom of the girl’s t-shirts.

I took one of their doll shirts and traced it as a pattern for the t-shirt part of the dress.

I inspected the doll shirt closely to see how it was put together and copied it as best I could.

Now, I have never made doll clothes before and doubt that I will again. If you sew, throw out all the rules when it comes to making doll clothes. Like don’t fold twice for a hem. Just fold once and stitch. Don’t even think about backstitching (Hitting the reverse button to “knot” the ends of your sewing line). Everything is way too tiny for those kinds of details. This must be where the saying “held together by a thread and prayer” came from.

I also changed how I attached the skirt part. For the doll dress I left the ladybug fabric open until after it was attached to the shirt. I also ironed in a few pleats before I pinned things together.

Once it was together, I stitched up the back part way and put a hem in the rest with a few Velcro closures. Vola!
Did you notice their stylish footwear??? If the dresses weren’t enough I made SHOES!?!

When I presented the dolls all dressed in their new attire my darling daughter inquired… “Are you making shoes too Mama?” “Santa made some shoes out of fabric and cardboard.”

(Thinking to self; Ok, how hard could it be…Santa does it.)

So I scrounged up some felt, craft foam and the ribbon. Pulled out my trusty glues anything glue and went to work.

Ta DA!!!!

What I didn’t think about was that Santa has Elves

I will NEVER

NEVER

NEVER EVER make doll shoes again.

But boy, the look on their face was worth it!!!!!!!
I am Mommy… I can do ANYTHING (For about 10 minutes then they’ll think something different I’m sure).

T-shirt Dress

2010-06-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

I’ve seen cute T-shirt dresses on other blogs and in Esty stores and I always wanted to try making one myself. The impulse finally hit me at the right time and I bit the bullet. My girls and I went together to pick out some cute fabric that would coordinate but not be too matchy-matchy.

I had already picked up a few T-shirts on clearance and now with the fabric in hand I was ready to go.

I roughly measured my daughter from mid torso to knee for the length. Using another dress from her closet I guesstimated the width to be about 1 and a half yards to 4 feet. Once I cut the fabric I ironed the selvage edge to make a hem.

Then fold the fabric with the right sides facing in and stitch the edge to make a tube. After that I trimmed to about ¼ inch from that edge and ran it back through my machine using a zigzag stitch to keep the edges from fraying.

Now for the shirt part…measure about 4 inches down from the bottom of the sleeve and cut straight across the t-shirt.

Then I pined the fabric to the shirt, randomly placing folds or pleats to gather the fabric around the waist (an empire waist).

Here are the finished dresses.

I had some matching ribbon and I found ladybug buttons that I used to embellish the top of the shirt. The two dresses (including the time spent sewing the first one together wrong, ripping it out and sewing it again) took my around 90 minutes.

Not too shabby??? I wish I had done this before the way my girls love to wear dresses.

Fun day for Dad

2010-06-20T18:40:00.001-07:00

To celebrate Father’s Day we gave our Dada a “Daddy pick day”. He got to pick what HE wanted to do for fun and we all went along to enjoy our time together. His first choice was to go into the city and hit the strip district.

Hold on a minute there cowboy….

Get your mind out of the gutter. The strip district has nothing to do with nudity. The Pittsburgh Strip District is a section of the city where all the freshest foods are delivered to warehouses and market places. It’s about a mile long section of road that is peppered with ethnic markets, fresh seafood markets, fresh flowers, amazing restaurants full of character, and industries turned nightclub.

If your looking for something this is the place to find it. Here is a listing of all the businesses you can find there. For someone who loves to people watching I couldn’t have been happier to go for a stroll in this populated part of town and then for the hubby who loves food and cooking he was in hog heaven.

It’s not odd at all to walk past someone set up with a grill right on the street cooking an on-the-go snack for you. The smells are all encompassing from the fresh bread baking to the coffee house to the fresh ground spices to the competing grill masters offering up Asian to Mexican to anything in-between.

After parking we strolled down one side of the street meandering through flea markets, street vendors and dodging in and out of the most interesting mom and pop shops. There was so much to see. The kids were intrigued by every little detail. I found some homemade soap that smelled good enough to eat.

She was set up with a small table on one of the corners but if you’re interested she sells them here too.

Shortly there after we made our way into Penzeys Spice Shop. It’s a fairly large store that sells nothing but spices. This is the place to kick your cooking up a notch. I entertained the kids at the coloring table in the back while the hubby got to go from bin to bin enjoying the various aromas. We left there with Curry, Cumin, Adobo and smoked paprika. I see some flavorful couscous in our near future. Next was a stop at Wholey’s Seafood market. It’s fun to just watch the skill of the men and women working there as they fillet the fish. In the back you can see large tanks of live fish and lobster. In the front of the store you can order up the special of the day or go over and watch your sushi being plated. My son was thrilled to watch the toy train run its track around the perimeter of the ceiling. It was getting close to lunchtime but we decided to continue walking and see what else we came across. From here we crossed the street and slowly worked our way back down the other side of the street.

We usually have brunch at Pamela’s Diner (they have the most amazing crepe style pancakes EVER!) but this time we opted for Asian… alfresco. We came upon a makeshift restaurant Hmmm, OK, so it was an empty lot between two buildings that had a truck up on blocks and then a particleboard counter around the one side. Next to that they had a tent and some plastic lawn chairs and a folding table. Did you ever notice that place like this sometimes have the best food??? We hit the jackpot! We got sesame chicken, chicken fried rice and a few spring rolls. Everyone was very pleased with the food and we gobbled it up like there was no tomorrow.

We even shared a few morsels with the overly friendly birds that came begging for a taste.

Then we strolled through The Pennsylvania Macaroni Co (est.1902). This is a must-stop place. They have a great deli and awesome breads. There was a table set up out front with fresh baked goods and so the kids got a black and white cookie. Mmmm, three happy (and quiet) kiddos. Right afterwards we popped into Stamoolis Brothers just a few doors down.

It’s a great deli and market specializing in cheeses and olives and other Greek favorites. They are always willing to talk with you about your choices and cut from the large wheels of cheese. With left there with some yummy cheeses, grape leaves and baklava.

Which we promptly broke into and munched just outside the door.

Before we found our way to the car I got to run inside a fabric store and then into a jewelry shop. As we drove out of town at 1:45, this was the line to get into Primanti Brothers Restaurant.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned them before but I don’t know in what post. Anyway they make these ginormous sandwiches. This is a must stop if you’re ever in the strip district. (Maybe we'll go there next time).

Back home the little man and the big Daddy took a nap while the girls and I watched a movie. After naps the kids had dinner while Daddy and I nibbled the cheeses and sipped some wine. Then we made a last minute decision to go to church this evening so the big Daddy could have his Father’s Day morning sleeping in and being leisure.

After the evening mass we hopped over to another local church for their annual festival. In a quick hour there, we won a few prizes, picked up a small bag of cookies and headed back home. The hubby and I sampled the espresso we bought earlier (with a little Sambvca) while we watched the kiddos catch lightening bugs.

What an awesome day. I think we all had as much fun as the big Daddy. I hope you had a good time Bubba.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-19T17:23:00.000-07:00

For everyone who is a Dad, Grandfather, Godfather, Soon-to-be Dada and the sweet, caring, loving Men who are “like a Dad” to so many, I wish you all a special Father’s Day weekend!!!!
Don't ever underestimate the influence that you might have in someone's life.

Craft for Dad

2010-06-16T10:43:00.000-07:00

Father’s Day is just around the corner. I have the kids make a T-shirt for their Dad every year. You can see last year’s shirt here. This year I thought I would step it up a notch and get just a little more creative.

What do ya think??? That’s a sun, a butterfly and a (foot) lobster in case you were wondering. Any ideas on what hand print designs I can do next year????

Do you have any Father’s Day traditions?

Yummy Summer Treat

2010-06-15T04:45:00.001-07:00

Here’s an idea for a cool, eat-on-the-go summer dessert. It’s a twist on the traditional S’more and you don’t need a campfire to make them. OK, so you do need a freezer.

Frozen S’mores

Graham Crackers
Chocolate Ice Cream
Marshmallow Fluff
Wax Paper

Tear out several sheets of wax paper and have them stacked up ready to use. Break your graham crackers into squares. Coat all pieces with marshmallow fluff. I used the backside of the spoon to scoop and spread the fluff. While you’re doing this prep work, have your ice cream sitting out to soften. Spoon out ice cream to fit on one square of cracker and top with another marshmallow coated cracker. Wrap each sandwich up in it’s own sheet of wax paper. Put the tidy little package back into the freezer for at least an hour. If you’re taking them with you pack them in a cooler with plenty of ice.

The kids loved them!
What’s your favorite summer treat???

Happy Flag Day

2010-06-14T03:48:00.001-07:00

We’re pretty patriotic around here. You might have noticed we were fairly decked out in flags for Memorial Day. I tear up when the star spangled banner plays. I guess it comes with the territory. I mean people around here set their chairs up at least a week before the 4th of July parade. (I’m not kidding…it’s at least a week in advance and you better not mess with someone’s chair).

Anyway, I thought I would go over some flag etiquette.

First off let me just review the meanings for each color.
Red: stands for courage
White: is the symbol of purity and innocence.
Blue: is the color of vigilance, perseverance and justice.

Flags should be displayed only from sunrise to sunset unless given a spotlight. Unless for some very special reason, a flag should NOT be displayed in a storm or rainy weather. In no case should it touch the ground. It should be raised briskly and lowered solemnly.

When hung from a pole, the blue field should be against the pole and always at the top. When hung vertically or horizontally against a wall the blue field should be to the left for the person viewing the flag.

When displayed in the middle of a street it should hang vertically and the blue field should point north (or east for a street that runs north and south).

When a flag passes during a parade, men and women not in uniform are to place their right hands over their heart.

To dispose of an old tattered flag you need to drop it off at the local post office. They should all have a flag drop box.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

Pesto Anyone?

2010-06-11T05:39:00.001-07:00

One of the things I planted during my weekend project was some basil. I love to use fresh herb for all my summer cooking. I usually have them on the back deck but with full sun all day it can be a challenge to keep them healthy. This year I thought I would try them on the front porch. They seem inviting and they can get a reprieve from the harsh sun there.

It didn’t take long for the tiny plant to fill out.

It was just calling my name and I know how good it is for the plant to get cut back so it grows in even fuller. So no time like the present for a little pesto.

2 cups packed Basil
2-3 Cloves Garlic (I use 1 or less)
1/3 cup Pine Nuts
½ cup Olive Oil
½ cup Ramano Cheese

In a food processor or blender add the pine nuts and the basil and pulse it a few times. Add a little garlic and start to stream in some olive oil while the processor is running. Check the texture; add in some cheese and maybe some more olive oil. Blend. Salt to taste and you’re done.

This is great over pasta, chicken, backed potato or I like it on slices of baguettes with a little mozzarella sprinkled on top.

What fun summer cooking do you enjoy?

Grand Re-opening!!!

2010-06-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

I’d like to announce the re-opening of my jewelry business. Well, I never really closed. I just shut down my old web site. I’ve been making jewelry all the while and now my new site is up and running!!!!

Not all of the search engines have indexed me yet but Google just picked me up and recently started listing me. I hope the others will find me soon.

To go with the new site I have a new name.
Rebecca Designs

This new site will be small and easier to navigate. I no longer have a shopping cart and all that means is that I will no longer accept credit cards. Payments will go through pay pal and orders will be placed via E-mail. Simple.

I still have several items sitting on my workbench that need to be photographed and I hope to add them soon. Since my almost 5-year old tripped and stumbled back onto my tripod, photos are slightly more challenging/time consuming. I didn’t want to wait any longer to show off my store but check back and see what I add in the weeks to come.

Please let me know what you think!

http://rebeccadesigns.mysite.com/

Happy Shopping.

Happy Memorial Day

2010-05-31T04:56:00.001-07:00

Thank you to all who have served

during war
and
in peacetime

to protect and preserve our land.

Welcoming Yard

2010-05-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well I finally wrapped up my “weekend project”. Funny how it took me more that a weekend?????? It seems most projects take me longer than I anticipate. That must be why I’m still painting the dinning room. Urg. That project was to be done by the beginning of May. Hmm, just a little off.

Anyway, I managed to get all my plants into the ground or their designated pots before I killed them.

We’ll start the tour on the back deck. It gets full sun all day so not too many meals are out here but we do watch the sunset as often as possible. I’m hopping that the colors of the flowers will entice some humming birds. We had two birds visit repeatedly a few summers ago but haven’t seen them in awhile.

Now down on the ground this is the back wall. It too gets full sun all day. I haven’t had anything planted here before but I got those trellis/arbor things on sale in the fall and wanted to try something here this year. Do think the trellis is big enough for those pepper plants??? Now if I can get hubby to “hide” his mower somewhere else.

I love the color combination I picked for the mailbox. I think the contrast is so eye catching. It makes me happy to pull in my driveway. I can’t wait until all the plants are full. Those colors are just going to pull people right in.

I put a planter around my light post too just like the one on the mailbox. These vinca vines are from last year. I can’t believe they came back so nice. I added the grapevine to the post just to give it a little interest. I used to plant a vine that grew up the post but couldn’t find them last year and since these guys came back on their own I figured I’d keep them even though they don’t grow as long or trail up the post as nicely.

I’ve wanted to put some sort of ground cover in this rock garden for years now but could never find the right plant to jump up and say, “buy me”. Last year I even gave up on pulling the weeds there and let them take over like a ground cover. (My father-in-law had a field day with that one). The weeds got pulled after that. This year I finally just grabbed something and I think it’s going to work well. We'll see how they fill in, I might go back and get another 6 pack. Now if I can just get around to that park bench. It needs a little love. A fresh coat of stain and maybe some paint and it’ll be good to go.

These are the steps that lead up to my front door. I think I have put a different flower in these pots ever year. These are Zinnia. So far I like them.

Here’s the front entrance. (I’m hiding this time). Ooops, my helper is driving into the shot.

This is the chair on the right of the door before I planted. (You can see how I made it here). We’ve been collecting pinecones at the bus stop over the winter. I like it much better with flowers planted.

This is the wash tin to the left of the door. I gave the ladder a fresh coat of whitewash. Basically just some watered down paint to brighten it up a bit. I also replaced the grapevine and the lights for new ones this year. I thought I would try my basil and parsley here this year. I usually put herbs on the back deck but it’s too sunny there and they don’t care for it much. Maybe I’ll have better luck here.

Pesto anyone???

Now at least the outside is ready to welcome guests. I just wish I could get the inside finished.
OK, I’m off to paint the dinning room…wish me luck.