February 27, 2015

Funny Friday - February 2015


February Funny Friday

Today’s post is this month’s Funny Friday, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture. Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.


Funny Friday  150 X 150.jpg


Here’s today’s picture. It was submitted by Sanity Waiting to Happen     


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1. And she's climbing the stairway to heaven!!


2. Ceiling cat, is that you????


3. You know what they say about curiosity and the cat?? Well, Fluffy found out the hard way when she went to check out the strange noises in the attic.


4. Maybe they hid my treats up there this time???


5. NOW I remember where I hid the Christmas presents!



Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:

The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

Follow Me Home

Baking In A Tornado

Someone Else’s Genius

Confessions of a Part-Time Working Mom

The Momisodes

Sanity Waiting to Happen

Spatulas on Parade

Juicebox Confession

Cluttered Genius


People Don’t Eat Enough Fudge (That is the best blog name EVER!)



February 24, 2015

DIY St. Patrick's Day Door Hanger - No SEW!!!




I have something super easy for you right here! And for those of you that don't sew, don't worry, no sewing needed!!! Just grab your glue gun, tacky glue or fabric glue!!! 


I have been seeing those cute burlap door hangers all over the place. Owls, hearts, you name it, but I didn't want to pay a ton of money for them. That's when I decided to try it myself. SO glad I did!!!


WHAT I USED

1 1/2 yards of printed burlap
Green ribbon
Gold ribbon
Hot glue gun
Poly fill 
Paper bag to make the pattern



Step 1





I used a paper bag (think Kroger) and cut out a heart shape.


Step 2



Then I placed the heart on another paper bag and traced around it. 
If I did this again, I think I would move the top heart up a bit more just for more definition.

Anyway...

Then cut out your pattern.

Cut 2 pieces from the burlap.


Steps 3 and 4




With a wrong side up, hot glue around the edges and place the other piece to it. Make sure to leave an opening at the bottom.

After the hot glue is dry, stuff it with poly fill or scraps or whatever you like.


Step 5





Cut your ribbons to whatever length you like and glue one end inside the clover. 

Glue the opening closed.


Step 6



Hot glue the gold ribbon to the back.
Now if I had been thinking properly, I would have glued this to the inside of the darn thing. My mind rarely works properly...... 


ALL DONE!!!!!!!






Let me know what you think!!!!!

I think I might have to make some more of these burlap door hangers! ;) The possibilities are endless!!!

I will have another St Patrick's Day home decor post coming up soon! A table runner and table decor! :D

OH! Before I forget!! I finished the other Japanese Knot Bag!!!





I really like the way it turned out! :D And my customer can't wait to get them! YAY!!!!!


HAVE FUN CRAFTING!!!!!!!







February 23, 2015

Celebrate Women's History Month


March is Women's History Month! To help celebrate I will be posting learning resources for 4 women, twice a week, once on Mondays and again on Thursdays.

To help get things started here are some great resources that I already have put together.





Here is a list of the other women that I will making resource lists for:

Marie Curie
Amelia Earhart
Maria Tallchief 
Deborah Sampson
Valentina Tereshkova
Mary Cassatt
Dorothea Lange
Elizabeth Blackwell
Dian Fossey
Florence Nightingale
Clara Barton
Benazir Bhutto
Boadicea
Indira Gandhi
Sandra Day O'Connor
Shirley Temple
Liliuokalani
Eleanor Roosevelt
Wilma Mankiller
Sojourner Truth
Joan of Arc
Maya Angelou 
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
Catherine the Great
Sacagawea
Coretta Scott King
Josephine Baker
Hedy Lamarr
Lucille Ball
Anne Hutchinson 
Mother Teresa 
Elizabeth I

If you'd like to check out some more women to study try Women's History Month at Info Please.


HAVE FUN LEARNING!!!!




February 18, 2015

Fly on the Wall WEDNESDAY??? - February 2015





Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 14 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:


Baking in a Tornado
                    



If you're new to the Fly on the Wall posts, they are usually about funny little snippets that happen during the past month. But then sometimes people might forget to write those funny little snippets down. Then those people are probably not going to remember what those funny little snippets are. And forget asking the other people in the house. They aren't going to help you some people remember because those funny little snippets were about THEM!!

Here are some of the things I remembered. Then I'll show you some of the stuff we have been up to over the past month or so. 

The Crazy People That Live Here

Me
The Hubby
Jacob - 21 yr old son
Joshua - 19 yr old son
Deanna - 18 yr old daughter
Cailey - 10 yr old daughter
Colin - 7 yr old son
TJ - Jacob's best friend


******************************************
So, our power went out last Saturday night for about 10 hours. It was SOOOO cold!! The wind was awful!!
It was SOOO dark!!!! 
Here's what happened:

Joshua - Hey, Cloud, hiding in the guise of darkness. Oh, never mind. You're a hoodie.

So, Deanna has a flashlight but instead of using it she stumbles around in the dark kicking things and making a ton of noise.
Me - You could actually use that flashlight, y'know. Or are you TRYING to wake everyone up??

I put Deanna, Cailey and Colin in my bed (king sized) to keep them all warm. Cailey and Colin have been very sick and Deanna was starting to show symptoms. DH and I camped out in the living room. Around 4am, it was just too cold for me and I decided to see if I could sneak into the bed with them.
Apparently Deanna thought I was a blanket thief. 
I also grabbed Cailey's face a time or three while trying to get comfy. 

****************************************

TJ comes in the next morning, after the power is back on. 
I am whispering to him and telling him what happened.

TJ - Why are we whispering.
Me - Oh! Deanna is taking pictures of the cats.

Made perfect sense to me.

****************************************
Remember how I said Cailey and Colin have been very sick?
Cailey didn't realize that if you pass gas while you have a stomach bug, something other than gas just might shoot out. 
Thankfully she was already on the toilet.

Cailey tied her blanket around her head. She had tissues stuffed in the top part like a squirrel storing nuts. 
Deanna describes it like a magician pulling scarfs from his sleeve. 

******************************************

Deanna is playing a game with Colin but she keeps dying.
Colin to Joshua - Why can't she be smarter??

******************************************

Look what The Hubby got me for Valentine's Day!!


Isn't she beautiful??? A 1956 Singer And she WORKS!!! Perfectly!! I just need to figure out how to really use her. ;)

Here's my other vintage machine, a 1964 Kenmore. Unfortunately this one doesn't work but The Hubby only paid $20 for it.


******************************************

We went on a little field trip with one of our homeschool groups. We visited a local supermarket.

This was the highlight of the trip.


The kids even got to pet the lobster! Well, Cailey did. Colin wanted no part of it!!! LOL

******************************************

Before the kids got sick we managed to go to Home Depot for one of the kids' workshops.


We didn't get to go the one at Lowe's. They were both too sick. :(

******************************************





On a warmer day, we did painting on buffalo hides (paper bags) while we learned about the Plains Tribes.

******************************************



We made pictures of longhouses while learning about Woodlands Tribes.


******************************************


I found this really cool kit on clearance at Target and just had to grab it. 
They had so much fun with it!






******************************************





This was our first snow for 2015. Not much but they still had fun.


******************************************


Our first Easter candy of the year. Bunny faces! :D


******************************************

Cailey and Colin attended their first Valetine's Day party complete with Valentine's cards to pass out. As homeschoolers, this is one of the things we haven't done. 
Cailey chose Frozen cards while Colin had be print out Dr Who cards. ;)
They had tons of fun with their friends! But I forgot to take pictures. :/ I was too busy blabbing. Bad mommy!!

******************************************

Well, that's it for this month!!!

Don't forget to check out all the awesome blog posts!!








February 17, 2015

DIY Reversible Japanese Knot Bag



A few weeks ago a friend commissioned me to make her a couple of bags. She is a wonderfully talented crocheter and needed some bags to carry her projects in. 

This is the first bag I made for her, a large messenger bag. 
I completely meant to do a tutorial for it but I jumped in and started cutting and sewing before I remembered to take pictures! ARGH!! There goes my brain, again. :/

With the Japanese Knot Bag, I wanted a practice run before I made the real thing. That is what this one is.


WHAT I USED 

1 yard main fabric
1 yard contrasting fabric
Paper bag to draw out the pattern


This Japanese Knot Bag is bigger than most of the ones you will see that are already out there.


STEP 1


This is where I free handed the pattern. I went through a couple before I got the one I thought would work the best.
The ONLY thing I would change would be the length of the handles. I think it would hang much better if at least the shorter handle was 2 inches shorter. 


STEP 2


Cut 2 pieces from both fabrics.


STEP 3


With right sides together, pin and sew just where the red lines are.

Do this to both sets of pieces.


Trim the seam allowance down OR cut the curves. 
I just trimmed it down to nearly nothing. It makes the curves look SO MUCH nicer.

STEP 4 


Turn the lining right side out and slip it down into the main piece. 

Now, pin and sew where the red line is.

Trim the seam allowance down OR cut the in the curves.

STEP 5


Turn the bag right side out, pushing the lining down inside.

Fold the edges in on themselves and press. 

Pin and sew the handle edges closed.

Go back and top stitch the handles and the "neck" of the bag. If you like you can zigzag around the bottom curves of the handles. I did. I think it will make it sturdier. 



ALL DONE!!!

Now you have a reversible Japanese Knot Bag!!!!!

Hopefully I will get the real bag done before this post goes live. It's been crazy around here, as normal. C&C have been sick since the middle of last week!! Now the rest of us are starting to get it. I don't think we have enough bathrooms to accommodate that!!!! 


February 13, 2015

USE YOUR WORDS - February 2015 - Friday the 13th


 
 
Today’s post is a writing challenge. This is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.

I’m using: 
Mousepad ~ heart-shaped ~ beer ~ dating ~ touched ~ star gazing

They were submitted by: Confessions of a Part-Time Working Mom




This here's a story about Billy-Joe and Bobbie-Sue.

Nope. Wrong story.

Here's a little ditty about Jack and Diane.

Opps! Sorry! Wrong again!

THIS is the story of Jimmy and Sally. 
They had been dating for a couple of months when they decided to take a drive out to the country to do some star gazing and maybe drink a couple of beers. 
It wasn't long before they started to have a bit of car trouble. (Isn't that always the case?)
It was a dark and deserted road. (Naturally.)
It seemed as if they were the only people for miles and miles around. (They were wrong. Dead wrong.)
Jimmy and Sally tried their cell phones but unfortunately they were out of tower range. (Of course.)
Jimmy told Sally to stay in the car. He was going to walk to the little house they saw a few miles back and see if he could use the phone. (You know they shouldn't be splitting up, right??)
Sally tried to argue but in the end Jimmy trudged off into the dark. (Had to be that way.)
Jimmy had only been gone a few minutes when Sally heard an ear-piercing scream. (You had to see that coming.)
Sally jumped out of the car and starting running the direction Jimmy went. (Yep, they are always dumb in situations like this.)
She yelled Jimmy's name over and over again. No answer. (Well, duh!)
Sally had slowed down to a walk. She was walking close to the edge of the road when something touched her hand. (OOOH, wonder what that could be!)
Sally screamed and jumped! There on the side of the road was a heart-shaped mouse pad covered in blood. (Didn't see THAT one coming, did you??)
Sally walked closer to the edge of the road. 
What was that thing sticking out a bush?
It looks like a shoe! Jimmy's shoe!!!
That was the last thing Sally ever saw. She became the next victim of the Heart-Shaped Mouse Pad Killer!

Not bad for Friday the 13th. ;)

Links to the other “Use Your Words” posts:





February 10, 2015

Blog with Friends - Creative Cupids - King and Queen of Hearts Crowns



Welcome to this month's Blog with Friends post!! This month we are the Creative Cupids and will be bringing you tons of Valentine's Day fun!!





For my part, I will be showing you how to make these King and Queen of Hearts Crowns. Just because I used a sewing machine doesn't mean YOU have to. You can use a glue gun or fabric glue to achieve something similar. 

WHAT I USED

Sheets of felt in Valentine's Day colors
Iron on interfacing
Iron on stars
Plastic gems
Flower trim


STEP 1

Cut one piece of felt in half.



STEP 2



Sew the ends together.
Fold in half and sew a long seam.
Turn right side out.


STEP 3



Take a sheet of felt and cut the interfacing to fit. Iron on the interfacing.


STEP 4



Fold the piece in half and cut out 1 large heart.
Repeat until you have 2 large hearts with interfacing and 2 large hearts without interfacing.

Then cut 2 smaller hearts with interfacing and 2 smaller hearts without interfacing. 

In a different color, cut 4 hearts without interfacing. These will need to fit on top of 2 large hearts and 2 smaller hearts. 


STEP 5

Now, take your hearts and put 1 interfaced heart with one heart without interfacing, matching up the sizes.

Sew together with a close zigzag stitch.


STEP 6



Place the other color hears on top and zigzag stitch in to place.


STEP 7



Measure the long thin piece to fit your child's head.
Cut and sew the ends together.


STEP 8



Add embellishments to the hearts. 


STEP 9 




Glue the hearts to the band and add embellishments.

With the pink crown, I cut 1 large heart with interfacing and 1 without. Then I cut 2 smaller hearts with interfacing and 2 without. 

ALL DONE!!







Now! On to all the FABULOUS posts for this month's Blog with Friends!!!



Karen at Baking in a Tornado has a recipe for these SOOOO CUTE, SOOOO YUMMY, Hugs and Kisses Cookies






















Robin at Someone Else's Genius will show you how to make this GOOOOORGEOUS  Love Cage Captured Chaninmaille Bracelet 






Robin over at The Momisodes has a Love Poem for you. You definitely don't want to miss THAT!!!




Lydia from Cluttered Genius is going to show you how to Repurpose Wedding Petals. SOOOO pretty!!!!




Christy at Uplifting Families has some Sweet & Salty Valentine's Day Popcorn. YUM!!!


                  HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!