Yes. Yes that is the best shot we could get of Campbell. Why do you ask?
Gratuitous Easter Clothes Picture
April 12, 2009 By 14 Comments
Lip Gloss
April 11, 2009 By 8 Comments
Whilst (love that word) we were tie dyeing eggs, Macy had a couple of friends over. They were B-O-R-E-D. Apparently grown women talking about childbirth and cutting up sweaty old dude neck ties does not equal the best time 8 and 9 year old girls have ever had. Heh. Who knew? Anyway, Macy has this book. There are directions in it for making lip gloss. The book went missing right about the time we started making the gloss, but it’s really simple. All you need is petroleum jelly and flavored drink mix (aka Kool Aid — you’ll probably want to use a pink or red flavor).
The directions say to empty the packet of drink mix into a bowl and then add water to make a paste. This will seriously take way way WAY less water than you think…like a couple of drops. Then you’re supposed to add petroleum jelly and stir it all up. If you do this, you will end up with a color that is not appropriate to be worn by anyone who is not a hooker. I would suggest that you put the petroleum jelly in another bowl and add the drink mix paste to it in VERY SMALL amounts until the desired color is achieved.
Put it into containers and you’re done! We found the containers at Dollar Tree (8 for $1) in the craft aisle.
Tie Dyed Eggs
April 10, 2009 By 5 Comments
New computer = no pictures
April 9, 2009 By 3 Comments
Freezer Jam
April 7, 2009 By 20 Comments
The project this weekend was freezer jam. I got 24 jars done Saturday night and another 6 jars done on Sunday. I discovered a new product…Ball’s No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin. I’ve made jam for years, but I’d always used regular pectin and just followed their freezer jam instructions. Never again. I’m hooked on the new stuff for sure. Why?
No boiling
No adding lemon juice
No 4 cups of sugar per batch (only 1.5 cups to 4 cups of fruit with this stuff)
No stirring for hours ’til all that sugar is dissolved
And, it’s cheaper
I got about 6 8oz containers per batch, even though the package says it yields 5.
I also found these. Love ‘em!
Breakfast of Champions
April 6, 2009 By 11 Comments
Macy has orchestra Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7:30, even when she’s off track. I think that’s cruel and unusual punishment. Thankfully, my fabulous neighbor Tara picks Macy up and I go back to bed. Don’t judge. My nearly 1 year old *just* started sleeping through the night last week. I’m TIRED.
When I finally rolled out of bed the other day, I found this:
Appliqued Tie Onesie Tutorial
March 23, 2009 By 238 Comments
Materials
- Baby bodysuit or tee
- Tie pattern (see link to pdf at end of this post)
- Fabric scrap for tie – you could get away with as little as 4″ X 8″ or 5″ X 6″ if you’re cutting the tail piece at an angle.
- Wonder Under, same sized as your fabric
- Thread
- Sewing machine or hand sewing needle
Fuse Wonder Under to wrong side of fabric using the directions on the product. (Already done in picture.)
Print tie pattern and cut out. It prints to scale for me, but for reference…the tail portion measures approximately 5.5″ from top to point and 3″ wide at the widest point and the knot portion measures about 2″ wide at the top and is 1 3/8″ tall in the center.
Trace both pieces onto Wonder Under paper backing. Depending on the print, you may want to rotate one piece 45 degrees (I did this in the example pictured).
Cut out. Remove paper backing.
Line the “knot” piece of the tie up with the neckline of the shirt and center it. I like to slide it under the neckline a tiny bit. You might want to just touch the top of the knot with your iron to keep it from moving but BE SURE not to iron down the bottom edge of the knot.
Slip the “tail” piece of the tie under the knot piece about 1/4″.
Fuse both pieces to the shirt.
In theory, you could stop now because Wonder Under is supposed to be washable. I never dare chance it, though I hear Alissa did once and she lived to tell about it. I sew a straight stitch around the tie, about 1/16″ from the edge, by machine to finish mine. You could zig zag, but I think the straight stitch looks neater. You could hand sew a backstitch as well (I sometimes do this with stuff with sharp turns but this tie is WAY easy to do by machine). Just make sure to keep the rest of the shirt all wadded up so you don’t catch it in your stitching.
If you want to be able to sew the outline in one shot — without stopping and starting or sewing the same line twice — you’ll need to pay close attention to this next part. Start on the left hand side where the knot meets the tail (green dot). Sew straight across the bottom of the knot (1/16″ from the edge of the knot piece, on the knot side so you’re sewing through both tie pieces). Turn and go up the right hand side of the knot then across the neckline edge. Come back down the left hand side of the knot. Pivot at your starting point and continue down the left hand side of the tail. Finish sewing around the edges of the tail. You’ll end on the right hand side where the knot meets the tail (purple dot).
Clear as mud? Leave any questions in the comments and I’ll clarify.
And here is a link to the pdf in Google Docs. I’m hoping that Mac users will be able to print it now.
***For personal use only. Make ‘em, gift ‘em, please don’t sell ‘em!***
Whilst I was away….
March 18, 2009 By 12 Comments
We went to Bear Lake for a while. Pre-emptive answer: No, it’s not particularly warm there this time of year. In fact, it snowed a little on Monday morning.
We baked lots of round loafs of bread, this variety and Irish Soda Bread.
We made 2 kinds of donuts.
My boys got $4 haircuts. BC’s was $5. He’s a big spender.
Keller learned how to tie his shoes.
I daydreamed about buying this house. Too bad BC doesn’t have a job in Logan.
We made Kit Kittredge another Helen Keller dress, as the old one is on loan. (Sidenote: Tricia, if you’re stalking this…you can keep the doll dress. It’s been replaced.)
We took naps.
We made a zipper pouch (similar to this) to hold Scrabble tiles. Seriously people, if you’re still turning them all upside down at the beginning of every game….STOP! Put them in a bag of some sort.
Campbell split his face open 3 times.
We watched American Idol.
We ate dessert every night.
We debated the difference between cherubs and cupids (the jury’s still out).
We made wallets out of juice cartons.
We put a baby on a Lazy Susan and spun him ’til his eyes went wacky.
We rode bears.
And now we’re home. We had a great week.
(The spacing on this is giving me fits. Stupid Blogger. It looks fine ’til I hit publish.)
