Remember My Rants?

Remember when I complained about not being able to do crafts for Relief Society activities? Well, last Saturday we did this:

Isn't that awesome? It's a 12 x12 inch plaque and cost about $18 to make. You could choose from several different temples (this is the Denver Temple). It was a huge hit as well- a lot of people signed up to do them, so we were all really happy with that!

Sew Not a Sewer!

What is it about being a stay-at-home mom that makes me think I should be able to do domestic things? I saw pictures of some really cute dresses my sister made for her daughters, and I thought "If she can do it, I can do it!" (No offense, Steph, but you work full time AND still had time to do that?!? I am way super impressed!)

So a lady from church was selling a bunch of patterns. I e-mailed her and told her I couldn't sew at all, but would like some easy skirts/dresses to try. She went through and found her easiest patterns- no zippers, no buttons.

Audra was super excited to pick out the fabric, and I whipped this up in about 3 hours. Not too bad, huh? Just don't look too closesly at the seams! And, I skipped about 5 steps, but did I really need to press the hem? I didn't think so.

Here is Audra, very much NOT excited to have her picture taken, obviously. She wanted me to turn the TV on and I wouldn't until I took her picture. This is what I get for not turning the TV on immediately.

I Am Awesome!

(This is for you Danielle- a FUN story about how great I am!)

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do,

or do without."

-Brigham Young

I really wish I could sew, but alas, I cannot. Of course, I have never really tried to learn, so that is probably why. Despite this hindrance, every once in awhile I get a crazy idea and run with it. (OK, I often get a crazy idea and run with it)

I had this beautiful skirt sitting in my closet waiting to go to Goodwill because it didn't quite fit right after having 2 babies.

Because of Audra's love of dresses, and her ability to wear through them at lightning speed, I decided to turn it into a dress. The seams and the zipper were already complete, I just had to shrink it down and add sleeves. Easy job, right? Here is how it turned out:It only took about an hour and I had great motivation: a cutie pie saying over and over, "Mommy makes me a pretty dress."

I will never throw an old skirt away again! Now on to the next project...

For Girls!

I promised my sister I would advertise her new business on my blog, and I am sure if you have daughters you won't be disappointed!

My sister makes bracelets and hair pieces for babies/toddlers/young girls, and they are absolutely darling- she has such a great talent! I have been trying to convince her to start selling them as a business for over a year, and she finally decided to take the plunge! You can visit her website here:

http://www.decremer.org/sandboxcreations/

or click on the link I put on to the right.

Here are just a couple of samples of her marvelous work:

I think her prices are incredibly reasonable as well- I looked at one boutique site and was shocked at how much they were charging, but Steph's prices are much nicer for the budget-conscience!

So if you have a little girl, you should check out her site!

Good Luck Steph!!!

Martha Stewart

Awhile ago I used an idea from a Martha Stewart magazine (what a homemaker I am!) and made grocery bags out of t-shirts, and I wanted to share the idea because they are awesome, free (if you are like me and have a million t-shirts sitting in your closet), totally eco-friendly, and I actually make money every time I use them! (Every store I go to gives a 6 cent discount for bags, and I usually bring 6 bags, so that's $0.36 a week, which works out to be $18.72 a year- go me!!!)

Step 1: Choose your t-shirts- smaller sizes work best because they don't seem to stretch as much and are therefore more durable.

Step 2: Cut out the sleeves and cut your neck whole bigger (sleeves are the handles, neck whole is the opening to put the goods in) (sorry the picture is sideways)

Step 3: Turn the t-shirt inside out and sew the bottom.


Simple as can be! And, you definitley make a statement when you go to the grocery store- all the check-out ladies know me as the bag lady now! But, when to buy a reusable bag costs anywhere from $2.00- $30.00, I think these bags are the best!!! Let me know if you decide to make some and how they turn out!


Then, on a completely different note, I wanted to throw this picture in- this is our backyard, and this bunny was chasing two squirrels- who knew the suburbs had such nature? There are often bunnies in our yard running around- I hope they don't try to get Audra!