Bath Time Stick Ups

This is an easy project for adults and kids to work on together. Make bath stick ups that will stick and remove easily to your shower tile.

You need:
Assorted scrapbook paper
Assorted large cookie cutters
Contact paper

Trace cookie cutters onto paper and cut out shapes. You can use the inside and outside of the cutter to vary sizes.
Lay a piece of contact paper on the table sticky side up. Place paper shape on top of contact paper. Place another sheet of contact paper over the shape, sticky side down.
Cut contact paper around shape, making sure to leave a space all around the shape so it will have a "good seal"
Lightly wet back of shape and stick to shower tile.

These are not quite as sticky as the ones you can buy but, they are something you and your child made together! And yes, the heart in the picture is stuck to my dryer door. We do not have a shower. We only have a bathtub in this old house.

Pastry Stand

This is an easy way to jazz up any pastry or cookie plate. All you need is a glass plate, candle stick holder, and E 600 glue. Just put a small amount of glue around the top of the candle stick holder and press center of plate into place. Make sure to let dry for an hour before moving. Let dry overnight before using. This can be completely washed by hand in dishwater. Do NOT put in dishwasher.

I think these stand cost me less than $2.00 apiece to make. Make sure to double check the tint of your glass. Some clear glass can have a blue or green cast to it.
This would make a very nice hostess gift.

Hooded Towel

I love using the hooded towels for the girls. The baby towels are too small and the other towels have an opening in the front that won't stay closed. I thought why not make one that looks like a bathing suit cover up. My lovely model was having a "3 year old moment" but her arms can stick out the sides without the towel coming off.

I would have to say that this project is for the more experienced sewer. This hooded towel cost me $8.50 to make using towels from Walmart.

I have included lots of photos (maybe too many) to help me try to explain how to make this.

You'll need:
1 bath towel
2 matching hand towels
Washable marker

1. Make a pattern for a hood. I used construction paper. Cut out pattern. Place pattern on towel and trace with washable marker. I put what will become the sides of my hood on the end of the towel. This way I didn't have to make bias tape b/c the towel has a finished edge. I also chose not to use the end of the towel that had the pattern lines on it, just save it for another project.









2. Cut out hoods. Be sure to flip the pattern the over on the other towel.
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3. Sew the hood right sides together at rounded edges









4. Fold your towel in half long ways; matching edges. Find center of towel (side to side) and mark with marker.









5. Take the hood and bring the sides (that would go around the face) to meet in the center at each side of the seam line.








6. Place hood seam line on the center mark on the towel. Measure from seam of hood to the left and mark this on towel. Repeat for other side of seam. Draw a line on the towel connecting these dots. Cut on line.>









7. Pin center hood seam to center of slit in towel. Sew right sides together.








8. At the front of the hood where the slit was can be turned under and stitched or it can be cut into a V shape and stitched.









I hope this is some what clear. I was taking pictures and making this pattern up as I went along. I would probably suggest to sew this towel with a serger. I just did it on my regular machine b/c I was too lazy to hook up my serger. I used a standard needle and thread. Nothing special.

Donation Bandannas

These are the bandannas I made for the "I Challenge You" challenge. I have made 30 so far in all 3 sizes. I plan on making just a few more doll size ones. I am hoping to get them delivered on Thursday. Thanks to all who participated! Your efforts will be appreciated!

A Bit of Rain

Sunday we got a little rain. (Over 6" in 2 hours)The rain came down so fast that there was not any time for it to soak into the ground. We haven't had any rain in a awhile so the ground was so hard. Many streets were flooded and several trees came down causing damage. We had just gotten back from the pool so Jaiden put her rain boots on and had some fun. The water had already receded when these photos were taken. The water was over her boots before we took the pictures.

Garlic & Herb Dipping Oil

A really great tasting dipping oil for a crusty bread. I used french baguette but tastes good with a focaccia. This will keep in the fridge for awhile.

1.5 qt canola oil
1 pt olive oil
1/4 c. dried rosemary
1/4 c. dried thyme
1/4 c. dried basil
2 T. dried parsley
1 T. garlic powder

Simmer oil, rosemary, thyme, and basil in a small saucepan for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain through cheesecloth in a large bowl. Discard herbs. Add parsley and garlic to oil and mix well.

I store it in the fridge in a mason canning jar and warm a small amount before eating.

Laundry Bag

Just in time for back to college; a laundry bag. This bag holds lots of clothes. It was very easy to make. I just sewed (double stitched)two pieces of 31 1/2" x 19 1/2" trigger together. I made a casing and inserted a drawstring. I used my T Shirt Factory software and made an iron on transfer. The transfer says, "The Laundry Mat. Your home away from home, away from home."

Cute Bookmarks for Kids

Yes, another Hobby Lobby and wood cut-out inspiration! I LOVE that store! I thought this would be a good alternative to paper bookmarks with the string tassels that usually get torn after the first use. I took a craft stick and painted it to match my wood cut-out. I then used E 600 glue to glue the cut-out to the stick. Instant bookmark for your favorite little one.

Cute Inexpensive Gift

I got these "create a mug" mugs at Hobby Lobby today on sale for $0.67. I thought I could do something much better than the cheap looking paper inserts. I measured the paper strip and printed my photos using that dimension. Then I inserted it into the cup. Next time I will use pretty scrap booking paper for the background and probably laminate the strip to better protect it. I think it turned out fairly cute and would make a good gift for grandpa or grandma.

Princess Jewelry/Trinket Box

This was inspired from Gifts that Say Wow. She put out a posting on "what to do with wood cut-outs". I had no idea! I have seen these and have always wondered what I could make. Jaiden and I went to Hobby Lobby today and walked down the aisles to see if I could figure out something to do. I saw plain wooden boxes and instantly thought Jewelry Box. I made this cute little box for $6.50. I think these would make a cute gift for a little girl for any occasion. Or, paint it blue and little boys could use it for their favorite rocks or coins.

Supplies:
1 hinged wooden box w/ latch
2 painted wooden cut-outs
1 pkg jewels
1 mirror
E 600 glue (a wonderful invention!)
piece of felt to cover bottom
spray paint ( I used Krylon "Ballet Slipper" gloss)

1. Sand box lightly if needed.
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2. Very carefully remove hinges and latch. Paint box desired color. ( it needed 2 coats) Glue mirror inside the lid when dry.


3. Cut felt to cover the inside bottom of the box and glue in place.

4. Glue wood cut-outs and jewels to box.

5. Replace hinges and latch.

Appalachian Jelly

Okay, stay with me on this one! I found this old Appalachian recipe for making jelly out of corn cobs. My first thought was yuck! I heard that it tasted like honey so I decided to give it a try. And, it does!! You would never know that corn cobs was used to make it. I call it Appalachian jelly and not corn cob jelly because I think it would keep people from trying it. The jelly tastes really good on biscuits and also as a marinade on meat.


Recipe:
12 corn cobs (corn removed)
4 c. water
4 c. sugar
1 pkg. pectin
yellow food coloring

1. Boil cobs with water for 20 minutes.
2. Remove cobs and wring out any liquid on cobs.
3. Bring water back up to rolling boil.
4. Add pectin and stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil again.
5. Add sugar and continue to stir.
6. Add about 7 to 10 drops of food coloring and bring to a rolling boil.
7. Boil for 3 minutes. Test a small amount in bowl to see if if gels.
8. Pour into canning jar and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.

As a note: Do not try to double batch; it will not turn out. Also, make sure to add the pectin then the sugar. Finally, it is a sweet jelly; cutting down the sugar will cause the jelly not to set. Yes, I am writing from experience! I had to go back and redo several batches.

Toddler Quilt in 5 Naps

If you sew I am sure you have heard of the Quilt in a Day, 24 Hours Quilts, or The Weekend Quilt. Well, with having kids I measure my time in "nap time". I do a lot of my sewing while the girls are resting so I can actually get things done. I was able to make this quilt in less than 5 nap times. That included set up and clean up time. This is a great project if you are just learning how to make a quilt. Finished Quilt measures approx. 36"x46".

You'll need:
1 yard print fabric
2- 1 yard pieces of coordinating fabric
1 1/2 yards of fleece interfacing (I like the interfacing for this but you could use batting)
1 1/2 yards of backing fabric (I used a sheet)
Quilt Binding (I used 5 strips of 2 1/2" Handmade Binding)

1. Cut material as follows:
Print: 4 strips 4 1/2" x 36"
Solid 1: 5 strips 3 1/2" x 36"
Solid 2: 5 strips 3 1/2" x 36"

2. Sew strips together in the following pattern: Solid 1, Solid 2, Print. After each piece is sewn to another press the seams to the darker fabric. Continue sewing and pressing until you have a completed quilt top.

3. Layer quilt. Place backing wrong side up on the floor. Place interfacing on top. Place quilt top right side up over interfacing. Pin the quilt together in several spots. Make sure to smooth the fabric out as you go.

4. Sew all layers together on seam lines using the quilt top as your guide.

5. Cut off any necessary fabric to make all ends of the quilt straight.

6. (Optional step) I like sew sew around the outside of the quilt to hold the outside edges in place. (I hate to use pins when I am attaching binding.)

7. Sandwich binding in between quilt and sew. I like to use the left side of my presser foot as my guide.


8. Stand back and admire you quilt!

You should have enough fabric left over to do a second one. I use a yard of each fabric so I don't have to measure the length of the strips, only the width. I think it saves a lot of time.

Latest Tomato Crop

I just got back in from Jaiden's garden and this is her collection of tomatoes for today. I will probably have just as many grape tomatoes tomorrow because there were a lot of them that were almost ready. The plants are so thick that I have to walk barefoot through it so I won't step on any tomatoes. I think I still stepped on a few but, don't tell Jaiden!

Corn, Corn & More Corn

Last Thursday night we went up to see my dad and ended up coming home with 35 dozen ears of corn!!! The corn filled up the back of our truck and Jaiden was excited to have her picture taken with all of this corn.


I ended up only keeping 6 dozen for myself. I went to Bed Bath, & Beyond and got the neatest, time saving tool. It takes corn off the cob so simple and easy! It was only $2.99 and well worth it! My grandmother didn't like it so she did it the old fashioned way, with a knife, and I think it took her twice as long.




I spent my whole day Saturday putting up corn. I really put my food sealer to the test! I ended up keeping 2 dozen on the cob, 2 dozen off the cob for fried corn, and I think we ate about 2 dozen. I even saved the cobs to make jelly. This was the best corn I have ever ate! I hope all of this hard work pays off!

Share the Joy and Pass the Bread

This is one of my latest ideas I have been working on. I am really big into family memories and being able to pass those memories onto my girls. I found a blank recipe book
that I had bought several years earlier and never got around to doing anything with it. My mom is the one who gave me the idea of how it use it when she game me a scrapbook of my grandmother's old recipes.
I am passing this book around to all of the women in my & Ryan's family and asking them to write down all of their favorite recipes in ink on the provided pages. After it goes all around I plan on copying all of the pages and creating a scrapbook with them. (I am going to keep the original for myself.) I thought this would be a great gift to my girls when they get married to have all of these treasured family recipes.
To the family that lives out of state I am going to mail the book to them with a letter explaining what I am trying to do. In the package I am going to include address labels and postage so the book can be passed along without it having to come back to me each time. So far the book has only been to 2 people so this might take awhile but, it will be worth it!

How to Make Bias Tape/Quilt Binding

I guess I am what you would call a "self taught seamstress". As mentioned before, my great grandmother died when I was 8, so I didn't have too many sewing lessons. No one else in my family sews, besides my sister (whom I taught), so it all has been trial and error. I have found this this to be the easiest way to make bias tape or quilt binding for most of my projects.

Depending on the "look" you are going for, will depend on how wide to cut your strips. I like to use 2 1/2" for baby quilts and 3"-4" for regular sizes. If I am making bias tape to use as a trim, I like to use 2".

To determine how many strips you'll need measure around all four sides of the quilt. Cut as many strips needed to make that length plus 1 extra.

Take the strips and form a right angle. Mark the diagonal and sew on this line. Refer to the picture to make sure to sew the correct diagonal.

Next you'll want to cut off the extra fabric, leaving about 1/4" after the seam.

Open strip up and press. Make sure to press seams to one side.

Bring the edges of the strip to meet in the middle and iron. I have found it is easiest to pin it to my ironing board and slightly pull on the strip as I am ironing.

Next, fold the strip in half and iron flat.

Sure, it's a lot more time consuming but, you get to pick what you really want and don't have to settle for the pre-made colors.