Crafty Family Blog

Valentine Topiary Tutorial

2012-02-11T16:09:00.001-05:00

As promised (a few posts ago) here is the tutorial on how to make a Valentine Topiary.

Materials You Will Need:

1 Foam Ball

1 Circle Foam Piece (for bottom of pot)

Metal Pail

2 packages Mini Muffin Cups

1 small dowel rod

1 stamp pad pink or red to match your pot OR acrylic paint

Decorative Gift Filler (white)

Hot Glue Gun

Valentine Candy Hearts with sayings

This is the piece that I used to put into the bottom of the pot. It came with the double stick square tape, just peel it and stick it on the bottom, then push it into the bottom of the pail.

Like so, I unwrapped the plastic first of course.

Unwrap your mini muffin cup and you can use these 2 ways. You can either put the color facing out or facing in. I did it both ways on mine to add interest.

Use the end of a new pencil that hasn't been sharpened yet, wrap as shown.

Then add hot glue to the bottom (DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!!!!)

Then push it into the foam ball. Keep doing this until you fill up the whole ball, be sure to insert your dowel rod onto the bottom of the ball, it helps to know where your bottom is. :-)

Put some stones in for weight! Stamp or paint your dowel rod. When it drys hot glue it into the bottom part and the ball part, hot glue will make it stronger.

Hot glue on the rod three heart sayings. Add the white decorative filler and sprinkle some hearts on top of it. You could also add ribbon to the dowel too. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

In the process of moving....

2012-02-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

My posts have slowed as I have been in the process of buying a new home and selling the current home. Packing up current home to move to new home. Inspectors, appraisers, mortgages, lawyers, and the like make up my life right now. And trying to clear out clutter that I do not want to pay to have moved to the new home.

Need a Good Read????

2012-01-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

Book Talk Time

January 2012:

~~The Hunger Games~~ ~~(Book Club Book)~~

Wicked Appetite (Had a head start on this in Dec.)

~~What Got You Here, Won't Get You There~~ ~~(Had a head start on this in Dec.)~~
How To Make Money Using Etsy

So as you can see I read The Hunger Games ~~(Book Club Book)~~ and LOVED it!!!! My book club had a GREAT discussion on this book, it sparked a lot of thought. I highly recommend it, there is a reason it has been on the best seller list for what seems like forever! What struck me about this book was that the author did a great job building the plot, characters and making it believeable. The believeable aspect was something I really liked about this book, since I prefer to read non-fiction. Wicked Appetite is still on my Kindle and for some reason I just haven't picked it back up. I reviewed What Got You Here, Won't Get You There and you can see my review here. I still want to read How To Make Money Using Etsy. I had it checked out but had to take it back to the library. I am going to start fresh in February and attempt my Feb. list. I'll update you again at the end of Feb. so you can see how I did.

I am looking forward to reading these in
February:

Keys To Success The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement

The Help (want to read because so many of my friends have said this is a great book!)

They Don't Teach Corporate In College

My book club has chosen The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean. This is a "What if all of Rochester read the same book?" book. The author is coming to town and our book club is registering to meet with her and to listen to her talk about the book.

(You can click on any of the above titles and you will be taken to Amazon.com where you can read more about each one.)

How To Throw an At Home Birthday Party

2012-01-24T17:05:00.000-05:00

I have been throwing "At Home Birthday Parties" for 6 years now. I am getting pretty good at it if I do say so myself. Many of my daughter's friends have had birthday parties NOT at their homes, they have had them at Bounce It Out, Bernie's Bouncers, The Little Gym and so on. When I called to price out these parties I would choke at the price. At least $200.00 dollars plus that usually does not include a cake, goody bags, pizza. So I choose to do it cheaper at my home. My daughter loves her at home birthday parties so much that this year I tried to talk her out of one to no avail! She was STEADFAST, "I want an at home party Mom!"
If you are going to throw a decent at home party you need to plan, plan, plan. I will tell you what has worked for me.
Here is a VERY successful schedule that we used I've made the mistake in the past of scheduling a 3 hour party, this is WAY too long. I've found that 1.5 hours is plenty.

11am - Arrival - have the children play with something, we were doing a Tinkering party (Tinker Bell) So we had set out the LEGOs and the marble building game out. The marble building was VERY popular! The kids arange different tubes for the marbles to go down.

11:15 - Game Time - We played Pass the Tink (which the kids absolutely LOVED, it surprised me as to how much they loved this game, we played it at least three times. When a child would get out they all laughed and giggled. Then we played Operator/Telephone - The birthday child thinks of a sentence to whisper in an ear and then each child passes the secret around the circle and when it gets back it is usually funny. I let the kids say it one of two times then they have to pass on what they hear.

11:30 - Lunch - We had pizza, Goldfish crackers and Tinkerbell gummies. Immediately following lunch I had the kids stay at the table, throw away their trash and we went right to the next activity.

11:45 - Craft - Since I had ten kids. They made foam door hangers. The door hangers were decorated with animal foam stickers. The door hanger looked like a flower. I also had special foam markers that the kids used to decorate them with. They enjoyed this.

12:00 - Cake & Ice Cream - We sung Happy Birthday, had my daughter blow out her candles on the cupcakes I had made. We had purchased the individual ice cream cups with the wooden sticks. They enjoyed both of these. Cleaned up.
12:15 - Pinata
12:30 - Pick Up Time

This party MOVED along quickly and it was a perfect amount of time, not too long and not too short. We saved presents for after the kids left. It was nice to have the focus be on having fun with the kids. Present opening time tends to get boring for the kids. Plus it was nice to take our time opening each one and appreciating what her friends gave her. It was nice to take our time with this and not rush.

In a future post, I will write about how I did this party on a budget.

Date Night - Parents you will appreciate this story!

2012-01-20T19:00:00.001-05:00

Last Saturday we had a date night with friends to go to a Hibachi restaurant, here in Webster. The food is SOOOO yummy. So our friends live 5-10 minutes away from the restaurant. They left their home and came to the restaurant and we meet them at the entrance. Between the time they left their house and arrived at the restaurant, their youngest fell, and knocked out his two front teeth. He was already missing his two lower teeth. Poor kid. Soooo, one parent returned home and the other stayed with us. Later the first parent meet back up with us so we all still had a really good time. Love the food, and atmosphere there. But would someone PLEASE tell me how to catch a rice ball in your mouth????????

Well, Well, Let us see how I did on my Goals...

2012-01-18T22:08:00.000-05:00

Since this is the first time, I have ever, in my life, publicly posted my goals, it has been interesting to say the least. First my dear friends whom read my blog have shared with me what I can cross off of the list. How sweet of them to help me! And the public listing adds a responsibility to me to try harder to accomplish my goals. Interesting feeling. So now that I have been feeling better here is how I did:

My Goals for the first week of the New Year 2012 -

Remember this post on No New Year's Resolutions? Here are my goals as promised!

Health -

Multi Vit. Daily

Emergency C or Airborne Daily
~~Water Daily~~
~~If stamina is built back up begin Zumba~~

Family -

~~Plan date night with husband, arrange babysitter~~

Plan time with Mom (Although I didn't plan anything special, we talk almost daily and I had a meal at her house, plus another coming this weekend.)

~~Special time with Daughter - Girl Scout meeting~~

Organizing -

Update Calendar - B-days etc. (I should probably do this, I rely on Facebook.)

~~Daughter - back to school/calendar etc~~.

~~Girl Scout materials gather in one place (again!)~~
~~Meal Plan/Coupons~~
~~Grocery Shop~~

Volunteering -

~~Plan Girl Scout Meeting with co-leaders Tues PM~~
~~Implement meeting Thurs. PM~~

~~Prepare craft idea for Sun. for MOMS group~~

Friends -

~~Schedule Dinner out~~
~~Schedule Breakfast out~~
Send thank you notes to those whom helped me through being sick last week

Read -

~~Read more and less FB and TV news~~ (I am almost finished with Hunger Games!)

I only have one goal for the week we are currently in and that is to:

Week of Jan. 15 - Jan. 22

Embrace the craziness of life. Seriously, that is my goal.

I have something going on everynight this week, most are functions with my daughter. The weekend brings her kid birthday party which I am hosting at my home on Sat. and Sun. is her real B-day. Her ice skating lesson is on Sunday as well and Dear Hubby is getting ready to go on a training trip. Plus I have some top secret stuff going on too, I'll share when I can.

Winter Fun

2012-01-13T23:10:00.001-05:00

How cool is this (no pun intended)? This is my cousin's kid. She was riding her four wheeler and the snow kept on sticking to the front wheels! LOVE it!!!!! They live in Northern New York, near Massena, N.Y. and Ottawa, Canada. I think she will remember this for the rest of her life, her snow joy ride! Too cute!!!!

My First Ever Blog Book Review...

2012-01-08T23:33:00.001-05:00

I finished my first book for January (see my book list here)!!! I am excited to say that the book What Got You Here Won't Get You There (How Successful People Become Even More Successful!) by Marshall Goldsmith was well written, kept my attention and tapped into my love of psychology and human nature!!!!! I loved my Psychology major, back in my college days, and this book reminded me of that reading I did in college.

Overall I would probably give it a 5 star out of 5 stars. I think anyone would benefit from reading this book. The author's job is to go to CEOs and "fix" their annoying behavioral problems that bother those under them! He solicits 360 degree feedback from their employees and then gives it back to them! He lets them know what their biggest fault is and what they need to work on.

One of my many favorite parts of this book was when he suggested to the male readers that they should ask their wives "How can I be a better partner?" :-) He states that often whatever your annoying behavioral traits are at work are likely the same at home. And yes we all have THEM (annoying behavioral traits) and we all can improve. After he gives the feed back to his client he then has the client APOLOGIZE to all of their coworkers under them for their bad behavior and then solicit feedforward which is feedback you ask of others, for example "What can I do in the future to get better at X,Y,Z, (ex. be a better listener)?" I love this concept and think that it is so easy for anyone to implement. I loved this book because I feel that ANYONE can read it, ANYONE can implement the suggestions and ANYONE can benefit from this book if they are willing to.

The author mentions:
The three good things that GOOD Listeners Do:

Think before they speak.
Listen with respect.
Gauge their own responses by asking themselves, "Is what I am about to say worth it?"

He adds that keeping your mouth shut IS AN ACTIVE choice.

My Favorite Quotes from this book:

"Without a measurable goal you are much more likely to blow it off."
"If we had a complete grip on reality, seeing every situation for exactly what it is, we wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. After all, the most realistic people in our society are the chronically depressed."

"To gain a friend, let him do you a favor." - - Ben Franklin

"Goal obsession can cloud your judgement."

"As a result, in our dogged pursuit of our goals we forget our manners. We're nice to people if they can help us hit our goal. We push them out of the way if they are not useful to us. Without meaning to, we can become self-absorbed schemers."

"Today the key to wealth is knowledge."

I think the "take home" for me personally is I have gleaned suggestions for the workplace and at home, I have learned how to be a better listener, I've learned how to ask for feedforward suggestions. It also gave me insight into what the 'bosses' of today are dealing with. A reminder that there is no perfect person and even the MOST successful among us have traits that they can work on. Glad I read it, wasn't disappointed.

One odd thing about the book though, I felt it ended a bit abruptly, I felt that the author was trying to build you back up and make you feel good about yourself and then it felt like it just ended, that part was a little strange to me. Didn't fit with the rest of the book.

How I (not so much) accomplished my goals for the week...

2012-01-07T20:37:00.000-05:00

Almost Sunday and time to review my goals for the week. The deal is I was VERY sick the past two weeks. I had viral bronchitis that turned bacterial, plus two trips to urgent care = a MUCH needed Z-pack and ME finally feeling better. So needless to say my goals were seriously put on hold and many will forward on to the next week. As my friend said to me, "It makes you appreciate your health more." So true!!!!! So with a bit of a laugh and chuckle let's see how I did on my goals:

My Goals for the first week of the New Year 2012 -

Remember this post on No New Year's Resolutions? Here are my goals as promised!

Health -

Multi Vit. Daily

Emergency C or Airborne Daily
~~Water Daily~~
If stamina is built back up begin Zumba

Family -

Plan date night with husband, arrange babysitter

Plan time with Mom

~~Special time with Daughter - Girl Scout meeting~~

Organizing -

Update Calendar - B-days etc.

~~Daughter - back to school/calendar etc~~.

~~Girl Scout materials gather in one place (again!)~~
Meal Plan/Coupons

Grocery Shop

Volunteering -

Plan Girl Scout Meeting with co-leaders Tues PM

~~Implement meeting Thurs. PM~~

~~Prepare craft idea for Sun. for MOMS group~~

Friends -

Schedule Dinner out

Schedule Breakfast out

Send thank you notes to those whom helped me through being sick last week

Read -

Read more and less FB and TV news

So there you have it, not great for the first week, yet not bad for being down and out sick! So here is to next week feeling better and hoping to accomplish more. I will have a tutorial coming soon. I made a Valentine Topiary for my MOMS group and I will share that with you! I am also finishing up the book What Got You Here Wont Get You There, from my book list and I hope to publish a review for you too.

Weekly Goals.....

2012-01-02T23:42:00.005-05:00

My Goals for the first week of the New Year 2012 -

Remember this post on No New Year's Resolutions? Here are my goals as promised!

Health -

(I am getting over bronchitis from last week. It hit me hard.)

Multi Vit. Daily

Emergency C or Airborne Daily

Water Daily

If stamina is built back up begin Zumba

Family -

Plan date night with husband, arrange babysitter

Plan time with Mom

Special time with Daughter - Girl Scout meeting

Organizing -

Update Calendar - B-days etc.

Daughter - back to school/calendar etc.

Girl Scout materials gather in one place (again!)

Meal Plan/Coupons

Grocery Shop

Volunteering -

Plan Girl Scout Meeting with co-leaders Tues PM

Implement meeting Thurs. PM

Prepare craft idea for Sun. for MOMS group

Friends -

Schedule Dinner out

Schedule Breakfast out

Send thank you notes to those whom helped me through being sick last week

Read -

Books I Plan to Read in 2012

2011-12-31T20:36:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

Each month I am picking a few books that I would like to read, some are fun, some are for professional development and some will be for my Book Club. Enjoy! This was SO fun to come up with this list. I basically went "shopping" on Amazon.com and picked books that interested me. I am always open for suggestions for good books to read, so please comment. If you want to read more info. on any of these, I linked each one to the amazon for you :-) Happy Reading, so many books, so little time!

January 2012:

The Hunger Games (Book Club Book)

Wicked Appetite (Had a head start on this in Dec.)

What Got You Here, Won't Get You There (Had a head start on this in Dec.)

How To Make Money Using Etsy

February:

Keys To Success The 17 Principles of Personal Achievement

The Help

They Don't Teach Corporate In College

March:

Steve Job's Biography

Twenty Life Transforming Choices Adoptees Need To Make

April:

Parenting With Love And Logic

Time Management In An Instant

May:

Simplicity Parenting

Getting Things Done

June:

Playful Parenting

The Art of Racing In The Rain

Since I am in a book club, I do not know what the book of the month will be until that month. So I will update you as I go along. At the Jan. meeting I will know the Feb. book and in Feb. I will know the March book and so on. Half way through the year I will update July - December. One more to mention, I am also reading, along with my MOMS group at my church The Power of A Praying Parent. We are reading it from Jan. through June.

The other nice thing about having a plan for reading is that it gives me time to get ahold of the books, since I do not own all of these. In Jan. I can put the books on hold that I need for Feb. and so on. I am already looking forward to planning my June - December reading!

Grief and Loss

2011-12-28T15:13:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I attended a memorial service for a Webster HS classmate, who also attended SUNY Potsdam at the same time I did. Laura was a beautiful girl and woman, inside and out. Unfortunately, I was never able to call her more than an acquaintance. There is a charitable fund called The Ana Duo Charitable Fund set up for Laura.

In addition to the loss of Laura, I also have been thinking a lot about my Dad, because the holidays are always a hard time without loved ones. Here is how I can help contribute to others whom are dealing with the loss of a loved one. I did a TON of reading after my Dad died, on the topic of loss, grief and mourning, so I know a bit about the topic. I also attended a conference with Dr. Alan Wolfelt an expert in loss, grief and mourning (can you imagine THAT job!?) Seriously though he was really good! I highly recommend him if you ever have the chance to see him, or read his books. I also attended a meeting on loss at my church, this was helpful as it was done before the holidays and it was about how to survive the holidays without your loved one. Let me give you one disclaimer though, not all people will turn to reading when they grieve, so it may or may not be your thing. If it is I do believe these will help you, if not, don't worry about it, you have enough on your plate and you will find other ways to grieve.

Some of the books that helped me:

Life After Loss, A Practical guide to renewing your life after experiencing major loss, by Bob Deits, M. Th. (fifth edition) I can't say enough good stuff about this book.
A series of 4 books that were handed to me through Stephen Ministries at my church, you read them in order AND at the appropriate time you think you are ready for the next book. All are by Kenneth C. Haugk

Book One: A Time to Grieve

Book Two: Experiencing Grief

Book Three: Finding Hope and Healing

Book Four: Rebuilding and Remembering

3. Healing After Loss, This book is a great book if you have little time! It provides small meditations for each day.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned on my grief journey, is that you have to do what works for you! Everyone grieves differently, shows their grief differently, so do what you need to do. Everything you experience is NORMAL and it is really important to remember to eat and drink and try to take care of yourself. Hope this helps.

Laura

Goal Setting for the New Year, instead of Resolutions!!!!!!!

2011-12-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

I love Money Saving Mom's Weekly Goal Planning Sheet for so many reasons. One of those reasons is my biggest pet peeve about starting a new year is, New Year's Resolutions. I just feel they set WAY too many people up for disappointment. I personally like the idea of smaller achievable goal setting (which is what this is). I love the whole idea and I feel so much better on the weeks that I use one of these sheets and it really is SO simply. Another thing I love about the sheet is YOU create your own categories!!! So if you want to create a goal in your family life, personal life, whatever it is you can add it. Try this for ONE week, I do not think that you will be disappointed. In an upcoming blog post I will also share my goals with you and then revisit them in one week.

Here are some examples of my weekly goals:

Category: Family

Spend more time with my mom

Go on a date night with my husband (plan and organize)

Be in the moment and play with my daughter, or go on a date with my daughter

Category: Health

Take three walks this week.

Take a multi. vit. and Emergency C to help my immune system.

Now I know these sound so simply but if I make them goals and I achieve them by the end of the week, I truly feel better about my accomplishments. On a personal note since my Dad died, the only thing I look back on with him is that I wished I could have spent more time with him.

My Dad...

2011-12-25T12:01:00.007-05:00

Dad,

Miss you today, third one without you but feels like only the second one. You were the glue to this family, miss you tons today and wished I could have been more preparred to live without you. Your grandson is thinking about taking Underwater Basket Weaving 101. Love you Dad and hope you and both Grandmas are celebrating!

I know you have been smiling down on us. Thank you for all of the wonderful Christmas' you provided for Bill and I when we were growing up. Many special memories! Thanks Dad!

On my wishlist....

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

You guessed it, TOE SOCKS! They are so comfortable and as you can see, my one and only pair is defeating the purpose, so we will see if Santa is nice to me...

Christmas Fun Links

2011-12-24T23:30:00.000-05:00

To have some Christmas fun, go to this link called Portable North Pole TV. Anyone can fill out the info. and send one to anyone else. For instance I sent one to my 6 year old daughter, it allows you to enter their info and one thing that they want for Christmas, you can select if they were naughty or nice, enter your email and then you will be sent an email message with a link to the video of Santa talking to you from the North Pole, this is SUPER cute!!!! You can also send one to another adult in your life. As a joke you could select naughty list for them. http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

The second fun link for you is http://www.noradsanta.org/en/ you can track where Santa is. You can watch short video clips of where he is. This is super cute and educational as far as geography and landmarks are concerned. It is also fun to watch the world fill up with presents. It was fun for my 6 year old and I to watch him get closer and closer before she went to bed. Don't worry he doesn't come until around midnight!

Hot Cocoa In A Bag - Last Minute Gifty- Tutorial

2011-12-23T21:36:00.001-05:00

If you need a super EASY gift for teachers, friends, neighbors etc. The Hot Cocoa in a bag is for you. It does require one hardship though, going to the supermarket at a very busy time of year. So here is the tutorial for you...
Materials Needed:

Frosting Piping Bags 12in (12 to a package) Wilton found at JoAnn Fabrics
Holiday Twist Ties (Found in Candy Making Section)
Mini Marshmallows One Bag (makes 12 bags)
Mini Chocolate Chips (Bulk Section of your supermarket) 6 large scoops
Spice Drops 12 in Green and Red or whatever color you wish (one scoop in bulk section)
Large Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Container in the Hot Cocoa isle of your supermarket
To & From Label stickers (optional)

First take the piping bag and fold it over about 3-4 inches. This helps prevent hot cocoa dust to get on your marshmallows.

Put a 1/2 cup of hot cocoa mix in the bag. Plus a bit extra if you wish. I actually did two 1/4 c. plus a little. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Add approximately 1/4 c. of chips. Or more, just for fun.

Add a generous amount of mini marshmallows 1/2 cup.

Add a green, red, or whatever color gum drop on the top (just for fun and color). Give it a good twist, your marshmallows will smoosh a bit but that is ok. Some of the Internet instructions call for a clear rubber band, I just used twist ties on mine and they were fine. Add your twist tie and you are DONE!!! You can add stickers or To:/From: labels if you like.

Reindeer Girl :-). She will take these to school to give out to the principal, VP, secretaries, special area teachers and so on. I like this whole idea because it helps to teach my 6 year old how to give. I hope to raise a child whom is both a good giver and receiver!

Our final stash looked like this. And yes she did have to take them ALL to school and pass all of them out!

Why I was away from my Blog for SOOO long....(warning this isn't pretty)

2010-09-24T08:59:00.000-04:00

Last year was one of the roughest years of my life. My Dad died. My Dad passed away on November 9, 2009. So it hasn't been a full year yet. I am dreading the year anniversary of his passing because it means he has been gone for a year and the further time has gone since I have seen him.

Here is what happened last year:
June 1, 2009 - My Dad had his heart attack, which no heart attack is a good one but we were led to believe it could have been MUCH MUCH worse. That his wasn't a bad heart attack. He recovered for a week in the Hospital, actually Rochester General Hospital which happens to be a top 100 Heart Health Hospital and is associated with the Cleveland Clinic.

June 8, 2009 - Dad comes home from the hospital to recover. He was told that within the next two years he will need bypass surgery. (He also needed his heart valve replaced but not sure if we knew that then.)

July and August - We had a normal summer, we had lots of BBQs Mom and Dad came out to my land, we went out to dinner, breakfast, we had our garagae sale together, Mom and Dad came to Dee Dee's dance recital (the last GREAT pic of my Dad came from there) I didn't know at the time that this would be my last summer with my Dad. But I am grateful that I had that time. The night before his bypass we all went out for ice cream together. My Dad and my husband got along REALLY well.

Mid August - Dad failed a stress test miserably!!!! So they moved up the bypass/heart valve replacement surgery to August 24th 2009, so much for TWO YEARS, try two months! In the meantime, I was hired on as a New Teacher (even tho. I am not new - a new district means you still need to attend New Teacher Training, which is what I did full time the week before his surgery - I started a new job in a new school district!)

End August/ Beg Sept. - Dad made it through his surgery and got to come home on my birthday August 31, 2009, he had to stay a touch longer than expected but approximately a week. I have Open House for my Kinder kids and prepare for the start of a new school year with a new grade level and a new school for me.

Mid Sept. - I hold my curriculum night. My Dad is readmitted to the Hospital right from the Cardiologists office, they are not happy that he is retaining fluid in his mid section. One of the parents of one of my students walks in with her nurse heart uniform, until then I hadn't mentioned to any of the parents what was going on, because we thought he was getting better, but this was a uniform I was getting to know all too well. She even had the heart, while she wasn't on my Dad's floor directly, she said she would visit him and she did.

Mid Sept to Mid Oct - Dad will spend a TON of time on the 5th floor at RGH, the heart floor, the nurses there got to know him and REALLY like him! My mom would go from sun up to sun down and sit with him all day long everyday, dealing with drs. and nurses and I would try to relieve her after I got done working I would go to the hospital to sit with my Dad. The good part is I was working part time in the afternoons, so I still had mornings with DD. I became very familiar with the hospital, parking, food etc. etc.

Dad is discharged but wasn't well, next morning I had to rush him with DD in her PJs back to the ER, I was the "ambulance" driver that day. Long storty short, many tests later, he has a STAPH infection. Which his attending so kindly told us that the HOSPITAL gave it to him!!!!! So tons of blood bags given, tons of antibiotics, three different chest tubes to drain fluid off of his lungs, kidney drs. and the mess. Soooooo,,,,,,,,let's take a sick guy and make him even sicker, oh and lets not forget the atrial fib he was still in. Oh AND lets operate!!!! That is sure to help!!! So ...

Oct. 24th - Dad goes back into surgery to get the staph rind - pulled off of his lungs!! To be honest with you we weren't sure if he was going to make it through this one and he did. The surgeon said it went well and recovery wouldn't be as bad as the first heart surgery, so we have HOPE.

Oct. 30 - Dad comes home - AGAIN from the hospital and I brought DD over on Halloween so he could see her in her outfit. He is getting BETTER and mom is giving him antibiotics to continue to kill the staph infection. He was in some pain from the surgery. I didn't visit much since I was relieved, he was home, getting better and I thought now I can get back to a more normal family life etc. My husband, allowed me to be at the hospital as much as possible and I will be forever grateful for that.

Nov. 8 - Dad called me and asked me when I was coming over, like I said I hadn't visited much since Halloween as I thought he was getting better. So DD and I went over with Apple Dippers from McDonalds for everyone as a treat. We all sat at the kitchen table and ate and talked and laughed. We joked about my Dad snowblowing driveways in the upcoming winter, obviously he wouldn't be able to do that but we laughed about how he would explain that to the surgeon, I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said his standard "A new truck." So thankful for this day and that I went to Dad's house and not to school to work, yes I was going to go to work on a Sunday! My Dad was walking around, he put his sneakers on and went outside on the back patio and said "this would have been a good day for a wine tour" something he loved to do with my mom, john and I on occasion.

Monday Nov. 9, 2009 - 5:50am - the phone rings, my husband answers, its my mom, my dad passed away in his sleep in the early am hours. How life can change in the blink of an eye! One day you are talking to someone whom is walking around, looking pretty good and the next they are gone. The hard part was we thought he was getting better, as did my mom who is a nurse!

CVS Scored!!!!

2010-09-21T18:00:00.000-04:00

Today I had a chance to get to CVS since they open early and I put Dee Dee on the bus early (note I am NOT a morning person!) Here is my dealie: I bought two boxes of Quaker Chewy Granola Bars. They were on sale for 2/5.00. I had ECBs (Extra Care Bucks, left from last week totaling 2.50 cents, ECBs are like cash, they print out at the end of your receipt). Plus I used the 1.00 off coupon from Red Plum insert 9/19. Plus buy buying the two I get 2.00 ECBs back on the reciept to use on my next visit. Ok Drum Role are you ready....OOP (out of pocket) I paid 1.50 for both boxes after ECBs and the manufacturers coupon. It was actually funny when the cashier said 1.50 please and I had to run my card! And going forward I have 2.00 to spend in ECBs on my next visit. It is ALL ABOUT THOSE ECBs folks, ALL ABOUT THE ECBs. Hehehehehe, ahhhhh I love it!!!!!

Lumberjack Festival

2010-09-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

For the FIRST time in my life, I attended a Lumberjack Festival. It was like someone had given me a shot of Testosterone! It was fun :-). I have taken some pics to share. Here ya go:

The pancake breakfast ROCKED! It was done by the Macedon Fire Department. The wooden bench I LOVE! I love the carved jack o lantern too, but putting a candle in it would defeat the purpose :-). The Polaris Jeep - you don't even want to know HOW much that thing COSTS!!!!! It was fun! The women log rollers I was so proud of them and what a great role model for Dee Dee!

Old Navy Coupon - Nice Deal!

2010-09-20T10:23:00.001-04:00

Here is a link to a coupon at Old Navy. I LOVE this coupon because you can walk in buy one item and get 30 percent off and you DO NOT have to use a CREDIT CARD! Wahoo! This coupon is good for three more days! You can print it out at home and take it in. Old Navy Heebie Jeebies Sale Coupon.

Money Saving Mom

2010-09-19T21:29:00.007-04:00

I am determined to get this blog up and running again. I am picking it up and putting back on its own two feet. TONS of stuff to tell you about. I'll start with sharing a link. About 6 months or so ago a friend of mine told me about a website that is like a blog. It is ALL about SAVING money, using coupons to pay less for stuff, paying CASH for things (now there is a concept! :-) It would be safe to say that I have paid TONS of attention to the blog, I have a bunch of feeds to it on my igoogle. Here is the basic premise, this one lady runs this webiste, she and other bloggers post to her website ALL of the very BEST deals at all the stores in the whole entire country!!!! I think she has them ALL. I have feeds on my igoogle to Target, CVS specifically. With the economy the way it has been we figure this is a good time to pay attention to what we are doing with our money. So Money Saving Mom is the website that I am telling you about. You should really check it out, even if all you do is check out the supermarket you shop at weekly, then you will know the best deals to be had there. There are many more great things about the site but I'll save some of those for a future post.

Future posts:
Money Saving Mom's coupon database,
Lumberjack Festival (pictures to come, if I can remember.....ahhh it's like riding a bike right!)
Why I've been away from my blog for SOOOO long!

20 ACRES FOR SALE

2010-09-10T12:17:00.002-04:00

We are selling our land. Please click on this link to see more about it: our land.

2010-09-01T23:24:00.000-04:00

Thinking about picking my blog back up!

Patio Furniture...

2009-07-14T15:33:00.002-04:00

My poor neglected blog! :-) It has been awhile my blogger world readers! How are ya? Anyway, I am seeing if I remember how to post and do Etsy shop etc. It is like riding a bike right!? So what to tell ya, well I made a purchase today!!!!! I bought something I had wanted to have for a LONG, LONG time! Patio chairs, 6 to be exact. I bought them from Wegmans our local grocery store, I waited and waited for the price to go down and it finally did, my husband said yesterday that I better get them since thousands of people go through Wegmans each day. I said no there are really a TON left dear. Well, I happend to be back in there today (not for the chairs, really!) (had to buy Miss A. a new thermometer!) so anyway, I notice there are LESS chairs, hmmmm, so I decided to buy 6, I can not wait to add them to my 40.00 glass table that I have on the patio that has no chairs around it!!!! I have to wait until DH comes home from work and can go pick them up with the family truckster! We must eat out! Now if only an umbrella will also go on sale, I already own a base...... I LOVE my new chairs, they are not the cheapy, cheapy kind, can't wait to get them!!!!

2009-03-22T21:15:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks ago a we went to the National Museum of Play (Strong Museum) for Dr. Suess' Read Across America Day. A. had her photo taken professionally and posted on a website affliated with the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.....here is the link. Our friend got us in for free too, which was an extra little bonus!

http://rochester.momslikeme.com/members/ScrapbookActions.aspx?m=4124517&g=808192

Just thought I'd share. And no the sword doesn't come out but she tried! WE are SO LUCKY to have an AWESOME children's museum so close to us.

Clay Guild

2009-03-21T22:58:00.003-04:00

Hey Clay Guild - this is a shout out to all of my guild friends, WNYPCG (Western New York Polymer Clay Guild) - in case you couldn't guess that one! I put some music on my blog JUST FOR YOU FOLKS today! :-) I did a presentation for the Guild today on Blogging, Etsy and Facebook, by no means do I consider myself an expert but I think I sparked their interests. :-)

Breathe...

2009-03-15T00:26:00.003-04:00

Hello there faithful blog readers, you've probably noticed that I have been taking a break from blogging. Sometimes life gets in the way :-). Just wanted to touch base and let you know I didn't forget about you.

All for now...

One World One Heart ....

2009-02-15T14:06:00.003-05:00

And the winner is..... before I announce who it is, let me just say thank you for all of the nice comments, everyone made about my work. I read all of the 200 plus comments as they all came into my email inbox. It was a bit overwhelming infact. I didn't have a chance to enter as many giveaways as I would of liked. I wish I had tons more to giveaway. I used the Random Number Generator via google and it came up with number 139 http://melindasfabricfancies.blogspot.com/ She doesn't know it yet but she won my earrings! I loved it when I clicked on her profile she has a funny thing on there! I'll make you go look, very funny though!!! I had to count 139 people down in my comments list because I didn't realize that my comments are not numbered. Melinda was the closest -so she wins! However if I did get it wrong and someone wants to count it again I'd be happy to give that person something as well. I just didn't feel like counting to 139 again.

Craigslist....

2009-02-08T19:23:00.004-05:00

I've decided to sell some of my excess scrapbook supplies on Craigslist in an effort to pare down my collection of crafty goodness in my craft room, thereby hopefully making a more organized chaos in that craft room :-) For my local friends, everything is marked about 50 percent off and I already have one interested person....

http://rochester.craigslist.org/art/1026554043.html
http://rochester.craigslist.org/art/1026554043.html
http://rochester.craigslist.org/art/1026338973.html

Those are a few of my listings for now. I hope to add more. One of the things I am looking to sell but haven't listed yet is a die cutting machine. It is the Wizard die cutting machine.

New in Shop

2009-01-25T21:57:00.005-05:00

New in my Etsy Shop.....
I have one pair of the cobalt blue earrings - I only have two pair available and one is being given away for free in my OWOH giveaway. So this is the only pair I have left.
I have three pairs of the purply ones. I am offering them both at a VERY reasonable price of only $4.00 plus shipping. As a matter of fact I am considering having a sale in my Etsy shop soon. Stay tuned, it will be a 4.00 sale and that is the only hint I will give. Check back soon my dear blogger friends because you will be the first to know about it.

Redeemed...

2009-01-23T15:56:00.002-05:00

DD redeemed herself 110%. At the exact moment I gave birth to her she decided to cuddle with me, hug me and lay her head on my shoulder for a good few minutes. And she decided she still likes pink, so the princess party is a GO.

Pink or not so pink...

2009-01-21T15:00:00.006-05:00

On the eve of her fourth birthday my dear daughter wakes up in the morning and proudly announces that she no longer likes pink or princesses! Guess what type of party I am having for her and guess what color theme it is! Yup you guessed right pink and princesses. I did inform her that she will still be having this type of party. Anyhow.......I do want to share with you what I bought from Etsy for her princess party favors. She is having a very small party so I was able to get a few extra goodies. I bought the soap below from Arizona Soapworks on Etsy.

The favor bags, they are so cool, they are made of cloth and have strings that you pull and my daughter loves opening and closing them. I only ordered princesses ones plus a tinker bell one, the shop owner was so nice to mix and match for me. Her shop name is Samyol2000.

One World One Heart Giveaway...

2009-01-19T15:36:00.006-05:00

For the second year in a row, I am participating in an online event with other bloggers called the One World-One Heart blog giveaway. I have chosen to give away a pair of my new February Earrings, in cobalt blue. Funny I made them not realizing the logo for this event would also be in cobalt blue! They have hearts for Valentines Day too. In order to win my earrings you need to leave a comment on THIS post only. I need to be able to contact all of the people that leave me a comment because you will all be entered to win the earrings. The drawing will be held on Feburary 12th. You will win one pair of earrings. I put a few photos up of the same pair so you could get a real good look at them! Here is the link to the OWOH site http://oneworldoneheart.typepad.com/ You can enter all of the other participants giveaways too by just leaving a comment on their OWOH giveaway post!

Serious Stress Relief

2009-01-18T19:27:00.004-05:00

We went snowtubbing and it was a ton of fun!!!

That is DD and myself!

Here were are headed down the hill REALLY fast!

We went snowtubbing and it was a ton of fun!!!

SALE SALE SALE

2009-01-05T13:46:00.003-05:00

The thumbless baby mittens are now on sale in my Etsy Shop. They were 6.00 plus shipping and they are now 5.00 plus shipping.

Introducing my famous....

2008-12-29T14:43:00.002-05:00

Snowman Earrings....

Now in my Etsy Shop....
I wanted to get them in the shop before Christmas but that didn't happen. So here they are now for a VERY resonable price only 6.60 plus 2.oo shipping that is $8.60 for a gorgeous pair of earrings. Surely you know someone whom needs a winter gifty, or you want to get something for that someone who surprised you over the holidays and you didn't have anything for them. I'll tell ya I gave these to Ashley's preschool teacher and she immediately took off her hoops and put these on! They were so nice looking on her!!! Cute and elegant at the same time. They are made with quality materials. Or you might know someone with a winter birthday coming up. If so go check them out in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19109628

Getting to know you Christmas Version...

2008-12-27T16:49:00.000-05:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I usually wrap most of my gifts, however there are some gift bags that I used this year, depends on what the gift is, I used the bags for some of my smaller stuff. But the kids get all there stuff wrapped.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, I'm allergic to real ones.

3. When do you put up the tree? It varies, we aim for the weekend after Thanksgiving, however this year we did it three weekends after...
4. When do you take the tree down? It varies, usually before Jan. 22 A's birthday
5. Do you like eggnog? Not really
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Cabbage Patch Doll, Barbie Bus and a stereo.

7. Hardest person to buy for? All the men in my life!
8. Easiest person to buy for? My Mom

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes I have my Grandmother's ceramic one that she made

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

11 . Favorite Christmas Movie?

12. Don't know what happened to 12.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Black Friday

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Christmas cookies, especially my Mom's nut balls
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white, and this year they happen to have "random sparkle" built in.
17. Favorite Christmas song? wow there are so many great ones, see my blog music!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? John and I both have many ornaments from the years we were growing up. He has a Gumby!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Health and happiness for everyone

Family at Christmas...

2008-12-26T14:55:00.004-05:00

Allow me to introduce you to my Nephew, this kid has a personality that preceeds him. As I am sure you will be able to tell by the pics. He is definitely my brother's kid, literally and figuratively. Let's start with his outfit. He is a Baltimore Raven's fan, he sports his santa hat all day, he got new slippers from Santa which happen to be Bart Simpson and of course lets not leave out the shorts in 30 degree weather.

Now he is only in 5th grade and he plays the trumpet and he is actually REALLY GOOD!!! He treated us to some Christmas favs.
He has some of his songs memorized.

I think he is thanking Santa for his lucky gifts this Christmas.

The feet go in the mouth of the Simpson.
Luv you Drew!

Winter Storm and my new camera...

2008-12-26T14:31:00.003-05:00

Last Friday we had a major winter storm, above John shoveling and below John finished shoveling. My new camera took these pics. My old camera totally stopped working and thanks to Nana and Grandpa's Christmas money I was able to get one before the Holidays!
Below, "I am gonna eat it Mom!" Crafty note: I made her hat on the Kniffy Knitter loom.

I had to show you this pic below! She has snow on her nose and snowflakes are falling down around her too.

Mmmm, Mmmmmm, good that is tasty snow!

Christmas

2008-12-23T16:09:00.002-05:00

Christmas
Originally uploaded by craftyfamilyblog

This site called http://www.dumpr.net is really fun. I made this photo on there.

Not so crafty advent calendar....

2008-12-15T17:27:00.004-05:00

I've wanted to make my DD an advent calendar but didn't really have a whole lot of time. SOOOO I bought teacher snowflakes, the ones that teachers use on their calendars at school. They cost me .49 cents at the Goodwill. So I put the numbers on the snowflakes and stuck them up backwards and DD will be able to take one down each day from now until Christmas, I am thinking about doing the same thing in Jan. for her birthday. Here is what I like about it, no candy and no toys, both of which she doesn't need extra of right now anyway.

The Winner is....

2008-12-13T16:55:00.002-05:00

Mary Ann.... Mary Ann would you like to tell us about yourself? You are the new proud owner of a nice pair of snowman earrings and you may choose to keep them for yourself or give them to someone else. Congrats and enjoy!!!!!
Laura :-)

Give Away Post for my Blogoversary

2008-12-09T14:01:00.008-05:00

Hi Blog Friends-

It has been a while since my last post-sorry about that-I didn't mean to leave ya hanging. I had some personal matters to take care of. I haven't forgotten about my free giveaway. I was deciding what it should be and I figured it out. I am going to give away a free pair of snowman earrings that I made. The hat and brim are made out of hematite beads, the red bead is made in the Czech Republic and the clear glass beads are called Aurora Borealis beads because of the shine. The ear wire is silver plated. I will also be putting some of these up for sale in my Etsy shop. The giveaway is in honor of my blogging seriously for one year now. The pair of earrings are really nice. In fact I recently sold about 17 pair at a craft sale, and I sold out of my inventory. So this in my opinion is a great giveaway and the pictures don't do the pair justice. Among other things not working in my favor lately is my digital camera is on the fritz - big time. So the pics are not up to snuff, but you get the idea.

Would you like to know how to win these? Here's how....

Fabric Card Tutorial

2008-11-24T21:03:00.008-05:00

Holiday Cards made with fabric, tutorial:

My crafty chica friend Ramona, whose blog address is on the right side over there...came over to craft with me and we made fabric cards. She saw the idea at a craft show and figured out how to do it. So without further ado, she and I will share with you too...

Materials you will need:
Scissors,
Rotary cutter (optional),
Self healing cutting mat (optional),
Christmas material or any festive material you wish to use,
Heat and Bond fusible paper, (available at JoAnns)
Blank cards, (available at JoAnns)
An Iron

Step One: Cut out cute little pieces of fabric.

Step Two: Cut out the Heat and Bond fusible paper to match the back of the fabric - you want to be precise here, so that the paper doesn't stick to your iron.

Step Three: Take the fabric face up with the Heat and Bond on the bottom and stick your iron on it for TWO seconds (it doesn't take long!). IMPORTANT - In both iron steps you don't move your iron around you just hold it still.

Step Four: Peel off the back of the paper, you have now made what I like to think of as a "fabric sticker" and you are now ready to put it on a card.
Step Five: Then you iron it onto the card for about 10 seconds. Remember to hold the iron still.

Step Six: Go crazy embossing, decorating and embellishing :-)

Ramona made this one, the Snowflake in the middle is embossed.

I was having fun with some curvy fabric that I used my rotary cutter to cut out with. These are not yet finished, I plan to stamp and emboss some sayings on these as well.

Ramona made this one.

My "me time"

2008-11-20T21:25:00.003-05:00

It has been an interesting week. I have been sick, DD has been sick and the snow has started to really fly!!!

Tonight I decided to head to the YMCA for some "me time". I wanted to do a light work out since I was down and out yesterday. So I arrive for my "me time" AND I find a FIVE YEAR OLD standing alone OUTSIDE the doors, saying "Mommy!!!" I look around and see a few people leaving but no one concerned about this little guy. He had tears in his eyes. I said to him, "Ok, buddy lets go back inside." Since the front desk is right there I took him over and told the lady I found him outside and Mom is not in sight. So we get his name, William and she looks him up on the computer and finds the pic of his Mom, so the lady was going to take William and go look for Mom and I said instead of taking him how bout I go look for her. So I studied her pic on computer screen and I went and found her. I explained that I found her son OUTSIDE (mind you it is 30 degrees and snowing here). She VERY NON CHALANTLY said "Oh, I thought he was playing right here." And then proceeds to walk to the front desk, SLOWLY. Oh boy, and mind you I have no idea where her six year old daughter was. Maybe she was playing in the right area. But she wasn't with us.

And to top that I heard a mom in Target say to her child,

Child Says: Mom this is only one dollar.
Mom: Stop reading! You might get smart by accident!!!!!!!!

Me thinking to self: WOW, WOW, WOW,

WHY ME????? :-)

Green Cleaning...

2008-11-13T14:14:00.003-05:00

A long time ago I posted about this. I have an interest in green cleaning. I used to buy the Green Works and it is nice and works well, but when it ran out I decided to try my hand at green cleaning, so I bought a large bottle of white vinegar for just a few bucks. All you need is the white vinegar, an empty squirt bottle and water from your tap. To get started all you do is put in half water and half white vinegar a 1:1 ratio. And you have yourself an all purpose cleaner that will work on your kitchen table and counter tops. I have noticed that my counter tops look great, better than before I started using this. Plus it is saving me a ton of money on buying cleaning products. Here is a great site on using white vinegar as a cleaning agent: http://www.vinegarworkswonders.com/faqs.asp

My dear blog friends,

2008-11-12T22:24:00.002-05:00

My dear blog friends,

It has been too long since my last post. Where does the time go? Honestly? I'll tell you my desktop computer has been dying a slow, death for the last six months or so, it has a virus or two, three or four, I don't know and yes that is with Virus protection software. Tonight I am blogging from my new laptop that I got a few months ago for my birthday. It is great. However we are still working on migrating EVERYTHING from old computer and trying to do so, in a manner that doesn't get the new laptop infected. My poor dear hubby the last thing he wanted to do tonight is work on my computer problems, but he did, I guess he loves me :-).

I do plan on celebrating my one year of serious blogging, so gear up because I am going to do a giveaway~~~~~stay tuned........

Laura

Trick or Treat weekend...

2008-11-02T16:34:00.002-05:00

Miss A. wanted a scary face on her Jack 'O Lantern.

Miss A. as Minnie Mouse from Mickey Mouse Club House.

Crafty Note: My mom made the dress and we used some fabric that was on clearance at JoAnns. Plus I made the ears out of felt glued to a head band and my mom made the bow, I just fabric tacked it all to the head band.

Pictured here are Miss A's trick or treater friends, Word Girl and Dragon. Plus my friend was an M&M.

Minnie Mouse and Dragon, note Minnie's pink sparkly shoes!

Going,Going.....

2008-10-25T20:58:00.002-04:00

Gone...Sold on my Etsy Shop for 6.00 plus one dollar shipping.

First Grade....

2008-10-22T22:31:00.003-04:00

Ok I suppose I could post again.....

Here is the most interesting thing that happened to me today. I met my First Grade Teacher, at the school I was subbing at today. It has been 29 years! She looked pretty much the same to me! What's funny is she was only my first grade teacher for about 4 months because she then went out on maternity leave. I still had fond memories of her.

I have a TON to blog about. However next week I will be subbing Monday through Friday for a first grade class. So I'll try to blog more before that happens...

Fall at my house...LITERALLY

2008-10-14T20:12:00.003-04:00

D.D. (which stands for dear daughter sometimes affectionately and other times kinda sorta sarcastically) decided that leaves should fall in our home as well, so she plucked them off of my banister garland and let them drop to the floor.

I decided to try Lisa's recipe for pumpkin bread. She has talked about it a lot on her blog and now I know why. Everyone who has tried it has loved it. We shared with A.'s preschool teacher today too.
The next picture I took this past weekend, couldn't resist! We had such great weather that A. was almost over dressed, unprecedented for this time of year.

2008-10-07T15:00:00.000-04:00

Sign of fall in my backyard...OMG I didn't notice the rainbow in this picture until just now!!!! I have seen a rainbow in that same spot about 5 or six times now.
Another YUMMY Soup for ya....
My husband even likes it with all the healthy stuff in it I was surprised he liked it but he did!

Classic Minestrone this is from Allrecipes.com:
SUBMITTED BY: Michelle Chen "This famous Italian soup has been much imitated around the world with very different results. The homemade version is a delicious revelation and is also extremely healthy, as it has pasta, beans and fresh vegetables. Try to make the minestrone a day early and refrigerate as this improves the flavors. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley."

US
METRIC
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, sliced
2 carrots, chopped
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
4 ounces green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 1/2 quarts vegetable stock
1 pound chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, with liquid
1/4 cup elbow macaroni
salt and ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat. Add leek, carrots, zucchini, green beans and celery. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally.
Stir in the stock, tomatoes and thyme. Bring to a boil, then replace the lid, and reduce heat to low; simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Stir in the cannellini beans with liquid and pasta. Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Metal Frame Tutorial

2008-10-06T11:59:00.000-04:00

My MOPS group is going to decorate frames as part of the Adventures in Mothering theme, the Mom's are going to make a frame for themselves. The kiddos are going to make one too however theirs will be made out of the Foamies that are readily available at any craft store you visit.

I found these magnetic metal frames at Jo Ann's in the clearance section.
Buy paint that specifically says that it is for metal, this one did, if you read the bottle you can find out all sorts of nifty info on all of the different paints and same goes for the glues too. Buy some fashion jewels that have a flat back Learn from my mistake which is that my jewels are a bit too big for my frame and I actually have to go back to Hobby Lobby and buy the size down from 7mm, my 7mm only fit in the corners.
Take out the glass or plexiglass before you begin painting. Paint the metal frame and don't worry if you see lines in the paint it will dry nice.
Glue on your rhinestone jewels, mine isn't quite finished as I have to go pick up those smaller jewels I mentioned. And you will want to use a glue for metal to adhere the jewels such as E6000.

Culmination....

2008-10-05T11:59:00.004-04:00

http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/finish

11 thesaurus results for: finish
Synonym Collection v1.1
Main Entry: finish
Part of Speech: adjective
Synonyms:
accomplished, au fait, consummated, consummatory, culminated, ending, finished, finishing, kaput, perfected, proficient, terminated

I am so happy to have this done, I had to rip out the whole neck line and re do the whole thing. I am happy with how it turned out and am looking forward to wearing it. It has more flare at the bottom than any of the others I have made which is interesting given that it is the same pattern. This material is comfy!!!

Culinary Post...

2008-10-04T21:37:00.006-04:00

These tomatoes all came from our vegetable garden in our back yard. This was our first year doing a veggie garden and I am really looking forward to doing it again next year. It is SOOOO incredibly easy to do. We used starter plants from a local farm market. We even have a resident bunny that left our crop alone. We did zucchini (just one plant, it produced a lot) and 4 tomato plants which was about right. We also did three pepper plants. And one yellow squash which didn't make it. I had to give all of the below tomatoes to my mother to make sauce with because I couldn't keep up. She in turn gave me 4 frozen boxes of sauce, can't wait to try it!

I love a good hot soup in the fall. I love the fresh apples from the farm market. And I will share a No Clam Clam Chowder Soup that is fun to make and to die for!!!!

No Clam Clam Chowder:

1 medium onion
3 Tblsp butter or margarine
1.5 cups chopped peeled potatoes (or if you are feeling really lazy get the white small round potatoes like I used in the photo and leave the skin on, just clean well)
1/2 cup water (sometimes more to cover potatoes to cook in)
1 can cream style corn
2 c. milk (I use skim and it still tastes yummy)
1tsp salt
pepper to taste
5 slices crisp fried bacon (optional - or you can use bacon bits)

Saute onion in butter. Add potatoes and water, cook covered 15 - 30 min until potatoes are softened. Add corn and milk and just heat until hot. Add salt and pepper and bacon if using. Enjoy!!!!

My Etsy Shop is up and running....

2008-10-01T19:40:00.002-04:00

again :-) I am very happy to announce this. And I hope to keep it up. I hope to offer very reasonable prices for gifts this holiday season.... stay tuned...in the meantime check out my Etsy shop to the right, just click on it, plus consider Etsy for any handmade thing you would like, just do a search.

Heroes

2008-09-29T21:21:00.002-04:00

DH is watching Heroes right now, and I am blogging while watching too. However I am going to let you in on a little secret I am not a sci. fi. kinda gal. It is hard for me to watch it seriously. OK guy with flame thrower hands robs a bank, ummm yah ok. It is hard for me to not bust out laughing. My brain has trouble wrapping itself around people with science fiction abilities. Ok now we have guy with crossed eyes, not sure what that was all about. Now the bad guys are beating each other up. Now two guys are playing FBI agents. One needs coffee......

Making Something for Moi....

2008-09-26T14:00:00.003-04:00

I found this material at JoAnn's and it is a microsuede material, I was able to get it on sale at 30 or 40 percent off per yard. I love the material and the look. If you look in the photo below it reminds me of a Skinner Blend - a term we use in the Polymer Clay world for when colors blend into each other. I started to make a Built By Wendy shirt, since I am comfortable with that pattern I didn't want to try anything new with this nice fabric, so I will have a short sleeve fall shirt. Which would have been perfect for this first week of fall in NY. But it is not done yet the neck seem line I made the casing a bit too small for my elastic....SOOOO seem ripper here you come. I like sewing on the thicker fabric - ALOT but wasn't prepared for the neckline area. It will be interesting to see how the thicker fabric gathers at the neckline. Skinner like blend picture

Adjusting to a new schedule....

2008-09-21T16:19:00.003-04:00

A. on her first day of preschool. 1-2-3- PICKLES She came up with that and thought that it was the funniest thing in the world!

At Playdough station at preschool.
John has finished his blue guitar, at least someone is getting some crafting done around here! As for me, it has been about adjusting to our new busy schedule with A. going to daycare two days a week and preschool two days a week. I am waiting for the substitute teaching to kick in, haven't had a job yet. I suppose it is too early in the school year.

The Plate....

2008-09-15T21:09:00.005-04:00

Ok so in real life the hair covers the ears......It was A's idea to do the cheeks. Tomorrow is the first day for both of us, I am an aide in the room on the first day. I get to see all the kiddos in their cute little first day clothes!
Gift from Nana in the mail,,,it's a boat to build and paint with DAD!!!
You can do it Dad!
Camp Abbett, last weekend we had some friends out to our land. Balloons are no fail entertainment for the kids! in the background above that is our outhouse that we built. Below two cutie pies. In both you can see our fenced in garden which has pumpkins growing in it. By the way you wouldn't know it by looking at this picture but A got stung by 7 yellow jackets just a few hours earlier than this. Luckily we avoided the hospital and I had Children's Benadryl in the camper.

September in "High Gear"....

2008-09-11T21:36:00.006-04:00

Wow whenever I realize I haven't posted in almost a whole week it always astonishes me how time really does go by so fast. I knew September would bring me to kick it in to high gear, however we were thrown some curve balls this week. The week got off to a rough start but now all is better. So with that said I will fill you in on the fact that I have finished A.'s first hat off of the knitting loom. She loves it! I will post a pic as soon as I find my camera and unload the memory card which is currently full. A is preparing to go to my alma mater pre-school, I am SO proud of her - he he he he. We are excited her first day is next week. It is a cooperative preschool so that means two things one I will be working frequently in her classroom and that also reduces the cost of tuition. She has homework to decorate a plate to look like her face - OK I am ALL over that one!!! Also next week my MOPS group is starting up too, we will be doing Shrinky Dink name tags which the MOPS magazine suggests that we do. Nikki over at WhiMSY LOVE did the same with her MOPS group and her site helped me in planning. This week was a little more serious than last week's birthday week, so I've changed my sidebar music some to reflect this week. OH I am teaching at my clay guild this Saturday too. Plus my Etsy shop is now empty, I AM VERY happy that someone bought my one and only bracelet but I have to kick it into high gear now with my inventory! Especially if I am going to do my regular list of fall craft shows as well!

Knit One, Pearl...

2008-09-05T14:29:00.003-04:00

Uh, I mean loom two (he he). A friend of mine from my MOPS group gave me a knitting loom for a birthday present and I LOVE it. I LOVE this thing. Does my friend Wendy have my NUMBER or what!? OK here are a few great things, I can take it to my daughters drs., the museum etc. and knit and watch her at the same time, it is great. I just got it yesterday and I got a ton done already. I am making Ashley a hat. I don't totally know what I am doing yet but I will figure it out as I go.

Birthday Festivities.....

2008-08-30T13:22:00.007-04:00

On Thursday night I had thrown myself a birthday party. I had some girlfriends come over and we did a make up make over with my friend whom does Mary Kay. Then we went to my favorite restaurant of all time Proietti's. Then we came back to my house to sit in my hot tub.

My before shot above which I kinda like, it is hard for me to smile without teeth! :-) Below is my after shot. I went for the "Dramatic" makeup look. It is definitely a bit more than I would ever do but it was fun. Everyone looked really good!!!

Here is a picture of all of us! Look at those fabulous faces! That is me bottom right. The girls surprised me with paying for my dinner!!!!
OK something happened when we got to the restaurant but NO I wasn't parked illegally it just looked like it.

Then last night I went out with the girls again, we saw Mama Mia and closed down Starbucks. I thought Mama Mia the movie was good, however I also saw the show in Toronto which I LOVED!

I also went to Starbucks last Tuesday night with my book club and closed down Starbucks. So I got to get out THREE times in one week with the girls!!!! Wahooo.

Tomorrow is my real birthday and we are going to our land. It has definitely been a great Birthday week. Thanks for all of my cards and well wishes. Stac you get the award for the funniest card!

Plus I got a KICKIN' B-DAY present from Dear Hubby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned and I will tell you more in an upcoming blogpost.

Quick FYI...

2008-08-28T15:39:00.001-04:00

My free GPS came in the mail the next day. I was impressed. It is nice and fun to play with too. I want to go to all of the Mexican Restaurants in the area that it lists. That would be fun.

My FREE GPS....

2008-08-25T20:10:00.002-04:00

It's in the mail folks..... This was in my email today:
Dear Laura, Your Discover Card has been activated and your Garmin Nuvi 200 was shipped on 08/25/2008. Your package will be shipped by Amazon, via UPS under the company name Credit Offers Network.

How cool is that????? :-)

I had some skeptics out there, that I could apply for a credit card, get it approved, use it and then get a free GPS. Well it worked! It said to wait 6-10 weeks and I did. 6 weeks to the date, I got this email. If you are interested go to
http://www.mygpsoffer.com/?cid=61134&affid=free%20gps::free%20gps
This is the link I used and it worked, you just have to be patient.

Sheriff encounter...

2008-08-22T19:44:00.005-04:00

I bonked heads with a Sheriff today! I am not kidding, it is true, this really happened. Now you are probably wondering how, no I wasn't pulled over (I've never been pulled over in my entire life!) I stopped at a Fire Department for a free Car Seat Safety Check. Two Sheriff's were working with me and filled out paper work, they made sure the seat wasn't recalled or expired. I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I was secretly hoping they would give me a new one for free, they were giving free ones away. That didn't happen, when A. gains five more pounds I have to get her a different one. So they made me install the seat after they showed me how. And they were both in the back seat and the one was leaning way in the car and when I leaned forward our heads bonked! Ow! A.wasn't with me so they gave me a doll about her size. Then a third Sheriff came and inspected the seat and said I did a really good job. Well I had the hurt head Sheriff help since my right hand is still gaining strength back. :-)

Have a nice weekend everyone. We are not going to our land so it will be an "at home" weekend for me. I will be going to preview day at JOAnns tomorrow, the classes are on sale this weekend! 25% off.

2008-08-17T21:10:00.004-04:00

I was wondering what I was going to be able to do crafty wise after my CT surgery. Well one part was necessity since I taught my Jewelry 101 class at JoAnns, and the other part was wanting to give a gift to a friend. So jewelry making it is. I am also jumpstarting my Etsy Shop over there on the right. So here it is one of my first bracelets since my surgery...
Need a gift for under ten dollars??

OK I suppose I'll share his latest with you.

This latest project is a Semi-Hollowbody guitar. It has a solid block of maple in the middle running from the neck to 3/4 of the length. The rest of the body is hollow. It's curly maple with blue dye that is fade to dark blue on the edges. It's finished with 5 coats of Nitrocellulose lacquer (So far). It still needs to be sanded, and buffed to get that 3d gloss for the maple. It has to dry 3 weeks before I can do that.

The electronics get installed through the "F" holes in the front. I have to pre-wire everything and fish them through. Without dinging the finish. Should be interesting. The hardware will all be gold color, including the frets.

This was a fun project, it took longer to build then the solid body guitars.

-j

Party Pics...

2008-08-12T20:22:00.003-04:00

A. with the pink sparkly guitar her Dad made for her.
A. waiting to put her new fish in, note the pink gravel. :-)
Introducing Collotta a SHE fish but we call her a HIM. DD made the name Collotta up. DD with her new guitar, with pink sparkles.
Playing some tunes! When she opened the amplifier she said "Daddy, it must be for you!"

Pseudo Birthday Party...

2008-08-10T18:29:00.003-04:00

Today we are having a sort of half birthday party for my daughter. We wanted to present her with the guitar that my husband built and finished. So we are having a party with presents, most aren't wrapped though. Plus she has a new outfit on, plus she got a goldfish!!! It is a special day for my wee one! Can't wait to post some photos. In the meantime though I put new flickr photos on my account. I got an early birthday present from DH, a flickr pro account. So I am no longer out of room. So if you click on the flickr slide show at the right of this page you can see a ton of other photos I recently uploaded.

Falling asleep....

2008-08-09T18:53:00.001-04:00

IMG_3406
Originally uploaded by craftyfamilyblog

"Mom, I love my box but gee these garage sales are wearing me out."

one new hand, one to go...

2008-08-08T22:47:00.003-04:00

I have use of my hand back!!!!! I got my stitches out yesterday! She told me to not fall on it. Well I wasn't planning a fall on it. Anyway I want to get back into crafting something but I don't know what. The wrist was stabilized for two weeks and I can finally move it so it is still a bit weak right now. I can drive again too, which is soooo nice! I need to think of what craft I can do that won't kill my hand. I measured my incision with my measuring tape, it is exactly an inch and three quarters, it is on the bottom of my palm.

self portrait thursday

2008-08-06T20:28:00.004-04:00

photo story

2008-07-30T19:52:00.001-04:00

carpal tunnel surgery...

2008-07-28T19:44:00.002-04:00

had surgery on Fri. kinda hard to type one handed, lots to say however a bit disabled right now...check back soon---typed with left hand :-)

Built By Wendy 3835

2008-07-20T20:15:00.003-04:00

Here is my version of the Built By Wendy Simplicity Pattern #3835. This is my second attempt. My first attempt isn't finished just yet, due to the fact that I found I had to go up 3 WHOLE sizes from what I usually wear, definitely if you are thinking of making this go by the MEASUREMENTS on the pattern and NOT by the size you normally wear. I've made two more since this one and also worked more on the first one. I really like the print on this one and how it turned out. While it does fit me the elastic on the neck I may have made too tight because the shirt feels like it is riding up towards my neck. Also while the elastic in the sleeves is VERY cute on this pattern, it drives me NUTS on my arms. I am not used to elastic on my arms. When I post the pictures of the other two, you will see that I left the elastic out.
I've also learned that with this pattern, the back calls to be cut out of TWO pieces, this is because of the other two dresses that you can make with the pattern call for an inserted zipper. SO I looked online and you CAN cut the back out on the fold which made more sense to me. SO I will do that next time. The pattern doesn't seem to explain that anywhere, unless I missed something. I now have three completed Built By Wendy shirts. I will post pics of the others for you too. I will probably give this one away. The first one is already going to a skinny winny lady in my book club who happened to be at my house when I was making it and I had her try it on. This one may go to another lady in my book club. Any takers? The print.

Hey Now, Hey Now, Oiko, Oiko....

2008-07-18T15:42:00.008-04:00

My car: I wish I had some exciting news for you like I got the VW Beetle with convertible option. However it just isn't that exciting, I got the current car I own. Yup, told ya not that exciting. After looking at many options, it wasn't clear until we did the research on our own that our best bet would be to buy the lease outright, plus we know how the car has been driven etc.Of COURSE the sales people do not mention that a buy out may be your best/cheapest option!

My surgery is one week from today. I will be having carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand and yes I am right handed. I am suppose to have my left hand done too at some point. It is same day surgery in and out. I get to get some good drugs though. I can't drive myself home because it would be considered a DUI in NYS. So I need a ride, any volunteers? I am especially looking to travel in a VW Beetle Bug. JUST Kidding, DH will be available for that, well not in a Bug but in the "Family Truckster".

SUNY Potsdam, Reunion Weekend

2008-07-13T17:38:00.002-04:00

I HAD A BLAST!!!! Even with a three year old in tow, it was SO much fun! We stayed in the dorm room for two nights and I saw a bunch of people I knew in college, some look the same and some look very different. A lot of people were VERY SHOCKED to see me! I loved the looks on their faces - too funny. So I will post some pics soon. I also went to a used book store and bought two sewing books, one is just to die for! More later!!!

Bandana Checkers...

2008-07-09T15:12:00.004-04:00

Here are the bandana checker boards that the kids made in my JoAnn's class.
One very creative little girl sculpted a little girl.
With pony tail and all!
A set of checkers.
If you'd like to make these the directions are on http://www.crayola.com/

Note: I may be away from my blog for a bit due to the fact that my Alumni Reunion Weekend it coming up. I am taking J and A with me. We will be sleeping in the dorm rooms, with no AC now don't you just envy us??? I am really looking forward to the whole weekend though. It should be a really good time. We will be in the North Country, Potsdam, New York.

More Morgan...

2008-07-04T20:12:00.002-04:00

My DD trying to turn the ships wheel.
OK the cool thing about this is that one of the captain's wives had this bed built special so that it would always be level!!! I did not know until this trip that the wives sometimes traveled on the whaling expeditions, which were known to go on for a long time.
Here is a pic. of the ship in the background and the whaler boat getting a whale, below are the tools to use to get the whale...
And last but not least, J. and A. sitting in a whaler boat, could you even imagine trying to kill a whale in one of these????
OK thanks for bearing with me on my Morgan photos, I just think it is so cool! I'll try to make the next post more crafty. :-)

The Morgan...

2008-07-03T21:24:00.003-04:00

Click on any of the photos to get an up close and person view, it really is quite impressive. This is the Charles W. Morgan that sits in the Mystic Seaport Harbor.

Now for those of you who don't know much about whaling and why would you, this is a whaling SHIP, however it doesn't go after and kill whales, see that little boat hanging from the side up there! THAT is what they would use to go after the whales in.
WHO has the glue gun?????? WHO is getting more into the boat building process??????
HER very first wooden boat!!! Well maybe....

Back from Mystic Conn.

2008-07-01T18:55:00.004-04:00

Right before we left a package came in the mail from Ashley's Nana!
I took a ton of photos about the ship the Charles W. Morgan, one because I have an interest and two for my Book Club since I picked a book by Nataniel Philbrick called In The Heart of The Sea, he also wrote The Mayflower.
This ship also refeered to as "The Morgan" is the ONLY whaling ship left today.
In the 80's as if you couldn't figure that one out from the dress, they started to restore The Morgan. Today she sits at Mystic Seaport. I have a ton more pics of when I was on her too. In November they will actually be lifting the whole ship out of the water to restore the hull. I told John I wish we could see them do that.
This weather vane just spoke to me!!!!!

Here it is.....

2008-06-26T23:56:00.003-04:00

My new VW Beetle. Just kidding, do you know how impractical this car would be with A., no back doors. However I do think it would be fun to drive and buzz around in.

What's on my mind....

2008-06-24T11:43:00.003-04:00

What I've been up to lately:

Researching a new and used car because my lease is up. A friend reccomended two really great sites for this http://edmunds.com and http://kbb.com . To be honest I have spent a ton of time on edmunds there is a wealth of info on that site!!! I have also found US News and World report very helpful!!!!!
Sewing I sewed my second Built By Wendy shirt. I'll try to post pics soon.
I bought Petty Little Patchwork last weekend at JoAnns with a 50% off coupon.
I am going to Mystic Conneticut very soon for the Wooden Boat Show. On the way back I will be stopping in Albany to visit some dear friends.
Thinking about doing something nerdy on my blog, I want to add a tutorial list for ya all. Last time I got nerdy on my blog I added music to it, which by the way you can pause it and stop it or pick a new song.
Got together with an old pal last night at Starbucks and chit chatted for hours. It is so nice to talk to other mothers who can relate to what you are going through. We used to teach together in Brighton and both stopped when we had families. She just got a job in Webster and I may be able to sub for her next year. Yahoo!
Thinking about whether or not I need to put A. in preschool next year.

Bandana Checkers...

2008-06-19T21:29:00.007-04:00

Hello There Blog friends! Sorry it has been so long! I am back to share with you another creative endeavor and very FUN project for KIDS!!!! Or even adults....
Drum roll please.....
Bandana Checkers...

You make the board with fabric markers and the checkers below are made with Crayola's model magic clay.
I will be teaching this class at the Webster JoAnn Fabrics store on Monday June 30th from 1:30-3:30 and again July 15th from 1-3. The checkers roll up in the bandana and tie at the top, the kids have a very easy transportable game for the summer! Here is the link to the tutorial on the crayola website which explains how to make these: http://www.crayola.com/crafts/detail/beach-bandana-checkers-craft/

P.S. I beat DH at a game, the first one anyway, he hadn't played in so long he forgot the rules.

Freezer Paper and T-shirts...

2008-06-13T15:33:00.003-04:00

Update more cute pics:

Who knew.... I made freezer paper stencils and then stenciled on these onesies. I have two baptisms within a week so I needed two gifties one for a boy and one for a girl. I LOVE how they came out and sooooo easy. Well maybe except for cutting out the stencil with the exacto knife, a bit tedious and tiring for my wrist. Why didn't I think of my Cricut first!? Whale with freezer paper on it above.
Baby pastel paint I used, special for fabric.

I also got some iron ons that I thought were really cute.
this is how the girly gift turned out. The princess crown was done with freezer paint.

Google freezer paper and t-shirts and directions pop up all over the place.

Gifties...

2008-06-09T09:00:00.002-04:00

Remember the placemat purses I did with my MOPS group and the one I made. Well my friend has gone great guns with these. Check out this AWESOMELY super idea....
She made all of these for her kids teachers, she has four kids. Each one has a pair of flip flops, sunscreen and a gift card to Barnes and Noble, plus you can see she put a cute little tag on each one! I think all of those teachers will LOVE their Beach Bag Totes!!!!!! Go WENDY!!!!! She even matched the flip flop colors to the purses!!!!

More Jar Gifties and a Dirty Little Secret

2008-06-08T19:54:00.002-04:00

I had some of the MOPS over and we finished up the Jars I had and each person took home three more jars to give away. One is an M&M bar mix and the other is a Dreamsicle Mix.
After staring at these for weeks now. I broke down and made the M&M jar bar mix. It was pretty good, although the reason this is a little secret is because technically they were suppose to be given away. Well I DID give some of the bars away on Saturday at our Lemonade Stand that DD and I did, well they were 25 cents each, so we had help with them. I thought they were good but a bit crumbly, the mix was that way too. Still haven't tried the Dreamsicle one, the jar is just too pretty and MAYBE I can think of someone to give it to as a Thank You gift, just maybe...

I Love me a good garage sale....

2008-06-07T21:52:00.003-04:00

My new found button collection!!!! I want to make some of those button bouquets that Nikki over at WhiMSy Love makes. So I got me a few buttons, oh just a few will do.
Two more thrifted sheets that I have turned both into skirts already! I used the 10 cent zippers and put those in both skirts! I still haven't cut into my Summer Skirt Sheet Swap, sheets yet, I'm too afraid, until I practice more. So I practiced on these instead. The top fabric was actually a FITTED sheet and I was still able to cut off the elastic and make a skirt out of it.
If you want to see what other people have made with their sheets that they swapped you can go to: http://flickr.com/groups/sskirtss/
The packaging on the zippers and bias tape is so VINTAGE looking that I almost felt guilty opening. The prices were listed on the outside 10 cents and 35 cents. I paid 10 cents for each, so 50 cents for the bias tape and zippers. I don't know how much they are in stores tho.

I also bought a bunch of light switch plate covers to cover with polymer clay. Yahoo, it was a good shopping day. Not pictured is also a Wiggles book for Miss A. and a pop up Winnie the Pooh toy that she really wanted, I thought she was too young for it, but it was only 75 cents, so I splurged!

Funny...

2008-06-03T17:30:00.001-04:00

Neighborhood Child: Is that your craft room?
Me: No, that is my dining room.
(My craft room is in the basement and my sewing room is upstairs.)

LOL!

My new placemat purse...

2008-06-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

Here is my new placemat purse. I love it. I used some velcro strips to close the top and glued them in with Fabric Tac Glue, I also used a plastic type of placemat and cut it out to fit in the bottom, so the bottom will hold its shape better. I used grommets and rope for the handles. If you'd like to make one, just Google placemat purse.

Rope and grommet detail...

Our Garden at Our Land....

2008-06-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

This is our garden at our land, that building in the background is the outhouse that we built last year. no joke!
We have a nice rock path that we all like to use.
We had a few bushes that made it through the winter. I planed marigolds in a circle in hopes to keep the deer away. We'll see there is a TON of wildlife out there, so we just need to keep our fingers crossed.
Last year we weren't very successful with it, so we hope to have more success this year!

Gifts in a Jar and DD....

2008-05-31T18:57:00.002-04:00

A. in some of her new digs, this dress is so cool it has a short sleeve sweater top that is attached to the skirt!

Getting ready for MOPS meeting and making Gifts in a Jar...
The jar above was the Dreamsicle Bar Mixture and it has Tang in it, sounds very yummy if you ask me! I'd love to try this one! The other one we made was an M&M bar mixture. We stayed away from nuts for two reasons, those with allergies and the jars only last for three months with nuts, without they can last up to six months.

Howdy...and Giving things away for free...

2008-05-31T11:57:00.003-04:00

I love getting stuff for free, I think we all do. This week DD got a big bag of clothes from my friend Mary Ann. Well it was like Christmas all over again in this house. The first thing we found was a princess backpack, then a pink leotard, both of which she put on right away, then a skirt.
This week I gave away my DD's crib, for free, her Little Tykes Slide, two shirts I had gotten, one was brand new and still had the tags on it, I decided not to wear it and I think there are some other things I gave away too. The lady that got DD's crib said she was so blessed. I love making other people happy with things I don't need anymore and stuff that is just sitting in the basement making clutter in my home anyway. Everyday since we opened that bag DD has had something new to wear, I am always astonished and what good shape some of the clothes are still in, a Tinker Bell shirt from Disney Store that looks brand new. LL Bean Shorts that look brand new, Gymboree clothes. I never buy her clothes from any of these stores since they are too expensive brand new. Thanks Mary Ann, she is pretty well set up now with the new shorts for summer too!!!!! Stay tuned for pics of Miss A. in her new pretties! AND stay tuned for pics from the MOPS meeting craft that I did.

Checking in....

2008-05-27T14:35:00.004-04:00

How was your weekend? We spent some of it at our land, it ended up being really nice weather with no rain, which I prefer when I am camping. We went to our towns 2 minute parade which is a tradition in our family. My aunt lives on main street in our town so we eat breakfast with her and then go out to watch the parade in her front yard. It is amazing how good a breakfast of eggs and toast tastes especially when you didn't have to make it! The parade is really sweet and short. A marching band (that I used to be in) a few fire trucks, vets, scouts, candy and all of the good stuff. Then we have another tradition on the SAME day and that is a picnic at my Moms house. All in all it was a good weekend.

On a crafty note, I made two skirts with the Sew What Skirts book. It is definitely a learning process for me, I am learning more about my machine, and style I like on me. I don't like the second skirt on my bod, too full, so you won't be seing a pic of that on me. Also remember this post well I have been wearing this necklace a lot lately and getting TONS of compliments, from everyone, perfect strangers, friends and family members. It is so great to say, "I made it." My ego is being stroked! :-)

sew what

2008-05-23T22:17:00.002-04:00

OK I have been waiting and waiting for this book as I had it on hold. I finally got it and I have been a bit obsessed. I made a pattern for an A-Line elastic waist band skirt to fit me (picked this one because it is one of the easier type to make, when I get good I may tackle one with pleats and so on), after taking my measurements I plugged it into the formula in the book. Then made my pattern with DD hanging on my leg, ok not literally but kinda sorta. Then DH gets home from work and he is technical and has all the right tools for drafting and what not so WE made another pattern together and it came out real nice and about the same size as mine.
This is what it looked liked cut out, it looked WAYYYYYY toooooooo BIG!!!!! I couldn't figure out why!!!! I even looked online to see if someone else had the same problem and sure enough someone did. Go here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/sewwhatskirts_sewalong/discuss/72157600177968185/
I had to cut off 13 inches on both sides a total of 26 inches!!!!! How did I figure out to do that you ask, well I re-read the book at dinner and it said before you sew the waist band casing, which is were the elastic goes to try it on and see how it fits. So I did and I pinned each side and made sure I could still get it on over my hips.
This picture above shows how big my pattern is to the finished skirt and the pattern is only suppose to be a fourth of the skirt. I may now work backwards and make a pattern from my finished skirt.
SEW gratifying to make something that fits me well!!!!!! This could get addicting!!! Guess what I used home dec. fabric since that was what I had lying around, I thought that this would just be my practice piece but I actually really like it!!!! DD may get a matching one out of the left over part I cut off!!!!

As promised....

2008-05-22T19:49:00.002-04:00

Here are the pictures of the sheets I received in the sheet swap. I also recently got the book out of the library called Sew What Skirts! and I am working on some different material for now, don't want to make mistakes on my new sheets.

Goslings...

2008-05-22T09:21:00.003-04:00

We went to feed the ducks our bread ends and got the Canadian Geese instead, Aren't they suppose to be in Canada by now ???? :-) So we get there and we are quickly approached, they were aggressive, next thing we know, across the pond swimming towards us in a bunch with goslings, how cute, but we don't have enough bread so we jumped back into our family truckster! YIKES, we still watched them but felt bad we didn't have enough bread for all of them!
Description - young: Newly hatched Canada Geese look much like ducklings with yellow and gray feathers and a dark bill. But within a week they grow to be rather awkward-looking, fuzzy gray birds.

Some info. from http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/birds/canada-goose.htm General: They are famous for their life-long mating, though a widowed goose will usually choose another mate. By nine to ten weeks old, they've grown their flight feathers and look like slightly smaller versions of the adult.The newly hatched babies (called 'goslings') are able to swim immediately. The male and female goose both accompany the babies during their swims.
Goslings can dive and swim for 30-40 feet underwater and they eat almost continuously to attain growth for the first migration flight.

Lilac Festival

2008-05-21T09:11:00.001-04:00

Pansy Bed at Lilac Festival
Lilacs on Hill
More Lilacs On Hill!!!
First roller coaster ride shared with a friend!!!!

We have a fantastic festival here in Rochester NY called the Lilac Festival and even Martha Stewart paid the festival a visit, last year! It is a wall of gorgeous lilacs on a hill and it smells so WONDERFUL, they even have a perfume now to match, no joke! Last week we went thanks to the motivation of meeting some friends there, had it not been for that I am not sure we would of made it. In retrospect is was a lot of fun!!!! DH listened to the blues lady and we went and took the kids on some kiddy rides. The only thing I missed out on was the kettle corn, ran into some people and they said the wait was 45 min. long, no thanks not with a three year old, I don't need it that bad, to wait that long, in a line with a three year old, I do have my head screwed on straight ya know.

2008-05-20T08:38:00.000-04:00

Since I am the Crafty MOPS chica and it is my charge to come up with the craft for each month. So I've decided that with the end of the school year approaching everyone always needs a thank you gift for one reason or another, a teacher, teacher's aide, pre-school teacher, and so on. So we are each going to make a "Gift in a Jar" 2 to be exact and we will also be making two handmade thank you cards to coordinate. We will have two recipes for your jars, one is and M and M one and the other is a Dreamsicle Bar recipe which include Tang. Yum Yum and soooo fun. I bought jars then found out my mom had a whole bunch so I may be able to take the jars I bought back and use hers for free! Just need to buy the lids.
This is the picture of the book that I am getting the idea from. I'm not sure why it posted sideways.