Dish Towel Bib Tutorial

Need:
2 yards Bias Tape Double Fold
Dish Towel
Thread
Round Bowl for neck template

Instructions:
Considering this is a Christmas gift I found a Santa dish towel. This is for a rather large man’s gift so the portions are made larger than you would probably do yourself.

Lay your round object, such as a bowl or Frisbee, down on the top of your towel to cut out for the neck. Trace around with a permanent marker. Cut around the marked area and discard. You can alter this area to be as large or small as you need it to be. I used a Frisbee and laid it off of the end of the towel about 2”.

Find the middle of your bias tape and open it and insert the fabric of the middle of your dish towel then pin. Open the tape, insert the towel and pin all the way around making sure that you get the front back and middle as you pin.

After you have the entire pinned area complete begin to sew at one end of the tape, remember to backstitch to lock. Continue sewing around the entire neck area and to the end of the tape and back stitch to lock the end tab.

Cut your threads and you have an adult bib. These are great for the elderly, disabled or anyone that is, for the lack of a better phrase, messy eater. LOL Hope you enjoy. God Bless!!

Christmas Rag Quilt

This is the 2nd rag quilt, or any quilt for that matter, that I have made. It turned out pretty good, or I think so. LOL

I donated it to our church for our annual Snowball Banquet and it brought $50.00. Not to bad for my 2nd attempt.

Happy Holidays and God Bless!!

Bill Schedules and Payment Plans

Having OCD tendencies I have issues when it comes to bills and list. While talking to my good friend Trish I found out that not all people have the same ideas about bill paying and list as I do. Who would have thought! LOL

Instead of just knowing that this check pays this bill and this check pays that bill I have a very detailed list that goes along with mine as well as a notebook that helps keep me inline. My bill folder and bank statement folder are my 2 that are updated monthly, if not more often. I know that a lot of people have their banking online, I do as well. However, I still like to have it in black and white and don’t trust just leaving them in a folder on the computer, hackers and all. So each month I print out my statement and put it into a folder so that I have copies of my checks as well as any information that I need in the blink of an eye. That one is pretty simple. Each year I take the previous year out and file it in the filing cabinet with the corresponding year and simple title: Bank Statements. That just eases my mind and I have hard copies to go back to whenever I need them quickly.

My second folder is a bit more complicated and in depth but I couldn’t do without it. Recently we have had a huge surge in our electric bills. I am aware that it was winter and that the heat was on. However, we use the air, a lot!! We have also been through 2 winters in this home and know that last year was no where close to this. Even though we did have a rate increase I go by KW used instead of money, which will throw your electric company for a loop when you call and complain and you have the KW instead of the money amounts on hand to rattle off and have compared them to previous years. This to me was normal.

As soon as I get the file completed, so that it is not catered to my family only, I will put it on here so that others can hopefully use it. My own personal household/family notebook is in the works and I will put in on here along with pictures as soon as that is finished. We would love to hear your ideas and see your pictures as well. Please feel free to comment and send your pictures in.

Thanks for stopping by and God bless you and yours.

Tutorial Hunters

As a self proclaimed tutorial hunter I would like to make a small suggestion or ask a favor. Remember when you post something that you may be linked here and there. Even though you are not keeping up with that post someone else may happen upon it somewhere else and try to get back to it. I like PhotoBucket, and where it is a free program, that even makes it better. LOL I have used PhotoBucket for over 2 years for my Homeschooling Blog and really do like it. However, I have noticed lately that many people are deleting their pictures and that leaves a very odd tutorial.

This is just a suggestions but what if you open an account that is only for your tutorials or when one is full, open another account all together so that those pics can stay on the web. Once it is out there, it is out there to stay most of the time whether we realize it or not. On this blog I normally import the picture from my computer but then again you are very limited in that manner which makes PhotoBucket and programs like theirs extremely handy and important to many sites. Tutorials that you can print in PDF format as well as Word format are also very helpful and you don’t have to worry about upkeep unless you are on a limited program as far as uploads. I am just putting this suggestion out there. Nothing bad meant to any of these programs or anyone’s blogs. I enjoy them immensely.

I enjoy searching tutorials on all sorts of things but my favorites are crafts, sewing, and parties. When I am getting ready for one of the kids birthday parties or a holiday party I really enjoy going into other blogs to see how people have made things and done things that are along the same ideas that I have or better. Many times I have ran across an idea that is close to what I was thinking but when it is explained out, especially with pictures because we don’t all think alike so reading what someone else means can sometimes be frustrating when it comes to directions. Back to the point, I find that they have had the same outcome or even better than what I had in mind and doing it much simpler than I would have done it. I have had several of those DUH moments while doing this. LOL Then I am sitting here asking myself; why didn’t I think of that. What a good idea or time and/or money saver. Thank you to all of you bloggers out there in cyberspace that take the time and effort to put these fabulous items on your blogs. I have learned and plan on continuing to learn so much from you all.

Take care and I hope to add to the “tutorial hunt” as I learn more.

God Bless .^_^.

My lil' snowman making a lil' snowman

DS and his little snowman.

He worked on this for hours. He would get it looking good and then add to it again and again and again.


Here he has added 2 of his sisters BB's from her gun for eyes. The green eyed snowman.

This is our crazy Cami that was watching him and playing with the railing, snow, branch, anything that she could grab and smack or hold onto. LOL

Have a good snowy day and God Bless!!

Candy making with the kids

My littlest chef mixing up the peanut butter center for our candy.

My niece adding the powdered sugar.

I let the kids go wild with the cookie cutters.

Now doesn't he look like an intense chef?

This is my real back up chef. She is the one who takes over and helps out when mom needs it. She loves to watch cooking shows and try new things. They had a really good time making the candy and then covering it with chocolate.

Actually once the chocolate was melted and my son knew he was ready to be done with the peanut butter center, he was ready to cover his fingers, candy, or spoon, whatever in chocolate. He is a true chocoholic!

They had a blast. It was a mess but well worth it and my niece said it was one of the most fun things she has been able to do and was going to go to school and tell all of her friends.

We are in snow, just like the rest of the nation, and they are calling for 6-8 more inches in the next 15 or so hours so I don't know when she will be going back to school. My poor kids don't have to worry about how much it snows. The only time they get out of school with bad weather is when I agree to take in a child or 2 so the parents can go to work or do whatever they want to do. Homeschooling has many advantages; my kids would probably say that is not one of them. LOL

Have a great day and God Bless!!

Heart I-Spy Bag

Trinkets that I am adding to the bag.

Finished product.


I have seen several blogs where moms make these cool I-Spy bags for the kids to pass time. This was a very rushed job so it is definitely not the best. This was a last minute Valentine's Day morning gift. The kids were playing games, my niece was keeping my son busy and my daughter was in her room just chillin and watching TV.

While they were all busy I printed off 2 heart templates from the first site that I could find and resized on Word. Cut the felt around, 2 layers thick and cut the vinyl the same size as the smallest of the 2 hearts. This was a very, very rushed job. This is the first time I have tried sewing with vinyl but it really wasn't that bad. We had went to Hobby Lobby and between the Easter section, jewelry, crafts, doll house section (miniature dice and cola cans that are really cute), bugs, and buttons I came up with the items to add into the bag.
The next time I make a I-Spy bag I will take time, plan it out and close it much better than the quick seam on the side. However, this was fun for them to play with and try and figure out what all was inside.


Having fun at home.........God Bless!!

Yo-Yo Tutorial

While working on my MP3 tutorial I decided to add a Yo-Yo Tutorial along with it. I had been wanting to make a Yo-Yo project forever and was afraid that it would be difficult. To begin with I purchased a template and used it. After the very first try I discovered that it was much to simple and that the template even slowed the process down. Not to say that they are not handy or that you should not purchase one. My daughter is going to try it and wants to use the template for her projects, which is fine by me. If all goes well you will be seeing more Yo-Yo projects here.

By the way the pictures are what was used in the MP3 project and is my 4th, 5th and 6th Yo-Yo's ever made. They are simple and add a cute touch to about anything.

http://www.4shared.com/file/220243988/db181e7b/Yo_Yo_Tutorial.html

As always take care and God Bless!!

MP3 Case Tutorial

This is my first tutorial and it is how to make a cute little MP3 Case that I needed for my purse. It can also be used for just about anything. My cell fits in nicely as well as credit cards, money, and keys.

Hope you enjoy.

http://www.4shared.com/file/220241749/a03d8460/MP3_Case_Tutorial.html

Have a great day and God Bless!!

Learning HTML

While trying to learn how to blog correctly I am trying to learn the HTML codes as well. Some of my post may look a little funny for a little while, sorry for that. But this is truly a learning experience. If you have any of your favorite sites that are helpful I would love to hear about them.

Thanks and God Bless.

Taking Care of Pets

Let me get on my soap box for a few minutes. Before you take a pet home from wherever, please be able to spay or neuter them. So often people adopt pets, see a cute puppy or kitty at the mall or get one given to them before thinking it through. Pets are a big responsibility as well as cost. We have had so many dropped off near our house that it is insane. Most of the strays are cats. Cats normally have 2 litters of kittens a year. That is on average 4-8 every six months or so to find new homes for. I don’t mind feeding and taking care of what is mine, which is why I brought them home. But when you decided to make that decision for someone, it is normally a big mistake.

In our area you can get a cat or dog fixed for around $90 - $150 with shots included. We decided to look around for another vet in a nearby county. This was well worth the time and effort. We now have a good vet that spays or neuters your pets for $67. They take really good care of the animals. We even have a large animal vet that lives near us that works there two days a week.

Really look at the prices of food (canned and dry), pee pads, cat litter, toys, beds, flea medications (good ones like Frontline-my favorite), vitamins, grooming, vet visits, shots, spaying, neutering, as well as a ton of other things. Pure breed animals have more health issues as well. Look at the breed before taking in the responsibility and ask a local vet what they see that breed in their office for most. Have a little money tucked away for pet emergencies. I never knew there were so many emergencies until we bought our loving dachshund. He has had a few. We have also taken in kittens from strays and have had enormous vet bills. We have also had pets that have gotten out and were hit by a vehicle.

If they make it there is normally a very large vet bill. If you live in a rental that allows pets, make sure that if something happens and you have to move to somewhere that doesn’t allow pets, that you have someone that is willing to take your pet in.

Crayola Window Crayons

I have 2 children that are homeschooled (if you hadn’t read that before) and I always have extra kids around.

It is hard at times to keep all of them entertained. While at Wal-Mart we noticed these crayons for under $4.00; I thought, why not. They are great little time consumers as well as a great tool for your budding artist. They come in a pack of 5; black, yellow, blue, green and red. The kid’s can write on mirrors, the front door, any type of glass, even your automobile windows. Just watch what they write or draw. LOL

Clean up is quick and easy. Having tried different things I recommend window cleaner. Your glass is clean and the crayons are gone. You can use soap and water or about any type of cleaner as well.

The only thing to look for is when they push hard on the crayons you will see a little clump of color, they are soft. When these fall to the floor and get stepped on the colors will spread on the floor as well. I haven’t had to deal with them on carpet so I can’t say how easy or hard clean up would be. However, on linoleum it is as easy to clean as off of the glass. Just tell them to write easy and not to press so hard. The crayons do roll up so there is plenty for your money and their time.

Take care and God bless!!

My Daughter's New Purse

This past Christmas I decided to make my daughter a purse. After making one for my mother, strictly made up as I went I decided to search for a pattern that was easy to understand. At this link: http://www.sewingmamas.com/b/downloads.php?do=file&id=357 I found the download for a super nice name brand knock off bag tutorial. I am not a seamstress. However I have found that I enjoy sewing and my dear friend Trish, which is an excellent seamstress, and I turn to for help when needed, which is pretty often. LOL

You may notice by the dates on the pictures that it wasn’t completed until last night. But, it was completed!! There is a spin on the fabric and the look but the purse is right out of the pattern from the above site. This was a great experience and there was a lot of learning about sewing than I ever figured was possible from making a purse. The key fob is something that I have been making for a while now.

Take Care and God Bless!!

Dymo LetraTag Label Maker

When it comes to organization everyone should own a labeler. We have went into office supply stores and found a really nice label maker that is on sale and cheaper to purchase it than to purchase new cartridges for the one at home. Then it comes time to replace the cartridge in the new one and the price is outrageous. Not such a good investment after all. I would rather have one that I can keep and afford to refill at the same time.

The last time that I needed a refill, and wasn’t going to be in the mall 60+ miles away anytime soon, I looked locally. I found the Dymo LetraTag LT-100T. It is an awesome little tool. The buttons are larger than normal machines, very user friendly, 6 different font styles, 9 different boxes or underline styles which include a crocodile, train, sweethearts and even flowers. It also has 195 symbols you can add into your label. This is a great gadget to have around for all of your organizational needs.

Take care and God Bless!!

Purses, Marshmallow Guns, Tag Quilts and More

December is when it seems that I get the urge to sew. You would think that I would year round and plan to in 2010. It makes for a very busy month. LOL These are a few of my projects over the past few weeks that I wanted to share.

These are the 2 boy tag blankets that I made for a friend that works at a daycare. She has 2 sets of twins at the moment and just loves this set of boys and wants to give them these for Christmas. Didn’t they turn out cute? You can’t see the backs very well so I added another pic that really doesn’t show it either. LOL Oh well. It is plain blue and matches really well.

The same friend that works at the daycare is also about 6 weeks from having her 3rd child, a girl. She has requested pink and brown and it was so hard to find things that went together for a baby here. Wal-Mart just doesn’t have that wide of a variety. However this should turn out okay. We were in the fabric section so long trying to find something that would go together (all of the small polka dots are gone in these colors) that I forgot to get the solid pale pink for the back. So I am stuck here for tonight. Back to Wal-Mart 2 days before Christmas. They shouldn’t be busy at all. Ü

This is the finished purse that I made for my mother for Christmas. This was made up 100% as I went along. As well as the key fob to go along with it. Talk about a play on colors. I know it is a picture but if you were looking at it in person you can not tell that the ribbon has black polka dots on the brown background. It really pops when you put in on the black but fades out with the brown. How odd.

These are our camo marshmallow guns, which my husband and I made together. These have been such a huge hit with all ages. If you have never had a marshmallow gun fight, you must have one. They are awesome. We have a great time at it. Just watch out for marshmallows in the carpet. It’s a sticky, icky, messy mess. Without planning we had a HUGE marshmallow gun fight at our daughter's birthday party. It was a blast and between that and the Wii, which wasn't planned either, the party was a huge hit. Go with the flow. It turns out better that way sometimes. Ü

Below is an apron that went into the Kitchen Themed auction basket that we made for our churches "Snowball Banquet". This is my first attempt at an apron and I made it up as I went along. It didn't turn out completely horrible. LOL

Take Care and God Bless!!

Crayola Hassle Free Watercolors

Since we have been on the road most of the past week and a half I have been looking for things for the kids to do that doesn't make a mess. I found these yesterday in our local Wal-Mart, of course, and they are fabulous. No Water! No Dripping! No Spilling! Is what the package advertises and it is true to its advertisement. The kids can create whatever they want and then change colors with no effort and no mess. It comes with 2 of the paint pens so each of my kids have their own and the only thing that I can see that will be a problem, with us, is that the pens tips are like long felt markers and I am sure that my kids will push to hard on them and they will split or tear up. We will see. But for under $4 I believe this to be a very good purchase for anyone with kids who like to paint.

God Bless!!