Pink and Brown Onesie Dress & Burp Cloth Gift Set

Another custom order for the

new cutie-patotootie in town!

I am not really making too many burp cloths these days,

but rather love sewing bibs.

But... you can find super cute burp cloths at

Rags to Stitches.But I sure love to make these onesie dresses!

Let me know if you like what you see!
This fabric is out, but I've got more selections on hand!

a little date...

Is this what Simon is going to look like

in the future with his "love?"
I don't know...
but they sure are cute now!

Another Word Art Tutorial

I know...I know...

I'm addicted to this Word Art stuff

that Joys Hope

has featured in the past.

I love that you can take a WORD that means so much to you...

and create something

awesome for your home.

First, I took this piece of old wood that was attached to a

vintage table that we bought years ago.

It was literally falling off the table,

so we kept it for something useful to use in our new home.

It still has the hinges on the top

(see above) that we will use to hang it in our livingroom.

Next, I took good 'ol Mod Podge

and some leftover scrapbooking paper.

Then, I did my usual with this Word Art Craft...

I printed out the font that I wanted,

traced the letters (backwards),

and cut!

Finally, I Mod Podged the letters on my old pice of wood.

Then, I painted a layer of Mod Podge over top after the letters

were dried and set in place.

And tah-dah!!!!

I LOVE this!!!!!!!

It will go in the perfect spot in our livingroom,

where all can see this beautiful word,

"rejoice"!

Philippians 4:4

"Rejoice in the Lord always.

I say it again, rejoice!"

I chose this word because I am rejoicing daily at our

new home,

our health,

our family,

our church,

our lives,

and every blessing that we take for granted!

There's a LOT to rejoice about...

so go shout out loud a word of praise

and thankfulfulness...

REJOICE!

The Cupcake Club

I am so impressed by Dave's high school students...

they started a group called,

"The Cupcake Club." They put together an awesome birthday

for children who are in

a time of need financially.

The children have wonderful mommies

who care for them,

but this Club provides a birthday celebration

that would not be possible

without financial and group help.

The high schoolers provide

cupcakes, drinks, party favors, games, music, and

presents!!!

The children LOVE it!!!
It's kind of like
"kids serving kids" in a way!
We were honored to be there and support this
amazing Club!
I especially liked seeing Simon's eyes light up
when the birthday kids got their gifts!
The children were BLESSED...
and I think these high schoolers were blessed just as much.
I hope my little guy can have a
heart to serve like these students!
Gotta train 'em young...
to give to others, serve with your whole heart...
and expect nothing in return!
Thank you to those "big kids" who were a true example
of giving with your hearts!

Hiding healthy foods

I'm sure all of you have seen this book,

"Deceptively Delicious."

It's AWESOME!

Many of the recipes require a few more hours in the kitchen

to prepare the foods,

but it is worth it...

IF you want your kiddo to eat veggies and fruits.These don't look very appetizing,

but these Rice Balls were a HUGE hit with Simon!

I had to share her recipe

(that I modified for Simon's sake).

Rice Balls

1/2cup brown rice

3 tbsp olive oil

1/4 lb. chicken

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 cup (your choice of steamed veggie)...I used cauliflower

1/4 shredded chedder cheese

1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

1 large egg

1/2 cup spinach or broccoli puree

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

HERE'S HOW I MADE THEM:

Blended cubed, cooked, chicken

and steamed veggie in "Magic Bullet"

(or blender of your choice).

Combined puree with brown rice and seasoning.

I didn't add the dairy because Simon has

food allergies. But they still turned out super yummy!

I stirred ingredients together and

formed balls. Dip the balls in a bowl

with the beaten egg.

Place in pan over medium heat

with olive oil at the bottom.

Let brown on one side,

then flip. Cook thoroughly...

maybe takes 5-7 minutes.

The Rice Balls should be warm, browned,

and crisp on both sides.

Simon devoured them!

Sometimes I have to spend a couple hours in the kitchen preparing

healthy, yummy foods in bulk.

It takes up a lot of time,

but it is worth it!

You can always freeze the left overs

and use them for another day

when you just don't have a thing to eat

in the house!

Enjoy!

Canvas Bag Word Art Tutorial

What do you do with a plain 'ol canvas bag?

Create something crafty, of course!

My creative friend, Kelly, gave me the idea

of putting words, like "Read, Books, Learn..."

on her son's library bag.

Well...since I'm obsessed with Word Art,

I had to try it out to see if we could have another

Craft Day with this little project.Here are the basic steps:

First, print our a favorite font in Size 200.

Next, flip the paper over and trace the letters

of your chosen word with

Heat N Bond Ultrahold (No Sew required)

iron-on adhesive.

Make sure you trace on the smooth size.

The letter you are tracing is actually backwards (for now).

My trace job, stinks!

But you get the idea.

Then, iron your letter on your favorite fabric,
on the wrong side of the fabric.
The print will be facing the ironing board.

Here's the letter "r"
on a camoflage printed fabric that Simon picked out.
Next, cut out letter and peel off the paper on the back.
Place letter on your canvas bag and iron on
the word you chose.
In this case, I chose "Learn"
because that's what we try to do when we go to
a library:)


After I ironed on my word,
I cut out stars that were freehand drawn.
I like when things aren't even and perfect
because then I don't feel bad when I make mistakes!

A plain 'ol canvas bag,

turned out pretty cute...and useful too

as we tote some heavy books from our favorite hang-out spot...

the Mission Viejo Library.

FYI...

I made this bag while chatting to my buddy, Misty...

it's a no-brainer craft, cheap on the budget,

fun to do while multi-tasking,

and can be done to spice up a useful accessory!

Hope you get a chance to create today!!

Yummy Recipe!

I don't even have a picture for this one

because I ate the muffins so fast!

But I had to share a quick and easy recipe that

your guests will be sure to enjoy...

The recipe is easy to make

and cheap on the budget and

DELICIOUS!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

(Makes 12 muffins)

1 cup fresh cranberries (but I used dried, because that's all I had)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. grated orange peel

1 3/4 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/4 cup prange juice (I squeezed and orange in there because I didn't have juice)

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup cooking oil

Mix dry ingredients first.

Add wet ingredients.

Mix well.

Use Pam on the muffin tin

and fill 2/3 high.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Kids Klub

I have been going to our Kids Klub

since I was pregnant...

5 years now.

It's a park date that mommies can go to to hang out

and let the kiddoes play.I'm so thankful for these friends...

we're missing a few,

including Archer (in this pic) who was hiding near a bush...

Simon LOVES

his buddies...

and so do I!

Kids Klub has been not only a playdate for Simon,

but also for ME!

Thanks, Mommies!

Don't Forget....

Remember Simon's Piggy Bank?

He was starting to save his coins to give to

the Haiti Fund at our church.

I asked if he wanted to do something else

with his money and he said,

"Nope...it's for Haiti."It added up in the last few weeks...

$24.17 to be exact.

Yes, it could be more...
but it is something.
There's a saying for a ministry that I heard,
"Loose Change to Make a Change."
That's all it was...
loose change.
But every penny counts in the life of
a Haitian right now.

We're still praying for change, healing and restoration
in that situation over there.


I'm going to try not to forget about it...
I don't want to forget about it...
because they are still hurting,
still homeless,
still searching,
still needing us to help in any way we can.

PRAY...


Don't forget!

Super Cade!

This is Simon's friend, Cade...

he loves Super Heroes

of all kinds!
Thought he should have his very own
Super Hero Cape
with a big fat "C"
for CADE!

He loved his Super Hero role
as I clicked away with my camera...

this was my favorite pose!

oh, and this one too!

Happy Birthday, buddy!

Thanks for being a great model for bubsies!

FYI...

I love making these Capes and can make one for you too!

Fabrics and colors will vary according to what I have in stock.

Craft Day

Can I just say that I had a dream come true today?!!!

Well...

I DID!!! I have ALWAYS wanted to have a Craft Day at my own home...

yummy coffee and treats,

kids taken care of,

and lots of crafting!!!

It happened!

Three sweet, beautiful, and very creative and crafty sisters

came over today and blessed my socks off!

We made a cute, little burlap wreath

using fabric, hot glue, little brads, paper, stamp pad & stamps,

some twine, and of course, burlap.

Even Baby Beau came for a visit and didn't make a peep
the entire time!!
Thank you, Beau!

It was so wonderful to just be creative,
be silly, and be with buddies
all at the same time!
And the best part was...
that this wreath costs about $5 to make....
and it's SUPER cute to hang on a door
inside or outside.


Thanks to Daddy Dave...
I was able to be uninterrupted
and know Simon and his buddy, Max,
were well taken care of.
Love you, Dave!




Tah-Dah!
Love this, Kelly!
Good job!

Thanks to Tatertots and Jello blog that I found,

we were able to have a
fun-filled Craft Day
and walk away with a sweet little wreath
that's perfect all year long!

Thank you, girls!
It was a perfect day!!
Can't wait till next time!!

More Family Band...

Grandparent Style! Go Grammy!

Go Pops!

Simon was in heaven!!!

Family Band

We've been playing Family Band for quite some time now...

It our "Family Time" together...

just the three of us...

no interruptions...

nothing except the THREE of us...

loving our family and doing what makes our sweet boy happy...

Drumming! Simon makes up songs about everything!

From his new room,

to the bugs outside,

to worship songs he loves at church,

to absolutely anything that he feels inspired by!

We were worshipping to

"They That Wait on The Lord"

in this picture...

I kind of feel like tearing up because

Simon loves singing to Jesus!

I mean...how could you not feel close to tears

when you hear your little one

singing his heart out to his

Savior?!!!

"He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar like wings on eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

-Isaiah 40:29-31

Hero...

This Kid is my Hero... He delights in:

apples, carrots, rice cakes, zuchinni pancakes,
blueberries, sunbutter, rice bread,
chicken thighs cooked in olive oil with Sea Salt,
bbq'd veggies, brown rice,
and fruit smoothies with protein powder!
I would be skinny minnie if I ate like Simon!
Praise God he is happy with his "treats"!
What a hero he is to me
as I inhail every dessert I see,
every morsal of sweets I get my hands on,
and eat whatever I want.
I need to be little more like my boy...
healthier than I could ever imagine...
and HAPPY!

Word Art Fabric Tutorial

Rememebr this?

The Word Art Tutorial is down a few posts,

under the Label "sewing tutorial."Well, I wanted to add some spice to it, so...
I cut some strips (2"x7") in green and orange prints
that matched my Word.

Next, I sewed them,

right side to right side, in pairs.

After that, I sewed the pairs to another pair,

making four pices linked together.

Then, I sewed the link of 4 strips onto my Word fabric.

I matched another 4 piece strip to that,

but mismatched, so the seams were NOT even.

Next, I found a stronger toned fabric for the border.

Depending on your sized Word Art,

you may or may not need another fabric for the border.

After I sewed my border on,

I stapeled the finished product to a regular cork board

from Target ($6).

Pretty simple...

Pretty darn cute,

if ya ask me!