Saturday, February 27, 2010

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!


Friday, February 26, 2010

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!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Another Word Art Tutorial

I know...I know...
I'm addicted to this Word Art stuff
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!

Monday, February 22, 2010

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!!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

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!!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

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!


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

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.

Monday, February 15, 2010

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!!!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

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!



Thursday, February 11, 2010

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!