Crafty Memo Board - NO SEW!

So, this project has been 1/2 done for at least a month - pitiful, I know! However, today has brought with it an attitude which requires all things unfinished to at least be attempted. This is a very easy project, with no sewing! Just some straight pins and a glue gun (that I remembered I forgot to turn off - be right back!)

This isn't an exact tutorial but I think you'll get the jist of how to do this (assuming you want to!)

SUPPLIES: Foam board cut to desired size, adhesive spray, batting, straight pins, hot glue gun, misc. buttons, thread and ribbon (one for the cross pieces and one for the "hanger") I used less than one roll for each items.

Begin by spraying the board with adhesive on one side and applying the batting to it. Once that is set, cover the board with your desired fabric. I used straight pins to keep the fabric on the board and tight. The number of pins depends on your level of OCD - I obviously used quite a few! ha! Scroll down to the next photo to see the corners and back for reference - sorry they are out of order.

Once you have the front adhered you could easily apply the ribbon and hang it but for a more finished look I added the criss-cross pieces and the buttons. Since there is batting it looks a bit "quilted"

I hot glued the tied bow to the ribbon hanger because the ribbon is one sided and I didn't want too much of the white showing. If you had a double-sided ribbon this step could probably be eleminated.

I am hoping for an old-fashioned hook at some point but for now a standard nail will have to do! Hope you like it!

Have a great weekend and do something fun - mine will be filled with soccer games and a birthday party for my sweet niece Taylor! (Oh and this reminds me it's my brother's birthday too - better not forget that!)

"You've been pretty crafty today!"

Was the direct quote from my child yesterday as I was on project #2 (which was her skirt) Project #1 isn't finished due to insufficient supplies - ugh!

This was very simple! Seriously! I found some fat quarters at Hobby Lobby that were fall colors and coordinated (so I don't have to do that part) and that's pretty much the only supply. I did add the grosgrain ribbon as a ruffle as an after thought and I had that from my fall wreath from the previous post left over. Love it when that happens!

Anyway, I cut each quarter into equal strips and then decided which order I wanted them in. I just sewed each section together. Once all of the pieces were sewn together I made a "pocket" for the elastic to go through and finished the top off very simply. I gather the ribbon (kind of a chore) and then attached it as my finishing touch.


Our model was VERY EXCITED to have this! and that make this mommy VERY EXCITED! I did this in less than 1/2 a day and between football games, cooking dinner, laundry, etc. Due to the simple nature it didn't require a ton of dedicated thought process.

Hope this inspired you to do something fun and crafty. The whole skirt cost less than probably $8 - that is cool, very cool!

What to do this weekend?

a Fall ribbon wreath! Huh, you say? Well it's super easy and took approx. 45 min to one hour. You can do that while watching the Gators (or your team of choice) play football this weekend. There is little brain power or even attention to detail required.

So let's start. You will need a straw wreath, fall colored ribbon, and scissors. That's all! I used an 18 inch wreath and approx. 30 yards of ribbon. Hurry, Hobby Lobby has all this at 50% off this week!


Start with your first roll and cut and sporadically (sp)? tie pieces of ribbon (maybe 8 inches or so - test it and see. I didn't measure I just eyeballed it) Continue this process with all the different color/patterns of ribbon.


There is one thing I discovered. If you are like me (and I know at least one of you out there is -LISA!) then you will want to cover as much of the straw as possible. This can be better accomplished when you tie your knots at different spots on the wreath. i.e.l - to the inside, then to the outside, then the middle and start over again. if you tie them all in the middle it doesn't look as whimsical.


And here is the finished product on my front door! LOVE it - David actually walked through while I was making it and said, Hey, I like that, it looks cool! Love kudos from the hubby:)


I think I might craft something to hang from the bottom that says Happy Fall or Harvest of something but for now it works great and it's up - that is half the battle these days! Thanks for stopping by and let me know what you think. I think it would be neat for Valentines Day or 4th of july which is when I origianlly wanted to do this project - see how far behind I am - ha!

Almost No Sew Project

Sew to continue on my theme of Teacher Apprec. (mini-version) I wanted to do a banner. those are so trendy right now, right? but i didn't have a ton of time. here's what i used: bandana of choice (ours are school colors) wonder under, felt, and a role of ribbon. of course your sewing machine. you could actually even use brads to attach the penants together for a whole diffrerent look.


first i adhered the wonder under to the felt. then i cut out a letter template with my cricut and traced it to the back side of the felt. (tip: make sure if your letter is side specific and you don't want it on backwards, trace it backwards and then flip it over before adhering it to penant) I cut my penants with a sharp pair of fabric scissors - no real measuring here. i cut the first one and then used it as a "rough" template for the rest. then i decided on the order of the penants, adhered the letter and then ran one long stitch.

i am not very good at explaining these things but it was really easy and i know most of you could figure it out just by seeing the photos. The teachers were impressed and here it is displayed at school in the teacher eating area.


If you try it, let me know!

"Salmon" Apple Cupcakes?

Red icing - REALLY! That is a chore that I was not prepared for. Not mentally, physically. I did not buy enough red food coloring - not even sure the store had that much anyway. We did a THANK YOU for all our teachers and all the hard work they put together for our new school I saw this idea HERE and thought - ahhh - perfect! Well, i don't normally try to show my interpretation of a great thing when it goes wrong but I just can't help it. Look at hers - how round they are, the leaves are cute, etc. Anyway mine tasted good and the teachers were thrilled.


48 of these red babies (or salmon colored as I liked to call them) all over the counter, all afternoon. i still have pink in my nails!


Here is how they looked once they were on the plate...who knew tootsie rolls would melt in room temp - i guess if you live in florida, anything can melt.


It's the thought that counts, right? That's what I'm telling myself anyway. Happy Tuesday:)

All I Want for Christmas....

is my two front teeth! At least that's what he's hoping to be singing! This was nothing short of drama. For a solid week he whined, cried, was petrified to lose his tooth. He almost skipped out on Big Kahuna's the last time because he was afraid he would lose it in the water, swallow it, or God forbid . . . it might hurt for a second - ugh!

Well, last Sunday morning while eating his cinnamon roll - it came out! He was just as excited as he had been scared!!! I love this kid:) He is all heart - good or bad. He hasn't a care in the world but yet is so sensitive. He shared his money and used part of it for "junk" food at school. He's not worried about saving it or using it in the future. It's the here and now. Sometimes I wish I could be more like this, sometimes.

He wasn't in his birthday suit but was sporting some undies here - meant to edit it but couldn't and still keep the tooth in there. Though the loss of the first tooth changes them from a baby forever, I am excited about what his future brings.

See you soon with my apple cupcake saga.....

The new "normal" -

So often I find myself in a routine. I like a routine. Clearly a little too much because I am struggling with this new "normal" I once said to my pastor - "I just want my family to be normal" I meant: get along, enjoy each other, tease without offending, those types of things. His response: "you are normal" By this he meant we are all dysfunctional to a degree. Sometimes I remember this and it always makes me rest a bit easier.

Lately my life has taken some turns...some changes. Not huge changes.. just alot of small changes. The largest is the "part-time" job of substitute teaching. I enjoy it (most days) and I particularly enjoy receiving great reviews which is probably why I continue (that and I want a few things here and there - ha!) Anyway, I am adjusting to this..some days better than others. One day last week I didn't do so well..it was my Dad's birthday.. and I remembered it ahead of time but not the day of!!!! HORRIBLE (to use one of Braden's robust vocab. words) So I had to make up for it, spend a bit more maybe than normal and I made him a card. I sure hope he liked it and I tried to remind him that this was in no way an indication of my lack of love for him and I sure hope he believes me:( Here is the card I made.

Used some great goodies I got back when we went to Sarasota at a LSS and just couldn't wait to use them (a month later) The paper is standard. Tabs are October Afternoon (LOVE!!) and the alphas are stamped and K&Co.


See how "not normal" my life is - look at all these goodies and I hadn't touched a one of them. Maybe soon, real soon!

Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear your experience with a new "normal"

Sew Fun!

So my love for sewing cannot be categorized into normal sewing. I don't just want to do a pattern - they frustrate me! I will not be defeated by them but every now and again I enjoy the things that don't require a pattern, just a little brain power (and a few scrapping tools:))

I made this little shirt for our friend Carter's first birthday party this weekend. It was a cupcake party and we tried to match the colors. Needless to say, I want some of the online fabrics desperately and just know that is an obsession waiting to happen.


Here is the sweet boy in his shirt - looks just like his older brother if you ask me.


And here's the damage caused post-birthday-cake-throwing-on-the-floor episode. He was too cute and really didn't want any - literally tried to dump the huge cupcake onto the floor! Only at age one can you get away with that huh?


Thanks for stopping by - tomorrow is my first day off of work in over a week and boy do I have a "pile" of things to do - not to mention I never told my Dad happy birthday so I better be making up for that with a good gift. see you soon.

The First Sign...

is the last sign ... Last Saturday is the last time we'll see this sign until next summer which is one sign that summer is "officially"over:( We made several trips this summer to Big Kahuna's and were excited to have Melissa and the girls join us for the last half of the summer. Here are a few shots from our "farewell" visit.


She loves to ride but this day she was way more into the book that Daddy had previewed (see previous post for more info)


Taylor loved the "whale" which is part of the kiddie area and is a collection of slides. Loved catching her from "behind the bush"


The frog! Oh my, due to all the water and our previous locations I was never able to get a good shot of this - one of Taylor and Tori's original favorite spots is this frog slide - can't you just imagine why.

Clearly not up for the camera but SUPER CUTE anyway!

This trip Uncle Bryan graced us with his presence - and although rare - we did get a semi-smile out of him and the group in the wave pool.

Sweet eyes!

So clearly these days take it out of us all - however, this is the first time he has EVER fallen asleep at the water park. I knew he didn't feel well and has been suffering with a cold ever since. Love that the bag of popcorn is still tightly within his grasp.

So, until next year we say farewell to Big Kahuna's - It was fun while it lasted!!!!

Hubby Love!

My husband doesn't read my blog (or at least he doesn't unless he happens to be standing over my shoulder as I'm posting it - which right now he is soundly sleeping) So I feel free to share without appearing too mushy. My husband IS NOT a read-for-fun kind of guy!!! I have NEVER in 13.5 years of marriage seen him read a book - EVER! If it is a spa manual, a TV instruction manual, and annually a midnight read of toy instructions just before Christmas Day - then maybe.

However, we recently went on a business trip to Sarasota and were looking to bring home "surprises" for our children. This happened to be books - school has started again and they need to be reading - plus i want them to love it (or at least like it more than their father does.) Anyway, we found a book for Mason (finding age appropriate books for boys is about as difficult as finding age appropriate clothes for girls) Anyway, it was by John Grisham but it was supposed to be for kids. We decided someone needed to read it first:

and low and behold - David did it! He read for three days solid at bedtime until he finished it. It was a lengthy book and he would laugh outloud which I love. And I love him for stepping outside his "comfort zone" to look out for his child! He's such a great husband and father!

Hope to be back next week with some crafty stuff - working on a couple of projects and hopefully a bit of sewing - hopefully!