My Yummy HomeMade Breakfast

I started making my own Greek yogurt several weeks ago

and I must say

I do a pretty darn good job at making it.

This yogurt is so good and low in calories and fat.

I use 1%  milk to make mine.

I found the recipe on Pinterest, but here is the link for it

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/homemade-ingredients/homemade-greek-yogurt/

The other night I made some granola to add to my yogurt and YUM!

I didn't measure I just kinda dumped,

but here's the jist of what I did.

I thawed a can of frozen apple juice and dumped it in my mixing bowl

then I had a bag of whole almonds and I whized those

in the whizzer to a slightly chunky consistency.

I grabbed a couple hand fulls of crasions and threw those in

then I just added oatmeal until I had a consistency that was wet, but not drippy.

Moist though not to dry.

I added approx. 3 tablespoons of honey, a dash of nutmeg

and a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon.

and then mixed it all up and baked it on 300 degrees

until the granola started to brown a little.

I also stirred it around a few times.

It smells so good!!

Then I let the granola cool and put it in a gallon sized baggie and

WhA-La!

I have a great breakfast, snack or even a kinda sorta replacement for ice cream.

I

Scrubbies made from Recycled Nylon Food Bags

I crocheted a couple scrubbies for the kitchen the other day.

They are scratchy for those tough stains and can be used over and over again.

So guess what I made this handy dandy scrubbie out of??

The netted bag off of the spiral ham we cooked.

I also made some out of the onion bags,

orange bags and lemon bags.

All you have to do is make sure you snip off the TOP of the bag

 and NOT rip it open in the middle. 

Then you lay the bag flat

fold it over a couple of times

 making sure to keep your top edges even 

and then cut the bag into approx. 1" strips.

Loop the strips together to make a big string,

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2010/how-tuesday-how-to-make-plarn-crochet-an-eco-friendly-tote-b/

being VERY careful not to pull to hard because the netting will rip

roll it into a ball

and then start crocheting.

I use an I hook and

I used the same stitch I used on my regular scrubbies

http://priscillascrochet.net/free%20patterns/Kitchen/Scalloped%20Potholder.pdf

only I made this scrubbie smaller. 

I only did two rows

because I don't have a ton of the netting and because this way I can just grab the scrubbie with my fingertips and get right on that stuborn stuck on stuff.

Cute Little Gathered Skirt

I made this skirt for my granddaughter,

 Leigha.

It was so easy

and I really hope it fits her!

Mallory liked it so much and decided she wanted one too.

She wore it to school today but,

 I didn't get a picture :(

I made her a headband to go with the skirt.

She looked really cute....

although I need to get her a t-shirt that matches the fabric a little better.

So I'll take one when she gets home and post it.

I got the general directions for this market skirt

 from the blog Made.

Scrapin' Bag

I made these 12x12 squares from my collection of selvages last summer,

 but haven't been able to decide what to do with them. 

 Then I had an ah-ha moment.

I was trying to think of something pretty and unique to make for an upcoming special day for somebody and I thought to myself, "self, why not make a cute bag out of those selvage squares."

So I did.

The whole bag is made of scraps of fabric.

I used flannel from thrifted sheets to sew the selvages to and then a piece of interfacing that my neighbor gave me that was going to get thrown out to add a little extra stiffness to the bag.

I used the rest of the pillowcase from the 2 pillowcase dresses that I made on my previous post for the drawstring part of the bag.

.

The flower is my first attempt at making a fabric rose.  I used a yo-yo from my stash of yo-yo's to put behind the rose for a little extra pop of color and I also added a pin backing so the flower can be removed.

I really LOVED this bag and hope that the someone

 special that I'm giving it to likes it as much as I do! 

Nifty Organizational Ideas

I am the world's worst organizer.  

I usually do know where everything is, but I'd like to be more organized.....

I've been really working on it and here are a couple of things that are helping me.

I used the empty container from a big thing of cheese balls to put my yarn in.  I just washed it out, cut a hole in the lid for my yarn to go through and duct tape the hole for reinforcement.  Now all of my yarn for my project fits in the container and the I just put the color I'm using on the top and run the yarn through the hole and when I'm not crocheting I can put my hook through the hole and I won't misplace it.

  TaDa!

Super Easy and a way to recycle, reuse and get organized!

Next is this really nifty ironing board that we got.  Earl saw it and thought of me and my stacks of fabric laying all over the place.  It is great for using next to my sewing machine.  I have some fabric in the bins underneath and then I can use the ironing board whenever I need it.  This cool little thing is on wheels so I can move it around if I need to. 

Love it!

Barefoot Sandals and Pillow Case Dresses

I've been meaning to make some barefoot sandals for awhile now because my sister Robyn and I both hate to wear shoes.  So I got busy the other night and made myself up a pair.

I made these out of a soft hemp yarn. 

 Not to bad for my first pair.

Then I thought I'd make a baby pair since I was babysitting one of the grandbabies and could use their little feeties as my model...

and TaDa!

Here's what I came up with

and I already sold 2 pairs on Etsy the same day I put them on.

Yay Me!

So then this morning I was looking at those cute little pillowcase dresses you see on Etsy and decided to make sample dresses for my 2 nieces, Hannah and Elizabeth.

I bought a double size lavender gingham sheet from the thrift store for my rag rugs for $3.00 and it came with  2 pillowcases, so of what better way to use the pillowcases than to make dresses.

 

I hope they fit the girls.  I think I might have made the armholes a little to long, but we'll see and then we can make adjustments on my pattern after that.

More Spring Break Fun!

I saw this super easy idea on Pinterest and the kids really seemed to have making their own crayon art.  The pin came from the blog Whatever...

I had a bunch of boxes of crayons that I bought for .20 a box before school started and I had some canvas on hand so we were set.

We just used and 8x10 canvas and a box of 24 crayons fit perfect.

I hot glued the crayons on and gave the kids the heat gun

and here's what they made.

and Ta Da!

Vivianna, Mallory, Olivia and Jace with their crayon art.

Beautiful, fun, easy and cheap!

Oh yeah!

Having Fun on Spring Break

I have been meaning to try to make our PlayDough for a long time. 

Jace LOVES playing with playdough and I needed to think of something for the kids to do since they ended up with 13 days off of school for spring break. 

So the Jace, Mallory and 2 of my grandaughters, Vivianna and Olivia got busy.

  The kids did the measuring and picked out the colors they wanted and I cooked it. 

 It literally takes 5 minutes to make a batch of playdough. 

Quick, easy, no mess and fun....that's what I like!

I got the recipe off of Pinterest and it was posted by

Musing From a Stay at Home Mom.

Thanks Erika for the recipe and for a few minutes of my time

 and hours of fun for the kids!

One Year Ago......

I was lucky and never had anyone in my family die when I was a child.  I was able to grow up and have so many good times with my parents and grandparents. 

Papa passed away about 25 years ago and Nana just 7 months ago.  So many wonderful memories and they both are constantly in my thoughts.  I wish I would have had more time with them when they were alive, but I treasure the times we had and am so thankful that Nana and Papa were in my life.

My Granny was such a wonderful lady and I think of her often.  I feel sad about her passing, but part of me feels like her passing was a blessing because her memory was gone and there was a sadness about her being in the state she was in.  I wish I would have been old enough to have had her teach me some of her quilting skills, but I do have some of her quilts and wonderful memories of her.

When my grandparents passed on I thought my heart would never heal.  There hasn't been a day in the past 10 years that I haven't thought about them.  So many things that I do or see during the day remind me of Grandpa and Grandma.

Then my Daddy died 1 year ago today and my heart was not only broken, but left with a huge hole.  I miss him so much.  I think about him all the time.  Sometimes I see him in my dreams and he is with Grandpa and Grandma and I get so sad if someone wakes me up.  My dreams of him are so real.  I feel like he is still with me and I would give anything to be sitting around Grandpa and Grandma's kitchen table talking with them all.  Daddy was just to young to be gone (71).  It all happened to fast and I wasn't ready.  I love my Daddy so much and I hope he knows how much he was loved by all of his family.

Thanks for all of the wonderful memories Daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, Nana and Papa.  I love you all,  pray for your souls and that you are resting in peace. 

Rag Rugs and Plastic Rugs

I finished 4 rugs last week in the hopes of clearing out some of my craft stuff...

and then Earl and I went to the thrift store.

I got some more beautiful sheets to fill my drawers with until I get to crocheting another rug.

I think my craft stuff is like doing dishes or laundry.....

it's never ending....

But,

definitely more fun!!

Sorry for the poor picture quality, It's been cloudy here and the lighting is terrible for photos.

This is a rug out of sheets. 

This pretty blue rug is also out of sheets and I fringed the sides with strips of sheets.

 This bag is made out of white plastic Wal-Mart, Target, Dollar Tree, etc...... bags.

It takes several hundred bags to make one rug, but a great way to use my neighbors bags who don't use cloth shopping bags.  So after I bum bags off my neighbors I cut the bags into strips, connect them together and roll the plastic strips into balls.

I crochet the strips of bags with cotton crochet thread

for extra color and strength.

I made this rug for our bathroom floor.  It is out of Hannaford bags and the blue cotton thread.

It really looks so much prettier than I thought it would and works great for standing on when we get out of the shower.

Hee! Hee! Hee!

I saw this picture on Pinterest on it made me laugh so I had to share it.

Check out the tattoos on the two end ones.

Hee!  Hee!  Hee!

A Big Box of Goodies

Earl's niece, Shyra, was so sweet and dropped this big box off goodies off to me last week.

It is packed full of scrapbook supplies, ribbons, fabric, fabric scraps, thread, stickers, etc......

THANK YOU SHYRA!

Here are some baskets that I made out of some of the fabric scraps

and some cute little carrots too.

I've had so much fun playing with all the goodies!

Thanks Shyra so much for sharing with me and for a nice visit!

Grandbaby #14 is Going to Be a Girl!!

Congratulations to my son Chad and his wife Jenn and of course, Chad, Jr. on the news that their new baby is going to be a girl!!  Whoo-Hoo!  Now we'll have 5 grandaughters and 9 grandsons. 

Yes we are blessed!

:( Sad Face :( No internet for a while :(

I haven't had internet for several weeks now and won't for several more.  Boo-Hoo!  What did we ever do before we had internet???  I feel like I'm on a deserted island!

Getting Creative on a Budget

Jace got invited to a little girl at schools birthday party this weekend.

So, I got busy sewing.

 I made her a tic-tac-toe fabric board and felt X & O pieces

 a lined bag to put the game & pieces in

 and a fleece boa style scarf and two hair pom-poms for her ponytail.

 I bought 1 yard of fleece and was able to get 2 scarves

(one for a child and one for a toddler)

8 larger hair pompoms

&

8 medium hair pompoms.

Not to bad for a piece of fabric that cost me $4.54!

I also made some things for a Peppermint Pixie swap I was in.



 I had the doll pieces already and I just added pipe cleaners for the body,

a felt dress, a crocheted shawl with a matching hat and

I crocheted the legs and added little pompoms for shoes.

I also added little candycanes for the pixies wings.

Not to bad for things I had on hand.

Then I made a mitten ornament out of felt and added a plastic candy cane.

I also made a candy cane matchbox ornament

and some goodies for the inside that I had on hand.

I painted some clothespins & homemade peppermint bark.

I've been trying to become more frugal and creative at the same time.

I think I did pretty good!

Feeling the Need to Swap this Year?

Val from YarniGras is hosting a Year of Enchantment Swap for the 3rd year. 

If you'd like to join our group go to her swapping blog and check it out. 

Family Time at Jace's School

Yesterday we went to Jace's classroom for 15 minutes of Family Time.

The kids asked questions and we showed them

pictures of our family.

Mallory and I made this mitten garland as a gift for the class.

the pictures aren't to whoopy but there are mittens,

 beads, felt circles and snowballs that spell out winter.

We also made some mini pumpkin muffins for the class,

but they had to wait until snack time to eat them :(

Mallory and Ezie were counting on having one!

Oh well, I made some for them for after school :)

Thanks Jace for bringing us to school to share things about our family!

Whoa! Slow Down!

Whoa! 

Stop the Clock!

photo from coloribus.com

 I need some more time before Christmas to finish all of my projects.

  So let's just stop the clock and give me an extra day or two

 so I can finish without being totally stressed. 

Sound good to you?

Now to get busy!

Pretty Prim Dresses

Since my girls don't wear dresses anymore

and these are really easy

I made some

dresses to hang in a room or use as an ornament.

They are about 6 or so inches tall.

This dress I crocheted a color and cuffs onto the dress and then crocheted a little hand muff. 

 It has beads for buttons and the hanger is a cinnamon stick with a piece of jute tied to it.

I also grunged the dress with a mixture of coffee and spices.

I think it's so cute and it smells yummy too!

This dress a gathered the ends of the sleeves, crocheted a collar and grunged it.

Simple but sweet!

On this dress I added some lace and a ribbon and grunged her up good.

I have some more I made that I added bloomers to.

I had fun making these.

I could just be creative and have fun with them.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my little grungy prim dresses!

I Look Mad Cool Today!

"I Look MAD Cool today!"

That's what my Jace said after we fixed his hair.

He's been practicing with water on getting this look

and so this morning we put gel in it and I helped him spike it

and now he looks mad cool!

He also has his KU Sweatshirt,

his favorite jeans and shoes on so that really made the look.

I love having such a happy guy!

of course....

I don't think he was looking mad cool for me,

but for

his love.....

Angelina.

Oh boy,

I'm not ready for this yet!!

Slow down Jace!