Our Family Project

Our Boy Scout Troop and Young Women needed to do a fundraiser for their upcoming camps this summer.  So, they did an auction/dinner/talent show.  It was catered by Texas Roadhouse for $5/person, or $20/family.  A lot of people came, but not very many people bid on things in the auction.  Eliza donated her time at a 1-Hour Nail Stamping Party for up to 8 guests.  Her item went for $50!!!  Crazy, right?  I was sufficiently impressed.   My donation was this scripture tote and cover, as well as a custom tote and cover to be made.  The Young Women president didn't realize that this tote and cover were in the auction, she thought they were only an example, so it wasn't auctioned off originally.  Originally, it was part of the silent auction, and one paper was set out for people to bid on the item.  One lady thought that she was bidding on THIS tote and cover, and everyone else thought they were bidding on a custom one to be made.  ...

I hope my sister-in-law can forgive me for posting this picture before she actually receives this gift.  This is the carrier cover that I made for her. I used all fabric from my stash, and a little bit that my wonderful mother gave to me.  Okay, a lot that she gave to me ... in fact, I made it out of some layer cakes that she gave me that she had received for free.  The dark brown sashing and binding is actually a really fine wale corduroy that I bought at Hobby Lobby a long time ago in the remnant basket.  And, the lining (which you can't see) is a white minky.  Should be pretty warm.  Anyway, I LOVE it!  Wish I'd had one like this when I had my babies in MN.  I hope that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and new baby Crew love it as well.  Congratulations!  We love you!

I was privileged to make the scripture tote for my good friend's daughter.  She recently turned eight-years-old and received her own set of scriptures.  I quickly learned that when I develop my own pattern for something, I should probably write it down!  It was June 2010 when I made the last scripture tote ... the one for which I actually made the pattern.  I didn't write down anything about it, except what I did on my blog ... so I just went off of that and what I could remember. I spent quite a bit of time trying to remember how to make the bag, and actually made one and it was too small!  So, I took it apart and changed the pattern measurements and then it was slightly too big.  *sigh* I started again, but this time I had expected it, so I just had to do a couple of alterations.  I also eliminated one of the pockets in the inside and added a zippered pocket on the outside ... A change that I will definitely do again next time.  At any rate,...

Made this apron for my good friend for her birthday.  She picked out the fabrics ... I wasn't too sure about them when I saw them online.  But, like my sister, she has fantastic design sense, and, of course, they look so great together!  I love this pattern too ... so easy to make, it worked up in no time! (P.S. AA, I cropped your head out of the photo because I never know how others feel about their faces being posted on someone else's blog.  :-) Thanks for sending me the photo!)

Maryanne needed something to wear this week.  She has been having a hard time getting to the bathroom ... which leads to wearing three to four pairs of pants everyday.  On this particular day, she didn't have any "dry" or "clean" pants to wear.  After looking and looking for something ... yes, it was laundry day ... I decided to take on Dana's challenge .  I figured I could make her a skirt in a shorter amount of time than it would take to wash and dry her some pants. So, Maryanne sat on a chair in the sewing room in just her underwear for probably 30-40 minutes while I made her this skirt.  It took me longer than I thought because .... Da da duh! Shorts! I'd been holding onto an old t-shirt with the idea that I'd make Maryanne a cute dress out of it.  I decided after a while that I really didn't want to see Maryanne's underwear every time she put her knees up.  So, I cut into the t-shirt, used the hem of the shirt fo...

On Memorial Day our scout troop had an auction.  They sent around a sign up sheet for donations at least a month in advance.  I signed up to bring reusable sandwich bags.  Then, two Sundays before Memorial Day I crossed my name off because we had just decided to go over to my sister-in-law's house for the holiday.  So, I figured we wouldn't be at the auction, so why contribute, right? Then, we decided the day before Memorial Day to go to the auction.  I felt awful for saying I'd contribute something, then saying I wouldn't, so I said I would again.  But, as I told people that I would be contributing reusable sandwich bags, they all looked at me funny and said, "I have no idea what those are."  So, I decided to contribute something that wouldn't take a lot of time to make, but is easily recognizable: Buttercup Bags.  They went for $20 to a family with two little girls who carried them out.  It was adorable to see them with the bags. ...

Jon has been having some tooth pain recently.  He went in to the dentist's office yesterday to see what could be causing the problem.  Leaving with a prescription for an antibiotic and Vicatin, he came home with the understanding that he needs to get a second opinion form an endodontist.  Not reassuring.  But, the pain killer has only been taking the edge off ... that's how painful it is. Anyway, this morning he took the Vicatin on a completely empty stomach (he's supposed to take it either 2 hours before eating, or 2 hours after eating) and promptly started to feel dizzy.  Not the best thing to feel when you have to present a webinar to over 40 people.  So, he asked me to come check on him in 30 minutes to see if he was saying some really loopy things during his meeting.  This is a precarious situation for us all because I DO NOT have the most quietest children in the world. I knew I needed to give them something to do in the school room so they w...

My niece turned nine last week.  And, as always, it was an excuse for me to make her something!  I debated between a buttercup bag and an apron.  So glad I made the apron.  Her mom does a lot of baking, and she includes her children all the time.  When my niece opened the present, she was thrilled!  And, so was I.  There's nothing so satisfying as knowing that you've used your talents to brighten another person's day (especially someone you love)!

To move away from more controversial topics, here is my most recent finished project.  A camera strap cover for Molly.  I will probably alter this pattern one day.  It's just a little bit too wide; but needs to be to accommodate the lens cap pocket -- something that I think I will definitely need.  At any rate, I loved this fabric when I saw it over a year ago, and I'm so glad I finally found something for it !

A couple weeks ago, Andrew's teacher "placed an order" for some reusable sandwich bags and wraps for a baby shower for another teacher at the school.  I had no idea how much of a hit they would be!  She said that all of the teachers loved them and were interested in buying some.  Andrew's teacher said that if I wanted to put together a flier, she would pass it around.  Well, I didn't get that flier finished before my children went to school yesterday, but I did get their teacher gifts finished ... just in the nick of time, too, as it was their last day.  One of the teachers Eliza gave the sandwich bags to was ecstatic ... she must have been at the baby shower.  Andrew's teacher was convinced that I could start up my own business just by selling these bags to the teachers at their school  .... maybe one day.  I'm still not sure I really want to do it ... I enjoy my freedom too much.

Eliza just finished a science unit on the solar system.  As part of their "discoveries" they had eight different kinds of projects to complete.  Some were as easy as writing a letter to the president about why we should not live on Mars, or drawing a picture of a space shuttle (which, I admit, may not have been easy for some students).  Eliza did those two projects as well as researching an astronaut and preparing a presentation about them, and several other projects.  The last two that she turned in today were a diorama of the solar system and a solar system board game. She just barely completed her projects last night, with a little help from me.  I found the idea of making a telescope diorama online, then told Eliza about it.  She was thrilled.  Another student in her class had brought in a diorama in a box with all of the planets in orbit.  Eliza said that she didn't want to copy her and paint on the comets and meteors.  So, I did a l...

My Eliza and Kate are in a girls' singing group called the "Shine Your Light Singers."  They started participating in this group in January, and have their first performance tomorrow.  The first week of February, I asked their teacher what ideas she had for costumes and offered to make skirts for the girls.  Little did I know how much work there would be in making skirts for 12 girls.  I didn't realize the class was that large. When I volunteered my sewing services, I suggested this tiered skirt pattern remembering that I made Eliza's gypsy skirt for Halloween like this (only longer).  I remembered making her skirt in one afternoon ... a total of about three hours.  Each of these skirts took me 6+ hours because I added some topstitching to each of the tiers, and I did a narrow hem instead of just serging it and turning it under. In all, I am really pleased with the outcome of each skirt.  It was hard work to get all 13 skirts (their teacher wanted...

The other day, I was perusing one of my favorite crafting blogs, and was hit with a brick.  I'd been trying to come up with an idea for something for the children to give to their teachers for Valentine's Day, when I saw this craft blogger post about Valentine gift pouches .  The thought had never occurred to me, until then, to make my reusable sandwich bags for their teachers and fill them with treats. So, I did.  And, I think they are so cute.  The children picked out the fabric, and then wrote their names (the girls did a little doodling).  Then, I sewed them together.  I was going to guide Eliza and Kate through the sewing process, but then got carried away and just ended up sewing theirs.  Oh well, they can help me fill an order for Andrew's teacher (who, along with another teacher, wants me to make her some - photos coming soon).

I've never really given a hostess gift when going to another's house for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, etc.  But, last week when I was doing a little blog-hopping, I saw some coasters that a craft-blogger made as a hostess gift.  I remembered some fall fabric my mom gave me, and decided I would do that this year too!  Since we would be going to Jon's sister's house, and staying two nights there, I felt like I wanted to show our gratitude for their hospitality.  They were so easy to make, a really quick project, and turned out so great!  I just may have to make some for us for Christmas!

My children are quite creative.  At least, I think so.  One day they found some pom-poms that I bought years ago for a visual aid for Primary singing time.  Next thing I knew, they made a family of pom-poms.  I can't decide which one I like better: the one they called "The Mad Hatter," or the little one at the bottom on the left that makes me think of Kermit the Frog.  At any rate, I am grateful my children have so much creativity!

For my birthday present this year, I got to order something I've been thinking about getting for months and months: fabric labels!  I know that may seem a little strange to some of you, but I love how "finished" a project looks with a label on it.  After doing lots and lots of research online, I discovered that woven fabric labels are actually quite expensive, and they come in huge quantities!  The first companies I found online would make the labels for over $300 in a minimal quanity of 1000 or up.  My first thought was, "Whoa!  That is insanely expensive!"  And my second thought was, "Yikes!  There's no way I'm ever going to use 1000 labels!" So, after looking at many, many websites, I finally found someone that would make woven labels (as opposed to printed, which can fade) in a minimal quantity of 300 for $30 (for just text, not graphic).  So, that's where I got them!  My kind sister designed my labels for me after I picked out t...