Making room

**ALL THE FABRIC HAS BEEN SPOKEN FOR-THANKS FOR HELPING ME CLEAN OUT MY SCRAPS!**
My sewing room is overflowing with fabric and I really need to get rid of some of the scraps that I've collected. In a hurry.

My loss equals your gain. I have six 1 lb. bags of scraps. All of them include pieces large and small (5"x5" is the smallest). There are a variety of fabrics in each one-Hobby Lobby, vintage, designer, stuff from Joanns....equaling about one pound (over two yards in weight!!).

Here's the deal: I'm giving them away for the cost of shipping ($5). The first six people to email me (bethanycr(AT)yahoo(DOT)com) or leave a comment on this post will get an invoice (through Paypal) from me for the cost of shipping. You then have 24 hours to pay the invoice. If you don't pay, I'll move on to the next person.

Scraps are great way to add to your fabric stash or work on small projects like decoupage, hair accessories (like the little clips that Storey always wears), quilting, applique, wallets....if you need some ideas or tutorials, let me know and I'll email you some links.

I also have a 7th bag that equals almost a pound (I'll fill it up to a pound before I send it) of all boyish fabric--cars, flames, dinosaurs that sort of thing. If you want that bag, let me know in your email or comment and I'll set it aside for you. Same thing-$5, pay within 24 hours.

STAY PUFF MARSHMALLOW MAN'S COUSIN

I've been doing some hands on research for my little freezer class tomorrow night, so I've made a few new recipes in the last couple of days. Last night we had Tomato Basil Hamburgers. So good. And I made enough patties to freeze for two more meals. Very easy.

Before we went to bed last night, I got out the Rhodes frozen bread dough for tonight's dinner to thaw.

I woke this morning to find a monster. If I had slept in any longer, I think the dough mass would have crawled its way upstairs and attacked.

It all worked out in the end---I made three Ham and Cheese Braids to freeze and one to eat. Photo Courtesy of Ducks in a Row

I used the linked recipe, but if I had to do it again, I think I might try the Pioneer Woman recipe (has a few more ingredients that might add a little more kick) or use grilled chicken in lieu of ham. I think I would also use homemade dough instead of the frozen stuff. It was more expensive and (in my opinion) a little difficult to work with.

Happy freezing!

Fantastic Freezer Meals

Our ward (congregation) takes in dozens of meals every month to women who have recently had babies. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming for those who are in charge of getting volunteers (I know, I used to be one of them), especially when meals are needed at the last minute. So I organized a service project for the ladies in our congregation's Relief Society making freezer meals that can be taken to moms with new babies.

We spent $85 on the food and were able to make 14 meals!! The ladies were sent to 6 different homes so that there would be plenty of room for everyone to cook although, looking back, I think we could have accomplished the same thing at just 3 houses. Each house had a recipe to follow and ingredients to use. They doubled the recipes and prepared the meals for the freezer by packing them into freezer bags or disposable pans. And now we have quite a few ready to be delivered in the next couple of months.

My favorite way to make freezer meals is to double the recipe, eat one for dinner right away and stick the other in the freezer. It feels like no extra work and you've got something ready to eat on a night you don't feel like cooking (which for me is basically every night).

I'm actually teaching a class this week on freezer meals-kind of a tricks and tips thing. If anyone is interested, I'll try to post a summary of that as well as some links to easy freezer meals afterwards.

I made a PDF of the three recipes that we used if anyone is interested in trying them! Click on the link below to view the PDF and download to print(if you want).

Freezer Meals

Photos Galore

I love it when customers send pictures of the items I have made in use. It makes me feel like my hard work doesn't just disappear into the mailbox never to be seen again.

Happy Birthday table runner
Wedding banner (my favorite-wish I would have thought of this BEFORE I got married)Birthday banner (can you see it over the doorway?)Adorable way to hang the banner.

Spring At Last!

It hasn't snowed for a whole week. Halle-freaking-lujah. I'm realizing as I go through boxes that the kids' wardrobes are severely lacking in summer clothing-Jakson's 12 month shorts are getting a tiny bit too short. That's right, he still is wearing 12 month shorts. Remember last summer when I finally retired his 6 month bathing suit? Of all the things I have to worry about with my favorite kamikaze kid, childhood obesity is not one of them.

That said, I really should have been more motivated to sew clothes for them during the Kids Clothes Week, but alas, all I got done were the pajama pants. I'll get around to it when my life calms down.

Hahahahaha.

That was a joke.

Completely Unrelated

1. Have you ever tried talking to your kids with a puppet? I remember professors in the education department talking about the use of puppets in the classroom, but teaching sixth graders never really afforded me the chance to see one in action. Until today. Storey found a puppet in the toy box today and brought it to me. So, I put it on and talked to the kids with it for about 30 minutes. It was amazing. I'm not sure if I'm more amazed at how gullible they are (I didn't change my voice or anything, but they totally thought the thing was alive) or at how much more I was able to get out of Jakson using the puppet. He even wrote all of his letters for me--something that normally includes bribery or threats.
   
   
2. Too bad they won't be fooled by the puppet as teenagers. "So where did you really go tonight? Don't worry, I won't tell your parents."
   
   
3. I realize this announcement is coming almost a week late, but the winner of the birthday onesie is Hillari! I'll email you to get details. Congrats!
   
   
4. Only 61 more sales until the next giveaway. Any suggestions for the prize?
   
   
5. I am participating (a term I use very loosely--there's not enough time in the day!!) in this week's Kids Clothes Week Challenge on Elsie Marley. I love the idea of just sitting down and creating a summer wardrobe in a week. So far, all I've gotten to are two pairs of pajama pants, one for each of the kids using the new Noodles & Milk patterns. They were super easy to follow and didn't take long at all to make. If you want to check out some amazing kids clothes that people have made so far this week, take a look at the Elise Marley Flickr pool. Many of them have links back to the original pattern or tutorial that was used.
   
   
6. Jakson is now officially potty trained. He has slept in big boy underwear for the last week without wetting the bed once. It is a miracle. I no longer believe in any other method of potty training except for wait until they are ready.
   
   
7. And speaking of big boy underwear, I finally listed a set of three toddler dinosaur boxers in the shop. You know, just in case you know a little boy who needs a bit of motivation. Of course, only if he's ready.....
   
   
8. Back to the whole puppet phenomenon. Do you think a puppet would come in handy at Target when Jakson is having a fit on the floor about (insert something ridiculous to have a tantrum about here, i.e. your tooth falling out 8 months ago, the fact that you didn't go on Splash Mountain at Disneyland 2 months ago, Storey not sleeping in your room last night, etc.) ______________ ? Maybe if the puppet told him to get off the floor or time out, it would be more effective?
   
   
9. And also, what would you think about a mother if you saw her yelling at her kid (ahem-speaking in a firm voice, I NEVER yell...) through a puppet in the middle of Target?
   

Apparently, I am Thumbelina

Jakson brought home an interesting paper from preschool on Thursday.I'm glad someone finally noticed my angry laser eyes.
I asked him again today what he thought mommy's favorite food was and he said "cookies".
Thata boy.
And now you know why I weigh a bit more than the estimated 4 pounds.

In case you are wondering, yes I had a wonderful Mother's Day (I hope you did too!!).
My fabulous chef of a husband made this tonight just for me. Yum.
With asparagus and mashed potatoes on the side. Sheer perfection.
(And did I mention that he just turned the oven on for pie? Oh my.)
Maybe food is the way to a woman's heart as well?

Sleeping Habits

While my parents were visiting, we kicked Storey out of her room and had her sleep in our closet. This child has spent a ridiculous amount of her life sleeping in a closet. But she slept so much better during the two weeks my parents were here that we've just left her in there.

Don't worry it's a walk-in.

She takes after me and needs lots of sleep. I made the mistake of skipping her morning nap a few days ago and paid the price when she sat in her high chair sobbing about nothing for 10 minutes straight. She's a little too young for PMS, so I blame it on LOS (lack of sleep). Thankfully, it's always easy to tell that she needs a little nap before the meltdowns start if you know what signs to look for.

Assume the position

Storey's favorite naptime/bedtime books right now
And her favorite lullaby is one that Zak's grandmother used to sing.
Oh, where are you going pretty bird?
Oh, where are you going pretty bird?
I am going to my nest,
I am going to my nest,
I am going to my nest, sweet child.

And what will you find there pretty bird?
And what will find there pretty bird?
I'll find two little eggs,
I'll find two little eggs,
I'll find two little eggs, sweet child.

And what will those little eggs be?
And what will those little eggs be?
They'll be two tiny birds,
they'll be two tiny birds,
they'll be two tiny birds, sweet child.

And what will those little birds do?
And what will those little birds do?
They'll sing praises to God,
they'll sing praises to God,
they'll sing praises to God, sweet child.

In the end, it was the flies

There were many hypotheses thrown out regarding the ultimate demise of the Peep wreath, but I want you all to know that in the end, it wasn't the birds or the ants, it was the flies. I knew it was time to find a final resting place for the wreath when the flies started to swarm it. The other two were good guesses, though I'm not sure that Utah weather was taken into account--it has snowed 3 times in the past 3 days. The ants and birds are most likely still in hibernation.

Maybe I can blame the lack of visitors in the past few weeks to the fly bitten Peep wreath hanging on the door.
Hermits take note.

My newest wreath will survive even the worst of insects and hopefully won't turn back the neighbors who were undoubtedly bringing me treats but were scared by the hideousness of my door decoration.

Because one can never get enough pennants (I don't think you can O.D. on these things because if anyone has seen too many, it would be me.)--the mini pennant wreath.

Ingredients:
-simple grapevine wreath

-mini flags made with Riley Blake Summer Song

-ribbon
-hot glue gun
-fabric wreath hanger (also Riley Blake Summer Song)