Homemade - child craft and a meal

Hello everyone 🌞 It's summer and we're doing summer things. 

My grandchildren love to do crafts and when I saw this easy craft on Pinterest, I was pretty sure it would be a good one. 

The craft uses those glass pebbles sold in about every craft and floral department, clear glue and a base like a plastic lid from a yogurt carton. And something for a hanger like a piece of cording.  I first used a bent paper clip and was not crazy about it.  Cording works better.  

I made this one as a sample and test when no children were here. 

The grands made all the rest.  

Just squirt out a layer of the clear glue on the plastic lid and then put in a hanger and the glass pebbles in any design you like. 

The older grandchildren planned out their designs before using glue. The younger ones just had fun putting the pebbles into the glue with no plan.  

we used Elmers clear glue- bought at Walmart in the school supply section.  

The only drawback to this craft is the glue takes a long time for the glue to dry- close to a week.  

The children had to leave these here until they were dry and I kept them where I could check them often.  I put the glue on thick enough so I was confident the suncatchers would hold together and maybe our glue is thicker than needed to be.  

Once the glue is dry,  the sun catcher will just peel right out of the plastic lid.  

The lids can be reused for a second batch,  which is what we did.  

The ones hanging in the window were made a week ago.

The ones still drying on lids were made yesterday.  

here is a peek out one of our back windows.  Can any one guess what is going on in our backyard with a cement truck and a very hardworking contractor?  We just had a much bigger patio poured and I am so pleased and excited about it.  More on that later......

One of our favorite meals is grilled burgers and I decided at the last minute to cook them.  

I looked online and tried a yeast bun recipe that is ready in about 30 minutes.  They did mix up fast and easy.  And they were great in a pinch but I do prefer my old recipe over this one.  

The burger toppings were all grown in our backyard except for the pickles.

I cooked some fried potatoes and onions- both the potatoes and onions are also from our backyard garden.  

I call them "fried" as I cook them in a nonstick skillet with just about a teaspoon of oil.  But they are oil heavy like most deep fried potatoes  

my husband grilled the burgers in the backyard and they were so good!
this is his plate.

I hope all my readers in the northern hemisphere are having a nice summer too.

New wreath and this week's to do list

Now that my craft room is organized,  I knew what I had and decided to make a wreath for our front door.  People have been making these fluffy wreaths for years.  You just need a wreath form  and fabric squares.

Actually, you will need lots and lots fabric squares.
More than in this photo, I had to cut more.  Mine are 4 inch squares.  They do not have to be perfect and if some are really crooked or too small, they will still work.

I used an old foam wreath. 

You also need a "poker" I used a plastic paint brush end but knitting needles or a screwdriver would work too. 

Put the fabric square around the poker and dip into a little glue,  then poke the fabric in the form, about a 1/4 inch deep.
The glue is optional.  But I live in windy Oklahoma, so I wanted to add a little support.

Then just fill in the wreath, front and sides with  fabric squares.  

 Close up and I did put fabric on the back of mine as our front door has a window.  I didn't want to look at the bare back of the styrofoam wreath.

And here is my new to do list for this week and my press on nail manicure.  Impress is my favorite brand. 

Have a good week everyone ❤️

organized craft room

It's not a cute craft room yet, and its not Pinterest worthy,   but it is clean and organized.  And I am so happy I had time to get this job done.  Decorating will come later. 

This is my Necchi sewing machine and this desk that belonged to my husband's grandparents suits me just fine to sew on.  The drawers are nice storage and the desktop is enough sewing area for most things I sew. 

Rubber stamps on the wall,  a work table for paper crafts and the bookshelf has baskets of glitter, markers, ink pads, craft scissors, etc:
On the top shelf is a Cricut machine for paper cutting. 

This cubby was in the closet but it was hard to see in so I moved it out and added sorted fabric in each cubby.  On the top is fabric that I have projects in mind to make first.
Roll wrap is in the crock and the container on the right is full of old white towels that I plan to cut up and hem for rags. 

these shelves all got sorted.  Fabric is on 4 shelves. 
Perler beads are on one shelf,  Beads and jewelry making things have a shelf
One shelf holds 2 baskets of glues, tapes and all adhesives
Also sewing notions,  plastic canvas and yarn,  supplies for kid crafting,  more quilt scraps, batting, ribbon and some patterns-


Before- the closet was a disaster but not anymore! 

I hung up the ironing supplies in their rack on one door. 
Scrapbook paper and such is on one big shelf.
On the floor is a box of fall craft supplies and a box full of gift bags and tissue paper.
That red basket is empty

The tubs on the floor- one is gifts, one is unfinished quilt tops and squares my mom made or my dad found at yard sales,  one tub is solid colored fabrics and 2 tubs are small fabric scraps.
The folded clothes and clothes on hangers need ironed. 
The storage cubes on the middle shelf hold vintage sheets,  plaid fabric, etc:


And this is the desk that holds the PC, printer, routers, shredder and tall that kind of stuff. 

So, that's my craft/sewing room.  I still want to label the containers, shampoo the carpet and do a little decorating and that will happen soon. 

For now,  I am thrilled this room is useable again. 

I've been thinking about how to fix this room for months and have browsed both online and in stores for more containers and shelving units.  But as I got to working in here today,  I discovered I already had more that enough things on hand to organize this room. 

Doing it all for free is a happy bonus. 

Yes,  I know I have a lot of "stuff" 

But I truly bought very little of at retail price. 

Some is from yard sales and thrift stores. 

Some is from my daughter and the majority of it is from my parents when they downsized to move to their retirement home.  

Thanks for visiting

Jumping back in........

Hello everyone,  the last few weeks have been anything but routine with the end of school year busyness, family things and such.
I'm hoping to get back to a pace I like.
So, I'll be starting this new week with a new to do list.  There is not much cleaning on it as I did several of the weekly tasks this evening.

I've been working on a number of sprucing up, refreshing and deep cleaning projects around our home for a couple weeks.  When they all are done to my liking,  I'll show those. 

For now,  my biggest job will be reorganizing and cleaning my craft room.  It is so messy and full,  it's almost impossible to actually craft or sew in there.  

These photos were taken Sunday evening.  

I plan on working in there Monday until it's done.  

Eeeeeek!  I know! 

Come back Monday night as  I plan on it looking 100% better 

Meals, bragging, a diaper deal, an oops deal, etc;

good morning everyone,  here are a few things we've been up to

This is our salad-sandwich tray for the week.  Making meals and snacks is so much easier when I take the time to make up of these.  We used it this weekend to make sandwichs and to have diced veggies with our cottage cheese.  During the week,  we will add diced veggies to dinner salad, eat more sandwiches and add diced veggies to tuna for tuna salad.

I'm trying to use up some oddball ingredients from the pantry.  This meal used a can of green enchilada sauce and the enchilada casserole was delicious! I usually make Mexican rice with chicken broth but there are several cartons of turkey broth in the pantry.  I used turkey broth for this batch of rice and I couldn't tell any difference.
I also baked a pouch of cookie mix.
I'm guessing most every pantry has some unused oddball ingredients, right?

I have to brag on my son and daughter in law.  Her mother just retired and they hosted a dinner for her.  They originally planned to have it in their backyard but we had so much rain that day.  So they

 cleared out their living room and set up the dinner there.  

For dessert, Bobby made cinnamon rolls.  This batch was only his 3rd time bake yeast bread and he used my grandparents recipe, from my blog.  Link is on my right sidebar under my grandparents photo. I think he has yeast baking mastered already.

Several weeks ago I read about a Cuties diaper deal on Amazon and I think I saw it on Mineysavingmom.com but I'm not sure.
The deal is to use Subscribe and Save and get 4 bags of Cuties diapers, shipped, for around $6-7 total, depending on the size.  That price is for all 4 bags, not just one.
I read the reviews and skeptically bought it.  We use a lot of diapers in our family.
My first shipment came, all 4 bags in one box, and their quality is fine.  For nights, a heavier diaper might be better, but these are great for daytime.

I have since reordered 16 bags and my daughter did too.

I have to say Amazon changes their prices and availability often.  In the short time I've been watching Cuties diapers, I have seen the price go way up and then way down.  All our orders were placed when the price was low.
If you need diapers, I would suggest you check Amazon daily and buy when the price is low too.
Cuties come all sizes and the packages range from a single bag, to the four packs to boxes.
So if you want to try Cuties, please read the description to make sure you know what your getting.

Grandson Jackson is here the most and he needs his clothes changed often as he is an enthusiastic player and eater. 

I had very few short sleeve shirts here in his size but more than a dozen long sleeve shirts. 

These 3 all had the double sleeve style so I decided it would be quicker and cheaper to just alter these 3. 

No sewing involved -just cutting.  I just cut off the long sleeve under the short sleeve hem.

This took maybe 5 minutes - I think my husband may want the sleeves to use for rags when he stains wood projects.

I bought these water jugs at Walmart in the Easter clearance section for .50 each. 

I hand washed them and then 2 grands used them. 

I put those 2 to wash in the dishwasher. 

But, they must be made of shrinky dink plastic as they shrunk! 

Their bottom label does say hand wash only so the damage was caused by my error. 

Oh well, I'm glad I didn't buy more than 5. 

Crazy, right?  

Crocheted baby dolls

Edited again 2017
A reader asked about the face size for these baby dolls.
I measured and took a picture- I think her face is about 3 inches.



I still don't know where to buy the baby hands and face but if you can find them, the 3 inch faces.

Edited -2016
Pattern Scan

The sellers where I bought the hands and faces are no longer in business and I did many online searches and could not find the parts for sale any where




Aren't these sweet little baby dolls?
My mom crocheted them, just like her mom crocheted them. My mom has one at her house that Grandma made, probably 40 years ago. Whenever mom's cleaning help comes and brings her little girl with her, the little girl liked to play with that doll. Mom wanted to make her one so I went on an internet search to find the plastic face and hands that are needed. They came in lots and I think Mom ended up with 10 or 12 sets.
Now that a granddaughter has come along, Mom made a baby for her. Nina had one of Grandma's crocheted dolls when she was a little girl and she played with it until it was worn out.

Can you see that the baby holds a bottle in one hand and it fits in her mouth, just like a real baby drinking a bottle?
The little blanket that wraps around the baby is attached too.
Mom brought these 3 dolls for 3 other little girls here in Oklahoma.

Want to see our attempt at gardening?

My husband is really enjoying his retirement and the mild end of winter and beginning of spring.
We both get a bit impatient and we put our tomatoe and peppers plants in a raised bed more than a month before the usual last feeezee date.
We've only had to cover them once when a frost was possible.  So far, they are growing and starting to set on buds.

This bed is spinach and romaine.

White potatoes are planted in the 3 tubs and they seem to grow an inch or more everyday.
In the bed is onions.

This tub is radishes.

I think this tub is green beans, or maybe cucumbers.

In the greenhouse, peppers and more tomatoes are just getting started

Around in the front yard, are an assortment of flowering things, just getting started.

These are sunflowers seeds, just starting to sprout through the mulch.

On the other side of the house is a new floer bed. 

Grandpa and Jackson picked out a big assortment of bargain plants from the Lowes markdown section- azalea bushes, dianthus, marigolds, portulaca and some vinca.  

Jackson picked out the flamingo 

Grandpa is buying $1 bags of soils and mulch at Lowes as they have it.
Our mulch is different colors but I'm not particular enough to care.

All those photos were taken Thursday.

Then  we got some rain,
Actually a lot of rain. We didn't have any damage from it and all the plants seem fine now and just enjoying their big drink.