down the baby bib memory lane.....

We have been blessed with 5 grandchildren in 4 years.  

I have sewn lots of bibs for them.  I found where I had blogged about some of them and had fun reminiscing about them.

bigger bibs

bibs

Bibs from funny retro fabric


more bibs


first batch of bibs

This week, I sewed 20 little bibs for sweet JJ, the youngest grand that is in a bit of a spit up phase.

I used flannel scraps from the last burp cloth project for most of them. The yellow and white ones are made from a never used Carter's reversible blanket that was just too small to wrap JJ.

I've used Velcro and ties and buttons to fasten bibs over the years. All have good and bad points. 

For most of these, I used sew on snaps.  I'll let you all know how we like that method. 

Pinterest caterpillars

Monday afternoon, grandson Gavin was in the craft-computer room with Grandpa and saw a bag of pompoms. He asked to make a craft with them and that was fine with me but I could not think of anything.

So before Gavin and cousin Elizabeth got here Tuesday, I looked on Pinterest for preschool pompom crafts.  I found lots of them and picked this simple one for them to do. 

Pompom caterpillars

I cut long shapes with a circle-ish end for the head from brown card stock. I drew a simple smile-y face with a black marker. 

The grands dipped the pompoms in Elmer's glue and lined up pompoms on the caterpillar shapes.

For dipping, putting a little glue in a cupcake paper liner works great for these preschoolers. 

Do you do Pinterest? It does have some flaws but it has become my go-to site whenever I need a quick answer or a tip or a recipe or ideas to entertain the grands. 

We still have lots of pompoms even after they both made an army of caterpillars. So I will be looking for more ideas there soon.

Candy cake will travel

Have you seen the candy cakes on Pinterest?
I never did until my daughter showed me the one she just made.

She made it for her teenage sister in law at the request of  her mother in law.
Both sister in law Hannah  and mother in law Patti are going with their church on a mission trip to Central America.
Hannah will have a birthday while they are out of country so Patti thought a candy cake- made with non-meltable candy- would be a good birthday treat that she could carry in her suitcase and surprise Hannah.

I really like this idea for teens but I don't have a clue how to make them.
If you want to make one,  look on Pinterest or maybe my daughter will add some instructions in the comments.


this is my daughter with Hannah 3 years ago and the mannatee cake.
I think this year's candy cake will travel much better than a big cake-cake.

Reuse a coffee can for a waste basket

My laundry room has lots of storage but no floor space
It has doors at both ends but is really just a pass-through  from the garage to another hallway.

I seem to have a good bit of  trash in there when I am working- dryer lint, dryer sheets, paper towels that some how end up in the laundry- but with no floor space so I never had a trash can in there even though I needed one.    

then I had an idea to reuse this big plastic coffee canister for a dryer-top waste basket.  

I even had some of the Debbie Mumm fabric left from the clothespin bag that I sewed years ago.  

I cut out a strip of the fabric, pressed under the edges and adhered it to the old coffee cannister with one coat of ModPodge on the can and then one over the fabric

.  The fabric has several retro-homemakers on the squares and I used 3 of them on this can.  It was amazing how nice they just fit too.  

So if I get bored,  one day I can look at the homemaker doing the laundry-

then another day I can watch her iron

or do her mending.  

I may turn it around,  but I never really get bored.  

There is always something I need to do and just want to do in my home.  

"Dirty laundry reminds me that someone has worked, someone has played, someone has eaten, someone has slept, someone has enjoyed their day just as they will tomorrow, if someone like me takes care of what they have to wear " 

from some artwork by Sally Huss

 ---- I cannot take credit for the quote but it sums up how I feel about the importance of homekeeping

Linking to 

Tweak it Tuesday at Brenda's Cozy Little House

Redneck cake storage

I have this really pretty glass cake dome but it is not quite big enough for the angel food cake I baked yesterday.  

so to cover it up so it won't get stale
I used my biggest Farberware stock pot.
It is big enough to fit over that 10 inch cake that rose even taller than its pan
but it sure leaves a bit to be desired in the pretty department.  

We like fresh tasting cake so until I find something bigger,  I'll be using this stock pot as a cake dome.


The cake is made from an Aldis angel food cake mix and is really a great cake.  I add just a little almond and vanilla extracts to the batter.
The cake mix is  a summer seasonal item according to the Aldis flyer.
Are you wondering how much we like them?  When we went to Aldis last week and saw they still have them in stock,
we bought a flat of 16.  They sell for $1.99.