Owl Bling

My kid was so excited w/ all the cute bracelets she made, that she made me take her back to the store to buy some more.  She made a bunch more, but our favorite is this owl bracelet.  I love it.  She just bought a strand that was the owl and the brown glass beads and then she bought a strand of the blue beads. She just used the stretchy bead cord.  Total cost-$5!  (We bought the beads at Hobby Lobby if you want to make one too).

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How to get your kid's to clean

This is all of my kids' favorite thing for dinner.  They like it so much, that I can use it by saying, "If everyone will clean their rooms, I'll make chicken pockets".  They're that good.

Just like the pizza pockets, these are not an exact recipe and you can alter it to fit the size and tastes of your family.  There are 5 of us, and we are pigs, so here's what I do:

In a small bowl

2 cooked chicken breasts-shredded

2-3oz of soften cream cheese (I've seen recipes that called for up to 8, but I didn't like getting a mouth full of cream cheese)

1/2-1 cup shredded or cubed swiss cheese

1/4 cup minced red onion

Open 3 packages of refrigerator crescent dough cans.  Put 2 triangles together to make a rectangle.  Put chicken mixture on one half of the rectangle and fold over the other half.  Pinch to seal around edges.

You can brush w/ butter and sprinkle garlic salt and Parmesan cheese if you'd like.

Bake @375 for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Options, you can use any cheese you wish.  I used feta once and it was yummy. You can also add cooked diced veggies, olives etc or even ham or bacon.

Serve it w/ spinach salad, so you're getting some sort of nutrients for dinner.

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Easy? Pelmet Boxes

Don't you hate it when you struggle with a project labeled "Easy" .  I saw this tutorial here.  I had a lot of cardboard and thought it would work as well as foam board.  I was wrong.  They looked very "homemade"-but not in a good way.  So I drove to the craft store andI bought some foam board and re-did them.  They looked great, but then  I noticed that 2 of them were the wrong direction, so I re-did them.  All of this made me too frustrated to take "during" pics, but the original one has lots of pics.

The original didn't have measurements.  Mine were 10 inches high and the end pieces were 2 inches deep.  I removed the molding at the top of my blinds and then duct taped the pelmet box to it and re-hung it.

It's hard to take a picture of windows, but here it goes.

Can you see my cute pillow?
I've still got to figure out something to do w/ the living room windows.  Suggestions?
In case you're curious I got the fabric @ Joanns .  It says it was inspired by an authentic period document from Williamsburg. Cool?


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Coolest Pillow Ever

I made some Pelmet Boxes for my breakfast nook (tomorrow's post). Since my downstairs is one big room, I wanted to make a pillow that would help tie the rooms together. I saw this one here, and wondered if it would work out of fabric. It did!- it just took 5 times longer. The original pillow was supposedly made in 30 minutes (although it would have taken me at least twice that) and this one took about 2 1/2. I think it's worth it and has replace my wreath as my favorite thing I've made this year.

First cut out a bunch of circles.  I used a CD (4 inch) and an Easter egg (3 inch) as templates.The original tutorial  called for 30 of the big and 20 of the small.  I double it since I would be sewing them together, but I have tons left over.  I used decorator fabric and it was pretty thick, maybe if you used thinner fabric you'd need more. 

Next  sew 2 circles together (right sides together).  Repeat until all your circles are sewn together.


Next, cut all your circles in half and clip the raw edge.  This means cut from the outside raw to the seam line.  This will help it curve when you flip it inside out.

Next flip all your circles inside out and iron them flat.

Then cut out a piece of fabric 1 inch larger than your pillow form. I had an 18 inch pillow form, so cut out and 19 inch square out of muslin. 

Then draw a circle (I used a plate) on your fabric.  Arrange all your petals along the edge of the circle and sew them down.  Repeat.

As I got in a few rows, I found that it was easier to sew strips of the petals and then sew them on the flower.  It also made them stand up a little.  To remedy any bare patches, just sew in a few random petals here and there.

 For the center, I just folded some petals in half and sewed them in by hand (although I was really tempted to bust out the hot glue gun).

Sew the back on your pillow and be amazed at your work.  I'm saying it again-I love how this turned out!

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Old Skool Crafting

First of all, it is an historic day. This little blog has 100 followers. I feel like my kids listen to nothing I say, so it's very nice of all of you to stop by and check out what I'm up to (maybe I should have my kids read my blog?).
I'm sure when we moved last summer I unpacked all my Easter Decor and then put it somewhere that I could easily find in the spring. I'm sure it is in some place very clever, because I can not find it. All I could find was our Easter Baskets.

I love these blocks-I have a set for each season. I made them 4 houses ago, but I still love them. We have this little nook by our front door, that I like to decorate (looks like I need to clean the mirror). I had some folded paper flowers in this old barn wood frame for St. Patty's, but it didn't really match my S-P-R-I-N-G. I thought about re-doing it with kites or carrots, but finally settled on eggs.

I scrounged around in my craft supplies looking for inspiration and found this stuff. Any old scrapbookers out there that remember this stuff?

First I cut out eggs with my stencil. Then I used my special scissors and circle punch to "decorate" the eggs. I used mounting squares to give them depth. Then I found my texture plates and decided to texture up my paper.

Then I put it all together. Next I'm going to make an Easter tree, b/c I'm not loving the red vase.

So everyone bust out your old supplies and see what you can come up.

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Super Font

Lat week I spent 2 hours trying to come up w/ a super "J" for my kid's Jimmer shirt.  I searched, yahooed, googled and binged, but couldn't find one online.  Today I found one here.

That always seems to be how it works.  Currently I can not find any of my Easter Decor.  I'm sure I"ll find it in April 26. 

Strengthen "Ties" with our Fathers:YW Lesson #13 Manual 3

I’m going to break my lesson down into 2 parts:  1. How the girls can honor and improve their relationships with their own fathers 2.  Looking into the future (way into the future) how to pick an amazing father for their future children.

I’m going to begin by showing pictures, talking about my own father, and sharing personal stories about him.  I’m a lucky girl w/ a great Dad, so I have lots of good material.

Then I’m going to share the following from M. Russel Ballard, “Fathers and Sons:  A Remarkable Relationship, “ Ensign Nov. 2209, 47-50 (click here to read the full article)

First, trust your father. He is not perfect, but he loves you and would never do anything he didn’t think was in your best interest. So talk to him. Share your thoughts and feelings, your dreams and your fears. The more he knows about your life, the better chance he has to understand your concerns and to give you good counsel. When you put your trust in your dad, he will feel the responsibility of that trust and try harder than ever to understand and to help. As your father, he is entitled to inspiration on your behalf. His advice to you will be the heartfelt expressions of someone who knows and loves you. Your dad wants more than anything for you to be happy and successful, so why would you not want to trust someone like that? Boys, trust your dad.

Second, take an interest in your father’s life. Ask about his job, his interests, his goals. How did he decide to do the work that he does? What was he like when he was your age? How did he meet your mother? And as you learn more about him, you may find that his experiences help you to better understand why he responds the way that he does. Watch your dad. Watch how he treats your mother. Watch how he performs his Church callings. Watch how he interacts with other people. You will be surprised what you learn about him just by watching him and listening to him. Think about what you don’t know about him and find out. Your love, admiration, and understanding will increase by what you learn. Boys, be interested in your dad’s life.

And third, ask your father for advice. Let’s be honest: he is probably going to give you his advice whether you ask for it or not, but it just works so much better when you ask! Ask for his advice on Church activity, on classes, on friends, on school, on dating, on sports or other hobbies. Ask for his counsel on your Church assignments, on preparing for your mission, on decisions or choices you have to make. Nothing shows respect for another person as much as asking for his advice, because what you are really saying when you ask for advice is, “I appreciate what you know and the experiences you have had, and I value your ideas and suggestions.” Those are nice things for a father to hear from his son. In my experience, fathers who are asked for advice try harder to give good, sound, useful counsel. By asking your father for advice, you not only receive the benefit of his input, but you also provide him with a little extra motivation to strive to be a better father and a better man. He will think more carefully about whatever it is that he advises, and he will work harder to “walk the talk.” Young men, ask your dad for advice!

Even though most of my girls won’t be mothers for another decade, I want to talk w/ them about the importance of choosing a good man to be the father of their future children.  I love the “handout” section of the lesson and will discuss each item with my girls. 

(Look the letters are made out of ties)

Usually I make all the handouts, but I thought these would be fun to make together.  To “Tie” everything together, we are going to make Origami shirts (remember making those in Jr. High if not click here for a tutorial?). You can even make Origami ties, but I wanted to print on the ties.  
- Inside the shirt, we will put our “Future Father Checklists”  (pdf file here) and we will attach the ties (pdf file here) to the front.   To make the ties, just print it out on cute paper and cut out the shape of a tie. 

 In their journals I will have them commit to:

1. Think of one concrete thing they can do for their fathers this week

2. Never marry any man that does not meet every criteria on the check list.

If you have any other great ideas how to make this lesson, please leave a comment.

You might enjoy my other YW ideas here.