Strawberries!

We went strawberry picking this weekend!  We picked 17 lbs, they smelled so delicious!   After washing and cutting the tops off, I smashed half and sliced the other half.  I mixed them together and added some sugar.  Then we put about 3 cups worth into freezer bags, I think I had 7 or 8 freezer bags.  We used some of it to make strawberry shortcakes that night, yum!  I forgot to take a picture of it before I ate it!  I also saved some of the berries so we could eat some, and I plan on making a strawberry pie.  I also bought some vanilla ice cream to have with the strawberry topping! 

Rebekah really enjoyed picking and eating the strawberries.  Caleb mostly just liked watching the tractors that were giving people rides out to the fields.  We drove through tons of mud and water to get out there!

Sewing Bits & Pieces (Book)

This is my new favorite book.  She has 35 projects that you can make using your scraps.  I love using material I already have on hand.  The cardigan in the picture is one of my favorite projects in the book, I need to start looking for a sweater that will work for it.  I also liked the butterfly pins (p108) and the Sassy Hair Peony (p150), as well as many others.  Check out her book if you need a little inspiration!

Crop Night At Michaels

I went to a crop night at Michael's with my friend Melissa.  I came a way with 10 pages done!  I think that's a record!  We even left a little early because we were hungry!  On the first page, I used a punch around the paper punch that Michael's let us use, didn't it make a cute border?  The flowers on the next one were from a Cricut, but I don't remember the cartridge name.  

It was nice to have the store right there so I could run out and buy stickers (above) or paper (below).

Here's an updated picture of the birds, it was taken a couple days ago.  I think they'll be trying to leave the nest soon, it's been fun watching them.

Kids Chore Charts

My husband and I started facilitating a Financial Peace University class a few weeks ago.  One thing that Dave Ramsey talked about was how important it is to teach your kids about finances by giving them money for work they do.  I was already thinking that I needed to have my kids do daily chores, so we decided to create these chore charts.  The top row is for daytime chores, and the second row is for bedtime chores.  These are things that they need to do just because they are part of our family (or some things like brushing their teeth so they remember to do it).  The last column is for chores they can do to earn money.  Kevin and I sat down and assigned a monetary value to some basic chores, such as cleaning your room is $1, helping unload the dishwasher is $0.50.  At the end of the week, we'll pay our kids for each chore they completed that week.  We will teach them to give some, save some, and spend some.  I'm really excited to start this plan! 

How it works:
Each kids has a Chores and a Finished chart with squares that have velcro in them.  Each chore is on a square card that has velcro on the back.  I found this idea at Homeschool Creations.  Every evening I'll make sure the next days chores are on their sheets, and then as they complete them they can move them over to the Finished chart.  The chores that earn them money will stay on the Finished chart until the end of the week when they get paid.  Below is a pic of the extra chore cards, I'm limiting them to 3 a week for right now (they're only 2 and 4). 

Simple Joy for Today:  Watching your kids learn how to ride a bike for the first time and love it. 

Popcorn Machine Cover

My step-dad received this popcorn machine for Christmas, but he needed a cover for it since it lives in his garage workshop.  I used felt lined black vinyl to make a cover with a handle for him.  It was super easy to make, it's just a cube with no bottom, my finished dimensions were 12 x 12 x 17 inches tall.  I bought 1 yard of vinyl, but I could have gotten away with 3/4.  This will be part of his father's day present. 

More Skirts for Summer

Just a couple more skirts for the summer.  The one on top is for Rebekah, I found the pants at a garage sale, I think they were $2.  And the one on the bottom was from a thrift store but it was buy 2 get one free, so this one was free!  I left a frayed hem so it wouldn't get too short.  

Long Jean Skirt - Womens

Another Goodwill find!  I found a pair of jeans with some beautiful embroidery on the legs, perfect for turning into a jean skirt.  I paid $7.99 for the jeans, but only $2 for two more pairs, one matched very well for this long skirt.  The other pair I got I am turning into a below the knee jean skirt.  I just love the embroidery!

Another simple joy: a bird built it's nest in my hanging basket on the front porch (my Mother's Day present).  She laid 3 eggs that have already hatched, as you can see.  Both the male and female birds have been taking care of them, it's so sweet to watch.  I think the birds are some type of finch, they have some red on their heads. 

1 Short Skirt + 1 Short Skirt = 1 Adorable Long Skirt (Girls)

Do you like my math?  Rebekah had these two skirts that were too short for her.  So, I took the bottom ruffle off of both of them, and then used the jean ruffle in the middle of the pink skirt.  Do you like it?  Rebekah did.  I still have the remaining top piece of the jean skirt.  I think I am going to make some ruffles out of the pink butterfly fabric I have (see the girls ruffle purse).

Here's the kids enjoying their swimming pool, they love their new swimming clothes.  (see here)

Knit Skirt with Yoga Style Waistband

I'm back!  We took a family vacation over Memorial Day weekend.  We went to Missouri to visit some friends and had a great time.  We also stopped at the Arch in St. Louis, and the City Museum (and I didn't loose my camera this time).  The picture below is us crammed in the little train car that took us to the top of the Arch. 

The City Museum in St. Louis:

And, on to the crafting!

This is a knit skirt with a really comfy waist band, some call it a yoga style.  I used a tutorial on my favorite blog, Make It & Love It.  I think her's looks much nicer, although I don't have a nice mannequin to model mine on.  This skirt was very easy to make, although I need to figure out a different stitch to use with knit fabric.  While the waistband is very stretchy, the seam for the band being sewn to the skirt isn't stretchy.  I will experiment more with different stitches and let you know what I figure out (I used a basic zig zag, but I think it was too long of a stitch length).  My fabric came from a knit sheet found at goodwill!  I think I have enough fabric left for another skirt, or maybe a shirt.  I also bought a teal colored sheet which will probably become a shirt.