Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

These are seriously yummy!

Granola bars are expensive, and Rebekah can't have most of them anyway, so I decided to try and make homemade ones.  I used this recipe.  I didn't toast the oats and almonds though (actually, I used pecans).  It seemed like extra work...  I used half raisins, half cranberries.  They were much sweeter than I expected, which makes the kids love them all the more!  I wish they stuck together a little better (Joshua really makes a mess!), but I individually wrapped them in plastic wrap and am keeping them in the fridge.  If you have a recipe for homemade granola bars, I'd love for you to share it with me!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Strawberry picking time!  We picked 20 lbs of strawberries this week.  Caleb and Rebekah were great pickers this year.  They also washed them all and picked off the stems!  I made A LOT of jam.  I made several pints of plain strawberry jam, and then I also made strawberry rhubarb jam that is delicious!  I used this recipe.

Joshua's favorite part was eating the strawberries of course!

I hope everyone's having a great summer!

Rebekah's First Sewing Machine Lesson

A few days ago I gave Rebekah her first sewing machine lesson.  She really wanted to use some felt that she got for Christmas, and she saw an older girl hand sewing a simple purse a while ago.  So, she asked if we could make a purse out of her felt.  Permission granted.  I tried to have her hand sew it at first, but it was difficult, so we went to the machine.  I showed her how it worked, then had her push the foot petal while I helped her hold it in the right position.  She was so excited to be able to use the machine!!!  Now Caleb is begging too!  We just folded a piece of felt in half, sewed two sides of it, and then sewed on a ribbon handle.  Simple and quick, a perfect first project.  She still needs to learn a lot about the sewing machine to be able to use it herself, but I think I'll enjoy that teaching time!

Embellishing a Plain Girl's Dress

In order to get Rebekah dresses that are long enough, sometimes we buy larger sizes (this is 1 size too big).  In this case, the neck line was too low for her, so I added some blue fabric.

Then I added a blue flower with button on the bottom to make it a bit more fun.  I love these knit dresses, they are so comfy and great for playing in!

Lace on the Bottom of Jean Skirt

I found this skirt at a garage sale for $1!  It was just a little bit on the short side, so I added this lace trim.  It really dresses it up nicely.  I think I paid $0.75 for the trim at a thrift store, and I used an old linen shirt for the fabric under the lace.  Total cost = $1.75

Flower Pot Wreath

This is what I gave my mom for Mother's Day this year.  I think it turned out really cute, although I wish I would have used blue instead of purple, since I just noticed my mom had a few things painted blue in her yard!

I found the idea on joann.com.  I had a hard time finding all the supplies, maybe because I didn't go to JoAnn's!  Walmart didn't have any clay pots at all, I ended up finding them at the Dollar Tree, which only had one size.  I bought a metal wire wreath and moss at Walmart, as well as the paint.  I already had the wire on hand.  My kids helped me paint the pots, and then we sprayed them with varnish.  I wired (had to paint the wire too) and hot glued the pots to the wreath.  Then I hot glued the moss to the wire wreath that was exposed, which made a huge difference!  That's it!  It took longer to paint the pots than expected, but that was probably due to my helpers...  Below is a pic of the back.

Flower Birthday Cake

Another birthday cake for my niece.  I hope she loves it!