Super Quick Clothespin Bags

I needed a clothespin bag in a hurry. Mine was literally falling apart. I have a terrible habit of leaving it out on the line, and the sun has just about disentegrated my old one. I found lots of great tutorials for sewing really cute clothespin bags, but I did not have enough time for them. So Audrey donated a shirt and I sewed the bottom closed, put it on a child's hanger and it was ready to use!

The weight of the pins stretched it a bit and it is now a little "longer" than when I took the photo, but it is still working well.


Update a few minutes later...I decided I don't like the stretch of the shirt bag. So I stole a pair of Philip's overalls. They had snap leg bottoms...I hate snap leg baby pants. They always pop open, it's so much easier to just take them off to change the diaper. So here's the new bag. Isn't it adorable?

Gone Fishin'

The boys are reading "Tom Sawyer." As with anything they read, they love to act it out. The front porch and front yard have become a raft and riverboat. Here they are fishing with their homemade fishing poles. Audrey was the fish!

Bubbles

Here's a cute picture of Audrey blowing bubbles for Philip. He loved them!

Something I want for Christmas

Is it ok to post about something I want for Christmas? I reckon it's ok to blog about just about anything. Here are a couple of painting books I would like to have.

Between the Vines 9 by Jamie Mills-Price
(the cover doesn't look like one I would normally want, but it has other themes inside that are really great looking)

Hold Your Horses by Naomi Brown

New Background

I'm trying to learn how to make my own blog background. I painted a sunflower this morning and scanned it in to make the current background and blog header. It's not quite right yet, but I'll keep working on it.

Papa and Nana

This is a graphite drawing of my grandparents. The little people in the corner are Papa and Nana on their wedding day. I presented it to them on their 60th wedding anniversary (back in June).

Super Easy Cinnamon Buns

I found this recipe for REALLY good, REALLY easy cinnamon rolls. This is a picture before they were cooked. After they were finished and we put the icing on them I forgot to take another picture...we were too busy eating them. The original recipe calls for regular white sugar. The lady who posted the version I found on craftster said she used brown sugar. I tried it both ways and the brown sugar is better!

Butterfly Lapbook

We started our school year with a unit on butterflies. Here is the lapbook Daniel made. I used a free lapbook template from http://www.homeschoolshare.com/.

Can a lizard survive the washing machine?

Apparently so! I opened the door of our front loading washing machine to get out a load of towels, and this lovely little creature was sitting on the "seal" just inside the door. Apparently he found himself a spot where he wouldn't drown. I thought he was dead, but when I touched him with some tongs he moved! I got him onto a box and took him outside. I took the picture of him on the porch. Kenny said he's a glass lizard...I don't know about that, but he sure scared me and the kids! We don't know how he got in the house, but obviously I picked him up with the load of towels!

After a little research I identified my little friend. A "glass lizard" has no legs and therefore looks like a snake (though it really is a lizard), so that couldn't be it. I believe it is a "Southeastern Five-Lined Skink." Compare it to this picture.

Mini Patchfolio

I bought this great pattern from CraftApple. I made this mini patchfolio for my Mama for her birthday. It was my first ever "quilted" project. I made one for my sister too, but I didn't take a picture before I delivered it.

Quick Birthday Gift

I needed a quick birthday gift one day. I made this Little Artist Drawing Case (pattern from CraftApple) and a cloth grocery bag to match. I "wrapped" the case in the bag, and had nothing to throw away!

I added twistable crayons and a drawing pad to the drawing case on my way to the party. The little boy loves the drawing case, and Mama was thrilled to get the bag, she uses it as her purse.

The bag is from a couple of tutorials at craftster.org (Grocery Bag and handle tutorial) and used a plastic grocery bag as the pattern. The bag I can make cut to finish in under 30 minutes!! The drawing case takes less than an hour.

Boat Awning

We borrowed Uncle Mark's pontoon boat to go to Keaton Beach. The awning was in very sad shape and Uncle Mark hadn't wanted to invest in a new one yet. Kenny said I could make a new one. I disagreed, but Kenny pulled an old RV awning out of the shed that we were able to cut down and sew together. I was amazed that I made it!

Ultimate Organizer

I made this organizer for my husband. It's a cover for a 3-ring binder with pockets everywhere and place for a notepad. There is a little pocket that closes on the front for quick access to his business cards. Mama embroidered the deer on the front. Kenny loved using it for a while, then gave it away as a birthday gift. The recipient thought I would be mad, but I'm honored that Kenny thought enough of it to give as a gift! Now I get to make him another one.

Chore Board

In an effort to keep our house cleaner and the kids more responsible, I made this chore board. I printed chores on business card stock to make it easy to "cut" them out. Then I made pockets for each one of us, a "To Do" and a "Done" pocket. I printed those on regular card stock and folded them up. I covered an old cork board with craft paper (stapling to the back), then added some painting to dress it up. I'll let you know how it works out after we get to use it this week.

Here is a closeup of the weekly storage area and a closeup of one child's two pockets.