unplugging

Just the right bag for the car for Esther

Just a quick note to let you know that this space will be pretty quiet for the next couple of weeks. 

We're going on a much anticipated vacation.  This is our last year that we are guaranteed to have all of our children with us so we've instigated a no "plugged in" rule. 

Although we might use the boys ipods for google maps if we need to since I'm having trouble finding paper state maps.  I love the big paper maps on a road trip!

For those wondering, the last pillowcase dress tutorial will be up sometime after we get back.  I'm not going to put a date on it, we'll just call it a surprise.  It's my favorite one, its the one that I made the girls for Easter. 

I thought I'd leave you with a few links to check out while I'm gone:


Ladybug's Abode - Rachel's a regular reader here and has a great blog where she discusses homeschooling, her faith and her new adventure in homesteading.

Beauty and Bedlam - check out Jen's Frugal Fashionista posts.  The vast majority of her clothes come from garage sales and Goodwill. You'd never know.

Beauty that Moves - Heather's site is full of amazing pictures.  She also has some great whole foods recipes so make sure and check out her recipes.

An Oregon Cottage - Jami is the host of Tuesday Garden Party.  She blogs about gardening, home decor - she and her husband used brown paper to "tile" one of their floors -  and most recently started sharing how she lost quite a bit of weight. 

Homestead Revival - Amy has an incredibly informative blog on all things homesteading and preparedness.  And of course, great pictures. 

Happy Browsing!

thankful for teenage boys

When people find out that we have 6 children and that 4 of those are boys and 3 of those 4 boys are teenage boys, we often get a wide range of comments.  Most of them are not very honoring to my boys.  Yes, boys have lots of energy and because of that they eat .... a lot.  But all that eating is for a purpose.  Its building really strong bodies.  Bodies that are used to bless their family and others around the community. 

Bodies that can dig huge holes like this...

...in order to help find the pipe that has busted under ground.  Bodies that are strong enough (and willing enough) to work on this project after putting in a long day working for someone else.

After several house the pipe was found.

 Not to be left out of the fun my pre teens filled back in the holes.

 Second pipe that busted this one was much easier to find.

 Third busted pipe...again easier to find than the first.  But more difficult to fix as we found out this morning when our side yard was flooded.

It wasn't all work and no play.  Benjamin "wallowed like a pig" (his words not mine) and the others had a short lived mud fight.

We all took advantage of the opportunity to learn how to plug a pipe that seems to not go anywhere. 

Working well past sunset in order to get the water back on.

I am so very, very thankful for my children.  I'm thankful to my husband for being willing to teach them skills when it really would have been easier to just do the job himself.  I'm thankful to the Lord for putting it in our hearts to teach our children to work together as a team to serve their family.

Please don't misunderstand this post, there is plenty of fussing and complaining and laziness that goes on in our family.  But when it really matters, my teenager boys can always be counted on to help with the job no matter how unpleasant just because the job needs to be done.  And for that I'm very very thankful.

So next time someone says, "I bet those boys eat you out of house and home."  I'm going to let them know just how thankful I am for these blessings from the Lord.





sprucing up with spray paint

One of my favorite ways to bring new life to an old item is to spray paint it.  Spray paint used to only come in a primary and secondary colors but now it comes in so many pretty colors.  If you want a really smooth finish it's important to use high quality spray paint - you know, something that costs more than $1.97. 

When we moved I didn't worry to much about the decorating aspect of unpacking.  But now that we've been here a while and I've had time to think about what works with what we already have I've found myself reaching for the spray paint more and more to add continuity and color to our rooms.

I have a wooden tray in my kitchen that we use to put our glasses on so that we don't end up with glasses being left all over the house or piled up in the sink.  Unfortunately the water from the glasses sweating has left it looking pretty shabby (and not the chic kind of shabby).  I spray painted the tray Cherry Read from Krylon and then decoupaged it with some fun paper we found.  Then I put a couple of coats of Minwax clear over the whole thing. 

Benjamin's area of his room was needing a little bit of sprucing up so we picked this great blue from Valspar called Deep Sea Diving.  We painted his picture frame from his Pinewood Derby Award, his pegboard and two little shelves that used to be white and in the girls' room.  While I loved the color and the coverage of the paint it stayed tacky for a long time....like days not hours. 

This is my front porch rocking chair.  It used to be an inside chair but there isn't room in this house so now it's the porch rocking chair.  Since moving to the porch it's really gotten worn.  First we sanded the chair, we didn't worry about getting all the finishing off we just roughed it up a bit. Then we had to glue the seat back together and clamp it for a day.  The next day we painted it a lovely royal blue from Krylon. 

Carl calls it my Smurf chair but I don't care I was tired of seeing brown every time I drove up.  I'm looking for some fabric to recover the cushion and I think some stenciling on the headrest would be nice.

How do you spruce up around the house?

parenting balance

There's a tricky balance I'm trying to walk these days.  A balance between  having children and having adult (and almost adult) children.  The balance comes into play a lot these days when my wants, such as having a bedroom for my boys that doesn't look like a garage, clashes with their wants, such as not caring that their room looks like a garage.

I'm learning that to walk this balance requires a softer touch and quieter voice than I would think it would.  It requires that I request help at a time that feels right for all three of us, not just me.  It also requires that I not "take over" and insist that this project be done my way (even though I have painted no less than 6 houses so I know a little something about the process).

This is the before. The room was originally the mudroom which is why it looks like the garage.  Now, before I get the "Worst Mom of the Year Award" let me just say that when we looked at this house this room was my biggest concern.  However, Christian and Josiah assured us that they were fine in this room, in fact they kind of liked not having a room near the other children.  The room is bigger than it looks (8'X12') even with the water softener in it.  Let me also say that they really didn't care if we painted it or not - it took weeks of persuading to get this room painted.

Josiah wound up helping the most since Christian has a full time job and he didn't want any of the younger children helping (at this point).  It was nice doing a project with him and spending some one on one time with him.  That kind of time get more scarce the older he gets.

This is the room after it has all been primed.  It looks so much cleaner and brighter.

The finished room, well, the painting at least.  The colors are from Olympic and grey is called Hi Ho Silver and the white is Snow Storm.  I really like them.  We painted the ceiling with KILZ ceiling paint.  This was the first time I'd used Olympic paint and I really liked it.

Phoebe was kind enough to take an artist paint brush and touch up all of the silver where the white got on it. 
My part is done in here, I'm hoping the boys will hang some of their pictures on the walls but I'm determined to respect that this is their space, not mine.  I'm just happy that it doesn't look like the garage anymore.

full house

So my week isn't going quite like I envisioned it on Monday.  Does that ever happen to you?  Nothing bad has happened just little things keep popping up that are important to my family that are  taking up my time.  I also have a couple of extra young children for the next several days.  All of that to say that I'm just popping in to say that the last installment of The Amazing Pillowcase Dress Sew Along will be up next Thursday instead of this week. 

Have a great weekend!

{Grain Sale}

Sandwich rolls made with hard white wheat

I rarely post "deals" since this really isn't a deals blog but I since alot of my readers grind their own grain for flour I wanted to let you know that Honeyville Farms is having a 20% off sale from today until Friday.  Just use the code SIZZLE to get 20% off your entire order...except shipping which is under $5. 

If your interested in using freshly ground grains here's some tips.

disclaimer:  If you use the above link I'll receive a small percentage from the company for referring you.  (I'm sure you already figured that out) If that bothers you just use a search engine to get to the company website and use the code.

Thrifting goodness

I have ever mentioned that I love to go thrifting?  Now, I'm certainly not an HGTV thrifter looking for just the right antique, I'm a "go to Goodwill (or whatever other thrift store I can) on half price day and dig for things my family is already looking for."  Of course, part of it is that used stuff is less expensive than new stuff so it helps our money stretch farther.  But I think my love of old things goes beyond the price tag. 

I love thinking about the who used to own these items and wonder why they no longer need them.  I'm also very concerned about the amount of stuff that gets manufactured and winds up in the landfill.  So I choose to purchase most of our stuff - from clothes to housewares - secondhand. 

Our local Senior Citizen's Center has a fabric sale three times a year.  This is where I get most of our sewing notions and quite a bit of our fabric.  The cool thing is that since the items are donated you never know what you will find.  Here's some of what we found on Saturday...

This is where I try to buy all of our ric rack, embroidery thread, ribbon, bias tape, elastic, buttons and thread.  (you have to be careful with the thread - just make sure it isn't super old).  At .05 each it's hard to go wrong.

I found a gallon ziplock bags full of these.  I *think* they are vintage sheets that have been cut to make a quilt.  One side is diagonal so I'm not sure what that's about.  Maybe you real quilters can tell me.  These are so fun and the colors are so vibrant. 

Here's my 4 yards of fabric that cost me a dollar.  You see the fabric is .25 a yard.  Sometimes I find large yardage of muslin that I can use to line all my curtains, other times I find smaller pieces that will be fun for bags, pajamas or dresses.  The red on the left is silk and so very pretty.  The bold one on the right is made in Japan and silky feeling.  I think I'm going to try to make our last pillowcase dress from it...but the pattern might be too big.

There's always lots of hand stitching stuff.  Phoebe found this bag of cross stitch stuff.  Some had already been partially done but that doesn't bother her...it just makes it faster to complete the project. 

This is my favorite find.  A small wooden table top ironing board.  I'm going to make a pad and cover for it to use when I'm doing small projects.  Esther is already having fun with it.  I think one of the boys has ideas of making her a wooden iron to go with it.

What are some of your favorite thrifted finds? 

bee experiment

...or maybe I should title this "the bee experiment that every beekeeper we've talked to has said is a really, really dumb idea."  But you know, we are just kind of like that.  We get an idea in our heads and can't seem to get it out.  We know it probably won't end well but we want to try it anyway. 

When Gabriel first started his obsession, I mean interest, in bees he noticed a cedar tree is some one's front yard that a hive in it.  He's been thinking about that tree ever since.  A couple of weeks ago Carl and Gabriel went and knocked on the person's door to ask about the tree and the bees.  The owner didn't even know that there were bees in his tree.  The house is a family house so he need to get permission from the other family members for Carl to cut down the tree.  While they waited Gabriel began working on the Miller Method so he could requeen the hive.  The call finally came.

So the next Friday night in the dark of night they went and wrapped the tree in wire screen mesh.  On Saturday they went and cut the tree down.  It took a while...the new chain saw wouldn't work properly so a neighbor came over with his and his front loader (I know, how many neighbors have a front loader?) and helped cut the tree down and load it onto the trailer. 

 When they got home they began to unwrap the tree and plugged two of the holes with Great Stuff.

Then they made a mesh tunnel from the tree to the top bar hive which Gabriel had already prepared with wax and syrup to lure them in.

This is from the observation window in the hive.  In the middle hole you can see a couple of bees venturing in.

This is what our other hive (#1) was doing during this time.  I've never seen them so active.  I wonder if they know we've added more bees - even though we have the top bar have away from the bee yard.

Gabriel got stung on one pinkie - I bet you can guess which one.  His smoker went out and he was trying to relight it instead of just getting the stinger out.  Next time I think he'll get the stinger out first.  He swelled up pretty good  but it didn't stay swollen as long as it did the last time he was stung.

In other bee news, Gabriel bought a Kona Queen from Hawaii to start another hive in one of the boxes that they got a few weeks ago.  (we ordered with our beekeeper friend)  I think this experiment will work a little better. 

The results so far...not looking so good.  The queen tried to swarm and Gabriel caught her and put her and some workers in the top bar hive.  She ended up dying.  We've had lots of rain and the water has gotten into the tree.  They cut the tree and hive apart and extracted about 3 cups of honey - with sawdust.  We need to strain it more.  We're still cautiously hopeful that they will make a new queen with the brood that we gave them and live in the topbar hive.

The Amazing Pillowcase Dress Sew~Along {Back Tie and Ruffles}

wow!  I can't believe it's week 5 already.  The summer is just flying by.  We had fun making this dress today.  We saw a similar dress in the quilt shop hop we did a few weeks ago and I knew I wanted to include a back tie dress in the sew~along.  So we took the shirt out of the line up and put this one in.  Because, really, any of these styles can be a shirt if you just make it short enough. 

Supplies:

Pillowcase (or fabric)
Thread
Extra fabric for ruffle
7/8" ribbon (optional)
Sewing machine
Scissors
Safety Pin
Iron (optional)


1. Make your own "pillowcase" (if using an already made pillowcase skip this step)

Cut 2 rectangles to size. I made mine 22" wide and 22" long.  Pin the two rectangles right sides together and sew the sides.  I used a french seam like we did in week one.

2. Cut off fold of pillowcase

If you're using a pillowcase you will need to cut off the folded area so that you have a tube. If you made your own "pillowcase" and you already have a tube then you are good to go...just skip this step.


3. Make lining

This is just what we did week 3 since the pillowcase was sheer. Since this is a pretty heavy fabric I'm only going to line the bodice (the top part). But you feel free to line the whole dress like we did before or not line the dress at all like the first week. Whatever works best for you is great however, you can't do a back tie if you use the elastic version from week 2. 

So, my lining measures 7" long by 22" wide. Sew the short ends together to make a tube the same width as your dress. I didn't hem the lining I just did a zig zag on the edge since it's just going down to the waist.

4. Make armholes

Fold your dress in half longways. I wanted this dress to have a more angled look for the arms so I cut a triangle instead of a "J" that we've done on the other dresses.  On the seam side you're going to go about 4" in and about 5" down.

5. Sew in lining

Turn the dress right side out and pin the lining to it. The lining will be wrong side out so that the patterned side of the fabric for the dress and the right side of the lining are touching.

Pin all around the armholes and front and back.
On the back of the dress find the center and mark an area that is about 2 1/2" wide and about 5" long and round it off.  I used a ruler and a coffee mug to draw this.  I also used a disappearing ink pen.

Stitch the entire area that you pinned.  When you get to the markings you are going to stitch right on the lines.

After stitching the lining to the dress cut out the part on the back leaving about a 1/4 seam allowance.

Cut little notches in the curve on the back.  This will help the curve lay flat.

Cut little notches in the armholes near the bottom of the "v".  This will help it lay nicely.

Turn the lining to the inside of the dress and iron.  This is what the back should look like.  See how the curve lays flat?  That's from the notches.

This is what the armholes should look like. 

6. Make a casing for the ribbon

Fold down about 1 1/2" of front (between the armholes) toward the inside of the dress. Iron if you want to and pin. Make sure that the casing is plenty wide for your ribbon.

Stitch along the edge.

Do the same for the 2 back sections.

Using a safety pin insert the ribbon into the casing starting at the hole in the back. If you're not using ribbon you can make your own tie like we did week 4.

If you used a pillowcase you're done! Unless of course you want to add some embellishments. If you didn't use a pillowcase keep going.

7. Make the ruffle

Cut a piece of fabric that is 6" by about 4 times the width of your dress.  So for my dress I cut 2 rectangles that were 22" wide so the my ruffle was 6" by 88".  I sewed two pieces of fabric together to get them this long.
Once they are sewn together fold it long ways and iron a fold.  So now your ruffle is 3" by 88" (or whatever you cut it to).

Now, open it back up and stitch the other side together. So now you have a tube that you can fold and it will be 3" wide instead of 6" wide.

Stitch two rows of basting stitches (remember not to back stitch on these) along the raw edges of the ruffle.  Be careful not to cross the rows or double the starting or ending stitches.  This is what we did for the waist in week 4.

Pull the stitches on one side to begin to gather the ruffle.  Now pull the stitches on the other side of the ruffle to gather the other side of the ruffle.

Pin the ruffle to the bottom of the dress using your side seams as your guides and distribute the gathers evenly.  This doesn't have to be perfect you just don't want one side to have lots of gathers and the other side to be straight.

Stitch the ruffle to the dress and then zig zag the raw edges. 

Turn the ruffle down and making sure that the seam is against the dress topstitch the dress.  Remember, topstitching is just sewing close to the edge.  This will keep the seam from being bulky.

8. Enjoy

Esther's getting the hang of this modeling stuff, don't you think?

Here's the back. 

Let me know if I need to clarify anything. 
Sharing at...Made by You Mondays , Off the Grid, and Bloom Designs