On My Mind...

Shared scraps...

MONTHS ago, Jennifer at Cozy as Spring had a give away for fabric scraps and I WON! I was so excited!  When I received the fabric in the mail I was even more excited...it wasn't small scraps, there was some good size pieces of fabric in the bag.

The fabric sat and sat.  I didn't want to cut it, I didn't know what I wanted to do with it...then I decided...

Log cabin quilt block for an envelope pillow...two of them live on our couch very happy and I still have a pile of scraps :)  Hopefully they won't lay around as long before I decide what to use them on.  I'm loving the patchwork pillow on her blog today!

Jennifer thanks so much for the fabric! 

**pattern for envelope pillow with log cabin front found here

Snippets of what we have been up to...

• best smoothie - spinach, blueberries, strawberries, agave nectar, flax seed, oj, and some grape juice - will have your 4 year old asking for more as long as you keep the spinach hidden
• why have underwear on the table?? - to accurately draw superman of course!
• flower bows...found all over the blogs - so quick and fun to make
• sprouts grown on the counter - stir frys, on bagels, in sandwiches...
• more snow and ice!
• I try to remember the feeling of seeing snow when I was young and trying to be a fun mom even if it is cold outside...I'm much more fun in 120 degree weather
• groundhog day
• eating snow ice cream with snow that we froze - Tanner was way more impressed with the idea of making it than actually eating it 

• Chinese checkers with a big sister
• beautiful bird out back that I need to figure out what it is
• heart garlands...seriously addictive...they look great everywhere!
• nothing better than a good book..."If you give a..."
• something about the sound and smell of dinner in the pressure cooker...good childhood memories
• a little something I have been working on...I'm loving having my sewing machine out where I can use it anytime I have a few minutes!
• mousetrap...don't understand the playing of it, but it sure is cool to play with!
• everyone at the table working on Valentine's...she's got her own way of spicing everything up...joined people holding hearts, modge podge tissue paper...amazing girl with creativity
• heart garland...I told you it was addictive!

As the days cool down...

With our days beginning to cool down, it means more time inside for things like...

matching bears that play football...

pictures...

 

painting after rest time...

 

evenings of making cool stuff with a daughter who is at school all day...

*Halloween garland found here!

 

making cookies first thing in the morning...

 

dreaming about the rag rug...

found these at a junk store after I had just fell in love with the idea of making a rag rug from Amanda Soule's book!  Seriously how lucky am I??? 

 

dreaming up ideas for our bedroom...it's the one room that almost has almost nothing on the walls...

What I'm thinking about...

Creating things...I want to make everything I see!  I guess there are worse things in life.  Since my new found sewing obsession has begun, coupled with my knitting obsession, along with my old obsession of  soapmaking....do you see where this leads to??  Christmas is coming...I keep finding things I want to make and / or do.  I get so wrapped up in looking and looking that really not much gets made.  I think I will stick to what I have saved and work on stuff, rather than keep looking!

There's the Jesse Tree, Christmas Stockings, the quilted table runner, cloth baskets...the list goes on and on...

I think when I get a minute, I am going to create a page for things I want to make.  I also have this worry about my computer crashing and I would lose all my favorites that I have listed as "things to make".  Oh the worries I have in life...

Leaf rubbings...done!

I so had been wanting to do these leaf rubbings.  It has been awhile since I mentioned them...

We finally got around to doing them, and the kids truly enjoyed them.  I don't know which was better...taking a walk to go find pretty leaves, or using the crayons and watercolors!

 

 

Sewing with a manual!

For two beginners to sew something wonderful, it can be a site to see!

My sister in law and I made cloth grocery bags for mom, we used this awesome tutorial and they turned out wonderful!  For two beginners, our sewing consisted of the sewing manual on one side, the laptop with the tutorial up on the other side  :)

The bags turned out great!  Now, in addition to my newest addiction to knitting, I have added sewing to the list!  Gotta have something fun to do with my time right?

Cleaning Green Recipes

I think after looking over these recipes I will have everything needed to clean green!  This lady is a wealth of information on homemaking- everything from sewing, knitting, cleaning, making homemade Christmas gifts - which I will be reading over in detail when I get a chance - great blog with so much good information!  I have been using homemade liquid laundry detergent.  I think this weekend I will make up some powdered detergent and see which I like better.  Some of my favorites for green cleaning that I have found and used is for cleaning my bathroom (toilets, sink, tub, shower) with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar I can clean it all...LOVE IT!  It just smells clean after I am done, not chemically know what I mean?  Since I have started cleaning green, I have been amazed to think about what I haven't bought.....I was the queen of bleach wipes (think of all those containers I am not buying now), laundry detergent (I haven't bought any in maybe 6 months - that adds up $$$), no comet, toilet bowl cleaner, windex (although I do have some left that we are using up), scrubbing bubbles...granted I recycle everything I can but I am making a bigger difference by not even bringing the products into my home.  Talk about saving my family money.

Leaf Rubbings

Ok, so I love fall!  Everything about it - the colors, the smells, the food, the change from hot to cooler weather...LOVE IT!  So, here is another fun fall project.

This project is leaf rubbings which I think always turn out great no matter the age of the kiddo.  maya*made has great ideas that look so wonderful, here is the link to her leaf rubbings.

Enjoy your fall friday.

Pumpkin Prints

We will be going to the pumpkin patch soon...will be picking up extra small pumpkins so we can make these prints!  I will post pictures once we have done them.

Pumpkin Prints from No Time For Flashcards

Things to make - category in progress!

I have so many sites saved in a folder titled "things to make" on my computer but then I forget to go back and look at them often.  My answer to myself is to just start putting things I am wanting to make on my blog so I can just look under the category.  I have made a category titled "Things to Make", under that I will also either list things as "homemaking" (stuff for the house/me), or "kids" (things that I will actually make with the kiddos).  Maybe this will be useful to someone else...or maybe this will be just for me, but I am hoping that doing it this way will make it easier for me to find things that I was wanting to make.

I just thought of another category...I guess I will also list "seasons/holidays" so that I can find things that way.

If anyone has any great ideas of things to share that they have made, or are wanting to make, please feel free to share them!