RadiantGirlCrafts

Some Knitting...

2011-06-20T14:26:00.003-05:00

I've been doing a little knitting lately. Especially while carpooling with my husband, we always take his car and since he sometimes needs his car for work - he drops me off. I'm working on a couple of baby items for my Niece Katie, and some of my other friends/family that are expecting.

Recently, I was in the mood for a quick finish project. So I started a dishcloth. It was quick and easy and I had fun knitting it. So I pulled out some more cotton from my yarn stash and went to town on another, with an even more basic pattern. I started poking around on ravelry for other dishcloth patterns and found this one with a coffee cup on it and I had to have it! I thought it would be better done with a solid colored yarn, but I didn't have anything solid in cotton, so I went with what I had. And I think it turned out pretty good. See pictures of my other projects on Ravelry.

OC (Organizing Challenge) - The Junk Drawer

2011-01-15T10:59:00.003-06:00

Before:

After
I need a few more baskets or something to contain the pens and stuff, but I am planning to move most of them to the office/printer desk. That's next on the list of things to organize.

I tossed a lot of things in the garbage, moved a few items to new homes like the 7 packs of gum, the box of envelopes that was causing the drawer not to open all the way and my never used palm pilot.

I was so into the organizing last night that I decided to do a couple of cupboards too, we had some stuff sitting out on the counter from packing lunches all week and I wanted it put away. I wish I had taken before shots of these cabinets because they were pretty messy!

To continue to motivate myself to catch up in the Organizing Challenge, I took before pictures of a lot of the spaces that I'll be working on. Including: under the sink, the pantry, the dreaded tupperware mess (it's in the pantry), the laundry closet and my disastrous dresser (it's so bad I didn't even take a picture of the drawers, just the top).

Organizing Challenge!

2011-01-14T10:16:00.003-06:00

I know that I already posted about my ridiculously messy/unorganized craft room, I even took pictures, but I'm too ashamed to post them. I'll work up to it, I promise!

But I just found out that A bowl full of lemons is hosting an organizing challenge. I'm way late to the game, but I'm going to try to catch up! My husband doesn't know it yet, but he's going to help. Although he probably won't be as much help as I need, lol. This Organizing Challenge is a 21 day challenge (not counting Sundays) that started on Jan 1, so I've got a long way to go!

Here's what I've missed so far....
Day 1 (Jan 1) - Junk Drawer - mine is awful! Can't wait to knock this one out, look for a post tomorrow!
Day 2 (Jan 3) - Computer Desk - we don't really have a computer desk, both my husband and I have laptops that we primarily use while sitting on the couch. We do have a small desk for our (non-wireless) printer, so I'll be working on that.
Day 3 (Jan 4) - Tupperware Cabinet - umm, I totally need help with this one - any suggestions on how to organize my Tupperware?
Day 4 (Jan 5) - Linen Closet - I don't have a linen closet, but I have lots of closets and they all need to be organized!
Day 5 (Jan 6) - Under the Kitchen Sink - fortunately for me, under my kitchen sink is pretty clean and organized. We keep our garbage and recycling under there and a few cleaning products. It does need a good cleaning (I spill coffee grounds A LOT when emptying them into the trash can)
Day 6 (Jan 7) - Dresser Drawers - oh Lordy, this is gonna be a big one! My dresser, not just the drawers but the top too is a disaster! In fact most of my clothes are on top of the dresser and NOT in the drawers...oops!
Day 7 (Jan 8) - The Pantry - this one might kill me. I LOATHE my pantry. I can not for the life of me figure out how to organize it. We only lived in our house 6 months and I have re-organized the pantry twice. But even I discovered this organizing challenge, I was planning to tackle the pantry yet again.
Day 8 (Jan 10) - The Coat Closet - my coat closet contains a lot of thing and most of them are NOT coats. Can't wait to work on this one!
Day 9 (Jan 11) - Toy Organization - since I don't have any kids, we just have dog toys are our house. Which are easily contained. Sierra only has a few toys that she likes and a couple of bones. A bowl full of Lemons suggests organizing your own hobby area (shutter) in place of toy organization - this will take me more than one day I'm afraid!
Day 10 (Jan 12) - Laundry Room (closet) - mine is more of a laundry closet and doesn't get a whole lot of clutter (Thank goodness!) but it could use a little work. My washer/dryer are stackables, and the only storage space is on top of the dryer. I have to stand on my tip toes to reach the soap! We really need to add a lower shelf or two in there.
Day 11 (Jan 13) - The Freezer - my freezer stock get rotated fairly quickly due to space, and I re-organize almost every time I go to the grocery store, so I don't have much to do here, but it could use a little help.
Day 12 (Jan 14) - The spice cabinet - this is a disaster zone at my house. Cooking and baking often result in swearing and crying because I can't find the spice or baking supply I'm looking for. This was also already on my list projects to tackle this weekend.

Whew! I hope I can catch up!

I made...er...bread!

2011-01-06T16:58:00.003-06:00

I love reading food blogs in addition to the craft blogs that I also love. I find a lot of recipes that way. Its great, someone else tests and posts them and then I read about it and think YUM! That's what I thought when I read this post at Branny Boils Over. I've made a couple of other things Branny has posted, like this Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie - which was excellent! So when I saw her post about Oatmeal Whole Wheat Bread, I wanted to try it. I make a mean Banana Bread, why can't I make real bread - right?? right?? um, wrong!

Here's my bread...I know, it looks like a turd. I sent this picture to my husband, he didn't have anything to say about my bread. When I asked him about it later, he said, "I can't say what it looks like." To which I replied, "I know it looks like a turd."

But, the good news is that it tastes good. The biggest problem that I had with the bread was that it didn't rise. at all, not even a little bit. I finally took it out of the loaf pans (which were only about 1/2 full) and dropped it on this cookie sheet. I had 2 "loaves" of VERY VERY dry bread dough.

I realized after the fact that I made a couple of mistakes with this bread - 1) I used the regular yeast instead of quickrising yeast. and 2) I shorted myself on the butter. I read the recipe directly off my computer and so I must have read part of one line and part of another and thought I only needed 2 TBS of butter...I needed 1/4 cup. oops.

I have another batch rising at home (I ran out of time last night) and it did actually rise. I'm not sure it rose quite as much as it's supposed to. Guess I'll find out. I used the correct yeast this time, but again I shorted myself on the butter. I almost left it out entirely. I also didn't put quite as much flour in as the recipe called for. I added the flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time and got in about 4 cups of the whole wheat flour and about 1/4 cup of the regular flour. I stopped adding flour when my dough was smooth and no longer sticky. I wanted to make sure that I didn't end up with dry dough again. So I shall report back after I bake tonight and let you know my final grade on this recipe.

Some Goals for 2011...

2010-12-29T09:36:00.004-06:00

You may have noticed that I haven't been blogging much lately. Life is crazy busy, which is not that unusual. But the constant state of disarray in my craft room is killing my creativity. I managed to scrape out a few Christmas presents, but it was tough.

Therefore my #1 goal for 2011 is to get my craft room in order! So I'm laying it all out here...maybe you guys can keep me in line :-)
1) Wash, iron and fold/hang all fabric
2) add shelving, starting with the closet (I think)
3) Organize thread, bobbins, ribbons, other embellishments
4) get floor picked up enough to vacuum
5) Organize sewing table
6) Remove all non-craft related items from craftroom
7) find a way to store the GIANT roll of butcher paper that's not behind the door
8) paint chairs and re-cover seats

Once the craft room is cleaned and organized (which will probably take me all year), I've got a list of projects that I'd like to work on. I've organized these into 3 categories - Make Now, Make Later and Make for Christmas 2011. So I'm going to go ahead and list these here too.

Make Now:

Dog collar
Patchy rug for back door
Pointer finger pin cushion
Laptop sleeve
Gift sacks
Grocery sacks
Ruffled key wristlets
Sewn Wrist warmers

Make Later:

Eye pillows
Slippers
Gathered clutches
Patchwork makeup bags
Best friend gift sets
Bed organizer
Quilt-y scarves
Wine glass charms
Covered clothes pins
Fingertip hot pads

Make for Christmas:

Tree Skirt
Table Runner
Table Cloth
Gift sacks

Keep your pets Safe!

2010-09-09T16:38:00.005-05:00

Check it out! Get your free Pet Safety Pack from the ASPCA. Safety Pack contains a window decal to alert rescue personnel that your pets are inside and an ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center magnet.

Thanks to frugalgals.com for the info!

Button

2010-09-05T13:56:00.002-05:00

Gathered Clutch

2010-08-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

One of the projects that I completed was this cute gathered clutch from Noodlehead. I just can't get over the cuteness of these gathered clutches - I feel that I need one for everyday of the week, or every outfit, or every everything!

It's got two pockets on the inside for cards and another divider pocket, stick your cash behind it, or your lipstick :-)

The instructions that Noodlehead gave we clear and easy to follow. This zipper went in quite slick following her instructions. I can't wait to make more!

Winnings!

2010-08-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

I recently won two give-a-ways, here's what I won...

From Katie's Nesting Spot I won a BusyBodyBook Calendar. Check out Katie's post to see what she likes about the BusyBodyBook Calendar.

I chose the summer pattern, there are four cover patterns to choose from.

I like:

The pockets in the front and back covers for notes, mail, receipts, etc.
The laminated covers
Moveable bookmark to mark the week you are on
Space for to-do lists
Space for 5 different people or subjects, I am using one for personal stuff, one for each of my jobs (2) and one for the ministry team that I lead.
I also like the perpetual calendar for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. and the month at a glance section.

From Fitness for the Rest of Us I won two 4 packs of SKOY Cloths. Pictures from the SKOY Cloths website. Skoy cloths are re-usable cloths, designed to replace paper towels and other cleaning, dishwashing cloths. We opened the package right away, and I really like these. We have been using some cheap (disposable) dishclothes. These are good for about a week and then we toss them. I like the SKOY cloths because they are thicker than the cheapies we've been using and I love that they can be washed in the washing machine, or you can wet them and put them in the microwave to kill the germs.

So many thanks to Katie and BusyBodyBooks and to LindseyLu and SKOY!!

Pattern Test...Diaper Bag

2010-08-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

No, not for me. Sew4Home offers lots of great patterns, including this diaper bag. I thought this might make a good shower/baby gift, so I decided to try out the pattern. It was not terribly difficult, but I don't love the pattern. I'm not so sure it is the great gift I was hoping for. Oh well.

I do have a nice big tote bag...overnight bag...not sure what bag. I think it's quite large 15"x15"x7". Sew4Home says this is a small diaper bag! If I have to carry a diaper bag bigger than this when I have a kid, I don't think I'll be able to carry the bag and the kid!

I modified that patter slightly to fit my needs. I left off the front pocket and side gathered pocket, for 2 reasons. I didn't have enough fabric and I didn't think I needed them, although I think I would have liked the flat pocket on the front, but I couldn't leave off just the gathered pocket because of the design of the bag. I also left off the gathered pockets on the inside of the bag, again I didn't think I would need them and I didn't have enough fabric. I used 4 different fabrics to complete this bag, I wanted to use only fabrics that I had on hand, so I used a fabric with a light blue background with apples, pears, leaves and puppies on it for the outside of the bag and the front side of the strap. I used a plain black on the inside of the strap and the bottom of the bag (so the bottom wouldn't show the dirt and because I didn't have enough of the blue fabric), the facings are black with multicolored dots and finally the inside is a red nylon.

I think that it turned out nicely overall. I did break a needle sewing the final pieces together, but that was my fault, I thought that I had changed to a bigger needle, but I hadn't.

Ladder ball

2010-08-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

My husband really wanted a ladderball set for our backyard. After pricing them, we decided that we could make our own pretty easily and less expensively. I think we spend around $15. And ours looks something like this...(picture from Target.com)

We used 3/4" PVC and from the measurements off a ladderball package at the store, I figure out the lengths we needed to cut.

Here's what we purchased:
40 ft 3/4" PVC
4 3/4" elbows
12 3/4" T-joints
8 3/4" end caps
12 cheap golfballs
2 cans of spray paint (red & blue)
We had on hand: thin nylon rope, saw

Here's what we cut:
8 35" pieces (for the bottom)
12 18" pieces (to make the sides)
6 24" pieces for the cross bars

I don't have the length on the rope we cut, we just eyeballed it. Then we drilled one hole in each of the golf balls and used E600 glue to attach the rope. Each rope has 2 golf balls attached. We made 6 sets. We painted them after we had assembled them. 3 blue sets and 3 red sets.

Hubby also taped and spray painted designs on the cross bars of our ladderball set.

Once we had the set completed, Hubby wanted a bag to put the ladderball in. So we found some cheap outdoor fabric at Handcock Fabrics ($2.99/yard) and I whipped up a bag using a modified version of this yoga bag tutorial from Sew4Home. The only thing I changed was the length of the bag (mine is 37")and the length of the strap (mine is 44"), and I added a second pocket, but left off the flaps and just attached the velcro to the backside of the pocket and the bag. I also made my pockets pleated for a little extra room for the balls.

Here you can see the pockets on the front of the bag.
Here you can see the side of the bag and the strap. Sorry the pics are dark, I had to snap them quick while it was storming outside.

V-A-C-A-T-T-I-O-N, Spell it with me folks!

2010-08-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Yay! I'm so excited. I am leaving this morning for a whole week of vacation! Don't worry, I've got more posts scheduled for you, so you won't miss out on any bloggity fun while I'm gone :-)

We are headed on vacation to our annual timeshare destination. My parents have owned this timeshare since I was about 3, so I've only missed a few years in my whole life. My sister will be joining us for the weekend and my brother and sister-in-law will come early next week. It'll be great!

I'm a compulsive list maker, I LOVE to make lists. So I've been making vacation lists for a week now. I always write a packing list for myself to help me remember everything. My hubby is notorious for forgetting to pack things, so he requested that I also make him a list :-)

Sierra is going to stay with friends, so she got a list too. I have a list for my plant water-er/mail picker-upper. I have lists for everything :-) I'm only slightly embarrassed by this.

So later today, I'll be relaxing outside our cabin with a drink in my hand...maybe one of these...

These are top the list for favorite Root Beers at our house! They are so smooth and yummy and must be bought at the liquor store, as no one else carries them.

Gifts for Hubby!

2010-08-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

I love to make stuff for everyone, so my hubby is on the top of my list to make stuff for (okay, maybe not the top top of the list, my cute new niece and my dog might have higher billing :-)

Any-who, I decided that in my frantic rush to make things before vacation, I needed to make him a new toiletry bag. He loves this fish fabric, which I've used for several other projects for him. But since he loves it so much, I decided to use it for the toiletry bag.

I used this tutorial from The Purl Bee. I had a little bit of trouble with it, but overall, I think it turned out nicely. Most of my trouble was that I needed to S-L-O-W down and R-E-A-D the directions. This was actually one of the easiest zippers I have attempted!

Sew Busy!

2010-08-18T13:22:00.003-05:00

I know that I've been neglecting ya'll, but I've been so busy sewing! Last weekend, I completed 4 projects, Monday evening I completed another. I have two more that I am really hoping to finish before I leave for vacation on Friday morning! YIKES! I intended to spend yesterday afternoon sewing, but I ended up at my mom's house packing boxes! And since I haven't been sleeping well, I was too tired to sew anything after that. I tried, I really did.

I'm going to feature each completed project in a separate post. I'll start with a simple project, one for my doggie :-) Our cute as can be female cocker spaniel is in heat. Her previous owners bred her :-( And we just haven't quite gotten it worked out to get her spade yet. So anyway, she's been wearing little boys underpants turned backward (so her tail can stick out) while she is in heat. But I decided that she needed something cuter, that was easier on her tail. So I whipped up a couple of pairs of B!tch pants. I didn't take any pictures of my process, but here's a pic of Sierra in her cute heart panties.

Can ya tell she just loves them?

Fabulously Ugly

2010-08-06T09:36:00.000-05:00

Now that I finally got my craft room painted, I headed out to some garage sales looking for a sewing chair to use at the fabulous table my dad made me for my birthday. So after a trip to the Farmer's Market, the Hubs and I headed out to a couple of garage sales. The first couple we a bust and we were thinking about going home, but I wanted to hit one more that had advertised craft supplies :-) I was actually thinking more about scoring some yarn or fabric or embellishments and less about finding a chair.

Right when we pulled up I saw these beauties...nice orange huh? They were marked at $7 each so I didn't look at them that closely. It was getting to be early afternoon and the sellers were getting anxious to get rid of some stuff, and told us to make an offer. I'm not usually big on wheelin' and dealin'. I usually just pay the asking price or don't buy it - I know, I know, it goes against the code of garage saling not to try to bargain. So, I put on my brave panties and asked her if she'd sell me both for $7. She offer to sell me both for $10, and if I'd had $10 on my I would have taken them for ten, but I only had $8. So I said, I only have $8. She paused...and then agreed to sell me both chairs for $8! SCORE!

So now I have a little work to do on the chairs before I can put them in the craft room, if only I could decide what color they want to be. Don't get me wrong, I like the orange - just not in my purple craft room. The seats of the chairs need to be replaced, down to the plywood. And they could be just a little cushier, so I'll be replacing the foam also. I think I'll put a fabric cover on the seat, instead of the faux-leather that's on there now.

So I'll take suggestions of what color you think I should paint these chairs. My mom is thinking that they should be green. With some funky green/purple combo fabric for the seat.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

2010-08-05T15:00:00.002-05:00

I made this BBQ Sauce the week before Father's Day, it took a while, but it was well worth it! My hubby taste-tested it and thought it was good. It was even better after sitting in the fridge overnight. We made BBQ chicken, and it was awesome!

We used it on Pork Chops for Father's Day dinner. Yum!

Classic Barbecue Sauce (from Annie's Eats)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 cups yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. ground coriander (I omitted as I didn't have any)
¼ tsp. ground cumin
2-3 tbsp. honey
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed (I used light brown sugar because it was handy)
2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes (Annie suggests fire-roasted, but I couldn't find any)
¾ cup cider vinegar¼ cup white vinegar
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2-3 tsp. black pepper
½-2 cups water
Directions:
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Mix in 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt, the chili powder, coriander and cumin. Stir in the honey, molasses and dark brown sugar. Mix well and boil for about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cider vinegar. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer on medium-low heat for 2-3 hours until the sauce has thickened and darkened. (I simmered mine for ~2.5 hours.)

Stir in the white vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste (up to about 1 tablespoon of each). Add the mixture to a blender or food processor. (I had to blend in two batches because it was so much) Add in about ½ cup water to start and process the mixture until smooth. Blend in more water if desired until the sauce has reached your desired thickness/consistency.

Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

I had about 7 cups of BBQ Sauce when I was done. I divvied it up in to 1.5 cup containers and froze them.

Re-usable snack bags

2010-08-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

I've been working on my husband on the whole "green" living idea. Last week I suggested that we reduce our consumables like plastic sandwich baggies and paper towels. He was a little puzzled about what we would used if we didn't buy paper towels or sandwich baggies, but I convinced him that regular cloths and rags would be just as good a substitute and we would not be doing more laundry than we already are. So I whipped up a couple of cute cloth baggies for packing in lunches. I used this tutoria l from Angry Chicken. Her video is hilarious! And this was the easiest re-usable bag I found. Here's a couple of pictures of mine in action.

Skoy Cloths

2010-08-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

Ever heard of these? Me either. Thanks to Lindsey over at Fitness for the Rest of Us, I've learned a ton about Skoy cloths. I would love to try them out. Lindsey is giving away TWO packages of 4 Skoy Cloths. Check it out!

Here's a few facts about Skoy Cloths:

~1 Skoy cloth saves 15 rolls of paper towels

~100% biodegradable and natural

~Reusable and machine washable

~Washing machine, dishwasher, and microwave safe

~Absorbs 14 times its own weight

Clif Bar Giveaway

2010-08-03T14:46:00.002-05:00

Like Clif Bars? Check out Lindsey's Blog to enter to win a box of Clif Bars. I like the Chocolate Chip ones, but the Pumpkin Spice ones sound yummy too!

I am also a HUGE fan of Luna Bars, they are the best breakfast for grab-n-go. I love the Chocolate Peppermint!

Project Update

2010-08-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Remember about 2 months ago when I showed you this sneak peak at my current project?

That's about what it looks like now, just a little longer...oops. Instead I started another project the week that I was at camp. And got darn close to half done during that week. I'm feeling very accomplished because I'm proud to announce that I have completed my first knitted afghan! Baby Blanket, but still completed! I'm so excited to bring you this picture of one completed baby blanket for my niece who will be born in late August.

I apologize for the craptastic picture quality, I snapped one quick before work with my cell phone so that I could get this post out! I used a Bernat self striping yarn, that is unfortunately discontinued. I've been hoarding this yarn for about 4 years, it just never made it into anything. I also have some in blue/white. Someday I may finish a boy one, but only if I have a boy to make one for :-)

What I did at work today...

2010-08-02T17:54:00.002-05:00

I think this picture says it all, but I'll give you a little background. My direct supervisor is on vacation, she and her family went to Hawaii for 10 days. Our office has a tradition of "decorating" co-workers cubes and offices while they are on vacation. My supervisor's boss decided that we (he and I) should decorate Mary's cube for her return tomorrow. So here's how I spent a good half hour this afternoon. Boss man made the sign and found me the decorations, and then asked for my "help". He hung the bird, I did everything else :-) Purdy isn't it?

The Blind Hem Revealed!

2010-07-29T14:28:00.003-05:00

After viewing this tutorial from Grosgain, I finally understand the Blind Hem. Thanks Grosgain!

Peach Wine Coolers

2010-07-29T14:12:00.002-05:00

Don't these look YUMMY? I can't wait to try them! Who wants to come to my house for a party? Annie over at Annie's Eats, one of my favorite food blogs, posted these yummy looking (and sounding) peach wine coolers.

Sounds like a great excuse to have a party, I love new drink recipes!

Craft Hope

2010-07-27T09:46:00.002-05:00

As you know from this post. I was working on some charity projects earlier this year. I missed the deadline to participate with the Etsy Quiltsy Team in the Pillowcases for Haiti :-( I was sad that I didn't get to send any pillowcases. But Craft Hope is teaming up with Conkerr Cancer to collect pillowcases for Children's Hospitals. Check out their post on this new project.

I picked out some cute fabrics when I was planning to make some pillowcases with the Etsy Quiltsy Team, so here are some of the pillowcases I'm planning on making.

That Girl! Summer Jacket Knit-Along

2010-07-19T15:05:00.002-05:00

This pattern and knit-along have come across my blog reader twice now. And after admiring it, but know that I wouldn't wear it...I finally came up with the perfect recipient (actually I have two perfect recipients, I might have to make two!) I'm usually not much of a sweater knitter but there is something about this cute little jacket that just calls to me. So I'm going to give it a go. Some of the knitters in the knit along are nearly finished and the photos that they have been posting are amazing! I can only hope that mine will turn out as good!

CLICK Give-a-way!

2010-07-16T11:04:00.002-05:00

Check out this neat give-a-way here. CLICK is espresso protein drink with 23 nutrients and minerals. I'm pretty excited about this...and hoping I win!

Thanks to Lindsey Lu for offering this great give-a-way!

Father's Day Dinner

2010-06-19T12:10:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking that our menu is turning out to be fabulous!

Here's what on the agenda:

BBQ pork chops with homemade BBQ sauce (I'll post the recipe)
grilled veggies, whatever looks good at the farmer's market this weekend - Although my dad LOVES Asparagus, so we might go with that. If we do then I'll be making another veggie, because I don't like Asparagus (Mom doesn't either.)
I'm considering making some Tabule, because I love it and I've been ~~thinking~~ obsessing about it ever since a co-worker made a big batch at brought it for lunch almost all week last week :-)
My mom is bringing some fruit, which will probably include some of the strawberries we are going to pick on Saturday.
I'll also do some bread, I've got a french loaf of take-n-bake bread in my freezer, which is easy to throw in the oven and bake.
I am making my mom Strawberry Tart, which is super yummy and topped with the fresh strawberries we are picking on Saturday.

It should be yummy!

Mom's Strawberry Tart

2010-06-18T13:22:00.004-05:00

Here's the promised recipe for my Mom's Strawberry Tart.

Crust:
1/2 c Butter
1 c Flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
2 oz almonds (I like slivered or sliced)

Filling:
2 Eggs, beaten
1 tsp Almond Extract
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 c Sugar

Mix crust and pat into 10" pie plate or spring form pan.
Mix filling in food processor or with mixer. Pour over crust.
Bake 15-20 min at 350.

Refridgerate before serving.

Top with whole fresh strawberries and glaze lightly.

For glaze you can use pre-made strawberry glaze, a light frosting glaze or melted chocolate (above I used both white and dark chocolate to glaze)

Enjoy!

Sweet Find!

2010-06-18T12:10:00.000-05:00

While we were in the process of buying our house, we stored somethings in my parents garage. Ok we stored ourselves in the house too :-) But, when we were moving some of our stuff out of the garage...I found this!

I'm not digging the black color, but that's fixable. I am digging the distressed-ness of this little table. And I love love love the tiny drawer with vintage-y drawer pulls.

And I can't figure out where to put it, it's too deep for our entry way, which is where we really need something like this, so I just keep moving it around the living room and dining room trying to find a great place for it, so far nothing. But I'm sensing a total re-arrange of the living room furniture :-)

I'm also trying to decide on paint colors, what color do I really want this to be? Brown to match/coordinate with our other wood furniture? A fun color, because we need some fun color? What do you think?

What's for Dinner Wednesday

2010-06-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a tasty little recipe that's quick and easy, I've no one has ever told me they hate it ;-)

My mom used to make these when we were kids...Oven Pancakes. Ever since my brother brought it up a couple of weeks ago at a family dinner, I've been just waiting for the perfect time to make one. I used a Betty Crocker Recipe that I don't think was quite as good, or filling as the recipe that my mom uses. I'll have to get hers and post it for you all. My hubby had never had an Oven Pancake before and he liked it so much that we made two that night for supper. I made a few changes to the recipe based on what I had on-hand, but it turned out well over all. So here's what I did....

Puffy Oven Pancake
2 Tbs Butter or Margarine (I used spray)
2 large eggs
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. milk (I used plain soy milk)
1/4 tsp salt
Lemon juice and powdered sugar or cut up fruit

1) Heat Oven to 400. Melt butter/Margarine and brush on to bottom and sides of 9" pie plate, I cheated and used a canola spray, because I'm lazy
2) Beat eggs slightly in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Beat in flour, milk (I used plain soy milk, because it's what I had on hand, we don't keep real milk in the house as hubby is lactose intolerant) and salt. Beat just until mixed. Don't beat it too long or the pancake won't puff up. Pour into pie plate.
3) Bake 25-30 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Serve immediately, sprinkled with lemon juice and powdered sugar or topped with fruit. (I serve mine with cut up fruit).

So thanks to Betty Crocker for the recipe and this picture of what it should look like when finished from BettyCrocker.com.

Father's Day Gifts

2010-06-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

Father's Day is right around the corner...just a couple of weeks away! I'm already starting to pick out gifts for my dad, cuz he is tough to shop for! He's the kinda guy who when ever he see something that he likes, he just buys it - which makes gift giving occasions VERY difficult! But I've got a few tricks up my sleeve this year.

My hubby is big into grilling and recently we purchase one of these grill trays:

He was telling my mom about it, who waited until Dad left the room and whispered, "Dad would like one of those for Father's Day." Ok Mom - DONE!

Then Hubby was telling Mom about some kabob baskets he saw and was thinking about getting. Mom says, "Get your dad some of those too." Got it Bossy!

And because I'm fond of a surprise or two, I've got a couple of DIY projects up my sleeve too...starting with...the..Pocket Protector! My dad is a huge nerd and we love him for it, and as much as I hate to encourage it, the man needs a pocket protector. So, I've ordered some fabric and vinyl and I'm going to make some :-) It's kinda a joke and I don't really expect him to use them, but I did order some cool fabric :-)
Tools and Bicycles - perfect for my dad. I also found some Iowa State fabric and some awesome recycle print fabric at Hancock Fabrics. I can't wait to whip up the Pocket Protectors and some other cool stuff!

How I'm Spending My Weekend....

2010-06-03T16:02:00.000-05:00

Teaching CPR and First Aid for the camp staff of the system of camps I work for. I am teaching two days, Friday and Saturday..so it's should be super-dee-duper fun.

On the upside, I will have lots of time to knit while my students are watching the great videos the Red Cross puts out. So, Good Luck to all my students, you'll do fine AND here's a sneak peak at what I'm knitting.

Recipe Review!

2010-05-28T09:53:00.000-05:00

A Little Tipsy posted a recipe that I thought looked yummy a couple of weeks ago for these Cheese Pesto Chicken Rolls. I didn't take a picture of mine, but here's a pic I stole from A Little Tipsy. Thanks Michelle for the great recipe!

Here's what Michelle's recipe looks like, I made a few changes to mine based on what I had available. My changes are in purple.

Ingredients:

1 Chicken Breast
Approx. 4 T. Fresh Pesto (Michelle used this recipe or I bought some)
Olive Oil cooking spray (or whatever kind you like)
1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella (I used cheddar, because I didn't have any mozz.)
1 can Crescent dough
1/4 C. Freshly grated Parmesan (I used Assiago)

Preheat the oven according to crescent dough directions.

1. Cover the chicken in 1 T. of Pesto and marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Warm a non stick skillet and spray with Olive oil cooking spray.
3. Cook the chicken for a few minutes on each side. I like to cut it in to pieces as it cooks so I can see exactly when it's done. Plus, then all sized get some of the yummy flavor. The pesto will for a nice crust and look a little something like this.4. Roll out your crescent dough on a cookie sheet.
5. Put a big pinch of mozzarella (cheddar) on each crescent, a dollop of pesto on top of that and a piece of chicken on top.
6. Roll each crescent and make sure the filling is covered.
7. Cover the top of each roll with shredded Parmesan (Assiago).
8. Bake according to crescent package instructions until golden brown.

I was a little skeptical when I pulled them out of the oven, because the smelled of the cooking Pesto was awful! But I'm a little over sensitive to smells and my hubby disagreed with me. So I dished them up and we dug in with a lettuce salad on the side. The Pesto Rolls were awesome and we'll definitely be making them again. Hubby says, "These are like party food."

Looking for the perfect give for someone who has everything?!?!

2010-05-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

Clearly the answer is a ticket bowl! Who wouldn't want one of these?

Add a DVD or two, some popcorn and candy and there's a fun and kitchy gift basket!

I think I'm going to have to make myself one of these :-)

Patio

2010-05-13T15:05:00.000-05:00

I have been starring at my empty patio for the last 3 weeks and wondering what to do out there. We have a small cafe table with two chairs that is just about the perfect size for the out patio, but I wanted some color, some plants. I've been looking at planters and trying to decide what size I needed to make the patio a little more fun and friendly. Well today, I'm here to announce that I found it! Check it out here at Keen Inspirations.

Your Personal Info - Be Aware!

2010-05-08T14:00:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Kim at Kim Sherrod Studios for providing this information.

www.spokeo.com
Your personal info is on there, anything they can find on you from third-party sources, such as social networking sites, surveys, etc. You have to pay for a membership to see the full information, which I was not going to do.

If you want to remove your listing: Copy and paste the url page of your info. Go to the bottom and click on their privacy link, paste your url page to remove your info from their listing. A lot of the info they have on you is accurate so don't wait, go and remove it. They will send you an e-mail confirmation. Check your e-mail and click the link to completely remove your info from their site.

I checked this out both at Spokeo.com and at Snopes.com. Here's the link to the Snopes info...they are calling this legit.

I requested that the two pages related to me be removed (one for two different addresses I've lived at) and when I searched again I couldn't find them. However, I simply did the free search, I am not going to be giving my credit card info to them! Other people have commented that their information was listed incorrectly - at a previous address, so you may not need to be concerned, but it's good to know what's out there about you!

Friday Fun!

2010-05-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

I remember loving Fraggle Rock as a kid. And now I love knitting...so I bring you the Fraggle Rock Doozers Sing about Knitting!

I want to make this!

2010-04-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

I am just dying to make this Weekender Travel Tote bag for my mom! I don't know why, it just looks like the perfect bag for her. And I would LOVE to have it made for her by Mother's Day, but I'm not seeing it, since I don't have my sewing machine, I haven't chosen any fabrics yet, and I don't actually own a table of any kind to put my sewing machine on :-(

Sew Spoiled is hosting a Sew-Along that extends much past Mother's Day, but it's not too late to get in on the action! Just pick out your fabrics and post pictures to their Flickr group by tomorrow! Now I just have to find some JoAnn Coupons and pick out some fabric..not to mention find my sewing machine and a table to put it on :-)

I miss the Internet!

2010-04-30T11:39:00.000-05:00

Now that we are nearly moved into our house...I am realizing just how much I miss having the internet! We're not sure yet when we will be getting it either :-( So my apologies for never being around. I'm trying to get some posts set up to post on a a schedule, but It's proving hard, since I don't have my sewing machine set up yet and I can't find my camera and I at least half my stuff is still stashed in boxes in the garage! But I keep chipping away at it and soon I'll be all set, I hope!

As soon as I can find my camera, I'll post pictures of my new craft room (before pics anyway). I'm sure that it will be a work in progress for some time yet. But I can't wait to get in there and get working!

House Update!

2010-04-23T13:38:00.000-05:00

We finally closed on our house on Monday! We are so excited to be moving in TOMORROW! YIKES!

We've been busy all week cleaning and prepping for painting. So far we've got the kitchen cabinets cleaned out, the pantry prepped for painting, the master bedroom prepped for painting, and the bathrooms cleaned and the upstairs bath is prepped for painting.

My mom is coming over tonight to help us paint, so we should be able to get the bedroom and the pantry closet painted, we are hoping to get the front hall closet prepped and painted too!

Then the plan for tomorrow is to lug around some furniture and boxes - hopefully the rain will hold off and we'll be able to get everything moved in!

Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to crafting in not too long - I miss my sewing machine already!

Give A Way!

2010-04-23T13:33:00.000-05:00

Once again, Ashley at Make it and Love it has found another amazing sponsor to offer a give-a-way! These beautiful jewelry pieces celebrate the births of your little ones - whether they are still little or not!

Check out the Give-a-way at Make It and Love It.

Check it out - Giveaway on Make It and Love It!

2010-04-09T11:34:00.000-05:00

Thanks once again to Ashley at Make It and Love It for another great give-a-way! Her newest sponsor Bejeweled Beads is offering a beautiful beaded watchband of the winners choice! Check it out at Make It and Love It

Give-a-way over on Make It and Love It

2010-03-26T11:55:00.000-05:00

Check out my friends over at Make It and Love It and enter their great new give-a-way!

Lots of great tutorials and patterns from Resweater. I think these cute little tissue covers are my favorite!

Win your very own sweater to re-purpose!

Can't wait to see if I'm the lucky winner!

Facebook Fans!

2010-03-23T15:29:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to have reached 50 (actually 55) facebook fans! I promised a random prize drawing for all fans when I reached 50. I logged on today to discover not just 50, but 53 fans, which quickly progressed to 55!

Thanks to all my fabulous facebook fans and congrats to Patricia who is the big winner of my random prize drawing!

If you're not a fan, check us out at www.facebook.com/radiantgirlcrafts!

Home Decor

2010-03-21T11:00:00.003-05:00

Now that we know we are closing on our house in April, I've been scouring the blogosphere for some great Home Decorating Ideas. Here are some that I've found recently - check them out!

Ashley at Make It and Love It recently had a great serious of posts titled Decorate My Home. Here's a few of her projects that are my favorites - check them out!

Picture Collage

Ashley traced all her frames on to piece of paper and then arranged them on the wall, moving them around until it was just right! I think it turned out great.

Here's my favorite part of Ashley's Picture Collage tips:
**And I also marked with little dots where the hooks on the frame were, so that I could just put the nail right into the paper, tear the paper away, and then hang my frame.

Simple Curtains

These cute curtains look very simple to make - and in fact they are! Check out Make It and Love It for all the details on these stylish curtains!

Design Sponge is also a favorite home decor/design blog. Here's a great tutorial on how to make a Duvet Cover!

Hello Marzipan recently posted this great lamp refashion. I think it turned out amazing and makes me wish I had a lamp shade that needed an upgrade!

The Rubber Punkin posted these great Embellished Knobs. I can't wait to try some of my own!

These are a few of my favorite recent Home Decor Posts! Thanks to Make It and Love It, Design Sponge, Hello Marzipan and The Rubber Punkin for the great inspiration posts!

What's in my purse??

2010-03-20T08:30:00.002-05:00

Here's a fun little blog game that's going around. Learn a few things about me by what I carry in my purse :-)

Purse: TINY crossbody bag, in boring black. I just switched from a Ginormous Hobo bag to this tiny thing - BIG change. But it's might lighter to carry around!

1) wallet - new, funky green and much smaller than my previous wallet, which was weighing my purse down

2) Calendar
3) Sunglasses - in a case made by me, I hate it when my sunglasses are all scratched up
4) Pen - a must have!
5) Gum
6) Keys
7) Lotion
8) Hand Sanatizer
9) baggie of Ibuprofen - never know when you're gonna need it :-)

Sorry, the picture didn't turn out very well!

Pattern Review - Fresh Fish

2010-03-19T10:06:00.000-05:00

I recently purchased a pattern for a fish stuffy from MimiKirchner's Etsy shop. I finally completed my first one and thought I'd share with you my thoughts on the pattern.

1) This is not a beginners sewing project, but I am not a beginner. I struggled with the pattern. I read the directions twice before I even chose fabrics to make the fist from.
2) Pattern was not cheap.
3) Pattern did not include seam allowances, pattern must be traced and then sewn on the traced lines. I found this very hard, although it shouldn't really have been.
4) She gave great tips on working with both recycled materials and stretchy materials. I was lazy and used quilters cotton for the most part, although I did recycle an old shirt into the body of the fish. Using the quilters cotton for the fins actually made them more difficult because I had to sew more curved seams to get the ruffled fin look.

All this being said, I am very happy with my fish, I gave it to my husband as a birthday present and he thought it was cool. Because the pattern was not cheap...I'll be making lots more, so I don't feel so guilty about the price!

GIVE A WAY WINNER!

2010-03-18T20:54:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Asch! Email me with your address so I can send you your shamrock key charm!

Offer Accepted!

2010-03-17T14:29:00.000-05:00

Yay! Our offer on the townhouse was accepted! We should close some time in the last half of April. We are so excited to choose paint colors, and work on making the place our own! We're scheduling another appointment this weekend to go look at the townhouse and measure some stuff for window treatments, bar stools, etc! Here it is... I know it's not the best picture, but we'll take some more this weekend!

CRICUT GIVE A WAY!!

2010-03-16T19:08:00.000-05:00

I know I'm yelling, but WOW! I'm so excited about this give-a-way...and REALLY hoping that I win :-) I have been drooling over the cricut forever...just haven't been able to drop the $$ on one. And now, I'm sharing with you the opportunity to win! Check out Women Who Do It All to enter!

Shamrocks and Shamrock GIVE A WAY!!

2010-03-14T23:14:00.001-05:00

I've been working on some projects for St Patricks Day this weekend, even though I am not Irish, I still love St Patty's day!. I found some fabulous projects through several blogs I read, so I started trying them out.

First up is this cute fabric covered headband and shamrock charm, curtesy of Make it Do. Calli had two separate tutorials, one for the shamrock charm and one for the fabric covered headband. I used both and thought they were great! Thanks Calli! I couldn't find two different green colors of felt locally and I wasn't going to drive to a Joann's just to try this one out, so I used some green fabric with a flower print that I had in my stash for the smaller shamrock, I used wonder-under to applique the smaller shamrock to the larger felt shamrock. I sewed the button to the small shamrock before I ironed the applique to the large shamrock. I love the way it turned out. Just a little femine, but without being too over the top. Can't wait to wear it to school on Wednesday!

Next is the cute lucky shamrock key charm, curtesy of Holiday Crafts and Creations. I made several of these, I love the 4-leaves of this shamrock. However the cute little sequins were not my favorite part, so I replaced the sequins with a green button, for a more understated and manly version of the shamrock, which my hubby now is carring on his keyring. Now he says he has the luck of the Irish with him. I asked if it was still the "luck of the Irish" if it was made by a swedish girl...he said yes. Guess we're covered then :-)

I decided that I personally liked the shape of the shamrock from Calli's shamrock charm so I combined the two projects to make my own key chain. I cut out two of Calli's rounder three leaf shamrocks from my Kelly Green felt and one of the smaller shamrocks from the same green flowered print. I appliqued the smaller shamrock on one of the felt ones and then stitched the two together, stuffing the leaves as I went. When I was finished I sewed a white button in the middle. I love the way this one came out also!

I saw one more shamrock charm that I want to try. This Shabby Shamrock from Ramblings from the Sunshine State is also on my short list. I have my fabrics all picked out, I just haven't had a chance to try it yet. I'll be sure to post pictures when I do!

I am proud to announce my very first GIVE A WAY!! I've got one Lucky Shamrock key charm all set, just waiting to bring someone the "Luck of the Irish"! Pictured below.

To Enter:

1) Leave me a comment on your favorite part of St Patrick's Day.

For Additional Entries:

2) Become a follower of my blog - leave me a comment and let me know

3) Fan me on Facebook - leave me a comment so I know

4) Post about my give-a-way on your facebook, blog, twitter, etc. - Leave me a comment with a link

GIVE A WAY closes at MIDNIGHT on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17th!

Giveaway!

2010-03-10T16:30:00.000-06:00

Head over to Kim Sherrod's Studio and check out her amazing give-a-way! Two lucky winners will receive either a pattern for the beautiful spring time quilt and a surprize OR a pattern for the Sweet Love quilt and the Blush Charm pack!

gulp Big Purchases!

2010-03-09T16:02:00.000-06:00

My husband and I just made an offer on a townhome in our current town! We are anxiously awaiting the bank's response. It's a foreclosure, in excellent condition. Just needs a little TLC and we'll be set! A little paint, some new flooring and some added touches of our own and it'll be great!

It's got 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, the main level is very open and spacious. Here's the front of the house (and the listing agents car).

We are very excited and nervous about our first home purchase, we are really hoping to land this townhouse! I've already claimed one of the bedrooms as a craft room! It's got an unfinished tinkerbell mural on the wall, and I think Tink will fit into my craftroom just fine. My husband it a great artist, so he's promised to finish it for me!
Look for more on the house hunt, craft room and home decorating!

Dr Suess

2010-03-02T19:15:00.000-06:00

One of the most well know names in Children's literature! Today, March 2nd is his Birthday (or would be if he were still alive!) So in honor of Dr Suess, all the primary school kids were wearing paper hats like the cat-in-the-hat's hat. It was VERY cute! I bring you one of my favorite Dr Suess books...The Lorax. "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, its not going to get better, it's not!" - The Lorax.

callous or safe?

2010-03-02T16:57:00.000-06:00

I work in a rather large metropolitan area, and to get to work I drive through an area that's know for the pan-handlers. As women, who is usually alone in the car, I NEVER give panhandlers ANYTHING. Now that doesn't mean that I don't feel compassion for them, and maybe even pity. Today as I drove into work, I passed two panhandlers. The first an older man and the second a young man, probably close to my age. I watched as drivers of cars around me rolled down their windows to offer cigarettes to these two men. And I felt a little callous, sitting in my warm car, having just eaten lunch, munching on a cookie for dessert. I watched the younger man take two cigarettes from the car in front of me, thank them and return to the spot he had been sitting. As he sat back down on his backpack, to keep his pants dry, tucked his jacket over his knees and his hands inside his sleeves, I wished that I had something to offer him. I felt awful actually. Was I being safe or was I being callous?

I had a few dollars in my purse, true, I might have even been able to scrounge up a bottle of water. But were those the offerings he was looking for? I felt uncomfortable rolling down my window to even offer. I didn't want to give up the few dollars that I had in my wallet, I was saving the one dollar bills for the health kits that my church is putting together to send to Haiti.

I am willing to give up my time, my money and lots of other things for Haiti, for local charities, for church, and yet I couldn't bear to roll down my window and offer a mear dollar to either of these men. Honestly, part of it is fear. Part of it is that I don't want to give them $$ if they are going to blow it on liquor, cigarettes or drugs. I'd love to help, I just don't know how to help the most. And it makes me sad.

R-word

2010-03-01T19:10:00.000-06:00

The Special Olympics is sponsoring a great campaign to get rid demeaning use of the r-word. As a paraprofessional in the local school district, I was very excited to discover this campaign. I am fortunate to work in an Early Childhood program, so I have the ability to impact the thinking of the regular education kids to have respect and understanding for our students with special needs.

Check out the r-word campaign and pledge your support to eliminate the demeaning use of the r-word! I pledged in honor of my student, pledge your own support in honor of the special people in your life! Then spread the word! Buy a t-shirt, be a fan of the campaign on facebook, put it in your email signature, do whatever you can to help stop the demeaning use of the r-word.

Charity Projects

2010-02-22T18:58:00.001-06:00

So I'm still working on the weighted vest for my Early Childhood program. I got a little frustrated with it last night and had to switch projects. I've been taking lots of pictures so that I can write a tutorial however!

A friend of mine clued me in to a little project the United Methodist Women are sponsoring. They are collecting prayer shawls and baby blankets. I've been wanting to knit a prayer shawl, but my current church doesn't have a prayer shawl ministry :-( So here's my chance. The turn around time on this one is quite quick, but we'll see what we can do. I'm going on a retreat this weekend, so this is my chance to get some knitting done. I love to sit in seminars and knit, keeps my hands busy, while my mind is working. I chose this Lion Brand Jiffy in purple spray for my prayer shawl.

My church is collecting Health Kits for Haiti through the United Methodist Committee on Relief. We have collected 400 so far, we are aiming for 1000 by May! Check out the UMCOR website for more information about the relief work in Haiti or where you can donate health kits.

The Etsy Team Quiltsy is collecting pillowcases for Haiti as a part of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. I contacted them and the turn around on this one is quick too, but the basic pillowcases only take about an hour. Next week I'll have to get on the pillowcase sewing, they want them by March 6th!

My husband and I are planing nanny this week, starting very early Wednesday morning through Friday mid morning, so I won't be doing any sewing, but I'll hopefully have some time for knitting.

Joey Pack...

2010-02-19T11:05:00.005-06:00

I was working a retreat last weekend and saw one of the pastors carrying around a drawstring backpack like the free ones you get a conferences/events with sponsors logos on them...similar to this one...
Marianne was knitting out of her backpack...which seems like it might be quite the feat, except that she was wearing it in front of her instead of behind. She called it her "Joey Pack" (Joey, meaning baby kangaroo). I thought it was brilliant and immediately wished that I had a drawstring backpack like the one she was carrying.

So when I got home from the retreat, I went to my Google reader and did a search...and found a bunch of posts. I liked this one the best. So I got to work, I used a thrifted pillowcase that I had been planning to make a tote bag out of anyway! I used a grosgain ribbon for the straps and viola I had my own "joey pack". Now to find the perfect patterns to test it out next weekend at my retreat! Here's how mine turned out...

Lent and Charity Projects

2010-02-19T10:50:00.003-06:00

I'm not big on giving things up for lent, so instead I decided that I would work on giving things AWAY! In my normal blog reading I found several great opportunities to make and donate items to various charities.

Here are a few of my favorites - with patterns!

Mother Bear Project - accepts donations of knitted and crocheted teddy bears and then sends those bears to children in emerging nations with HIV/Aids. These bears help provide comfort, hope and most of all convey LOVE to these kids.

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge - from AllPeopleQuilt. APC is challenging sewers and quilters to make and donate 1 million pillowcases in 2010. Pillowcases can be donated to the charity of your choice, some suggestions include the Ronald McDonald house, local children's hospitals and more. A larger list is on their website. They also have 4 pillowcase patterns that are simple, most will take you less than an hour to complete!

Dolly Donations - collecting dollies made from scrap material and donating them to Orphans in Haiti. Pattern is on the blog. Can't wait to try one of these, they are VERY cute!

For my first donation project, I'm actually working on a weighted vest for the special education program I work for. I'm working up a tutorial, so look for that post later this weekend!

I'm testing out the pillowcase pattern as well, so far so good, except for pattern reader error (that's me). I forgot to make one of the cuts, fortunately it's only affected me by 1/2 an inch, which will be easily fixed! I've got lots of stash fabric to make pillowcases! My biggest problem seems to be finding coordinating fabrics in my stash - might have to do some shopping!

I think after the vest and a pillowcase or two, I'll move on to something knitted. I'm going on a retreat next weekend, where I'll need something on needles!

If anyone has any other charity projects they'd like to share, I'd love to hear about them!

Olympics!!

2010-02-15T21:22:00.003-06:00

I love the Olympics...I am a total junkie! Saturday night I stayed up til nearly 2 am watching the Men's short track speed skating - I was so tired that I actually fell asleep watching! I simply can't get enough! I am watching the Figure Skating Pairs Free Program right now as I type this.

Congratulations to Hannah Kearney (USA), Gold Medalist in the Women's Moguls, and to Seth Wescott (USA), Gold Medalist in the Men's Snowboard Cross. Congratulations also to Alexandre Bilodeau, bringing home Canada's first EVER gold medal at a Home Olympics in the Men's Moguls. Congratulations to all the other Olympians and Medalists!

Beautiful Spoon Hearts Give-a-way!

2010-01-31T19:49:00.003-06:00

Check out these great spoon hearts! that Lizzy B is giving away!

Update on Christmas PJ's 2

2010-01-29T14:19:00.003-06:00

Last night I got the following email from my cousin regarding the PJ's I made her kids for Christmas...warm fuzzies all over - let me tell you!

"I have been meaning to email you and tell you how much the kids LOVE the PJ's you and Jon made for Christmas. I need to capture a picture some night when all 3 have them on, they are fabulous!! R hollers if for some reason they're not in his drawer (laundry perhaps?). "

Can't wait to get those pictures!

Baby Gifts!

2010-01-29T14:12:00.003-06:00

I recently found out that my sister-in-law is pregnant, and my first thought was "SWEET! I can make some baby gifts!" So I paid special attention to blog posts that boasted baby gift ideas and I came across these adorable burp clothes, bibs and blocks from Homemade by Jill!
So Thanks to Jill for the great idea and tutorials! And Congratulations to soon-to-be parents (again) Adriel and Lori and big brother Jayson!

Etsy Favorites...

2010-01-26T22:39:00.004-06:00

I wanted to introduction you all to a few Etsy sellers that are my favorites! CocosGreenhouse is one of my favorite jewelry sellers on Etsy. I order the most wonderful pair of pearl dangly earrings that are one of my go-to pairs when I'm getting dressed for any occasion. Candice n Candies Art has the most amazing ROUND business/calling cards. I am totally lusting after some of these! Constant Dreamer has beautiful prints, in fun designs, lots of animals that would be perfect in classrooms or children's bedrooms. I also think they would be great in my bathroom :-) Under My Umbrella has gorgeous wooden nativity scenes that I am drooling over, both the design and the price!

:-(

2010-01-26T17:41:00.004-06:00

I'm not so good at this blogging bit! Couple of quick updates:

I finished the Christmas pjs and they were well received, with the exception of the 5 year old, R took one look that them, said thanks cuz his mom made him and went back to playing with the toys he'd already opened. O had to try her pants on right away (under her dress in the living room at my brothers house). Their mom was quite impressed with the pjs and I'm sure they are getting lots of use.

My mom purchased several glasses cases from me for her sisters and my girl cousins, which they loved.

I didn't finish all of my mittens, but gave 2 pairs of mittens, 1 pair of wrist warmers and 4 coffee cozies. I let my sister pick out her coffee cozy and then she helped me pick out the others. They were also loved and my cousin suggested that he husband sell them with his coffee wholesale stuff and coffee beans :-)

I still haven't sold anything on Etsy, but my stuff is listed and I created a new banner last week. I finally found an easier way to do it and it turned out ok. It's not great and I'll keep working on it, but it's better than the mis-sized one that was there previously.
Check it out at RadiantGirlCrafts.

Whew!

2009-12-23T15:27:00.001-06:00

The Christmas Crafting is starting to get to me! I've got about 15 projects and 2 days to get them all done...oops! I think I can manage most of them...

First off - the PJ's for my cousins
A - helicopter pants with a black shirt with helicopter applique. I have A's pants completely finished, and the helicopter applique is on the wonder-under and just needs to be applied to the shirt.
L - Purple princess pants with a white shirt with a crown applique. Pants, not done :-( Applique is ready to be put on the shirt.
R - Monkey pant with a red shirt with initial applique. Pants - done! Applique not ready :-(

These are the projects on my to-do list for this evening. I am also knitting mittens and wrist warmers for all the girls in my family and I don't think I'm going to finish this in a timely manner :-( But I've got some nice fleece that I could sew up a couple of pair quick if needed :-) So that might be the perfect solution!

Merry Christmas to all of you! And wish me luck finishing my Christmas Crafts!

Sharing Ideas

2009-12-04T16:18:00.004-06:00

My cousin called me a while ago and offered me a great idea for my etsy store. B is a runner and she was looking for something to keep her ID, keys and some cash in that didn't involve having anything around her waist. She saw a cute wrist wallet in a catalog and she wanted one, but she thought she'd see if I could do it before she bought one. I've done some research on them and found several different types, sizes and materials. I think that I can do something similar, so now it's just a matter of finding the right fabric. I can't wait to give it a shot and see how it comes out!

Etsy store is live now!

2009-12-04T16:09:00.003-06:00

I finally got my etsy store up and running...have yet to sell anything, but I've gotten some views on my items! I'm excited, can't wait to actually sell something :-) I still have more items to get up, including tie purses, more coffee cozies, checkbook covers, purse organizers, finger tip oven mitts and more! check it out at www.radiantgirlcrafts.etsy.com!

Big News!

2009-11-20T10:00:00.001-06:00

I am doing my first craft show this weekend. I am worried about everything, I've over analyzed every stitch of every item. Stayed up late working on new items, worried about those. In general I've driven myself INSANE! So tomorrow's the big day! I've got casserole trivets, coffee cozies, checkbook covers, tote bags, finger tip oven mitts and much more!

Also, my etsy store will go live on Saturday (tomorrow!) following the craft fair! Not sure I'm ready for that either, but here goes nothing.

I still have a pile of things to do today, and I'd love to finish a few more items for tomorrow, but we'll have to see what happens after work today...darn work, keeping me from my craft fair to do list! Wish me luck tomorrow! Check back tomorrow for pictures from the craft show!

Sister Give-a-way!

2009-09-28T13:51:00.003-05:00

The Dizzy Daisy Quilt Shoppe is now open! Celebrate their grand opening by entering their give a way here!

Fabric Give-a-way!

2009-09-28T13:44:00.002-05:00

In honor of her new online store Flannel Queen is hosting a fabulous giveaway with 2 prizes! Check out her blog for contest details, prizes and how to enter! Good Luck!

Apologies and cute doggie pictures

2009-09-25T14:55:00.003-05:00

Sorry to have been away so long, life has been crazy. My dog developed some separation anxiety while we were gone on vacation and has been very needy lately. Just this week she is finally feeling comfortable at home and back to herself - Yay! So as a reward for being patient with me - here's a cute picture of her :-)

Also, I have been working on some new projects, I don't have all of them photographed yet, but as soon as I do, I'll get them up. However, they include pj pants for my sister, coffee cozies to sell on etsy, pillowcase tote bags to sell on etsy and much more! I'm so excited! Here's the cup cozy I made for myself, I apologize for the half assed picture :-) I got a ton of compliments on it Wednesday night at youth group. One person even told me it was craft show worthy! Etsy here I come!

Nearly choked on a pretzel...

2009-09-24T15:10:00.003-05:00

when I read that I had won the Sisterscrap Welcome Back Giveaway. Thanks Sisterscrap! Here's a picture of the fabulous box of fun!

Birthday Give-a-way

2009-09-10T14:37:00.001-05:00

Jannypie Crafts is celebrating her 2nd Blog Birthday with a give-a-way. Check it out here. Good Luck!

First Craft Fair

2009-09-03T17:05:00.002-05:00

I was browsing through the newspaper classifieds this afternoon in search of a job (not that there are many to be found!) and what I did find was an ad looking for vendors at a local craft fair in November. There was not a ton of info about the craft fair, except date, time and location, but I sent off an email to find out more about it...now I'm nervous! I'm trying to break into selling my crafts both at craft fairs and online, so this could be an opportunity for me to get working on that :-) I hope I hear back from them soon!

Farve Update

2009-09-02T17:59:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to feel less venomous towards Farve and the MN Vikings...it appears he can actually play. However we will reserve total judgment on this issue until the end of the season, but I'm starting to like what I see...and it scares me just a little :-) I'd really like to see the Viking not tank this season!

Vacation Yay!

2009-08-28T21:33:00.004-05:00

I'm back from a fabulous week of vacation! Lots of sun, family and fun activities - including shopping of course :-) TONS of pic to upload, laundry to do and of course crafts to catch up on! Good thing I still have another weekend before it's back to work! Here's a quick recap with pictures!

First a Trip to the Forest History Center and back in time to the winter of 1900, when white pine logging was prime in Northern MN.
Then a trip to the Chippewa National Forest's Lost Forty, 144 acres of land that was incorrectly surveyed during the height of the logging period, this land has never been logged. Here's Jon and I with a 350 year old White Pine - we couldn't get our arms all the way around it.

Lastly a trip to the Hill Annex Mine to learn about the Mining of Iron Ore.

Really? Farve?

2009-08-18T23:09:00.004-05:00

I want to like you I really do, but I feel as though you are playing your fans and the fans of the MN Vikings! Are you going to play for more than a year? You've retired twice already!! I hope that you can help the Vikings pull it together and win this year, but skipping training camp does not make you a team player!

So Excited!

2009-08-17T17:46:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited that I won first prize on Golden Apple's give away! I got to choose from 4 fabulous prizes. I went with the sock knitting kit :-) I can't wait to get it and start knitting! Thanks Golden Apples and congratulations on your blogiversary!

Fishing Trip

2009-08-06T16:29:00.004-05:00

My husband loves to fish, so I reluctantly agreed to go fishing last Saturday. We took my friend Krista and met up with another friend, Jay near his family cabin on Clear Lake. We did catch a few fish, although no keepers and I took about 500 pictures and overall it was a good day! It was windy and a little cold, so we wore long sleeves and shorts and braved the wind from shore.

I convinced my hubby that we should bring our dog, Sierra. She doesn't love fishing, but she did have a great time running around the public landings we fished from. Here's a few pictures from our trip.

My Crappie

Jon's Northern

Krista's tiny Bluegill

Jay's Crappie

Sierra "supervising" the fishing

Why I shouldn't be allowed to used Super Glue

2009-08-06T16:20:00.003-05:00

I've recently discovered Swap-bot, a website where you can sign up for swaps of all kinds of items. Sounds fun right? Yup, I got to send my first international package the other day - to Chile! I participated in an Orange Craft swap, we traded a list of specific crafts items that are orange in color. After I finished collecting the items I needed to complete the swap - complete with making these cute notecards, I decided to send a little extra to my swap partner and started working on some cute flower hair clips, first I made a pair of pink binders with pearls beads in the center, then I started on an orange flower clip. I didn't want the clip to fall apart so I used some super glue...and ended up gluing most of my fingers to the hair clip - whoops! I managed to get my fingers unglued and I got the hair clip put together, it turned out well. And while I think that super glue will hold better than hot glue, next time I'll stick to the glue gun :-) Here's a picture of my complete hair binders and clips.

Give A-Way on Embelished Bayou

2009-08-05T11:57:00.002-05:00

Check out her blog at http://www.embellishedbayou.blogspot.com to enter! Also check out her Etsy store for fun frames, wall/door hangings, handmade soaps and much more! Beautiful work and fantastic ideas for other projects in her blog!

Math...ugh

2009-07-29T17:27:00.004-05:00

I've spent the better part of today with my nose buried in some financial reports trying to figure out exactly how to read them and how to voucher money...yucky. This is why I generally stick to answering the phone...because it doesn't involve math! I am terribly afraid that my math is going to end up like this...(I hope it doesn't!)

One productive hour

2009-07-26T09:03:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a dog day here in the radiantgirl house, first we took our cocker spaniel for a ride in the car with her new seatbelt harness, which she didn't love but it wasn't too bad either. We stopped at a garage sale and scored her a "new" crate for $5. I made a deal with my husband that if he cleaned up the crate, I would give the dog a bath! So in one hour with a little help from my husband, I not only gave Sierra a bath, but we gave my parents two dogs bath, Maggie and Sugar. Here's a picture of our less than perfect, but clean dogs.

Finally, finished some projects...

2009-07-24T10:41:00.005-05:00

Ok, really just one project, but I'm nearly done with a second AND I think I might have solved some of my sewing machine problems! yay! I finished the dolls I was embroidering, they turned out great and I'm super excited to use them in my etsy logo.

I'm working on embroidering a pair of pillowcases, they are adorable and I might just have to keep them for myself :-) I'm nearly finished the first one, and then I'll get started on the second one. Embroidery is a great travel project for me, I can work on it in the car, it doesn't take up too much space to carry around with me, I'm loving it!

I took the throat plate off my sewing machine last night and cleaned the feed dogs and everything else under the throat plate, which has mostly helped my issues with stitch length, I'm still have some trouble with upper thread breakage, I'm going to try some different needles today, I also changed the presser foot to a universal foot, since my zigzag foot has a little chip that may be causing the breakage. I am also considering replacing the throat plate because of a chip, which could also be causing the breakage. So, my sewing is not moving along the way I'd like it to be, but we have made some progress. I'm working on a couple of tote bags made from pillow cases and I finally got a pair of handles put together. The bag itself is still causing some problems, so we'll work on that again tonight and see what we can get done. I've got a ton of laundry to do from my thrift store purchases, so I'm going to try to get most of that done tonight too. I'm excited to get some stuff listed on etsy, so I need to keep working on getting everything done.

should be sleeping...

2009-07-21T00:18:00.003-05:00

but I can't seem to get comfy and fall asleep. So instead, I'm trying to be productive...looking for a job, putting together my etsy store, playing on facebook, and of course finding new projects to add to my ever growing list of want-t0-make-someday projects! Be looking for my etsy store in the next few days, there will also be a fan page on facebook and I'd love it if you checked them both out!

Current project

2009-07-20T14:13:00.003-05:00

I've spent most of the morning working on things for my etsy store...and making purchases :-) I can never resist Etsy! But I'm also working on some embroidery. In general I hate any hand sewing work and will always choose the sewing machine over hand work, however, embroidery is different somehow, I can see the result and it looks super cool. I'm working on some little dolls that I think are going to be my shop logo. I can't wait to finish them and take some photographs. But for now here's a quick photo of the work in progress.

blog claim!

2009-07-19T15:54:00.001-05:00

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yells loudly aaaaaahhhhhrrrrggggg!

2009-07-18T14:31:00.003-05:00

The job market sucks. I cannot afford my crafting habits without a job and I'm on the verge of losing a third job in a year. First, the camp I had been with for 5 year eliminated my position, then the church I was with closed and now the specialty store I've been working at is looking like it's going to close too. I'm very frustrated to be in this position yet again. I simply cannot afford not to work. I do still have one part time job, but it doesn't pay enough on it's own. I am contemplating opening at etsy store, but I know that it will be awhile before I actually make any money doing that. I've got a decent stash of fabric to work through, but it's hard to resist when you find cute stuff :-) Krista and I went to the thrift store yesterday and we found a bunch of cute stuff. Krista is working on making a bag out of men's ties, so we were looking for semi-matching ones of the same size. I picked one tie, which I'm going to make myself a bracelet out of and possibly a collar for my dog - no, not because I want us to match, but because I didn't want to buy two ties! We were being thrifty! My family think I'm crazy for only getting one tie, so my husband offered me some of his so that Sierra and I didn't have to match. I didn't take pictures of any of our fabulous thrift finds, but here's one of my dog instead :-)

PS she's looking cuter now that she's had a haircut.

I'm claming my blog at technorati

2009-07-17T13:54:00.000-05:00

29sax75njr

A Sad Sewing Machine Story...and some new craft pursuits

2009-07-14T15:01:00.005-05:00

My (ok, mom's) sewing machine is not playing nicely...I think it needs a trip to the sewing machine hospital, boo :-( I'm very sad. I've got a huge list of projects that I'm working on and I'm just not sure what to do with my time if I'm not sewing! This is a great machine - nearly as old as I am, but well made and very sturdy, just needs some tuning up. (PS this is not actually my machine...I found this pic thanks to Google images)

I've found a couple of knitting projects that I want to try...this adorable knitted frog. I also am working on a purse for my cousin...I blogged about this purse project nearly a year ago *blushes* and I haven't finished either of them yet, so I'll be working on O's bag too.

Inspired by this post from Craft Nectar, I've been thinking about trying to tackle embroidery next...This morning I was at Ben Franklin, a funky craft/school/office supplies, nick-nacks, etc kinda store admiring the embroidery patterns...but I couldn't pick one and the hubs was getting impaitent waiting for me. I was thinking embroidery is a project I could work on in the car, one that could be put down and picked up any time, that I could do while still carrying on a conversation (which is not alway true of knitting). But now I think I need one of these...courtesy of Craftzine.

Fabulous Crafty watches giveway...

2009-07-09T10:56:00.001-05:00

Sorry, not here. But check out Make It and Love It. For a giveaway from Kendee Watches!

Quick and Easy...

2009-07-08T11:50:00.002-05:00

With all the running around I've been doing this summer, I've gotten tired of trying to lug my purse full of junk, my calendar, phone and materials for whatever meeting/project/activity I'm headed too. And since changing jobs, I've downsized the number of keys I carry to ONE! So I whipped myself up this little key fob wallet using some scraps I had laying around. I used my drivers license as a template for the size and made it like the other pouches I've been making, adding a ribbon loop to attach my keys too. This little gem keeps me in one bag instead of a bag and my purse AND I haven't lost it or my car keys because they are always together - PERFECT!

some projects I want to try

2009-06-29T16:12:00.002-05:00

Everyday I log onto my Google Reader and start through the new craft blog entries and find tons of projects I'd like to try, so I thought I'd share a few here. But first, here's a few of my favorite blogs to read...One Pretty Thing, CRAFT, and Craft Gossip.

Now on to the projects I'd like to attempt! Here are just a few from a very long list...
Market tote - I already have fabric picked out to make 4, I just need to get up the guts to try it out!
Little Girl's Purse - I just love this cute little purse, I'd like to try a larger sized one too, because even Big Girl's need cute purses!
Knitted Mug Cozy - Mostly I just want to learn to knit cables, and this seems like a quick and easy summer project, something I can knit in the car while my hubby and I are commuting to work!
Fun Wall Pocket - because everyone's got junk that needs a home and what a cute one this is!

One long week...

2009-06-26T20:29:00.002-05:00

All week, I've been at church doing Vacation Bible School and I'm exhausted! I spent the week with ten 4 and 5 year olds, we learned 5 new Bible stories, a bunch of new songs and rules and manners and we did a ton of craft projects and served other people! It was a fabulously tiring week, but I'm so glad I was there. It was hot here, but VBS was a great way to spend some time outside! Hoping it's nice enough over the weekend to get out on the boat!

No pictures today because I gave my memory card to one of the other leaders so they could make a slide show for worship on Sunday morning!

Oh How I've missed you...

2009-06-24T14:50:00.002-05:00

Sewing machine! I've been away from my sewing machine for several days and I've really missed sewing. I threw together a project last night, but I wanted to tell you about where I've been and what I've been doing, that's not sewing. Hubby and I took a road trip to South Dakota last weekend with his sister Kim. We visited White, SD to attend their brother's wedding. So a big congrats to Lori and Adriel! It was a fabulously sweet wedding. Adriel is an excellent singer and he took the opportunity to sing to his bride and it was beautiful - had everyone in the room crying! I also finally got to meet my nephew, Jayson - who is a doll and my new favorite nephew...Ok, he's my only nephew :-) Here's a couple of pictures from the wedding, my camera batteries died right after the ceremony, so no pictures from the reception - not even any pictures of Jon and I.

I love tutorials!

2009-06-18T17:00:00.001-05:00

I am not a girly girl at all, but being a (mostly) working woman requires that I slap on some make up once and a while. But since I don't wear it everyday, I keep my small stash of make up in a small make up bag in my purse (then I always have it for quick needs) But I was having trouble finding a make up bad that was long enough for the eye shadow brush I use. The bristles of the brush were always bent and hard to use. The solution to my problem came thanks to One Pretty Thing and their Daily DIY posts full of great tutorials for fun projects. I found this great tutorial for a Little Pouch on Uber Crafter. I made several of my own, perfect for make up, sunglasses, even business cards! Here's a few pictures of my make up bag. It's a little floppy, I think if I make more I'll use a little interfacing to give the bag some umph to stand up on it's own. For the ones I already made I plan to iron them with some starch and see if that helps. Sorry for the weird pictures, I took them in the car this morning after I put on my make-up. Thanks to my hubby for driving the carpool everyday so I can apply make up in the car :-)

A favorite project

2009-06-18T11:37:00.002-05:00

At my house, we frequently get our glassware confused...well, mostly my dad just swipes the closest glass and claims it's his, leaving the rest of us wonder which glass really is ours. We pondered this for a while, trying to decide what would be the best way to distinguish our glassware...and finally decided on the glass cozy, similar to the coffee cozy. Using this tutorial from the Object Project, I created the glass cozy. I chose a distinctive fabric for each person in the family...the ones you see pictured to the right are mine (purple), Mom's (yellow) and my sisters (pink). And while Mom threatens to steal my purple one, they are working out great so far. Not pictures are the ones that belong to my Dad (hunter orange) and my hubby (red with cowboy stuff). I also have fabric picked out for my brother (camo). With all the fabric in my stash you'd think I could come up with something for my sister in law, but I'm just not sure yet. I also need something for Laura's boyfriend. I'm sure that I will find just the thing for each of them in time.

Thanks to The Object Project for the great tutorial! In case you are interested in making your own glass cozies, here are some modifications I made to the tutorial from The Object Project. I used quilter's cotton, and I did not line it. After a trip to Caribou Coffee, I made a copy of the paper coffee sleeve, enlarging it to 125%. I had to trim the ends of the copy to about 1/2 and inch longer than the original sleeve as the enlargement made the sleeve much longer than needed. I used this copy as my pattern to get the shape of the cozy correct. Also instead of using velcro, I pinned and stitched my cozies together, as we needed to slide them up the glass to get them tight enough to stay on. I used my machine to stich them together and it was quite difficult because the circle is smaller on one side than the other, but I dispise hand sewing :-) Also, as you can tell, I skipped the photo frame. I think they turned out great! And we are all excited to be able to identify our drinking glasses!

crafty girl sucess!

2009-06-17T22:50:00.000-05:00

After much frustration, some choice words and several pin pricks, I have sucessfully completed a wonderful array of sewing projects that I'm excited to announce! Thanks to Betz White at Betz White, I completed two tank tops for my sister, inspired by her pillow case tank. My sister is quite a fashionista and her wardrobe does not include vintage anything, so I made the tanks with some cute fabric I found on sale at Joann Fabrics. I thought they turned out quite well. However I was in such a rush to finish them before we went out for supper for Laura's birthday, I completely forgot to take pictures.

I also completed the Martha Stewart Terry Cloth Caddy as seen in the post below. This project was the cause of most of my frustration! Sewing the towel was just not going well, my thread kept breaking, my towel kept getting stuck in the sewing machine feed, it was awful! But a surprise phone call from a friend and fellow youth worker led to a solution - adjusting the tension of the thread. Once I adjusted the tension, all was well and I completed my projected almost immediately.

So sorry for another post with no pictures - I'll do better next time!
Keep Crafting!

started some sewing projects!

2009-06-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

I am on a mission to only make gifts for my sister's upcoming birthday. She is turning twenty and just moved into a house near her college campus, so I've got tons of potential projects!

Starting with a shower curtain, remember those bed sheet I mentioned buying in my last post? I'm turning the flat sheet into a shower curtain for her new house. So far it's taken me two days to get it cut down to size, ironed and to get the first hem folded and ironed into place. Of course about an hour yesterday was spent, getting mom's sewing machine out and finding a place to set it up, which required clearing a space. Got everything clean, machine set up and then started ironing. Finished ironing in just enough time to realize that the needle on the sewing machine is broken :-( And we didn't have any extras :-(

So I ironed 5 more projects, maybe I'll get to start sewing tomorrow.

For fun, here's a picture of one of the projects I'm working on, courtesy of Martha Stewart