My Latest Finished Project

I made a huge picnic blanket for this summer.  I can't wait to use it.  I got the idea when I went to quilt guild with my mom last summer.  During show and tell a fellow member showed one she had made.  I've been planning to make one ever since.

I just re-read the above paragraph and realize how old I sound talking about going to quilt guild.  I know I've always had this preconceived notion that only little old ladies go to quilt guilds and quilt bees.  I won't lie to you.  There are plenty of  "older" ladies in attendance but they aren't all old and there are lots of fun and creative ladies there regardless of age.

There are a couple of things that makes it so great.  First, its size.  It is approximately 6 feet by 7 feet, which means several maniacs can fit on it at one time.  Second, is the backing.  It is backed with a canvas painters tarp.  The tarp adds weight for making it easy to spread out and keep down.  It also is supposed to be naturally water resistant which will be awesome for the beach this summer. Third, it rolls up into an nice burrito of a blanket for storing and toting.  And last, but definitely not least, it is bright and colorful.  No one will have any trouble finding our spot.

I used these instructions to make my blanket.

Jenn

A Reason to Save your Empty Milk Jugs

My girls are going to day camp this week. Camp requires them to have a disposable lunch that will be put in a community cooler.

I was trying to decide what to put their lunches in so they wouldn't get smushed. That's when I remembered something I had pinned on Pinterest! I have mentioned how much I love Pinterest, right?

Anyway, I remembered I had pinned milk jug lunch boxes. I had not necessarily planned to use them as lunch boxes. I had thought there were many, many things they could be used for.




Luckily, I have been saving milk jugs so I have enough for camp this week.

I packed their lunches in a gallon size zip top bag and then put the entire thing in the milk jug box and duck taped it closed. I think they turned out pretty cute.

I could not find my original pin today. A quick search on google led me to several sites with the directions. I think today I glanced at lifehacker.com to double check my memory. I don't do the scoring they suggest and mine work just fine.

Jenn- Posted from my iPhone

Time Travel Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Travel Day happened sometime in May and I never got around to uploading the pictures.  The kids came home from school one day talking about what they wanted to be for time travel day, which was coming up two days later.  Rehm wanted to be a Roman emporer, Charlotte wanted to be a goddess and Ruby and Eliza Claire both wanted to be cave people.  My first thought was, "Good luck with that!" and then for some crazy reason I decided to indulge them and try to make costumes.

Rehm and Charlotte thought they were going to use their sisters white bed sheets to make their costumes.  I knew this was a really bad idea as I knew the state the sheets would come home in.  I got the crazy idea that I could sew costumes!  Yeah, I know, crazy thinking, especially since I had not had the sewing machine out in at least 10 years. 

I came up with a plan for the costumes and headed off the the fabric shop.  When I left the fabric shop with way too much money in supplies I had that crazy sinking feeling "Crap! Now I have to actually do something will all this stuff!" Suprisingly, they all turned out exactly as I invisioned. 

The good news is, the next time anyone needs a toga, Egyptian, goddess costume, I've got it covered.  Ruby had me cut the jagged edge off of her dress and hem it so she can wear it this summer.  I'm sure we will get a lot of use out of these costumes.  And, even if we don't, they were worth the time and effort to be "The Coolest Mommy, Ever!" for at least a day.

Oh, Rehm got to school and someone told him it looked like a dress.  We had to look at pictures of statues of Roman emperors, who were all wearing white drappy things, then he came to terms that he really was appropritately attired for his character and was fine with it.  Gotta love the internet.

Not Dog Treats

What is this you ask? These are cute little terry pouches that hold a bar of soap. I got the idea from pinterest, of course.



After making cute pool bags for the girls, I made several of these out of the scraps for the kids to use at home and for travel.



It appears that the dogs like the taste of ivory soap because I found them fighting over the remains of one of my filled soap pouches. When I went to separate them and take it away Baron swallowed the pouch! He is now regretting his latest doggie treat and has an upset stomach. Cross your fingers he's feeling better soon and the pouch passes without incident. I guess he'll at least have fresh breath for a fee hours.

Jenn- Posted from my iPhone

My Trusty Companion for the Day

This guy is older than me. I think it was the first sewing machine my Mom bought. When the kids came home from school they all exclaimed about how old it was. Rehm even commented on how few stitch choices there were. I told him that 99% of the time a straight stitch or zig zag was all you needed.
It may be old but it feels sturdy and reliable. And who am I kidding, no more than I sew it definitely meets my needs.
Jenn- Posted from my iPhone

Craftiness

The last few weeks I've been feeling crafty. This is my latest project.

When my mom was visiting in January, I fell in love with a piece of fabric at a quilt shop and insisted we buy a yard to do something in Ruby's room.

My mom took it home with her. She sent me back two throw pillows made completely out of the fabric and a wall hanging that used the rest. The corduroy brown fabric with flowers was the piece I insisted we buy.

The only problem was the wall hanging was small and my rod to hang it on was very long, as I usually hang much larger quilts there. I needed to find some way to make the quilt look better on the rod.




Here is what I came up with. I was lazy and used glue dots to secure the loops on the ribbon. It is not holding so I will need to stitch the ribbon or find a different glue. I'm thinking hot glue will do the trick. And I'm still debating trimming the ribbons a bit at the bottom.




Ruby loves the new addition to her room and one day when it is actually clean I'll take pictures of the entire room do you can see how well this goes with the rest of the room.


Jenn- Posted from my iPhone

Sewing

I got the crazy idea to personalize everyone's softball or baseball bag this season.  We've been playing baseball for seven years now.  I don't know why this season I felt the need for personalization.  It's not like we were losing bags left and right or anything.  In fact Ruby and Eliza Claire both got hand me down bags and the big kids got new bags.  Maybe that is what led to the idea.  I don't know. 

Ruby's bag

Charlotte's bag

Regardless, I got the idea to personalize each of the bags.  Off to Hobby Lobby I went.  I found stick/iron on lettering I liked for everyone.  Only problem was I knew I couldn't actually iron it on the fabrics I had as I knew it would melt.  Not to mention the fact that I like ironing about as much as I like sewing.  I'm horrible at ironing and never iron something without giving myself at least one awful, leaves a scar, burn.

 I was hoping that the stickiness would really be enough to hold it.  It wasn't.  So today I got out the trusty old mending box to sew the stupid things on.

Three stitches in to my first letter I had jabbed a needle all the way to the bone of my thumb and broken a needle!  That is when I remembered why I gave up sewing.  It's not that I don't know how to sew it is just that I don't do it enough to be good and proficient at it.  I grew up in a family with a mother and grandmother who were both great seamstresses.  My mother is currently shaking her head and disagreeing with my assessment of her talent, but she is underestimating herself.  I've never had to do my own sewing.  I don't enjoy it - I think because I always injure myself, or don't have what I need to do a job, or just don't do it frequently enough to have a good routine and work space.

I did not give up today.  I finished Ruby and Eliza Claire's bag.  And watch an episode of season one of Downton Abbey in the process.  I do have to admit that I kept thinking it would have made more sense to take them and have them embroidered but I guess there is some satisfaction in actually completing a project.  I guess...

I have not attached Rehm and Charlotte's lettering, yet.  I'm thinking I will take a Facebook friend's advice and give the old hot glue gun a try.  I can guarantee it will be much quicker.  And, burns are much better than puncture wounds. 



Here are some pictures from one of the treasures from my sewing box.  Yes, I'm sewing with needles from 1965.  Don't be jealous ladies, I also found a spool of thread that had a wooden spool - I'm sure it was even older than the needles.












I didn't make pictures of everyone's bags.  The twins will both be getting their monogram on their bags as I know they will be keeping the bags until the bags are trash.  The big kids are both getting their last initial with stars on either side.  That way when they outgrow the bags they can still be passed down to the little girls without anyone complaining about using a bag with someone else's name on it.  Yeah, I'm cheap and everything gets passed down.  God was even nice enough to give me two lefties and two righties so gloves and all get passed down.

Jenn- Posted from my iPhone

Snack Art Has Made a Comeback

I did this for Eliza Claire and Ruby in their Three Year Old class but last year snack was provided for the whole class. I missed surprising them each day with a new drawing and I think they missed it too.





When drawing bags yesterday, Charlotte was sad because she didn't need a snack bag. I made her a card to go in her lunch box. She told me I had to "write something on it, too!" It was a hit as well.

Jenn - Posted from my iPhone

Random: Today's Pictures from my Phone

Looking at these pictures, this is going to be a very random post. 

My Granny, is in her late 80s.  She is declining both physically and mentally.  She used to be an amazing crocheter.  In fact one of my most prized possessions is a table cloth she made me at of very fine thread that probably took her an entire winter to make.  These days she makes little crocheted things to occupy herself.  They don't really have a design or purpose.  She gave Rehm one for him and each of his sisters while he was visiting.  So far, this is the best use we've found for them - Playmobil people clothing!  They are all dressed up and ready to go to the wedding.



With Ruby and Eliza Claire starting Kindergarten in less that two weeks (!), I am trying to round up the last few things they need for school.  They need a small pillow and blanket, I have one pillow and several blankets.  I took this picture to remind me to look for another pillow like this one while running errands today.  Unfortunately, I could not find any of these (it is about 12x16) but did find a baby pillow (it is about 8x10?).  Luckily thanks to my amazing Mom and Mother-in-Law I have plenty of pillow cases for both of these sizes of pillows.  I think we officially have all of our back to school supplies.  Now I just need to remember to pick up short to wear under dresses and pack a change of clothing in their backpacks in case an unfortunate and embarrassing accident occurs. 



Rehm and Charlotte had a playdate with friends this morning.  Ruby, Eliza Claire and I went shopping for a shower present for this weekend.  Ruby can not for the life of her get the baby's name right.  She kept calling him "Duck-lan."  His name is Douglas.  I know she is thinking of the name Declan, which is the son of good friends of ours.  I kept saying, "You mean Douglas," enough times that she and Eliza Claire are both calling him "Duck-las!"  I think it is so cute I can't bear to correct her in further.  While shopping for the baby gift I came across this lunch box set that I had a very hard time not buying to try out with my kids.  It looks like it could make a fun different lunch.  But it was expensive and as my husband would tell you, I have enough lunch stuff already.  But, I may have to try one at some time. 




I just realized in the lunch box picture you can see my crackle/shatter nail polish.  I'm blaming it on my girls and niece.  We bought two bottles of it while Brooke was visiting.  We bought the Sally Hansen brand as it was on sale at our grocery store.  We bought white and purple shatter.  So far we have not found an under color that makes the purple look good.  And the purple doesn't seem to crackle as well as the white.  It is very important to let the first color dry completely before applying the crackle.  The thinner the layer of crackle the more crackled the end result.  You have to be careful not to go back over a spot you've already painted with the crackle or you lose most of the effect.  I find painting with it to be similar to trying to paint your nails with White Out.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who did this when bored in class in middle school?





These adorable sweaters were at Babies 'R Us today.  The color came out funky in the picture.  They were much cuter in person.  I was very sad that my girls have outgrown Babies 'R Us sizes as I would have bought these.  In fact there were several darling pieces of girl clothing today.  But alas, I'm not sad we have outgrown the baby store.  In fact in kind of makes me giddy.





This pretty flower was made by my daughter and myself.  She has read in her Fancy Nancy  books about making tissue paper flowers and wanted to make some today.  Instead of tissue paper, I had her bring me a couple of regular tissues.  I showed her how I used to make flowers with my friend Anita in elementary school.  The step Fancy Nancy didn't tell her about was tearing the edges of the tissue to make them ragged.  It makes for a much prettier finished product.  She was impressed with her Mom's flower making ability and likes having her creation on display in the kitchen.



This, my friends, is a screen shot of the wallpaper on my phone.  If my husband reads this he will be shaking his head.  This is Pearl.  She is a dog currently in foster care with Houston Collie Rescue.  She is about a year old and deaf.  She doesn't look like a "real" collie because she is a double-dilute or double-merle collie and a smooth coat to boot. (Our other collie is also a smooth coat - just means he has short hair instead of the long coat you think of when you hear the word "collie.")  Her parents should have never been bred together. Breeding two merle collies leads to having dogs with hearing and/or vision problems and often puppy mortality.  I have totally fallen in love with this dog and would like to add her to our crazy household. From a practical standpoint I know we should remain a one dog house.  My head knows this, but my heart just loves this little lady.  Every time I turn on my phone this picture makes me smile.  I hope she finds the perfect family very soon.


Jenn - Posted from my iPhone

Custom T-shirt Recommendations Needed

We are going to Disney World later in the year.  When we go somewhere crowded I like my kids to wear matching shirts so that they are easier to spot in crowds.  We will use shirts we already have for most of the days (Aggie, Tarheel, VBS, Rangers), but I would like to get a fun custom shirt for each child as well. 

I have used the iron-on computer printer paper to make a few shirts in the past.  They are great as long as I'm putting it on a white shirt but not so great for colors. And great as long as I can design in Publisher - mostly color, words and simple graphics.  I know Vista Print will print shirts if you upload your design but I'm Photoshop illiterate (note to self:  Learn Photoshop next year when all the kids are finally in school) and not sure how to do something that would end up looking good. 

Rehm's Shirt is one I made when the twins were born.  

Charlotte's Shirt I made when the Twins were born

I'm not looking for Disney themed shirts.  My plan is to do something around the Maniac theme, since that is our family nickname.   I'm thinking something with either a theme park setting with a cartoon family of six and the words "Maniacs in the Park."  Or "Maniac 1 of 4, Maniac 2 of 4, etc." or "I'm a Maniac!"  or "Life is an adventure when you're a MANIAC!" with some kind of graphic and fun fonts.

So if you have good suggestions for places to design a produce the shirts or you have a good design slogan idea for me I would LOVE to hear from you!

Jenn - Mom of the Maniacs  - I think I know what my shirt will be...

When things go a little too well...

Rehm needed a zippered binder for school.  He couldn't find one he loved but we did find a plain black one.  I suggested he use some of his allowance to purchase some fabric paints and embellish it so it would be more to his liking. 

He bought the paint, decided on a theme and got the Ed Emberly books out to give us some ideas on how to draw what he wanted.  He drew a rough draft on paper.  Day one of painting went great.  Day two, the painting went great, he got everything added he wanted to. All that was needed was clean up and putting it in a safe place to dry.  I posted a picture of Rehm working on the binder on facebook and went to give the dog his afternoon meds.  I left Rehm to clean up and put away paints.  

 He came outside in a panic.  He had apparently cleaned up and went to his room to read.  I had not put the binder away yet.  Since no one was in the kitchen one of the cats had jumped on the counter to see what kind of goodies might be waiting. Said cat had jumped directly onto the notebook and knocked it on the floor! 

Surprisingly, we were able to fix most of this.

This was post cat/pre repair.

Rehm was beside himself.  He had worked so hard and was so pleased with the results and he thought it was completely ruined.  After cleaning the paint of the floor, bar stools, wall and counters (yep there were paint paw prints across the kitchen island), we inspected the damage.

We speculated on which cat was to blame.  Rehm immediately blamed Phineas as he doesn't like Phin.  A few minutes later Isabella came trotting by with paint on her tail.  And then she hopped up on her favorite chair and we saw this.

The binder was salvageable with only minor repair needed.  I had one very relieved boy and one cat that was not disowned. 

What? Me? You think I did something?

I need to have him bring the binder home as we seemed to forget to take pictures of the finished product.  It turned out really cute despite Isabella's interference.