A chest full of hopes

My sisters and I each got a hope chest for christmas. We were very excited. The dilemma was, they were unfinished unassembled hope chests. So until this summer they've been sitting in there boxes in the yard shed just waiting to be finished. We each got our finishing supplies, (our choice of color) our sand paper, our creativity, and went to work. They are now all sitting in our room just waiting to be filled with hopes. I used a stain called "weathered gray". I was going for a vintage-y look. It was a lot of fun to put together. (I got some first time experience putting a piece of furniture together, too.) I love that it's personalized and I'll be able to use in my own home some day.

Do you have a hope chest?

Too wet to go out, too cold to play ball...

So we cooked in the house on that cold, wet, wet day.
With a few pounds of apples, ( 45 pounds to be more exact ) a few canning jars, we made apple sauce and filled 16 quart jars.

 It's fun to work together in the kitchen with my sisters and mom. Cooking in the kitchen is especially satisfying on a rainy, cold weekend.

 I did some sewing, too. I'm catching up on very belated Christmas gifts for my sisters and mom. (Hopefully more on that later...)

Ahh...Rain makes good homey days.

What do you like to do when it rains?

•Crocheted Tree Tutorial•

With a little time on your hands you can make a cute last minute gift. This crocheted tree can be an ornament, applique or even a cleaning scrubby. You can experiment with this pattern to design your own original tree shape. I will start by showing you how to make the tree and then I'll show you how to make a tree trunk and how to stuff your tree (optional).

 You'll need two balls of yarn, crochet hook, large needle, and stuffing or felt.

 Begin with 12 stitches and crochet three rows.

 Then decrease one stitch and crochet three rows. Decrease one more stitch and crochet one row.

 Decrease one and crochet a row again. You should now have nine stitches.

Keep on decreasing one stitch and crocheting one row until you have one stitch on your hook. Now cut your yarn and finish off.

If you want to make a stuffed tree repeat the above steps to crochet two tree pieces.
If you'd like to make your tree a stump begin with two stitches on your crochet  hook and crochet about four rows. You should have a rectangular piece. Now roll it up and stitch it closed. It should look like a cylinder.
Put your stump aside for the moment. 

 Now take your stuffing and sandwich it between the two pieces. Start to whip stitch with yarn on one side of the tree and stitch your way to the top and down the other side.

 Take your stump and put it in the middle of the open end. Stitch one half of the opening and stitch the stump on all the way around.

Now stitch the other end closed. Tie off. You can decorate your tree with ribbon, buttons, and anything you like.

I crocheted a few little "ornaments".

I hope this all makes sense. If you have any questions just comment!
Have a blessed holiday season...

A Batch of Homemade Soap

 My two sisters and I made our first batch of soap a few weeks ago.
It was a very good learning experience and we've been enjoying our fresh bars of sweet soap. 

Nothing better than being able to use something that you've made.

I am sure you can tell their homemade... and No, we don't recommend that you cut the soap bars from our example, but we are happy how they turned out anyway. :-)

Good enough to eat right? ;-)

Don't forget to scrub behind your ears!

We used Homestead blessings recipe on their The Art of Soap Making DVD.

Do you like liquid or bars of soap better?

Brightening a home

There are so many ways to make a home brighter and homey-er.

When blooms start to bud find a jar and bring spring inside.

Cute little jars and fresh flowers....

A perfect table accent. 

Put your jars of flowers near a window, on a table, in a bathroom, a bedroom, anywhere!

My mom finds so many cute little jars at thrift shops. 

They really are darling.

Organize with stylish baskets. Our house is filled with baskets!

They look nice and are practical.

Colorful dishcloths add so much fun to your kitchen. 

Dish cloth making is also a great way to practice crocheting when just starting out.

Even in the cold months of the year adding tissue paper flowers to a room can spark up a home.

Making them is so much fun. I have been making these flowers ever since we had a party last year. It is a wonderful way to pass the time. They are an easy craft, beautiful table decorators, and fun gift decorators.

Do you have any tips for making your home brighter?

Here's How I Used My Inspiration!

 After being inspired by THIS. I decided I wanted to create something, too. The Marie-Madeline bloomers look very practical, comfortable and feminine. I don't have the pattern, so I decided to test a couple things out.

First, instead of using fabric I took the West ladies advice on their sewing DVD and bought a bed sheet at Goodwill. It was some much cheaper than regular fabric! $2.60 for around 2 yards of fabric.

My grandma bought this pattern about two years ago and I decided to use the shorts pattern and gather the pant legs to create something similar to the bloomers.

 And another plus? The bed sheet is Utica J.P. Stevens and I think it might be vintage. :-)
 I found this vintage bed sheet on etsy and several other utica sheets. I think mine might be vintage, too.

So, a fun project done. My little experiment worked. Using a bed sheet, part of a pattern, a little math, some elastic, a sewing machine, and a whole lot of inspiration, you can make a cute pair of /gaucho/pants/skirt/bloomers. Perfect for a spring day. :-)





What is inspiring you?...

Crocheting,crocheting, crocheting!

                                   Crocheting is so satisfying,
                                                           especially with fun, colorful yarn!

                                           I made two dish cloths...

                                     

                                         Together, they can wash a lot of dishes...

                            Now that I am done with these,
                                                    they are ready to be put to use!


I think I am ready enough to start crocheting some squares for the friendship afghan!


What projects have you been working on?... :-)

Baking Fun...

My sisters, mother and I enjoyed baking together yesterday.


We made about 94 cookies because we are having company today and some yummy biscuits for dinner. It took us longer than it would take for most because our three brothers were being particularly needy. But we had a nice time as it was. :)



~Cookies before frosting~
~A heart!~

~Half of the cookies frosted~

~Yummy biscuits~



Also a Daddy Daughter Dance photo




~Blessings~

A Simple Scrunchie Tutorial

I started out making a headband but ended up with a scrunchie. How this happened, long story short, I messed up on this idea and my idea changed by simply snipping my elastic and making it a scrunchie. This can be used as a ponytail holder or a colorful splash of cheer on your wrist. ( Also known as a bracelet.) I know most likely everybody usually buys a 10 pack of these at the store, but if you have a bit of time and you feel like doing something with your hands this will be a sufficient project. You also have the advantage of what fabric to use.

Here is what you need to begin:

Pins, sewing needle, thread, scissors, elastic, safety pins, fabric, and a sewing machine. (You can hand sew or use a sewing machine on this project.)


Start out by folding over the edge of your fabric to be about a 1/2 an inch wider than your elastic and about twice the length of your scrunchie elastic.
Cut out your fabric strip and fold it over inside out. Pin.
Sew the strip and back stitch on both ends.
Turn right side out with your fingers or a small wooden dowel.
I got a "free" dowel in the package of stuffing that we bought.
( Very handy.) :)
With your fabric strip sewn and ready, use your safety pin on the tip of your elastic.
With the safety pin in first start moving the elastic in, being sure to keep the opposite side from moving all the way into the strip.
Finally your safety pin should move it's way to the very end.
Now sew both sides of your elastic together.
Fold the fabric on each end slightly for a neat edge and sew both sides together and....
Your done!!! You can add finishing touches to each scrunchie if you want, such as cute felt flowers and colorful buttons.
Enjoy!