Christmas Village...

This is a project I am working on for Christmas. Ever since I was a kid I have loved painting ceramic houses for Christmas villages and such, but where I live I can't get any to paint, and they can also get broken and are a hassle to store. A year or so ago I stumbled onto a site that tells how to make old fashioned Christmas village houses out of chipboard. This is a picture of my second house in progress. I still need to paint it and apply glitter and such. The first house is almost done, but not quite.
Anyone interested in this kind of project can find free templates and directions here.

Yard Makeover

My friends and I decided to make over my front yard a couple of months ago and I can't believe I forgot to post pictures here! Here is a before and after:

It took us about a week to do it and we're not done quite yet. Since this picture was taken I've managed to fill in the large dirt patch with healthy new grass. And I have more plans that are waiting for fall when I can safely remove my rosebushes that aren't really thriving where they are to the back where they will get more sun, giving me a whole new section to work with. But for now, it's a world of a difference and even though this was almost 2 months ago, I've managed to maintain it! Yay!!!

Now we're working on our backyard, so hopefully I'll have more to share soon... :)

New Eclipse Trailer! WOOHOO!!

Fancy Braid

I tried a new hairstyle for my little girl on Sunday. It turned out really pretty! I just took two french braids and criss-crossed them in the middle.




Start by separating the hair into four sections, clip them out of the way. Starting with one side, french braid the top section, curving down toward the center of the head. When you get to the end of that section, braid like normal for an inch or two until you can pick up the french braiding at the top of the bottom section on the opposite side of the head. Continue french braiding to the end of that side. Then do the same for the other side.

The Talent of Friendship

I'm exploiting my friend today. She made this beautiful gift for me and shared both her talent of art as well as friendship. I posted the following on my blog:

Talents come in all shapes and forms. I feel blessed to know many who have the talent of friendship. One particular friend would be Christi. All who know Christi know that she is amazing. She is so talented and pretty much... wonder woman. She is creative, fun, a hard worker, generous, kind, selfless... the list goes on. One of Christi's many talents is painting. She paints, among other things, glass. Not wanting to put a curtain in her front door's window, she painted it. Beautifully. And knowing this, when I acquired two plain, glass paned doors from a banquet that we turned into an entertainment center, I passed the doors onto Christi. I knew she could turn them into works of art. I thought maybe she could use it in her home, or to sell, or give as a gift to someone.

A couple of weeks later, I got a phone call. She had something for me to pick up. Confused, I went to meet her and she gave me this:

Isn't it beautiful?!?

I was speechless! I didn't intend for her to make something for me! But it is just so beautiful! I LOVE IT!

You have to notice the detail... I gave her two doors that had plain, flat, solid pieces of glass in them. All the detail, texture, etc was added by Christi. I'm still blown away by it.

I carefully considered where to hang my new piece of art. I wanted to display it where it would be seen. So, it is now hanging in our family room. A constant reminder of a sweet friendship. And how of all the many talents we are given, friendship is one of the best. :)

Crocheted Baby Blankets

I've been crocheting baby blankets again! :) This first one is for my cousin who had a baby boy almost two weeks ago.



Then my daughter asked me to make one for her school's secretary who is due to have a boy in a couple of weeks.





I love how they both turned out! I'm definitely going to make these patterns again. :)

Temple Tile

I made this to keep in our family room. I have our wedding photos around, but they were taken at the Oakland Temple, which is far from where we live now. I wanted a picture of the temple that my girls would grow up with, so I began searching for a picture to put in our family room. Nothing really worked for me. Then I decided to search for vinyl images and I found someone who had this one and would add a custom saying for me. The words, "Where heaven and earth are blended together" come from a song that my daughter loves about the temple. I used a marble tile to match the exterior of the Portland Temple. I love how it turned out!

Crocheted Blanket

Last year I posted about a blanket I made that was very similar to this one. I originally started that blanket with the intent for using it ourselves, but then when our Bishop became sick with cancer, I decided to finish it for him instead. Then I started a new one, only to find my father-in-law had leukemia, so I gave him that one. I started yet another blanket, amid protests that maybe I should stop crocheting so people would stop getting sick, and finally finished it this weekend. And no one got sick!!! :) Here is the blanket that we can now keep in our family to snuggle under and watch movies together...

My prego ticker

Get your free online pregnancy calendar from WhatToExpect.com

Happy Birthday Banner

In February I bought fabric to make a birthday banner......and I finally finished it last week :) I like to sew, I just have a hard time doing it and feeling like I'm doing it right. I think I did okay with this though :) It's reversible so it has many uses! It took me 3 full days to make, but it was worth it!

Halloween preparations...

I try to come up with Halloween costumes for our kids each year. This was much easier to do back when I got to pick what they were going to be. As they have gotten older their tastes have gotten much more interesting for me to fulfill.

I am not much of a seamstress. I have generally sewn Christmas stockings, and a few other simple things. A few years ago I made my first attempt at sewing a costume. My youngest son wanted to be James the Train from Thomas the Tank Engine. (Well, he wanted to be Thomas, but they didn't have the right shade of blue felt, so I convinced him to be James instead. I used other costumes I had seen for inspiration. I was satisfied with how it turned out and so was he, but I had set a precedent for making them what they wanted.

The next year #3 asked to be Jango Fett from Star Wars. (They were all Star Wars Characters that year). I spent hours making Jango's helmet out of cardboard, glue, spackle and paint and all the other costumes suffered in the process.

Last year, #3 wanted to be Sonic the Hedgehog and #4 wanted to be Indiana Jones. Both were vetoed. Sonic, because I didn't think I could make the costume and Indy due to the lack of a hat. Instead one was Mario and the other was Dash from The Incredibles.

This year they both made the same request as last year. I prepared to veto, then decided to try.

There are a lot of Indy hats out there, but I am not willing to spend $30 for part of a Halloween costume. Instead, I took a plan, floppy wool hat I had, cut the brim down and used fabric stiffener to shape it into an Indy hat. It isn't perfect, but he is happy with it. I sewed a messenger bag for him to use in the costume, and as his Trick or Treat bag. He picked the other clothes out. I'd like to find a better shirt, but he doesn't mind this one if we can't find a better one. All he needs us the bull whip I made out of duct tape for him last year. It's in a box in my closet.

Indy is ready for a fight....

Next came Sonic. I spent some time looking online at other Sonic costumes and didn't love any of them. My son is also somewhat picky about things and didn't like the relatively simple looking hats I found online. I decided to design my own. I made a basic stocking hat, adding other parts to be the spikes of Sonic's hair. Then I attached ear flaps to the hat to help make the area around Sonic's eyes, and to make it look more like Sonic in general. Last came the ears.

For the body, I wanted to just get bright blue sweats, but I couldn't find any the right shade, and they had to match the hat, so I decided to just sew it. This was my first ever attempt at sewing pants. I used a pair of #3's PJ bottoms to make a pattern and went from there. The shirt was the same story. I used an old T shirt for the pattern, but made the sleeves long. The costume is mostly made out of polar fleece, which doesn't fray and is also very warm. It isn't perfect by any means, but #3 loves it and that is all that matters to me. I also sewed some shoe covers so he could have sneakers like Sonic.

Sonic gives the thumbs up on his costume.

A side view of him "running"...

So, that means I am half done this year! I already made a tutu for Baby B's costume (no pics yet) and that means I just have to sew a Link (Legend of Zelda) costume, a ninja costume and #1 is going to be an insomniac and wear his PJs so no sewing there.

What about you? Do you make costumes or buy them?

ABCs and 123s Book

My two year old has known her ABCs for almost a year now. She's been interested in numbers since she was 15 months old. But she doesn't always know that "Daddy" starts with "D" or how to count objects (she will rattle off 1-10, but can't always see 4 M&Ms in front of her). So, knowing we had a long drive ahead of us for our vacation in August, I put together a series of mini-scrapbook pages in Photoshop that were tailored to her life. For example: I used a picture of each of her siblings on the page with the letter of their first name, and because she loves Stars so much I used them for her favorite number. I then put them all together in one of those $1 mini-brag books you can get at the Wal*Mart photo center desk. She loves it! And, it's helping her with her understanding of how letters represent objects - the precursor to understanding how to read. That makes a mama proud!

Hours of work, smashed to bits...

We held Cousin Day Camp (it was day camp with my kids and my sister's kids) at our house last week. It was supposed to span a couple of days, but scheduling problems made us try to fit everything into just one. My part of the activities had a Knights theme. One of the things I wanted the kids to do was to battle a dragon, so I decided that I would make a dragon pinata. Unfortunately I am a procrastinator and didn't start on my pinata as early as I should have. The paper mache wasn't drying as fast as it should, and I was plagued with problems because I was trying to rush things with it. So I scrapped the paper mache dragon and decided to make one out of a box. I'll just say there was duct tape involved, and the dragon was made with a box, tape, paper cups for the neck and head, cardboard for the tail, and then I covered it all with paper scales. No-it isn't the prettiest pinata, but it did the trick! All the kids enjoyed hitting the dragon long after it had given up all of it's candy.

Dragon Pinata

I also had the kids make shield sugar cookies, decorate cardboard shields, and I made them swords out of foam pip covers, duct tape and cardboard. Because Knight Day was combined with Pirate Day there wasn't time for my Storm the Castle game with the mini catapult I made from popcicle sticks, or the Knight's quest game. I will save those for next year.

My Nephews enjoy their swords and shields.

The ugliest wedding cake...

So, well. It's not entirely ugly I guess. It's just not colors I would have picked. It burned my eyes while I was in my kitchen, but when I got it to the reception it matched everything there.

I can't really vent my thoughts on facebook because

the bride would see my comments. It is made from buttercream and thankfully, the bride loved it. :)

He Will Not Fail You

Last week we went to the beach with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. My family was assigned to provide the FHE while we were there and we chose to discuss when Jesus and Peter walked on water (I wanted the lesson to have to do with the Savior and the sea). I found this song by Jenny Phillips, "He Will Not Fail You" and made a photo montage to go with it to show at the end of our lesson. A few of the photos (most of the ones of just the ocean) were ones that I took during past beach trips. :)

(Remember to turn off the mp3 player on the blog page before starting the video clip! lol)

My new favorite project

This is my first post to domestic exploits! (*blush*)

I love to crochet. www.crochetpatterncentral.com is my favorite website. :) It has tons of free patterns that are so easy to follow, and it's something I can do while watching cartoons with my youngest child. It's great for multi-tasking. I also crochet the little flowers while sitting in church. Oddly enough, I can listen better when my hands have something to do. I never did like sitting still.

My new favorite project is hats with flowers stitched onto them. My girls love these hats, and as long as I know what outfit they're wearing a day in advance then I can whip one out that matches perfectly (as long as I have the right color yarn).



The hat pattern came from the above website, and the flower pattern I got from Women's Conference at BYU. It's very easy:

Ch 4, join with a slip st to form a ring

Rnd 1: (right side): Ch 1, sc in ring 12 times. Join with a slip st to first sc

Rnd 2: Ch 1, sc in first sc, ch3, (skip 1 sc, sc in next sc, Ch3), around. Join with slip st to first sc (6 Ch-3 sps.)

Rnd 3: Ch 1 (sc, 5 dc, sc) in each ch-3 space around; join with sl st to first sc (6 petals)

Rnd 4: Ch 1, working behind petals & around post of sc on Rnd 2, sc around first sc post, ch 5, (sc around next sc post, ch 5) around; join with sl st to first sc: (6 Ch-5 sps.)

Rnd 5: Ch 1, (sc, 7dc, sc) in each ch-5 space around; join with slip st to first sc, finish off.

A domestic exploit flashback...

Okay, this is really an old exploit, but it's still something I did. When my oldest son was a baby (he is 12 now, so it really IS a long time ago) my Mom had me pick out a cross stitch pattern and all the thread for it as a Birthday gift for me. Being a new Mom I chose a Mom and child pattern and stitched it up. I had dreams of making a cross stitch pattern for each of my children, but as I had more children, the less time I had for actually cross stitching. The cross stitch above is the only one I actually finished of those, although I got everything but the back stitching done on #2's, and I started one for #3. I think I even picked out the patterns for #4 and #5, but I am certainly way behind. My intentions were good, but I just found that my time was needed to change diapers, fix scraped knees, and cook for my family. Then of course, blogging and facebook came along and I have to wonder how much of my time I am wasting at the computer when I could be crafting or creating.

So tell me, how do you all find a balance there?

This Week's Domestic Exploiter: Jill

Introducing This Week's Domestic Exploiter:

Name: Jill

Age: 33

Blog Address(es): lawlors.blogspot.com, kidskrazykorner.blogspot.com, beautifulbostons.blogspot.com

Tell us a little more about YOU...

The three words that best describe you are:

- creative

- crazy (seriously, I'm bi-polar... it's a trip)

- spiritual

Where would you go on a Dream Vacation?

Hawaii for a month. Maybe, or else I'd go to Spain. I've heard that's where Europeans go when they need a vacation.

You just won $10,000 under the stipulation that you spend it on something frivolous. What would you buy?

I won $1000 once and I bought my laptop. $10,000? Probably a swimming pool and jacuzzi for the backyard. I do live in a desert after all.

What accomplishment are you the most proud of?

Three healthy and beautiful kids, playing the piano and violin, growing my first garden and actually being able to eat the food I harvested, all my scrapbooks that my kids enjoy going all the way back to my childhood, and... sometimes I'm really proud I made it through the day.

Tell us a little about your family...

Husband: He's my high school sweetheart. We actually met when we were 12 years old in Junior High, became best friends, then a little bit more. :) I wrote to him on his mission, and we were married 4 months after he got home. He's a computer programmer, very funny, very smart, and he does dishes and laundry.

Kids: Ember is 9 and is a great dance & artist. She is a take charge kind of girl (the others call it bossy) and she's very funny. Ben is 7, our only boy, and he has more energy than the sun. He can't walk anywhere he goes, he has to jump or skip. He's very smart, all his teachers so far say he could move up a grade if he wanted to. He helps his older sister with her math homework, doing multiplication & division in the 1st grade. Grace is 4 and is our drama queen. She takes a bow after she does anything, including putting her dishes in the sink. She sings, dances, and creates masterpieces. We named her Grace because she saved me during a difficult time in my life.

Pets: Two dogs, Lady the chihuahua and Elphie the Boston Terrier. Lady was our first dog and the kids got to name her. Ember chose princess, Ben chose Spiderman... we compromised on Lady because that's a disney character. Elphie is a purbred Boston terrier, and they are my favorite dogs in the world. Her name comes from the musical Wicked, Elphie is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Where do you all live?

Arizona, otherwise known as the surface of the sun. It's 117 degrees outside today.

Your favorite thing to do with them is:

Jump on the trampoline with the sprinklers going, or family movie night with chocolate and popcorn.

Tell us a little about your creative side...

What is (are) your creative hobby/ies?

Scrapbooking, making greeting cards, keeping family journals, blogging, crocheting, and home decorating.

I love taking pictures and then doing digital scrapbooks. The page layouts are so much cuter than anything I could do, and all I do is add pictures and end up with beautiful books by the end of the day. It saves time, and the kids can enjoy the pictures of events while they still remember them.

I love music, started playing piano when I was 5 and the violin when I was 9.

I enjoy crocheting, and I make baby blankets for every new baby in the ward. I usually have a stockpile just in case, there are 12 blankets in my closet right now waiting for babies to wrap them around.

How long have you been doing this/these?

Scrapbooking since 8th grade, before it was a national craze. I'm probably one of the original purchasers of acid free paper.Family journals? After I had kids. I kept one journal just to write down the hillarious / dangerous / crazy things they do or say. Like the first time my daughter spent her own money. She bought chicken nuggets from Wendy's, ate them all, then said with remorse... "I wish I had my dollar back." Blogging is also family journaling, I turn them into books at the end of the year and it's our family record. Home decorating I've been doing as long as I've had a home to live in, and crocheting since I was 8 and learned how from a sweet old lady at Homemaking Night.

What tools would you recommend to someone who is just starting out in this/these?
Digital Scrapbooking: A program called Scrapbook Max. You can go to their website (scrapbookmax.com) and download a free 30-day trial to see if it's for you. I'll never go back to croppers and decorative scissors again.
Crocheting: Books and You Tube are great, but there's nothing like sitting down with an older lady and ask her to pass on her knowledge. They just want to share their gifts and be useful to someone, and the time spent together sharing stories is priceless.

What is your favorite creation?

My kids (I created one part, Heavenly Father created the other part... together they are awesome to behold). And my eternal family. Priceless. Crafty creation would have to be the cross stitch I did for my parents of the Savior in Gethsemane.

Why did you decide to contribute here at the "Domestic Exploits" blog, and what would you like to get out of participating in this site?

I feel like my kids don't really appreciate my craftiness, or my hard work and so I wanted to share my successes with someone who may appreciate it. :) Also, I really wanted to be a part of something where I can learn from others, get ideas from your creative juices.

Castle Cake

Hours and hours of work... and I did it!

It's my new favorite cake!

This Week's Domestic Exploiter: Heffalump

Introducing This Week's Domestic Exploiter:

Name: Heffalump
Age: 36
Blog Address(es): http://iblogaboutnothing.blogspot.com

Tell us a little more about YOU...

The three words that best describe you are:
Okay…I have a hard time thinking of positives about myself. It feels too self centered.
1. Cautious
2. OCD
3. Cluttered
According to my husband…
1. Creative
2. Practical
3. Detail Oriented

Where would you go on a Dream Vacation?
Pretty much any vacation that involves us staying in a hotel and not sleeping in someone else’s living room would be a dream to me. I have always wanted to go to Ireland, but I’m not a big fan of flying, especially over water. However, since it’s a DREAM vacation, I can pretend that I wouldn’t be too scared to go right? If it was a realistic dream vacation I would love to do a Church History Tour.

You just won $10,000 under the stipulation that you spend it on something frivolous. What would you buy?
Isn’t a second bathroom considered frivolous? I mean, as long as we have ONE, we can survive, but two would sure be nice. Ooooh…or a dishwasher!

What accomplishment are you the most proud of?
Marrying a wonderful man and having a family with him.

Tell us a little about your family...

Husband: D and I have been married for thirteen years now. He is a wonderfully supportive man, and I couldn’t imagine a better husband for me. He’s my perfect match.
Kids:
We have six children. J is 12. He loves learning trivia about obscure video games and Studio Ghibli Anime. He plays the clarinet and dreams of being a composer someday. S is almost 11. He loves playing on the Wii, running, and playing with Legos. He plays percussion in the school band and likes helping out around the house. T is 9. He loves video games of any kind, doing science experiments and riding his bike. I think he might make a good lawyer later in life, as he is great at finding loopholes. K is 7. He loves to draw and hopes to be an artist when he grows up. Like his brothers, he loves playing on the computer or the Wii. C is 6. He loves coloring, painting and stickers. Legos are one of his favorite things. Baby B is 13 months. She loves being outside, music and her Daddy.
Pets: We just have one pet. A parakeet named Oscar who is pretty old. We are surprised he has lasted this long. Once Oscar is gone we don’t have any plans for another pet. Six kids is enough chaos!
Where do you all live?
We live on the beautiful Oregon Coast.
Your favorite thing to do with them is:
We enjoy walking and hiking in beautiful places and there are plenty of them to be found near where we live.

Tell us a little about your creative side...

What is (are) your creative hobby/ies?
Cooking, photography, general crafts, crochet. In a past life (i.e. before children) Poetry, writing, oil painting (just a bit) and ceramics. I also dabble slightly in sewing.
How long have you been doing this/these?
My Dad taught me to cook starting when I was about 9 years old. I have always loved crafts. Photography has been just in the last few years. Poetry and writing were started when I was fairly young.

What tools would you recommend to someone who is just starting out in this/these?
That is a tough one. I guess what I really recommend is that you don’t let a lack of tools stop you from doing what you CAN do. You don’t have to have fancy cookware to cook. You just need good recipes, and practice. You also don’t have to have a fancy SLR camera to take good pictures. Of course, it is a great tool to have, but when we started out taking pictures, we just had a pretty basic digital camera that costed around $100. Start out with what you can afford, whether that is a used sewing machine, or whatever other tools you need.

What is your favorite creation?
Hmmm. That is a tough one. I would say my family. Of course, if you are talking in terms of crafty things, I think I am most proud of the dress that I made for Baby B (posted earlier on this blog), because sewing is a challenge to me.

Why did you decide to contribute here at the "Domestic Exploits" blog, and what would you like to get out of participating in this site?
I love cooking, crafts and all things creative. I decided to participate because my dear friend Lilac invited me to, and because I thought the blog would be fun and have a lot of potential, not just for me to share, but for me to be inspired by the talents of others.