Care Package for my Twins

The hubs and I are missing the twins so much. They left on the 15th and it's been way to quiet. We decided to send them a care package to let them know that we're thinking of them. Hubby's initial idea was to do a box of sunshine. I wanted to do a bit of research first. When I saw the Blue package, I knew this was it. I sent Hubs to the store and he returned with some great stuff. I just need to top the box off with some blue tissue paper and it will be ready to send. I just wish that I could include a camera of some sort to watch the boys opening the box.

Crocheting... a lost art?!

I went to a local store the other day to purchase some sewing supplies. The cashier was an older gentleman. He mentioned that not many people from my generation know how to crochet or sew. I would tend to agree with him. I'm surprised at how many of my friends don't know these basic skills. I love crocheting. My mom, grandma and aunt taught me to crochet. I've learned new techniques from various people in my life, including my great grandma. I have made many different items from flowers to dresses. Lately, I do smaller projects since my hands hurt after too long.


My cousin had boy girl twins a few years ago. I made hats for each of them.

When my cousin's granddaughter was blessed, I was able to make her headband. Her dress was made by my aunt.

Yes, I know the flowers are insanely HUGE but that's what the mama wanted.

Grocery shopping yields HUNDREDS of plastic bags. My grandma has cut bags into strips and crocheted bags. I decided to try this myself. 

I cut the bags into 1 1/2 - 2 inch strips. 

I then weaved them together to make my "yarn". 

I wound it up into a large ball. 

I could now start my crochet project. In this case, I made a pool bag. We got season passes for a water park and I knew that we'd be carrying wet clothes. I chose to make the plastic crochet bag for this since it was sturdy and would be the perfect material to get wet.

Camping DIY

I'm kind of crazy. I prefer to make things instead of buying them. There are certain things that I just know that I can make better.

Denim Covers for long forks

Kitchen box

Dish and silverware holder, currently in progress

Kitchen Sink

My love of Crochet

In my family, crocheting is a common thing. My grandma is known for her beautiful baby dresses. My mom has followed in her footsteps and also makes these dresses for family and close friends. Both my mom and grandma tried to teach me but were unsuccessful since I was left handed and they were right. My Aunt Cheryl is who taught me to crochet. As a child, she would always send crocheted gifts for the holidays. She took the time to teach me this craft. I'm so grateful for my knowledge. Once I learned, my mom and grandma were able to help me try their baby dress pattern. As my mom and grandma age (sorry, ladies) I realize that this tradition will fall to me. I guess I need to brush up on my dress making skills. 

In the mean time, I like to crochet other stuff which is not so time consuming. My recent favorite is headbands and flowers. Flowers are great since you can use scrap yarn.

I have used my knowledge of the baby dress pattern that my mom and grandma make and decided to make a skirt instead. This skirt is still in progress. The bottom is just about done and I still need to add another ruffle.

 

I made a headband for my cousin's grand-daughters baby blessing. This beautiful dress was made by my Aunt Cheryl.

And finally, storage for my crochet hooks, needle, and a pair of scissors. I repurposed my old Mary Kay brush holder. I used embroidery floss to make the pockets smaller for my hooks. I think it turned out pretty good. I am thinking I may re-do it with pink though.

The afternoon heat wave

Our house faces East. We live in a multi-level. The afternoon heat pours into the back side of our house. All of the "important" rooms are on the West side, the master bedroom, kitchen, dining room and family room. I honestly didn't realize that this was going to be an issue until we moved in.

We have since planted trees in the backyard but it will obviously be a while before they start lending the much needed shade. We are currently debating a pergola for shade. I'll add sun shade fabric on top and the side to protect us from the afternoon sun. We looked at metal gazebos but decided against them due to our high wind problem.

I worry about Cassie being exposed to the heat as well. She has her dog house but rarely uses it. I make sure there is plenty of water for her. She loves to sunbathe and be outside. In the heat of the summer, she will just have to stay inside. I'm not sure she'll like it but I don't see any other options.

As for the inside of our house, I have curtains over the sliding glass door and curtains and blinds in the master bedroom. I'm currently researching a way to make my current curtains help with the heat.

As you can tell by the light, the back of my house is fully exposed. Any ideas?

Another puppy project

We are still working on puppy training so Cassie spends a few hours at a time in her kennel. She loves going in there and doesn't bark at all. I worry that she's not getting enough water though. I looked online and found several different bowl options. All were too pricey for me.

I like the idea of the DIY ones in the middle. I'm not a fan of the plastic though because Cassie is still a puppy and she LOVES to chew on everything. As for the bucket? I'm sure she would find a way to tip it over.

I decided to go another route. I saw a treat holder and wondered if I could adapt it to the crate.

I started with a small loaf pan that I bought at a thrift store.

I flattened the back edge so that it will sit flush with the door of the crate.

I then bent down the remaining three sides to accept the

Then I went to the local hardware store and bought a large (7 inch) pipe clamp. You can buy whatever size needed to fit your bowl.


This is the result:

 I used my pliers and crimped the edge of the pan around the clamp.

My only complaint is that I think I put it too high up. She's growing fast though so I'm sure it will be the right height in no time.

Furniture Friday

I decided to tackle an tall wooden cabinet as my next project. My husband has been asking me for a while and I'm just now feeling up to a project.

One Saturday afternoon, I transformed my magnet board into a coat rack. We enter our house through the garage and there just wasn't anywhere to hang stuff. We got the shoe rack from my great aunt. It doesn't match but is functional for now.

The board used to look similar to this:


I sanded off most of the black and then stained over the top. I added 5 hooks, one for each family member.

I needed to match this frame for the cabinet.

Here's what I started with:

 I sanded it down and used some black spray paint. I tried to make sure that my spray was random and not patterned.

 Then I added the stain! I didn't stain the inside because I was running low on stain and want to make sure that the exterior looks good.

Now for the finishing touches:

 Talk about a big change! I love it!

Now for the next project....

Introducing our newest family member, Cassie!

7 weeks old

 Our little Valentine, 3 months old

 She loves this puppy, 4 months old

I've spent lots of time crafting stuff for our puppy. She's pretty spoiled. We have lots of fun with her and look forward to years of companionship.

Cassie got a dog house since she loves to play outside. She mainly uses it to store her toys. I'm hoping she'll choose to use it.

This dog house is made of cement board, big mistake, but you live and learn. Why a mistake? We didn't follow the instructions for cutting. It made a huge mess and the blade was smoking. Oh well. At least we know this dog house will last FOREVER! I used these plans as my guideline. They were pretty vague but we got the main idea. I chose to build a separate platform for the dog house. I also altered the plans to make it longer. I felt like 25 7/8 inches were going to be too small. I used the measurements for Cassie's kennel to make a decision about the length.

I saw a cute dog house on Pinterest and this is was my decoration inspiration.

This is my result:

,