Sock Monkey Hat

I have been really wanting to make a sock monkey lately, but can't get out of hat mode! So I decided to make a sock monkey hat for my etsy shop.

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I'm hoping to make some more with the monkey color being different, I have so many ideas running through my head it's insane!
Here is a picture of my reluctant son modeling the hat. I told him I wouldn't feed him unless he did it, Just kidding!

I am going to make some changes with the color of the tassels!
So go check out my Cozi at home etsy shop! I have a listing for customized sock monkey hats as well as one in the traditional colors!

My Crock Pot Bolognese Sauce

I made this the other night, serving it over gluten free penne. We decided that it was good, but would be even more awesome on homemade pizza!

Ingredients:
2 28 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup white wine
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Cooked penne, spaghetti, or whatever pasta you have on hand. We used Gluten Free penne


Combine all ingredients in the crock pot, cooking on low for 8 hours. 
Here is what it looks like when I had it all put together to cook...

And here is what it looked like all cooked up, YUMMY!

Put leftovers in the fridge for PIZZA! One of our favorite places is Bostons because of their yummy gluten free pizza. They us Bolognese sauce on their pizzas and it's so yummy.

Sweet little mummy

These fun little Mummies are so easy to make, and a great craft on a rainy day.

Materials:
1 roll of gauze, 1" wide.
1 package of small popcicle sticks
1 package wooden short spoons
1 package google eyes
1 package glue dots

Take wooden spoon, add small popcicle sticks for arms and legs, attaching with glue dots.
Wrap gauze around all of spoon and sticks. Add eyes with glue dots.

I told you they were easy!

This idea was adapted from one on familyfun.com. I didn't care much for cutting the bigger sticks, the smaller sticks work out so much better.

BOO! Halloween Hanger

I had such a fun time making this wall hanging. I am also going to make one for Christmas that says Joy. The package of the chipboard wall hanging set came with 6 pieces, so it works out great.

Materials:
1 package of wall hanging chipboard pieces, or cut up 3 6x6 pieces of card board or heavy card stock.
6 different sheets of pattern paper, I used bo bunny.
Set of 6 split rings
Different ribbons, I used a set from Reminice
Stickers & dress up buttons
Printed out letters from Lettering Delights.

Galaway wool scarf to keep me warm.

I have been under the weather with a cold the last few days. I've been working at resting on the couch, and decided to pass the time by crocheting myself a new fingerless glove & scarf set.

The scarf is super simple, I used galaway wool in purple tweed and a light heather. The green is berracco vintage that I had in my stash.

Galaway Stripe Scarf.
H hook
3 colors of yarn

Chain 254 or whatever the length you wish, just make sure you end in an even number.
Row 1. Chain 2, HDC in each chain across, turn fasten off and change yarn colors.
Row 2. Repeat row 1 until the scarf is the width you would like. I added a single crochet on the very last row.

Once I got done with the scarf I decided I wanted to make some fingerless gloves to go with it.

The wool yarn eater wanted to help, but also wanted to keep Mom warm. I swear the cat and dog know when I'm sick!

The cuff is done, I love making these gloves because you can make them to any size you need, for anybody.

On to the third color. I'm getting there, just half way and one more glove to go!

Here is the finished product! I love how the colors turned out. The green is a little bit brighter in this picture than it really is.
If you would like to make some fingerless gloves to go with your scarf please go to my Ravelry shop by clicking HERE.

Whimsy Halloween Wreath

I love Halloween, maybe it's because I love Fall! And I love to decorate for Halloween & Fall.
When I went to the shed to find all my fall/halloween decoration totes I was missing on :( I can't find it to save my life. So I decided to make up some new decorations.

So here is everything I used for this whimsy wreath. Everything was purchased at Hobby Lobby, and most of the Halloween goodies were Under $2. Right now all Halloween is on sale 30% off, and she even gave me 40% off of the wreath.

Whimsy Wreath:
1. Straw Wreath
2. One roll wide ribbon
3. On roll not so wide ribbon
4. Glue dots
5. Picks, wood words, and whatever else you want to decorate your wreath.

Basically all I did was wrap the wide ribbon around the wreath and attach it to itself with the glue dots & decorate. I need to move the EEK up a little bit, as I'm looking at it, it just doesn't look quite right to me.

So that's my little craft of the day today. Now I want to go make something else!

Awesome Note Has Me Organized!

I am so glad that I was told about Awesome Note! I have all my house keeping to do's by the day they are due, and they are even set to come back up on my list the same day every week, so no need to waste time putting them back on my to do. What I really love is that I can have different folders for different to do lists and other types of notes.

I also have gratitude now and gratitude future folders. Everyday I write what I'm grateful for now, in the gratitude future folder I write exactly how I want my life to be and how grateful I am for these future things to be happening soon. You would be amazed at how much better you feel when life throws you different curve balls if you just write these two lists everyday, this simple practice has really turned my life around.

Every Sunday I do my menu, go through my food inventory list and add or delete items, and go through my business and house keeping lists to make sure that I'm not missing anything or need to change something for the week.


Here is my menu for this week:

Yes there are a couple days missing because we will be gone from home for soccer. I set due dates on these menu items for the days that we want to have that certain menu item for dinner.



So check out Awesome Note. I have it on my iphone and ipad and I'm so glad that I paid the little amount for such an incredible app!

Halloween S'Mores

I was looking around for some fun Halloween treat ideas today, and I came across these yummy s'mores at Eighteen 25...

I'm thinking I will make these gluten free by using gluten free graham crackers, which is all I would need to do to them.
So head over to Eighteen 25 to get the recipe for this fun and yummy treat.

Beginner Knitted Coffee Cozy

When I was going through my Gooseberry patch Homemade Harvest cookbook I found a section of craft ideas. This easy and fast knitted cozy was one of them...

Very simple pattern, and this beginner knitter completed this cozy in less than an hour.


Besides finding this fun pattern that kept me busy last night, I also have a huge list of recipes I want to try. Tonight I made the slow cooker mac n cheese.

It was super good, and a big hit with my boys. Not to mention that it was nice to have dinner all ready and waiting in the crock pot.

So go to amazon.com and look for Gooseberry patch Homemade Harvest. It's worth the money!

Mummy Craft with my BFF

Today my BBF and I spent the day together. We went to Starbucks, and ordered keurig coffee together while at Starbucks, we thought that was kinda comical. We also bought all the materials needed to make craft stick mummies from family fun.com

We only have made one so far, but the plan is to make seven of them and string them into a garland. It was so much fun to have a craft type day, and let all my worries just fly away :)
If you also want to make a Craft Stick Mummy go to http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/craft-stick-mummy-673394/. What a great craft to make with your kids or your BFF ;)

Fall Crochet Project

I'm ready for Fall to show up! Summer is nice, and I really enjoy it, but Fall and Winter are my favorite season. Our weather has been so hot and dry, we are ready for crisp cool air and rain, nights by the fire, crock pot meals, and cocoa.

So here is a garland I made using Lion Brands Felted leaf pattern. I used cotton instead of wool, so the felting was out of the question. But they kept the shape nicely, and I like them a lot better than the wool version.

The other thing that I'm working on is a pattern from the Sept/Oct 2010 edition of Crochet Today. I love how Crochet Today has been publishing retro patterns with a new twist, and the pumpkin and black cat pot holders are just too cute not to make. So here is what my pumpkin looks like so far....

So what are you working on? What are your favorite fall crochet projects?

Stitch Heaven

I just saw the coolest thing ever! A new DVD called Stitch Heaven!

"StitchHeaven Salutes Barbara G. Walker" DVD is Now Available Here

I was also told about this, and think it will be super fun!
StitchHEAVEN.com website will launch in September and feature fabulous downloadable Stitch-Alongs, contests and give-aways, so please stay tuned!

And I can't wait to see the Apps that they come up with, I am so into my iphone and ipad, I'm lovin' the app idea!

So click above to check it out!

*HUGS* Juls

Organized SAHM or Lazy Homemaker?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, things people have said in the past that are still sticking with me today.

In the past when I have said I am a stay at home Mom people have said "Oh, so you get to just veg and be lazy all day right?" uh.... NO! I do get my breaks to read and lay in the sun in the summer time, or watch a movie in the winter while still doing laundry, but lazy?

So lately I have really been feeling like maybe I am lazy? Maybe what I do here at home isn't good enough and I should be going back to school, or growing up and deciding what I want to be? Or am I already what I want to be? Maybe when our son goes off to college I don't want a conventional job, maybe I want to help others, work from home, be something unconventional.

I've heard people say, "Oh Julie is a stay at home Mom, shes so lazy, sits around eating bon bons all day and watching t.v." So I guess that's why I am always up and moving, doing things. Or why I feel really guilty when I take a break from home making and read for a few minutes or check my e-mail.

Maybe I get to spend some "lazy" time because I'm an organized stay at home Mom, that got all of her stuff done in the morning? Maybe I worked my ass off to the point where I was so dog tired I needed a break? If I remember correctly all of the "Working" folk get 2 15 min breaks and at least a 30 min lunch right?

Well I could tell myself how awesome I was and how much I had done today, now its time for me, but I still hear those words from people.. "Julie is a lazy stay at home mom." Well, I'm tired of hearing that from people and from my own inner brat, that by the way would be very unhappy if she had to go out and get a 9-5 job where it cut into her family and fun time.

Lately I have been watching you tube videos and learning lots of things from Chalene Johnson and her 30 day challenge. I also just subscribed to her car smart audio program. I know what I want to "Be" when I grow up, I just need help getting there.

I know for a fact that I have always wanted to help people. All of my career tests have said that the top 3 professions for me were 1. counselor 2. fitness instructor 3. teacher. All three I would love to do, and really never knew what to do to incorporate all 3 until now. So I have my goals all set right? Now I just need to get rid of all the bull, negative people and thoughts, and get my butt in gear. I can do this, right? Right! If I can get fit, stick with it, and become a beachbody coach, then I can do anything!

So your probably thinking, why would I blog about something like this? Oh I don't know, I guess because I thought that there would be others out there like me that could relate and maybe that I could help, I guess I'm hoping for a great start to this great new venture, and would love to help anyone else that has a great new venture and needs someone to tell them.. "Way to go, you can do this, you go!"

Learn something from this post!

Please, Please, Please... Do NOT invade someones home and expect them all to change to your habits.. Your a guest in THEIR home. And always remember the old saying..
Company are like Fish, After 3 days they both start to stink!

My mother in law FINALLY just left today. She was here for three weeks and it was horrible.
She made fun of my son and myself when we did our workouts, and talked my husband out of continuing working out with me in the morning. This caused him to feel yucky again, back aches are back, head aches are back, you name it.
She made fun of what I ate and how often and just made life hell.

I learned a lot while she was here, no more visits for a really long time.  No more 3 week long visits, And I'm not going to let someone push me around and make it so my routine goes in the toilet!

This woman complains that she isn't loosing weight, but she's walking 2 miles almost every night. This is a typical day of what she ate...
Breakfast: A HUGE bowl of granola... And not the 1/3 of a cup serving size, more like 2 cups!
Lunch: "I just ate granola, so I'M not hungry (in other words you better not eat because I'M not hungry).
2pm snack: Crackerfulls, crackers filled with processed cheese and Fiddle Faddle
Dinner: very little, and "Do we have to eat veggies at EVERY meal?"
LATE NIGHT ICE CREAM.
I kept listening to Chalene Johnson... If you don't eat healthy every 2 to 3 hours you are going to be fat, you are going to gain weight! Your body is going to go into starvation mode!
A few nights we went without dinner because of late lunches (I didn't, I still ate something healthy every 2 to 3 hours with ridicule) and then she got all excited because we were having ice cream for dinner!
OMG!

So that's my vent for the day. I hope that you all learn something from this like I am. And I will NEVER pull a 3 week visit on MY son, EVER! Give your son in law or daughter in law the respect they deserve, and don't assume that they want you to come and stay with you for extended visits in a very small home.

Hats for a little girl fighting cancer

Recently my Mom asked me if I could make a few hats for a little 2 year old girl that's fighting leukemia. Of course I said yes, yes, yes! So here are the hats I ended up making...
First is the berry hat from the book crocheted gifts...

I used the plymouth yarn superwash merino for this one, and love how soft it is and how it turned out. Super cute, and I've been asked to make more for other little and big girls :)

The next one is a bunny hat that I made out of the September/October 2009 Crochet Today....

I used some sport weight yarn that I had in my stash, not sure of company and such, but it was a really neat pink and white twist.

The next one is my total favorite, and it came out of the May/June 2011 Crochet Today!

I used a multi colored bamboo cotton yarn for the main hat, along with pink and brown bamboo cotton for the flower. This hat was so much fun to make I am going to make more for the other little girls in my life.

Sorry I have been missing in action lately. I made a huge life change and my hubby and I started eating right and working out. I have had some major transformations both in my body and my mind and that has made me think about what I want to be when I grow up, lol. So I've been working out finishing up some schooling, and also pursuing other avenues.  So click HERE to go to my team beacbody page where you can see some pictures of my body changing in just 3 months so far. It's also been awesome working out with my hubby, it's really brought us closer and closer!

Where is Spring??

We have been so cold here in Idaho, and the snow storm yesterday made me think that Spring is never going to get here! We have been fighting colds and flu constantly since November, and really need some sun and warm weather to kill all the yucky crud going around.

Yesterday was clean the craft room day, and once I was done I decided to maybe make some of the spring things that have been sitting there waiting for me.

I made this cute garland with a package of corrigated letters I picked up at Tuesday Mornings for .99 cents. I used my set of bic mark it's to decorate them, just coloring in the stripes in different spring colors. I also had bought some little spools of ribbon at hobby lobby for .50 cents and decided to only use it on a few of the letters. The clothes pins I bought at Michaels in the dollar section, and actually had all the letters attached to the rope, but they were way too heavy. so I decided to just use 3 of them and use them for the flowers. The rest of the flowers I attached with the glue gun. I actually used some little paper clip accents that I have had in with my brads for years to attach the letters.
Pretty fast, cheap & easy project.

CROCHET NEWS:
I'm taking a break from writing and selling patterns to work on some things for me and family members. I am finally working on a very simple afghan for my hubby and I. I have just started, and already can't wait until it's finished! I'm not sure if I just haven't found the right pattern or what, but it just isn't very much fun. So you might be seeing a post of trying a different pattern here soon.

Dollar Days at Lettering Delights!!

I love Dollar Days! There are so many things you can do with Lettering Delights graphics!
Click on my banner on the side of this page to go and get some awesome deals for making cards, tags, scrapbook pages and more! And stay tuned for some fun ideas I hopefully will be making today.

My Frogged Bag!

The other day, I decided to go through my stash and, *gasp*, give away some yarn. I have so many one skeins of yarn that I will never use, and figured my friend, and new crocheter, could go through it and use some for hats and such.
As I was going through this yarn I found a bag that I had frogged clear back in October. I was making it for our trip to Vegas, and had gotten to a point in the pattern that I just couldn't wrap my brain around. So I had thrown it in the chunky yarn tote and forgotten about it. What's funny is recently I have been really wanting to make myself a new bag, but just couldn't find the right pattern. When I found this *frogged* bag, I decided to make lemonade out of lemons, so I made a long strap in single crochet to attach to what I had finished on my bag.

I also did something that I have never done, and used something that I am actually scared of, lol! I made a liner for this bag out of a bit of fabric that I had bought from Wal-marts clearance section a long long time ago, using my sewing machine, *another gasp*. It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but works. I also have one of those kangaroo pouches that lets you can transfer things from purse to purse, so I didn't even need to sew in any pockets, which is a good thing!

Overall, I love the way it turned out. And I am so proud of myself for 1. making something work that I had given up on, and 2. stepping out of my comfort zone and making something with my sewing machine. If you would like to see what pattern I used, yarn and such go HERE to Ravelry and check it out.

Oma Slippers... Fun Crochet Slipper Pattern

I was searching around on ravelry one night, and came across this cute pattern for Oma Slippers. I tried 3 different slippers in my STUPID state one day, and just couldn't get them to work... Dumb me I was missing a whole part of the pattern, DUH! So the next day I started all over again with huge success!
The pair above was made with Universal Classic Shades that I bought here in Sandpoint at Something Olde Something New in Fosters Crossing. I also made a pair for my sweet Mommy in law that has been super sick with a bad cold lately. Those I made with Universal classic chunky.
Go to RAVELRY to see all the info on these, and go to ETSY if you would like to purchase this awesome pattern!
I'll put more pictures up as I make them. I'm onto my third pair now, one for a friends with very cold feet, then a pair for my Mom (shhhhh, it's a secret), and finally a pair for me in fun spring colors. Maybe if my slippers are spring themed, spring will get here soon right?

Baked Oatmeal

I know I have posted this before, but it's been so popular I decided to post again.
It's a snow day here in Idaho, with bitter cold, and a blizzard warning. So I decided to make our favorite Baked Oatmeal for breakfast... (I'm digging the picture I took with my phone using the retro camera app for android.)
So here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Baked Oatmeal....

3 cups rolled oats (use gluten free if you have an allergy)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup of one of the following... dried cranberries, raisins, walnuts, chopped apple, banana, or blueberries

Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
Beat in milk, eggs , melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in fruit or nuts of choice if you want, you can also leave this out all together.
Spread into a 8x8 pan, greased.
Bake for 40 min.

Comes out really yummy and filling! This morning I didn't put any fruit in it and just added a handful of blueberries on it. My son likes to mix in a spoon of natural peanut butter.

Our Valentines

I should have posted this on Valentines Day, but I have been so down in the dumps I just don't want to do anything. I haven't even worked on my purse, all I want to do is sit and stare into space!

So, we did have a good Valentines day. The day before we went out to eat with friends, that was a lot of fun, and my son's now ex girlfriend (another long story) gave him this really cool candy bouquet.....

I think this would be a fun gift for a birthday, or really cute with all Easter candy for the older kids from the Easter Bunny.

I decided that this year I was going to make goodies for my 2 boys...

For my son I made gluten free devil's food cupcakes with strawberry frosting. I used the gluten free cake mix and frosting by betty crocker. This mix is so awesome, you can never tell they are gluten free! He was totally excited about that.

For the Hubby I made his favorite.....

Popcorn cake! This is actually a Christmas thing, and the recipe is from his step mom. I actually have changed it a little because He really likes it when it's gooey....

Popcorn Cake...

1 stick of butter (you can use margarine, but why eat something that is so close to plastic?, yuck!)
6 cups popcorn or so ( I use one of the microwaveable bowls so basically it's a full bowl, or if you use an air popper it would be a full bowl of that.
1 package of the big marshmallows. For vday I used the jet puff strawberry hearts they came out with, and Christmas I used the vanilla snowman, it gave it a different flavor for each holiday.
1 package of hoilday m&m's
about a cup, or more of gum drops. I used those gummy hearts for this one.
1 cup of peanuts if you want to, I didn't use them for this one, and the hubby actually liked it better.

Melt butter in big microwaveable bowl. add marshmallows and cook two minutes at a time until melted. Add rest of ingredients and spread in a greased 11x13 pan. Put in the fridge for about an hour to set up. Make sure you keep covered!


Since I am trying to watch my sugar intake and other things I eat, since I haven't been feeling up to par, My hubby got me this cute flower arrangement in a hersey's kiss candy dish...

I love it when you get things you can reuse!



So that's about it on Valentines day. Hopefully I will get more in the craft/crochet mode soon and will have a finished bag and other things to show you!

Third Times A Charm???

I've been working on making this spiral bag out of crocheted gifts (love this book by the way!)

I have actually made this bag before, but it came out a little small for me...

I was looking on Ravelry to see what other yarns have been used to make it a success. I decided to try using Sugar n' Cream.

The first bag I started I realized I wouldn't have enough of the color I started with, and they didn't have any more at the local yarn shops. So I started a second one...

Well after a couple hanks being so knotted that I was pulling my hair out, I quit using the better cotton and went back to sugar n cream. I really didn't want to go and spend money on colors I didn't have, so to my stash I went. I found more than enough natural with pastel flecks, a nice pink, a soft pink and cream stripes, and a good old cream. So here is the bag so far, with the nice fleck done, starting on the pink......

Yesterday at the yarn shop stitch n' bitch I got the rest of the pink done and I'm now on to the pink and cream stripes....

I'm hoping to have this done by the end of the weekend. But I do need to take a break and finish a red hat for my teenager valentine. I have made him so many hats lately He's probably gonna say "Mom, another hat?" But he's wearing them, so I figure he can never have too many.