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!"