Quilting

We switched up our kids' rooms in anticipation of the new baby.

The girls moved into the boys' old room and the boys separated (2 and soon-to-be 2) into the other 2 bedrooms we have.

This change has enabled Emilia to have all of the sewing stuff in her room and she couldn't be more happy!

Sewing desk off to left and fabrics in the Ikea baskets

She got to work right away on a quilt that I was supposed to make for her when she was a baby.  Ahem.

Ironing in my room

She's been doing a fabulous job!

Beautiful!

Emilia's Duct Tape Purse - Craft

Recently, Confessions of a Homeschooler posted a video about how to make a Duct Tape purse.

 

Knowing Emilia loves crafts, I let her watch the video and go to town.  

 

Here's her creation:

Super easy and very cute!

Thanks, Erica and Strawberry Shortcake for the fun idea.  :)

Menu Planning

Scheduling/being organized with my time is not something I am wonderful at, but I'm working on it in many different areas of my life.  I'm a work in progress.  :)

My mother-in-law, Robin, sent me this idea for planning a weekly menu and shopping list, which I thought was so FUN.  (Thank you!)

I happened to read her email on a Saturday morning.  I also happened to have all the materials to do this project at my house.  So I made it.

I told Nate it was a good thing that I keep a bunch of crafty stuff hanging around.  He just smiled as he raised his eyebrows and nodded his head.

I was going to wait to write a post about this because A. I don't know if I'll enjoy using it for a long time and B. I don't know if I'll actually use it for a long time.

However, it's really cute and it's a great idea.  So, I thought I'd post about it anyway because maybe someone reading this will find this helpful??  (By the way, I am currently using and enjoying it, but it's only been a couple days.)

So, here's my version of the menu board - with heavy duty magnets hot glued on the back:

It's made out of an 11x17 frame.  I used fabric instead of cute paper like the original menu board.  I also started by leaving the glass on, like she told me to, but you can't use hot glue on glass - it doesn't stick.  So, I took the glass out of the frame.  I hot glued the fabric on to the old picture that was in the frame (you can use cardboard - whatever works).  Then I hot glued the clothespins on to the fabric.  I also made little pockets out of fabric and hot glued those on.  No sewing!  She used crayon boxes covered in paper for the containers/pockets, but I didn't have those available. 

I printed out different meals we like to eat. 

On the front of the card is the meal.  On the back of the card are the ingredients.  You take a new meal out of the bottom pouch and put it above when you've used it so that you are always rotating your meals.  I left the days of the week off of the clothespins because I wanted the flexibility of being able to choose any of those meals on whatever day. 

 
It was such a fun project to make, and I sure enjoy knowing what meals we can choose from for the week!
 

A New (memory filled) School Area

Remember how I said we like to do things differently?  Well, we do.  We've changed things up yet again in our house.  The desk from this post is back in the basement and something new is taking over that area. 

My dear friend is moving to Scotland for three years (sniff, sniff), while her husband pursues a doctorate.  They are selling and giving away almost all of their earthly possessions (since you can't fit tables and couches and a house full of knick-knacks in two suitcases per person). 

One of the items they were selling was a rustic, red, drop leaf table.  I have admired this table since I saw it gracing the middle of their kitchen.  I wanted this table for more than just its rustic charm.  I wanted it for its memories.  A worn wooden reminder of good friends adding sugar to steaming cups of tea.  Laughing, talking, sharing. I'm excited for her and her family, but I'm also going to miss them.  Quite a bit.

In my house, I'm using the drop leaf table right where this pretty white hutch (now in our basement) used to reside.

I always liked how the hutch looked and how much storage it offered.  However, I also desired to have a place where the kids could do their school work.  A place where they wouldn't always have to clean up everything before I could set the table for lunch or dinner.

After brainstorming and looking in our basement for supplies, Nate helped me make my headboard-turns-shelf into a reality, even if he did think it was a little weird.  :)

He did the carpentry and I did the painting and sanding.

 

He thinks it turned out great even though he likes to tease me by saying (in a Rocky accent no less), "There's a bed.  Hangin' on a wall".

This same friend is super creative and crafty.  She made the little bird hanging in the frame.

She also made the "Grace" picture.  And she gave me the teacup.  :)

I really, really like how this project turned out.

And I like it even more because it reminds me of a great friendship.   

Here's the view of where this area fits into my kitchen.  Not a large area, but it's so functional!