Neato 'Squito

Deleting This Blog Soon

2012-01-23T11:15:00.001-08:00

I will be deleting this blog in the near future. Feel free to join me at the new site, http://marypoppinsperfect.blogspot.com/

HUGE giveaway!!

2011-11-28T11:21:00.001-08:00

There is the giveaway to end all giveaways going on right now (but it ends tonight, so HURRY and enter!) at Laura Winslow Photography. Check out the details HERE.

Good luck!

Pinterest Craft

2011-11-15T16:31:00.000-08:00

I love, love, LOVE pinterest. It's a great way to keep track of the hundreds of great

ideas I see online, and a better way to find more ideas.

I found myself with a problem, however....I would pin and pin and pin and then -

nothing.

All these great ideas, and I wasn't doing anything with them except organizing them

onto my (fabulously named) boards.

And then one day I was shopping and decided to buy the supplies for a cute

Halloween craft.

Here's my version:

Styrofoam 'trees': $3

Yarn: $4 (with leftovers)

And it's super cute! Here's the link for the inspiration.

And once I finally find the other camera, I will post the other pinterest project I completed recently.

But a warning if you're not already on pinterest, it's addicting!

Tread carefully.

But it's FUN!!

Birthday Gift

2011-04-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

We are celebrating a family birthday this weekend, so I thought

that a fun thing for a toddler is THIS great fishing set.

I made it a little more girly, though.

I am also in the middle of a project that Grandma is helping out with -

FHE flannel board stories from the Book of Mormon.

You can download them HERE,

and I am using the technique described HERE to put them on felt.

Spring 2x4 Projects

2011-04-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

My mom, sister, and I decided to try out some 2x4 crafts.

I found the ideas HERE and HERE (scroll down past the words to see hers).

I still want to add a ribbon to my chocolate bunnies (I made 2),

and to one of the chicks, but I thought I

should post these before Easter is here.

St Patty's Rainbow

2011-03-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make some sort of RAINBOW craft, and I figured since I have a ton of felt

that I am using for another project (which will take some time before being posted),

I would use felt.

And then I proceeded to make something that was in my mind very cute.

But I didn't really think it through, and stopped at this point:

And then my daughter stood it up, and I realized that it was great the way it was.

Hope you had a great day wearing green!

Book Review - Tarzan of the Apes

2011-02-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

I finished reading the 1st Tarzan book last week. I had no idea that there was more than 2 when I picked it up from the library. And I only knew there were two because there was another one on the shelf.

It was pretty good. I can understand why it was so popular, and why he ended up writing more than one. Do you know how many Tarzan books there are? Well, if my memory serves me right, there were 22 written! Twenty-two!! Needless to say, I will not be reading them all.

Don't get me wrong - I liked the book, and am happy to say that I've read it. But it just wasn't superb enough to make me want to read more. Although it does kind of leave you hanging at the end, because he has come to America to get together with Jane, but she agrees to marry someone else (and the guy's even a relative of Tarzan's!).

I thought it was great. It explained things in an interesting way, as well as a believable way - so that it didn't seem to be too far of a stretch that a man raised by apes could teach himself to read, and be the perfect specimen of physical perfection.

I would recommend this book to any reader - there's a little bit of violence (he grew up in the jungle!), but it's not graphic.

Book Review - Unbroken

2011-02-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

This month I finished reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. It is about Olympic medalist Louis Zamperini's experience during World War II, when his airplane was shot down and he ended up in a Japanses POW camp.

It is so good!! It is very detailed about the Japanese side of the war. I have read many books about World War II, but most of them talk about the circumstances in Germany; I can only remember one that talked about life in a Japanese POW camp. I found it really interesting in this book that it focused on the Japanese belief's of their superiority over the rest of the world, and how much they despised those who ended up being captured (it was their belief that anyone who surrendered or was captured were the worst of the worst - they would rather kill themselves than be taken captive). So they felt they could do anything to those they captured.

Louis was not put on the Red Cross registry, so no one knew that he survived. And he ended up being the most hated prisoner by one of the camp leaders, known as 'The Bird.' After reading the unthinkable things that they all endured, and many were able to survive, it's amazing to read about the way many of the former POWs were able to work through their trials and later forgive those who held them captive.

This book is incredible. And Laura Hillenbrand does a wonderful job of bringing the story to you. Read it. You'll love it.

President's Day

2011-02-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

I've decided to try and do a sort of

Mommy School with my daughters (ages 3 and 0).

Obviously, the younger will not

be doing much in the beginning.

Although she is really good at being cute and talkative,

and screamy!

I tried to do this last fall, but we only did a couple of things before we decided to

move across the country (again).

So I started today. We talked briefly about president's,

mainly George Washington & Abraham Lincoln.

We made a few crafts (shown below), and tried to clean money.

Tried being the key word.

Picture 1, the money before the cleaning.

Picture 2, after. The pennies are a little more shiny, but the nickels and quarter didn't change much.

We soaked the pennies in a small amount of lime juice with a couple drops of water, then rinsed. The silver ones were cleaned with a cotton ball and baking soda/water paste. The paste didn't work too well, BUT the cotton balls did get a little dirty.

Here's pictures of our crafts:

Lincoln's log cabins (we didn't have brown construction paper, so we used black)

Washington's cherry tree (drew a pic of a tree & dropped hole-punch cherries on glue)

And the other small one are coin rubbings. We taped some coins

on the table and rubbed over with crayons.

And we also did silhouettes - but I think it makes our baby look like she's

a 2-year-old boy.

Daddy & I also did those, but they are on the back. And not as cute as the kids!

Scripture Power

2011-02-19T13:11:00.000-08:00

I made a bag for Tooty's scriptures a couple weeks ago.

We picked up a Book of Mormon for her from the building library

(they had a big pile on a table that said 'free to good home').

It's just the right size for small hands and one book.

It wasn't until then that we realized why they were getting rid of them -

the first page in her book is 1 Nephi 8.

So it's missing about 15 pages.

But since she can't read yet, it's okay.

They are available under her chair in primary when we sing her favorite song,

Scripture Power.

When I was done and gave it to her, she was so excited.

"Thanks, Mom!! Thanks to make my scripture power, Mommy!"

She thanked me and thanked me, about 20 times

through dinner and bedtime.

Skiing Cake

2011-01-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday, Grandpa!

Since he loves to ski, I thought that a huge ski hill would be the order of the day.

I'm not so good at figuring out how to format these photos once I've got them in place...too impatient with it, I guess. So here we go, from the bottom layer to the top.

An audience at the bottom, one backwards snowplow, a horrible crash, and a safe arrival.

This boarder is ready for some ramp action.

Heading off the jump.

The bottom layer is rainbow cake. I took a white cake mix, divided it up into as many bowls as the different colors I put in (in this case, 5). Then my daughter told me where to put each color and in what order. It's delicious!

Quick Fix & Easy Clean-up

2010-12-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

We bought a changing table after our second child was born. And I have loved it. I never realized with child #1 how nice they were. But now that we don't have to change every diaper on the floor, my back has been saying HALLELUJAH! Until now, we have been using the changing table pad, but covering it with the vinyl mat that came with our diaper bag.

No more. Last week, I covered it with some cute Old McDonald fabric and vinyl, so it's super easy to clean and I don't have to worry much about anything happening to it. And I kept it gender neutral, just in case we don't always have girls...

Shutterfly for Christmas

2010-12-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Have you checked out the Christmas photo cards available from Shutterfly? They are beautiful! And there's something for everyone - modern designs, traditional designs, the chance to do your cards in black and white or full color....there are so many choices available!

Since we didn't get family portraits taken this year (again), we are going to utilize the chance to make a collage out of a few candid snapshots of the girls, and there are so many options I'm having a difficult time deciding which one to use.

Here are three of my favorites:

So now, I have to dig down and make a choice...and you can, too! Head over to Shutterfly to choose which one you want to send. Of course, if you haven't slacked off this year like me you can use Shutterfly for a number of other things, too. They also have calendars and canvas wall art, which I would love to make sometime, too.

And if, like me, you like to blog, you can try to get 50 cards FREE!! by heading HERE and filling out the form. Good luck!

Settling In

2010-12-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

So once again, we have moved across the country. But our internet is finally up and running and I have started a couple new projects. So there will soon be a new post or two.

Thanks for hanging in there!

Halloween Sillhouette

2010-10-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

In my 'extra' email, I get all sorts of newsletters...from signing up for giveaways that I always hope to win but never do. And yet I still enter. There's always the possibility, right?

The other day, in my BHG email, they had a bunch of easy Halloween crafts, and there were two I loved. I have completed one...Halloween silhouettes. We have extra frames at our house from different things - mainly from our wedding - ones I liked to much to get rid of, and yet we have always lived in small places, so I can't possibly hang up all the frames we have. Luckily, I had two sitting around that worked pretty well.

I like the orange behind the witch; it looked weird with white, so I tried three different oranges, and this was the winner.

If you'd like to make your own, BHG has free printouts of these characters here.

Finally Sewing Again

2010-09-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is, but it has taken a LONG time to get some projects done that I have been looking forward to...busy church calling, adding a baby, and my husband's crazy work schedule are partly to blame, and then the rest lies with me.

But enough about that...on to the projects:

Cover for our printer

self-designed

LOVE IT!

Sewing Machine Cover

from One Yard Wonders

with a few alterations:

mainly the bias tape on the bottom and I stuck a flap/hole in the top

so I have access to the handle

I thought it was impractical to not be able to use the handle, since I store the machine

in a different room than where I sew

close-up of the top

LOVE IT!!

I'm Back!

2010-06-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it's probably about time that I post something, since we've finally settled in to our new place across the country and figured out how to deal with having a second child. So here's what I've been up to the past week:

First, a tape measure Father's Day card for Daddy from our girls. I found the instructions in the FamilyFun magazine.

This morning I had some help making tutus for the 4th of July; one for each girl.

And a huge THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Jade's sister (and Jade) for the info about making a Baby Mei Tai carrier...I love it!! I may need to make some adjustments to the straps, however, because they are SO lllloooooooonnnnggggg.

But it sure was nice to save $50!

Boy Blessing Outfit

2010-03-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

Well, if we have a boy next month, I made some white pants and a bowtie for him to wear when he is blessed at church. The bowtie turned out super cute, and it was really easy. I found the tutorial for it HERE. We will just buy a white button-up shirt for the top, unless we are desperate and just go with a onesie!

Purse & Superhero Capes

2010-02-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

Here is my new purse! I used a Simplicity pattern, and I really like it. It turned out great!, and I was surprised at how big it was, but that's okay. So far I have managed not to pack it too full.

And here are some superhero capes I made for a birthday party next month. The Batman is on the back of the boys', with Superman on the other side. And the crown is on the other side of a Supergirl. They are super cute! You can find a tutorial HERE.

2010-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for a big move around here, and I found a great idea for an 'in the car' toy for our long, long drive across the country: a felt Mr Potato Head! Here are the instructions if you want to make your own.

If It's a Girl...

2010-01-30T12:37:00.001-08:00

I just finished a baby quilt for our baby, if it's a girl. I made an orange and yellow rag quilt with construction trucks on it in case of a boy, and when I saw this tutorial online, I couldn't resist trying it for a girl. I am really pleased with how it turned out.

It still needs to be run through the washer and dryer to help with the fraying, but that will have to wait for a trip to Grandma's.

Busy Bee

2010-01-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

I have been working and working the past two days on a variety of things. The first picture is of a bag that I made from an old pair of my jeans and an old pair of my husband's. One of my friends has a bag like that and I would always admire it at church until she moved away, so now I have one of my own.
The next two pics are the advent calendars that I have been working on for so long; the holes in the top are for ribbon (but I won't put that on until the sealer is totally dry). The magnets that I posted a few days ago go on here - there are 24, so you put one on each day starting on December 1.

And the final thing is a Valentine's banner that I made from stiff felt and ribbon. I got the idea HERE.

Winter Bag

2010-01-12T12:31:00.000-08:00

Since it's too hard to mod podge with a toddler around who is interested in everything that happens, I decided to make a bag that I have been wanting for quite some time. We started using hats and gloves in October or November and they have just been sitting on the stairs since then, because that is so close to the front door. Today I finally made it...a simple fleece bag with one handle to hold all the winter accessories that have been on the stairs forever.

Mail Sorter

2010-01-11T22:05:00.000-08:00

I know I should be posting the advent calendar, BUT it's in between layers of mod podge, so it's not done yet. Tonight I made a mail sorter while we watched House. It has 4 different pockets and should be very helpful; the last couple of months I have been putting mail in various spots and finding bills and things that require action with just enough time to get things taken care of. Hopefully this will help. And I used scraps from other projects for it all.
I found the idea and instructions from bright and blithe. Check out the tutorial HERE.

Break Projects

2010-01-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

During the break my husband had from school for Christmas, I didn't do a whole lot of crafty stuff, but I did manage to finish two projects. The first is a blessing dress if our baby turns out to be a girl, which turned out great with some advice from my mom. It will be ironed before we use it...

The next is a project I made for my friend Rissa, which I forgot to take a picture of, BUT I am making another one for someone else. It's too bad I didn't get this one done before Christmas, but she will be able to use it this year! It's an advent calendar, and this is how far I have gotten so far: the magnets. The background, made from a cookie sheet, is in progress and hopefully won't take too much longer.

Latest Projects

2009-11-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

Here are my latest projects, dolly diapers and rag light strand.

I got the idea and pattern for the dolly diapers from Make It & Love It. We will be giving them to our little girl around the time new baby comes. She really, really loves to 'match' Mommy and Daddy. I love these, and it makes us wish that disposable diapers could be so cute. If you want to make them yourself, go HERE.
This next one I FINALLY finished - I don't even want to tell you how long it took me to make 3 of these. Right after we were first married, it was Christmas time and we went to a friend's house. She had a beautiful garland near their large window, and so during the clearance sales after the holidays, I bought some fabric. I started making some right away, but I never thought it would take this long to finish them. The problem is, my hands got tired from all that tying, and it takes a long time to fill up a 12' light strand.

Anyway, what I did was cut strips of Christmas fabric (1"x7"). And then I started at the female end of the light strand and tied each one in a double knot. I can't tell you how much fabric you need for one, but I did pay a little more attention today when I was finishing up; I used 13 inches of 44" fabric, and that went for the room between 5 lights. So if you decide to make one, use that as a rough guide so you buy enough fabric.

If you've made one of these yourselves, please leave a comment and let us know how much fabric you used.

Boppy Cover

2009-11-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

I didn't make this up - I used a Simplicity pattern - but I am VERY pleased with how it turned out. Since we are expecting a new baby, I figured it's about time that I put a cover on the Boppy.

Super Saturday

2009-11-16T18:35:00.001-08:00

Super Saturday was this past weekend, and here are my two projects:
The countdown was a little stressful, simply because they had so many super cute papers to choose from, and I could only pick 12. I am really, really excited with how it turned out. If you have looked at previous posts, you know that I am not super-skilled at Modge Podge, but this, I must say, is Mary Poppins - practically perfect in every way!

And I have James to thank for the great suggestion for making the Family blocks orange (our favorite color) - you can't really tell from the picture, but the blocks are burnt orange and the vinyl is a creamy tan.

Thanks to Sarah, Lacey, and Tessa for great ideas and helping us with all of the projects!

Sewing with Yoyos

2009-11-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here is the doll blanket I made for my daughter's birthday. I got the idea from a friend of a friend. It turned out great, especially considering I have never quilted a blanket before.

Felt Sack Lunch

2009-08-13T19:58:00.001-07:00

Guess what I did today - if you read the title, you already know...a delicious (looking) sack lunch! It consists of a sack, a bologna sandwich in a vinyl baggy, a hoho, and a bag of potato chips.

Here's the sandwich with a little more detail:

Ya Da Da Dah!!

2009-08-13T19:51:00.001-07:00

Announcing the completion of my big, secret project. I finally finished it on Tuesday afternoon, and one finger is still nursing a little sore spot from all the fabric tying. Behold the Happy Birthday banner. I took a few pics during the process, so if you're interested in a little more detail or a rough tutorial, let me know.

I am excited to use it next month - everyone's birthday is within 7 days of each other, so it will be up ALL WEEK LONG!

I didn't string it up too well, since it was just for a quick pic...stop by our house next month during b-day week for a better view.

New craft coming....

2009-08-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

So I have been working on something new....I got the idea from several different blogs, and have dared to branch out with my own twist. I must say that it's coming along nicely and is as good as I had hoped - let's just hope it keeps up, shall we?

More soon...

I've been busy!

2009-08-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Last night and this afternoon, I have been working on a few sewing projects:

Grocery Bag Holder - tutorial from Make It & Love It

And another wipes container - this one's for my SIL Kristine:

And finally, a new purse, which only took ONE HOUR!! Woot! It's from Martha Stewart, and is made from a pillowcase:

Scandal, Adultery, and Manipulation

2009-07-29T07:28:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I (finally) finished Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, and I have decided that reviewing the books I read would be fun to include here. The book is divided into 3 sections. The first one is all about Charles Bovary (who marries the title character). It was really slow going; by slow I mean I had to renew the book from the library before I finished Part I. I found it interesting - Flaubert just includes SO many details about pretty much everything, so it took a little longer. But once I hit Part II, I pretty much sailed through it.

Flaubert had some really good insights. I really liked how we see Anne Bovary break down little by little, and her adultery and debt consume her. As I neared the end of the book, I couldn't figure out how she would solve her problems, and the way she does really surprised me. I won't tell you how, but the blame she was hoping to lay did not end up where she had planned.

I found it very sad how very little she cared for her husband, who was such a good man and would have done anything for her. She 'knew' if she hadn't settled for Charles that a better man would have come along - which goes to show how foolish she is, since she is the daughter of a poor farmer. She was lucky to marry a doctor, let alone such a kind and loving man.

It was interesting to me how she changed her role in her second affair to be more like the man in her first - and how she got almost everything she wanted from anyone (until her first lover deserted her, that is).

I would recommend this book - I did enjoy it after I got through the first part. A line that really stood out to me as very insightful:

"...the more flowery a person's speech, he thought, the more suspect the feelings, or lack of feelings, it concealed. Whereas the truth is that fullness of soul can sometimes overflow in utter vapidity of language, for none of us can ever express the exact measure of his needs or his thoughts or his sorrows; and human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars."

Love it.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

Wipes and Diaper Case

2009-07-27T20:27:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to try this tutorial on Make It and Love It for at least 2 months, and I finally got around to it. I LOVE IT!!

Check out her tutorial here. I would change one thing, to make it a little easier for putting in the lining. I found that by turning the lining right side out and inserting that into the inside-out main part, the right sides are together and it's less confusing where to sew and which pieces go together. It was also easier to maneuver around the sewing machine.

And I had a lot of fun burning my fingers with hot glue - which is something that I have not used much, and I have really enjoyed it. I am almost out of my clear glue - 7-8 sticks in the past week.

Recycled Cereal Box

2009-07-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Corn Flakes box turned magazine holder:

I saw this idea in the Family Fun magazine, and also on a random blog I came across one day. This was my first attempt at Mod Podge, and I am a little disappointed in it. However, I learned a few things about it. If you have any suggestions, PLEASE let me know.

Magnet Board & Yo Yos

2009-07-22T22:38:00.000-07:00

I finished my new magnet board - I made one last fall with the help of a lady in my ward, and when she was getting ready to throw out the leftover metal, I went and picked up 2 more pieces - one you can see below as the Cool Summer Days board. This one I plan to use for FHE so we don't have to hold the pictures that go with the lesson, and also use flannelboard figures on it (but since it's metal and uses magnets, I can LAMINATE the figures - woot!). I am pretty excited. Plus, it was not very expensive: $5 for the frame (1/2 off from Michaels), free a/c metal, hot glue, metal cutters (borrowed), $1-2 for magnets, and $1 for the glass rocks:

And I have decided to make Maiby a dolly blanket for her birthday, which is in 2 months, so I have plenty of time. I got the idea for a yo-yo covered blanket from Our Side Notes; I know one of the authors and they have great ideas - check it out. Also, as you can see in the pic, I bought a 'Quick' Yo Yo Maker, which I saw on Sewing With Nancy in the one episode I watched. Let me tell you, if you like yoyos, you will LOVE IT!! It takes just about 5 minutes start to finish for one yoyo. In the pic, I made these 4 (my first EVER) in about 30 minutes, and it just got quicker from there...and it was only about $3.50 - with a 40% JoAnn's coupon.

Felt Food

2009-07-21T21:29:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to make some felt food for months and months, and I finally got a little bit done.

Eggs, bread, ravioli, and sugar cookies with frosting.

The bread pattern came from cherrymix.com, and the others I made from pictures found on various sites.

Quiet Book

2009-07-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

I finished a quiet book for my daughter. It's my 2nd try - I used the Simplicity pattern #3709, but made a few alterations and the 1st time I didn't like the results. But I am quite pleased this time. I didn't secure it the same way; instead I put 2 button holes on each page and put a large ring through them, so I can pass a page to a nearby child or add more pages from the ideas hidden in my head...

The cat has tiny jingle bells in the bow.

The butterfly's wings crinkle.

Each of the flowers come off the buttons.

The bird's nest contains a surprise of eggs.

The doghouse holds a cute dog on a ribbon.

The corn husk unzips.

A page for peek-a-boo.

And the cover I designed myself.

There are some great resources out there on the web. Homemade by Jill made a VERY cute book for her son, and has included templates on her blog to use for your own.

And check out the Craft Patch; I know this woman, and she has AMAZING things. She has made a fabric quiet book and a really neat magnetic book (on my someday list).

Cool Summer Days

2009-07-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

A summer advent calendar -what a great idea. Thanks to Chocolate on My Cranium for the idea. You can check out hers here. I made it my own by using paper, glue, and a free metal sheet from a local a/c place...can't wait to try it out.

The plan is to put some ideas for each day for one month of activities that we can do. Trips, cooking, crafts - anything that can be done as a family. So what I have left to do it make the paper strips with activities, and drill a couple holes in the top so it will hang on the wall.