eeeks!!! {exciting friday}

What an exciting day. I stepped {WAY} out of my newbie blogger comfort zone and joined Find a Friend Friday over at Sew Many Ways. I can't say that I had big {or any} expectations from it. But, what I can say is the response I received from joining {comments and followers} made my day and warmed my heart. {Keep in mind I'm not usually a sentimental gooey person}


Seriously. It has totally made my day! I'm so incredibly happy that I stumbled upon the Sew Many Ways blog. If you didn't find my blog through Sew Many Ways...go there. :)


On another note. I started some much needed cleaning and organizing in my sewing and craft room.  I came to the realization that I need to "ground" myself from buying any more craft "stuff, fabric, and so forth until I make a serious dent in what I already have!


I have a tendency to be easily distracted by new projects and ideas that I get. That's why I tend to keep my sewing and creations to simpler, quicker things {though I am capable of doing much greater}.  Being a stay at home mom with four kids, homeschooling, and a husband that travels {a good amount} doesn't leave me with a ton of opportunities to sew and craft. So...when I do have the opportunity, I like to focus on things that I know I can get done in a quick amount of time. When I do get pulled away in the middle of a project is when the "new" ideas come to me and I start something new rather than finish.


My goal this weekend is to take some time for me {and my projects...it is Mother's Day weekend, right?} and get moving on some of this "stuff".


Happy Mother's Day! Wishing you all a beautiful weekend.

blogging {brain surgery}

Love this quote by Robert H. Schuller.

Well. I have blogged approximately 20 posts now and have to say that I'm quite proud of myself. I'm proud for actually doing it.


Yesterday I was about to give up though. All because I was having a horrible time adding a button to my blog and because I'm not sure I was able to post something. {Silly! You would have thought I was trying to perform brain surgery.}


As I sat frustrated, ready to quit, I remembered 'it's just a blog, and I'm doing this for me'. I blog because maybe even one person will be interested in the things that I do and share {at the very least it's a diary for me of what I've done}.


I didn't start a blog with the intention of being Martha Stewart. Nor did I do it with the belief of becoming a blogging prodigy with 15,000 followers.


If I manage to get 5 followers {that are not related to me} that would be fantastic...if I would ever get 100 I would straight fall off my chair!!!


But that's not what this is all about.


So, i took a deep breath and began to search. Thanks to googling {and googling, and googling} I found a very clear link with directions to get me through adding a button, and all was good. So the blogging shall continue.


My Journey...


I talked about blogging for months and months {probably more like years}. But I never actually did it {blog}. I didn't know what to blog about. I didn't know what to call my blog. I didn't know how to blog. I didn't think anyone would care. I could write dozens more "excuses". It was intimidating. Why?


I was intimidated from blogging because there are millions and millions of blogs already. There are so many blogs that I enjoy reading that are so accomplished and successful {surely I couldn't be that}. The things I would blog about have pretty much already been said. But, oh well!


So, I started blogging anyway. I started blogging about things that interest me and things that I've been doing. Why not? Back when I was in school {for interior design} one of my favorite teachers told us "great design repeats itself, the best designers in the world are inspired by what's already been done too, don't be discouraged". So that's what I'm doing. Even if it has been done for years.


I figured out how to set up a basic blog {it is VERY basic}. I have also figured out how to post. It's simple, but it's simply me and a snip-it of the things I enjoy doing.


If anyone has joined me...thank YOU for reading my blog! I welcome any {nice/constructive} comments and feedback you would like to share.

gap kids inspired denim {re}fashion

I was shopping with my oldest daughter the other day and she spied some very adorable shorts at Gap Kids (the embellished Bermuda shorts).  She seems to gravitate to anything that has beads, gems, sequins, sparkles, etc.  While they were very cute, I can't justify $34.95 on a pair of cut of shorts...we're trying to be smarter with our money and keep to a budget.


So my 7 year old actually had the "aha" moment and said "mom, you could totally make these".  So we {I} did!  They were so quick and easy to do, and cost close to nothing.


We already had a pair of jeans {bought last fall on clearance for $9} with a hole in the knee {shocking...} that still fit.  I cut them off just above the knee, turned the raw edge outside {like the ones from Gap} and hemmed. She chose embellishment/beading at Joann's {wasn't my choice, but that's OK} to go across the pockets, which we got on sale for 74 cents!  I hand sewed the beading on and decided to add a little embellished detail with embroidery floss {which I had on hand}.


Voila!  Done and done!  A new pair of shorts from jeans she wasn't going to wear anymore. 

baby bow ties & denim re-fashion

It was a rainy, rainy, busy weekend with yet another birthday party.  Needless to say I didn't get as much done as I would have liked to.  I did catch a break for a couple hours on Saturday while the two youngest took naps and the two oldest girls were playing. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to sit down at the sewing machine!

My favorite "make" of the weekend was a couple of bow ties for my little guy. I found a tutorial online that seemed simple enough. Something along the way went horribly wrong, so I found myself repairing and repairing, tweaking, and repairing. The second one I decided to just "wing" it, and do my own thing.  The result: much easier, much quicker {I had it completed in no time at all}. Now that I have a quick way to make them, I'm so excited to make more! How many bow ties are too many?

  

My other project... My daughter "L" has been asking and asking for a denim skirt.  It hasn't been at the top of my list of items to look for and buy for her. 

The other night while doing laundry and folding a pair of "outside play jeans" I had an aha moment.

Ugly $5 Old Navy jeans {with holes worn into the knees} + 2 gathered strips of cotton fabric = begged for denim skirt. Ask and you shall receive!

oh happy day {agave iced mocha}!!!

I have a total weakness for mochas. Hot or cold I love them both. However, I know they are NOT good for my waist line or my wallet.


So...I have been searching, making, and trying {for a while} several recipes that I've found online. Some were "ehhhh", some were "mmmm", and a couple were "oh my goodness! Awesome!". Unfortunately the ones that were awesome had a lot of sugar, cream, and chocolate syrup {of course they tasted awesome}.


I don't buy/keep cream on hand. I don't want to use heavy amounts of caramel or chocolate syrup. And, I didn't want to be loading sugar into my mocha {I know many claim that agave is no better, but I personally prefer it to white sugar}. So my mission was to create a "healthier" {less unhealthy} option.


This is what I came up with...


Directions/Recipe for Iced Mocha {it's so simple I'm not even sure one could call it a recipe}:


Ingredients:
*coffee ice cubes (pour coffee into ice cube tray and freeze)
*almond milk (or any milk)
*natural unsweetened Hershey's cocoa
*agave nectar


To make:
{I use a bullet type blender and have found adding the ingredients in this order mixes best}
1. fill cup half way with coffee ice cubes (about 7 or 8 cubes)
2. add milk to top of coffee cubes
3. add 1.5 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
4. add not quite 1/2 tablespoon of agave nectar (I totally eye ball it)
5. cover and blend until all ice cubes are blended (add milk as needed if too thick)
6. add a straw and enjoy!

     

      


I'm sure this would be heavenly topped with whipped cream and a drizzle of ooey gooey chocolate or caramel sauce - but the goal is to keep it on the less unhealthy side.