Summer Fun with an Epic Fail

I know it has been a really long time since my last post. I have been an EMT for the past 5 years and decided it was time to continue my education and become an RN. Finishing off the pre-req's for the program has been very time consuming (along with working) and I really haven't done much in the way crafty fun. But that is going to change as I am now waiting for an opening in the program.

So............

My sweet daughter had her BFF over for a play date and wanted to make BFF shirts.

I found two shirts at Wal-Mart for $1 each in the clearance bin earlier this year and stashed it for just such and occasion. She had the general idea of what she wanted so I got online and chose some free coloring pages and used them as a template.

 

 I grabbed my stash of Sharpie markers, my light box and some cardboard and went to work tracing the outline of the shirt for the girls to color. They had so much fun coloring, giggling and adding their own personal touches to the design. They were so proud of themselves!!! (I thought they did a great job, I giggled as I saw them use a yellow Sharpie for the skin. It instantly made me think "jaundice," I so have too much medical terminology on the brain!)

We set them out in the sun to dry, I ironed them with a hot iron, and later they wore them for the rest of the play date. My little voice in the back of my head said, "you better hand wash that shirt just in case!" So glad I did, as the shirt did not hold the ink as well as I thought is would. I was able to get most of the bleeding out and decided to soak it in vinegar to see if that would help set the ink. Nope! It bled even more! My sweet daughter was heart broken and so was I. (I called the BFF's mom to warn her and to have her tell the BFF I was soooo sorry!!!)

The Epic Fail started when I used regular Sharpies when I should have used fabric Sharpies, and then continued when I soaked the shirts in vinegar. Note to self.......Sharpies are for paper!

So the next time I see a great deal on a t-shirt I am going to grab a set of Sharpies for fabric too!

Sewing Basics

I was browsing on one of my favorite blogs Ucreate and found this lovely little jem from Sew4Home sponsored by Moda. You can download the guide HERE.

This resource guide covers a lot of the basics of sewing for beginning to advanced sewers. I printed off a copy for myself to refer to for my next sewing project. (I have three in mind and only have four days till I go back to work, will see if I get them all done). I am especially excited about the needle section, thread section and the tape measure section. A big thanks to Ucreate for posting on this great guide and, Sew4Home and Moda for always inspiring, teaching and encouraging this great hobby! Check out each of their sites and enjoy the inspiration!!
CCG

Last Minute Neighbor Christmas Gits

I found a great idea over at Prepared Not Scared and gave it a little tweak for my neighbor Christmas gifts this year. A BIG THANK YOU to Tricia Smith for this idea. Click on the link for all the directions and contents for this gift. Also take a minute to see all her other amazing ideas and super cute videos on emergency preparedness!

 I printed a quick tag for the mason jar and tied a ribbon around the top.

 I included two emergency candles I found at the dollar store along with a small box of matches.

So far they have been a hit with my neighbors. Be sure to go HERE for another quick and easy idea for a great neighbor gift.

Enjoy spending time with your family this holiday season!
CCG

From Nursery to Big Girl Room

This bedroom has had so many lives. First is was the nursery for my oldest son, then the nursery for my daughter, and now it is her Big Girl Room.

 We went to Target and found the  comforter, sheets and accent pillow. The netting we picked up at IKEA. She choose the pink and purple paint and I think it looks amazing.

Sniff, sniff my baby is growing up :0(  Sometime I sneak into her room and just look at it. I really don't think Mr. Crafty Camper would allow purple in our bedroom!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!
CCG

Camping Checklist

 I'm back!!!

This has been the first time in a long time that we have been able to camp as a family. With me working 6 days a week it has left us little time to camp as a family. Woooo Hooo for us I don't have to do that any more and family campouts are back on the top of the list!!!!!

 

We had a great family camping trip this past long weekend. We camped in one of our favorite spots in the White Mountains. We went fishing, hiking, geocaching, read books and enjoyed the rain and hail (yes we got hailed on!!) and the kidos built an awesome fort!! I wanted to be super prepared and not have to take a whole bunch of stuff so I made list after list, pre-cooked a bunch of the food. Searched Wal-Mart for the kidos favorite Jiffy-Pop, and made sure to have a treat for each night we camped.

 

 

 

It all worked out well and we had a great time, but I wished I had a better check list for meals, activities and things we needed to bring. So thanks to the blogging world I found the Perfect Camping Check List over at Somewhat Simple.com. I was soooo bummed I did not have it for our last campout but next time......... look out!!! Thanks Sarah for sharing your creativity and organizational skills!

Lacey Snowflakes or 3D Snowflakes

My version of Lacey or 3D Snowflakes. First of all, I know this post is really late, but I had to have my sweet husband pull this pic of my phone and he was finally able to do it!

So I got a wild hair and wanted to put these in my tree for daytime decoration. So the kids and I took a Sunday morning before church and made them and hung them in the tree. They turned out great and it is really therapeutic putting them together.

I found great instructions for them HERE and HERE. Or you can adapt them however you would like. I folded my paper like the 2nd step of a snowflake and then made marks on the fold at
1 1/2, 3, 4 1/2, 7 1/2, 9, and 10 1/2. It was quick and simple!

I think I might experiment and see if I can't make these for Valentine's Day. I wonder if I can change the straight lines to hearts? (OOHHHH I do love a good crafty challenge!!!) I will let you know if it works. Anyway have a great weekend and stay tuned for my next post, I will be featuring my first post in my new "My 12 Favorite Tools or Helpful Hints"!!

Magic Cookie Bars

Christmas Cookies #3 Magic Cookie Bars Magic Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Margarine or Butter
1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 14oz can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 12oz package Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 1/3 Cups flaked Coconut
1 Cup chopped nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for glass dish). In 13X9-inch baking pan, melt margarine in oven. Sprinkle crumbs over margarine; pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs. Top with remaining ingredients; press down firmly. Bake 25 to 30 min or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Enjoy my favorite family treat!
CCG