Free Pattern - Simple Drawstring Bag

Oh this tutorial/how-to is so PERFECT and EASY for beginner sewers. PERFECT for your little girls to do by hand or on a small machine next to Momma on hers. This is SUCH a cute bag and I am amazed at how simple it is! I have NEVER made anything other than an envelope quilt before, but I am excited about this! I think I will try to make each of the girls one before Christmas (yes that is how easy they look to make). Hmmm... maybe wait until AFTER Christmas just to be safe. :D

Simple DrawString Bags

Desperate for a Picture!!!

You can click on it to see the credits and details.

I, like most moms, like to capture my children's fleeting moments on film as the grow up so quickly. I have been trying for WEEKS now to capture him smiling with those two teeth! But he has started smiling with his mouth closed. TOO CUTE, but it doesn't work for a picture of his TEETH! LOL! So finally, I pulled down his lip and took a picture. As you can see, he was NOT too pleased!

This is a style called freestyle/fandango. I am so loving this style! I still have not mastered it (hey, I am a homeschooling mom who would rather spend her time WITH her kids rather than mastering HOW to scrap about them).

If you want to learn more about digital scrapping, you can in the archives of this blog (by clicking on the left hand side).

Using The Fruit Of The Spirit To Get Out Of Debt

This is just a small excerpt from a letter I got from Cat (Making It Home Magazine). If you do not belong to her yahoo group, I HIGHLY suggest you join!!

-=-=-
What are the fruits of the Spirit?

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.

Love what you have already. If you do this you will not require more or
want more.

Joy in that you have so many blessings in your life that you can share it
with others. Don't take the joy out of your life because you are a slave to
your credit card.

Peace of mind when going to the mailbox not worrying about opening up a
credit card bill.

Patience in waiting to get what you want but only when you have the cash to
purchase that item. Patience in knowing that maybe by the time you do have
the cash to buy...you many not really want it.

Kindness to be able to share and bless others with your time...not your
money!

Goodness in being "able" to help and provide for the needs of others.

Faithfulness - are you being faithful in what God has given you? Are you
tithing? No? Why? Because you can't even meet your own bills and if you were
to tithe well...that would really put you out. What does God say about
tithing? What does God say about His being faithful to you when you do what He
has asked of you? Do you not have enough faith in Him to know that He will
see you through? Faithfulness in paying what you owe to others and seeing to
it that you pay them in a timely and God honoring manner.

Gentleness in how you spend your money.

Self-control is not just buying what you see but waiting. Self-control is
thinking purchases through before just allowing the impulse to take over. We
can see what little self-control we have when we open up our checkbooks or
when we look over our credit card statements.
-=-=-

How To Fold A Shirt

My husband has been folding shirts this way ever since he saw it on Martha Stewart (am I blessed to have such a man or WHAT!), but on another site there is a flash video of how to do it.

I must admit that I have NOT tried to teach my daughters this way to fold a shirt. Right now, they fold it the best they can. The 6yr folds it nice and neatly. The 4yr folds it fairly neat. And 2 1/2yr, bless her little heart, tries so hard but just ends up with a pile. Thankfully the shirts don't wrinkle hardly at all so I don't have to go back through and redo everything for her (which takes up time and also, I feel, discourages her).

I hope you enjoy the link!

First Corinthians 13 - The Christmas Version

This should look familiar! Was in my TOS mailbox this morning.

First Corinthians 13
Christmas Version

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and arranging
a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:
I'm just another cook.
If I work at a soup kitchen,
carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels
and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties
and sing in the choir's cantata
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love does not envy another's home
that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love does not give only to those who are able
to give in return; but rejoices in giving
to those who cannot.

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails.

Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust,
but giving the gift of love will endure.

--Author Unknown

CUTE CUTE CUTE Camera Bags

These are the CUTEST camera bags I have ever seen!!! And since they don't LOOK like camera bags, you aren't as in much danger of them being stolen!!!

Even YOU can make this

What a FUN idea here to make a castle or a pirate ship, even a fire engine!!!
http://www.readymademag.com/blog/2006/12/13/fantasy-boxing/

Oh man, this right after a post about priorities! LOL!!! I really need to get my priorities straight.

BTW - if you have older children, then can make their own castle or pirate ship! What a NEAT idea!!

The Family Journal - A Great Idea

I was reading an article in AEW written by Nancy (from Above Rubies). She said that her family had a family journal. It sat on the table and anyone in the family could write in it when they wanted to. They wrote about what was happening in their lives, special memories, etc. Whenever they had company over, instead of asking them to sign a guestbook, they asked them to write in the journal.

I have young children. The younger 3 are too small to write, but I can always write down cute things they do or say, and can also have them color a page every now and then. My oldest (6yr) is learning to write. She spells love “lov” and time “toym.” I think it would be wonderful to have her write in the journal.

I thought that this was a great idea and wanted to share it with you.

UGH! The "P" word

Moving into a new house, a blizzard which had snow drifts up to your chest and caused the internet connection to be down for almost two whole days, having to dishes by hand, and trying to play catch up on all the laundry created by moving has taught me one thing - I really need to PRIORITIZE!

There are so many blogs I want to read (and come upon new great ones everyday like this one - The Sparrow's Nest). I know that I can learn a lot from the ladies of the blogs I love, and yet, I really need to spar down on them. Now that I have the computer back, I find myself spending more and more time on the computer trying to catch up on all the blogs I love (which of course have new blogs that they tell you are must see's and of course, I MUST see them! :D

Then I want to get back into my digital scrapbooking. The one thing I LOVE about digital scrapbooking is how FAST it is compared to paper (so that means that I can actually get a page DONE before I forget what it was about). But the more I scrap, the better I get, and the longer it seems to take me because I want NICE pages, not just pages. I want to create something that my children will enjoy to look at years from now. A book that tells the story of their growing up. Where we were, what we did, how I felt. My mom has pictures and PICTURES and can't tell me who is in them or even what they were doing. In some of them, she even has difficulty telling if it was me or my sister! LOL! (Which I can TOTALLY relate to now that I am a mom myself.)

I also have been trying to keep up with posting to two blogs. I plan on making that one blog (this one) soon. Moving everything over. That will really help simplify things I believe. Then there is of course making your blog look really good with graphics and such other than those provided.

I also really want to get into homeschooling the children. Learning about WHAT I need to do and HOW to do it. So thankful that I have friends (hi Nancy) that I can hopefully call on for advice (you too Brenda!) and counsel (I haven't forgotten you Konie and Leigh) especially with the style of schooling we are wanting to do.

And then of course we have cable TV now that we have cable internet service. Oh my how addicting TV can be. You use the excuse of I will only keep to th educational channels (like Food Network), but the SHOWS that are on each of them, what to watch and when to find the time?!?!

And not to mention that our new house is much bigger than our old house, which is great for being able to host missionaries and have friends and family visit (Stacey are you reading this!?!), but it also means more to clean. And I am still learning about that.

And on top of it all (which always seems to be LAST on my list when I know how desperately it needs to be FIRST), my devotional time. I really need to be reading my Bible and praying EVERY morning. I want to make a list of people I am praying for and put it on the fridge so the children can see. They can see what we are praying and how it is answered.

So many fears! Will I be able to homeschool my children the way we want? And if so, how with all the testing and CRITICISM from parents? Will I be able to have time to scrap so my children have an heirloom book full of memories of who and what? Will I ever learn how to clean house and be able to make my home a haven and resting place of peace for my family? Will I ever finally get putting God FIRST instead of Him being an afterthought? And will I ever learn how to spell without spell check?

Make Your Own Soap

I am sure ALL of you are as big of fans of Crystal's as I am, but if not, first, check out her site.

THEN check out
HOW TO MAKE SOAP