Movie Monday-Happiness is having a balloon!

What is it about a balloon that just makes us happy?   

This video of our grandbaby Rhea is proof that a 

SIMPLE 

 balloon can be

 pure joy!  

I'm a Pout Pout Fish.....

Jack loves to read!  He has he's favorites too. 

He loves Bubba and Beau.

And he enjoys finding the hiding seahorse in

the Secret Seahorse.

But lately, his favorite has been

So Just for the fun of it....

I created my own Pout Pout fish cake!

He loved it!

It tasted pretty good too!!


~~CHOCOLATE~~ 

The repeated verse in this story by

Deborah Diesen

 is..

“I’m a pout-pout fish

With a pout-pout face.

So I spread the dreary-wearies

All over the place.”

Blub

bluub

bluuub

Very Cute!

Projects that have been keeping me from blogging...Project # 7 Hanging with the Grandkids!

Okay, I know what you're thinking....

Hanging out with the grandkids is

 NOT a PROJECT!

Well, maybe not...

But they do keep me extremely busy!!

I spend at least 2 days a week caring for them while their mama teaches Cyber School. 

 Sometimes I go to their house 

and other times they come to the old homestead.  

It doesn't matter where we are, 

there is always an opportunity to capture some cute  photos.....

And I take LOTS of pictures....

Every day is a new 

Photo Shoot.

Take a look....

Lunch on Deck..

 Pap Pap taught the boy to put applesauce on his bread ;)

Monkey see, Monkey do!

H-A-P-P-Y!

He loves to watch Giggle Bellies music videos on You Tube. 

 Click here to view our favorite video!

Both babes enjoy taking a trip to the chicken yard.  Rhea can even say Bak Bak Bak!

MUCK BOOTS-LOVE!!

This boy loves to explore......

Is she not the cutest little thing?!!?!

I'm not partial or anything ;)

Pap Pap gave Jack a lesson on bee pollination.  He listened very intently.  Now every time we stroll around the yard he pulls a flower off the wysteria vine, pulls out the stamen and proceeds to tell me about bees.  It's very cute.  But then, isn't everything our grandbabies do, cute!?

If you want to see more pictures of this kind of cuteness you can click here to view my pictures on Facebook.  While you're there, 

 feel free to friend me!!

Now I have to go, because I have a lot of scrapbooking to do! 

 So stay tuned for some 

Scrappy Saturday posts!

Projects that have been keeping me from blogging...Project # 6 Party Centerpieces

Another project that kept me busy this spring was making these lovely little centerpieces.  

One of my water exercise students, Mary Frances, celebrated her 

80th birthday.  So when her daughter decided to give her a huge party to celebrate the milestone, our water class decided our gift to her would be the table centerpieces.

After finally deciding on what type of (easy clean up)

centerpiece we'd use, 

a few of us crafty girls got together and began 

creating!

We decided to make these lovely little tissue paper flower boxes.

Michael's has a lovely selection of coordinating tissue paper and Chinese food boxes.  They come in a variety of colors and prints.

We designed each box to coordinate
 with a specific table cloth

The result was

  FABULOUS!!

Mary Frances was totally surprised!

Don't you love how Jesus is in the background
watching over the celebration!?

Happy 80th Birthday Girlfriend!!

Projects that have been keeping me from blogging...Project # 5Yard Work

One project that has been keeping me super busy is 

YARD WORK!

 And not just my own. We spent a weekend helping my daughter and son in law get some order in their yard when they hosted a work weekend with their friends.  They bought a new (old) house last August and had a baby 4 days after moving in.  So needless to say, they didn't get any yard work done last fall.  

(Not to mention we had that notorious Halloween blizzard ;)

This is the pond that was in the front yard.
It was very overgrown.

We hauled out 4 loads of  brush  and burned a bunch more!

My own yard was a mess as well.  It took a bit of elbow grease to get it cleaned up because of all the debris from the trees. 

Unlike my daughter, I was on my own.  I didn't host a clean up party!!

But at the moment, 

it's lookin' good.

And I'm enjoying our early spring!

Chicken Bag Tutorial

If you've been reading this blog for a while, 

you may remember this post 

or this post 

where I first revealed the first chicken bags I made.  

Now, if you're wondering what in the heck is a chicken bag??..

This is a  bag recycled from chicken feed bags.

               (some other feed bags will work as well, ie..some dog food or bird seed bags)

After making several 

and experimenting with techniques for creating the perfect pleated bottom, 

I finally got the bags perfected.  

Well, perhaps not perfect, but doable.  

This is a quick tutorial.  Measurements are not carved in stone.  

Just about anything goes! But this will get you started..

So let's get sewing.....

Begin with a feed bag.

Cut off the bottom of the bag that was factory sewn.

Figure out how big you want your finished bag to be and plan accordingly,

allowing for the top seam (about 2")

 and the bottom seam (about 1/2" - 3/4 ".

Crop off a strip (the excess) across top.  This strip will become your handles.  So you'll need about 3 1/2 or 4 inches. Be sure to cut this line very straight. It will make a nice clean finished product.

Also, take into consideration the picture on the front.

Finished bags should be approximately  

16-18 inches 

(plus the allowance for the top and bottom seam).

   (If you think this seems too tall, don't fret.  Some of this becomes part of the pleated base.)

Turn the bag inside out.  

Do not cut the sides!!

Mark the bottom of your bag with a sharpie where you want to sew in the bottom seam.

  (keeping in mind the picture on the front)

 Measure about 4 1/4 inches from the side and then turn toward the middle and pin. 

 Do the same for the other side as well. 

SEW the seam across the bottom.

Turn your bag so the right side is out. 

This is the tricky part.  

When you flip your bag to the right side, manipulate the bottom seam so that you have triangles on the inside bottom of your bag.  Like this...

This is what gives your bag that base like a reusable grocery bag.

Turn down the top of your bag about 2 or 3 inches. Pin it. And Sew. 

 (straight stitch or zig zag)

Take the strip you cut from the top of your bag (cut down to 3 1/2 -4") and cut it so you have a long strip.

Tri-fold the strip, pinning as you go.

Sew the strip. 

 Cut the long strip (you have just stitched) in half.

This makes 2 short handles.

Pin handles on your bag and sew. 

 (One strip is sewed to the front, the other to the back.  

In other words, don't put your straps across the top of the bag!)

 I used lots of zigzagging stitches to ensure the handles would hold.

And there you have it!!

Your very own chicken bag that is sure to get some attention at the grocery store check out!

I also made a smaller, scaled down bag from a sunflower seed bag. 

On this bag, I did cut the side seams to make it smaller.  This is my Michaels bag!  

When the bag is full, it's time to get outta the store!!

Happy Sewing!  

I'd love to see your creations.

Email me!!

Got Questions???

Leave a comment!!