Birthday Girl

I have 1 Little Miss.

 I don't know what I would do without her.  She truly is an inspiration and a little ray of sunshine. 

I love my boys. They keep me busy and I love it. 

I was raised in a boy world. 

Growing up I had 4 younger brothers, 7 Uncles, 1 Aunt and 

 8 boy cousins.  I get boys.
 I had to be rough and tumble to survive.

I was the only girl on both sides of my family. Until I was an adult.

So having a girl of my own was kind of a Pipe Dream.

I went into every pregnancy expecting a boys.
I even told my self I could have a dozen boys if I only had 1 girl.
Crazy right???

But one day the Stars, Moon and Planets were aligned and I got my girl.

They had to break the mold with this one.

Blond,Curly Hair, Blue eyes, Skin like Porcelain, and a whole lot of {Sassy}

But having one little girl to dress up, shop with, and learn from is a very special thing.

 I love to sew for her. And she loves to have a new little something, anytime.

For her birthday pictures I made her this.

Peasant Top and Ruffled Pants.

I used my Simply Jane Pattern I wrote and sell on Etsy.

With the Pattern you can make a peasant dress or a top.

For the pants I used a pajama bottoms pattern.

(Just a random pattern I had in her size)

Her sash is made of yellow fabric and twisted fabric flowers.

Her head band is twisted fabric flowers and ric rac for the leaves

See is quite the character.

I had to throw this one in. she just looked so cute. 

{Those curls are all her.  I am not quite sure what to do.}

 This little girl is my inspiration and the reason I craft and sew like I do. 

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Here is my shop.

 Named just for the one that inspires me.

Cosette's Closet

I am entering this project in Sew-vivor

Wish me Luck

Ombre Curtain

As part of my Crap room to Craft room Redo I needed a window treatment. 

I wansted something that let the light in but covered the blinds when they are raised.

A short valance it is!

To add a littel flair, I went Ombre Style.

White to Pink. Perfect for my turquoise walls.

From Crap room to Craft room Part 1: Fabric Mini bolts

We moved into our home 18 month ago. Plenty of space for the kids there own room an office for the Hubs a guest room and my own corner of heaven.  A Craft room! Closet space with shelves and everything.  It was even a color I loved. Turquoise.  I have a thing for Turquoise.  Maybe its because my birth stone is aquamarine, not quite sure. I have always loved Turquoise. (I will save my love for another post.) Anywho...

 I was totally stoked to have a great space for all my craftiness. Then the moving truck came and unloaded.  The rest of the house got first dibs.  And my poor craft room got put by the way side.  Then I found out I was preggers with baby #4.  Pregnancy wiped me out.  So the craft room again got put on the back burner.

That room has been sitting in the basement totally neglected as life rambled on around it. 
Until now.

A bestie of mine wanted a new look for her couch and propositioned me a trade.  She offered to help turn the crap room into the craft room. I in return would give her couch and chair a new look.

  Great trade, right????? 

 May be for me. 

 I showed her the crap room (so she knew what she was getting into). 

She totally agreed to help.

It was a trade made in heaven for me. 

There is no way I could undertake this on my own. 

 I was so excited. 
Here is a picture of the Crap room Before the redo.

 This picture was even after we had pulled a few bins of fabric out. 
I was serious when I said I had a lot of fabric.
 I am not quite sure wht the previous owner was thinking.  Mountain dew is not a wall color.
{A change is coming..}

{Can you find the baby?? He is hiding there somewhere.  Poor guy}

Now onto the first part of the redo...

I have alot  of fabric. 

 Probably borderline hoarding..

Its genetic. 

Some people get OCD, others anxiety. 

Me its gathering fabric and loving it.  I get it from my mother.

I needed a great way to store it and know what I have.  I have been trying to decide for years. 

I have looked at all the blog posts on how other do theirs.

Looked at the products out there.  None felt like a good fit or I didn't have the money.

Until now. 

I wanted Mini bolts.  Like a fabric store but smaller.  Then I can see everything I have. I actually ended up with Mini bolts and Micro bolts. Minis hold 1-2 yards and Micros hold less than a yard.

I needed something to house the fabric in once the bolts were made. First thing was Craigslist.  My bestie found this cabinet and bought it for her son.  Lucky for me it was to big for his room.
 But perfect for mine.

It is pretty solid and a bargin at $50. 

I had to add a few shelves in the spot reserved for a T.V. They cost me about $6
(The Lowe's man gave me a deal on a broken board. Half Price! Yeah)
I had him cut them for me and hauled them home.

****As a side not my shelves were white when I bought them and I used black contact paper ($5)  to cover them instead of painting.  It took about 15 minutes to cover them and they were ready to go. No mess.   So easy and they look great.

Onto the Mini bolts!

I started with:

 1/8 inch tempered peg board.

I bought a sheet that was 4x8 and had the Lowe's guy cut it down to a manageable
size for me to transport and cut myself.
Tempered Peg board $10 a sheet
This board comes with out holes.  But my lowes was out.  So pegged it is.

{I bought 3, 4x8 boards. Lowe's man gave me a great deal on two
of them because the boards had some flaws.}

Once home,

I cut them into 8 1/2 inch squares it worked best for my cabinet.

I took home my sheet in 4 pieces and had my Hubs but them to squares.

For Micro bolts I cut the squares in half again so they measure 81/2 x 41/4.
 They are the perfect size.

To hold the fabric on the bolt was a dilemma.  They clips fabric store use can be pricey and I need a lot of them.  I found these hair clips at Sally's beauty supply. They are perfect. They slip right on and hold the fabric in place. I chose these because they have a small liip under the clip.  Normally used for the curler in your hair, but today it is to hold a little fabric.  They are perfect.
The price... I got mine on sale for $3.99 a box. Yipee!!
{I bought 3 boxes}
Lots of fabric here remember... If my husband only knew.

I spent about 2 hours folding my fabric. Doesn't it looks so pretty. 

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The boxes hold fat quarters and small pieces of fabric.

The baskets are holding sewing notions. 

One of my girlfriend's thinks I should group in colorways and colors.  I said one step a time. Maybe some day. But for now I am super excited this project is done and I can enjoy my finished project.
One BIG step closer to having a beautiful craft room.
Total price for my fabric redo.....
$90

Totally worth every dollar!

Linking up here:

 
  

Japanese Chicken & Ham Fried Rice

This is one of my family's favorite meals.  Everyone eats it.  Which is rare in my house.  Satisfying 6 people at the same time is hard work.  But this meal is awesome.  I even had a friends children over and they ate it.  Probably some of the pickiest kids ever.  They loved it.  I was so proud and there mama was thrilled! So I thought I would share it with the blog world.

Wonder box

Have you ever heard of a Wonder Box??  I met a lovely lady at a Emergency Preparedness class.  She was talking about Sanitation (I will post on that a little later).  I felt inspired to talk with her.  After a lengthy talk I discovered we had a lot in common.  When I mentioned I enjoyed sewing she brought out the wonder box.  She had many people that wanted one, but didn't sew.  After looking at hers.  I added a few improvements. 

She handed me the cookbook and history behind the Wonder box and away I went to make my own.

So here is a little History on Retained heat cooking.

One of the stories I came across was about how they used hay boxes in WWII.  They would get there food boiling during certain times of the day. When they were allowed to cook. (Certain times were not allowed due to aircraft over head bombing the area.  Smoke from a fire would alert enemy planes to the area.) They would place there food into the hay box and eat a few hours later or even the next morning.  Allowing the families to have a hot meal.

So now to the wonder box.  They first began in South Africa.  A Pamphlet was published by "Compassion".

Here is the Google Document with the information.  The information was retyped and a few recipes and other information has been added.

Wonder Box Cook Book

So here is my Wonder Box Diy. 

Wonder Box DIY

I love my Wonder Box.  I use it all the time.  Its great for Cooking, Keeping thinks cold and even camping when you want a hot shower at night or hot water to wash dishes. 

Here are a few I have made.  I like the simplicity of the design.  No pattern pieces to cut.  Just 4 large circles and 2 long strips.  Sew them fill them and you are ready to go.

Enjoy! 

Adrienne

Linking up too:

It's a Wrap! Neighbor Gift

A few years ago, on Christmas Eve, a neighbor brought by a roll of wrapping paper, a roll of tape and a small plate of treats with a little typed tag attached. so I made up this cute little tag here to share, with a little improvement.

{Right click and save. Prints as a 4x6}

 I have been searching for this little tag for years and finally found it.

I loved the idea. And who doesn't need a little extra wrap and tape on Christmas eve.

{If you already have plans for this years neighbors gifts, Plan for next year and pick up your paper and tape at the after Christmas sales.  Your gift will be a hit next year}

Hope your Holidays are Merry and Bright this year!

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Adrienne