4th of July Threads +Quilted Fish Giveaway

Its that time of year for a new outfit for the holiday.  This year is an Uncle Sam theme.  (I am using it for my Mantel too.

Wrist corsage in just the right colors.

A skirt {of course} Broad Stripes  & Bright Stars

Tuxedo styled shirt

And a Top Hat just like Uncle Sam.

I love how her outfit turned out.  And she loves it too.  Now she is ready to sport her new threads at any holiday party! 

Do you like her hat??? Want to make one of your own???

 I contacted Amanda at  The Quilted Fish. She is the designer of  "We're all Mad Here"  the pattern I used to make this hat. She designs beautiful fabric for Riley Blake and Patterns.   I found the pattern and had to have it.  It is so versatile and could be used for a bunch of holidays.  It;s going to be adorable on my mantel too.  How are you dressing your kiddos for the holidays?

Womens Tank to Little Girl Maxi

Maxi's are all the rage this season.  I wanted one for my little miss but they are hard to find.  I was shopping at a local mall and found an adorable tank for women.  I am not much of a tank top wearer but it is adorable for my Little Miss. Here is what I started with.... A lacey tank from Down East.

I cut off the bottom of the tank just below the arm pit.  Leaving the most length possible.

Stitch a basting stitch around the top of the skirt.  You may need to gather the skirt a bit  before sewing on the waist band.

For the waistband I had a piece of knit that was a perfect match . I measured my Little Missy's waist and subtracted 1 inch. Knit is really stretchy.  I cut my fabric 19 by 6. Fold your waistband in half lengthwise and right sides together. Short ends together.  Stitch. You should have a circle for a waistband. 

Fold the band in half to make it 3 x 18 round. Pin the band to your skirt. Giving the skirt and even gather if your must gather. Stitch around with a knit stitch. securing the waistband to the skirt.

Here is how my skirt turned out.

I think it turned out so cute.  She loves it! I think it makes her look so grown up.  Fun and easy for the summer.  Great for the beach, church or a day of shopping. Head out and find a tank for your Little Miss.

    

{Pin} tastic Friday- Bar Sugar Cookies

 Yeah I am so excited.  I became a dot.com.  Want to learn how.  It's super easy. (I found it on the SNAP confrence website) I have been off the Grid in Yellowstone National Park with my kiddos and haven't had a chance to tell you all.  Fun, fun, fun If you haven't ever been to Yellowstone it is totally worth it.  Take your family!!

Now on to {Pin}tastic Friday. I found this Little beauty on Pintrest one day. I decided to give them a try for my son's baptism.  We had a lot of people coming and I needed to have less work more food.  So I busted these babies out. 
I rarely make sugar cookies.  I have never found a recipe I just love.  I also don't love rolling and cutting and refrigerating.  Just to much work.  But these lovelies or simple to make and yummy to eat.  My mind says yum keep eating my body says those jeans are not going to fit anymore. 

Photo from Lady with the Red Rocker

The Lady with the Red Rocker has really out done herself.  I just love these.  Please visit her site for this yummy recipe. Pin it from the source and enjoy it for the rest of your life.  I am serious.

Yummy-licious!!!!

I you would like to follow me on Pintrest click the "P" to the right or click HERE. Thanks for spending your Free Time with Me.  Happy Pinning and have a Great Weekend

Story Starters

It's summer break and the kids are out of school.  Part of me is excited and the the other part terrified.  Some days are like Ground hogs day.  Just the same day on repeat.  A Copy and Paste kind of day.  Others are exciting and fun.  With great experiences.  We have some fun things planned this summer.  Yellowstone Park, camping, visiting family, water parks and the zoo just to name a few.

I guess you could say I am a mean mom.  We have a lot of fun things planned but I also have my kids do school work during the summer.  We have workbooks to do, reading time (my boys actually like reading time) and this year story starters.

Our boys are great students and get fairly good grades.  A weakness they have is Handwriting and punctuation. (Most boys do I think???)  So in an effort to help them remember and practice these skills we have implemented Story starters.  They are given the opportunity to write a creative story each week about what they have been doing for the summer or use one of these story starters. 

This is a great way to help your kids remember those skills they have learned in school and have a creative outlet.
We just used  an old notebook they brought home from school.  Each boy has to write a 1 page story each week as part of there weekly chores.

Here are a list of the story starters I cam up with. Click on the Google link below to download and use. 

Story Starters

On the first day of Summer, I saw an alien spaceship.....

A Monkey escaped from the zoo...

I was riding my bike to a friend house when it suddenly lifted off the ground and began to float....
website
One night I was dreaming I was walking on the Moon. When I woke up, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was standing.....

I woke up one morning to find an alien in my closet.....

If I were a Christmas ornament....

If I found a $1000....

If I had 3 arms....

When I grow up I want to be....

My best friend...

I tried to catch a Leprechaun. This is how I did it...

For summer break I went to....

I saw an insect as big as my Dad....

My favorite thing to do is...

My least favorite thing to do is....

If I could create my very own........ It would be.......

If I were a video game...

Scholastic also offers a story starters on there website.  They can do all types of stories in different formats.  Newspaper, poem, letter or story.  Lots to choose from.


Hope your Summer has started off with a Bang!

{Pin}tastic Friday - Carmelitas

Happy {Pin}tastic Friday!  Carmelita's are today's delicious food is one that I have loved for over a year now.  They are so delicious.  I made them for a friend when she had a baby.  I took them to the hospital and told her to hoard them.  They are to good to share with little kids.  So she took my advice and ate them all in the night. (If you are not aware, a new Mom is starving for days after delivering a baby. I would eat anything I could get my hands on.  My request was KFC biscuits.  I could eat a dozen every night after delivering my kiddos.Yummy!!)   Afterwards she asked for the recipe.

I tell ya these beauties are Ooey, Gooey, YUM. And so easy to make. You will want the pan for yourself.

I found the recipe at Lulu the Baker. Go take a look at her blog.  She has lots of yummy things to eat. She doesn't disappoint.

 

You won't be sorry you made these.  And neither will your neighbors if you share.  

Head over and see what else I am Pinning. Lots of fun finds and food to make.  Follow me if you like. 

Thanks for visiting in your Free Time. 

 

Recycled Bike Basket DIY

My little Miss has a bike, a tricycle and a scooter.  Funny thing is she only likes to ride the scooter and tricycle.  Originally  her tricycle had a little plate cover on the front of the handlebars.  It broke off and left that area vacant. I remember having a fun basket on the front of my bike.  I loved to put my favorite toy in the basket and go for a ride.  I saw my my orange juice container and had an idea.  Who needs to buy a basket when I can make one for free. I started with an empty Orange Juice container.

I cut the top of the orange juice container.  Just below the handle.

(In hind sight I would have punched 2 holes along 1 long side of the container.  I did mine later and it was hard to get the holes cut)

Take your fabric and measure it around the container and measure the height. 

Begin by painting a layer of modge podge onto your container. Start wrapping your fabric around the outside of the container.

Glue the edge of the fabric down.  Paint a layer of modge podge onto your fabric.  Give it a really good coat.

Fold the top fabric down to the inside.  Glue it down.

Let is dry for a while. You may want to do a second coat.

Now for the bottom. I place a lot of glue on the plastic and spread it around.   

Then start and fold it like the end of a package. Fold 2 sides and press down to stick to the glue.  

Lay more glue down and fold your last two sides down.  Cover in modge podge. Let dry

At this point I punched my holes.  I wish I had done it before covering in fabric. Measure your bike handle bars for hole placement. I also stapled around the top to secure the fabric to the plastic.  I used pom fringe to hide the staples.This would go great for a little boy and make it a super hero basket or cowboy or space man.  Whatever your little boy is into.  Fun for everyone!

To hide any graphics from the container I glammed it up.  Pom fringe and some flower cut outs. Red ribbons to tie it onto the bike and your finished.