~Busy Day~

This morning was busy and this afternoon will be even more so!

I ran errands this morning...four stops total. Winter gear makes it harder to get in and out of the car. Is winter almost over???

Now this afternoon I have a lot of housework to do. Company is coming for Christmas afterall, and it would be nice if the house looked a little more presentable. :-)

Hope your day is wonderful!

~Felt Ornaments~

What a hoot! owl ornaments:


I made them all the same, because I'm keeping one, giving one in an ornament exchange, and giving the last one to a friend. I didn't stuff them because, a) I liked the way they looked unstuffed, and b) I was too lazy to get up and get the stuffing.


A keepsake ornament I made for my daughter:


I traced her hand, so it's her hand size, and I embroidered her name and "2010" on the back.

Embroidery and hand sewing isn't something I typically do, so though this was enjoyable it was also a bit of a challenge, as I figured out the best needle to use, the best way to get the stitches to look nice, etc.

~Soup~

Winter is the perfect time for soups, stews, and chili, don't you think?

Last night as Kevin and I were doing the dishes, we were talking about soup in particular. I had switched the menu up, and made chili instead of my scheduled spicy peanut chicken. I didn't realize that Kevin had looked at the menu and was planning on enjoying the chicken dish. He was fine with the chili, but he was teasing me about sticking to my menu. ;-) I made the chili because it was so cold out! It was the perfect dish for a cold winter day. I was teasing him that I was going to make chicken noodle soup the next day, rather than the peanut chicken.

I said that in the winter I could have soup every day for a week and not get tired of it. Kevin said, "I know. But I couldn't." So then I countered by saying that there are so many different kinds of soup, I could have soup every day for a month and not get tired of it!

It reminds me of my grandpa. At one point while I was growing up, we lived just one mile from my dad's parents. On nights that my grandma made soup, my grandpa would call us up and invite us over for dinner. His theory was that there were a lot of us, and we would eat up the soup so he wouldn't have lots of leftovers to eat in the coming days. LOL

So what about you? Do you like soup? Could you eat it every day for a month and not get tired of it? :-)

~Apple Jumper~

In my sewing flurry, this was the first garment I finished the actual sewing on, but the last to get a finishing touch.



Made out of cozy flannel, adorned with a luscious pink bow. I love it. *smiles*

When I made the little strawberry outfit last summer, I had to shorten it so much. While I was doing so, I thought how perfect the pattern would be for a jumper, it was so long.

Pattern details:

Simplicity 2625, size large
variation of View D, with the addition of lace trim and a huge pink bow

I didn't have enough fabric to cut the bottom band on the bias. It worked fine because of the softness of the flannel, but it would have worked better if it were on the bias, because of the curved edge.

~First Christmas~

The following poem was written by my friend Kristi, who gave me permission to republish this on my blog. Kristi is a mom to four - one here on earth with her and three waiting for her in heaven. If you have gone through loss, I'm sure you will find her blog very uplifting. I know that I have! Please visit her blog and look through her past posts and the links she's provided.

As I read this, tears poured freely but joy abounded in my heart. Very bittersweet...I wouldn't want to take my baby from the glorious place called Heaven...but I sure do miss my little one!

First Christmas

I hear that on the Earth below
This is a special season
With lights and songs and gifts and such,
And Jesus is the reason!

In the place I would have lived
Are strings of light that blink and shine,
But you should see the light up here
That glows from Jesus all the time!

In the place I would have lived
Carols play, and special songs,
But you should hear the music that
The angels sing here all day long!

In the place I would have lived,
Gifts are giv’n on Christmas Day,
But you should feel the joy we feel
Because God’s gift is here to stay!

In the place I would have lived,
Tears have flowed because I’m gone.
My family wishes I were there
To see and hear and feel it all.

But in this place where I now live,
It’s Christmas all day, all year long,
And the sights and sounds I’d see with them
Are pure, unblemished by all wrong.

So on this day that would have been
My first Christmas on the Earth,
Mama, Daddy, you need to know
I’m celebrating Jesus’ birth!

When you sing songs to worship Him,
I’m singing with the angels, too.
I’m never closer than when we all
Praise Him for our life anew.

I know that life began for me
Sooner than you thought it would.
I know your hearts are hurting now,
And you would change things if you could.

But in this place, where you’ll come, too,
We’ll be together, forever.
And there will be no more good-byes
When we celebrate Christmas in heaven – together!

~Flowered Tunic~

Also over Thanksgiving, I made this tunic. I already had it cut out--I cut it out in September for the Kid's Clothes Week Challenge which I signed up for and didn't sew for. LOL It's made out of cozy flannel.


It was supposed to be a dress but the pattern was a bit short, and I didn't have enough fabric to cut it longer. So I took a chance and sewed it the way it was. It turned out shorter than I like for a dress so I'm calling it a tunic, and bought a pair of leggings to go with it. =)

It felt like it needed trimming of some sort, so I applied ribbon right on top of the ruffle, which I randomly pleated. I found an applique flower that matched the fabric perfectly, and added that too. I've seen instructions for the pleated ribbon in various places and I really like the randomness of it.



This is also going under the Christmas tree. :-)

Pattern details:
McCalls M5916, View C
Size Large

~Thanksgiving~

I was looking back through my blog post drafts and realized I have one titled "Happy Thanksgiving", meant to be posted on Thanksgiving Day. Oops.

Did you all have a nice Thanksgiving? I know I did! *Smiles* As I mentioned briefly in my previous post, we had our brother here during his school break. It's always nice to spend time with family, and this time was no different!

We didn't do anything extravagant. We just had a nice time together. When Kevin and I got married, my brother was still very much the bratty-yet-lovable brother that he aspired to be. LOL But somewhere along the line he became the best brother a girl could ever want! Seriously, this guy is awesome. I'm so blessed to have him for my brother. He's kind and compassionate, thoughtful and caring.

So we...ate a lot, watched movies, football (not me! just the guys), ate some more (LOL) and hung out.

Oh, and my turkey turned out wonderful. Several mentioned olive oil and salt and that's what I did. It was perfect! Turkeys were such a good price, that I ended up with two extra in the freezer, besides our Thanksgiving bird. So I'll be roasting turkey again in the near future, and I'll try out some of the other ideas. Maybe brine? We'll see!

I have much to be thankful for, and I appreciate the reminder to give thanks that Thanksgiving Day brings. It helps me to be more thankful.

Now it is just 21 days--three weeks!--till Christmas. What? Really? Wait! Didn't we just hang up the calendar for 2010? Where has this year flown??? We're having Kevin's family here for Christmas and I'm really looking forward to it!

~Little Smock~

A few days ago I tied one of my half aprons on my daughter and she loved it! She was Mommy's big girl helper, putting away toys and zipping around in her apron. The next time I tied an apron on she wanted one on too! So I knew I had to make her an apron!

My brother was here over his Thanksgiving break from school, and it was just a lazy type of visit. Food, football (for the guys), and hanging out. While the guys got their fill of football, I went to town sewing!





For the bias tape application, I zig-zagged rather than straight stitched. I like the way it turned out! It wasn't any faster or anything, but I think it adds a nice finishing touch.



I made this same pattern for my youngest sister, a long time ago! She wore it for several years. I don't know if this pattern is still available, but here are the details:
Simplicity 8916, View D
Size 3



This will be under the Christmas tree, probably the last year I can make gifts right under my daugther's nose! As I was photographing the smock this afternoon, she said, "Oh, how cute!"

~Christmas Napkins~

I've been sewing up a storm lately, and I'll be sharing my projects that I've been working on over the next few days! :-)

This year we're having Christmas at our house, and Kevin's side of the family will be here to celebrate Christmas with us. I'm looking forward to them being here.

I haven't bought paper napkins for well over a year now. With company coming, I needed to add to my cloth napkin collection, so we will have enough napkins.

So I did:


I thought this fabric was festive, and I already had it in my fabric bin! I got six napkins out of the piece. Perfect for using up a piece of fabric I bought about 8 years ago!

I had to look back at my tutorial to see how to do the corners. :-)

~More Laundry Soap~

About a month and a half ago, I made my own laundry soap, following this recipe. It has worked really well! I'm so happy that I can make my own soap at home. It will really save a lot of money.

A few notes:
---I have found that laundry can't stay as long in the washing machine as it can with regular detergent. It starts to smell "sour" sooner. That's easy to remedy, it just means I need to trek down to the basement when I hear the washer beeping! (I should do that anyhow! LOL)
---I haven't had trouble with staining, or the laundry not smelling clean. It works very well.
---As I mentioned before, I do have to use liquid softener, to keep static cling at bay. I use scent-free softener.

My batch from last time was running low, so I made a double batch today. It ran out faster than I thought it would. I must have miscalculated the number of loads, or maybe I didn't use enough water in my first batch, because I really don't think I've done 64 loads in 6 weeks. Hmmmm.

~Coupon Code~

Through November 30th, use the coupon code BLOG15 in my Etsy store Treasures by Tammy when you check out, and you will receive 15% off your entire order.

~Beaded Socks~

New, in my shop:




Beaded socks! There are two sizes available.

And through November 30th, get 15% off your order (before shipping) when you use the code BLOG15.

~The Little Red Hen~

My daughter has a book called The Little Red Hen. It's a familiar story: the Little Red Hen finds a grain of wheat and asks Duck, Goose, Cat and Pig to help her as she goes through the process of planting it, reaping it, taking it to the mill, making the dough, and baking the bread. At each turn she asks for help, and is refused help. "Not I", said the Duck, etc. Then when she pulls the bread out of the oven, she asks, "Who will help me eat the bread?" and of course the Duck, Goose, Cat and Pig all say they will. But she ends up eating the bread by herself because they didn't help her. So there.

So what exactly is the moral of the story? The Little Red Hen was asking for help with jobs that she clearly could accomplish by herself. Just how many farm animals does it take to plant one grain of wheat anyhow?

~Blogger Meetup~

I have "known" Melody of With the Fruit of Her Hands for a long time. I started reading her blog over five years ago. When someone you know online lives a long distance away you don't really expect to ever meet them. So I was very pleased to have the chance to meet Melody!



We met up yesterday for lunch, and ended up chatting for quite a while! As I was on my way home, my husband called to make sure I was still alive, I was gone that long. ;-)

Melody is a lovely Christian woman and I so enjoyed our visit! I'm hoping we can meet up again in the future!

~Turkey~

How do you roast your turkey? The first year I roasted a turkey I dumped a bunch of water in the roaster oven and plopped the turkey in. It was...blah. LOL By the time the next Thanksgiving rolled around I had read a better way to roast turkey so that's what I did. :-) I patted butter on the turkey and then liberally rubbed it with turkey rub, from McCormick Spices. It was great! That's the way I've been doing my turkey ever since.

Until now. Because I couldn't find turkey rub at the store. What? The gal stocking the spices said they must not be making it (or my guess is that the store isn't buying it to stock). So now what am I going to do??????

Freedom from Want Giclee Print by Norman Rockwell at AllPosters.com

~Why, Hello!~

It's been a little while since I updated my blog. I guess I've been a bad blogger, eh? There's nothing too new going on, just life. :-) I was thinking today that I no longer blog in my head as I go about my day, so in part that would be why there are less posts than I've previously put up!

So now that I've opened this post...hmmmmm, what to write about? Well, here are some little snippets from my life right now. :-)

My daughter loves to wear my shoes:


I've taken an interest in using Kevin's big, scary camera (as opposed to my trusty little Canon point-and-shoot). I've been experimenting a little bit, but I really want to read the manual and get better acquainted with the camera and all the functions.

I found this super neat tool for saving web pages, called Evernote. It is amazing! You can do so much with it, so far I have saved all my bookmarked recipes. I had so many recipes bookmarked that I had forgotten about half of them. Now they are all in one spot, tagged appropriately and searchable. Since downloadking Evernote, instead of bookmarking a recipe, I now copy it to my recipe notebook. It's easy to use, and I really love it. The only problem I have had is that with a free account you can only save so much each month before essentially locking your account.

Lastly, I was recently contacted by Lil' Sugar. They asked permission to use my picture from my mini deep-dish pizzas. I was pleased to say yes. :-) My pizzas are featured in a muffin tin lunch idea post, found here. There are four other recipes as well.

Have a good day! And I hope to be blogging more regularly! :-) Thanks for stopping by!

~Stitched Notebook Tutorial~

This is a fun little project. Maybe tutorial isn't the right word, perhaps crafting inspiration would be a better way to describe this post? Whatever term you choose, I hope you enjoy crafting a notebook! It is relatively easy, and if you are a scrapbooker, bonus! You'll be more imaginative than me. :-)

You'll need:
a spiral-bound notebook, with a light-weight cover (I got mine at the dollar store)
card stock
scrapbook paper or any other decorative paper
ribbons, buttons, or flowers
a sewing machine
scrapbook glue
Tacky glue for adding buttons or flowers

My notebook:


Papers and ribbon:


Using scrapbook glue, put glue on your notebook cover, close to the edges.


Press your cover down on the card stock.


Cut around the notebook cover, using the cover as your guide.


Cut and arrange your papers and ribbons (I created my saying in a Word document and printed it on a nice piece of paper):


I sewed along the edge, and used zigzag stitches to hold the ribbon in place. To help hold your stitches in place, use a needle to thread the tail, bring the thread from the top through to the back (through the first stitch hole). Tie threads in a knot and cut. (This picture shows the knot at the straight stitching which did not need to be threaded to the back since it was right by the edge).


One at a time, glue each paper in place, then sew around the edge as desired. Note: this will dull your needle, so you'll want to use a new needle next time you sew with fabric. You can use an old needle for your paper crafting and save it if you plan on doing a lot of sewing through paper! :-)


After I got everything stitched, I decided it needed a little something more so I added a button with ribbon.


This notebook is available in my shop. Here are a few others that I did, as gifts:

~Ruffle Totes on Sale!~

Today only, snap these up for $10 (previously $12). For details, click the link below the picture.


Gingham Ruffle Tote


Floral and Gingham Ruffle Tote


(sold)

~Precious~

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:5)

A week ago Sunday, my precious grandmother, my mom's mother, slipped from us and entered into Heaven.

I have so many beautiful memories of her. In fact, the night after she passed away, I was laying in bed thinking about all my memories, and it dawned on me: I do not have any negative memories of my grandma. Wow...I'm pretty sure that people can't say that about me! My grandma was so kind, so loving and thoughtful. She had a true servant's heart and a deep love for the Lord.

My grandma taught me how to sew. When I first started, I broke machine needles every time I was there! She had a ready supply of sewing machine needles though, and I just had to replace the needle I broke. One sewing lesson I broke two needles, and another lesson the needle went through my finger--straight down through my nail! She clipped the thread and pulled the needle out! We went over weekly for "sewing lessons". One of the things Grandma taught me was to read the instructions for myself. I remember from the first lesson on, she always had me read the instructions and try to follow them. If I needed help, or couldn't understand the instructions, she would help me. But I always had to start out by reading the instructions. Grandma was encouraging. She wanted sewing to be enjoyable for me. If I made a mistake and had to rip out a seam, she would hand me the seamripper. But sometimes if the mistake was big and it involved a lot of work with the seamripper, she would pick out my stitches for me, so that it wouldn't be discouraging for me.

Oh...I could go on and on. I'll miss my grandma so much! I know I'll see her again, and I know that she is free from pain and in the presence of the Lord Whom she served so faithfully! It's sad to think of her not being here on earth with us, but my heart rejoices so much to know she's in Heaven!

~Laundry Soap~

Well, the day finally came! I ran out of laundry detergent! Right around the time our daughter was born (19 months ago!) we hit on some really good sales on the detergent we used, so we stocked up.

After learning about natural cleaners last April, I really wanted to make my own detergent. But I still had plenty to use up, so I determined that when I ran out, then I would make my own! =)

You'll need water and these three ingredients:


The soap looked so pretty all grated and ready to go:


I used this recipe here. For soap, I used Dr. Bronner's bar soap. It would have been cheaper to use Fels Naptha, but (according to the class I took last April) Dr. Bronner's is more natural.

This soap is quick and easy to make! I really can't believe how easy it is to make! I will be making my laundry detergent from now on. Next time I'll probably make a double batch since I have a 5-gallon bucket.

I broke the costs down and for one batch (64 loads) it cost me $1.97. That's a mere $.03 per load! The soap I used did raise the price a little, I'm pretty sure Fels Naptha is less expensive. Also, I've heard that Ivory or other natural soap bars work just as well as Fels Naptha.

~Fabric Acorns~

A few weeks back, I followed this little tutorial on Everything Etsy, to make these fabric acorns:


Halfway through the process, I realized that the slashes in the circle (see tutorial) really weren't necessary. I could have folded the circles and sewn without the slashes.

After making my first acorn I realized that they needed some weight in the bottom in order to keep them from doing this:


Yes, they all flop over, so they lose their cuteness, since all you can see is the bottoms. While I was making them I thought perhaps some rice in the bottom would keep them upright. But I was too lazy didn't feel like getting up to try it.

We were on a walk the other day and Kevin spotted some acorns. He asked me if I wanted the acorns to make more fabric acorns and I said, "no, I wasted enough time making the ones I have." =P It was a fun little project though, just not a super productive project. They would probably be cute if they were glued onto a wreath or something. Hmmmm.

~8 Questions Meme~

Melody tagged me for a meme. I thought, "why not?" It's been a while since I've participated in a meme! :-) The way it works is she answered 8 questions asked by someone else, then wrote 8 questions and tagged 8 people to answer.

1. What is your favorite hot beverage? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Something else?
This really depends on my mood and the time of year! I love coffee and drink it every morning. There's just something about starting my day with a cup of coffee! In the fall and winter, in addition to my coffee, I drink quite a bit of herbal tea.

2. What is your favorite season of the year?
I would have to say spring. Everything starting to bloom, the snow melting, the sun shining again...so much to look forward to!

3. How old were you when you accepted Christ?
I was almost 4 years old. I remember praying with my mom. It was right before bedtime, and instead of my normal prayer, I prayed and asked Jesus to save me. :-)

4. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
If finances weren't an issue, I'd love to go to Europe.

5. Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Night owl, unfortunately. My daughter does not take after me so this sometimes makes for hard mornings!

6. Do you have a life verse, or one that is really special to you?
Through my life different verses have been near and dear to my heart, but my life verse is Proverbs 3:5,6: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

7. If you had a couple hours to do anything you wanted, what would you do?
Clean my house! I know that several years ago I'd probably have said something like knitting or sewing, but having a little one underfoot changes my perspective! As my daughter is getting older it is getting easier to clean but even yesterday I was making applesauce and she was laying on the floor right by my feet! LOL So yeah, cleaning for a few hours straight sounds great! :-)

8. Do you have someone in your life who has been a Spiritual mentor for you?
In the true sense of the word, not really. There have been people though who have greatly helped me in my Spiritual walk, at various times in my life.

Now it's my turn! :) I had the hardest time coming up with these, for some odd reason!

Here are my 8 questions:
1. Do you like to journal (on paper)?
2. What is your favorite fall activity?
3. What is your favorite time of day?
4. Do you enjoy exercising?
5. Did you play sports in school?
6. What Bible verse is special to you right now?
7. What is your favorite food item during the holidays? (Thanksgiving/Christmas)
8. If you drink coffee (or tea), how many cups do you drink per day?

Now the thing is, most of the people I would have tagged have already been tagged! So if you'd like to play along, please grab the questions and go for it! =D Be sure to leave a comment if you participated!

~Skirt Refashion~

One of my sisters gave our daughter this skirt:


It was really cute but it was too short. She only got to wear it a few times, and as I was putting away the summer clothes I was going to put the skirt in with the other clothes and then I had the thought of adding a ruffle.

So I got out my scrap bin and decided on a red plaid. I cut two strips, sewed the seams and hemmed it. For the top, I pressed it under about 1/2" and sewed one row of basting stiches.


I didn't cut the skirt, I just pulled the basting stiches and pinned the ruffle in place. I sewed right over the basting stitches.

Ta-da! A simple and quick project!


I had planned on making this during the Kids Clothes Sewing Challenge Week, but it didn't happen.

~Socks~

This week has been, hmmm...unproductive? Or not managed well? I think more of the latter than the former. It feels like I've done a lot of wheel spinning this week.

Anyhow, this week is the week that I signed up to do Kids Clothes Week Challenge. One hour a day. I've done one hour of sewing so far (Monday), which resulted in my dining room being a disaster for three days. Ahem.

One of the more productive things I did this week was complete an order for 15 pairs of socks. I already had 8 of them crocheted, but I still had 7 to finish. They are in the mail and winging their way to Australia, as we speak. =)


I decided after all that crocheting that my daughter needed some socks too. And for the challenge, crochet and knit projects count too! One of my sisters gave my daughter a pretty fall outfit, and I had the perfect color of crochet thread to match it.




And I made two beaded pairs as well.


I'm happy that I have a finished project for the KCWC!

I'm planning on putting some of these in my shop soon.

~Mini Deep-Dish Pizzas~

I saw this idea on a blog post somewhere last week. The recipe wasn't included with the post, and I didn't bookmark the post either. But I really wanted to make them, so this is what I came up with!

You'll need:
muffin tin
pizza dough (one pizza's worth)
pizza sauce
your choice of toppings
cheese

I made my pizza dough, then rolled it out in a rectangle and cut it in 12 equal pieces.

Grease muffin tin, and put each square of dough in the muffin tin, working it in so it makes a well and covers the sides:


Put a spoonful of pizza sauce in each pizza, then use a pastry brush to spread it around:


Put your favorite toppings in the pizza. I chose olives and turkey sausage.




Top with cheese:


Bake at 450* for 10 minutes.
ENJOY!

These would be fun in a lunch box, as appetizers, at a potluck, or really anytime! Pizza is always good!