Dirty Little Secrets...

Meet my WIP basket.  We have not been on speaking terms lately, but I have decided to give him another chance.  Poor guy is overflowing with un-finished projects, mending, ironing, partialy sewn pieces of clothing, pants with no buttons...YOU NAME IT.  I have officially decided to DE-clutter my life a bit.  I got rid of TONS of un-used fabric and notions, I have re-organized my craft room, and I am ready to get the mess under control. 

STARTING with THIS darn basket!!!! 

 First on the list....pillowcases.  A few months back my Mia-Maid girls sewed up some pillowcases for ConKerr Cancer. It is  a great organization that gives cute handmade pillowcases to children undergoing cancer treatments.  ANYWHO...a few of the girls did not finish and a bunch of the donated fabric was cut and ready to sew.....SO I took it upon myself to finish them on up.   

 It took a night of mid-night sewing, but I FINISHED.  The girls had made 4 and I finished up theirs and made 11 more.  We had already sent off 6 from our first go around.  THAT makes 21 of these little cuties that are going to be out there helping cute little kids to feel better.

 It is a WIN WIN.  I get to mark something off my TO-DO list AND help.  I used THIS pattern from MADE and still love it....so simple and easy. 
Now I have to get myself off to the post office before another 4 months has come and gone!!

 Anybody else have a BIG fat basket full of dirty little secrets???? 

HOW TO: cut a watermelon

Now I know this seems like a silly thing to post about...AND IT IS.  BUT it blew my mind and made me WANT to buy a watermelon.  Usually I am at the store and WANT to eat watermelon, but DON'T want to deal with the mess.  Sticky floor, sticky cutting board, juice EVERYWHERE.  NOT WORTH IT!!!

But yesterday my dad brought over a watermelon (how can you resist free produce???) and I did't wanna waste it.  SOOO I tried to think of a less messy way to cut it.  Go outside....good, but still a mess out there.  Cut into slices and eat it out of the rind....not doable for a 3 year old.  THEN I had one of those moments.  You know the ones like Oprah always talks about???  I was like AH HAH!! I've got it!!!  Now you may have had this moment years ago...if so ....good for you.   BUT if you, like me, have been avoiding sticky melons for the sake of laziness, this is the AH HAH you have been waiting for.

You simply have to cut the stupid thing on a towel.  Then all of the sticky juice drips on the towel and NOT all over your counters and floors. 
Did I just blow your mind???  I hope so!!!  Totally changed my life.   I even drove by a fruit stand today and thought...hey maybe I should stop and pick up a watermelon....and maybe even a Honeydew.....endless fruity possibilities....  :)

Happy Summer Ya'll!!!

Repurpose--Hoodie to DORA BACKPACK

Backpack was a hit yesterday.  You know when you make something and put your heart and soul into it and then....NOTHING.   Nobody cares.  No reaction.  NOTHING!!!!  THIS was not one of those projects.  I got a hug, a kiss, a thank you, and little happy dance, some jumping up and down, and a run around the yard.  CAN'T beat a response like that. 

SOOOO anyway...this is a simple little backpack made from an old hooded sweatshirt.  How can you resist a FREE project???   If you wanna ACTUALLY read through the tutorial....its after the jump ( I didn't wanna bore all of you unsuspecting NON Dora fans!!)

Just makin' a little baby food....SERIOUSLY;)

OK.   So I admit that I am making some strange (for me) choices lately.  People who know me well may be thinking...WTH???  Who is this lady and where did my Jessica go???  I am still in there somewhere, I am just....making some changes.  Some good, some bad, some I DON'T know yet.  But hey...change is change RIGHT???

SOOO one of those changes came when I started to THINK about buying baby food again.  I have recenly started couponing (another of my bizzaro world moments), and the thought of spending ALL of that money on baby food again made me a little sick to my stomach.  That was STEP ONE.

THEN I went to a yard sale and picked up one of these for 3 bucks.  Who doesn't love to core, peel, and slice their apple all at once???  That was STEP 2.  

Then I checked THIS book out of the library.  It was just sitting on the shelf looking at me.   WHY NOT????  It had some good info on making your own baby food, and a good starting point.  YOU GUESSED IT....Step 3. 

Finally I did some online research and decided.  WHY NOT try it.  I had fresh veggies and fruits around, so I jumped right in.  I started with carrots and apples because that is what I had in my fridge.   

Check out these little beauties.  That is pure carrot-ey goodness....fresh from the freezer. 

It doesn't hurt that it is fresh and I know exactly what is in it, but the main difference is the price.  I used 5 carrots and got a whole ice cube tray of puree.  That should last us a while since Little E just started eating solids.  I also used 5 apples and got 2 trays worth.  I am not sure how long the apples will last...Little E SCARFED them down yesterday and again today.  I guess I am good at cooking SOMETHING:)

SOOOO I know it is hard to believe....but I now have little baggies of baby food in my freezer.....made by me.  It only took a few minutes (even holding an 18 pound crying kiddo) and was SUPER easy.  I guess I have something new to add to my Mommy Resume.....Official Baby Food Maker!!!!

I'm a Map......

I made something CUTE today....

NOOOO, not that.  I made THAT years ago:)

Here is a hint.....

YEP...I'M A MAP!!!!!  Anybody else have a DORA fan in their midst?????  It seems like all things come and go, but DORA stays around.  I thought it would be quick and easy to whip up a backpack.  EASY yes, QUICK....NOOOO!!  It would be quick if somebody showed you how to do it.  HMMMM???  Maybe tomorrow.....

Right now I am toooo busy saving the Super Babies.....and chasing SWIPER......and telling riddles to the Grumpy Old Troll.....ok ok you get the picture. 

NO BACKPACK would be complete without a MAP.  This one shows us the way to Grandma's house....both of them.  WHERE ARE WE GOING????  Grandma's House.   WHERE ARE WE GOING??  Grandma's House.....

 BY THE WAY....is that NOT an excellent cow there on my  map????  YEAH I got skills!!!! 

NOTHING beats watching Backpack while playing with your VERY OWN backpack.  HUH??!!!  Now you want one huh???  I took pictures...tomorrow I will attempt to put together a tutorial for ya.....most likely:)

Here are a couple other things I made a while back.....cute Cute CUTE!!!!1