Winter Projects!

Fall is the busiest time of the year (or at least it feels that way). It seems like the moment School starts until New Years is past, there is no time for loafing. Here is part of my to do list:
1. Fall deep cleaning (I think will wait until January -when I am suddenly bored).
2. Charlotte - Jumper
3. Charlotte- Play Dress
4. Charlotte - Fall Church Dress
5. Charlotte - Christmas Dress
6. Charlotte - Winter Dress Coat
7. Charlotte - Nickers
8. Grahm - Pants
9. Jayce - Winter Dress Coat
10. Christmas gift - Mom
11. Christmas gift - Jason
12. Christmas gift - Jayce and Grahm
13. Christmas gift - Charlotte
14. Pillows
15...

I have barely dented that list and that is not all of it. I am a month behind and Thanksgiving is almost here!!

Have you noticed all the tutorials on blogs for taking your husbands tired button up and turning it into beautiful little girl dresses? There is one at Made she has several other examples you can see on her site. Here's another to name a few.
Anywhoo - I attempted this - IT IS NOT FOR ME!! I love the way they look when everyone else does it. When I did it I notice all of the things wrong - button spacing for Charlotte is bad, how the neck is not faced correctly - etc... Maybe I should try following a tutorial instead of just attacking it on my own.
This is Shirt Dress is her Play Dress!!




I was going to use the same pattern as this jumper to maker her Fall Dress - but she has not grown to a size 2 and by the time I had re-sized the dress to fit her I decided I was not going to try and figure out resizing and sleeves. - So I had to find another pattern for her Fall Dress. This is her jumper. The pattern is a McCalls pattern from the early 1900's.

Charlotte's Bed Cont...

I know I said in a week and it has been lots more. So sorry. Why is the fall so busy?

Here is what we did to keep the wonderful patina that this bed came with.

1. We pressure washed it to remove loose paint and grime. We also gave it a good scrubbing. Someone had started to strip it in places which became more evident when we pressure washed it - but I still love it.

2. We let it dry and removed all the brass.

3. I then applied 4 coats of Zinnser Peel Stop. This product is supposed to stop peeling, flaking paint - so we are hoping rust, too.


4. I then sprayed 2 or 3 coats of a clear satin finish.

5. Then a week or so later we used an at home lead test kit and it came back clean.

We custom ordered a 3/4 mattress for her. We ordered the cheapest one we could (well - because she is little and it worked fine for the boys - they have comfy beds). Hers is awful - harder than the floor. We just purchased a memory foam topper for her - Much better!!



I do not like the bed in her room with the shelf. The shelf is too low for how high the headboard is. Jason is refusing to move it, since we are moving - yada yada yada. Once I threw some pink blankets on the foot of her bed and a pink pillow case to cover up some of the quilt she is using while I hunt down something perfect, it looks much better in the room.

Any suggestions?

Halloween in all its Glory!!

This year for Halloween I really tried not to decide or lead my children to costumes I would choose. I am so glad I didn't!! We had Snake Eyes (from GI Joe), a scuba diver, and a bunny (little bunny foofoo).
For Snake Eyes I originally purchased the costume (I know!!) and then I returned it, I just couldn't justify the price tag. Snake Eyes has some serious muscles, so I added those to a black spandex shirt. I made him a ninja hood and bought cargo pants (hard to find in black this year!!).

I keep thinking I should put up my muscle pattern so you can make one for your husbands!!

Stong and Silent!!

Charlotte's bunny costume was the morning of creation. When the guilt of not making her something got to me. It turned out cute, warm and cuddly - the 3 musts for a toddler costume!!



Grahm wanted to be a Scuba Diver (a what?). We hunted down a cheap used wet suit, and bought a diving mask. The rest was up to Jason. He made the tank from a 2 liter bottle, attached some tubing, used craft foam for flippers and we have a Suba Diver!!






We only had to dress up twice this year!!!! We enjoyed Trunk or Treating at our church. Then that night we headed off to the 'Burbs for some good Trick -or-Treating (whole sized candy bars) with friends from school.

Our Halloween scare came at one point because we lost Grahm while we were Trick-or-Treating. I was ready to start running up and down the street and then we spotted him. Coming back to find the group (we had a large group). He said he just went to a different house to get candy. We think he went back to one of the houses with big candy bars. We had passed another group moments before going in the opposite direction and I think he ended up with them for a few moments. We think its funny now to picture Grahm trying to get a big candy bar. But then on a dark night (not much lighting), people in costumes, I was freaking out (quietly inside).

Super Saturday!!

Super Saturday

November 21, 2009

10:00am

Yummy Waffles and Crafts!!

You can sign up here by leaving a comment and your name or you can e-mail, or call.

You will need to have signed up for the nativity, pumpkin, and pendant by November 11 to ensure things will be shipped in time.

Countdown Blocks $7/set. Use these cute blocks to bring the Christmas Spirit home and help your family countdown to the big day.

Wooden Nativity $12 monotone/$14 multicolor. This simple nativity made from MDF is rugged enough for those little hands and cute enough to display. The set includes 3 wisemen, 1 shepard, 1 sheep, 1 donkey, 1 camel, 1 Mary, 1 Joseph, and 1 baby in Jesus in the manger. (no angel or tree with star - the second picture is to show you how easy it will be to add more detail if you chooose).  Available on Etsy.  From UndermyUmbrella, available finished or unfinished.



Stuffed Pumpkin $5. This stuffed pumpkin will bring a touch of fall to your home. Use it for Halloween and Thanksgiving. (if you can bring your sewing machine please let me know). Colors may vary!!

Necklace Pendant $5. This framed pendant is easy to personalize and makes a wonderful gift. Follow these links to get a few more ideas how to personalize the pendant. JewelKade has some beautiful designs (I am not affiliated in anyway, just using her catalog to show examples - they retail for $20). Other examples pictured are from various etsy artists, prices vary on etsy from $10 on up!! We will have a temple silhouette available, letters for monograming, a crown and a few other pieces. Please feel free to bring your own supplies to further personlize your pendant.
The Pendant is 1.5" square (not rectangular)

Try2 = More Pics

I guess I am in love with the cooler colortone look!!

And More Pictures!!

Picture Time Cont...

I chopped off the top of his head. Does that matter?


Mister Goofy!!

Picture Time!

Please Vote!!! Or leave feedback -pointers something!!







More pictures to come - they just take tooooo long to upload. I think the bokeh is too distracting in these pictures - maybe? FYI - those eyes are all natural!! (Grahms in the group picture are not - I had to steal them from another pciture - you never get all 3 to look)!!

A Form of Identity Theft!!

I recently had a disturbing encounter with Identity Theft and thought I would share what happened and how you can prevent it!!!

Two months in a row my phone bill had been $15 higher than before. The first month I ignored it because I was too busy to delve into it and assumed I had a promotional rate on my Internet that had expired. So the second month I took the time to look over my bill. The only strange thing was a new entry called Enhanced Services Billing, Inc. I thought what the heck new service is this, I did not sign up for anything.

So, I called AT&T (ignoring the number under the charge). I was told that I had authorized some kind of charge from an outside company to piggy back on my phone bill. I was surprised to hear this. Basically I can have other services bill me on my phone bill instead of sending their own bill. Well, I knew this had not happened and explained this to the agent. I was told that I would have to call the number I had ignored to fix the problem.

I called the number and after entering in all my phone number I was transferred to the company where the bill originated. It was an e-mail service. I explained that I had not signed up for a service. They informed me that I had or who ever did assured them they had authorization from me to do it. They had signed up from one of those Internet surveys where you can get a gift card if you fill out the survey and then subscribe to one or more services. I explained to her that my husband and I view those like we do viruses - we don't touch them!! She offered to refund only the last months charge. I said fine. I was sent a confirmation e-mail.

After reading it I was irritated to a whole new level. The only thing they asked for was my name, phone number, and birthday. This is all available on the Internet, easy, easy to find. When you call AT&T you have to have a Social, so why are they not getting more information? I checked the location of the IP address - somewhere in North Carolina. Why didn't they check? So I called back and talked to a supervisor who refunded me the other months charge as well.

They said the refunds could take up to 2 billing cycles - so I am still waiting to see. Once I have the refunds I will then call AT&T and tell them to mark my account as not accepting of outside bills on my account.
So - call your phone company and make sure your account is protected!