Project Studio : The Beginning

I have been working a lot lately on a studio that would, for now, be living quarters for you soon to be 18 yr old (since she can't move far away-I still need a babysitter for my night shifts). Once she is ready to move on...my crafting studio/canning kitchen/storage area. I have found that with permits and such, two 12ftx10ft sheds put together will do the trick. This is an example of one of the sheds.

Now, picture two of these, off set by five feet, set together. The first shed will be the living room area, with high ceilings and a sliding glass door where the barn door is. A window at the "X" on top and one more on the side. The back shed will be the kitchen, bath, dining area. This shed will have a loft to be the bedroom.
So far, I have had great fun in planning, changing and finally liking a layout so much, I ordered the sheds.
Why use sheds? I looked into small mobile homes- and found a price tag that was outragious! Sheds make this little space within anyones budget.
I plan to chronicle my journey here.
I had an area of my yard that wasn't doing much, but had great potential.

This side yard has a lot of shade and was used as my dog run. I had to move my clothes line :( Pardon the mess on the right, I had to clear out most of the stuff in the yard.
Next up, dig the foundation.

Today, concrete foundations were poured in prep for concrete blocks. It was a tradition with my contractor dad, the youngest kid got to put his/her handprint in every job. William got this task. I also was able to put a memorial for my dad. I live in the last house he built, it seemed appropriate I do something for him for the first 'house' I built.

Now, I get to rest and let cement dry. On to cleaning and crafting and such. I will keep posting updates as well as ending cost vs. budget. I am amazed at what a mom and her kids can do.
Happy Construction!

Quick Crochet iPod/iPhone Case

I learned how to crochet during my recent recovery from surgery. How? Youtube! I found lots of great information and how to do a bunch of stitches. A great find..Art of Crochet by Teresa. She does everything!!  So, I was inspired and made this simple, yet effective iPod case. I use mine at work all the time and a few times I have banged it while moving a patient in bed. My biggest fear is finding a crack in the screen. Both my daughter and her boyfriend have large cracks, but the little wonders are still functional.
What I did:   Chained out a good length of yarn, enough to make the width of my iPod with some room on either side. Next, I alternated single crochets and double crochets. This took me two nights watching movies with my kids. When it was long enough to fold over my devise like an envelope, I tied it off and yarn stitched the sides. It needed a little bling, as all things do, so I added the gem. It didn't have any holes, so the glue gun helped out.

Now, I feel a little safer with my iPod in my pocket at work. It also helps to find it in the bottom of my purse too.



Happy crocheting and sleep tight little iPod

Lollipop Valentines that won't break your Budget

This year marks my youngest son's kindergarten Valentine's Day. I wanted to do something sweet that he could put together. I got this idea from Martha Stewart's Holiday Book. Lollipop roses! The best part, total cost....$7. At our local dollar store, I found fabric rose petals in red and pink, mini lollipops (two bags were needed for a class of 24), red sparkly tissue paper, and Valentines pencils (again, two packs). I had leftover green ribbon from clearance Christmas.

First, I set aside three red petals with small slits cut in the pointy portions. Next, I cut small slits in the tops of the pink petals to create depth, again with small slits in the base. I roughly cut the tissue paper into 3x3" squares with slits in the center. The ribbon cut into 4" strips and I printed 'address labels' as name cards.
William assembled about five of these before it got boring, but he boasts that he made them all. We took the lollipop, added three pinks, then three red petals. Then added the tissue paper. I trimmed the edges to create a circle pattern and affixed it with clear tape. We taped them to pencils (not pictured above). I attached the name card to the ribbon and tied it to the lollipop.

Happy Valentine's Day

Washable Swiffer Covers

As you can see, I have a Swiffer. I also have three dogs. Which translated to a lot of wet cloth replacements. My tile floor is beautiful, yet the cleaning agent on the wet towels leave odd streaks all over my floor. Plus, my entire house is tile, so I could easily go through one box on a 'quick' clean up. So I decided to find a greener (and cheaper) solution.
You need:
1 old towel, cut into strips 10.5"x4.5"
Scrap fabric, cut into strips 10.5"x2.5" cut 2
Scrap fabric, cut into 10.5"x9", cut 1
Swiffer mop, or other type of sweeper mop

1.) Using a disposable mop refill as a guide, or the photo above. Assemble the small strips on either side of the towel. With right sides together, sew along the long edges. Your sewing machine needle should be sturdy enough to handle the thickness of the towel.

2.) I used a small seam allowance. Unfold and place the large fabric with right sides together. Sew along three sides, leaving one side open for turning out.

3.) Once right side out, push out your corners for a nice square. Tuck and sew open edge.

 Your finished project should be the same size as the dry mop refill. I made 8 of these, because I feel like I am always cleaning my floors, and my towel was that big. Put on you Swiffer just as you would the regular refills. Cleaning up small spills, oops' from little kids and little dogs, etc. is simple. When your done, just throw it in the wash.

My dogs loved it. I thought it was awsome, cleaned up wet spills easy, for multipurpose, spray floor with homemade cleaning solution and it was a snap.
Happy Sewing and Cleaning

Watering Bracelets

     This is one of my watering bracelets. The idea behind this came from my mother. She needed a reminder that she had the water running in her horse barn. So water wouldn't overflow and make a huge mud mess, her tacky bracelet would remind her that water was running somewhere.
         I use these bracelets on every faucet on my property. The one shown is for the orchard. I have one for the side yard, pond, chicken/duck/livestock area, pool and garden. The idea: you have to put on the bracelet when water is turned on, the replace it on the faucet when you turn off the water. So if you find yourself taking off this bracelet when your going to bed....you have a very large puddle somewhere.
     Although my ducks love me when their pond overflows, I don't love to see the pool gushing out the filter hole. This is a great project for kids. Just use fishing string and a whole assortment of beads. The ugly, blingy, the oh-my-gosh-I-would-never-wear-that beads work great for this.

And yes, even though I have a water timer on the garden water, every once in a while it gets over a hundred here in the summer (almost every day in July, August, & September) and the cukes and zukes need a little something to wet their whistle. Notice, my Rhode Island Red eyeing the bling. After the picture, I had to move it higher than my turkey could jump. Guess it looked a little to good to just sit there.

Happy Watering, you lucky farm

Task Calender

This time of year, I get sent a variety of calenders free in the mail or at local shops. Since I am a die hard Harry Potter fan, I choose to purchase the new year's calender. But, what do I do with all the freebies???   Make a task calender.
Rather than put daily items on this calender, put weekly tasks that happen every month. This is a reminder more than anything. I write a task for a one week every month, and since my work schedule is different every week, it gives me a week to complete the task without the guilt.

Some examples I have on mine:
Clean the floors (this includes mopping my entire tile floor house)
Flea treatments for the dogs (even if the flea aren't present, it makes me check)
Car treatments (wash, check fluids and wipers, tire pressure, etc)
Yard work (there is always something I can do)
Chicken coop (refresh bedding, poop scoop, despur roosters, check general health of my flock)
Garden duty (prep garden beds, plan for season, weed walkways, check irrigation in off season)
Garage duty (because it always seems like a half way house for various items)
Smoke detector checks (every month)
Air filter for the house air conditioning (this happens twice a year, but it's on there)
Ceiling fan cleaning (this happens in November....when all the fans stop moving)
Propane tank check (Spring, getting ready for summer BBQs)
Sprinkler tests (late winter/early spring in anticipation for 100+ degree weather)

The best thing about this system is every month you can see what needs to be done, add unexpected tasks, and get a general idea of the "master to do list". If you have made this year's resolution to be more organized, what a great way to start. I post this calender next to the front door where each family member has a cubby. We can all see it, and we can all choose a task from it. Now if only my kids chose the chicken coop duty more often.....

Happy Planning

Bunuelos

I can remember when I was a kid, my mom used to make little mexican doughnuts on weekend mornings. They were cut from a round cookie cutter and we used a thimble to poke out the center hole. My favorite was the 'holes'.
Although labor intensive, they make for a great weekend treat.

The following recipe comes from a Sunset Mexican Cookbook (1977). This recipe did not appear in later versions of this book. I had to do some serious hunting in thrift stores for my copy.

Bunuelos (fried sweet puffs)

4 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour, unsifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Oil for frying (350 degrees)
Cinnamon and sugar for the coating (mix together) 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together eggs and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix with electric mixer (the batter gets thick). Mix dry ingredients and stir in into egg batter. Turn batter onto floured surface and knead until batter is smooth and no longer sticky (it is very stick to start with). Cut into fourths and roll to 1/4" thick. Use cookie cutters to create, but remember that the dough expands, the above picture is of snowflakes...now they are seastars. Once cut, fry in oil, turning once. They cook fast! Set onto towel to drain excess oil. Coat each bunuelo with cinnamon sugar mix and serve.
If sugar mix is put in a ziploc, toss in a few and give to kids to shake.

Enjoy!