Fabric Pom Pom

I was searching the web, and found Molly Chicken blogs on how to make fabric Pom Pom. I never tryed to make one of these before, but I think it's a great use for scrap fabric. I can't wait to organize my pile of scraps, and see what I come up with. Click here for directions.

Deceptively Delicious!

Wow, deceptively delicious is right! This new cook book by Jessica Seinfeld is right up my alley. Easy recipes that I already feed my kids, but with a mother's secret ingredient added Vegetables!!! I thought my baby food pureeing days were over with. Well I thought wrong!!! I couldn't wait to dust off the food processor. I secretly add puree carrots to my monkeys french toast, and scrambled eggs. I waited for them to react, and guess what? No reaction! They didn't even know I tricked them. It made me feel so good, and so bad at the same time. What's up with that? I wonder. Well since I've purchased this book I started making some of the recipes. I really think it's a great way to add veggies, and fruits into your monkey's diet. Nothing beats the really thing, but the recipes in this book certainly help. Check it out!!!


Pureed carrots inside french toast. Shhh... it's a secret.
Coffee cake with butternut squash puree
Blueberry Lemon Muffins with Yellow Squash
Cigar Tortillas filled with chicken, pureed carrots, pureed yellow squash, and melted cheeses. My kids loved these, and I think this one would be perfect for their school lunch.

Felt Applique Headband

I think these headbands turned out pretty cute! All of Kaya's neighborhood friends love them! I guess I'm on the right track!!!

Homemade Cleaners

Last night I had my friend Stephanie and her hubby Jean come over to the house to help me with a pet urine problem( yuck, I know!) Anyway,Jean used a black light to locate all the problem areas on the carpet. Once that was taken care of we used the blacklight to check out the monkey's bathroom. The blacklight points out all the bacteria on the surfaces. I was shocked!!! I proud myself in keeping our house clean, but I was very surprised how unclean my bathrooms really were especially the walls. That got me thinking about household cleaning products. I want my bathrooms to be clean all the time, but how can I do that and make it safer for my monkeys? Well I found a great website on Homemade Cleaners. It was eye opening how many homemade remedies there are, and I plan on giving them a try. I like the idea these homemade products are less expensive than name brand cleaners, and less toxic for my family. I hope you check out this site, and try some of these great, safe suggestions.

Homemade Towel Hoodies

I originally saw this on the Unnecessary Necessities blog. Amber has such good ideas. I enjoy trying out many of them! I've had this project on the back of my mind for a while, but when I was in Target the other day. Many of there summer items are now on sale, so I pick up beach towels at a great price. I decided to use hand towels for the hood since my monkeys are a little bigger. This was a fun project, and as usual easy!

Supplies: Towel, hand towel, straight pins, sewing machine, thread, and I embellished the hand towel with ribbon.

Fold hand towel in half. Pin hood shape, or you can pin one side along edge. Make sure if you are using a decorative towel like I did. The decorative side is folded inward, so after sewing the towel you can turn the hood outside right. (Hope that not confusing?) Sew hood on machine. I found it difficult to sew just with the machine, so I also hand stitched where needed. At this point, turn hood inside right, and cut off extra fabric. I ironed on stitch witchery to the ribbon then used the sewing machine to secure ribbon. Pin hood to towel(see picture below) then sew. Finally I hand stitched where needed.









Remy was too shy to pose, so cousin Jess stepped in to model.

Another Fabric Silhouette

I've just finished another fabric silhouette for Kaya's room. I think it turn out pretty cute. I can't wait to make more. Here's the link for the direction again...

Fabric Upholstery

I was checking out my neighbor's blog Unnecessary Necessities, and I found this great upholstery project. I've decided to make fabric sitting cushions for all the monkeys' toy boxes. I never thought it would be a easy task, but since I now know I can get the plywood precut to size at Home Depot. I think I can handle this project now. So far, I've started with the easiest one. Check it out!
Click here for directions...

Happy Birthday Grandma Celestine!

Here are the cupcakes I made for my mother's 59th birthday. This was a busy day starting at 6 a.m. when the first arrival of sod came for my mother's lawn. It was an overcast day with rain showers through the day. My mother's only birthday wish was to be surrounded by her grandchildren. I was glad to see my sisters Carla, and Dory came with their boys to celebrate my mother's birthday. It was fun day of shopping, and hanging out. It was nice being all together again, and enjoying the day together. Happy Birthday Mom!

Kaya's portrait by Ryan Singer

A few weeks ago Ryan asked if you could have a photography of Kaya during her hair washing ceremony in Old Oraibi. I emailed a few to him, and this is the one he has choosen. It's starting to take shape. If all continues to go well he may entered this portrait in the Santa Fe Indian Market competition this year.
Original photography

Ryan's portrait

This is the portrait Ryan did of his son Colin (my nephew).

Felt Appliques

I was looking at a blog site called Chi Chi Memories, and she had created these cute felt appliques. I was instantly excited about trying to make some. I'm so happy with how they came out. My imagine was going wild with ideas on how to use them. Hair accessories, t-shirt appliques, bag appliques, baby blanket, garland. The list goes on, and on. I can't wait to check out some felt books at the library. I'm inspired!!!

Supplies: felt, embroidery thread, and needle.

Hair Accessories

I'm feeling a little crafty today, so I decided to check out this site called The Ribbon Retreat. If you've never attempt making hair bows this site gave pretty good examples of how to create different styles of bows. I found this project fun. I liked that it was easy, and I liked coordinating all the different colors, and styles of bows. I looking forward to make many of these for Kaya's upcoming school year.

Supplies: ribbons, needle, thread, hair band, or barrettes, hot glue, decorative gem, and no fray glue.

The Man who Loved Jane Austen

Well this book The Man who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke was a surprise! The title of this book interested me, but I didn't think I would really care for this book. I thought it would be a cheap read, but I found myself unable to put it down. If you love the character Fitzwilliam Darcy, and the mysterious author Jane Austen. You might find yourself hoping for a connection between the two besides a fictional character. What if there where a real Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen life? Well this book creates that possibility. Give it a chance, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Decorative CD-Rom Sleeves

I'm starting to organize the computer armoire. I've decided to get rid of those plastic, unattractive CD-Rom case. They take up too much room, and there ugly. I like the new CD sleeves I've made out of scrapbook paper. Here's what you'll need.

Supplies: scrapbook paper, glue stick, paper cutter, and labels.
Using a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper. I cut paper every 5 inches. Fold paper at 5 inches, and turn remaining lip inward to make a seal. Then I just used a glue stick for the sides, and added a label for the front of the sleeve. What I like best is my stack of discs are now condensed, and pretty to look at. Easy project.

Hand Cut Felt Mural

I love this idea of making a felt mural. I think I'll give this a try next week.
Check it out!