We are having a baby!

We found out July 12, 2009, that we are expecting a little one on March 22, 2010!

We are SO excited about it. I've met with some midwives in the area but haven't chosen one yet. More later, I suppose!

Yay for saving things from a landfill!

My grandma is moving soon and destashing some of her craft stuff. So, when I visited recently, she gave me a box of fabric. She had marked how many yards each piece was (will be helpful when deciding on a pattern!) All total, it's about 27 yards of fabric!

I should have taken up close pictures of it. There are some really fun patterns.

She also was getting rid of yarn, so I took a box of that. Some of the labels on the yarn are gone so I'm not sure what it is. And some of the labels are very vintage looking. Who knows how old it is! This will be added to my stash of yarn that doesn't have set projects... Someday!

She also had about 400 grams of wonderful 100% wool yarn that her daughter bought her years ago in New Zealand. She had a project half started but I frogged that so I can make wool diaper covers! The project started will be shorties (if the pattern changing I'm doing works out anyway!)

Such fun new additions to my craft stash!

I made some cloth napkins

I made four cloth napkins the other day out of some fabric I got from Goodwill. So, now we just need to remember to use these napkins instead of paper towels and it's another "green" move!

A little something about myself- I hate buying fabric new... it's so expensive. So, I got about three yards of this fabric along with about ten yards of other random fabrics for less than $6. Granted, you can't choose your patterns or amounts, but it's sure nice for little projects like this!

I also made an apron out of this material but was never able to get a good picture of it. And I made a shirt for a friend's little girl. I was doing some minor alterations to a shirt I'd made for myself when she was over and she asked if I could make her one. It was very simple to make. Just a rectangle of fabric hemmed and sewn into a tube. Then I put a piece of elastic around the top and put in sleeves.

It was difficult to get a good picture of her in it because she likes to run and hide from the camera. She really liked it and wanted to wear it right away. She also insisted to her mom that she be able to wear to church the next day.

Okay, so there's your second crafty post I promised!

Some felt food

It's pasta! I bought a pile of felt from a garage sale and wanted to experiment with some felt food. So, I had seen some farfalle pasta on another site and decided to try it. It's super easy as long as you have pinking shears. Then I made some meatballs (which are not perfectly round- but then what meatballs are?) and cut out some red pasta sauce.

I think it's pretty cute. I have tons more of the felt. I need more inspiration! Also, more time. But then, don't we all?

More crafting posts to come soon!

More reusing!

So, I posted about how I make lemonade for my husband from jugs of it I get at Costco. But, all those jugs are collecting in my cupboard, so I've tried to find ways to reuse them.

So, I cut the top of one and used it to sprout some pepper plants. It was almost impossible to poke holes in the bottom for drainage though so it wouldn't work for a real planter.

Also, I switched to an eco friendly dishwasher soap. The only problem is that the soap tended to solidify. So, after crumbling it back apart I poured it into an old lemon juice container. This keeps the moisture out and makes it much easier to pour.

So, now I just need to find more uses for the rest of them! Suggestions are welcome! :)

The best carrot muffins ever!

Carrot Muffins

2 apples, peeled and grated
2-3 peeled and grated carrots (about two cups)
2 cups flour
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 cup toasted wheat germ
1/8 cup ground flax seed
3 large eggs
¾ cup oil (You can replace some of this with applesauce but the muffins won't be as tender)
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place rack in center of oven.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, along with the carrot and apple. Stir until ingredients are just moistened. Do not over mix. Divide batter into greased or papered muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack. After 10 minutes, remove from muffin tins. Cool completely before frosting.

More reusable bags

The other day, I ran to the grocery store with my resuable bag stuffed in my purses. I needed a few things for dinner- all of them from the produce department. So, I grabbed some green onions, cabbage, sweet onions and bell peppers. But, what was I going to put them in? I had no choice, just the plastic produce bags were there. I didn't put the onions in the plastic, but felt like the cabbage should go in one since it was so tender and I didn't want any dirt from the cart or bag getting on it. So, I ended up taking about three plastic bags home from the store, even though I had my reusable ones!


I had seen some reusable produce bags made out of mesh material with a drawstring online. I knew I could easily make them myself but I would just need to get material. But I would have to buy new material. I would rather reuse than buy new, so I slept on it. And, seriously, as weird as it sounds, in the middle of the night, I thought of some old mesh material that I had.


Two years ago, just before my wedding, I was shopping for veils. And I could not bring myself to pay hundreds of dollars for a piece of netting and a barrette. So, I made my own. I bought a yard of tulle and sewed it onto a barrette I already had. It was perfect and no one could tell I had only spent $2 on it!


Well, that veil has been hanging in my closet with my wedding dress. So, I fished it out, ripped out the stitches holding it onto the barrette (this also means I get that old barrette back) and cut it up!

Here are the finished projects. I used up some neon green thread I bought for a different project and some leftover bright orange cotton yarn from another project. The neon colors really catch the eye, don't they? I think that yard or so of material gave me four large bags and three skinnier, taller ones (the one the celery is in.)