A new shirt

I have recently entered the world of Pinterest.  I think it's pretty neat.  And I am proud to say it hasn't occupied my time as much as I was afraid it would.  It's a nice way to share ideas and get new ones.  After all of the "pinning"  I finally tried something I found.  I've wanted to try and draw a design on a plain t-shirt with a bleach pen for a long time.  However, it wasn't going to be possible to do this living here since I wasn't going to find a bleach pen anytime soon.  My mom was kind enough to send one to me, and I got right to work.

You need a plain t-shirt, some newspaper, and a bleach pen.  My computer is there in the corner because I needed some decoration inspiration.  I wasn't really sure how it would turn out, so I decided to copy someone else's design first.  I'll try my own next time.

You stick the newspaper inside the shirt so it won't bleed through to the back.  And off you go.

 I got started and was just going to draw with the bleach pen and then thought better of it.  I got out my fabric marking pen and drew it first.  Then I traced over it with the bleach.  Next you let it sit for 30 minutes and then rinse and wash.  

When it's all done, put it on and enjoy your fancy new t-shirt!

After I did this I felt a little bleach pen crazy and that's all I wanted to do.  I started thinking about all the boys old play shirts and how I could spruce them up.  I think I'll save that for another day.

A Tulip Update

Since my last tulip update the weather has finally turned warmer and spring is officially here to stay.  We've been out doing yard work, trying to spruce things up.  I've done some weeding and a little planting.  My tulips are taking off, but no signs of blooms yet.  Maybe in a week or so we'll see some results.  Here's the flower bed in front of the house.

This is above the flower bed on a hill that goes up to the back yard.  If you look really close you can see little patches of purple flowers here and there.  I planted those last spring and I thought they had died.  I was too lazy to take them out.  But look!  There they are coming back to life.  They are going to look so pretty when they are in full bloom with the tulips.

That's it for the front of the house.  I haven't been so diligent with the back yard plants.  I cleaned out some leaves and a couple of lavender plants that didn't make it through the winter.  Will post about that part of the yard another day.

Bread in a Pot

I baked some bread yesterday.  It turned out pretty good.  I found a recipe here.  It's called the no time bread.  It might have taken me less time, but I didn't have all the tools I needed.  For example.  I don't own a Dutch oven.  I had to use a pot and cross my fingers and hope it didn't burn up.  Also, I don't have a mixer.  I did all the mixing by hand, and that took some time.  It got me to thinking about my grandma's mixer and wishing I had it.  She had one that sat in the corner of her kitchen counter and I can still see it sitting there, in it's mixing glory.  But - I have none.  So out came the wooden spoon and my scrawny arms.  I did, however, mix it in her yellow pyrex mixing bowl.  That helped some.  All in all, it was a faster baking bread, but not as fast had I had the mixer.  Either way it turned out nice.  

I talked to my mom on Skype while I was getting it all together and she told me to take a picture when it was done.  Well, I was so excited to try it out that I forgot and didn't realize this until I had it half way sliced.  So I shoved it back together.  I think it even looks good sliced.  That little corner that's missing was my taste test.

All in all, it was a good bread recipe.  My pot didn't burn, I managed to mix without a mixer and it tasted pretty good.  I'd say it was a success!

Not Much

Not much is going on in our house.  Ryan started getting sick last week.  He had a runny nose and a fever.  But it just wouldn't go away.  He seemed to be getting better the day before yesterday.  He ate lunch, played, didn't have a fever.  But then the afternoon came and the fever came back with a vengeance.    Off to the doctor's office we went to find out he has pneumonia.  Not what we wanted to hear AT ALL!  But he's been on antibiotics and he's already starting to feel better.  This is what it's looked like over here most of the time - TV watching or video game playing.  No one feels good enough to do anything else.

I found a little time to sew.  I've been wanting to make something out of this cool green fabric that came in the pile of material I got from David's grandma.  So I made a little make-up bag for myself.  

I think it's pretty cute.  Not sure what I'll do with the rest of the fabric.  I don't have a very big piece left, but I'm sure I'll think of something.