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.

Spring Is In The Air

We had very cold temperatures the last couple of weeks.  But for the last couple of days the sun has decided to come out and the temperatures have risen.  The snow is almost all gone.  Yesterday after church the boys played out on the street and rode their bikes and scooters and I enjoyed the sunshine.  It was a short lived enjoyment.  It wasn't that warm.  After all it is still February.  On our way inside I stopped off to look at my barren flower bed and dream about warmer temperatures, pretty spring and summer blooms, shorts and t-shirts with flip flops, sunglasses...when I spotted these!

Praise be!  My tulips are coming out of the ground.  What a miracle.  I did a little happy dance right there on the spot.  Now, I realize it could very well snow right over top of those beautiful green buds next week.  But I know they are there and that means spring is in the air!

On another note.  My dear and lovely boys are TV addicts.  It drives me crazy.  I know some of this is my own fault.  It is so much easier to make dinner or get a break if we just click on the TV.  The other day they were fighting about what to watch.  Ryan was yelling out his favorite channel while Adrian was refusing to cooperate.  Next thing I know there was hitting and screaming.  I marched over and turned it off, simple as that.  This, of course, created more protests about the stupid thing being off and whining about having it back on.  I told them they had plenty of toys to play with and that was their only option.  They played for about 5 minutes and then the questions started coming at me about turning the TV back on.  I got so sick of saying no, that I made this and covered it up.  Now when the cover is on they know it's play time and not to even ask.  

Before - with one of our favorite characters.

After

So far it has helped a little bit.  When ever the TV has the cover on the kids know it means playtime and not to ask.  Plus it keeps off the dust!  Two birds with one stone.  

Heart Garland

Valentine's day is coming up.  We really don't do anything on February 14th.  Some years I've forgotten all about it.  It's not as commercialized here as it is at home.  Sometimes I miss it, and other days I don't.  But I couldn't pass up trying to make this and hang it in our home for a little extra something.

It's a heart garland.  Pretty cool, right?  I thought Adrian would like to help me, turns out he wasn't interested.  Also, he's sick today and laying on the couch.  Poor guy.

Back to the topic at hand.  Below is a short tutorial so you can make your own.

Here's what you'll need.  

If you don't have a paper cutter, you could use a ruler and a pair of scissors.

Cut your paper into strips.  Mine were about 1 inch wide, but you can make them any size you want.  Next, cut your long strips in half.  I folded mine and then used the scissors to do this.

Now, the fun begins!  

Take two strips of paper and staple them together at one end.

Curve it down to form the heart shape.

Staple your next two strips into place at the bottom of your first heart.

 And then keep going...

 and going...

 until you have the length of garland you want.

Hang 'em up for all the house to enjoy!

 I couldn't resist making another with the left overs.

I hope you enjoy your heart garland as much as I do.

Winter

We had a piddly amount of snow fall last night.  But it was enough for the boys to pull on all the snow gear and head out.  I was perfectly happy to watch after them from behind the window.  Winter has finally arrived with temperatures dropping into the low 20's (-5C).  You'd think we'd have more snow with it being so cold.

We finally got them all bundled up and off they went.  

Let's make a snow angel!

That's as many pictures as I could stand from the door without a jacket.  I've had a cold and wasn't feeling all that grand.  I watched the boys from our living room, and made lunch while they played in the back yard.  They had a pretty great time.  I'll wash all the snow clothes and they'll be ready for another day - probably tomorrow.