Monday, Monday... so good to me

I love simple things. Mending. Gardening (indoor for today). Repairing random things. Watering my plants. Folding Clothes. Baking. Talking and laughing together. Helping my girls sew Barbie dresses. Building Legos with Beck. Listening to good music: Beatles, Mamas and the Papas, Elton John, Eagles, Van Morrison, CCR, Simon and Garfunkel. Making milkshakes with Gabe. Even vacuuming.

I've been able to do all of these things today and I feel so good inside. 

I love having a day off from all of the driving to and from schools. I needed to refuel.

What's wrong with me? It must be the music. :)

Every time I listen to the Beatles, I think of my niece, Jacey, who also loves them!

She has good taste.

It's cold outside. Freezing. The inversion is terrible. Another red air day. 

So hard for my Kaia with her asthma. Really, though, it's too cold for any of us to even want to play outside!

The kids are out of school today for Martin Luther King, Jr. day. 

I sat them down a couple days ago and read: 

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I asked them who said it and why it's important. We had a good chat. They all knew immediately who said this quote and I felt thankful for the schools they attend. Kaia said, "Why do people care what color someone's skin is?" Good question, sweetie. During Christmas break, we watched "Remember the Titans" with all of the kids and it was interesting to see their reaction to it and learn that some people really do judge people by the color of their skin. Even today. I don't understand it either.

On Saturday, we were able to go to the Cabinet people and pick out all of the cabinets and countertops for our new house. It was SO absolutely FUN. Wow. Zeke and I really have similar tastes and that makes things easier, I'm sure. The lady that helped us said we were the fastest client she's ever worked with. 1-1/2 hours and we were done. Half of that was messing around and chatting. We knew what we wanted, at least, for the kitchen. Then, we had some fun back-ups that kept popping out at us and we thought they just "had to go somewhere", so we decided to use them in the bathrooms and laundry room. Why not? 

I love COLOR. 

Here they are, from top to bottom:

Cosmic Strandz (for the half bath)

Tangerine (for the laundry room)

Venetian Ivory (for our bathroom)

Aqua Fizz (for the main bathroom)

Deepstar Flint (for the kitchen)

The cabinets in the kitchen are white and the island is black. 

The laundry and bathroom cabinets are black.

I've finally allowed myself to get a little excited. It just seemed so far off. They've been building since October 15th (just over 3 months) and now it's finally coming together. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I start thinking about it and I get so excited I get butterflies in my stomach and I can't go back to sleep, like Christmas when I was little. We are SO blessed. 

P. S. I survived my talk yesterday. Ahhh.

"Garden Flowers" Appliques

 I did it! The flower appliques are on.
I used Wonder Under to fuse the appliques to the quilt.
I'm also going to stitch around the edge of each flower and center.

 The flowers really add to the overall look of the quilt.
Again, I LOVE the colors! 

Now, for the trim. :)

If you're just tuning in, I'm making this quilt for my dear friend, Tawnya.
She is an amazing writer. Her blog is: Drawn to the Flame. You should go check it out!

January Project: Garden Flowers Quilt

Alright. As part of my "Balance, Exactness, Focus" Mantra for 2013, I'm going to finish up some projects I started last year. I want to finish what I start and I want my mind to be less cluttered (as well as my fabric bins!)

In addition to at least half a dozen other smaller things, I have three quilts I've been working on. Yes, THREE!! A "garden flowers" quilt for my friend, Tawnya, a pinwheel quilt for "someone" (it's a surprise!), and a T-shirt quilt for Gabe.

Here's a sneak peek of the "Garden Flowers" quilt.
I LOVE the colors!!  

(By the way, my phone doesn't have a flash on it... so not the best picture.) 

This is such a fun quilt. I offered to help my friend, Tawnya, make it... oh, I think it was LAST February! Yeah, I have a problem not finishing stuff. I'm sure Tawnya is regretting the day she handed it over to me. Sorry!!! However, in my defense: we moved 6 months ago, I'm currently without a sewing table/space to sew, and I'm actually more than halfway finished.

Anyway, I've made a lot of progress in the last week! I'm kicking myself for not finishing it before we moved, but at first I was a bit intimidated by it. I'm not the most experienced quilter, really. I think I told you that, right? It's been a really good experience for me, though, and so far, I think it's looking great! There was a great little spiritual analogy that came to me while making this quilt. I need to put it down into words so I can share it with you, but today I'm trying my best to focus on the quilt.

I've made a goal to finish it by January 26th! :) 

Balance, Exactness, Focus

Ganache!

Lots of random thoughts this week....

All of us came down with some sort of cold/flu thing on Sunday. Well, Zeke and Zoe got it earlier than that. The point is, I haven't been feeling very well. Achy, run-down, feverish... just really yucky.

Anyway, not sure if I told you in another post, but our family is basically addicted to watching "Cake Boss" on Netflix. Beck and Kaia pretend they're on the show. They make cakes out of pillows and blankets and yell things like, "Now I'm gonna dirty ice this with some buttercream!" and "Now we covered the cake in red fonDAHNT (you have to hear Buddy say it)."

They're actually really creative. Beck made a "cake" from our leather ottoman, two fleece blankets, hot wheels cars, and his iron man Halloween mask. "That's how we make cake LOGAN style, baby! GANACHE!!!"

Yes, we're hooked. And like any reality series, I'm just as hooked on all the lives of the people on the show. Yesterday, Gabe and Kaia stayed home from school. We all felt horrible. We sat on the couch all day watching Netflix while Beck ran around making "cakes" from anything he could find and every few minutes asking us, "Who wants to eat some cake, baby?"

Needless to say, we watched quite a bit of "Cake Boss". We watched the episode from Season 4? where Buddy's wife, Lisa, gives birth the their 4th child, Carlo Salvatore Valastro. For reasons I don't even fully understand, I cried like a baby the entire time. Not sure what Gabe thought of that... there is just something absolutely miraculous and beautiful about the birth of a baby. Buddy says it's just as amazing the fourth time around. I agree whole-heartedly. It was a beautiful, although a bit ultra-personal, moment for the Valastro family. I felt like an intruder in a way, but I felt so happy for them. I've watched the show so much lately, I feel like I know them.

Speaking of watching the show so much, my kids have been BEGGING me to make cake. They've been pleading with me to make fonDANT. So, on Monday, we gave it a try.... now please, this was my first attempt. I wasn't feeling well and this was after dinner...

Okay, we'll call it a caterpillar, I guess. I wanted to do a cake, but well, since we moved, I can't find the box with my cake pans, so we did cupcakes. I found some red hots and slivered almonds in the cupboard... yeah, I didn't really have a plan. This caterpillar doesn't look like much, but it was a LOT or work, dirty iced, and covered in a layer of pink fonDANT. Why do I feel so cool saying that?

All of the kids helped me (well, Gabe, helped EAT it). It was fun and now I'm really excited to try more things. Zeke's 40th birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I have a really cool cake in my head... oh, if only Carlo's Bakery was ready to ship cakes to Utah!!! I'll have do it Logan style, baby!

"Crafting" and Paisley Cinnamon

According to my new BLOG SCHEDULE, today is:

"Thursday Threads and Things".  

I really love sewing and crafts and making all sorts of stuff...

but I wasn't really sure what I would post for you today.
I'm actually working on two projects right now (yeah, I'm like that),
but they are going to be gifts and I don't want to ruin the surprise!

As far as "crafting" goes, this is what I came up with:

I've been meticulously and mercifully molding measured smiles from this:

 Carefully coercing and creating compromises with this one who thinks she should start wearing make-up:

 Artfully administering admonition, advice, and affection when this one always seems to have a "misunderstanding" with one of her siblings and her "feelers" are hurt: 

Deviously designing devices and other delightful doings to hold this one's attention in order to keep him from destroying my entire house: 

(Thanks for the giant puppy, Grandma Patty!)

So I HAVE been busy "crafting": 

molding, creating, artfully administering, and designing CHILDREN.

It's a BIG project, but I know it will be worth it. 

Although I'm not very good at it most days...I'm learning a lot as I go.

And some days I would MUCH rather be sewing, crocheting, painting a wall, making a wreath or ANYTHING other than trying to be a good parent. 

It's hard work!

Okay, I'll stop holding out on you. Really. 

Here is a good friend of mine, Sharon, who KNOWS HOW TO CRAFT -- when it comes to raising children AND the real kind of crafting that I merely attempt to... well, attempt.

Her blog is called:

Paisley Cinnamon

I am absolutely amazed at the stuff she comes up with.  She is SO creative. 

You should see her house!

She's one of those people that really has an eye for color and design and 

she's not afraid to try things. 

She gets an idea and then makes it happen.

Go explore her blogs and get inspired!

She's also starting an Etsy shop -- there's a link on her blog.

I definitely have LOTS of ideas from her blogs and I hope to come up with a creation of my own for next Thursday. Happy Crafting!

Dying to tie-dye

My kids have been BEGGING me to make tie-dye some T-shirts for FOREVER. Last Saturday was the first Saturday we've been home in FOREVER. This was it! I got a kit from Wal-Mart ($20):

It was really fun and easy. We also got most of our shirts at the D.I. (thrift store) for $1 each. Yeah! After getting all the shirts damp (I just ran them through a rinse/spin cycle in the washer), we got to wrap them all up and "tie" them with elastic bands according to the pattern we wanted. The kit came with some great ideas and instructions.

I would recommend doing the dyeing part OUTSIDE!

Ziploc baggies came in handy to store the shirts once they had been dyed so they wouldn't bleed onto anything else.

After letting them sit for 8 hours, I washed them according to the directions in the kit. Next time, I think I will let them sit longer for even brighter colors. They faded quite a bit. We wanted to get them done so Gabe could take some to Scout camp. Here we are:

Do we look tired? We are, we stayed up past midnight on Saturday rinsing them all out and getting them in the washer...

As soon as we got home from church on Sunday, we all put on one of our shirts. I decided Caspian needed one too.

Poor cat, he was in the right place at the wrong time...

Pillow Talk

Okay, so I've been making a few pillows...

My friend Jessica sent me this link for a really cute pillow. I had some leftover curtain fabric and an old red pillow that just needed something to dress it up a bit. So, here's my version:

I cut the curtain fabric into LOTS of 2" strips with my rotary cutter. When I got to the end of a strip, I would just stitch the end of another one to it and keep going:

In the beginning, I used an embroidery hoop to hold the pillow in place to make it easier. I think this pillow would be easier to make on a piece of fabric first and then, make THAT into a pillow. I was starting with an already made pillow and it got a little tricky with the back of the pillow always getting in the way.
Does that make sense?

This pillow took a long time to make, but it was really fun and I just worked on it here and there when Zeke and I were watching a movie or something. I would like to try and make another one. FYI, depending on where your pillow is going to be and how much it's going to be used, you'd better stitch those strips down tight! My pillow is in my living room where we watch TV and I've had a few strips come un-stitched already. If it was on my bed it might hold up better/less wear/throwing/squishing/etc.
Here's a close-up of the finished pillow:

I found these ideas at Jo-Ann.com. I really like them, but I didn't actually follow these patterns at all, they just inspired me and this is what I came up with.

I took an old placemat I was no longer using and sewed a square of muslin on the back and stuffed it to make the pillow. This one is for our bed:

I found some fabric scraps I liked and used a spool of thread for my circle shape and cut several circles (probably 7-10 per flower).

Can you see the circle I traced?

I folded each circle in half twice, so it was a wedge shape and I just tacked down the wedges really close together and kinda separated the "petals" and fluffed them up in places until I liked how it looked. I really like how it turned out.

And this idea came from my friend Julie's blog. I LOVE this idea of using an image from old shirt and saving it on a pillow. The image on my pillow comes from one of my very favorite college shirts. It's all stretched out and worn now, but I've kept it all this time because I just LOVE the picture on it. Now, I found a good use for it! This one is also for our bed.

Beck is showing you how BIG the pillow is:

The kids have each picked out an old shirt they want me to put on a pillow for them too. Again, this year, I am trying to do craft and sewing projects mainly using up the stuff I already have. It's been so fun and rewarding to go through my fabric boxes and do something with it.

And here's our bed: (My Dad said we have too many pillow on there -- that was about FOUR pillows ago! I think I need at least two or three more.)

Flirting with disaster...

I had a great weekend for the most part. As the days and years go by, I feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. My husband is absolutely second to none and he is the best thing about me. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with my sister-in-law, Dani, and her family. :)

The graduation and party were nice and well, I'm kinda glad it's all over...
I'll post about the graduation later. I've got LOTS of pictures and lots of stuff to do today. I want to do this quick post first.

Do you remember the dress I wanted to "remodel"? I bought it when we lived in Colorado Springs about 10 years ago. It's pretty, but it's really long and well, kinda boring and out of style now... I figured I don't wear it much anymore, so if I mess it up it's no big deal.

I wanted something really feminine and twirly and kinda fancy and fun. I cut about 18 inches off the bottom and used some of that to make a ruffle on the "new" bottom. I really like this shirt I got for Kaia and I used it as a pattern to make ruffles/fringe across the front of my dress. I used the leftover fabric from the bottom and some purple toille fabric. Here, the ruffles are pinned in place. I basted them before I attached them, so they were a bit gathered and ruffly, it was really easy:

I found some gorgeous ribbon flower trim for the collar and bottom. I also took the lining out of the sleeves to make it lighter and more "springy".
I spent about $9 total!! Yeah!

I LOVE how the bottom turned out!

Close up of the collar:

The finished product!

I wore it with pearls and my brown heels. I think it turned out pretty good. This picture isn't the greatest... Zoe took it for me right before church, really, it was 8:56am. Thanks, Zoe, your Mom isn't the most photogenic.

It's finished!

I've been working on an I-Spy Quilt since February. It's going to be a surprise for a really good friend of mine. I can't wait to give it to her! It is NOT professional by any means, but I think it turned out really cute. I especially like the yellow corners, stitching and ties; I think it goes well with the denim. The only thing I bought for this quilt was the binding. I already had everything else at home. My goal this year is to use up all of the fabric I already have before I buy any more. (There! I put it in writing!)

Zoe and Gabe, my cute and crazy quilt holders.
Gabe was so amazed to see it all come together.
I really enjoyed having the kids watch me and help me as I worked on it.

Close up of one cornerI tried to get it all in one shot...

It's so satisfying to create something. Writing this post made me think of the talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: "Happiness, Your Heritage" . Here's just a part of this great talk:

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.

Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.

You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”

If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.

If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.

You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.

What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.

If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.

The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you."

I really love this talk and I love Pres. Uchtdorf. Now I've started making pillows (LOTS of pillows!) for my bedroom and living room...

Yay for cameras, chairs, and radish earrings. Boo for me!

I'm so happy, I got a new camera today, just an inexpensive Sony Cybershot, but a new digital camera nonetheless. Woo hoo! I found out it would be way more than the price of my previous camera to have it fixed, so here we go again. FYI: Cameras do NOT bounce! That cute little strap isn't just for looks, it's like a Wii strap -- it's there for a reason! Put it on your wrist so when your hands let go of the camera while you're holding everything else, it doesn't hit the floor. I dropped our first camera last June. Beck dropped our second camera last week. Our new camera is bright orange! So it must be awesome, right? I wish I could take a picture of it. Let's hope it stays "un-dropped" for awhile.

(drum roll....)
The first picture with the new camera, ironically it's us:
The Camera Destroyers... I'm pretty sure this new camera feels threatened already. At our house, it should.

Our new chairs ($30 each... oh yeah!) We really like red and black (obviously). They're kind of funky; they remind me of licorice or checkers. We decided to put them together all mixed up just because we can. Ha! I love that Zeke and I like the same stuff. We assembled them while watching "You've Got Mail". I have to say that is one of my all-time favorite movies. "I can't help myself!" For years I've been wanting to find that dessert picture Meg Ryan has on the wall in her kitchen. It would look great with my new chairs. (If that isn't a hint for a Christmas present, then I don't know what is.)

I haven't been feeling well... unfortunately, this is a recurring theme with me. I went to the doctor this morning. I am full of infection: sinus, ears, urinary tract... just the usual stuff for me. But I'm sick of being sick. The doctor also said I'm dehydrated... that's hard to believe because I drink water like crazy, but it would partly explain why I've been so tired. And oh yeah, I'm anemic (no, really?!). I think I've always been anemic. I can honestly say for at least 20 hours of every day, I'm thinking of a big juicy steak. Aren't you? Maybe I'm a vampire...

I went to the store and got the kids some gummy vitamins to help me feel like I'm fighting back the impending cold/flu season. "Wall-e" for the boys and "Tinkerbell" for the girls ;) I took some Tinkerbell ones for myself. Maybe my tummy can handle the kiddie vitamins. Sheesh!

Anyway, my doctor wants me to see a urologist tomorrow for the recurring UTI's. (I'm joining a club, by the way, with my friend, Stephanie) I think I would rather have E-coli than a UTI (I am NOT kidding!) I'm such a chicken baby. I don't want to go to the urologist :( that does NOT sound like fun in any sense of the word. What have I done to deserve this cruel and unusual punishment? Okay, don't answer that. I won't! I wish magic was real. I could wave my wand and say "Body Reparo" and Ta-da!

Maybe I should wear my Halloween costume to the appointment? At least the doctor would be more interested in my radish earrings...

Can you guess what my costume is going to be?
If you can, you must be cool (like me).

I have a hard time not feeling discouraged by always being sick. I was going really good for almost a year or so... but I have to remember there is "opposition in all things". Maybe Heavenly Father was just keeping me healthy until we had money to pay for all my doctor visits and medicine. Go figure. Okay, I'm going to give myself a big dose of ice cream tonight. Doctor's orders!

Best Playdough Recipe Ever!

So here's the recipe I was talking about earlier today:

I got it from my friend, Barbara (Thanks)
By the way, 12th ward girls, it's in our new cookbook.

Super Fantastic, Never-Fail, Practically Perfect Play Dough

1 cup flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt (yes, really)
2 tsp vegetable oil
food coloring

Combine flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large saucepan. Mix oil, water, and food coloring together and add to dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Stir constantly over medium heat using a wooden spoon. (I actually like to use a big metal one.) When the dough begins to stick together enough to form a ball, remove from heat, but continue stirring. Place dough on a hard surface and knead as it cools. (Be careful, it will be very hot.) Store in an airtight container. The salt preserves it for a long time.... we've had it dry out before it goes yucky (over 3 months!)

*I've doubled and even quadrupled this recipe and it worked out great...

If you have any questions or problems let me know :) I hope your kids have fun... I still like playing with it too.