My little pirates

My two littlest dressed up as pirates for storytime today. They needed matching costumes for their stuffed animals. That was a little difficult to figure out since Max's animal is a snake. But we did end up with some cute ensembles. For halloween they are going to be Buzz and Woody because Daddy said so.

Mom's birthday present

My wonderful mother is celebrated her birthday yesterday.  I made her a couple pretty quick simple things, but I think they turned out super cute.  First was this little drying towel mat.

Next I made this cute Burlap bag from an old potato sack and some fabric I got for a few cents.

Maddy's Pumpkin

Maddy had to make a pumpkin out of something other than a pumpkin for school this week. I wasn't feeling overly creative, and we were short on time after a busy weekend so this is what we came up with. I think it turned out really cute. We did use a real stem. In case you think I did all the work let me assure you that she really did help. She sewed the circle on the bottom of the fabric and we filled it with plastic pellets. She also started sewing the yarn to gather the top, but I had to finish that part as she was too tired.

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Max's Tool Belt

I made Max this cute little tool belt. It's just leftover canvas from the chair bags. He loves being able to carry around his tools and fix everything for me.

We're getting ready for winter

We have a wood burning boiler to heat our home for the winter so we've been spending our free time cutting and stacking firewood. Even though the kids are young we're trying to instill a good work ethic in them. They help stack the wood for a little bit and then they play hide-and-seek the rest of the time. We all enjoy this time especially because we've had perfect weather for it. We've also hiked up to Butler Rock recently. It has been a beautiful fall!

We finished off our night last night with what will probably be the last campfire of the year. My parents raised a baby raccoon this summer and he is bow full grown and fat, but very friendly. The kids enjoyed seeing him again. Now that he's on his nocturnal schedule we haven't seen him in a few weeks. The kids all laughed at how chubby he's gotten.

So that is what we've been busy doing. Like I said yesterday I've also been working on a few projects and will get some posts up about those this week. Sorry for my lack of craftiness lately!

Just Checking in

I just wanted to say I am alive and well! I have been crafting and will have some new posts this week. I'm working on a few "orders" now, but I made my little tool man a tool belt this week and I'm working on some new pillows for the couch. I'll get some pictures and post more about that this week. Now I'm off to a campfire with my adorable little son who is begging me to come outside with him! More coming soon, I promise!

Living without the internet

We decided to shut the internet off at home. There were 2 reasons for this, 1. Cost-the local company offers new customers drastic discounts, but was charging us a TON! I called their customer service and they weren't willing to lower it for us. 2. Time- the last two days I have accomplished so much. It's amazing how when it's so convenient we waste so much time using it. That said here's what I've been up too.
I finished the chair bags! Yay!
I was able to finish 2 more wallets. One for my mom, and one for my friend Gretchen's mom. Gretchen's mom sent me 2 yards of this adorable Dr. Seuss fabric along with a sweet card about Boomer. I LOVE Dr. Seuss and Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3, etc! That said here's the wallet. I forgot to get a picture of moms, but I put 2 straps on that one so it would remind her of the cute suspenders Annie wore for pictures.

I'll be on here a few times a week so please don't quit checking in!

Reuseable snack bags

I finally got around to making some of these little snack bags for the kids. I think they turned out super cute. On Max's turtle bag I used a PVL fabric for the liner. It was really giving me trouble. I'm thinking something must be wrong with it because on Annie's I used a different PVL and it sewed perfectly. For Maddy's bag I tried something different. I used a coffee bean bag for the lining. I'm not sure how it will hold up, and I'm a little sceptical because it ripped a little when I flipped it right side in. The nice thing about the PVL is that I can throw them right into the washer and dryer, and after the kids were done with their cheetos I did just that. These will be another trial and error project I guess. I have one other "fabric" to try out as a liner. After Chris' Grandma passes away a few weeks ago we were going through her belongings and I found this-

It's some sort of vinyl. I thought it was so cute. The rest of Chris' family thinks I'm a little crazy already so I'm sure that didn't help.
Today's project is 7 more chair bags.
Then I'm hoping to make a few wallets and a skirt for myself! I need those cute, fun projects for me ever now and them. I'm thinking something like this.

You can find the tuturial here

The funny ducky print!

What to do with this really odd print?

Where I've been

I can't believe I haven't posted in a week! Last week was super busy around here. Monday night Chris and I went to Milwaukee for a Brewer game. Go Brew Crew!

We didn't get home until 2:30 in the morning Tuesday, and anyone who has kids knows that they don't let you sleep in. (For any baseball fans out there the game lasted 4 hours and 13 minutes! And we didn't even win!) So Tuesday I was pretty much a zombie. I had to clean the van and pack because Wednesday we headed to Wisconsin Dells. Teacher's convention always takes place this time of year which means the kids and I get to stay at a waterpark while Chris goes to sessions. The only pictures I have from the 3 days we were there are these 2.

Max actually went down a rather large waterslide all by himself and I didn't get a picture! I was at the bottom waiting to catch him and the camera was somewhere far, far away. Annie really didn't sleep well so that added to the exhaustion that I was already feeling. Thankfully, a wonderful friend was able to come with me and help with the kiddos. Plus, one of the other teachers wives was there with her kiddos which for some reason always helps.

Today Gretchen and I met at the church to do through some of the leftover fabric from "ladies fellowship". This group of ladies used to meet at the church once or twice a month and make quilts for anyone and everyone. They are all older now and due to their failing health no one wanted the fabric anymore. Gretchen and I sorted through most of it. There was some cute and some ugly, but we're pretty excited about it.

This is honestly how we left the room! The kiddos were getting a little restless as we'd totally missed lunchtime, and naptime was already upon us. So we're headed back there tonight to finish cleaning up. You can't see it in these pictures, but there was this really cute duck print that I'm super excited about. I have no idea what to do with it, all I know is it was super funny!

What I'm up to now....well I'm supposed to be hemming some skirt, but I'm scared. Sewing on the curve frightens me. I you-tubed it and got some good pointers, but I'm still scared. After that I have 7 more chair bags to make. Then I would really like to knit or crochet the girls some new hats. This time of year I always pull the yarn out. It's a little weird how that works.

In other news I'm hoping to raise $1600 so that I can go on a missions trip to Argentina with our church. I don't know where that money could possibly come from, but if God wants me to go It will all work out.

Little Mave Guest Giveaway

Little Mave Guest Giveaway

Thrifty finds!

I spent less than $21 on all of this!

My Mom, Chan (Mom and Dad's foreign exchange student), and I headed to Green Bay for a little shopping this afternoon. first I went to Kohls where I picked up some sparkly shoes and a cute dress for Maddy. I spent $11.47 and save $43.12 (not that great of a deal, but she'll need the shoes for Christmas). Then I headed to JCPenney I purchase the bicycle shirt and jean shorts for me and the jean shorts for Maddy for $1.68. I had a $10 off coupon. Then I headed to Target where I purchased 3 pairs of shorts, a tank top, and a hat for myself, and the cute pink shirt for Maddy. I spent $8.12, pretty good for 6 clothing items.
If your interested in how I did this here are a few tips. 1. You can get a $5 Kohls coupon by giving your e-mail address here. I already used mine so I didn't have that on this trip or I would have gotten a better deal. 2. If you register any current credit card at here (scroll to the bottom, and click on the JCpenney rewards) you'll earn points each time you shop. I do NOT shop at JCPenney very often, but I entered a rewards card 6 months ago and they send me a $10 off ANY $10 purchase coupon about once a month. 3. Check the target.com page for current Target coupons. Here is the Link, but you can access it from target.com if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page. A few weeks ago they had $5 any Merona top and $5 off any Mossimo apparel item coupons available. Hope that helps if you have any other questions check out thte websites hip2save.com or moneysavingmom.com both are great resources!

Train Ride- I promise I'll post some more craftiness soon!

Today wasn't exactly a beautiful fall day like I'd hoped for, but we still made the best of it.

The kids were super excited about riding the train. We were even able to pull the whistle. Chan really enjoyed himself. My Dad was supposed to snap a picture of our family. He didn't get a very good shot.

Tonight we played chutes and ladders and sequence for kids before baths and bed. It was a busy day, but so fun! I love the ages the kids are at. They are so full of joy.