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7 Christmas traditions my family does every year that you can totally steal.

So, I come from a very large family, and my very large family likes to do Christmas LARGE.  Here's a list of a few of our traditions. feel free to steal or riff on any of them: We make Lefse This one comes from my mother's Norwegian Grama. Lefse, say it with me lef-SUH, is a very thin tortilla like thing made from potatoes, flour, and lard. To eat it, you spread butter and sugar on it, fold it up and gain weight. Making lefse is a process, and a mess, so my mom usually picks a day, and … [Read more...]

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The Anywhere Dress-A pattern review

  Holy crap you guys, WHERE did November go? Did you ever have one of those months where you just look around and go, "Did I nap or something?"...Yeah, that was November. So, here it is, my pattern review for November on December 2nd. So this month, I decided on The Anywhere Dress from Go To Patterns (affiliate link) This has to be one of the easiest dresses I have ever made. Ever. Like almost easier than a pillow case dress. It's true to size and according to G, very comfy. As I … [Read more...]

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Gratitude

With what feels like a sprint from Halloween to Christmas, I often feel the real meaning of Thanksgiving is lost. As the host for our family Thanksgiving this year, appropriately now referred to as #Turkeypalooza, I want to help everyone to stop and take pause. grat·i·tude - ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/ noun 1. the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Over the years I have heard different ideas for how people share what makes them feel grateful. Time … [Read more...]

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No-Sew Native American Tunic in a Hurry!

Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays because it's typically filled with family, friends, food and napping. After planning and preparing the dinner, there typically aren't any extra tasks that are required to celebrate the holiday. This year, however, I got a request out of left field that threw me into a Turkey Day tizzy.  My son volunteered to be in the Thanksgiving play. In my head, I thought they'd pass out pilgrim hats or feather head bands and call it a day. I already had 2 … [Read more...]

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Carl Pants- A Pattern Review

You guys, I got picked to be a Brand Ambassador for Go To Patterns! This means you can look forward to pattern reviews from me for the next six month! YAAAYYYY *muppet arms* For my first review, I chose the Blank Slate Patterns Clean Slate Pants or Shorts. (affiliate link) I love them. I whipped up some pants for my 1 year old fairly quickly. This pattern has a number of options, and I chose no fly (but I stitched in a faux fly), no back pockets (after the welt pocket option kicked my ass), … [Read more...]

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Spider Pancake Fun!

You can add the fun of Halloween (or any other holiday) to breakfast with just a little creativity. The trick to these fun shaped pancakes is a squeeze condiment bottle. You can find these anywhere baking or serving items are sold.  While the tip allows you to create any shape of pancake you wish, we recommend snipping the tip of the spout to create a slightly larger opening to accommodate the thickness of pancake batter. As pictured, to create a spider simply create a circular body on the … [Read more...]

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Easy Lunchbox Napkins: with or without a serger

Back to school this year is just about as late as it can be-September 8th! This year, my daughter is in first grade, and since she eats about 4 things, I pack her lunches for her. I decided to go green ( and cheap) and use some scrap fabric to make her some lunchbox size napkins. I'll show you two ways to do it. ( with and without a serger) The first, fastest way: Step 1: Cut out some 7" squares of quilters cotton fabric. (You can make these the same on both sides, or mix it up a … [Read more...]

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Kick, Splash, Go — Teen Titans Kiddie Pool Kickball!

It’s Birthday party time for our kids and I couldn’t say no when they all requested a game of Kiddie Pool Kickball!   For those not yet familiar, you essentially set up a kickball field using kiddie pools for bases and slip and slides for the base paths. The game was fun for all. The younger kids enjoyed every aspect from wanting to beat the so-called “grown-ups” to sliding, splashing and watching the hilarity as folks misjudged bases, slipped and fell. I think the grandparents had the most … [Read more...]

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A Mixel Party Blast!

Six !?  I can’t believe my son is turning six already! While I am deeply flattered my boys enjoy my crafty homemade birthday parties I was a bit taken back by the request for a Mixels party. They aren’t exactly a hot party theme … yet? That being said, I knew I would need to make my own party décor. For those of you who don’t know, Mixels are cute, little collectible lego creatures that can be mixed and matched with each other. We picked the day a little more than two weeks out and had … [Read more...]

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Daddy’s t-shirt upcycle and a pattern review.

I GOT A SERGER FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! After, I'm not kidding, YEARS of dropping hints to my husband, and explaining what a serger is at least a jillion times, my man came through. Freakin love that guy...Here's the first thing I made: I used the Costal Craze Baggies pattern by Peekaboo Pattern shop and I love how they came out. So, I started with this t-shirt someone gave my husband, because it was my first time with both the pattern, and the serger. Normally, I'm not a fan of alcohol … [Read more...]