Free Mitered Corner Blanket Pattern!

Blanket for Stefanie's Baby!

Utah State University has a free Mitered Corner Blanket pattern available online. The pattern is amazingly easy and the finished blanket looks so cute!

I used a decorative stitch to give it a little more character.

You can really see the detail on the back. The best part is that my sister loved the blanket!

Birthday Balloon Wreath

Birthday Wreath

Takeshi FINALLY had his birthday party a month after his real birthday! I didn't finish the wreath in time because I ran out of supplies, but I hung it up after the party anyway :) I really don't think my 16 year old cared about the balloon wreath, he just wanted the balloons for a water balloon fight, and even stole some off of the wreath!

I followed this tutorial from "How Does She?", but used double the supplies. I don't know if my balloons were too close together or my straw wreath was bigger. Either way, I LOVED how it turned out!

Happy 4th of July!!

Shirt tutorial here

Art in the Park (with Jell-O)

Finished Project!

Our friend Natalie hosted an amazing "Art in the Park" activity for all our friends and kids. She brought all the supplies to make a great smelling piece of art using Jell-O and glue.

Supplies Needed:

1. Fruit Bowl (click to download)
2. Jell-O in these flavors: Strawberry, Pineapple, Grape, Raspberry, Lime, Lemon, Orange, Cherry & Banana
3. Elmers Glue (or generic brand)
4. Paintbrush for each child
5. Paper cups or other similar item to hold each flavor of Jell-O
6. Paper cup or other similar item to hold the glue

Directions:

1. Print out your Fruit Bowl (one for each child) and have them color the bowl any color they want.
2. Color the stems & leaves of the fruit green.
3. Pour some glue in a paper cup
4. Pour each flavor of Jell-O in it's own paper cup (NOT with the glue and don't mix the flavors). Label your cups! Many of the Jell-O's are the same color, but not the same scent.
5. Take your paintbrush and dip it in the glue cup.
6. Paint ONE fruit at a time (for the orange you can paint both). After the entire fruit is covered with glue, pour the matching scent of Jell-O onto your fruit. Pour any excess back into the cup.
7. Repeat with each fruit until it's covered.
8. Smell and enjoy!

Piano Bag

New Piano Bag

Using the HP Inkjet Transfer Paper, I made a Piano Bag for Hannah. For almost a year she's been using a plain bag and making a personalized bag for her has been on my list for that long as well. I bought this clip art from iStock Photo. I searched Treble Clef and there were so many to pick from! The only problem was, all the ones we wanted were about $8.00 to $14.00 each!! We finally found this one for $2.00, which was something I could live with.

There were free ones on the Internet, but not many that were large enough to give a nice clear, clean image of this size. Here are a couple others that we considered.

• ETC - Fairy Holding a Music Banner
• EDU Pics - Basic Treble Clef

One thing I had to make sure is to mirror image Hannah's name BEFORE printing it onto the Transfer Paper. This way, when you iron your image down, the name is viewed correctly.

Next time I'm going to try using SuperSoft Inkjet Transfer Paper. I heard this is easier to work with and lasts longer. The HP wasn't hard... it's just that with the amount of heat they said to use, it discolored the bag slightly. It does show up in the picture, but thankfully, it's harder to see in "real life". I have read reviews saying SuperSoft lasts a lot longer in the wash than the HP brand. Since I'm not planning to wash this bag, the HP brand will work fine.

Just a note, you can use Transfer Papers for color designs. I just didn't have any color ink for my printer.

Library Bag

Our Bookshelf (at home)

With summer here, we needed a bag for carrying all our books home from our weekly trips to the library. I accidentally spilt hot chocolate all over one of my reusable grocery bags and had to wash it... well, it shrunk (badly!). As you can see it's at least 2 inches shorter than a non-washed bag.

And the cute recycle arrows didn't look too hot either. I decided this was the bag to use for our reading bag.

I removed all the arrows and used HP Transfer Paper to iron a design onto my bag. Next time I'm going to try using SuperSoft Inkjet Transfer Paper. I heard this brand is easier to work. I have read reviews saying SuperSoft lasts longer in the wash than the HP brand. Since I'm not planning to wash this bag (again), the HP brand will work fine.

I searched the Internet for "reading" clip art and found a design that Hannah and I both loved. It's from Karen's Whimsy and only cost .99

I love how it turned out!

There were lots of clip art on the Internet, but not a lot that were big enough to make a crisp, clean 8x10 page. Here's some other artwork that we liked and would work great as a large transfer:

• Karen's Whimsy - More Fairies
• Fith Fath - Girl Reading under a Tree
• WP Clipart - Girl Reading by a Window
• Clipart ETC - Girl Reading at Desk
• Clipart ETC - Girl Reading Large Book
• Elizabeth Dulemba - Reading Fairy

Just a note, you can use Transfer Papers for color designs. I just didn't have any color ink for my printer.

Saturday Pajamas

New Pajamas

A few Saturdays ago, I made pajamas for all the kids. They picked out their own fabric and their own patterns. Hannah picked out green flannel and her pattern is Simplicity 4767. I also included a cute PS I LOVE YOU tag in the back neckline for Hannah.

The boys picked out some Japanese print fabric with McCall's 4678 as their pattern. I was under strict orders that no pictures be taken with them in pajamas.
I knew they wouldn't be happy with the "I Love You" tag, so I made my own. I cut out one of the square kanji's, sewed it and turned it right side out and sewed it in the back waistband. I think it's perfect for them.
Of course, we couldn't leave Twyla out! She is wearing the same green butterfly flannel as Hannah in Simplicity 3883 (with modifications for her size).

I think Hannah's happy with the outcome!