Fold-over Clutch

I’m so excited about the latest sewing project I just finished! 

This is the Fold-over Clutch from Keyka Lou Patterns. I will be working at more of these to add to my new etsy shop! This clutch comes in small, medium and large. Stay tuned for more!

This cute little clutch is just the size for your phone, keys, cash or credit card and lipstick! This is the small size which measures approximately 7.25 inches by 4 inches.

It features an inside pocket and magnetic snap closure.

You won’t lose anything with this smart fold-over style!

More Books...

Ok, so I've decided, so as not to to completely bore anyone who might be regularly reading, to only post about books I REALLY enjoyed.  I'll add all to the "What I'm Reading" list to the right, but won't bother to post about all. If you see one on my list that interests you, feel free to comment somewhere and I'll let you know what I think!

Two books I did want to comment on were on a similar theme, interestingly enough, and No, I did not plan that when I chose them!  

The first is Better Off by Eric Brende.

In this book, the author shares his real life experiment of reducing technology use.  He and his wife move to a Amish-like community (he states several times in the book that they are not Amish) and begin to live a simpler life.  It was so easy to read, and so interesting for me, being from an Amish area, to hear his account of this life. He is not preachy or pushy that everyone should try to live in this way, but with their story, it almost makes me want to get rid of all that stuff and try it!  I love the ending and what they decide to do at the end of the experiment- not that it's an on-the-edge-of-your-seat ending but I wasn't sure what they were going to decide and don't want to spoil it for you!


The second book (which I read as an audio book- have I said before how I love audio books? They make those cleaning tasks so much more fun...) is Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living by Doug Fine.

In this book, the author also decides to change his lifestyle, though focusing on living without fossil fuels.  He buys a ranch and begins his quest through the use of solar power, the sun, and waste vegetable oil, to name a few! The author has a humorous style and I really was disappointed the book ended so quickly; I wanted to hear more!  He does lecture a bit at the end, but this is such a small part of the book, it's still worth a read! And I'm excited to find out he has a blog! :)  You can go to www.dougfine.com and read more from him after you finish the book!  And even better, I found out this is actually his second book, so now I'm crossing my fingers the library has the first one... 
Enjoy!

Portable Matchbox cars play mat

Inspired by these ideas here (by Handmade by Jill) and here (by Chadwicks Picture Place), I came up with my version of a car playmat.

Sorry, these photos are TERRIBLE... I gave it away before I remembered to take new ones...

I love that it has places to "park" a few cars and lots of roads to play on! The gas pump is my favorite, although L enjoyed the lake; her people were going swimming!

And it all wraps up nice and neat with an easy velcro tie.  No cars floating around your purse, and a nice contained place for your child to play...

Now we'll see if my nephew likes it as much as L does; she thinks its hers. Guess I'll be making another soon!

Scentsy! and I LOVE YARD SALES!

Check out the Scentsy Giveaway on Brown Paper Packages!  I am loving this stuff; I have seen it several times and am thinking about having a party... :)  Who doesn't love yummy smelling candle scents! 

And by the way, I LOVE YARD SALES!

This has been keeping L busy for HOURS...

$3!!!  and that's even a teensy bit pricy for me! LOL! She loves it and it's easy enough for her to put together and take apart.  Yes there are trains and tracks all over my living room, but it keeps her entertained!

And a bit of a sneak peek of what I'm working on...

Yes, these are ALL doll diapers! 

Any guesses what this will be??!

Button Bookmarks

I LOVE these bookmarks that I found here. In case you hadn't noticed, I Love to read, and am always losing my bookmarks. I take it out, lay it down, and who knows where it ends up.These stay put and  are pretty and easy to use. If you have the supplies they are beautiful. I, unfortunately, didn't, so I used what I had onhand!

I used 1/4 inch elastic, making it about 1/2 inch longer than the tutorial suggested, and sewing it together. I sewed on buttons, sewing them slightly overlapping so they aren't too far apart when it stretches.

You can just open your book, keep reading (without taking out the bookmark!) and then slide the pages you've read in under the elastic.

It fits all sizes of books.  Easy Peasy! 

The original is gorgeous and worth taking a look at and buying a few supplies if you read a lot! These will make beautiful gifts for any reader!

E's new bath tub!

Remember, tomorrow is your last chance to enter to win Monkeyshiners merchandise!!! See below for details!





As our E cannot sit up quite yet, we were getting a bit worried about how to bath him. He's almost too big for the baby bath tub.  So thanks to our great  physical therapist...

Yes, that's a laundry basket!  Set right down in the tub, with thiscomfy bath sponge that he sits and leans on! It works great. Our PT suggested putting non-slip shelf liner under the sponge, but I didn't have any; it worked ok without though I may try putting a wet hand towel under next time.

This would work great for any baby who's getting a little too big for their baby tub but can't quite sit up yet. Or if you just need a safe spot for ypu baby to play while big btother or sister shares the tub! It keeps bath toys from floating so far away as well!

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items! Check out her blog here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase!

Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

Bicycle Bucket

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items! Check out her blog here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase!

Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

For my neice's birthday this year, I decided to try out Noodlehead's Bicycle Bucket tutorial. Her blog has lots of cute ideas that are saved in my craft "to do" file! 

Here's how mine turned out...

This tutorial makes a decent sized little bucket that hooks on to the front crossbar of a children's bicycle.

For the A, I printed the size and font I wanted off the computer, then used that to trace it onto my fabric. As I didn't have Heat and Bond, I glued it on with a good old-fashioned glue-stick, then zigzagged around the edges! Wr'll see how that holds up! I also used the one sided bonding interfacing I had on hand and bonded it to the outer fabric of my bucket.

Hopefully the birthday girl will like it too!

Watermelon Lime "Licuados" and Slushies

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items! Check out her blog here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase!
Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

I have always loved "licuados" or smoothies and in Honduras they were so cheap, I could actually get them frequently! My favorite in Honduras was watermelon with orange juice (Yum, try it!).

In my new found fascination with blogs, I found this delicious recipe to try! It is a very yummy slushy drink with frozen watermelon, ginger ale and limeade. 

I also made my own version (since I was too lazy to go downstairs to my freezer!) that is more smoothie/licuado than slushy. 

Pardon my photo... It's terrible...

I used my blender of course, and added lots of watermelon, as well as the juice that accumulates at the bottom of your bowl when you have cut watermelon, a big scoop of frozen limeade concentrate, and a handful or so of ice.  Blend it all together!

My husband loves both these recipes too!  Delicious and very refreshing! 

Reading Review!

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items! Check out her blog here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase!

Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

I "enjoyed" this latest book, The Murder Room, by Michael Capuzzo.

This book tells the true story of the Vidocq Society, an elite group of detectives, profilers, and other forensic experts who work on cold cases. The author talks about how the society came to be, gives a brief biography of the 3 founders, and details many of their cases.

I enjoy most mysteries though have not been a huge fan of "true crime"; this one is well written and keeps your attention better than most in my opinion.

However, knowing that it was true made some of those scenes a little harder to take. My one complaint would be that the author jumps around between the cases before sharing their conclusions, but I suppose this does hold your interest! I'd recommend it to those who enjoy the forensic/profiling/case solving genre!

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

I forgot to add this to the reading sidebar til now, but I just finished this book by Barbara Kingsolver. This is a long book, as was The Poisonwood Bible, the only other of hers I think I've read. I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much as a “regular” paper book; I listened to it as an audiobook while doing my chores around the house, and this way, picking it up for different bits through out the week, I didn’t tire of it as I do at times with these longer, not so action packed books. Kingsolver educates the reader on Mexico and the communist era both in Mexico and the United States in an entertaining way. I at first wasn’t sure about the author’s narration (she reads this book herself), as I thought it was a bit monotone, but as the book continued and the characters developed and couldn’t have imagined it any other way. Because of my experiences in Central America, I really enjoyed the parts set in Mexico. I had never read very much about the communist “witch hunt” in our nation’s history and was appalled at the way our government handled the whole situation. I definitely enjoyed this historical fiction and will be looking for more in this genre. I recommend it to you as well! One more note: I was pretty proud of myself when I heard a Trotsky reference somewhere after reading this and actually knew who that was!)

 

I’m a fast reader, so there will probably be multiple books in each book review post. Tigerheart by Peter David was a sweet book based on the story of Peter Pan. You’ll find similarities to the popular children’s story, but it seems to be set in another time to the traditional tale; at one point the author says, “There has always been a Boy, and his cohorts, in the Anyplace. The names change. The circumstances of how they got there and who they might be are constantly in flux. But heroes and villains remain heroes and villains”.

The author has a very quirky writing style; my favorite statement in this book is the following. It is concerning the Boy and Gwenny (Peter Pan and the girl character… my mind is a blank…) and the Boy’s wanting to at times act like father and mother, though at other times wanting to be treated as a child as well: “In his inability to decide whether he wanted the most significant female in his life to be his mother or his life mate-and perpetually alternating between the two-The Boy was closer to the attitude of adult men than in any other aspect of his life.” LOL!

But anyway, I would recommend this book, it’s an entertaining and sweet book, a twist on the tale we all know and love. One note: if you enjoy it and decide to continue with others by this author, they may be a bit more… hmmm. What’s the word… raunchy is coming to mind… I began with David’s Sir Apropos of Nothing series. Also entertaining and inventive, though at times a bit vulgar. The author enjoys slipping in little jokes about modern culture, the typical" medievel novel, etc.  This series is set in a magical world of knights and the main character is the ultimate anti-hero, falling into situations and somehow scraping out of them. I enjoyed them, but just wanted to give a warning!

As always, leave your comments, thoughts and suggestions as well!

Little Notepad

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items!  Check out her blog  here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase! Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

now on to the Notepad...

I carry a little 3x5 notepad with me in my purse. It contains my price list, a la OrganizedHome.com where I write down the prices for things I usually use so I know when I'm getting a great deal.  I tend to forget what I've paid in the past! I'm a big yard saler so it also contains my lists of the kids' clothes I've bought in larger sizes. It is getting pretty beat up in my purse and I saw this cute little mini list taker on etsy, and based my project on this.

Here's mine:

The ribbon holds it closed.  I love how the peicing turned out- Mainly I was just trying to find cute fabric for it and didn't have enough in all one piece.  The inside fabric took about 6 peices sewn together! 

See how beat up that poor little notebook is? I'm tempted to buy a new one but I don't want to be wasteful...It's a little too short for my mechanical pencil but I have a "normal" pencil that fits perfectly. and it has a perfect little pocket there on the left side for notes or reciepts. Now I need one for my flip top memo pad and my larger mini-journal!  Back to the sewing machine...