Save That Sewing Table!!

I don’t have fandibulous tutorial for you today, but I do have an awesome tip!

Does your sewing table look like this from your scissors?

Obviously, mine does, but most of that isn’t from me.  I inherited this table from my Grandma, so those are her marks.  I {heart} those marks, but don’t want to add more.

So, to save the table, I use a mouse pad to protect it:

Oh, yes, I am a geek.  I love The Lord of the Rings!  :)

Anyway, there’s a fun tip for you today!

The Many Uses of Conditioner

I’m pretty sure we’ve all used conditioner at one point or another. 

Did you know it can be used for more than just hair?

In my post “Things That Make My Life Easier,” I showed you how you can use cheapola conditioner to make your own fabric softener.  It’s awesome.  You can make more than you can buy in a bottle; for just pocket change.  I love it!

In that same post, I also showed you how you can make your own foaming hand soap for pennies.  Did you know that if you put a few squirts of conditioner in with the mix, that soap will leave your hands nice and moisturized?  It’s true!  Try it…I dare you!  :)

Conditioner can also be used instead of shaving cream for your legs.  It makes your legs baby soft, too! 

My tip for the day??-- Conditioner; it’s awesomer than you think!  :)

P.S.  I wouldn’t use expensive conditioners for these tips.  The cheap stuff works just great!

Chore Charts

They’re a necessary evil.  But, in my house, they make our days go a bit smoother.  Everyone knows what they need do before bedtime.

When my kids complain about their chores and call me mean, I just tell them, “I’m not mean!  I am teaching you life skills!  When you grow up and leave home you’ll thank me, because you will have had lots of practice doing {insert whatever they’re complaining about here}!”

For a long time, I used a chore chart like this:

When my boys finished their chores, they’d just wipe them off.  It works great!

Only….sometimes I forget to write their jobs down.  We also started an allowance system, where they get a nickel for every job they do without being asked.  That was getting hard to keep track of, especially since we were ERASING the chores as they were completed.

What to do?

Thanks to KidPointz I’ve got that one all figured out!  They have about a million different behavior/chore/exercise/homework/etc… charts to choose from. 

I chose four different designs from their behavior charts and filled them in with our chores.  (I only made four since Monkey is only two and doesn’t have chores.  Yet…) 

I laminated them so that they can mark their chores off with a dry erase marker.  Each chore is worth 5 points.  Five points=one nickel.  At the end of the week, they get the money they earned throughout the week.

You’ll also notice that these chore charts don’t have names on them.  I’ve numbered them 1-4, and each week we rotate charts.  This way, my kids get a variety of household chores!  Score!

This system has been working out really well for us.  My boys are loving the allowance.  I am loving the motivation they have to do their chores.  There’s also less fighting, because they know what they’re supposed to be doing.

You may be thinking “A nickel per job?  That’s it?!”  Don’t worry, it adds up, and their chores aren’t the only way they earn nickels.  They also earn them when I catch them doing good.  They can also lose them…

Whenever they want to cash in their nickels, I trade them for cash.  That way I’m not always running to the bank for nickels, and my boys aren’t carrying around 50 lbs. of change. 

If these chore charts don’t suit you, check these out:

Here’s a fun one Ash made a few months ago.

This Family Home Evening chart could easily be converted into a chore chart:

Anyway, there’s a few ideas.  What works for you and your family?

P.S.  KidPointz didn’t sponsor this post.  I’m just sharing the info and their site because it works for us.  Their charts are free, too!  Bonus!!

Clip-on Tie Repair

I have five boys and a lot of ties.

Zipper ties are great, but not durable.

Clip on ties hurt their chests. (we fixed that here, though!)

Real ties don't stay tied when you play with them.

My boys get bored in Church and play with their ties.

We have a lot of broken ties.

The solution?
Reshape them into a tie--sew them into place and loop them through the top with elastic!

They won't hurt their chest and last longer than a zipper tie.

If the elastic breaks, just replace it.  Easy peasy.

 

It looks just as good, especially if you can pull a face like this one. He was not happy to be wearing his Church clothes on a Tuesday. Poor guy!

Curing Bedwetting

Yep.  I’m still talking “potty talk.”  Just stick with me on this, this is some pretty good advice if you’ve got a bed wetter!  :)

I had a few bedwetters.  Most of my kids outgrew it by the time they were five, but for those that didn’t we used this:

This bed wetting alarm is kind of expensive up front, but it is the Best.Investment.Ever.  It helps your child realize they need to wake up and go to the bathroom.  Besides, it’s less expensive than spending years in Underjams.

This book has wonderful information and works great alongside the bed wetting alarm:

After a few weeks of using the alarm and the book (on more than one kid…) we’ve had dry nights every night.

A lot of people don’t talk about bed wetting.  When I was trying to help my kids overcome it, no one would talk about it.  They didn’t want to embarrass their kids.  I get that, and I respect that; BUT, I needed help.  Thankfully, I had a mother share this advice with me.

It happened quite by accident, too.  When Monkey was a teeny, tiny baby, I took him to the pediatrician for a bladder infection.  I asked the pediatrician if this would cause bed wetting, and our conversation took off from there.  He suggested we try different kinds of medications, testing, etc… to find out if it was a hormone/kidney/bladder problem.  When none of that worked, he wanted to send us to a Pediatric Urologist.  His nurse then suggested we try the alarm.  She said it had worked on more than one of her kids. 

I am so thankful she shared that little piece of advice with me.  I honestly think that without it, we’d still have wet nights.  I’d still be washing sheets every day.  If you try the alarm, be prepared for a few sleepless nights.  Don’t worry, it won’t last forever, and when it’s over and you child stays dry every night, you won’t regret it.

I don’t want to embarrass any of my kids by sharing this advice (that’s why I didn’t say which of my kids had the problem), but if it will help someone out there, then it will be worth it.

Ditching the Diapers

Guess what?!
 WE ARE OUT OF DIAPERS!!!  WAHOO!!!

…we only spent TWELVE years in diapers…

(total…with five boys…)

You guessed it!  Monkey is potty trained!  I started potty training him right before Christmas.  Why?! You may ask?  Because he was ready.  He was telling me every time he went in his diaper.  Sure the timing wasn’t convenient (and the whole potty training process would have gone by a lot faster if it weren’t for all that Christmas-time busyness…) but I didn’t want to miss that window of opportunity when HE was ready.

There are lots of ways to potty train kids.  All I can say is do your homework.  Research all the different methods and take what you like and toss what you don’t.  Patience is key, and my best advice is to wait until your little subject is ready.  There will be way less tears from both of you if you go on their schedule.

Anyway, when I first started potty training all of my boys, it was a big deal for me to even get them to sit on the potty.  I learned with my oldest that if you have something that they are interested in and it is JUST for the potty, it makes it more exciting for them, and they’ll WANT to sit on the potty. 

For some of my kids, it was books.  For others, it was miniature cars or trains.  We had our “potty cars” or “potty books” and they could only use these things if they were sitting on the potty.  For Monkey, it was cars.  Not just any cars, they HAD to be CARS cars!

(Monkey may some day want to kill me for posting this picture on the internet!!)

I found some miniature CARS cars and bought them for Monkey.

(If you type “Disney Pixar movie toy mini adventures” into the search bar, you’ll find more characters.)

Next, I mounted the map onto a *TV Dinner table.  For the map, I took a picture of our Radiator Springs map/rug and printed it off.  I printed two of them to fit the top of the table, but they were both going the wrong way.  And they were too small.  So, The Hubsters had me email him the jpeg and he printed it off on some 11”x17” paper and laminated it.  It worked out much better!  Email me if you want the jpeg image and I’d be happy to send it to you.  2craftycousins@gmail.com.

Or you could just buy this cute little set that comes with a map and the cars:

*The Hubsters and I got a set of TV dinner tables for our wedding 13 years ago and we’ve used them in potty training all five of our little guys.  Here’s one at Wal-Mart for less than $10.00.

Hopefully this post wasn’t too random, and maybe now you’ll have an idea on how you can get your little one to sit on the potty.  This is what worked for us.  It actually worked five times, so it’s a pretty good tip.  :)

As for the rest of the potty training, I just set a “potty timer” and every time the timer went off, it was time go go to the potty.  I did this until they could tell on their own that it was time to go.

When they had success, they were able to put a sticker on their chart.  My charts weren’t actually charts.  They were just pieces of 8.5”x11” paper taped to the bathroom door. 

This way, my kids weren’t stressed with how many times in a row they made it to the potty; they were just happy that they went.  They also really liked putting the sticker wherever they wanted.  If they want to put the sticker on their shirt?!  By all means, let them!!

After they put their sticker wherever they wanted it, they were rewarded with some candy.  Monkey’s favorite candy is Reese’s Pieces, so after every success, he got three of them.  Yes, only three.  I didn’t want the boy spoiling his dinner!

It’s also important to make a big deal of their successes.  Jump up and down.  Shout “Yay!!  You went potty!”  Call grandma.  Do whatever it takes to get them excited about being a big kid!

It’s a big deal to potty train your little one, but so worth it.  Boy, am I glad I never have to do that again!!  :)

Oops.

I love sewing. Unfortunately, being a “Textile Artist” can be dangerous.

Yep. I totally sewed through my finger. It hurt. Bad. I yanked my finger back and busted my sewing needle. I held pressure on the wound until I got a band aid. As I removed the pressure, I noticed it wasn’t bleeding. Why? Because I made a complete stitch in my finger!! It didn’t bleed until I pulled the the thread out. Nasty.

I just learned a valuable first aid skill. In an emergency, the sewing machine will apply adequate stitches.

Just sayin’.

Freezer Paper Pattern

Have you ever needed to make your own pattern, but it wouldn’t fit on plain old printer paper?

I have.

I use freezer paper instead.

Let’s say you’re making up a pattern for toddler sized underwear.

What?  You don’t make your kids’ undies?

Umm…me neither.  I just did the one time.  I still don’t know if I’ll show off that tutorial.  You might think I’m a tad cray-cray.

Okay, so you need a pattern. 

Find whatever you’ll need to base your pattern piece off of.

For me, it was the bottom half of a Onesie.

Line it up and trace around it.

Write your instructions on it, but only if you want to.

Cut it out and you’re done!

You know how store bought patterns are made out of tissue paper?  Sometimes the pieces tear.  I have several patterns that I have retraced onto freezer paper.

You know how some patterns have several sizes?  I have a few pajama pants patterns and have needed all the sizes.  I have five boys, remember.  They aren’t all the same size.  Rather than cut the pattern piece one size, I use freezer paper.

I start off with the biggest size and trace it onto the freezer paper.  Then, I work my way down so that I have several different sizes; not just one flimsy piece of tissue paper with the markings for all the different sizes.

Want to know another little trick?  You can also use the back side of old Christmas wrapping paper, brown craft paper, and even newspaper.

Anyway…just a tip!  :)

Shirring Shortcut

Hey!  Go enter the link party and get ready for another one on Saturday!  We’ll do the What I Wore Sunday link party every Saturday, so go spend some quality time with your sewing machine and show us your creations!

*****

I like to shirr.  So does Ash.  Do you?

Look at all of these fun shirred things we’ve made:

Ombre Tee Shirt Ruffle Dress

Ruched Sleeve Cardigan

Tiered Skirt from a Tee Shirt

Shirred Sundress from a Tee Shirt

Ruched Maternity Shirt

Shirred Cotton Skirt

Shirred Maxi Skirt

Babydoll Top Refashion

So, yeah.  Shirring is fun.  You know how you have to wind the bobbin by hand?  That can be kinda time consuming.  Well, I found a shortcut.

Get your elastic thread and put it onto your sewing machine like you’re going to wind your bobbin.  Only don’t thread it.  Wrap the elastic thread around your thumb, then wrap it around the bobbin winder.  S-L-O-W-L-Y wind your bobbin so that you’re not stretching the elastic.

See how fast and easy?  If you have a big shirring project, wind several bobbins before you start.  It saves time later.

I had a big shirring project, and I wound about 10 bobbins for it.  I’ll show you that project later. 

Are you dying to know what it is?

I’ll give you a hint:

It has something to do with this silk flower bouquet I made:

 

(Which was super easy, btw.  All I did was get a little bouquet holder from Hobby Lobby, some silk roses and stephanotises, trim the ends, and poke them into the foam thing in at the top, wrapped the handle in white ribbon, tied a bow…)

Back to the hint:

It also has something to do with this wedding veil I made:

Check back on Thursday to find out what it was!

Oh, and guess what I’m doing tonight?  I’m teaching a class on refashioning to a bunch of ladies at my Church.  We’re having a “Refashion Show.”  I bought as much as I could for $20.00 at the thrift store and gave an article of clothing to several different people to refashion.  I can’t wait to see what they came up with.

I’ll post about that soon, too!  :)

This little piggy…helped with chores?

Psst...Did you hear we're finally on Facebook? Come join the fun over there!
Maybe having a toddler ask for EVERYTHING at the store, or not wanting to pick up toys, or throwing fits when asked for 300+ time to do something sounds familiar? Well, I was getting tired of it, so I combined a bunch of ideas from Pinterest and came up with a solution, that so far (knock on wood) is working. First off, we had a family meeting to decide on family rules. The kidlets helped come up with them. I printed them up and put them in a thrifted frame.

Then, I came up with chores/jobs that I expect them to do every day, and some extra jobs they can do at their age.

I printed it up, and put it in a matching thrifted frame, and used washi tape to add a little bit of interest to it. Nothing too special, just simple for us. These frames came from the DI with Velcro on the back, so I used these Velcro strips from 3M. So far, I like them.

And hung them where all the family could see them, but it’s not the first thing other people see.

Next, I got a bunch of glass jars (does anyone else save them? No? Well here’s proof to my honey it's not just another hoard) I let the girls pick their colors from my acrylic paints (purple and pink, is anyone really surprised?) and made a few different jars. The first has a chalkboard label and a slit in the top (made a little safer with washi tape) for them to put their tithing in.

The next was just too freakin cute. I saw the idea on Pinterest and just changed it a bit. I cut out vinyl for their first letter of their name, and added cereal box ears, wooden bead legs, pipe cleaner tails, and washi tape snouts.

How adorable are those?!? They don’t have a slit in the top, so they just unscrew the snout to put their money in to save.

Now, all of my hubby’s and mine loose change goes in this jar. I used vinyl and a Cricut to cut out a mustache (from my mom’s cartridge she designed. She’s pretty awesome. It’s called Paper Doll Dress Up), and added the words “my stache” Hee hee, makes me smile whenever I see it

Finally, I got some empty Crystal Light containers, cut slits in the top, and added vinyl with their initial and the words “chore $”. Whenever they do things from the list, they get so much for doing the everyday jobs, and a little bit more for doing the extra jobs. I give them their change as soon as they do the job (from my mustache jar), and then they get to put it in their chore jar. If I have to ask them multiple times to do something, and/or end up doing it myself, they have to pay me the same amount. At the end of the week, we count their money and put some in tithing and the rest in the piggy bank. So far, my oldest has appreciated having a way to get money, and I’m sure once she’s able to buy her first thing, it will come together even more!

Hot Tamales!

So already twice this summer (actually in the past month if you want to know the truth) I’ve made tamales. People are pretty intimidated by it, but it’s not as bad as it seems. I found a link a few years ago that I use every time and they are really the best tamales I’ve had. They are good with or without a sauce, and just tend to have a lot of flavor! Ready for it?

I’m not going to give you the recipe, because this guy over here at Son of the South is the recipe I use. I’ll just show you more pictures and tips than he gives. I took the pictures the first time I was making them this summer. One thing I’ll tell you upfront is it takes time!! I spread it out, but it still takes 2 hour chunks of time, just warning you. So I’ll tell you the way I break it up and you can give it a try if you want.

First, you have to get all your ingredients. He tells you everything here. One tip is if you see chicken or pork on a great sale, grab a 4-5 lb. roast, and 4-5 lb. of chicken. You can cook the meat whenever, season it, and then freeze it until you’re ready to do the tamales. I have a gallon freezer bag with a ton more meat in it right now that I’ll use for quesadillas, tamales, tacos, and other such stuff. It’s really yummy! So you can just dump them into a crock pot, or boil them on the stove (for 2 hours). I’ve done both. Cook them separately though (by the way, if you don’t want pork or chicken, or want to try roast beef, do whatever you want! My hubby wants to try some with shrimp next time…we’ll see!) After it’s all cooked, take a tip from Pinterest and shred it this way:

One thing he tells you multiple times is save your broth! So I just dump it in quart jars and keep it in the fridge until I need it.

You want it shredded nice and fine. Pull out any chunks of fat or gross stuff when you can.

Dump it in a big bowl,

and warm up the seasonings. (by the way, sometimes I’ll cook the meat on laundry day, and then do the seasoning and shredding the next day,and freeze it till I’m ready to make the tamales!)

I wish you could smell this through the computer. Oh, it’s heavenly!!! Of course I have a MAJOR love affair with cumin. Oh man. If there were a Scentsy thing for that, I’d be all over it. Then you need to mix up your corn meal, or Maseca, with the seasonings, broth and oil, while you soak your corn husks.

These have to soak for 2 hours (that’s the key number in all of this). I actually put a heavy bowl on top to keep them all in the water, but moved it for the picture. By the way, you can typically find the corn husks and Maseca in the Hispanic section, or in your produce aisle. For locals, I haven’t found corn husks at Associated Food stores, but they’re at Smith’s. I don’t know about Wal-Mart.

Now, you’ve got everything you need to get tamale making! Lay out as many corn husks as you can on your towel on the counter (to soak up the wetness), and spread Maseca on it. I’ve used my fingers (clean, of course!), a butter knife, and an offset spatula. I like the spatula best.

Spread 'em all out, then put your meat on

Then, roll ‘em up nice and tight, and stick them in your tamale steamer, upright.

This is my DI find that I was super excited to find last summer. 75 cents baby! (It didn’t have a lid, but luckily one of my pots had one) I’ve also seen them at Winco during fall/Thanksgiving season, but I didn’t grab one fast enough. But, I made them multiple times before I had it with a lot of pots, metal strainers, and even my rice cooker. The main thing is you can’t have the tamales directly in the water, and they need to be covered, and should be upright (but I couldn’t always do that). Then, you put them in your pot, put the lid on, and steam them for….wait for it….2 hours. I typically get about 60 tamales per batch, so I freeze enough for a meal in Ziploc bags and reheat them by steaming or the microwave when we need a quick meal.

So yummy! Who wants to come over and have some tamales?!