Make Something Monday

I was asked by a friend to post a tutorial for my DIY man's shirt to tank top.  The pictures that I have are old, but I'll do my best to write a good description.  Feel free to ask any questions!

I took one of my husband's old T-shirts, laid it out flat and used one of my tank tops (that fit well) as a template.  I cut around it, and because T-shirts are made of jersey knit, I didn't have to worry about finishing the edges around the color, sleeves, and bottom.

I used the extra fabric that I cut off around the bottom to make the ruffle on top.  Super, super easy!  Set your machine to the largest zig-zag stitch, pull out your bobbin thread, and stitch over the bobbin thread.  

I pinned the ruffle where I wanted it, and sewed away! 

All in all, I think this took me about 15 minutes.  I think I need to go rummaging through my husband's clothes again, now.  This has made me want to do another one!

Filofax Friday

I went with fairly simple this week.  I don't have a lot going on, but if next week is going to be like things have been, my schedule will fill up fairly quickly.

Tomorrow & Sunday: purple chevron washi and butterflies.

Monday & Tuesday:  Metallic washi tape by Duck Tape.  LOVE IT!

Wednesday & Thursday: Black glitter washi and stickers from the dollar store.

Friday & Saturday.  I love this orange washi and I paired it with some carnival themed stickers from the Dollar Tree.

I still find a lot of my planning supplies at the Dollar Tree, but I haven't been able to find washi there for months!  Is anyone else running into this, too?  It makes me sad!  I loved having washi there!

Anyway, that's my week next week!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I have no idea what week I'm on.  My hiatus from blogging really threw me off!  But, I'm back, and as usual, I have a lot to be thankful for!

1.  New neighbors.  YAY!  I'm so excited to have a good friend close!  And a little boy Asher's age! BONUS!
2.  Advocare.  Jim has recently started their 24 Day Challenge and is doing great!  I'm excited for him.
3.  Fresh produce.  I'm loving the Farmer's Markets and fruit stands this year.  YUM.
4.  Being back in a routine.  I love my routine, and summer sure throws it off.  We're back into a semi-routine, I guess.  It's a good thing. (That totally sounded like Martha Stewart.)
5.  Shaker bottles
6.  Phone calls from old friends.
7.  Spark.  This is another Adovcare product, and so far, it's my favorite.  It's completely replaced my coffee in the morning!!!  Yep, you read that right.  I'm loving the energy that I have from Spark, and there's no mid-afternoon crash.  I feel good all day long!
8.  Tap shoes.  Haven started tap lessons last week.  She loves them, and it's fun the hear the taps as she walks across the tile floors in our house.
9.  Deep Blue.  This rub has been a life saver the past few weeks.  I was diagnosed with tendonitis in both of my knees, and along with my sciatica, it makes for long painful days.  I love this stuff.  It's relieving my pain and healing from the inside out.
10.  Jim's blog.  If you want to keep up with Jim's results on his challenge, follow him here: 24-Day Challenged  Not only is it great to see and hear about his results, but my man's a funny guy.  He'll definitely make you laugh.
11.  For his sense of humor.  I'm blessed to have a home filled with laughter because of him.
12.  Dojo points.  This is an app that my friend Abbie recommended to me.  Its awesome.  It gives the kids points for the good things that they do and takes them away for the bad.  I added a reward once they get to a certain amount of points, and I gotta tell ya, my kids are motivated to do the right thing!  They absolutely hate when I have to take points away, and they're constantly checking to see how many points they have.  It's awesome.
13.  Physical Therapy.  I had to go for a while for the problems that I was having with my knees.  I'm thankful for a good therapist as well as what I learned to help me feel better!
14.  My resistance band.  I used to just use this to work out, but it's great for stretches, too.
15.  Miracles.  My cousin, Allie was burned pretty badly at the beginning of June.  She's back to work as of yesterday.  That's pretty amazing.  Follow her story here: Prayers for Allie
16.  Windy days
17.  Letters from the boys' new school teachers.
18.  Sprinklers
19.  Back yard pools on hot days
20.  Hope.  Hope is an amazing thing....

If you're interested in the Advocare products, or just would like information, feel free to hit the contact me link!  I'd love to chat about it!

Make Something Monday

I'm actually sitting in physical therapy on a recumbent bike as I'm writing this. It's fun to blog on my phone... Not! But, it must be done. 

Here's a couple of projects that I've finished in the last couple of weeks:

I have a friend that is very tall. She has a hard time finding skirts that are long enough for her, so she asked me to make her one. Here's the pattern that I used:

And the fabric:

I forgot to get an after picture, but, I promise, it was super cute!

I made a quick trip down to Idaho last week and I got to meet my new niece for the first time. I made a bunch of goodies for her.

There's some burp cloths, a few bibs, and a baby toy. They all have terry cloth backing, so they're super absorbent.

And here's little Nili modeling one of the bibs. Isn't she adorable?

Have a happy Monday!

Filofax Friday

Wow... It's been a while!  I'm getting back into the habit of blogging regularly, I promise.  My only excuse is that life happens.  The end of school completely threw off my groove!  I've been really busy, and just haven't been able to get around to posting.
Anyway, here's this past week:

Monday & Tuesday

Wednesday & Thursday

A friend and I made a quick business trip down to Idaho.  It was a good time, but it was quick!

Friday & Saturday

I'm really enjoying having my kids all day for the summer!  Lots of play time in the sun.

I hope you have a great weekend!  I plan to!

Filofax Friday: A day late... Again

Life has been so busy on Fridays I have not had time to sit down on my computer and blog... I could do it from my phone, but typing on that little screen just isn't appealing to me.

After next weekend, life should slow down considerably and give me some room to breathe!
Here's my week.

I love this washi tape!  Buttons and other sewing notions!

Fleur de lis!  I love fleur de lis.  So much so, that I even have one tattooed on one of my toes.

That's a project life card that you see there.  I've got my son's invitation list for his birthday party that he's having next week on the other side of it.  It's nice to have all my planning right there.

His birthday was Thursday, and he LOVES race cars, so I went with a race car theme.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Thankful Thursday: Week 24 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAY!!

My Little Man is eight today.  I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by!  I'm so thankful for him, and today's Thankfuls are all going to Jay!

1. For the smile you bring to my face every day!

2.  That you're THE best big brother!

3.  You're a great friend!  And your friends LOVE you!

4.  You don't let others pull you along.   You're definitely one of a kind!

5.  For breakdancing.  That you're not afraid to "get down" anywhere.  

6.  I love your confidence!

7.  Your love for God and others grows everyday, and I love the way you show others.

8. You're always thinking of other people, making things for them, and looking for ways to be giving.

9.  On the day you were born, I became what I always wanted to be: Mommy.  

The nurses at the hospital teased me because I wouldn't put you down.  I love you, Little Man!

10.  That you look like your daddy.  So handsome.  I'm thankful that you have the example of a man who loves God and loves his family.  I know you'll grow up to be just like him.

11.  You're always taking care of other people.

12.  Your are SO persistent!  You don't give up, and that's SUCH A GOOD THING!  I pray that it always serves you well.

13.  That you think of your little sister and love her so much.  I may not mean a lot to her now, but I promise when she gets bigger she will appreciate it more than you know!

14.  You're a natural leader.  

15.  The color green.  You love green, and have it on, most days.  Here's to looking like a pickle!

16.  You have so much energy.  You never stop.  I know that you're out of bed in the morning when I hear you running down the hall.  

17.  You can always make me laugh.

18.  The way you try to include your brother in everything.

19.  The love you have for music.  From wanting to be a rock star, or a DJ, or a breakdancer.  You can do them all!

20.  That I get to be your mom.  God knew what he was doing when he gave you to me.  I love you, so much, little man!

Happy, happy, birthday!

Another Filofax Saturday!

The last couple of days have kind of been nutso for me.  Too busy to sit down and blog...  So, while I've got a few minutes before anyone else gets up... Here's my week!

Saturday & Sunday.  I didn't do any stickers, but I love the polka dot washi!

Monday & Tuesday.  Monday was Memorial day, so I went with a Patriotic theme.

Wednesday & Thursday.  I love the Ladybugs!

And Friday and TODAY!   I LOVE THE MUSTACHES!!

I made a trip to Hobby Lobby yesterday and found a ton more cute stickers and washi!  Stay tuned on Monday for pictures of another headpiece I'm making!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Make Something Monday

Here's a couple of projects that I finished last week.  The hats, bow ties, and hair bows are for a dance recital.  I love how they turned out!  The hair bows will most likely have rhinestones attached to them.  The kids that will be wearing these are between the ages of 4 and 6, so it will be absolutely adorable!

And this is another shirt refashion that I did.  I started with one of my husband's old T-shirts and a vintage doily.  I used my Cricut to cut a fleur de lis to use as a template, then cut it out of the shirt.

I pinned and pinned, and then sewed the doily in place.

Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.  Pretty cute, if I say so myself!  I also made a pocket out of another doily and added it to the front.  But... I put it too far to the left, so I need to fix that.

Filofax Friday

Sorry that I didn't post my Thankful Thursday post yesterday.  My phone died, which is how I post all of my pictures, and it was just impossible to get to it... Look for a double dose next Thursday.

Here's my week!  You'll notice a lot more sticky notes.  I've taken a cue from Jennifer from http://www.mypurpleylife.com and started putting a fly leaf in between my current pages.  This way I can stick notes or whatever I'd like to it and still see the day that I'm on.  After the day is over, I transfer my notes to the corresponding page.  I'm loving how it works!

Sunday & Monday

Tuesday & Wednesday

Aren't those Peacock stickers awesome?  They're from Sticker King.

Thursday & Friday

Here you can see the fly leaf in between my pages.  This is really working well for me.  I've been writing down inspiring Scriptures or quotes every day  and it's really helping me stay positive throughout the day.

Is there a system that you use to help you keep your chin up during the day?  I'd love to hear about it! Leave me a comment!

Tip Tuesday: My favorite cleaning tips!

I've got a few of my favorite cleaning tips (or shortcuts) to share with you today.

I hate to clean.  I loathe it.  But, it's one of those things that must be done, so I do it.  I have a cleaning schedule that I do my best to keep up on, and it really helps.  I have several Pinterest recipes for cleaners that I've made, and they're all tried and true.  The only cleaning solution that I buy from the store any more is Windex.  I'm not sure how much I actually save making my own, but I know it's a lot.

Here goes: 

You know I make my own laundry detergent.  Here's the link to that post:http://envoguepogue.blogspot.com/2013/12/laundry-bombs_31.html

And my dishwasher detergent: http://envoguepogue.blogspot.com/2014/02/tip-tuesday-homemade-dishwasher-soap.html

I use Windex for my glass (of course) but thanks to Pinterest, I've found a new and amazing way to use it.  My dining chairs are upholstered with microseude.  Having three little ones, they get really dirty really quickly.  I've found the best way to clean them is with Windex!  Just spray some on, and use a scrub brush to wipe the grime off.  It's awesome!  Here's the link:http://makingtheworldcuter.com/2013/03/clean-microfiber-the-easy-way/

I've also been making my own Swiffer solution!  I bought some microfiber cloths from the dollar store, and cut them to fit my Swiffer.  They're machine washable, so no more wasting money on Swiffer pads!  And here's the link to remove the top off the Swiffer solution bottle.   http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-remove-the-cap-on-a-Swiffer-Wet-Jet-cleaner/

For the cleaning solution, I used equal parts vinegar and hot water, and about 20 drops of lemon essential oil.  It works every bit as well as the original solution!

My last tip is Liquid Magic Eraser.  Having kids around means dirty walls... Well, it means dirty everything.  But I came across this recipe, and it's AWESOME!  http://onetalentedmom.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/liquid-magic-eraser-homemade/

I've found that vinegar is one of my favorite things.  I love that it works so well, and it's inexpensive and it's not a chemical.  It's fabric softener, it's floor cleaner, it's great in the dishwasher as a rinse agent, it's just plain amazing!

I hope this post helped you!  These are simple recipes that take basically no time to put together, they save money, and they WORK!  Have a great Tuesday!

Filofax Friday

My in-laws just left.  We really had a good time for the couple of days they were here.  All in all, this has been a great week!  I didn't do much decorating, though, because it was pretty busy,

with the exception of Saturday and Sunday.  I had a fairly relaxed Mother's Day.

Monday and Tuesday: Butterflies and Flowers.  The washi is Martha Stewart, and the stickers are from Sticker King.

Little Chicks.  I love these!

And today and tomorrow.  I've got a couple of pretty busy days here, so I didn't want to over decorate.  My schedule isn't filled in completely  yet, but by the end of the day, it'll be pretty full.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Thankful Thursday: Week 20

We have company right now, and I absolutely love having them here.  My Mother-in-Law, my sisters-in-law, my brother-in-law, and my niece and nephew are visiting for a couple of days.  

1.  I'm really thankful for the way my inlaws raised my husband.  He helps so much around the house.

2.  Good deals.

I got this sticker maker for $1.98!  

 3.  Vinegar.  I use vinegar in almost all the cleaning products that I make.  It's awesome stuff.

4.  God's Promises.

5.  Days off of school.  We let our boys stay home from school so they could play with their cousins today.

6.  Donuts.

7.  Stickers

8.  Visits from family.

9.  My super star!

I'm so proud of you, Jay!

10.  Flowers

11.  Bug habitats.  Jay and some of his buddies made a habitat for some pill bugs.  They even named them.

12.  Dollar Store finds

13.  Paper cutters.

14.  Bubble refill station.

This is full of bubble solution.  That way when the kids run out, they can just fill back up!

15. Possible overtime for my husband.  Though I hate the time spent apart, overtime definitely helps the paycheck!

16.  Mozart

17.  The smell of old books.

18.  Time spent together.

19.  Cleaning

I convinced Haven to play "maid" with me.

20.  Cinderella.

The game lasted all of 5 minutes.  She transferred into a princess. :D