Keep Your Fingers Cool and Your Coffee Hot!

How many times has the guy (or gal) at Starbucks handed you a cup of coffee, apologized to you for running out of cardboard coffee sleeves, and then stood there staring at you while you howled in pain and tried frantically to pull your shirt sleeve down to hold your cup?! ...or does stuff like that just happen to me?  Now, I will be ready!  I made a bunch of these today (My husband wants one too!), and I listed a few on Etsy.  I do think these would make nice stocking stuffers for spouses or for teenagers.  In my day, teenagers did not like coffee, but now I think it must be a "cool" thing.  None of us could have ever afforded coffee shop coffee anyway.  Babysitters must get paid more these days!

I like this coffee sleeve more than the ones with buttons just out of personal preference.  For one thing, I am a klutz.  I will scald myself for sure if I have to hold hot coffee while trying to fiddle with buttons on a coffee sleeve.  This one slides on just like the cardboard sleeves.  It fits the 16 and 20 ounce cups.  You just slide it on and then up until it is on the cup snugly, and you are good to go. 

Here is the other fabric I have that I am itching to turn into cute little coffee sleeves!

...And lets not forget the hot tea drinkers!!!


Fave Crafts Blog Hop

The Infamous Pillowcase Dress...

I know millions of these dresses have been made....(Actually, it's the very first thing I learned to sew), but I can't help it...I still love them!  I learned to sew when my 8 year old daughter was 3.  I now have another baby girl, and it has been soooo much fun sewing for an itty bitty girl!  I decided on a pillowcase dress because this dress is limited to October, and I kind of got a late start.  She can wear it next year as a tunic top with leggings (I like it with leggings this year too!).  My oldest daughter has gotten as many as three years out of her pillowcase dresses!  I can't wait to see her in it, but it isn't worth waking her up from her nap...almost, but not quite!

A New Spin on the European Market Tote

I'm trying something new with the collapsible market tote.  Many of them have the ribbon tied on them, and I offer those too, but a friend of mine gave me this idea...

What do you think???  A cute initial monogrammed on the corner would make it complete.



Howdy Partner!

I know my post title is corny, but I couldn't help it!  This little cowboy set makes me hear, "Rollin', rollin', rollin'...Keep those dawgies rollin'!"  Maybe it is the fall break with four kids at home that is starting to mess with my brain a little... Anyway, I had to share!  I tried this bib pattern by "Precious Patterns," and I love it!  it solves the problem of baby food on the shoulders!  I don't know about your kids, but every single one of mine have always turned their faces away when they see me coming with a washcloth. Clean clothes end up instantly messy with something green or orange all over the shoulder.  Not anymore!  Now, if I can just keep it off mine.  My baby always waits to sneeze after a mouthful of pureed something or other...

I have been eyeing all of the reusable snack bags out there and decided to give it a try.  Besides fighting with the slippery nylon interior, these were addictive to make.  I think I'll make some for my older kids to use in their lunchboxes.  Plastic bags can get expensive when you use them as much as we do...probably not so good for the environment either.  This pattern can be found at the "Woobie Shop."  The pattern is for three different sizes of bags.  The one shown here is the smallest bag.  It's a good size for those little "Puffs" or "Cheerios."

 This set would be great for a little boy, and I just listed it on Etsy in my shop.  :)

Indulge Yourself!!!

"Spa Pillows," "Therapy Bags," whatever you want to call them, they are Heavenly!...And they have just been listed on Etsy! They come in sets of two, so you can plop one on your neck and tuck one behind your back if you choose. :) They are a generous 8"x 10" sizes bags, and I've used coordinating prints to make them fun!

You will be glad they are sold in sets of two...we've only had one in this house, and we fight over it!

Spa/ Therapy Pillows

Here is a little peek at what I've been up to lately!  I have 40 pounds of "Clean Feed Deer Corn" on my sewing room floor!!!  If there were security cameras recording me at Wal-Mart the day I purchased this bag, then there is going to be a good laugh at the company Christmas party!  I struggled trying to get that thing under my cart (my only available space since I still have a baby in an infant seat taking up the whole cart!).  I left in a sweat, but I was on a mission  to get this corn!

I've made wheat pillows before, but recently, I came across a site on the Internet that talked about how much better the corn feed bags were.  It was actually written by a nurse that got her corn bags/ pillows FDA approved for use in the hospital (she worked on the physical rehab floor).  Corn feed is safer.  I had no idea that the wheat pillows that I had been making could actually explode in the microwave.  I'm sure the kids would enjoy that show, but I sure wouldn't want to clean up that mess!  It also has the risk of fire when the small grains dry out.  Flax seed can also explode, and it is expensive.  So, this is how I ended up with 40 pounds of corn!

After making these, I microwaved each one three times for three minutes each (allowing it to cool completely between each zap).  Seeing as they stay hot for so long, it took me quite a while!  Doing this before giving them away, or selling them, helps to extract the natural moistures in the corn.  Now my bags are ready to go!  They can be used hot, or they can be stored in the freezer and used as a drip-free ice pack.  I'm going to make small ones to keep in the freezer for my kids.  They constantly are bumping their noggins!!!  Sooooo many uses for these thing.  I'm going to make some flannel ones in fun prints for the kids.  I think they would love to have a warm bag tucked in by their feet when the weather gets cooler.  ...and maybe a neck wrap...hmmmmm

I've made the 8"x10" size with a removable slipcover for washing.  I still have LOTS of corn, so I better get busy.  Honestly, a deer jumped out in front of my car the other night... Do you think I smell like corn???

 

Let's Get Physical!

My little boy, Aidan, is in kindergarten this year.  For a fundraiser, the children ran laps around the school, and sponsors could either pledge per lap or give a flat donation.  Aidan's little legs ran him around the entire school thirteen times!  To gear up for this big day, we had to record all of the different forms of physical activity that he did each day.  He also had to create a self-portrait of himself out of the gingerbread"ish" form that was sent home.  It was supposed to be what he looks like when he exercises.  Are you ready for this?  Here ya go....

Sweatband, sunglasses, muscle shirt...LOL!  I was cracking up!  My husband thought it looked a little like Richard Simmons, but I would have had to find some curlier yarn for that!  I had to share... I thought it was so cute!