Adventures of our Fami-Ly

Songs for Sunday-“Oh, How He Loves Us”

2012-03-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Sunday, Fami-Ly!

I thought that I could share with you some of my favorite songs on Sundays from now on. I love music, and I love worship music. Here are two of the songs I can’t get enough of right now:

"Oh How He Loves Us" by The David Crowder Band"

"Before the Throne Of God" sung by Shane & Shane

I hope these songs can be an encouragement to you!

What are some of your favorite worship songs?

Guest Blogger: Melissa shares an Easter Flower Pot

2012-03-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy weekend, Fami-Ly! Today is an extra fun day because I’m trading blogs with my friend Melissa from Serendipity and Spice. Be sure to stop over to her blog and check out my no-sew cloth placemat pillow cover tutorial.

Now let’s welcome Melissa with a big “HEY MELISSA!”

Ready?

1-2-3………

“HEY MELISSA!”

Let me just say how excited I am to be Trading Blogs with Sarah today! She is absolutely fantastic-- but you guys already know that, don't you?! I am just so honored that she's allowing me to hang out with you guys today!

I'm Melissa from over at Serendipity and Spice- that's where Sarah is today (make sure you go visit her). I'm a new stay at home mom to a beautiful 4 month old baby boy. He loves his momma dearly and HATES being put down so usually I'm holding him in one arm while crafting, cooking, cleaning, taking pictures, or typing with the other.

Serendipity and Spice is an eclectic mix of cooking, crafting, motherhood, tips & tricks, and just life as an ordinary family. You won't find recipes for Coq Au Vin but you will find the most succulent roast chicken recipe ever. I may not show you how to put a skylight in your bathroom but I will show you how to make a few cute decorating ideas for Easter. I hope you'll pop over and follow me. Okay, enough about me.... on to the fun stuff!

When I was wondering around Hobby Lobby the other day I came across a scratch and dent section that had me in Crafter's Heaven! One of my finds was this flower pot that was marked down to $1.

Why was it marked all the way down to $1?

Oh, because of a little crack:

Did you know that painting a little white school glue on both sides will seal the crack?

How awesome is that?!

Now, you want to make sure that you use a paint brush and brush down the glue so it doesn't cause a bubble on your pot.

Once the glue dried I painted the pot grey. Then I decided it was a little dull so I went over it with a Pearl White acrylic paint (both the grey and the pearl were .89 each at HL). In a surprising twist the Pearl White made the pot look like brushed steel.... pretty cool!

I added a little ribbon but decided it needed something more.

So, I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out some grey vinyl (which matched the pot exactly.... yeah me!) and cut out "Happy Easter" and attached the letters to a swatch of fabric.

Finally, I used the hot glue gun to attach the swatch of fabric to the pot.

Note: I did four little dots of glue (one in each corner of the fabric) so that I can easily pull the fabric off and change it out for another season.

Ta Da!

Now I have a beautiful greenery pot to spruce up the bathroom!

If you enjoyed this tutorial I would love it if you came by Serendipity and Spice sometime to say Hi!

Or you can subscribe via Facebook, Twitter, RSS feed, or by email.

Putting things into perspective…

2012-03-08T20:56:00.001-06:00

Remember my goals for this little blog? Well I just wanted to share a story from Compassion International. I feel like those of us living in America can become so blinded to the life conditions that are a reality to so many in this world. I felt it would be good for us to read a story about this precious woman, Purity, and the story of her life.

May we never forget that there are so many less fortunate than us, and may we never stop striving to help them.

Purity’s Story

Purity's six daughters were born into a harsh reality and put on a difficult path without any choices. They not only came into the world surrounded by poverty, but they entered the world encountering ridicule and abuse.

In the Kenyan Maasai community, having no one to inherit the family's wealth is considered a taboo. Sons are an integral part of the family unit, while the daughters hardly have a place. After all, they would be married off and form part of other clans and families. Investing in girls is considered a waste of resources.

Trouble began when Violet's mother, Purity, failed to give birth to a baby boy after six consecutive tries. She did successfully give birth to six daughters: Vivian, Violet, Vienna, Valentine, Victoria and Patience.

The perpetual conflict at home caused by the lack of sons, the constant intimidation and verbal abuse eventually tore the family apart. So Purity chose to remove herself and her daughters from the abuse.

Where Do I Go?

Purity, confident she made the right decision, was still faced with this harsh reality: Where does one go with several young girls and no decent means of survival? The only place Purity could think of was her father's home in Konza, on the border between the Kamba and Maasai communities.

She knew that her well-to-do father would take them in until an amicable solution was reached. But being a polygamous man with several sons from his second wife, trouble soon followed over property ownership, leading her to regret the decision she had made.

Her stepbrothers, greedy for land and money, accused Purity with lie after lie to keep her from receiving any inheritance from her father. Threats to evict her from the homestead came shortly after the accusations.

Purity soon realized that staying with her father was too much for her to handle and could potentially be dangerous. Her prolonged visit only worsened the situation and her elderly father did nothing to resolve the conflict.

A Mother's Protection

Purity's stepbrothers threatened her daughters and were eager to get them all married off. Purity disagreed with this path for her daughters; she stood her ground and vowed to protect her six girls.

Violet was soon registered with Compassion-assisted child development center KE-552. Her mother stood by her promise to protect and provide a good life for her daughters.

Purity's stepbrothers became enraged and appalled that she would not get rid of her daughters. For the Maasi community, Purity's protection of her girls was a threat against the status quo, and there was no way it was going to go away unpunished.

Early one morning Purity and her daughters were disrupted from their sleep by heavy footsteps. The knocking down of doors and random flashlights pierced the darkness. A group of about 20 men broke into the house and started breaking whatever stood before them.

In the midst of the conflict Purity's daughters escaped through the window and hid behind the bushes for refuge. But Violet was left behind and exposed to the horrendous ordeal.

"They beat me up really bad and blood gushed like a broken water pipe," said Purity. "What pains me the most is the fact that my baby, Violet, witnessed it."

Purity was taken to the hospital after the attack. She suspected that her stepbrothers hired the men to send a message.

Purity is a resilient woman. Raising six girls in a male-dominated society takes more than tough skin. Yet she began to wonder, "How much longer can I last?"

Living in Fear

Violet and her sisters were living in constant fear of attack, though the matter had been reported to the authorities. The threats did not cease. Violet stopped going to school and to the Compassion center; she would only go where her mother could accompany her. Purity did not take any chances with her children and stayed home to take care of them.

Her stepbrothers still insisted that she leave. If she didn't, they would make sure that her house was burnt down with all their belongings.

A Vital Intervention

Together with staff from the Compassion-assisted center, Purity sought help from the District's Children Officer, who referred her to Taretuoki Rescue Center. This center is led by Bishop Osoi and is located in Emali. Workers at this center help orphaned and vulnerable children by providing them home-based care and advocacy. For Violet and her sisters, this offered the perfect haven.

The center also helped Purity rent a small room within walking distance of the dusty town. Compassion is helping to pay her rent and is providing food for Purity on a monthly basis. Violet had to be transferred from her previous Compassion-assisted center to a center nearby their new home, Sultan Hamud (KE-374).

Ensuring Safety

Jacob, the social worker at this new center, remembered how he met Violet and her mother. "She came to the center and did not speak much," says Jacob. "She was withdrawn from other children, but she was quite receptive when I talked to her." Jacob was instrumental in ensuring Violet's safety and care.

"Violet and her mother were taken through counseling at the center through the help of the child development workers and the church elders," says Jacob. "They were able to talk through the ordeal, which helped them to deal with the pain."

Purity is thankful for the intervention. "If there is one thing I am thankful about, it's the moral support I have received from the center workers," she says.

She also testifies that Violet's confidence has grown during her short duration at this center. Though Violet is a bit older than other kids at the center, she has Joyce and Edna as her closest friends. They play soccer and other games, and spend most of their free time chatting.

A Desire for Justice

As Violet sits under the tree enjoying lunch at the center, this reserved and shy girl is optimistic about her future. Now in the eighth grade, she is sure of what she wants to achieve.

"I want to be a lawyer. I desire to fight for the rights of children because I do not want any child to go through the violence we experienced at home," says Violet.

Violet and her sisters are happy to be together at Taretuoki Rescue Center. They will stay here for a couple of months until a permanent solution is reached. In the meantime, Purity's family continues to receive domestic assistance for their general care, keeping their harmful relatives at a distance.

This story can be found here.

Trade School class #1-Hang pictures using pop tabs

2012-03-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Tuesday, friends! I’m so excited about today because today is the first class of my new series, Trade School!

And we are blessed to have some super qualified teachers sharing with us today—Kelli and Kristi from Lolly Jane.

These two sisters offer endless craft inspiration, tutorials, and furniture makeovers. Definitely stop over and make sure to become a “follower”—you don’t want to miss what they have to share!

So now sit back, take out a piece of paper & pencil, and be prepared to take some notes!

Hi Trade School students!

We are SO excited to be the first class you will "attend" at Adventures of my Famil-Ly! If you're a regular reader at Lolly Jane, our eclectic craft and DIY blog, you know that these two "professors" are diet soda drinkers and will often see a can peeking through our posts here or there.

Well today we want to teach you how to hang pictures using pop tabs, our alternative to pricey sawtooth hangers:

Let's begin, shall we?

Simply screw a pop tab on the back of a frame, bend the top of the tab slightly so it will catch when hanging then hang. Easy peasy, right? :)

This quick tip has come through for us time and time again, as we always have a stash of Diet Coke in the pantry! This week Kristi was hanging some pictures and didn't have a pop tab on hand {she's been on a fountain drink kick lately} and instead plucked off a chicken noodle soup can tab and didn't skip a beat in her decorating endeavor. When you're limited to crafting/decorating during nap time like so many of our SAHM students{er, bloggers!} are, you can't just run to the hardware store for a saw tooth hanger and we've discovered this is a great solution to the hassle.

We would ♥ for you to visit our "classroom" for more blogging tips, tricks and tutorials. A big thanks to "Mrs. Sarah" for having us teach today!

XOXO

Thanks, ladies!

Isn’t that just genius? Whowouldathunkit.

Now, it wouldn’t be school without some type of homework, right? So here’s the fun part:

If you are able to use this “lesson” and apply it to your home you will be featured as a

Star Student!

Just take a picture of how you’ve been able to use today’s lesson and send it to me at

adventuresofourfamily{at}gmail{dot}com. I’ll be featuring you next Tuesday and giving you a gold star!

Can’t wait to see which of you will be doing your homework this week!

PS: What kinds of “lessons” would you like to see on Trade School???

Get excited...

2012-03-05T11:27:00.000-06:00

...For Trade School tomorrow!

Our teachers, Kelli and Kristi from Lolly Jane have prepared a great "lesson" for us!

Here's a hint: You will NEVER have to spend money on picture frame hanging kits again!

See you all tomorrow!

Don't be late to class or a detention may be in order!

When my blog grows up…A Linky Party

2012-03-01T21:27:00.004-06:00

Several of my friends,

Kari @ Thistlewood Farms

Karah @ the space between

Kelly @ Eclectically Vintage

Andrea @ The Cottage Market

Cassie @ Primitive & Proper

Jessica @ Stay At Home-ista

Miss Bliss @ Bliss Ranch

Laura @ Top This Top That

decided to co-host an impromptu linky party posing one question:

Well for me, this question is kind of difficult to answer. I am going to probably write a bit here and it might be kind of rambling, so just stick with me (pretty please).

Let’s start at the very beginning….(a very good place to start)

Don’t you just loooove Julie Andrews?

I wrote my very first blog post on September 20th with no real intention of anyone, except for my mom and sister, ever reading it. I started this blog, as it says in the first post, so that my family could have a way to keep up with our daily lives.

Because my parents and brother live in Taiwan, and my younger sister lives in Texas, it was a way for them to know what was going on besides the occasional phone call.

When I started I had no idea what a linky party was, what html was, or that there were hundreds…

…probably thousands….

of DIY blogs out there. I mean it—no.idea.

I also didn’t know that people actually tried, and succeeded, in making money off their blogs (an area I’ll touch later on.)

Basically, I was clueless.

Ok, maybe not that clueless.

Then, around the end of October I found out that Young House Love was co-hosting a Pinterest Challenge Party. My sister first exposed me both Young House Love and Pinterest and that was the first time I ever saw a linky party.

Well, after linking up my project I actually had more than 10 readers in a month! Woo hoo!

I’m not joking…check out these stats:

September page views: 44 (but I think 30 of those were mine until I discovered “don’t track my own pageviews” in October
October page views: 268
November page views: 467

Yep, I know. You’re jealous of my overnight success.

Now that I knew what a linky party was, I started searching out others and linked up a few projects. My first big “success” was when I linked up a Christmas table scape at Centsational Girl.

December page views: 1,596

During December I think I finally went from 2 followers to about 20. Maybe 19.

Then, I just kept linking up more and more and more projects and was very, very lucky to be featured by quite a few different blogs.

January page views: 5, 615

This past month has been a big “explosion” for this little blog.

February page views: 58,628

With this increase in traffic has come an increase of comments and most importantly…an increase in friends! My favorite part of blogging BY FAR has been meeting new people and becoming friends with them.

Of course some of my comments are from “one hit wonders” (that’s what I call people who comment once and then I never hear again from them). But some of you, and you know who you are, keep coming back and leaving wonderful comments. And when you leave those comments I write back and we engage in conversations.

Real, meaningful conversations, and I cherish each one.

So, getting back to our question of “what do you want your blog to be when it grows up?”…

I want 3 simple things for this blog:

1. I want my wonderful, dear readers to keep coming back.

I don’t care if I have 3 followers or 800 (well maybe not 3 cause that would mean it’s just my mom and sisters reading), I just want to get to know those of you who come back and read what I have to say.

We all have extremely busy lives and the fact that you take a few minutes out of your day to read something that I have to say is extremely humbling. If you take the time to read, I want to take the time to engage in a relationship with you. So please, if you’re a reader who has never commented let me know you’re out there!

2. I want to include more of my faith in this blog.

Before I am a blogger, wife, daughter, teacher, or friend, I am just a sinner saved by grace. I feel like I have hinted here and there about my love for Christ but I want to share more of that. Because my relationship with Him is the most important to me and “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45).

I understand that this might cause some of you to stop reading. But I cannot not share who I really am, and I am nothing a part from Him. I believe that He is blessing this blog (otherwise I’d still have 45 page views a month) and as one of my favorite songs says “Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise.”

PS: The Lord is doing some MAJOR things in my life right now. We’re talking life-changing stuff and I can’t wait till it’s the right time to share it with you all!!!

3. I want to use this blog to bless others

If I continue to get more “followers” (which, by the way, I really don’t like the wording of that…sounds sort of creepy cultish) then inevitably I will get more page views and traffic all together. I have not come even close to arriving at that point, but I hear that at a certain point sponsors will come looking for you. I also could put up some ads on my blogs. However, if I make money off the blog I want to put it towards helping others.

How cool would it be to sponsor a child through an organization like Compassion International as the Fami-Ly? How awesome would it be to have a linky party where people link up prayer requests? What if could get money from ads and use it to support my local animal shelter?

You see, I never got into blogging to make money. I never even knew that was possible. And if I do ever get to the point where I can make money from this blog (although if I don’t I’m ok with it!) then I’d like to not use it all on myself. The money would really be coming from readers anyways (you visit my site=more money for me) so why not use it to pour back into the community?

Well, those are my thoughts. And if you’re still reading I owe you a cupcake.

{Seriously, my friends is a baker and makes the most amazing cupcakes.
You just email me the flavor you want.}

Now I want to hear what you think. What are your goals and dreams for your blog?

Link up below and you’ll be joining other bloggers in the blogosphere for this wonderful blog hop.

I can’t wait to get to know you all more through this! (The party goes live Friday at 6 AM)

What do you want YOUR BLOG to be when it GROWS UP?

2012-03-01T11:29:00.000-06:00

Hey guys!

Sorry I've been M.I.A with my response to emails, comments, and such. I've just been SUPER sick with strep throat.

I'll try my best to be caught up on the mountains of emails by the end of the weekend.

Just wanted to really quickly let you all know that I am going to be co-hosting a linky party tomorrow with some of my fabulous fellow bloggy buddies (PHEW try saying that five times fast!.)

This is your chance to share with us all your dreams, goals, and aspirations for your blog. Plus, you'll get to know your fellow blogger friends a little bit better by reading about their blog dreams, goals, and aspirations.

It's going to be a great time and I hope you'll all link up!

PS: This is a blog hop so if you link up here you'll automatically be linked with my other co-hosts

PPS: The party will stay open for a whole week so don't fret if you haven't written up a post yet.

PPPS: Feel free to grab the button below and spread the word!

2 QUICK changes that will make your blog more social and memorable!

2012-02-29T06:30:00.000-06:00

Today I’m going to share 2 very easy and quick tips to make your blog appear more friendly and social to others, and more memorable. These tips are for those of you using Blogger…sorry I don’t know much about Word Press but I assume the steps would be similar.

1. How to get rid of “noreply-comment@blogger.com”

When someone comments on my blog I love to respond via email. It’s easier for me and I feel like I can write more personable responses. It also ensures that the commenter sees my response in case they don’t go back and check the comment feed.

I get so sad when someone leaves an awesome comment and I go to email them my awesome response and I’m hit with “noreply-comment@blogger.com”. That means that I can’t respond to you via email! Boo!

And if I can’t respond to you rest assured that there are many other bloggers who haven’t been able to respond to your comments as well. It sort of makes you appear a bit anti-social, like you’re saying “don’t respond to what I have to say.” And I bet that’s not your intention at all, and you didn’t even know that is how you were coming across.

So here is the QUICK (we’re talking 30 seconds friends) fix to that problem.

1. Click on your Blogger profile from you Blogger Dashboard

2. Click “edit profile” in the top right corner

3. Check “show my email address”

That’s it! Just make sure that the email address that is currently set is the one you want comments sent to.

2. Personalize your Favicon

In this blogosphere with more and more DIY/craft/recipe/sewing blogs popping up each day it’s vital for your blog to have a trademark image/font/slogan that makes your blog memorable. One easy way to add a distinguishing image to your blog is be personalizing your favicon.

What’s a favicon you ask?

It’s that tiny image that appears next to the web page name in a browser.

If you haven’t added a favicon of your own it will automatically be that lovely orange and white “B” image. Boring! A favicon is your chance to create a signature “image” that will be seen each time someone opens your blog in their browser. For example, when we see that red and white play button we automatically think “You Tube”. Wouldn’t you love to have someone see your favicon and automatically think “_____________”

insert your blog

Here’s how to add a personalized Favicon:

1. Create a square image. Choose an image or font and color that is already used a lot on your blog. Using any photo editing program, or even Paint, create your image.

I use Corel PaintShop Photo Pro but there are plenty of free programs you can download like Picnik, Foto Flexer, or Picasa.

Here are the dimensions of my favicon:

2. Go to your Blogger dashboard and click on “layout”

3. Click on “edit” on the Favicon bar

4. Click “Browse”

5. Select your previously made favicon image

6. Click “Save”

7. Your New Favicon should appear now! Woo hoo!

I hope you’ll take 10 minutes and use these 2 tips to make your blog more memorable and easily accessible to all!

I’m spreading the word here:

Mondays: Between Naps on the Porch, Keeping It Simple, Homemaker On A Dime, The Tattered Tag, The DIY Showoff, Home Savvy, Be Colorful, The DIY Home Sweet Home, Mad In Crafts, The Girl Creative, Polly Want A Crafter, Sumos Sweet Stuff, Making The World Cuter, Skip To my Lou, Debbiedoos, Get Outta My Head Please, My 1929 Charmer, Serendipity and Spice, Delectable Home

Tuesdays: Coastal Charm, Cherished Bliss, Confessions, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Tip Junkie, Topsy Turvy, Sassy Sites!, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just A Housewife, Homework, Today's Creative Blog, A Sort of Fairytale, Our Delightful Home

Wednesdays: Blue Cricket Design, Sew Much Ado, Eisy Morgan, My Girlish Whims, Savvy Southern Style, Someday Crafts, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Thrifty Home, Lil Luna, Organize and Decorate Everything, Southern Lovely, Primp Your Stuff

Thursdays: Saved By Love, Fireflies & Jellybeans, Somewhat Simple, Yesterday on Tuesday, House of Hepworths, Beyond the Picketfence, Rhinestone Beagle, Momnivore's Dilemma

Fridays: Remodelaholic, Serenity Now, delicateCONSTRUCTION, Chic On A Shoestring, 504 Main, Miss Mustard Seed, Happy Hour Projects, French Country Cottage, The Shabby Nest, Fun To Craft, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Freckled Laundry, Common Ground, One Artsy Mama

Weekends: Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Nifty Thrifty Things, I Heart Nap Time, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time On My Hands, Lady Bird Ln, Embellishing Life Everyday, Homemaker in Heels

Quick fix casserole: Ground Turkey, Cream of Mushroom Soup, and Tomato

2012-02-28T06:30:00.000-06:00

It’s 5:30 P.M. You’ve just gotten home from work or errands and that question that has crossed your mind so many times before pops up again:

“What’s for dinner?”

You freeze up in fear knowing that hungry bellies are waiting for an answer, but you don’t have one. You quickly scan through your pantry and fridge and realize that you haven’t been to the store in a week. Basically, you’re in trouble.

We’ve all been there before, right? Well, today’s recipe is your life saver. It’s ingredients are items that you most likely will always have on hand in your pantry and fridge and it’s super easy to make.

This recipe actually came about one night when I faced the same aforementioned problem. I put together what I had and this recipe was born. Dave loved it so much that it’s affectionately known as “Dave’s Casserole” around our house. (you can see it here on my new menu board)

So here are the ingredients you’ll need:

2 cans tomato sauce, 1 can diced tomatoes Shredded cheese (I’ve tried using cheddar and 1 or 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup mozzarella and both taste great!)

Pasta (any shape will do except Ground turkey (you could also use ground beef instead, for spaghetti or linguini) this is just my preference)

That’s it! I bet you have most of those ingredients on hand at anytime. The ingredient that makes this different than just your regular baked pasta dish is the cream of mushroom soup. It adds a great flavor and creaminess to the recipe. I recommend using two cans, but if you’re not big on the mushroom flavor you could just add one.

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Step 2: Fill a pot with water and set on the stove to boil. You will need enough water to cook one box of pasta.

Step 3: While the water is warming up, add your ground turkey to a skillet. You want to use one with the tallest sides possible. Break it into chunks and brown over medium heat.

If you’re new to cooking ground turkey it’s good for you to know that it doesn’t actually “brown.” It turns more of a grey color when it’s cooked. If you keep waiting around for it to “brown” then it will be overcooked.

Step 4: Drain the fat from the ground turkey (or beef if that’s what you’re using)

Step 5: Once your water is at a rolling boil add some salt to the water (for flavor) and a dash of olive oil (to keep the pasta from sticking to each other). Then, add your pasta. Cook until al dente (or slightly firm).

Step 6: Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water and then place your cooked pasta into a 9x13 pan.

Step 7: Place the drained ground turkey back into the skillet you used before. Add the cans of tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and cream of mushroom soup to the ground turkey. *You could also add some shredded cheese to the mixture add this point*

Step 8: Mix the ingredients together and cook over medium-low heat until it begins to simmer.

Step 9: Pour the meat/tomato/mushroom mixture over the cooked pasta in the 9x13 pan

The liquid from the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce will allow the mixture to seep down into the dish, covering all the pasta.

Step 10: Cover the casserole with shredded cheese.

I actually prefer cheddar cheese, but mozzarella is what I had on hand. You can be as liberal or as stingy as you want with the cheese.

Step 11: Bake in your pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted.

After removing from the oven let the casserole set for 5-10 minutes and then serve to all the hungry bellies in your home!

Have you marked your calendar…?

Trade School will start on March 6th. Kelli and Kristi from Lolly Jane Boutique will be kicking off the series…I.Can’t.Wait!

Here are some of our “teachers”:

DIY Plant Stand (from a bar stool)

2012-02-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

Here’s my guest post from Bella Nest’s Drab 2 Fab Friday in case you missed it!

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It’s no secret that I have a love for making over discarded furniture. It’s even better when it’s free! Where would you find free furniture you ask? Well, it might be waiting right outside your door.

I’m talking about in the alley.

People leave all sorts of things in the alley, and sometimes they just need a little TLC to really sparkle and shine.

And the alley is exactly where I found my latest project.

I was walking to my car one day after work and I spotted some items in the alley on the other side of our parking lot fence. There was a small dog or cat kennel, some scrap wood, and a bar stool.

The scene of the crime. (Photo taken with my phone, hence the bad quality)

As soon as I saw the bar stool I immediately thought “that looks like a plant stand.” Don’t ask me why that popped into my head. So I stuck my arms through the bars of the fence, grabbed the stool, and shimmied it up and over and into the trunk of my car.

Yeah, that’s right. I’m one of those people.

Here is the stool that I took from the alley:

I probably thought of a plant stand because this stool seems unusually skinny and narrow.

Here is a close-up:

Notice all those little nails? Such a pain to take out!

To begin the transformation I removed the seat from the rest of the stool.

Then, I took off the L brackets and began removing all those stinkin’ staples and nails. There were lots!

This pile is only half of all the nails and staples!

About 30 minutes, and 3 blisters, later I was ready to take off the old leather covering. My plan was to take off the cover and re-use the original wood from the seat.

However, when I pried up the leather I found this:

MOLD!

And lots of it!

There was no way I was going to even try and scrape this off. The whole seat had.to.go!

So, I had to improvise a new top for my plant stand. Luckily we had some already cut pieces of MDF from another project we ~~will probably never finish~~ haven’t gotten to yet.

It fit perfectly!

Now that I had all my wood ready, it was time to paint. I used some white paint, from Martha’s discontinued line, that I already had in the house.

All the wood got 3 good coats and were ready to go!

I wanted to give the top of the plant stand a little pizzaz so I decided to add a chevron pattern. Gotta love chevron, right?

I’m a don’t-like-to-measure-eyeball-everything kind of girl, so for making this pattern I just used painter’s tape and eyeballed the lines.

It’s not perfect, but I wasn’t too worried since most of it would eventually be covered by a plant.

Before I painted it grey I used a gift card to smooth down the tape to make sure no paint could seep under. Seeping paint=not crisp lines.

Next came the grey. I used a sample-sized pot that I had purchased when testing out colors for my topless table.

Now the trick for getting crisp lines is to remove the tape when the paint is just dry to the touch. If you wait too long you’ll end of peeling some of the paint up.

Not bad for eye-ballin’ it, right?

Now you probably noticed that the grey paint could use another coat. I did go back with a small craft brush and fill in the parts that needed it most. But again, a plant would be covering it so I wasn’t too concerned.

Then came 2 coats of poly to seal the paint and protect it from any moisture that might come from the plant pots.

The last step was to attach the chevron top to the rest of the stand.

{Enter my tool man-Dave.}

He drilled long screws down through the top into the legs of the stand.

All done!

But what is a plant stand without a plant???

I wanted to go with something that was cheery and vibrant green. I really don’t know much about plants so my only criteria was the color and a plant that only needed medium light.

I went with this sunny yellow pot because I knew it would go well with the grey and because it’s such a happy color. Oh how I long for spring to be here!!!

During the day our curtains are closed since we’re at work. So, this guy will not be getting this much light during the week.

Pretty cute, right?

The total cost for the plant stand was zero point zero dollars. Total cost for the whole project was $15.00 ($5.00 for the plant and $10.00 for the pot).

So, do you have any old bar stools laying around that you could convert to a plant stand?

Have you searched the alleys around your home for diamonds in the rough? Well, get a’lookin’ cause there are great things to be found!

Don’t forget…

be sure to spread the word about my Trade School series that will start on March 6th. I’d love for you to grab my button (right on my side bar!) and spread the word.

Here are some of the great bloggers that we get to learn from:

I’m linking up my plant stand to these awesome parties:

Thursdays: Saved By Love, Fireflies & Jellybeans, Somewhat Simple, Yesterday on Tuesday, House of Hepworths, Beyond the Picketfence, Rhinestone Beagle, Momnivore's Dilemma

Weekends: Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Nifty Thrifty Things, I Heart Nap Time, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time On My Hands, Lady Bird Ln, Embellishing Life Everyday, Homemaker in Heels

Better late than never…Valentine’s Gift Exchange

2012-02-25T13:57:00.001-06:00

As I sit here and type I am sick. Super sick. We’re talking “I-watched-Qubo-for-1-hour-because-I-was-too-sick-to-get-up-and-find-the-remote” sick.

There is some crazy virus going around my school right now! We had 70 students absent on Friday. 70! If you’re wondering if that’s a lot…that’s a lot!

Well it seems to have gotten it’s nasty little grip on my body (despite using so much hand sanitizer during the week that skin was starting to flake off!) and won’t let go.

It seems like the only thing I do have some energy for is to sit here on the couch, under my favorite blanket, and type.

So, here is a post that I should have written up last week, but better late than never!

During the Valentine’s season I signed up to be a part of a hand-made gift exchange hosted by Crystal at Homemaker in Heels.

She paired me up with Jennifer from Finding My Way in Texas and here are the lovely gifts that she sent me!

Side note: There were also some Dove chocolates in her sweet care package but they were not available for photographing (AKA we ate them within 5 minutes of opening the envelope).

She made this ruffled bag that I think is so cute. It will be perfect for carrying home fruits and veg from the farmer’s market this spring/summer.

Here’s a view of the back side:

And a few close-ups of the ruffles and handle:

On top of this bag she made me some rosette hair clips.

Isn’t she so crafty?

I also received this “Love” plaque and scented candles.

And what’s a crafty DIY girl without a homemade card?

Thanks, Jennifer, for all the goodies you sent me!

So what did I give her in return? Well, I found out that Jennifer had just gotten married (on February 1st!) so I scoured her pinboards looking for something that she might like as a wedding gift.

I stumbled upon this, and was inspired:

So I took my hand sewing skills and made her this:

I popped it into a spray-painted and distressed frame and shipped it off to Texas!

This was my first gift exchange and I’m excited to do another one! Not only did I get some super cute gifts but I made a new bloggy friend as well.

Be sure to check out Jennifer’s blog Finding My Way in Texas!

And…

be sure to spread the word about my Trade School series that will start on March 6th. I’d love for you to grab my button (right on my side bar!) and spread the word.

Here are some of the great bloggers that we get to learn from:

Have a great weekend!

Guest Blogging At Bella Nest!

2012-02-24T11:40:00.001-06:00

Hello Fami-Ly!

Today I'm the guest blogger at Bella Nest's Drab 2 Fab Friday.

Head on over and check out my bar stool turned plant stand transformation!

PS: Don't forget about Trade School coming up on Tuesday, March 6th.
PPS: Have you "liked" Adventures of Our Fami-Ly on facebook yet?

-Sarah

Trade School Tuesday

2012-02-23T21:31:00.001-06:00

I’m suuuuper excited to share some exciting news with you all today!

I’ve decided to start my first series and you’re all invited!

Trade School is for all of you life-long learners. It’s for those of you who love picking up new tips on cooking, crafting, organizing, and more. It’s for those of us who loved school because of the new things we got to learn each day.

On the first and third Tuesday of each month I will have some awesome blogger friends serve as our teachers and share with us a new skill. They’ll use their thoroughly prepared lesson plans to drive their instruction which will lead to a high level of understanding.

Ok, that’s the teacher in me. Mostly the “teachers” will be sharing with us different how-to’s.

Here are some of the teachers I already have lined up:

If you haven’t checked out their blogs yet, please stop over and leave them some comment love. Just tell them that Sarah sent you. All of these ladies are more than qualified to teach us a thing or too.

I’ll be kicking off this series on Tuesday, March 6th with our teacher “Miss Holly,” from Bella Nest.

So spread the word about these free “classes” and I’ll see all you lovely students on March 6th!

PS: feel free to grab the button from my side bar!

Organization Smack Down: The linen closet {before}

2012-02-22T20:13:00.001-06:00

Happy hump day everyone! Is it just me, or is this week flying by?

Time for the second installment of my Organization Smack Down. If you’re just joining us, I am acknowledging my disorganized life and finally taking a stand. I’m going through my home, one room at a time, and tackling my biggest disorganized messes.

So far I’ve laid the smack on my pantry:

Before After

Next I’m walking a few feet down the hallway to my bathroom. Come along for the ride!

Before you see the “before” pictures of my linen closet you first should know a few things about my bathroom. We live in a rented apartment in the city of Chicago and space is a premium.

If you’ve ever lived in a city apartment you know that one of the most sought-after features of any place is an in-unit washer and dryer. Most places either don’t have one or have one in a creepy basement.

We are blessed to have a washer and dryer in our unit, but it’s in our bathroom.

And we’re not talking about a washer and dryer that is tucked neatly behind bi-fold doors. I mean it’s right in our bathroom.

Oh hello there Mr. Dryer.

Let’s look at this room from another angle to see just how in-your-face this washer/dryer is.

The door literally can’t open all the way because of the dryer. It’s a tight squeeze to say the least.

However, I am grateful to not have to lug bags of my dirty clothes down the street to the laundry mat. I’d rather have this monstrosity stare at me while I brush my teeth than not have him there at all.

But getting back to my linen closet…

See that purple curtain? Behind it are 3 very deep shelves that serve as our linen closet. And here are what they look like:

I’m glad this picture is a bit fuzzy. It kind of fits in with the “chaos” theme of this linen closet.

One of the big problems with the way the shelves are set up is that the highest one (the top one seen in this picture) is about 5’ 10’’ off the ground. And I stand at 5’4’’. So, my method for putting sheets up there is a throw-it-and-hope-it-stays method.

And obviously that method is not working for me.

Then, on the lowest shelf we have to put all of our toiletries.

I think I had hopes of organizing this (see the baskets?) but just never quite followed through.

Besides the challenges I just mentioned, this linen closet organization has one more hurdle. I am going to try and organize it for FREE.

You see we’re going to be moving out of this apartment in April and I don’t want to put money into organizing a space that we won’t have much longer.

I didn’t mind buying things for my pantry organization since that will be coming with us.

So through “house shopping” I’m going to have to get creative and organize with what I already have. Hopefully whatever techniques I use will be ones that I can carry over in our next place.

Be sure to check back next week for the “after reveal.”

BUT WAIT~THERE’S MORE!

Tomorrow I’ll be debuting a new series I’m going to start in March. Let’s just say you better sharpen your number 2 pencils and dust off your notebooks.

See you tomorrow!

Organization Smack down: Pantry reveal

2012-02-20T10:06:00.001-06:00

Today is the day! I finally get to show you that I, Sarah, can be organized.

For those of you just joining us, I recently put the smack down on myself to get organized, and I started with my kitchen pantry.

Let’s all take another look at the before:

Now, before I show you all my pretty “after” pictures I’m going to first show you all the steps I took to get this pantry organized. I was ~~happy~~ relieved to hear that some of you are also struggling with disorganization, so maybe some of my tips will help you out.

The first thing I did was empty out the entire pantry and wipe down the shelves:

I don’t have a lot of counter space in my kitchen so I put all my food and things on the dining room table.

Wowza, that’s a lot of stuff.

Now, when one empties the contents of a once-disorganized-pantry one tends to find many interesting things.

For example:

Um, yeah. 2010? Really, Sarah? Really? Shameful, just shameful.

Hopefully it’s clear to see that the next step was to sort through the contents of the pantry and throw away all the expired/unwanted items and also set aside the food I was never going to use (remember the gravy?) to bring to our church’s food pantry.

Once I was left with the food I wanted and needed, I separated it into groups. The way you choose to organize your food really depends on your needs and what makes sense to you. I could have copied the organization of some other dream pantry, but the chance of keeping it organized would be slim. I knew that if I was going to conquer my disorganization I would have to really custom organize my pantry to my needs and wants.

Here’s how I grouped my food:

After I had grouped my items I needed to make sure that they would all fit on the teeny-tiny shelves. So, I took a shelf out of the pantry and arranged the items on the actual shelf to make sure they would fit.

After I knew all my items would fit, I started to spruce of the shelves themselves—with a little Con-Tact paper.

I’ve never used Con-Tact before, and honestly thought it was a dated idea. However, when I saw this cheery color and fun pattern at Target I thought “I’m going to make Con-Tact paper hip again.”

If you’re like me, and have never used this before, it’s super simple! You just peel off the back and stick. I peeled a small bit of backing off at a time, which made it easier to make smooth.

To get the little air bubbles out, I simply used an old gift card to smooth them:

And because I was too lazy to cut the Con-Tact paper to the exact size of the shelf, I just used an X-acto knife to trim the excess.

Much cuter, right?

*I apologize for these poorly lit indoor photos, but I was organizing at 11 o’clock at night*

To organize the pantry I used white baskets from Target and this Snapware container set (also from Target). You get all this for $20.00, which I thought was a good deal.

To add labels to the containers I actually had to think outside-the-box. I wanted something that I could change easily, if the contents of the container changed. Initially my plan was to buy some black vinyl and write on it with chalk pens. But, the vinyl cost $10 and the markers were $6 and Dave helped me realized that $16 for labels was a bit ridiculous.

So, here was my plan B:

I bought these small wooden craft ovals for 29 cents each…

…got out my trusty can of chalkboard paint…

…and painted those suckers.

Et Voila! 10 labels for $2.90 which is a steal compared to the $16.00 I was about to shell out (thanks again, Dave, for being the voice of reason!)

Add a little hot glue, and you’re in business!

And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for (wow, I hope this isn’t one of those situations where you build something up too much and then everyone thinks “oh, is that all?”)

I know it doesn’t look like some of those amazing inspiration pics I posted earlier, but I did the best I could with 15x15 shelves!

Let’s get a closer, shall we?

I used this two-tier lazy Susan to make the most of my space. But from the looks of it I might need to invest in a stronger one eventually.

Before this organization I never had space to put my cereal in the pantry, it used to sit on top of the fridge. I’m happy to have all my food in one place now!

Everything has a place!

Because I had to adjust the height of some shelves to fit my new containers I actually had to take out one of the shelves. That means that the paper plates/cups/utensils had to find another home in the closet. That works just fine for me since we hardly ever use those things.

One of my favorite parts is this awesome white board organizer I found at Target on clearance for $10.00. It hangs on the side of the pantry over the microwave.

It will help me with my meal planning, and will help me keep track of those little things that can easily slip my mind (like staying organized!).

I mounted it using push pins so I could easily take it down and write on it.

Oh, and did you notice in the “before” picture how there was also a big mess on the microwave cart next to the pantry? Well, I cleaned that up too!

I moved my cookbooks and recipes to the window sill that had plenty of space.

Well, that’s it! I’m happy with the way it turned out because I know that it works for me. The real challenge, of course, will be keeping it organized!

Next up on my smack down list is the linen closet and it’s a doozey!

PS: Did you notice those cute little flags on the top of the site? Did you notice one of them is for facebook? That’s right, we’re facebook official now! I’d love for you to “like” my page!

I’m linking up my new pantry at:

Organization Smack Down: The Pantry {before}

2012-02-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

Well, the smack has been laid and I’m trying to get organized!

We’re starting off with my kitchen pantry since I use it everyday and it is seriously out.of.control. Today you’ll see the “before” pictures, and I must warn you that if you have young children you might want to ask them to leave the room.

This stuff is scary.

This is the culprit. This super skinny and super deep Ikea wardrobe. It is supposed to be used to store clothes, but it functions as the pantry in the Ly household.

And now I’m going to open the door………………………

Yeah, I told you it was bad.

What, don’t believe me? Let’s get a little closer:

This picture cracks me up because I have no idea why that gravy jar is there. I think I bought it last Thanksgiving as a back-up and never used it. Why it happened to be in the front of the shelf when I took this picture is beyond me.

I love that there are to-go coffee cups at the front of my baking shelf. This shelf is probably the worst. Let’s zoom in more, shall we?

There is even junk on top!

Wondering about that creepy taped-up Coke Zero can? It’s filled with coins and is a LOUD noisemaker we use sometimes if we catch Lily doing something naughty in the backyard and we need her to stop ASAP.

Why are there crackers up there amidst the dog stuff? Because I’m disorganized, that’s why.

Ok, so that’s it. My pantry. Phew! Feels good to get that over with.

Now, before those horrifying images are permanently etched into your memories, let’s take a look at some inspiration that might just help transform this monstrosity.

Source: google.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Ok, this is beyond gorgeous and perfect. I'm totally in love.

Source: homestoriesatoz.com via Sarah on Pinterest

This pantry from House of Smiths is stunning. I love the design on the walls and the big glass containers.

The problem is that these are like dream home pantries, and are not realistic inspirations for our skinny tall tower pantry. Here are some that look a bit more like mine:

Source: google.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Check out that cool tin treatment on the walls.

Source: inspirationfordecoration.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Simple, clean, and organized.

When I came across this I heard a little chorus of angels singing:

Source: Better Homes and Gardens via Sarah on Pinterest

I love this, and I think I can use a lot of the ideas for my pantry. The shape and size is very similar and it's so, so cute. I love the contact paper on the back and even the calendar and menu planner on the door. And the labels? The labels are awesome!

I think I can get organized guys! I think I can!

Stay tuned for the "after" pictures coming soon.

I'm off to go get rid of random jars of gravy...

An Organization Smack Down

2012-02-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

I have been kind-of dreading writing this post for a long time. Here’s why:

1. It’s hard to for me to show my faults to others

2. My mom always taught me to not show a mess to company

3. Once I put something out there in this big ‘ol internet I can’t take it back

4. It’s going to mean that I have to change

Of course I’m talking about my problem with disorganization.

Now I know that I’m not alone out there with this problem. I know that there are others who will sigh an “amen” when they hear of my struggles. But, it’s still a little hard to admit that I stink at being organized and clutter-free.

I am a closet “disorganist” (I’m pretty sure I made that word up). Meaning, if you were to come to my home it would look spic and span to the untrained eye, but open up a cabinet (or a strategically shut guest bedroom door) and you will find a frightful sight!

This problem is deep-rooted, unfortunately. When I was a kid instead of actually putting my clothes away I would just stick them right back into the dirty clothes hamper. My mom hated when I did this! She’d run up to me with a still-folded sweater yelling “You didn’t wear this!”. Still to this day I hate putting away clothes.

I don’t know why I can’t keep something neat and organized for more than a week. It’s just not my nature…

…but that’s why I’m here putting the smack down on myself.

Oh my. This is quite the picture.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to be *gulp* opening up those cabinets and conveniently shut bedroom doors and I’m going to let the truth OUT! You’ll get to see all the messy, disorganized, cluttered “before” pictures. No editing, I promise!

Then, I’m going to try my darndest to find a solution to the mess. A solution that isn’t a “quick fix” but something that I will actually be able to stick with. For more than a ~~day~~ week. Then, you’ll get to see the (hopefully) glorious “after” shots.

So, will you guys help me? Give me advice/tips/support/virtual hugs? Cause I’m going to need them!

Tomorrow I’ll begin with the dreaded kitchen pantry. Here’s a sneak peek at the horror:

Valentine’s Weekend with Mr. Ly

2012-02-12T21:54:00.000-06:00

I know that Valentine’s Day isn’t officially till tomorrow, but we celebrated it early this year. I don’t know about you, but coming home from a full day of work (not to mention the fact that our school talent show is Tuesday afternoon—bring on the 3 Adele impersonators!) doesn’t usually give me the motivation to be too romantic.

So, we had a weekend full of lovey dovey fun.

On Friday night we went to Geja’s Café in Lincoln Park. This fondue restaurant rocks my Hanes Her Way socks off. Not only is it super romantic, but the food is ah-mazing! I surprised Dave with the reservation since he’d never been there before. We ate until we couldn’t eat anymore… and then we had dessert.

I mean, who can resist chocolate fondue with pound cake, fruit, rice krispie treats, marshmallows, and graham cracker crumbs? It would have been criminal to leave any of that on the plate or in the pot.

Sorry I didn’t take any pics, I had my wife hat on—not my blogger hat.

Then, on Saturday morning I got up to make the hubs breakfast in bed. Is it just me or are Saturday mornings the best part of the week? I LOVE being able to wake up slowly, take my time sipping a cup of coffee, and make a real breakfast that doesn’t consist of Frosted Mini-Wheats.

My perfect week would be a week full of Saturday mornings.

Anyways, I wanted to make him a breakfast he would enjoy, but would also be a little cutesy since it was for Valentine’s Day. Dave loves eggs, so I decided to get all fancy schmancy and make him some shaped eggs.

Enter the cookie cutters:

I know that you can buy metal rings and shapes that are actually for eggs, but I didn’t have any so these seemed like the next best thing. But, as you can tell from the spillage of egg whites, they weren’t exactly perfect for what I was trying to pull off.

(Oh, and I didn’t have a heart cookie cutter which is why you see a tulip and a turtle.)

I made three of these little egg-creations and each time they got a little better and little more recognizable.

Along with the eggs I put in a bit of red and pink with some fruit and yogurt.

To complete the whole breakfast I added biscuits and turkey bacon…

…and topped it off with piping hot coffee in his favorite Superman mug.

Suffice it to say he was a happy guy with a happy and full belly!

Well, if that had been the end of the weekend I would have been a lucky girl. But wait…there was more!!!

On Saturday afternoon I went over to my sister’s house to play with my nephew while Dave was helping out his cousin move some boxes from Ikea. (sorry, those details probably weren’t necessary).

Anyhoo, he told me not to come home until 5:30. Hmmm…suspicious? I was starting to get those butterflies in my stomach that come when I know I’m going to get a surprise.

I.love.surprises!

At 5:30 I walked into the door to find a very dark house. Was I too early for the surprise?

Then, I heard the soft sounds of music coming from the other room. Getting excited!

I walked through the kitchen and hallway to the dining room to find this waiting for me:

OhmygoshwhataluckgirlIam!

Dave had gone to my favorite sushi place, South Coast Sushi, right when they opened their doors at 4:30, to order and pick up all my favorites.

Miso Soup

Sushi deliciousness!

He had gone through the whole house collecting candles and even pre-lighting the new tea lights so that they’d light quickly once I got home. Come on ladies, can I get an “awwwwwwwwww.”

He even picked up my favorite dessert, banana maki, and kept it warm in the oven while we were eating.

He’s a keeper, he’s a keeper.

Oh, and I didn’t even mention my favorite part. That music that I heard playing from the back door when I came home? It was only “our song”, the one we danced to at our wedding.

“To Make You Feel My Love” sung by Mick McAuley and Winifred Horan.

So I think it’s safe to say that I had a wonderful Valentine’s Day weekend spent with my best friend and love. I’m so thankful to God to have such an amazing husband!

PS: Sorry if any gag reflexes were triggered during this super mushy post.

Quiet Book Tutorial and Templates

2012-02-10T10:03:00.000-06:00

Well, here are all my secrets, sources, and sewing tips from the quiet book I debuted a few weeks ago. I hope that they will be useful to you and will inspire you to create one of these books too!

I simply ask that if you use any of my original templates or ideas that you kindly link them back here, just as I’ve done with the templates that were not my own ideas. Other than that, enjoy them all!

To create the quiet book page:

You will need lots of muslin. This material is super durable and easy to work with.

1. Decide on your desired page size and create a template. To make things easy on myself I decided to use a piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper as my template.

2. Fold the muslin in half so you can get two pages with just one set of cutting!

3. Trace your template onto the folded piece of muslin

Step 4: Place pins in each of the four corners (to ensure identical size in both layers of muslin) and cut out your page. I’m not a fan of rotary cutters so I just used plain scissors.

Step 5: Decorate those pages! (Templates are below…read on). After you have sewn all of your felt shapes onto the pages you will turn two pages together, right sides facing. (sorry no pics of this!)

I also used a layer of interfacing between the pages (for extra “oomph”). If using a layer of interfacing you will need to cut it the same size of the pages (12x12 in my case.)

Step 6:

Layer the pages as shown in the *lovely* diagram below to make a little “page sandwich”:

Step 7: Use LOTS of pins and pin the pages together (as shown above) Sew, using a 1/2 seam allowance around the edges of your “page sandwich”. BE SURE TO LEAVE 3 INCHES UNSEWN ON ONE SIDE!

Step 8: Use the opening you left to pull your pages through so they are facing the right way. The interfacing should now be sandwiched between the two pages (which are now facing, right sides out, away from each other).

Step 8: Hand stitch the opening closed.

Now for the fun stuff!

Here are links to templates for each page. When you click on the “Adventures of Our Fami-Ly” links you’ll end up in my Google Docs and can just print the template from there. If I used a template from another site you can click on through and print from their site.

Template: Homemade by Jill

Template: Quiet Book Blog

Template: Adventures of Our Fami-Ly, Quiet Book Blog

Template: Homemade by Jill, Adventures of Our Fami-Ly

Template: Homemade by Jill

Templates: Adventures of Our Fami-Ly (page 1), Adventures of Our Fami-Ly (page 2)

Template: Adventures of Our Fami-Ly

*I used binder rings to hold all the pages together. If you want to do this simply put eyelets or grommets on one side of your page. You can use a piece of notebook paper to give you a template for holes that are evenly spaced apart.*

To make the cover:

Step 1: Cut two rectangles of fabric: To find your width: (page width x 2) + the diameter of your rings + 2″ for overhang + 1″ seam allowance. To find your height: page height + 2″ for overhang + 1″ seam allowance.

Since I had lots of muslin left over I used it and a piece of printed cotton.

Step 2: Turn the fabric right sides facing, and sew them together using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. BE SURE TO LEAVE 3 INCHES OF FABRIC UNSEWN!

Step 3: Using the 3 inch opening, pull your fabric right sides out then hand stitch the opening closed.

Step 4: Make a strap to hold the cover closed. Cut a strip of fabric 8 inches x approximately 14 inches. (Your length will be based on the thickness of your book)

Step 5: Fold the strip of fabric in half (so it is now 4 inches) and pin the opened side.

Step 6: Stitch completely around the rectangle’s perimeter using a 1/4 seam allowance.

Step 7: Stitch a piece of sew-on Velcro to one end of the strap Fold your cover in half and decide where you’d like the strap to attach (this is on the front cover.) Then, sew on the other side of the Velcro in that spot.

Step 8: Place your finished pages inside the cover (this will give you an accurate placement of your strap). Attach one end of your strap to the book using the Velcro pieces you already sewed on. Then, bring the strap around the book to the back. Pin where you want the end of the strap to go.

If your strap is too long (like above), just cut off the end where you placed your pin.

Step 9: Carefully take your pages out of the cover and sew the strap to the back side of the cover.

Step 10: This step is optional if you want to attach your pages with binder rings.

Open your cover flat and mark the center. Then measure half the diameter of your rings to the left and right of the center mark. Use the same template you used to mark the holes on the quiet book pages and place in your eyelets or grommets. (sorry no pictures of this step)

Well, that’s how you make a quiet book.

Plus many hours of sewing.

If you have made a quiet book, or use any of my ideas, I’d love to see them! I think these little books are so cool and a great way to teach children different skills.

Ps: Have you become a follower? I’d love to have you join the Fami-Ly via Google Friend Connect and the new way to follow….Linky Followers. You can find both on the right here -------->.

Thursdays: Saved By Love, Fireflies & Jellybeans, Somewhat Simple, Yesterday on Tuesday, House of Hepworths, Beyond the Picketfence, Rhinestone Beagle, Momnivore's Dilemma

Weekends: Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Nifty Thrifty Things, I Heart Nap Time, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time On My Hands, Lady Bird Ln, Embellishing Life Everyday, Homemaker in Heels

Linky Followers Blog Hop!

2012-02-09T18:57:00.002-06:00

Hey guys,
I know that just yesterday I was posting about how excited I was to have 100 followers, but all that excitement seems a little short lived. Google Friend Connect is going away real soon and so will be the ability to keep track of and view all your favorite blogs in your reader.

But, there is new way to follow your favorite blog, LINKY FOLLOWERS.

In an effort to not loose any of our fabulous readers, Cheri over at It's So Very Cheri has started a Linky Followers Blog Hop.

Here’s all the info-

RULES:

1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate.

{You can have both the LINKY FOLLOWERS & GFC on your site but you must have the LINKY FOLLOWERS to participate in this party hop.}

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3.Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

You will find the code right under the Linky Party where it says CLICK HERE TO ENTER–
just under that it says: WHAT IS A BLOG HOP? GET THE CODE HERE
Click on GET THE CODE HERE and enter it into a post on your site.

You can grab the party button code in the FOOTER at Its So Very Cheri

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want)
–leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

If you want to add the BLOG HOP to your own site you will get lots of new followers–(see rule #2)

So, I’m going to start following all my fav blogs RIGHT now! Join in on the fun and don’t get stuck out in the cold with Google Friend Connect.

A Love song-from the mouth of babes…

2012-02-08T21:44:00.001-06:00

Before I delve into this light hearted post, a few housekeeping details:

1. Yes, I know I promised a tutorial of my quiet book with templates and it is coming! I will hopefully have it up on Friday. Saturday at the latest. I promise.

2. Adventures of Our Fami-Ly has officially reached 100 followers!

Woo to the hoo!!!

My sister Rachel took the 100th spot as per her request. I kept asking why she wouldn’t follow the blog and she said “cause I’m waiting to be number 100.” Well, congrats sis.

Thank you to each and everyone of my dear followers and members of the Fami-Ly. My mom always said that the first time you come over you are a guest, and the next time you are family. So if you’ve stopped by more than once you are now family! I am so incredibly thankful for all the support and positive comments that you guys leave me each day. Waking up to an inbox with a few messages of encouragements is such a blessing.

I know that to many of you “full time bloggers” 100 members isn’t much, but to a little ‘ol school teacher like me it means a lot! I’ll keep plugging away at this blog as long as I continue to love it and feel it’s what the Lord is leading me to do

Ok, now to the main event: A Love Song.

As a music teacher I tend to get lots of little “I Love You” notes with smiling little round faces with music notes coming out of their mouths. I also see lots of portraits of myself—apparently my students think I have big curly hair and always wear triangle shape dresses. Occasionally I will even get an original poem or song passed my way.

Now in general I will try to keep this blog a school-free/kid-free/buggar-free/lice-free(yep there’s lots of that at my school right now)/tantrum-free/sass-free zone. I mean I love my job and all but it’s also nice to have a place where I don’t have to think of all the chaos of the classroom.

But when I received this song from a student I just had to pass it along to you. I mean Valentine’s Day is coming up and it is a sort of a love song. Please read through the entire thing! I promise at the end you will be either laughing or confused or both.

Song (that’s the title)

See if music wasn’t made I wouldn't have a good life

Because music is my life

See if I didn’t have you in my life I wouldn’t have it good

Because you know music

You know how to sing

Tonight I got to let you know how I feel

Because I need to let you fall in love with me

See when I let you go away from me

See when I have to tell you music is my life you don’t care about me

Because music is life

You got to say goodbye and I am tired of your game

Because I just don’t want to deal with you now

Oooo yea music is my life

PS: Hope you like it Mrs. Ly

What.the.heck.

I really hope that she got the lyrics to my song and the song to her scorned lover mixed up. This by far is the strangest song I’ve received in my 6 years of teaching. Oh, and this girl is in the 6th grade.

So let’s just all chew on those lyrics for awhile and let me know what you think.

-Sarah

A day date in downtown Chicago

2012-02-07T06:27:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Dave and I went on a little day date downtown. We needed to do a little shopping and I wanted to go to my favorite place on State Street to get dessert. Not just any dessert, but crème brulee.

I heart crème brulee.

And the best place to get it near the theater district is Atwood Café.

So here are some photos of the little day date (because my mom reads this blog and loves to see pictures of us!) Oh, and they’re all in black and white because it was a black and white kind of day.

Our church, South Loop Community Church, is right in the heart of the South Loop (duh!) and this is the view from the font door. I think buildings are so lovely, especially in black and white.

We hopped on the train and took it to the theater district (red line stop of State/Lake for those of you interested).

On the way I tried to take ~~a lot~~ some photos of Dave but he wasn’t too thrilled. Hence the fakey smile.

He’s such a good sport to put up with me!

When we got off the train we stopped by Daley Plaza and I snapped some photos of the famous Picasso sculpture.

In the plaza there is also an eternal flame that burns for the soldiers serving in the military. However, the pigeons just seen to think that it is a pigeon bonfire. It was the hottest (literally!) place in town for those feathery friends.

And another building shot for you:

After the Daley Plaza we did some shopping at Macy’s and then went to the Atwood Café.

I love the Atwood Café because:

1. The furniture is ridiculously plush and comfortable

These are their regular chairs and are luscious crushed velvet.

But they also have small little couches for seating as well. Couches, people!

A comfy little love seat all to myself!

2. The décor is lovely. They have high tray ceilings and gorgeous chandeliers and it’s located right off the lobby of the Hotel Burnham.

3. The friendly service. For being a part of a posh hotel, the servers are very kind, unpretentious, and helpful. Sorry, didn’t snap a picture of our server. He did ask if we were some sort of food critics/bloggers though because we were taking a bunch of pictures. We should have pretended we were…maybe could have gotten the meal for free…

4. The food. I have eaten there for dinner twice, and for this day date we ate Saturday brunch. The dinner entrees are divine, but my favorite is their crème brulee for dessert. But, of course, they weren’t serving the crème brulee for brunch. Nooooooo! Our server did say he’d ask the chefs if they’d make some special for me (see, I told you the servers were nice!) but that didn’t happen.

Oh well, we did have some yummy brunch fare.

We started out with coffee, of course! This girl can’t eat breakfast food without ~~3,2~~ 1 cup of coffee.

I ordered my favorite breakfast food, French toast. There’s came with stewed apples on top if you’re wondering what those strange objects on top of the bread are.

Dave ordered a breakfast burrito that came with some scrumptious looking fresh berries.

So there is the recap of our little day date. Hope you enjoy the family updates, mom (and all you other members of the Fami-Ly)!

Getting to know some new friends here:

Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast cups

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Looking for a cheap, quick, and delicious breakfast recipe? Look no further. These breakfast cups made from scrambled eggs, bacon, and shredded cheese are the perfect addition to a brunch spread or breakfast table. And since the egg, bacon, and cheese is contained in a delicously-doughy cup, they are super portable and easy for kids to eat!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Muffin tin Eggs (5 eggs per 6 breakfast cups)

Bacon (I use turkey) Shredded cheddar cheese (reduced fat)

Crescent rolls

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray your muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. You want to get good coverage of the spray inside of each of the muffin cups so everything comes out nice and easy later on.

Step 2: Open up your package of crescent rolls and divide the dough into triangles. It’s easiest to just lay them out on a piece of wax paper.

Step 3: Take one triangle and place the widest part of it on the bottom of a muffin cup. A tail of dough should be hanging out the side.

Step 4: Take a sharp knife and cut off the “tail” of the dough. Then use it to line the part of the muffin cup that isn’t already covered in dough.

Repeat this process for the remaining muffin cups. Then, put the muffin tin in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the filling.

Step 5: Place your bacon on a microwave safe plate and cook in the microwave for 3 minutes-turn the plate-2 more minutes. (You could also cook it on the stove but this method is faster and you don’t have to worry about watching it in a pan).

For 6 breakfast cups you only need 3 pieces of bacon—I made extra so Mr. Ly could have a snack while he waited. Extra bacon is never a bad thing in my opinion.

Step 6: Crack your 5 eggs into a bowl. Add 1/4 cup milk and scramble the yolks using a fork or wire whisk. Then, add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 7: Put your egg mixture into a pan and cook over medium-low heat for approximately 5-8 minutes.

You want the eggs to be firm but slightly runny. The eggs will finish cooking later in the oven.

Step 8: Take your muffin tin out of the fridge and spoon the scrambled eggs into each cup. (As you can see from the glare on the pan I used lots of non-stick spray!)

Step 9: Take your cooked bacon out of the microwave and crumble pieces on top of the eggs.

Step 10: Top the eggs and bacon with some shredded cheese.

Step 11: Place the breakfast cups into the pre-heated oven and cook for 15 minutes or until the edges of the crescent rolls are golden brown and the cheese is melted.

Step 12: Once the cups are finished, remove from the oven and run a sharp knife around the edges of each muffin cup.

Step 13: Serve and enjoy!

Here’s a shot showing how nicely they hold up even after a big bite!

*Don’t want to miss a post? I’d love for you to join the Fami-Ly and become a follower today via Linky Folowers and Google Friend Connect!*

I’m linking up to these fabulous parties:

Thursdays: Saved By Love, Fireflies & Jellybeans, Somewhat Simple, Yesterday on Tuesday, House of Hepworths, Beyond the Picketfence, Rhinestone Beagle, Momnivore's Dilemma

Weekends: Be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Nifty Thrifty Things, I Heart Nap Time, Lolly Jane, Too Much Time On My Hands, Lady Bird Ln, Embellishing Life Everyday, Homemaker in Heels

In case you missed it-January edition

2012-02-05T14:47:00.001-06:00

With this blog still in the beginning growth stage, and new readers stopping by each day, I thought it would be fun to round up all the projects/recipes/posts from the month in one place. Think of this as your one-stop-shop for what went down with the Fami-Ly in January.

(Just click on the photo to read the rest of the post)

The month began with the debut of my topless (and G-rated) table post. I found the perfect table in a thrift store, dropped it, broke the marble top, and then proceeded to give her a proper makeover.

Then I showed you how to take a little trinket from Home Depot and turn it into a cute charm-like necklace.

This month Adventures of Our Fami-Ly was also lucky enough to win two newbie awards from some other wonderful bloggers.

You all got to know my dog, Lily, a little better by reading about her rescue story. She is definitely a huge source of joy in our life and we are so thankful to have found her!

On the craft front I showed you how to make a vellum hurricane cover (great for changing up the look of a simple hurricane!) and how to create a simple feathered wreath.

In need of a quick but delicious meal? Try my cheater’s chicken soup recipe for a warm, homey meal in less than an hour.

January was a big sewing month for me. I created a tutorial on how to sew on paper…

showed you all how to make in an infinity scarf…

and I even accomplished the IMPOSSIBLE! I finally finished my nephew’s quiet book!

Well, that’s a wrap. Stay tuned for all the adventures that are to come in February.

Don’t want to miss a post? I’d love for you to join the Fami-Ly and become a follower.

Xoxo,

Sarah

Psst! Check out the address of the blog. Notice we’re officially a “dot com”? Yup, we’re all fancy and grown up now.

Adventures of our Fami-Ly

Songs for Sunday-“Oh, How He Loves Us”

Guest Blogger: Melissa shares an Easter Flower Pot

Putting things into perspective…

Purity’s Story

Trade School class #1-Hang pictures using pop tabs

Star Student!

Get excited...

In case you missed it-February Edition

“Welcome to the Fami_Ly!”

When my blog grows up…A Linky Party

1. I want my wonderful, dear readers to keep coming back.

2. I want to include more of my faith in this blog.

3. I want to use this blog to bless others

What do you want YOUR BLOG to be when it GROWS UP?

2 QUICK changes that will make your blog more social and memorable!

1. How to get rid of “noreply-comment@blogger.com”

2. Personalize your Favicon

Quick fix casserole: Ground Turkey, Cream of Mushroom Soup, and Tomato

“What’s for dinner?”

Have you marked your calendar…?

DIY Plant Stand (from a bar stool)

MOLD!

All done!

Don’t forget…

Better late than never…Valentine’s Gift Exchange

Thanks, Jennifer, for all the goodies you sent me!

And…

Guest Blogging At Bella Nest!

Trade School Tuesday

Organization Smack Down: The linen closet {before}

Before After

BUT WAIT~THERE’S MORE!

Organization Smack down: Pantry reveal

Organization Smack Down: The Pantry {before}

An Organization Smack Down

Valentine’s Weekend with Mr. Ly

Quiet Book Tutorial and Templates

To create the quiet book page:

To make the cover:

Linky Followers Blog Hop!

RULES:

1. you MUST have the LINKY FOLLOWERS tool on your site to participate.

2. You MUST follow the person who has the party on their site as a thank you.

3.Just add your blog button to the LINKY PARTY below.

4.Then grab the BLOG HOP code

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want) –leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.

A Love song-from the mouth of babes…

Woo to the hoo!!!

Song (that’s the title)

A day date in downtown Chicago

Bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast cups

In case you missed it-January edition

5. Then you follow other bloggers–(as many as you want)
–leave each one of the blogs that you follow a comment letting them know you are following them and ask them to follow you back.