Me Making Do

My Rustic Wall Organizer

2013-05-01T10:27:00.001-07:00

I will admit sometimes, okay not just some times. A lot of times it is just much easier to follow a tutorial from someone else and change it up a bit to add some of your own style then come up with an entirely original design. Besides there are so many good ideas out there on pinterest and other blogs that make it so simple for us to recreate other peoples genius ideas. Such was the case with this Rustic Wall Organizer. I saw it and fell in love with it and knew I wanted to make one.

The inspiration piece I first saw on Knock Off Decor but is from Saved by Love Creations

{source: Saved by Love Creations}

Who doesn't love a good Knock-Off especially when it is a Pottery Barn Knock-Off. I love their products but their prices not so much if you know what I mean.

What was even better was that I had everything on hand. I love when I can make something and not even have to go out and spend a dime. I know at some point I did spend the money on all the items used to make this board but I'm always excited when I already have everything left over from other projects.

So I pretty much followed Johnnie from Saved by Love Creations tutorial with just a few minor adjustments. I don't drink coffee so I didn't have an empty carton. I just sewed up some burlap like you would sew a tote. I boxed the bottom by sewing across the corners. Added some fabric to the top just for looks, and sewed a burlap tag that has Velcro so I can take the holder off if I want (which I'm sure I never will).

I also used a piece of foam board for the back I didn't have an old bulletin board and didn't want to go out and spend the money on one. The foam board seems to work well. I don't know how long it will hold up compared to the bulletin board, but I'm sure it will hold up until I decide I want to change things around anyway.

If your looking for a wall organizer, I would suggest making one of these.....they are simple to make and so much cuter than most any you could buy.

Until next time....HAPPY DAY!!!

Lemon Pie Bars

2013-04-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

It is finally beginning to feel like spring. The warmer weather is just so much more motivating. I have been busy getting some "spring cleaning" done. I try to clean as I go and my house isn't in need of too much spring cleaning (especially since we just moved into this one a few months back) but my children seem to be growing like weeds most of their clothes no longer fit them. Bags of clothes and toys they no longer play with are packed up and ready to be taken to Goodwill.

After all my extra cleaning and not to mention the running (love it) I'm getting back into I was craving something sweet. That dang sweet tooth of mine will get me every time! Chocolate usually is the winner around here but something lemony was sounding good.
These Lemon Pie Bars sounded really good so that's what I made. They are sweet and tangy at the same time......If you are looking for a " sweet & tangy" Lemon bar these just might hit the spot.

These Lemon Pie Bars are simple to make with just a few ingredients.Real Lemons make them nice and tart. If you like a thicker filling make 1 1/2 of the filling recipe.

Lemon Pie Bars

Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cupconfectioners' sugar

1 cupbutter, softened

Grease a 9 x13-inch baking dish Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix the flour and confectioner's sugar together. Cut in the butter or margarine. Mix until the dough resembles pie dough consistency. Press the dough into a 9x13 inch baking pan.Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Filling

4eggs

1 1/2 cups white sugar

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup fresh squeezeed lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Confectioners sugar for dusting.

Beat together eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice and lemon zest for 1 minute.

Pour the mixture over the baked crust. Bake the bars another 20 minutes, or until the lemon topping has set. Before serving spprinkle with a generous amount confectioner's sugar.

Enjoy!!!!

Until next time Happy Day!!!

Free Crochet Doughnut Applique Pattern

2013-04-18T12:36:00.002-07:00

I have a fun little crochet pattern for you today a Crochet Doughnut Applique

don't worry if you are trying to watch your calories....these little morsels are 0 calories each not even an ounce of fat in them. I can't guarantee they won't want to make you go out and get the real thing though. (-:

Seriously though these would be so cute added to a shirt or a hat or add a chain to make one into a necklace or anything else you could possibly think of. You ready to make one???

Here is what you will need......

G (4.25 MM) Crochet Hook

Worsted weight yarn in your desired colors (I used Red Heart Super Saver)
A Yarn needle
Scissors

Abbreviations:

Single Crochet------sc
Double Crochet ----dc
Slip Stitch-----------sl st

Not too many supplies! You could use little beads for the sprinkles, I just stitched mine on with the same kind of yarn.

Let's get started....

Doughnut:

1). Ch 7, join with a sl st to first chain. ch 1

2). work 12 sc inside of the ring. (12 sc)

3). ch 2 (don't count as dc) *work 2 dc in first st, work 1 dc in next st*, repeat from *to* around. (18dc)

Finish off and weave in ends.

Frosting:

1). Work the first round the same as you did for the Doughnut

2). *work 2 sc in the first st, ch 1, sc in the top of the last sc made (see the top picture where the black dot is), sc in next sc* repeat from *to* around. (18 sc, 6 of the ch 1 sc peaks)

Now you can either stitch on sprinkles with yarn or beads, or leave it plain however you like.

Place the frosting on the doughnut and stitch into place.

Have fun making them!!! Till next time...Happy Day!!!!

My New Storenvy Store

2013-04-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited I finally have my shop up and running. Check it out memakingdo.storenvy.com Several things I finally finished photographing and have up in My Shop waiting for new homes...

I love how these dolls all turned out. They are all my own design.

This cute little bunny is just too adorable. The flower in her hair, her brown button eyes, the stitched fabric ears....

I love the fluffy little tail....

And how about her little stitched felt feet???

Don't you just love her??? Hurry on over to the shop she is one of a kind, though I make make similar ones in the future none will be quite the same as this sweetie!

Or how about a cute tiny doll for your little tot? Perfect for those tiny hands to carry along.

Everything hand crocheted or stitched, no buttons or tiny pieces to fall off and choke on.

I just love the stitched curl on top of the head!!!

I think this little girl is my favorite of all....Joy is a happy little doll sure to make any little girl happy! She is completely hand crochet ready to take home for hours of play.......

A adorable little flower headband, blush cheeks, beady little eyes, summer shorts with stitching detail and don't you love the tiny tied flip flops.

Ipod/Iphone cozies or other similar sized devices.

Kindle Fire/Ipad mini cozy or similar sized device.

I will be listing several more items throughout the week so make sure to check memakingdo.storenvy.com often.

Until next time...Happy Day!!!

Suit Coat to Upcycled Memory Wallet

2013-04-10T14:54:00.001-07:00

When my dad passed away I was given some of his clothing. I had intended on making a blanket from them but anytime I would think of cutting them up I would break down. Here we are a year and a half later and still the thought of cutting up my dads clothing is difficult.

My oldest son will be turning 18 in just a few days. I'm trying to get over the shock that I could actually be old enough to have an 18 year old! Boy does time fly!!! I wanted to make him something "special" for this BIG birthday.

He was always very close to my dad they had a special relationship. I pondered and pondered on what I could do for him that would include my dad for his milestone birthday. I decided to incorporate a suit coat that was my dads. . My dad always took time to make them something special on their birthdays so I thought this would be a great way to share a gift that would that would feel like it was coming from myself and my dad. I wondered if I would actually be able to cut the suit but I knew my dad would love me to do something special for my son with it.

The hardest part was putting on the snap closures. I don't know what I was trying to do. I hate when I've done something in the past and I go to do it again and my mind just goes blank. Oh well it's done now and really only took me a few minutes to figure it back out.

I tried to carefully plan out exactly what I wanted so that I wouldn't be just ruining this suit coat. As I cut out the pieces it was a little painful there were a few tears. But I felt really happy as I was sewing away and it was working out just as I planned.

I hope he likes it.... What do you think???

Thank you so much for all the sweet comments on my post I'm Back. I really appreciate all of the kindness. I hope I wasn't sounding to negative. I'm trying to stay positive about our situation we are in right now. Although sometimes it does get a little depressing. I am positive that things will work out for us the way they are meant to.

I'm still working on getting my shop up and running it will probably take me a few more days I can't wait to show you all the fun things I have been working on. Till then Happy Day!!!

I'm Back

2013-04-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back from a long unintended break. I never planned on disappearing from my blog but life happened and things for my family and I changed drastically. Things were going pretty good for us my husband was given a foreman position at the plant he worked for. We felt like all the hard work he put into getting the job was finally paying off.

When life changes

to be harder.....

Change yourself

to be STRONGER..

Then came the announcement......The Paper mill he worked for decided that they were going to shut down. Newsprint is no longer in high demand in our high tech world. In our minds we new it was coming but never expected it to happen so soon.

My husbands last day of work was the first of October, 2012. It hit us hard...It hit a lot of people from our small community hard. The paper mill was the biggest employer of our area. A lot of people had to move and leave their homes to go find work elsewhere. A lot of peoples lives changed. Though at times we feel like it is only us affected when we sit back and think we remember hundreds were.

My husband came to me one day and told me "I want to move to another state and go to this tech school". My reaction "HECK NO!!! (heck may or may not being the word used). I am not leaving my house and my family and relocating our children to some strange place we don't even know"!!!!

We grew up in our small town, our kids had only experienced living in our small town. I didn't want to have to go somewhere else and start all over. It was comfortable and we felt safe there We knew most of the town, both of our families were there. I didn't want to take my kids somewhere else. I wanted them to finish growing up with their cousins and friends they had. I didn't want to yank them away from the life the knew and loved.

PRAYER

changes things....

Well my husbands family decided to pray for us. We were praying to find an answer of what we should do. My husband came home one day and much to my surprise out of my mouth came "We need to move and you need to go to that school." HA? WHAT?WHY? WHAT THE HECK WAS I SAYING?!? I didn't want to move! But for some reason this is what we needed to do. Things fell into my place. My husband passed the entrance exam for the school. A family contacted us and wanted to rent our home. We hadn't even put it up for rent. The hardest part was finding someone to rent out a place to us in the area we would be moving to when we didn't have jobs. And although it took a while someone did rent a place to us. Of course its for much more than we were hoping we could find a place to rent for. But at least we have a place to live.

In November we left our home in Arizona and moved to Washington. It's been hard, really hard. A couple of our teenagers one of mine and one of my husbands decided to stay in Arizona they didn't want to leave what they knew. Really I couldn't blame them but my heart broke and still breaks. I had never really left my kids. I DIDN'T want to leave my kids but I didn't have much of a choice. I wanted to just drag him with me but unfortunately he was old enough to choose for himself.

Stop worrying, wondering and doubting.

HAVE FAITH that

THINGS WILL WORK OUT,

maybe not how you planned

but just how it's meant to be.

We showed up in Washington without a job not knowing anyone and not knowing for sure how everything would work out.Things were going alright other than my occasional break down from being away from my son, Christmas came and we went back home and spent it with our families. My oldest son that had came with us initially decided he wanted to move back home. So after Christmas we headed back to Washington leaving three of our teenagers behind, one of my husbands and two of mine.

It's been heartbreaking and hard. I don't love the area we are in it doesn't feel like home. I miss my children dearly. I miss my home, I miss and yard we worked so hard to build. I miss my young children having their own area to play. I miss what our lives used to be.

I know in a few years from now we will be in a much better place.. I know there is a reason why we are where we are at sometimes it would be nice if we could look ahead and see the big picture of why we are going through what we are and know that it will be alright and everything will work out. Unfortunately that's not how it works.

Look for something
POSITIVE in each day,
even if some days
you have to look harder.
Let challenges make you
STRONG.

We are strong, we will make it through this. My husband at least have a part time job and has started school. We have met new people some friends here. Our young children like it here and enjoy school and the friends they have made. I am thankful for cell phones and being able to talk to and check on the boys I have left behind every day. Things will be alright!!!

I have been trying to get busy making things to sell in an online shop to help with our finances so that we can make it. I hope to be listing several items this week and will share them here as well when I do. Untill then....

HAPPY DAY!!!

Mrs. Smith Deep Dish Pie & $50 WS Giveaway

2013-01-21T19:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Mrs. Smith's for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I love to bake I also love it when I can bake and I have a shortcurt and can take out some of the time and mess of baking. I was excited to try out the new line of Mrs. Smith's Signature Deep Dish pies. They have 4 different pies to choose from:

-Dutch Apple Pie with Caramel Sauce

- Cherry Pie with Butter Fudge Sauce

- Peach Pie with Cream Cheese Icing

- Pumpkin Pie with Cream Cheese Icing

I was able to find all of the pies but the peach (totally bummed, my favorite kind). They were all yummy and my family and friends helped to devour them. The kids enjoyed trying out all the toppings.

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I found my pies at my local Walmart but you can check what retailers around you have them available.

I will definitely be baking these pies again especially if I needed to bring them to an event. I love knowing I can bake something and know it will turn out perfectly. Make sure to check out Mrs. Smith on Facebook and Pinterest

Mrs. Smith's would like to treat one of you to a coupon for a free pie and a $50 Williams-Sonoma gift card! I'm so excited!

To Enter: Click enter below to comment with the flavor of pie you would like to choose and also what you would like to spend your $50 Williams-Sonoma gift card on if you won.

Giveaway Closes: 12:01 am EST on Monday, Jan. 27, 2013. Winners will be contacted by email and will have 48 hours to respond. You must be at least 18 years old and have a US address. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

School Shoes BOGO

2012-08-07T22:03:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's that time of year again. I can hardly believe that summer is wrapping up and it is time to send the kids back to school. So many things we have to buy just to start the new school year. It's amazing how much it costs and takes out of our pocket books. I'm always on the look out for a good deal and for this years shoes I think I will be shopping Famous Footwear for great brands at a great price. They have hundreds of brand name shoes and thousands of styles.

Their stores are easy to shop in. Customers can get in and get out quickly because their stores are not overwhelming. Not to mention they have some of the coolest styles at GREAT prices! I'd say that is VICTORY!

To celebrate that victory they are offering –
15% off (20% off if the customer is a Rewards member or signs up to become a Rewards member)
+
BOGO (Buy One, Get One Half Off)

Make sure to use your BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon, print the coupon and redeem in-store between 8/2-8/18.

If the shoe a customer wants is not in store, they will get it for you through home delivery or on www.famous.com. You can also order shoes online at www.famous.com and have them shipped to your favorite store for pick-up at no charge.

Join their FREE Rewards Program -
• Earn 1 point for every $1 you spend in-store or online
• Accumulate points to earn certificates up to $100 a year
• Discount offer just for signing up
• Other special inside discounts and perk

Make sure you go check out all the great deals you don't want to miss out on this one!!!

10 Free Baby Crochet Patterns Roundup

2012-06-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well I am a grandma now (That is what happens when you marry an old man who already has kids Haha) so I should be crocheting cute little things for a grandbaby now right? I have been crocheting for my kids for some time now, it's fun to crochet for a tiny one again. I though I would share with you all some of the crochet baby patterns I have stumbled upon lately while looking for items to make the new bundle!

Baby patterns are so adorable! Stuff just looks cuter when it's small right?

Make sure to browse around these blogs, most of them have several cute free crochet patterns.

Crochet Baby Summer Sandals by I'm Topsy Turvy.

Monster Lovey Blanket by Repeat Crafter Me.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Crochet Hat Pattern this one is also by Repeat Crafter Me.

Little Owlicious by Studio Zakka. The page is in Dutch but the pattern is in American English crochet terms.

Flower Power Baby Sandals by Lovely Little Life.

Adjustable Diaper Cover by Crochet a Flower.

Baby Ripple Hat by Handmade by Erica.

Baby Football Hat crochet pattern by jennyandteddy.

Crochet Newborn thru 12 Month old size Frilly Dress by Crochet Creations.

Polka Dots & Frills Baby Blanket by Daisy Cottage Designs.

that should be enough to get you started any way right?

Our Swing Set & More

2012-06-19T19:14:00.000-07:00

We finished our swing set a while back and as promised here are the pictures. I wish I could edit out the background but oh well.

The kids love it. It has poles to climb on, a tire swing, swings, monkey bars, a big slide, a climbing wall, a picnic table, a fire pole, plus the decks where they love to play. They have a lot of fun on it and it is worth all the hard work we put into it.

The neighbor kids love it as well and love to stop by and play with our kids on it.

It's been a busy summer already, family reunions, ball games, running kids here and there. Working in the yard, planting gardens, swimming, spending time together, working on patterns and much more.

Our first squash. It's a little late, we had a frost that killed our first plants so we had to replant. But our garden is finally starting to look good now so hopefully we will have a lot of yummy food soon!

I have been working on a crocheted Sunflower.

Love these goofy kid's!

They just finished up their Little League season. It was fun watching them and to see the growth and progress they made this year.

We celebrated the hardest Father's Day.....

The first father's day without my dad my hero! I know he is watching over us I can feel him. I'm so thankful to have had such a wonderful father and example! I miss him every day!!!

I was happy to spend it with my best friend, my husband.

I'm so thankful for him in my life and what a great father he is to all of our kids!

It was not only the hardest and saddest, it was one of our happiest Father's Day's as well. Our oldest (my husbands) daughter had her first baby so we are GRANDPARENTS!!!! Crazy!!! I'm a grandma at 35! I can't wait we got to go spend some time holding and loving on this little bundle of joy!!!e

A lot of emotions happy and sad, but life is good we have so much to be thankful for!!!

I'm still here and will still be adding new posts, it might be slow for a while but I have a lot of things I will be working on and hope to have up soon!

Hope your having a happy summer!!!

Paper Plate Roses

2012-06-05T12:35:00.001-07:00

A long time ago I had made a sign using these Paper Plate Roses to embellish it. I forgot to ever do the tutorial for it but here is...........the long overdue tutorial!

Do you remember the sign? Probably not since it's been such a long time.

I love the roses on it. I don't know how I forgot the tutorial on them. Haha sorry I'm a little spacey!!!

Here is what you will need to make them (not everything is pictured)

Cheap Paper Plates

Scissors

Lighter

Homemade Alcohol Inks or a Spray Bottle with Water

Clothespin

Using extrememe caution your working with fire and paper! Carefully burn the edges of the paper plate. I do this by my sink so I can hit it with water when it starts to burn to much. Then try to knock off some of the burnt edges so they aren't falling off all over while your making your rose.

Cut out the middle of the plate, cutting a slit to the center then cutting out the middle. Place the piece of the plate your using on top of paper towels spritz well with your Homemade Alcohol Ink or water. Blot off excess with a paper towel.

Begin rolling your plate holding the burnt edge with one hand and rolling tightly the unburnt edge with your other hand. Be careful not to tear your rose to much but a little tearing ad's to it's beauty!

Continue rolling until you have rolled the entire plate.

Now you have a pretty rose!

Clip the back with a clothespin while it dries. Or don't it will still hold it's shape pretty nicely but you will end up with a nice open rose.

Make some in all different colors leave some white, it's all up to you. Make a bunch or make just one. You can use them for anything you can think of a bouquet, gift topper, on a card. If you do make one though I would love to see it.

***Make at your own risk*** but please please please use extreme caution when burning the edges of the plate I really don't want anyone getting burnt making these!

Make sure you check out the Parties I link to.

Book Page Planter

2012-05-30T09:21:00.002-07:00

I signed up to take part in a fun challenge a while back at Crafting in the Rain. Steph gives you a secret ingredient to work with and you make something from that. This month's secret ingredient was book pages.

I decided to make a planter since it is the time of year where I'm wanting to plant flowers. I just stuck a plant I had in the planter for the picture. I will change it out with flowers later.

The supplies you need to make the planter are....

An old book
Chalkboard or any other paint
Mod Podge
Paint Brushes
Sealer
Clay pot

To Begin start painting on your Mod Podge. I used an old credit card to help press down the pages.

Continue adding pages and strips of pages around the entire pot. Trim off the book pages around the bottom of the pot.

Add Mod Podge over the top of the book pages and when dry spray with a sealer. (I still need to do this step). Paint on your chalkboard paint. If you aren't using chalkboard paint the paint first then seal the pot.

Enjoy your new Book Page Planter!

Thanks Steph for letting me be a part of this month's challenge, it was fun!!!

Make sure to check out the parties I link to.

Stuck In A Tight Spot

2012-05-24T11:09:00.001-07:00

Do you ever feel like you are stuck with no where to go? Try as you may you just can't break free?

Well this was the case for one little lizard! My mom and sisters stopped by and when they were leaving they noticed this little guy. (Had to catch of photo of him and my little man).

Lol!!! This little guy was really stuck but he was still gracious enough to strike a pose for the camera. Pretty cute ha?

He thought he could squeeze himself through that small opening but boy was he wrong!!! He had really gotten himself in quite a jam!

Poor little guy! We couldn't help but laugh it was too funny. How often do you see something like this?

Don't worry though, we got him free. I think he was having a heart attack for a minute but ended up running off so no worries he is alright! Hopefully he has learned his lesson and won't get stuck in a jam like this again!!!!

Thought you might enjoy a little laugh! Have a happy Day!!!

Bar Stool Makeover

2012-05-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

We had a couple of old bar stools that were looking pretty hammered. I forgot to take a before picture but here is what they started out looking like.

only much much worse!!! I had painted them white a couple of years ago and they were pretty scratched up.

So I whipped up a couple of batches of homemade chalk paint. One in turquoise and one in a chocolate brown. I painted the top with the brown then used two lighter colors of brown to add stripes and give it some what of a wood grain look.

Then I painted the legs the turquoise and did some distressing.They look much better and I love how they turned out!

Have you tried your hand at chalk paint yet? If you haven't, you should I love the transformation it makes on my beat up furniture. So fun to turn something old and make it new again!

Have a happy week!!!! Make sure to check out the places I party at!

You Made Do: Denim Flower

2012-05-17T09:58:00.002-07:00

I'm still around really! We have still been working on the Swing Set when we have spare time. So a lot of my time has been spent there. I will have updated pictures soon. We have all of the end of the school year stuff going on and the kiddos have baseball games. We have a horrible flu bug going through the house, so I have been dealing with that nastiness as well. I will be back next week with some fun stuff!

I want to start doing a You Made Do where I feature what you have made from my tutorials. Today's feature comes from Janiene of A Bunch of Bishops. She used my Denim Flower tutorial to make her own Bluejeans Blossom.

It turned out great! I'm always so flattered when someone uses one of my tutorials! Thanks for trying it out Janiene!

If you use any of my tutorials I would love to see what you make!

Happy Mothers Day

2012-05-13T09:19:00.002-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to all of you ladies out there. I hope today is a special day for all of you because no matter what your circumstances may be you are special and you make a difference in the lives that you touch!

Mirror Makeover

2012-05-08T10:17:00.002-07:00

I love taking something old and turning into something new. I had an old mirror that used to be up in my daughter's room several years ago. At one time it was really cute with little butterflies and flowers adorning it. Well some of those had broken and fallen off and it didn't look to great any more. I had taken it down and put it up in a closet to be forgotten about. I came across it the other day and had seen this mirror makeover and decided to do something similar.

It was in pretty bad shape. The decorations that were left I had previously taken off and used on other projects. So what was left was a very ugly in bad shape mirror.

I took it out to our shop and sanded off the glue and tried to get a better base to paint on.

Then I painted on some burnt umber acrylic paints on the corners and edges. Smeared on Vaseline where I wanted the distressed look like this tutorial. Then I coated it all with a cream coat of paint. Added some tape for some random lines. Then added a Teal paint over the top. Then let it dry for a few hours.

Then I watered down some the Burnt Umber Paint and painted it all over. Then took an old rag and wiped it all of. This helped age the mirror and also took off more of the paint from the Vaseline areas giving it an even more aged look.

Ah so much better! I was left with this pretty "Old New Mirror". I love how it turned out and love that I made something old that was no longer useful into something useful once again.

Check out all the parties I link to.

Building a Swing Set

2012-05-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

I have been a little busy....We are building a swing set. Not just a small swing set, oh no this thing is HUGE! My kiddo's are so exited!

This project has been so much work! We don't really have a plan were just winging it! Yeah my hubby is pretty awesome and just does it all in his head!! Me? I just do what I'm told!

The kids have helped a little but mostly they have just been asking when it will be done. Even some of the older kids have helped a little. Here is one of my son's helping us put together the this slide.

Here are all the posts after we poured the concrete around them.

Here is where we we have gotten to on it. . A lot more work to go, but it is coming along good! We seem to get a lot more done when the kiddos are at school and not palying where we are working.

So....... I"m not ditching out on you all but crazy busy trying to get this all built! I have the wind/sunburns to prove it! Yeah I haven't been smart enough to wear sun screen so I'm about as red as my little guy's shirt!

We still have monkey bars, tire swing and alot of painting but hopefully we will be done with this project in the next few day's and I'll update with more pictures!

Hope you are all having a great week!!!!

Denim baby shoes

2012-04-25T11:02:00.003-07:00

Remember my daughter's torn pants?

Ya know the one with the ripped crotch she wanted me to fix? That still makes me laugh!

If you haven't yet make sure to check out the Denim Flower I made with them.

Well I decided to try to make a pair of baby shoes with them also. What do you think?

They are totally imperfect and almost a craft fail. Although I do think they are cute I still need some more practice on making them. I modified this baby shoe pattern to make them. And added a different ruffle.

Sewing with the denim was a little tricky! Any tips???

Recycling your old denim pants is a great material to use to practice making these though! I definitely will be practising some more. Little shoes are just soooo cute!!!

Make sure to check out the parties I link to.

Denim Flower

2012-04-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

First off did you notice I am now memakingdo.com? No more memakingdo.blogspot.com so much better! And how do you like the blog makeover? I still have more I want to play with and fix but for now it is looking much nicer! Now on to the project!!!

My daughter had a pair of jeans that the crotch blew out on and she came to me and asked..."Mom can you patch my pants?" Me "Ummm no I don't think I will be putting a patch there." LOL!!! So instead I decided to cut into the pants and make a denim flower from them.

Can you see the problem? They were pretty bad!

I just made a petal shape and cut out several on the fold and 2 not on the fold.

Starting with the 2 not cut on the fold, I rolled the sides in toward the middle and stitched with crochet thread. It's nice and thick and will hold well. If you don't have any just use sewing thread.

Placed the second petal around the first and stitched in place.

Now onto the ones cut on the fold! Do a running stitch across the bottom.

Wrap around the other 2 petals. Keep repeating this until you have your flower as big and full as you would like.

Pretty simple and now you have a cute denim flower you can add to a jacket, headband, clip, purse or whatever you would like.

I still have most of the pair of jeans left so be watching for more projects made with them!

If you make any I would love to see them!

Make sure to check out the parties I link to!

Egg Carton Flowers

2012-04-18T11:57:00.003-07:00

With Earth Day just a few day's away, I thought it would be fun to do a little green craft! Not that I don't already do this alot but this one I made specifically with Earth Day in mind.

I save egg cartons for a friend that has chickens and had saved up several for her so I thought I would steal one for this craft.

They turned out pretty cute I think!

Want to make some? Here is what you will need to do....

Cut these shapes from the egg carton

Cut slits and round them to make a flower shape

Paint them with craft paints and stack and glue them together. (I used 2 colors of blue craft paint to make them look more realistic).

Cut a scrap piece of felt you have leftover from another project. This will be be pretty small, for the center of the flower.

cut little slits along one side

Roll up the felt and glue to the middle of your flower and your done!

I used a 18 count egg carton and got 9 of these cuties!

Now just decide what you will make with them all! Glue them on a craft letter, frame, box, or whatever your heart desires. I haven't yet decided what I will do with mine.

I used a 18 count egg carton and got 9 of these cuties!

Are you going to make anything for Earth Day?

Here are a few other of my tutorials you may want to try to celebrate Earth Day.

Craft Can Organizer

Pretty Little Basket

Cardboard Box Wall Hanging

There are so many ideas that you could use all over you don't have to use these. Have fun and make something you would throw away into something useful!

Check out the parties I link to!

Happy Circles Headband

2012-04-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have been missing I have not been feeling good but am better now!

I have a pin on pinterest of a crochet Happy Circles Table Runner I thought it would make a cute headband. I did it a little different than the Table Runner pattern. But have a tutorial with pattern for you all!

Here is what you need if you would like to make one.

Worsted Weight Yarn

I (5.50 MM) Crochet hook

yarn needle for weaving in the yarn

scissors

Ribbon (Optional)

Crochet Stitch Abbreviations used

ch - chain

sl st - slip stitch

dc - double crochet

Ch 34

dc in 4th ch from hook.

6 dc in same st.

sl st in next ch

*work 6 dc in next chain, sl st in next ch* Repeat from * to * to the last three ch's,

work 12 dc in last ch.

working on opposite side of chain now sl st in each sl, st space and 6 dc in each 6dc space from previous side.

Join with a sl st to top of ch 3. Add a ch of 50 (make this longer or as needed) fasten off. This will be the one of the ties for the headband.

Join yarn in a middle dc from the other end of the headband and again ch 50 or the amount needed for the other side of the tie.

Your done! If you would like you can weave in ribbon or leave it without, it's just as cute!

If you run into to any errors please let me know or email me with any questions or leave it in the comment section!

I would love to see if you make any!

I have made a new flicker group where you can share anything you have made from any of my tutorials! YOU Making Do you can just click on the flicker icon on my sidebar, it will take you to the group page! Make sure to add anything you make or anything that you have already made. I would love to see them and feature some occasionally on here.

Don't forget to check out the Parties I link to!

If you have a party you would like added to the list I would love to add it!

Five Petal Flower & Blooming Headband

2012-04-06T09:50:00.002-07:00

This is another post that I'm moving from my crochet blog I'm trying to get shut down. I had a tutorial for the Blooming Headband on here and the flower pattern on my crochet blog. I thought I would combine them so you can find them both in the same place. The pictures will have my crochet blog name watermark I didn't redo them, sorry!

Cute Five Petal Flower

Here is a cute little flower for you to crochet This flowers can be used for crochet projects, sew on to bags, hats, clothing or even for scrapbook's. Make a headband like the one I made find it below the pattern.

Supplies:
Worsted Weight Yarn
H - Hook

Abbreviations and Stitches used:
ch - Chain chs(chs chains)
dc - Double Crochet (dcs double crochets)
hk - Hook
sl st - Slip Stitch

Note: First 3 sc count as dc

ch 4

Round 1: dc in 4th ch from hk 9 times, sl st to top of ch 3.

Round 2: ch 1, sc in same stitch as joining, *3 dcs in next dc, sc in next dc* repeat from * to * 3 times more, 3 dc in next dc sl st in beginning sc. fasten off, weave in ends.

You may sell items made from this pattern but please do not sell the pattern itself!

Blooming Headband

Here is a fun little headband you can make using the pattern.

Yes an Antrho Knock-Off!

I came across this little headband at anthro...

Pretty cute I thought but it was $32 not going to pay that amount! I had everything on hand to make it myself so I did.

Here is how I made it...

First off I crocheted four of the flowers. You only need two if you want it to be more like the Anthro one but I wanted mine a bit fuller.

On a plastic headband add a small amount of hot glue to the end and attach the yarn you will be using.

Begin wrapping the yarn around the headband wrapping closely together so the headband doesn't show through on the top side.

Continue wrapping until the whole headband is covered glue the yarn down on the the end of the headband.

Glue small pieces of ribbon up over the ends of the headband.

Glue another small piece of ribbon around the ends of the other piece of ribbon making a nice finished end.

Glue your crocheted flowers on your headband.

Glue on pearl beads to the middle of your flowers and your done.

Your done, enjoy your new Blooming headband!

Make sure you check out the places I party!

Rakl Crochet Flower Tutorial

2012-04-05T14:08:00.002-07:00

I had originally had this on another blog that I am going to be getting rid of. There is no point having a separate blog for my crochet projects. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm a little crazy I know. Making things a little simpler now. So I will be adding what I had over there to here. Hope you all enjoy some crochet! I Love it! Or if you have any suggestions on crochet projects you would like to see here I would love to hear!

This little flower is made with a twist. Great for accessories, add it to a hat, bag, clothing, headband add an alligator clip, use it to dress up flip flops so many possibilities.

To start off grab your supplies:

Yarn of choice ( I used two colors).

J/10-(6.0) hook

ch 2 or make a Magic Ring

Rnd 1: 6 sc in the second ch from the hook, or in the magic ring. If using two colors fasten off

Rnd 2: pull up a loop with second color in any sc. ch 3 *sl st in next sc, ch 3* Repeat from * to * around (6 ch 3 loops).

Rnd 3: sl st and 6 dc in first ch 3 loop, twist the petal made

*sl st and 6 dc in next ch three loop, twist * repeat from *to* around. Fasten off and weave in ends. (6 twisted petals)

You're done! Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

If you find any errors please let me know so I can correct them.

Make sure to check out the parties I link to.

Clay Flower Vase and

2012-04-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

I have been seeing some Anthro Knock Off vases latelely and thinking they were really cute! I must admit I saw them on blogs before I saw them on Anthropologie. I do check out the site every once in a while but not too often not that I don't love it!

I had this vase that I loved but it was just a little plain so I decided to pretty it up.

So I checked out the inspiration pieces I had seen.....

Anthropologie Inspired Vase by Mama Says Sews

Anthropologie Chrysanthemum Vase Knock-off by The Simple Craft Diaries.

Clay Petal Vase by Centational Girl.

I didn't really follow any of the tutorials but used them for great inspiration!

I mixed up some craft paint and painted a coral color. Made a flower from Premo Sculpey Polymer Clay by cutting out what seemed like a million tear drop shapes and forming them to make a flower. It really wasn't that many tear drops but did take several.

Then I thought it needed something but didn't want big flowers to take away from it. Then I remembered seeing pom pom flowers and thought they would be perfect! So I made yarn pom poms and tied them on some twigs. I Love how bold and cheery it turned out! What do you think?

Check out the parties I link to!