Mrs. D. Lightful

Where did all the posts go?

2010-03-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

I have had people ask me where all the posts went....I have moved them to my personal blog, so you can still find them! Click here. :) And follow along if you want!

So long, FAREWELL!

2010-01-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

After a year of blogging, I am sad to say that Mrs. D. Lightful is retiring. I will miss my bloggy friends and the inspirational people I met daily! Who knows, maybe I will be back. But for now, I am saying adios, and good-bye.

God bless!!

{I will still maintain my email sarah@mrsdlightful.com. I will not be returning requests for advertisement or other business transactions. I apologize very much for this inconvenience.}

Decorative Balls...

2009-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Decorations are so expensive these days, so I decided to make my own decorative balls!

Here is what you'll need...

foam balls (any size - varied sizes are great)

paint

mod podge

a creative mind to come up with ideas

(some of my ideas are listed below)

First paint the balls, then apply the decorative item using mod podge. Once the ball is completely covered and dry, apply an outer layer of mod podge to seal.

string and yarn

baby's breath

eucalyptus leaves

pine cone

baby rose buds

colorful split peas

Have fun and enjoy!

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Easy Outdoor Quilt

2009-06-15T18:16:00.001-07:00

I decided that I needed to make a quilt that I could use outside, because I just didn't want to sacrifice any of my other blankets. I also didn't want to make a levi quilt, which is usually ideal for the outdoors, but I didn't feel like cutting out all the jeans. SO I had a brainwave when I was wandering around a craft store past the row of bandanas.

So this is what I did...

It was so easy and perfect for outdoors, camping, picnics, and so on. I used 20 bandanas in a variety of colors. I made mine 4 bandanas by 5 (22" x 22" each). So my measurements are 84" x 105" which is just under a king size. You can choose the size of bandana you want and how many you want to use.

I bought the appropriate size of batting. Then used a black bed sheet for the back. I used black string and followed along the larger circle pattern on the front of the bandana to tie it.

I bound the quilt with a double fold bias tape that was 1" wide. It would be cheaper to fold the back over, tuck in the rough edges, and sew it that way for the binding.

Then 'Tada' you have yourself a quilt. I hope you enjoy.

Headboard...

2009-05-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

Dress up your bedroom by making your own headboard (or head of bed decor). There are so many things you can do. It can be as simple as hanging a picture frame or mirror, stretching fabric to a wooden frame, or making an actual frame itself. Since I have not learned to use big power tools yet, my version is simple. We placed our bed below a window. There is a metal rod at the top of the window for drapes. I just threw one of our bed sheets that we were not using (that of course matches the rest of our bedding) up over the bar and hung up some pictures that we have gotten over the last year. Metal hooks are secured to the bar on the top and hang over the front in order to hold up the pictures hanging from ribbon. An easy and inexpensive way to make our room feel a little more dressed up.

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Book Binding

2009-05-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

Ok , I LOVE reading, and lately I have been really into the classics. If you don't already know, you can read the classics online for free. Well who wants to curl up in front of their computer to read a nice book, especially a classic? Not me. So I have been printing them off and reading. Well to keep these pages together I had been using a large clip...not ideal. So I thought there has got to be an easier way. Is there some easy/cheap way to bind these pages together in a book like fashion? A binder, sure, but so unimaginative. So I set out to figuring out how to bind books, I mean how hard can it be, and I am going to share what I learned. I also thought this would be a great idea for your kid's artwork. Think of how awesome it would be to have your artwork in a real book. I would even think that was cool. So here it is:

Here are the supplies that you need

White glue
Rubber cement
Large clips
Cardboard
Fabric (for cover and binding)
The loose paper to bind
2 pieces of paper that match the fabric

First, take all your page and straighten them out. Put two clips near the end that you are going to bind. Try the make the end as straight as possible.

Then you are going to cut out a piece of fabric that you are going to use for the binding. I used white fabric on most of mine, but it also looks good if you use the same fabric that you are using for the cover (if you do this make sure when binding to put the print on the fabric towards the glue). Cut the fabric the same length as your paper. Next measure the thickness of the pages and add 4 inches, and that is the width of your fabric.

Then take your white glue and apply to the end that you are binding generously. Then smooth out all along the end. While the glue is still wet apply the binding fabric, you will want to center the fabric on the binding. With 2 inches left one each side of the binding.

Set that aside to allow the glue to dry. Then move on to the cardboard (if you don't want so much of a hardback book, I bound a couple of books with cardstock. I took between 3 and 5 pieces and just taped them together and used that for the covers). You want to cut 2 pieces that are the same size, or just a tiny bit larger than the paper you are binding.

Then put those on the stack of paper and measure the width of the stack.

The middle piece is the width of the papers and cardboard, then the length of the binding.

Lay the cardboard out leaving about 1/8 to 1/4 of a inch in between each piece of cardboard. Then cut out the fabric leaving about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of fabric excess. Don't worry about cutting straight either, the edges don't need to be pretty.

Then use the rubber cement to glue the cardboard to the fabric. After you glue the cardboard to the fabric, you are going to fold up the excess fabric and glue to the other side of the cardboard. It works best if you do the top and bottom first and clip and allow a min to dry.

Then when doing the sides fold over one corner (like when wrapping a gift) and then glue. It should look like this.

Then clip all the corners and allow a couple of min to dry.

Next take your bound pages and hold them vertically and line them up along the middle piece of cardboard. Then lay the pages to one side. Apply glue to the large piece of cardboard next to the binding. Do NOT put glue on the middle piece, just the front and back cover.

Hold your bound pages vertically again and glue the access binding fabric to the cardboard cover. Then clip it so it drys in place. Do the same thing to the other side. After clipping the fabric down I usually close the book and let it sit for a min to dry.

Then onto the colored paper. Cut this paper so it is a little smaller than the cover. (If you cut the cardboard a little bigger in the first place you won't need to cut your paper). Then glue this to the inside of the cover. Do this to both sides.

Allow that to dry and then 'TADA' you have a bound book.

I had a lot of fun with this, and I got a little carried away, binding everything I could possibly think of. It was really inexpensive. I had the glue and cardboard just laying around. I went through old scraps of fabric for the covers. I found that the older the fabric the better it looked. I didn't get a picture of it, but I had this fabric that my grandmother had given me with really huge flowers and peacocks on it. I had it in my stash and had never even touched it, to be honest I don't know why I kept it. But I made a couple of books out of it and it is one of my favorites. I didn't do it, but you could also get pretty creative with the cover. With scrapes of fabric or ribbon. That is another post for another day I guess. I hope you have fun with this.

Making It Interactive

2009-05-01T15:34:00.001-07:00

This is kinda the same concept as a baby mobile that goes over the crib, but for toddler age kids. You can really condition it to any age though. It is super easy and inexpensive.

You will need:

Juice can tops (The metal top of the juice can)

Scrapbook paper

Mod podge/Hot glue gun

Fishing line

Tacks

Clean juice tops

Cut paper in circles, using juice tops as a guide

Cut fishing line to desired length (depending on how long you want it to hang down from the ceiling). Using a hot glue gun, glue the fishing line to one side of the juice tops. After dry, mod podge (or you can use the glue gun again) to connect the scrapbook paper to both sides of the juice tops.

****
Then it is your time to be creative! You can use more scrapbook paper, stickers, fabric, glitter, small embelishments,...whatever! I decided to put letters and numbers on mine to make an easy, fun, visual learning tool for my little one. Using the same paper but mixing up the patterns I wrote and cut out my own and mod podged them onto the tops. Of course you could do the same with stensils or stickers.

Then I tacked them to the ceiling above the play area.

My boy loves these! He always points at them and starts saying his ABC's...it has been a fun way to keep him interested in learning his numbers and letters.

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Spring Grass Décor

2009-04-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

This is just a fun decoration for Spring, and it is easy enough that your kids can help with it.

Then they can watch it grow.

All you need:
-potting soil
-wheat seeds
-some sort of bucket, cup, or basket

Just fill the buckets ¾ of the way with potting soil.

Lay out a thin layer of the wheat grass seeds on the top of the soil.

My big helper here is demonstrating how to lay the seeds on top of the soil.

Cover with a thin layer of dirt (about a ¼ to ½ of an inch) and water generously.

Let it sit in a sunlit place for a couple of days and watch it grow.

It is very fast once it starts and can grow an inch in a day.

So feel free to trim it as much as you need to.

It is fun, easy, and inexpensive. I hope you enjoy!

Thinking Outside of the Jewelry Box

2009-01-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like you have jewelry you never wear because it is tucked or stuffed away? In drawers, jewelry boxes, closets,...it is hard to wear it when you forget you even have it! Well, this is one solution that may work for you. Display it! Put it out somewhere where you will see it and be able to wear what you have. Here are a few ideas on what you can do.

This is just a decorative bowl that I got on clearance.

I just hung it up on the wall, and hung my earrings on it! So easy, and now that they are all out I wear them more.

My mom gave me this metal garbage can awhile ago, and told me that her and the girls were displaying all their jewelry on them. She really gave me the idea about displaying equals wearing. Thanks mom!

This is one in my sisters closet.

This may sound funny to some of you, but even this organizer works. You do not need to go out and buy anything! Just look around your house, be creative! You can paint it to match the colors in your room, put it on a shelf, on a dresser, on the wall, or in your closet. Whatever works best for you!

You can put hooks on the tops of each column to hang the necklaces on. I just used ribbon to tie them for demonstration. For earrings display just turn the organizer around and put them through the holes.

When I was thinking about other ways to display your pretties, I was looking for a baking sheet in the kitchen while making dinner. I saw my cookie racks and thought why not?

I just sat the rack on its side on our bookcase in our room.

The necklaces are tied with ribbon again, but hooks would work as well. Remember, if you do not want to put it out in your room where everyone can see, just hang it up in your closet, or on a shelf. The important thing is that you can see what you have and use what you've got!

Twin Day!

2009-01-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

Fun Homemade T-shirts!

All you need for this fun quick project is any plain t-shirt, fabric paint, and scissors. To start you paint a creative design to your liking with the fabric paints. (It might be a good idea to stick a garbage back between the front and back of the shirt in case it seeps through.)

After you have your design and it has dried somewhat.. You start cutting the sides to the length and width you like.

Cut the strips in 2.

Once that is finished..

You begin to tie them together. It is a very simple project and it's as quick as it is easy.

There's the final product!:) So adorable.

Shed those holiday pounds

2009-01-05T02:20:00.000-08:00

You did it, and so did I. That's right. Ate too much junk during the holidays. Why do we do this? I think it's because it's holiday tradition. Well, it's not the best tradition for 2 reasons: 1) It makes you feel awful and 2) It makes you look awful. Well, now that the damage is done, let's see what we can do about it.

Are you with me?

Cut out the sugar.

I have made a New Year's resolution to gain weight by exercising and removing sugar from my diet. I found this article that goes along with what I am doing. I have summarized below.

This via Medicine Net.com they talk about the 'sugar busters' diet

Sugar is bad. You want to trim fat? Get rid of the sugar. All sweets made with refined sugar. Along with getting rid of fat, you can lower your cholesterol, treat certain diseases, and best of all....BOOST. YOUR. ENERGY.

If you can't cut out sweets altogether, at least try cutting back. These people say that you can exercise all you want, but until you cut out foods with high sugar content, you aren't going to see results.

"You must virtually eliminate potatoes, corn, white rice, bread from refined flour, beets, carrots, and, of course, refined sugar, corn syrup, molasses, honey, sugared colas, and beer.

"The basic plan is to eat high-fiber vegetables, stone-ground whole grains, lean and trimmed meats, fish, and fruits. Bake, broil or grill meat, and cook with an oil that is high in mono- and polyunsaturated fats(generally these are liquid at room temperature) and low in saturated fats (generally these are solid at room temperature), such as canola. You eat three meals a day of moderate portions, and you can have snacks such as fruit and nuts, although fruit should be eaten by itself. And fruit is preferred over fruit juice, and best eaten a half hour before the meal.

"Where they recommend 3 meals a day, I find I do better to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. This really prevents me from binging when I don't let myself get to hungry or full.

"You should eat:Meats, including; lean beef and pork, Canadian bacon, poultry, game meats, such as venison, fish and shellfish. Vegetables, including: beans, lentils, peas, spinach, lettuce, squash, zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, artichokes, cabbage, celery, cucumbers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, eggplant, and onions. Fruits, including: apples, lemons and limes, pears, cherries, raspberries, kiwis, grapefruits, apricots, melons (not watermelon), tomatoes, tangerines, oranges.

"You also can have dairy products, and whole grains and cereals --- just don't add sugar to them! Spices and dark chocolate are also allowed!

"You should not eat: baked beans, carrots, corn, ripe bananas, raisins, white bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, bacon, fried chicken, cold cuts."

When you eat sugar, it causes a rapid rise in blood glucose, which stimulates the release of insulin. It produces too much insulin, so the body can't convert the glucose into glycogen ( needed for immediate energy needs). The body can only store a few hundred grams of glycogen. So the result is stored fat, which the body loves to do. The body can store thousands of grams of fat.

The result of that insulin production is stored fat. The body loves to hang onto it for dear life! Most frequently in the form of a spare tire around the waste, thighs, buttocks, you get the point.

Even though you are letting go of refined breads and sugar, this does not mean you should go on a very high protein diet, cause this is really hard on your poor wittle kidneys. Just eat whole grains and you'll be fine.

Bottom line is, while you lose weight on this diet, it's because you are cutting calories. For me personally, sweets is where I am getting a majority of my excess calories. So regardless of the controversial speculations on how this diet works, it should work for me since decreasing calories helps you lose weight. I'm also going without chocolate until Easter because I made a $10 bet with my co-worker, and, um, what was I thinking! But I'm hanging in there strong...for now!

I shared this tip at Talk about Tuesday!

The Five Love Languages...

2008-12-13T23:53:00.000-08:00

I have heard so much about this book, I finally gave it a shot. I took it to work to read (that's the only time I have time to read, yeah, I'm a hard worker) and you know what? I got so much attention for having this book in my hands. The back of the book has a headline that says, "Are you and your spouse speaking the same language?" and so many doctors read that as they passed by and just laughed! It does sound sort of funny. I mean, I don't think there are many people who marry and don't speak the same language VERBALLY. One of my co-workers said, "You will never get your husband to read that with you, it has flowers on it. Put some pictures of soldiers and blood, and that will draw him in." I know. I don't understand men at all. But maybe he's right, because I still haven't convinced my husband to sit down and read it with me. Which I TOTALLY recommend. This book gives so many opportunities for discussion with your spouse!

I don't want to give away too much of this book, because you have to read it. I am serious. This book was outstanding. I will say this though, I figured out that my language of love is quality time, and my secondary language is acts of service, which is a close second. I am still trying to figure out what language my husband speaks. If he read the book with me, he could just tell me, and that would be so nice!

Enjoy, and here's to keeping the marriage together.

About me

2008-02-12T02:09:00.000-08:00

My name is Sarah. I'm a wife, a mommy of 2, and a part time Registered Nurse. I started this blog to motivate myself in becoming a better homemaker. It's working so far! My sisters Allison and Mariah and my cousins Charise and Alisha also contribute to this blog. Together we are striving to conquer the world one homemaking task at a time!

We would love for you to join our little world here on Mrs. D. Lightful by submitting any ideas you would like to share! Tips, posts, recipes, giveaways, or anything else that delights you is welcome! We will feature submitted ideas in the order we receive them, or according to relavance. Just leave a comment or click here to contact me!

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The blog roll

2008-01-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

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Contact me!

2008-01-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

If you have any ideas, tips, or recipes you want to post, have a topic you want me to write about or research, or have a question about healthcare, leave a comment, email me at sarah@mrsdlightful.com, or click here to fill out a form to be featured!

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Favorites

2008-01-16T00:45:00.000-08:00

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2002-10-17T13:09:00.000-07:00