New Chalk Pastel Pencils

I got some new chalk pastel pencils and a nice size sketch pad for Christmas. I've never used chalk pastel pencils before. So, I thought I'd create a simple little sunset to test out the colors.  Afterwards, I ended up writing a Bible verse over it, and I think it fits my little sketch quite well. I'm looking forward to working more with this medium. 

Donald Duck

This weekend my sister-in-law and I made my nephew a Donald Duck costume from scratch. It turned out to be way cuter than I thought it would!  It was so easy to make. Basically, it is a blue t-shirt, white shorts, and some dyed 

tights. We used matching blue fabric and yellow ribbon to make the collar in a cape like fashion. Then, added a bow tie with red ribbon. My sis-in-law sewed white fur to the shorts to make it look more like white feathers. I also made his head from a white baseball cap. Then, I made a little beret to go on top with blue fabric and black felt. It took us about 4 hrs to complete. My nephew loves it! I'm so glad it ended up so cute!

Spirit Week Sewing and Crafting

I've been a busy little bee this week! My school has been dressing up each day in a specific theme for spirit week. We having our football homecoming this Friday. spirit week is meant to encourage the students to have school spirit!  Here are a few pics of my creations from each day this week:

Freeze Ahead Slow Cooker Recipes

School is right around the corner for most educators in the south such as myself.  Us dear ol' dedicated souls will begin to devote way too much of our time to our jobs in just a short amount of time.  Like most OCD educators out there, I always try to keep everything really organized both at work and home in order to maximize the most of my time.  Sometimes it works, other times it does not.  So, in the spirit of getting ready for going back to school, I have decided to try to freeze many meals before the start to use during the first month or so of school in order keep myself from going crazy trying to run a household and classroom at the same time.  When I leased my first apartment on my own, my mom bought me a set of Campbell's cookbooks that are full of super easy, low ingredient recipes.  Over the years, I have cooked from these recipes quite frequently.  Most are quite tasty.  One of the books is called Campbell's Slow Cooker Recipes.  Last week I went through this book and wrote down the

ingredients of 13 recipes I felt my husband and I would enjoy.  It is just the two of us, so 13 recipes equals 26 meals in our home! There are many more recipes in the book that you might find tasty. You can find this handy little cookbook at campbell's website for $8.95 or at Amazon, used.  I have compiled a list of the recipes and ingredients needed in a grocery list here.  You can buy the book for the recipe directions, or go to Campbell's Kitchen website for the recipes.  Most of them are catalogued there.  A few of the recipes will need a little prep-work with the meats before placing in a freezer bag, but otherwise they should all be fairly easy with only chopping and bagging needed in the way of preparation.  Good luck!

Super Cute Headband

I just finished up this super cute headband with a free pattern courtesy of the blog Happy Together by Jess. See link below. It is the perfect size!  It fits snugly and is wide enough to keep my hair back. It is a super easy sewing project. Go to the link and try it out for yourself!

http://www.happytogetherbyjess.com/2011/07/double-sided-fabric-headband-pattern.html.

First Summer Project

June has been a super busy month. The first week I was out of school I did a major deep cleaning on my house, and I'm still not through cleaning, yet!  Then, I had to go to several professional development sessions. At the moment I have a couple of days free to work on this sweet little baby blanket for a friend before I have my final week of professional development. 

It is my first crafty summer project. Using a heavy weight, super soft baby yarn, I have half double crocheted the entire thing. My crochet skills are not all that great. So, I try to keep my projects simple. My goal for the near future is to practice simple crochet stitches in small projects like dish clothes and baby blankets. I have a long way to go before I can fully start comprehending patterns, but I'm having fun learning!

Nearing the End!

 I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  I have two weeks left of school, and then I'll be free to craft again. This summer I hope to get enough crafts done to start my own Etsy store. I plan to make some homemade sketchbooks and crocheted items. I'm not sure what to call my store, yet, but I know it will come to me when it's time to open it up. Just a few more weeks and I'll be bag in blogging business again!