min-myinnersoul

Now that summer break is here, I decided it was time to reinstate the chore responsibilities for the kiddos. Last year, I made a chore list , and my intentions were to teach E and S.R. responsibility and the value of hard work, but my system was truly broken and our excitement for it lasted all of one week.  Expecting my kids to do the same things over and over again day after day was just expecting too much. I certainly don't do the same things day after day. We all need a little variety, right? So to fix my broken system, I searched on line for age appropriate chores.  It's truly amazing what little ones can do...we really don't give them enough credit. If you check my Pinterest board , you can visit the sites where I found my ideas... This particular idea came from the Martha Stewart website .  Thankfully this little project was mostly free to me. I had one sheet of magnet paper left. I printed the kids' pictures and the chores with the money value on them(in 25 cent...

Last Saturday, while the hubs was hard at work in the backyard, I was wasting the day away indoors. It dawned on me that I have started SEVERAL projects over the last few months, and haven't finished ANY of them.  I decided that since hubs was working so hard, I probably should get with it, and do something myself:o) So, I finally finished the kids' bathroom. Our kids' wipe their little paws all over the walls, and leave the paw prints behind. We needed a solution where we wouldn't be using a Magic Eraser on our walls every other day. I had noticed a lot of magazines using horizontal boards as a wall treatment, and I knew that would be the perfect solution to our dilemma.  I happened to be in Lowes one day, and these boards were marked down significantly...and in my van they went!  I have gotten the hubs do so many wood working projects over the last 10 years, that he has gotten really proficient at it;o) Mad skills I tell ya. He's not a fan of miter cuts, but he di...

I told you a few weeks back that the hubs was working on some built-ins...well, he has been doing a great job on them!  Since he was in the building mood, he decided to make a console table with all the scrap MDF he had laying around to hold extra toys. We found our inspiration  Here ..there were plans, but we didn't have enough MDF to make the exact same table, so there was some improv building. The reason it's a $4 table is because I had to make a quick trip to Lowes to get one 1x3 board.  I helped a little(held things in place, painted, moral support), but he was definitely the brains behind the job:o) I'm so proud of my little handy man:o) The canvas baskets came from T.J. Maxx.  The rug is from Marshalls. I found this cute little owl and the sign at Marshall's too.  Lamps and lamp shades(clearance find) from Walmart.  And here are the beginnings of the built-ins. We recycled our entertainment center, and attached it to the wall. Then the hubs made the ...

First off, I want to congratulate Cayce again for being the winner of the ruffle wallet give away. Speaking of which, I have a few fabrics I purchased yesterday, and if you are interested in any of these prints, I will be making wallets and selling them for $20. All proceeds will be given to the American Red Cross for the Nashville, TN flood victims. Just shoot me an email if you are interested. If not, I'll sell them on Etsy. Also, here's an interesting tidbit I read in the Lowes mag. the other day. Flies hate the smell of Basil. We live out in the country with the cows. And where there's cows, there are a ton of flies. So I purchased some basil and I'm looking forward to it growing big, and hopefully warding off those little pests. I'll let you know if it works:o) Now for the actual post. I have been very interested in getting a sand table for the kids to play with. They aren't exactly cheap, though. I was ready to purchase one, got to Walmart, and they said I...

Our anniversary was at the beginning of this month, so a gift was in order. The hubs is a HUGE 'Bama fan. He has his own office in our new home, and has started with the Alabama theme. (It isn't tacky...yet;o)) He has one of those stained glass lamps with a Bama emblem on it(which was very expensive, thank you in-store credit). I plan on buying some hounds tooth fabric and making him some curtains. Anywho, I really wanted to get him an Alabama print for our anniversary.... have you seen how much those puppies cost? Outrageous! So anyway, I thought that I would try to draw something for him, since I used to be a fairly good artist. I have always been able to copy cartoon art, but had never been able to draw living objects. I couldn't ever get the shading right.. I decided I would try to draw an elephant. I wanted the ears to be flared, so I hopped on the internet and typed in Elephant. The first elephant I came to had his ears flared, so boom there ya go, off to the printer ...

About a year ago, I made E a Super Man cape. He wouldn't touch it. He didn't like anything on his back or neck...we're just now getting him to wear clothes at home:o) (I say that, and I just saw both of my children run upstairs in their skivvies) Anyway, when little sister started showing some interest in the cape, he began to wear it. You know that little thing called sharing? Well it happens on rare occasions in  this house, so S.R. needed her own cape. All the fabric that I used was on hand. Like the left over fabric from her curtains(yeah, I know, it seems like I have used that fabric in SOOOO MANY projects..I'm trying to get rid of it!) I used another coordinating fabric as well. I used E's cape as the pattern b/c somewhere along the way I lost the other pattern I made. I cut out the emblem using the white fabric, and I embroidered her name on it. That was almost a pain....my machine only embroiders in a 4x4 square and I wanted her name big. Let's just say ...

A few weeks back I made an extremely lame attempt to make shams for S.R.'s bed. I had some left over fabric from her curtains, and thought I new what I was doing. I was gettin' all crafty thinking I was going to put a ruffle on it...it turned out terrible. So for that amount of time, I have been trying to tuck and disguise my terrible sewing job...   I had some white fabric lying around, and thought...why not give the shams a try...again...now that I have had ample time to figure out how to really make them. I had some pillows stuffed in a closet that weren't fluffy anymore, so I figured I would just cut open a few and use those to stuff the shams.   I wanted to put her initials on them so that they wouldn't be just plain Jane shams...no offense to any of you Jane's out there;o) Anyway, I went to the computer, found a font that I liked (Elephant), blew it up to like 400 or so. I made the W slightly bigger. I ran out of fusible stabilizer, so I had to use what was on...

I love making things for my children, and absolutely love it when I think I have an original idea that makes life easier... after saying that I am reminded of the verse in the Bible that says there is nothing new under the sun...;o) Anyway, sometimes I like to make a lil something for myself and when I ran across this tutorial for a wallet at The Rubber Punkin , I knew that it was for me. It is super simple and I already had the supplies here which was even better. Nuttin' like f-a-ree:o) One thing I would change, (speaking of change..there isn't anywhere to put it, so you need a change purse), I would make a spot for my drivers license at the top..it just looks empty up there. I did monogram my initials on the front... the hubs was quick to point out that my spacing was a little off...still working on that:o) Just adds more character..HA! I plan on making a coordinating purse for it later on. I got a great book in the mail the other day, and I found a bag I want for myself.  ...

My sweet S.R. is turning 2 next month...sniff, sniff...she's growing up so fast! So pictures are in order. I always take the kids pictures, and if I say so myself, I think I do a fairly good job without any formal training:o) Anyway, I had some left over fabric from a baby bag that I am making(more on that next week), so I thought why not use the extras for lil sis? The pattern I used is absolutely A-dorable. The name of it is the Bo Peep skirt from the book It Seams to Me. It took a little over an hour to make, and I  L-O-V-E it!!! It is so sweet on little britches and she can even twirl in it if her lil heart desires. Pictures will commence this weekend, so that I can get her b-day invites out with her precious little mug in them:o) I also made a head band with the scraps...she loves it and I love that she loves it:o)

I have been dying for some Chicken Tortilla soup from McCallister's Deli for the longest, but have been super lazy and super cheap here lately to actually go and get some. Yesterday the hubs came home sick from work with the yuck that the kids and I passed on to him...aren't we sooooo sweet?:o) I knew that this was the perfect time for some soup, and why not try to make some chicken tortilla soup. I hopped online to see if I could find a version of McCallister's, and I did here . Here is my version, since I didn't have all the ingredients...go figure:o) 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves(I had 1 lb. of chkn. cutlets) 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil(regular canola oil) 1/2 medium onion, minced(1/4 of a red onion) 2 tablespoons minced garlic(I had the kind in a jar) 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes(diced tomatoes with onions) 1 (28-ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth(a 32 oz. box of chkn. broth) 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespo...

We have a problem in our household when it comes to sitting down at the table. Spilled Milk. And yes, there is usually crying involved afterward.  My lil man is drinking out of regular cups, and has been doing great....but here lately he has had the dropsies or the knock-it-overs. While sitting at dinner the other night, I had a light bulb go off...amazing, I know... His cups are always sitting at the edge of the table just asking to be knocked in the floor. He needs a target spot for his cup, fork, spoon and plate. Place mats go on tables, so I must make place mats. And of course lil miss needs one too. A while back mother gave me about 50 orange place mats and I think she paid a buck for all of them because the store was goin' outta biz-nass. They have been sitting in my pantry fo-EVUH. Now, I have a perfect project to use them in(only 48 left:o)). Anyway, here's a tutorial on how to make your own place mats:o) Supplies: -Vinyl place mat (base) -Fabric of your choosing(2 coor...