Do you have one of those inexpensive, fold-up doll strollers?  Did your kids wear through the fabric as quick as mine did?  All three of my kids have used and loved our doll stroller, and it has been through several makeovers. Making a new stroller seat is easier than you think it would be. Here’s the old one in all its glory.  I know it only cost about $10, but you’d think they could make the fabric just a LITTLE more sturdy, considering it is small children who will be playing with it!
I basically followed this tutorial from vixenMade.  I did a few things different: 1.  I used a seam ripper to separate my pieces, because I was worried I would screw something up if I didn’t use the exact same-size pieces. 2. I didn’t have any bias tape, and wasn’t in the mood to go buy some, so I used ribbon folded in half to sew around the rough edges.  It worked fine, but you have to be really careful to catch all the layers when you sew. 3.   I didn’t create a buckle because, frankly, my kids can never open those things and are constantly yelling “Mom, come open this buckle for me!”  I’m really tired of it.  Vixen’s stroller was just like a built-in fabric buckle, but I didn’t even do that.  Simplicity, folks.  That’s how I roll. So, here’s my brand new doll-stroller!  Well, at least it looks brand new…. Now little Ellie has a place to sit (instead of being dragged with her dress hanging from one of the handles)! I’d say this is a pretty easy project, so if your doll stroller has seen better days, give it a try!

Linking up to party this week- come check them out with me!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway from Piece of Cupcake!

Scroll down or click HERE to enter!

I’m so close I can see the end of the scrapbook tunnel!  Thanks to your indulgence, I’ve almost finished my pages for 2009!  I think if I work hard this week, I can MAYBE be done by next week!  I may not be getting much closer to being current, but at least I’m not falling further behind!

This week, I am posting the first of my holiday pictures.  Every year we make sugar cookies with the kids.  This is something my mom did with us, and I am continuing the tradition.  However, she let us cut the dough and everything.  Maybe I will do that when my children get older, but for now, I cut out the dough and bake the cookies ahead of time, then keep them in the freezer until we are ready to decorate.  

My kids love to choose the frosting colors, heap on the sprinkles, and of course, lick the frosting off the knife!  Gross!  This page captures all those fun moments.

What’s your favorite holiday tradition?  (Any holiday…..)

In my church, I teach Sunday School to the adults in our congregation.  It’s called Gospel Doctrine class and it just might be the most intimidating responsibility I’ve ever had.  I’m no scriptorian, but I do have a love of the scriptures and the gospel that help me teach this class. One of my biggest challenges is keeping my lessons interesting and “memorable” (meaning, I want them to HEAR what is being taught, if that makes sense).  Because I’m a musician, I often bring music into my lessons to help teach a point.  I find that sometimes music conveys the Spirit like nothing else can.

Recently, I used the children’s song “Faith” to teach about–what else– faith (Alma 32)

Faith is knowing the sun will rise, lighting each new day. Faith is knowing the Lord will hear my prayers each time I pray. Faith is like a little seed– if planted, it will grow Faith is a swelling within my heart; when I do right I know. I made a handout using a line from this song.  I like to put little reminders directly into my scriptures, so that when I am studying them on my own, the lesson will come back into my mind.
(I need to say a quick thank you to LDS Files for the seed image.  You can find it here.)

I’m sharing the handout if you’d like to use it.  It would be great for Primary, Youth, or even adults!  It will print four to a page, and you can DOWNLOAD IT here.   (the gray lines are just cut guides)

While I was putting this together, I thought I’d share a few thoughts about how I study and mark my scriptures.  I know that not everyone that reads my blog is interested in this, but it is something that is important to me.  I’ve looked online for inspiration before, so if this helps someone else, I’ll gladly share it! Scripture study is a very personal thing.  Everyone has their own way, their own system, etc.  I have read my scriptures many times, and in pretty much every way imaginable. My scriptures are dog eared, full of writing and color, and are stuffed with lesson handouts, as I mentioned above. I have quotations that I got from talks or lessons. I have lists  (Corianton’s 5 problems, The 9 “Wo’s”- wo unto the….) My favorite thing to do is to go through and mark my scriptures by topic.  I found these great colored pencils a few years ago, and I use them all the time!  Now being back-to-school time, you can find these at the store for cheap!    They are Crayola’s Twistable Colored Pencils.  No sharpening- what’s not to love? I read my scriptures cover to cover, looking for scriptures that talked about a specific set of topics that I had identified before I started.

Red–Qualities of God and Jesus Christ

Orange– The Holy Ghost
Pink– Charity/Service
Yellow= Faith and Hope
Tan– Repentance
Light Green–Salvation/Eternal Life
Dark Green–Prophecies Not Yet Fulfilled
Light Blue– Prayer
Dark Blue– Creation/Fall of Man
Purple– Prophecies Fulfilled or Being Fulfilled
Dark Brown–Baptism
Black– Miscellaneous I know there are lots of other topics I could have chosen, or ways I could have split them up, but this is what worked for me (and fit the colors I had!) When I find a verse that talks about one of these topics, I draw a dark line outlining the verse, then shade it in lightly (you can see what I mean in the above pictures.  I just like the way it looks.)  If a verse talks about more than one of these topics, I color half one color, and then the other half the other color.  I also make notes in the margins and draw arrows to footnotes, or underline words and phrases that stand out in a verse. I got this set of scriptures about ten years ago, and it is a treasure to me.  I love to reread them and remind myself of things I have discovered along the way.  I also often find a verse I missed that fits into one of my topics.  It’s amazing how you can always find something new in the scriptures.

By the way, if you’d like to read what I read, you can order a free, no-strings-attached Book of Mormon here.  I also read and mark my Bible the same way.

I’m linking this up to some of these link parties this week– I hope you’ll join in too!

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I am leaving TOMORROW (!) for a trip to Mexico!  Grandma is staying with the kids while hubby and I get a whole week to ourselves on the beautiful beaches of Tulum and the Mayan Riviera!  I can’t wait!  I do have some posts scheduled while I’m gone, though, so I hope you’ll keep visiting!  Just know I won’t be able to answer emails or respond to comments until I’m back in town! So, on to today’s post:

Last year, when I was browsing 4th of July Crafts, I came across a really cute wooden block from Savvy Chic Home.  She didn’t post directions, but I knew I could put it together myself.

Then, surprise!  This year for the women’s group at church, called Relief Society, I was asked to put together a 4th of July-themed craft night for the ladies.  Wow- I love crafting for myself, but have never done something like this before!  We have ladies of all ages, from 18-80, at all crafting abilities, so I wanted to keep it simple, but cute.  I knew the 4th of July block would be perfect for a group, with a little advance work. Here’s the sample I made for the group: Want to make one?  It’s easy!  I don’t have step-by-step pictures, but really, you can figure it out just by looking at the picture.  They didnt’ really need my help to put it together!

Time required:  about an hour

Supplies needed: 1 wooden 2×4 block, cut to 12 inches. Red paint, paintbrush Blue cardstock or patterned paper White cardstock- for stars Red cardstock- for letters or letter stickers, or red marker! Craft Cutter (Silhouette, Cricut, etc), star die-cut, or scissors Glue, Mod Podge, glue stick Buttons or other embellishments. Twine- cut to fit your block Red Ribbon- about 10 inches First, sand your block.  Most of the wood will be kept bare, though you can stain it if you want. Next, paint one of the 4 inch wide sides red- one to two coats, depending on your paint coverage. Third, Cut your blue cardstock into three rectangles- mine were 3.25 in x 3.75 in.  Glue them onto your block, leaving a border of red on each side and between the rectangles. Fourth, cut three stars from your white cardstock.  Make sure they fit into your rectangles.  I used my Silhouette for this, so it was easy to make them the right size.  Glue your stars onto the blue rectangles.  I kept mine straight and even, but some of the women made theirs angled for a cute, fun look. Fifth, cut the letters “U”, “S”, and “A” from red cardstock.  Alternately, you could use letter stickers, vinyl, or even just freehand it with a red marker!  Glue or write your letters into the center of each star. Sixth, embellish with buttons.  I used star buttons and regular buttons.  You could even cut out paper stars and use glue dots or foam tape to make them stand out. Finally, wrap a length of twine around the block and tie a knot at the top.  Leave the ends long.  I used a little hot glue to hold the twine tightly in place.  Finish by tying your red ribbon into a bow, heat-sealing the ends, and glueing it on top of your twine knot! When everyone came, I had everything cut out for them already– another way the Silhouette makes my life so easy!  I also precut the twine and ribbon, so all they had to do was a little paint, some gluing, and embellishing.  Easy peasy. They all turned out so cute- everyone did a wonderful job!  We finished up the night by eating these patriotic cupcakes.  They are a simple vanilla cupcake recipe, with buttercream, red sprinkles, and candy melts molded into stars.  The wrappers are from Michael’s- on clearance for 99 cents! It was great fun for me to create with/for other people.  I hope they’ll call me again (crossing fingers)!

Well, last week sure was a doozy.  I had a great, quiet Thanksgiving with my family, who were pretty much all sick.  How about you?  I really enjoyed the time off from driving kids to school, dance, and everywhere else.  Being sick sometimes makes you stop and just be- which we often forget to do in our busy, busy lives.

Before I go on with my post, I’ve decided, due to sickness and Thanksgiving, to extend my My Memories Suite giveaway until the end of this week.  I’ll announce the winner next Monday.  Go here for more details, and to enter!

Well, we can OFFICIALLY move on to Christmas now!  I’m really feeling Christmas-y because I have both given and received my first Christmas gifts!  I participated in the Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange.  It’s been fun getting to know a fellow crafter.  I had my friend Lindzie from My Creative Place, and I decided after our emails to send her some things to help her get ready for Christmas.

She told me her colors are blue, silver, and black, so not your traditional Christmas colors.  I found some pretty papers that I thought would complement her color scheme, and painted some Noel blocks for her.

I was making myself one of eighteen25’s Christmas Planners, so I doubled up and made one for Lindzie too.  I love that thing- I’ve used it a lot already!

Finally, I included a few baby washcloths for the baby boy she is having around Christmas time!  Wow, as if the holidays aren’t busy enough!  I can’t imagine having a baby right then! Shortly after I sent my gifts off, I received Lindzie’s gifts in return.  She sent me a fabulous Christmas wall hanging, which is displayed in my kitchen.
She also gave me some great ornaments for my tree.  The “E” is for my last name. She also sent me a mini-canvas that says Let it Snow- it is so cute!  My pictures of it seem to have mysteriously disappeared, though….. I’ll have to take some more once my camera battery recharges 🙁 She was so cute to include some funny recipe cards and a notepad, too. Thanks so much, Lindzie!  If you missed it this time- stay tuned- Linda at CA does these twice a year, and are always a huge hit!  You can sign up next time.

I am sharing this over at the Handmade Gift Exchange linky party and at these other fun linky parties.  Come on and party with me!

Wow- first CSNstores.com, and now Overstock.com want to reward YOU, my readers, simply for reading my blog.  All this product review isn’t what I’m about- I’m not normally a “reviewer” on my blog- but I just can’t pass up the opportunity to pass some savings along to YOU!

I don’t shop online often, but when I do, Overstock.com is a great place to save money on quality items.   One of my favorite things was a pearl necklace I bought for my mom.   Real pearls for more than 50%  off!  Can’t beat that, right?  I also like to look for apparel there.  I can often find cute dresses or sweaters for a great price.  We are looking to buy some new things for our home, and you can be sure I’ll be checking out their Home Decor section.  I really need a new Area Rug!

If you are an online shopper, I hope you’ll try out Overstock.com.  To get you started, they are providing you with 10% off any purchase.  It is good anytime, but can only be used once per email address. 

Before I provide you with the code, a little required business:  All the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a discount code.


There.  Now, simply use this code at checkout to receive 10% off:  121745


This code excludes movies, books, and electronics.  However, if you would like to purchase electronics, you can receive FREE SHIPPING (on electronics only) by using code 202234 at checkout. 

Share this with your friends if you want.  Also, this isn’t necessary, but it would be really, really nice if you asked them to stop by my blog!  🙂  If you have any problems using the code, please let me know!

Have a happy New Year, from my family, to yours.

A simple World Market popcorn box can be just about anything you want!  I am joining with 60 other bloggers today to show you what we created with the same popcorn box!

One of our favorite Halloween traditions is to “Boo” our friends and neighbors.  You know the deal- you leave them a Halloween treat, and then they are do the same to one of their friends or neighbors.  You include instructions and a little sign for them to hang up so other people know who has been “Boo-ed”.  

I thought this popcorn box would be the perfect container for this!  I started by simply painting my box with Americana Chalkboard Paint by DecoArt.  Then I used my chalk marker to write “You’ve Been Booed!” on the front.  I attached some cute orange polka-dot ribbon to use as a handle, then filled the inside with some Halloween goodies. I put my instructions on the back of this doodle by Laura Kelly.  I just colored it in.  Isn’t it cute?

Now I just need to actually get out the door and “boo” someone!  

Check out what all the other bloggers did with their popcorn box, but before you do, enter this awesome giveaway to win some goodies from our sponsors!  Up for grabs:

• Sizzix Big Shot Machine
• $50 World Market Gift Card and Halloween Treats
• Udderly Smooth Prize Pack (love these lotions!)
• 50 Custom Designed Lollipics (like the one in my box!)

Terms and conditions apply.  Good luck!