The L-T Experience

Crystal's Craft Spot 1K Facebook Fan Giveaway

2012-01-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I know I'm supposed to have my Project Project Runway outfit ready for today. We were supposed to design for Miss Piggy. But my outfit was a total fail and I don't have time or energy to complete this week.

I'm sick. Terry finally succeeded in passing his head cold along to me and it's totally wiped me out.

But never fear! How would you like to win a fantastic prize pack?

Crystal's Craft Spot is having a giveaway to celebrate her 1000 Facebook Fans. And there is a little extra something in there from Tawny Bee

Yay!

As most of you know - my kids wear these sweet upcycled winter hats. They get tons of compliments wherever they go. I'm so happy to be giving one up for this very special giveaway!

And of course, if you don't win, but would still like an upcycled winter hat for your kids - go on over to Tawny Bee and check 'em out.

Wednesday Weigh In: Fitness Motivation Album

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

The weigh in unfortunately is the same as it's been all month. 158 lbs and not budging.

So I thought I would share with you a little something I made to keep myself motivated.

Awhile ago I won a My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Pack over at the Silly Pearl. I downloaded the Suite and then my computer broke. It took a couple of weeks to get it back and then I decided to give this software a try. It couldn't be half as bad as actually cutting out all of those elements and gluing them onto a scrapbook page by hand right? I hate paper crafts!

I decided to start with something easy. Dump a bunch of pictures on a page with some text and throw on whatever page elements the software came with and voila! I'd have something!

Here we go:

I made the pages small in order to fit inside this CD wallet.

I think I was at a university event about 12 years ago and the organizers were throwing these CD wallets out into the crowd. I grabbed one, but don't actually use CDs anymore. And I don't drink Bud! Might as well do something healthy with it. I glued the first page onto the front. Then I inserted the middle pages into the CD pockets inside the book. I glued the Stay On Target page onto the back cover.

Not too bad for my first foray into digital scrapbooking. I'll definitely try to make it look more pro and less slapped together when I try scrapbooking something really important, like Logan's first year at pre-school or kindergarten. And Lane's first couple of years on this planet. And our family holidays, etc.

But for now, this scrapbook stays with me in the spare room where I exercise and hopefully it will give me the encouragement I need to lose this final 8 lbs :D

Year of The Dragon

2012-01-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the beginning of the year of the Dragon!

And I just happen to be a Dragon!

It must be my year eh?

So here's to peace, love, passion and energy for the Year of The Dragon.

To celebrate I made Chinese Firecrackers again. They were such a hit with the kids last year that I couldn't resist doing it again. I got the idea from my bloggy friend Steph last year. Actually that is how I met her. I tried out her firecrackers tutorial and she was very kind about me mixing up all her instructions and giving them the LT Experience touch. We've been bestie bloggy buddies ever since.

So this year I decided to further mess up Steph's terrific instructions by taking a printable from one of her recent tutorials and adding it to the firecrackers.

Now the firecrackers say Gung Hay Fat Choy and have a cute dragon on them. I filled them with as much candy as I could stuff in there, so the kids will be extra pleased when they pop them open after dinner tonight.

After a phone call to my dad last night to get instructions, I am going to attempt to make a batch of Cantonese style Chow Mein for dinner tonight as well!

ACK! Wish me luck!

I'll share the recipe with you on Food Friday if it works out. :D

Secret Mommyhood Confession Saturday #18

2012-01-21T08:04:00.000-08:00

I'm a list maker.

No - that's not the confession. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a list maker. (and it's not bolded, so it isn't a true confession).

Nope the confession is this:

Every time I write something on a list, I write the item with the thought in mind that I might somehow lose this list, someone will find it, then that someone will read it, and I had better write this particular list in such a way as to not come off as a total freak, slob, bad parent, etc to this complete stranger who is now reading my list.

Yeah... I'm a tad paranoid.

So for example, when I write a grocery list and we really need the following items: Oreos, chocolate chips, ice cream, Jello, and Goldfish Crackers - I will try desperately to think of some healthy things that we need too. Cuz I don't want to look like a fat piggy and bad parent who only buys junk when going to the grocery store (even though that's totally what we do) to this imagined stranger who finds my list and reads it. So I add things like bananas and broccoli in between the junk items.

Yeah... a tad paranoid.

Then I get all worried that I spelled Broccoli incorrectly. And what would this person think if I spelled all the junk food correctly and then flubbed Broccoli?

Paranoid much?

But it's gets even more convoluted. I start thinking that this stranger who is reading my list is going to read about the ... ahem... personal products that I need. And yes, I have to write them on the list because I don't actually go grocery shopping most of the time. Terry does that grunt work in my house, so I can't just remember these things and discretely put them in the cart. And he's gonna lose the list - just saying.... And then someone is gonna pick it up and read it...

So, how to write these products without saying: "Tawny's toothpaste" on the list? Terry and the kids also use toothpaste and it's a different brand than mine, so I gotta write something to signify that the product is for me. And then this stranger will read "Tawny" and know it's me for sure. Because really... how many Tawny's do you know?

So paranoid.

And then this stranger will think all sorts of bad thoughts about me. OMG Tawny likes Oreos and chocolate chips and ice cream and I bet she eats them by crumbling them all up into a bowl and downing the entire shot at once! ACK!

This means that I always write: "Mama's toothpaste" on the list. There are a ton of mamas in the world. This stranger will never guess that it's me! YES!

There's a whole other problem with the really personal products that I need. I write "Mama's Shave Gel" on the list. But what if this stranger thinks, jeez this mama shaves her face - what a freak! So I always make sure to write: "Mama's Shave Gel (pink)" on the list, cuz you would never shave your face with pink shave gel. I mean - come on! hehehe... at least that is the reasoning.

That and the fact that Terry will buy me mens deodorant and say it's shave gel if I don't write the exact colour it is on the list. Men aren't really good at figuring that stuff out.

Yeah... I'm a tad overthinking this whole thing right?

And a bit paranoid perhaps?

Do you imagine a secret reader when you write a list? I bet you will now! hehehe

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I'm sharing my massive hysteria with the kind and non-judgmental folks over at All Work and No Play Make Mommy Go Something Something. Share you confession too?

Food Friday: Play Dough!

2012-01-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

OK so it's Food Friday.

I'm going to share something with you that I made from a recipe.

Food?

Not really... But I did have to cook it.

Meth?

Hah! Get your mind outta the gutter!!!!

It's Play Dough!

Lane was using the old Play Dough up until last week when Terry declared that it was too dried out to use. It actually broke the Play Dough Hamburger maker thing. ACK!

Lane was so sad and Logan was refusing to share some of the new Play Dough he got for his birthday.

We were going to buy some more this weekend when I remembered that my mom used to make Play Dough.

I looked up a recipe and voila! I found a perfect one here.

I cooked it up and it came out exactly like the store bought stuff. Same texture, smell, and pliable-ness.

Nice!

I even put it into the empty containers we had.

Yay!

Note: Although this recipe is featured on Food Friday, I wouldn't recommend eating this Dough. Bleh! It only has a few ingredients - all of them non-toxic. So if you wanted to have a lick, do so at your own risk! Yech...

Project Project Runway: Night At The Opera Results

2012-01-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

It's Project Project Runway Challenge Number 2 results day!

Our challenge this week was:

Challenge – A Night at the Opera
This week is all about high-end glamour. It’s time to show us a show-stopping ball gown for a high-society event. The look needs to be classic, elegant, but still turn heads. It should look couture. The designers on the show had $350 to spend this week, so let’s stay under $35 (as if any of us will spend $35). (Courtesy of Just Crafty Enough)

Here we go!

Ariel was chosen to model this particular Opera ensemble (mostly because she's the least skanky of my models hehehe).

I got the fabric from the Thrift Store. It was actually sandwiched in between some really nice blue knits in a bag that I bought for $3.00. I had no idea what I would possibly use it for - until this challenge!

I made it as form fitting as possible, with one long sleeve. The judges really went for the sexy, yet modest look, so I think this fits in well.

Ariel has some crazy sparkly gold eye shadow and hot pink lips, but I still think this dress makes her look elegant. And I congratulate myself for making the design more streamlined. I had ideas for bustles and high collars... ooof... I'm glad I went with the simple yet elegant look.

I made a little fan for Ariel's hair accessory. Perfect for the Opera! Well maybe. I've never actually been to the Opera.

I chose this clutch from the accessory wall to go with her ensemble. I think it matches the fan in her hair quite nicely.

What do you think? Am I safe this week? I'm still not quite sure about the vibe of the judges, so I won't try to guess.

As always, if you want to see the other participants designs, visit the Flickr group.

Iron Craft Challenge: Paper Results

2012-01-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

The first Iron Craft challenge (to coincide with their 1st anniversary) was appropriately - paper.

I decided that if I was ever going to get off my butt and try something new, I would have to make it work with my personality. I would definitely have to turn it into an upcycle project! yay!

So .... paper... what to do...

I chose to make something out of this pile of cards. Actually the pile was a lot bigger than that, but I forgot to take a picture before I started cutting them up. Oooops!

I save cards. Birthday cards, Valentine's Day cards, Christmas cards, Just Because cards... everything. I love them so much. But what's the use of having all these pretty cards if I put them away in a drawer and never look at them? So I started cutting them up.

And made these!

Pretty paper drink coasters!

They all came out so pop culture-y. I love them all!

Basically I cut the card through the front and back so that I would have two CD sized pieces of cardstock.

I glued those two pieces together and mod podged them all around.

Some I added fabric backing to - like these:

I found that very tedious and used a lot of mod podge - waited, then podged again.

So then I tried putting a little decorative Duck Tape on the backs. And some I left au natural with the card info or price code on it. They are meant to look upcyled and cool anyway, so it doesn't really matter if I cover the backs or not. Then I podged and podged and podged until I made them relatively stiff.

I made some...

And then more...

And then even more...

I love them all! I think I will include them in gift packages. I think they'd make great gift tags.

Or I might use them for my afternoon Diet Pepsi hehehe.

Would it be that terrible if I chose to keep them all for myself? I just love all the art on them and I'm so pleased that I actually get to enjoy it. No more throwing cards in a drawer for me!

Even the back are special!

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Stay tuned for the next Iron Craft challenge.

And if you want to follow along with what the other Iron Crafters chose to try out using paper, check out the Flickr Group.

The Golden Globes 2012 - Tawny's Fashion Round Up

2012-01-16T08:59:00.001-08:00

My readers seem to like when I do a fashion round up of the award shows that I get a chance to watch. So here goes one for the Golden Globes that were on last night.

Let's get right to it since I don't really have much to say about the actual awards. I barely watch any of the TV shows and I certainly haven't seen many of the movies. The fashion is all I was paying attention to.

Worst Dressed:

Source

Piper Perabo Getty
I have no idea who she is, but that dress is see through darling.

Source

Jessica Biel
You aren't getting married just yet sweetie. And Timberlake might just run away if he saw you wearing this wedding ensemble down the aisle.

Best Dressed:

Source

Ricky Gervais

The host looked amazing. Nice trim beard. Maroon coloured suit. Lovely.

Source

Octavia Spencer

That dress fit like a dream. And it's such a pretty violet. Beautiful.

Source

Paula Patton

I just love this yellow dress. So beautiful. Fit her perfectly. And was such a bold, amazing colour.

Did you have any faves? Who was wearing the worst?

Project Project Runway All Stars - Fashion Cents Runway

2012-01-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy that Project Runway is back!

I don't even mind that there are new judges and a new mentor on the new All Stars Series on TV.

Because it means that Project Project Runway is back as well :D

Yay!

This week we were tasked with the unconventional challenge right out of the gates. We had to make an outfit using stuff found at the Dollar Store.

Now most of you who read my blog know that I'm a Dollarama freak, so I had tons of stuff to choose from already in my house.

I chose these two items:

A Hawaiian necklace and a bath scrubby.

And I made them into this:

I think she's very pretty. Although maybe a little mummy-ish with that gauze from the bath scrubby wrapped around her like that.

It took some time to figure out how to get all those flowers to behave and stay on her. I ended up tying it all together with thread knots.

I've decided that I'm going to be all about bows this season. So expect tons of crazy bows to pop up in my styling and designs.

And I'm going with this brightly coloured shoe for Aurora's lovely tiny feet. Oooh isn't she lucky to be wearing a pair of shoes worth $595! ACK! Pretty though aren't they?

I have no idea what the judges will say because I don't know the new judges very well yet. But I can see them thinking the bow in the hair in a bit much and that the wrapping looks a little like medical gauze. They seemed to be okay with stuff that was fabric-ish this time, so I don't think I'll get dinged for the fabric flowers.

Overall, I think this turned out lovely. And Lane won't stop playing with Aurora this week and exclaiming how pretty she is.

If you'd like to see all of the Project Project Runway All Stars designers this week, check out the Flickr Group.

My New Year's Resolution

2012-01-11T07:53:00.000-08:00

I know that my New Year's Resolution should be to lose weight or spend more time house cleaning, or go to yoga or whatever is the regular stuff to resolve to do.

But .... nah....

Last year I had two New Year's Resolution.

One was to learn how to Macrame.

Check!

The other was to force myself into situations that make me anxious in the hopes the I could desensitize myself to it.

Check! Sorta...

I forced myself to apply for, and actually go to the Ted X Manitoba conference.

I knew that I was going to have to deal with a ton of strangers in a new city and actually trust a complete stranger with my valve replacement heart surgery - the ultimate in social anxiety fears!

I forced myself to go out and meet people, go to meetings, plan and be social at Logan's birthday party, do craft shows.

But did it desensitize me?

Nope.

In fact, all that stress brought back the ulcer in my stomach that I had in university.

:(

So this year, what is my resolution?

It's to just STOP IT.

I didn't apply to go to the Ted X Manitoba conference this year.

I'm not going to any meetings. I'm not going to force myself to meet new people.

I don't have to worry about having surgery in a strange city and trusting all those strangers.

I might do a couple of craft shows because I'm getting better at not stressing over those.

And I'm going to be forced into some situations that I can't avoid - like birthday parties, I'm got to find a new family doctor (which means interviewing a bunch of them) and later in the year I might be looking to get a part time job (another ultimate stressor for people with social anxiety!).

I will just STOP IT though. I just want this year to be peaceful. I'm tired and worrying about every little thing.

Logan will be going to grade one and Lane will be starting pre-school. Both things that I am familiar with and won't have to worry about too much.

So this is the year! The year where I allow myself to stay home and relax.

Either that or in 6 months if I haven't been able to let go of some of this anxiety, I'll look at a chemical fix (gotta find a good family doctor first! ACK!) I really don't want to do that... and I'll probably stress so much about it that it won't do any good.

Gah...

Just STOP IT!

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Does anyone else make any New Year's Resolutions? Does anyone even do that anymore?

Introduction to Iron Crafter

2012-01-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

Last year I really enjoyed the Iron Crafter series on the blog Just Crafty Enough. They had a craft challenge each week for the entire year! Wow! There were some really great projects and inspiration to gawk at all year long.

This year I decided to play along... well... once they announced that they were going to have 26 projects with 2 weeks to complete each. That's doable right?

The first challenge is up:

It’s Iron Craft’s first anniversary. The traditional first anniversary gift is Paper, so that seems an obvious choice for our first challenge of the year. Over the next two weeks we’d like you to create something using paper. You don’t have to just use paper, but we’d like to see it be a prominent material in your project. (Courtesy of Just Crafty Enough)

Okay... I can do paper... um... yeah... just ignore the posts this past summer when I was working on the Wedding Scrapbook. You know, the ones about how I cannot do, will not do, and down right double hate paper crafts. Hehehe...

Now that I'm an Iron Crafter - There is no "double hating" anything.

I'm fearless!

So I gathered up all the cards of birthdays, Mother's Days, and Christmas' past. I shall make something out of them!

Might as well make an upcycle project out of it eh?

Stay tuned on Tuesday January 17th for the big reveal :)

Macrame Monday: Plant Hanger

2012-01-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

I truly think that it's a prerequisite when learning macrame that you have to have it in your plans to make at least one plant hanger.

Who am I to argue with the rules?

Ta da!

This was actually a very easy macrame project. It took me only a few days.

All the materials I used for the plant hanger were either gifted to me or thrifted. Haha, I should call this the gifted/thrifted hanger! :D I got a huge bagful of metal rings of all sorts of sizes at the thrift store. I used one to start this project. The cords were also thrifted vintage macrame cording. Someone must have donated their entire macrame supply closet, because I picked up bags upon bags of this stuff.

This is just some of the cording I got. Yay!

My friend Ruth gave me some of her old macrame pattern books. I used a plant hanger pattern called C'est Brilliante to make this particular hanger. (Those of you who know me in real life know why I couldn't pass up a name like that!) Ruth also gave me the large wooden macrame beads that I used in the knotting pattern.

I anchored the whole thing to a huge nail driven into the rafters of our laundry room ceiling and began.

The only knots you need to know for this pattern are the square knot (you only tie half a square knot over and over again on one side to make the twist effect). And the Josephine knot for the basket.

And this is what it looks like when it's done. Not too special with a Halloween treat bowl in it, hanging in my laundry room.

But boy does it look spectacular with a 70s fern in it, hanging above our stairs!

A 70s fern for a 70s macrame plant hanger. What could be better?!!

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Sharing this groovy project with:
The More The Merrier Monday - DIY Home Sweet Home
Too Cute Tuesday - The Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans
Friday Favs - Nap Time Crafters
Five Days Five Ways - Friday Free For All

Secret Mommyhood Confession Saturday #17

2012-01-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

OMG! Secret Mommyhood Confession Saturday is back!

:D :D :D

Along with Weigh In Wednesday, the Saturday Confessions are some of your favourite (and most commented on) posts.

I get it - you all wanna read about how fat I am and all the stupid sh*t I'm willing to share hehehe I'm the same. I read all of your blogs hoping for some juicy tidbits about you as well ;)

So here's my confession today:

I say that the Barbies I bought are for Lane, but they're not. They are mine and I enjoy playing with them.

There I said it (or typed it). And I bolded it to make it all that more real.

I never really had Barbies when I was little, so when Project Project Runway came along, I had an excuse to play dress up with dolls. Yay! Up until now though, I was adamant that the dolls belonged to Lane and that she is the one who really plays with them. I was just borrowing them for this project.

And she does play with them. Just not as much as I do ;)

And she doesn't think to put them in a pile like this:

And then make up scenarios like this:

A new series called Project Runway Allstars has begun! Therefore, Project Project Runway has also started up again. Of course, since I participated last season I immediately considered myself an All Star and decided to join in the latest event. I went to find my models to see if they were willing to sign another contract and show off my clothes.

This is the state I found them in! Aurora has led Ariel and Pencil into a life of debauchery. They are still wearing the clothes I designed for the last challenge and have picked up Pimp Ken to join their life of parties and orgies. Goodness! Look at that shiny shirt that Ken is wearing. You know he's up to no good.

So I picked Pencil up off the pile, pulled her pants up and straightened her hair and made her sign the contract (even though I'm paying her peanuts hehehe). Ariel and Aurora were soon convinced to kick Ken to the curb and come along.

_____________

Well, this ended up being a "Kill two birds with one stone" kinda post. A confessed that Aurora, Pencil and Ariel (and even Pimp Ken) are mine and not Laney's and I "confessed"(?) that I'm participating in Project Project Runway All Stars this season. Yay!

I guess I had better post my resume here from last season as well, so that you all can critique just the same as you did for the real designer all stars. Come on - I know you did!

This week's challenge is:
Challenge – Fashion Cents
The unconventional challenge first thing, what fun! Create an outfit with items from a $.99 (or $1.00) store. This is about innovation. Though I must say, this set of judges wasn’t as harsh about using fabric-like materials. On the show they had to relate back to a current piece they had shown the judges, since we don’t all have lines to refer back to we will skip that component. (courtesy of Just Crafty Enough)

Which All Star are you going for? I want to say someone cool like Mondo or April - but I think I'm going to go for Kenley only because my designs were compared to hers a lot when I revealed them last season. I hope she brings her attitude back with her as well hehehe.

OK, enough. This post is too long and meandering already.

I'm going to go play with my Barbies and you can go over to All Work And No Play Makes Mommy Go Something Something and read all the other fun confessions and even submit your own.

Food Friday: Maple Walnut Muffins

2012-01-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

I love baking things with maple syrup as the main ingredient. So yummy!

These Maple Walnut muffins are num num num

Ingredients:
2 Cups all Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup real maple syrup
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees (190 degrees C). Line muffin tin with paper cups.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in the maple syrup and the eggs and beat until well blended. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk and beat until well blended. Stir in the walnuts. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins filling each about 3/4 full

Bake for 20 minutes toothpick comes out of centre clean. Remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Makes 12-18 muffins depending on how full your papers are.

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For those calorie counters out there, these babies will set you back 176 of 'em approximately. So maybe not really good for a snack. But they work perfectly for a nummers breakfast :)

Do you bake with maple syrup? Do you have any recipes that I should try?

Welcome Maya

2012-01-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

On New Years Eve we were looking for something to do. Terry had read on Twitter that The Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter was looking to adopt a bunch of puppies and that they had named the pups after various Winnipeg Jets hockey players in order to gain interest.

Lane really loves animals. All animals - dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, lizards, fish... everything. We regularly take her to the pet store or to the zoo to get her animal fix. Terry is always showing her the daily puppy on the Internet or looking up pictures of kitties on Flickr.

So we decided to head on over to the Pet Rescue to check out the puppies.

And they were so cute! All of them were adopted. And even if they weren't, we aren't in any position to get a dog yet. We need to finish our fence to enclose our yard and work on potty training our little girl before we work on potty training a puppy.

But there were tons of kitties there and they all looked so sad because they were spending the last day of the year in a cage.

A precious little grey cat named Maya caught our eye. She had been at the Pet Rescue since August. It is a no kill shelter, so adult cats sometimes stay at the shelter for a really long time. Poor Maya!

An adult cat who was already used to using kitty litter and living in a house was perfect for our family and a great "starter" pet for Lane. We couldn't resist.

Maya came home with us.

Awww.... who could resist that sweet kitty?

Even I can't resist and I'm totally allergic to cats! ACK! I've only had to take a Benadryl once so far in the few days that Maya has lived with us. I'm sure once the cat hair starts invading more of our home, I'll be needing a shot to get through the couple of months it takes to get used to her.

And yes... I couldn't resist sewing her a kitty bed already. She likes it! She really likes it! :D

The Pet Rescue found Maya in a box marked "Free Kittens" with her recently produced babies. :( All of her babies were adopted already, but Maya was still waiting for the right home. I'm sure she'll be very happy with us. :)

She is the most sweet, lovable cat I have ever met. She hasn't once hissed or swatted at the over attentive children. She hops up on a free lap and purrs and demands cuddles and pets. Lane is over the moon with her new found best friend Maya.

Welcome to Team LT sweet little cat. (I'm aware that Maya doesn't fit into the Team letters, but she's still getting a spot on our next Christmas card).

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Sharing the sewing part of this post (the cat bed) with some cool peeps:
Friday Fun Finds - Kojo Designs
Friday Favs - Nap Time Crafters

Handmade Holidays: Stuff I Made

2012-01-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

By this point, you may be wondering if I made anything for our holiday gifts. I've been busy showing you all the handmade thing I bought, but I assure you that I did make some stuff myself.

(And this is the last handmade holidays post for Christmas 2011. Gah, it took forever because my computer was gone for so long).

So, for my sister, my best friend and my dad's girlfriend, I made some patchwork place mats, oven mitts and tea towels.

Each one was different and I had a really awesome time piecing them all together. I love the way they turned out. My sister says she likes looking at them and recognizing some of the fabric from my past projects. I used some of the man fabric from the ties at the wedding, some fabric that I made Logan's pants with, etc.

The oven mitts were made of the same patchwork and I deliberately made each one different. The challenge was picking the set for each person. I made sure that the Nascar fabric heavy ones were for my dad's girlfriend so that dad would get to enjoy them :)

The tea towels I bought from the dollar store, but the patchwork on each of them is my own. It classes them up quite a bit doesn't it?

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And then for the kids I made some Pajama Aliens. The Aliens eat up jammies every morning and keep them nice and warm and clean until night time when they spit them out for the kids to wear. :)

Logan's is orange.

Lane's is purple.

Num Num Num jammies....

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Sharing my handmade gifts with some awesome people:

Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans

Handmade Holidays: More Awesome Purchases

2012-01-03T12:59:00.000-08:00

I thought I would save some of the handmade purchases I made for another post. These ones are especially dear to me because they were purchased from local Winnipeg crafters.

Firstly, I needed to come up with a terrific gift for my mother in law. She always puts so much time, thought and energy into gift giving at Christmas time, so she needed something really special. I knew of a local artisan who does bookbinding (with a specialty in eco-friendly work).

Awesome. I went a'hunting for my mother in law's favourite childhood book "The Velveteen Rabbit" and had Laura, a fellow WESTie (Winnipeg Etsy Street Team member) and proprietor of Prairie Peasant bind it up with recycled paper into a pretty writing journal. Did I mention that my mother in law loves to write? Like... a lot!

Isn't it perfect?

And while I was vending at the Creative Collection Craft show, I picked up these two lovely creatures for the kids.

Mr. Sock Monkey is from the Monkey Business Card Co. (another WESTie).

And Ms. Sock Kitty is from Just Cats.

But if anyone asks, both of these creatures were sewn lovingly by Santa's elves of course! :D

Team LT's Best of 2011

2012-01-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

Remember the wonderful interview questions that I make everyone answer at the end of the year? I did one for 2007 and I did one for 2010 as well.

So this year I thought I'd give it a go again... to see if we've changed any.

Welcome to Team LT's best of 2011:

_________

Best CD:
Terry: Machine Head "Unto The Locust"

Logan: Anything by Green Day
Lane: Anything by the DoodleBops

Although this list includes stuff that didn't actually come out in 2011, I still have no preference. I barely get to listen to music anymore :(

Best Book:
Again, we are not really good at keeping up with the latest in literature, or anything for that matter, so we're going with the favourite book we read this year.
Terry: The Kid Who Climbed Everest - Bear Grylls
Logan: The Biggest Snowman Ever - Steven Kroll

Lane: Night, Night baby! - published by Parragon Books
Tawny: Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery (yes, I've been reading the whole series again for the .... um... zillionth time)

Best TV Show:
Terry and Tawny: Supernatural
Logan: Backyardigans
Lane: Sesame Street

Best Fast Food:
Terry, Tawny and Lane: Wendy's
Logan: Subway

Best Moment of 2011:
Terry: Getting the phone call from the heart surgeon that Tawny came through valve surgery just fine
Logan: Visiting Grandma and Grandpa up in Thompson
Lane: Halloween!
Tawny: Noticing that my normally blue toes were actually pink

Best Gift Recieved:
Terry: Zelda
Lane: her microwave from Santa
Logan: His activity board from Santa

Tawny: my very own website!

Best Movie:
Terry, Lane and Tawny: The Muppets
Logan: Rio

(disclaimer: We obviously don't see that many movies)

Best Video Game:
Terry: Zelda Twilight Princess
Logan: All the Zeldas

Best Restaurant:
Terry: Montana's
Logan: Perkins
Tawny: Joey's Only Seafood

And there are some new categories this year! Yay!

Favourite Clothing Item:
Terry: Iron Maiden T-Shirt

Logan: John Deere pants
Lane: Elmo T-shirt
Tawny: Green T-shirt dress

Favourite Family Outing Spot:
Terry, Tawny: St. Malo Beach
Logan: The Animal Rescue where we got Maya (more about Maya the cat coming in a later post this week *wink* *wink*)
Lane: The Children's Museum

Favourite Exercise/Sport Activity
Terry: Swimming on Sundays with the kids
Logan: Riding his bike
Lane: Rolling (yes, she means that she literally likes getting on the floor and rolling across it)
Tawny: Elliptical

Favourite Drink:
Terry: Labatt Blue
Logan: Orange Juice
Lane: Apple Juice
Tawny: The almighty Slurpee (I even accidentally snap pictures of unsuspecting Slurpees when I'm showing off my thrift store finds hehehe)

Favourite Colour:
Terry: Red
Logan: Green
Lane: Pink
Tawny: Orange

It is fascinating to see how much (or in some cases how little) we've changed throughout the years. Do you keep record of your family's favourites every year?

The L-T Experience's Top 10 "Experiences" of 2011

2011-12-31T15:36:00.000-08:00

Since everyone seems to be doing these end of the year round up lists, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and get going with mine. Much easier said than done because I still don't have my computer back.

But I press on....

Here are our top 10 Experiences for 2011:

10) Our 1st Wedding Anniversary

Our wedding was the big news in 2010, but this year we celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary - and that's cool as well.

9) Life Postponed:

I developed a killer cough right before we were supposed to go to Edmonton for my heart surgery. I had to call and postpone the entire thing for a month. Brutal. I hate waiting. But it all worked out.

8) Lane Gets a Big Girl Bed:

Our little girl did her share of growing this year. She's no longer a baby and needed to move up to a big girl bed from her baby crib.

7) Family Vacay:

We packed the kids in the car and spent a few days up in Thompson this past summer.

6) Halloween:

Thing One and Thing Two were released upon our little neighbourhood and allowed to run amok collecting candy wherever they went!

5) Our Little Girl turns 2:

We had an outdoor BBQ party for Lane and she was the bell of the ball all evening.

4) Our Little Boy turns 5:

Our little man is 5 and he had his very first birthday bowling party with all this little friends. Chaos reigned.

3) Logan goes to Kindergarten:

What? Our boy is old enough to go to real school? How did that happen?

2) A goodly amount of weight loss:

This year Terry and I really decided that we would work at shedding a few pounds. Terry has lost 20 lbs so far and I've lost 15!

And the number one most life changing experience this year was...

Like you couldn't guess?

1) Tawny gets a new heart valve:

We moved our lives to Edmonton for a week and came back a very changed family. For the better! I'm healthier, stronger and more able to be the good mommy and wife that my family needs.

Handmade Holidays: Purchases

2011-12-30T12:08:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to take it easy with all the handmade gifts and order a few of them for my friends and family. Easing the load of sewing was a terrific idea, and I got some wonderful stuff.

I can show you the handmade purchases now that everyone has opened their gifts.

I bought these funky popsicle-looking soaps from London City (A Zibbet shop from Toronto).

There were also peppermint ones in this style of soap for Christmas - red, white and green. Pretty!

Next, while on the theme of soap, I got these geekily awesome soaps for my brother and one of our friends:

These were purchased from Digital Soaps on Etsy.

I got this cool clock for Terry to put in his office from The Golfing Dolphin on Etsy:

And of course you already saw Laney's crocheted Elmo Hat. Although Lane will tell you that Mrs. Claus crocheted it for her. hehehe Apparently Knitty Momma on Etsy is Mrs. Claus.

It looks like my computer isn't going to be back until after this long weekend. *sigh* - so the big New Year blog posts and series that I'm planning will have to be put on hold some more. bleh... I just really want my computer back.

Year Thirty

2011-12-29T17:21:00.000-08:00

My awesome husband turns 30 today!

Happy Birthday Terry!

And I am the world's worst birthday documenter.

Yesterday we went out for dinner with a friend who is back in town after having moved to Ottawa last summer. I totally spaced and forgot to tell the Montana's wait staff to sing happy birthday to Terry and make him wear that incredibly ... ahem... sexy ... Viking Helmet.

Then tonight we went out for Indian food with some more close friends. This time I brought my camera to snap a few shots of the birthday boy and I totally spaced again.

At this point in the blog post, I would normally just grab a picture of Terry that I had taken a few days ago and fudge it a little to say this was a super incredible picture taken... maybe today... But I don't have my computer back yet, so that's not gonna fly.

So Terry: I love you. You are my soul mate and I want to spend every minute of the next 30 years by your side. :D

Lane and I dressed up to go to dinner tonight and Terry (because he's not a total space cadet like me) snapped a photo of us, so that will have to do....

We all love you babe! Happy Birthday!

From Tawny, Logan and Lane.

Wednesday Weigh In: Size 8!

2011-12-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

I still don't have my computer back, so handmade holidays is still on hold.

But I can point your attention up to the address bar on this blog.

See it?

Notice anything different?

OMG - Terry got me a website for Christmas!

A whole website!

http://tawnybee.com

Go there, check it out! We are still working at making it the way I want. It's still rough. But isn't it a thing of beauty? I'm so excited about it!

Once we get it into a workable website, I'll have a big launch for everyone. Until then, every time you read this blog, take a look up at the address bar where it says that this blog is on my WEBSITE! And it's OK to smile a little when you see it. I do every time :)

_____

Now onto the weigh in.

I was at the Thrift Store with the kids today and thought it would be nice to find a dress to wear to Terry's birthday dinner tomorrow night. The kids were busy playing with the toys, so I skulked over to the dress section. I started at size 16 - because those dresses usually fit me best. :(

I tried on one. Way too big. So I moved on over to the size 13/14 section. Still the dress were too big. Huh?

I finally settled on a pretty purple dress for tomorrow and I couldn't resist picking up this little gold number while I was at it.

Yowsa!

And they are both size 8! I just about broke down right there in the store and cried. And cried and cried.

SIZE FREAKING 8!!!!

No more double digits for me!

Details

Starting Weight: 174 lbs 09/12/11

Current Weight: 159 lbs 12/28/11

Target Weight: 150 lbs

Weight Change: 15 lbs (15 whole glorious lbs!)

Remaining to Lose: 9 lbs

Avg. Lost Per Week: -1 lbs

Look at that flat butt.

I still have some tummy fat to lose (9 more lbs), but holy smokes! When did this happen?

And that slit. Yummy!

Now the only problem I am having is that I have no place to actually wear this dress - nooooo!

So there you have it - the two best presents I could have received for Christmas. A website and a new heart valve (which in turn helped me finally lose 15 lbs). :D

A Holiday Pause

2011-12-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

Now that everyone has opened their presents I was so ready to show you all of the handmade goodies that I made for everyone this year. I wanted to show you the pajama aliens I made for my kids and all the patchwork place mats, tea towels, and oven mitts I made. I wanted to show you all the handmade things I ordered for friends and family.

*sigh*

But my computer is still at the shop awaiting its new power supply. And along with it are all the photos I took of my various projects .

So I guess you'll have to wait a little longer for all that good stuff.

Here are some fun pics of my kids from Christmas morning though.

And I will take a Holiday Pause for a few days until my computer comes back.

Boxing Day Sale at Tawny Bee

2011-12-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all had a very happy holiday! I sure did. Due to lack of a computer (I'm still working off a laptop), I'll post a Christmas Day series of photos and events when I get a new power supply.

Until then...

Are you braving the crowds to go out on Boxing Day? Have you spotted any great deals that I just need to check out?

Or are you hiding from all that hoopla and doing some online shopping instead?
For those of you who are doing just that, Tawny Bee is having a Boxing Day sale!

Do you really need a Lost Socks Keeper now that the holidays are ending and the laundry is piling up?

Or maybe you have a party coming up and need a pile of friendship bracelet favours?

Or maybe you just want to treat yourself to some pretty pretty fabric!

I've got you covered, plus everything else (including already sale and marked down items) are on sale for 15% off.

If you shop on Etsy, you'll need this coupon code: BOXTHEBEE
Enter it when it asks at the checkout and you'll get your 15% off.

If you'd rather not worry about coupon codes, head on over to Tawny Bee on Zibbet where the entire shop is marked down 15% already! :D

The sale will run until New Year's Day! Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

The Case of The Possessed Balloons

2011-12-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

The other day I was busy making Lane some lunch. She eats a hotdog Every. Single. Day.

As I was boiling it up, I saw one of our helium balloons float up the stairs and into the kitchen.

Not that strange. The kids love to send those things floating up the stairs. But then I realized that the kids were playing downstairs, no where near the balloon. Oh well...

I cut up the hotdog and got it ready to take downstairs. The kids get to eat in front of the TV during the week. It's the only way I get a bit of a break while eating. I came back upstairs and the balloon had floated all the way across the kitchen and its string was resting in the hotdog water. Gross.

Our awesome neighbours gave these balloons to the kids over a month ago and they are still floating.

_______

Later that day, Terry was working at his desk when he had a strange feeling...

He looked behind him....

Nothing....

The feeling wouldn't go away....

So he looked behind him again...

Dun Dun Duhhhhh...

There was the balloon!

ACK!

So now it's become a game. The possessed balloons follow us everywhere. They have minds of their own. They randomly float up the stairs. They even make it down the hall and into the bedroom.

How do they get there?

OK... well sometimes it's us putting the balloons in opportune spots for a laugh. Sometimes they really just get there by themselves.

We're both waiting for these balloons to finally lose their helium.

Enough with the possessed balloons stalking us night and day!

**** Note: Terry is not giving the middle finger to the Breast Cancer Awareness that these balloons promote. He is flipping off the ghosts that are inside there stalking us, laying in wait for us, waiting for us to drop our guard before they pounce!***

**** Note: I may be a tad dramatic, but these balloons are really starting to freak us out.****

Handmade Holidays: Android Tablet Sleeve

2011-12-21T12:22:00.000-08:00

My brother emailed me with the exciting news that he bought an Android Tablet for himself for Christmas. Ooooohhhhh.... fancy.

He said that he really loves the laptop sleeve I made him a few years ago and was wondering if I could make a smaller one for his brand new toy.

Ummm... does he know me?

Of course I can!

He included the measurements in the email and I went to work. You may remember my Kobo Kozy tutorial? I used it for this tablet sleeve as well. :)

I found some denim and some fleece for the inside.

I inquired about what picture I should put on it. Terry verified for me that this little green guy is indeed the Android robot. So I thought that would work perfectly.

I ironed the larger picture on the back of the sleeve and a smaller version on the top corner of the flap. I think it looks pretty cool.

Davan has already opened the gift, so I was able to share it early. And he likes it! He really likes it!

Was there any doubt? ;P

Tried It Tuesday: Perler Mario Ornaments

2011-12-20T08:53:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Logan and I worked on some Perler ornaments.

I got the Perler pattern for these fun Marios in a stocking from this blog.

I even made the original Mario without the Santa hat. And Logan was busy making ornaments for his teachers. He's made a star, a circle, a square and hexagon. He's a little bit bead obsessed. But it's good, it's keeping him busy and each one is becoming more and more a work of art and concentration. He's starting to place geometrical patterns in the colours and positions of each bead. I can just see his mind at work while he places each one carefully in the chosen spot.

I wrapped the Marios up and Terry took them to work for a gift exchange. Pretty sweet gift eh?

Macrame Monday: Fabric Wrapped Hangars

2011-12-19T04:43:00.000-08:00

When Lane and I need a break from cleaning house, baking, laundry, etc. we head on out to our favourite Thrift Store to hunt for treasure. Just last week, we had one of those days...

And the thrift store made everything better! We found Sesame Street Fabric, a huge bag of Perler beads, some vintage orange Macrame cord and a bag full of t-shirt yarn.

Ooooh, so many things to make!

So today, we are going to use the t-shirt yarn (and our Macrame skills) to make these pretties!

First we start with a pile of t-shirt yarn. If you want to make your own t-shirt yarn I found this really great tutorial to help. And of course we need an old hangar.

And basically you get a long strip of t-shirt yarn, fold it in half and start doing a chain of square macrame knots at the very top of the hangar.

Continue the knots until you've covered the entire hangar and then tie it off in a neat little bow.

In case you forget how to do the square knot - here is the post where I show you how to tie it.

Instead of using 2 cords folded in half, I only use 1 and the hangar acts as the middle "filler" cords. :)

If you run out of cording, you can always keep going with another (or the same ) colour without too much of an interruption. I just stuffed the ends of the first cords into the centre, tied some new yarn onto the hangar and kept on square knotting.

Then make more!

Because they are oh so pretty! And strong!

I'm thinking about including one of these wrapped darlings in the Lost Socks Keepers that I sell in shop. But maybe they are too pretty to be covered up by the keepers. In any case, I might include one (for a limited time) and the new owner can take it out, replace it with an old hangar and use the pretty one elsewhere in the house.

Should I? Or should I just hoard them all for myself? :P

_____

Sharing my latest project with:

The More The Merrier Monday - DIY Home Sweet Home
Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe

Chaos and Plenty of It

2011-12-15T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm tired today. I think I'm still recovering from Logan's birthday party on Saturday.

The party was definitely a success, but I'm still reeling from those two hours of chaos.

I don't know how Kindergarten teachers do it.

Those kids are positively feral.

Have you ever watched that Disney Cartoon called Recess?

They always portray the Kindergartners on the show as tribal. Running around like wild children with fingerpaint all over their faces, wearing nothing but grass skirts etc.

Here's a pic:

I felt like I was in the middle of all of these tribal little kids at the party. They have so much energy. Phew! If I could find a way to bottle that energy I'd be a bagillionaire!

I'm still exhausted.

On a side note: I got the picture of a scene from Recess from this site where you can watch some of the episodes as well. Lane and I have been having a good time this morning watching a few of them :) And no, I'm not getting paid, or even asked to write this, I just thought it was a fun find. :)

Here's the link to the Wild Child episode where the main characters have to look out for a Kindergartner. Kind of like Book Buddies in Logan's school heheheh

Wednesday Weigh In: Christmas Tree!

2011-12-14T10:29:00.000-08:00

Are you tired of reading that I've gone no where with the weight loss plan again?

Cuz I sure am tired of typing it.

Yet, that's where we are again this week.

I'm still at 160 lbs. I have still lost 14 lbs and need to lose 10 more.

In other words - no change.

I think I'm going to kick this weight loss plan into high gear this week. I seem to be slipping. Last week I cheated 3 times! I need to get back on track.

_______

So ... here is a nice picture of a mini tree I made out of a tomato cone, some dollar store lights and an extra piece of garland. It sits beside our regular tree which we also picked out and decorated this past weekend.

A Holiday Card Garland

2011-12-13T07:22:00.000-08:00

Every year we receive so many beautiful holiday cards in the mail. I love them so much that I want to display them for all to see. I usually end up pinning some ribbon up on both ends to hang the cards from.

This year, I decided to make something more beautiful for the display.

Although... I admit... I might have made it too beautiful to actually hang cards from. I might just leave it as it is now and use the ole' ribbon trick for the cards hehehe

I'm afraid that my photography skills don't live up to the prettiness of this card garland. Taking photos on a red background is rough. But I assure you, it's super pretty!

I started by making some ornaments to hang on the garland. Two gingerbread people.

A Logan and a Lane heart ornament.

And the Team LT gingerbread house.

I used a spool knitted white rope as the garland. I glued some pom poms onto it and a pretty bow on each end.

Now, do I dare hang cards on it?

Hmmm... maybe just a few....

LEGO Party Goodie Bags

2011-12-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

We decided on a LEGO theme for Logan's party pretty early on, so I was able to order some really fun things to put into the goodie bags.

First we had to put together the actual bags. I bought a pack of solid coloured treat bags from Micheal's and then used coloured construction paper to make the knobs on the "LEGO". Easy cut and paste and voila! The bags now look like LEGO pieces.

Now what to put in the bags?

LEGO crayons of course!

I can't actually make crayons... well I could, but I don't wanna hehehe.

So I ordered them from Kool Kid Krayons!

The shop owner was so awesome. She made up a custom order for me and even packaged them in 12 sets for the birthday partiers.

But what fun are crayons when you have nothing to colour?

Ta Da! I was able to find LEGO colouring books that were specially designed for party favours. The owner of Get Set To Party made these lovely colouring books for each child. They say "Happy 5th Birthday Logan. December 11, 2011" on the cover. And on the back they say, "Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me."

How perfect is that?

We also threw in the usual noisemakers and candy necklaces.

Logan handed out the bags to all the kids at the end of the party, which was a good thing because the kids went berserk over the noisemakers. I'm glad they went home before anyone got poked in the eye by a wayward party favour.

_______

Sharing all the fun with some awesome people:

The More The Merrier Monday - The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans

This Day Brought To You By The Number 5

2011-12-11T07:28:00.001-08:00

My precious little man turns 5 today! :D

I can't believe it.

Where did the time go?

He's grown into such a smart, talented, polite, creative, awesome young man.

And he had a birthday party yesterday - the first one where he invited his own friends.

The LEGO cake went over well. It didn't tip or get smushed in the car on the way to the bowling alley. Yay!

Everyone danced more than bowled. Even Lane on the left made some new friends and got into the partying.

And Logan opened tons of presents. My goodness, I think we have the entire Toy R Us boys section in our house now. I wonder what Santa is going to bring now? Good thing he didn't start his shopping yet :)

And I survived mainly due to this guy! Terry's so calm and authoritative. He made sure all the kids were playing safe and he has a big booming voice that can gather all the children together for pizza and cake and present opening.

Everything came together wonderfully. There was only one incident of pinched fingers, but a goodie bag soon fixed up those tears.

But please... let's not do this again for a few years ;)

Happy 5th Birthday to Logan!!!!

Food Friday: LEGO Cake

2011-12-09T10:34:00.001-08:00

Logan's LEGO birthday party is coming along. I spent the morning yesterday making the cake and all of this morning icing it.

What do you think?

Not exactly Ace of Cakes, but it'll do for a 5 year old's birthday party.

Kinda resembles LEGO?

Maybe more like MegaBloks?

I used this recipe for the white cake.

I used Betty Crocker's Whipped White Icing (you know, the one in the jar) for the icing. I obviously tinted it with food colouring.

The knobs on the top of the LEGO pieces are large marshmallows cut in half.

I'm not world's best icing master, but it shouldn't matter to a bunch of 5 year olds. Plus, we have to somehow cart all of these little cakes over to the bowling alley tomorrow without smudging up the icing more than it already is. I'm sure it'll be fine.

Logan came home from school today and said that he really liked his cake. He even wanted to eat some right away. But we're saving it for the party tomorrow.

Realizing When Enough Is Enough

2011-12-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

Logan's 5th birthday is this weekend.

He's having a birthday party - the first one with all of his friends. We decided on a venue (the bowling alley) and sort of decided on a theme (LEGO).

I've been having a decent time planning the party. Terry did all of the legwork involved in phoning the various bowling alleys and getting the best deal. I worked on invitations, cake, party favours and goodie bags. I'll show you all the fun stuff in later posts after the party.

We even asked Logan's teacher about the protocol involved in handing out the invitations. She told us to leave them with her and she'd discreetly put them into each invitee's bookbag.

OK. Simple enough. Logan and I worked on a guest list and did up the invitations on the weekend (November 26th). We handed the invitations to the teacher on Monday the 28th.

Then we waited...

And waited....

And waited....

__________

If you're a regular reader of this blog you've probably figured out that I suffer from social anxiety. I was beginning to panic. Was no one coming to Logan's party? Had the teacher remembered to hand the invitations out? Were they stuck in the bottom of the bookbags only to be seen when it's too late? I had a heckuva a time all week imagining the worst. I put the deadline for RSVP on Monday December 5th and by Monday we had heard nothing. I was so sick with worry that I literally made myself sick with worry.

I tried to get the attention of one of the moms in the hallway when she was picking up her child, but it's so hard for me to strike up a conversation. I was totally paralyzed and hated the thought of having to talk to one of them when another one whose child wasn't invited was standing close by. Gah. I just wish I could get over that. I feel like such a total failure as a mommy when I can't even function normally at the school.

I brought Logan home on Monday and frantically texted Terry that we might have to reschedule the party and do the invites again with better notice.

That's when the phone rang and the first of the mommies called to confirm that their child will be attending the party.

Thank God.

The teacher hadn't handed the invites out until that day. Yikes!

And still only 1 child can't attend.

Thank God again.

________

So this was supposed to be the post where I told you all about the craft show I am doing on Sunday - the day after Logan's party. But due to serious stressful cirumstances I have cancelled.

While all of this was going on, I was also trying to get all my Christmas packages sewn, baked and ready to go by the end of this week. None of my family lives in town so I need to get everything sent off around this time in order to make the cut off date for shipping.

It all just piled up on me. I started to feel overwhelmed. I started crying A LOT. And then the lovely stomach ulcer that I gave myself in university decided to return.

So I'm done.

All the packages are ready to go out today. My shop is closed until next year. And I won't be doing any other craft shows.

All that's left to get through is the party. And Terry will handle the social aspect of it while I work on cake, goodie bags and party favours - the stuff I can do.

Wow! That was a long - slightly personal - post. Sorry for rambling. I'm in a mood.

Wednesday Weigh In - Ummmmm... Logan's Xmas Concert

2011-12-07T08:06:00.001-08:00

Ummmm yeah, so I got nothing to report yet again. I'm still at 160 lbs. No change for the past two weeks. Oh well. At least I haven't gone up.

So instead of stats that you've already seen, I'll show you some pics from Logan's Christmas concert that we attended on Monday evening.

There is Logan with the morning kindergarten class performing a song on stage. (Logan is the one in the red pants, front row, centre)

Lane was feeling very grown up because she got to sit on her own chair instead of the stroller this year.

I couldn't get any good shots of the finale because the kindergartners were shoved into the front risers below the stage. But I got a nice pic of his exiting after their finale was performed. (He's the one in line with the red pants).

As Terry informed me while I was trying to snap a decent picture: "You're not winning any photography awards for this evening."

Hehehe, it's so true. These were truly the best photos I snapped. Can you imagine the ones I discarded? Mostly darkness, or my thumb, or the teacher blocking the kids. *sigh*

Have you attended your kids' Christmas concert? Was it the most adoraprecious thing you ever saw? Were you more successful at snapping pictures than I was?

Clodhoppers Revisited

2011-12-05T10:23:00.001-08:00

I finally got the ingredients together to make Christmas Clodhoppers. Yum! So instead of macrame-ing, I'm baking today.

Actually...

It's more like stirring, but it still counts!

I thought that I would rerun the Homemade Clodhoppers post from last year for those of you who would like to try it out. So yummy!

Just a warning for the calorie counters among us - a little less than a cup of this stuff is 284 calories! ACK! So eat sparingly and share :D
_________
This recipe was originally posted on December 9th, 2010.

Tis the season to make Christmas chocolate. I make chocolate every year and send it out to various family members (OK mostly my dad who is the biggest chocoholic I've ever met!) I think he looks forward to his homemade chocolate package from me every year. He even tries to scam more chocolate by getting my brother or sister to bring their package when they visit him in Victoria. Hah!

Anyway, this year I decided to go with a different kind of chocolate. I usually spend three days making chocolate covered cherries and peppermints. It's a lot of work, they don't send well and none of us at the Team LT house can finish all the leftovers.

This year I decided to try to figure out how to make homemade Clodhoppers! Yum!

Mine are pretty close to the store bought ones (at least I think so).

Here's my recipe if you want to make a batch for your family - or you get some from me this year and want to make more because you ate it all and cried when you got to the bottom of the package because the flavour was so awesome and you absolutely need more...

Ingredients for a huge batch:

- half a box of Golden Grahams Cereal
- 1kg package of milk chocolate chips (you could also use white chocolate or dark chocolate - whatever is your preference)
- 3 cups of your favourite nuts (and I don't mean family members!)
I used 1 cup Brazil nuts, 1 cup walnuts, 1 cup cashews

Step One:
Pour chocolate chip into a pot and melt over low heat. You can also use the microwave or double boiler. I'm not an expert at melting chocolate, but I like the big pot because I can add all the ingredients and still have room for mixing.

Step Two:
Once the chocolate is nice and smooth, remove from heat. Add your nuts.

Step Three:
Add your Golden Grahams cereal. I added a half a box approximately. Sorry that none of my measurements are very exact. You basically want enough chocolate to coat the ingredients.

Step Four:

Mix it all together. Once everything is evenly coated, pour onto a baking sheet (I put some wax paper on the sheet first). Refrigerate for a few minutes until hardened. Break up and enjoy!

Nummers!

So good!

You'll want more!

Make a huge batch!

Then wrap it all up pretty and send it away. Or keep it all for yourself.

Terry had already informed me that I need to make another batch with the other half of the Golden Grahams cereal. He wants to bring the entire cookie sheet downstairs with some eggnog and watch Christmas movies and pig out. Lovely!

The Muppets

2011-12-02T11:53:00.001-08:00

This is really a post about a wonderful man (despite what the title says).

I've been feeling rather low, stressed and burnt out this past week - or maybe two or three weeks now. I lost count.

Christmas always stresses me out because the cut off date for shipping is around Logan's birthday. This means I have to have everything sewn, baked, packaged and sent before I get any peace.

To top that off, we're planning a bowling birthday party for Logan. My anxiety is at the max. I know that I can handle the planning, the organizing and all that. I can even handle the kids that show up. What I can't handle are the parents and the inevitable socializing and small talk that will have to be made. My social anxiety anticipation meter is at ... well... explode levels!

So I want to thank the most wonderful man in the world for sensing my incapacity to do anything when I get anxious. Terry took the day off yesterday and we took the kids to see The Muppets.

Lane was so happy! She was pointing and clapping and singing the entire time. The Muppets are all she can talk about today.

Logan enjoyed the movie as well. He said that he especially loved the singing man (Jason Segel).

And I got some much needed relaxation. I stopped worrying about everything for a little while and just had a good time with my family.

Thank you Terry for knowing me.

Thank you for putting up with me.

Thank you for knowing exactly what to do.

I love you beyond words.

______

Today the anxiety grows... but there are things that are helping me cope.

Like this:

The Countdown Begins!

2011-12-01T17:19:00.001-08:00

It's December 1st!

The kids have started their countdown to Christmas with their awesome advent calendars.

Have you pulled out your advent calendars yet? Do you have a favourite style?

Season of Birthdays

2011-11-29T10:09:00.001-08:00

There are a string of celebrations for Team LT at the end of every year. My birthday, Logan's birthday, our dating anniversary, Terry's Birthday, Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve...

And we can't forget about my shop Tawny Bee. Tawny Bee turned 3 on November 27th. :D

The shop is still plugging along pretty well.

I have increased my local presence this year by doing 5 craft shows (I have one left this year!).

The first year I had 6 online sales.
The second year I had 17 online sales.
This year I had 26 online sales. 6 of those sales coming from my new Zibbet shop! Yay!

Not bad. My original goal was to have one online sale per month - so I've well exceeded that!

I am suffering from a little bit of burn out, so forgive me if I don't have a sale, or giveaway or anything to mark the occasion. I promise that when I'm feeling better, I'll work on something terrific. Perhaps in the New Year?

Until then, you are welcome to check out some of the new things I have in the shop. They will be available for purchase until Thursday December 8th. Then the shop will be on much needed vacation until the New Year. :D

Purple Flowers Upcycled Teddy Bed - Large with Ruffle

On Etsy
On Zibbet

Pink Snowflake Fabric Earmuffs

On Etsy
On Zibbet

Sleepy Reindeer Boy Cut Panties - Set of 2

On Etsy
On Zibbet

Pink Plaid Lost Socks Keeper

On Etsy
On Zibbet

Orange Peace Stars Upcycled Winter Hat - Newborn Size

On Etsy
On Zibbet

Macrame Monday: Christmas Snowflake

2011-11-28T08:03:00.001-08:00

I'm in full Christmas holiday decorating mode. And it just wouldn't be right if I didn't include some retro macrame projects in the mix.

Here is my first Macrame Christmas craft:

A macrame snowflake!

I used this free macrame pattern.

I modified it slightly of course.

In the spirit of using stuff around the house, I cut the top off a plastic cup to use instead of a brass ring. It's bigger to accommodate my bigger spool knitting cord.

Since I'm pretty rough on my macrame projects, I used duck tape to strengthen the plastic ring so that when I was pulling my knots the ring wouldn't break.

Here's step one. You use the Lark's Head knot.

The rest of the steps use the Square Knot.

Ta da!

I think it turned out kind of dream catcher-ish as well.

I hung it up above our stairs going down to the rec room.

Doesn't it look all retro and Christmas-ey? I love it!

__________

I'm sharing my first macrame Christmas craft with:
The More The Merrier Monday - The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
Too Cute Tuesday - The Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans
Making It With Allie - What Allie's Making Now

My Birthday is the New Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T17:17:00.001-08:00

It's my birthday today.

It's also Thanksgiving in the States.

This happens every few years....

I could complain, but instead I embrace...

After all, it's a perfect excuse to make a turkey dinner - and that's just what I did.

My birthday is the new Thanksgiving.

And 35 is the new Turkey Dinner.

Here's to at least 35 more birthdays as wonderful as this one!

P.S.: Did you know there is 251 calories in a slice of birthday cake?

Weigh In Wednesday - Stressed

2011-11-23T11:22:00.001-08:00

Did you know that 'stressed' spelled backwards is 'desserts'?

And let me tell you, there is definitely a direct correlation between how stressed I feel and how tempting desserts become.

This past weekend I had two craft shows. That meant that I didn't get a weekend. No time to de-stress and have some mommy time. Nope...

That made me very stressed out and anxious. So I have had a difficult time avoiding the snacks.

Even though my calorie counts haven't been great, I ended up losing one lb this week.

Details

Starting Weight: 174 lbs 09/12/11

Current Weight: 161 lbs 11/23/11

Target Weight: 150 lbs

Weight Change: 13 lbs

Remaining to Lose: 11 lbs

Avg. Lost Per Week: -1.3 lbs

As a way to relax last night, we went to the mall for dinner and the kids worked up enough nerve to visit with Santa.

Lane wouldn't sit on his knee, but this is a huge step! First time chillin with Santa!

How Tuesday Kids Craft: Christmas Bells

2011-11-22T08:10:00.001-08:00

We're starting to get into the Christmas spirit this week. It's difficult for us to think about the holidays when both mine and Logan's birthday are coming up before Christmas still.

But we tried our best to get started on all the fun holiday crafts with these bells.

They are super easy to make and a great thing to try with kids :D

Supplies Needed:
Plastic Cups
Jingly Bells
Pipe Cleaner
Stuff to Decorate the cups - paper, paint, stickers, markers, glitter, whatever you like!
String, lace or ribbon to hang the bells up in your house

Time Needed:
I did the preliminary work of making the actual bells while Logan was at school. It took me about 20 minutes to make 5 bells. The decorating can take as long or as short as you like.

Skill Needed:
Super easy. Can be done with children. As long as you do the tiny amount of cutting at the beginning.

Step One:
Cut two tiny holes in the bottom of a plastic cup.

Step Two:
Insert pipe cleaner through the two holes and connect some jingly bells.

This is what it should look like from the top of the bell:

Step Three:
Make as many bells as you like. I made five.

Step Four:
If you'd like you can glue a band of paper around the bells so there is something for the kids to paint or draw on with markers.

Step Five:
Decorate in any fashion you like!

The kids used the Tadoodles. You can see my bell in the centre of the photo. It says "mommy" on it.

We then decorated with winter themed stickers.

Lane decorated hers with lots of colourful paint dots.

Logan's were the most intricate with stickers, his named in paint and then a bunch of swirls and dots.

Step Six:

Hang 'em up!

I used some stretchy lace string to hang ours up in front of the window. I left some of the string hanging down so that the kids could reach and "ring" the bells whenever they wanted.

It's kind of rough to photograph the bells in front of the window, so I hung them on the chairs so that you could get a better look at the kids' masterpieces.

There should be plenty more kids Christmas crafts coming up on the blog in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Are you planning any special Christmas Crafts? Do you plan on doing them with the kids, or waiting until they are asleep before busting out the hot glue gun?

_________

Sharing this fun project with:

Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe

The Creative Collection

2011-11-18T08:03:00.001-08:00

If you can't make it to the Winakwa Craft Show on Saturday this weekend, why not think about making it out to the Creative Collection show on Sunday?

I did this craft show last year and was VERY successful. And that was in the middle of a snow storm! This year it's gonna be cold, but there shouldn't be 2 feet of snow dumped on the ground the night before. You shouldn't have to plow your way to the show this year hehehe

I realize that the CFL Eastern Final is being hosted in the city, but come on out before you go to the game :D

The Creative Collection Craft Fair
Sunday November 20th, 2011
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Crescentwood Community Centre 1170 Corydon

Report Card

2011-11-17T18:03:00.001-08:00

Logan brought home his very first report card today!

Oh. My. Gosh.

Too cute!

He's such a big boy to be bringing home a report card.

Before the big report card day, Terry and I were joking about how silly it is for kindergartners to have report cards. I mean, what are they going to say? "Well Logan is doing well with the number 3, but he needs to work more on the colour purple." HAHAHAHA

But truly, that is pretty much what a kindergartner's report card looks like.

Logan can count to 31 and he participates well in class discussions. He needs to work a little on holding a pencil properly. He has a lovely voice and has a good rhythm and beat in music (so not Terry's kid hehehehe). He knows the safety rules in gym class.

Yup that's about it. Awesome.

So we let the big school boy choose where he wanted to go out for dinner.

He chose Montanas - even though it wasn't craft night.

Logan's favourite thing right now is writing letters. We bought him a book to help him along with writing words and he loves it. He's working through it. And look - he's even holding his crayon correctly! Even at Montanas he's busy working on his favourite activity. Good thing you're encouraged to write on the tables!

Lane approved of Logan's restaurant choice as well. Nummy nummy ice cream cone.

And in a moment of sibling friendship, Logan gave his little sister a hug at the end of our evening out. Awwwww....

Do you you give out rewards for good report cards? What types of things do you shell out if you do? I think I got a couple of dollars for each A or something. I think a dinner out is a pretty good reward. :)

Wednesday Weigh In - Slipping

2011-11-16T08:53:00.001-08:00

Details:

Starting Weight: 174 lbs 09/12/11

Current Weight: 162 lbs 11/16/11

Target Weight: 150 lbs

Weight Change: 12 lbs

Remaining to Lose: 12 lbs

Avg. Lost Per Week: -1.3 lbs

No change at all this week. No lbs on or off. No inches on or off.

I've had a really tough week for sticking to a calorie reduced plan. I am feeling so hungry. I'm sure it's the stress of having two craft shows this weekend. Gah! I always eat when I'm stressed. Gotta chill...

You know... like Lane was doing on the Scrapbuster rug while I was making it:

Winakwa Community Centre Craft Sale

2011-11-15T07:44:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone,

This weekend is going to be very busy for Tawny Bee. I'm at two craft shows!

The first one on Saturday is at the Winakwa Community Centre.

This community centre is only a few blocks from my house so I expect to meet up with lots of neighbours and have a great time!

Come on down and visit on Saturday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm!

Macrame Monday: The Ultimate Scrapbuster Rug!

2011-11-14T08:19:00.001-08:00

Technically this project falls under the "rug hooking" category. But if you know anything about rug hooking, you will know that it's just billions of Lark's Head (or overhand) knots in a row.

So it's Macrame! Yay!

Isn't this a gorgeous rug? The first time I went with Terry up north, I saw a bunch of these handmade rugs scattered all over his family's cottage. They were so soft and fabulous that I wanted to figure out how to make them. And they aren't difficult at all!

Supplies Needed:
- Some rubber grid (I found mine at the thrift store for 99 cents). You can also use the rug hooking canvas
- a ton of knit or fleece (or both) scraps. And by a ton - I mean like bags full. You can use up every single piece of knit scraps you have laying around. I even used up some of the knits I had leftover from my upcycling projects. All the wonderful knits from my kids' old jammies :)
- Plastic vinyl
- duck tape

Time Needed:
- this rug took me weeks to make. But you can knot it while watching TV so it isn't that bad.

Skill Needed:
- if you can tie a knot and cut strips of fabric, you can do this project. Super easy.

Step One:
- Cut up your scrap knits into strips about 4 inches by .5 inch. They don't have to be perfect. I just cut the way the fabric was, so some strips were longer than others. You can always give your rug a trim after your done knotting. You will have to repeat step one over and over again because you won't know how many strips of fabric you need (or want to have all those strips hanging about). I cut enough to fill an easy access plastic bag.

Step Two:
With those strips, tie a Lark's Head or overhand knot onto each horizontal segment of grid. You will have nice rows like the one pictured above. If you're familiar with rug hooking, it's the same technique. You can even use the rug hooking contraption tool if you like. I don't have one, so I knotted all of mine by hand.

Step Three:
Keep going in that fashion until you've got a rug that is the size you desire.
If the fabric is getting too thick and difficult to tie, you can always skip one and tie a knot every second horizontal segment if you like.

Step Four:
My rug was made with a rubber grid which was fabulous because it stretched a little when I was knotting some thick fleece, but it also rolled a lot! I decided to use some clear plastic on the bottom. I liked the way the knots looked on the back so I didn't want to cover them up and I also needed something that would help with the rolling. I'm sure if I had left the rug as it was, it would have stopped rolling once it had been stepped on enough.

All I did was cut the plastic to fit the back and duck tape it into place with some pretty decorative duck tape that I bought from Michaels. :D

I taped around the edges with a couple pieces of tape and down the seam that I had in my plastic. This way, the rug should have a little grip and not move or slip as much when on a wooden surface.

Lane is the lucky recipient of this rug. Logan has insisted that I make him one as well. I just happen to have another half of rubber grid leftover, so I might try to make one in two colours with his name patterned in it. You can just colour the pieces of grid that you want to knot in each colour and go.

Doesn't it look lovely? It's much nicer than the silly foam that we had there to catch Lane should she fall out of the bed. This rug is so much softer and prettier.

And seriously... the amount of scraps I got rid of... unbelievable! The ultimate scrapbuster!

-------

I'm sharing this project with:
The More The Merrier Monday - The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
November Blog Hop - Favecrafts
Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Luna Link Party - Lil' Luna
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans
Link Party #75 - Tea Rose Home
Making it with Allie - What Allie's Making Now

Touch the World With a Gentle Hand

2011-11-11T07:29:00.001-08:00

Lest We Forget

Wear your poppies today - and if you can't get them to stay pinned on - wear them on your skirt :)

And when you see those beautiful red flowers take some time to think about how you can touch the world with a gentle hand.

Peace and Love

Team LT

Too Soon? Christmas Wreath

2011-11-10T07:34:00.001-08:00

I know I know, it's not even Remembrance Day yet.But when the crafting bug hits, you just gotta go with it.A couple of evenings ago we decided to head on over to the Canadian Tire to purchase a sled for Lane before all the selection was gone - which totally happened to us last year.We were walking through the seasonal section and saw a pretty Christmas wreath made out of Christmas ornament balls. Logan was really drawn to it and immediately I thought, we can recreate that!So here it is:

And this is the original one we saw at the store (actually it's a similar one from Amazon):

And it costs $92! Ouch!Anyway, ours didn't even cost half that... it didn't even cost 1/8th of that actually.I bought a large bag of Christmas balls from the Thrift store for $3.00. The balls were well loved so some of them were fading. Who cares, just glue them on the fading side hehehe.We started by cutting out some cardboard. We used the back of a box that we had in the recycling bin. Then I let Logan paint the circle with the glitter paint that I won a few months back. Both materials - free!

Then I took a scrap of ribbon and tied it to the top for a hanger. We let the paint dry and started hot gluing all the balls to the cardboard. We even had some bells in there that were Logan's favourite. So now when we open the door, the wreath jingles.

Then we took some Christmas ribbon that I saved from a present one of us got last year and tied and pretty bow for the bottom.Voila!

What a terribly crooked photo. I tried to take photos of the wreath on our front door, but the lighting was all wrong. I decided to take them on our backdoor. But we don't have a nail in that door, so I held the wreath up and tried to take photos at the same time. Obviously I didn't do a very good job.Here is what the wreath looks like on our front door this morning.

The morning light is hitting the shiny Christmas balls and making them so pretty.

Too soon to be Christmas decorating? I always try to wait until after my birthday on November 24th and we certainly don't put up our tree until after Logan's birthday on December 11th. But the crafting bug hit us and this wreath needed to be made. :D

____

As always I love to share my projects with some crafty people:
Making It With Allie - What Allie's Making Now
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans
Link Party #74 - Tea Rose Home
Lil' Luna Link Party - Lil' Luna
Tickled Pink - 504 Main
Friday Favs - Nap Time Crafters
Christmas Inspiration Party - Shabby Art Boutique

Wednesday Weigh In - Halfway!

2011-11-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

Details

Starting Weight: 174 lbs 09/12/11

Current Weight: 162 lbs 11/09/11

Target Weight: 150 lbs

Weight Change: 12 lbs

Remaining to Lose: 12 lbs

Avg. Lost Per Week: -1.4 lbs

YAY! I've lost 2 lbs this week bringing the total to 12 lbs! I'm halfway there!!!!

With all this Halloween candy in the house it's surprising that I didn't gain any weight. I really had to keep track of those calories.

A special thank you goes out to Everyday Health for providing the free calorie counter that I've been using and doing all the calculations for me.

(I'm not being sponsored by Everyday Health - I just really like this calorie counter because it's the only thing that works for me).

And I'm so proud of Terry who had to make bigger sacrifices that I had to. Did you know that a glass of milk is near 400 calories? Terry used to drink 3 jugs of milk per week! He now buys one carton for the kids and drinks it minimally, which is a huge sacrifice because he loves his glasses of milk.

But he is down a whopping 14 lbs! He is more than halfway to his goal. Way to go Terry!

We also had to give up beer and spinach dip on Saturday evenings. This past Saturday though we decided it might be OK to indulge in a few beers as long as we didn't go overboard. So I exercised my butt off for 1 hour on the elliptical and made back enough calories to cover the beer and low calorie snack of popcorn.

Amazingly, the hour of exercise didn't make me stiff (other than my arms were feeling floppy the next day) and my heart didn't freak out. I am LOVING this new valve. All you chumps you have lived with a pulmonary valve all your lives were keeping the awesomeness of it from me. Shame! hehehe I actually gained an inch on my biceps this week. Getting some muscle tone! yay!

So do I look any different?

This is me today November 9th, 2011 at 162 lbs (two months into calorie counting)

This is me in the summer July 8th, 2011 at 174 lbs

Not much difference I'm afraid. The lbs are coming off but the inches are still similar. I've lost 2 inches on the waist, 1 inch on the hips, 2 inches on the chest. I lost 2 inches on the thighs and then gained it back. At least for that I can call it muscle now :) I've gained 2 inches in muscle on the calves and an inch on the biceps. It appears that all my inches just move around (hopefully to the right places).

HALFWAY THERE!!!

My Little Snow Angels

2011-11-08T07:55:00.000-08:00

As you can see, it snowed here in Winnipeg overnight on Sunday.

The kids were so excited to put on their new boots and hats and mitts and snowpants and get out there.

Snow angels are decorating every inch of our backyard.

Do your kids love the snow?

They even make me excited about winter.

Well... I'm sure I'll change my tune by February, but for now it's OK.

Macrame Monday: Handmade Holidays - Macrame Style!

2011-11-07T08:06:00.000-08:00

Once again handmade holidays is starting up in full gear at the Team LT house. I've got my list and I am matching it with the perfect handmade gifts. The list is quite extensive! But I still have time (hopefully) to work on some household holiday decorations.

And what better way to make decorations for Christmas than to incorporate some Macrame into them! :D

Here is a list of some of the fun holiday Macrame tutorials I've come across:

Macrame Angel

Source: free-macrame-patterns.com via Tawny on Pinterest

Macrame Santa

Source: free-macrame-patterns.com via Tawny on Pinterest

Snowman Towel Holder

Source: free-macrame-patterns.com via Tawny on Pinterest

Santa Towel Holder

Source: free-macrame-patterns.com via Tawny on Pinterest

Macrame Christmas Tree

Source: free-macrame-patterns.com via Tawny on Pinterest

Macrame Snowflake

Source: free-macrame-patterns.com via Tawny on Pinterest

Bell Ornament

Source: free-macrame-patterns.com via Tawny on Pinterest

Macrame Candy Cane

Source: free-macrame-patterns.com via Tawny on Pinterest

Yeah... the pictures are kind of terrible, but if you click on the links they'll take you to my Macrame Pinterest Board and from there you can click over to the patterns for each of these holiday decorations.

Do you think I should try a few? Which one is your favourite? Leave a comment below with your favourite and I'll attempt to make the most popular choice and display the results right here on Macrame Monday :D

Food Friday: Terry's Chili

2011-11-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's a man thing. It seems that every man (at least on TV) has a secret recipe for the world's best chili. They enjoy chili cook-offs and spend hours in the kitchen perfecting the mix.

Terry totally fits into this "man" thing. He loves to make chili. There are even chili cook-offs at work and if he could figure out how to bring a pot full of chili to work on the bus, he'd so enter and win that contest!

So when I asked him if I could photograph his chili and put the recipe up on the blog, I was expecting a big fat "NO!" Wouldn't want to divulge his secret to the Team LT reading masses. But then I remembered that this is Terry we're talking about and he doesn't harbour a need to keep his chili recipe (or pretty much anything else you ask him) a secret.

I photographed it on the second day because my camera battery died when we were eating it the first day. Leftover chili is even better! Unfortunately, the photos aren't because half of the chili is missing from the pot. :(

Ingredients:
Ground beef (A lot if you've got it)
1 can tomato juice
1 can tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 chopped mushroom
1/4 cup chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried orageno
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 cups red beans, drained and rinsed
1 can beans and pork in tomato sauce

Method:

Place ground beef in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned. Drain, crumble.

Add all ingredients (including beef) to a large kettle. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Yum yum! The perfect recipe for a cool autumn evening. :)

Random Thoughts

2011-11-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

I know that I'm supposed to have my final collection done for Project Project Runway today. But it just ain't happening. Actually it's not going to happen. I guess I've been officially auf'ed because I have no inspiration and Christmas is fast approaching, along with my brother's and sister's birthday, my birthday and Logan's birthday. Tons of other projects to work on!

I thank the girls over at Just Crafty Enough for letting me play along with them during the latest Project Runway season. I had so much fun and learned a lot about designing and sewing clothes in miniature.

So now what to post on Thursdays?

Here are a few random things that have happened throughout this week

... *cough*

... *filler*

... *cough*

:D

The evening after we went out for our anniversary dinner, Terry and I were watching TV. The couple on TV had named their house (you know... like Green Gables). I turned to Terry and said, "We should name our house, but it isn't really giving me any good name vibes."

Terry then responded very seriously, "Our house has a name, it's Brillo Pad!"

Bwahahaha! I laughed so hard that I did the little wheezing thing that only Terry finds endearing.

And that friends is why we've been together 11 years. No one else can stand us!

And we now have a house called Brillo Pad.

(I posted this on Google + and Facebook for those of you who have read it already).

______

On this same show - it was Happy Endings, do you watch? Anyway, on the show, the couple that was housesitting at the named house I mentioned above had no candy to give out on Halloween. One of them decided to go get some candy and said, "don't get any of that lame candy like Smarties."

My Canadian brain immediately went: "h'uh? Smarties are candy coated chocolate deliciousness."

Only a few days later I realized that Smarties in the States are not the same as the ones in Canada. Their Smarties are actually Rockets.

What?

Yeah... so I can see why Smarties in the States are lame to some people. Although I have to admit that I love Rockets so much and eat them in such abundance that I cut up the inside of my mouth from all the sugar. Yum!

Yeah... so those are my random thoughts for this week. Has anything funny or interesting happened to you this week? Wanna tell me the story in the comments? And do you watch Happy Endings? I love this show so much, although I can't explain why... well I can explain why in one word - Penny. I love her (I love her even more than that other Penny on that other show... you know the one).

Wednesday Weigh In - Phew!

2011-11-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

Phew!

On a week when Halloween, my anniversary and my women's ... um... stuff... are all happening at once - I didn't gain any weight! Booya!

Didn't lose any either... but that's OK.

Details

Starting Weight: 174 lbs 09/12/11

Current Weight: 164 lbs 11/02/11

Target Weight: 150 lbs

Weight Change: 10 lbs

Remaining to Lose: 14 lbs

Avg. Lost Per Week: -1.4 lbs

This was the first week that I went over my calorie allotment on one day. It wasn't Halloween, or even the day after Halloween. It was my anniversary. We went out for dinner and I said, "To hell with the diet today, I'm gonna enjoy myself." I came home and still did my workout, so the damage wasn't that bad.

But did you know that veal parmigiana, salad with dressing, fresh baked bread, and pistachio ice cream adds up to 1259 calories? And I'm only allowed 1626? So yeah, I barely ate during the day in anticipation and exercised afterwards and only went over my count by 20 calories! :D

Phew!

Measurements as always are being weird...

Actually not that weird. I gained an inch in my thighs and calves and lost an inch in my chest. This only shows me that my exercising is working. I'm gaining muscle in my legs and chest as well as losing the fat. Yay!

Here are my little people getting ready to trick or treat for a mountain of temptation. I've put the box of Halloween candy out of my general sight so that I will remain strong.

The Day After Halloween - Oh Boy!

2011-11-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Ooooh boy! That was a crazy night!

The kids went trick or treating around the block and ended up with a mountain of candy. Ask me at Easter if we still have some leftover and I'll probably say yes.

That is a diaper box full to the brim with tasty treats. Oh boy!

Last night after dinner we put out the pumpkin and lit the candle.

It was super nice outside - 12 degrees C. Wha? And there wasn't much wind so it was a perfect night for the neighbourhood goblins and ghouls to come out to play. And they did! We had about 150 kids begging for food at our house hehehe. We were cleaned out and done by 8:00 so the kids didn't have to stay up too late and be cranky for the school run this morning.

So - how did I make the Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes?

Simple actually...

I got a whole lotta red fleece. Then made two pairs of jogging pants. Then I made 2 pullover hoodies. I put some extra work into the hoodies like lined hoods and pretty blue accent knit for sleeve cuffs. I even made sure that there was a pocket that "you could touch your hands together in" as Logan puts it. I appliqued the white circle of felt and cut out the Thing 1 and Thing 2 letters and appliqued those on by hand.

The wig I decided to make detachable. That way the kids could wear their jogging suits again. The wig is just the hood cut out again in red felt and then I used blue yarn - A LOT of blue yarn and carefully placed it and sewed it into place. Each wig actually took me about 3 hours and that was where most of the time was spent. 6 hours! Yipes!

Anyway, they turned out terrific. And the wigs just come off with Velcro. I suggest using the softer side of the Velcro on the wig itself if you decide to make one. Yarn and the rough Velcro side don't get along!

Here is Lane before we convinced her that she should wear her costume. She's going as "Lane TV."

They seem mucho impressed with me for making them pose don't they?

Ack! There's a Thing 2 in my house!

And it looks like he's looking for trouble!

Your Mother Won't Mind At All If You Do

2011-10-31T08:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from Team LT!

This past weekend, we went to Comic Con. Logan was very happy to wear his costume and smile at all the vendors and be super cute and precious. He scammed a ton of candy out of them with his "routine."

Lane, however, was a bit crabby and refused to wear her costume. For the photo above, we shoved the sweater on her, took a picture and then took it off for the stroller to wear the rest of the afternoon.

I still haven't been able to convince her to wear her costume. So poor Logan is a Thing 2 without a Thing 1. :(

Here we are posing about 30 feet away from where Kevin Sorbo is signing autographs. Yeah... we're too cheap to pay the fee to actually get a signed photo hehehe. So you'll have to deal with a picture of me and Loags.

Then on Saturday night, Terry and the kids carved a pumpkin.

Laney loved the slimy pumpkin guts.

Logan stood back for this part and watched. Then he stuck his spoon in to scrape out the guts. No getting messy for him!

The big pumpkin reveal will happen tomorrow after we set it up for the trick or treaters and I get a good photo of it.

Right now Logan is at his kindergarten Halloween party. He was so excited about going that he ran all the way to school this morning early, got to be first in line and enjoyed watching all the kids in costume come into the yard.

Maybe we can convince Lane that if she doesn't wear her costume, she won't get any candy tonight? I'll try to snap a few photos and do the run down of how I put together both costumes in tomorrow's post.

Have a ghoulish evening my pretties!

**** If you watch The Cat in The Hat on Netflix or CBC as much as I do, you'll understand the quote that is in the title of this post. ;)

_______

Sharing the Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes with some cool link-ups:
Halloween Costume Partay - Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Costume Link Party - Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!

11 Years

2011-10-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to reveal my final "Wow" look for Project Project Runway today.

But ... uh... it's been an incredibly busy week.

I've been working on this:

Times two.

And this:

Times two.

So that Logan and Lane will be the cutest Thing 1 and Thing 2 ever!

And every year I seem to think that this year the costumes will be easier - that I won't put as much stress on getting them perfect and coming up with something incredible. But then I get to thinking that the hair needs to be sewn on in individual curls because that would be really awesome... and yeah... I end up with something complicated on my hands.

In other news as to why this week rocks - Terry and I are celebrating our 11th anniversary today! :D

I know, technically we've only been married for a year and a bit - but we first starting dating way back in 2000 at the University Residence Halloween Social. Awww...

I love you Terry with all my heart!

Happy Anniversary!

We're going out for dinner tonight and have declared this day an official "cheat on the diet" day. Hooray!

So... I haven't been working very hard on my final design for Project Project Runway.

But I do have a really cool retrospective of all my previous designs to share with you:

As you can see I really enjoyed using patterned fabric this season. I'm also partial to shades of brown.

My favourite designs were:

The Rock Star Challenge - that one was aces! (third row, first photo)
I also really like my look for the New Balance challenge (second row, first photo)

The looks that I would like a do-over on:
The Avant Gard challenge - this ended up being mostly glue (Second row, second photo)
The "Make Your Own Fabric" challenge - although I loved my fabric, I couldn't make it work as I wanted it to (Second row, third photo)

__________

I'll show you my big final project next week on Thursday! :D

Wednesday Weigh In: 10 Lbs!

2011-10-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Details

Starting Weight: 174 lbs 09/12/11
Current Weight: 164 lbs 10/26/11
Target Weight: 150 lbs

Weight Change: 10 lbs
Remaining to Lose: 14 lbs
Avg. Lost Per Week: -1.6 lbs

This is the week where I'm supposed to be all excited and tell you all that I lost 10 lbs so far. And it's true - I have lost 10 lbs. But I'm not that excited about it.

Yipee! 10 lbs...

I know... this should be big news.

But every time I go to measure myself on Wednesday I get so discouraged. How can I lose 10 lbs and still not budge on the inches? Gah! So I'm not fitting into any of my smaller clothes. I'm not even feeling more comfortable in the ones I have. I'm still the same size. So where on earth am I losing the weight?

Maybe my scale is broken? That was my first thought. But the kids still weigh the same when they stand on it, so it's fine.

Apparently I'm losing it so evenly that it's barely noticeable. An inch in the waist, an inch in the thighs and an inch on the hips so far. Oh well. Let's celebrate the 2 lbs I lost last week shall we? Yippee, yay!

Just because we always need a fun picture in every post, this is Logan. He's looking pretty pissed at me for digging out the camera to take photos of him during Free Movie - Community Day at the Silver City on Saturday morning. We had a great time watching Happy Feet though! Even Lane behaved the entire time. Yay!

Tried It Tuesday - Natural Coconut Deodorant

2011-10-25T04:10:00.000-07:00

This week I don't have a tutorial from me to show you. But I did try a fantastic one that I'd like to tell you about.

I think that I'm slowly turning into a hippie and no one bothered to tell me. I realize that last week I showed you how to make your jeans into bell bottoms, and this week I'm talking all natural deodorant. At least I'm wearing deodorant! Right? Right?

I made this Natural Coconut Deodorant using Nenette's recipe. She writes one of my very favourite blogs - Life Candy - and is an awesome Winnipegger! If she can wear all natural deodorant and not offend anyone - maybe so can I. Although I have to admit, Miss Nenette is gorgeous, so maybe a little stinky wouldn't matter as much. Anyway, I'll let you know how it stands up to sweaty Tawny heehehe. The science is there though, so I'm not too worried.

And to make it an extra special autumn blend....

I added some pumpkin pie all natural oil to the mix. Mmmmm... I'm gonna smell like nutmeg all day long.

And the jar I put the mixture into? 99 cents at Value Village. Yay!

______
I'm linking this wonderful recipe with some awesome people:

Hoo's Got Talent? - Night Owl Crafting
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans
Making It With Allie - What Allie's Making Now
Friday Favs - Nap Time Crafters

Macrame Monday: How To - Josephine Knot Ring

2011-10-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

Josephine Knot Ring Trio

Remember last week when we learned the Josephine Knot (AKA Sailor's Knot)?

Let's make some pretty rings out of that knot then shall we?

It'll be easy - I promise!

Step One: Braid. Use some thin rope or hemp or ribbon or yarn. Anything with a bit of thickness to it. I tried with a smaller material (embroidery thread) but it was too thin for this project. Boourns.

Step Two: Hot glue braid to small piece of felt.

Step Three: Josephine Knot

Step Four: Glue knot to ring. Ta Da!

Wanna see that again?

One: Braid. You could also do a macrame square knotted ring. That would look cool.

Two: Glue to felt

Three: Josephine knot glued to ring.

Four: Make more!

Pretty pretty pretty !!! (That's pretty times three!)

______

Sharing this fun tutorial with:
The More The Merrier Monday: The DIY Home Sweet Home Project
Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Link Party #72 - Tea Rose Home
Feature Yourself Friday - Fingerprints on the Fridge
Friday Fun Finds - KoJo Designs

Food Friday: Amish Bread

2011-10-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

Occasionally the best way to work out your frustrations is to beat a loaf or two of bread into submission. hehehe

This Amish bread is an awesome tasting sweet white bread that I make a lot - from scratch!

Ingredients:

2 cups warm water
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeats
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

Method:
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Then stir in yeast. Allow to "proof" until yeast resembles a creamy foam. If you are like me, you had no idea what "proof" meant and would have to look it up. It just means to leave the bowl alone in a warm place for 10 minutes, Go figure - it sounded like something way more exciting than that!

Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth (about 8 minutes). Really get in there and kick it's butt! place in a well oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in blulk - about one h our.

Punch dough down. This is the fun part - really beat it up hehehe. Knead for a few minutes and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two well oiled loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Doesn't it look delicious. And the whole house will smell so good.

We usually save one of the loaves for french toast. Oh my gosh - you should taste french toast made with this bread in a thick slice. Yum. It's such a sweet bread to begin with, so it makes french toast even better!

Or try it with a little honey. Also very tasty. :D

For those of you who are counting calories like we are, here's some nutritional info for you: Amount Per Serving Calories: 168 | Total Fat: 2.9g | Cholesterol: 0mg

This is based on a 24 slice serving size. Cut each loaf into 12 and voila, one serving = one slice.

------

Sharing this recipe with:
Tickled Pink - 504 Main

Project Project Runway: The Finale Challenge Results

2011-10-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week was the final challenge before we found out who was going to make it to Fashion Week.

"Create a three look mini collection inspired by Governors Island and the sculpture exhibit on it. It must demonstrate a range (pants, dresses, jumpers, various silhouettes, etc) and show your design vision. Here is a photo gallery of Governors Island and here are images for the sculpture exhibit." (courtesy of Just Crafty Enough)

Aren't my models so cute? I really like this mini collection.

I used the lattice work and the stained glass that was featured on the show for inspiration. I decided not to go as bold as Laura and Joshua did for their designs that used the same inspiration.

Introducing Ariel. Of course they had to send me a red headed model when I was busy designing a pink collection. Gah! I actually originally designed this dress on Aurora. Anyway the black has a bit of a lace effect and I put the hot pink underneath it to show through like strained glass. Of course the camera didn't pick it up very well. Anyway, this is my "gown" look.

This is one of my separates looks. A halter top and pencil skirt (not modeled on Pencil - for shame! hehehe), with a black cape over top. A bit mall-ish? Yes. But that's what I design. And apparently commercial looks aren't a no-no this season.

And Pencil is wearing my favourite look. Terry took one look at this outfit and said, "that looks like something you would wear." It totally is. A fitted pair of pants and a cute top.

The judges were harsh this week. They told me that I didn't take enough risks and that I designed for myself instead of an audience. Plus I didn't flush out my inspiration enough. Ouch!

Oh well, I'm just happy that I figured out three complete looks and sewed them all. Pencil's head is huge so it was difficult to pull that top over it. Ariel came in last minute and was about an inch shorter than Aurora - yipes! and Aurora's hair was out of control. What is up with that mop? It's standing straight up from Lane taking too many combs to it. Ack!

Anyway, I think they look like they belong in a catalog. All cute standing there like Charlie's Angels. hehehe

What do you think?

You can check out the runway for Challenge #11 - For The Birds here.

And follow along with this week's finale challenge in the Flickr Group.

Wednesday Weigh In - Same Old Same Old

2011-10-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

Details

Starting Weight: 174 lbs 09/12/11

Current Weight: 166 lbs 10/19/11

Target Weight: 150 lbs

Weight Change: 8 lbs

Remaining to Lose: 16 lbs

Avg. Lost Per Week: -1.5 lbs

I almost didn't write this blog post because nothing has changed.

Not a single measurement. Not a single pound. Nothing this week.

That's my "What the hell - this sucks" face.

I weighed myself this morning and was at 164 lb - so I might be on the cusp of losing a bit more. But I always take my weight measurement at my heaviest in the evening. And last night I was at the same old 166. Bleh.

This week I exercised 5 out of 7 days and stayed under my calorie allotment 7 out of 7 days. But in order to keep under the allotment and continue to eat fatty foods like bacon - mmmm... bacon - I had to not eat all day pretty much. Not a really good way of going about it.

We're working on getting back on track this week. I will do better!

How Tuesday: Refashion - Bell Bottom Jeans

2011-10-18T04:24:00.000-07:00

When old jeans are done with their current owner in our house, they usually get tossed in my upcycle pile.

What to do with all this denim?

I can always find something!

This time, Terry didn't like the fit of his jeans. He wore them for about a year and didn't wear them out as he normally does. Woo hoo! A whole pair of jeans intact.

So I decided mama needed a new pair of jeans.

But I couldn't just have any old pair of jeans. I needed to add my own style into them.

Want to refashion that old pair of jeans into some fun hippie bell bottom jeans?

You'll need:

An old pair of jeans and some fabric of your choice. I used some of the patchwork fabric that I have been making to use in just such a project.

Time Needed:
It doesn't take much time at all. It depends on if you're resizing the pair of jeans at the same time. If they fit already, it only takes about 20 minutes.

Skill Needed:
Some sewing machine work. It gets a little tricky to sew up the top of the side, but with a little patience and calming vibes it'll be fine.

Step One:
I'm not including instructions for resizing, so if you're looking to do that, do it first. Here's a good tutorial on resizing jeans.

First you need to take out both side seams all the way up to where the crotch is - or where the bottom of the back pockets sit. This measurement need not be precise. You can slit your jeans to wherever you feel comfortable and wherever you want the fabric inset to begin. Just make sure the slit is the same on both sides!

Step Two:

Cut out the fabric you have chosen to look like the photo below. Lots of fabric on the bottom (more so really big bell bottoms, less for smaller bell bottoms). Thinner at the top because it's going to taper to the top point of the slit we just made in the jeans. Cut two of these (one for each side).

Step Three:

Pin the fabric to the slit on one side of the jeans. You want right sides together but you'll be working from the wrong side of the jeans. I know this sounds a little wonky but it's because you can't actually sew right through the jeans to get this fabric inlay together or else you'll sew the leg together. ACK!

Step Four:

Very carefully sew along both sides only catching the edge of the jeans and the edge of the fabric in your seam. I say to do this carefully because you don't want to catch any other portion of the leg in your seam. It works best to sew up one side, end the seam and then sew the other side. If you try to pivot at the top (like I did ) you're asking for a whole lotta trouble and heartache.

As you can see, the sewing doesn't have to be perfect. You just trim away the parts that overhang a little. I ended up not being able to get my machine to sew the very tops of inset piece. So I closed the gap with hand stitching.

Repeat for the other leg.

Step 5:

Hem around both legs.

Voila! Cute Bell bottom Hippie Jeans.

They are so comfy and since I did mine with patchwork, any shirt you pair them with works. Yay!

_____

Sharing this fun refashion with:
Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Friday Fun Finds - KoJo Designs
Friday Favs - Nap Time Crafters

Macrame Monday: The Josephine Knot

2011-10-17T04:08:00.000-07:00

I was going over the pattern for my plant hanger project and encountered a new knot.

Want to learn the Josephine knot with me?

It is also called a sailor's knot.

And it looks like this...

It looks super complicated - but it really isn't.

I used this handy dandy YouTube video to learn:

See - not that difficult.

I practiced with a few Josephine knots in a row.

They will be decorating the basket part of my plant hanger.

Almost ready to go on that project actually. I've got 112 ft of rope spool knitted. Only 55 more ft to go!

Until then - practice up on the Josephine knot. Next week I'll show you some fun projects that you can make with this new knot :D

Food Friday: Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

2011-10-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

I love how these cookies turn out more like cake than cookies. So yummy! And a perfect recipe for fall.

Ingredients:
1 cup margarine
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 can pumpkin puree (or fresh pumpkin puree if you have it)
** the can is large - or you can measure 2 cups of puree
4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (if you like)

Makes: a pile of cookies. 48 or so.

Method:
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Grease cookies sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg. Stir into the pumpkin mixture. Mis in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Drop by the spoonful onto the greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool for a few minute on the sheets before removing to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

And if you're counting calories like I am - only eat one at a time and freeze some. Each cookie contains a whopping 95 calories.

Project Project Runway - This Is For The Birds - Results

2011-10-13T04:13:00.000-07:00

This week's challenge:

Spread your wings, elevate your designs. Use a bird as an inspiration for a high-end runway look. The bird has to be either an Owl, Raven, Amazon or Cockatoo. Remember the bird is your inspiration, the judges reacted very badly to anything they considered too literal, i.e. feathers.

(Courtesy of Just Crafty Enough)

Source

I decided to go with the cockatoo for this challenge.

And here is my design.

I used a pale pink and brown brocade and white tulle.

And I let Pencil wear her crazy pink hair. Because... you know... the cockatoo has a pink head.

The judges were surprised by this look. Nina said that it was about time that I designed a dress. I mean we're 11 challenges in and I've only done 4 skirt or dress looks. I seem to be all about the pants or pants variations, but the judges definitely want to see another side.

Unfortunately, Michael will say something along the lines of, "We wanted you to change it up and design a dress, but a birdie prom dress is not what we had in mind." ouch! But yes, I admit, it looks a little birdie prom dressy to me.

I don't think I went too literal though. I used the tulle as a substitute for feathers and only went a little birdie on the sleeve. I still think it looks high fashion enough to push me through this week.

Especially when accessorized with these pretty shoes! From the Piperlime Accessory Wall.

And this bangle also from the Piperlime Accessory Wall.

I also think this outfit would look really nice with the L'Oreal Charming Cockatoo Gaze make-up, which is what we were supposed to be designing to highlight anyway.

What do you think? Birdie Prom Dress?

Check out the Runway for the Sew 70s Challenge here.

Follow along with this week's challenge on the Project Project Runway Flickr Group.

Weigh In Wednesday: Chubby Cheeks

2011-10-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

Details

Starting Weight: 174 lbs 09/12/11

Current Weight: 166 lbs 10/12/11

Target Weight: 150 lbs

Weight Change: 8 lbs

Remaining to Lose: 16 lbs

Avg. Lost Per Week: -1.9 lbs

WHA???!!!

It's been one month of calorie counting for me today. And it's paying off in a big way.

I lost 2 lbs this week. I exercised 6 out of 7 days and kept under my calorie allotment 7 out of 7 days.

I lost an inch on my hips and an inch on my bust this week as well.

I can't believe it's been a month and I'm 1/3 of the way to my goal. I've lost 8 lbs already! I'm so proud of myself for sticking to it. And I'm proud of Terry for sticking to it with me. We actually made it the whole weekend without eating out (although we did eat out on Thursday night). And we made it through Thanksgiving dinner without going overboard. Yay!

I wish I could say that I'm losing a pile of inches, but like always when I lose weight, I lose it in my face first. I should have measured my chubby cheeks. Then you'd see some inches lost!

How Tuesday: Bazinga Glitter Headband

2011-10-11T08:11:00.000-07:00

BAZINGA!!!

These headbands are so fun to make and even more fun to wear!

Wanna make your own?

Supplies Needed:

- Sticky backed glitter foam

- Sticky backed glitter foam letters (optional because you can cut the letters out yourself if you'd like)

- headband of your choice

- hot glue

*** The best part about all of these supplies is that I found them all at the dollar store. Yay!

Time Needed:
- 15 minutes.

Skill Level Needed:
- Super Easy (my 4 year old can help me as long as I watch him with the scissors and glue)

Start by planning out your design. You will need foam for the back and front of the headband. Cut them out opposite to each other. If you don't like to get glitter in your hair, then you might want to cut out normal foam for the back that lays against your head. But who the heck doesn't like glitter in their hair?

Then peel off the backing from the front and back pieces. Carefully stick them together over the headband. The backings of the glitter foam really sticks to itself, so be careful. Trim wherever there is sticky showing or you'll have some hair pulling when you try to wear it.

Here's what it looks like from the back.

Next, peel all the rest of the decorations and stick them on the headband where you want them. Use a little hot glue to stick them down after you have them the way you want. You really don't need to glue them down because it should stick well enough, but I found with multiple hair and headband adjustments, the letter might get loose. They don't stick as well to the glitter side of the foam as they do to the back.

Make more! With different exclamations.

ZOINKS! This one was the first one I made. It's mine - all mine!

ZAP!
Available at Tawny Bee:
On Etsy
On Zibbet

WTF?
Available at Tawny Bee:
On Etsy
On Zibbet

#@*!
Available at Tawny Bee:
On Etsy
On Zibbet

BAZINGA
Of course the tutorial one is also available:
On Etsy
On Zibbet

ZOOM
Available at Tawny Bee:
On Etsy
On Zibbet

Sharing this fun tutorial with:
Too Cute Tuesday - Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Sugar and Spice - 733
Link Party No. 71 - Tea Rose Home
Lil Luna Link Party - Lil' Luna
Show Off Your Stuff - Fireflies and Jellybeans
Hoo's Got Talent? - Night Owl Crafting
Tickled Pink - 504 Main
Feature Yourself Friday - Fingerprints on the Fridge
Fantabulous Friday - Momma's Kinda Crafty
Friday Favs - Nap Time Crafters
Friday Fun Finds - KoJo Designs

Jetsgiving?

2011-10-10T16:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah... so I promised that we would learn a new macrame knot today for Macrame Monday.

But then I realized that it's Thanksgiving - or if you're in Winnipeg it's Jetsgiving.

There is major hoopla forming in our city because of the first NHL regular season Jets game since we got the team back. And yeah.... I said "we" like I had something to do with it. I'm proud of my adopted city and even this non-hockey fan is a tad excited about the whole thing.

______

But enough of that - bring on the turkey!

I roasted up a lovely bird yesterday and we pigged out as usual. Did you know that turkey dinner is not really that many calories? Good to know.

I'm thankful for this little guy.

And this big guy and little girl.

I'm thankful for Ole' Bessie whose heart tissue is now helping pump blood through my heart properly. (I call the donor cow Ole' Bessie cuz.. well... that sounds like a terrific name for a cow).

I'm thankful for this wonderful house we live and that all my family is healthy.

I have a pretty sweet life.

And if you're a part of it by reading this blog every now and then - then I'm thankful for you too!

Happy Thanksgiving from Team L-T!!

P.S: I updated the blog banner to the one pictured above. We're all tongues it seems :P

Food Friday: Fish Cakes

2011-10-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking - what on earth? I thought Tawny promised that she was going to put up a recipe that will use up some of our Thanksgiving leftovers?

Well this is it! I assure you.

Do you ever have leftover stuffing?

It tends not to last in our house, but I've heard that other people have some leftover occasionally.

Wanna make something really different with it?

Fish cakes!

Ingredients:

Leftover Stuffing (or a box of Stove Top Stuffing will work as well) ***
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
can of tuna (drained, flaked) - or if you happen to have leftover tuna as well?
1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons tartar sauce

*** I'll let you in on a little secret - I hate homemade stuffing. I made some wonderful crock pot stuffing one year to make Terry happy. He ate it up and I just about puked. I hate the taste of ground pork as well as sage and thyme. It all tastes like dirt to me. I don't know what they put in Stove Top stuffing, but it's the only thing I can stand. EEEP! I know! I'm a weird duck.

Anyway... back to the recipe.

Method:
Mix the stuffing (or the stuffing mix from the box), water, dressing, tuna, celery, cheese and tartar sauce - basically all the ingredients together. Shape into patties. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Heat large skillet with a bit of oil in the bottom. Add patties to skillet.

Cook about 6 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Turn carefully after about 3 minutes.

They tend to fall apart a little. But they are still yummy nummy.

And it's a new and delicious way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. :D

Project Project Runway Sew 70's Results

2011-10-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

This week's Project Runway challenge was actually very similar to last week's - only with women and the designers were encouraged to "do better" than the last challenge which ended up looking like a costume for most of them on the show.

"Look to the past to find your inspiration and create a sophisticated 70′s revival design. Think big wide leg trousers, silky little tie front blouses, an earthy color palette, maxi-dresses, plaid and large scale prints. Design for a confident, sophisticated woman.
Tim warns us that “inspired by” is the key here, you want to avoid literal retro looks. Surprise, you need to create two looks this week and the second one can only be one piece, no separates.
You are creating outfits that have the possibility to be sold online, so your outfit also has to look exciting photographed." Courtesy of Just Crafty Enough

This is what I came up with.

For my separates design, I went with a huge and comfy 70s style shawl. I updated it slightly by making it into more of a sweater. It's still got the design like a shawl, only it has a bit of a sleeve.

Then I made some 70s inspired culottes and a matching floppy hat. Actually I decided that it would be too literal if I went with a huge floppy hat directly from the 70s so I toned it down a bit and added more cloche style elements to it. Boy is it tough to sew a tiny doll hat!

I think Pencil looks very sophisticated in her new look. I'm afraid the judges might think that it is too literal an interpretation of the 70s and that Pencil looks like she stepped right out of a 70s Look Book.

And of course Heidi won't like all that bulk at the top. ;)

For my second 1 piece look I went with a shorts jumper. One of the only fashions I remember my mom wearing from way back in the late 70s when I was really little was a shorts jumper. Hers was made out of velour and had ties at the shoulder.

So I updated that look to be more sophisticated and modern. I did it in 70s inspired colours - brown and yellow. I love the added little ruffle at the top.

I think Heidi would like this one because it shows some skin but is still classy.

Nina would slam me for using brown again in my designs. What is with all the brown in every design I make?

Michael would say that the puckers in the tummy need to be worked on.

I don't think a requirement was to make both pieces coordinate, so I went in 2 different directions.

Aurora and Pencil really liked spending time together and exchanging trade secrets while awaiting the decision of the judges.

What do you think? Am I in?

Check out the runway for last week's Image is Everything Challenge here.

And be sure to follow along with this week's designers in miniature in the Flickr group.

Sharing this fun challenge with:
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