SCATTERBRAIN

Well Good morning everyone! I hope you are doing well today. I’m doing well I guess LOL. Very tired and a little stiff, but its alright because I woke up and I’m alive! I want to thank Jean for the wonderful gift of Brandywine seeds! I plan on planting a set this evening once I get home from picking up kids, etc. Right now I have so many things to share and going on in my head, I am a real scatterbrain today! Let’s see if you can keep up LMAO!

OK, I had a lot of emails asking about the Ronald McDonald thing I mentioned yesterday. So I sat down and really thought about it. Here is what I am gonna do. First thing is I am going to contact the director at the Galveston Ronald McDonald house and ask about number of children, tenants, families, etc. Then I am going to take both kinds of fabrics.and plan on making crayon totes, burp clothes, and whatever else I can make with the McD’s fabric. I must be careful to use the fabric wisely LOL! OK, so then I am also going to go to Wal-Mart and price things like Crayola crayons, colored pencils, etc. to fill one of the totes. That times how many totes I will be making is what this “Project Ronald” will take. I know that when the school supplies go on sale, the crayons are like 20 cents per box, so if someone gifts $4 and I need to make 20 totes, then that $4 will buy ALL the crayons! I am also going to get a copy of their wishlist and buy a few things for the house, like paper goods, flour, etc. and donate that as well. I know I saw paper towels, etc. so we will see how much money we can raise for them. Cool huh? I have set up an Etsy account, but I haven’t listed anything on there yet (haven’t had the time LOL). Everything I make off selling things on Etsy from the day I start selling until Sept. 1st will be funding for this project. I am going to ask some of my “band kids” if they want to help in either distribution or something. Hopefully I can get pics of the gang outside the house… I think it would be a good experience for them all. Anyway, I will let you know when “Project Ronald” is officially started!

Ok, so I did a bunch more sewing yesterday… continuing the Fabric Challenge. I was going through the green crate and found some half finished projects that I figured I would conquer yesterday. I don’t know WHY I start something and don’t finish them like this! Its kind of annoying when I go back and see this! What WAS I thinking?? Anyway, Lookie Lookie what came off my creative little fingertips!



This was not a half started project, but it WAS an old shirt that my mother found in a box in the attic when we were cleaning it out. Jameson’s is an Irish Whiskey for those who don’t know. So anyway, since it also said St. Patrick’s Day on the shirt, I figured a green shamrock fabric was in order. Did this turn out absolutely adorable or what?! I’m gonna have a hard time selling this one. LOL I showed it to mom last night and she said I should find other “vintage” shirts and do the same thing. LOL, guess she really liked it too! I have done T-shirt bags before, but for some reason this one turned out absolutely wonderful! Hmmm... maybe its the color... who knows LOL!



This is a set of 5 baby burp clothes tied up with a “It’s a Girl” ribbon. I make these and either sell them separate, as groups like this, or even in baskets, etc. They are very soft, contoured to fit mom’s shoulder, and 100% machine washable!



These are 5 cell phone pouches that I had to complete. I only had the fabrics cut and all the stuff laying together, so I sewed them, strapped them, snapped them, and voila! 5 totally awesome cell pouches!



This is the Sunflower casserole cover made from 2 tapestry place mats. My mom likes sunflowers and when I saw these mats, I thought of her!



This is the “fat chef” tapestry casserole cover. Apparently this little dude is very popular in kitchen décor nowadays. I just bought it because I thought it was cute LOL!



And this is the snowman tapestry casserole cover. I had lots of covers ready to be sewn together in the box. There were 7 total I think. I only got to these 3, so watch for the others in the next couple of days.



These are 9 drawstring bags that I finished today. The story behind these easy little guys is simple. A couple of my DD’s friends needed something to hide their pads and other feminine stuff during a school trip. I had these little drawstring bags I made. Then I got the idea to put travel size toiletries of all kinds in them and use them for donations to places like the women’s crisis center and the men’s homeless shelter. I would use coupons and get trial size toothpastes, toothbrushes, etc. for free or for just pennies and then make up these cute bags and donate them. I normally whip out at least 100 of these per year!



Here you see the 2 insulated can wraps I made yesterday. Tinkerbell and John Deere… neither is a particular favorite of mine, but they are very popular so I continue on! LOL… Good thing there isn't too much more of these fabrics left LMAO! Kidding... don't want to offend anyone... I'm just in a playful mood today LOL!



This is a set of Autism hand towels, which could also be used for other purposes I suppose. I just liked how the green compliments the bright puzzle pieces! Lovely… and another autism craft down too!

As you can see I was a busy little bee yesterday. I didn’t get everything completed that I pulled out of the crate that was half done, but I made a super huge dent… I would say at least ½ of it. I know that I have about 3 or 4 casserole dish covers and maybe 10 other things. I don’t know why I do that… start something and not finish it, especially when there is either not much left to do or not much to do in the first place. Crazy I know, but see this Fabric Challenge is helping me get all this done and build my inventory too! Awesome huh? I think so… and I am coming up with some super cute stuff if I do say so myself LOL!

Ok so I was taking a sewing break and reading on the yahoo local news yesterday and I ran across this census article and I just had to go WTF?? I’m sorry but I need a vent moment… Read some of this bologna!

Census Bureau officials urge patience
By Ian White
The Daily News Published April 10, 2010

Anyone worried about their participation in the census can rest easy — there’s not a problem the Census Bureau has not thought out, an executive for its Houston-Galveston area office said.

“Whether you’ve received no form or more than one form, there’s no need to worry,” said Eduardo Guity, the bureau’s area media specialist, when The Daily News put to him three potential problems identified by county residents.

He called on people still awaiting a form to be patient, saying the bureau still is mailing them, but they should arrive by Monday.

The bureau will be following up at addresses from which it has received no reply by April 15, and Guity said: “We’re going to get the information come what may.”

And in answer to a common perception that mailing each form is costing the taxpayer $57, he said: “Mailing each one costs us 44 cents. The $57 figure is the cost of sending someone to an address from which no form has been received, which is why we’re encouraging everybody to mail their completed form to us as quickly as possible.”

The bureau is prepared to send an inspector to each unresponsive address up to seven times, after which neighbors will be asked about the number of residents at the errant property.

“We’re authorized by law to do that,” Guity said. “Usually at least one neighbor knows how many people live next door, so we will complete our count one way or another.”

ARE YOU SERIOUS? This man is really that ARROGANT? I mean come on, does he realize the things he just said? Someone please tell me why this man is telling people to “be patient”?? They’re the ones wanting the information… not me! Shouldn’t THEY be patient? If I want to fill it out a week after I get it, HE needs to wait, right? Then they are gonna invade your privacy and ask NEIGHBORS? OMG really… REALLY? OK I gotta change the subject now, before I blow a gasket!

Crafts… as you can see from my challenge projects, I love them! I like seeing bits and pieces of “nothing” and knowing I can put them together in some way, shape, or form, and turn them into something really cool or useful! And I like recycling too! LOL I can think of only one good thing that could come out of my pakrat/hoarding problem… I can make all kinds of neat recycled crafts! LMAO… ok seriously though, recycling- to me anyway- makes you feel good. You’re not being wasteful and you are being creative… unique even! You are going to have something that maybe nobody else has! And that’s an AWESOME feeling! The little kid in you comes out and goes “Nanner nanner boo boo” LOL! So what is the craft today? Well if you have any old vinyl LP’s laying around that you’re just not sure what to do… try this! It would make an awesome gift for yourself or a friend… especially if the friend is old enough to really APPRECIATE what a vinyl record really was/is! Records can be bought from op shops, thrift stores or garage sales. If you don't want to destroy the classics look for damaged or cracked albums.



Craft Idea of the Day: Vinyl LP Earring Holder

Materials:

Old LP Record
Heat Source
Knitting Needle or Metal Skewer
Plate Stand

Directions:

1: Take your LP Record and place some heavy cardboard behind it. This will prevent the metal skewer going through onto your work surface

2: You will need a heat source, either a lighter, candle, Gas flame or you can heat a knitting needle or metal skewer up on a electric hot plate but be very careful and wear oven gloves to prevent burns.

3: Take your Hot Needle and poke it through the record to make a whole. You obviously want to make your holes in sets of 2 for each pair of earrings.

for smaller studs you could use a heated darning needle. Place as many holes as you need around the record. if you want to hang bracelets you can make a hook using a heated nail and pushing it into the record and allowing it to cool. This will give you something to hang necklaces on etc.

When completed allow all the holes to cool completely.

Place it onto a plate stand and onto your dressing table.
You could also create a hole for a hanging ribbon at the top so that you can make a hanging loop. This will allow you to carry around the record from bedroom to bathroom or even to hang it up out of the way when not in use.

Is that not cool or what? I like the bowls you can make with old LP’s too. Nowadays, having something “old” is really the new cool. Us older “cats” LMAO just call it vintage or retro… but some of the young buzzards call us antiques or old! I prefer retro thank you! So I remember the days of playing my old vinyl records and dancing around my room and if I jumped too hard the record skipped and Rick Springfield went from singing about a girl to a dog LMAO! Hey don’t laugh, he was cute back in the day! LOL… but then again, didn’t our moms say the same about Donnie Osmond? EWWW! LMAO!

OK let’s talk food. Its always a good time for slow cookin! As you know, if it weren’t strange, I would probably marry my triple crockpot! LMAO… JUST KIDDING! Anyway, yes I love them and I love to share crock pot recipes with you. A big thing around here to make, seeing as we always have tons of people coming through here, is soup. You can make soup pretty inexpensively most time and it feeds a large crowd. So if I have 10 hungry kids running around between band practices and football games, etc. I try to make sure to have at least one pot for them to munch. Most of the time however I have numerous crock pots going, a stovetop of pots, and even sometimes things in the oven… cornbreads, rolls, etc. to go with their soups. Even the “cool mom” as they call me, has to make sure they get a good meal! So today I have another soup recipe for you to enjoy.



Albondigas Soup

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 pound pork sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup cornmeal
6 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (8 ounce) jar salsa
1 onion, chopped
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup white rice

Directions

Mix together beef broth, salsa, 1 onion, tomatoes, dried basil, oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. (If you use condensed beef broth (e.g., Campbell's), eliminate the salt in the meatballs and use 5 cans (10.5 ounces each) broth plus one quart water.) Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes.

Combine ground chuck, sausage, 1 onion, egg, salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, garlic powder, milk, fresh basil, and cornmeal, and mix well. Form into tiny, bite-size meatballs.

Add meatballs and rice to broth. Simmer, covered, very slowly for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Alright kids, I’m outta here for today. Gonna go chill out with my mommy while the DH stays and does his housely manduties! LMAO! I will see you tomorrow for more great adventures in blogland! Peace, Love, and lots of HUGS!