Baby Gift

Our Sister-in-law just had a new little one. I love babies and I wanted to make something as a gift. My craft talents are limited... so I thought I would stick to what I know works.

This is my second diaper wipe case, and I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Russ and Jan had a little boy, and I thought a cowboy theme would be cute.

So... and old pair of Levis, a bandanna, and a wipe case became this...

 

Diapers easily slide into the elastic straps on the back.

Wipes concealed inside.

After I had finished it just seemed like there was something missing.... then it came to me.

Add a little something to the pocket....

and a handmade country style card.

I love the idea of the easy access grab and go style of this craft.  I hope Jan likes this as much as I do...

Another Year Older and Wiser Too!

Sam's Mom had a birthday this last week. We had a little family dinner for her at out place. I have always wanted to learn to decorate cakes... I have even bought all the basic supplies... but never been successful. Since I finally had an event to make a cake for, I thought I might try something simple. My idea was butter cream roses... well I couldn't ever get the icing right!!!

After about ten melted roses, I finally made something that resembled a flower... ha ha!

When the whole cake was put together it did not look too bad... for a first attempt.

What really made it all special, was having family together... no matter what the cake looked like!

Maiden Voyage

Sam and I have been accumulating a handful of motorized toys. Our most recent acquisition is a boat. Not a fancy boat. It is actually old enough that it still has a Chrystler outboard motor on it! It had sat parked for a few years before we got a hold of it, and after days of tweaking, Sam felt she was ready to test open water. We called up some of our closest friends to share the experience with us. They packed a pick nick dinner and we all headed out to Wardell reservoir to try our luck.

After having to jump start the boat twice... we finally got her out on the water. She did not have much power, but it was still fun. Especially for the little ones on board.

The Captain



Phoebe was so excited she could barely stand it!


It wasn't too long after we did a few laps, the motor went silent and poor Jake and Sam got to row us back to shore.



Our brave swimmers.

Shortly after making it back to shore and setting up the grub.... rain clouds set in and a torrential down pour ensued and we all ended up drenched.

What an adventure!

Hopefully with a tune up, our little boat will be ready to try again.

Cleanup

There is always a project at my parent's house. Recently we went to visit and my Dad made a comment about one of the dead cottonwood trees needing to come down someday. Well no sooner that we could think about it, Sam was ready to get out the chainsaw and fell that tree!

Here is how the tree looked before the men got to it, and they made short work of it.

If you squint, you can see Sam in the background acting as an anchor... I have to admit, it made me nervous.

Strategic discussion.

Had to have one artistic view.

Lumberjack Sam!!

Design on...Scraps

The longer we are in our current house, the more I realize it is okay to personalize my space. I have never done much with decorating in case we were to move. Since we seem to like it here in Basin and have no plans of leaving in the near future, I have been cooking up ideas to make my "house" feel more like "home". I am inspired by all the women out in Blog-land that share their talents for home decorating and organizing, and how they accomplish all of their plans without spending much. I have decided to try my hand at some home-made projects.

I  have always loved the idea of hanging a picture of a bathtub in my bathroom. Not sure why this appeals to me so much. I have seen so many cute designs in art and craft stores, but could never bring myself to spend the money on any of them.

I recently took up scrap booking and now have a file full of paper scraps begging to be let out of their drawer. While looking through my scraps I saw some patterns that I thought would be cute in my bathroom... then the idea hit me. I grabbed scissors, glue, my ink pads, and set to work....

Ten minutes later I had this....

Okay this, minus the frame.

I used only cut out paper shapes and ink to distress and add depth to the picture. Believe it or not, none of this was drawn. Only free-hand cutting.

I ran across the frame at the dollar store, and loved the distressed silver.

Total cost of project... drum roll please... $3! It could have been less, but I just fell in love with the frame.... (I could have recreated it but I got lazy).

A fun little accent for my bathroom... don't mind the circus curtains. Very fun for a beach theme, but not what I am going for. They came with the place and I just haven't found the right curtains to replace them.