Chevron Easter Dress- The More Frugal Way

This Easter will be the first one that we have celebrated when I have known how to sew!  So, of course, I wanted to make the girls and myself dresses.  And what better dresses to make this year then ones made out of chevron fabric (since it is all the rave this year)!  My sister-in-law first inspired me by showing me these pictures and telling me that she would love to have dresses for her two girls just like this:

She had found this on Etsy for around $45!

And she also showed me this picture and said she would love to have a dress for herself just like it:

I think she found this picture on Etsy or Pinterest as well, but I don't know the price for it.

Well, these dresses really did not look that complicated to me. So, I decided to make her two girls and my two girls dresses similar to this child's dress and myself and my sister-in-law dresses similar to the adult dress.
And the search began!

  It has been a rather long process to find affordable chevron fabric, find affordable patterns to tweak and then figure out how to put it all together.  Not to mention figuring out how to make those cute little flowers on each of the dresses.  But, I have finally completed all 6 dresses!  And I guess I should really say "we" , because I could not have done any of it without my ever faithful sewing teacher and companion, Bonnie Skinner!  After all, I have just learned to sew with a regular sewing machine and she is the master surger!  She brought her surger over tons of days and we surged a lot of the dresses rather than just sew them.

So here they are:

My nieces dresses:

 My sister-in-law's dress:

 My girl's dresses:

 And my dress:

I am so excited about how they turned out!  And I must say that the dresses for my sister-in-law's family look pretty much just like the originals!  

Now to explain how we did it all!

We bought all of the chevron fabric at Hobby Lobby.  It is the cotton grey and white chevron and the yellow and white chevron.  We found it on sale for $4.30 per yard!  That is a great deal since every other place I found it online was at least $9.00 per yard plus shipping!  We also got the grey and white polk-a-dot for the same price at Hobby Lobby.  (Hobby Lobby often carries the DUC chevron fabric, but that is not what you want.  DUC is very stiff and is not good dress material.)  And just to mention- right now it is very hard to find the chevron fabric because it is in very high demand.  If you can't find it in your local store, you could always try Hobby Lobby on-line or check with them about pre-ordering to your local store.  Our local store told a friend of mine that the chevron fabric was being sold out the minute it hit the stores, so they have recommended pre-ordering.

I found most of the teal fabric for the girl's sashes and flowers at Wal-Mart for $4.44 per yard, but I ran out mid-project.  So, I found the rest of it at JoAnne's Fabric Store for around the same price.  The yellow fabric for the adult belts, flowers and trim, I found also at JoAnne's for $4.18 per yard.  

Next was the pattern search.  I found both of them at Wal-Mart.  One of the patterns was $2.97 and one was $.97, but I can't remember which one was which.  

For the girls' dresses: 

I used this pattern:

Pattern tweaking:   we took out the ruffled, pieced layers on the skirt and just used one piece of fabric.  We also used less fabric around for the skirt than the pattern called for.  We just wrapped the fabric around the girls and added enough extra for them to be able to move around.  The pattern called for a lot of fabric, but we felt like it was just too much.  We also left off the bow around the neckline and used elastic there and in the arm bands instead. On my dress, we also changed the fabric from the bodice to the skirt.  I wanted to make mine a little different.  And once we had it made, I tried it on and it was shorter than I had wanted.  So, we just added some yellow fabric to the bottom.  I actually loved the way that gave it an extra color punch!

For the sash- we didn't use a pattern.  We just cut the fabric in strips of around 10 inches because we wanted the belt to be around 4 inches wide.  We had to piece two strips together to get it to be long enough to tie a large bow in the back.  We cut the ends at an angle so that they would taper off when tied.  

For the flowers on the sash I used this blog tutorial:

http://www.thehouseofsmiths.com/2010/09/fabric-flower-tutorial.html?m=1

Here was the process in pictures-

The circles of fabric I used for the flower petals.  I used various size cups to draw my circles, but everyone says they don't have to be perfect.  (I am just a perfectionist :) )

My felt circles that made the bases of each flower.

Folding it in half.

Making an "s" out of it after folding it.  Then I just put a dot of hot glue at the bottom of each of the folds.

The first layer. I used ten larger circles.

The second layer. I used eight medium sized circles.

Third layer. Almost finished! I used seven of the smallest circles.

Added button and done!

I plan to just use safety pins to attach all of the flowers so that they can be removed for washing and so that we can change them out with other colors if we want.  

For the adult dresses: 

For the adult dresses I used the "New Look 6891" pattern.  

Pattern Tweaking: this pattern is originally for a shirt.  So, we just extended the length of the shirt by whatever our measurements were.  We also used elastic in the neckline instead of the tie.  On one dress I also used elastic in the arm band, but on my dress, we did the fabric ties.   

For the belt of the adult dresses- we just cut strips for them a little more than twice the width that we wanted them to end up.  And then we made them a little longer than our waist measurements.  Right now I plan to either put a snap on them or just use safety pins to hold them on.  

The three flowers on each of the adult belts were created using this blog:

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/08/full-and-textured-fabric-flowers.html

The only thing I changed was that I hot glued the last 3-4 petals on rather than hand stitching them.  So again, I will have to attach my flowers with safety pins so they can be removed for washing.  But, that also gives me the ability to move them around or only put one or two of the flowers on the belt.  I could always wear one in my hair as a clip or a head band or attach one to a little bracelet!  And I can make other flowers to change in and out on the belt to give the dress a different look as well.

Here is how my flowers and belt turned out:

I also found this website helpful for making what ever kind of fabric flower that most interests you:

http://www.thecraftyblogstalker.com/2012/08/how-to-make-20-different-fabric-flowers.html?m=1

This blogger has gathered lots of flower tutorials all in one place to make it easier on people like me who are searching for DIY flower tutorials!  Thank you!

In the end, with everything that I purchased, I made each of these dresses for around $16.  However, I was left with several yards of fabric, lots of elastic, both of the patterns and a giant bucket of colorful buttons to use on other projects. So really, I would estimate that my actual cost of supplies was only around $14 per dress.  But, I also have to admit that the research, looking for supplies, watching and finding the right flower tutorials, measuring and cutting fabric and sewing, surging and making flowers took quite a long time for 6 dresses!  

So, that $45 for that precious little girls dress is really not a bad price.  Although doing it myself taught me so much and saved me money in the long run.  And I can't wait to all wear and take pictures in our dresses on Easter day!  

Grocery Lists and Christmas Cards

I am well aware that grocery lists and Christmas cards don't typically go together.  However, in my house, they kinda do!  Inside my pantry door, I have a dry erase board hanging with my grocery list and that is also where I keep all of my Christmas cards after the holiday is over.

The dry erase board is where I jot down anything that I run out of that needs to go on my grocery list.  I keep a dry erase marker on the top shelf of the pantry so I can grab it quickly.  Any time I use or eat the last of something, someone in the family thinks of something they would like me to have from the store or I just have a thought of something I need to buy- I just jot in down quickly. And then when it is time to go to the store- I can look at my list and make my grocery list from it.  This dry erase board had a natural wood frame on it that I didn't like very much, so I just painted it dark brown to match some of the colors in my kitchen. Then I attached it to the door with stick-on Velcro strips. This allows me the flexibility to take it on and off when I need to.

And since my kids often stand with the pantry door open staring- last year I decided to put all of our picture Christmas cards in there for us to look at all year long.  That way they are not out cluttering up my refrigerator or put away in a drawer somewhere, but they are in a place that allows us as a family to enjoy them!  The kids often stand and look at them while they are trying to decide what they would like to eat as a snack.  I used double sided tape to stick them to the door. When Christmas is over next year, I will just change them all out for the new ones!  

Walker Stops Sucking His Thumb

Several months back, Walker had a visit to the dentist.  As soon as they looked into his mouth, they said "Does he suck his thumb?"  Well, of course, the answer was yes.  They said that there was no permanent damage YET, but that he really needed to stop before he started losing baby teeth and gaining permanent ones.  The doctor gave several suggestions.  All of which were very expensive!  I told him that the only time that Walker sucked his thumb was when he had his "teddy" in his hand.  And that we only let him have that in his bed when he was going to sleep.  Guess what the doctor suggested?  That it was time to get rid of the teddy.  Walker of course heard this conversation, but didn't say very much.  And he didn't mention it until I started talking to him about it later that afternoon.  Then the tears came. And the begging followed.  He was saying "Please mommy, don't take away teddy.  I just don't think I can sleep without him!"  And he was very, very serious.  It broke my heart!  So, when Chris got home, we talked about it and talked to Walker.  We decided to ask him if he had any solutions.  In the sweetest little voice, he said "Well, could I just wear gloves?"  We thought that was a great idea!  At least one worth trying!  So, he got some of his little winter gloves and put them on that night when he went to sleep.  I checked on him several times and each time, there was no thumb in his mouth!  And he hasn't sucked his thumb since!  It worked!  Who would have ever thought that something so inexpensive and so simple would break his thumb sucking habit?  I told several people that I think I need to market some gloves as "break the thumb sucking habit" gloves!  I am sure someone would buy them!  We were so proud of our little guy for being so creative and so thankful that we didn't have to make him give up his teddy.  And when we shared our progress with the dentist office, they were thrilled!

Here is our little guy with his favorite pair of Angry Bird gloves.

As he has stopped the habit, he has moved to gloves without the tips in them that he got for Christmas. Lol.  And even though I don't think he still needs to wear them, every night he puts his gloves on before he goes to bed.  We may have to break that habit someday!

Happiness is organization- Even if it is just jewelry!

Getting my jewelry organized was something that I had wanted to do for years!  And last year, I finally did it!! Now all of my jewelry is in one spot and is well organized! And it is right in my closet along with my clothes.  So when I pick out my outfit for the day, I can pick out my jewelry too! I was so happy when I first got it up that I kept going in my closet to look at it. It is always the small things in life that make me happy. No more tangled necklaces, no more time wasted looking for the match to an earring, no more wondering where that bracelet ended up- it is all where I can see it and wad free!  And to me- being organized is happiness.

All I did to make it was buy pegboard from Lowe's.  When I bought this a year or so ago, they sold pegboard with holes in two sizes.  One with smaller holes and one with bigger holes (no matter how many times I have asked how they measured these boards, no one could tell me the what the two hole size differences were distinguished other than small and large).  Originally, I bought the ones with smaller holes and found screws from Lowe's that screwed perfectly into them.  I spray painted the pegboard white and then hung it up on my wall.  That simple!  And I can move the screws around wherever I want to fit my different necklaces, bracelets, rings and the kind of earrings that clasp closed.  For earrings with hooks, I just slip them into the holes like the picture below shows.  

 After I made mine, I decided that they would probably be much prettier if they were framed.  So, this year for Christmas, I decided to make my mom and both of my sisters jewelry pegboards as their Christmas gifts.  The problem was that Lowe's, and every other store that I have checked, does not sell the smaller hole pegboards anymore.  They have all been discontinued.  And I could not find an affordable screw that fit into the giant holes in the pegboards that are currently being sold. But while I was at Hobby Lobby one day, I came upon a fabulous find- wooden pegs that fit into these holes perfectly!  And they were very affordable!  And even better, I realized that lots of smaller hardware stores will sell smaller, left-over pieces of pegboard at great prices.  I bought a few small pieces for just a couple of dollars at one in my parent's home town!  My dad and I used a jig saw to cut the pegboard to fit an oak wood frame that he had made many years ago.  My mom did not want to get rid of it because it was pretty and he had made it.  But she also didn't have anything to put in it for her wall.  So, I decided to use the frame to make one for her.  The wooden pegs that I bought were natural wood color and so was the pegboard.  We spray painted them both white, but you can often get either white or natural wood colored peg board. To paint the pegs, I took an old cardboard box and poked holes in it with a screw driver.  Then I put the pegs in the holes and spray painted them.  We ended up having to glue the pegs into the pegboard with wood glue in order for them to be able to hold the jewelry up.  So, with the pegs, we lost the ability to move the jewelry around like you can with the screws. I might eventually come up with a solution for that, but for now- they are just glued.  Here is how my mom's turned out.  She loved it!

And I also made one for each of my sisters.  Here is the picture of one of them.  I did it in silver and white to match her closet.  And when I did hers, I still had some of the smaller pegboard and so I used the screws with it. The screws did not look very pretty being silver, so I used the same technique with the cardboard box to spray paint her screws white.  My other sister's was white with a chocolate brown frame.  On both of these, I used old frames that my mom had given me.  I just sanded them a little bit and then put a few coats of paint on.  And now all of us have very organized jewelry!

And I think the very best part of all is that working on these while we were visiting my parents gave me some very special time with my dad.  It took me back to my childhood. When I was growing up, we always had some kind of project going on.  My poor mother was wonderful to let us use the kitchen table as a work space! My dad was a great wood craftsman and he could build just about anything.  Along with that comes a lot of experience with cutting, painting and staining.  So, I was so thankful that I got to have some time with him to do some of those things.  And he even shared some great tips with me!  One thing I learned was that when it comes to spray paint- frugal is not better.  He laughed at my cheap spray paint.  And he showed me the difference between how well my cheap paint covered the picture frames compared to how the more expensive paint he had covered them.  His took two coats.  Mine would have taken about 5!  It just shows that we are never too old to learn from our parents!  And that cheap paint is not always the best deal. 

I love to organize and to create things that are pretty.  And even more, I love to do these things with other people who love it.  This time with my dad was very special, especially since he is the one who ingrained in me the love for creating things in the first place.

Laundry Organization

I have to admit that I have really been struggling to get my laundry done on time.  I am able to wash it and dry it, but getting it folded and put away seems to allude me.  I have felt like we have been digging through baskets of clean clothes trying to find that pair of white leggings or that particular pair of socks a few too many times.  I have been wanting to buy stack-able laundry baskets for about a year now, but would never break down and spend the money.  Well, I finally broke down!  And I am so excited!  (I know, most people do not get excited about such things.)  I have been price comparing for a while trying to find what I wanted at the cheapest price.  But, I found that most of the stack-able laundry baskets are about the same price everywhere.  They range from $5-$7 and most of the time the price is directly related to their sturdiness and/or their size.  I finally decided on ones that I found at Wal-Mart. They are both sturdy and spacious!

They cost $6.97 each (not cheap).  The great thing about them is that they each have handles that allow them to either stack (when the handles are turned completely inward) or be carried individually (when the handles are turned up).  One side of each bin is dipped down so that things can be placed inside of them or removed from them while they are in the stacked position.  Wal-Mart also carries other bins that are a little bit smaller, but still the same style that come in the colors navy, purple and pink that are $5.97. (That might allow you to assign each family member a color)

I am going to leave my bins stacked beside of my dryer. Every time I take a load of clothes out, I am going to go ahead and fold the clothes and place them in the proper basket.  The top one is for my bedroom- mine and my husband's clothes.  The middle one is for our oldest daughter's bedroom since she has her own room.  And the bottom one is for the two youngest kids, whom also share a bedroom.  So that way I can keep them stacked until time to put clothes away. And then I have a basket for each room that can be carried with it's own handles.  If I see that I have more clothes than will fit in the baskets, then I may buy one or two more and divide the baskets up into individual people.  But right now, I think this is going to help to keep me so much more organized!  Now when I don't have time to put clothes away, we can at least quickly locate whatever item we are looking for!  And since I plan to fold the clothes straight from the dryer- hopefully they will not be loaded with wrinkles from being waded up in piles like they have been recently.  Although these are a little pricey, I think that the time it is going to save me in putting clothes away and not having to iron is going to far outweigh the price!

Frugal Homemade Hand Print Decorations

I saw an idea on Pinterest that inspired this artwork that hangs in our kitchen.  After living in Paraguay for so long, I became one of those people who hates to throw anything away that could potentially have a purpose. Some of the ladies at church found that out about me and have "donated" random things to me that I might be able to give a new purpose.  One of those things was a bag full of greeting card boxes.  One of the ladies said that she had always kept everything and her husband was finally putting his foot down and not allowing her to keep them in the house anymore.  So, she was thrilled to know that I also liked to keep things that I might use in the future.  And I was very excited that she gave me these really great, sturdy greeting cards boxes.  It didn't take me long to have the perfect idea for them.  I took them apart and used all of the box top lids as mini canvases.  I painted them in colors that coordinated with my kitchen and dining room.  My kitchen has orange walls and my dining room has brown and yellow walls.  So, I took those three colors and used 6 box top lids and painted two of them in each of the three colors.  Then I had each person in our family dip their hand in a coordinating paint color and then put their hand print on the lids.  I love how it turned out!  Now we have personalized artwork in our kitchen and it even pulls my dining room colors in and helps coordinate the two rooms!

We hung them in order from oldest to youngest and even added our dog, Toby's paw print to the end.  That was an interesting project!  He was really not very happy about having his little paw painted.  But it was very much worth it, because I love my free homemade artwork!

Sewing Day!

I just started learning to sew in September or October.  So, I haven't been at it long.  But, I am obsessed!  I have always wanted to learn to sew, but I didn't have much free time with the kids being so small. And I thought that it would be really hard to learn.  However, it has been so easy to pick up!  It is amazing what you can do with just simple sewing.  I am still at a very basic level, but I am able to make all kinds of things.  Today I hemmed 7 pair of pants that had been in a pile in my closet for almost a year.  Some were pants that had holes in them that I wanted to turn into capris.  And some were ones that I had either bought at consignment sales or inherited.  I kept meaning to find someone to hem them for me, but just never got around to it.  So, now that I can sew- I finally got around to it myself!  Today I also made heart appliques for the girls shirts (which I will blog about when I get them finished).  And I made a curtain for my bathroom!

It is just a simple straight stitch curtain, but it was exactly what I wanted to add a little color and decoration to our den bathroom.  (Not sure how much more color it really needed since it is already bright red :) )

I love being able to sew!  And the great thing is that I am able to do things myself that save me a ton of money!  Getting those pants hemmed by someone else would have cost me at least $35.00.  And I think I have about $3.00 invested in this little curtain.  Frugal and fun- just my style!

The Little Orange Dress

My niece's birthday is coming up, so I decided to make her a little pillowcase dress.  When we went to the store to pick out fabric, Emma kept wanting pink fabric.  But, I was drawn to these orange and yellow colors.  Of course, that seems to be a trend in my life.  My house is full of yellow, orange and red, as is my closet.  I wasn't really sure how I was going to make this dress, but I knew that I wanted it to be pieced together rather than just the normal pillowcase dress.  So, I cut the fabric into strips and sewed them together. The layers on the back of the dress are in a different order than the ones on the front.  (That way I didn't have to worry about getting them lined up as perfectly!) Then I used one of Olivia's pillowcase dresses as a pattern.  It was very easy, as most pillowcase dresses are.  I basically just cute the arm holes, sewed up the sides, made a pocket for the ribbon at the top and then hemmed the bottom.  I used a safety pin attached to the end of the ribbon to run it through the top and the dress was made! The fun part was making a little flower on the front.

I cut 5 squares of fabric, each one smaller than the previous one.  Then I free-handed 4 flowers and one tiny circle on the back of the fabric and cut them out.  I used the sewing machine to outline each flower while leaving about 1/4 inch around the outside.  Once I got them all outlined, I cut tiny little slits around the edges to allow them to fray once they are washed.  Then I stacked them all up and tacked them on with a button and thread!  

I was so pleased with how it turned out!  I hope she loves it!  My husband reminded me that not everyone has taste as bold and bright as I do, but I think she will look precious in this dress!  

The iPass

 The iPass has come and gone in our house over the last 2 years.  What is an iPass you may wonder?  Well, it is a pass that allows use on any "i" item in our house (iPhone, iPad, iPod).  It was created a few months after we got our iPhones when we moved back to the states from Paraguay.  And it was created because the "need" our children felt to constantly use our technological gadgets were driving us nuts! It was out of hand!  Every five minutes our kids were asking if they could play on our phones.  And once one of them were playing, they all wanted to play.  And inevitably a fight would break out about whose turn it was and how the other sibling had played longer than them.  I decided there had to be a way to help them keep their playing time down and to help keep me from going insane.  Finally one day it hit me, and the iPass was born!  I took 3 note cards per child and on each one of them I wrote:  their names, "iPass" and the value: 10 minutes.  From then on, they received 3 iPass's per day, which meant they got 30 total minutes of time on the iPhone or iPad.  We told them that they could use them whenever they wanted to as long as we were not using it.  It worked miracles!  It was so nice not to be asked 5,000 times a day if someone could use my phone!  And the kids happily accepted that they only got 30 minutes in 10 minute intervals to play games.  And they could blow it all at once or they could divide it up throughout the day.  It worked so good that as they stopped asking to use our phones constantly, we would kind of "drop" the whole iPass requirements.  But several times over the last two years we have had to reinstate them.  As we have gone through the process many times, I finally got smart and created a little chart that hangs in our den.  The picture is below.  I put velcro pieces on a poster board and they "pass their iPasses" back and forth from "Time left to play" to "already played" so that we know who has used how many and we actually know where the iPasses are! And we taught them how to set the clock on the iPhone for a 10 minute alarm so we don't have to remind them when their 10 minutes are up. We have just entered another season of the iPass this week, so iPasses are in full swing in our house!  

Saying Thank You

After Christmas, I am always overwhelmed by how many gifts and gestures of kindness we receive over the holidays.   I am very thankful that we are so blessed and that so many people love our family and want to show their love!  I just want to make sure that the kids learn to be thankful for all that they receive and make a point to express that thanks to others.  So, this year I decided we needed to do thank you pictures.  We made these pictures for everyone that lived near us that gave us something or did something special for us for the holidays.

 I painted the kids hands and we did each of their hand prints in their favorite colors.  Then Emma (7) and I wrote thank you notes at the top.  Each of the kids signed their names below their own hands.  Olivia (3) can't write her full name yet, so she just wrote the "O" for her name and I wrote the rest of the letters. Then I wrote a little note at the bottom of each one saying exactly what we were thankful for.  I thought they turned out really cute and colorful and the kids enjoyed doing them.  They all said that me painting their hands tickled.  Everyone who got one seemed to really enjoy it and a lot of them said the pictures were going on their refrigerators.  Emma enjoyed handing them out to people and getting to see their smiling faces when they received their thank you pictures.

Kids Flip Charts for Morning and Night Routines

Do any other mom's of little ones get tired of saying "did you brush your teeth?, please go put on your pajamas, did you go potty?, your wet towel is still laying in the middle of the floor or please pick up your clothes and put them away" about a thousand times each morning and night?  I was really growing weary of it.  And I was dreading bedtime each night because it was so chaotic and frankly not very fun for me or the kids.  Especially when I couldn't remember who had and hadn't done what.  So, we recently created little flip charts for the kids.  I bought giant wooden letters at Hobby Lobby that were each of their first name initials.  Over Christmas break I spray painted each of them and then let the kids decorate their own with washable paint.  They had fun!  Then we added little plastic hooks with damage free hanging tabs (because I know in a few years they will outgrow these charts and I will want to give these letters a new purpose).  

I printed out little flip cards that had words and pictures (I currently have one reader and two non-readers) and had them laminated.  On one side we put all of their morning routines and colored those yellow for morning.  Here were our routine items: Go Potty, Get Dressed, Make-Up Your Bed, Brush Your Teeth and Brush Your Hair.  As they finish each morning routine, they flip the card over and it is ready for their nighttime routine.  They can do a quick glance at their charts and tell which yellow ones they still have left so they know what else needs to be done.

If you want to use the same flip charts as I have, here is a link to mine- feel free to edit!:
Kids Daily Routine Flip Charts

 At night we have similar routines: Brush Your Teeth, Hang Up Your Towel, Go Potty, Put Your Pajamas On and Put Your Clothes Away.  I colored those blue for night time routines.

 We hung these up outside of the bathroom on the wall that is between their bedrooms and the bathroom using damage free sticky strips.

I have to admit, I was a little worried that the kids would think it was dumb and not want to do it.  However,  since we started doing it, they have been so excited about it!  Normally when we say it is time to start getting ready for bed, I get all kinds of complaints.  The last few nights, I have heard "yeah, and we need to do our charts!"  It gives them more responsibility in the whole "getting ready" process and allows me to stop feeling like a nag. I can just stand back and watch them work and help where I need to, instead of constant reminders of all that everyone needs to be doing.  Tonight they were even racing to see who could get all of their cards flipped over first!  Music to my ears!  

American Girl Doll Bed

For Christmas Emma received an "American Girl" doll.  It was actually a Madame Alexander doll, which is a line of 18" dolls carried by Walmart (and, of course, by Santa!)  Walmart carries them for around $30 (instead of the $150 that American Girl dolls cost), but Santa probably just makes them for free.  She wanted  a doll that looked just like her: blonde hair, brown eyes and glasses.  I think Santa did a great job with finding just the perfect doll!

Part of her Christmas was matching dresses for her and her doll.  My sewing buddy and I made the dresses in pillow-case dress style.  They even have their matching brown boots!

For Christmas she also got a bead kit.  She had already received one just like it for her birthday last year, so she decided to return it and buy fabric for a doll's bed and bedding.  We found fabric at Walmart that matched her room and we made a mattress, a sheet, a quilted blanket and a little pillow.  She was so happy with how it turned out! And, I let her do the foot pedal on all of the sewing, so she got to actually make the entire ensemble!

 She told me after we got it finished that all it needed to be completely perfect was a little white bed.  And amazingly enough, at church two days later one of my friends asked me if Emma would be interested in a white bed for an American Girl doll that her daughter had long outgrown.  Perfect timing!  Emma was so happy with her whole new bedding set!  She is set up right beside of her bed.  

Got Mail?

Our kids love to draw little pictures or write little notes to us and each other. So, for one of our countdown to Christmas crafts, we decorated mailboxes. I bought the paper mâché pre made mailboxes from Hobby Lobby and spray painted them white. Then the kids and I painted each of ours. We just got them hung up this week. They are all right outside each of our rooms. We have all had a lot of mail this week! They have had a lot of fun with it!

Happy New Year!

Well, it is 2013!  I have not blogged since last June.   That was when I decided to start blogging again after a very long break.  I failed!  I did not publish any more blogs after that.  I tried, but got frustrated with the fact that I could not get my blogs to post from my iPhone.  And I really struggled with knowing what the purpose of my blogs were.  I had so many things I wanted to blog about, but they really didn't all fit in the same category together.  But, I think I have finally solved that problem. I created another blog!  Now I not only have one blog that I can not keep up with, but two!  Real smart!

Anyway, I am now going to use this blog, the Urge to Organize, to blog about things in my life that I do to better organize, share things that I make or ideas that I have.  And I have created another blog, The Fry Files, to write about my family.  I feel much more organized and think that this will help me to stay on track since it will give me better direction (which is better motivation).  I have truly missed blogging!

So, I have made a few new year's resolutions.  And I plan to stick to them!


My three goals for 2013 are:

1. To spend time with God:  reading through the Bible in a year with the "Lookout Bible Reading Plan" and spending more time in prayer.

2. To spend time with my Family: being less task-oriented and more relationship oriented (this one is by far going to be my biggest challenge!)

3. To spend time blogging: writing entries in both of my blogs at least weekly.



Happy New Year to all!