Having Fun With Paper

 After watching an episode of Andy Griffith, where a man cut paper into a ladder, Elizabeth was inspired to make one; only we couldn't find a tutorial on-line.

During our search however, we did find a tutorial for a string of dolls and after a couple of tries Elizabeth figured it out. 

 The tutorial suggested coloring each doll which was the perfect touch.

Now I just need to laminate them so the dolls don't get torn apart.

Sundresses for Elizabeth

Elizabeth has been asking me to make her some dresses. So when I stumbled upon some clearance fabric at Wal-Mart I was pretty excited; not just because the fabric would make some inexpensive dresses but also because my mom used to make dresses like these for us girls when we were little.

 My favorite is this red dress. I just love the big flowers and ladybugs.

 For the straps I used some of the same fabric trimmed from the side. In order to hide where the strap was stitched I added a button, it worked just fine. 

 I also accented the bottom in white ric rac.

 This yellow dress is Elizabeth's favorite. It's covered in bumble bees and polka dots.

 This time I used some solid black fabric for the straps and once again used a button to hide the stitching.

 The bottom of this dress was accented with yellow ric rac.

The third dress is our least favorite. It may be because it only has flowers instead of  insects.  

I used a coordinating pink fabric for the straps and again used a button. Even though all the buttons are being used to hide the stitching I actually like how they look on each dress. 

The only ric rac that even came close to working with this dress was green. In person it looks really good. 

Now Elizabeth is set with three new dresses. The fabric was on clearance for $2 per yard and it took 3/4 of a yard for one dress; which comes out to $1.50 each.

Preserving Summer

 Most of our peaches this year were devoured by the birds. So when they started on our last tree we decided to pick the peaches a little early.

The peaches of course are not as sweet and juicy as we like but that's okay because I was still able to preserve summer by making peach jelly.

I love homemade peach jelly; this jar is for us to eat right away. 

Now I need to bake some biscuits.

Housewarming Gift

I recently received a package filled with handmade goodies from my mom.

Inside was this cute little dress that fits over a dish soap bottle; it's also a dishcloth. 

 I also received this other dress to be hung on the handle of my fridge or stove.

 Here is another dishcloth I received.

And still another. I love the little butterfly design. My mom can do anything! 

 And I also received a hot pad. I still have other hot pads my mom made and I use them often.

 Plus, along with my kitchen items I received a pair of homemade socks! 

 Elizabeth and I are both wanting the socks; but since they fit my foot and her foot it's hard to decide which one of us will end up keeping them.

Hum, maybe grandma will make her granddaughter a pair? Just kidding mom, Elizabeth still has the pink pair you made her. Thanks mom, I love my gifts!

A Mosaic Stained Glass Hobby

 After seeing how much Elizabeth enjoyed learning about Mosaic Stained Glass I wanted to get her set up in this new hobby without going broke.

Hobby Lobby offers everything needed but even with a 40-percent off coupon it was going to be expensive building up a stash of glass.

 So I began searching Craig's List.

 And boy did I find a great bargain.

 A large assortment of glass in beautiful colors.

 And in all sizes.

Some of the glass still had price tags. 

 The highest price was $27 dollars!

 Included with the glass assortment was this very nice glass grinder; it alone sells for over $150.

All this for the bargain price of $80-bucks!

Barbie Doll Clothes

I've spent this week sewing Barbie Doll clothes.

 

 Elizabeth will be giving all of these outfits to a friend for her Birthday.

What a challenge it is to sew such small pieces of clothing. 

This brown and blue dress is my favorite. 

So glad these are finished, wrapped and ready for the Birthday party.

The New Chicken House

We have finally moved what is left of our chickens to their new home.

This old chicken house needs a lot of work but once it is ready it will hold a lot of chickens. 

The inside is perfect with a lot of roosts and nesting boxes. 

Until we have time to work on the biggest part of the chicken house, I have moved my 7-hens and 1-rooster into a small room on the end.

Between the wild things that prowl in the night and the stray dogs that people constantly drop off in our area, my poor chickens are almost extinct! 

New Pillow Cases

Yesterday I made pillow cases for the guest bed.

For the trim I used a light weight corduroy. 

 I was afraid the corduroy would be too heavy for a pillow case but it worked very well.

What a difference the new pillow cases make.

A Small Attempt at Decorating pt. 2

After spending some time just sitting and looking at the quilt above the bed I decided it wasn't what I wanted after all;

  So I ended up rearranging the room a bit.

Now I need to find another quilt to hang on this wall!

And, I so need to make some pretty pillow slips for the guest bed. Something that will match the quilt. 

A Small Attempt at Decorating

 I am so not a decorator. Never have been and never will be.

In our old house I used quilts to help hide ugly wall and really liked how they transformed the rooms. So, in our temporary house, which has no ugly wall, I wanted to continue hanging my quilts.

In my sewing room/guest room, above the bed, was a big open wall that needed some color.

 So I hung my favorite quilt, my photo memory quilt. This quilt consists of pictures from my grandma's photo album. I really love this quilt!

The quilt looks very nice on the wall but now it looks like I will be needing to find a different corner for my sewing stash.

Art Camp

This week Elizabeth attended Art Camp.

My goal for Elizabeth was for her to learn how to do Mosaic Stain Glass. Pat built her a rough miniature window from a 2x4 and a sheet of clear glass. 

 Elizabeth's teacher had us find an outline of a picture to be used on her project; we decided on a rooster.

 What I loved most about this camp was the teacher. She had the kids doing all the work themselves which included cutting glass!

Glass cutting is simple and easy with the proper tools. The kids had fun digging in the many boxes of broken glass searching for just the right color.

 When the grout was add the project instantly transformed into a beautiful stain glass window.

 Elizabeth chose Barn Red for the frame.

 Here is the finished project. I must say I am so proud and very excited about everything Elizabeth learned during this week.

The art camp was worth every penny we paid. What an experience this week was; I'm excited for Elizabeth to begin another art piece.