The Coiled Rope Bowl

The ladies at Maya Made and Soulemama have been making these wonderful rope bowls for weeks now.  

I finally took the plunge and made up one myself.  

I have a feeling there will be many more in the works!

These wonderful bowls are so simple to make!  

All it takes is some cotton braid clothesline, a spool of thread, 

and your sewing machine.  

I found this clothes line at Walmart for just under two bucks.

Begin your bowl by coiling the rope around itself and begin stitching using the zig-zag stitch on your machine.  Just keep coiling and stitching, lining up the rope edges in the center of your presser foot to make sure your stitch catches both edges of the rope.

When the bottom of the bowl is as big as you like, start tilting your work up a bit.  The angle of your tilt will shape the bowl.

Just keep sewing until the bowl is your desired shape and size.

You can add handles, a loop for hanging, 

change thread colors, even dye the rope.

There are truly endless possibilities in crafting these beauties! 

I will not stop until I have a basket for EVERYTHING!

Confirmed in the Spirit #2!

Last week our second son, Kyle, was blessed with

 the Sacrament of Confirmation.  

I didn't let him wash his forehead that night because the chrism smelled so heavenly!

We are so thankful to our beloved Fr. Ty, the Confirmation class teachers, and most of all Kyle's grandmother who was his sponsor.

Our Bishop retires this year (at the grand age of 75!),

so we were very happy that Daniel and John Paul 

were able to serve Mass for him.  

He's been the only Bishop they've ever known 

since moving to this diocese seven years ago.

It is (an old) Catholic tradition that the Bishop give the Confirmand a slap to the cheek after his blessing to remind them that they should always be ready to suffer anything, even death, for the sake of Christ.

Two boys Confirmed and neither one of them 

received a good smacking!

I'm thinking I might need to take this tradition on myself.  

Watch out, John Paul, your next in line!

Seed starting on the cheap!

I'm always looking for ways to garden on the cheap.  This year, I've found a fabulous way to start seeds without having to buy those fancy peat pellets and containers...

Reuse the plastic rotisserie chicken containers you get from the grocery store!

Just poke a few drainage holes in the bottom and fill with potting soil.  Plant your favorite seeds and water lightly.

Label the lid with what you've planted and seal it up.  

You now have your own mini greenhouse!

Set the containers outside in the spring sunshine, and when the seeds sprout, remove the lid and let them grow until time to transplant!  You can still use the lid at night to protect the seedlings from lower temps or winds.

Happy gardening!

Fabric Art America

I was looking for some kind of art piece to go in our computer room.  Hobby Lobby is usually my "go-to" place, but everything I liked was out of my budget (even with their 40% off coupon!) so I set out to make something of our own.  

I was inspired from Pinterest to make a fabric art project of the continental United States.

This project is super easy but a bit time consuming.

First, round up all your scrap fabric

 and print THIS MAP of the U.S.

Cut a square of Heat and Bond and a fabric patch roughly the size of the state you are working with.  

Iron the Heat and Bond to the wrong side of your fabric. 

Next, cut out a state, pin it to your fabric and cut it out.  

Peel off the backing and iron it onto your base fabric.

I actually printed out two maps!  

One to cut up and one placed under my muslin 

to make sure the states were lined up properly.

It was really fun!  

Kind of like putting a puzzle together.

A colorful, fabulous fabric puzzle!

I'm thinking of finishing it off with some hand stitching and a little embroidered heart right where we live.  

I'm also thinking I need to take Geography 101!

My knowledge of the states was pretty pitiful!

I *heart* crocheted hearts!

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I wanted to make something fun and whimsical to decorate the house with.  I found what I was looking for in these sweet little crocheted hearts:

I followed this very simple tutorial on YouTube, 

and before I knew it, I had dozens made!

They've found their way onto garland:

The door wreath:

And precious little red heads:

Make a few for your sweetheart today!

Aldi's to the rescue!

January is always a hard month for us financially.  We are still reeling from the post Christmas expenditures and can never seem to get ahead until mid February.  One of the easiest ways to pinch pennies is in our food budget ('cause there's no way I'm cutting out my internet and cable!).  I have found that shopping at Aldi's is so much better than trying to use coupons or shopping at the big box stores.

You really can't beat $1.89/gallon organic milk and .99 eggs!

Aldi's is no frills, but that doesn't mean they skimp on quality.  So far, everything I've purchased from them has been as good as name brand or better.  They have a large selection of organic, gluten free, and grass fed beef products that you won't pay an arm and a leg for, but there are a few things you need to know before making your first trip:

Bring a quarter. You are going to need a quarter to get your cart. The quarter is returned to you when you return the cart. You do the cart returning so they don’t have to pay someone to do it, and those savings are passed on to you! If you are one who likes to practice random acts of kindness leave your quarter for the next person.

Bring a bag. Save some green and go green at the same time. Bring a reusable bag (or two!) with you. ALDI does not hide the cost of bags in their grocery prices.You can bring your own bags to shop at ALDI, or buy their eco, paper, plastic, or insulated bags for a very nominal charge. But if you happen to forget your bags in the car (like I do from time to time) don’t worry! They have very low-priced bags you can purchase at check-out (.10 each).

Pack it yourself. Here is something you may not find at your grocery store. There is no one to pack up your purchases. The check-out clerk will put your groceries in a cart for you but it is up to you to take your purchases to the packing counter and pack them up. By not having to pay a bagger they are passing those savings on to you! I don’t know about you, but I am willing to pack my groceries to save some green!

No credit cards. That is right! No credit cards are accepted at ALDI. (But your debit card and cash are always welcome!) Once again, this saves on credit card processing fees and ALDI is able to pass the savings onto you.

No Fancy Shelves. ALDI products are not placed individually on the shelf. Instead, the products are left in their cartons and placed directly on the shelf. This is yet another way ALDI saves on overhead costs. I don’t know about you, but I will take savings over individually placed items!

So this week, money is tight!  Sunday night I sat down to plan out our menus for the week.  Check out Aldi's weekly flier for specials and try to plan around them.  Meal planning is imperative to saving money, do NOT stray from your list!

Here's what we're having:

BREAKFASTS

Oatmeal

Poached eggs on toast

Smoothies 

(Still have left over bananas and frozen berries from Costco!)

Cereal bars

LUNCHES

Ham and cheese sandwiches, chips

PBJ sandwiches, chips

Take and Bake pizzas ($4.47 for a large pepperoni)

Leftovers

SNACKS

Roasted almonds

Apples

Kefir

Chips and salsa

Veggie straws

Popcorn
Kale chips (from the garden)

DINNERS

Spaghetti with meatsauce, garlic bread

Spinach fritatta with salsa

Shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches with corn on the cob

Baked ziti with roasted kale (from the garden)

Stuffed peppers with spinach salad

Chicken fajitas with refried beans

Meatball subs and kettle chips

All of THIS:

For a grand total of THIS:

Merry Christmas 
from the Creamers!

The Sugar Plum Princess

I have wanted to take Mary Grace to see the Nutcracker since she was a baby, and at the ripe old age of three, I thought now was the year to start that tradition.

She had to have a new dress for her first ballet!

This gorgeous gifted red embroidered satin fit the bill perfectly and I used the Geranium Dress pattern to sew it up.  I used vintage gold buttons (from my prized stash) to finish off the back.  It turned out so cute that I think it will double as her Christmas Mass dress, too!

Nana came with us to the ballet, it was 

'Girls Night Out' afterall. I love these pics of Mary Grace! 

In every one of them her eyes are darting to the side.  There was so much to take in that I'm not sure if she was amazed or scared to death!

Here's what you get when you try to take a selfie 

with a squirming toddler.

I was worried that a two hour production would be too much for her, but she LOVED it!  She followed the story and sat mostly still, going between my lap and her Nana's.  And during the car ride home, she talked all about the Nutcracker fighting the Mouse King and "cutting his tail off!"

I think we've found a new Christmas tradition!

Paint and Brush

John Paul is a self taught artist. 

He started with some watercolors 

and a YouTube video.

As his love of art grew so did his desire to use different mediums, and that's when we found a local artist who teaches classes a few days a week.

The studio contains a wonderfully eclectic mix of artists and 

they have embraced him whole-heartedly.  

John Paul feels free to let his creativity come out 

with his paint and brush.

They say that creative people are messy...

Then John Paul must be the most 

creative person in the universe!

It drives his "Type A" mother a little insane.

But I think for now, I'll look past the mess

to see the beauty.