Christmas from the Heart: Wallet

I noticed over the summer that my niece was carrying her licence and money in a plastic bag and this idea was born.


I used my wallet as a template and traced it onto craft paper. I made it slightly larger to allow for the seam allowance.


I then cut out my fabric of choice and to make it a little more sturdy I also cut out a piece of fleece. I sewed them together with the wrong sides together. Turned them right side out and hand stitched it shut. I then folded up the bottom section and sewed up the sides. To finish it off I sewed on a button and a piece embroidery thread to go around the button.


A perfect place to store a little money, driver licence, feminine product or whatever their heart desires.

I don't know what has gotten in to me, but I am in a crafty kind of mood. I always want to craft, but usually end of talking myself out of it. You know how it goes... I don't have time... I need to do this and that.

I have been making the time lately and it feels great!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. I used this one. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 baking sheet. Bake at 350* for 12-15 minutes or until the sides start to brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Melt 2 cups chocolate chips and spread over top.

Very easy and very tasty. The only thing I would do different next time is use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. I was using what was in my pantry and that is all that I had. I have several bars cut and in the freezer to add to Chuck's lunch box. Enjoy!

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
In the upper 40's this morning and should be in the mid 50's this afternoon. Rain is in the forecast and I think a cozy rainy day sounds perfect!

One of my simple pleasures:
Taking a walk with my family.

On my bedside table:
Sunrise by Karen Kingsbury. It is the first book in the Sunrise Series.

On my TV:
Some Disney or PBS this morning, then nothing.

On the menu for tonight:
Chili & Cornbread

On my To Do List:
Laundry
Clean Kitchen
Schooling
Babysit
Crafting

New Recipe I tried last week:
None

In the craft basket:
Garland
Tree Topper

Looking forward to:
Cleaning my carpet

Homemaking Tip for this week:
Can't think of any at the moment.


Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I don't think I had a favorite post last week.

Favorite photo from last week:


Are we starting to think about Christmas gifts?

Lesson learned the past few days:
When something goes wrong not to assure the worst. The heat went out in my Blazer the end last winter. Chuck has been researching possible fixes and so far nothing had worked. I keep thinking that we would have to take it to the shop soon and it would be expensive. Chuck took the entire dash off the weekend and tried everything to get it working. He finally realized that it was the heater core. Before taking it in to have it replaced he tried one more thing. He flushed out the heater core and then the heat worked. Yeah! All weekend I have been assuming the worst.

On my Prayer List:
My husband and daughter
My brother-in-law Brian. He is serving in Afghanistan.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Please stop by and visit Sandra to see what other Happy Homemakers are up to. Have a great Monday!

Christmas from the Heart: Scripture Coasters

I saw these coasters made by Mandy at Mayberry State of Mind. I thought they were adorable and then she decided to share how to make them here. Yeah! My mind started swirling with ideas of what I could do with these and who I could give them to.

I recently made my first set for my mother-in-law. I picked out scripture that I thought she would find meaningful. I have seen Mandy stamp on her scripture, but being the thirty person that I am I didn't want to purchase stamps. Mandy had shared how she was able to print a picture onto tissue paper and decoupage it on. I thought I would be able to do that with scripture that I printed out using word. Worked like a charm!


These were very easy to make and I can't wait to make another set. I know another grandparent who would love a set with pictures of all four of her grandchildren!

Mandy, thanks for sharing this wonderful idea.

Thankful 4 Thursdays

I am trying to make Thanksgiving a meaningful holiday and not just the start of the Christmas season. One thing we have been doing is making each Thursday in the month of November our Thankful 4 day.

I used word to make a pattern of the number 4. I then used scrapbook paper to cut out a number for each of us for each Thursday in the month.

After dinner each Thursday we talk about what we are thankful for and write the four things on the back.


I just love Megan's list! She was really thinking about it and after she had her four things she had to add just one more. I plan to save these so we can pull them out next year and see how our list change. It should be interesting to see how Megan's list chages through the years.

Family Fun: Fishy Fishy

Fishy, fishy in the brook

Fishy, fishy on my hook

Sorry for the terrible picture above. The battery died right after this picture.

I am trying hard to start incorporating family fun nights again. It is always fun, but once I fall out of habit it's sometimes hard to get back to it. We played this game. It's always a favorite as it goes fast.

To go along with our fish theme this is the dinner that I made.


Megan loves it when I put goldfish in her soup. Just to keep it real let me tell you about dinner. Disaster is a capital D! I allowed the soup to boil over. And I do mean boil over. The worse mess I have ever had on the stove and because of that I allowed the soup to scorch, so it tasted scorched.

Even though dinner wasn't the best we have ever had we still had fun. We are hoping to make game night a regular event.
>

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Nice. It is in the low 50's and the afternoon should be in the 60's with sunshine!

One of my simple pleasures:
Sitting outside and being surrounded by God's wonderful creations.

On my bedside table:
Sunrise by Karen Kingsbury. It is the first book in the Sunrise Series.

On my TV:
Some Disney or PBS this morning, then nothing.

On the menu for tonight:
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup

On my To Do List:
Laundry
Clean Kitchen
Schooling
Babysit

New Recipe I tried last week:
None

In the craft basket:
Garland
\ Tree Topper

Looking forward to:
Picture day on Saturday


Homemaking Tip for this week:
Wipe your kitchen sink out after each use. This will prevent hard water spots. I didn't do this this last week and was greeted by an ugly sink this morning.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I don't think I had a favorite post last week.

Favorite photo from last week:

Best Buddies

Lesson learned the past few days:

Not everyone is going to like you. As hard as it might be to accept it really is okay.

On my Prayer List:
My husband and daughter
My brother-in-law Brian. He is serving in Afghanistan.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction. E.F. Schumacker

Please stop by and visit Sandra to see what other Happy Homemakers are up to. Have a great Monday!