Mouse Wrist Rest - Give your wrist a rest!

 In my 2020 Gift making class we made several projects that make great gifts for family and friends. I do this class in November and December each year and it is one of my most popular classes.  I prepare 6-7 projects for the students to sew.  There are only two rules: 1. You can only make one gift for yourself - all the others have to be for someone else.  2. You must wrap the gift before moving on to the next project.  I use brown paper sacks for the wrapping so this only takes a few minutes.

With so many people working on computers and from home these days I thought it would be great to have my students do something relating to technology.  So we made a Mouse Wrist Rest.  It helps your wrist be in a more ergonomically position.  These were quick and easy to make and were a great gift for almost everyone on their list.

Check out my YouTube for the directions.  Also be sure to Subscribe to my channel - Sew Learn Create for more sewing tutorials.

Happy sewing!

Danna

Dinnertime Revolutionized with Crockpot Freezer Meals

Like most working moms I have always struggled with the 6 o'clock panic of "What's for dinner?" Our family had a list of the "flash in the pan" dinners that could be made quickly and easily.  But this list was growing old and stale.  Since both of my kids are now grown and either in college or working full time we rarely eat dinner at the same time.

While on Facebook one day a friend posted a picture of her kitchen counters full of plastic bags filled with Crockpot recipes.  Her caption read "A day of Crockpot freezer meals done!"  I thought that sounds like a great idea so I began to search the web for recipes.  Listed below are links to some of the ones we have tested and all have turned out great.

Here is the basic idea behind crockpot freezer meals.

1. You spend a few hours preparing the ingredients for the meals and placing each meal in a freezer bag.
2. You then freeze the meals for up to 3 months.
3. When you are ready to cook the meal you take the bag from the freezer and dump the ingredients in the crockpot to cook.
4. When you get home your dinner is waiting.  Add a simple salad and some vegetables and you are ready to eat.

One reason I love this method is our crockpot meals typically cook 8-10 hours.  I start them when I leave for work and we usually eat round 6:30-7:00 pm so that is a full day of cooking.  With all the ingredients frozen as one large block it takes a while for them to thaw before the cooking begins.

The first time I tried this method my husband and I spent about an hour and a half to prepare 10 meals.  That was about two weeks of meals.  Each morning I would pull a bag from the freezer, grease the crockpot, dump in the contents of the bag and set the timer and temp.  Ta Da! Dinner was done when I walked in the door that evening.

My full freezer from just a few hours of preparation.

Here are a few tips we learned along the way that helped.

1. All the recipes and sites tell you to freeze the bags flat.  I prefer to freeze them standing upright so they fit in the crockpot without having to thaw them at all.
2. Cut all the vegetables for all the meals you are preparing and put aside.  Then as you are adding the ingredients for each meal it goes a lot faster.
3. Buy really good plastic freezer bags.  Trust me you do not want to clean up a mess from a broken bag.
4. Be sure to check your spices when making your grocery list.  But if you are out of a spice you can usually substitute something similar.  I have done this many times and always had success.
5. Enjoy the process.  When you are preparing your meal bags the task can seem overwhelming but the reward of dump, cook and eat for the next few weeks is well worth the effort.

Here are the links for some of the recipes I used.  If you do a search for Crockpot Freezer Meals you will come up with hundreds of sites.  Pick out the ones your family will like and give them a try.

Once a Month Freezer Slow Cooker Meals
Thirty Handmade Days 31 Crockpot Freezer Meals
The Krazy Coupon Lady Slow Cooker Freezer Meals

I hope you will give crockpot freezer meals a try.  If you don't want to do a large group of meals at once try putting together just a few at a time.  At least you will have a couple of days without the 6 o'clock dinner panic.

Danna

2016 -- New Hopes, Dreams and Ideas

Where did the time go?  These last 6 months have just flown by at our house and some of them were a blur.  Late last spring our family received some concerning news.  My mom was diagnosed with cancer.  She had surgery and did 5 months of chemo.  During her chemo months she was strong  but also had every side effect possible.  She is now finished with chemo and finally feeling a little better.

Over these last months I have had the privilege of spending some quality time with both of my parents.  We have shared stories I had not heard in a long time and many new stories and memories about their lives.  It has been the most incredible, sweet opportunity to learn more about my parents and a reminder of how much I love them.  I am looking forward to many more shared memories both old and new.

My hope and prayer for 2016 is to focus on the many blessings I have in my life.  I anticipate a great year of seeking new hopes, dreams and ideas.  My husband has deemed 2016 as a Year of Intentionality.  Meaning we will be intentional about the things we choose to do this year.

One of my intentional tasks will be a diligence in posting on this blog.  I have been busy crafting, sewing and pursuing new ideas these last few weeks.  I am eager to share each project and idea with you over the next 12 months.  I hope you will join me on this journey and share your ideas with me and others.  Let's make 2016 be the best year possible and may all of our lemonade be pink!

Danna

College Graduation Party 2015

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted.  Things around our house have been crazy busy and I feel like I have been on a roller coaster that keeps passing the loading station and goes for another round. 

We celebrated our daughters college graduation in early May but did not have her party until the end of  May to allow all of her friends to get back into town.  The celebration and graduation were landmark events.  She is our oldest child and it seems like yesterday we were walking into Kindergarten and now she is done with college.  Where did that time go? 

 She is one happy graduate!

I did make several items for her party and one that she can later use in her classroom. The celebration was all in purple and white since that is her school's colors.  The first item I made was a "Congrats" book page banner.

Book page banner she can use later in her classroom

 

I used the pages from a chapter book and then various colors of purple scrapbook paper.  The one that says Ms. Webber we will laminate so she can use it in her classroom.  The "Congrats" one I will save and use at our son's graduation party in a few years since his school colors are also purple and white.  Yes we bleed purple at our house.  Different schools but same colors.

 

These banners are simple to make if you want to know how to make one check out these posts Spring is Here and Picture Book Pennants.

 

We used purple pillows and her school afghan on the couch.  We placed her decorated cap and chord on the mantel along with a school water bottle.  

Her decorate cap and water bottle add a punch of purple to the mantel.

 

On the entertainment center we put her stole, family pictures, graduation pictures and some purple filler items. 

 

Pictures of our family and her through out her life.

Her stole with the school seal.

Another water bottle and yarn add the purple to this area.

 

Front porch sign.

The entry table was draped with a large piece of purple fabric with the raw edges turned under.  Simple things can be quickly gathered and put together based around a theme or color.  This process adds just the right touch of fun to the festivities and doesn't cost much at all.  So for your next party base your decorations on a theme and start raiding your closets and cabinets.  Your decorations will come together quickly.



Brother and sister - one school against the other.

Our happy family.

 

As our family crosses another milestone in our journey we are looking forward to what the future holds for each of us.  May your journey be filled with good times and lots of smiles.

 

Danna

Another Graduation

This week our daughter will graduate from college.  It is hard to believe that just a few short years ago she was graduating from high school.  Her degree is in Elementary Education and she is excited about starting her teaching career.  We are extremely proud of her and all that she has accomplished.


I know she will make a great teacher because when she talks about her students her eyes light up and her whole body becomes animated.  It is nice to see a young person passionate about their career.


As we begin to prepare her classroom I will share her ideas and projects.  She is crazy about sock monkeys so we have already begun to gather sock monkey classroom décor.  I an making her a sock monkey sign for her door using a book cover and book pages.


Be sure to encourage those young people in your life to pursue their passion for their future career.  Being passionate about what you do can make going to work a fun thing not a burden.


Danna

A Gift for my Mom!

This October my Mom celebrated 75 years of life.  We gathered as a family to celebrate her life and the joy she brings to ours.  Sometimes it is hard to find a gift for my mom but I know she always loves a new plant for her yard.

Since this was a milestone year I wanted something that could be used as a centerpiece for the table and then be planted in the yard.  Deciding on the plant was the easy part -- a yellow mum.  The next step was to find something pretty yet simple to put the pot in for the day.

So I found the only thing in my house that would hold the potted plant and still leave plenty of room on the table for guests to enjoy their meal.  The only container I had was a butter dish. 

I did consider leaving the container alone since it was my mom's favorite color.

But I decided I better do a little something to dress it up.



I painted the container an off white with acrylic craft paint.  It took several coats to cover the logo but didn't take too long to finish.

I did not bother to paint the bottom. 

I was fairly certain no one would turn the container over to see what it was.

This is the color of paint I used.  It did take several coats to cover the logo.

 

Next I wanted something to add a little bit more design.  I tried ribbon, raffia and several other ideas before settling on paper doilies and paper flowers.  I glued a paper doily to each side of the container and then glued a yellow paper flower in the center.

 

Simple paper doilies and paper flowers glued in the center.

 

 

It turned out really nice.

 

  My mom prefers things that are simple yet pretty.  This container with the yellow mums fit the bill nicely.  It was a fun day celebrating the best mom in the world.  I am glad she is mine.

 

 



So the next time you need a container for a potted plant, start digging around for those old butter dishes.  With a little paint and paper you can transform it into a nice table centerpiece.

Danna

Graduation at Last!

Well we finally reached my son's high school graduation date.  It is hard to believe that only a few short years ago we were taking him to Kindergarten.  Where does the time go? 

Graduation was exciting and the party afterward was enjoyed my many friends and family.  The only downside was our air conditioner started acting up the day before.  In Texas during June this is NOT a good thing.  But we managed to keep the house fairly cool even with a crowd.  God is Good! 

I used my chalkboard tile on the porch to send a graduation greeting.

Our graduate!  We are very proud.

Now that this is behind me I can focus on other things like my crafting and sewing, finally some time to myself.  I worked on some exciting projects getting the house ready for the graduation party and I can't wait to show them to you. 

Thanks for being patient with the lapse between posts.  Summer has arrived and I can be more diligent about posting.

Danna

One Proud Mom!

As I posted previously our son made the Texas 4A All State Band this year.  This weekend we traveled to San Antonio to see his concert and attend the TMEA convention.  It was a great weekend.  We had a good time and the concert was fabulous. 

We have attended many concerts for middle and high school over the last few years but this one was by far the best.  I know the caliber of student on the stage is the highest but it was hard to believe that they were in high school.  And that they only had two and a half days of rehearsal together.  To take 200+ students from all over the state of Texas and in such a short time prepare a concert was  something to behold.  The music was beautiful, incredibly difficult and fun to watch and listen to. 

I loved the fact that the conductor was having as much fun as the students at the concert.  His love for music inspired this band to play to greater heights.  We have always encouraged our children to use the gifts God has given them to their best ability.  This weekend was definitely one of our sons best efforts. 

Here are a few pictures from our incredible weekend.

One proud family after the concert.

The Band.  Yes, the conductor has on a very large cowboy hat.  It was a gift from the students in the band. (Sorry it is blurry - we were in the balcony) 

Our son and the conductor, who was a very talented and gracious gentleman.  He endured a long line of students and parents and continued to smile for each and every picture.

Our son and his band directors.  He would not have been able to become the percussionist he is today if it was not for the dedication of these fine musicians.

Having a well deserved dinner on the River Walk.  Our son is more interested in the duck that is walking beside them than taking a good picture for Mom.  But at least I got a great smile!

 

We have been blessed with two of the best kids in the world.  I encourage you to tell your kids each and every day how much you love them and how proud you are of each and every accomplishment in their lives.

Danna