Christmas Memories

I'm feeling a little nostalgic and was remembering one of my favorite childhood books. The Animals' Merry Christmas by Richard Scarry. I would spend hours just flipping though the pages enjoying the thought of animals celebrating Christmas like us humans.

Sarah's Costume

Sarah was invited to a costume party last weekend, so with an old sheet and a belt from our thrift store, we threw this together -- Princess Leia. I think it turned out pretty good for not having a pattern to work with. Did I not mention that Star Wars is Sarah's favorite movie?

Debbie Mumm Sale

A few couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity to go to Debbie Mumm, Inc. She was having a moving sale so practically everything was for sale, not only her beautiful and whimsical fabrics, gift items, scrapbooking supplies, dishware, quilts, etc, but even the furniture and office supplies. And Debbie was there helping out with the crowds of women who were taking advantage of the great deals.

I picked up a wall hanging and stand....
And a variety of flannel fabrics (to make more "Bubbies" (rice rolls), bags of scrap silk ribbon lengths, a tote bag, a organizer bag and more. The fabric averaged only $2 per yard. Great deal for her fabric--such cute prints.

Stick Horses

Here are stick horses I made for our neighborhood Wild West Days. I used old blue jeans for the head (the bottom half of the pant legs) and cut out the ears from more scrap denim, added some macrame yarn I had lying around in different colors for the mane and large colorful buttons for the eyes. I also used large dowels for the "stick". I made seven of them.

Custom Dress Form

When I was in college several years ago, I took a course in making my very own dress form. The instructor, LaVina Scott, developed this particular method and wrote the book on it--SEW CLOTHES TO YOU, How to make a Custom Dress Form.

Of couse after 3 babies and lack of the active life of my youth this is no longer my body size. But it is close to my 18 year old daughter's size. I used it to do some minor adjustments on her prom dress recently.

Making "Bubbies" (Rice Rolls)

During the cold winter months we use rice rolls heated up in the microwave for a little extra warmth. We put them on our laps when at the computer or watching tv on the couch and especially at bedtime. We each take one to bed to warm up our chilly beds before we jump in and put them down at our feet for toasty comfort.

Also during the hot season you can pop them in the freezer for a cool refreshing compress.

Our youngest daughter gave the rice rolls the name "Bubbie Bubbie" so for short we call them Bubbies.

Below are how I make them:

1. Pick out some cute flannel prints. Here are 1/2 yard pieces.

2. Fold each into thirds as shown, with the fold on one end, the selvage on the other.

3. Cut down the lengths. Now you have 3 separate pieces.

4. Sew up the edges and fill about 2/3 full of uncooked rice. Sew up end. And there you have your Bubbie!

They're a big hit at our shop. They also make a great hot or cold compress for ailments.