April 16, 2013
We’ve been hit hard with sickies this winter. Though it’s been a mild winter in our area, compared to most of the country, we’ve had more than our fair share of germs! Ella spent 2 months straight with one or both of her ears infected, while on a constant stream of various antibiotics. She ended up getting tubes 4 days before Ollie was born. We had colds, flus, and snotty bugs. Then 2 weeks ago we all got a round of the stomach bug, followed by 2 days of fevers for the girls. Last week I came down with a lovely sinus infection coupled with strep throat and a few days later Sofie had her third ear infection in 4 months! It feels like it will never end!
One thing that has made it easier to deal with is knowing dinner is in the freezer! I’ve done several rounds of freezer cooking since I first posted about it and I still LOVE it! I got lots of website recommendations from you guys and have fallen in love with the Crockin’ Girls. So much so that I bought their cookbook!!
I used to belong to the camp that crock pots are used for soups, stews, and all things mushy. Since starting to use my crock pot consistently, I’ve discovered there’s so much more to it than I ever imagined! In the past 6 months we’ve moved more towards as much fresh fruits and veggies in our diets as possible. But it’s still hectic to try and cook a meal with my crew, and now that I’ve got 4 kids under 5, time management is even harder to deal with and good nutrition is even more important. Add in trying to stay away from artificial anything and The Hubs prefers a low carb diet and it might seem like our options are limited. But I’m finding the opposite to be true! By getting creative, I’ve been able to come up with great entrees to go in my crock pot, and fresh sides that are easy to prepare quickly, or earlier in the day, so it still takes just a few minutes to get a healthy, homemade meal on the table.
The grocery shopping is still a little overwhelming at first. It’s not just the price, but the volume of what I’m buying, too. It’s nice, though, because my weekly shopping continues to be much smaller and easier to do quickly with 4 kids in tow.
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March 19, 2013
I have very little experience with boys and boy things. I have 3 nieces and 3 daughters, so when Sofie started getting invited to boy birthday parties at school this year, I was at a loss! I love to give a handmade gift along with a store bought one when I can, just so I can give them something a little more personal.
So when one of our best friends had a party in February, I went looking for an idea of what to make him. I’d stumbled on these amazing superhero masks from Cutesy Crafts several months before and knew this would be it! In about 2 hours, I whipped up these awesome little masks!
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March 4, 2013
I get emails almost daily from readers who come across my pillowcase dress tutorials and want more information. So instead of trying to update the several posts I have, I decided to create a new one, combine all information into one place, and put it somewhere prominent on my blog so it’s easy to find and easy to come back to.
I have 2 pillowcase dress tutorials. The first is a very basic, wonderful for beginners, tutorial. It can be found here.
And I created a fabric size chart for using this tutorial to make your dress:
Then I created another tutorial for how I make pillowcase dresses using my serger. The technique is a little different but the finished product looks exactly the same. See it here.
And again, a size chart.
I’m also asked frequently about the size of the armholes. It really doesn’t matter too much, but for a general rule of thumb, I’d use this new chart I created:
I have information for several places you can donate dresses, for those who are interested.
The Lira School Dress Project
The Lira School Dress Project who is hoping to take 66 dresses to Kindergarten girls in Africa. The trip is in JUNE 2013 so the deadline to receive donated dresses is 1 MAY 2013. The address to send them to is:
Lira School Dress Project
1701 Lytle Trail
Abilene, TX 79602
They are specifically wanting dresses in a size 6/6X since the girls who will be getting them are in Kindergarten.
Project Yesu
I just recently learned about Project Yesu. It’s an organization founded by a young woman name Mallory, who has an amazing heart is raising money to help children in Uganda. She started collecting money for them in 2011 and so far has raised over $12,000! This year Mallory is returning to Uganda and is wanting to take pillowcase dresses to hand out while she’s there. She is collecting dresses through 31 MAY 2013 and is taking them in all sizes. Take a few minutes to look around her site, she’s doing incredible things!
For more information you can email her at mallory@projectyesu.org.
Little Dresses for Africa
Little Dresses for Africa is always collecting pillowcase dresses for girls of all ages as well as shorts for boys. They distribute the clothes all over the African continent and do amazing things to feed, educate, and shelter the people. Dresses (and shorts) can be sent at anytime to:
Little Dresses for Africa
24614 Curtis Dr.
Brownstown, MI 48134
Several of you have asked me for a printable version of the instructions for you to take to churches and meetings to pass out to the groups who will be sewing dresses. So, here it is. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s all the steps and all the pictures from the original tutorial condensed into a .pdf for you to download and print and use at your convenience!
Pillowcase Dress Tutorial
There is a button on my sidebar that links back to this post, so the information will always be easy to find. As I learn about more drives or organizations donating these dresses I’ll update the information so you can always have the latest if you’re interested in donating! It really touches me just how giving and selfless people are, so keep it up! The difference you make to girls all over the world is changing lives in incredible ways!
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