Dusting Solution

I have lots of blinds in my new apartment. In Korea there is a very thick black dust that covers everything inside and out. I've tried to use a cloth and dusting spray, but that usually just smears the dust and takes hours to clean. So I bought some of these little Swiffer Dusters and they worked wonders! I loved them! My blinds look amazing and it took half the time to get them all clean.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchilladas

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and it was a big hit!

2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
Mix together in a large bowl

In seperate bowl mix
2 cups cooked chicken (cubed or shredded)
2 cups cheese
3 chopped green onions
1 cup of the above soup/sour cream mixture

Dip tortillas in soup/sour cream mix
Place chicken filling in tortilla and roll up
Place in greased 9x13 pan (makes about 8 enchilladas)
Cover enchilladas with remaining sauce and extra cheese if desired
Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 30-45 minutes

Reindeer Cupcakes

I thought this was such a cute idea. My friend made these for a Christmas party. She used mini M&M's and pretzels.

Wow, I've been out of the loop for some time now. I just recently joined my husband in Korea for a 2 year tour with the military. We are still living in his officer quarters, so not much 'homemaking' going on here. Hopefully we'll have our own place soon and I can get back into the swing of things. Hope all is well with everyone and that you're getting ready for the upcoming holidays!

New Toys You Don't Have To Buy!

Do your young kids have a TON of toys?
Does it seem like they get bored of their new toys after a week or 2?
Is your house getting cluttered by them?

If your child(ren) is anything like mine, then you answered yes to all of these questions.

Well here is an idea that may help. It came from my brother's wife's mother (lol). Take half of your pile of toys and put it in the garage or storage closet. In a couple of weeks or months, when the kiddos seem to be getting bored of the ones they have, swap the stored ones for the ones in the house and they'll feel like they have new toys to play with. I'm not sure if you could do this for older children, but I think it'd work great for early school-aged children, toddlers and babies. It will also clear out some of the clutter that might build up in the corner of your living room.

Blog Award-September 21, 2008

Thank you Holly from Day 2 Day With Holly J for my first blog award! You're just too sweet! I'm so excited that you thought me worthy of it! The deal is I get to pass along this award to five other awesome people! So here's who the award goes out to:

1. A Daily Scoop (http://adailyscoop.blogspot.com/) The author of this blog, Stephanie, has experienced every mother's worse nightmare. She uses her blog as a way to help her through the grieving process. Because of Stephanie's willingness to share her experience and feelings, people from all over the world have been lifted and inspired. She has so much strength and faith, and I have learned a lot about being a mother from her.

2. OB Nurse (http://www.ob-nurse.blogspot.com/) The author of this blog uses her blog to explore all issues surrounding reproductive health, issues, and infant care. As I nurse I appreciate the work she does and love that she shares her experiences, thoughts, feelings, and knowledge with others.

3. Diet Divas (http://www.wearedivas.blogspot.com/) The authors of Diet Divas have unified in one great common goal. Their goal is to get rid of excess weight, sadness, negativity, depression, low self-esteem, and bad self image. They provide recipes, motivation, exercise information, links to other great health and fitness websites, information on how to eat right, and a network of support for others with the same goals.

4. Mormon Mommy Blogs (http://mormonmommyblogs.blogspot.com/) Mormon Mommy Blogs is a collection of the many Mormon women who have joined the blogging community. Sue created the site because of the stereotyping of 'mommy bloggers'. So she put together this site to show just how many of us there are and how very diverse and unique we all are. She's also created a network of friends who can learn from each other, support each other, laugh with (or at) each other, and so much more!

5. A Comfy Chair and a Good Book (http://jeanettesbooks.blogspot.com/) I love to read. And I actually used to write quite a bit, very passionately actually, but haven't since graduating high school. Anyway, Jeanette's blog is a great resource for finding books to read and sharing your thoughts and opinions about them.

Frugal Wall Decor

This is so simple and easy. My friend took pictures of a train, car, and boat that were on a quilt. Then she printed them and framed them in these 6x6 frames. What a creative and inexpensive way to add some decoration to a child's room.

Baby Food Lid Fun

This is a fun game my cousin created for her toddler. Very easy and very resourceful. She simply cut a slot in the lid of a Tupperware container and pulled out a bunch of old baby food jar lids. Her child loves putting the lids in the container like a piggy bank and then taking them out again.

Rag Quilting

So I've finally learned how to sew. This is my very first project so keep in mind that it is very amateur. I made a rag quilt which was so much easier than I thought it would be. And if I can do it, having never sewn anything before, then you certainly can too! Most of my instruction and information came from Love To Sew. If you have any questions you can refer to that website, email me, or leave a comment.

The following directions are for a 26" by 34" quilt, which is the size of most Pack 'n' Plays or portable cribs. To double the size of your quilt cut out twice as many squares. You can use nearly any kind of fabric, but from the research I've done flannel and/or cotton are the best choices. I used flannel because of how soft it is.

Materials Used

Rotary Blade

Rotary Mat

6" x 6" Omnigrid Square

Sewing Machine

About 4 1/2 yards of fabric

Scissors

Straight Pins

I used the Rotary Blade and Omnigrid to cut the fabric out on the Rotary Mat. Use whatever method works best for you. Before cutting out your fabric decide whether or not you want your squares to follow a repeated pattern. That way you don't waste fabric or time cutting out too many or not enough.

STEP 1-CUT OUT YOUR SQUARES

Cut out 48 six inch squares for the top of your quilt and 48 six inch squares for the bottom. This will give you a total of 96 six inch squares. I used Strawberry Shortcake patterned fabric for the top and solid pink for the bottom.

Note: Batting is completely optional. If you chose to use it, then cut out 48 four inch squares of batting. I didn't use batting on my quilt.

STEP 2-PIN YOUR LAYERS

If you're using batting put one square of it between 2 squares of fabric. If you aren't using batting then just put 2 squares of fabric together. Make sure the pretty sides of the fabric are facing out and pin the layers of squares together. You should have 48 layered squares. This makes 8 rows across the long side and 6 rows along the short side as pictured below.

STEP 3-SEW YOUR LAYERS TOGETHER

Sew from corner to corner of your square to make a / across the middle. Do the same thing from other corner to corner to make an X across your layered square as pictured below. DO THIS TO ALL OF YOUR LAYERED SQUARES. You should have 48 layered squares with an X sewn in the middle.

STEP 4-SEW YOUR SQUARES TOGETHER

Note: you will be working across the long side of you quilt, pinning squares together. If you work along the short side you will be creating more work for yourself.

Start by pinning 2 squares together. The larger your seam allowance the more your quilt will "rag". I used 3/4 inch seam allowance. The Love To Sew lady used 1 inch. Whatever size you use keep it consistent throughout each step. Sew the 2 squares together. Do this to all of your squares. You should have 24 sets of 2 squares sewn together (pictured below).

STEP 5-SEW YOUR SETS OF 2 TOGETHER
Pin 2 sets of your 2 squares together and sew down the seam to make a set of 4 squares sewn together. Do this to all of your 2 square sets. You should end up with 12 sets of 4 squares sewn together as pictured below.

Below: 12 sets of 4 squares

STEP 6-SEW YOUR SETS OF 4 TOGETHER
Pin 2 sets of 4 squares together and sew down the seam to make one long row of 8 squares. You should have 6 rows of 8 squares sewn together as pictured below.

Below is a closer picture of what the rows should look like.

STEP 7-SEW YOUR ROWS TOGETHER

Pin 2 rows of 8 together allowing for the same seam allowance as when you pinned the squares together. Be sure to match the seams in each row as closely as possible. Sew down the seam of your long row. You should have 3 sets of 2 rows sewn together as pictured below.

Below is a closer picture of what your seams will look like.

STEP 8-SEW YOUR SETS OF ROWS TOGETHER

Continue to sew your sets of rows together until you have completed sewing all rows.

STEP 9-SEW THE EDGES OF YOUR QUILT

Sew a 1 inch seam around the entire outside edge of your quilt.

STEP 10-CLIP YOUR SEAMS

Clip every single seam on your quilt. The smaller the clipping, the more ragged your quilt will look. Make sure you don't accidentally cut over where you've sewn. End your clipping just before your seam. Once you're done clipping your quilt is finished!

Wash your quilt in cold water and tumble dry low. I haven't washed mine yet, but from what I understand the ragged part gets softer and better looking after washing.

Coming Soon-August 21, 2008

HOW TO MAKE A RAG QUILT...COMPLETE WITH STEP BY STEP PICTURES AND INSTRUCTIONS!