DIY Bakers Twine

I've decided to take a break from this:

to make some of this:

I've been seeing this twine everywhere, and I've been coveting it like mad. I want it all in every color! The only problem is, I'm not a millionaire. I'm being dramatic but this stuff is not that cheap, I've been seeing it for 2-4$ a yard which to me seems a little steep especially when you want more than one color.
So while on pinterest a friend of mind had pinned a DIY tutorial on how to make your own twine so I clicked the link then watched the video, then slammed my palm into my forehead and said, DUH. So if you are interested in making your own twine on the cheap then here ya go!

You'll need crocheting string (or bakers twine), a ruler, masking tape, permanent markers

Wrap the masking tape all around the ruler so you don't stain it then start wrapping your string around and around, tightly making sure not to overlap the string. This is the tedious part but it's something to do while you watch a movie or something. I found that if I used a little piece of masking tape on the top loose string, I get a much tighter wrap I also used a small piece on the end piece to help it stay put as well.

Then using your permanent marker, draw lines diagonally (or straight, either way works) on both sides of the ruler. Press hard with your marker but don't make it too thick. My gray was a little on the thick side but that's ok. Also be sure to drink your V8 fruit fusion while sitting on the painters canvas on the floor of your bedroom, it helps...

Then unravel your string and repeat process as many times as you want. As you can see I did it 4 times. But I have like 8 more colors I want to use so...Obvs, if you want/need more than a couple yards for a large project, it might make more sense, time wise, to just buy a roll but for small little projects or for wrapping small gifts, this is perfect, plus you don't have to pay for shipping and handling! ;)

Well I should probably go take a shower, clean up my painting mess a little even though I'm STILL not done. Then go outside in the sun for the first time this week! Happy twining!

Dear Myself,

There are some things that annoy me, for example:

When people say "I'll give you 110% coach!" Well technically you CAN'T give more than 100%, so why open up that can of worms. If you're only going to give 110% out of infinity, then you're really not trying that hard. That's why, when telling someone in a percentage, how much you'll give them, cap it off at 100%. It's just easier that way.

When patrons at a grocery store, race you to a checkout stand and have a cart FULL of items and I have just 2 items, and they win. If I have a lot at a store and someone comes behind me with just one or two items, I let them go ahead, but that's just me.

In parking lots when you get into your car at the same time as the person parked in front of you and you both take y o u r  t i m e getting into the car so YOU can be the one that pulls forward, then finally give up and admit defeat cuz who has time to sit in the car waiting?

Corn nuts. Just in general, are a HUGE pet peeve of mine. They are stinky and loud and nasty nasty nasty.

When people eat banana's around me, the sound makes me gag.

When someone drinks from a straw inside an empty cup and it makes that awful slurping noise. Just be done with it already!

Cleaning out the dryer lint. I hate doing that. Not sure why...it's NOT hard.

Wrapping the cord around the back of a vacuum cleaner.

So anyways I always tend to think of all the negatives and what I can't stand and things that drive me nuts. I've realized that no matter where I am or what I'm doing, my mind tends to harbor on the things that annoy me in whatever situation I happen to be in. I have to change that! I am on a quest to be a more positive and happy person. That means, when I hear someone say, I'll give you 190%, I will try not to cringe and question why they didn't make it a full 200%...I will be the first to back out so the person in front of me can have an easier time getting out of the parking lot.

Truth be told, we have NO idea what others are going through in their day/lives. Something as simple as holding the door open for someone can make their day. We have no way of know what people are battling so we need to be kind to everyone. We need to not be so quick to judge others and offer a helping hand even if it's out of our comfort zone. We are ALL children of our Heavenly Father and we should all strive to be like him. No matter what our politics are, we all want what's best for our country no matter what our religion, we want to be good people.

I can't even count the number of times I've seen someone and instantly labeled them as something. I have NO CLUE what their life holds. I don't know if they are straight A students, or high school dropouts, I don't know if they have a loving family or if they are abused at home, they could be CEO's of a company or collecting unemployment. We have no way of knowing unless you take the time to get to know them. That's obviously impossible to get to know everyone you see but just keep in mind that they might be having a rough time in life, and let them cut in front of you in the grocery store.

I'm not sure why this post turned in to what it turned in to, maybe it's because we just celebrated Easter, or maybe I'm finally growing up..(?!) Here are a fun quotes that I've found (of course on Pinterest!)

From,
ME!

Fancy Baked Potatoes

I came across this recipe one time for these weird sliced baked potatoes so I kind of changed it up a bit and made it how I thought it should be. Here is the recipe for you if you'd like to have a fancy schmancy dinner sometime.

You need potatoes...however many you want/need. I made 5, obvs. Peel them and rinse them. Next, using your peeler, make the bottom of the potato flat. (You can use a knife but you waste more potato that way so I like my way better)

This next part is weird but just go with it. Place two chopsticks on each side of the potato, this will prevent the knife from going all the way through the potato. I've also made these with small red potatoes and just cut the potato while it was sitting on a wooden spoon. Thinly slice through the potato...not too thin but you don't want thick slices so it will cook fully.

it will look like this. you can fan it out. It helps if you have a way sharp knife. DUH. everything is easier with a sharp knife.

Place the potatoes in cold water after slicing, this does two things, keeps the potato from turning brown and gets out some of the starch so you can fan the potato easier.

Next mix the following into a bag:
Smoked paparika
garlic & onion powders
a little chili powder
a little oregano
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
I don't do measurements so just throw in however much you want. I use the paprika the most.

brush each potato with olive oil. You can just pour it but it doesn't get into all the cracks...

sprinkle and rub the dry mixture onto each potato. Side note: after getting the rub on, clean off the cookie sheet so that mixture doesn't burn in the oven, it smells really bad if it burns ;)

after all potatoes are done, cover them with foil and put them in a preheated 450 degree oven. Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes until done. The edges will be crispy and the insides should be soft and tender. the burnt edge pieces are my favorite. At this point you can melt some butter and pour over each potato ;), top with sour cream, bacon bits, cheese, whatever. Or just eat them plain, prolly a little healthier...

Well mine just got out of the oven so I'm gonna go serve them up!

Zinc Letters DIY

Have you ever seen these on the anthropology website? Well they are about $100 a piece...ridiculous right?
So while going through my favorite site, Pinterest (lemme know if you want an invite), I found an easy and CHEAP way to make them yourself for $99 less! Yahooo. All you need is the following:

regular ol' black craft paint

These kind of cardboard letters from the craft store

Silver paint (I had glaze on hand so that's what I used but it would be easier to use paint) Also this says fabric paint but don't use fabric paint, only pic I could find!

You also need a foam brush and a paper towel or another dry foam brush.

So first you paint a solid black coat over the whole letter and let it dry. Mine dried in like 5 minutes.
Next using the silver, dry brush (meaning don't use a lot of paint) the silver paint in ONE direction (up and down) then wipe away the excess with towel or dry brush. Just keep going around the whole letter until you get the look you like. At one point I got too much silver paint so I dipped the corner of my brush into the black to even it out again.

Once it's done is should look like this:

I didn't use a whole lot of silver, I could have used more to make it look more like the real letters but I decided I liked some of the black to show through. It looks better in real life and NOT in a cell phone picture. When it catches the light it looks really cool, here is another picture in the light,

 

It always looks different depending on what angle you see it from (please ignore the pink zebra stripe nails...a little wacky but I guess I'm a wacky person). Kind of cool. I want to get some of those BIIIG letters from JoAnn's and make a word for my room once it finally gets done. 

Party Planning

Does anyone need a party planner? I'll do it!! Seriously baby showers, birthday parties, bridal showers, receptions, garden tea party, election party, ANYTHING. I really really really want to plan some partays. Just think, you could have all the glory of a fabulous party with none of the work!

I should be fair and warn you that I have no experience in this field but I think I could work it out. I love buying/making decorations and party stuff but don't NEED to buy/make anything so if I had an excuse that would be a good day. 

Also if you need your house staged to be sold, I'm up for that as well :) All I need is a budget haha. Here are some fun party ideas:

 Mystery party invitations. The person has to work to figure out their invite.

 ummm AMAZING outdoor party. I can dig it. In fact if I could live in this picture I would.

 Super cute table for a baby shower or something girly like that.

If you're healthy, we could do a veggy/fruit table! Heck yesssss.

My little brain has so many ideas bouncing around in it I think it might explode ;). Maybe I'll just have to stick to local baby showers for people. Wonder if I could get a sponsor to pay for it though...

Also if I plan a party, it will NEED to have these straws, so if I do get a budget I'll try my hardest not to spend it all on straws. I actually found a bulk seller that makes them veddy veddy cheap so it could work.

Anywho I should go start my day. I actually slept last night for almost 10 hours!! YAHOOO after this weekend of getting about 4 hours total I needed that!

Re-purpose it!

Have you ever lost 50 pounds and had a whole closet full of clothes that no longer fit? Well whether you have or haven't, I'm sure everyone has purged their closet before, thus raising the question, WHAT do I do with all these clothes? Sure you can do a Val Vil/DI/Good Will drop, easy peesy done. Or you could take the next step, going through each piece and folding it nicely and bringing it to a consignment place like Labels and try to earn a fraction of your money back. You could shove all huge clothes into approximately 18 Costco sized garbage bags and find places to stash them throughout the house until you find the time to have a garage sale. *Cough cough...* This is a blog of honesty so I'll be honest, I have bags stashed in my room, in the hall coat closet (sneaky sneaky), filling up the back of my car's rather large trunk, in the closet under the stairs (oh harry potter! I love you), and maybe a bag is in the craft room. I have infiltrated every spare space, but fear not! We are having a camp fundraiser beginning of next month so, we're good. Nobody is probably fat enough to fit in them but whatev's.

I've been thinking though, there are some clothes that I still like, or clothes that not even it's mother could love so what do you do with those?

Why not cut the old shirts into strips and make yarn with them? ok cool. I like to knit and crochet. I can dig it.

Maybe you suffer from Raynaud's syndrome like me and are always cold...? Perhaps a nice quilt would be more to your liking? Just cut your favorite part several shirts into equal squares and sew away. I was going to do this for my brother Ty while he is on his Mission but the night before we left, he gave away almost 30 of his band tshirts leaving me with nothing. So no quilt for him!

Going along with the sewing theme, you could make a rice bag that you can nuke in the microwave and voila instant heat for those cold fingers and toes. Just cut a rectangle, fold in half, sew inside out along the edges, leaving a space at the top, fill with rice then top stitch it closed. I made one out of some scrap fabric I had hanging around and I heat it up erry night and put it under my covers at the foot of my bed. Why not use a (cotton) tshirt?

Did you know that you can make a rug out of old tshirts using a hula hoop? Well you can. I am for sure looking forward to this one. I already have the hoop, just gotta gather some old tshirts and cut into strips and weave. Awesome.

Going grocery shopping? Why not be a little green and make a tote? I've made a few of these, Just cut the arms off, turn inside out and sew up the sides. Done. You could also skip a step (because you might be overwhelmed with all the steps :)) and use an old tank top.

Have a special shirt you can't part with but don't know what to do? Make a stuffed animal for yourself or a child in your life. You could make any animal. I've made a dinosaur before. Just trace out the shape you want, cut two, sew and stuff. Might be cute if you have kids and they grow out of a favorite outfit? Not that I have kids but ya know.

Old sweater doesn't fit anymore? Make it into a dress for a little girl, or make a cowl for yourself. Last night I might have gone to old navy and I might have purchased two large sweaters that were on clearance for $2 to make myself a cowl (so practical this time of year I know).

I have no link for this one because I came up with it yesterday morning. I have black out shades in my room but for some weird reason they don't do me any good leaned up against my wall, strange right?! Well the sun always is soooo bright. I was wearing an old pair of PJ pants which are literally like parachute pants (HUGE) and I thought I'd find a pattern and trace an eye mask out of it then line it with some sort of soft fabric with an elastic band to fit my head.

I only slept for about 4 very broken up hours last night, I felt very sick but ended up being ok. While napping today after church I had an idea to make canvas art with some of my favorite old tshirts. My plan would be to wrap them around a canvas and tie with a rubber band and make art somehow. Like I said I was napping...

Anyways what would YOU do with an old tshirt?

Pinterest

Are you interested in organizing your ideas from the interweb in a cohesive and AMAZING way? Well look no further. No more pesky bookmarks that take up lots of space and take forever to sift through, this is a break through for those, like me, who have 100's of random bookmarks. 

Pinterest. Go here and look for just a minute...you were there for longer than a minute weren't you?! I'll be honest, in between writing this post I've gone back and forth and added MORE to my ever growing pinterest boards. It's so awesome this is what it looks like:

Kindof, everyone is different. Maybe you like to make clay figurines, you just name a board, CLAY and add away. Any sites you find online just click the little pin button and it adds it to your site. You can also browse what other people have "pinned" and repin them to your board. Ummm I kind of like other people finding the stuff that I can then pin for myself :).
So far I have 238 pins, I JUST got signed up at 4pm...I also have 15 boards that are labeled and categorized into things I'm interested in like, photography, baking, cooking, decoration, crafting, clothes, hair styles etc...you can pin ANYTHING online. It's incredible.

I waited for 6 days to get an invite and none ever came so if you'd like ME to invite you, leave your email on this post and I'll send you an invite ASAP. You gotta check it out.

Seriously. You won't regret it at the same time as regretting it ;). They should hire me as a spokesperson or something. Geesh! Be prepared to find some awesome ideas.

1,000 for HOPE

Today I was sitting in church, listening to people's testimonies, well I am a pretty good listener but I have to have something to do with my hands (perhaps that's why I knit/crochet?!). So I grabbed the piece of paper that had the stake announcements on it and folded it into a paper crane. After I made it, I got to thinking of the lore behind cranes. In Japanese culture, it is said that if a bride folds 1,000 paper cranes before she marries, it will give her luck and a long life. It is allowed for others to help her fold them and the more people who help, the more good fortune she will have in her life. It doesn't have to just be a bride, anyone who folds 1,000 paper cranes, can make a wish and will have luck.

Then I started thinking about making that many cranes. That would take a LONG time, but you start with just one crane. One crane isn't very intimidating is it? Then one more after that, then another..and so on. Then my mind translates cranes to real life. We can accomplish a lot that seems impossible if we start with ONE thing.

Then my "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" brain started thinking about the place the 1,000 crane folklore came from, Japan. I can't even imagine the devastation that Japan is going through right now, the loss and the heartache, everyday I think of the people suffering over there and I pray for them everyday. My dad spent time over there when he served a mission for our church and we've had many exchange students stay with our family so I feel a little connected in a very small way, but connected nonetheless. I don't know what I can do to help them then I thought what their spirits need most is hope and courage to face the long road ahead of them. What if I made 1,000 cranes to send to them? To give them some light and hope, so they'll know someone is thinking of them.

I googled paper cranes hoping to find a kit or some way to buy origami paper in bulk and I found another lady who had written an article about her project of making 1,000 paper cranes. She had never made them before but her and her 13 year old daughter set out and have made over 500, and have gotten many many donations from around the country of others' cranes. She says with each crane she makes, she says a little prayer. How cool is that? One Thousand prayers from one little family for Japan. Her husband questioned her and asked why she doesn't just fold $1 bills. Some can't afford to send large amounts of money so what a cool way to still give back. Later on she found that an organization would donate $2 for every crane sent to Japan, so her project which started out as a way to give hope to the people of Japan, will earn them money as well.

My first. Only 999 to go!

SO, do I think I can make 1,000 cranes? Maybe but it will take awhile by myself but I can start, with ONE, then another. If anyone is interested in helping, leave a comment or email me and we can talk! If you only have time to make ONE, one makes a difference. YOU can make a difference.

EDIT: So I had a friend give me a good idea to go to a grocery store or some place that I could set up a table and sell the cranes for either a dollar or two or whatever people are willing to give then donate the money to the Red Cross to make sure the money really gets there. If you would like directions to make your own cranes go here.

Holocaust

(One of) the most disgusting acts ever to happen in the history of our world (in my opinion) was the Holocaust. I can't even fathom the reasons behind it or how anybody would have gone along with it. When I was in the 5th (I think) grade, my teacher mentioned something about the Holocaust. When I got home I asked my parents about it and they told me a few things. Then I went to the library and checked out several books (Diary of Anne Frank, I Have Lived a Thousand Years, We Survived etc...). THe books I focused on were appropriate for my age and were stories of children or teens who went through the Holocaust. After reading those books I became so interested in WW2 and couldn't get enough of it.

When I was 11 or 12 a lady came and spoke at my church, Noemi Ban. She is a Holocaust survivor and was just 19 years old when her family was taken from her and she was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp. I remember bits and pieces of her story but not everything.

On Wednesday I was able to hear her speak again. I hope I never will forget what she spoke about, the story she told was maddening, disgusting and incredible. She not only spoke of the evil she went through but also the lack of hate she has in her heart. She said hate is an evil thing and it breeds and when it becomes so bad, there is no telling what it can do. One man's hate for various religions (among other things) caused millions of people to suffer and die.

 I am appalled at the world and the evil we can find here but there is also so much good. I was so impressed with her attitude and even though it was the most horrific experience of her life, she is able to share it with anybody who will listen. Her 'sense of humor' about the fact that she did not drink one drop of water for 4 months impressed me the most. She lost her mother, brother, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles and yet she still found forgiveness and strength from her experiences. How often do I complain about the fact that I am supposed to drink 8 8 oz glasses of water a day? How often do I give thanks for the clean, endless supply of water I have at my fingertips? Not very often. There are so many people past and present  who have so much less than I do but manage to have a better outlook on life.

 I never had to march in a line only to get separated from my family and find out later they were suffocated and burned. I never have had to survive on 2 pieces of bread, a small cup of coffee mixed with sawdust, and a drink from a putrid bowl of "soup". But yet I complain there's 'nothing' to eat in the fridge. Of course there's something to eat, our cupboards are full and our fridge is stocked. What am I talking about?

I've never had to wear a large badge to advertise what I am. I am free to practice my religion and not be persecuted for it. I've never had to march away from my home for endless miles with one small package of my belongings, or be shoved like cattle onto a train in the hot summer heat with no knowledge of where we were going on when we would get there.

There are people who don't believe it happened but all they need to do is look at the horrible pictures or read a history book. It happened and I hope their story never dies. Although it's gruesome and hard to hear about, it's so important for everyone to know so hopefully we can learn tolerance and acceptance.

Noemi Ban has a book out called, Sharing is Healing and a movie called, My name is Noemi where she goes back to Auschwitz. I can't even imagine the images and memories she must have. Sometimes I'll smell something and it will take me right back to a time or place in my childhood, I'm sure she experiences the same thing. She is incredible. She is speaking at Western on April 12th, it is free but you do need to get tickets, I encourage anyone who is able to go hear her speak, you won't regret it!

Kayak

 I bought one of these on Friday

So I can go here

 And see this

Why wouldn't I?! 

P.S. See that lighthouse in the background? that's in the San Juan Islands (best place EVER) and I stood there and watched whales (for FREE) for over an hour.

My father also bought a kayak so we are going to become master outdoorsmen/women HUZZAH!

Take that Bear Grylls 

Watch this: 

That will be me one day! ;) just gotta practice on dry land first and maybe try out a lake or something before doing anything too outrageous. 

If anyone ever wants to try it out you are welcome to, after we get it all figured out!