The Nicest Thing Ever!

Thanks SO much to Lisagh and Leslie - your goodies came in the mail yesterday and that was SO MUCH FUN!!! Leslie - the apron key chain is so perfect for me! The picture is a vintage apron pattern! Where do you find stuff like that?! And Lisagh - the floral set is SO adorable!!! Look at what she did - two dish towels, a pot holder, and a pin cushion! Amazing.

Thanks, guys! That was so nice of you!

Flickr Apron Page

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a fun weekend!

I've had many questions about the Flickr page and for whatever reason, when you click on my photo stream below, it takes you to the other swap photos. So HERE is the group link to our Summer Apron Swap and just follow the directions on joining from there. The photo group name is called "A Feathered Nest Apron Swap."

Let me know if you have problems! So far there are some GORGEOUS aprons posted!!! I am SO very impressed! (and I'm still working on mine...)

To-Dye-For Onesies

I could dye. (haha!)

But seriously, folks, it's raining babies around me and I have to get caught up on baby stuff. I've got 3 nephews still waiting for me to get my act together - and I've got two little girls coming soon so I'm excited to get to play with PINK stuff for a bit!

So have you ever played with fabric dye? If not, you're in for some SERIOUS fun! And it couldn't be easier! My children could do this with their eyes shut! (okay, but there would be a huge mess)

All you need is:

Bottle of Rit dye
Onesies (or whatever)
Pot of boiling water
Salt
Small rubber bands (from the hair accessory aisle)
Rubber gloves

Just follow the directions on the bottle of dye. You're a smart cookie - you know that the less dye you use, the lighter the color - the more dye, the darker the color. Mix the colors up to get combinations! For example: to get more of a peachy color, use a little pink and a little yellow. It's hard to say exactly HOW your color will turn out, so that's why this stuff is pretty cheap and you can play with it!

So the next step is to tie up your shirt in any way you want.






Take the shirt for a dip for a minute or two.










Using rubber gloves, rinse the shirt out until the water runs clear. Take your bands off and admire your work! This shirt looks darker here in this photo because it's wet. It actually dried a little lighter.




Wash and dry your shirts with similar colors. Mine didn't bleed at all in the washer - and they look and feel so soft and pink!





I also dyed a onesie without wrapping the bands and I ended up with this CUTE pink shirt that I'm going to stitch a girly fabric square on. And why stop there?! I also tossed in a burpie cloth and I'm going to make a cute little set to match the pink onesie. I'll post pics when I'm done.

**As a side note, the Rit dye directions say to clean up with bleach, so I bleached my pot out. I haven't read up or educated myself about dye and whether or not I've ruined my stock pot or not - I'm assuming it's still just fine. But just in case, use an old pot if you have one!

Cooking 101 - Sheet Pan Rice Krispies

Alright - I know what you're thinking and I realize that everyone knows how to make Rice Krispy Treats. HOWEVER!!! I can't count how many times I've had to look up the darn recipe only to discover that I can't find it. (by the way, I learned later that the recipe is on the INSIDE of the Rice Krispies box! hahaha! I'll bet you already knew that, though.) I may be laughing on the outside, but I'm crying on the inside...

So here is an EASY recipe that I'm sure isn't an original - but easy nonetheless. I like my version because this recipe takes up a whole sheet pan instead of a regular cake pan. My motto: Why make a little when you can make a LOT?












EASY Sheet Pan Rice Krispies

1 stick butter
1 16 oz. bag mini marshmallows
1 19 oz. box Rice Krispies cereal

Spray jelly roll sheet pan with cooking spray - set aside.

Melt butter in large stockpot on medium heat. Add marshmallows; stir constantly until everything is melted and creamy. Remove from heat.

Add all but 1 or 2 cups of the Rice Krispies. (or, if you must measure, add 12 c. of Krispies) Mix everything together until the Krispies are evenly coated. Dump onto sheet pan. Spray hands with cooking spray - mash the mixture down and spread it evenly on the pan to cool.

For fun, you can use cookie cutters to cut the Rice Krispy Treats into cool shapes - and don't forget to dip 'em in chocolate!!!

NEW FABRIC!

I'm just barely getting around to justifying my Ginger Blossom purchases only to find out from Julie that Sandi Henderson has a new fabric line called Farmer's Market. Every single one of these fabrics is my favorite - I can't pick one. Julie, YOU MADE MY DAY!!! This is like Christmas for me! Now I've just got to watch myself so that I don't become obsessive...

AND THE ORANGE!!! There's the most amazing, beautiful orange fabric!

So...I'm waiting for this fabric line to become available to me and I'm sorry for my family, but when that day comes, I'm ordering a truck-load and the children will have to eat grass for a few months until we financially recover.

Assignments Done

Hi all! Just a quick post to let you know that EVERYBODY has been sent an email, so if you don't get yours (has happened a couple of times thus far) please let me know.

For Judith McIntyre - I keep sending emails to you and they all get sent back to me. Do you have an alternate email address? Thanks!!!

Thanks, everyone, for being SO patient with me! My rear-end is the shape of a flat square, so I'm going to spend the next few days regaining circulation throughout my body! Happy Sewing!

REMEMBER: Mail Deadline is June 9th

The List is DONE

Oh...my...goodness...it's 12:15 a.m. (Happy Mother's Day, by the way) and I'm thrilled to say that the swap list is done. Because of my goal to pay more attention to my family than anything else, I spent 5 nights staying up until 1:00 a.m. working on this list, so I apologize for the lateness but I'm sure you all understand!

In order to keep everything fair and organized, I assigned each person a number and drew numbers. We used a cup for a while - so the kiddies could feel helpful - but that didn't last long. A couple of DEAR, dear friends came over to hang out and we all worked on this list at some point, crossing off numbers and assigning names! Thanks, girls!

My key to survival: Pandora, Diet Pepsi, and Minty 3-Musketeers! SWEET...

So if you don't get an email from me at least by Tuesday evening, (it's Monday night and I'm working on the last third) PLEASE email me! Thanks SO much for participating! I'm going to go to bed now...and I'll sleep good knowing that I'm almost done!

The Best Book Ever!

One might wonder why on earth I have taken a break from compiling the swap-buddy list that needed to be finished yesterday, but what can I say?! I went shopping and I'm not ashamed. LOOK what I found! Well, actually, I was looking for a gift to toss in the mail for my beautiful, sweet, cute mother, (do you even read this, ma? I'm still your favorite, right?) but I got this book for me instead. (Because I think we all know that I only read books with big, bright pictures.)

Joy of joys, this book ROCKS. And the best part is that there are patterns for EVERY apron in the back of the book. Find it - get it. You need it. There, I said it.

(don't worry Mom - you're going to LOVE the gift I got you...I heard somewhere that tube socks are coming back in style...or tube tops...I can't remember. Either way, you'll look great.)

Swap Closed....and some Funnies

The Swap Sign-Up list is officially closed! Sorry if you missed it - but there will be others! And to you swappers out there, give me some time to organize the names - as you can see, the list is HUGE!!! You'll get your swap buddy in a day or so. Thanks!

In the meantime, since I have nothing important to post, here are some funnies to brighten your day! And what's even more funny to me is that I can relate to EVERY SINGLE ONE of these!!! Here's to us Moms out there - and anyone who has a mom for that matter. Enjoy - hehe

(click on each picture for a larger view)

Hurry!

The race is on - today is the LAST day for apron swap sign-ups! So send me an email today if you still want in! And due to the HUGE response, I absolutely cannot take any stragglers. Sorry - so here's fair warning!

Here are the swap details and my email address if you need them.

And I'm working like a crazy woman today to get all names posted up on my blog, so don't worry if you don't see your name yet - it's coming!

And for those of you hoping for a post NOT about stinking APRONS, I'm going to be making stuff throughout the week so maybe I'll have something a little more interesting for you posted soon!