20 minute crafter. { x3}

Hi friends.  I hope you can forgive today's craft...technically it is not a twenty minute craft...but I DID do it in an hour...so...well that would have been the time that I would have used to do the 20 minute crafter post...but well...I wanted to do these instead. :) Ok?  So hopefully you are still inspired to craft...even if you only have a little bit of time to do so...

Don't you love my new sunshiney curtains?

I started with these...on clearance from Target.  Ok...but not all all funky...and a little too short for my liking.  

 So I cut off the tab tops...this made it easy to keep the line straight. :)

Then...taking three different fabrics that made me happy...I cut them all the same length...but cut them different widths.  Sewed the different widths together...sewed them onto the curtain...and sewed the tab tops back on...and here we go. :) Here is a before and after. :)

  Now we will have sunshine when there is no sun. :)

I LOVE them.  I am thinking all the curtains in my house need a makeover now.

Cause what part of my house couldn't use some artificial {fabric} sunshine?

Hope you were still inspired...even if it took 20 minutes times three. :) 

xo

random things {to share}

The last of the hoho's are in the shop! :) There are just a couple left...and that will be all for a few weeks. :)

and speaking of hoho's...I have been meaning to show you how crazy fast Aaron healed from that nasty goose egg he got some time back.  I took the photo on the right exactly ONE week later!!  It is crazy how fast his little body healed right up...the lump and abrasion were both 100% GONE!  Now all you can see is a pink circle where the cut was...God made bodies amazingly awesome!

AND he has also recovered fully from his fever...today his appetite was back to normal by dinner...thanks for the prayers and well wishes! He is back to his spunky, climbing little self.

(moses is responsible for this scene...i just love when you get a little glimpse in their brains)

I am ALMOST caught up with emails...and about a third of the way through all the links on the previous posts.  :) 

I am also trying to decide which Julia project to do next. :)

And I am also in the beginning stages of doing something BIG. :) Or rather, having the honor of letting God do something big through me.  I'll just leave it at that...more to come. :)

And...after my editor approved it...my pattern is in the shop! :) It's a pdf and I will get it to you in a jiffy once you purchase...it a an EASY beginner project. :) If you can sew a straight line you CAN do this!

The other day Moses informed us that "There is music playing in my head".  This explains a lot about Moses...now, just how do we get it out?

Told you this was random...

Happy day to you!

xo

here's the story {morning glory}

Tomorrow I will have 18 unclaimed Happy Hoho Mosters in the shop.  I'm looking at 8pm or so to start listing.  Did you know that if you are a fan of Little Bit Funky on Facebook that you will always know the shop news first? Over there...on the closest column to the right.

MY hoho has not been well the last couple of days.  There was very little sleep to be had by me last night...and LOTS of coffee today.  The only time that things get done is when he is napping...cause he is pitiful...high fever but still wanting to go...but really needing his cuddle time.

So if I owe you an email or an order...please hang in there...I will get to you. :) Cuddles come first.

This batch of hoho's will be the last I will do until mid to late May.  I will also be really restricting my custom orders for the month of May as well.  There is lots I want to do...personal projects, family times and have you been to my shop to hear the crickets chirp? It is EMmmpty.  I HAVE to get some of these project ideas out of my head and into fabric. :)  So hopefully you will see some NEW things soon.

And in the works...hopefully within the week...I will have a pattern for sale for my Happy Scrappy Skirts!  This is my first pattern, I am super excited about it...and it will be an easy project for you! :)

Ok.  Here's the fun part. :) I have added a Mr. Linky below (I hope)...I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if you would link up.  For no other reason than I want to visit you! :)  Link to your blog or your favorite post or your favorite project...get me hooked on your blog! :) I prom promise to visit AND say hello! :)

Yes, I mean you there.  If you are reading this...I am talking to you.

So here ya go...I can't wait to come visit:

sassafras lasagna

mmmmm....this was a tasty meal.  I got the idea from my sweet friend over at The Goat and the Kid.  But she called it Raviolo Lasagna.  I had to rename it because of the ridiculous amount of sass it brought out of my husband while I prepared it and then while eating it...and then again when I told him we would be having leftovers.

And because I promised him I would...here is his sass documented.  I should add that he is the youngest of four kids...and I am the oldest of three...these roles definitely play out in our marriage. :)

As I am making it, he comes into the kitchen and I hear

"Spinach!?!", as he spies that I am adding spinach to the dish.  

Then he adds "I was just looking at the recipe and 

thought 'Good thing she knows not to put spinach in there'."

 To which I say..."Whatever, you won't be able to taste it". 

*~*

Then later on, as we are eating it, I ask him what he thinks.  He says "I can't taste the spinach.  My mom told me I wouldn't and I believed her". 

*~*

Then the next day we are driving home and he asks me what we are having for dinner.  I say "Leftovers, they aren't going to magically disappear".  To which he says "Sure they could, it's called the trash can".  

*~*

Following that conversation he says "You aren't going to document this are you?"  "Of course, I say...I'm locking it away in the vault".  To which he made some snarky comment about how my brain is no vault...whether I have a key or not.  Which is true.  But that is besides the point. 

So this is my sassy husband.  We tend to go round and round like this all day.  It is all in good fun and we really are best friends.  But I did feel the need to call him out AND rename this yummy dish to Sassafras Lasagna.  Be sure to check the comments for "The Doug"...that would be my sassy husband and I am sure he will have something to add to the conversation. :)   

And be sure to make this.  It IS tasty and we didn't throw away any leftovers. 

You need:

1/4 lb. ground sausage (I used a lb!!!! I like sausage)

1 24 oz. jar of pasta sauce (I actually used 1 1/2)

1 6 oz. pkg. of frozen chopped spinach thawed

1/2 cup pesto

1 25 oz. pkg. frozen cheese filled ravioli (don't defrost!)

1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

1. Preheat oven to 375 and cook sausage/beef over medium heat skillet. Stir pasta sauce into meat.

2. Combine spinach with pesto in a bowl.

3. Spoon 1/3 of meat mixture (about 1/2 cup) into lightly greased 11x7 baking dish. Top with half of spinach mixture. Arrange half of ravioli in a single layer over spinach mixture. Repeat layers once. Top with remaining meat mixture.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

4. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  

 

Enjoy...we will be making this again. :)

AND I plan to have a Linky party this weekend...maybe starting on Friday and I will want YOU to link to it...assuming you have a blog.  For no other reason than I want to come visit you.  So get ready for that. :) 

xo

20 minute crafter. sweet rainbow. :)

So say you are having an airhead kind of week...and you totally forget that your son was invited to a birthday party THIS Saturday and not next.  And you don't remember it until you read your friends blog post which is all about the cute rainbow party she threw. 

Dang it brain...if only you would work with me.

So to make up for it...I thought the very least I could do was whip her up a cute little rainbow shirt...which I found cute enough to share...hope you like it too...maybe your brain will remind you ahead enough of time that you can make it to take TO the party. 

Here is what you need:

rainbow colored scraps

blank t-shirt (from Target)

wonder under (from Joanns)

cloud looking scrap...chenille or minky like material

iron

sewing machine

Starting with your red scrap...make a square that is about the size that you would like your rainbow to be...

Using that first shape as your size guide make each layer of your "rainbow cake".  Don't try to make it perfect...just make it happy.

Then starting in the center (purple) sew around the edge of each semi-circle/oval...I thought it would be cute to alternate zig-zag and straight stitch with each layer.

When you are done...trace your shape on the wrong side of the wonder under then cut out the shape just inside the line you traced (see photo).

Iron onto the back of your rainbow...we cut the wonder under a bit smaller than the rainbow to make sure we didn't go over the sides and goop up your ironing board...which I am sure is WAY cuter than mine.  I didn't put the wonder under on the red first because you would be doing all of that stitching on top of it and that would just be a pain.  

You also need to iron a rectangle of wonder under onto a rectangle of your cloud material that is about two inches wider than the base of your rainbow...you know, for a good cloud to rainbow ratio. :)

Cut out your cloud shape...

Figure out where you want to place your rainbow and cloud...be sure to overlap the cloud on top of the rainbow.  Iron on...if your cloud material is extra thick you may need to turn your shirt inside out to ensure a good adhesion.

Stitch around the edges to adhere it to the shirt...if you start at a corner where the cloud and rainbow meet you can get around the cloud then the rainbow in one long stitch.  Then I went back in and traced the cloud in blue.  

Cuteness, right?  And you can feel a little better about missing the party...cause if you never missed it then you never would have known to make a rainbow shirt for the birthday girl. 

So there is that. 

Hope you like it...got questions? I'll answer them in the comments. :)

xo

fitting response.

First to say thanks to each and every one of you lovely lovely folks.  I had no idea the response that my musings in the previous post would bring...I was just documenting my thoughts for future reading purposes.  It is hard to remember that we each have our own story, that we each struggle in some area(s).  I treasure each and every comment and LOVE that there is a place like this that we CAN share and relate and take comfort in knowing that we are NOT in it alone...whatever "it" is.  

Which leads to me to something else...I received tons of emails in response to the previous post (in addition to the comments)...and I HOPE that I can reply to each personally but there were a few themes that I thought I could just address here...cause maybe you were wondering too. :)

First is, why share? So many of you wondered HOW I could share something so personal on a blog? How could I be so vulnerable and put myself out there like that?  The thing is...I don't think much of it...for a couple of reasons...one is...I think we define "personal" differently.  I see personal as my social security number...credit card numbers...things between my husband and I, secrets between friends,  my bank account...all personal.  Things concerning the condition of being human?  My feelings, my struggles, my emotions and shortcomings...Not so personal.  I share sometimes with the hope of making a link to someone else who is "there" too.  There is so much comfort in knowing that you are not alone...that there is no "unique" human experience.  We are all messy and in need of salvation.  I feel like were are here to help each other along...to hold each other accountable...to relate and move forward together.  I share to relate.  I share to be transparent.  I don't want to be a person or a blog that puts up a happy front...that acts like all is perfect...and be secretly in pain on the inside.  Pain is more painful when it is concentrated within...sharing it diffuses it...makes it easier to bear.  

You know...bear each others burdens and all. :)   

I don't know about you...but I love finding a blog I can relate to waaaay more than I love finding a blog that is perfect.  

Another set of you were concerned about my emotional well being...about whether or not I may be depressed.  I am certain that I can safely say that the answer is no.  Hormonal at times? Yes.  Depressed, no.  :)  With my social work background I am well aware of signs and signals that I should be looking for...you are sweet to worry for me but I think I am good in that department. :)

I hope I didn't make you think I was trying to be "poor me" cause that really wasn't my point.  I was just sharing a struggle in my life...for whatever reason (and I think that some of the emails I got were why) that subject was on my heart.  I DO have friends that I love and adore.  I AM richly blessed in my relationships.  I DO love who God made me AND I love who He is sharpening me to be.  

Does any of that make sense?

Thanks for your support and sweet words.  :)  

xo

fitting.

When I was in high school, and all through school actually, I didn't have a ton of friends.  The ones I did have were more on the outer edges of what you would call popular.  There were a few reasons for this...I was not allowed to do any school activities that required any time spent outside of the normal allotted school times...so sports and after school activities were out.  I was rarely allowed to go to the normal hang out spots (aka in my town the skating rink!) or to friends houses...and when I did, I was the one with the parents who would show up to get you two hours early because they thought I was up to something...which, for the record, I never was.  

As a result...I never really got a chance to sharpen my "fitting in and friends makin' skills".  All through high school and college I struggled to fit in.  I could go through the motions and never get the same results that seemed to come so easy to others.  There are those people out there who others seem to flock to...who everyone wants to be friends with.  I'm pretty much on the other side of that spectrum.  

I always kind of hoped that I would outgrow this painful kind of social awkwardness.  That one day I would grow up and be able to fit in and make friends easily.  That you can grow into one of those "flocked to" types of folks.  I have spent years trying to learn this "fitting in" skill...only to end up where I started.  It's tough.  I won't lie.  I haven't outgrown a thing.  I'm still awkward.  I still don't have many friends.  I still have to work REALLY hard in any sort of social situation.  People do not flock to me.  I am not included.  And it still hurts as much as it did when I was five...ten or 15.

I thought that by now...I wouldn't care about being included or well liked or part of a group.  Yet, I continue to find my ineptness everywhere.  At MOPS, at the grocery store, my former life in Radford, even in the blog world.  Every time that one of my hard earned friendly advances goes unnoticed or unreciprocated a little of me is hurt.  Sometimes a lot.  You can ask my poor husband about the many times that I have cried to him...about just wanting to be liked.  Trying desperately to figure out what it is that I lack.  Just WHAT is it about me that makes people move on so quickly.  Why am I always the one in the room that is the first to be forgotten about?   Why can't I be a people magnet too?

Pretty sad huh?  I wish I was writing this to share that I have had some sort of breakthrough.  But no.  I still struggle with this daily.  I daily pray for me to be happy with ME.  I KNOW that God made me just this way on purpose and that He doesn't make mistakes...but doesn't He know how much it hurts me?  Doesn't He know how much I would love to be included and part for a change? Doesnt' He know how much I would love to have best friends that don't live just in New Jersey and California? 

I'm not saying that I am not richly blessed...I am SO thankful for the friendships that I do have...cause they run SO deep.  I know that they are real and sure and true.  I am happy in a life I don't deserve. I have a husband that is better than the best and kids that are more precious to me than all the world.  

My prayer is that my 30's will make me confident in who I am...and to allow that confidence to sharpen me into what it is and who it is that God wants me to be.  I want to read this entry ten years from now and have a good laugh at myself for being so silly...for having no idea what God had in store for me.  Just as I am.  Awkwardness and all.        

xo

    

got some {time} to waste?

you can try scrapblog for free...and make some cute with your own photos. :)

this happens to capture the cuteness that is hoho...and the song we sing to him at sleep times.

my first marathon.

You didn't think I meant running did you?

Ha!  There is no chance you would catch me RUNNING...let alone a marathon.  I mean, the only sure way to get me to run is convince me that you are two seconds from killing me. 

And I mean convince.  

Not like when you are driving down the road and a cop turns on his lights behind you and your knees turn to water and you have convinced yourself that three miles over the speed limit IS too much...and then he pulls around you but more like you have the ginormous ticket in your hand.

I would need proof. 

And I don't buy that "runners high" they talk about.  Or the pushing through the pain to get to the good part...they tried to convince me that was how childbirth would be too...big. fat. lie.  Unless running comes with an epidural you won't catch me doing it.  

No...I mean the making a quilt in three days kind of marathon.  A triathlon if you will.  Sewing, quilting and binding.  I bought the fabric in September.  Cut the squares in February.  And then didn't touch it again until the weekend before the recipients birthday. 

I'm awesome like that...as in awesome at procrastination.

Day one: I sewed all my 5in squares together. 

Day two: I ironed...I got every crease and fold perfect.  The top was SO flat when I was done ironing.  I tried to get Doug excited about it...but it didn't really work. :)  I made the back of it on day two as well.  I also pinned like the dickens. 100's of them through the front back and middle. 

Day three: I quilted it...I ran a stitch on either side of my sewn together strips.  To the left is the undone side...to the right is the finished side.  I rolled it up as I moved onto the next row...this method worked pretty well.  

This method worked perfectly for this quilt...all the way to the end.

Day three:  I also made my very own binding.  When I have hours more in my day I am going to open a shop that sells just designer fabric binding.  I got this sweet little tool at Joanns...and it could not have been easier.  I think it cost about $7 or so.

I had yards of binding...within MINUTES.  So I did the binding on day three as well.

Then I washed it...and paced the floor to see what wonders the dryer would do to it. 

I love it.  AND I should be able to get it to the birthday girl in time for her birthday.

Which, sadly, will not discourage me from procrastinating in the future.

I think it is my best work yet.

I am still pretty shocked that I got the pattern perfectly...I am usually so easily tripped up by patterns. 

I also had a few squares leftover...so I made her a matching doll quilt. :)

So even though I didn't run...this definitely counts as a marathon. 

And I have heard childbirth compared to running a marathon...so this would make marathon #3.

Right? 

boys currently.

 (this photo is moses pretending to be mark on yo gabba gabba)

Random things about the boys this past week...worthy of recording. 

No crafter post today...I will show you why tomorrow. :)

A note to friends: if you come to my house let it be known that you should bring your own tissues.  Aaron's favorite activity is to pull them all out, one by one, fake cough into them and put them back.

Earlier this week, as Moses was upstairs getting ready and undressed for his bath, he came to the top of the stairs and threw down a blank t-shirt to me...the one he had worn that day.  I noticed, came to the bottom of the stairs and he says "Hey mom, can you put something on this for me? I'll take a shark, thanks."  and walks back to his bath.  What have I done? 

This week Aaron has started making a kissing noise.  Only it doesn't come right before he kisses you...it's more like, he starts to make it, announcing that he is giving them away and whoever gets to him first gets to have one.

Moses is starting pre-school this fall, a result of one generous uncle B who offered to send him. :) If you ask Moses why he wants to go to school he will tell you "to get Valentines".

This week Aaron had three teeth break through the gums within 24 hours of each other.  Ouch and aaahhhh all at the same time. :)

Proof that Moses is surely Doug's child: brushing his teeth is ticklish to him, he can hardly take it some days, you can tickle him from across the room by talking about it in just the right way and cutting the hair on his neck is one of my more challenging moments due to involuntary shoulder shrugging caused by being ticklish.  Doug is extremely ticklish.

Generally, when Aaron is doing something naughty, he makes this funny sound with his mouth by rubbing his tongue between his gums.  It sounds like deedle-deedle-deedle-deedle....sometimes he does quickly...sometimes slowly.  Either way it is nice of him to give us a "tell".

This week I overheard Moses singing "yes, nor, yes, nor, yes yes nor, yes, nor, yes nor, yes yes nooor".  Nor = Lord.

:)

messy.

I'm not even sure how to start this post...so many things running through my head a million miles an hour.  I just finished this book...I started it when Aaron was born and JUST got to a point in my life where I could wake up an hour before the kids do to get some reading done that doesn't involve rhyming or the alphabet.  This book...will mess you up.  In the best way possible...but will mess you up.  

What got me wanting to read it was this excerpt that Sara posted:

I used to believe that in this world there are two kinds of people: natural worriers and naturally joyful people. I couldn't really help it that I was the worrying kind. I'm a problem solver, so I have to focus on things that need fixing. God can see that my intensity and anxiety are ministry related. I worry because I take His work seriously.

Right?

But then there's that perplexing command: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Phil. 4:4). You'll notice that it doesn't end with ". . . unless you're doing something extremely important." No, it's a command for all of us, and it follows with the charge, "Do not be anxious about anything" (v. 6).

That came as a pretty staggering realization. But what I realized next was even more staggering.

When I am consumed by my problems - stressed out about my life, my family, and my job - I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God's command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a "right" to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.

Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack o fgrace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

Basically these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance . . .

Why are we so quick to forget God? Who do we think we are?

Um...wow. 

It goes on to mess you up even more.  It challenges you to live your faith. LIVE it.  Not be touched on Sunday and go about your week.  To make yourself uncomfortable and truly give your life over to God...to put yourself in positions where God HAS to come through or you are in big trouble.  

Sounds like a fun read right?

I'm starting it over.  It terrifies me but I have to read it again.  I ended the book with this thought: "Ok Lord, now what?  What do you want me to do?  How can I live my life more in a way that makes you happy and that helps YOU shine and not me?"  

It has changed how I look at my list of "needs" of "wants" my complaints, etc. 

  

It has me thinking "Would you talk to Jesus like that?" before a word comes out of my mouth. 

 It has me humbled and waiting. 

Read it if you want to get messed up. :)

*~*

On another but similar kind of note.  I managed to get to our new church yesterday with just the kids and me.  Doug has to work every other Sunday.  I know that many folks thought I was doing wrong by our family by not going to church while Aaron was still napping mornings...but the last two Sunday services have encouraged me that we did the right thing. 

If you missed the conversation...my kids have never been babies who could miss a nap.  They are either in bed within five minutes of their due nap time or they are screaming their heads off.  We made a choice that we would not try to go to church until Aaron gave up his morning nap and we knew we could go peacefully.  Some folks even told us we would do irreparable damage to our boys for missing this time in church.  I obviously disagreed. :) 

If we had chosen to go...I feel like we would be worn out right now.  Dreading Sunday mornings and the days that followed...because we knew that Aaron would scream the whole time, be thrown off of schedule and we would spend days fixing it...just in time to start over.   And that dread would spill over into other areas of our life...and onto Moses too.

Instead...the last two Sundays have been SO sweet.  BOTH boys just go into their rooms peacefully, quietly, happily and even eagerly.  And I have cried through the first half of both worship services...overwhelmed by the presence of God and His touch on our lives.  And before we leave the parking lot Moses is checking to make sure that we are coming back the next week. 

That doesn't sound like irreparable damage to me. :) And instead of dread spilling over...it is joy, peace and happiness. :)

   So that is my crazy messed up head at the moment.  :)

I am off to finish a quilt for my favorite niece. :) And I am currently taking orders for the next hoho monster batch (just email me!)...thanks to all who bought up all of the last ones within MOMENTS!  You guys rock!

sir climbs it all.

This is a regular occurrence during the day here...I will be sewing...and Aaron climbs up into the chair behind me...sometimes he is content to stand behind me and pat my hair...sometimes he pulls on my shoulder until I turn around to hold him.  Either way is sweet and I will miss it when he stops.