Movers and Shakers

I love moving!

 I don't however, like packing. We are moving out of our apartment complex  in six days and into a single family home. I couldn't be more excited! It only has one bathroom, but it has a full basement, garage, yard and shed to compensate! 

 Right now I'm at that point where I have a coat closet full of packed boxes, empty boxes all over the house, and no clue what to pack next. Don't you hate that part of moving? "I can't pack the bathroom yet because we will use it. I can't pack the kitchen yet....what can I pack?!" Naturally, my solution is to sit on my butt and pack nothing. Makes a lot of sense, right? :) 

We are in the middle of the "Terrible Twos" here in Michigan, and I'm about ready to tear my hair out some days.

 I don't know if it's just my little man or all toddlers, but this little boy is a holy terror for me, yet sweet as sugar for others! He charms everyone he meets, yet at home he enjoys tormenting me by  biting, kicking, licking my face, and doing whatever else he knows will push my buttons. I REALLY hope this is just a short phase he will be growing out of soon! He was mid-tantrum tonight, flailing on the floor because I put a lid on his sippy cup (the nerve of me!), and I found myself on the verge of giving in and letting him roam around the house with an open juice cup. I caught myself, and said out loud, "I'm the mom here and I make the rules! We don't negotiate with terrorists...um...toddlers." It's not a good day when you confuse your toddler with a terrorist.

T.P. rolls + Christmas = ?

Have you seen all the awesome things being done with toilet paper rolls around blogland?

Check out these awesome party favors from Crissy's Crafts.

And the teacher gifts she made too!

Awesome, right? It made me hesitate before throwing out those used TP rolls, so I've accumulated about 30 just waiting to be inspired. Yes, my husband thinks I'm insane for saving them. 

Today, inspiration hit! I'm going to use them to make an amazing, hand made, up-cycled, advent calendar! That has got to be the most unique idea ever, right?!

Right?

Not so much. 

These next three were all made by Maya* Made

         

and this beautiful set below was made by Brown Paper Packages

Love! 

Ok, so my brilliant idea was thought up by many others first, but I still think it's quite brilliant never-the-less. 

Are you inspired yet?  

Spaghetti Squash Seeds

Today I learned that you can roast spaghetti squash seeds. Did you know that? I wasn't very optimistic about it, but I did it anyway, and yum! Mine were a lot more tender than pumpkin seeds (which I really liked), and they have a bit of a popcorn taste to them. I won't be throwing away the seeds next time I roast any kind of winter squash! Give it a try. Here is one recipe to try, though I didn't use any oil on mine. Enjoy!

T-shirt Up-cycle Take: 2, Footstool Slipcover

If you've ever had young kids you know what a mess they can make in the time it takes you to turn around. This poor foot stool began its life in our home with an ugly, dirty, beige fabric and very deteriorated foam. I didn't take a picture, so you'll have to take my word for it. It was actually worse than this at one point...barely. 

I'm sure you didn't miss all those chocolate milk stains on the white canvas fabric? Silly me, I re-covered, and re-stuffed the foot stool, planning on sewing a slip cover that could be taken off and thrown in the wash. Yeah...enter a shorter than usual nap, and a toddler with chocolate milk.  Sigh Clearly the slip cover could wait no longer! 

Enter a t-shirt that doesn't fit in a darker color, and I've got a simple, durable slipcover that can be tossed in the wash as needed, and as a bonus, less wrinkles from cringing every time i saw that chocolate milk. 

T-shirt Up-cycle

We've got stacks of old, stained, holey t-shirts around here that I can't bring myself to throw away. A couple have been cut up into cleaning rags, but come on, how many cleaning rags do you need?

My solution...

I cut those puppies into long strips and turned them into "yarn," then taught myself how to crochet a rag rug. Seriously.

It's not even close to being perfect, but I made it myself, and I love it! It fits great in front of the sink or stove in the kitchen. 

I've been wanting to make a rag rug for awhile now, but the idea of sewing coils and coils of braided fabric together makes me want to scream. Plus, I prefer rectangular rugs, so I learned to crochet instead!

I used YouTube to learn a simple single crochet stitch, and went to town with it. Each color is a whole t-shirt (between 2x and 4x sizes) cut into strips, so my pile is 7 shirts shorter!

 I was inspired by this rug made by Cassandra from Flight of the Pook out of bed sheets:

source

and this awesome denim rug from Alison King made from 100 lbs. of up-cycled jeans. Holy moly. I Love it!

source

Maybe I'll use denim for the next rug. For now, keep your eye out for more t-shirt up-cycle projects to come!

Summer in a Nutshell *photo bomb*

Oh hi! It's been awhile, how was your summer? Ours was full of monkeying around,

 Soaking up the sun, 

Lounging about,

bonding with cousins in upstate NY,

splashing around,

becoming buddies with uncles,

and getting to know some farm animals.

It was exhausting!

Now I'm ready for a little chilly weather, and back to some DIY!