Revisiting Goals

Some of you might remember the 100 Goals for 2010 list I made (and did not complete). I just wanted to revisit it and add some new goals to it. Some I will take off because they either no longer interest me or I know it's not realistic to get them done this year. If my color coding shows up right, the red are my CURRENT comments. The blue are ones I really want/need to get done.

1. organize all 3 craft totes (3/3) -- Completed June 2010. Got rid of one tote, downsized to two organized totes. -- I have way more than 3 totes now! hahaha. But they are all organized!

2. make Gracelynn's birthday scrapbook (by March 7th) -- Failed. Hopefully by the end of the year I will get this done. Yeah, this didn't happen. :/

3. domino alterations of some sort -- earrings? necklace? -- Haven't had time, not really interested in doing these anymore.... 

4. complete 100 swaps (104/100) -- Completed 100 swaps and then quit swap-bot to focus on other things

5. eye spy bags for the girls (3/3) -- I made Eye Spy Bottles - they LOVE them

6. collect 50 cancelled stamps -- Actually have about 100! Pics will be posted eventually. If anyone likes cancelled stamps let me know and I'll mail some to you! I still have the stamps somewhere. If I ever find them, I will post pictures. :)

7. knit a bag or purse -- A friend knitted one for me, so I got out of this one LOL

8. chalkboard globe -- Made chalkboard table instead, 2-22

9. work with clay -- polymer beads, maybe? -- Still very interested in doing this, just haven't had the time.. focusing on craft shows and the website This still interests me but I don't have the time or space.

10. make my own rubber stamp -- Can't wait to do this! Just trying to figure out what supplies I will need. Might do this with the girls over the summer. Got all the supplies.

11. finish our (mine and Rach's) scrapbook -- Eh, eventually I will do this!

12. frame some artwork - Rachel's paintings are hanging all over our house! :) 

13. make Sapphire's scrapbook (by August 30th) -- Didn't happen!

14. knit a pair of socks for Rach -- Not interesting in knitting anymore!

15. make spreadsheet for tutus - Completed 2-8-2010

16. add 20 items to etsy shop (Completed -- 30 as of 3-27-2010)

17. make a clock -- Would love to do this still.

18. add 10 tutu designs to website (6/10 as of 3-27-2010) - sold the business

19. organize computer table (Completed 1/24/10)

20. bleach art shirt -- Hmm. Not sure if this interests me anymore or not. Maybe Rach will try it.

21. turn a scrapbook into a journal (Completed 2-4-2010)

22. add more pictures of bows to website (Completed 2-10-2010)

23. make mohawk hats -- without the ear flaps, ick! (1.5/4 as of 2-10-2010) - Done!

24. frame some inchies - No longer doing inchies.

25. make a family recipe book, out of a scrapbook maybe? -- Need more time to do this. Would be awesome!

26. knit a lap blanket for my mom - see above

27. knit myself a headband - see above re: knitting

28. make mail bags and letters for the younger girls (Completed 2/3/10)

29. knit something for charity -- any ideas?? -- see above: knitting

30. curtains for bedroom -- make or buy -- buying some THIS week!

31. make skirt or dress for one of the girls - Got a sewing machine finally.

32. visit the zoo at least 5 times (0/5) - Ended up sinking into sewage last time LOL long story!

33. visit the science center at least 3 times (0/3) - Definitely did this, but it's boring now.

34. visit the arch at least once (0/1) - Done!

35. knit stockings for the girls for Christmas (0/3) - no knitting!

36. make a doll or bear for one of the girls - No time!

37. knit a ball - no knitting

38. make heating pad for me and Rach (0/2) - Mom made us each one. :)

39. make a book safe -- Rach cut herself with an exacto knife not too long ago so they have been banned from our house.

40. 52 reasons I love you decks, one for each (0/4) I need to do this.

41. drink at least 3 bottles of water each day (Working on that..) - I fail.

42. fabric book

43. rice sock

44. lose 40lbs (Down 5 lbs as of 3-29) -- Down 25! I have 55 more to go. Made a bigger goal.

45. rainbow cupcakes

46. make reusable grocery bag -- knit? out of a t-shirt? not sure yet - Just bought some instead.

47. library tote bag - Bought one

48. diaper cake - Have made a few for friends.

49. go back to college - Eventually...

50. make chalkboards -Made a chalkboard table instead, pics to follow

51. set up at flea market - Maybe in the future, if I find something new to make/sell.

52. make pop-up card Completed 2-3-2010

53. remote control holder - Lost interest... I guess I do that a lot!

54. write 25 articles for eHow -- Please check out my current articles!! (4/25 as of 2-27-2010) -- Ehow no longer accepts articles. :( But I still get a paycheck from them once a month.

55. clean hall closet - LOL This one is still not done.

56. weigh in weekly (3/49) - Epic fail! - Still fail.

57. make laundry soap - Made it!! Finally!

58. post ad to craigslist for tutus at least once a month (2/12) -- sold business

59. turn Christmas cards into Christmas tags for next year - Great idea, still have some cards. Might try.

60. teach Grace sign language ABCs (in progress..) - Still working on this. Jenelle has learned to sign a few songs so far.

61. trick or treat bags (0/3) - Didn't do these. Might this year.

62. teach Grace to read 25 sight words (0/25) - She can read a lot more than 25!

63. take more cemetery photos, possibly host cemetery swap?? - Took the pictures, didn't do any more swaps.

64. teach Sapphire to write her ABCs (2/26) - She can do all of these now.

65. make rapunzel scarf -- Lost interest.

66. teach Nell to use a dictionary - Completed!

67. teach Nell to use a thesaurus - Not yet.

68. make cassette tape wallet -- Anyone want to send me a cassette to use?! -- Lost interest.

69. make something religious/spiritual - maybe artwork? - Lost interest.

70. make ribbon organizer (or buy one?) - Made a few different types. Settled on gutters. Will post pics some time.

71. make wire ring - Still would love to do this.

72. make something with my button stash - Still want to do this!!

73. share reflexology info via a swap (Completed 1/24/10)

74. make a journal and swap it

75. host at least 5 swaps (2/5) - No more swaps.

76. complete an art project with Rachel - She taught me spray paint art.

77. paint an abstract.. something or other - Haven't had time.

78. make something "zombie"/dark/goth for Rach as a surprise - This would still be fun.

79. make 10 YouTube videos -- Please check out our videos!! (2/10) - Haven't had much time but my daughter has made some videos. Here and here.

80. paint my fingernails (yes this has to be a goal.. lol) - I've done this a few times now. :)

81. make a zentangle - Lost interest.

82. design a new business card (completed 1/20/10)

83. design new address labels - Completed 2-22-2010

84. scan old pictures and post to facebook (completed 1/19/10)

85. make yoga pants from an old t-shirt - Lost interest!

86. Read at least 12 books and post a review of each(3/12) - Haven't had time to read but now I have a Kobo so I will try to squeeze them in. :)

87. Make baby doll blankets for the younger two (completed 1/21/10)

88. make a pillow - Working on a monster pillow idea.

89. attempt to make soaps (Completed 1/23/10)

90. attempt to make a candle - These are fun. Made one just the other day. I should blog about it, huh? :)

91. make MIL's pup a dog toy -- Dog bit Sapphire, and is finding a new home. No toy made! - MIL did not find a new home for the dog and he STILL bites. Don't get me started.

92. make a no-sew fleece blanket - My mom made the girls some for Christmas. I watched. :)

93. learn how to knit an i-cord? I think that's what it's called? - See note about knitting.

94. make Rach a dishcloth (completed 1/21/10)

95. make Rach a piece of jewelry - Will do this when I find one she will wear.

96. Save $200 by using coupons ($54.62/$200) - I save at least $50 a week using coupons now!!

97. try to stop using shampoo -- Haven't used shampoo in 2 months! -- Did the no poo thing for a few months, and went back to shampoo. Wouldn't be against trying it again, just didn't want to for the time being.

98. Make a treasure map with the kids - This will be fun!

99. Pay ALL bills ON TIME -- Awesome so far! - Still doing well!

100. make paint chip books for the girls (Completed 1/24/10) - Made some more.

Now I really need to make a few goals for 2011. My main goal is to spend as much time as possible with my kids. I started working from home to ensure that. Another goal... to succeed with Mary Kay. I want to earn a career car within a year (so, by next April because that's when I signed up). I want to donate as much as possible, and save as much as possible with coupons. I just started offering couponing classes in my area. I really just want to focus on making my quality of life the best that I can. I want to enjoy every moment of it. I don't think that's too much to ask. :) What are your goals for 2011?

Loom Knitted Mohawk Hat Tutorial

I looked all over for a decent tutorial for a knitted mohawk hat and could not find one. After getting frustrated, I just decided to wing it -- I'm good at that, remember?

I used Wool-Ease (I think that's the name?), about half a skein. I recommend using two different colors - one for the hat and one for the mohawk. I wasn't sure if I would like the finished product, so I just used one color for practice (cheaper that way).



Knit the hat up on the 2nd largest loom -- mine is green but I know different brands are different colors. This hat will fit most heads (not mine, because I have a huge head). Use the smaller loom for a tiny baby, use the largest loom for a big head like me. You can put a brim on your hat, but I think it looks better without one.



After your hat is completed, you want to add the mohawk (duh). I cut a ton of 4-5" pieces of yarn, and laid them out. I stretched the hat a little bit to find the middle row, where I wanted to add the hawk. It isn't an exact science, just eyeball it. Just make sure you follow the same knitted line so it's not a crooked mohawk. That would look kind of dumb. Use a crochet hook to pull the yarn through, and double-knot each piece of yarn to make sure it stays on. You could add two rows or even three but I just stuck with one. It all depends on how wide you want your mohawk.

You can make your hawk go from end to end, or just on part of the hat. I chose to have it go from one end to the other, minus three stitches on each side.

Last but not least (and optional) is to "fluff" your hawk. I used a regular brush but a wire brush would work wonders! You can cut it a little shorter if you'd like.. or next time make the yarn pieces longer if you want it shaggier. Again, it's all up to you! The possibilities are endless here.. these are so flippin' cute!!



Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer them... I know this isn't the BEST tutorial because of the lack of pictures, but I honestly didn't think it would turn out so I didn't take pictures along the way. It's pretty self-explanatory if you know how to make a hat already.

Good luck, and I'd love to see pictures!!

#28. *whew*

28. make mail bags and letters for the younger girls

Completed!!

We looked at a few different tutorials online, but ultimately decided to just wing it, like we do with 99.9% of our projects. We do better that way. :)

First, I purchased 8 sheets of felt. They were a quarter a piece at Hobby Lobby. I know you can get them at Michael's, Wal-Mart, etc.

If you recall, I don't really sew.. I hate sewing.. so we I used the hot glue gun to put everything together.

Supplies needed:
At least 8 sheets of felt
Hot glue, or a needle and thread (or better yet, a sewing machine)
Ribbon or rick rack (we used scraps of ribbon)
Patience

This craft took us about an hour and a half. Of course, if you're doing it yourself it will probably be about half of that. I let the girls cut the ribbon, help shape the felt, and of course they played with it the whole time we were crafting.. so that's why it took a little longer.

First, you want to make the envelopes, letters, and post cards. If you visit the link above, you will see that she did a lot of sewing to put these together. I wanted something a little less "perfect", and wanted the girls to help.. so ours don't look the same as hers. I think it's just a matter of preference.

To make the envelopes, we took the felt sheet and cut it in half long way. Then we cut about an inch off the top of each piece. Take the two top corners and fold them in to make little triangles, like the top of an envelope. Then take the bottom part of the felt and pull it up to make the other half of the envelope. It's really simple once you have the felt in front of you.



Please excuse the foot in the picture, my photo editing software is not yet installed on this computer lol.

Then, we worked on the letters. Sapphire said this was the "most funnest" part. :) Take a sheet of felt and cut an inch or two off the top. Then fold the remaining felt and cut it into fours. These are your letters.



Then take small strips of ribbon (or rick rack) -- about 1-3" long -- and hot glue (or sew?) them on. While we were gluing these on, the girls were "reading" their letters. I think we are going to have to make a YouTube video for them to read them because they were hilarious! They have crazy imaginations!



You can also make postcards in pretty much the same way you make the letters, only don't cut off the inch at the top. Fold the sheet of felt and cut into fours. Glue (or sew) a stamp into the right hand corner, and then ribbon for the "writing".




To make the mail bag, take two full sheets of felt and hot glue (or sew) them together, leaving one of the long sides open. You can make a fancier bag.. I was just tired by the end of this craft -- we usually do them in the afternoon or early evening but we started this one at 7:00pm!



I made the strap with scraps of felt, just overlapping and hot gluing them together. Also, folding down a few inches on the front piece of felt might be helpful. We did not have any velcro but I recommend using a small piece to secure the bag as well as the envelopes!

My goal only included making them for the younger two girls but I just made one set for everyone to share, because even my 8 year old was VERY interested in this craft!



A letter..



And then, just as we were getting ready to finish up, I saw a lonely (and empty) Capri Sun box sitting on the counter!



So, even though they were quite content with their letters and mail bag...



We decided to UPCYCLE that Capri Sun box and turn it into a mailbox! We covered it with leftover scraps of paper and covered it with shipping tape to make it more durable. At the end, where the opening is, I cut the top half and glued it to the bottom half to make one big flap rather than two small ones. I used a hole punch and made a handle with 3/8" ribbon, so it was easier to open. We also made the flag out of cardboard from an old shoe box. We covered it with scraps of paper, and shipping tape.. secured it with a brad.. and voila.. a fully functional mailbox! :)



And yes, I'm aware that she looks tired.. we all were after this one! lol

If you have any questions about how we did this project, feel free to leave a comment. It's late, so who knows if this post makes any sense! :)

Some goals, a tutorial, and a OWOH giveaway!!!

Okay, just a warning.. this is going to be a long post! I will make each title bold so you can skip some if they don't interest you.. or hey, be a trooper and read them all! :)

Goal #1, partially completed
Organize all 3 craft totes -- 1/3 now completed! I organized my scrapbooking tote, which was the hardest one. I put ALL of the loose photos in a leftover priority mail box that I had laying around. I got rid of a LOT of stuff, and just put everything into categories. I used the film envelopes for holding stickers.

#4, Complete 100 swaps, now 19/100
I finished some more swaps this weekend, so I'm now 19 for 100 on swaps! w00t!!

#16, Add 20 items to ETSY
So I added one item to etsy this weekend. I just don't have the energy to add more than one at a time. Anyone wanna do it for me?? lol

#19 -- COMPLETED!!!
Organize craft desk.. completed! WOO HOO! This was so fun, seriously. Now this is taking real guts to post before pictures, try not to cringe too much!





And here are the after:







After looking at plastic organization things at Wal-Mart, I decided I'd make my own. I used leftover priority mail shipping boxes and stacked them together. I cut out one side, so it was open. I am using it to stack my scrapbooking papers and just various things inside. I used the bottom of a Velveeta box to hold all of my notecards and recipe cards to send out in swaps. I used a tin from some candy for paint samples (more on that later). I used the bottom half of a plastic juice bottle to hold all of my stamps. Oh, and I decorated the top of the paper organizer with some leftover scrapbook paper. :)

#73
I sent some reflexology information via a private swap this weekend. It was a $5 profile surprise, so I just included those as an extra.. the lady was a knitter so I sent some 100% cotton yarn, some inchies, some glitter gel pens, and a few other things.

#75
I hosted my first swap!! That means 1/5 completed on that goal.

#100
Last but not least, the kids and I made paint sample books!! The guy at the paint store looked at me like I was crazy when I took a bunch of different colors. Oh well. :) We had LOTS of fun with them. I tied them off with leftover tulle scraps, but you could use ribbon or yarn.





I made Gracelynn a sight words book, and made Jenelle a cursive letters book. I made Sapphire a colors book, as well as a letters book -- I wrote the colors on matching paint samples.. and I wrote the capital AND lowercase of each letter of the alphabet in the other book. That was SUPER fun.

Making crayons
We also made crayons today. We have been busy! We took ALL of our broken crayons and put them into a container. We spent some time peeling the crayon wrappers off.



And some more time... (this is one of the VERY few activities that kept them involved for more than 20 minutes.. they didn't want to stop!)



Getting distracted, "swimming" on the floor.. look at that outfit! LMAO!



After we were done peeling, and swimming, we broke the crayons into litttttle bitty pieces and placed them into a mini muffin pan.



We baked them in a 265 degree (F) oven for about 12 or 13 minutes. We let them cool for a half hour, and they popped right out. We didn't use anything to line the muffin pan. Some places suggested lining with foil, but we took a chance without it and everything turned out fine. We never use the pan without liners for baking, so we are safe. :)



They have been sitting at the table for about 40 minutes coloring on paper bags. I swear nothing has ever kept them entertained so long! It's amazing, I love it!! Make these with your kids, it's a life saver! :)


Sorry this was so long!! We did SO much this weekend!! (Did I mention I babysat while we were doing all of this?? Yeah, 6 kids in our apartment, 5 of them 4 and under.. WEEEE!!) I hope yours was a great one as well!

Oh, and I almost forgot! The giveaway! :) We are participating in



We are #252 on the page! :) Stop by to check out all the other AWESOME giveaways!

We are giving away a set of our home-made oatmeal soap bars (great for sensitive skin, no harsh chemicals or dyes). This is open to INTERNATIONAL bloggers as well (a first for us). (We do net sell these on our website, it's just a project I enjoyed doing so I'd like to do more.)

All you have to do is leave a comment, and I will generate a winner by a random number generator. The contest ends February 12th at 11:59 CST, and the winner will be ANNOUNCED on February 15th, 2010.



After some consideration, I have decided to add a custom tutu to the giveaway!!!

This picture is of a rainbow tutu but the winner can customize his/her own. Up to size 7/8 in little girls. Please allow a few days for tutu to be made AFTER winner is chosen!



Get ideas for your custom tutu HERE. Let me know in the comments which tutu (size and colors) you would like if you win. If you do not leave the size/colors in the comments, I will assume you are entering to win the soaps. Thanks!! :)

#79 and #89

We made soaps this morning! They're awesome! And easy! :) Can you tell I'm excited?? We actually made TWO videos for this one. One, the kids made and explained how to make the melt and pour soaps. The other one, I just used some pictures to make a slide show -- I think the instructions are a little clearer when they are typed out.

Slideshow with typed out instructions:



Video instructions by Jenelle:



That means I have completed part of goal #79 (make 10 YouTube videos) and we definitely completed goal #89 (attempt to make soaps). We tried last night and kind of failed.. we didn't let it set long enough (the package says 20 to 40 minutes, it took 2 hours for the bigger molds). When you try to pop them out, if it's hard to do that usually means it hasn't set long enough. Be patient.

I'm babysitting a little boy today.. he's like 16 months old. They're so cute when you know you can send them home!! Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Savings, a goal completed, and a new challenge

I added a goal (#96) to save at least $120.00 with coupons this year. That's only $10 a month. Easy enough. This morning, I saved $15.66. I still have a few things I need to get, and will probably save $5 more! w00t! I'm excited!

How did I do it? By clipping coupons and price matching. If the place I shopped would have offered double coupons, I would have saved even more. I know a lot of places do offer that, so you should look into it! If you didn't know, Wal-Mart offers price matching. That means you bring in a Walgreen's, or Schnucks', or whatever ad and they give the item to you for the lower price. I saved 25 cents on Skittles that way today. :) Oh and I saved 63 cents on soy sauce.

Buy a Sunday Paper, look at the Red Plum ads (go online to redplum.com for more savings), and clip the coupons you need. I actually clip EVERY coupon and send off a few hundred a week. :) I also buy the "ALL YOU" magazine every month. I usually get at least $10 worth of coupons that I can use out of each issue. Plus, they have a lot of great recipes, health tips, etc. Last but not least, look online. Just google "free printable grocery coupons" and you will find some. Don't sign up for anything, or register anywhere, just find the places that let you print the coupons. (Sometimes you'll have to install a coupon printer in your browser.)

I was able to mark off another goal (#94), but didn't get a picture before the kids took off with my knitted dishcloth. I also added another goal to the list (#97): No shampoo.

Yes, that is correct. I'm taking the 6 week no-shampoo challenge. If I like my hair after 6 weeks with no shampoo, I'll stick with it. Shampoo (POO for short) is filled with all sorts of chemicals, and just.. JUNK. Why use it if we don't have to? Now the "no poo" way of life doesn't work for everyone, but it's worth trying out. I'm on day 4 and my hair is lookin a littttle greasy.. but that's to be expected. I have plenty of bandanas on hand if need be. :) I have noticed it's a lot curlier.. I think I can hang!



Oh, and I attempted to make a headband (goal #27) THREE times last night. Failed miserably all three times. Will post pictures when I finally "get" it.

Anyone else make a goal list? I'd like to see yours!!

Pizza box craft and 1 goal completed

Okay, so this isn't one of my goals, but when I saw this project, I couldn't pass it up. That's what I get for blog jogging, huh?

I didn't have an exact-o knife, so I used manicure scissors... go figure. These are very simple, and you can decorate and embellish them any way you choose. I let the girls decorate these with pop-out stickers.



I would recommend using thick paper for this project because you are folding and gluing them into boxes. I think they would be cute Valentine's Day gifts with a few pieces of candy or a few little notes in them. Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet. I might use them for swaps, or start shipping my bows in them. They're just so dog-gone cute!!



Print out the template. Follow the directions (cut, score, etc)-- I used paper that was colored on each side so the inside of the box would be cute, too.



Glue the little tabs inside the bottom part of the box, add stickers or other embellishments (ribbon would be cute), and you're done!!



I'd love to see what everyone else comes up with.. leave your link!

Oh, and one goal completed!! (#87) I surprised her when she woke up from nap.



Check out The Cutest Blog on the Block for cute layouts like the owl one I am using!! They are much easier to use than most blogger layouts - you just add an HTML gadget and paste it in. Nothing to it!