Life Hack: Lost Camera ID photo

Life Hack: Take a picture of a return address label or card with your contact info so that if your camera gets misplaced it has a better chance of finding its way home.

Recentlysaw something on TV about a camera that had been found on a beach and how this couple was trying to ID the owners and I thought 'wouldn't it be nice if they just had their contact info on there along with their wedding and baby pictures?'

Denim Quilt I Helped Make

So this is actually something my mother, sisters, my kids, and I finished about two years ago but I wanted to put it on my Pinterest so I'm sticking it on my blog.  Ah, the wonders of technology.

It's actually a King size quilt which was a great present for my husband as he's a big guy but it can pretty much squash a small child with the weight.  We won't make one this large ever again.  The kids and the grown-ups each pieced together a square or two so it's got lots of individual touches.  It came out really well  The back we made from cheap flannel blankets we found on sale.  There is no batting or filling.  We used my mother's Bernina sewing machine and the denim foot attachment to put it all together.

To get uniform shapes we used a few pieces of cereal boxes cut into a square, a triangle, a rectangle, and a long rectangle, all measured to fit each other and leave a seam allowance.  Then we traced those onto old jeans of various sizes and colors and cut them out.  We messed around with the design a lot and had a great time voting on what squares were "artistic/creative" enough to add to the quilt (submitters ranged in age from two to senior discount so there was a lot of variety).

It turned out out so well we started on another SMALLER quilt and have plans to make one that is sort of a chess board with pockets for some kind of stuffed or beanbag chessmen or just checkers...  Check back in a few years to see if we finish that project.

Fathers Day Craft with my Cub Scouts

Saw something like this on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.

Not too many materials required; brown paper lunch bag, scissors, patterned paper (scrapbook paper), plain white handkerchief, needle, thread or embroidery thread, glue, some kind of filler like candy or treats.  Optional - iron on little patches, iron, ironing board, fabric to keep the patch from scorching

Found a good pattern for the tie and some "tie-ish" looking bits of paper in my scrapbook stuff.

Picked up the iron on patches (about an inch in size, the balls were the size of a quarter)

Gave the cubs a quick lesson in using a needle and thread.  You can see how big these handkerchiefs are, I picked them up at the craft store but next time I would look for them at kmart or something because these were more bandanna size but they worked.

The cubs did a great job putting the monogram on the handkerchief and we stuffed the "shirts" with little candy bars.  I drew the letter on the handkerchief for them lightly in pencil and then they did a simple running stitch to trace it.

Before opening the bag cut into it an inch and a half on both sides about an inch and a half from the top.  Make a careful slit in the front of the bag where the "pocket" will be for the handkerchief to stick out.  Glue the tie on where it looks good.  Put in the treats, arrange the handkerchief, carefully pull the flaps in and glue them down.  Great project for the cubs and mine got a kick out of doing the monogram.

Unusual (but not that cruel) Punishment

     They told me their rooms were clean and their chores were done and then they went to play with their friends.  Upon opening bedroom doors I found this...

Kylie's "clean" room

Krista's "clean" room

     So I went all crazy on them.

OH THE HORROR!!

      This is a little trick I learned from my mother.  Those suitcase locks fit through the hole in a plug.  This is a TV plug.  I locked the TVs and game systems all up and password protected the computers.  Their rooms have been cleaner and I think they learned a lesson in honesty.  If not, I've still got those locks.

Judging Others - Einstein Quote

Loved this one.

Heard a talk today on our divine nature.  The speaker used the analogy of a wooden beam being able to hold a certain weight, but two wooden beams next to each other can hold more than twice the individual weight.  This is because they reinforce the natural flaws in the wood of each other.  We are all like that.  We all have our own natural flaws and strengths.  We need each other to carry the load together.   If we were all alike we would all break in exactly the same place under the same stress.  We would all have the same problems to worry over and none of us would have a solution.  I believe God created us all with different strengths to support each other.  It takes some work to figure out what your strengths and flaws are and to find people who reinforce you the best but that's part of the challenge of life.

Costco Card Stand

Brilliant!

Saw a guy do this when I was in line in Costco.
Take the divider bar thing that you put between your groceries and the ones for the person ahead of you.  Put it upside down on the conveyor belt.  Stand your Costco card in the upside down divider bar.  It works like a business card holder and then you can get the stuff out of your cart and onto the conveyor belt without having to stop and dig out your card when it gets to be your turn.  Makes the Costco checkout thing just a bit faster and on a Saturday afternoon that makes a big difference.

Rubberbanding The Broom

BRILLIANT!

I was watching this infomercial about some new mop and they pointed out the "fancy" feature at the end of the handle where it was coated with some kind of rubbery stuff so that you could lean it against any wall or cabinet and it wouldn't tip over. I thought to myself "why didn't I think of that!" and immediately went to put a couple of rubberbands around the end of my broom so it won't tip over when I stop to get out the dustpan or to move a couple of chairs out of the way. It works great! So this is my random happy household improvement idea of today.

Simple Mothers Day Card for Nursery

For any of you that don't know Nursery, it's the kids ages 18 months to 3 years old who get to have a class together for two hours during meetings for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons or LDS Church). We get asked to take turns helping with the little people and doing a short lesson, some singing, a snack, playtime, and little activity things.

Since we're big on families Nursery can be quite the group, especially here in Utah. I personally get a kick out of working in there but I know some find it overwhelming.

Anyway, I did the Mothers Day activity for the kids this year and thought I would share how it turned out. I've got two kids in the Nursery right now so I got to keep two of the cards we made. These are half sheets of paper but a full size works better if doing a poem and the prints.

Step 1- Pre-print cards (I used a poem about footprints a few years back and that was way cute but handprints are easier).
Step 2- Get materials all set up in a corner so crowd control is easier. You need pre-printed cards on card stock, a clipboard, a non-toxic stamp pad/ink pad, a LOT of baby wipes, a pen for signatures.
Step 3- Demonstrate what you're going to do by rubbing your own hand or a willing participants hand lightly over the stamp pad and then having them "high five" the card stuck to the clipboard. Quickly set aside the card and scrub the ink off the hand with the baby wipe. Then have them sign the card putting a translation next to the signature as needed. Put finished cards on display out of reach.
Most kids will then just go for the idea. Work with the reluctant few or grab their dad out of his class for just a minute to encourage them. Include a piece of candy or a flower or something and you've got a great little gift from a little person. If all goes well, consider the footprint card for Fathers Day ;o) .

Making The Bed

It's been proven that starting your day by making your bed will create a small sense of peace.

Try it. Let me know if it works.

What ways do you find/create peace in your life?

I want this blog to be about how to have peace in my life and throughout the world. We can hope for peace and pray for peace, but how do we create some?