Book Review- The Hourglass Door Series

It's a little after 1AM, so I'm just going to post the official book trailer from YouTube. I know, I know. Lazy me. But these books are honestly so good. Trust me, once you start, you are NOT going to want to put them down. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to read them, because you will possible be confused. I was at parts, but you are supposed to be. It's part of the way she writes. I would go as far as to say that Dante is the Italian Mr. Darcy. ;)
I absolutely love these, and I hope you do to!

-Lauren

Embroidery Floss!!

Hey guys!

With school out and long road trips or flights in your near future, you might need something to entertain yourself with :). Well, I'm here to tell you about the wonder of embroidery floss! It's super easy to pack and do while traveling. Bracelets, anklets, necklaces, hair wraps, you name it!! Embroidery floss is sold at any fabric store and I'm pretty sure your local Wal-Mart might have some too. Grab 6 or so of your favorite colored threads and also a hard back book and a chip clip or a clothes pin.

Bracelets, Anklets, and Necklaces
There are a couple ways that you can make these bracelets, anklets, and necklaces. These bracelets do stretch a lot, but make sure that it won't cut off circulation by putting one finger in between the bracelet and your wrist before you tie it off.

How to tie off: Knot the end of the braid and then get some help putting it on! Be sure to tie a double knot so that it won't fall off.

Braids:
Take three pieces of embroidery floss and measure them around your wrist. Make sure that you have two or three inches extra on the end so that you can tie it off. Tie a knot at one of the ends. Pull it super tight so it doesn't come undone! Clip the floss to your hard cover book using the clothes pin. Separate the different colors and start braiding! Once you think that it's at about the right length, measure it around your wrist. If it fits loosely enough to put one finger in between the bracelet and your wrist, you're good to go! Tie off.

Knots:
Take two pieces of embroidery floss and fold them in half (Make sure that these pieces are a couple inches longer than your wrist is while folded in half). Tie a knot at the point where the floss is folded so that there is about a half an inch loop. Clip it to your book. Separate the floss so that the two separate colors are together (i.e. both pieces of pink floss on the left side, and both pieces of blue on the right). Take one of the pieces of floss on your right and fold it over all the other floss so that it looks like a backwards 4. Pull the end of the 4 shaped string through the triangle part of the 4. Pull it tightly. Separate the floss by color again, keep it on the same sides as it originally was. Now reverse the process. Take one of the pieces of floss from your left and fold it to look like a 4. Pull the end of the floss through the triangle part of of the four. Pull tightly. Once you've done these, switch to the slightly longer pieces of thread, alternating between the pieces. Repeat this process until the bracelet is long enough for your wrist :) Tie off.

If you are really into making these bracelets, check out this book, it's awesome!
http://www.amazon.com/Friendship-Bracelets-Klutz-Laura-Torres/dp/1570540535


Hair Wraps
This usually works better on hair that is at least ear length, I sadly can't do this right now :(. Anyway, this is great for summer and way cute!

Take a small section of hair, only about a pinch worth. I usually take this section from behind my ear. Pull the rest of your hair back and braid this section. Use a small rubber elastic to tie off the end of the braid. Cut two pieces of embroidery floss that are at least twice as long as the braid is. Fold these in half and tie them into a tight knot at the top of your braid. Grab on piece of floss, let's just say it's purple, and begin to wrap it around your hair. Hold the other floss underneath the purple floss, directly against your braid. Make sure that you can't see any gaps through the floss and wrap it tightly. Do this until there is about and inch of purple floss at the top of your braid. Pull it down into group of floss and pull out on strand of floss from the other color, this one's green. Start where the purple floss left off and wrap it around the braid and the other floss. Again, do this until there is about an inch. Switch to the purple floss now and make sure that you are using the piece that is the longest of the two. Repeat this until you come to the end of your braid. To tie this off, take to strands of opposite colors and tie them in a double knot. Do the same with the other two pieces. Take another small plastic elastic and wrap it slightly above where the two knots that you just tied are. You're done! This will last for about three weeks. Wash your hair as normal.

To take it out pull the covering elastic out and carefully cut the embroidery floss knots at the end of your braid. Start unwrapping and pull it out :)


Have an awesome summer you guys!!
Emily

Where The Wild Things Are

There is this great website named MADE http://www.dana-made-it.com/ that I have been enjoying becoming aquinted with. I is full of ideas for crafty/sewing girls like us. (Okay, maybe a lot of them are a lot better than me, but probably not some of you!
They feature other crafty people, like right here:
 http://www.dana-made-it.com/search?updated-max=2011-03-14T08%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=4

Scroll down a bit till you see :
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tetertotter/4353578547/in/faves-40972415@N00/
This is the artists flickr stream, beginning with these adorable TP Roll creations!

I thought since Suzanne and Em have a very cute collection of critters from this book in their house, that maybe my family might make this version; I think it might be more affordable. :)

A Pickle for a Nickle

If you have a younger sibling, this is a cute book to read to them. My 2 year old likes to offer a pickle for a nickle- real and the plastic one in her toy food. If she forgets the nickle part we ask if she wants a pickle for a nickle, because it's just so fun to say. Don't you agree?

This picture I found on Amazon.com. We have an identical copy we got at a yard sale, but I didn't want to take the time to take a picture and upload it. Thank you Amazon!

Pickles- we sure like them around here. My girls- all 4 of them, and I, eat them with a paper towel wrapped around them to soak up the juices. It makes a great snack between lunch and dinner. My husband cuts them for his tuna fish sandwiches, with Miracle Whip mind you - my daughter and I prefer mayonnaise (olive oil variety these days). I find it funny that my mother and father had the same varied opinions for which to put on their sandwich.

Another thing I like about Pickles, are pickle jars- especially the huge ones! I have tried to wash them out to get the smell out in the past, because I think they would be cute for storing stuff in, but have been unsuccessful. So today I googled "how to get the smell out of a pickle jar" and found a few good ideas, but this one had a scientific hypothesis to it so I liked it best! Little things make more sense if there is a scientific reason behind it. I am constantly thinking up my own hypothesis to things with my son. He's does it a lot more than I do though. :)

I'm going to try this:

I'd add 1 tsp. of bleach and two drops liq. Dawn, then add boiling water and let sit 1 hour. Principal is that because pickles in vinegar, a mild acid, likely added to jars while hot, the glass expanded and soaked up the odor, one reason it may not be easy otherwise to just "wash" it out with this and that. If you heat (expand the glass), and add alkaline soap/bleach, it should not only neutralize the vinegar residue, but also remove the odor. Remove that the glass will be hot at first, cooler at the end of the hour, so be careful handling when hot.

I would suggest putting the bottle somewhere safe before you put in the hot water, then just leaving it be for an hour.

I don't know what I am going to put in it if it works, but I will think of something. If it is cute enough I will share a picture of it later. If you find something you can put in a pickle jar and take a picture, send it to Suzanne! She may already have something cute in a pickle jar, you never know; she knows a lot of fun stuff! If you have a good recipe let us know too!

The Nancy Drew Cookbook

I don't know about you, but there are some books I love to read that have survived the test of time and Nancy Drew mysteries fit the bill, from The Haunted Bridge to The Mystery at Lilac Inn and many other books too. Look for "The Nancy Drew Cookbook - Clues to Good Cooking" the next time you're at the library. Read More about the cookbook and get a couple of recipes to try from Mr. Breakfast. (Recipes include: Crumbling Wall Coffee Cake, and Phantom Eggs)

Suz