Where did time go?

My oldest daughter is growing like a weed.  Seriously, I'm thinkin' the child might be 5 feet tall by the end of the summer... she's only 9!  I shouldn't be too surprised, I'm almost 6 feet tall and I was almost this tall by 6th grade.  Wait, I just said she was 9, I'm pretty sure she was just born.  Where does time go?

Which leads me to all those things like, oh, I'll do that tomorrow when I have more time.  And now I've been saying that for a month!  We've all been there, right?

So here it is.  This post is about two specific things I have been meaning to do and have promised myself I will get done before the end of the week, but I need your help, please.

First, some wonderful bloggers have recently given me awards and I just kept meaning to pass them on, tomorrow, but tomorrow keeps getting farther and farther away!  Here we go...

Thank you Real Crafty Mama and Blissful and Domestic for the Versatile Blogger Award!

And to DIY kinda girl for the One Lovely Blog Award!

I am truly touched and so excited.  Both of them come with a few simple requirements, to tell you 7 things about myself and pass the award on (15 for Versatile and 5 for Lovely).   I am also supposed to thank the givers and link back to them (check).

My version is the "I can't get my act together" award which means I am cheating a bit.

Seven things about me:

1. I have a drawer full of blank thank you cards, I'm pretty sure I haven't written one since my wedding!  I do feel bad about being a thank you card slacker, especially for all the thank you cards I am behind on for my Grandma (given what I've already said, you probably could have figured that out).
2. I suffer from OCD - Obsessive Craft Disorder!  I get an idea in my head and can't get it out until I make or do the idea. 
3. I'm always tired, I feel like I sleep all the time, but I can never fall asleep.  Confused?  So am I.
4. My husband thinks I'll go back to work someday... hence the Domestic Deadline.  We'll just leave it at that...
5. I totally crack myself up... feel free to laugh at me, I'm fine with it.
6. I have a panic attack at the thought of not recycling and waisting things.  We only have this one planet, I'd really like it to be around for future generations.  Which is probably why upcycling projects are hands down my favorite (especially when I can sew and upcycle).
7. I'm obsessed with labels... not name brand, but where it is made, what it is made from and if it can be recycled.  I WILL pay more for American made, post consumer recycled and easily recyclable (that little triangle thing around anything above 2 isn't considered recyclable by my local recycling facilities...).

Now comes the part where I am supposed to pass these awards on to other great bloggers.  Here is the "I can't get my act together" version:  I follow a lot of big bloggers.  I follow a lot of small bloggers.  I love followers and comments (warm and fuzzy feelings!).  When people comment on my blog, I try to go check out their blog.  I try to follow the bloggers that follow me...  Somewhere along the way, time passed me by and well, we've already gone over that...

So, if you have a blog and follow me, please leave me a comment on THIS post with a link to your blog.  I will go to your blog, leave you a nice comment and follow you back.  I will then add you to my list of award recipients and pass the award on to you!  (I warned you this was the slacker version... might have to make up my own award...maybe tomorrow)

1. Who wants to be listed first?

Peace be with you,

PS - This is this week's goal.  After this week, I will try harder to follow back...

Happy Memorial Day 2011!

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful day!  We started our Memorial Day out the way we have the past several years, marching in our local parade with our church.  I thought I'd share a few pictures.

Fun hair flowers I made for the girls and I:

Last year I made these as dresses for the girls, they were tunics this year!  JuneBug is closing in on 5 feet tall at 9, next year it might be a belly shirt on her.

Here comes our crew!

My girls took turns carrying the crosses and the banner

We are always one of the last groups since everyone wants to take a shot at making a basket.  Here's IronFish giving O-man a little boost.  He is a huge basketball fan, he's even been known to sleep with a few basketballs in his bed!

Thanks to all who have served our country, past, present and future.  God Bless America!

Now it's pool time, baby!
Peace be with you,

Summer Schedule

Our neighborhood pool opens tomorrow, which in my mind is the kick off of summer!  We do have vacation plans in July, but I'm also looking forward to swimming, the zoo, Great Adventure, movies and spending time with my kiddos.  I've got lots of ideas of things to make and do with the kids... and I want to do some more organizing around here.

So...I've come up with a schedule for the summer:

• Mission Organization Mondays - When I see the organizing others have done, I get inspired to do some of my own.  I'll be looking for inspiration and hoping to inspire others, and get some things in order.
• Crafting with Kids Tuesdays - The girls are excited to do some sewing, learn to crochet and a variety of other things.  What are you doing with your kids this summer, I'd love to hear about it.
• What I Made to Wear Wednesday - My upcycle pile needs to dwindle and I love wearing my own creations, I just can't help it!
• New Friends Thursdays - The show "Friends" ran on Thursdays for how many years?  I'd love to show case some of you!  If you are interested in guest posting, blog swapping, hosting a give-a-way or a combination please drop me an e-mail at domesticdeadline@gmail.com
• Flashback Fridays - I've been crafting long before I've been blogging, I thought I'd share some of the projects I did before my blog started.  I'll do my best to credit the blogs that inspired me, if I can remember that far back!

That's my summer plan, starting June 1st.  I hope you'll join me.

Peace be with you,

Patriotic Wreath

I'm still in the start of summer mode.  My spring wreath needed to come down and replaced with something more fitting for the season.  Hmmm, something tells me I have a few million yards of ribbon just waiting to be used...

Gather your supplies:
A few miles of ribbon, scissors, lighter or candle, wreath form or refrigerator conduit, duct tape

Wait, doesn't everyone have packages of refrigerator conduit laying around?  Be creative folks, unless you have a wreath form laying around.

IF you are using some sort of wire or, like me, refrigerator conduit, use the appropriate tool to cut it, such as a pipe cutter, don't use your good scissors (or they will become your crappy scissors pretty quickly).

Use some duct tape to form your wire/pipe into a circle, I like to then cover the whole thing with duct tape... it's just so much fun to use!

I cut my ribbons 6-8 inches long, you may need to go longer if your wreath is thicker than mine.  Just cut tons.  Then cut a few tons more...

Once you have lots of ribbon cut, seal the edges by touching them to a flame quickly, I have decided a lit candle is the easiest way for me to do this.

Start knotting your ribbons on.  Yes, I'm a little Type-A and have to try to balance out the placement of my ribbons, trying not to get too much of the same too close.

Then cover the whole thing in ribbons, squish them together and squeeze some more in there.

Hang up and enjoy your 3-day weekend!

There you have it, super easy, super cute and super stashbusting!

Peace be with you,

PS - I'll be linking up to several of these parties, stop by and party with me!

WIMTWW: Side Stripe Shirt

If you are stopping by from Creating My Way to Success, Welcome!

Every Memorial Day our family marches in our town's Memorial Day Parade.  Since you can't march in a Memorial Day Parade in green, this tutorial came in handy.  Now my shirt coordinates with the tunics I made for the girls!

So simple and really should be done again... soon.

Peace be with you,

PS - I'll be linking up to several of these parties!

Memorial Trees

Thankfully the weather man was wrong today, it was beautiful!  But alas, my back is bothering me, so I laid low today.  O-man has been patiently watching the workers get the pool by my house ready and it occurred to me that this weekend is Memorial Day... which means that pool will be open this weekend!

With Memorial Day approaching, I decided to spruce up my "mantel" with a more summer-y theme.  We don't have a fire place, but we do have a TV cabinet in our living room with a nice big surface on the top so this acts as my mantel.  I've taken to changing it out periodically and since blogging, by season and holiday!

Many of my various holiday decorations are stored right inside my couch in the living room itself, so I pulled out a few of the trees I made for Valentine's Day, red and white.  Now we just needed blue.  In March when I made St. Patty's Day decor, I picked up some of the blue clothes line from the dollar store.  Glad I remembered today that I'd thought ahead! 

Now my "mantel" is sporting the right colors for the first half of the summer... I'll have to think of some new trees for after the 4th of July!

Peace be with you,

Wanted: Guest Bloggers and More!

Can you believe summer is almost here?  I know some schools are already done for the year, but my kids don't finish until late June.  We'll be traveling to visit family and for IronFish to participate in the Timberman Triathlon.  I've got lots of plans around the house and with the kids too.

I was also thinking about how much fun it would be to have some guest bloggers and give-a-ways this summer.  So..... if you would be interested in doing a guest post on Domestic Deadline, a blog swap, host a give-a-way or any combination of those, drop me an email at domesticdeadline@gmail.com so we can work out the details!

Peace be with you,

Yard Sale Success

You may remember about two weeks ago my family was involved in our church yard sale.  Well, this year we broke a new record bringing in over $6000 in one day of sales!  Every year I am in charge of the jewelry department and our sales on jewelry alone was almost $1200!!!!!  I just can't believe it, it was an awesome day.  There are a few things that I have to list on ebay that we felt would do better there than at the sale so our total still has the potential to go up.  I thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures of the day:
During a lull in the crowds, one of the guys climbed the fire escape to take this picture showing our hot dog stand, books & media, housewares, toys, collectibles and holiday departments

Some of the furniture, there's a few things here I never saw... probably a good thing!

Another view of the furniture department, we even offer local delivery!

My husband (bending down) and Uncle Eddie in "Uncle Eddie's Used Electronics" department.  A few years ago they decided tacky sports coats would improve their sales... I'm still refusing to dry clean that coat, it's officially considered wash and wear now!

Here's a few views of our jewelry department.  Finishing setting up the necklaces before the crowds arrived (they were actually lining up outside the door!  We are the only ones inside since we start laying everything out a few days early)

Half of the earring section.  We put all the earrings on index cards, it has actually improved our earring sales and prices.  I've actually attempted to keep track of how many pairs of earrings we sell every year, it's usually around 200 (including clip on earrings)

It isn't uncommon for us to have people lined up along the tables, two or three rows deep.  That's me all the way in the back with the navy sleeveless shirt on.

Since this is a town wide event held the first weekend in May annually, we all relax with for dinner and the Kentucky Derby races at a local pub afterwards.  It's always well deserved.

Peace be with you,

Birthday Give-a-Way Winner & Scrapbook Time!

So sorry for the delay!  Blogger was down for a bit and then I actually forgot to write up the post of who won my Birthday Give-A-Way.  Drumroll please.....

#11 - TJ!!!!! 

Please drop me an email with your address and I will get your prize out to you!

I am gearing up for a major scrapbook-a-thon and I'm so excited!  I've got a little birthday money in my pocket and with a few friends we are going to the Scrapbook Expo in Sommerset NJ.  Get this, when we signed up, we thought it was an evening thing.... nope.... ALLLLLLLLL day!  I've got the kids covered and I'll be attempting to catch up on my family scrapbooks.  I'm keeping my fingures crossed that I'll finish at least all of 2008.

Peace be with you,

WIMTWW: New Favorite Color Combo

A few months ago I started seeing things in yellow and gray and fell in love with the combo.  One night after looking online at a few of my favorite clothing sites I realized I had a dark gray t-shirt in my stash and lots of pretty yellow fabric.  A few hours later I had a new comfy spring/summer dress:

Confession:  I had a great dress in a few hours but it was waaaaaaayyyyy too short and I decided it needed a contrasting band.  Since I didn't have any gray fabric I picked up the black and white with yellow flower print the next day and added it.  I'm so glad I did, it so made the dress.  I'm still trying to use up my stash and only buy what is necessary so I still consider this a success for stashbusting!

Here are a few of the dresses that inspired me, I like them all but mine the best!
   
And there were actually a few others that really inspired me but of course I can't find them when I went to look but I saw a ton more I love that gave me way too many ideas!  Aaaaahhhhhh, what's a girl to do?!?!?

Peace be with you,

Next Generation Rocking Chair

A friend of mine is due with her first baby in June.  Her baby shower was this past weekend and of course I wanted to make her something, not just buy her something off her registry (sorry, I prefer hand made and hand me downs for baby things, just the way I am).

Her mom and I came up with the idea of me re-doing her childhood rocking chair... perfect!  Her dad dropped it off to me and O-man was positive it was for him:

He moved it all over the house, even used it to get up on the counter tops!  I never took a real before picture, I didn't really think about it.  Looks like a Holly Hobby pattern to me.  Since it had been in the attic for almost 25ish years the fabric and foam crumbled.

When I took the original off and started with the new, O-man kept saying, "put the ugly triangles back on!"   Since the new daddy wanted an animal theme nursery and the new mommy wanted geometrics, this monkey pattern was the perfect fit.  Since O-man loves monkeys, he was even more sure it was for him!

I did finally get it out of the house without him in it!

I think it turned out darling and both Mom and Dad loved it!

Peace be with you,

Edible Rolled Flower Tutorial

A few years ago I made the cake for the teacher appreciation luncheon.  They wouldn't cut it!  The teachers thought it was too pretty to cut so they raffled it off with the other prizes.  Needless to say I was flattered but I made it to be eaten!

Now it is pretty much known that I will make the cake every year.  I try to do something that goes with the theme.  This years theme was "Teachers plant the seeds of knowledge" which meant I had to do something with flowers!

"Teachers plant the seeds of Knowledge"
Triple Chocolate Fudge, Golden Pineapple and Vanilla Cloud Cakes
Garden markers were labeled with the type of cake, the theme and other thank yous to our wonderful teachers

I love to decorate cakes but my wrist problems make it hard to pipe everything so I have learned to improvise sometime with candies in some way.  Here is how I make flowers while my cakes are baking. It's a huge time saver to make up lots of flowers before the cake has even cooled and been iced!

Supplies: jelly beans, Laffy Taffy, Fruit by the Foot, rolling pin, crinkle cutter or knife, cutting board

1.  Roll out Laffy Taffy with a rolling pin.  It helps to mush it into your hand before, warm it up a little bit, making it easier to roll out.  Sorry about using a yellow cutting board and yellow Laffy Taffy!  When I took the picture O-man looked at it and said "oh, you made it disappear!"

2.  Cut strips with a knife or crinkle cutter, I switched to a white plate!  I cut about 3 strips out of each Laffy Taffy.

3.  Begin wrapping the strips of Laffy Taffy around a jelly bean (these ones were Nerd's Jelly Beans so they were bumpy - clearance!).  Put one flat layer all the way around the jelly bean.

3a.  Do some without the jelly bean to make a different type of flower:

4.  Continue wrapping the strips of taffy folding and twisting it back and forth, much like the rolled fabric flowers that are very popular now.   The cool thing is it sticks to itself, no glue needed like the fabric version!

5.  Make them as large as you like, mix and match the colors.  Fruit by the foot works awesome too and doesn't need to be rolled out.  Add spiced gummy leaves as petals (I cut these into three because the ones I had were too thick for my flowers).

Since this was a garden theme, I used dark chocolate icing and sprinkled crushed chocolate graham crackers around the edges as dirt.

I heard one of the first teachers there say it was too pretty to cut.  I told them if they didn't cut it and enjoy it I would bring them a piece to their class room, make them eat it in front of the kids and then they would have to deal with the kids whine about not getting any cake!  Mean, but effective.

Teachers rock and should be appreciated more than one week a year.

PS - I'll be linking up to many of these parties this week, check them out!