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This post, Decadent Colors from March 21, 2008, has been one of the most popular posts on my blog, as a result of internet searches for "blue brown wedding".  It really is a gorgeous color combination.

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blue brown green
1. Teal, 2. 3rd interpretation of Brown and Turquoise, 3. Teal and turquoise, 4. wool - brown and aqua, 5. YOC2: brown + blue ribbon, 6. Aqua Green Plaid Dog Harness, 7. brown lime Necklace, 8. Blue & Brown Wedding Cake, 9. aqua water and green grass, 10. Brown with Aqua Waves Purse, 11. Fiber Art Pendant - Orbiting Moons #3, 12. Brown-and-Blue Swap: From Kerflop, 13. 4 blue and 1 brown, 14. aqua green, 15. EtsyChocLimeDuck2, 16. brown and blue inspiration



I love these colors together. The blue/teal/green combination reminds me, of course, of the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean ... looking at them it's easy to get lost, transported to a sailboat somewhere called Nowhere. The dark brown is so strong. Love it.

brown blue quilt outdoors

And so I had to make a quilt, because one can never make too many quilts, I say.

brown blue quilt


I've been gathering these fabrics over the last few months, along with a bunch of others that use brown ... I've decided brown is the new turquoise/teal, it goes with everything and looks decadent.

blue brown quilt detail, backside, and bindingThis quilt was initially inspired by this one created by One Shabby Chick. If you haven't visited her site yet you must. She uses such wonderful fabrics and creates the neatest things.

To make this quilt I cut the darker fabrics into shorter pieces (2-6" long) all with a 5" width. I cut the lighter pieces into longer strips (6-10" long) 2.5" wide. I then sewed two really long strips, one with each width of fabric. When I thought they were long enough I sewed the two together, cut strips the length I wanted, and sewed the newly cut strips together. Pretty simple.
brown blue quilt detail
The quilting is done both in the ditch and in big random circles. To do the circles I traced two different sized circles onto freezer paper. I pressed the freezer paper onto the quilt, stitched, removed the freezer paper, repositioned it, stitched, and repeated. I did pin the freezer paper on the larger circles after the first two, the piece of paper was so large that it was a little harder to work with.

Oh, I also tried spray basting for the first time. I was very hesitant but read some good online reviews and thought it'd be fun to try (and a time saver). Overall I was happy with it. I did do some pinning, just to be safe, but not nearly as much as usual. Pretty cool stuff.

Below is a little idea of the progress at the store, kind of "before" and "during" pictures. This is just one room, about 1/3 of the total store area, the other larger part of the store is still pretty full. This room should be completely empty early next week.

before during
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Because I'm Me New Year's Eve Bow Ties for kids and men

New Year's bow tie. Some of the stars have silver inked on them. Very cute and festive, but not "over the top".

Available for kids, from infant to preteen AND adults.

The disco balls are Christmas tree ornaments. I'd purchased them for my old store, Ditto Kiddo, to use for Christmas and New Year's windows (also great for July 4th, Valentine's Day, "watery" swimwear displays, etc. ... they got a lot of use!). After the store closed they came home for our family tree. We have a family tradition of singing, "ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin' alive, stayin' alive" whenever we put one of these disco balls on the tree. And, of course, since it's a tradition the kids must keep doing it, even when they're teenagers and feel tortured by the whole production. Because I love them so.

Orders need to be placed by next Wednesday, the 26th, for New's Eve delivery (or Thursday for priority mail).

Stayin' alive, stayin' alive ...
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If you've come here via Money Saving Mom, thanks for stopping in to visit. Please make yourself comfy and have a look around.

If you're not familiar with my post the other day on Money Saving Mom here's a link to it. I shared a story of how I motivated the kids to help lower our electric bill (truth is, I bribed them).

Thank you to Money Saving Mom for posting my story!

In honor of that post and the visitors from that site I thought I'd link to some of my favorite "homemade" alternatives to more expensive store bought products, especially as they've worked so well for me.

Without further ado (drumroll please):

Microwave Popcorn (head to the bottom of  the post)
Crock Pot Yogurt
Laundry Soap

I promise that all of these are really easy and work wonderfully.

And here's a post  I wrote a few years ago about consigning/reselling your gently used clothing and other items, written after owning a children's resale store for 9 years (I miss that store!)

For more money saving ideas click on "saving money" in the right hand column under labels.

So what else can I tell you?  What other things - money saving, parenting, home schooling, child care, budgeting, organizing, sewing, or whatever has you curious - would you like to know?  Ask away and I'll do my best to answer.
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CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products

... The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children's garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission. However, all businesses, including, but not limited to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses, must still be sure that their products conform to all safety standards and similar requirements, including the lead and phthalates provisions of the CPSIA.

Handmade garment makers are cautioned to know whether the zippers, buttons and other fasteners they are using contain lead. Likewise, handmade toy manufacturers need to know whether their products, if using plastic or soft flexible vinyl, contain phthalates. ...

Read the entire article here.
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I hinted at this a week or so ago, but no one picked up on it, or at least no one mentioned it. Hmmph. So I guess I'll just come out and say it (the title gives it away though, maybe?*).

We're having a boy. Boy #4. As K. keeps telling me there will now be 5 males in this house and only 3 girls. That's ok, K., all of us females are still older than you!

Jason and I were both sure, for different reasons, that this one was a girl. However, I've always, every single time, been wrong when I've tried to guess so I didn't give my "instinct" any credit.

We're excited, and most especially happy that the babe looks great ... everything seems to be going well with him.

The shopping has begun. The day I found out I was pregnant (one week before the store closed) Jason and I raided the racks at Ditto Kiddo, gathering all the boy and girl clothes we wanted in every size up to 3 years. I'm sure we looked like we were nuts ... oh heck, at that point we were feeling more than a little nuts. There wasn't a huge selection, since we'd been marking things down for a month, but we did alright. And now we don't need any of the girl stuff (and it's so cute!) so it has been sold/taken to the consignment store with the money going towards new boy gear. The images are a few of the adorable things I've picked up this week at Once Upon a Child and Trader Tots (her prices are incredible).
We found out we were having a boy because I went to the emergency room a week ago Saturday for bleeding concerns. The bleeding started at 14 weeks, and stopped completely around 16 weeks. I hadn't mentioned it here because we didn't want to worry the kids if we didn't need to. I've had numerous ultrasounds and everything has looked ok, except that there's a pocket of blood between the uterus and placenta, called a subchorionic hematoma. That's what seemed to be causing the bleeding problems. At almost 18 weeks the bleeding started again, of course on a Friday night when I can't see my OB until Monday, so we went to the ER (C. went with us, which is why I'm more comfortable mentioning all this here). The US tech wasn't able to find the bleed but everything else looked fine and the baby was right on schedule and appeared quite healthy and appropriately active, with a steady strong heartbeat ... and boy parts. Within a few days the bleeding stopped and hasn't started again. I've been on very limited activity for the last 5 weeks ... lots of resting, no lifting, etc. I feel like a lump. I've always believed pregnancy is just a fact of life, not an illness or handicap, so suddenly having to be very careful has been hard to get used to. The potential consequences, though, are keeping me in line and well behaved. The babe has been busy lately, lots of wiggling and jiggling, which is so reassuring and, of course, just plain heartwarming.

I have realized, by the by, that I don't look very pregnant. No, I just look larger. Apparently, when you start out a lot wee bit on the rounder-all-over side you don't get pregnant and look like Heidi Klum, with just a cute tummy to show off. Nope, you just look even rounder - all over. It's a little embarrasing to find out that people are ready and willing to accept the fact that I've gained a ton of weight in just a few months ... rather than deducing that I might be pregnant!

Signed ...

Really Round Lumpy Jody of the Testosterone Filled Home

*Mr. Winky is slang for that male body part (I don't know ... can I say the real term without attracting "interesting" new visitors to the blog?)
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We finally hooked up the store computer and I've been playing around on it this evening. I'm lying ... I haven't been playing, I've been trying to get our #*( printer to work with it, and have seriously debated throwing the computer out a window ... more than once.

Ditto Kiddo in chalkI've been asked, a lot, how I feel about the store now that I'm away from it. Well, I miss it. A lot. Almost nightly I dream about having a store, not necessarily the same as Ditto Kiddo, but something of my own. A place where I can do the displays, talk to grown-ups, get excited about the products I'm selling, and hopefully even earn a little money ... an outlet for me to be the business person me as well as the creative me.

I've thought about getting a retail job and nixed that idea quickly. I'm not ready to work for someone else and not be the boss ... I'm pretty sure I'd be too set in my ways and opinionated.

collage15

I don't miss it in a sad and depressed kind of way, more of a "wow, this was my life for 9 years and suddenly it's completely gone, what do I do about that?" kind of way. I think no one is more surprised than me by that ... I was really ready to move on, and I'm still perfectly glad that I did, but I thought I'd lock the doors and never look back, and that hasn't been the case at all. I'm glad, it reminds me that I spent all those years doing something I loved, and I do look back at Ditto Kiddo with a lot of love and joy.

27 003Jason and I have talked a bit about opening another business someday. Obviously not now, closing the store when we did couldn't have been timed any better, and I couldn't be more grateful. There's no way I could have worked with the issues I've had during this pregnancy. Also, it's great being home with the kids ... certainly a lot different than working, even different than having them at work, but wonderful. But maybe someday ...
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It's rainy and ugly here and I can't think of a thing to post about, so go visit the Old Red Barn Co. and try to win a quilt (though my fingers, toes, eyes, etc. are crossed and I intend to win it so you're out of luck, but you can try anyway).



And, just in case you're in need of baby shoes I have a zillion pairs of Bobux listed on eBay right now at an unbeatable price (starting bid is less than wholesale cost). I've mostly listed girls shoes, because I kept the boy ones ... hmm ... I wonder why? :P


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A.'s birthday dinner at Daddy's work was a huge success. A. filled up on bread and pretzels and didn't eat much real food though ... only regaining his appetite when the extremely yummy dessert came!

I had nothing to wear to dinner because nothing I own fits. Nothing I own fit before I got pregnant either so I really can't blame it on the babe-to-be. Sigh ... I found a not-maternity dress that should work well through summer so I was happy about that. What befuddled me though was the current styles ... everything looked like, and worked well for, maternity clothes. I didn't see a lot of things that flattered the figure. Oh well, I'm happy with my new dress (which I can't find a picture of online).

Speaking of clothes ... my oldest daughter (14 year old) needs new clothing. She needs shorts, tops, bathing suits, and jeans. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg but I do want high quality. I'm not interested in buying her "disposable" clothing that will last just 3-6 months, but I sure see a lot of that in the stores these days. Also, I'm looking for shorts that aren't too short, but that aren't made for Grandma (or me ... even worse!) So far we've been to Old Navy, Target, JCPenney, Kohl's, Ross, Marshall's, and a few consignment shops. Any ideas where to look or brands to look for?

And while I'm asking questions (see how easily these completely unrelated paragraphs are flowing together?) I've got a bunch of stuff left from Ditto Kiddo to list online, mostly new Melissa and Doug. I know I can do it on eBay, but are there any other options that might work as well? Just thought I'd ask before I get busy listing it.
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A few more gift sets to list on etsy sometime today. I haven't had any luck with the first round of sets yet, but I think I'll keep trying.

3 piece green butterfly set
Green linen-like cotton embroidered with butterflies. The set includes a blanket, bib, and burp cloth trimmed in pink ribbon.

3 piece blue floral set
Blue floral blanket with two burp cloths.

2 piece patchwork set
Green, blue, and red patchwork cotton blanket and burp cloth (I love this fabric and was more than thrilled to find it on the clearance rack at JoAnn's during one of their 1/2 price sales ... I felt like I was stealing it!)

new tagsThese are my new merchandise tags, to attach to all items for craft shows! The image is part of a quilt, the same image at the top of the Because I'm Me website, and on the cards is written:
Because I'm Me
Because You're You
http://www.becauseimme.net/

The size, price, and other other information I decide to add go on the reverse side.

The tags are 1/2 of a business card. Through VistaPrint I had business cards printed with the same images on the top and bottom halves. I paid less than $10 total for 250 business cards, which when cut in half, will yield 500 tags. I figured out the other day how to do the same thing new tagswith their super clearance heavier weight business cards so I could have done it for about $5 less. It's not a *great* deal dollar wise (we used to pay about $13 for 1000 generic pre-printed tags, but these are more personal, and suit my needs well).

I've been cutting them with a paper cutter and after they're cut I'll poke a hole in the top and attach them with a tagging gun (also left over from Ditto Kiddo).

I'm thrilled with the results and will certainly reorder soon, and wanted to pass this idea along in case it would be of use to anyone else.

***Pregnant? Know someone who is? Don't miss this contest at Carmel Turtle to win a unique, pretty shirt! I entered, of course.***
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and post too. I don't know where the time is going these days.

I've got a long "to do" list of sewing projects ... 21 bibs, 9 blankets, 8 onesies to finish, 72 more onesies to make, one quilt top to reconstruct (my mother gave a top to me and I cut it up, now I have to make it good before she asks how finishing it is going ... yikes), a quilt to quilt and bind, a quilt to finish seam ripping all the quilting stitches, a summer purse to make that will hold my new coupon organizer, and another quilt to put together. Maybe that's it. Please tell me I'm not the only one with spring ADHD.

Jason, the kids, and I have been busy emptying out Ditto Kiddo. We're almost done ... just a few donate items left at the store. And everything else that we didn't sell or give away came home with us. Sounds good, huh?

Sure. This is the view looking in my front door:
the last of ditto kiddo is now in my living room

And this is the view of the dining room:
the last of ditto kiddo is now in my living room

which used to look like this:
dining room

One of the neighbor kids came by yesterday and the first thing he said was, "boy you've got a lot of crap in here!".

I don't like clutter. I don't like chaos (which doesn't explain why I have five charming children). I like neat and tidy ... I like order. I'm not having fun with my house right now.

"Put it in your garage," you suggest. Nope, can't do that ... 8 bikes, two ride-on jeeps, two sailboats, and all sorts of other outdoor crap filled that room years ago. We've only once put a car in the garage and that was my in-laws convertible during a hurricane.

Now there's some great stuff in this huge mass of mess. Plenty of Melissa and Doug to eBay, but I can't even got to it to list it because that's what came home first and it's way in the back corner. I could, from memory, list a bunch of it but would I be able to get to it if I sold it? Probably not ... at least not without breaking something (like an ankle).

So my solution is to have a garage sale. ASAP, like Saturday. I hope we're not too far past garage sale season here. That would be bad. We haven't had a garage sale in at least 6 years. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into, but it has to be better than the current situation, right?

Wish us luck.
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Tomorrow I close my store. I wrote enough about it here that I won't repeat it all, but ... wow.
Tomorrow I retire.

Yup, after tomorrow I'm looking forward to days of bon-bons with my feet up on the couch ... yeah, just me, the bon-bons, the five kids, the schoolwork, the housework, the yardwork, the husband, the cooking, the cleaning, the welding (from In Living Color) ... it'll be the life of ease, I tell ya.

I'll let you know how that goes.

13 010
Completely irrelevent but happy images ... Most of the kids playing at a little water feature. They were supposed to stay dry. That went well.

I have to share this recipe.

I needed something to make with mushrooms, I had a pound of them, sliced, from Sam's that were down to their final days. This was the first recipe I found (found here) that I had most of the ingredients for. I did not, however, have the rolled oats ... I had one-minute oats and only 5 cups. And I only had a little packet of active dry yeast. Oh, didn't have marjoram either. Yes, I too was wondering what I was thinking.

Oat Mushroom Patties

3/4 lb. mushrooms, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 C rolled oats
1/2 C onion, diced small
1/2 C carrots, diced small
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C yeast
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1/2 t marjoram

Bring 4 C of water to boil in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms, carrots, and onions and cook until soft.

Add the soy sauce, yeast, garlic, oregano, thyme, and marjoram. Add the rolled oats, one cup at a time, letting oats sink in, then stirring. Cook about 5-6 minutes, until the mixture is thick at the bottom of the pan.

Cover and set aside for about 20 minutes.

Allow to cool and shape into patties.

Placed on a well-oiled cookie sheet and bake at 350' for 45 minutes, turning halfway through.

Serve as desired.

13 013

I wasn't sure if "cover and set aside for about 20 minutes" meant to take the pan off the heat, so I put it on very low heat and that seemed to work fine.

I added seasoned bread crumbs before shaping into patties, which added a nice flavor.

"Shape into patties". Interestingly enough there is no note as to how many patties this makes. We don't eat burgers. I haven't shaped anything into a patty since I was a line cook ... a good 20 years ago. So I had to really guess here. I ended up with 11 nice sized patties, which I salted lightly before cooking.

I topped many with cheese during the last few minutes in the oven and served them as I would a veggie burger ... with ketchup, tomatoes, pickles, mustard.

I had no confidence in this recipe. It just looked interesting. I was pretty sure we would be eating at Moe's or making PB&J. In the end, though, we all, except one who doesn't like mushrooms, liked it ... enough that I'll make it again (and might even use the correct ingredients).

If you try it I'd love to hear your experience!

13 020
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I'm having a great time reading all your tips for the tote bag give-away. I did realize today that I hadn't posted a tip myself, so here's my tip(s) about reselling your child's outgrown clothing. I would guess that they'll apply to women's clothing as well, but I didn't own a women's resale shop so I have no real "expertise" in that area.

These tips are in no particular order, just listed as they pop in my head, so the top tips may not be the most important (or they might be ...).

1. Everything you take to a resale/consignment shop should be in excellent, like new condition. Check each item.

2. Don't expect the store to take everything you bring in. We generally took between 30-45% of the items that came in in a single day. Don't ever be offended or anything that they didn't take all your items ... buying/accepting is done on an as needed basic and the intake person will know what sells well in that store. However, items in top notch condition are much more apt to be accepted.

3. Know the stores policies and abide by them, they have a business to run and lots of things coming and going, their rules are just to make everything run more smoothly for everyone. Lots of stores list their incoming procedures and policies on a website or a brochure, just ask them.

4. Freshly launder, press and neatly fold or hang your clothing. Add a fabric softener sheet to the basket. You may bring in the exact same dress as someone else but the pressed, neat one is going to be perceived as being more valuable and will certainly sell for more. At my shop we didn't iron, there was no way there was time for it, so an item that needed to be pressed had to be refused - even if it was a top brand.

5. Don't start your conversation with "I've got some junk/crap/garage sale leftovers for you to look at before I take them to Goodwill. They've been sitting in my car forever ... I don't really know what's there." Um, yeah...

6. If you're bringing in toys be certain they have all their parts. If you have a game in a box tape tears in the box so it's ready to be sold. If you're bringing in a bunch of similar items, like Barbies, Little People, etc. bag up the things that go together in ziploc bags. Believe me, that scores bonus points! Toys are good items, but kind of a pain to sort though (I usually had to have my kids do it or search the Internet to see what went with what) so if items came in that I could just price and put out without any other steps I'd take more and happily.

7. Big items like swings, high chairs, etc. should look new, or at least really clean and current. If you have the instructions that's great. Oh, speaking of high chairs ... clean it up and check the underside. 99% of the ones on the market can be hosed off and the trays run through the dishwasher.

8. Put some of your best stuff on top. It's a first impression thing. Most people don't, which is understandable and we know to look at the bottom for great stuff, but if it's on top we start drooling and get all excited about what's to come. Why is it usually on the bottom? Because that's what was loaded first, and usually the most certain to be accepted items go in first, followed by the maybe's, and last the "oh, I've still got some room in the bin, I'll just throw this in too." I know this because I do it too.

9. Call ahead and see what the store is in need of. See if they have a website that they update with their most needed items. If we needed dresses in toddler sizes we were more apt to take more of the ones brought in. Sometimes a size is full and nothing in that size can be accepted, so it's good to check ahead.

10. Recommend the store to your friends and associates. Take a few business cards or brochures and leave them at work, daycare, church, etc. The more the store sells the more they can take ... and the more of your things that will sell! If you can help drum up their business they can help you by taking and selling more of your items.

11. What you'll get for your things will vary by store, state, season, etc. If you take them to a buy outright store you'll probably get less per item than you'd get if your items sold for full price at a consignment store ... but you get your money right away and, at a consignment store if your items don't sell or sell on clearance you'll get less. So is consignment or buy outright better? I really think it comes down to personal choice.

12. Think ahead. Get your seasonal items to the store a few months before the holiday. Most shops start buying for back to school between May and July, call them and see when and get your things in before the back to school shopping craziness. If your area has a slow season (ours is summer, up north it's often winter) don't bring your things in right before that season starts ...wait until about a month before business will pick up again.

13. If you take your items to a consignment store read the agreement carefully before you sign it. Be informed.

14. Got a mark on something? Magic eraser. Finish on your furniture a little dull? Try a little furniture polish. Outdoor toy looking dull? Armor All Missing a belt on a dress with belt loops? Replace it with another belt or a piece of grosgrain ribbon.

15. This one is really shallow, but true. When you bring your things in look decent. It sounds silly, but you are the first impression of your items. Even more shallow, if you have a choice between bringing your things in in a Publix bag or an Ann Taylor bag choose the Ann Taylor bag ... don't go out and buy a nicer bag, but if you have the choice ...

16. Know the store you're bringing your things to. Check out their prices before selling/consigning your items. If they sell Gap polos for $2 and you're hoping to get more than $1 for the ones you're bringing in it's not going to happen. Ask around and get some feedback on the reputation of the store. Is the store organized? Would you shop there? How long have they been in business? If you have a choice of shops in your area check them out before deciding where to take your items.

17. Bring your bedding set in in a bedding bag. Same with any awkward toys or other items, if you can provide a way to put it on the shelves it makes a big difference. We've said no to things before just because we had no way to market the item.

There are more, I'm sure, but that's what comes to mind right now. Keep in mind that this is from my experience, each store is fun independently and uniquely. Have fun and make some money!

edited to add: I can't believe I forgot this - www.howtoconsign.com is full of great tips and hints (and run by THE expert of the consignment and resale business, Kate Holmes, who also runs Too Good to Be Threw).
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