Doing what you love; Crochet

I am a strong believer in finding something you love doing and doing it! I love to blog along with so many other things and this blog is a way for me to do what i love! I have been watching one of my dear cousins doing what she loves and man are they sure cute! She makes some of the cutiest plushes i have ever seen by crocheting. Maybe its the 3D of it the art i love! I asked my cousin to write a short story on how she started to love Crochet, and this is what Megan wrote:

"Ok so I started really learning how to crochet last year in November. My grandma littlefield taught me how to make those little hair scrunchies when I was little but I didn’t know what the stitches were or anything. I finally was just like I’m going to actually learn how to do this! I sat down and looked up YouTube tutorials. I found some really awesome ones from expression fiber arts https://www.youtube.com/user/ExpressionFiberArts. In a couple lessons I was making my first real project a newborn hat for my baby niece savy. It took off from there my aunt loved the hat I made savy so much she asked if I could make her one so I searched YouTube again and found a perfect adult hat pattern! My next project was my very first stuffie in crochet they call them amigurumi. There is no turning back for me after finding this fun creative art! I’ve made a bunch of stuffies, hats, I even made a baby blanket for my best friend. I’ve found some awesome Facebook crochet groups and every time I have a question I just turn to them and they always are so helpful I feel like I picked up crocheting so fast! I totally wasn’t expecting to learn how to make stuff so quickly. I definitely am still learning though it seems like every new pattern I make I learn a new trick! My favorite things to make are amigurumi. I love them because they are more rewarding faster sometimes I get bored working on the same thing for a long time like blankets. I can’t wait to continue making awesome stuff "

I love this because not only does it show that if you have an interest in learning some thing its never too late to learn it! What is something you want to learn to do? Mine is learn to play the piano. Another thing is having the will to keep doimg what you love! There is so much that i have loved to do that i have stopped doing and perhaps it is time for me to pick them back up. I Love to draw.. I love writing poetry, I love to wrap stones, i love to sing! So many of these thing i have stopped doing over the time saying i do not have time for and maybe it is time to make time for these once again.
So thank you Megan for the wonderful lesson, and readers please do enjoy looking at these amazing works of art!

If you have something that you love doing that you would like to share, message me! 

Birds eye view building project

From a drone, we also teased my sister and cousin by spying on them lol

Simply Good: Sugar cookie Bars and The Grey stuff

 Sugar cookies fast and simple

2½ cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 TBS sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium sized bowl, combine your flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.In a large mixing bowl, cream together your butter and sugar for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add in your egg, sour cream and vanilla and mix till combined.Slowly add in your flour mixture while stirring until everything is combined. (The dough will be crumbly)
Press the batter into a greased 9×13 baking dish and spread it out evenly with your hands or a rubber spatula, rubber spatula makes it easier. (This is all about easy)
Bake for 15-17 minutes or until edges just barely start to turn golden.
Allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and add frosting.
I am using my " the grey stuff" icing for these cookies. The grey stuff name was inspired by beauty and the beast but was purely not planned as i was attempting to give the icing a spooky color for Halloween and ended up with grey! ( but if we wanna stick with easy use a premade icing)

The grey stuff
(White cloud icing)

2 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup (boiled)
1 t. Vanilla
Black icing Dye  ( Optional)

using a hand mixer, and a clean bowl (any grease on your bowl or utensils will ruin the icing, egg whites hate grease!), beat the egg whites and salt on high speed until foamy.
With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar. Beat mixture until soft peaks form (when you pull the mixer out of the white mixture you should get a little point that bends over).
Bring the corn syrup to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan. When the corn syrup comes to a boil Slowly pour the hot corn syrup into the egg mixture while your mixer is mixing on high. Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. (as you beat add in your Dye, a little at a time til you get your shade of grey or any other color you want)  Add the vanilla and mix to combine.



This doesn’t store well. You can leave a cake that has been iced with this uncovered, since any type of plastic wrap on it will be a mess. Add the sprinkles as soon as you are done spreading the icing. A thin crust will form and the sprinkles won’t stick if you wait too long eat all the left overs... you will want to..

some visual assistance on how it can look

tested and approved! Malaki is in love with the grey stuff!

Craft This; Yarn Spiders

So here is my new Recurring Topic " Craft this". In this recurring topic I will be talking crafts of course! Some times it will be Ideas and others it will be how to on a craft. Today I am doing a step by step on how to make these cute little yarn spiders. Just in time for Halloween and Super easy!

Yarn any color you want. 

 2 pipe cleaners

Hot glue gun

scissors

googley eyes

your creativity!

1. wrap yarn around your fingers the looser you wrap the hairier he will be.

 2. Cut your pipe cleaners in half. 

3. Using a small amount of the same color of yarn tie around your bundle of yarn and legs.        

4. using hot glue secure the legs to the yarn to keep them from moving

5. cut loops in yarn on both sides.

 

6. Trim any longer yarn hairs. 

7. Shape legs to form 8 spider legs. 

8. Fluff hair and find spot for eyes. 

9. hot glue your eyes into place.

10. get creative! there is so much you can do to make your spider yours!

our happy family of spiders

My favourite moment

After stressing all morning with anxiety attacks and my body rejecting the negative energy. My favourite moment is when my baby wakes up and comes running in and gives me my morning  cuddles. He always makes me feel a bit better sometimes i just worry i might let him down.

Dear son,

May you remember me in the eyes of a babe,

And not see all the times I needed aid.

May you think back on my days in sweats and we mights, 

As pajamas parties and movie nights

Please see mommy's naps as cuddle time, 

And  forget the dirty dishes and breakfast at lunchtime. 

Know that you were the only reason I got out of bed, 

Even if I just moved to the couch instead.

Forget my tears and fears, 

Hold on to the moments we shifted gears. 

forever remember I love you 
even tho at times this mama was blue.
In fact all loving you 
was the only thing I was sure I knew how to do. 
So when you are older and look on back 
I pray your good memories do not lack.  

-Bellah

 

A Tiny house For grandma and Papa

This last weekend we drove 16 hours round trip to My grandparents and uncles ranch, Lazy J Ranch. There on Jackrabbits Flats we all gathered and did our parts to create a warm place for them for this Winter. If you want to learn more about living off grid follow My uncle Bud's facebook Blog  Bud's Simple Life.   
While up there my part in this was mostly assisting with cooking and well small things like keeping children alive, mostly my own. Living off grid is not for me, I like showers and people too much, But  visiting is fun. Also seeing family I rarely see was fun as well. I spent all day Saturday baking muffins. It was quite an adventure cooking in a tiny RV kitchen for more that 20 people. I baked over 10 dozen muffins for hungry working family members I used my favorite Pumpkin spice recipe for most of them.
Malaki played hard chasing after cousins and his aunt as they ran on the open property. It was nice at this time for we did not have to worry about snakes due to it being cold.  Cold cold cold, was the nights and by the way from my personal experience OZark trail tents are awful they can not handle any type of weather other than perfect sunny no wind.
I wanted to say thank you to each of those that donated to this great service of building a tiny home for my grandparents, it takes a village. We are still raising the money to cover some of the funds to finish a safe environment for them to live in.
 You may ask why would an elderly couple move out into the middle of no where and live off grid? Well here's how I feel about it; all my life my grandmother and grandfather have had animals and gardens and worked hard for what they have. Well living in the city or even most small towns now days would not suit them. People love to interfere telling people what their yard must look like, or what type of animals they are allowed to have. Neighbors would complain about their different life style, not having the city looking yard ( I loved their yard it was beautiful!) . Well now they have their own piece of heaven! It may not look like heaven to every one but to them it is Heaven. They can have animals and live a simple life with no worries about what others have to say about their home. Yes they have running water, it is hauled in by my Uncle Mike. They have Power, Solar power. They even have internet she reads this blog in fact. They live a simple life not dressing to impress, no worries of  impressing any one. They live for them selves not for others. There is times I think I would love their lives just for the simple reason they can just simply choose  not to be around any one if annoyed.
I also feel that every one should get the opportunity to follow their hearts and live their dreams and this is just what these three did.  They took the jump and are creating their dreams. It is proof that you are never too old to chase your dreams.
The reason I personally felt like they could use the blessing of a tiny home is the Dr. feel that my grandfather has developed a different type of cancer on top of his other health issues. Winter can be harsh out there and this is their first winter out there. All the Family worries about them out there. I am proud that instead of my family interfering with taking them away from the home they are creating for them selves they are assisting by creating a safer place for them to live. I feel as long as my grandparents and uncle have their say in what is done that this is the best way to assist them.

 The three that live on Jack rabbit flats

The Trip There..

He may look angry but I find him very handsome in this photo. 

Lazy J Ranch

I am such a Rebel Lol

This is his Rainbow do not take photos of his rainbow...

Proof she worked and worked and worked some more ;) love you Grace

She is a rebel too!

The trip home

 

We gathered some awesome pine cones! will show what I have planned with them later!! 

If you would like donate to the finishing of the Tiny house or future projects for the Ranch please please please reach out to me and I will let you know what items are needed or where you can donate money. Thank you Thank you Thank you! Love and light