The Potato Cooker!

 

Potato,

  Potato,

I LOVE Potatoes!

But, I hate how long they take to bake.

Ugh!

So, I usually end up skipping potatoes, and

going with another veggie, just because I don't want to take the time!

But. . .

a few years back my Mother, aunts, and I were

at the Designer Show House.

And after we enjoyed the beautiful house, and dreamt about all

the things that we wished we could have, but don't. . .we then 

got to browse through homemade crafts, and goodies in the

Designer Show House garage.

Suddenly,

I saw it!

The Potato Cooker!

After a slight analyzation my Mother, and I realized

we needed to contribute to this young women's hobby and pay the 

meager price of $10, and then it was home we went to make our own.

I made a few, and gave them away for Christmas, about 3 years ago.

Anyways, as you saw in my previous post, my friend got married this past weekend.

And when trying to decide what to get someone that has a house already

supplied with the major necessities, I remembered the potato cooker.

To view Emily's Wedding Click Here > Mr. and Mrs. Guffey

The Potato Cooker

These are the two fabrics that I decided to use!

Emily's colors for the wedding were pink, and yellow, and 

so this fabric seemed to suit her perfectly.

Obviously this photo is just for show.
The potato is suppose to be all the way in the pocket.

The potatoes cook in roughly 8-10 minutes, which is remarkably 

faster than in the oven, or in the microwave.

And it's in a cute little pocket when cooking.

Who can resist?

The potato cooker holds 2 potatoes, and you can cook them at the same time.

If you are interested in a potato cooker contact me at 

betsy.brogren@washburn.edu, 

or comment on this post, and leave your email!

They are on sale for $10.

I can make them in a variety of other colors, and patterns.

Sunflower Progress:

Three weeks ago I planted sunflowers in my back yard, 

and I promised to keep everyone posted on their progress.

Click here to view the original post > Sunflowers

 Week two!

Week Three!

And now there is mulch, Yay!

But sadly, with all the rain we had this week, 2 of my sunflowers

were demolished. The rain just kept pouring, and pouring, and 2 of them just couldn't make it, 

but I still have plenty for this summer.

Happy Monday!

Oh, and check out Danna's (my sister-in-law) blog!

She is doing a giveaway this week. She is giving away

Sesame Street Live Tickets > Click Here!

Mr. and Mrs. Guffey

     My friend recently got married, and she had a fun, and funky (a good funky) ceremony, and reception. It was really unique, and styled perfectly to match Emily, and Nick's personalities! I wanted to do a post about their wedding, because they did a lot of interesting things that I have never seen at a wedding before.

    First notice the awesome shoes that Emily chose to wear. I wish I could have gotten a photo of her shoes that she wore during the ceremony, they were hot pink, and super high. The shoes she wore for the reception were a little more comfortable, and easier to dance in. Cute!

Her shoes say "Let Love Rule". Perfect for her wedding day!

Emily and Nick did a potluck for the reception dinner. 

It worked out pretty well!

They saved money this way, and it

was a way for people to show their creativity through food.

A lot of people are doing unity candles, unity sand (I did this at my wedding),

but Emily and Nick decided to do a unity plant.

They joined the soils together, and during the ceremony they watered the plant with

their own separate water. Cute idea, especially for an outside wedding.

For their wedding album they did a picture frame that everyone signed!

I loved this idea, because when you think about it, how often do you open up your guest book to look at it. This way you can see it on the wall, and get a little more use out of it.

Cupcake Bar

My favorite thing that they chose to do, was a cupcake bar.

Cupcakes were made by MayKing Cakes and Confections

They had 3 different kinds of cupcakes, a variety of sprinkles in pink and yellow, and a variety of toppings such as cookie crumbs, and andes mints. They had a variety of frostings to choose from, and a variety of drizzles, such as caramel, chocolate, and strawberry.

We had so much fun making our own special cupcakes.

My friend Melissa made a cupcake sandwich.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Guffey,

and thank you for letting us be a part of your joyous day!

*The photos and published post were approved by Emily Guffey!

Pillowcase Dress!

Cameron, Brylee, Carson

Today is my niece's birthday. She is turning the big 3! Yay!

She is the most adorable little girl, and I wanted to make sure

that she had an adorable little dress

to go with her big personality. So I made her a pillowcase dress.

Normally you would use an actual pillowcase to make this dress,

but I decided to make a paneled dress. So I kind of made my own pillowcase, 

and then made the dress. Wooh!

Maybe I should of just found a pillowcase. 

Just Kidding. . .it was so worth it!

I used 5 different patterns of fabric for this dress. And there 

are 16 panels all around the dress.

The strip I made for the bottom of the dress is much longer than I

 anticipated it to be, so I hemmed it 

afterwards, and made it shorter.

I was going to give the step-by-step instructions on how to make it,

but I decided that would be a really long post, and well, Yah. It would be a really

long post, like I said before.

Once again the dress turned out longer than I anticipated, but I hemmed it later on!

Edit on May 2, 2012:

Here is the hemmed up version, and

with Brylee wearing her new dress.

And of course with a wide grin!

If anyone is interested in me making one for them, contact me

at betsy.brogren@washburn.edu, or make

a comment on this post with your email, and I can contact you.

Happy Birthday Brylee!

Sunflower Progress:

Just over a week ago I planted sunflowers along my fence-line.

Click here to view that post >>> Sunflowers

And now they are starting to sprout. Yay!

I will keep you posted on how they progress, if I can keep the bunnies from nibbling on them!

Any suggestions on how to keep them away from the sunflowers?

Eco-Friendly Gift Wrap!

     Since I didn't get this post up on Earth day, which was yesterday, I decided to go ahead, and be just one day late. I found these eco-friendly bows off of Martha Stewart's website. They were super easy to make, and really fun. You can make them more personal for whoever you choose to give them to.

     The only supplies that you need are:

* scissors

*tape

*and an old magazine!

I used a Disney magazine that I bought from of course Barnes and Noble!

I thought my niece would like Disney since she is going to Disney World this summer!

The first step is to cut strips out of the magazine.

You will need 3 large strips the length of the magazine. 

3 more, a little shorter, and then 2 more a little shorter again.

And finally a very small strip for the center.

Photo below should hopefully explain a little better!

Twist each end onto the center and tape down. 

Do this for each strip.

The last, and smallest strip should just be folded into a small circle.

Finally, tape each one onto the other. You do not have to use all of the pieces, 

but the more, the fuller the bow.

Happy Earth Day! (one day late)

Recently Shelved!

"The Book of Tomorrow"

by: Cecelia Ahern

5 Stars

This was a magical tale about a 16 year old girl who recently

 lost her father (to suicide), mother (to becoming mentally unstable), and

 house (to debt). Her life is ripped out from under her, and she is forced 

to start anew. When in a time of need she finds a diary that, when opened, 

tells her what will happen the next day. At first she can't resist, and must know 

what is to happen, and she tries to change fate a certain points. This story was 

emotionally gripping, wonderfully magical, and full of mystery. I most definitely

 recommend it to all readers. Cecelia Ahern also wrote the bestseller "P.S. I Love You". 

Prayers For Ashley!

   

     Above is a photo of Ashley. Ashley has been in and out of hospitals all of her life. Sadly she isn't getting a break. She went back to the emergency room earlier this week, which is starting to become a regular thing for her. She had surgery yesterday, and has surgery again tomorrow (Friday). My mom, who is a home-health nurse, has been watching over Ashley since she was 8 months old. Our family holds Ashley very close to our heart. And Ashley who has the biggest heart in the world, and the greatest outlook on life needs prayers more than anything.

     So my mom, being very creative decided that Ashley needed an awesome hospital gown to help cheer her up. This is all my mom's idea, and I can take no credit for her creativity.

Hospital Gown

     The pattern that my mother used to make this gown can be found at Lazy Girl Designs

And it's free!

Just print it right off your computer and tape together. 

Simple! 

 They have adult, and child patterns available!

 These are the two fun patterns that my mom chose to use for Ashley.

Ashley of course is a huge KU fan. Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU!

The gown only took my mom about 2 hours to make.

She used 2 1/4 yards of fabric.

 Along the collar she surged the edge. 

And if you don't have a surger you can do just a normal hem.

 This adorable ruffle is what she added along the bottom, 

and on the sleeves. 

Ashley is even fancy in the hospital.

 My mom used snap buttons to close the back together. The pattern suggest ties, but of course that may be a little uncomfortable when laying down on a already uncomfortable hospital bed.

 

 

 

The finished product!

 

Thank You for your Prayers!

Newest Addition to Our Family: Part II

Click here to view Newest Addition to Our Family: Part I

   

    Life is getting hectic again with school finishing up, and summer activities starting up. I need to remember to stop, take a deep breathe, and move on to life's next challenge (Oh, and to enjoy life's little bumps as I go along). Well, you're probably wondering what, this week, has given me a slight stress overload. A new car, that's what! Most people are probably thinking opposite of stress. New car, old one out. Well, I am on the other hand enjoying it, and am so excited about it, but can't seem to stop thinking that this is a big step for me. This is my first car under my name, and the first car that my husband and I will be jointly taking care of.

     We traded both our cars in for a new, bigger, and better car. We now only own one car. Yay! Peter drives a company car, and so we thought we would be able to manage this a little easier.

     What I am sadly going to miss is Hercules (my Mini Cooper, that I just traded in!). I loved my mini, but with a family of 3 now, and a 2 year old that is far from clean, I realized a mini is not meant for a family. It was fun while it lasted, but with my new car I will now be able to actually fit more than 3 bags of groceries in my car, and I will be able to let Cameron sit in the backseat, and her feet won't be by my head.

Our new car is perfect for us, and I can't wait to jazz it up and make it my own!

Oh, and I haven't named her yet. If you have any cute names let me know. I keep asking Cameron what the cars name is, thinking that she will come up with something cute, and off the wall, but she keeps saying that the cars name is Car! Well, duh, Mommy!

Check back this next week, because I am hoping to get back into 

my crafting after I do my school work!

Sunflowers

  

   It's that time of year again, for sunflowers! For the last 4 years I have been planting a fence-line of sunflowers in my backyard. These vibrant yellow blooms are my ultimate fav. I'm not sure if it's because of my late grandfather, or if it was a flower I grew to love on my own, but I can't seem to get enough of them. My grandfather, who I called Bobby, passed away in 2005, and each time I see a sunflower I feel as if he is right there with me enjoying the beauty of a field of yellow.

This is a photo Bobby took years ago!

     Bobby used to stop right along the side of the road and start snapping photos of a field of sunflowers. And to tell you the truth I have started doing the same thing.

I plant the sunflowers along this fence-line!

As the summer progresses I will be sure to post pictures of the sunflowers!

Cameron was very helpful in watering the flowers!

This sunflower is from my Grandma Garner's garden (other side of the family)!

My love for gardening probably came from my grandma Garner who was born with a green thumb.

Happy Planting!

Recently Shelved:

Three Times Lucky

By: Sheila Turnage

5 Stars

At 10am I opened “Three Times Lucky” by Sheila Turnage, and by 4pm that same day I closed “Three Times Lucky”. And this may sound bad that I am closing the book so soon, but it’s not. I couldn’t put it down for the life of me! Turnage created a town and family of sorts in Tupela Landing, a town only 2 blocks long, but with a story a nations worth.

I’m not sure were to start with this review. The story goes through sort of a maze of side stories to come up with it’s final resting place. Each person in Tupela Landing has a story to tell, but they don’t seem to know it themselves. I know, I know, I’m confusing you already. But I love it when a mystery of tales all come together to create an incredible ending.

Usually when I read of small towns in a book, I get a feeling of naiveness, but Tupela was far from naive. Turnage did a superb job of creating a closeness, and love for each and everything in life, and especially in Tupela Landing.

And once again you have no idea what this story is about. But, let me see! It’s a child’s novel, written for about 10-12 year olds, but most definitely suited for teens, and adults. It’s a mystery, and a story of loss, and love.

When trying to think how to describe it I keep coming up with “Because of Winn-Dixie”, and “Moon Over Manifest” in my mind. The stories run along the same lines, but are all great in their own way.

Turnage caught my attention, and I hope she catches yours as well!