Kid's Reversible Water Cozy

Today we have a guest post from Jessica at This Too. She has a great back to school tutorial to share with us....Take it away Jessica!

Thank you Crystal for having me here on Fussy Monkey Business!

Hello, Everyone!  I'm Jessica from This Too! - a little place where I try to document my crazy dreamed up projects and ideas while taking care of my husband and my 5 kids.  I love to sew, craft and I'm starting to dabble in woodworking, too.  Thankfully, my husband is very understanding of my need to create.

When Crystal asked for me to contribute to her blog with a tutorial for 'Back-to-School', I really had trouble coming up with something new to share with y'all.  I tried to think of something that would be useful for my own little ones.  I must confess, though, my 'back-to-school' consists of buying whatever is on the supply list provided by the school and then send them out the door to meet the bus on the first day.  (Sentimental, ain't  I?)  However, there were several times last year when one or both of the school age kids came home complaining about someone else drinking out of their water bottle.  Now, we could all just whip out that Sharpie and write in big black letters all over the bottle, but what fun is that?!  Things need to be pretty-fied not simplified.  :)

What you need:

Fabric A:

1 piece - 6" x 2"

1 piece - 6" x 2 1/2"

2 pieces - 4 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Fabric B:

1 piece - 6" x 2"

1 piece - 6" x 2 1/2"

Elastic:

1 piece - 1" wide cut 2 1/2" long

Ball Point Sewing Machine Needle  (needed later on in the tutorial)

You will also need your usual sewing notions, iron, sewing machine, pins, etc.

Let's get started.

First things first - if you decide to do some machine embroidery to decorate your bottle cosy, you might want to do that prior to cutting your fabric.  I think this was the second time I've actually used the embroidery setting on my machine, so I am nowhere good enough to use a small piece of fabric in the hoop.  If you are doing the decorating by hand, feel free to add it whenever it is easiest for you.

Here is mine.

Once you have your pieces cut, take the 6"x2" fabric pieces of both fabric A and fabric B and iron down 1/2" on both sides (lengthwise) of both fabrics.  (Ignore the stabilizing material you see below.)

Next, pin these pieces down in the middle of your 6" x 2 1/2" pieces of contrasting fabric.  (A to B and B to A)  Do a top stitch along both lengths right at the edge of your center fabric.  If you click on the picture below, you can see mine just at the edges.

Put right sides together and stitch along one length using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Then open and press the seam to one side.

Turn your fabric over and press the ends down about 1/4".  (This will make your job easier in a couple of steps.)

Now, put right sides together (again) and stitch down the other length and turn right side out.  Go ahead and press the seams and edges under really good at this point.

Okay.  Now grab those 2 pieces of 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" fabric.  Pin them right sides together and stitch down both lengths.

Turn this right side out,  press the seams and add a top stitch down the seams for a little decoration and to help it stay looking nice.

Now is the time to change your machine needle to a Ball Point Needle.  If you don't, you could end up with some really hairy looking stitching on your bobbin side.  Not Pretty!

Take your little piece of elastic and stick it in the middle of the little tube you just created.  Line it up with one end and place it in the middle.  Stitch this end closed making sure you stitch through the elastic.

Flip it around and do the same thing on the other end.  (The fabric will need to be scrunched down.)

Now, slip one end of your fabric covered elastic piece (until the seam is covered) and stitch it in place.  This is a lot of fabric to put through the machine, so take your time and work it through.  

 Once that is done, stitch the other end just like the first.  It's a tight fit, so once again, take your time.

And there you have it!  One bottle cozy to put on your little one's water for snack time or lunch.  Now no one will be able to say they don't know who that bottle belongs to!

And don't forget, we made it reversible!

Hope you all have enjoyed this.  If you have ANY questions, please feel free to email me.

Once again - Thank you, Crystal, for letting me crash your blog!  And to all you readers out there, come on over and have a look around This Too!.  I would love to have you!

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Summer Canning and Freezing

Last week I headed up to my parents to do some canning and "putting up" vegetables.

I did more "putting up" than canning....my mother is the pro at that!!!

I don't have a garden right now, but next year we will....

I really want to have some chickens to lay eggs too, but I'm not sure if I can get away with it in my neighborhood:o) We have the space to do it though!

When I need to buy in bulk, I go to the Mennonites and purchase their delicious produce.

We pack up and leave early in the morning so that we can be the first ones to buy....it's a first come first serve basis.

This year, I got corn, green beans, squash, cucumbers, and peaches from them.

I was extremely lucky to get the green beans because there hasn't been enough rain in that area for them to grow well.

So here is my "canned" stash. I still have a few more things to add to the stash like pintos....and by the way, yes, we love pickles:o)

 Here is some okra that came from my grandmother's garden....still trying to decide whether to pickle it or freeze it.

 Earlier in the summer I made this strawberry jam....It is DIVINE:o)

My kids won't touch it for whatever reason, so it's all MINE!!!!!!!

 This is the contents of our chest freezer. It's full of corn and squash mostly. There are 12 quarts of peaches in there as well.

 Here's how big the freezer is. It's small, but big enough to hold for this family of four.

I had a lot of help from my parents! Shucking, peeling, cooking, canning, and everything that comes with putting up veggies. We had a good time, and now we are exhausted. Every time I do anything like this I am reminded of The Ant and the Grasshopper story:o)

I'm going to share some tricks here soon on canning, but I am not sure when I will get around to it. We have a lot going on these next two weeks. I am going to have some guest posts this week and next week. So make sure to stay tuned!

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Thoughts to Think On

This is an email I received yesterday. I thought it would be nice to share it with you all this morning. What a great way to start the day. Relax your mind and humble your heart to focus on Christ. Allow God to be the only person on your mind while you read this prayer. If we can take the time to read long jokes, stories, etc., we should give the same respect to this prayer. Friends, who pray together, stay together.   Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God. And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak.. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe. I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love, and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met. I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.  I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.. This is my prayer. In Jesus' Name,  Amen.

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A Video for Your Viewing Pleasure

This is what we let the kids watch last night. They loved it! This is when cartoons were good:o)

Have a great Thursday!

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Few More Bits of the Laundry Room

I have been lazy when has come to finishing up the laundry room. I have 2 more shelves to complete...one of which will be majorly awesome when it's done:o) Then there is the accessorization of said shelves. Anyway, I thought I would share a few things that are complete.

I found this bookshelf at a yard sale. It was falling apart and the previous owner had attempted to strip 4 layers of paint off of it. Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me. I used the Chalk Paint that everyone raves about.

  Here are my thoughts on Chalk paint. 

#1-it's expensive.

#2-if you have a business where you have to bust out refinished furniture on a weekly basis, then buy it. It dries quickly and very easy to work with...if you are a person such as myself who just revamps for fun, skip it. You can get a similar effect with spray paint and it's much cheaper.

#3-you can't roll it on b/c it goes on too thin, and the 2-coat coverage doesn't cut it. The bookshelf needed 4 coats....I realized on the 3rd coat I needed to brush it on.

Anyway, one can covered the bookshelf and the bench.

Speaking of the bench, I made a new bolster pillow for it.

 And here the two pieces are in the little corner. One of the shelves I haven't finished working on will go above the bench.

 I saw this "reminder" on another blog the other day, and decided I needed one for us as well. Theirs was on the door. I wanted mine to be above the door so it could be bigger. It's a great reminder every time we leave the house.

 I found this picture at a thrift store for $3. The shelf was given to me by my mother. I added the glass knobs so that my clients could hang their coats or purses on it...by the way, you do know that I do hair out of my laundry room right? I'll share pics of that spot later on:o)

 Here is a "little" treasure I picked up the other day...isn't it so cute?

 And another treasure. The frame needs a little work on the top. It's missing some trim, but I thought it was beautiful, so I got it anyway.

I hope to have the rest of the laundry room completed by the end of the week. I have a big gathering at my home next week, so that gives me a deadline to finish:o)

Have a great Wednesday!!!

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Facebook Page

Remember when I got off of Facebook a few months ago? Can I just say how liberating that has been? I have spent a lot less time caring about who just ate at which restaurant, and who just wiped their hind parts...really, people will put ANYTHING on Facebook.

I am back on the social networking bandwagon, but in a slightly different way. I have been on Facebook for a while now, but I am using it strictly for coupons. 

I had several people catching up on my post updates through FB and then I disappeared:o)

I have a new page opened up that is for Fussy Monkey Business. 

So if you get the urge to "like" me on Facebook, go for it! I like it when people like me:o)

And if you "friend request" me, don't get your feelings hurt when I don't "friend" you...like I said earlier, I am using it just for coupons and now updates for my blog. 

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I have some new treasures I will be sharing with you all soon! 

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Play mat for Baby

First of all I want to start off by saying THANK YOU to everyone for your comments and compliments. You guys are so sweet. You know how to make a girl feel good:o)

 I did get an apology, so all is forgotten.

On to other stuff....

This is a play mat that I made for my cousin who is having a baby in September.

 I found this pattern on etsy HERE.

 Close up of sweet Mrs. Owl...should have moved her over a bit...her eye is a little blendy with the background.

 Backside of the mat.

 Easy to roll up and pack away in your diaper bag.

To find this pattern, visit The Punky Monkey at etsy. She has so many cute patterns! It was easy to follow, and easy to construct....Thank you Punky Monkey!

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