I turned in my questionairre! And since I'm antsy, I'm gonna stalk EVERYONE! Hahahahahahaha!! Ok, for real now, I'm going to go stalk each of you...

The nice thing about being organizer is that I get to pre-stalk everyone - with questionnaires!

Hahaha I didn't even think about that! I may have to organize one of these myself soon lol

I turned in my questionairre! And since I'm antsy, I'm gonna stalk EVERYONE! Hahahahahahaha!! Ok, for real now, I'm going to go stalk each of you...

Hey all! Wow, CLM you really are a crafty little monkey!! I bow to your craftiness and perseverence lol!
Also, I'm loving all of the undies and anthropologie has nothing on you! Love all of the hats adn that cute litle pair of outfits .

I actually have some destashing progress to report. The first is a yarn destash. My 6 y/o is in kindergarten right now and she told me she wanted some fingerless gloves for when she would be at recess so her hands wouldn't be so cold. I let her rummage through my yarn and she picked out this fantastic aqua multitoned stuff that I've been just holding on to and drafted a pattern for them and hooked them up. She calls them her mermaid mits. Not that she'll use them in our high of 93 today. *sigh* At least they are set for the fall/winter!



The other item is an upcycle. Years ago I bought this dress. I loved the patchy look to it but not the triangle top. Well, a strap finally broke and the whole thing spent three years waiting for me to fix it and I finally did! I cut the top and straps off, sewed down the raw edge and turned it into a fab skirt. hooray!



And I have two things that just need to get a final wash and iron and one skirt that just needs a waist band and zipper. I'm hoping to get that done tonight with more progress to show tomorrow.

I love all of the fabulouslessness that everyone has been making! I am really loving those owl drawings, the skelegrow bottle and the wonderland bookmark! Anything wonderland is wonderful  .
And now, to prove that I haven’t truly been slacking…

Class/Challenge/House Pride: Horcrux Hunt Ron (Slytherin’s Locket)
House: Ravenclaw!
Project Name: Attracting butterflies headbands
Project Page Link (if available): n/a
Brief Description: My girlies wanted something fun to wear in their hair and they specifically asked for flowers. They have tons of hair clips but not many headbands, so we decided to put an end to that! Ron’s lament of following the butterflies instead of the spiders rang in my mind, so now he can follow them to my kiddos.
The flowers are enormous, I know, but that's what they wanted



Class/Challenge/House Pride: Detention with Professor McGonagle
House: Ravenclaw!
Project Name: Dress to skirt!
Project Page Link (if available): n/a
Brief Description: Ok, so I bought this dress probably 7 or 8 years ago and it was just a bad idea. I’m a pretty busty girl, 34DD, and “triangle tops” have never really worked for me. Especially with skinny straps. Honestly, I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought it. I wore it out a few times and – wonder of wonders! The damn thing broke. The entire strap on the back ripped away from the rest of the dress so I threw it in my closet for 3 years saying I would do something with it later. Well, later has come! In fact it came two days ago. I simply removed the little pseudo top and straps, stitched the raw edge down and turned it into a skirt that I love wearing! Hooray!


Class/Challenge/House Pride: Alchemy
House: Ravenclaw!
Project Name: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Project Page Link (if available): http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/deep-dish-strawberry-rhubarb-pie?crlt.pid=camp.L5Bnj4rPTWhs
Brief Description: I found this delicious recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie on Pinterest and I couldn’t resist. I went to the farmers market a few days before and ended up with a huge flat of strawberries and some rhubarb, hoping to make some of that deliciousness and I did! I made the pie crust from scratch (holy crap, right?) and it was actually really easy. The filling came together so easily and I threw it all in a deep dish pie crock. The only trouble is it takes 5 HOURS to cool so that the filling will set and not be all runny. Ah well. It was delicious and gone in two days. (My husband is a pie fiend.)


Class/Challenge/House Pride: Charms
House: Ravenclaw!
Project Name: Mermaid Fingerless Gloves
Project Page Link (if available): n/a
Brief Description: I created a pattern and crafted up some fingerless gloves for my 6 year old to use this upcoming fall and winter when it starts getting cold again. She was in kindergarten this year and told me quite a few times how her hands would get so stinking cold at recess that she wasn’t able to play as much as she wanted. So I let her go through my yarn stash and then I whipped these up last week just for her. And now I have to do the same for my three year old because she absolutely has to have everything her sister does…  I will share the pattern I made up hopefully later tonight.


Pardon the crappy phone pictures. It has been taking my main computer ages to load a photo though. 

Count me in! I would totally love this and the timing is great

Naantje, I am also sorry for your grandma. What a blessing you and your mother are to be there for her. I'm praying for you and your family!

Hey all! I realized I haven't posted anything in a long time, but I've been quietly lurking and loving everything! I finished a huge amount of crafting and destashing this last month but have taken the last week off. Somehow, prepping for the craft fair requires a craft-haiatus afterward.... Ah well. I will post some pics tomorrow

Keep up the fantastic work!

Ack I'm such a loser! I cant believe I missed this by a day! Ah well. Guess I will be stalking the gallery. Have fun!

Class/Challenge/House Pride: Horcrux Hunting (Harry Potter)
House: Ravenclaw
Project Name: Lilly's Apron
Project Page Link (if available): none
Brief Description: Lilly Potter's name is also that of a common garden flower (duh!) and this is an apron with many common garden flowers in it that I feel she would have worn while baking up a batch of something delicious. If she had ever had the chance to have more kiddos, possibly girls, I think they would have all had matching aprons.

[Kitchen Elf Recipes]

Hello Everyone!! Wow – I just checked and it’s been about a month since I’ve been on here. I am so sorry! I was crazy busy. First it was a craft fair that I was cramming for and then life just caught up with me and the family. All is well though! I’ve caught up on 30 pages of the HPC (can you BELIEVE that?) and I’m ready to post some things tomorrow.  As for now, I have another of the….

Kitchen Elf Recipes

This particular one is not out of the Harry Potter Cookbook. I was perusing Pinterest (it is quite the addiction) and I was looking for something healthy that my kids would enjoy eating as well. I found this awesome Parsnip, Leek, and Sweet Potato Soup! Holy cow, is it scrumptious!! Here is the link: http://www.fortheloveoffoodblog.com/2012/01/parsnip-leek-and-sweet-potato-soup.html

If you don’t go to the link, here is the recipe. I, however, highly suggest that you follow the link and check out this girl’s other stuff. I will definitely be making more of her tastiness.
Parsnip, Leek, and Sweet Potato Soup
Serves 2 - 4

1 Tbs olive oil
2 leeks, ends removed and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1.5 cups Great Northern beans (or any white beans)
2 medium-large parsnips, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
green onions for garnish

Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. Sauté leeks for three minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Add the beans, parsnips, sweet potato, broth, thyme, sage, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, about 30 minutes until vegetables are soft.

Remove the bay leaf. Blend the soup by using an immersion blender or transfering it to a regular blender. (If using a regular blender, be very careful as the steam can sometimes cause the lid to blow off. I recommend allowing the soup to cool for a few minutes, then blending small batches on medium speed while holding the lid down with a large pot holder or towel in my hand). Serve hot, with salt and pepper to taste, and green onions for garnish.



I also added a red pepper and two carrots so they wouldn’t go bad in my fridge and it came out just SO tasty!!! I made some toast with some shredded smoked gouda cheese on it and it complemented very nicely. I think that next time I will make some fresh baked bread, but this did nicely in a pinch. Here’s a pic! I hope you enjoy your versions