How to Make a Tube Pillowcase

To make one pillowcase, you will need three different patterned fabrics.

1- Main- 27 inches (3/4 yd.)

2- Cuff- 9 inches

3- Piping- 2 inches

Lay all fabrics on top of each other. Match up and cut off selvages.

With hot iron, press cuff and piping pieces in half lengthwise.

Open up 9 inch piece and lay face up on rotary mat. Lay the main fabric, face up, on top of the 9 inch piece. Lay piping piece on top of the cuff and main fabrics, lining up raw edges. 

Roll fabric up from the bottom, like a tube, then fold 9 inch piece up to the top. 

Pin all layers together and sew, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Do not sew ends.

Pull fabric tube from inside out.

Open up and fold pillowcase, right sides together. 

Lining up the cuff and piping, pin and stitch down the side and across bottom of pillowcase. 

Turn right side out. 

Press if needed.

If it is easier to watch a video tutorial, Jenny of Missouri Star has one posted on YouTube that is easy to follow. 

Tactile Tie-Dye Easter Egg Coloring

Browsing through Pinterest recently, I found several blogs explaining how to color Easter eggs with whipped topping. Some instructions said to use shaving cream, but don't. Just don't. Let's keep the ingredients edible for safety reasons, shall we? :) 

Rather than just plopping hard boiled eggs into colored water that he can't see, I thought this would be a much better way for Cody to dye Easter eggs. He may not be able to see the colors, but he can feel the hard boiled eggs and fluffy whipped topping. 

Should you decide to try out this method, here are the ingredients you'll need... 

as well as the instructions in seven easy steps...

Step 1- Hard boil your eggs. 

Step 2- After they have chilled for several hours, submerge the eggs in a bowl of vinegar and let them soak for at least 10 minutes.

Step 3- Pat the eggs dry with paper towels.

Step 4- Put a large spoonful of whipped topping into each muffin tin and add the gel food coloring.

Step 5- Swirl gently with toothpicks. Try to avoid overmixing. We don't want the eggs to be all one color. 

Step 6- Insert an egg into each tin and cover it completely with tie dyed whipped topping. Let eggs sit in the tins for about 10 minutes, for vibrant colored eggs. If you'd like your eggs more pastel, shorten the time. 

Step 7- Remove eggs and rinse in cold water. Let dry on a paper towel. Refrigerate until ready to hide or eat. 

Twinkie Tuesday Valentines

Since Valentine's Day falls on a Tuesday and Tuesday's Twinkie day, Cody took his favorite treat to share with friends. They aren't as cute as the Minion Valentines I made in 2014, but I AM 9 years older, so...

(Paper Minion Valentines purchased from Etsy's handnheartdesigns2.)
 

Raspberry Puree

Ingredients

1 (12 oz.) bag frozen raspberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups water

Directions

Mix ingredients in saucepan on stove top. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes, making sure sugar is well dissolved.

Cool. Blend with immersion hand blender.

Such a handy little tool. :)

 

Pour puree into a 2 quart glass jar and keep refrigerated.

Raspberries are my favorite berry. To beat the summer heat, I love to add 1-2 tablespoons of raspberry puree to a large glass of iced tea...

Also, being from Utah, we like our mixed sodas! My personal favorite is Diet Dr. Pepper, raspberry puree, and a couple of squirts of coconut syrup. Be creative with your favorite soft drinks (and hard drinks if you enjoy alcoholic beverages). You might even try pouring it over pancakes or waffles for breakfast, or use it as an ice cream topping. You have limitless choices. Enjoy!

Pop Rocks Student Gift Idea

I found this simple, yet fun, end of the school year student gift idea at Fun 365 Oriental Trading and made them to give to my EL's the last week of school. I don't know of any kid that doesn't enjoy the taste and sensation of POP ROCKS. :)

 

Spider-Man Pool Party

Brunch for 5 Year Olds

Donuts by Lin's Bakery

Birthday Cake created by Handmade by Brianna

Pop Tube Valentine's

Super cute Valentine's, made by my daughter, for her son's preschool class. 

She bought the colorful Pop Tubes from Amazon.

His teacher received a neatly decorated box with a cookie inside. :)

 

Valentine Chip Bags

Cody's friends at his day program will get these tasty valentines this year. 

Printables are from MabbRose Designs via Etsy. 

Highlights of the Year 2021

The year 2021 has been an eventful one for our family! 

After having six adorable grandsons, I finally got my first grand-daughter.

(Respecting my daughter's wishes to not show her children's faces.
Scumbags on the internet ruin everything.)

My oldest son, Cody, turned 40! We celebrated with an open house. 

Cody loved having his friends from  Turn Community Services there.

Katelyn, who happens to be my youngest child, turned 30! What?! How?!!

Boyd and I went to Fort Worth, Texas to see my BF from high school and her family.

My sister, Camie, and her daughter, Lainey, came and 

spent a few days with me. We braved Vegas for a day.

Beverly and I went on our first girl trip without our daughters. We had a great time, even though we had to wear masks on the rides. (And we really wished the girls could've come.)

On a sad note, my step-father passed away. I am glad he's no longer suffering. 

CANCER CAN SUCK IT!

Boyd and I made the decision to cash in on the insane housing market in St. George and move out of town. We bought the cutest home in the perfect location and moved in the first Saturday of September.

Within a month, I landed a job as an EL Interventionist at the elementary school close to my home.

(Ignore the typo in my text.) 

Cody is adjusting to his new day program. He really wanted to be Goofy on Halloween. 

We've enjoyed a couple of snow storms (which rarely happened in St. George).

We hosted our first Thanksgiving in our new home and just ended the year with a very Merry Christmas.

Looking back, I feel blessed beyond measure!

Bring on 2022!

To you and yours...

Snowmen Christmas Gift Packages

My younger sister, Teresa Barney, wrapped these adorable snowmen gifts for all of her grandchildren this year. I think they're too cute not to share. She really went above and beyond to make this Christmas special for them. 
 

"Is He Nuts?"/ My Two Cents

 

When I started dating Boyd, my now husband of 4 years, one of the first memories I have is the two of us standing in my kitchen and him saying that he had something important to tell me. I could see that Boyd was nervous about whatever it was he had to say. He then proceeded to let me know that his son was gay. My reply was simply... "So?" It makes me sad to think Boyd anticipated a different reaction from me, but the honest truth is, he and his family had experienced a good deal of unfavorable, and often unsolicited, opinions from people over the years. Despite my obvious acceptance, Boyd acted much the same way when he told me Trevor had recently come out in therapy as Transgender and wanted to be called River. My reception was the same. We simply stopped calling him Trevor and began referring to her as River.

Now, cutting our story abruptly short (maybe save it for another post or ten), within months of me meeting Boyd, River passed away. Her death was determined an accidental drug overdose. River's story is not unlike many, many other LGBTQ+ individuals who are treated SO poorly and turn to drugs at an early age to numb incomprehensible pain. And the sad thing is, most of these people who do so much harm call themselves "good Christians". Which brings me to the point of this post...

 "Is He Nuts?" is my new favorite book. Dennis Schleicher went through abuse from his mother, was tricked and admitted into a psychiatric hospital for troubled teens, divorced his parents and became his own court-appointed guardian at age 16, ended up on the Sally Jesse Rafael TV show as well as Larry King Live, and participated in the process of a Connecticut hate crimes bill that took effect in 1991. I'm going to just stop here, because I don't want to ruin the book for you. I highly recommend reading Dennis's story no matter what religion, sexual orientation, or race you are. I applaud him for being so open. As of today, you can buy a hardback at Cedar Fort Publishing  and the price has been slashed from $22.99 to $3.99!