Papercrafting - Fabric Silhouette Cards

I needed an inexpensive way to make 10 gifts. I decided to do 10 sets of cards, but realized that it would become expensive if I were to use lots of embellishments and layers. It dawned on me that I could use an iron-on fusible webbing with fabric and paper to make cards. I went with a silhouette look that is simple and nice.

1. Trace three simple shapes onto template plastic. I chose designs from my quilting motifs books.

2. Fuse fabric to Steam-A-Seam or similar product.

3. Trace shapes onto Steam-A-Seam.

4. Cut out shapes with sharp scissors.

5. Fuse shapes onto card bases.

It was a pretty easy project and a fun way to use up some fabric scraps.

Tweet

Sophia Update - Responsibility Chart

Little Kenny = Naughty

Little Kimberly = Stubborn

Kenny + Kimberly = Sophia, if she doesn't want to do something nothing will make her do it.

My daily dilemma is trying to figure out how to make her want what I want. She wants to be taken care of. I want her to learn independence so she can function at school.

So I got this chart. Her cousin has one and one of her neighborhood friends has one. We went through the magnets together and picked ones that pertain to self-care like get dressed, get ready for bed, take a bath. We also added clean up room, take care of pet, and do homework (doing worksheets in English to supplement her German school). She gets a reward magnet for each task she completes by herself. At the end of the day we trade her a nickel for each magnet. We began yesterday afternoon and it has worked brilliantly so far. I hope the daily money exchange will keep up the effectiveness.

I also started a TV watching system with the nickels. Children shouldn't watch more than two hours of TV a day. So, I put four nickels (representing four half-hour programs) for each day of the week into a container. Every time she watches a show she has to give me a nickel. When she runs out of nickels, she's done with TV for the week. If she has nickels left over at the end of the week she may put them in her piggy bank.

Kenny thought we should use bigger money because he doesn't think she's going to be excited by what she can buy with what she's earned at the end of the week. I thought we should start here and maybe she can learn a little something about saving. We'll see how it goes!

Tweet

Papercrafting - Scotland Layout 7

Finally! All finished with the Scotland layouts. I'm happy to clean up the mess and move on to a new project.

Supplies:

CTMH Bella Level 2 Paper Pack

CTMH Believe Uppercase & Lowercase Stamp Sets

CTMH Sunflower Brads

CTMH Desert Sand Marker

CTMH Hollyhock Ink

Versamark

CTMH Journaling Jots Stamp Set

Tweet

Sewing Room - Amy Butler's Sash with Beaded Trim

It is cold outside so I'm thinking warm thoughts and made my first project from an Amy Butler pattern. This is her Sash with Beaded Trim which is available free online. The directions were very good for the most part. They forgot to explicitly say to cut the fabric and I had to read ahead to make sure I was cutting at the appropriate time. I guess I'm used to very precise quilting patterns. Speaking of quilting, there are some pinning and marking steps that can be eliminated if you're familiar with working with a rotary cutter and gridded ruler.

I think it turned out really cute. It is about six inches wide so it is narrow enough to be worn as a belt or around a ponytail in addition to around the neck. The beads are a fun touch.

Tweet

Papercrafting - Scotland Layout 5

Supplies:

CTMH Bella Level 2 Paper Pack

CTMH Believe Caps & Lowercase Stamp Sets

CTMH Hollyhock Ink

CTMH Twill

CTMH Autumn Terracotta, Sunflower, & New England Ivy Brads

CTMH Gold Photo Clips

Cutter Bee Scissors

Red Double Sided Tape

Tombow Adhesive

Fiskars Paper Cutter

CTMH Desert Sand Marker

Versamark

CTMH Journaling Jots Stamp Set

Tweet

Papercrafting - Scotland Layout 4

I love planning my layouts in advance because it allows me to use pictures of different sizes like this one of Sophia and the wildflowers.

Supplies:

CTMH Bella Level 2 Paper Pack

CTMH Gold Photo Hangers

CTMH Twill

Tombow Adhesive

Fiskars Paper Cutter

CTMH Hollyhock Ink

CTMH Chocolate Alphabet - Large

CTMH Outdoor Denim Brads

CTMH Desert Sand Marker

Tweet

Fitness/Nutrition - Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?

I'm going to get to my protein discovery in a moment, but first some background.

According to the Wii Fit , to reach my optimum weight I need to gain about seven pounds to reach a BMI of 22 which is the magic BMI that fends off sickness. According to my mirror, I need to lose some inches so I can look good in summer clothes.

I know from past experience that programs like the Self Challenge and the National Body Challenge are great for losing weight for the short term but they aren't sustainable in the long term. I'm looking for a lifestyle change. Geraldine Brooks, quoting The Perfect Fit Diet: Combine What Science Knows About Weight Loss with What You Know About Yourself wrote in Oprah's Dream Big: O's Guide to Discovering Your Best Life , "The easiest way to control weight is to avoid gaining too much in the first place. When you put on a lot of weight, you start adding new fat cells, which, once acquired, never go away. You can empty them, but they hang around, just waiting to fill up again, and that happens a lot more quickly and easily than a cell that has to build itself from scratch." Yes, information like this motivates me to stop gaining and losing the same five pounds every holiday season. As I get older I'm sure the five pounds would turn into more and I'd rather not create any new fat cells. Scary!

So, what to do? I started keeping track of my food intake and fitness at LIVESTRONG. They also have a cool app that I loaded on my Touch so I can enter everything right from the table. Just by recording what I eat and how much I exercise, I've been motivated to stick to serving size (35 peanuts is a serving, not several handfuls) and to exercise at least a little bit every day (can eat more if I burn some calories).

I've been keeping track for one week now. Though I've been limiting calories, I've pretty much been eating whatever I want. Keeping in mind the question that I've been asked many times in my lifetime of being a vegetarian, "do vegetarians get enough protein?" I looked over the summaries that LIVESTRONG provides and I found out some interesting things about the composition of my regular diet. I'm not getting enough fiber. I could actually have more sugar. But, I'm way over the recommended percentages for fats and protein. My fat intake ranged from 104% to 176%. My protein intake ranged from 141% to 161%. So, no trouble getting any protein. How did I get it, my non-vegetarian friends might wonder? Here's an example of protein sources for my highest day:

Quaker Oatmeal 5g

Enchilada Bake 26g

Guacamole 1g

Peanuts 7g

White Beans w/ Tomatoes & Corn 4g

Joe Joe's Cookies 1g

Egg 6g

Orange Juice 2g

Some of these sources like the beans, egg, and peanuts are obvious protein sources. But, I even got some protein from unexpected sources like my breakfast cereal, orange juice, and cookies. It is clear from reviewing my week in food that I need to replace my fatty, protein snacks like cheese and peanuts with more fibrous snacks like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

So, my results after one week of having a ceiling on calories and exercising at least a little bit every day? I've lost one pound. "Big deal," Kenny says. He's over a foot taller than me so he's used to his weight fluctuating much more than mine! So, there was a small loss of weight, but there were big gains in other areas. I get a mood lift when I exercise. I've noticed that I don't want to eat as much. I made a serving and a half of veggie chicken nuggets to eat with some carrots for lunch yesterday and I was done after one serving. I don't crave sweets quite as much. My skin has a healthier look so I don't need as much makeup. Nice gains if you ask me!

Tweet