WFMW ~ Hiding Stains

Most of us have had this happen, right? You buy a new pair of pants for your little girl (or boy, for that matter), and instruct them to NOT PLAY OUTSIDE in them. I bought my daughter a beautiful pair of pink Levis a few summers ago, and said the same thing. She wore them once, and there were instant stains. I could not get them out. I was about to put these pants into the play clothes drawer, when I got this idea.

First cut the pants into crop pants or capris, if you want. The stains on these pants were pretty bad around the ankles, so I cropped them.

Then I took some cute fabric I had that had bugs and flowers on it, and made them into appliques. You have to iron the fabric onto some stablizer. Then cut them out, iron them onto the fabric, and use a sewing machine to applique them on, using pretty color thread that coordinates with the colors in the fabric.

I also had several cute iron-on lady bugs that went nicely with the fabric. I ironed those onto some smaller stains.

Then I used some ribbon and trimmed the pants below the knees and...

up out of the back pockets for a cute effect. These didn't hide any stains, but I thought it really brought the whole look together. Don't you?

One thing I didn't get a picture of was the cute belt I made for this. I just used the rest of the red gingham ribbon, put it through the belt loops and tied a bow. That's it!

You can really use this idea for many many things....like hiding small stains on nice shirts or dresses. You could hide small holes, too. Younger boys might like something like this, without the ribbon, of course (and the pink!). Also, if you don't use a sewing maching, you could maybe just cross-stitch the applique's on, or just use iron on patches. Either way, it works for me!

Check out more WFMW ideas at Rocks In My Dryer.

Lisa

Works For Me Wednesday!

This is a simple thing, really, but it has been a life saver and a money saver for me.

We have 8 people in our family and one of those "family size" soup cans just isn't quite enough. 2 of them makes too much, and a family size and 1 small can is even too much unless everyone is starving for a lot of soup (which is rare). So, I just make one large family size can of soup (adding the one can of water to it), and I add a can of chicken broth to it. This makes just enough for the tummies wanting soup with their lunch. It's cheap and works for me!

For more great Works For Me Wednesday tips, go to Rocks In My Dryer.

Lisa

Memorizing ABC's and Books of the Bible

When I have pre-schoolers just learning their alphabet song, I have found a great way to help them memorize it. Each time we brush teeth I sing the song to them. After a few weeks of singing it to them, I then begin to leave letters out and have them fill in the blank. "ABCDEF...." then I wait for them to fill in the blank. "HIJKLMNO...." and so on. After a couple of weeks of this, I leave more letters out, and before you know it, they can say it all by themselves! After they master the alphabet, we move on to the books of the Bible. I know there are several versions of this song. Find one you like and memorize it yourself if you haven't already. Sing it and leave books out, just like the alphabet song. They will have them memorized in just a few weeks! This has worked for me for 4 children so far!
Go and visit Rocks In My Dryer for more great tips!

What We Do With Over-ripe Fruit

If you have over ripe bananas, and maybe some apples or whatever kind of overly juicy leftover fruit might be lurking in your fruit bowl, just throw them in a blender and make a breakfast shake. I use 2-3 bananas, or 2 bananas with an apple or two, some ice...maybe 2 cups, about 2 cups of milk, 2-3 Tbsp. of sugar or your favorite sweetener, and few drops of vanilla extract. Blend till smooth (though my kids love a few chunks every once in a while). Drink quickly, as the bananas tend to become "rusty" in a short period of time. It's delicious and easier than trying to throw together a banana bread. Works for me! Check out more great tips over at Rocks in My Dryer!