Daisy Girl Scout troop Necklaces

Hey Leader Friends!

So to be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of leaders giving out end of the year gifts and I totally think it should be the other other way around but I really couldn't resist these! lol

The idea is pretty simple and affordable. It could also be used as a jewelry making badge if you have the girls make their own! 

Materials

• roll of ball chain with clamps
• Blank bottle caps w/jump rings attached ( I used 5/8" mini bottle caps from Hobby Lobby)
• E6000
• bottle cap image/Printable
• photopaper
• Magic dimensions

Optional:

• dangle beads (Hobby Lobby) and stampable plates

1) Print and Cut out your 16mm (diameter) printable circles. 

Print out your image on photo paper. Regular paper will not work and it will get wet. If you have a circle punch small enough for this that would be idea but I used scissors. Use E6000 to adhere your printable to the bottle cap. You can also use rubber cement but I find that E6000 works the best. Allow it to dry. It can take a couple hours. If you are doing it with a troop and are pressed for time you can use rubber cement but make sure you don't get it on the front facing image.

2) Apply Magic Dimensions

Word of advice, dispense a small amount of the dimensions goo on a piece of paper first to avoid air bubbles. Start in the center of the cap and in a circular motion fill the entire bottle cap. If you go a little over that is okay. When the dimensions goo dries, it sinks a bit. Use a tooth pic to get out any air bubbles... if you see below, the air bubbles will dry like air bubbles so get them out. Allow this to dry for 3 hours or overnight.

--->> Your can find the Custom Printable here <<---

3) Assemble your necklace

If you purchased the bottle caps that already have the punch with the jump rings then this will be easy. You can cut your ball and chain cord to the desirable length your girl prefers. I recommend 18 inches long. Attach your connectors and voila! 

If you want to go an extra step, you can add colored dangle beads link in the picture below. If you have a stamping set, they you can also add initial plate charms too.

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Baby Rag Quilt

I have been wanting to make one of these rag quilts now for over a year. This past week my brother and sister-in-law had their first child and I knew exactly what I wanted to make for them! It feels great to dust off the old sewing machine again.

I went to two different stores to find just the right fabric for this project. I shopped at Hobby Lobby for the cute pink and grey chevron and damask patterns. I found the pink embossed star fabric(used for the backing) and the grey and white polka dot fabric at Joann's.

Choose color coordinating fabrics that are soft and fluffy!

Baby Rag Quilt

What you will need...

1/2 yard of 5 different coordinating patterns

1 1/2 yards of backing fabric

1 1/2 yards of fleece

Fabric scissors

White thread

Not used but extremely helpful

I wish I would have used these!!!

Rotary cutter

self healing cutting mat

1)

 Cut your squares for the quilt in the different coordinating patterns. I would recommend for a baby blanket cutting the squares a 10"x10" or a 8"x8". The baby blanket will be a 6 square by 6 square quilt, totaling 36 squares. You will need about 8 squares each in the different coordinating fabrics. There will be some squares left over but this gives you some options on the overall layout and design. I cut the coordinating fabric squares first.

2)

Once all the coordinating fabric squares were cut out, I matched up the fleece and the backing fabric on top of each other. Then, I pinned the already cut squares on top like the picture below. You will want your quilting squares to match up exactly, which is why I choose to cut them out directly from the already cut squares. This will allow them to match up perfectly!

3) 

After all your squares are cut, you should have 36 pinned squares, 3 layers each. So, you will have your coordinating fabric on top, fleece in the middle, and your backing on the bottom. Make sure your backing is facing out ward when they are stacked. You will then cross stitch each square with a big X from corner to corner. This process takes some time.

4)

Once you have your 36 cross stitched squares, you can start to layout the squares in an aesthetically pleasing pattern. I had a lot of grey so I wanted to make sure that the predominately grey squares were not right next to each other. I laid them out every other.

5)

 Once you have the layout of the blanket, start with rows. Pin together each square in one row and sew the sides together with a 3/4" seam allowance. In the picture below I have finished three of the six rows.

6)

When you have finished sewing your 6 rows, pin each row together to start assembling the quilt. Use the same 3/4" seam, having the sides fold forward with all of the layers.

7)

 Once all the rows are sown together, stitch around the outside of the entire quilt enclosing all 4 sides. Use the 3/4" seam. 

8)

Now it's time to clip your excess seam to make that rag quilt effect. I would recommend using a microtip fabric scissor. Make sure you don't cut your stitching! This process also took some time. Over the course of a couple days and downtime I was able to complete the clipping.

9)

 Wash your quilt on a short delicate cycle. Dry your quilt on a regular cycle. The drying will help fray your clippings and make it look super cute!

What I like about the rag quilt is that it's forgiving of tiny mistakes that would be very evident on a regular quilt. Since I'm no quilting expert this was extremely helpful. I am planning on making a much bigger one for my girls beds! 

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Our Deck Renovation

Since my hand is out of commission and I don't enjoy the chicken pecking, I figured I would post a picture gallery of the before and after of our latest deck renovation project.

The deck was one of the selling features in our home but definitely needed a face lift. Some of the top boards were rotted and ready to put a foot through. We started by replacing those boards and were relieved to find a perfectly nice deck foundation.

I do have a funny story about when we power washed our deck

,

both a flood and a fire in one day! I will leave that for next time:)

 This was a weekend in itself!

 Sand off the peeling paint.

 Switched out our flood lights for these babies! The motion sensor was so off and would drive me nuts. Yes, it lacks a bit of security but I'm not a fan of flood lights.

 Two coats of a chocolate solid stain and a pinto white solid stain.

It took us a total of 3 weekends... including the weekend of flood and fire, which was kind of a wash.

What do ya think?

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