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Crocheted Play Food Cake – FREE PATTERN
My daughters have always loved to play kitchen, cafe and house. Play food has been a constant in our house for years because of this. The cheap plastic kind always rubbed me the wrong way. I wanted something more… I don’t know… CUTE! Over the years I have added all sorts of crocheted play food to my kids’ play kitchen. I tend to gravitate to making my own patterns because I like them made from cost-efficient yarn and designed to be the perfect scale for my kids’ small hands. Today’s “Featured Pattern Friday” is my very own! It’s a pattern that works up quickly with either bulky weight yarn or…
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Magic Ring/Magic Circle Tutorial
Ever wondered how to get a really tight close at the beginning of a crochet-in-the-round project? A magic ring or magic circle allows you to get a really tight center without having to fight working through a tight stitch. The idea of a magic ring or magic circle is that its a technique where you can easily work your first round of stitches in the same (large and open) center “stitch”. Then, when you are finished with your first round of stitches, close up the center tightly creating a very polished and cinched circle. I use this technique in almost all of my projects that are worked in the round.…
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Modern Crochet Pumpkin Pattern and Tutorial – FREE
Crochet pumpkins are all the rage right now, and now you can make your very own with my FREE crochet pumpkin pattern and video tutorial! Yarn: For the pumpkins pictured below, I used a variety of mostly worsted weight yarn that I got from Hobby Lobby. I absolutely love their “I Love This Yarn” acrylic. It is a good quality, soft, and reasonably priced worsted weight yarn. I have hoards of of it at home and use it for a lot of projects. I also used this bulky weight yarn for the ribbed pumpkin that was a steal from my local Wal-Mart at $2.97 a skein. Make sure you scroll…
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2019-2020 Homeschool Curriculum Picks
I am excited to share with you my large family homeschool curriculum picks for 2019-2020 with you! This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. Organization This year I am keeping track of all my curriculum and lessons in my custom homeschool planner! I released this digital product earlier this year, and so many of you are now using it for your homeschool! It is the ONLY planner that has worked long term for my ever changing family! I print it at home and use this tool to bind it at home as well. The cool thing about the pro-click…
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Homeschooling, Public Education and Fear
When I shared on my Instagram last week about my son’s first day of public school, I got a few concerned messages from fellow homeschoolers and public-schoolers alike. Now before you go picturing my son as a little boy with a book bag that is bigger than he is and his first day of school consisting of paste and crayons… He has facial hair and a drivers license. He stands several inches above me and will be 17 in a few short months. He is entering public school as a junior. Still, the concern came from followers of mine who knew all those facts. I DO understand their side of…
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Basket System Organization Hack
I shared a while back over on my YouTube channel (are you subscribed? If not, click here!) about my life changing 3 basket system! It is an organization hack that allows you to be 100 times more efficient at cleaning up, and it will ALSO put your kids in charge of keeping up with their own toys. ALL WITHOUT NAGGING! Seem too good to be true? Think again! The reason this hack works wonders is because it is SUPER easy to implement! With a family of 10, things get left out constantly. We need to have consistent “pick up times” to combat the clutter. Our usual pick up times tend…
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5 Homeschooling Hacks to Make Learning Fun!
Being that I am a homeschooling mom, teaching my kids is, well, kind of… my job! BUT it can get monotonous sometimes. Today I am going to share with you five easy and seamless tips to keep learning fun and also fit into your daily life. This post contains a giveaway, so make sure you read to the end! This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. 1. Cook with your kids. Cooking is something we already have to do three times a day! Include your kids. Cooking is a life skill they will use forever. Do we really need…
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Kids’ Birthday Gift Ideas
Even with a ton of kids, Mike and I sometimes struggle to come up with unique birthday gifts for our children. To make matters more crazy, half of our family’s birthdays fall in a 6 week period in the summer. The last of those birthdays will wrap up next week, so I thought it would be a great time to review some of the gifts we have purchased as well as some others that we have considered. We usually do our shopping on Amazon because, lets be honest, it’s easiest way to shop. I don’t have to put on a bra. It is delivered to my door, and review on…
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Quitting Homeschool?
I’ve shared informally that my oldest, who is 16, will be attending public school this fall. Many of you were curious why and how we came to this decision. This post will share some of our reasons. AJ is our oldest. He will be 17 at the end of this year. Wow, even typing that seems crazy! This is the same boy I have homeschooled since he was 4. He is almost a legal adult now. Keep in mind, even though I have 8 kids, I am ALWAYS a first time mom with him. We jokingly tell him he is our guinea pig child and, at best, we are winging…
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PDF Crochet Pattern – Tie On Baby Booties/Shoes
I have crocheted baby shoes for over a decade now. I used to sell them locally and via the internet. I LOVE crochet baby shoes, but like ALL other baby shoes – they fell off SO easily… #bummer. I started brainstorming how I could design a beautiful, yet also fully functional, baby shoe that I didn’t have to put back on 13,294 times each hour. After my 5th baby was born I came up with this pattern and successfully used it for each subsequent baby! I honestly don’t think my 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th child ever wore any other shoes for their first 1-1/2 of life. They are THAT…
