It is Finally Too Hot to Bake

I live in Portland. Have I mentioned that? And that all winter while it’s cold and rainy we tell everyone, “We don’t mind this crappy gray weather because our summers are beautiful!”? This year the rain just kept coming though. It rained pretty much up until last week when it finally reached 80 and the sun came out. With this kind of summer and another rainy winter just around the corner, an Oregon girl needs to take advantage of the sun while she can.

I visited my grandpa in Eastern Oregon.

Then I went camping with friends here:

And did a little rafting.

But no worries because the half-finished projects are piled up on my sewing table and eventually I’ll have to come inside to nurse my whopping sunburn and finish them.

Tear Off Cleaning Checklist Tablets

A friend of mine is struggling to get his roommates to clean up after themselves. This seems to be a common problem, whether it’s with roommates, a significant other or kids. I once had a roommate that hosed everything down with Lysol and called it clean.

I made some tablets of cleaning checklists for my friend to try. One version is a little more sarcastic and pushy and the other is more cordial (the one above). I sewed across the top of the tablet pages which worked well because it holds everything together but perforates each page so it can be easily torn out if needed.



If you want to make your own cleaning checklist tablets click here . Then click on export and select Word.
Open the document once it has downloaded and edit it to fit your needs. (I haven’t used this particular program before so if you have any issues please email me or let me know in the comments and I will fix it)


The pages print four to a sheet. I printed two sheets so each tablet would have eight pages. Make sure when you cut them out that you leave room at the top for binding.

Line up the pages and then sew across the top with a an 1/8” seam allowance. Backstitch on the ends.



Cut a 3/4”x4” (or the width of the pages, depending on how small you cut them) of scrapbook paper. Fold it in half and glue it over the top of the tablet, making sure the tablet is tucked all the way into the fold.



Buy some candy bars to use for bribing rewards and you’re all set.

Gone Camping

Man, I was doing so well keeping up with posts and then the craziness known as Outdoor School happened. The funding for Outdoor School has been cut in our district which means the teachers are in charge of making sure it happens. It’s totally worth it, but it means that there isn’t a lot of time for crafting and whatnot. So, I’ll leave you with some of the lovely pictures from this year’s adventure until I have time for a real post.

St. Patricks Day Subway Art Printable

Click on the image and print or right click, copy image and paste in Word to resize.