Fabulous Find - Stitch by Stitch

I think if you're the blogging type of person, want to make a difference type of person and are creative at all in this day and age, you're going to end up sewing.

I grew up in a family of seamstresses. I am an extremely concrete thinker and just couldn't grasp the concepts of sewing, nor did I really want to. I remember being in Home Ec in high school and having to sew some sort of book. Oh my goodness. I also remember my teacher being extremely frustrated with me because I sincerely had no idea what in the world I was doing - and again, I didn't care. I got a C because of that stinking book.

Several years later I graduated college and needed professional casual clothes to wear for an internship. I didn't have any money. So my mom found some patterns and tried to teach me how to sew, again to no avail. I'll never forget her looking at me and actually saying out load, "How do you not understand this?!?" Poor mom.

Again, several years later I tried to make curtains. Do you remember me saying I'm impulsive? I almost always bite off more than I can chew. I got so frustrated with that project that I threw all the fabric I had bought to make them into a ball and into a closet. They ended up in the trash.

But then, just this year I found the Idea Room. And then I found Craft Hope. And I decided if I wanted to get involved and have the incredibly adorable things I have since found for myself and my children, I was going to have to learn to sew.

I took the plunge and bought a machine. Between bags and clothes, I am currently sewing up a storm. I'll have to share some pictures with you if you're interested! Just this week I used my first commercially designed pattern. Wow. That was not fun compared to the picture description, each step meticulously described Etsy downloadable patterns! But I had this great book to help me out.

This woman is down to earth in her writing style, is not 500 years old and actually gives you projects to complete while she's teaching you how to sew. A fantastic book and a must have if you decide to take the sewing plunge. You can find her book on Amazon here.

So, do you sew? Any sewing catastophes you'd like to share here? I'd love to hear them! I can take all the encouragement I can get some days!

Picture taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Fabulous Find - Retail Me Not

This is one of my most fabulous finds yet! I love this site and it's so much one of my favorites that I don't do ANY on-line shopping without it!

And it's so simple!

Point your browser here - http://www.retailmenot.com/

In the gynormous box on the front page type in the url of the store you want to buy something from and see all the incredible coupons retailmenot pulls up for you!

I have saved so much money here through discounts, free shipping and coupon codes. Take a look! Isn't simplicity wonderful?

A Fantastic Idea!! Project 365

I was walking around in my RSS feeds today and found this fantastic idea from (in)courage. It's called Project 365 and all the credit goes to Jessica Turner. Here's the project - take a picture every day and then jot down a memory associated with it.

I love journalling and purchased journalling software from Life Journal over a year ago. One of the reasons I love it is because you can attach pictures to the journal entries and you can also search by topic that you have self created and categorize your journal in many different ways. If you're an organizer like me, you'll love it! You don't have to get specific journalling software to do that though - simply use Word or some kind of other word processing program and insert pictures if you prefer. In some ways this is safer because it supports many different formats unlike the Life Journal software.

I digress.

Anyway, what a beautiful and practical way to remember the day to day that at times seems mundane now but will seem more precious as the years go by.

What do you think?

Fabulous Find - Bring the Rain

I have no idea how I found this blog, but last night I did.

I do get caught up in being on-line for extended amounts of time, but never on one blog - until last night.

These are some of the most captivating and emotionally transparent writings I have ever read.

I have talked about Maeve before - a sweet baby that passed away from our friend's lives when she was only 20 days old. I realized more than I have yet that I have no idea how Melissa and Jon (Maeve's parents) have dealt with the experience of losing her. Angie , who writes Bring the Rain, and her husband Todd also lost a baby after only a couple of hours of life. They had 3 daughters prior to having Audrey and have since had another daughter, Charlotte.

Angie and Todd, like so many parents who have lost children, are living in such a way to honor their children and impact others because of their child's life. There is not a single post I've read so far that has not impacted me in some way. I literally laughed and cried when reading what Angie so beautifully wrote.

These people reflect God's presence in their lives and the struggle of life in an incredible way. If you need to see the real presence of God, lived out in someone's life, this is a great place to do it. Start at the beginning. But I need to warn you; you won't want to stop. To start reading, visit Bring the Rain here.

Fabulous Find Update - Craft Hope Project 9

About a month ago I blogged on this great organization I found called Craft Hope and what they are doing with simple sewing skills to make a difference in lives around the globe. Well, they just finished their last project in which they made towels for cleaning up the animals effected by the oil spill in the Gulf. This week they launched Project 9 and I wanted to make sure you knew about it.

Until September 15 they are running Project 9. Project 9's beneficiary is ConKerr Cancer - an organization dedicated to providing new and stylish pillowcases to all terminally ill children in the United States. Project 9 was established so you could help this organization by making pillowcases. That's it! They give you information about ConKerr Cancer, directions on how to make pillowcases and a list of addresses where you can send your finished pillowcases here. It's nothing huge - just a simple pillowcase. But it's going to make a huge difference in the life of a terminally ill child and their family. When I first saw this I wondered how a pillowcase could really instill hope in something so tragic, but then I saw the pictures. Can you imagine being stuck in such a sterile environment as one that cancer treatment and prevention would provide? Then can you imagine seeing a bright and fun pillowcase in that environment that your child could rest and be comforted on, knowing that someone was thinking and praying just for them, for you, as they created it. That seriously makes me cry and I don't cry easily. It truly is amazing to know that a difference can be made with something so simple. It's beautiful!

Let me know if you decide to participate in this project and send me pictures at karyn@delicatefortress.com! I can't wait to see what all you and I come up with! I'm going to attempt this - I've never made a pillowcase before. Here's my theory - if I create something that has crooked stitches and isn't exactly rectangular shaped, at least it was created in prayer and maybe it will give the family and child something to laugh at!

What do you think?

Fabulous Find - cnet.com and Photo Recovery

Remember when I talked about the Maeve Memorial Run we participated in a couple of weeks ago? Remember how I said that I was taking pictures for it? Well, I did that in part because I love to and in part because Jon and Melissa asked me to. I took over 1600 pictures that day. That night I anxiously put the memory card in the computer and looked at all the pictures. Next day, took it out, put it back in the camera and started taking more pictures at a birthday party we went to. I ran out of room (surprise, surprise!) on the memory card, so I just started deleting pictures and taking more. On the car ride home I continued to delete them until it dawned me, in a very sickening way, that I had not SAVED the pictures to the computer when I viewed them the night before. I felt like I was going to throw up when I realized that. I made my husband reverse course and go home (we had been on the way to another engagement) and I checked the computer, JUST IN CASE.

nothing.

No saved pictures.

I spent the next day googling photo recovery and if it would even be possible to recover ANY of the pictures I had deleted. Lo and behold, there is a way!!!!

Cnet.com has been my friend for about a year now. I have utilized it as a resource to learn and make decisions on purchases for anything from a handheld camcorder to which shopping cart software to use for the business. Cnet did not let me down this time. One of the most inexpensive photo software recovery programs was listed and reviewed on cnet and I could even buy it from there! I ended up purchasing Adroit Photo Recovery. I did the trial first, which was free. It showed me all the pictures I had deleted and then I had the option to buy if I wanted them recovered. Ummm. Let me think. YES I WANT THEM RECOVERED. $20 and 3 minutes later, wahlah, all the pictures, safely stored on my computer.

So if you need anything new in your life - camcorder, camera, registrar for your website, shopping cart software, TVs - anything that relates to technology at all, you have to check out this site.

And if you are ever like me and you delete too many pictures, you don't have to throw up. Cnet.com to the rescue!!

Fabulous Find - Pop Tab Donation

I think this is one of the coolest, simplest things I have ever seen!

I had to go to a website for the business this week through one of our suppliers, The Enterprising Kitchen. While I was there, I saw this side tab about a different way to support them. It led me to Moda Esperanza. Here is what they have to say about their mission.....

"The pop tab is a simple thing, one that many of us discard without a second thought, but through the Esperanza Project, the simple pop tab is changing lives.

Women and single mothers, many whom are orphans themselves, are empowered by earning a fair wage, while still being able to care for their children, by turning recycled pop tabs into beautiful purses, belts, bracelets and other fashionable accessories.

Collaboration between these women and local Chicago charities began in 2009. The charities include the Ronald McDonald House Charities - Chicago/Northwest Indiana Chapter (RMHC-CNI) and The Enterprising Kitchen (TEK).

RMHC-CNI improves the health, well-being and education of children through various programs. One of their main objectives is to keep families together as their children face severe medical challenges.

TEK empowers low-income women in the U.S. by teaching them job skills and helping them build a foundation for permanent employment and self-sufficiency, much like the women in Honduras.

Every person who buys an Esperanza product is empowered by knowing that they share in the advancement of women and families in both the U.S. and Honduras and in environmental sustainability.

The profits made from the sales of these products are 100% charitable."

Want to see what all they can make from a silly little pop tab? Check out their offerings here. Maybe this doesn't suit your taste or budget. You can still help by donating pop tabs! Just send them to this address:

Carolyn Nopar
Executive Director
The Enterprising Kitchen
4426 North Ravenswood
Chicago, IL 60640

Now my change jar can have some company with a pop tab jar! And cheers for drinking pop with purpose!

Fabulous Blog Finds - The Momtage and The Idea Room

I recently found the Momtage website through this blog and have really come to enjoy it. It's a brand new blog/community for moms in all walks of life. At the time being it is a small community, but the potential for this site is amazing. A down to earth and practical approach to mothering and all topics therein. Dana and Holly have a desire to develop a sisterhood among moms through their site and they have found some great ways to do this - hosting a book club (which was the main selling point for me), offering laundry tips and exploring many walks of motherhood. I am truly excited about what is going to become of this site and I encourage you to check it out here.

The Idea Room - I am in love with this blog and if you enjoy creativity at all and seeing what is out there that other people are creating or finding inspiring ideas for your creativity niche, this blog is for you. She discusses and provides tutorials for everything from dresses to pincushions to fruity popsickles. Her blog also features great ideas and tips from Kristen Duke photography. She just did a piece on great ideas for taking candid photos which I found to be really helpful in taking pictures of our family at the beach a couple weeks ago. I got some great shots that I will proudly display in my home! Amy has found a tremendous following in the short time she has been blogging and I am one of her faithful followers. Each Monday she does a giveaway, which Delicate Fortress is going to be a part of next week. Woohoo! I am really excited about researching the one she is doing today! Check out her blog here.

Friday Flip Out - Composting

Once again, I have to talk about my local floral nursery. I love that place!

While I was there the last time I found this. It's an indoor compost bin! I asked what it was and here its a compost bin to keep inside your kitchen. I had heard about keeping your own compost pile before but completely ignored it because I knew it had to do with garbage and I didn't want to learn how to do anything with garbage except get rid of it! When I learned that it was incredibly good for my garden, I looked into it more and was sold.

What you do is keep kitchen scraps - egg shells, tea bags, coffee filters and grains, fruits and vegetables including peelings - in this bin. When it's full, you dump it into your outside compost pile and manage that to use on your garden.

Sounds like too much work to me, but keeping an outdoor compost is a very easy thing and if you have a garden it is well worth it. I have learned that you can keep one in something as simple as a tote! I'm going to talk about that further in a separate post, but for now, I am just excited about composting.

Here is why. We have two separate gardens we are growing this year. One has all the regulars and one has hot peppers. You're supposed to keep them separate from the regular peppers because placing them near one another will make them all taste funky. The garden with our regulars is completely exploding. The one with the hot peppers.....not so much. The difference? Compost. We used compost in our regular garden and the difference is amazing.

So, I highly recommend composting, and I'm pretty excited about the cool looking compost kitchen bins that I found while looking this up. They are great because you don't have to go out to your compost pile every time you are wanting to throw out a banana peel, they are attractive enough to keep on your countertop if you want and they use charcoal filters to keep the odor and flies away. Works like a charm!

**Images used from www.gardeners.com, www.gaiam.com and www.amazon.com

Fabulous Blog Finds - Craft Hope, The Pioneer Woman and Lysa TerKeurst

Craft Hope is a fantastic blog and website designed to give you opportunities to help people and even animals that need it. This blog has only been in existence for a year and a half but has had tremendous success in part because it gives you practical and easy to get involved to help others but because it brings you in with a community of others who want to do the same thing. Each project lasts about a month and a half and they tell you what to do and how to do it. The current project is making washclothes and towels to give to the clean up workers in the Gulf who are helping clean the animals that have literally been coated with oil. In the past they have dresses and bean bags to children in orphanages. They are really doing wonderful things for so many in such a short time. You can check out their blog/website here.

The Pioneer Woman is a very popular blog that you may have heard of already. In case you haven't, you might want to check out Ree's blog. She has quite a conglomerate of features on her blog including fabulous recipes, incredible photography as well as easy and brilliant photographic tips and photography contests, elements on homeschooling and home and gardening. I'm a fan of her dog to tell you the truth! Charlie is always up to something adorable in my opinion. My mother in law would strongly disagree since she is not a fan of basset hounds, but how could you not think this was adorable? Her photography is truly incredible and inspiring. If you're interested in any of these things, check her out here.


Lysa TerKeurst is a fantastic writer and blogger. I have been enjoying her blog for about a month now. I just finished reading her book The Bathtub is Overflowing but I Feel Drained. This book literally sat on my bookshelf for 6 years because I'm not a girlie, mommy kind of person, even though I am a mom and was afraid I'd be so girled out by it that I wouldn't be able to take it. Not so. This book really helped attune me to my children and look at how I'm behaving with them and my husband as well as my Creator. I'm now following her blog. She is genuine, heartfelt and lays it all out on the line. It's a place you can go when you're having a bad "mom day" or just "being alive" day and feel encouraged. You can take a look at her blog here.

Share your favorites here and let me know what you think of these!

Fun Blog Finds

While working on this blog and doing research for my business, I have found some great blogs that I'm so excited about. I want to start introducing you to them.

First......disclaimers.....
1. I want to mention that these bloggers do not know that I am introducing their sites to you. I do not receive compensation of any sort for introducing them to you or the Flip Out Friday features either. Just so you know.

2. I have absolutely no control over what is posted on this blogs. If they offend you, I apologize, but I just want you to know I didn't tell them to, nor do I endorse their offenses! :)

Now that the disclaimers are out of the way, let's find some really cool blogs!




My Giveaway Today - I just found this cool blog today. For free you enter their giveaways, which happen at least a couple times a week. Everything from scrapbooking materials to marker boards sets to trout clothing, this site has given away and offered discounts on many great products. They offer several ways to enter including commenting on their blog, "liking" the featured business on facebook, etc. and it's all explained in detail with each entry.


The Junk Drawer - This particular blog makes me laugh out loud almost every day! Kathy is hilarious - honest about her quirks and mishaps and random stories in her life. Last week she was featured on NPR for a story she has been doing over the last 2 years about Windy the plastic bag. It's about a plastic bag that got stuck in a tree outside her office window and has been stuck there for that length of time. She just celebrated Windy's 2nd birthday. I have been subscribing to this blog's RSS feeds for over a month now and it's one blog I never get tired of. I really enjoy it and hope you do too!




From An Igloo is a great creative and crafty blog where Christine talks about new projects she is doing and how to do them yourself. As someone who has no conceptual abilities whatsoever, I am even able to follow her directions! She also does Fabulous Etsy Finds in which she shows pictures of and highlights fun things she has found on Etsy during the week which is a lot of fun too. You'll get the creative juices flowing with this blog!

Hope you enjoy the features of the week. Favorite blogs you want to see posted here? Let me know!

Fabulous Find - Allrecipes.com

Have you heard of this fantastic site?

When I was pregnant with our first child, I all of a sudden became hungry for seafood potato salad. Never had it before, but I was hungry for it! I googled it and allrecipes.com came up and I became addicted. Since that time I have found many many delicious recipes on this site. If I decide I'm hungry for something on a whim but have no idea how to make it, I go on this site and there it is!

The site was designed for people who want to upload recipes that they have created themselves. Other users rate, comment and attach their own pictures if they like. You can start your own recipe box for free, adding your favorite recipes, changing the ingredients based on the amount you want to make and customizing the size and look of the recipes you want to print out. They feature new recipes every day and gorgeous photos of some delicious recipes! You can search by name of recipe and then narrow it down by ratings or relevance. Check it out. I bet you'll like it!

Here are some of my family's favorite recipes for summertime that we've found here:
Easy Strawberry Lemonade
Easy Oreo Truffles
Antipasto Pasta Salad
Fruit Dip
Clone of a Cinnabon
Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers

Notice all the ones with "easy" in the title?? I hope you enjoy this site as much as we have!

Do you have favorite recipe sites? Share them here!

Fabulous Find! - Borax!

What a crazy thing to flip out about right? Well, I'm pretty excited about borax this week and here's why.

I entered my kid's bathroom to see a most disgusting site this week and spent the next 45 minutes cleaning it! I usually use Clorox Clean Up to clean the bathrooms but I was out so I decided to use the borax I had bought to kill my ants a few weeks ago because the box said I could. I couldn't believe how well it worked! My sink and toilet and bathtub became clean again! I typically use Comet to clean the bathtub because of the grittiness of it and the fact that that seems to be what most effectively cleans up whatever that film is that stays after bath time. I never understand how something you use to get clean can become so dirty itself! I used the borax this time and it was white and cleaned up very well with less time and without me passing out! Its all I can do to not pass out from the fumes of Comet, but it has always been worth it (every six months I clean the tub!). Not so with this, and I didn't have to worry about the kids getting baths afterwards because it's safe to use as long as you don't eat it or give it to your plants to eat! I was excited about that too because as I said earlier this week, I'm not partial to using chemicals and items that could potentially kill my family.

Anyway, in light of the amazing job it did cleaning, I looked up some other uses for this $2.49 box of pure genius I bought and here's what I found. Borax is a.......

1. Flea killer - Sprinkle on carpet, leave overnight and vacuum the next day. Not for use on your pet though. Fluffy will NOT like it! Fluffy might die.
   
2. Removing heavy sink stains and rust in porcelain or stainless steel sinks -1 cup borax + 1/4 cup lemon juice - mix into paste and scrub the stain. Rinse away.
3. Removing mildew from fabric - "soak a sponge in a solution of 1/2 cup borax dissolved in 2 cups hot water, and rub it into the affected areas. Let it soak in for several hours until the stain disappears, then rinse well. To remove mildew from clothing, soak it in a solution of 2 cups borax in 2 quarts (2 liters) water." *1
4. Removing rug stains - "Thoroughly dampen the area, then rub in some borax. Let the area dry, then vacuum or blot it with a solution of equal parts vinegar and soapy water and let dry. Repeat if necessary. Don't forget to first test the procedure on an inconspicuous corner of the rug or on a carpet scrap before applying it to the stain." *1
5. Cleaning your garbage disposal - "To maintain a more sanitary disposal, every couple of weeks pour 3 tablespoons borax down the drain and let it sit for 1 hour. Then turn on the disposal and flush it with hot water from the tap." *1
6. Removing urine odor on mattresses - Wet the area (no pun intended). Sprinkle borax, let dry and vacuum.
7. Make professional looking dried flowers - "Mix 1 cup borax with 2 cups cornmeal. Place a 3/4-inch (2-centimeter) coating of the mixture in the bottom of an airtight container, like a large flat plastic food storage container. Cut the stems off the flowers you want to dry, then lay them on top of the powder, and lightly sprinkle more of the mixture on top of the flowers (be careful not to bend or crush the petals or other flower parts). Cover the container, and leave it alone for 7-10 days. Then remove the flowers and brush off any excess powder with a soft brush." *1
8. Removing ants and weeds from around your house - Just sprinkle around the parameter of your house to keep ants away and sprinkle directly on weeds you don't want. Just a small amount will do and don't go crazy unless you want to kill ALL your plants!
9. Restoring china shine - Wash in a sink with water with 1/2 cup borax dissolved in it.
10. Cleaning aluminum pots and pans
11. Drain cleaner - Dump 1/2 cup borax down drain. Let sit for 1 hour. Chase with hot water.
12. Cleaning tile and grout.
13. Removing grease.
14. Clean cutting boards - Just make sure you rinse thoroughly afterwards.
15. Make your bedding smell fresh and boost your laundry cleaner - Add 1/2 cup to detergent.
16. Removing odors from refrigerator/coolers, etc. - Dissolve 1 tablespooon borax into 1 gallon of water.
17. All purpose cleaner - Mix 1 teaspoon borax with 1 cup very hot water. Put in spray bottle.
    
18. Wash diapers and baby clothes - "Flush out dirty diapers and soak as soon as possible in a diaper pail filled with warm water and 1/2 cup borax. Pre-soak for at least 30 minutes before washing in warm water. Wash linens, bibs, slips and cotton crib liners in hot water, adding 1/2 cup borax and detergent. Borax helps get rid of odors, reduce stainign and make diapers more absorbent." *2
19. Wash delicates - "Dissolve 1/4 cup borax and 2 tablespoons detergent in a basin of warm water. Soak hand washables for 10 mintues. Rinse in clear, cool water, blot with towel, lay flat or hang to dry away from sunlight and direct heat." *2
20. Make slime for kids - Place all of 4 ounce bottle of Elmer's glue in a bowl. Fill empty bottle with warm water and empty in same bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring if you'd like your slime to have color. In another bowl, mix 1 teaspoon borax with 1 cup water and stir until borax has dissolved. Pour glue solution into borax solution. Mix. The more the resulting slime is handled and kneaded the drier it will become making it more moldable and easier to handle. Store in airtight container or ziplock bag. Kids love this stuff!

So let's see. What all can I stop buying now? Clorox Clean Up, Comet, Bar Keeper's Friend, Raid, Round Up, Bar Keeper's Friend, Drano....... Think of all the money I'm saving!

Any other ideas? Share them here!

*1, *2, 3

Friday Flip Out!

Here is something for both you and your kids to flip out about - in a good way!

Do-A-Dot Art is fantastic!

I have one child in particular who loves to do anything art related. We constantly have a path of art supplies strung through the house in which you can follow the course of our free spirited daughter's mind! Paint was one of those things.

As a mom who does not enjoy messes of any sort, paint was never one of my favored activities - we're talking once a year the kids might be allowed to paint and we call that night the night before Easter when they color Easter eggs!

I found these great Do-A-Dot art supplies at a local kids' store here and I am completely in love with them and so is my daughter. She gets to feel like she's painting on a regular basis and I get to enjoy the fact that these paints make NO MESS!

These paints come in tubes of sorts with a round sponge applicator tip head on them, tidied by a cap that you can take on and off freely. Tip them upside down and the paint doesn't come out! You have to press down on the tips in order to get the paint out.

These aren't like Color Wonder paints. They will paint on anything, but with the adorable coloring books you can get with them, your kids really won't need to fulfill their curiosity elsewhere, like on your walls!

The paints come in packages of 4-6 paint bottles in primary and pastel colors. They are pricier than regular paints, but have lasted us for months and my daughter paints a few times a week now! By the time we'd buy other paints and my kids would mix them up and dump them everywhere, I'd spend $10 a pop anyway. No more!

These things are most definitely washable too!

Here's the meat for you:

You can buy them at Amazon here. The paints range from $8-$14. The coloring books are $3-$8 a piece. All Do-A-Dot items are eligible for free shipping if you spend $25 or more.

At the main website, www.dotart.com, the markers are $10 for the 4 packs and $15 for the 6 packs. The coloring books are $5 a piece no matter which one you choose. Dotart.com charges shipping at a tiered level - $4 for an order up to $20; $5 up to $50; $7.50 up to $100; $10 on orders over $100.

At Christianbook.com the coloring books are $4.50 a piece and they also sell markers individually for about $2 a piece and in sets for $14.50. It's great to be able to buy them individually if you run out of a particular color and don't want to go buy another complete set. You can find their shipping rates here. They definitely estimate high on the shipping dates. I usually receive my order much faster than they state for suggested shipping arrival dates.

Finally, kazootoys.com has them the least expensive of all for the month of May, offering the paint sets for $12 a piece for a set of 6 (regularly $15) and the activity books for $4 a piece (regularly $5). They may make up for it though, depending on how much you order, on their shipping prices, which you can find here.

If you're still with me :), here's a great place where you can print out free printable activity pages for the Do-A-Dot art!

Happy Do-A-Dot arting!