Do You Wanna Build a Tutu?

Last year, I was fortunate enough to work with The Hairbow Company on Lily's tutu to enhance her Halloween costume. {You can read all about that here if you want!}

When the opportunity arose to work with them again, you bet I jumped at the chance!  They've put together a sah-weet little tutu making kit... specifically, Tutu Making 101.  I've now been making tutus for 4 years and whoooooo boy I wish I had this from the get go! It would have saved me countless hours of watching YouTube videos early on.

So, if you're a rookie or even a seasoned tutu maker, this kit has something for you! It's a short and sweet guide to making a variety of different types of tutus plus some fantastic costume ideas!  I've always used a ribbon for the waist of my tutus and was excited to see both the ribbon and crochet headband tutus in the guide.

For only $4.99 each kit includes:

Tutu Making 101 instruction booklet

Crochet Hook 

Measuring Tape

Pen

Notepad

Note: You will need to buy your tulle, ribbon, and/or crochet tutu tops separately depending on the amount and colors you need. The Tutu Making Guide and Kit only includes tools and instructions. 

The Hairbow Co. has all the supplies you need to follow the guide. The tulle, the ribbon, the crochet headbands are all available on their website! The prices can't be beat!

My favorite part of this guide is the humor in the instruction! I actually laughed out loud a couple times reading!

Tutu Making 101 is literally a step-by-step from start to finish helping you with what supplies you need, different styles you can create, measuring the waist as well as the tulle, and how to knot the pieces of tulle.

I had a helper for measuring.
And in case you're wondering, we needed "5 pounds." {4 year old unit of measuring length}

I love the measuring tips in this guide! It made it super easy to cut the tulle and prepare to attach to the ribbon.  The most important part of measuring and cutting tulle is to remember to cut twice the length you want your tutu to be since you will be folding each piece in half when you attach.  

{Wonder what we could possibly be making with these colors!}

Attaching is easy peasy and since I used a ribbon I had a lot of leeway on being able to attach it and move it. When I inadvertently messed up my pattern, I was just able to slide that piece over and add in the forgotten color.  I love my tutus to be really full, so I scrunch the pieces together pretty tight!

See?? It's so simple to attach.  Fold, loop, and tighten.

Not to be forgotten, I started making a shortie tutu for my sweet Violet's first birthday.  This is the first short tutu I have ever made and I can't wait to see it on her! It's exactly half the size of the one I made for Lily.

Be sure to check back later this month to see my girls in their tutus!  And don't forget to head over to The Hairbow Company for your Tutu Making Kit and all your supplies!

Disclosure:  I was provided the tutu making kit and all materials to make the tutus from The Hairbow Company. All opinions are my own.

Keeping Things Cool... or Warm

Well, hello there winter!  It hasn't exactly started, but going from almost 80 degrees this week to the 40s today with hail, sleet and rain and yep, felt like winter in a flash.  We have been enjoying the cooler evenings sleeping with the windows open.  This morning I woke up and it was 66 degrees inside.  That'd be perfect if it were summertime!  Fortunately, the kids all slept in warm jammies!  

Saving energy especially in winter here in PA is paramount. Polar Vortex anyone??  

We don't typically turn on the AC or the heat in our house until the weather consistently stays hot or cold. We tend to use a lot of blankets, throw on a sweatshirt and snuggle up before it's time to turn on the heat.

Being a stay at home mom and super budget conscious, I am always looking for ways to save money. Cutting energy costs makes a big difference in our household. 

A handful of things we try to do to keep our energy costs down and our house energy efficient:

• Lights out?  Seems obvious really, but when your 4 year old loves to play with light switches, the reminder of turning out lights when you leave the room is a biggie in our house! 

• I already mentioned using blankets to keep warm instead of turning up the thermostat. I have lots of blankets laying on chairs and couches to easily grab and cover up with.

• Replacing all traditional light bulbs with energy efficient LEDS is an easy one. We love these lightbulbs and they last a long time!

• You can also use dimmer switches on your lights which over time makes your light bulbs last longer and can reduce your energy usage by 40%.

• We use power strips to help combat energy usage as well!

One way to make your home smarter is to install a smart thermostat. I remember thinking how incredible it was that you could set a timer so your house was cooler when you got home.  The Nest Learning Thermostat takes that even further...it adapts and learns your preferred temperature settings and personal schedule and you can control from your smartphone or tablet. That's pretty amazing!

Direct Energy is committed to helping their customers build a smarter home, and thus cut down on their energy usage – saving the customer time and making their lives easier. Currently they're offering the opportunity for anyone to learn more about creating a smarter home by visiting their Facebook page, or exploring their Comfort & Control Plans. 

The Comfort & Control Plans 24 or 36 month plans offer fixed rate price stability, and a Nest Learning Thermostat (a $249 value) at no cost to you.

Also, Direct Energy is hosting a sweepstakes where 5 lucky winners will have the chance to win Nest Learning Thermostats! 

To enter the sweepstakes, visit the campaign landing page and simply fill out the entry form. How easy is that? (Mobile users: click HERE.)

The giveaway will take place from Wednesday, October 1st to Wednesday, October 22nd. Winners will be selected in Mid-November.

Here's hoping our winter isn't as biting as last year!

How are you keeping energy costs down in your home? I'd love to hear!

• Disclosure: Thank you Direct Energy for sponsoring this post.

A Fourth Strawberry Celebration!

Lily loooooooovesssssssssssss  strawberries, so choosing a birthday theme this year was pretty simple for a summer party!

Finding a date for Lily's birthday party, however, has proven to be tough the last few years trying to work around Andrew's traveling, band camp, our friends' kids' birthday parties, and George's work schedule.  After a little rescheduling, we finally found an evening that worked and it was a go!

I decided I'd make supper for everyone and we'd celebrate with our favorite people with cake, yummy snacks, and hanging out after supper.  The kids played and the grown ups chatted into the evening.   Finding a recipe to make a big group happy isn't always easy, but it was a success! I made this delicious crockpot ravioli. It's one of my kids' favorites and easy! I also had English muffin pizzas available for the kids. Garlic bread and salad to complete our meal and I successfully made supper for 21 of us.  As one of the guys said, everyone "ate the hell out of that."

Our parties consist of good friends who are family, hanging out laughing, kids playing, and good food.  They're simple and we spend the time focusing on enjoying each other.  I love our people!

That simplicity doesn't stop me from making sure there are a handful of special details for each of my kids for their birthdays.  One thing I've always done is make their birthday cakes.  Some years they've been more elaborate than others. They last few have been been from scratch.  I have a favorite go-to chocolate cake that is always a hit, but this year, Lily asked for a pink cake, so I went searching for a strawberry cake recipe.

I made "4" cookies and jello jigglers, Lily's special birthday hat. There were lots of fresh strawberries to eat along with chips and dip, cheese and crackers.  We love snacks!

The girls played outside with chalk and on bikes and then inside with dolls and dress up dresses while the boys played outside with nerf guns and then inside playing video games.

The babies hung out and ate a lot.

We sang Happy Birthday to Lily {her 4th time this year} and she opened her presents while we ate cake and ice cream!

At the end of the day, my girl was happy to spend celebrating her birthday with her best friends and that makes me happy!

And that's a wrap on 4th birthday celebrations!