Free T-shirts with a Promise & Committment to be Safe & Sober

Best news ever:  One of my daily seminary early morning Bible School students reported seeing someone wearing a Defiance t-shirt at his school, two days after our presentation there!  I asked my student if he talked to him, said anything, or if he would recognize the student again to talk to him about sobriety, and explain he has a matching shirt....?

As part of my grocery budget $ I buy 100% cotton dark t-shirts to bleach through my stencil.  Thanks to my sister Laurajane for cool idea!  Below is a t-shirt gift she made.

Laurajane used nametag sticky rectangles to cut out letters and bleached around.

After spraying bleach--which will continue to bleach and eat away at the fibers, immediately put shirt in sink or bowl with water and a cup of vinegar or lemon juice to stop the bleach chemical reaction.  It will make the t-shirt last longer.  Then wash normally to take away vinegar smell.

When we give the Don't Do Drugs presentation at schools, we have been giving away Defiance t-shirts, either giving them to PTA organizers for door prizes, or my favorite--throwing them out into audience after we speak.

The best source of the t-shirts:  thrift stores.  Goodwill has 1/2 off sales last Saturday of the month, so 6 shirts for $5.00.  My favorite thrift store in Edgewood has 1/2 off certain color tags every day, and I look for solid dark shirts there.  A nice cashier asked what I was doing, so I explained my spiel about Drugs & Defying them, and by the 2nd shopping trip he asked for a finished one and said he would wear it once a week at work to help get the message out, explaining every time someone comments on his shirt what it is all about.  Encouraging sobriety.

Home Decorating note:  Brilliant daughter Roxie positioned this IKEA rug in our hallway lined up with North!  She did get in to the Science & Math Academy, so her dreams of rocket ship building are that much closer. 

In the mail, finally...She is a month old already?!

Reverse applique using polar fleece, very stretchy polar fleece, for all its non-piling advantages.  An IKEA pillowcase gave some stability (without it I made a puckered up mess of stretchy wrinkly awfulness.  This quilt is brought to you by UN-SEWER's united!  Love my seam ripper and an afternoon of unsewing quietly in the sunny window seat...) Silky rose Barbizon background and other side, so this is more a wrap or blankie, than a true old-fashioned quilt, no batting.  Find the fox!

I am thankful for colorful, fun fabric.  Love the visual and tactile blessings of our bodies, being able to touch, caress, admire, luxuriate in color and enjoy.

Fox found on a cute tea towel from TJ Maxx that I originally was sending to my brother for his birthday, with his great middle family-history name!

Grandma Lucy Necklace & Kathy's Wedding Reception banners turned QUILT!

My Grandma Lucy loved jewelry.  Fun costume pretties.  Before she passes away she had labeled a lot of it with granddaughter's names, and then when Grandpa Jack died we went through everything dividing up the rest, taking turns.  I came home with several broken necklaces, pretty beads, but missing clasps, and one choker was too small for my neck, so I combined the beads...

...and made my daughters Grandma Lucy necklaces, using 26 gauge wire crocheted to hold the beads.

Fuzzy picture proof of delivery.

Emma & Dean's gift is a picnic blanket--with handle sewn into binding and a button closure.

Emma's mother-by-marriage made beautiful banners for their CA reception, perfect triangles zig-zag cut.

I auditioned a couple of different layouts...

And ended up deciding on an IKEA upholstery green fabric for the backing and a little on the front.

Ready for a picnic with a romantic wedding reminder!

 

Welcome

Welcome to BYU-Provo for Maxwell! This is him, wearing the $1.50 Banana Republic floral GUY'S shirt I found at the thrift store, and clicking "YES" he will attend in the fall!
Front door with sheer IKEA fabric curtain cut and fabric starched to glass door. Soak or spray the starch onto the fabric, smooth onto surface. Works on smooth walls, too, and holds. Great way to change a wall/window if you are renting and can't paint. I once covered a whole powder room with giant popcorn fabric! Loved that.

Another pattern for Debs. Contemporary/retro feel. Great geometry. Easily transform a huge mirror with this painted or wood overlay look to modernize.

Bag-Son of Our Hearts

I didn't see the final product--but this is how Max went to school yesterday and came home still wearing this for "Wacky Wednesday."

My "Wacky Wednesday" was 1/2 off of As-Is stuff at IKEA, a fun stop on the way back from Baltimore. I paid $4 for a huge piece of leather to recover dinning room chairs.

My interview? I was older and had less piercings and tats than all the other applicants. Group interviewing was a new concept for me, too. We were asked about our retail experience (John said I should have emphasized my 20+ years of experience on the other side, buying!) and what we would do to prevent shop-lifting. I came home with an online test to take, and then got a call back for a 2nd interview for Friday. We shall see.


This is our going down-the-stairs hallway. Painted crib side bars (the older kids helped me paint it for baby Sam and when all the babies out-grew it I couldn't quite throw it away, so it became wall art). Hearts from IKEA, a couple of Christmases ago, used as tree ornaments. I used permanent marker and wrote our family history names, couples on front and their family name and kids on back. Wishing I had photos for all of them.