On Being Resourceful

re·source·ful (r-sôrsfl, -srs-, -zôrs-, -zrs-)


adj.


Able to act effectively or imaginatively, especially in difficult situations.

...  


 Yesterday I was invited last minute to a birthday party for a friends 3 yr old boy. 




"Don't bring anything" I'm told

 


And I tried... I really did to consider.  After all, the drive is 2 1/2 hours and I've got 4 kids.  I could think of a million things I'd rather do than be trapped in the car with my kids listening to the backyardigans over and over... she owes me right?  But I just couldn't do it!  I couldn't show up to a birthday party empty handed...

 


...plus I was really dying to try out a new craft.

 
 

So I pulled out the some scrap fabric, the freezer paper and dug up a couple tutorials from my list and voila!

 

 

I started with the super cute tie shirt and used a tutorial from Crap I've Made's blog.  I started, thinking this should be quick and super easy until I realized I had no fusible web. 

Crap. 

 I'm not going to Walmart right now and I don't feel like doing this the old fashioned way...  So I dug through my boxes of sewing stuff and found a few small scraps of stitch witchery.  It was just barely enough to cover the tie and hankie. 

So I ironed it on and then I zig zagged around it.  Done.

Next I did the dino shirt.  I used the tutorial on Neither Hip Nor Funky's blog and found the stencil for free on stencilry.net! 

 I started rounding up my supplies for this fun project:

T-shirt... check

acrylic paint... check

freezer paper and iron ... check check

X-acto...

Crap again. 

 I've been meaning to buy one and instantly start cursing my husband (in my head of course) while I dig through his tool box to find his box cutter that is completely bladeless.  Sick joke right?   

So I do what any sensible woman does and grab my seam ripper and poke holes in the paper over an old pillow. 

It wasn't the easiest way to do it and it didn't make for the cleanest lines but HEY it worked!

Bake to School!

In honor of my first "first day of school" send off today I did some baking and tried out a tutorial on my list!!  Yeah!!!

I knew I wanted to make a fun cake for the kids to celebrate going to school and last night while searching for inspiration I found a fun pencil cake and the cutest little apple shaped "cake pops" by Bakerella.

So the crazy over achiever in me decides that I MUST do both. AND I should do them both before Mikey goes to school at noon!  Needless to say it didn't happen quite that way but I did finish them none the less.

So... this pencil cake... ummm.  Can I blame it on being in a hurry?  If I see it on cake wrecks next week I might cry!  But in my defense this was my first stab at fondant icing... AND I had no rolling pin!!  See it ain't so bad! Right?

It was yummy!

Next up?

Cake pops of course!

Now, mine didn't turn out any where near as cute as hers but not too shabby right?  And I had so much fun making these and they were so yummy I found myself accidently breaking them so I could dispose of them... yummy!

Check out the Mini Cupcakes

There's just something about sprinkles that brings the good out of my boys.  They cleaned up the whole playroom by themselves when I bribed them with these. 

So definitely check out this tutorial and make your own!

I'd like you to meet: Mikey

Oh I love this boy.

This handsome young man is my oldest son.  My first baby.  He is 4yrs old until next month when we celebrate his birthday with a great big Mario Bros party.  He is incredibly smart and has a great big huge heart.  He makes me so proud.

Mikey started PreK today. 

As we left the house to take him to his first day of school he stopped by the fridge and grabbed the reddest apple he could find for his teacher.  I asked where he got that idea... TV... of course. But he looked so stinkin' cute holding that apple and going to school in his "work" shirt as he calls it.

I walked him to his classroom... took some pics... got a "why are you still here" look... took some more pics and finally decided I'd better leave when he asked if I was going to stay the whole time.

When he got home he told me about the playground, and the gym, and his friends and laughed about the lunch lady asking if he wanted cheese on his burger (he thought she was going to put it on the whole burger, bun and all!)

Hello hello!

Welcome to ExtraOrdinary Bree!  This is a blog about me and my amazing family filled with crazy boys, a fickle newborn and a handsome man that makes me laugh about everything that can and does go wrong in life.

I hope to use this blog to journal the hilarious and sweet and profound things my kids say and of course to vent when my mom infuriates me... and she will... fairly often.

I'm also hoping this blog will help me organize and better take advantage of my crafty whims and dreams.  I've already posted a few of the tutorials I've seen and bookmarked but not yet attempted.  I know I'll be adding to this list soon as well as starting another list of tutorials I've tried (and the outcome... some good and some.. well... not so good)  I may even try writing a tutorial of my own!

These first couple of weeks I plan to introduce the myself and my family since I'm sure I'll be talking a lot about them.  So if you've  stumbled across my page somehow... how'd you find me?  Have any advice for a rookie blogger?  Leave me a comment, encouragement or advice or just say hello!