Other Recent Articles & Blog Entries:

Custom Spring Planting Schedule
Select your target last frost date and select the plants you would like to grow for a customized planting calendar to print.

Commuter Tote Bag
Now that I'm working full time and commuting via bus and train, I envy the numerous women I see who seem fully capable of venturing forth with nothing more than an attractive shoulder bag. But not enough to quit bringing my assorted bulky items with me. Time to get sewing!

Muffinator - Custom Muffin Recipe Generator
Select your options and generate your own customized muffin, quick bread, pancake, waffle recipe based on what you have on hand or feel like making.

Modern Christmas Tree
An ultra portable, ultra cheap option for novel kind of Christmas tree.

Pressed Leaf Garland
Turn a fall nature walk, backyard expedition or day at the park into a material gathering party for this simple project. Even the littlest of little ones will enjoy joining in to help bring a little bit of fall in doors.

The No Waste Lifecyle of a Jack-O-Lantern Chez Nous
Every Halloween we get at least one small free pumpkin, courtesy of the Park District, YMCA or zoo. Here's how we make the very most of them.

Cardboard & Paper Costume Cat Ears
Whip up these quick 3-D cardboard ears and be ready for Halloween, costume play or any convenient feline masquerading opportunity. No wire is required, just paper supported by light-weight cardboard.

Halloween Countdown Calendar
Excited about Halloween? Here's a spooky printable calendar to keep your preparations on track!

simplify your grocery list-making
For those of us who can't manage to add things to our grocery list right when they run out: a speedy alternate method to ensure nothing important gets forgotten.

doing something with all those photos
8 years ago, I discovered photo books in a big way. Read more about my adventures and how I ended up being a big fan of on-demand printers like Lulu and Magcloud.

making a girl's apron from a dress
Turning an outgrown dress into an apron is a quick and easy project that doesn't require much sewing.

Plant Consolidation
Taking advantage of my sentimental inability to resist plopping plant trimmings into water for rooting, a small crack team of potted plants have been conducting a clandestine attemp to take over my apartment.

Custom Fall Planting Schedule
Select your target first frost date and select the plants you would like to grow for a customized planting calendar to print.

Pants Minus Shorts Equals Skirt
What do you do with the extra fabric when you turn pants into shorts? Skirt!

Organizer Trays from the Recycling Bin
Plastic organizers are wonderful and durable, but sometimes it's nice to avoid whatever unpleasant weather has you hunkering down, save your pennies and make use of things you already have around the house while the urge to organize is still with you.

Upcycle a Bedspread into Reusable Grocery Bag Totes
One day I was cleaning out my closet and I happened to notice a rather hideous old queen-sized bedspread, the finest $20 could buy you from Wal-mart when I was a newly minted college graduate...

Semi-Crockpot Lasagna
This week I experimented with a new Lasagna method that I think is a winner, drafting my crockpot into service for the first leg of the relay.

Perpetual Basil Harvesting
If you're pretty sure you could never have enough basil plants, here's a way to get some more with every harvest...

Mini Donut Cookies
Tasty and easy-to-make, this cookie recipe is fun and a particularly good project to do with kids, arguably even better than the venerable cut-out cookie.

Starry Red Field Dress
As a certified pack-rat, I try not to sew too many dresses or toys for my little one, knowing full well that (assuming she's not hauling a big box of out grown things off to college) I will be stuck with them forever, unable to contemplate giving them away. But I spotted a good length of star-spangled calico...

Cat Calzones
Fun lunch idea for cat loving kids; make the easy no-rise crust, fill with whatever you have handy and bake.

Flower Girl Dress, Part 1: Introduction
"This dress, or something similar" the e-mail said, linking to an ivory confection of satin, net and tulle for sale at a certain store, let's just call it Davy Jones' Nuptial Locker.