We're a team, sharing this life together, helping one another achieve the greatest heights and buttoning each others' hard to reach buttons.
My sister, Heidi, and her husband, Spencer, had their first baby on December 22nd! His name is Ty and he is a fighter. There were some complications and he had to be hooked up to all sorts of machines for the first few days, 
but he fought through it all. He's home now and mommy and Ty are doing so well!
weight: 6 lbs 6 oz
length: 21 inches
Click here for more photos of baby Ty.
Now that Christmas has passed and friends and family have opened their presents I can show you what I've been up to:
My sister wanted a banner to hang in her window whenever her alma mater, BYU, plays a game to show support and get in the spirit. Well, they looked simple enough so I decided to make one for her. It turned out so cute and was so easy that I decided to include the instructions here so you can make one of your own favorite sports team, too!
Window Logo Banner 36" x 24"
2-3 hours depending on skill level
easy for beginners
what you'll need:
sports team logo
1 yard blue fleece
1/2 yard white fleece
4 yards blue & white polka-dotted ribbon
2 large eyelets with tools
iron
sewing machine or needle and blue and white thread
Step 1. Start by downloading the "Y" logo from BYU's website. In Photoshop, (or on a copy machine) enlarge it to be about 1.5 feet by 2 feet then print it in 8x10" sections on several pieces of paper. Cut out each section, tape them together and now you have your pattern for the logo! Click here to download my template. Armed with this, head to your local fabric store for some blue and white fleece (BYU's colors), 4 yards of blue and white polka-dotted ribbon for the edging, and 2 large eyelets for the upper corners so you can hang it.
Step 2. Measure out 36 inches x 24 inches on the blue fleece and cut out. Set aside. Pin the oval logo pattern to the white fleece, right side up. Cut out material. Cut the "Y" out of the middle of the oval logo pattern and pin it to the remaining scraps of the blue fleece (right side up) and cut out material.
Step 3. Center the blue fleece "Y" on top of the white fleece oval, right sides facing up, and pin. Sew together using blue thread, leaving 1/8 to 1/4 inch seam depending on the look you want. The small seam gives it more of a refined look, while the larger seam adds the look of being "homemade" and crafty. Now, center the white oval, right side up, on the 36" x 24" blue fleece, right side up, and pin. I chose to have the banner horizontal instead of vertical, but you can sew the oval on either way. Once the oval is pinned, sew together using white thread and leaving 1/8 to 1/4 inch seam. It's almost done!
Step 4. To prepare the ribbon to be used as binding along the edges, fold it down and press it with a hot iron to leave a crease. Leave one side just a touch longer than the other so when sewing it on you're sure to catch the ribbon on both sides of the fleece. Crease the entire length of the ribbon. 
Starting along one of the 24" sides of the blue fleece, slip the fleece inside the folded ribbon and pin. Leave about 1/2" excess ribbon on both ends and trim the remaining ribbon. Do this to both 24" sides of the fleece banner then sew the ribbons into place. You should now have ribbon edging on the sides of the banner. Now we'll do the top and bottom! Pin the ribbon into place, leaving 1" excess on both ends this time. 
As you sew on the top ribbon, tuck the 1/2" excess of the side ribbons under the top ribbon to hide it. Once you've sewn the entire length of the top of the fleece, triple-fold the 1" excess ribbon under itself to hide the raw edge and prevent fraying and stitch into place, lining up the seams, to give it a nice corner. Repeat on the bottom ribbon.
Step 5. Use the eyelet tools to insert an eyelet just inside the two upper corners of your banner. Hang your banner in your window using suctions cup hooks and cheer for your team! Go BYU! Rise and Shout, the Cougars are out!
My niece, Megan, arrived yesterday afternoon. She's so precious!! She weighs 7 lbs 6 oz and is 18 1/2 inches long. Here are some photos taken by photographer Lori Allred at the hospital:
Well, I think I've finally appeased the Sewing Gods because my projects are actually turning out so cute!! I wish I could show them to you, but Christmas is just around the corner and I don't want to give away what I've made for you. So be patient, my friends, and I will post my finished sewing projects later this month. I'll give you one clue, though. I'm having a love affair with Brocade and Silk. Oh, how I love them!! They're so dangerously beautiful. Like Sirens of Sewing, they lure you in by their supple feel and charming embroidery then skewer you when you try to stitch them! It's a love/hate relationship, really.
I have an incredible knack for taking the most simple sewing project and making it impossibly difficult by choosing exotic and tempermental material. I'm sorry, but cotton just doesn't cut it sometimes. A woman needs some passion and excitement in her life! My sensitive skin longs for smooth caresses by satin, silk and luxurious furs! (wow, I didn't think this would turn into such a steamy romance novel!) Closet Couture Lovers, unite!
For all of you out there, like me, that LOVE freebies when it comes to crafts and projects here are some websites with FREE PATTERNS for clothing, home decor, crafts, holiday projects, crocheting, knitting, quilting, toys, etc. Enjoy!
Hook Me Up - crochet & knit
Love To Know - several links to sewing patterns for just about EVERYTHING
Voor Nop - sewing patterns for baby clothes infant to 24 months
Pink of Perfection - TONS of craft ideas and some free hot-to videos
HappyThings - lots of craft ideas and how-to's
Many of these sites have excellent links to other great sites so get out there and see what you can find! Let me know what you make!
(click to enlarge)
As I was clearing the dead vines from the backyard fence I remembered that my mom used to make beautiful Christmas wreaths from dead grapevines. So I laid my vines out in strips and began twisting and twirling the vines and tied them in circles with twine. This is where my creativity ran out. :) So I relied on my best friend, Google, and found this great site that taught me all about the proper and simple ways to make beautiful wreaths for any holiday or occaision in 3 or 4 easy steps. 
Plus there are links to places where you can buy the materials if you're not fortunate enough to have dead vines in your backyard. :)
Here's another great wreath (right) that my sister, Heidi, made for a party before Thanksgiving. You can find her directions here. Hers was SO simple and pretty much free since she used items that she already found in her home: wire hanger, leftover paper from scrapbooking and wrapping presents and a bit of raffia for the bow. It took her 20 minutes. Try it and tell me how it goes!
Hello, my name is Kristi and I'm a craigslist.com junkie. I swear I spend hours at that website on a daily basis. I could probably MAKE half the stuff I look at in the "free" section just in the time I spend drooling over it! :) For those who have completely no idea what I'm talking about: first, I pity you; second, why haven't you been to craigslist.com? It's like a big online garage sale but has more than other people's junk. Ok, it does have a lot of junk, but isn't junk really in the eye of the beholder? People can also post job listings, real estate, businesses, etc. The San Francisco area's section is by far the largest, but there are probably a few gems in your area, too. So, check 'em out!!
I have to brag about my latest dazzling deal! I've been wanting and searching and dreaming and wishing and hoping for a water fountain for my backyard since April. Little did I know that fulfilling my dreams could also make me money$$. I found this fountain (see photo) on craigslist.com for $50!! It's over 6 ft tall and I can climb in and sit in the bottom tier! It works beautifully, too. The owners said the over 30 people emailed them about it. Miraculously, I was the first to respond to the ad so I had first dibs. It took 4 of us to move it in pieces since it's solid stone. Anyway, to make my really long story short - I recently found the EXACT SAME one at a garden store for $1,499.00!!! I am so positive that I could easily resell this heavy beauty and make a few hundred dollars! Cha-ching! But I won't. I like bragging about it far too much. :)
I love playing games - card games, board games, dice games, online games, outside games - the more people involved the merrier! Some of my fondest memories with my family, especially during Christmas, are with all eleven of us sitting around the kitchen table playing games. It gets loud and funny and exciting and we just have a great time.
Some of you may remember that I used to spotlight a different game in the side column each week. I'm bringing that back in hopes of igniting some fun with your friends and family. Some of the games you may already have, some will be Freebies where there's nothing to buy just get a group together and play, and others may be played with things you already have like basic cards or dice.
This week's game is a family staple in our house: Phase Ten
Phase Ten can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon.com or any other place where card games are sold. Here's a link to wikipedia for more info on how the game is played: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_10
It was brought to my attention this weekend that I have seriously slacked off in the blogging department. Some relatives now even shudder to mention my name and "blogging" in the same sentence. So, from the bottom of my keyboard, I apologize for the outdated, old hat, uninteresting blog and vow to make a re-energized effort at creating a stimulating, tantalizing and overall entertaining blog for what's left of my faithful patrons.
Accompanying this offered olive branch, I give to my ridiculously-cold friends who obviously don't live in California (yes, the weather spoils us out here) a secret formula for an invaluable elixer: 
to prevent frost and ice from forming on your vehicle windshields, create a solution by mixing 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water and spraying on your car windows in the evening.
"You can attract more friends with honey than vinegar." Says who?
JP and I are so excited to finally have trick-or-treaters come to our home! We've always been in apartment complexes where no adorable little kids would stop by. So, now that we're in our own home in a family-oriented neighborhood, we decided to do a little decorating.
We used some $0.99 plastic pumpkin buckets 
from Wal-Mart to set the mood for spooky treats. After cutting out a hole in the bottom of the buckets, we slipped one over each of the outdoor lights.
This scary claw from MarthaStewart.com
adorns our front window, ready to snatch any unwelcome visitors.
A fun and festive entryway turns to Spookville, USA as it gets dark and the lights go out!
No, I'm not a slightly overweight, retired, white male with a beard who wears shorts with black socks and sandals. Although my sister, Heidi, began having her doubts when she heard that I had taken up the hobby of metal detecting. :)
Gold, silver and other shiny metal objects fascinate me! Add in the extra bonus of finding them buried in the ground where they've been long-forgotten and you have the special recipe that attracts thousands of people to metal detecting. 
I've only gone once, but I'm hooked. And even though I didn't strike it rich, the feeling you get when your metal detector beeps is still a rush - even when it's only an old battery. This is a picture of my first finds from a beach in Northern California: a shovel head, a battery, a quarter, a penny and a pull tab from a can of soda. Exciting stuff, eh?
Digging up treasures or relics from old wars or ghost towns is also a great way to learn your history. I've been quite surprised at how much research the super-successful metal detectors go through before they ever step into an open field or hear the telltale *BEEP* from their detectors, alerting them of a nearby find.
Some claim that people that metal detect are nothing more than modern-day thieves or pirates, but without the glory and fame. This erroneous line of thinking has led to most cities restricting where you're allowed to go metal detecting. National Parks are strictly off-limits. So are most historically-significant sites. What does this leave? The public or private land next to historic sites, beaches, or even your own backyard. ALWAYS get permission before you search a site.
Metal detectors actually do many things to give back to their community. Lose your wedding ring in the backyard? Call a local metal detector! That's how one woman found her wedding ring after 5 years! Most of the metal detecting websites have a code of ethics that list various ways to respect private property and nature and even encourage donating found objects to your local museums so many others can enjoy treasure from the past. Of course, you can always sell your great finds on ebay and turn your hobby into a gold mine!
Metal Detecting Links:
Go Metal Detecting - great place for beginners
Have Detector Will Travel - pictures of found gold and silver coins and relics
Metal Detector Reviews - reviews of different models and brands
It's Fleet Week in San Francisco and that means it's time for the Blue Angels to fly over the city. JP and I went to S.F. on Saturday and watched the jets flying around. Wow! They are so loud and do some crazy stuff. I accidentally recorded over some of the best footage, but here is some video for your entertainment:
Click here to see more of my videos.
Aren't these adorable?!! They are letters to hang on your child's bedroom wall from Pink Taffy Designs. These are imaginatively hand painted which make them a bit pricey, but understandably so! You could make something similar using pre-cut wood letters from a craft store and decorative scrapbook paper or stickers. Check out their other items at http://www.pinktaffydesigns.com/index.php.
Oh, I could barely wait until it was officially October before I decorated my blog! I absolutely LOVE the holiday season coming up. It's the Triple Crown of Holidays with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas so close together. It's gonna be some crazy fun!
Well, to kick off the season, here are some FREE Halloween images courtesy of Hershey's TrickorTreats.com website. 
I've used two of the images in my header on this page. Have fun spooky-ing up your own sites!
You may have noticed some new changes to my blog. I've started a new project - making awesome, adorable, and sophisticated magnets! And I'm selling them in my very own Etsy shop, Rock the Fridge. Some of the latest items are shown to the left. Etsy is an online marketplace for crafty people to sell their homemade items. I've fallen in love with the place and just can't get enough!
It all began by trying out a craft project I found on someone else's blog: making glass marble magnets. They turned out so great that I just couldn't stop and I found myself suddenly pondering the flaws of my current fridge and office magnets - tacky, cheesy and definitely weak. A magnet's main purpose in life is: First, and foremost, to hold up a piece of paper! Several of my current magnets were already failing in this one core area. Second, they should enhance the room, be decorative, but not too loud or obnoxious. I'm sorry JP, but the tropical fish magnets' days are numbered. :)
All of the magnets in my Rock the Fridge store are super strong, creative and sophisticated. You'll find natural, polished river rocks, hand-painted wooden words, and even some spooky Halloween magnets! Perfect for your fridge, office or locker! Okay, so have I sold you already? I'm done with my little commercial here. But, seriously, check them out and let me know what you think!
I went to a Pampered Chef party last night. This was my first time ever going to one of these things and it was so fun! Their products are actually really cool and are high quality. I was pleasantly surprised! I bought the Corn Butterer ($3.00) and a few other things. JP is on a corn on the cob kick right now and those things are just so hard to butter with a knife!
Any of you into Pampered Chef? Let me know which products are your favorite and what you can't live without. I'm having a hard time deciding which to buy next! :)
Ordinary clay pots become spooky Halloween decorations with just a little imagination. Project from Your Family Crafts Guide.
Materials Needed:
Paint the clay pot and the wooden ball head white. Put them aside to dry.
Once the paint is dry, glue the wooden ball onto the bottom of the clay pot (figure 1). Paint a face on the wooden ball (figure 2). Once all your paint is dry, spray it with the clear acrylic sealer.
Cut out two ghost arms out of white fun foam. Something like this:
Glue these to the side of your clay pot! Your ghost is now complete.
Click here for more Clay Pot Decorations, including Clay Pot cats & spiders!
(click on photo for closer look)I came across a new favorite website this morning: Crafty Chic. 
There are so many cute and clever craft ideas. Plus, across the top of the site, there are other sites listed like Style Chic for tips on picking the most flattering clothes and decorating your home for the holidays; Mommy Chic helps you beat the bedtime blues by getting your kids to go (and stay) to bed, homeschooling, marriage tips and birthday party ideas; Recipe Chic with tasty and healthy meals; Deal Diva Chic with loads of tips on spring cleaning, budgeting, and (my favorite) the Sales Calendar which tells you the months when stores typically have sales on stuff you love to buy; and so many other valuable sites and links.
Goodness, four days sure seems like a long time when you're home all alone, in a big house, far away from family! JP was gone this past weekend. He was helping his best friend and his wife move to Herriman, Utah. I think that's by Salt Lake City. Anyway, they needed some help driving the HUGE moving van and some extra-srong muscles to pack and unpack the beast of a vehicle. Of course, JP was more than happy to lend his strong back and mighty biceps. :)
Unfortunately, that meant that I would be home alone for four days. And on top of that, I was still recovering from a surgery earlier this month. Needless to say, it was a veeeeeerrrrrrryyyy loooonnnnnnggggg weekend for me. I was so excited on the day that JP was coming home that I made him this sign and baked him a cake!
Cake Disclosure: Yes, I am the daughter of the internationally famous cake designer, Janie Allred. No, I never payed close attention when she tried to teach me a darn thing! The following creation in no way resembles the masterpieces of the Great Janie Allred, which can be seen at her website here.
It may not look terribly pretty, but it sure tastes just a good as a "Janie Cake"! Jp loved it. And that's all that matters! :)
I just LOVE this blog I came across the other day: Armelle Jewelry. I actually found it through my sister's blog, Spencer & Heidi. Anyway, at Armelle Jewelry Blog she lists all sorts of links to craft website and even shows some jewelry, foods, and crafts of her own and how she made them, plus a ton of just really cute and cool stuff. Like these baby booties you can make from Martha Stewart:
click here for the template (via Martha Stewart.com)
Anyway, this blog is super cool. You should check it out!
Mingle2 - Dating Site
As I was sitting in church today, missing JP while he's helping some friends move to Utah, I witnessed a touching moment between a husband and wife a few rows in front of me.
They are an elderly couple, both confined to wheelchairs, that aren't always able to come to church due to their health. She has no use of her hands and legs and can barely speak. He can speak more easily, but has the use of only one good hand. I had rarely noticed them before.
The woman's soft, pearl-white cardigan had slipped from the arm of her wheelchair and lay on the floor, outside her ability to reach. Her dear, sweet husband, with painfully slow movement, bent down from where he sat slumped in his own wheelchair and picked up the cardigan. With an effort that obviously required great concentration and patience, using his one shaking hand, he gently draped the cardigan over one of her shoulders, and then the other. This gesture took him almost a full minute. He then spent the next minute sweeping his eyes carefully over his work, making little tucks here and there to ensure it wouldn't slip again. When he was finished, it seemed her loving smile was more than enough compensation for his efforts.
Although this was a seemingly insignificant task that was unnoticed by most, if not all, in the room, it moved me greatly. For reasons I couldn't explain, tears where coming to my eyes. Immediately, I thought, "This is what lasting love looks like." Every childish dream I had been carrying around in my mind about my ideal husband was instantaneously replaced by this one kind act. I was so grateful that I had married the type of man that would live up to this new-found expectation of true love.
And I found myself, for the first time, excited about growing old.
I'm an idea person. I come up with, on average, atleast 4 new business or product ideas per week. I keep a log of them in my notebooks and randomly revisit the ideas and add more notes or try to more fully develop the idea. As much fun as this is for me, it has been literally worthless up to this point. I don't mean to be severely harsh on myself. I'm just pointing out the fact that, while I think many of these ideas are absolutely brilliant, they have not yet created value for anyone in the world and have profited me nothing. Why is this?
An idea by itself is nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, but certainly not valuable - yet. It's a seed waiting to be planted. While a seed may have potential, if you came to my house for dinner and I gave you a plate of seeds I doubt you would be very impressed or pleased. It's the same in the marketplace. Few companies will pay me for my ideas, let alone undeveloped ones. "But it's so fantastic! It's a million dollar idea!" Maybe. But not quite yet. So, how do I grow these seeds to valuable products?
And this is where I'm stuck - for the moment. Oh, I've started little ventures here and there which have been less than impressive, even though many comment on how much they enjoy looking at my products. Well, "looking" doesn't buy Momma a new pair of shoes. :) So, I'm putting this out into the Universe for anyone to comment on or offer advice or direction. In the meantime, I keep searching on my own and developing my ideas and moving forward.
We've been making some updates to the look of our blog. You'll notice some new features on the right side of this post:
Announcing the Grand Opening of the online
Allred Art Gallery
You can click on this image to get to the gallery or use the link to the left under "Claverie Sites"
The Allred Art Gallery is a collection of works from artists of the expansive, and some quite famous, Allred Family members. Paintings, posters, art prints, wall decor, photographs can all be found at the Gallery along with many unique gifts. The Allred Art Gallery will always be expanding its collection, so be sure to come often!
If you are, or someone you know is, an Allred artist and would like to display some artwork, please email a .jpg or .pdf of the artwork in atleast 200 DPI to allredart@gmail.com. Please, no files larger than 10 MB.
Enjoy the art and we appreciate your comments!
I've been on a word game kick lately and wanted to spread the mania. Here is my latest favorite game that I found yesterday. It's a love/hate relationship for me since it seems so hard for me while I'm playing it, but once I win I get this little high from it:
(screenshot of my last game)
You're trying to figure out the 5-letter word that is in question marks at the top. Each time you guess a word, the green dots will tell you how many letters are right and if they are in the right place. IMPORTANT: the dots aren't in order of your word. Read the instructions for more info. My quickest score is 2:43. See if you can beat me and enjoy!
