This week Al is getting ready to move half way across the country (Idaho to Chicago) and stop being my neighbor :(. PS we have been neighbors for 3 of the 3.5 years that Power Shoes and Al have been married, our children are practically like siblings.
We have been busy packing, cleaning and all that not so fun stuff. It has been really strange for both of us to be busy, but not with projects. Jo came this weekend to help with the packing.
This week I knew I wanted to do something for both of the kiddos for Valentine's Day over at Project Run and Play but I knew it couldn't take too much time. I put Al's Silhouette to use for one last project before it got boxed up, T-Shirt Vinyl project.
I decided to use a bird for the shirt because Boston's nickname has always been little bird.

I was so pleased with how the flocked vinyl looked on the shirts (yes, store bought) that I decided to whip out a quick skirt to match. The fabric for the skirt is Riley Blake Promenade Damask in Purple, that I purchased last spring as part of a fat quarter bundle from my local craft store.
This skirt was so simple and allowed me to use almost every inch of the little Fat Quarter. Do you want to make one?
I cut the fat quarter into 2-18 by 10 strips. (If the pattern would have been different I might have made it at 10.5" in height, but in order to make the pattern match up on the sides I had to loose that 1/2" inch.) I serged around all the sides (but if you don't have a serger you could use another seam finish option, like a zig zag stitch, pinking, or bias). With the right sides together I sewed up the edge of the 10" side and pressed the seam open. I put a 1/2" hem on the bottom of the skirt. I then gathered the top of the skirt, with a long running stitch.
I then measured the little birds waist (18") and subtracted 2" (16") and cut 1" colored elastic. Then using a 1/2" inch seam I closed the elastic. Then I sewed the edges of the elastic down.
Then I matched the side seam of the skirt with the elastic. I pinned my elastic to my skirt at the half and quarter marks over lapping the fabric with the elastic by 1/2". Then I used a long stitch and increasing the upper tension at the 1/4" and 3/8" mark I sewed around my elastic.
Boom the easiest skirt I have ever made!


The is one of the first skirts of the spring collection I look forward to showing you more.  And check back here tomorrow to see what I made for the little bird's brother.

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers."  Is a scripture from Malachi 4:6.  That is in the Old Testament of the Bible.  In our church, this scripture is often referred to, when we talk about our family history.  We love our ancestors.  Most of us have extensive details of those who came before us.  

One of the books I own, talks about my Great Great Great Great Grandfathers' massive hands.  Did you know I have never met someone with hands as big as mine- except my own fathers hands.  

When I was young, we often  went on family trips to visit my Great Grandfather.  One of the attributes that I have from him is my ability to work slowly and carefully.  My hand stitching is even and done with ease. I also spend alot of time intensive detailing on my acrylic paintings. Grandpa Shaffer could wittle a toothpick(al mentions it in this link) into a working chain, or make a fan.  I wish I had a picture of that, that I could show you.  Another attribute is a funny little feature that a few of us Shaffer Sisters seem to posses.  We have thick dark eyebrows.   Believe me when I say we trim and pluck, often.  


We as Shaffer Sisters like to think we can do hard things.  I guess the reason we are so bold, is that we have seen those we love be succesful at the hard things they took on.  Grandpa Shaffer and his wife Lucille were asked to restore the Lucy Mac Smith home   in Nauvoo Illinois.(This link is used with permission from Stephanie Schultz-author and photographer of the linked blog)  He also built churches and homes all across the western United States.
His father Dick Shaffer invented and patented several tools, to increase his productivity.  He was a faithful and loving husband.  Always working hard, honoring his wife, and keeping his patience.  


Grandma Twila almost single handedly raised 6 kids.  Later in her life, I remember spending a lot of time at her home, where she taught me to clean, bake, and make candy, as well as to love the little things in life, like a good head massage, a catnap, or just to sit around during meal times and talk.
Grandma Betty got her bachelors and masters degrees while raising three children and running a ranch.  She took night classes over an hour drive from her home.  All the while sewing, keeping house, and helping her aging parents.
I remember our own mother sewing, beautifying our home, baking the best oatmeal cookies for skiing trips, potty training us at about 1.5 years of age, washing and neatly folding cloth diapers, teaching us to read, sew, love and live the gospel, and a love of continual learning and improvement.  We often attribute my parents with the talent of perfectionism and dedication.  They are devoted and imoveable.  

My little man, #4, needed just a tiny something extra, to make this birthday a really special one.  So, this momma decided to make him an outfit that he could rock.  #4 is requesting lots of pockets and orange. Here is a sneak peak in to my project board, and my finished creation.

My dear friend from http://www.timandmeg.net/  made these birthday shirts for each of her kiddos- and I love them!

I was trying to think what I would make for Boy Week. I feel like for me probably the most important week because Ryder is very aware of all the pretty dresses that I whip out for Boston, and I want to show him that I care enough to take my time and talents for him.  I think these back stories will help better explain why I sewed what I did. A few months ago, when I was rummaging through Mom's fabric I came across this monster knit. I immediately knew that I needed to make something for Ryder with it, since one of his nicknames since he was little was Little Monster.
A few weeks back, Mom found some cross country skis for Ryder that only took snow boots. Since that day Ryder has been in little boy heaven. He has turned the small hill behind our apartment into his own personal downhill ski hill. With all of Ryder's success with cross country skiing I have decided that he is ready for the slopes. Then it dawned on me I need to make him some skiing stretchy clothes for him to wear underneath his snow suit and jacket. It needed to be comfortable and nice enough looking that he could walk around the ski lodge.

It was my first baseball sleeve so I was a little nervous but I drafted a pattern using a sweat shirt. It was also my first time using rib knit which went so much better than I was anticipating it being.  The pants I patterned after a pair of stretchies.

I used a double needle for the hem of the shirt to sew the elastic down and around the rib knit. The rest was done with my serger.  The hem of the sleeves were made from the existing hem on the bottom of my refashioned shirt.

Mission Accomplished: Flexible enough for maximum movement. And one excited little boy who was so excited that he refused to take off his outfit.

The Monster Ski Hat
When Ryder woke up the morning after I decided what I wanted to do. I asked him if I could make a shirt out of the monster knit and some blue knit for the sleeves, and some pants made out of the monster knit. He surveyed the material and looked it over just the same way I would, and then he said very matter of fact, "Yes, a shirt and pants. And a hat!"
In that moment I realized I would need to ask Momma Shaffer for some help. Momma Shaffer is the queen of creative ski hats. When we were kids we all had our special ski hat, hand crafted by mom to reflect our personality. I called her up and asked if she would be willing to make a hat to match Ryder's ski outfit. She agreed. The night we started this project I was talking to Ryder about the different monsters on the material and let him lead the discussion about what they were doing and which one he liked. He said that the Cyclopes name was Ole Lukoie and he was his favorite (fail on my part that he thinks Ole Lukoie is a one eyed monster and not a sandman elf, oh well at least I tried). After hearing that conversation mom decided to make a reversible Cyclopes that could either be green or yellow (since there is both on the knit).


Last season, I made the leaf  monster suit which was fun for this boy who loves the outdoors.

And I love the outfit that Jo made for her fourth. It seems like it has been a really big hit.

Last week when I was on the phone with Jo and she told me that she had thought that Valentine's Day was only a few days away. I laughed and told her she must simply be on Pinterest time, because not only is my pinterest stream full of Valentine's ideas but Saint Patrick's Day and Easter. I am sure in a few months it will be on to 4th of July stuff.
The fun thing about Jo's confusion is that we have been able to share with you our Valentine's day posts in Pinterest time. (Did you miss Jo's cute food? Here is the link for her heart carrots, pretzels and flat bread).
Time to let the cat out of the bag, I LOVE Breakfast! Last week when we were out and about, Slim Jim asked if we wanted to go to the Prepared Pantry before we went home. I eagerly agreed. I was in baking heaven, but I tried to limit my wish list to the near basics. I came out of there with some bright pink gel food coloring, clearjel (which is a serious cornstarch for making homemade syrups), strawberry baking chips and heart pancake molds.
Boston lately seems to have problems with dairy so I decided to make our favorite pancake recipe into a dairy free recipe. In my opinion it was not quite as amazing as usual but all the pancakes got devoured so I guess we will give it a 1.85 thumbs up (not quite 2). Slim Jim said that if I wouldn't have told him it was dairy free he wouldn't have known.


Here is my favorite recipe regular Buttermilk Pancakes that I got from Our Best Bites, that they got from Allrecipes.com if you don't need dairy free this is a really good one.

Dairy Free Taste like Almost like Buttermilk Pancakes
by Shaffer Sisters
3 c. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. vanilla soy milk
3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs, separated
1/3 c. canola oil
Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt), add vanilla soy milk, vanilla and egg yokes. Mix until combined. Heat skillet to medium-high. Take a ladle and pour batter on skillet. Flip pancake when top is mostly covered in bubbles. Cook till brown on both sides.

The only thing that this recipe for me was missing was the butter flavor so in the future I would probably add in 1 1/2 tsp of McCormick butter flavoring (brand is very important in this case, cheaper versions are not valid substitutes. Don't curse me when you look at the price difference, just either skip out on the butter flavoring or pay the extra to get the good stuff).

Strawberry variation
I put a few strawberry chips (really it is pureed strawberry bits) on the top of pancake immediately after I poured my batter. I had tried mixing the bits into the dough it didn't combine evenly, and sunk to the bottom. 

Heart Shaped Pancakes

A little more cooked than this because you don't want your batter to run.

For this I used the pancake molds linked above. I only used half a ladle amount of batter (half the size of my other ones). I found that I had the best success when I waited until it was starting to cook around the edges and then took a butter knife to separate it from the mold. When I got it out of the mold I then flipped it on my skillet.