I just listed the last of my potato sacks on my Etsy site:  potatoboutique.etsy.com

And that cleans me out completely....
Snag them up before they're gone!!
Happy Creating!!

Backpack sewing pattern: free download
Super convenient bag
With optional large storage pocket

FUN fun FUN

The Dedre Backpack is fun for boys and girls, teens and adults.
Great for soccer-clothes, piano books, toys, etc. for kids.
Awesome as a purse for adults and teens!

The Dedre Backpack pattern features a large exterior pocket on the front, a zippered pocket on the back, and a pocket inside. Any and all of these pockets are optional of course. I would love to see what fun and creative things you come up with!

You will find yourself making this bag time and again: Using different fabric combinations and finding more and more uses.

The Dedre Backpack was featured in Haute Handbags Spring 2010
© 2010 Crystelle Boutique

Needed Supplies

Fabric
•Fabric A ¾ yard (45”wide) or ½ yard (54”wide)
•Fabric B ⅜ yard (45”wide) or ⅜ yard (54”wide)
•Fabric C ¾ yard (45 “wide)or ½ yard (54”wide)

Other Supplies
• Two D or O-rings
• 4 yards cording
• Coordinating thread
• 9” Zipper (Optional)
• 7” Ribbon (Optional)
• Fray Check (Optional)

Finished Size
14 inches wide
19 inches tall

The detailed instructions include step-by-step directions on how to make this cute little zippered pocket on the back of the backpack, (see photo below) but adding this pocket is completely optional of course...  :)  I promise, it is not that hard to sew.

Little pockets like this are a great place to store keys, a phone, some change, etc.  I think....

Here is the downloadable sewing pattern.  Have a happy sewing day.....!!

Partying with these fabulous bloggy friends.... & the Charm of Home, Coastal Charm, Savvy Southern Style, Today’s Creative Blog, Home Stories A 2 Z, The Shabby Nest, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Between Naps on the Porch

A delicious homemade creamy strawberry pie
Perfect for a pretty spring or summer day
Or any day at all....

When strawberry season comes on I get so excited.  I LOVE strawberries!!
Most of the time, we just eat them as is:  you know, like and apple or an orange: 
Just a handful of fresh strawberries to munch on...  YUM!

But a few times a year I have to make my favorite strawberry recipe
because it is so delicious:  
Strawberry Cream Pie

1 graham cracker crust
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
dash nutmeg
1 lb strawberries
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

• Combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and nutmeg.  Mix until well blended.
• Go through your strawberries:  reserve the prettiest ones for garnishing at the end:  take the rest, and chop into tiny pieces. (about 3/4 - 1 cup of chopped strawberries)
• Stir chopped berries into cream cheese mixture
• Whip cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.  Fold into cream cheese mixture.
• Spoon into crust
• Chill several hours
• Garnish with reserved strawberries

Enjoy!!

It's a recipe I have kind-of tweaked myself using a few recipes I had in my collection.
Guaranteed to be yummy...  :)

{...we think so anyway, in our family....}

hugs x
Crystelle

Partying with these fabulous bloggy friends.... & the Charm of Home, Coastal Charm, Savvy Southern Style, Today’s Creative Blog, Home Stories A 2 Z, The Shabby Nest, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Between Naps on the Porch

About me: 
I am 5'11"
At age 44 I weigh as much as I did in my early 30's.
I don't weigh what I did in my teens, or even my twenties, but that is OK with me. 
What is important to me is that I feel good.
I had my blood tested.  I was not able to go off my thyroid medication, like I had hoped, but am taking the lowest dosage available: that makes me pretty happy.  I do not feel sluggish, tired, overwhelmed, exhausted, or the like (like I used to); I go to the gym 5 times a week, and watch what I eat, but still have the occasional yummy treat.
This is the life!!

This is quite something for me to be posting these pictures, but alas, it is time to show proof: 
BEFORE
Here I am before:  dancing with my hubby (he is so good to me!!).  I don't have a lot of pictures of myself at this weight, but dancing was a memorable enough occasion to get it on film....!  Yay!
Not proud of my weight; didn't feel great; however, at the time of this picture I was actually recovering at a rapid rate and a couple of weeks later I actually feel well enough to start an exercise program at the gym.  That was huge....
AFTER
Same hubby: he's behind the camera this time.  We went jogging on the beach (on vacation:  trust me, there are no oceans or beaches in Idaho... hahaha!!), and ended up looking around on some rocks.  He said, "Let me take a picture of you by those rocks."  So here I am: all sweaty, early morning, no make-up; you know, not at my best, but alas: I FEEL GREAT in this picture!  WOW!!  Energy soaring...  so fun to feel good again...  :) 

Check out some of my other HCG posts:
HCG Diet Phase 2 Tips
Almond-Nutella Phase 3 Recipe

Coming soon: 
An HCG giveaway!!

During Phase 3 of the HCG diet I was really craving Nutella and came up with this "healthy version" of a nut-chocolate-spread that was "HCG-approved."

In our local Winco grocery store you can watch a machine grind the almonds right in front of you:  the raw almonds are in a container on the top; you turn on the machine and place a container under it; fresh-ground almond-butter comes out.  This is the almond-butter I use most of the time: much easier than grinding it yourself in a Vitamix or food-processor
(well, the clean-up is easier anyway...  )!!

1 cup  natural almond butter (no sugar added)
1 1/2 Tbs  unsweetened cocoa powder
2 - 3 Tbs water
1 - 2 packets Stevia (to taste)

Mix together. Serve with Melba toast, celery sticks, or apple slices.

I am not sure if people who are used to eating all foods would like this recipe, for those of us HCG dieters who haven't had any chocolate for a month or more, this is pretty tasty....  :)

hugs x
Crystelle

check out my other HCG posts:
before and after photo's
HCG tips for phase 2

Partying with these bloggy friends.... & the Charm of Home, Coastal Charm, Savvy Southern Style, Today’s Creative Blog, Home Stories A 2 Z, The Shabby Nest, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Between Naps on the Porch

HCG Diet ~ Phase 2
Helpful Charts, Tips, How I felt, Interesting Findings,  & Your Skin and HCG

I did it!  I completed Phase 2 of the HCG diet!
How did it go?  Did I like it?  Did I loose weight?  Do I feel better?
Answers:  Well, yes, yes, and yes!!

As discussed in an earlier post, I was sponsored to participate with the HCG diet by Creative Bioscience, but if I would have known how much better I would feel, I would have done it years ago...!! And, I would have gladly paid for it....! 

Along the way I learned a few things during Phase 2, which I will share with you now.  Keep in mind that everyone reacts to the HCG diet and hormone differently, so my findings may or may not respond with yours....

• Week 1:  I was hungry, took naps, and had weird dreams
  
• week 2:  I was cranky
• Week 3:  I felt GREAT and energetic!!

It was soooo all worth the first two weeks!!  :)

How do the HCG drops taste?
Fine.  Perhaps a tiny bit sweet, but the longer you hold them under your tongue, the less flavor or taste they have.  And really, you don't have taste-buds underneath your tongue anyway, so you really don't taste them much anyway....

Hunger-Craving Strategies

• ALWAYS have a lunch packed and never leave your home without it.  You never know when a ten-minute errand will turn into a three-hour excursion.  When you get hungry, or it is time to eat you HAVE to have your own food with you, because what is available out there for impulse buying in NOT very nutritious, and certainly does NOT fit in with the HCG diet.....

• Drink LOTS of water.  Drinking will give you a feeling of being full, and it keeps you busy.  ALWAYS carry around a large water-bottle too...  Keep hydrated.  I often carried around several.  
• Eat six times a day (rather than three). 
  
• Take the drops six times a day (rather than three).
  

HCG and Thyroid Issues
If you suffer from an under-active thyroid, the HCG diet can be quite beneficial, because the hypothalamus resets the thyroid.  However:  here is a word of caution:  when eating cabbage (one of the HCG approved vegetables) it should be cooked first. 
The goitronic chemical in cabbage (and other cruciferous vegetables) inhibits the body's ability to use iodine which is essential for the production of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. Cooking cabbage disables virtually all of the harmful goitrogen. 
So remember: COOK YOUR CABBAGE.

Exercise and HCG
Exercising while on the HCG Diet comes highly recommended (by me).  I was already exercising 6 times a week before I  started the diet, and continued to do so (eliminating strenuous workouts).  There were a few times when I found an excuse to keep from going to the gym, and on those days I either did not loose any weight or lost very little.  Therefore I strongly encourage you to exercise as often as you can.

What is an Apple Day?
You may need an apple-day if you plateau on a certain weight for 4 days or more.  This is how to approach it: 

1. Eat only apples for one whole day, starting at lunch, resuming the regular HCG diet at lunch the following day.
2. Limit the number to six large apples
3. No liquids except a minimal amount of plain water, just enough to quench an uncomfortable thirst

Apple-Day* is NOT BAD!  I was really nervous to have an apple day, but it turned out to be just fine.  I was not hungry and could hardly finish the apples.  I felt SOOO full.... 

Can I Cheat?
DO NOT cheat!  You WILL regret it!  It will give you a setback that you will then have to recover from.

What do you do on days when you don't feel well?
There were a few days when I was under the weather while on Phase 2, and I did not cheat....!!!  I found that drinking hot herbal tea with a little bit of cayenne pepper and Stevia was quite soothing.

Because the HCG hormone uses the fat in your body as an energy source, it is advisable to wear makeup or lotion during phase 2.  (Stay clear from any topical oils, except mineral oil) 
However, I suffer from severely dry skin and the climate I love in (South-Eat Idaho) is extremely dry, so going without lotion is quite impossible for me, because it is miserable when my skin gets dry. 
Sooooo because of that I needed to find a lotion that would not introduce oil to my skin.

I used Renew Intensive Care Lotion by Melaleuca.  Renew does not contain any oil, not even mineral oil  (mineral oil does not give people like me relief, as it just is a surface solution, not penetrating and healing the skin from the inside).  As one of the last ingredients, Renew does list melaleuca-oil as an ingredient, but I assume this to be just a drop or two (maybe three), and only beneficial to the skin, rather than harmful.
I applied Renew to my entire body (even my face) once a day, and several times a day on my hands.
On my lips I used a mineral-oil-based lip balm.  The only lip product I could find that contained mineral oil and no other oils was Care Deeply by Avon

I did Phase 2 for 31 days.  Because the HCG hormone depletes the body of fats (and oils) the skin on my hands was beginning to be drained of any supple oil by day 29.   I do not advise going beyond day 29 if you have severely dry skin.  My hands started cracking and bleeding and hurting.  using these products while on Phase 2 my skin felt fine until that point. 
In short:  without Renew doing the HCG Diet would be virtually impossible for me personally.

Read about
Almond Nutella for HCG Phase 3
Before and After Photo's

Oh yes, and FYI: I lost 27 pounds, and it feeeeeeeels good!!

Partying with these bloggy friends.... & the Charm of Home, Coastal Charm, Savvy Southern Style, Today’s Creative Blog, Home Stories A 2 Z, The Shabby Nest, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Between Naps on the Porch

Soon to come: 
an HCG Diet Giveaway! 

Recipe for-make-your-own chalkboard paint using the simplest ingredient ever:
something that most households have on hand anyway.... : cornstarch!!

Yes, you heard it right:
Chalkboard Paint Made With Cornstarch!

I love this version of "chalk" paint a LOT
Three reasons why I totally love it:

1. I always have cornstarch on hand in the kitchen
   {I don't always have Plaster of Paris on hand....}
2. It mixes up very easily
3. The paint is so nice and smooth....  :)

This is how you make it:
WARNING: VERY easy!

{I guess we can't really call it "chalk"paint since it contains zero chalk....}

Slideshow Tutorial:

My favorite paint to add to this concoction is just any ol' acrylic paint
I have laying around the house.
I like to buy the "mis-tint" paint at Fred Meyer or Ace.  Sometimes Home Depot has a good selection of cast-off paint as well around there.
Use any color of paint you would like, or mix several colors together to make you own "custom" creation....  :)

As mentioned in an earlier post, I used this paint to paint a unique bassinet/dresser combo.
Now I will show you how it turned out this itsy-bitsy dresser:

I lined the drawers with vintage flashcards using Mod Podge. 
Fun right...?  Yes...?  {I think so....  :)  }
I like using flashcards in home decor....

Anyhoo:  try this recipe for chalkpaint using cornstarch, and let me know how it goes! 
I would love  to hear what you think....  :)

Partying with these bloggy friends.... & the Charm of Home, Coastal Charm, Savvy Southern Style, Today’s Creative Blog, Home Stories A 2 Z, The Shabby Nest, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Thrifty Decor Chick, Between Naps on the Porch

Moist soft chewy chocolate chip / oatmeal cookies.
~~~~~~~~~
These yummy cookies are a family favorite:
the kids get to make and consume them at Grandma's house.
(She is an amazing cook!) 
And then she gives us plenty of them to take home!!  We are very lucky....  :)

My mother-in-law has had this recipe (see her recipe-card below) in her collection
for years and years and no longer remembers where she got it,
so we will just give her the credit for it, OK?
OK.

Now while we can claim that these cookies are super delicious,
we will not make any claims that they are healthy. 
Soooooooo..... 
She actually makes them with coconut oil instead of shortening,
hoping that helps a little bit on the health scale....
I will add those instructions at the bottom.

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening*
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups oatmeal
2 eggs
3/4 cups chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients together (except chocolate chips) till creamy.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Shape into balls.  Place on cookie sheet.  Flatten slightly.

Bake 10 minutes at 350° Fahrenheit

* Instead of 1 cup shortening she will often use one of the following:

• 3/4 cup coconut oil

or

• 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup oil
  

Enjoy...!!   :)

Partying with these bloggy friends.... & the Charm of Home, Coastal Charm, Savvy Southern Style, Today’s Creative Blog, Home Stories A 2 Z, The Shabby Nest, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Thrifty Decor Chick, Between Naps on the Porch

It's Raining Money ~ $500 Visa Card Giveaway

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Crystelle Boutique is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment. Please contact teri@mompoweredmedia.com with questions or to see your business or blog featured on the next big event!

A tutorial on how to DIY wallpaper with old sheet-music. 
{Of course you could use any vintage papers that are pretty or have special meaning to you.}

DIY vintage paper as wallpaper!  YES! 
I love the way it looks, I love the nostalgia it brings along....  I just love it....

My favorite part of this very fun music wall is when Beth, my pianist friend, comes over, sits down, and starts playing the wall!  She plays short passages from Beethoven, Braum, Bach, folk-music, finger exercises, etc. etc....    They're all on the wall!  I love it....
I could listen to her all day...!
{We play a little bit too, but not like she does....  }

Over the last summer I had collected some vintage sheet-music at thrift stores and estate sales, and always selected those which had the most yellowing....
Then in the fall it was time to wall-paper the wall behind the piano.

We had a little bit of a sneak-peak of the wall
with the post I did on the potato sack stockings.
I am just now getting around to posting how I did it.  {Sorry!!}

I learned quite a bit along the way, and hope that my mistakes and tips will help you out when you paper your wall with vintage music paper or other old pages of some sort.

I had no idea that I had WAY too much musicpapers so now I have LOTS left-over to so something fun with...  :)  Yay!

And now I will tell you how I did it! 
It took me two days beginning to end.

I started by thoroughly cleaning the wall, then painting over it with primer (the wall WAS a deep red: very popular ten years ago....heeheehee). 

These are some of the things I learned along the way (the hard way, unfortunately):

• Using Mod Podge or wallpaper glue makes the sheetmusic very wrinkly.  You might like that, but I didn't, so I removed them, scrubbed the wall clean again, and started over.
• I thought I would like the removable tape, so I could reposition the pages, but alas:  ALL the pages that I used the removable tape with had to be redone, because they were falling off!
• Double sided tape is a little bit spendy, but to my surprise the least expensive variety that I found (Target-brand) was the tape I liked best (for this project)!  Good news!

P.S.  I want to paint my piano.... What color do you think I should go?

• a stack of old paper (book pages, magazine pages, sheetmusic, letters, receipts, etc.)
  
• double-sided tape ( I used 7)
• scissors
• spackling knife

Go through the slides below for step-by step instructions and tips.
Also read the tips above.

Partying with these bloggy friends.... & the Charm of Home, Coastal Charm, Savvy Southern Style, Today’s Creative Blog, Home Stories A 2 Z, The Shabby Nest, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Thrifty Decor Chick, Between Naps on the Porch