Make your own beaded watch bands!

I have a bit of a new obsession. My sister-in-law got me started. She made me THE cutest interchangeable watch bands for Christmas and I have just LOVED them ever since. I tend to be allergic to the metal stuff on most watches, so finally, for once in my life, I CAN WEAR A WATCH! The best thing about the way she made these is that you can use the same watch faces for multiple beaded bands. {You can get some watch faces here.}

SO.....I decided to learn how to make them. I am so fabulously stylish now! And I love that I can make them the way I want to match my clothes. I thought I would share the idea and show you all how! (I started with a basic pattern. Note that if you use a SMALLER watch face you will require MORE beads on your band.)

What you need:

Beads of choice
clasps (see below)
a watch face
beading string (stretchy or not, it's up to you)
super glue

So basically the band is made like this. Start with all the beads you want in the first section on ONE side of the band, along with the clasps that attach to the band like so.
You then put on the beads for the other side of the section and loop BOTH sides through the joining bead(s).


Repeat the pattern.

Loop both through the joining bead(s) again.
Now the clasps and beads for the other end.

So at this point, your string ends will meet in one corner next to the clasp. Tie in a bunch of knots, then super glue the knot. Once the knot is dry, you can cut the string so it is no longer noticeable.

And there you have the finished product.

So here's what it looks like on! Notice how they clasp onto the watch face!
A view from the back!

So cute! I just love them!

These are the ones my sister-in-law made me to go with the smaller watch faces.

Here are a few I made for the BIGGER watch face.

A view from the back!

More variety!

Here's one I did for the bigger watch face. Notice there are fewer beads (not by much). I liked the black with the red and white too. :)

This is what it looks like on.

And another shot from the back.

And of course, if you don't want to make your own, check out EMBRACE for some that you can buy, along with a HUGE selection of other types of jewelry. Remember, Kaylee can custom design your jewelry to the colors and styles you want!

A week with the Scotts

Last week, my cousin Kim and her husband Darren asked us to watch their 4 kiddos! So those 4 plus my 2 equals...6! I am glad to report that Kim and Darren came home to find all 4 of their children alive, and their house still intact. No major injuries (just a minor scrape on Logan which we immediately dressed with antibacterial gel and a band-aid) and no destroyed property (just the grass in the backyard where Kaylee wet her pants.) I have a new appreciation for people with lots of kids! It made me want to have more kids just because it is SO fun getting to see how all the different personalities add so much to the family. I absolutely loved staying in the Scott's beautiful home! I got to know Mckennah, Logan, Jaret, and Ayden so much better. It has been YEARS since I last babysat them! Kaylee loved ALL of them. She kept calling Mckennah her best friend. Every time she got 'in trouble' she cried for 'her Logan.' When she woke up in the morning, she'd cry and say, "Where's my boys? (the twins) I've lost my friends!!!" They were all so cute to include her when they were playing. They also got a kick out of all the funny things she would say. Also, they were very helpful with Brenna. They took turns holding her when I was busy making dinner or something. Logan was especially attentive. He was ALWAYS either with Kaylee or Brenna instead of out with his own friends. We are going to miss ALL of them although I'm sure they are glad to get rid of us! I took some pictures through out the week. ENJOY!

Nate LOVED having some boys to hang out with. They played video games together, basketball outside, watched movies, you name it. They even CRASHED at the end of the day together. Isn't this SO cute?

On one of the days, we went to the Clearfield Aquatic Center. I didn't get my camera out for the pool (I didn't want to ruin it) but I did take this one picture of Kaylee. She's crying because she wanted to keep going down the water slide instead of going home!

One of the nights we went out to the Weber County Fairgrounds for Mckennah's basketball game. She was awesome! Here's some pictures of her in action.

I'm open!!!

I had a little trouble getting a front-view shot of her. {SORRY!}

Mckennah, you're a great shot!

One of the mornings before school, Mckennah had me straighten her hair and 'poof' it. LOOKIN' GOOD girl!

These are pictures of one of the times we went to the park.

Don't you LOVE this picture? Logan looks a little distressed!

Now Mckennah has the ball...

Ayden, you crack me up!

Here's Logan with the ball lookin' like a pro.

Steal by Jaret! Look at the smile of satisfaction on his face. :)

Kaylee decided to join the game.

Nate of course LOVED playing ball with the kids.

Off to the playground with the homies!

Jaret tried to teach me how to use the rip stick. Yeah, I didn't even try.

Kaylee probably went down the slide 100 times.

Here's Logan on the monkey bars, 'cause he's a crazy monkey! (Just kidding, Logan!)

Ayden going down the slide with Kaylee

Brenna and Mckennah went for a lovely stroll around the park.

Where can I get tickets to this gun show? Hahaha you are SO buff, Jaret.

Ayden strikes a pose on cue. Thanks dude!

Thanks for a fun week, guys! You are AWESOME!

9 months old

Here are her measurements:

Weight: 17.75 pounds..................32%

Head: 18.7 in.......................off the charts

Length: 27.56 in....................53%

CUTENESS:..........................100%!!!

Brenna is now officially crawling!!! She is starting to act like a human vacuum cleaner the way she eats everything in sight, including dust bunnies. (EWE!!!) She mostly says "Da-da" and occasionally "Ma-ma" when she's sad, and a whole lot of jibberish we don't understand. She is terrified of the vaccuum and loves to laugh and yell out. Mostly to hear the sound of her own voice. When we say, "Yay Brenna!" she claps her hands. She loves to pull hair and cuddle. I love my little Brenna bug!

Easter sign

A little something I made for Easter. :)

Playing with matches!

The first time my 3 year old came up to me and said to me, "Mom, I want to play with matches! Can I please play with matches?" I went straight to the basket on the counter in the kitchen (which had matches in it) and put it up way high, thinking she would be climbing up on her little pink stool to get them. After all, she has watched me light candles on a number of occasions! So of course my reply to her question was a big fat "NO."

I had totally forgotten about the cute little Mickey Mouse memory game that she got for Christmas! We did try to play it once, and it really overwhelmed her. She lasted about one minute. There were like 50 pairs of matches to find, and with a 3 year old memory, it wasn't working!

But then I heard of an idea that really helps kids develop their cognitive function that comes with matching pictures...play a memory game but with all the cards facing up!

Needless to say, it was a big huge success. We played this game over and over for an hour. Talk about a confidence booster for my little munchkin! She loved to help ME find MY matches on my turn too, when I had 'trouble finding them.'