How to Hem Jeans in 3 Easy Steps

**warning: this post is mostly for short people**

I never think of myself as short (I'm almost 5'3'') until I stand next to someone other than my kids (which doesn't happen all that often). Or until I go shopping for jeans. This year for Christmas, I invested in a good pair of jeans. I love them. But, like most pants, they were about 2 inches too long. Since I am not a heels and jeans kind of girl, they had to be hemmed.

This is how I did it:

Step 1: Determining the amount the jeans need to be shortened.

Try on the jeans with the shoes you will usually wear them with and cuff at desired length. (Make sure the cuff ends exactly where you want the finished hem to be.) Pin the cuff and remove the jeans. Measure the length of the cuff, including the original hem. Now, divide that measurement in half and re-pin the cuff using the new measurement as the length of the new cuff, this time ignoring the original hem. (see photo above)

Step 2: Sewing the new hem

Once the new cuff is pinned, it is time to sew. I like to use the zipper foot on my machine for this step. Sew the new cuff in place as close to the original hem as you can.

Step 3: Finishing

Now that you have sewn the cuff in place, you have a little fold of extra jean on the inside of the pants. This can be trimmed off, or tacked in place. I prefer to tack it in place so I don't have to worry about unfinished ends raveling. (But before you do any of that, try on the jeans, again with your shoes, to make sure they are the right length.) To tack the fold in place, turn the jeans inside out. Press the fold in the direction of the waist of the jeans. Sew a few stitches at the side seams to hold the fold in place and out of the way of the hem.

To see your handiwork, turn the jeans right side out and ta-da! You have a "new" hem. Because we sewed the cuff in place close to the original hem, there is a seam there, but it is not very noticeable.

My finished product:

Good news! This tutorial is now in video form. Enjoy!

Have yourselves a merry little Christmas.

love, us

Worth the Splurge

This is me doing my model pose.

The kids and I took a trip to the ribbon store this morning.
It's my favorite store.
So much beauty to browse.

I was in desperate need of a pretty ribbon.
I happened upon the velvet section and abruptly fell in love.
So I purchased a yard and a half of the silver, but I wanted to buy them all.
So luxurious. So pretty.
Just a teeny bit expensive.

I have a thing for soft cookies.

I am getting ready for Mike's office party tomorrow night by baking lots and lots of cookies. This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe. They have a hint of lemon and stay nice and soft and puffy. They are delicious.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
1 c sugar
1/3 c butter, softened
1/4 c shortening
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 egg
2 2/3 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c sour cream

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream sugar, butter, and shortening. Add lemon extract and egg; mix well.

3. Add dry ingredients to the sugar mixture, alternating with the sour cream.

4. Divide dough into 2 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

6. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until almost no indention remains when touched.

I'm not going to lie, this dough is hard to work with. Even after it has been chilled, it is still pretty gooey. I tried the nifty plastic wrap rolling tip, but I think the dough could benefit from the extra flour you pick up when rolling the old fashioned way. Also, I don't think any of my batches were done in 7-8 minutes. (It was more like 10 minutes.) It totally depends on what kind of pan you are using, and how thick you roll them. Just keep a close eye on them. When they are the slightest bit golden on the edges, they are done. They might be a pain, but they are totally worth it. I hope there are some left for the party tomorrow night. :)

Counting Presents

When I was little, I suffered from self-imposed "middle child syndrome". But Stephanie, you say, there are six kids in your family, there is no middle child. True, but since I am #4 and Leslie, #3, is the first girl, I figured that I was near enough to the middle and I was the middle girl, that I qualified as the forgotten middle child.

Because of this, at Christmas time, I would keep a close eye on the presents under the tree. I liked to put them in stacks, one for each child. It was easier to count them that way. I wanted to make sure it was even.

Mike thinks that I am overly concerned with getting Mabel and Oliver the same number of presents. He thinks I am the only one who cares about those sorts of thing.

Wrong. Enter Oliver, our middle child. He was helping me wrap presents today, when he told me exactly how many presents Mabel has under the tree and how she has more than he does. By the end of our wrapping session, the numbers were even. He seemed pretty relieved.

Other ways that Oliver is like me: he refuses to take medicine, he is stubborn, and he likes to get his way. Wait, am I divulging too much information about myself?

A Closer Look

You all had such nice things to say about my felt guys.

Thank you.
I'm so glad you liked them.

These are my favorites:

3 wise men, a camel, and a cow


Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and the manger

I don't know if I would make them to sell. It took a lot of time (I didn't have a pattern and each guy is hand stitched). I was covered in tiny scraps of felt for days.
But maybe I could make a pattern.
And then you could be covered in scraps of felt. :)

Let me know what you think.

Fun with Felt

the completed nativity scene

I finished my advent calendar.
It was fun, but I'm glad I'm done.

This baby.

Those thighs!
Oh we love her.

Gingerbread men are tricky.

I like my gingerbread men to be spicy, but not too spicy, sweet, soft, and fluffy.
It is hard to find a good recipe.

I found this one today on allrecipes.com.
I love allrecipes.com.

Gingerbread Cookies
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed. Divide dough into 3 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When the cookies are done, they will look dry, but still be soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted with the icing of your choice.

I halved the recipe because I didn't want to eat 2 dozen cookies. And if I made that many, believe me, I would eat them. A tip I learned from one of the 83 commenters on this recipe was to roll out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap. This kept the cookies moist and was so easy! They were perfect. We slathered ours in the usual-- vanilla frosting, sprinkles, and chocolate chips. Even Stella liked them.

Sometimes children's books make me cry.

I seem to be getting more emotional the older I get. There is something about this time of year, and the story of our Savior's birth specifically, that really get me. I thought I'd share my favorite Christmas children's books with you. And yes, I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but they make me get a little teary. These books are fun, but touch on the real meaning of Christmas in a wonderful way.

Snowmen at Christmas, by Caralyn Buehner
This is a magical book. It shows what life is like for a neighborhood of snowmen after all of the people are in bed. It is really sweet and the pictures are full of tiny details.

favorite quote:

"Such fun snowmen have!
But there's still one more thing --
With hearts full of joy
They hold hands and they sing.

While the fiddler plays,
And sweet silver bells ring,
They sing songs about snow,
And the birth of a King.

Santa's Favorite Story, by Hisako Aoki
This book has Santa telling the real reason for Christmas, and it isn't about presents.

favorite quote:

"Santa said in a kindly voice, 'Christmas hasn't got anything to do with me. Sit down and I'll tell you all the story of the first Christmas. . .'
'How silly we have been,' said the fox, 'to think that Christmas was only about presents.'"


I hope the Christmas spirit is filling your homes like it is mine.

We finally got our Christmas tree.

I love this time of year.

Stella in Texas

She loved the H*s like they were her real family.

And even though she was having fun, she made this face all the time.
It's like she was trying to be grumpy.
She's so silly.

And choobby. Right, Miles?

Thanks for having us, Les. It was so much fun.
Don't you wish we lived closer?
Guy, I sure do.

Quality Time

These two are currently spending some quality time together napping.

Tomorrow, Stella and I are heading to Texas to spend quality time with Miles (and the rest of the H* family). We are very excited. While we are away, Mabel and Oliver get to spend quality time with Mike, who will play the part of Mr. Mom. It should be a good time for everyone involved.

See you next week!

It turns out that I'm a little bit country.

For the first time in my blogging career, I was really too busy/sick to blog.
But I'm back, and I have a few things to show you.

a. We didn't quite finish our backyard, even though I nearly killed myself hauling wheelbarrow-fulls of dirt, gravel, and rocks, but we are really close. We just need a bit more gravel (if you had seen the huge pile of it on our driveway, I don't think you could believe that we need more) and some plants. Here is a sneak peek, and also Mike's turkey frying setup. Thanksgiving was a rainy and beautiful day. We hosted it at our house for the first time and I think it turned out lovely. We had good food and good family and that's really all you need for a good Thanksgiving.


b. Here's where I show you just how country I can be. I made my ideal advent calendar and I think it definitely classifies as country decor, but I love it.


I mod podged those numbers I blogged about here onto little paper mache boxes. I could have painted them, but I really liked the brown paper bag color. I stuck them on the wall with poster tack and will fill them with nativity figurines as soon as I make them out of felt. Because I love felt. And I really wanted a nativity advent calendar.


I made the background for the nativity scene from an old frame that I spray painted red, of course, and roughed up a bit. I mod podged paper onto a metal backing (metal shingles- whatever those are- I picked up at the Home Depot) so the whole scene would be magnetic. The figurines will have magnets stuck to the back so they can be placed anywhere in the scene. My kids seem to like it. So that's good.


c. Mabel is a girl after my own heart. She saw me making one of my never ending to-do lists last night and wanted in on the fun. I had to take a picture of her list for posterity. (Just don't tell her I posted it. I don't want to embarrass her.)

The end for now.