How to donate to Locks of Love

Every two years I donate my hair to Locks of Love. I can't think of a more worthy cause than helping children to feel more self confident. I want to share my experience and a little tutorial to show you how easy it is.

You need:

• 1 big ziplock bag
• A cut ponytail measuring at least 10 inches
• A padded envelope
• LOL hair donation form

Instructions:

• Fill out the form
• Place the hair in the ziplock bag
• Mail in the form and hair in the padded envelope. 

• There are some guidelines for the hair. There's even a video that shows how easy it is to donate. So, if you are thinking about getting a haircut soon, consider making a hair donation to Locks of Love. If you do, I'd love to see before and after pictures.

Now, some before and after pictures

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My hair was layered so the longest piece was over 14 inches, but most of the ponytail hair was in the 12 inch range. In the past 4 1/2 years, I've donated about 35 inches of hair to Locks of Love.

I'm not that great at selfies but I think you get the point. :)
Here's another before and after with some more tips from me. 

Thank you for visiting We Grow By Our Dreams. I have lots more projects and tutorials on my other blog, The Vintage Sheet Blog. 

How to have a great birthday

Monday was my birthday and I went with my mum, sister and niece to Disneyland, for free. We started the day at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel Storytellers Cafe.

First, I made some new friends.


Then, I had an amazing buffet breakfast. I was happy about all the healthy choices. Then, came my birthday dessert, sure it was only 9:30 a.m. but it was an amazing chocolate mousse covered in chocolate ganache.

Then, on to Disneyland where we rode a gazillion rides.

And, we made more friends.

Our one day ride total:

Jungle Cruise

Indiana Jones

Astro Blasters

Space Mountain (twice)

Honey I shrunk the Audience

Teacups (twice)

It's a small world

Big Thunder Mountain

Winnie the Pooh

The Haunted Mansion

Pirates of the Carribean

And, I got a pass to come to California Adventure for free within 30 days. woo hoo!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have a few treats to share with you today.

This is a brownie baked in a heart shaped muffin pan. The frosting is chocolate ganache poured on top. I made the flower with chocolate clay. I haven't chosen a recipient yet. I had lots of Heidi Grace Love Blossoms goodies leftover so I used the flocked paper to cover Target mailboxes and the tops of the candy packages. The mailboxes were super easy with the Paper Garden template.

I make pink candy every year. I don't use a recipe. It's just melted white chocolate and crushed candy canes spread thin onto parchment paper. I have a bunting addiction. I made a 10 inch heart template and cut several different red and white fabrics and white felt. I zigzagged stitched the patterned fabrics to the felt. Then, I used my new Fiskars scalloped pinking shears to cut the edges and finished it off by straight stitching red seam binding on the back. It's hanging over my kitchen windows.
Have a lovely day. Oh, and I'm part of the Craft Critique Valentine's Day Carnival of ideas today.

Thrifty Crafter Frame

Rebecca from Fiskars gave me a challenge. I was sent a big box of Heidi Grace goodies from the Love Blossoms line and an inexpensive wooden picture frame and challenged to make something.

The tough part was that there was so much gorgeous stuff to choose from.

Wooden Provocraft Fame

Super thick Die Cuts (I used the "C", "H", "O", 2 blank squares and 3 little hearts and 2 circles)

Plastic Shapes

Ribbon (I used the pink one, 4th from top)

Die Cuts

Rub ons (I used the "l" and the "e")

Cardstock Stickers

Here are some close ups. I painted the front, back and sides with light pink paint. I distressed the heck out of all the paper and embellishments. I didn't think the L or the E matched so I made my own with rub ons. This frame was inspired by a frame made by Stephanie from Homegrown Hospitality as seen on Fiskars TV.

I made the frame for baby Chloe. I also made her a pink and green baby bunting. Isn't she gorgeous? (Ash, don't show Chloe, it's a suprise.)

Weekend Happenings

Our Super Bowl spread complete with cheesy football and veggies, apple pie, chili and cornbread, sugar-free rootbeer, white cheddar popcorn and helmet jell-o jigglers.

My niece and I went for a walk along the wetlands at sunset yesterday. She took the picture of me. Be kind, I was makeup-free yesterday. Lost a front tooth.

Sitting by a big tree.

Looking toward the beach. The hills in the distance are actually Long Beach, it's beach faces ours.

Thanks for stopping by.

Favorite Team Sport Pennant Tutorial

* I have an updated version of this tutorial, if you are interested, check it out here.

For the past 8 years I've been making these fun Super Bowl decorations out of felt. However, the idea can certainly be used for any sports team, theme (including your child's team) or to show your school pride. This year I made the football field and the Cardinals. I already had the Steelers. Here's a little tutorial on how to create a banner for your favorite team.

This is my felt pile. I always by the 8 1/2 x 11 sheets when they are on sale.

Step 1: Fold the felt in half and mark the center.Step 2: Make your background shape. Using a ruler or piece of paper, mark and cut from each of the top corners to your center line.
For the field, cut a staight piece and glue it down the center. Don't worry about the bottom part hanging off the sides of your triangle. Just flip it over and trim.
Step 3: Make a template: Print out and cut out your shape. I find images on the internet or make numbers in Word.Step 4: Lay your image on your felt and cut around the outside of your template. If you are using an image with multiple layers (like my Cardinal), then cut the largest piece of felt first, cut the template down to the next color and continue cutting until all of your layers are cut.
Step 5: Glue it down. I like Tacky Glue but I'm sure any fabric or Elmers glue would work.Some of the penants have a top strip. For the field I made it in 2 pieces so it would be flat and added a couple field lines. Here they are hanging in my living room. You can email me with questions. Thanks for visiting. Happy Super Bowl Sunday! If you make a pennant, please share the link with me. I'd love to see it.