Home-Ec Guest Dear Home Ec 101, Hello! My three year old son decided it would be fun to draw on our car upholstery with black pen. In the past I have been able to use hairspray on crayon with wonderful success (couch and table cloth), but I have never attempted it on pen. Any tips or am I …
Ivy says: Funny, it seems nearly every blogger I read is sick, and I’m no exception. Fortunately, we have fabulous readers who send in fabulous tips from time to time, so I don’t have to do much thinking. Thinking’s a dangerous pastime anyway. Our readerJimK shares this with us: I know this is a pretty …
Ivy says: I come from a very long line of accountants. In addition, I have a close family friend that is an IRS auditor. (Yes, he does have a pocket protector and calculator at his side all the time. No, he doesn’t have a sense of humor that he is aware of.) Because of that, …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I am a new reader of your site and am convinced that you may be the only ones able to help me. I am pregnant and because of morning sickness and the fact that my husband does not think vomit adds to his dinner, I’ve had to leave him to his own …
Ivy says: The very best time to go buy your first pattern is when they’re having a hot sale. Simplicity and McCall’s patterns go on sale frequently at the fabric stores I go to- JoAnn’s and Hancock Fabrics. Don’t take any kids with you if that’s at all possible- you want some time to sit …
Ivy says: People are always asking us, “When are you going to have a book for us to buy?” We usually answer something like, “Um, well, um, and, er…” You get the picture. The problem is not knowing how to proceed, whether there’s interest in a cookbook or something general like the site is, or …
Ivy says: So, to begin my “How to sew for people who have no clue” series, let’s talk about what you are going to need. The first thing that comes to mind usually, other than a sewing machine, is material and patterns. Because, come on, there’s nothing more enticing than a pattern for a gorgeous …
Ivy says: I’ve been working on my sewing skills, so I can do some photo tutorials. I’d like to be able to show people who have no earthly idea how to sew or where to start with sewing, what to do. Now, my sewing skills are both rusty and new all at once (I’ve hardly …
Ivy says: If you’re going to live on less money than you have in the past, chances are good that you are going to have to start spending less money as well. This is where prioritizing comes in handy. Now, not everyone is going to have the same priorities, so I can’t sit here and …
Alternate title: In which Ivy loses very important directions and has to wing it, and it all could have been avoided by keeping all her stuff in one neat place instead of keeping her stuff flung all over the house. Ivy says: Darling Home Eccers, I do stupid things to help you learn from my …