Just very busy organizing, cleaning, and knitting. (But not in that order. Because if it were in that order, I'd be done cleaning by now. Instead, I have a hat....)
My auntie Druann and cousin Sophia arrive tomorrow. Yippee! Onward, more cleaning, less knitting.
...because she and I don't have enough hobbies. (Wait, wasn't it just last month that we took up needle felting?)
A milestone birthday is coming up around here. ....and I love to torture my kids by setting their gifts out days ahead of time. :)
100% recycled & 99% compostable gift wrap: newspaper from the bin, free raffia scored at a garage sale, and yo-yos made of recycled bits.
Each spring, just before summer gets into full swing, we make a list of all the things we want to do in the summer months. Then we fill it all into a calendar, just to make sure we get to do everything we want, without the days slipping by.
{To make your own list, start by looking in the Sunday papers for ads of local events, and then look to your Parks Department for free activities and community events.} Click on the links I have added, there are lots of great ones!
Here's our '08 list:
Here's a week or so, crammed into one post. Note the exquisite photography. I give up on that. Here's the run-down: three more scrapbook pages from my bed. Yes, I really do scrapbook in bed. It is actually easier for me, because I limit the supplies, and amount of time. I can do three average-quality pages in an hour from bed. Because, pretty much they all look the same. :)
After that, some shots from a couple days ago, in Lynnwood. I loved this restaurant, Blue C Sushi. The restaurant is situated so that all the tables are next to the conveyor belt carrying all kinds of sushi and other little japanese dishes. The plates are color coded, indicating the prices, and you just take off what you want as it rolls by. I had some tempura potatoes, sesame salad, and california roll. It was fun. Next is of one of my favorite clothing stores. I had a gift card from Christmas burning a hole in my pocket, so that was fun too. The last one is of cute little plates I couldn't resist from Urban Outfitters.
And then, the embroidery. Everyone is doing it. It's like the peer pressure of middle school. The idea is from Soule Mama. The one I did is a classic Keston style picture that she drew with markers. I traced it onto the muslin with vanishing ink (you can still see some of the purple ink before it has vanished), and then backed it with warm & natural, and backstitched the design. I learned backstitching from Kelly McCaleb when I made her cute project a while back. Mady got into it too, and made one for herself.
And Mr. Fox, or anyone else who is under the impression that I have a tidy little house and organized life, lest you feel inadequate, look closely. You can see the little pile of paint and art supplies from two weeks ago on the console table. I decided I wasn't brave enough to go around and take pictures of all the messes, like I'd previously planned. But trust me, there are plenty. And as Andi and I talked about the other day in regards to different blogs, it isn't so much about trying to give the impression that it is a perfect life with clean kids and picket fence. When I read other people's blogs, I get inspired by the photos on them, and it makes me want to do some of their crafts, or even straighten up my house, or be a better mom. So that is the kind of stuff I blog about. Nobody would be too excited to see the other part! In real life, my scrapbook supplies have been on the family room floor for four days, in big piles. My garage is an embarassment, particulary yesterday when someone borrowed my ladder and came into it. My kids' bedrooms are rarely, if ever, clean on the same days. Or weeks. My bed is unmade as often as it is made lately. My three year old has seen every single Max & Ruby show ever made, at least twice, while I sit at the the computer. So, really, no need to feel inadequate.
Speaking of soft trees, aren't these all gorgeous? There are more than 200 on Flickr. I am certain that woodland creatures are a requirement of any good soft tree scene. Namely, little deer. Birds will do, in a pinch. Next project on my to do list: 5 dozen trees. Forget the cookies. (In the future, I will figure out how to do the mosaic correctly, so that the photographers all get proper credit).
Cookies aren't technically crafty, but I take great care in the frosting process. It should be considered crafty. Notice the many shades of green for the trees? Notice I had brown frosting right there but forgot to do the trunks? Granted, it was probably midnight. (And in case you were wondering, the kids got their own to do, but ate them all before I took the photos. Mine are in the freezer, ready to be added to the cookie plates.)
Here's the finished, stuffed soft trees. I still want to do a tall skinny one, and some with added buttons and such. These were my practice guys. Allison, the pattern can be found here, and there is a flickr group for them too. Side note: Little Birds, where the pattern is from, used to be my favorite blog! She stopped in April, but you can still read all the archives. It is just lovely. Especially November and December. And all the rest. I have been going back through it lately and loving it all over again. I didn't really get into the button wreaths last year, but now I think I might do one. Side-side-note: she is half of 3191, a very cool daily photo blog. Also, her artist sister has this blog.
Some people read in bed. I prefer to make stuff. This is a hybrid pillow. Not really handmade, not really store bought. ...You get a placemat (this one is from Target) for about $3.99. Seam rip one side apart, about four inches. Stuff it with poly (or wool?) and stitch it back up. So easy, like half an hour, mostly spent in stuffing. I was taught to add fill in tiny bits so that things aren't lumpy. So this one is already wrapped and under the tree, for Mady. I came across the idea on someone's blog a couple days ago, but can't figure out where, to credit her. Great idea, who ever you are!
Also crafty, is Kari. :) This was at Paper Party this weekend at Treasury. Popular place that day! (Hi Chantel, Stefanie, Hillary G., Naomi, Hilary, Kristie, Quinn, and Angela! Did I forget anyone?) Paper Party is held each month at Treasury, and is completely free. Usually it's the thrid Saturday of the month, at 10, 11, or noon. Just call in advance to reserve a spot. At this one, we made transparency winter mini-books. And since I'm not an employee anymore, I can brag all about Treasury and not be cheesy. :) If you are new to scrapbooking and paper crafts, it is a great way to start learning stuff. Did I mention free?
And my final craftiness this weekend are these little mini-tissue holders. They hold the tiny packs of Kleenex, for in your purse or whatever. These two are my trial-run testers. They turned out ok, but maybe slightly off-center. I am going to be a tissue holder factory this week. Do you want one? I'll give away these two slightly off-center ones. Just leave a comment and I'll randomly pick sometime next week. How can you resist my tester craft? One day when I am famous, they'll be worth millions. Like the coins that have misspellings and stuff.
Leave a comment. All the bloggers like comments. Even if we don't kow you are reading. It's not weird, you're invited to read! :) {Click where it says 3 comments, or however many, at the bottom of the post. It will take you to the comments section, where you can read other comments, then leave one. You can do it by just entering in your first name, then your email address. You don't have to fill in the URL part. Then just submit the comment, enter in the code they show you, and you're done. Easy!}
Frank was out of town on a business trip this week. Every time he is gone, some version of While You Were Out is happening around our house. Usually I paint some walls and re-do rooms. This time was a little different, and the kids and I While You Were Out-ed the backyard.
Now it is not because Frank will particularly enjoy the re-dos, it is more because I feel like there's a little more time to do big projects that I want done. (As in, cereal for dinner and not stopping to clean the rest of the house.) However, I pretty much always welcome him home with "Look what I did for you!", as if it were all done for his benefit. I think he is on to me, but we seem to have a little unspoken agreement worked out, where he pretends it was all for him, and how nice of me it was.
My first plan for this trip of his, was to paint our master bathroom, which is just short of huge. It would have taken me two weeks. But then, I was inspired by this little scene.
So I dropped him off at the airport Sunday morning, and the kids and I started gathering supplies. The woman at the place we bought the tree (a purple leaf plum) was very doubtful that we'd be able to get it into my vehicle. We proved her wrong, and away we went to ditch it and load all the car seats into Frank's car. Off we went again, this time it took a forklift to put all the pavers into the back. And bags of sand, pea gravel, and other such necessities.
Next, some stops at thrift stores to re-create the little table that started it all in the first place. It took some searching, but we found exactly what we needed. It went along the lines of scraplifting, except that I was table-lifting. Right down to the little Mexican vase and yellow glassware. The sincerest form of flattery? A thrifted bed sheet was the perfect table cloth, and some assorted matching cloth napkins. And because I envision a summer that includes lots of outdoor eating, I bought both flat sheets, one for washing, one for eating. We found a yellow vase and an aqua citronella candle.
A few more plants and we were ready to go. We got everything home and started the project. Unloading the bricks was the perfect job for developing a boy into a man. I felt like I was Renee. We had also discussed our budget ahead of time, reminding me of Renee's post about home-economics.
So the work began and we managed to dig (forever, like four hours in the hard clay) a hole to make the drainage system for our fire pit! It turned out well, and we're pretty excited for the maiden voyage with the s'mores, sometime this weekend. I think the kids were more excited about the idea of eating a lot of s'mores all summer than anything else.
Next, we planted the tree, and the other assorted plants, including an herb garden pot. I scrubbed the deck with some kind of nasty chemical, and it is looking like new. A few cushions for the chairs, and it is just what we were hoping for. It is a place we'll want to be this summer. Anyone want to come over?
Thursday was a typical day, at home with the girl. A lovely day for bubbles. Keston's technique involves blowing through her teeth, which was quite creative and reasonably efficient.
On Friday, last minute preparations for the Mighty Max 20-hour Crop were underway. By 8am I was refining food schedules and details, then picking up donations, and heading to the event. What a great time! Not much sleeping involved, and personally not much scrapbooking either, but a really great time!
To top it off, some fabulous raffle prizes...
My sweet friend Kristy won a huge package of restaurant gift certificates, movies, and entertainment. And in keeping with my theme of being lucky, I won an impressive package with a kids theme! Tons of stuff - adorable rain gear from Wild Blueberries, certificates for bowling, swimming, pizzas, smoothies, and passes to the Children's Museum. And a session for this, too! And some art supplies, book, and games. Pretty amazing, and so great of all those places to donate the items for the raffle.
After finishing with the crop, we had a good sunny Sunday. It's just starting to feel summerish - kids on the swings, kabobs on the grill, and playing with worms.
Finished it off with some kids crafting. And finally, a couple DVR'ed Dog the Bounty Hunters, and lots of sleep!
I haven't been into fabric very long, but this is what made me fall in love with it. Look at the prints. It's just like scrapbook paper! Here's a comparison of some of my fabrics with my papers... can you tell which is paper, which is fabric? Nice, huh!
And then , today I read somewhere online that Amy Butler now has a paper line!! Here's a little sample of my own Amy Butler collection. The book was a birthday gift from sweet Andi. Love it! Planning to make about eighteen things in it.
Here's just a bit more fabric I've acquired recently.
And then , while I was upstairs taking photos of fabric, I took a few of my newly organized scrap area. Just in case you were frightened off by the previous view of my desk. Here's my "after".
And from the garage sale last weekend, here is my new rack. (Insert your own jokes about my new rack).
And since I was taking 40 pictures in my room, (oh, did I mention that's where all of my craft things are these days? Sweet husband I have who doesn't seem to mind) - here is the quilt I've been meaning to post. Not handmade, but Crate & Barrel, thrifted recently. I was a bit sketchy on putting someone else's old quilt on my body at night, so it got a severe washing, and now I love it.
Tonight I am attending (and teaching a class) at a 27-hour crop. For you non-scrapbookers, that's 27 hours, in a row, of scrapbooking. The last time I went I felt spoiled the whole time... someone else cooked for me, really good food, cheesecake, the works. Tamara is going with me, we are really looking forward to it. Here's a little sneak of the class I am teaching. It is a Note-Card-Gift-Set.
And last but not least, here's what happens if you take 40 pictures instead of play with your toddler. She'll entertain herself.
So because I have been reading all of these great blogs lately of women who sew beautiful things, that is all I want to do. I mean, they sew beautifully. Like they take 10 minutes, an old t-shirt from the neighbors trash and voila, it is a gorgeous baby gift. Close, at least. Super talented women. So I have the itch to sew. I have bought some luscious fabrics (Amy Butler and Denyse Schmidt), and I think I would like to try to do a bag... I have a machine, and limited skills. :) I have done curtains, pillows, baby quilts, basic things likes that. I can follow a pattern, maybe. I am obsessed with figuring it out, though!
In the meantime, I made this for a store sample at work. We sell the felt, and I just used our die cut machine to get the shape, the ribbon is Karen Russell, and the button is Foof-A-La. I hand-stitched with embroidery floss, put in a touch of fill for dimension. That's it. Kind of cute. I think I will make a couple more for a set. I think I might make one that isn't for the store that is from felted wool and has a vintage button and stuff it with real wool. Except that it won't really have a vintage button because I have never come across any, but that makes it sound so cool, like the beautiful sewing girls' blogs, and I will just use another Foof-A-La button. Such a dork.
On to the usual... this blog should just really be titled "Keston". It is 95% Keston. I spend the major portion of my day with her, and she is just plain cute, and blog worthy. So here you go. Note to her future husband: We believe you should definitely go to college. Perhaps something pre-med or attorney-ish would be good. Keston seems to be a bit high-maintenance. As in: lip gloss, nail polish, make-up, neclaces, shoes.... (Notice in the photo, no more curls. She gave herself a bit of a haircut the night before. She would have preferred a fancy salon, but Jenson's bedroom had to suffice.)
Thank you for all of the sweet emails and comments from the last post as well. :) Happy Monday!
