The Mint Needle

Oh, cold weather, you've done it again! Yesterday morning we celebrated another day off from school due to the arctic chill. A pajama day indeed. Jumping on beds, crafty projects, and painting kept us busy most of the day. It was quite divine:) The paintings were fun and we worked with watercolor and acrylic. Even I managed to get my fingertips dirty. The idea: simple lines and shapes with limited colors ( and teaching my little one, moderation with paint ). I love the way these came out! The bracelets are another story. Ya, we've all seen them and yes... any mom you ask will say she's tired of finding these plastic bands ALL around the house . But I have a wonderful story to share.  It all started when my fourth grader decided she wanted to be classroom president. Every student was required to run, complete with a presentation & speech about what he or she would do if they became class president. There were some great ideas inspired by book...

Sewing: A creative mess is better than tidy idleness.  ~ Author Unknown Coming across these words on a day planned for cleaning & organizing reminded me that some messes promise results:) Happy Trails!

I've done it. I think I officially went overboard. A much anticipated extravaganza hooked me at Joann's. It's like I lost crafting control. When time came, I found myself in line with yards of fabric, Valentine stickers, a wreath, ribbon, and scrapbooking items.  But, I have good reason. Sale, sale, sale! I'm sharing with you my finds and the main reason for my trip ~  Valentine's! Every year the girls & I make homemade Valentine's to pass out at school. After creating a couple, the girls choose which one they like best. This year's winners are......... cupcakes and bookmarks! They weren't too crazy about my take on "you give my heart that fuzzy feeling,"  (which sported real fuzzy fabric). But I thought it was genius! On another note~ My daughter's school project had me flipping through photo boxes and scrapbooks from years ago. They needed to collect a few pics to create a time line of how they'...

The Christmas tree is sloooowly coming down. All the beautiful ornaments have been put away.... A little bitter sweet as usual. An area once filled with the crisp smell of pine and look of glitter is now gone. Instead, an open space will be available with the possibility of anything to fill it. The home is recovering from a mish mash of Christmas meets birthdays x2! Multiple Santa figurines, birthday balloons, Christmas cards, garlands, and banners were displayed everywhere.   Why don't I hold back, you ask? .... Because when all is complete ~ the tidiness is that much sweeter. The girls have finally gone back to school. The three extra days off on break were scrumptious as I'm sure we all can remember how good it felt to have a 'snow day'. (But this time they were 'sub zero' days.) In the midst of all the freezing and wind, all I could think about was which plants weren't going to survive the ice. Hence... the gardening catalogs have slowly made their ...

Hello 2014! I hope you all rang in the New Year with filled hearts and loved ones. Not only are we enjoying a snowy start ~ But look who turns 7 today!  In celebration of my peanut's birthday, I just had to make some new birthday bunting. Pretty pinks & yellows seemed to fit her personality well. (Actually it's perfect for both girls!)  I was itching to get this project under way as soon as possible & wanted to show all of you how easy it is to make. All you need is some fabric, bias tape, and a pattern. For the 3/4 oval drops, I used Amy Butler's petal bag pattern and transferred it onto tissue paper. (I just love using patterns for other uses!) I also added about a centimeter so that after stitching, my finished piece was the actual size of the petal. But you could use medium size dishes or picture frames for your patterns. Just make sure to transfer them by tracing onto tissue paper first. For circle dishes, fold your pattern so that it creates a gar...