Tending the Eclectic Kinder-Garden

That’s been my mantra today.

When I woke up wanting chicken corn chowder for breakfast, I told myself “just go for it.”  The soup was delicious.

After I finished breakfast, I got the urge to clean the whole house and start laundry, at which point my inner voice replied again with “just go for it.”

My inner dialogue for the remainder of the day:

Let’s check through two hundred blog posts…go for it.

Let’s put on Christmas music and make a Christmas banner…go for it.

Okie dokie, laundry time again…wet clothes into the dryer, and then get back upstairs for more craft inspiration…go for it.

How about a wreath?  A Halloween wreath for the living room?  Go for it.

Ah, pizza rolls for lunch.  I’m feeling like putting together the pennants for multiple Christmas banners.  Heat up the oven and go for it.

I like go for it days.  Go for it days where no one is around to tell me NOT TO.

It was a quiet Saturday, nothing but the sound of the blade slicing through the pretty papers, and me muttering not-so-kindergarten-teacherish words under my breath each time I accidentally burned myself with the hot glue:

Now I have both “inspiration” binders finished, full of seasonal/holiday decorating and craft ideas, as well as the regular home decorating inspirations that help me figure out furniture placement and storage solutions each time we move to a new home, new floorplan, and new traffic pattern. The third binder is extra, just for me, though I have no idea what I’ll be saving in it just yet.  Something about the binders matching/coordinating makes me smile.  I’m also assured that their flowery femininity will guarantee that NO ONE will mess with them “on accident.”

The packers arrive next Tuesday, which means tomorrow and Monday will be spent working through the to-do list:
* baking “thank you” and “we’ll miss you” cookies and goodies for friends and neighbors
* cleaning all of my copper decor
* laundering all of the linens, spare blankets, sheets, etc. so they’re clean and closet-ready when we open the boxes in Kansas
* packing our travel suitcases, preparing car activities and snacks for the kids
* getting BOTH trucks back from the repair shops (oh yes, Dear Husband’s truck decided to have brake problems this morning)
* making sure all of our legal documents and necessary paperwork are in our family binder, ready to travel with us
* buying our travel stash of diapers, snacks, toiletries
* loading the iPod up with drivable and motivating music
* making sure the cat carrier is clean and ready for Anni
* TRYING to work ahead, posting blogs in the queue so you all don’t think I’ve abandoned Kindergarten’s 3 R’s while our household goods (and my computer) are in transit
* finding one small craft that I can bring with me to help me wind down each evening in the hotel while the kids take their baths (I’m thinking crocheting)

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~ Country French Antiques continues on with the flower theme (I mean really, did you take a good look at my binders?  I seem to have absorbed a bit too much floral/romantic inspiration  lately), sharing photos from Shoe-Fleur

~ I might just have to subscribe to small, after this Frida-inspired photo shoot (oh yes, more flowers!)…it’s an ONLINE magazine!  Thanks to AllSorts for the link!

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With a name like Rosy Posy Confections, how could I *not* include this blog on my post today?

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I hope you are having a FABULOUS weekend!

Tags: binder

I started this day waking up from a somewhat trippy dream. One fragmented scene I remember had me attending the Olympics with my daughter, watching Olympic mascot characters (in this case, bunnies and kitties) lined up next to one another falling down, “wave” style. That was the whole opening ceremony. While attempting to find seats in the crowded bleachers, we looked up to see an avalanche of weather, rain, snow, lightning…rolling toward the unsuspecting people in the venue…and no, it wasn’t a wave of weather, it was somehow an avalanche, falling as it rolled, racing…maybe it didn’t want to miss the bunnies and kitties.

Can’t forget the children with blue hair wearing clothes that looked as if they had been sewn from picnic table covers.

Hair like this, only BLUE (thanks Joan):

Something tells me that the package of hot dogs I prepared last night for dinner occupied our freezer a tad bit too long… who knew freezerburn was hallucinogenic?

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108 degree weather kept us indoors most of the day, though we did venture out to the PX to join my godmother for lunch:

Once we returned home, I re-acclimated to the much cooler temperature of our home and made a ton of progress on the scarf I started yesterday:

It will be finished later this evening, just in time to be put away with our winter gear, ready for the movers to come and pack away next week.

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*You can’t beat a cold treat on a scorchingly HOT day like today. Our freezer is full of Otter Pops, but Haute*Nature shares a link to some nummy sounding popsicle recipes…

*There’s no way I’m turning on the stove today, tomorrow…possibly the next day either… but once the temperature cools down, and we’re settled into our new home, I just might celebrate my return to baking with Smitten Kitchen’s Pistachio Petit-Four Cake…

*My daughter wants to save some of our moving boxes to try her hand at making cardboard food art! Perhaps I can use a few of her creations to inspire my students to make something other than robots in my Creative Construction Zone.

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Interestingly enough, these guys never gave me nightmares. Yep-yep-yep-yep, it *had* to have been the hotdogs.

I’ve spent my stay-at-home-mommy-year blogging, crafting, reading, crocheting, baking, and reading some more, discovering fun new things to try, and searching out necessary materials and supplies at craft stores, yard sales, etc. Yesterday I thought I’d sort through all of the pretty ribbons I had found or bought this year so I could show and share them for my usual Thursday post.

I underestimated the widespread appeal of the ribbon however. I also underestimated my toddler’s determination to satiate his interest in “helping Mommy” with the ribbons. And I committed the ultimate faux pas: I turned my back on the toddler while he was in my crafting area. With…the…ribbon. ALL…of…the…ribbon.

Did I get a photo of the resulting tangled-ribbon-noodle-like-mess on my floor? Uh, no~I couldn’t take a picture because I was too busy putting myself in a much-needed Time Out. Just superimpose ribbons over the toys in this bedroom shot in your mind to get a feel for the mess I enabled the boy to create:

While I was rolling my ribbon back onto their spools, a miracle occurred! I got an email from Michael’s Craft Store with a fifty-percent-off coupon in it. I took a break from the grosgrain and satin, and searched the store online when lo and behold, a link for Martha Stewart Crafts took me to a page featuring ribbon storage boxes. Michael’s and Martha~ how did they know?

Here’s the midpoint:

(Did you notice there’s no sign of the toddler? I learned my lesson, and had Sister take him out to play in the water while I rolled, sorted, and organized!)

Muuuuuuucccccchhhhhhhhhhhh better:

Earthy browns, blacks, and black/white:

Golds, cream, white, and an extra roll of patriotic red/white/blue:

Purples, greens, yellow and orange:

Blues…

Solid pinks:

Patterned pinks and reds:

And look! With the lids closed, you can still see a little peek of what’s inside. Once we’re in our new home and my craft area is established, little tails of ribbon will stick out of the slots… just so my toddler can yank on them and unspool them onto the floor…AGAIN!

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*Don’t forget, Sunday is Father’s Day!

*The Pioneer Woman Cooks Cowboy Nachos

*GoodyBlog posted about Velcro’s Birthday (and shared a photo of a much-desired-by-me Velcro WALL…here toddler-toddler-toddler, here toddler-toddler-toddler)

*And how about a blog written by a dad? Perfect for this Father’s Day weekend!
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Tags: crafts, humor, links, toddler

Father’s Day is this weekend, and the kids have had fun making some artwork for Daddy! All they needed was cardstock, paint (washable, of course!) wet wipes, paper towels, and their hands and feet!

We’ll add this poem to one of Daddy’s cards, or print it up in a cute font and frame it next to a photo of the kids:

Footprints

“Walk a little slower daddy,” said a child so small. “I’m following in your
footsteps and I don’t want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they’re hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I’m all grown up,
You’re what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who’ll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.

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I cut out the hand/foot prints, chose some fabric (tan), and let the kids choose some ribbon to coordinate with the paint colors:

Added some glitter stickers (silver since we chose a black frame):

Added “Happy Father’s Day” and “2008″ in glitter stickers and adhesive-backed blue felt:

…and framed it all for Daddy’s new office:

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I’ll be spending this afternoon figuring out how to load photos onto a digital photo frame for Grandpa’s Father’s Day gift, wish me luck!

It was Shannon’s birthday last week! I promised to share what we’d sent once she let us know she’d received her package…after all, I didn’t want to post photos and let the cat, or in this case, DOG out of the bag, ruining her surprise!

We picked out doggy material for her *extensive* fabric collection (and because it was so darn cute~Shannon will think of a wonderful craft for it) and found some coordinating ribbon:

Then I spelled out Angel Kisses with Scrabble Tiles, adhered them to painted tile trays, and added pretty buttons in Shannon-ey colors:

And of course, I made her a birthday card!

White cardstock, folded not quite in full thirds:

A sunny paper for the inside and outside:

A coordinating paper for the “underfold” front of the card, with extra pieces cut out to make a coordinating gift tag:

Some pretty adhesive-backed paper lace (this is some of my FAVORITE STUFF!):

Coordinating chipboard letters spelling “friend” (I made sure the “E” wasn’t glued all the way down, otherwise the card wouldn’t have opened!

Smaller ivory letters to spell “Dear” (Shannon is a dear friend, after all!) and to spell her name on the gift tag:

“Happy Birthday” for the inside of the card, on pretty paper, with foo-foo trims punched out, and corners rounded…I added lime green brads to the corners as well:

How the card looked open, from the back:

…and the front!

Talk about FUN!~

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~I’ve never been a fan of apricots, but Smitten Kitchen is tempting me to give them another try with Breakfast Apricot Crisp…

~My daughter, who puts Ranch dressing on just about everything (okay, except pancakes), will have to keep a copy of this recipe from A Pioneer Woman Cooks in her “My Parents are Kicking Me Out of the House” cookbook when she leaves for college in five years.

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Check back tomorrow when I post photos of our toddler making Daddy’s Father’s Day card… it involves PAINT!

Tags: crafts, friends, links

Do you remember the red glitter from yesterday?

I have been looking forward to learning how to make banners for several months now, inspired by lovelies I’ve found on other blogs. Dear Daughter’s transition from junior high to high school seemed like just the right opportunity to try a new-to-me-craft idea, so I collected the materials, using mostly her favorite color, purple. I thought red glitter would be a nice contrast!

I spelled out “high school girl” in plain chipboard letters, glued, and glittered them…

Measured my 12X12 paper, marking 3, 6, and 9 inches to draw lines for triangles…

Look at these pretty purple floral pennants!

I glued the floral triangles to solid purple cardstock and trimmed with pinking shears…

Punched out squares

and hearts…

Added the glittery letters

and then used hot glue to mount the pennants on purple ribbon…

The very best thing? She LOVES it!

Next time I’ll use smaller triangles, and larger letters, but for my first effort, I’m pretty pleased!

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We’ll see what red inspiration I’ll find for tomorrow, the last day of

Tags: crafts, I Saw Red

I see red every day in my computer/craft nook, in the form of Russian lacquer, Vera Bradley table decor, and this, my red mock-odile accordion file:

Inside are all sorts of stickers, decorative papers and other scrapbooking embellishments, sorted after G.G. sent the case to me for Christmas. Yes, I’m one of those odd birds who LIKES organizing things. A place for everything, and everything in its place.

(Could be!)

Hobby Lobby is where I’ve seen similar cases (in powder pink, and mini-accordion files, no less!) lately… now that I think of it, H.L. also sells mock-odile hat boxes too!

**If you like the place mats, they’re Vera Bradley Americana.**

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Not only was I inspired to post about my red case, but the card-making bug bit me as well! With Father’s Day right around the corner, it seems appropriate:

More tools and doo-dads (psst…I was also inspired to make a birthday card and goodies for Shannon too! Those will be in tomorrow’s post!)…

White cardstock, green speckled paper, and family photos for the front…

photo corners…

some of my favorite letter tiles…

a complimentary green checked patterned paper on the inside…

Ta da! (I folded the cardstock ALMOST in half, leaving enough overhang for a fold to which the “Father’s Day” tiles were glued.)

Dad’s card is taken care of…what to make for Dear Husband?

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*GoodyBlog has come through, yet again, with an awesome Father’s Day gift idea! Make Your Own Cool Music Video for Dad!

*If Dad loves to camp but this summer’s gas prices have put a kabosh on those plans, why not make him a S’Mores Pie? Thanks to Smitten Kitchen!

*The Pioneer Woman Cooks a rather manly sounding side dish, Crash Hot Potatoes…

*Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen delivers for the morning crew…If Dad is the coffee shop type, why not make some Orange Scones with Rhubarb and Cherries?

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Still reading, Shannon? I told you, NOT UNTIL TOMORROW!

Happy Almost Birthday, dear friend!

Tags: crafts, I Saw Red, links

It’s been busy around here! The daily blog has been put on the back burner for a bit- have you missed me?

I’ve managed to get caught up on reading and thought I’d share some links with you:

Recipes:

Penne Rigate with Spinach and Garlic Cream Sauce from Posy Gets Cozy

Pistachio and Lemon Bites shared by Cream Puffs in Venice

The Pioneer Woman Cooks Pots de Creme

Gruyère-Stuffed Crusty Loaves from Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen

Photography:

Di at Designer’s Block shares Fairy Tale photography by Eugenio Recuenco

Terry photo-documents the importance of first impressions at Bent Objects

I may just have to learn Photoshop now! PhotoJojo has provided a link for Mac keyboard “skins” (covers) that show keyboard shortcuts to make things easier…

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Thanks to coupons at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and Joann’s, I’ve made some affordable and oh-what-a-treat purchases this week to see me through the rest of the summer and into the beginning of the school year. I found Amy Karol’s (find her at Angry Chicken) “Bend-the-Rules Sewing” book…aprons, coasters, purses, and lap quilts, here I come!

I also picked up Therese Laskey’s “Softies” so I can make some cool characters for my toddler and my students (I love the robot and ice cream sandwich!)…

Some edge punches by Martha:

And a much-needed desk caddy (on a lazy Susan):

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I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend as much as we did!

Tags: books, crafts, links

Don’t worry Mom, it’s just that twenty-plus year old jewelry elastic gives up the ghost, in this case, after nineteen years.

It’s mastodon ivory. Pretty, earthy, Eskimo stuff. Look at this sad face:

Time for new stretchy stuff:

Threading clear elastic through hand-drilled holes isn’t easy…

but with patience, I managed.

Finally, wearable again!

It’s good to know that there are simple and relatively quick fixes for my favorite jewelry!

(I purchased the elastic at Michael’s)

Tags: crafts, Eskimo