Poe Swap

I participated in Val's Edgar Allen Poe Altered Art Swap. I received my package from Little Messy Missy on Saturday but didn't open it until tonight. I was under the weather for a few days last week so I'm not finished my package to send out. I thought waiting to open the package would help me get my goodies done faster. It helped but one project took much longer than planned so I'm still not quite done. My husband and daughter just can't stand walking by the package knowing it's been left unopened! Tonight Nature Girl became the camera girl and snapped some pictures of the goodies Missy sent.

Inside the box was wrapped. Nature Girl claimed the sparkly white fabric right away.

Missy altered a cigar box to fit the story I picked, The Tell Tale Heart. Doesn't it look amazing?!

This is the picture Nature Girl took to show what was inside.

I took this picture to show what was inside. Missy also made some amazing tags and a Poe necklace complete with blood spatter. Poe does to have a bit of a gruesome side, perfect for Halloween.
Thank you Missy for an amazing package! You are great at altering art! I think I need to take a few lessons from you. Too bad you didn't live closer!

National Tie One On Day

I just saw this button on Karen's blog this morning and was curious. I had to check it out. I'm glad I did, I love this idea! The idea is to wrap a baked good in an apron, tuck in a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket and deliver it to someone in need. I know I have a few extra aprons I've sewn(yes, because I'm apron obsessed) so plan to try this. How fun is it to spread kindness and apron love?!!
I don't remember my mom or Gram wearing aprons to cook but Thanksgiving was always a time filled with family and fun! This Thanksgiving I'll be wearing my apron and hope someone else will be enjoying the apron I've wrapped up and sent their way. If you want to join the fun or read more about National Tie One On Day click on the badge or click here.

Tutorials

I'm a teacher so I love to teach. I also love to do crafts. What better way is there to combine these two loves than to write a craft tutorial. I created two simple tutorials to share. I'm not sure anyone else can use them but I thought I'd put them up them up anyway. You can click directly on the pictures here in this post to download the pdfs or click on the sidebar.


I have a couple of apron tutorials I'd like to do and another softie but I need time to make them again and take the pictures. I just need about 10 more hours in every day and then I might do all the things I want to do!!!
* Special thanks to Val and my husband for being my tutorial editors and my tech support. You two are great!

September Hail & Snow

It's only September so it seems way to early for hail or snow. Surprisingly a good thunderstorm rolled through last week and dumped a bunch of hail on us. We watched from the windows waiting for it to stop. When it finally ended Nature Girl headed outside to play with it. She thought it was great! Her dad and I worried about any dents it might have left in his car(though it was fine.)

Yesterday we made snow. The teacher I share a room with at school took a trip to Colorado this summer. Being the amazing teacher she is, she brought back polymer crystals that turn into snow when you add water. It's what many of the mountains use to create their snow. The first week back at school was brutal in our room as the temperatures were above 90. She pulled out the crystals and had her students making snow and practicing letter sounds, spelling and math in the snow. They had a blast! She was kind enough to share with Nature Girl.

We had a great time sitting at the table writing, drawing and touching the snow! This was one of Nature Girl's snow creations. The best part is it doesn't melt. We put it in a jar to use again.

Weekends

This is a bit of a long post as I'm jamming in the last few weeks into one post. Now that school is back in swing, things have been a little bit quiet on the blog. It's not that we haven't been doing things, it's finding the time to sit and post the things we're going. School/work takes up most of our time so we look forward to the weekends, it's our family time. The last few weekends have been filled with fun. Over Labor Day weekend we sent the weekend by the ocean. We walked on the beach, went swimming and relaxed the whole weekend. It was fabulous!
Nature Girl had a blast and loved having an indoor pool, an outdoor pool and a hot tub at her disposal. She thought we should trade houses with Steve and Carolyn who were kind enough to invite us to share their home for the weekend. Our house would fit in the indoor pool area of their house so when Nature Girl said "Wait, that's not fair." I thought she saw the obvious differences in our houses. Then she continued on with " It wouldn't be fair because they'd get all of my toys." I guess that shows what has the most value for her.

On the way home we stopped at my favorite hot dog place. I wanted one last hot dog special-all rings, before they close for the season. It was delicious! I thought it would be our last hog dog of the summer but then . . .
We were invited to a hot dog party last weekend. Well, I've never been to a hot dog party but it sounded fun to me! There were tons of hot dogs and topping choices to choose from. Being the teacher I am I brought along a story and coloring pages for the kids who might show up at the party. We had a good time! After the party Nature Girl had a sleep over with her cousins E & M, so we had a date night then a field trip the next day.

Can you tell where our field trip was? Opening day at Gillette Stadium - Patriot's vs. Bengals.

It was a great game and we had a lot of fun! The Pat's won and are off to a good start this season. We've never been to a game before. Half the fun was the people around us cheering and joking around. The season's ticket holders next to us we're hilarious! They've been going to games for the past 17 years.
Two rows ahead of us was the infamous Schuster. He was the Patriot's fan of the year in 1999 and is well known. I was surprised that he didn't show up until half way through the 3rd quarter of the opening game. That doesn't seem like a big fan to me. He had his face all painted and was decked out in his Pat's gear. Of course I tend to think it might have been the gear he was wearing when he won fan of the year in 1999.

So with all of these fun activities over the past few weekends you're probably wondering what this weekend holds. The answer is cleaning the house. I know that sounds boring to me too! At least I can wear an apron.

Creative Girl

So what does a creative girl make with some magnets and some rocks? Why a cat of course!

Feeling Giddy and Spoiled!

I got home after work to find a package waiting for me. I took my time putting away my school stuff. All the while Nature Girl was trying to be patient. Finally she couldn't contain the excitement any more and blurted out "Let's open your package." She climbed on the the counter and waited excitedly as we cut into the box. Of course we forgot the camera and had to go find it before she could look inside, but she waited patiently poised to grab up and claim anything that sparked her interest. I don't know about the rest of you mommy swappers but anything that comes in a box addressed to me doesn't necessarily belong to me by the time we're done. The loot usually gets divided up. Not to worry Kerry sent the most amazing package with more than enough goodies for everyone!

Not only are the goodies amazing, Kerry wrapped and packaged everything so nicely. It made it even more fun to open it all! She even packaged up some goodies for Nature Girl, who was thrilled and says "Thanks!" Kerry sent buttons, a bookmark, the AIW story, tea, the sweetest little tea strainer shaped like a teapot, a Cheshire cat full of M&Ms, a necklace and the most amazing crocheted teapot. Not to mention that this is an apron swap so she sent an incredible apron too!

Kerry made this incredible Mad Hatter apron for me. I love how she stitched little details on the picture. I just love embroidered and stitched items! This apron has stitching, polka dots, great embellishments, long ties and it's reversible. All things I love, so I haven't taken it off yet!

Speaking of love. This is Nature Girl pulling out the Cheshire cat saying "Oh my Cheshire cat!" The little girl is cute but that's just thievery. I can't blame her as she does love her cats! However, I quickly stole it back as I adore it and she already has a lot of cats. Plus it's my package, right?!

This is me saying "LOVE IT!!!!!!!!" And I do! Thanks for such an amazing package Kerry! You Rock!!!!

St. Nikolaus Swap

I joined the St. Nikolaus Swap. You have until the end of November to create and mail a package with goodies to fill your partner's boot in time for St. Nikolaus Day. Sign ups are open just until September 15th. You can check here for here or more information or to sign up.

Back to the Future Aprons

I arrived home from school today to find a package with my name on it. Inside I found this Back to the Future themed apron and goodies. Cynthia included school supplies for me, which are already packed to take to my classroom tomorrow.

She also made a matching pouch with the lotion and lip balm inside. Thank you Cynthia!

I made this poodle skirt for my partner. It arrived at it's destination but I forgot to put my e-mail and blog address in the package so I'm not sure if she liked it.

These are the goodies I sent. The apron and a necklace to wear while vacuuming represent the 50's, the cd with hits of the 80's and a key catcher and purse holder to represent the 21st century. I had fun with this swap!

Now I'm waiting for my Alice in Wonderland apron to arrive at it's destination. I had the worse time creating an apron for that swap. Ask Val I had several e-mail freak outs while trying to create something, but that's a story for another day!

And the Winners Are . . .

We were off vacationing by the ocean this weekend so I'm a little late posting the winners of the poodle apron giveaway. That's right I say winners because Nature Girl pulled both Christy and Madelyn. Madelyn wins the poodle skirt apron and I have another special goody for Christy. I'll get the prizes mailed out this week.

Art and Love

Sometimes art and love go hand in hand. Nature Girl loves her stuffed animals. As an only child they are often her playmates and friends. She's never been one to dress and diaper dolls but her stuffed animals have all seen a lot of love! When we went on our Disney cruise her grandmother took her to the Disney shop on board and let her pick out anything she wanted. She chose this Webkin armadillo that she named Dilly. Dilly has travel with us this summer and has been on many adventures both real and those imagined by Nature Girl as she plays. She loves him so much that she drew this picture of him. You know he's loved when he starts showing up in her artwork. She accidentally ripped the page after it was drawn so part of his tail is missing but I still thought this picture was so cute! It makes me smile.

Then again what's there not to love about a rainbow armadillo?