Crafty Freaks

I'm a craft freak and I know it!  If you love to craft and are looking for a project to expand your creativity or give yourself the permission to craft for the love of it, check out this post over at Little Minx. Little Minx is hosting the Crafty Freaks project. The idea is to create, try something new and experiment to your crafty heart's content. It's a chance to create a new project every two weeks then share what you've accomplished(or even share an epic fail.) After all, sometimes I learn the most about crafting when I make mistake. I know that I may not be able to create something new every two weeks, especially when the school year starts again, but I'm going to try to create as often as I can. This summer, my crafting partner and I are planning to try some new projects.

 In fact we just made these cute little unicorn horn headbands from felt.  We made these for our first summer craft project using a tutorial and pattern that we found over at Tikkido. The girls wanted to add ears to theirs.I love how they turned out!

A Girl on the Run

With the chaos at the end of the school year, I neglected to post pictures of a big accomplishment. My girl was part of Girls on The Run this year. She spent the spring training for a 5K.

Here she is with her buddy getting ready for the race.

 This was taken right before the finish line.

It was a very hot afternoon but she did it, she completed her first 5K and earned a medal for her efforts. We are so proud of her!

Wool, Doodles and a Gift

I've already started creating this summer.  One of the things I love about summertime is that I have lots of time to craft and create. My first project this summer was to create a birthday gift for my friend Kerry. Kerry has a soft spot for elephants so I couldn't resist making one from recycled wool.  I created this little elephant using this pattern I found on Pinterest.  He was hand stitched with love.

I also zentangled a mini bird house and a photo box to serve as a gift box. The gnomes are little pot hangers. I couldn't resist them, they are so cute. Kerry has a little fairy garden so I knew she could use a few gnomes to decorate it.

After shipping Kerry's elephant I decided to try making another one. I wanted it to be smaller and to have it's trunk up.  I drew a new pattern to create a little elephant. This was the final result; I think he's very cute. Since I regularly craft in jags I have a hankering to make a few more wool softies. Maybe I'll even make a whole herd of wool elephants. Of course what will I do with them all, my bookshelves are quickly filling with little wool creations.

It's Summer Vacation

It's finally summer vacation!  We've made our summer fun lists and we've begun our summer activities. Swimming was on both of our summer fun lists, so we've been out enjoying the pool.

Even Chunk likes to head out to the pool with us.  He can't swim and with that sweet pushed in face and black fur he doesn't do well poolside. He likes to sit under our lounge chairs in the cool, wet shade. We periodically have to trick him into going into the house to cool down but he's like a little kid, he doesn't want to miss out on the fun. I guess he has fomo(fear of missing out.) He just wants to hang out with us, even if the sun and heat are killing him.

The summer bugs have taken their toll on poor Chunky too.  He ended up wearing the cone of shame a few weeks back because of an allergic reaction to bug bites on his face. When he got his cone it just begged to be decorated, so the girl armed herself with Sharpies and set to work to decorate the cone of shame. Between the bugs and allergies the poor little guy has been a mess.  He's taking dog benedryl daily but his face gets swollen and itchy.  The bug bites healed but now he has a new batch, we may have to pull out the cone again. Poor Chunk so far he's not having much summer fun.

End of the School Year

It's the end of the school year which means it's almost time for summer fun. Of course, before summer can begin I have a long list of things to finish at school. Preschool graduation prep was one thing on that list. We've been busy preparing for our preschool graduation celebration over the last few weeks. We've been practicing our songs, making props, signing diplomas, setting up the classroom and preparing for the big day.

After all of our preparations the day finally arrived; today was our big celebration. Isn't this bulletin board awesome?! It was the background behind the kids for our graduation performance. I just love it!!! If I haven't mentioned it before I am very fortunate to have three of the best paraprofessionals ever in my classroom. They are amazing! They each pitched in to help with all of the graduation prep. Chrisann really outdid herself on this bulletin board! We might have to do this every year from now on.

Zentangle Box

I haven't zentangled much in the last six months.  I used to tangle a lot but I tend to craft in jags and I've been sewing more in the past few months. Well it seems I may have entered into a zentangle jag.  I drew on a red tin can for the last swap I did. It inspired me to try zentangling on a different kind of box.  I used a photo box that I purchased on sale at my local craft store.

This is the sage green photo box I started started with. It's plain and boring, not much of a gift box.

With just a black sharpie, some time and positive thoughts I created a decorated gift box for a co-worker who is in need of some positive thoughts and a cheer up. As I drew, I thought about all the worries my co-worker has been facing and tried to pour positive thoughts into each stroke.

I placed my gift inside the box then tied it up with some black elephant ribbon. I dropped it off on her desk before school and left for my workshop. I wasn't at school when she found it, but she sent me a text to say she loved the surprise gift.  I'm thrilled that she liked it. Sometimes you just need a little pick me up; it helps to know other people are thinking of you and sending good thoughts your way.

New Zombie Dolls

I participated in the Zombies in the Nursery swap over a Yarnigras Swapper Spot. My amazing package arrived on Friday. Chris from A Little Creation spoiled me and sent not one but two zombies!  First she altered a doll to create a Jack and Jill zombie. Well really, Jack didn't make it down the hill, so it's just Jill. I think she ate his brains. Chris also included crafty baubles for mommy & daughter crafting, a book with a handmade bookmark, a mini notebook and a few preschool themed goodies for my preschoolers. Chris also works with preschoolers for a living.

 Chris was even kind enough to send doggie treats for Chunky and this amazing Rainbow Dodo bird for my daughter.  She loves it!!!!  My daughter and Chunky send their thanks to you Chris!

And if that wasn't already way more than enough, Chris created the most amazing Humpty Dumpty zombie for me. I am totally in L-O-V-E with him! He is amazing! Look at the little card Chris included. . . it reads "Dawn of the Humpty." He's already on the shelf with my zombie horde.

Thank you Chris!!!! You really spoiled us!