Baby Gifts

This weekend we had a baby shower for my sister and her husband who are expecting a baby in May. We are very excited to add a tenth child on my side of the family.  My daughter is surrounded by cousins and we're thrilled that we'll have a new baby boy to add to the mix.

I wanted to make something for the baby.  The baby's room is gray so I created this sweet little elephant as a decoration for his room.

Here he is in the basket of goodies I had collected for the baby. I fell in love with this metal basket and decided to forgo a gift bag, instead creating a gift basket of baby goodies.

 My other sister and I planned the shower with some help from family and friends.  We wanted simple decorations that could be used after the shower to decorate the baby's room.  My sister sent me a pin and asked me if I could make this giraffe. I thought it was cute but knew I wanted to change a few things. Of course I could have purchased a pattern for the giraffe in the pin, but where is the fun in actually knowing how to make it?  :)  Call me crazy, but I think the fun is the challenge of figuring it out and creating your own. I decided I could do it, so I took some old newspaper and drew out a pattern then preceded to create this little guy.  I named him Stu, because by the time I finished him it was two in the morning and I kept saying "Stupid giraffe." My pattern worked out but the challenge was attaching his legs in a way that he could stand up on his own. I tore one leg off three times. To be honest I still think there must be a better way to attach the legs but I haven't done any research to figure it out. Of course I'm not sure I'll ever need to make another one. At this point Stu is purely for decorative purposes, as I'm sure he wouldn't stand up to a wild ride with a child on his back.

This is my brother-in -law and my sister with Stu.

Hurry Up Spring

The calendar says it's officially spring, I've seen robins in our yard and the snow is melting so I think spring might actually be here.  Looking at the the gazebo makes me long for warmer spring days.

 Our mulch beds need a bit of work but they hold the promise of new flowers this summer.

It was buried under thick snow all winter, but we can finally see the pool. We had snowflakes this morning then rain so the pool cover is finally clear of snow. Now we need some warmer weather so we can get outside.  We're ready to start going for walks in the neighborhood and enjoying our yard again.

The neighborhood kids want to be outside playing and riding their bikes or scooters too, so hurry up spring weather we're waiting for you!

Puffy Re-do

This pink blanket has been with my daughter since she was an infant.  It's a down blanket and it's name has always been Puffy. For her whole life Puffy, Blueberry and Pinky(the same bear as Blueberry only in pink) have been her three most precious possessions. Over the years Puffy has developed a few holes and required repairs. With frequent washing, wear and tear he needed repairs more often. Then about two years ago Puffy had a major feather explosion and was placed in a bag in the back of the closet until we could figure out what to do with him. He was replaced by a full size down comforter but was never forgotten.  For her birthday this winter I dug out Puffy and made a new covering to contain him and prevent future feather explosions. You would have thought I gave her the most amazing gift, she loved it.

Here's Puffy with his new blue cover. He looks a little different but she still loves him. He once again has a special place in her bed, though now she's taller and doesn't quite fit under him like she use to.

I found this is the picture in a pile of her drawings. She had drawn the new Puffy on a recent car trip when she took Puffy along to keep her warm. I guess ten years later Puffy is still one of her most precious possessions, even after his puffy re-do.

Birthday Surprises

I just celebrated my birthday.  I love that my birthday falls during school vacation week so I get to stay home and celebrate my birthday with my family.  We have a few birthday traditions at our house. For your birthday you get to have dinner at the restaurant of your choice and a homemade birthday dessert of your choosing. This year we had a girl's outing and got our hair curled up for our dinner out.  It was a lot of fun! Here I am with my new curls, wearing the necklace that my friend Michele sent me for my birthday. Michele was my first teaching assistant, over 18 years later and several moves around the country, we're still friends.  Thanks Michele, you always spoil me!

This is my requested birthday dessert. It's Ultimate Pretzel Crusted Peanut Butter Cookie Candy Brownie bars. You can find the recipe here. They were yummy. See the crocheted top in the picture? It was made by my friend Val.  She sent me a birthday surprise and included the top for my daughter. Val is amazing with a crochet hook! Well really she's amazing with all types of crafting! Pop by her blog to see some of her creations.

Look at my new red bag!  Val crocheted this cute bag just for me. She even made it in my favorite color; red.

The inside of the bag is lined with a sweet cherry fabric.  I just adore it!  Thank you Val!

 My friend Kerry also sent me a surprise birthday package. Kerry make these amazing freezer paper tote bags.  This one is a tree with an owl on it. I have this thing about trees, I like them and think they are amazing, they weather all kinds of things in the course of a year but still continue to grow it bloom. They are strong and resilient, this bag makes me think about that.

I have a bit of a zombie problem, I love them!  I'm slowly collecting handmade zombie dolls. Kerry made this amazing zombie doll for me. 

Her name is Zoey and she came in a handmade box wrapped up in cellophane with this little poem attached. She's made with paperclay and has a fabric body. It was like receiving a precious china doll, only it's even better it's a zombie! Kerry is an amazing crafter, check out Kerry's creations here.

Here's an updated photo of my zombie horde.  The horde is continuing to grow. Rumor has it there might be a zombie doll swap in the near future over at yarnigras swapper spot. If you're a zombie doll fan you might want to check it out.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I have some amazing friends!  They are kind, thoughtful and so amazingly talented!  Thank you ladies, your kindness and friendship means the world to me! Thank you for spoiling me on my birthday!

Needful Things Package

 I mailed off my Needful Things swap package this week.  I really enjoyed collecting and creating things for my partner. I'll share some pictures of what I made, after it arrives at it's destination.

When I pulled in my driveway this afternoon I found a package by my garage door.  Sarah K. sent me the perfect package; it was filled with all the things I need in my life.  When I opened the box, I discovered this art work.  One of her children drew it for me.  Look I'm wearing my red shoes! It made me smile:) So sweet!

Sarah wrapped and labeled all of the goodies so I had the fun of unwrapping everything.

 Look at all of the amazing goodies!  The Blue Fairy Book which I can't wait to read, a candle, pretty gloves, Sharpies:) crafty baubles and a cell phone zombie made out of felt.  Don't you love it!

And last but not least Sarah made me an amazing apron with red and white polka dots!  I was so excited!  This was an amazing package filled with all the things I love, thank you Sarah!  I love everything and feel so spoiled!  I hope my partner will enjoy her package as much as I enjoyed mine.

A Challenge

I love thrift stores!  The other day I stopped by Salvation Army on a whim. Anything with a white tag was half off. I was thrilled when I found this buffet and it had a white tag.  I knew it would fit in the back of the car so I practically skipped up to the counter to pay the $40. I brought it home thinking that once I refinished it I had three places in my house I could put a piece like this.  My husband gave me the "Are you serious?" look.  I explained how much I loved this piece, my plans to refinish it and the options for where we could put it. He still seemed skeptical about whether I could do it. I like a challenge so now I have to prove that I can do this. I don't like to lose and I plan on meeting this challenge. I know it won't be perfect because I have no real experience with refinishing furniture but I still think I can do it.

Armed with an orbital sander, I sanded down the outside and the drawers.  I still need to sand the inside and the trim at the bottom but I'm making progress. I made a huge dusty mess in the garage but it's way too cold to do this project outside.

Today I headed to my local Home Depot to get more sandpaper and to choose my stain.  I explained to the guy at the paint counter what I was trying to do.  When I showed him the picture of the buffet and explained my husband's challenge he laughed then walked me around the store gathering supplies.

I still have a lot of sanding to do but I've started this project and intend to finish it. I don't like to lose, plus I really love this piece of furniture. Hopefully I can refinish it on my own. Wish me luck!

Art for Homework

Let's face it homework isn't usually fun, it's work. This week's homework assignment included some drawing.  Now art for homework is fun, so I guess on occasion homework can be fun.  My daughter is reading the book Ida B at school. As part of their literature circles the students were asked to draw a character from the chapters they were reading. This is what she drew.  It's a girl in Ida's class who always wears a sparkly tee shirt, sparkly fingernails and sparkly barrettes. I love her style of drawing! She makes it look so easy and simple yet with just a few lines and colors it captivates my attention.

I created a little art for homework too.  I joined a preschool busy bag swap so I could get busy bags for my classroom. I wanted to create these felt button rings for my classroom and thought they'd be great for the swap.  I had to create 20 of the same busy bags to send. It took me forever to sew buttons on and reinforce the buttonholes, but I like the way they turned out. (By the way this picture shows only ten of the twenty chains.)

I wanted to include a second color activity in the busy bags so I drew these fish on my computer. I  laminated them, cut them out and attached a paperclip to the back of each fish. I made a magnetic wand using a jumbo craft stick and a magnet to create a color fishing game. Now that I made the 20 sets of both activities for the swap, I need to make a few sets for my classroom. Unfortunately I've been feeling a bit burnt out on fish and felt button chains so I haven't started the ones for my class yet.  My art homework was beginning to feel more like work. Hopefully next week while we're on vacation I'll be motivated to work on them again. I also need to work some more on my Needful Things swap package. I have lots of ideas and have been collecting things. I just need to get crafting and put it all together.