Spring Cleaning

Well, like my sister wrote on Facebook, "Even if there were 30 hours in a day I would need 38!" (Thanks Rachel) I always seem to be behind on one thing or another. Two of my girls have been gone for a week visiting friends and family so I took the last few days to finally do some serious spring cleaning. You know, shampooing carpets, washing beadspreads, that kind of thing. The bad news is that means I haven't created anything new to show you. The good news is the house will be so clean when the kids go back to school next week I will have time to make some things then. In the meantime, I will be headed to the crop tomorrow night over at A Scrapper and Stampers Delight with my friends Stacy and Michelle. Hopefully we will do some fun things and get some pictures up soon. Michelle is a photographer, so the pics should be far better than my own. A clean house is nice, but not very creative. Remember "Dull women have immaculate houses." (Thanks Harvey, not sure where you found that but I always remember seeing it on your fridge.)

Pretty hair

Back to school means new clothes. For most kids that means jeans and fashionable tops, fun shoes, and great accessories. For my kids that means uniforms and plain colored shoes that match, no crazy socks and minimal "appropriate" jewelry. The one area they haven't taken away yet though is hair clips and headbands. My youngest daughter starts kindergarten this year, a stepping stone, mile stone, whatever you want to call it. I call it freedom with just a little bit of sadness thrown in that she will never be "all mine" again. But she is still little enough to appreciate cute little hair clips, so I made her these to start her first year of full time school with some fun.

Congratulations Emily, you're a big girl and you are sure to have pretty hair for school.

Life is like a cobweb.....

I have been organizing my work area these last couple days. It caused me to question this morning before going downstairs to finish up, what exactly is organization? I ask this because as I realize my "system" makes total sense to me it looks random and confusing to most others. I need to see things. I prefer open shelves to closed cabinets and clear containers to ceramic canisters. I suddenly realized this as I was moving things I didn't really want to put away. One of my daughters is the same. She would prefer everything she owns spread on her bedroom floor to a neat closet and shelves which needless to say gives us, her parents, fits. But as I endeavor to create a space that works for me I think I understand her a little better. How can you design if you can't see? How can you create if you don't visualize the elements available for your design? As I finish up my area, I hope that this experience will help me understand my own process better and maybe, just maybe, I can learn to cut Tessa some slack. I like the way it was stated here...

Life is like a cobweb, not an organization chart.  --Ross Perot

Aria goes to the park

This morning we took our dog Aria to the park. There are dog parks here in Boise, but honestly none of them seem really nice. So, we took her to the fields near our home on a Sunday to let her off leash, the day least likely to get a ticket. She has a yard at home, but it's not nearly big enough for her to get up a lot of speed and let me tell you this dog likes to run. What fun she will be in the snow this year now that she will be old enough to learn to pull a sled! Here she is, full speed ahead...

Aria running at the park

Beach Memories

After a visit to my Mom and Dad's house, the kids always have lots of fun memories of the beach. However, the photos have never been very good or the weather hasn't cooperated or any number of other reasons not to scrapbook it have occurred. This time, the planets aligned and we had great weather, low tides and the pictures turned out great. Here is the book I created for the girls beach memories...

A middle page with sand dollars and Abby holding a crab.

All three girls on the left and the legend of the sand dollar on the right.

The Aftermath...

Well what a wonderful 4th of July it was. The weather in Washington was uncharacteristically beautiful, the kids got to spend a lot of time with grandma and grandpa and auntie and cousins too and Emily had a great 5th birthday. Thanks to aunt Rachel we saw a big fireworks display with "front row seats" on the infield of the racetrack and she even helped me win some money on a race! (O.K. 6 bucks but I'd never been to a horse race before!) I got to see old friends and have a great birthday myself too.

A big, fun part of a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's is always the beach. This time for the first time ever we dug a geoduck. Mom made wonderful chowder that even my pickiest child ate and of course I saved the giant shell for a craft project...a trip to Washington always gives me so many new ideas. I hope I can squeeze some time in to get started on some of them soon. In the mean time, here we are "digging the duck".

"What are they looking at?!?"

"Oh, a Geoduck"

4th of July Preview 2!

Today was the last day of VBS and therefore a celebration picnic. What fun Emily had eating a family lunch on the grass then playing in the water with her friends. She was a very tired girl when we got home so content to watch some Scooby Doo while I finished up page 1 of the July album...here it is.

Inside cover and first page

the "firecrackers" taken out of the pocket...all the kids that will be celebrating with us!

Sneak Peak

Well, the girls made it to and from VBS in one piece, the workout was torturous, the grocery shopping is done and the house relatively clean, so, as promised a peak at the cover of my 4th of July book.

Front Cover

Spine

 More to come soon.....

Busy Times

Well clearly I've been busy since I haven't talked to you in a while. I am working, be sure of that! Coming soon, a 4th of July album that I think is one of my best projects to date. I am excited to share it with you and if I can't finish it soon might just have to post a sneak peak. The girls are at Vacation Bible School this week, and although I am normally there with them helping out, I decided this year was a "mental health" retreat for mom. Lots of changes are coming for us and I need some time to get my routine in order, or, to be more blunt, my S*#t together! So, here's to a productive day from church to the gym to the grocery store and back and if I find time between that and cleaning the house and cooking meals, maybe, just maybe, a sneak peak of 4th of July.

Family Heirlooms

Well this may or may not qualify as an actual "heirloom", but this is the toy box my grandpa built for me when I was about 2 years old. It was built from raw wood and flat upholstery, completely from scratch and clearly built with love and to last. In the following photo it's about 36 years old. It's age is showing (just like this blogger sometimes) so I decided to refurbish it for use in my home.

"Before" my childhood toy box

So this was a momentous occasion for me. I am so sentimental I cringe at the idea of altering anything made by my Grandpa, but the interior hinges were broken years ago, and I couldn't leave it with torn upholstery to continue its demise.

"During" as I got brave and started to disassemble

Finally I chose some new fabric that matches the area I intend to use it and begun to put it back together. It was here that I realized how much love must have gone into this piece. Some people would have used a staple gun, or a few small screws; not my grandpa. He hand hammered every tack that held this box together, so I did too. Here is my finished refurb.

 

"After"

Thank you Grandpa! for teaching me that anything worth doing is worth doing well. I love you.

Bragging Rights

Today was the last day of school for my girls which means an awards assembly and the start of summer. Since summer seems bound and determined to come late this year...really? rain? still?...I figured I'd finish some projects and start some new ones. My very bright daughters won the "Principals Award" (Abby) and the "Hitting the Target" award (Tessa) and now for the drum-roll, Abby got all A's! I am so proud. I will need to get photos printed so I can scrapbook the awards, but until then I finished the presentation for Tessa's science fair medal.

Had to take this at a bit of an angle to avoid reflection off the glass.

Here's to hoping the "sun will come out tomorrow".

Fun Afternoon

What a lucky mom I am to have such good friends with children who are my kids' best friends too! This afternoon my youngest daughter had a play date with her friend Faith so I got to have a "play date" too with Faith's mommy. We both love to scrapbook and I have been wanting to do something with a cute picture I have of my oldest daughter in her favorite shoes. Here it is.

Crop Night

Last night I went to the crop at my favorite local scrap booking store A Scrappers and Stampers Delight. I was with one of my best friends and our daughters, so I wasn't as productive as I could have been, but we sure had a good time. As the end of the school year approaches it is so nice to slow down a bit and catch up on what we've missed while busy with all our girls' activities. Speaking of those activities, here is one layout I completed last night from Abby's season of lacrosse.

This next design is just a simple one page, but I loved these photos my husband took of our youngest. These were taken at the park where the lacrosse tournament took place and were completely "on the fly" so to speak, but I think she looks beautiful.

I hope everyone has a beautiful Memorial Day, let's hope for some more sun!

The Dress

For those who have talked to me lately, you know about "the dress" I have been working on...here it is!

Not the best photo, but the best I could do without a model.

Trophies are nice...but...

I have three daughters, all involved in sports. Roughly two sports seasons a year each (minimum) and a trophy at the end of each season times however many years they choose to play, that's about 35,462 trophies that need to find a place in my home and then be dusted! Well, maybe not that many but you get my point. So a couple seasons ago some moms got together and decided that instead of a trophy, the girls should get something useful at the end of the season. During basketball they got t-shirts and now for lacrosse....drum-roll please...they are getting these nifty little bags for their cleats! I made these from lacrosse fabric and personalized them with each players name. Then, I lined them with vinyl so the girls can throw their nasty cleats in them after the game and keep our cars and floors clean. All they have to do is shake the dirt out of them on occasion and if they get really nasty machine wash and hang to dry. Viola!

Cricut Fun Part 2

Here is my first layout using designs cut on my new Cricut Imagine. As you can tell, I am a little behind since I am scrapbooking Thanksgiving photos in May, but as anyone with children knows there just aren't enough hours in the day for all the "want to do's" after we have finished all the "have to do's"

I love my silly Aunt, she makes family gatherings lighthearted no matter what!

Cricut Fun

I did it. I made the jump from a Cricut Expression to the new Imagine. In honor of my "new toy" I thought I'd post some pictures of layouts using the old machine and then later what I've done with the new one. These photos are from our family camping trip to Yellowstone in July 2010.

In the above layout the letters for "mud" and the journaling tags on both pages were cut using the "Printing 101" cartridge.

In the layout below all the words are from "Printing 101" and the trees were all cut and layered using the "Cricut Sampler" cartridge.

I hope to do some new stuff on the new machine this weekend, but the weather is so nice I just might have to get my garden finished. I'll see what the weekend holds and keep you "posted".

Card Day

In more ways than one! I received beautiful cards from my girls (and Hubby) for mothers day. The most precious gift is a handmade card from a pre-schooler and a bouquet of dandelions. I also made cards today. The unfortunate part is that a dear friend lost his father so they were sympathy cards. The silver lining is that I enjoy card making, so I had a nice mothers day of crafting. Here is what I came up with.

The symbol in the middle means "love"

A blessed Mothers Day to all my "mommy friends" out there.

Science Fair

Just as my older daughter won a medal at the Science Olympiad competition in April, my middle daughter won last night at the school Science fair! Tessa and her research partner and "BFF" Angeline won 2nd place for their experiment with plants, determining which light sources would provide the best growth. I was immediately asked if I would display her medal the same way I did Abby's. Here is a photo of the girls at the fair. Pictures of the shadow box will follow after I decide on a design.

Science Project, Angeline and Tessa...Study Partners and BFF's!

Locks of Love

Today my oldest daughter Abby got her hair cut to donate to Locks of Love, an organization that creates hair pieces for children who have lost their hair to cancer or other medical treatments. Here are the pictures of her cute new do!

Before...

During (thank you Dena!)

After!

Finished Wall Art

I finally have a finished project in my home! Since moving into this new house (over a year ago) I have been struggling with how to decorate. After much window shopping and planning, I decided that purchased art just wasn't what I wanted. I would find a piece here and there that I liked, but nothing that really "went together" so I decided to make it myself. The first installment was the "Home for a Bird" today I am proud to post the second piece, "Song Bird" as well as the clock that inspired this art.

"Song Bird"

Here are a couple of close ups to show the techniques I used.

 

 

 

 

 

"Home for a Bird" and "Song Bird" with the clock that inspired me.

As I experienced the process of making these pieces, I created not only the art, but quite a mess as well. Because of that I leave you today with the following quote...
"It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance, and I know of no substitute for the force and beauty of its process." Henry James

Field Trip Day

Today was field trip day for the 4th graders. Being the "good" mom I'd like to think I am I chaperoned the trip to the Old Penitentiary. A lot of history was discussed, interesting facts learned and a good time was had by all, especially the parents and teacher when we got to "lock down" the class!

A home for the bird

Last weekend I created a bird. As you may recall, he needed a home. I have been working on that home for the week and finally finished it today. Here is part one of what will eventually be a two piece mixed media collage set.

And here are some close ups...

 The nest is made of wool, hemp and raffia fibers felted together with the addition of some twigs from my yard. The bark is from the white birch also in my yard. I dyed the lace with alcohol ink and stitched the paper pleats on my sewing machine.





                      


                      




Here you can see the details on the envelope, beads on a copper wire. The flowers are also dyed with alcohol ink and the poem (by Percy Bysshe Shelley) is printed on velum.

Today...

Well, today was as beautiful as Wednesday was rainy. Inspired by the sudden burst of spring air I took the following pictures of our peach tree in full bloom. Look closely at the photo on the right and you will see a bee that Emily (or "Emmy" of Emmy and Ed) insisted I get a photo of.

look for bee here!

And here are the photos of the team blanket that I promised, no worse for the wear after a washing.

Oh, did I mention it's reversible?

Ahhhhh, Spring Sports...

Alas, the season of indoor sports has come to an end. Basketball is over and we are enjoying the days of lacrosse. The good news is Abby's team won yesterdays game. The bad news is in typical spring fashion, it poured down rain. I made a team blanket to combat the spring chill and had hoped to share it with you today after it's debut last night. Unfortunately due to the rain that will have to be postponed, Ahhhh, the joys of spring. Photos will be forthcoming as soon as the mud comes out in the wash!

Hurray it's doggy bath day!

So why in my right mind would I be excited to give my dog a bath you ask? Especially since we are talking over 100 pounds of Malamute. Well, when my beloved Emma passed away (she was my last Malamute) I had a strange request for the vet taking care of her remains. I asked that she be shaved before cremation so I could have her fur washed and spun and knit into a keepsake so I would always have her with me. Well, it's been over a year and I still have a big bag of dog fur, but I have since taken up needle felting. I figured the other day that if you can felt wool, you can probably felt dog hair. After all, I knew someone who used dog hair in weaving and other projects when I was a kid. So, I brushed my doggy and tried it out and guess what? I was right! now I still haven't been brave enough to use the hair from my beloved Emma, but check out the flowers I made from the hair I tested and dyed last week!

Here's the catch, there is some dog hair in here, but also some wool. I bet you can't tell which is which. (ok the purple one and the green leaves are the dog hair) but did I fool you?

Here's to art!