A Sprinkle

If you have ever attended church ANYWHERE that they give showers, then you know there are different camps regarding the number of baby showers to which a mother is entitled. Keeping in mind that I am not Catholic, nor do I live near or know the Duggers, I fall into THIS CAMP. Thank you, Mary Englebreit.

This woman deserves a party.

I’m not saying that you need to go overboard every time. . .but who DOESN’T appreciate a cake and a stash of diapers and wipes tucked away somewhere.

So, my friend Cheryl and I took the leap into the pool of baby showers where we go to church and made a splash. Hopefully we didn’t get anyone sopping wet. . .especially since we decided we were having a “sprinkle” rather than a “shower.”

I made invitations to pass out (rather than having it published in the order of worship or the like), and we held it at a “non-scriptural” location (a house rather than the fellowship hall) at a “non-scriptural” time (Saturday morning from 10:30-11:30 rather than a Sunday afternoon before evening service) so as to lessen the soaking of our splash. I say all of this tongue in cheek, of course. I respect everyone’s views–and understand reasons for the many camps, but I am of the opinion that a baby is a time to celebrate!

The idea to call it a sprinkle was not mine. . .I stole it from the internet–along with this poem that I tweaked somewhat to fit our occasion.

Babies bring sweetness & laughter galore,
So, Synda & Stephanie are each having one more.
Ayla and Josh have plenty to share.
This is only a “sprinkle” to show that we care.
Bring a tub of wipes & diapers–any size,
Then we’ll help them stock up on baby supplies.

We had two mommies due at similar times–both having a second baby that was the same sex as the first, so diapers and wipes were REALLY appreciated.

Cheryl graciously offered her home along with beverages and nuts, so I made cake and cupcakes and brought the paper goods.

The little onesie picks are from scrapbook paper that I cut out and glued back to back on a toothpick.
The words on the cake were also made out of scrapbook paper. . .I just blew up some really fat font, traced and cut. . .to match the napkins that were left over from ANOTHER shower.

And inside–enough colors to cover either gender AND thrill three year old Ayla who was in attendance. Josh didn’t come, but I sent some home for him.

My friend’s husband was a naysayer declaring that there was NO WAY we would be able to have a shower in an hour. But we didn’t HAVE a shower. We had a sprinkle. And the last car pulled out of the driveway at 11:35 (ONLY because they had been standing outside talking) followed by me at 11:45. I was home and back in my jammies by 12:15.

There was a nice turn-out, and the mommies were THRILLED with their diapering supplies. One baby arrived on Tuesday of this week, and the other is scheduled to make an appearance anytime now.

Create or Die

I have told you of my quirks before. . .remember the whole even vs. odd number thing???? So–this is not a quirk–this is a NECESSITY. Sometimes I have to do something creative. . .something pretty. . .something whimsical or I feel like I will shrivel up and die. Literally. Either that or really injure someone.

So. Today was one of those days as writing about library trends (though helping me to attain my masters) is not what I consider “creative.” Or pretty. After school, I betook myself to Hobby Lobby and there I found (DRUM ROLL PLEASE). . .

INSPIRATION for the Mother & Daughter Luncheon. If you are in the habit of being invited, you are invited again this year. We are decorating with blue and white (pink flowers) in an Anthropologie eclectic style, using my blue and white dishes and gee-gaws, borrowing a lovely cloth pennant banner from my friend Daphne, even kicking around the possibility of having it in the clearing.

ANYWAY. I found THESE PLATES on the CLEARANCE aisle. I love these plates. I love that they were on CLEARANCE. I love that they have birds on them. And Robin’s egg blue eggs. And SCRIPTURE. And MOST of all I love that when I described them to Victoria over the phone (since she is now old enough to have SEVERAL OPINIONS), her exact words–SIGHT UNSEEN–were, “Oh, Mommy!!! I LOVE THEM ALREADY!!!!”

I will pair them with some blue and white napkins I found at IKEA several years ago–like five or more–and look it. CUTENESS. (We also have some blue and white bandana napkins from Target last year that will work their way in as well.)

We have chosen the font and the quote for the invitation. See?

Who knew Robin Williams would say ANYTHING appropriate to put on a girly luncheon invitation? Will wonders never cease?

THEN–in the midst of finding out that one of my professors had given me a zero for an assignment I turned in. . .and having to take it up with her via e-mail. . .and folding laundry. . .and sniffing VEHEMENTLY with my fourth cold of the school year???? I thought of a cupcake decor idea!!!! Oh yes, indeedy, I did. And I told Victoria–and she bounced around–but THAT will be a surprise for later.

This is what I LOVE doing. . .this makes me HAPPY. This does not CAUSE stress–it ALLEVIATES stress. Stress is caused by all of the OTHER things I have to do–like work on something other than lovely, creative things. (Click on photos to see BIG.)

More Fun with Paper and Dollar Store Stuff

So. I LOVE to create something pretty. In fact, it is not just a LOVE of mine but a NEED–like breathing deeply. Too long without some creativity and I begin to twitch and sway like a caged parrot. I like to take little bits of nothing and turn them into something. I like to MAKE THINGS–and my media choices can vary from paper to fabric to crayons to words.

This particular year (and when I say “this year” I MEAN “this (school) year”–raised by a school teacher, became a school teacher, married a school teacher, summer is on its own time continuum separate and apart from regular time–just sayin’) has been one that stole my milk money, then ate my lunch, then kicked me in the teeth and rubbed my nose in the dirt while my lip bled and my stomach growled. And it WHISTLED a happy tune while doing it. There may have also been some salt thrown in the wound, but I was unconscious by that time so I don’t remember. It wasn’t all school. . .it was LOTS ‘O THINGS. . .a mountain of things that had been collecting and fell atop me, but they fell within the parameters of this (school) year.

Therefore, I have hit the ground running–both to make the most of this particular span of time AND to get as far away from this past (school) year as possible. Thus, all of the cutting and pasting and painting and papering and CREATING and such. I am going to cut and paste my way to a happy, fulfilling summer. I have sharp, little scissors, and I’m not afraid to use them. Just watch me!!!!

Yesterday:

Round bulletin board--dollar store

Regular spray paint

Magical Plastic Fusion spray paint

Some regular spray paint. Some super huge intials cut from scrapbook paper. Some empty space on the wall by the kitchen.

VOILA! One for each child to tack things upon. I might be able to see my fridge again.

Dollar store frame. . .AGAIN. And it's WOOD. Evidently no one else sees the potential of these.

An exacto knife with which to cut, a glue stick and some scrapbook paper with which to hide my lousy cutting of the matte, a nice font on the computer, and a pleasantly surprised yoga instructor this afternoon. Hi, Donna!

I have some other ideas for this frame as a gift and plans to make another run to the dollar store for more.

But this is my favorite so far. . .because it’s just so ME. . .and it involved LOTS of cutting and MUCHO pasting. Yet ANOTHER dollar store frame–it is also PLASTIC and was sort of a gold/silvery/bronzish antiqued thing. MORE Magical Plastic Fusion paint (in white) and hey Presto, a girly frame. The cutouts were from a package of scrapbooking paper I got at Target in their dollar bin. One page in particular, had several of the flowers and the larger bird in the corner. . .so I have been snipping and cutting, and tonight I have this one done. I will do at least one more heavy on the butterflies. Couldn’t quite get the color right as I took the photo at night, so I give you one with flash, and one without.

Without flash: For the craft room. This makes me HAPPY!!!!

With flash: The actual color lands somewhere in the middle of the two.

Snip, snip.

‘Cause I can

I am STILL embracing my natural schedule. . .which included an afternoon nap, and will include me going to bed here in a minute, but first a project. A CREATIVE project. And it may not be your cup ‘o tea, but I am just thrilled.

Dollar store frames: $4
Can of Krylon Fusion paint: $4
Scrapbooking paper at Hobby Lobby: $2
Embracing my creative side: Priceless

For the wall in the guest half bath. There are three Texans in this household. I gave birth to two.

(This is almost exactly the color they are. . .the frame on the one below leans a little too much toward orange.)

And a nod to my own home state. Tony\'s mom is from Louisiana too, and also married a Texan. And ALSO gave birth to THREE Houstonians.

Yes. The man may love the Grand and Glorious Empire as Texas was, after all, a country once. But when it came time to find a wife, he looked east across the Sabine River and chose one from a place just as infamous and distinguished if not as large. Plus he’s an Eagle Scout, so he cannot begrudge me the fleur de lis.

Inaugural Art

I splurged last week and, for the first time in my life, bought the ENTIRE BOX OF 120 Crayola colors for The Girl and Me. We’ve got the classics, the new colors, the American colors, the flourescent colors. . .colors of the world, from endangered animals (Manatee) to the Tropical Rainforest to Purple Mountain Majesties. NO LIE.

When you open the box, it appears that you have been given two boxes of 48 and one of 24–alas–they are different colors. The very FIRST thing that Victoria and I did (as I knew we would) was to put them into color families, then organize them in rainbow order. She and I BOTH prefer it that way, and it’s part of the fun–for us. You can go throwing your crayons all willy-nilly into an old coffee can if you so choose. We like ours GROUPED.

(By way of digression, Tony’s family DID keep theirs in an old coffee can, and he has a distinct memory of coloring a yellow chick. However, the yellow crayon had gotten a little too cozy with a red, thereby leaving a red smudge on the pristine yellow of the little chick. Tony cares not about rainbow order or grouped crayons, but even at the tender age of 5 or 6, he cared VERY MUCH for the order of logic. It was not logical for a buttery yellow chick to have a red smudge for no apparent reason, so he drew a pool of blood underneath it. My husband does not hunt–he fishes–he goes crabbing–but he has never killed a living thing that bleeds actual blood. But morbid or no, logic must prevail. The chick bled. Logic. The Boy we brought into this world HATES to color. HATES. TO. COLOR.)

Anyway, The Girl and I, we anticipated. We planned. We waited for the official beginning of summer. I found some Very Special coloring pages, and today was The Day.

Today, we colored, the girl and me. We colored these cute, little houses, then we colored Barbie on a bike. I actually HAD a Barbie bicycle–like FOR Barbie.

Anyway. We colored today.

Twice.

I highly recommend it.

Victoria’s interpretation of Barbie on a bike.

And mine–obviously influenced by my childhood toy.

The Need to Create

There are times I just HAVE to make something. . .it’s a physical, emotional need. My friend wrote this GREAT post about just that thing. . .and I love it. Go read it. It’s creativity at its finest. (By the way–the photo of the heart–she MADE that. . .she made one for me that is in my craft room. . .creative.)

Cute Stuff

I didn’t make this, but I TOTALLY plan on making one like it very soon. While looking around tonight I found THIS blog. Go. There. Very. Cute.

I’m back in the craft room pulling everything out of the closet (and that’s A LOT) so I can actually get things where they belong so I can actually use the place. . .anyway. . .in honor of craftiness (the good kind), take a look at these precious ideas (seen above) from a crafty, crafty gal.

Cute, easy frame (scroll down towards the bottom of the post to see the frame and technique, although all her little fabricy things are precious too)

And another. . .

Easy applique. . .and if you frame it, there’s no sewing needed

To see more of her adorable designs, go to her Flickr account. She has got some seriously cute things.

And she uses fabric designed by this gal in this studio. . .
Isn’t this GORGEOUS????

Here is a great, little page that has a ton of free templates. You can make matchboxes or playing card sized boxes, or cake piece boxes in whatever paper or card stock you like. Cool.

***LOVE THIS***

Go and see it. . .
here.

All Manner of Turkey Cuteness

So a couple of years ago I tore out a place card idea from a Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Victoria saw it last year and wanted to make the craft, but we didn’t have enough time. Today, however, we went to work and just look at the All the Cuteness. . .

You can find the “How To” here. Martha’s colors are a little more “sophisticated”, but Victoria did the choosing and wanted HAPPY turkeys. We got our cardstock at Hobby Lobby, then ran next door to Wal Mart for cheap yarn. The tan is sort of a mottled khaki and brown.

We did the yellow and brown, then the red and brown, but Thad wanted all three, so he did his that way, and Victoria and I both agree that the color combo is the cutest as it draws out the colors of the cardstock.

The only thing we did differently from Martha was to add a clothes pin on the back rather than the paper circle on the bottom. (And buy our yarn at Wal Mart rather than raising the sheep, sheering the wool, carding and spinning it, then dying it with plant dyes that we made from vegetables grown in our organic garden that we fertilize with the sheeps’ manure before finally serving the mutton and vegetables on the same table as the placecards that they helped to make.) That way it will TRULY stand on its own and can be reused next year if we so choose. We also used hot glue to adhere the paper turkey body and the clothes pin.

Victoria thought the turkeys needed a snack. We bought the bread at Wal Mart too.

Whimsy

Would you like to see something that is just way cool? This is mainly way cool because it’s my house and my family and our chickens and our rabbit. . .thankfully Stephanie left out the snakes, tarantula, Australian White’s tree frog, and crickets (did I leave anything out?) My “art friend”, Stephanie, painted/collaged/concocted this for me, and I

LoVe , *L*O*V*E*, LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUV it!!!!

I imposed on her talents several years ago when I asked her to do a portait of our newly built home. She has apologized over and over for not getting this done sooner. . .I say it was worth the wait. I entitled this “Whimsy”. . .but “Serendipity” sums it up as well since her creativity and deftness of skill composed something that was totally and unexpectedly delightful. I would continue to gush, but am afraid that my computer might go on the fritz. . .

I now have three originals from this lovely artist. . .and each one is dear to me–as is she.