Love Is In The Air

I was crafting like a mo-fo on Sunday while Cory watched the Patriots game and my brother entertained the kids while simultaneously attempting to watch the game.

I focused on Valentine's Day, changing my mantle over.

I also made the sign below. Originally I was going to try and spray paint a cheap Ikea doormat but decided it probably wouldn't hold up to wet boots. So I went with this instead:

I think I'll hang it outside of my front door. If I made it again, I'd use felt letters and just pin those to the doormat/canvas. It makes me smile every time I read it.

And this marks the first time I've pinned any of my creations to Pinterest. I think it will be a good way to keep track of holiday decor because I feel like I reinvent the wheel each year.

Treat, Treat

I was looking through all of my photos on my phone and found this one that I never posted. During the holidays, I made these treat bags filled with cookies for Beatrice's teachers.


This simple tutorial shows you how to make your own treat bags. The tutorial is really well done. I think the handmade bag/box adds a personal touch to any gift. (Full disclosure: I watched the video 47 times because I kept getting hung up on one part. This should not deter you. I am braindead about 80% of my waking hours.)

Speaking of teachers' gift here are other cute ideas I found on Pinterest.

Bit By the Crafting Bug

All of these endless hours of perusing Pinterest have inspired me to actually 'do' stuff. I've had a Thanksgiving banner bookmarked for years so I finally scoured my craft area and found the materials. It makes me smile when I look out from the kitchen to the yard. I might leave it up year round. Its a good reminder! (I couldn't get a clear photo-- It says "Give Thanks.")

I made a wreath similar to this one. I didn't have burlap so I used some Ikea curtain remnants that I had laying around. I need to make a couple more rosettes and figure out how to hang it in a prettier way. It's a work in progress. (My pic sucks but I'm too lazy to take it with the good camera-- the iPhone camera will have to do.)

I found a way to organize all of my makeup. I must waste at least 3 precious minutes a day trying to find what I need in my makeup bag (when your whole beuty regime takes only 5 minutes, that's a lot of lost time.) I saw a good idea on pinterest to take an old cookie sheet, spray paint it, cover it in craft paper, hang on your wall, then add magnets to the backs of your makeup. Voila!

I want to make this wreath but they get you comin' and goin' for those styrofoam balls. They are $5/4 at the craft store. Any green/cheap ideas to replace the balls? I already have yarn from my knitting days (I need to get back on that.)

And finally, this one isn't really a craft, but more of a tip. I tried this pretty "sock" hairbun. It's a nice alternative to the messy knot I wear on my head most days. (Instructions here.)

What have you been craftin' up lately?

So Smaht

This is a magnetic strip on the inside of a medicine cabinet for bobby pins. Some people are geniuses.



(Found on Pineterest. That site is ridoncs. )

"These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things" Party

Ya'll know I love me a theme party. I can't get enough of the them. A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a "These Are a Few of Our Favorite Things" party. Each guest had to bring their favorite thing (under $5) to share with the other guests. There ended up being 9 of us which was a lovely number. We shared our favorite things with each other and ate and drank the night away. I am truly blessed with such a wonderful gaggle of women friends.

Here are some of the details. I kept the menu simple, just finger foods. I love a smorgasbord of eats rather than one big meal.

After we ate, we shared our favorite things. Some of my girls' favorite things have now become my favorite things!

There really is nothing better than an evening of laughing, drinking, and girl time! Host your own. It's a lot of fun!

Fine Dining

Last week we finally received our farm kitchen table. David Ellison of Lorimer Workshop built it for us. It was even more spectacular than I could have imagined!

I first heard of his work on Apartment Therapy. I quickly bookmarked the link, hoping to one day be able to fit such a table into my home.

David was a pleasure to work with. Everything he makes is custom and from reclaimed or salvaged wood. And for a small fee, he delivers and sets it up in your home. This was particularly important for us since we have an uneven brick floor in our dining area.

Below are some photos.

He sends photos of the stain. You can adjust it as you wish.

We had him engrave the underside of the table. I hope this becomes a family heirloom. I can just hear Beatrice and Theo 60 years from now:
"You have to take the table."
"No, you take it."
"What the hell am I gonna do with a 10 foot table."
"Fine, we'll sell it at the yard sale."

And here is the finished product.

If you want to see more of David, take a look at this Etsy video about his workshop: http://www.etsy.com/storque/handmade-life/process-farm-tables-with-david-ellison-7156/

This Week's Bounty

We came back from our weekend getaway to find our garden chock full of vegetables. We have tons of tomatoes, a bunch of eggplants (Italian, Chinese, white, and speckled), and more cucumbers than I ever care to eat. Come on by and help yourself to the bounty!

All this without the assistance of Miracle Grow

The Growing Season Begins

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides.

~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show

I should be pregnant every Spring. Things are moving quickly in these parts. Our procrastination level is at an all time low. No longer are we discussing projects for 3 weeks...'er 3 months... 'er 3 years before actually tackling them.

Yesterday we had some time to kill between our doctor's appointment and picking Beatrice up at day care so we stopped at our local nursery to pick up all of our plants for the garden. We are kind of cheating this year, growing mostly from plant. Last year's bounty was slightly disappointing (we'll blame the torrential downpours of June/July) and I know we'll have less time this year to tend to the garden, so we did everything we could to get off on the right foot.

When we got home, Cory tilled the plot and planted* the following:

• Grape tomatoes
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Summer Squash
• Buttercup Squash
• Kale
• Leaf Lettuce
• Thai Hot Peppers
• Snow Peas
• Eggplant
• Cucumbers
• Oregano
• Basil
• Horseradish

And oh ya, we also have one of those topsy turvy tomato plants. I'll keep you posted on how that works out... I have high hopes for it.

I am looking forward to being out in the garden this weekend. Speaking of this weekend, the weather can't look better for New England. I hope you all have wonderful, relaxing weekends. We'll be enjoying some day trips and every minute we can savor outdoors. And ice cream...lots of ice cream.

* I got to pull the pregnancy card on this task. Due to the growing belly condition, I can't really be near the chicken manure (even though it's organic, it's still feces.) I'll be on watering and weeding duty so it evens out.

Dance Like No One's Watching

Our talented artist friend, Jessica Dunegan, is starting a new series of hair swinging paintings. (Go take a look.) She's looking for photos of people rocking it out, so next time you're out shaking your moneymaker, snap a photo. And not to worry, the faces are always abstracted so the subject shall remain anonymous.

You can send photos to me and I'll forward them to her.

Re-Org

This is such a good way to organize the annoying cords that tangle up our lives.

(via Design Mom)

Why I'm Not Allowed to Craft Unsupervised

So the birthday banner was supposed to look like this:

And it did, after one very unsuccessful attempt:

Instead of cutting all the letters off the string, I should have just set up a row of mirrors.

I Do Things Like This In My Dream Life

Once I have that goddamn workshop in my house, I'll be making shit like this all the time.  Or maybe I'll just make things in my mind because the execution is never as good as the idea. And maybe when I have my workshop, it will come equipped with a resident carpenter/painter/crafter.

Nothing Says Christmas Like Guilded Butterflies

Thankfully, this was my year to decorate the Christmas tree. No colored lights or tacky ornaments this year, suckas. Cory was a total stick in the mud while I decorated, repeating over and over that I was "Ruining Christmas."

I believe I actually coined that phrase in reference to custody over the tree. It was our first Christmas in our new house and I cried that Cory would ruin our first Christmas here if he decorated the tree his way. I won that battle that year but thereafter the strict schedule was in place. I couldn't even pull the "You're ruining Beatrice's first Christmas with your tacky tree." My pleas fell on deaf ears.

I thought ahead at the end of last holiday season, knowing my year was next. I stocked up on decor like butterflies and blue ornaments and gold sprigs. Nothing says Christmas like guilded butterflies.

Advent-agous Link

Another super cute advent calendar idea.

Advent-ures in Crafting

Did you have advent calendars when you were a kid? I can only really remember having one. It was kind of a nightmare because my siblings and I fought the entire month about whose day it was to open the little door and get the nasty chocolate. I think that may have been our first and last foray into advent calendars.

I've always wanted to make one modeled after one I saw in a Pottery Barn catalog (it's not sold anymore.) A couple years ago, I found a little white shelf at a yard sale. I taped the photo from the PB catalog to the back so I'd remember why I bought the shelf in the first place. 3 years later, I finally got around to doing something with it. Unfortunately the shelf only contains 18 squares so I had to use the top too. Oh well, perfection is not always the name of the game.

I also saw this blog post and thought it was a great idea to treat an advent calendar as a holiday warm up. So I took some origami paper I had (points for using things on hand) and wrote 24 different tasks on it for cultivating the holiday spirit. I didn't have the patience to make little gift boxes, maybe next year. Also, since its a calendar (I should have numbered the holes- note for next year), you can use it to plan out your month. For instance I included:

• Design and send Christmas cards. (I always do this the first week in December.)
• Pick out the Christmas tree and decorate it. (We usually do this the first weekend in December.)
• Bake Christmas cookies. (I put that one in the day before the Cookie Party I go to every year.)
• Buy toys for tots . (These are due on Dec. 8th, so I put that for the Saturday before.)
• Play hooky and go to the movies. (Cory and I started this tradition a couple of years ago. We usually go at the beginning of the Christmas week. It's a nice break from the holiday madness.)
• Make gifts for neighbors and deliver. (I usually do this the day before Christmas Eve.)

Other ones are a little looser in terms of a time frame, so if you can't get to them that particular day/night, you could always just postpone it for a better time:

• Go see Christmas lights. (We've never really done this before. Well, I haven't as an adult or sober.)
• Empty piggy banks for Salvation Army kettles. (Beatrice is not going to like this one. She has recently become obsessed with putting coins into her piggy bank. She'll shake down anyone who comes into her bedroom by jangling the piggy and flashing her little doe-eyed smile.)
• Watch Christmas movies. (We've never done this before... what are some good holiday movies? )

I really like the idea of family traditions. I think this might be one we can keep up. And it should only get better as Beatrice gets older and more into it.

If you don't have a shelf, you could always just take strips of paper and make an advent 'chain.' You rip off each day and do the task.

What are some of your holiday traditions?

How to Blow Your 1 & 1/2 Year Old's Mind: Part 2

We've previously explored Beatrice's love affair with Arthur. Over the weekend, we were in Building 19 (maybe my favorite junk store on the planet, a close second to Ocean State Job Lot) and she was running around like a madwoman touching everything in sight. At one point, I spotted her struggling with one of the eye-level displays. I came beside her and knelt down, sensing she had found something that met her fancy. She was grabbing and struggling to pull out a poster buried behind some nondescript ones. She found these cardboard bulletin board characters:

Later that day, while she was napping, I busted out the hot glue gun, some cardboard, and put my sister to work.

Once we had all of the characters on their braces, we set them up in the living room. When Beatrice awoke from her nap, I told her there was a surprise for her in the living room.

She immediately ran from her room into the living room, marveling at her life-sized friends.

Then she quickly gathered them all up, handed them to my sister, and sat in front of her, waiting for Isabel to put on a puppet show. In the past couple of days, we have done a lot of Arthur and Friends role playing. She even got my neighbor, Bob, into it. He did an Emmy-award winning skit where Arthur swears off booze but Francine convinces him to get back on the party wagon. Classic.

Getting the Creative Juices Flowing

I had the pleasure of spending Saturday night at Jess and Alex's house. We all got together to work on a mural that Jess is making for Julian's room. It's a sea-inspired painting based on Charley Harper's art. Jess did the major parts and then we all filled in the detail. I can't remember the last time I painted. It was really enjoyable to do something creative. I wish I could spend every Saturday night this way.

Here's where we started:


Here's us hard at work:


Here's where we ended:


Closeup:


Jess still needs to add some detail and sprinkle it with her artsy fairy dust. I'll post a photo of it once it's up in Julian's room.

Garden of Eden

Last night was supposed to be the ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly formed Ashland Community Garden. It was cancelled due to inclement weather. No comment.

The Garden is just down the street from us so its really convenient. There are always characters there tending to their plots. Its a really nice initiative and I hope it succeeds. The garden got off to a late start this season so I planted the following from plant, not seed, in my plot:

• Finger Peppers
• Leeks
• Shallots
• Tomatoes
• Eggplant

Please pray that my plot isn't the weakest. I've been known to kill cacti.

Our home garden is in the ground already too. This year, I decided to step it up and not half ass it. And by 'step it up' I mean, ask people that know what they're doing how they do it. So I embarked on an intense emailing marathon with Jess's dad (don't be jealous that I was granted "Rob" privileges.) He's given me great trade secrets for our expanded garden this year.

This is what we planted from seed.

• Summer squash
• Cucumber (Armenian and Sugar Crunch)
• Green Beans (Italian and Roma)
• Snap Peas
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Lettuce (leaf and arugula)
• Cilantro *
• Chives *

* These crops didn't take this year. We'll try again next year.

This is what we planted from plants:

• Hot peppers
• Tomatoes (Vine and Cherry)
• Basil

So things are growing, albeit slow, despite the monsoons and soaking rain. The irony is not lost on me that the one year we decide to be all organized is the one year we get way too much rain and not enough sun. This time last year, we were already eating the bounties of our garden. Oh well, we'll wait and see what happens. At least we finally got our rain barrel so on the off days when we don't get rain and need to water the garden, we've been using the collected water.

In other signs of life, the blueberry bushes that were here when we moved in have sprouts that are starting to turn blue. Supposedly these do best when May and June are rainy, followed by lots of sun in July. We'll keep our fingers crossed.



The hydrangea monstrosity is in full bloom. Please come and cut some flowers. Give them to your mom, she'll love them.



Happy gardening!

Paint the Town Red

I just jumped on to Hip2Save and she's talking about this great Glidden free quart of paint giveaway. I just filled out my form and got my confirmation email that a quart of Bittersweet Chocolate paint is coming my way. I don't have a use for it yet but it will get me closer to my dream of having all of my walls in this house looking like peanut butter or chocolate. Heaven.
(**act fast as supplies are limited)

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

I've been bitten by the craft bug. For the past month or so I've been changing/adding/removing things around our house. I have a long post on that but I need to upload the photos so that's to come. I know... you're on the edge of your seats.

In the meantime, I've been bookmarking a bunch of other projects I've found online. I love when fellow bloggers post detailed instructions. It's so nice!

I am loving this cardigan/jacket I saw on orangebeautiful.com. Its a bit ambitious but I might give it a shot. This tutorial on mightygoods.com offered some additional great tips. I have lots of extra material from other projects that would work great for this. I think I even have some satin from my wedding train (I didn't use the detachable train.)

I also love these key holders on designsponge.com. We have these cute key holders but they're not very convenient for grabbing your keys on the run (you have to delicately turn them out of the openings).

Maybe I'll start a project this weekend. In my fantasy life I would retreat down to my workshop for hours on end. I could spend days without food or sleep in Martha Stewart's craft room.

P.S. Ever wonder what the hell once bitten twice shy even means? According to UsingEnglish.com: If somebody is said to be once bitten twice shy, it means that someone who has been hurt or who has had something go wrong will be far more careful the next time. Learn something new every day. Great White, you were wise beyond your years. Click here for the rest of the lyrics and the video.