My perfect wallet, finally!

Mini Accordian Purse (Chestnuts in Deepwater)
Originally uploaded by Winniel & The Laughing House

How cute are these? I have been looking through etsy for awhile for a replacement wallet. It is hard to find a small wallet with a zipper. There are tons that just fold and snap but I need a place for my change. These popped up on my flickr page from one of my contacts winniel. I already have one of her organizers and her work is amazing. Yea, off to shop.

Should I be scared?

What a nice surprise to wake up this morning and find out my spider crayons have been featured on neatostuff. I admit I have not been spending a lot of time on my etsy shop lately. My free time has been focused on gardening, sewing and cooking but these crayons keep pulling me back in. I have even thought about closing it down for a short time or listing items like my little skirts and bibs. Yet my trickle of sales keeps me going. I feel so honored when people notice and include me on their blogs or inquire about wholesale pricing. Am I afraid of success or just getting ready to move in a new direction? I guess only time will tell.

A visit with friends

A short trip to visit old friends (and by old I mean from college). Notice that none of us are in the pictures. Kids are just more fun to photograph. They had a blast!

I cannot think of anything that that lifts my spirits more than spending time with my good friends from college. We are spread out across the country but groups of us manage to get together once or twice a year. There have been so many new babies that it hard for everyone to make it but they are there in spirit.

I love that my kids have so much fun playing with all my friend's children. The hard part is saying goodbye at the end of a very long fun weekend.

Thank you all so much... for everything.

Etsy Kids BOGO Sale

I joined the EtsyKids Team several weeks ago and have decided to participate in the Buy One Get One sale this weekend. I think I will offer most of my non crayon items like this paint-a-heart pendant.

I love idea of wearing some jewelry your kids have created that is not made from pasta or pipe cleaners. Erin painted me a really sweet heart in yellow with purple dots. I love it. I'll post a picture of it when I get a change. Her skills have really developed this year and I'd love to see what she'd create now. I painted the red heart below. Pretty boring compared to hers. If you'd like your own heart to paint click here.

Handmade Matching Jumpers

This is what fall looks like in Arizona. Halloween is next week and the temperatures are still in the 90's. I know I have mentioned this before, but I am SO ready for the cooler weather. I cannot make soups yet so I have spent my evenings at the sewing machine. I started these little jumpers last week and finished the hem on Erin's dress this morning. They both wanted to wear their new clothes to school so although I didn't plan it my girls left the house in handmade matching jumpers. I'm sorry if you look back and say "Why did mom do that to us?". It wasn't entirely my idea (you did look cute though).

An outfit would not be complete without pink crocks. Plus the girls have requested that I add pockets. I really don't want to put one more thing to my unfinished pile but I have some brown corduroy that would be great for pockets. We'll see if I get to it or just move on.

Why wait to be Thankful?

I love reading blogs, especially ones that inspire me. Recently I was introduced to two that have touched me deeply and encouraged me to express my gratitude. Many are of you are familiar with the NieNieDialogues and Matt Logelin, but if you are not please take some time to read about these two incredible families. Their tragedies have forced me to look more closely at my own life and determine what are my priorities and where I should focus my time.
Let me start with my husband. My high school sweetheart and the one who understands me best. He is never surprised to come home and find me cooking a Turkey on a Wednesday in October (see picture above) or melting crayons into spiders on a Friday evening. He thinks I should spend less time on the computer and more time enjoying coffee on the front porch with him. He is right.
Ava. Watching her grow is like looking back at myself in a mirror thirty years ago. She thinks exactly how I do. I can see those creative wheels turning and when she has something in her mind she will not stop until she has created it just how she envisioned it. Yesterday it was a bird made from a leaf, paper and some tape (there is never enough tape in this house). She is always happy, thoughtful and everyones friend. Don't get me started on how smart she is.
Erin, my little snuggler. She makes me laugh everyday. She is so sure of herself at three that it makes my job as a parent some days a little difficult. She knows exactly what she wants and has the vocabulary to let you know it. There is no place she would rather be than curled up in my lap and holding her 'Old Monkey'. I may not always be in the cuddling mood but I need to hold on to every moment with her because these days will be gone before I know it.

I love my family. I am very happy and blessed. I have a lot to be thankful for and I don't need to wait until Thanksgiving to celebrate it.

I really did make a turkey last week so if you have any recipies for leftovers I'd love to see them.

The Garden Grows

My husband was looking for a weekend project and I could not be more excited about what he brought home, plants, plants, plants. In addition to the tomatoes, basil and lettuce we planted a few weeks ago we are now growing strawberries, rosemary, oregano, dill, parsley, broccoli, spinach, mint, sweet peas and more tomatoes.
What was once used to give our dogs a bath now holds our spinach, broccoli and sweet peas. I can't wait to get cook'n. Do you have any favorite recipes I should try?

Muffin Tin Meals - Halloween Challange

Thanks to Picky Palate for the great inspiration for our muffin tin meal for Sycamore Stirrings Halloween challenge. The mummy dogs were a big hit. We also tried her idea for monster mouths, yum. I added a few fun foods of my own that included bugs, pumpkins and monster claws.

Mummy dogs (hot dogs with pizza dough and mustard eyes)
Monster mouths (apples, peanut butter and mini marshmallows)
Bugs (raisins and sunflower seeds)
Pumpkins (cheese slices)
Monster claws (apple slices)

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Friday was a field trip to the pumpkin patch. This small organic farm, about an hour drive, had lots to see. I'm not sure what the kids enjoyed more the pumpkins or the bugs. There was a lesson about bees which I know the parents found very interesting. We learned that there are over 5000 different kinds of bees on this farm (25,000 varieties in the world). The Bee Lady (what I called her) demonstrated why beehives have 6 sides. An area with six sides can hold the most volume and fits together efficiently. Circles can hold more (ie. canned foods) but there are spaces between them when they are stacked together. Bees can start making a hive from two opposite sides and they will meet perfectly in the middle. There, the end of my bee lesson. Here are some more pictures from the day.

Practically Free Halloween Decorations

Time to decorate the house. I can't say that I have a lot of Halloween decorations so the first place I looked was the floor in the girls bedroom and the craft closet.This spooky tree was made from some toys around the house. I took the green leaves off and added spiderwebs, an owl, some mice, a bat, a black cat and of course spiders. The girls and I made these ghosts out of glue the other day. I simply spread out some wax paper and broke out the bottles of glue. All three of us sat there watching the glue run down as we shaped them into ghosts. We let them dry over night and flipped them the next morning. They started to curl around the edges so I place a book on top and let them sit a few more hours. We finished them of with Sharpie eyes and mouth.
This is Zero from Nightmare Before Christmas for my Ava. They look great in the window and are much more translucent in person. Not bad for practically free.

Covered Box Tutorial

The other day as I cleaned off my workspace I was looking for a place to keep my little paper journals. Inspired by so many blogs out there like this one , the first place I headed was my recycle bin. A cardboard soda box sat on top, perfect.

First I cut off one end then headed to my paper stash. Any paper will do but I like this origami paper because there are a variety of patterns and the colors coordinate. I simple measured by holding the paper against one side and making a crease. I cut along the crease then added glue. The glue stick was within the closed reach and it comes out nice and smooth but I assume anything sticky will work.
I didn't measure the ends I just folded and overlapped the papers to get a patchwork feel.

Works great, looks great and didn't cost me a dime.

Re-Inspired

Well I have the week off for fall break and a list of things to do that keeps getting longer. Where do I start? My craft room. Here is a picture of my inspiration board 'before'.

And now 'after'.

I decided those trees needed to be part of my daily inspiration along with a newly arranged board. Here I have clipping of children's clothes, semi-finished projects, Appleton crewel wool samples, a stuffed kangaroo I made for myself, a few pictures and best of all kid art. Now that my space is cleaned up I can start my list of projects to create.

MAKE YOUR OWN swiffer duster instructions

MAKE YOUR OWN swiffer duster instructions
Originally uploaded by merwing✿little dear

I found this pattern on flickr. Perfect timing too because my girls are getting very excited about helping me clean. There is a swiffer floor mop picture too. I'm loving these new green groups, fun and functional.

Halloween Crayons

I am so excited to be on break from school. One of many projects I have in store is to make lots and lots of Halloween crayons. These will be given to my children's classmates, the kids at my school, families of the Ronald MacDonald House and the NICU where my daughter spent two months when she was born.

I am really excited to share these with the preschool students I work with. They have been very into spiders after we sang Ralph's World's version of the Itsy Bitsy Spider. I will make them their own spider to take home and a classroom set. Fun stuff

I've been "Boo"ed

I got "Boo"ed at work this week. I found a fun surprise in my mailbox from an anonymous "Boo"er, a basket filled with candy and school stuff. The directions were left to "Boo" someone else in the next 48 hours. I really wish I had a few more days to create something really cool but this is what I came up with in hour 45. (Yes, I was one of those to do homework at the last minute) This "Boo" banner was inspired by my family banner I made last week. They are so much fun I want to add more. In fact I think these deserve a flickr group - homemade decorations from items on hand, or something like that. I had the paper, yarn, spider rings (I cut the band off) and magnets. I'd love to see what you come up with.
Here are the contents of the final gift. Now I just need a basket to put them in. I love working in such a fun place. Teacher are the best!

Fall Paper Trees

I was inspired to day by fall garland from The Toby Show to hang my paper trees. I bought these a few weeks ago from psitsinthedetails on Etsy. I am crazy about their colors and shape. I'd love trees like this for every season. Although it is still in the 90s here in Arizona I'm doing my best to get into the fall state of mind.

Tech Frustrations

I am excited to find out that one of our favorite kids band is coming to town, Ralph's World. I have tried and tried to add a video or picture but have given up. I decided to call it a night due to my limited skills and slow computer. I hope to figure this out in the near future. In the meantime here is a YouTube link to one of my favorite songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_BG_8Wjo88

Feel free to leave a comment if you know how I can add the video directly.

Bulk Food Newbie

I have a confession, I feed my kids boxed macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. I'm not proud of it but there are some nights I just cannot a) do the dinner thing b) force them to eat salmon and boc choi. We all pick our battles and food is just not something I choose to fight about. I make a healthy dinner for my husband and I encourage my kids to try it but generally don't make an issue of it. My hope is that they learn by example to make healthy choices on their own without feeling like they were bribed into it. Well, that is my current strategy but I'm realizing it is going to take more than that. Don't get me wrong, they eat a lot of fruit plus a handful of veggies, but I know we have a long way to go.
To start with I need to shop better, enter the bulk food isle. I've been down there before to get chocolate covered pretzels but this week I decided to do some serious shopping. What did I find? Food I normally buy just not heavily packaged. These included raisins, oatmeal, rice and cookies (fig bars) plus some chicken broth powder I plan to add to my rice water. My first baby step into major food overhaul. Now I have to find out how to store all these goodies.
Any tips?

Health Kick

I've been looking for pictures of myself to send in to go in with my book interview. It seems I'm always the one behind the camera. There may be a reason for that, lack of sleep, limited exercise and poor meal planning. The photos I do have I'm not sure I'd like published in a book. More than anything it has been a really great motivation to get healthy again.

A few months ago I started walking with friends during lunch and recently I've been doing 30 minutes of yoga before bed. It's just a start, but I may need to get in more than my occasional jog around the neighborhood to see noticeable result. The nice thing is I do feel better and my family is interested in joining in as well. I'll keep you updated with my progress.

I found Ava and her animals practicing yoga one day. Too cute.

A weekend in Mexico

Friends of ours invited us to Mexico with them for the weekend. We have been to the beaches in San Diego but this secluded beach was a completely different experience. We were the only ones on the beach and the girls were able to take in the beauty of the water and sand without stepping over crowds of people. Erin collected shells like it was an Easter egg hunt. She had her bucket full before we were half way to the water. Ava and her dad studied the tide pools and all the fun creatures the waves bring in. We got our feet wet but ended up doing most of our swimming at the pool. It is October after all. The food, company and relaxing to the sound of the water topped off the perfect weekend.

Their giggles stop me from whatever I am doing just to listen and take it in. The most beautiful sound I've ever heard.
We kept a journal of the weekend. Mostly as entertainment for the car but it will be a nice record for them to look back on. I have noticed I am spelling many more words these days.