The Bunny, the Bunny, Oh! I Love the Bunny....

Before I show you how adventurous this bunny is, I thought I'd show you how much of a fan my daughter is. This photo (below) was taken during the week that the bunny was face- and tail-less. She didn't seem to mind.

Then I finished the tail and face, and went outside to take pictures. That bunny sprang to life! Scrambled up the tree in my front yard, quick as a ... well, as a bunny!

See, there's that cute little tail, attached to a patchwork of some Terrain charms (if you like designer fabrics, J's got an amazing selection at http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheIntrepidThread - check it out!]

The question is, is this a girl bunny or a boy bunny? And what shall I call it?

Strike a pose, bunny!

Don't Worry, Bee Happy!!!

Some of you know that a while back I won a giveaway from Patty at Say it with Thread (http://www.sayitwiththread.blogspot.com) - a gorgeous Moda Jelly Roll! I am not a fan of yellow (really!), but this yellow was begging me to create! So I made my own version of a "scrappy bee" that I saw on Happy Together's blog (www.happytogethercreates.com) - without her pattern. (But let me tell you, Jessica's got some great patterns & stuff in her shop -check it out!)

I'm finding out something about myself. I like figuring things out. I hate patterns. I want to make my creations (music, dolls, food, etc.) my own way. I just do. I'll say it's because I like all of my creations to be original and unique, but I have a feeling it has more to do with not being able to sew in straight lines, or cut or measure properly (I stink at math).

What's that other thing with the blue smiley face flowers, you ask? Well, that is an unfinished stuffie that I'll post more about when it's finished - poor thing doesn't have a tail or a face yet!

I love this happy little face!!!

Flowerpot People

I love craft blogs. Seriously, I could look at stuff other people make for hours. And Etsy - if it were a magazine I'd subscribe. That being said, I have subscribed to waaaaaay too many crafty blogs this year. I took a break from the craftiness for a weekend. Four days, actually. And what did I come back to? 362 blog posts unread (thank you, Google Reader, for counting them for me). After taking the past few days to go through all of those, I've found some really cool crafty projects to put on my "want to try" list and I thought this one would be great (not that this looks ANYTHING like the post I saw, I just "borrowed" the hairstyle/face style - 'cause I need lots of help with all things PAINT). So I went to Hobby Lobby (see my previous post for "why I don't go shopping"). I hope you all have heard of Hobby Lobby. I love it.

One of my bloggy friends had a post on how she made some bowls and people for her kids to play matching games with. I have no idea which blog it was, though, since I looked at so many blogs in the past few days. Bummer. But I know it's out there - this isn't my idea, but it was so great I just couldn't pass it up (especially since Sunshine hasn't learned her colors yet).

This little set of 8 "Flowerpot People" was a hit, not only for Sunshine, but for Spunky as well. He SHARED! He gave his sister HALF of the people. Thats 4, by the way - he's learning his math skills.

Sunshine figured out you can stack the flowerpots. That's a "YAY!" on her face (notice the clapping hands?!)

Hey, those pots not only stack, but they make good hats, too!

The flowerpots and people are both found in the unfinished wood section. No, they are NOT terra cotta.

One day with flowerpot people and now Sunshine says most of the colors - she doesn't know which is which yet, but I've heard her say green, pink, red, yellow, blue and black. She'll be saying purple and orange soon, too! And maybe this will help with the sibling rivalry, as I did tell Spunky that these were made specifically for Sunshine to learn her colors. He's even helping her by telling her what colors he's giving her. What a good big brother :)

Why I Don't Go Shopping

This blog post is just a glimpse into 3 hours of my life (no craftiness here):
I am a stay-at-home-mommy (I'd say homemaker, but that implies that I may actually do some cooking, and I wouldn't want to lead you astray!). I get paid in hugs (and the occasional PB&J-coated kisses). Spunky, my oldest, just turned 5 on Sunday and Grandma sent him $5. (I think it's the first time he's gotten real money.) Yep, he's got more cash than his mommy, and he's only 5!!!
Anyway, I needed diapers, and "the baby store" and "the toy store" are connected (i.e. - you can pay for all of your stuff from both stores at one register). So off we went: me, one baby, one toddler with a mind of her own, and Spunky. We got all of our stuff at "the baby store", then went and got a special toy for Spunky. In the mean time, I lost my check card, picked up a pack of gum (I've told Spunky he's not allowed to have gum until he's 5 - hopefully he's mature enough to dispose of it properly), forgot my "rewards card account", looked it up but I finally ended up putting it on my sisters' account, and finally found my check card.
Went to Hobby Lobby. Why, oh why, do stores that are physically connected (Hobby Lobby and the aforementioned baby/toy stores) not allow mommies with 3 little kids borrow a cart to take it to the next store? I guess not all people return them? Well, I would have. So here it is, 100 degrees (F), now I have to get out the stroller (forget carrying that 20 pound baby in the carseat and trying to hold the toddlers hand!), which is about 150 degrees. Ugh. I must have been feeling adventurous, because I did take them to Hobby Lobby.
Spunky was fine, and Sprout was strapped in his carseat on top of the stroller. It's Sunshine I had to wrestle with. One of my crafty bloggy friends had a post about making a toddler handle so they could hold on to it instead of my hand. Yeah, that doesn't work with a toddler such as mine. Sunshine is very determined. Not bad, just determined. She wanted to smell every flower (the entire silk flower section!!!), pick all of the grapes (you know, the squeezable fake ones that are out on every shelf for display), and sit on all of the display chairs and ottomans.
Well, I found what I was looking for, and went to pay. I had to send Spunky after Sunshine as she was escaping through the automatic doors into the entry area. The lady at the register said "it's ok, they're right there." pointing out the window as she rung up my sale. (Bet she didn't have kids!) Yep, the entry area is one big display area. So I got my receipt and ran to the doors to make sure they were staying out of trouble (meanwhile, the register lady was running after me with my bag "m'am, you forgot your purchase!!"). Mommy-brain, for sure!
So we made it to the car without any catastrophes, and Sunshine fell asleep immediately.
On the way home I saw a lady with a little kid (probably about 3 yrs old) walking into our neighborhood. It was SO hot! Poor little kid was crying and wasn't wearing his shirt. I stopped to offer them a ride. They got in and I looked at my temperature gauge: 101 degrees!!! She lived about a quarter of a mile away, so I took them home and then went home to put my little kids to bed.

This, dear readers, is why I rarely go shopping.

On the bright side, our car is in working order, no one had a gross explosion of the toxic kind, no one was hurt, there were beverages available, and no one had a meltdown (not even me!). And it could be worse - I could have SEVEN kids (seriously - my twin has some stories!)
Thank you, Lord!

ps - stay tuned - I do actually have a crafty post coming up next - you'll get to see what I bought at Hobby Lobby :)

Swing Set Makeover

We were the happy recipients of a well-loved (FREE) swing set. Yay! I just wanted to share with you my fun little makeover. See how happy Spunky and Sunshine are on the new swings? They don't really care about what it looks like (this picture was taken before the makeover).

It was a pretty old set, so there was quite a bit of rust. Rustoleum has a product out called "Stops Rust". I primed and sprayed it with "Sunset Red" (Spunky picked it out). Not bad for my first spray paint project!

I was going to paint the whole thing top to bottom, but I ran out of spray paint. Now I just have to find a new swing or two (the old one is VERY rusted). I do have the rings to hang, but Spunky is having so much fun pretending it's a lasso, I'm not sure I want to put them back up!

Cow-a-bunga!!!

Chik-fil-A just had "Cow Appreciation Day". Crazy folks like me dressed up like cows and got their meals for free. Spunky was sooooo excited to "appreciate cows" with me. We got our meals for free, too!

With a cute little tail (made from unwrapped twine).

Where are my ears, you ask? Well, we were very short on time, and my ears (though taped), kept falling off.

Fun with Dick and Jane

Like I said in my previous post, my sister is an amazing photographer. So for her birthday I got the crazy idea to make her some old-timey looking blocks for photo props. So with a little help from Mod Podge, Dick and Jane, and some 5x5 (ish) cardboard boxes, I made these cute little blocks. The biggest problem I had was figuring out how to do the project without getting toddler handprints on them (since I was working on the kitchen table).

Here's the "before" picture.

...and after...

So adorable! Wish I could get pics with my little ones and these. Maybe some day we will (we're several states away).

The E Bag

Here's my very late post about last Christmas. See, I was very pregnant (I had Sprout on January 7th), so I was in my crazy phase. Some women nest, I sew. Simple, right?
Well, anyway, I wanted to give a special handmade gift to my sister so I made her a monogrammed tote bag.
She came to cold and dreary Ohio (from her cozy home in Florida) to help me out when Sprout was born, and I was hoping to get this super special gift to her for a Christmas/thank you gift.

I did not take pictures of this bag before I gave it to her, but she is an awesome photographer, so when I asked her to send pictures she sent these. Sweet, huh? I love the monogram, it was all done by hand. Glad my name doesn't start with an E or I might have been tempted to keep it. (Kidding - only kidding! Sheesh, what kind of person do you think I am?!!!)

(I really love this photo)

Wrist Cuff

I won a giveaway over at Say it With Thread (sayitwiththread.blogspot.com):
a Moda Jelly Roll!!!
What's that, you say?
That, my uninformed readers, is a big 'ol roll of awesome fabric in coordinating colors and patterns in pre-cut strips that I can use for - well, whatever I want! (Thanks, Patty!!!)

With 3 kids under 5 I don't have time to craft (or blog) very much, but I like to do it so I made this quick and easy wrist cuff from ideas floating around on the web. I had made a small batch (ok so they're not finished yet...) of lunch money cuffs from A Lemon Squeezy Home (alemonsqueezyhome.blogspot.com) for my nieces and nephews, so I thought I'd make a quick cuff (no pocket for lunch money - I never have cash!).

Spunky likes it.

So does Sunshine. And Sprout was pretty interested, too. Or it may be that he has just figured out how to grab something that is near. But I think it at least was interesting enough to him to want to grab it - "hmmm, looks yummy! wonder how to get that off her arm and into my mouth?"

In the end I decided I like it - isn't that what it's all about? Making the recipient happy? Yep. Even if it IS yourself!

Target Practice

Boys are boys. No matter how hard we try to teach them to be gentle there is something in them that wants to conquer - to shoot, to make war, to blow things up, etc. My Spunky, now almost 5 years old, got a 4-pack of water guns. He loves them. So my artsy friend and I made these targets (mainly so he'd squirt THEM instead of his little sister)! We play with "make believe points" - or I'd be out some serious cash (see how the "points" are totally random? That'd be Spunky's idea).

Maybe instead of punching the holes through the cardboard (yes, these are recycled cereal boxes), I should put the holes through the lamination plastic only? (They're looking a little soggy).

Saved by Grace

Last week I said to my husband, "If you ever see me making clothing for myself, just tell me to go to bed!". Sewing for myself seems to always end in disaster. And I've realized a few things about myself:

1. I don't have a good eye for visualizing what will look good on me.
2. I stink at measurements and mathematics.
3. I've had 4 pregnancies in 5 years. ('nuf said?)
4. My best sewing (and my worst sewing) is late at night.

I know, this is a random post, but I think it's a good thing to be real. So for real - I screw up a lot. Makes me want to box up all of my sewing stuff and store it, preferably somewhere out of sight. Or out of state, even. But alas, that is not possible, and it just keeps staring at me, teasing me, begging me to start over. So I do - but this time I turn that terrible creation into something great - for someone smaller than myself.
I will spare you the details of this weeks disasters (yes, plural). And thankfully, there are no pictures of them, either. I just can't bear for you to see my lumpy, bumpy, frumpy frocks. But as a reminder to me of God's grace, I did end up being able to bring salvation to a couple items. I have a friend who is much smaller than I am, so she ended up with this skirt:

Cute, huh? Don't mind the terrible photo - this skirt is red, white and blue - just in time for 4th of July (Independence Day for us here in the USA).

And another cute save - a little dress for Sunshine and one to match for her friend! (I don't feel TOO bad about 2 full dresses being made out of ONE of my skirts, the girls are less than 2 and 6 years old!)