fairy love

the little miss lost tooth number two last week,
making her little gap even wider.
and this time around she had her tooth pillow
to give and receive tooth fairy goodness.
mama is slow these days,
but eventually things get done.

recycled fun

our house. garden and all.

the little miss and her classmates
created a whole town from recycled goods.
there were so many fun businesses
plus the fire and police stations.
little miss had a business called
the "dog spot" where customers
would pay play money to walk dogs.
no ~ not to have their dogs walked,
but to walk dogs from the "dog spot"
which was in reality...the pound.
too cute.

play day

Yesterday the little miss & I went for a visit to see our dear friend J and check out the amazing artwork at I MADONNARI.  I couldn't help but stand in admiration of the talent and commitment it took to finish these beautiful  pastel paintings in a matter of three days knowing all the while they will be washed away within weeks by weather and footsteps.  There was so much life in these pieces and each seemed to tell it's own story.

Just gorgeous.

There was a section of concrete dedicated just to children and I loved the vivid colors that blanketed the blacktop.

This one in particular fit me perfectly right now.

After a day spent taking in the sights in SB we had our friends over for a little playtime.  The girls played "family" and watched a movie while the mamas worked on sewing projects (well one of us did).  Miyo made this sweet little dress for her daughter while my project was much less involved.  Since mine is a gift I'll just give a little glimpse of what my hands were making:

I definitely like the little sew-op we had and am hoping there's many more to come.

Welcome spring

Around Christmas last year, I saw this tutorial on MADE and decided to give it a try.  We collected the acorns from a neighborhood tree that had dropped these gems by the thousands.  I hung it for Christmas with a red ribbon but knew I wanted to give it a makeover for spring.  I finally got it up the day before Easter and hung it with a piece of burlap.  I love the way it happily greets our friends and neighbors.

Are there any spring projects you've been working on?

more rain = more hearts

I've found a new joy in hand sewing and

embroidery as the rainy day washes through town.

These mini heart pillows are so fun and easy to make

although I haven't really figured out how I want to use them yet.

Any ideas???

I leave you with the polka dot trio
who jumped, slid, air hockeyed and bickered
to their hearts content this morning
before getting their spotted slickers on for the ride home.

♥~ing February

The heart garland on the window is made from Maya's artwork that comes home from school.

The other is a garland that I made out of fabric last valentine's season.

Aren't they so happy?

Oh yes, and Oscar the Couch is still here. 

Turns out he has formed a special place in the hearts of our family after all.

Plus, he's just too comfy.

first evers of 2009

from left to right

1. recycled t-shirt dress 2. bald me 3. self~made apron 4. home~made Christmas tree 5. tea~ party 6. helicopter ride 7. trip to Europe with my sweet girl 8. handmade advent chain 9. my very own surfboard 10. beautiful homegrown garden 11. made from scratch wedding cake 12. baby-blanket recycled elephant 13. candy cane drive 14. child-free trip with mum 15. homemade wreath....whew!

Looking forward to a joyful 2010 and the firsts that are yet to come.

Wintery magic

Since there will be no snow ball fights, no white flocked pines and no sledding anywhere in sight this Christmas ~ we brought some sparkly snowflakes indoors to remind us of our favorite winter powder...supersized.

These were the easiest things to make and so much fun! Bri and I cut the snowflakes out of white copy paper (a little flimsy is the only drawback) then used spray glue to attach the glitter and hung with ric-rac. My favorite part is the dancing snowflake shadows they make on the wall...beautiful!

There is one girl in our house though who won't be fooled by our home snipped snow...

Sorry girl, we'd love to get you out to your favorite playground sometime soon.

What was I thinking...

...always waiting well into December to decorate for Christmas? I've got the bug this year and am loving all the fun we are having making our own merry decor. First up is the advent chain that I read about on stitch/craft. It took a few days to get it completed, but we are excited to check a link every day to find out what fun awaits. Every link has a numbered button sewn on for each day until Christmas with an activity taped to the inside. So far.... drinking hot cider and taking a family photo. I think tomorrow we get to pick out a new Christmas movie. Yippee!

This could also be done with any kind of sturdy paper and the kids will surely love it (except when you get to the Christmas caroling day, which will probably make your teenager cringe ~ but hey, what fun is being a parent if you can't embarrass your kids once in a while?).

Next stop, snow flakes...

First "refashion"

I've been checking out the men's dress shirt remakes over at MADE and thought I'd give the idea a try. As I haven't created a piece of clothing in quite a while, I was pretty intimidated by the project...but really excited about the result. Maya liked the dress and even wore it the whole day (which is huge for her because it seems that EVERYTHING makes her uncomfortable). When it comes to clothes and Maya, all items must fit in an exact fashion or the neighbors will be calling the coppers due to all the screaming that projects from her tiny body. Seriously, the girl is fanatical about what type of socks she wears. Back to the dress. I bought an X-large men's linen shirt at the thrift store, added some elastic, some of my own fabric for the waistband/pocket/headband and produced this sweet little number.

I'm in love with the idea of creating something new from used clothing or material and can't wait to find my next refashioning project.

Next time, I'll get the before picture too.

The unexpected weekend

The cold fairy came by our house on friday and sprinkled her cold germs on me for the weekend reminding me once again that life does not always go according to my plans. She decided that I needed some extra rest from my daily doings and so it was...
Needless to say I stayed home and slept took little miss M to a photo session that I had signed up for a while ago and decided to do a "shoot" of my own when we got home....how could I resist?

Although I didn't sleep my entire days away, naptime was in full effect this weekend and I have to admit ~ it felt good lie down next to my little one and let go of all the "want to do this and need to do that" just to rest my body and mind. Feeling too yucko to do any of that stuff anyway made me acknowledge that it's just stuff....it will always be there and taking a little time for myself won't hurt anyone or anything.

Saturday I was going NOwhere, not even to my beloved farmer's market. But that afternoon I got a little artsy with Maya and we made some butterflies for her room. It was such a fun and easy project, I'm inspired to get out those art supplies more for some creative time.

We finished off our weekend sharing homegrown lettuce with our neighbors, playing with the girls at the harbor, soaking up the gorgeous weather and ending with our usual sunday dinner serving a barbecued steak salad with fresh sourdough bread and lemon bars plus rhubarb pie for dessert. Yummmm! It was a full table with Matt's parents, g-gran Irene and Bri's bff. I LOVE sunday dinners.

The weekend certainly didn't unfold as I expected, but brought some great surprises in leau of my agenda. Just another reminder that I AM NOT IN CHARGE as much as I like to think I am.

Love Day

Since it's been forever since my last post, thought I'd post a little colorful love cheer on Valentine's Day. For us one love day isn't quite enough so we're lovin on each other all weekend long. Hoping to get back into the swing of blogging soon.
xoxoxo to you