Collecting the Moments... one by one

Craft Notebooks

2010-01-02T16:40:00.000-08:00

Quite a few people have asked about my craft notebooks over the last few weeks, and so I wanted to take a moment to give you a rundown of what I do and how I keep it all together.

The craft binders are kept here:

This area of the homeschool room is my shelf and mine alone. It is filled with binders of things I love. First, I have a binder (the huge 3" baby) for gardening. This binder is filled with calendars of times to plant, pages from magazines with good gardening ideas, seed catalogs, and drawings I make of garden plans of my own. I pull it out in Jan every year and start planning my harvest.

But wait, I am getting ahead of myself. Something ALL of these binders have in common is an obscene amount of page protectors. I buy them by the case and have one covering each and every page in my notebooks. I WANT to be able to use these like cook books. I want to have them out with my morning coffee, or my afternoon tea and not worry about ruining the pages. Everything (even my drawings) goes into a page protector. Yes, I pull the pages out and draw/write/add to them... but they still go back into the page protectors when I am done.

(a page from my decor notebook, which I will get to another day, but illustrates the 'write on it, add stuff to it' thing quite well.)

Another thing that I should say before going further is I try to give credit where ever I can. If I find something I love from another's site, I always put the name in the upper left corner of the page, so I know where to find the post/writer again if I should ever do the craft and want to post their glory.

My notebooks:

Household Notebook

Homeschooling Prep

Food Preservation

Gardening

All Season Crafts

Decor

Fall

Winter

Late Winter (ie: Not Christmas)

Spring

Summer

(I have moved Food Preservation out of my household notebook because the recipes section was getting too big.)

I have several books that don't fit into my seasonal craft notebooks. "All Season Crafts" has their own book and may be filled with felt food tutorials, 'how to make a fairy garden' pages, bird feeders, and other things that you can do all year round.

In my Late Winter notebook, I have a calendar that has the dates of festivals and holidays, a few good quotes for the season, and then it goes into the crafts:

All of the crafts have been given a title that includes where I got them, and each one has been put in to a double column format so I can save paper (and ink) by having smaller pictures, and smaller type font.

During the season, I pull them out and go through and decide what I want to prepare for to do with (or without) the kids. If I do things, and have alterations that I make, I write right on the page. If I have variation that I love and want to do again, I take a picture and add it next to the craft in my notebook. If I do a craft, and don't like it, I recycle the page, or give it to Logan to color on while I am working.

It comes easily to me, but writing it out I can see just how complicated this process is. I hope I have made it a little clearer how I keep everything crafty at my fingertips. :)

Our year in pictures...

2010-01-01T09:07:00.001-08:00

Huge changes in our lives happened this year on many levels.

It was the year of crafts, our first house, kittens, beaches, and food. It was the year of giving, blessings, close encounters, and tragedy.

It has also been the year of the blog. This page is just one aspect of my life, but I have truly enjoyed sharing this with all of you. You honor me with your comments and your love. Thank you for being a part of my life!

Many blessings to you all for 2010!

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-12-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, we have had a New Years Eve with just me and the littles. Don always works New Years and 4th of July. It is just part of the job. And Alex is always in FL on New Years, and so it is just me and the two little ones. I think they could actually stay up until midnight tonight... but I won't let them. We always celebrate with Alex on the East Coast, which means that my kids call their brother and wish him a Super Happy New Year at 9pm... and we all get to bed at a reasonable hour.

This year I let the kids pick what we were going to do. So they said they wanted homemade pizza for dinner, with sparkling juice (blueberry was Cyan's pick when we were at Trader Joes), and s'mores for dessert. I added in the last of the farm veggies with organic ranch dip and we were off! (I am so going to miss those carrots and cabbage!)

We ate dinner, then sat around the fire and sang songs as loud as we could (I have good blackmail video should I ever need it later. ;) ) and then we made bunches of ooey, gooey goodness and got thoroughly bouncing off the walls to some tunes.

Very happy, and now VERY hyper kids are ready to ring in a new year (on the East coast).

(And please attempt to ignore the fact that my 2 year old screams "Happy birthday!" right here... thanks.)

From 2009-12-31

Wishing you all a safe, happy and abundant New Year!!!

Many blessings and love from us in the Rose Garden.

Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

2009-12-31T12:41:00.001-08:00

We have always bought tomato soup from Trader Joe's. A quart of the Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup and then another quart of the Organic Tomato Soup... mixed together with basil on top. Sometimes with tiny pasta in it, sometimes not. But always, the meal cost at least $7.99 to make... and we bought it. Was it convenient? Oh yes... pour two cartons in until it starts to boil, turn off, and add in already cooked pasta? Heck yeah! Super simple and will still stay as a 'fast food' along with our cans of black beans. But I have wanted to get away from it being a staple. And this recipe did that.

Ingredients:

1 quart of my Roasted Tomato Sauce
1 tea sugar
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbs cooking red wine
1 pint heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped basil

Pour all ingredients in and bring to a hot simmer. Do not boil. I have started hitting mine with a stick blender so it is super smooth like the one from the store is. The kids like this better. Serve topped with chopped basil and add a side of good grilled cheese sandwich on rye or sourdough.

If you didn't put away any of the tomato sauce, (or you already have eaten it all) then feel free to make more for this recipe. One batch of tomato sauce will make 2 - 3 quarts of sauce. It makes it a slower supper, but wow, is it worth it! (And you will have spaghetti sauce fixings for another day too. The sauce freezes beautifully!)

Yum!

Handcrafted Gifts ~ Fruit and Nut Granola

2009-12-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

I like my granola for snacking right out of the bowl. No milk, no yogurt... just eating it with your fingers or a spoon, dry and crunchy. I couldn't find a recipe that was made with natural ingredients, but was still sweet enough to snack on. So I decided to make up my own recipe. After 3 tries and about 8 cups of burnt oats, I think I have finally hit the jackpot. This one turned out rather wonderful and I wanted to share.

Snacking Granola

1. Preheat oven to 300*

2. Combine in a large bowl:

10 cups rolled oats (feel free to mix and match other grains. I used three different mixed grains from my bulk section to get the 10 cups needed)

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup raw or halved almonds

1 cup other nuts (the 'pecan pieces' from Trader Joes worked really well.)

3. Stir together in a sauce pan on med/low :

1 1/2 tea salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup honey

1 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbs cinnamon

1 Tbs Vanilla Extract

4. Mix into the dry mixture until completely saturated.

5. Spread into two baking pans (I used 9X13 Pyrex) and Bake at 300* for 40 minutes... stirring frequently (set a timer for every 7 minutes or so).

6. As soon as it starts to look dry, take out of the oven, stir thoroughly, and allow to cool.

7. When it is completely cool, add in:

2 1/2 cups dried fruit (mix and match works best. I used cranberries and golden raisins.)

8. Place in mason jars and give to girlfriends... or whoever you think would love it. :)

Storing Christmas Ornaments

2009-12-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

I saw this neat storage idea in the book I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas and thought it was brilliant! So I have been saving our local egg guys cartons this summer for this purpose. All of our tiny ornaments will all be tucked away in their own little area this year.

We didn't even use these ornaments this year... our tree was all the paper and recycled ornaments that we made. I was planning to take a picture, but the tree ~~looks like I have two kittens and a toddler~~ looks awful.

Several times this season I saw Logan happily standing at the tree and chanting "just one finger, just one finger..." as he poked the ornaments as hard as he could, knocking them right off the tree.

The kittens were good as long as we were up and around the house... but I would often wake in the morning to ornaments that doubled as 'pray' and saw many that were smacked around. Because you know, the tree wasn't actually decoration, it was a 'cat toy storage device'.

Between them there is not a single ornament on the bottom two feet of our Christmas tree. Other than that, it looks pretty. lol! And I am glad to say that my ornaments pictured here were kept far from harm all season in their own handy dandy egg carton containers. I will be happy to pull them out next year.

Spontaneous Gratitude for holiday clean-up

2009-12-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

The history of Spontaneous Gratitude.

I have no idea what is it about the day after Christmas that makes me want to clean, declutter, and organize everything. But I have done it every year. Friends think I am nuts as they lounge in their pj's with cocoa... but for me, getting new stuff in the house means that old stuff must go OUT. And in a new house, it means that things have been moved around and rearranged because you just don't know where everything fits yet.

This morning was a good one, but EARLY. Logan woke me up about quarter to 6... and was hungry. lol... Normally Alex would have handled this, (being my other super early riser), but he is off for his yearly visit with family and so I trudged my way out of bed, and made my baby boy some hot Farina cereal for breakfast.

This morning I am very grateful for:

Games of 6am Peek-a-boo.

A boxing day project: "clean pantry"

New projects on the horizon.

My Christmas gift to myself.... something green.

The blissful, beautiful sunrise.

My new best friend.

A new dollhouse

2009-12-26T11:39:00.001-08:00

It was time to replace the doll house I made. This time, instead of me making it, I had someone else do it. It was spendy, but well worth it. This dollhouse may last until I have grandchildren. Or even great grandchildren. It is very sturdy, solid wood, and absolutely lovely!

Santa brought her a new garden set to go with it:

I made her some new stuff as well.

The Christmas tree in this picture was a last minute holiday craft. Like I was frantically adding button ornaments at 6am yesterday morning. lol...

(Inspiration for the tree here.)

These were finished beforehand:

These were not brand new beds... but they had broken a year or more ago, and so with the help of some wood glue and some sandpaper, she got a 'new' set of beds. Complete with new wool blankets and pillows for winter. (Yet another great use for felted sweaters. :) )

Cyan's kitten loved it too. No wonder my tree doesn't have any ornaments on the bottom two feet. Right this second my house just screams "I have a toddler and two kittens!"

Quotes from Christmas Morning

2009-12-25T15:15:00.001-08:00

"I tink Santa gonna bring me lots o guns next time. LOTS o guns... for my 'tocking." ~ Logan

"I need more candy. Uh-huh... candy for my moat." ~ Logan, pointing at his mouth.

"I really think Prince Charming could be cuddly. Don't you?" ~ Cyan

And my personal favorite:

"Oh mama! I am about to cry with happiness!!" ~ Cyan

Merry Christmas to all. Have a blessed holiday!

Completed Critter Warmies

2009-12-24T09:22:00.001-08:00

Getting time to do 'super secret Santa stuff' was harder than ever this year. Don has had to work this whole week and will have to work today and tomorrow too. It has made a lot of prep much more difficult with the kids all home with me. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to... but I did get the Critter Warmies done, and I am SO excited to give them a test drive tonight for sweet dreams with my kiddos.

This is Cyan's. Hers was made with her favorite sweater that got too small (the green stripe). I left enough to make her a hat or two as well.

This is Logan's. The fangs are more pointy on his because... well... Logan's fangs are more pointy. lol!

And this is Alex's. The softest face features, the heaviest and biggest of the three, he belongs to my big guy.

And they are just in time for a second cold snap. We woke this morning to temps in the low 20's. And I think it is going to get colder... but that also means blue skies... it may be an even trade. :) Happy Christmas Eve!

Always In The Season

2009-12-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

From my brother, Chani

The song is only 4 minutes... the last 2 minutes are a plug for this awesome charity: World Vision

We have supported Heifer International, but this one looks great too!

Handcrafted Holiday ~ Calendar gift bags

2009-12-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

Over the years I have used many different types of wrapping. We have made cloth bags, used nothing but the funny papers, used the wrong side of paper grocery sacks, etc. But this year I wanted the gifts I give to be really beautiful as well as be recycled, so I decided to try my hand at making gift bags.

I love calendars. Like sheets, they are a staple in my recycling/upcycling materials. I ask for them at years end from everyone. I will take anything, but ones with children, mamas, babies, watercolor paintings... well, they make my heart sing. I don't have a problem cutting up most pictures for my art... but some of them... it just doesn't feel right to cut them to pieces when the whole is so beautiful. This is a project for those pictures.

You need:

Old Calendars

scissors

sewing machine with thread

eyelets and punch

ribbon

1. First select two pictures that compliment each other. I usually find that these are from the same calendar.

2. Sew the sides and bottom with your sewing machine. (No speical settings are needed to sew on paper.)

3. Trim all four edges of your pictures. If you can do it without taking away from the picture, cut the top just below the hole where you hang the calendar as well.

4. Mark 1 1/2 inch square with a ruler at each bottom corner of your picture. (Measure from the sewing seam, NOT from the edge of the picture.) Cut out this square.

5. Open the bag. At the bottom corner, fold in until the seams touch each other.

Sew this edge on both corners, making a square bottom bag. (This will seem like it is creasing the bag, but I haven't had it ruin one yet.)

6. If you would like, you can add another fancy touch to your wrapping by adding eyelets for the ribbon handles to go through. Measure 1/3 of the way in on each side, and punch the eyelet through on that spot.

7. Add ribbon for handles, some tissue, and of course, the gift!

Here is this one under the tree with a couple of cereal box boxes.

Handcrafted Gifts ~ Sweater Hat with Sweatband

2009-12-18T16:22:00.000-08:00

This hat has been the perfect pattern for this winter. Felted wool doesn't bother us near as much as the non-felted wool.... but we still have itching issues when wearing wool. Especially when sweating. So the addition of the sweatband was a natural progression for our sensitive family.

You need:

A felted wool sweater

an old tee shirt

Sewing machine and matching thread

sharp scissors

rotary cutter (optional)

1. Cut the pattern out using the bottom of the sweater as the rim of the hat. The rotary cutter is helpful here, but not essential.

2. Sew up the Y shaped slit in the hat first wrong sides facing. Trim the edges well. Then sew up the rest of the hat wrong sides facing each other. Trim the excess. The felted wool will not fray like fabric will, so don't worry about leaving that 1/4 inch usually required with projects like this. You can get close to the threads... just don't cut them. ;)

3. Turn your hat right side out!

4. Once you have the hat part finished, (and feel free to stop here... you just made a hat!) create a band for the bottom out of 3 1/2 inches of the tee shirt material.

** Tip ~ Cut the 3 1/2 inch piece of the tee shirt so the stretch is the long direction, like the bottom 4 inches of the shirt all the way around. This way your sweatband will have stretch in the same direction as the hat.

**Another tip~ Also make sure to match the length to the bottom of your hat (like in the picture).... NOT to the pattern. Your hat may be slightly smaller than the pattern now and you don't want the band to be too big.

5. Make the sweatband by sewing the short sides of the band together. Then folding in half the long way and placing inside the hat with the fold just below the rim of the hat... like so:

5. Pin all the way around, with the sweatbands seam in the back center.

7. Starting at the back center, lock stitch, and then start sewing where you think it would look best. You do have to sew at least two rows of stitching so the band is stable... but if you want to sew more than that it is up to you.

** Tip ~ I usually use my presser foot as a guide for my measurements between lines of stitching. It is super easy to get straight and even lines that way (as long as you did a straight line the first time.)

8. When you are done with the stitching, this is what the inside of your hat should look like:

9. Trim the edge of the band.

Once again, this fabric will not fray like wovens... so you can cut close to the threads. It WILL however, roll and make a unattractive ridge under the wool hat. So make sure you cut pretty close. Like so:

That's it! This hat is especially good for those of us who have a hard time with wool touching our skin. The wool never touches his face, but he will get all the benefits. Alex's hat is all ready for snowboarding. Now he just needs snow pants. (Tell me why again, teens grow out of their clothes so darn fast?)

*Disclaimer: I like this hat ok and it will work well with Alex's black snowsuit, but I didn't show it because it is the best one I ever made. The sweater hats are variable (just like all recycled crafts) to the materials you use. The bottom stitching is really long, making it not ideal for a hat. However... this is the one I took pictures of. So it made the tutorial. I should have taken more pictures of the one with ears. But I am running out of sweaters. Ok... enough caffeinated babbling. ;)

Something to make the cold day a bit brighter

2009-12-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

Beautiful compilation... from Sarah.

Recycled Sweater Mice Ornament Tutorial

2009-12-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

You need:

Scraps of felted sweaters
sharp scissors
needles
embroidery thread
pattern

(If the link doesn't work, I will email the file. Just comment leaving your email address.)

1. Cut out the pattern from the scraps of sweaters.

2. Turn right sides facing and hand stitch (or machine stitch) the body curve (along the top) together.

3. Add the bottom panel to the opening at the bottom of the mouse. Leave a small hole along one side.

4. Turn and stuff the mouse.

5. Close up the hole.

6. Add ears. Fold the bottom edges of the ears towards the center. Then sew onto the mouses head that way.

7. Add the face and tail. For mine, the eyes were just French Knots... and the tails are braided embroidery thread.

8. To hang on the tree, take a piece of embroidery thread and put a hoop down the back of the mouse, starting at the head and ending half way down the body. This makes it hang correctly on the tree. If you put the hoop in too small a space, the mouse leans forward, and it's ears make it front heavy.

Enjoy!

Hats for the Giveaway Winner!

2009-12-17T08:53:00.001-08:00

Liz is about to have a beautiful baby girl. So she asked for the giveaway hats to be for her new daughter. The first one is a little one for this winter... and the next one:

It is for next winter. Can't you just imagine a little one year old, running around with these tiny ears? It is my favorite hat I have ever made... and it is on it's way to Liz.

The edge of the sweater was scalloped... now so is the edge of the hat! The red around the bottom is from tee shirt remnants. Made from hemp/cotton with a 5% Lycra in it so it stretches around her sweet little head and the wool doesn't make her face itch.

I hope you enjoy them!

Everyone else: Tutorial coming soon!

Handcrafted Gifts ~ Critter Warmies

2009-12-16T19:45:00.000-08:00

My kids love a warm bed. With that crazy cold snap we had for the last few weeks, they have gotten very attached to what they call 'warmies'. They are bags of millet or flax that can be placed in the microwave for 45 seconds and stay warm in their beds for up to an hour. They have two right now that they rotate between. I am making them each another one. A larger one. With a face. lol...

This sweater critter is my own creation. The hour-glass pattern is a shape that seems like it would lend itself perfectly to the snuggles of my children and yet, still be able to hold up to being drug around the house. I put dried lavender in the flax to be a soothing sent when warmed. The outer cover is all felted sweaters and scraps. Still ok to go in the microwave to be warmed, but snuggly and soothing to cuddle with.

The kids will open these on Christmas Eve this year. It is my hope that sleeping while waiting for Santa will never be so easy.

I wish that I could make a tutorial for a 'how-to' for this critter... but I am not sure that the way that I did things is the best way. lol... I was winging it most of the time with the first one especially. I will see what I can do for the next couple... Perhaps third time will be the charm.

Handcrafted Holiday ~ Recycled Sweater Mice

2009-12-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

These sweet little mice are joining our decorations for our recycled Christmas tree this year. They are made out of sweaters! They were very easy to make and the tutorial will follow.

Handcrafted Holiday ~ Paper Crane Ornaments

2009-12-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

This is the easiest one we have made yet. Both the kids have crane mobiles that have lasted through the years. I made them for their 3rd and 8th birthdays. That is 5 years ago! Alex really wanted to make some for me, so I handed him a stack of paper squares that I had cut out for the pennant flag garland and he folded them up. While he was doing that, I thought about how to make them last for years in storage... and the first thing I thought of was Modge Podge! These cranes are on the tree now, and I think they may just last forever.

You need:

Paper cranes

Large beads

Jewelry headpins (craft store)

Ornament hooks

Decoupage glue

Needle nose pliers

1. Cover the cranes in the decoupage glue. Let dry.

2. Place a bead at the bottom of the headpin. The bead should be big enough to not let the head pin go into the crane.

3. Put the headpin through the opening at the bottom of the crane. Use a needle to poke the hole if you have to. The dry glue may make it harder to get the headpin through. Push gently through the top of the crane.

4. Twist off the protruding end of the headpin down into a circle at the top of the crane with your pliers.

5. Add the ornament hook and hang on tree!

As I am sure you can imagine, our tree is shaping up quite nicely. I am about to switch gears to gifts (and wrapping them)! But first, the much promised sweater mice pattern.....

Christmas lights, and a little tiny rant...

2009-12-14T05:00:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas Tree star broke this year... Plugged it in and it didn't light up. Took it apart, and it just won't be fixed. So it is dead... along with all but ONE light strand of Christmas lights in our house. I am guessing it was the two moves in 6 months that did them in. I was bummed though. The lights were so old that you can't get replacement bulbs for them anymore.

I personally believe there are some things that manufactures should have to make forever; Women's jeans, babies binkies, make up colors (esp the refills), and replacement Christmas lights. They should have a clause that says they need to produce varieties of these things for at least 30 years. Mainly so the people who bought and love them can find them again for most of their lives... or at least until the child goes to Kindergarten!! (Really, the binky thing is a whole other story... what we were talking about? Oh yes... Christmas lights.) Mostly I am joking. New production of anything makes me twitch in this over abundant society. But it was really annoying to have ALL of my light stands dead but ONE and not be able to fix them! It made my thrifty heart ache, but we are slowly replacing them. The tree got pretty little bulb LED lights this year. And because I am just that tight fisted, the new tree topper was replaced with a paper star the kids and I put together.

I think it actually looks rather nice.

It actually matches our tree better than any other that I have seen. Afterall, the entire tree is decorated with recycled paper ornaments... Why should the topper be anything else?

Hanging Paper Stars

2009-12-13T05:00:00.001-08:00

Around here for the past week it has been bitter cold. We rarely get cold temperatures... much less single digit cold. We have woken up every morning for the past week and a half to around 8 degrees. That is SUPER cold for here. It has been dry and calm too. Beautiful sunny days that you feel you want to be running in, but then you go out and get hit with this blast of well below freezing temps and I don't know about you... but my family doesn't last long.

What that means for many of us here in the Pacific NW is that we have been hiding out in our slippers, next to our fireplaces, drinking hot tea, and trying to keep our hands (and minds) busy. For the Rose Garden it means we have been crafting in those cold, early-dark evenings.

The kids and I store away craft ideas like squirrels store nuts. I have binders upon binders filled with ideas. They are organized seasonally and set in order of the seasons on our book shelf. Each binder has tons of page protectors stuffed with magazine clippings, print outs from websites, and ideas we have copied from library books. We don't get to all of them every year. But we always have inspiration at our fingertips... just for weeks like this one. Yesterday it was Hanging Paper Stars.

I printed out this beautiful post from Magic Onions last April and tucked it safely away in our Winter Craft Binder. When I was going through ideas for the Advent Calendar, it popped out at me as the perfect thing to make this year.

We spent a whole evening making tons of these. Alex got a great idea to make tiny ones out of the scraps from when we cut the 8x11 piece of cardstock into the 8x8 inch square needed for the big stars. At first I was thinking "way to use the waste, Alex!", but as I watched him make these cute tiny versions of this cool project I became very taken with them. I encouraged him to make as many as he could. Then we painted them with silver glitter paint, and punched a hole in the top for an ornament hook to go through. I think they are my favorite ornaments yet!!

Teasel Hedgehog

2009-12-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

I had seen these in The Nature Corner, and always knew that I wanted one on my fall nature table... but I had never seen a teasel! I looked and looked, and gave up finally. Well two weeks ago, when we were on our way to the Olympic Game Farm, I saw some on the side of the road, and I made my friend pull over to collect them. Only two survived the three hour car ride, two young cats, and two weeks it took me to make this little guy... but wow. He is SO cute!

It doesn't take rocket science to make one. But you do have to wear gloves as they are super prickly. You twist the bottom off the teasel, trim the spines with your scissors to your liking and add three black headed mini sewing pins at the places where the nose and eyes would be. You have to trim the bottom spines really well the make him lay flat, but then you have this adorable little guy! Ready for Easter baskets, Nature Tables, or wherever there is a open space on your window sill.

If you, like me, have no idea what a teasel is, here is a picture to get your started on your own hedgehog search. May yours be faster than mine.

(pic from here)

Happy Hedgehog Hunting!

A glimpse into my house... Thursday evening, 6 pm

2009-12-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

The carpet and padding are out, the floor is clean... we are just waiting on mineral spirits to get the yucky tape off the doorways and the transition pieces that go between the rooms. We will need a new kitchen floor after this... but even if we waited a year I wouldn't care! This living room floor is SUCH an improvement.

Although, December was not the best time to do it. We have had a crazy cold snap around here lately. We are lucky if it gets above freezing at all and we are feeling it. It is cold... and we are not used to putting on slippers to be in the house yet. To help keep a bit of distance from the cold, we have soup for dinner nearly every night and we have been very grateful for the fire place. (The kids are grateful because 'soup and a fire' usually means s'mores!)

Speaking of soup...

This was dinner tonight. With the last of the farm fare, I made this yummy minestrone with orzo pasta. The salad was the very last of the farm lettuce and cabbage with some (*sigh*) bought from the store too. It has been a high of 33* today, with us waking up with a chilly 8* outside. The fields around us are frozen... the season is officially over. It is the turning of this great mother we live on. And I know it has to happen... but thank God for hot tea, warm showers, fire places, and slippers. They are saving me this year.

The ball ornaments are still in the middle of the table. So far, only 6 have made it to the tree. This basket of them is just too pretty right where it is. Don't you agree?

Handcrafted Gifts ~ Fairy House Starter Kit

2009-12-10T16:22:00.001-08:00

The kids and I have been putting together lists of things that we wanted to give this Christmas, and Cyan came up with a beauty! All on her own. She wanted to give this book:

...along with a box of all the things that you would need to make a fairy house. We are calling it a 'fairy house starter kit'. Just add sticks and glue gun. :)

We have this type of stuff around the house most of the time due to our own fairy house creations. But now we get to pass along some fun things that (most of) can be found in nature, so someone else can create their own worlds with them.

I am really proud that my girl came up with something so thrifty, and yet super fun! Some lucky little friend is going to get this box this year.

It is like a box of imagination.

Handcrafted Holiday ~ Paper Ball Ornaments

2009-12-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

The kids and I have been making ornaments for the tree for about two weeks now. I can't wait to show you the files of the sweater mice... but I can't figure out how to upload the PDF file I made for the pattern. If anyone has ideas I would love them. ;)

The other day on our advent calendar tag was 'making paper ball ornaments'. I saw a picture in a book (or on the net) of these and I thought they were just beautiful! They have been in my head ever since. Of course, I had stick with my theme and find a way to make them recycled. So I found the perfect medium... Old calendars!

Georgia O'Keeffe and Sulamith Wulfing were my two top choices from our stash of old calendars, but the kids favorite was Mary Engelbreit. She has some really neat patterns around the outsides of her calendar pages that make very fun ornaments!

You need:

Old calendars
a mini hole punch
scissors
brads

1. Cut a bunch of 3 inch strips off the calendar picture. You can either keep them in order (so the ball has a distinct picture on it), or you can mix them up.

2. Take 5 or so and punch them with the hole punch on both ends like the picture above. Then, still holding them in your hand, put the brad, but do not butterfly. Do the same with the remaining paper strips until you have a little stack with brads at both ends. When you have quite a few, then butterfly the brad so they stay secure.

3. Slowly spread them out, like so:

4. Arrange them how you want being careful not to rip the strips and viola!

5. We are tying fishing line to the brad at the top of each ornament and then putting Christmas tree hooks through the fishing line. They are making a BEAUTIFUL addition to our recycled tree!