Okay, it was more like 24 gumball machines...
but after tying each little ribbon, and packaging up each of these Valentine treats, it started to feel like 76!
So worth it to make a whole room full of five-year-olds smile though! Hope your Valentine's Day was a ball too. 
Okay kids, I pulled it off... Barely... By the skin of my teeth... Snipping the last thread seconds before walking out the door... No exaggeration. Six yards of fabric, fifteen yards of cording, one broken needle, and a whole spool of thread later, I finished. But check out the coup de gras... Behold the bubble helmet!
This crowning touch could not have been pulled off without the help of some obliging friends who are handy with a jigsaw.
Much fun was had by all.
My services were paid for in candy. All is right with the world.
I'm making my daughter's Halloween costume again this year. If you are wondering why I haven't mentioned this earlier, it's because I haven't started it...yet. I have had good intentions, but no follow through. To be honest, I am definitely in over my head this time. I am terrified to cut the fabric and equally frightened about sewing on the stuff. Shiny, slippery fabric will be very unforgiving if (when) I have to rip out. I'm bowling you over with my positive attitude, right? But I think you figured out a long time ago that this is not Tony Robbins' blog, and I can own that.
If you trundle around Blogland on a regular basis you have probably been seeing these wonderful tags popping up. They are from the Alice Tag Book Swap hosted by Karla Nathan. I've had my book for a couple of weeks, but I am just now getting around to showing it off. Karla did a beautiful job of making the packaging extra special. Everyone did such an amazing job, I just had to share...
I'm so excited! School was cancelled today because of the snow we received overnight. My four- year-old was a little grumbly because Friday is Show and Tell Day at her school, and she hated to miss it. The girl lives for performing. LOL! I on the other hand was elated to stay home. My high schoolers have their own daily version of show and tell, and frankly I have seen and heard enough of them to tide me over for awhile ;>)
To detract from the trauma of missing Show and Tell, we decided to spend some time making paper chains for Christmas decorating. We had quite the assembly line going. She would glue and I would make the paper loop. I started referring to her as "Glue Girl," and she then started calling me "Paper Lady."
In my opinion they are never too young to learn the value of crafting in pajamas. 
Summer before last I made some Christmas in July projects. I tried to do it again this past July, but I stalled out. My intent was to make a whole forest full of sequined trees...
I wanted them to be pink and fabulous.
At this point I would settle for finished.
Well kids, Halloween costume 2009 is complete, and with minimal cursing I'm pleased to add.We have been having loads of fun modeling and practicing the twist. Boy can this skirt twirl! Now while I didn't let the Baby Girl pound on the treble clef with her saddle oxfords in true 50's fashion, I did let her pose on the bench so you could have a full length view.
She loved that part almost as much as the costume!
Thanks so much for stopping by our little sock hop today. For a list of today's participants please twist on over to the blog of our fabulous hostess Beverly. It will be a treat. Happy Halloween!
October is here, and it is time once again to dust off my sewing machine and get to work on my daughter's Halloween costume. She is going to have a poodle skirt, ponytail and cat eye glasses. I figure since she is four, this might be my last shot to have a say in what she wears. Even now that's debatable seeing as how she has been telling me she is going to be a cat!?! Funny how kids become so decisive after the fabric for the "other" costume has been cut and purchased. Nice. Anyway, I'm sticking to my plan and making the perfect "bobby soxer" outfit. Wish me luck on the project. Hopefully cutting and sewing a little felt won't lead to a repeat of Swearfest 2008. I'll keep you posted.
The wish factory has been operating at full capacity for the last couple of weeks, all in preparation for my little one's fourth birthday celebration.
The assembly line had a rollicking good time putting together the favor boxes.
Pink tiaras and flower topped boxes for the girls...
Minty green flower topped boxes for the boys.
Party horns for all.
Pointy party hats for anyone interested.
Ooh, and the world on the string for my baby girl.
My daughter's preschool attended a stage performance of the Little Red Hen today. Following the play, we had a picnic and these are the barnyard inspired cupcakes I made for the event. I was still on an adrenaline high from the coconut tinting success I experienced at Easter, so I went out on a limb and toasted the coconut for this batch. I know, I know, I might be getting a little heavy handed with the coconut, but it made for perfect looking hay don't ya think?
I'm excited to report that all the kids at the barnyard loved their treat. Their enthusiasm for the cupcakes was only slightly eclipsed by their excitement for riding the BIG yellow school bus to the play. So much for culture, right? For the next field trip we decided to scrap the idea of going to a museum. We have opted for simply loading up a good old "yellow dawg" with preschoolers and cupcakes and taking a few spins up and down the main drag of our town. We'll roll down all the windows, let the wind blow through our hair, and while away the day. Parents were already on their cell phones with work, scheduling personal days in order to chaperon that one. Myself included.
We've been doing a little favor making again, this time for St. Paddy's Day. I took this cute vintage image I had and copied it onto cream colored card stock. I found these fun little shamrock rings at the bakery (they use them as cupcake decorations), cut a slit through the card, and pushed the ring back through the opening so that the shamrock would be flush with the card. I added some ribbon for embellishment and, voila! These are intended for my daughter's fellow ballerinas at dance class. We don't want anyone getting pinched if we can help it. No biting would also be nice, but these are three-year-olds that we are talking about, so all bets are off. Hope you all have a fun day too!
Okay, we didn't make quite that many but almost! I made about four before the whole process started to get more streamlined. Here's the skinny...
I thought I would surprise my girl by making a favor for her too. She automatically assumed she was getting one and proceeded to pick out the trinkets she liked best to fill her own pail. I had planned on giving her the pink "I LOVE YOU" pail, but she chose this red one instead. She opted for a smiley face ring over the one with pink lips, the turquoise bottle of bubbles in place of the red, but stopped just short of requesting only pink sweet tarts. This whole experience will be great on my resume if I ever decide to get a job as a personal assistant in Hollywood.
When I showed my husband these pink polka dot creations he said, "What are we doing for the boys?" Geeze, talk about a buzzkill.
This is a peek at how my dining room table looks at present. Lots of stuff scattered about...little to no work space available. That could describe other areas in my home, but I am focusing on the table for now. Okay? We are deep in the throes of Valentine making, and finding goodies to fill these little heart pails has been fun. I'll show you the final result in my next post. But for now, it's back to the assembly line for me. My three year old shift supervisor is tapping her watch and wants me to cut my break short.
I'm thinking that if she doesn't allow me my full fifteen minutes, I may just have to stand on the table with a sign that says "UNION." I guess that would be a moot point, seeing as how there is no room on the table.
From the time my three year old wakes, until it's time for her to go to sleep again, she is either talking or singing. Non-stop. From sun up til sundown. Without ceasing. All day. Constantly.
I bought this journal from Rebecca Sower over a year ago, but I have never used it. Truth be told it was misplaced amid my stacks of magazines, catalogs and books and I could not find it until now. When I rediscovered it, I immediately thought it would be the perfect place to record the ramblings of my girl. And what better time to start my little endeavor than at the beginning of the year. Here are a few of the quotes I have so far...
I have finally finished wrapping the Christmas gifts. Woohoo! I normally use wired ribbon for the bows, but this year I am obsessed with this fluffy white tinsel garland.
It gives the packages a much needed "Whoville a la Dr. Seuss" quality. Ooh, and it doubles as a boa! What's not to love? 
I've been rummaging through my Christmas goodies trying to figure out which things I want to have out this year. I know, I know, it's still early but I like to start dreaming and planning, because to me that's half the fun.
Over ten years ago I had a brief foray on the craft show circuit. At that time I was really into making country Christmas decor. Santas, snowmen, and angels were the headliners at all of my gigs.
These are some of the pieces that I had leftover after my last show. I really haven't displayed any of them since then, because at the time I was completely burned out from making them, peddling them, and looking at them in general.
Here we are ten years later, when I can finally bear to look at it all again, and wouldn't you know it, not a bit of it fits in with my current decor. I guess Santa and the girls will need a shabby chic overhaul, because they're not up for being country when country just isn't cool. Then again maybe I can slap some lipstick on those angels and call it folk art. That will put them on the "A-List" for sure.
And one from
Love this one, but the artist's name was not on it.
