Senior Pictures!

I cannot believe our oldest daughter is a senior this year!  It's just crazy.  She came down to Ventura for Christmas and these are from day one of out senior photo shoot.  We had a good time and I think we have a few keepers here!  These are from day one... can't wait to see what we get on day two!

Day two was pretty good too!
 

recycle kids art into greeting cards....

If you have children, you have a drawer, file folder or box... of your child's art projects.  I have a few folders of things that I can't seem to toss in the recycling bin.  Some are paintings on scraps of paper that struck me as beautiful.  I needed some thank you cards for a recent family event, and thought of this.  What better way to send a note to a family member than on a recreation of their own granddaughter, niece or great niece's works of art.  Turned out rather pretty!  

sea weed pillow.... or ruffle pillow?...

I made this crazy fancy ruffle pillow for a friend today... It turned out cute and I now have a new found respect for those who make prom dresses... YIKES! 

pot holders....

I've started to get ready for Christmas!  Scrap buster pot holders are the ticket this year!  I found this killer fancy pot holder tutorial here and I love it!  Perfect if you've got some fat quarters lying around! I modified if of course, and made it without a pocket. 

 I had a few fat quarters of this fabric and it turned out pretty cute. 

a new home in Ventura...

We've never lived so close to the beach, and we're enjoying every second of it.
I also just downloaded a fun photo collage software to play with!
Thinking of our new home reminds me of our old home in Portland.... so here is another collage for you.

handmade bird costume for halloween....

Nothing like waiting till the last minute to make a halloween costume!  Tomorrow night is the first halloween event which means I had  better get my act together for my three year olds bird costume.  I've had my eye on this idea for quite some time now.... posted by handmade charlotte.  I had plenty of leftover fabrics to make this one work!  I added a little skirt with a few rows of feathers to complete this little pink bird. I'm more excited than she is I'm sure, but it was a fun way to spend the morning.  

lunch bag... perfect for a bento lunch box

I'm taking this making lunch thing to the next level... bento.  That's right, I'm completely sucked in and my first grader is loving it!  Cute little flower shaped cheese cutouts, little flower sandwiches, lunch meat kabobs.... it's on.  I found this awesome tutorial from pink penguin for a lunch bag which is exactly the size I needed for the little bento boxes I picked up the other day.

Check out this flickr pool for other projects done with pink penguin's tutorials!  Pretty great stuff. 

Some fabric I had left over from summer clothes a few years ago came in handy for this project.  There really isn't that much fabric needed. 

I love the little cover on top of the bag.  That way it looks cute, and keeps things from falling out!

What's inside... one of these cute sistema boxes (the size I got is on the top right).  Looks like Martha Stewart is teaming up with this company.  I found them at macy's in the Martha Stewart collection which means they are a beautiful blue color and hopefully excellent quality.  

Bento... I love the fun, and love the fact that I send her to school with absolutely nothing that ends up in the garbage.    

Apple Hand Pies... for fall...

A friend of mine posted this recipe the other day.  After we dropped our oldest off at school today, my 3 year old and I hit the kitchen!  We had a great time and the recipe was GREAT!  Because I just can't seem to follow directions, I added cinnamon to mine.  I also did not pre-cook the apples until they were soft because I like to have a little crisp left in my apples.  The crust has lemon and sour cream in it which was a first for me... fantastic.

Ta Da

Hanging Art Can Keep You Centered...

Making a new casa feel like home is always difficult.  We recently moved from Portland Oregon to southern California, this is something I did in our dining space.  The center art is my new favorite piece a good friend made us for a going away gift.  She used my favorite color combination which is red and turquoise. Isaiah 41:10 is written in the bottom corner: 

          fear not, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you and  help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

My picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice!  

I surrounded it with a black and white collection in the form of a cross.  

Seems appropriate doesn't it?  

"Happily Ever After" Pennant Banner

A good friend of mine recently got married and I made a cute little pennant banner for the celebration.  It turned out so cute I decided to make one for our bedroom but got a little more serious (sorry Heather).  I wanted to frame it in either an old window frame or empty picture frame.  I've been looking for the perfect frame for about a month and finally found it in my friends garage!  YES!- I had to trade a used baby gate for it but over all I totally scored in the deal!  So this is how I made it....

 First find a book you're willing to sacrifice to your art.  I chose A Room with a View by E.M. Forster.  I removed the paperback cover and made a triangle template.

Tear out the number of pages you need for your message.  This one says: "Happily Ever After." Cut out triangles that will make the pennant banner from the book pages.  

I have a cricut paper cutter that I used to cut my letters.  You could also buy letters from the craft store.  I used black scrapbook paper and cut my letters about two inches tall.

Attach your letters to the triangles and tape to string or twine.  If you're really fancy, you could use nice ribbon.

 

Space out your lines in the frame and attach with a staple gun. BAM!  A super easy piece of art for your wall.

Pretty Counters

I can't believe my kindergartener is doing math already!  It's not calculus, but I'm still very impressed with the simple math skills she's working on.  Of course I have to try to modify the idea of using 'counters'.  Usually it's recommended to use beans or coins.  Having a box full of cute scrapbook papers, I thought we'd use a round punch and make cute little circle counters.  Using double sided paper is a great trick.  One print represents the first number in the addition problem, and the other print represents the second.  Count them all up and there you have your answer!  Super cute and easy!

This circle punch is made by Creative Memories.  It's been around my craft room for about 5 years.  5 years and still strong and sharp!

This paper is perfect for counters because it has a print on each side! 

 It would also be fun to use these paper flowers.