Crafty Tuesday

You will rarely see that title on my blog because I'm not the craftiest person on the block. But every now and then the crafty bug strikes me. I'm not sure if this should even be considered a craft but it makes me happy. I love wrapped books. Especially when they're done the old fashioned way, with a brown paper bag.

A Beautiful Day

Several years ago we discovered a wonderful little family festival that is held one day each year in our area. We froze our tails off that year but the fun surpassed any discomfort we felt. Unfortunately, we couldn't go to the festival last year. I forget why. But we made it this year!

The day started off a little rough. Parking took a little effort on our part. The little festival we discovered two years ago is not so little anymore now that everyone has heard about it. Once we found a good spot, we parked and made our way to the festival. And then, I fell. Hard. As in, painful boo-boos and owies. Yes, I'm a baby. No news there. At least I'm adult enough to admit that I'm a baby. Right?

I'm still not sure exactly how I fell. I thought I was sure where I was stepping. Heck, I was on solid ground on a concrete sidewalk. I just miss judged a curve/curb/slope somehow and the ground came up to meet me. What's really sad in all of this, I was holding Violet's hand and ended up taking the kid down with me. In the confusion of the moment, I thought she was falling! So, imagine my confusion when I realized at the last second that it was actually ME who was falling. After making sure Violet was okay (which she was) it was then that I noticed I wasn't. I had scraped a knee and palm but my wrist and shoulder really hurt.

My sweetheart of husband suggested we go home. And as much as I loved him for that, there was no way we could disappoint our precious little girl. She has been looking forward to this day for several weeks. So, with a limp in my step, we went to the festival. And we were rewarded with countless smiles and giggles throughout the afternoon.

Violet made several crafts throughout the festival (it was an ART festival after all). Our first stop of the day, a little sketch art...


We got up close and personal with some critters at an animal rescue center's booth...


Which, let me share a little known fact about me here... I HATE snakes!!! So, that photo is a testament of how much I LOVE my daughter!!! I got close enough to take a picture. Just. For. Her!

The fantastic clown who did balloon figures was there again...


The highlight of the day though was the opportunity to meet several Princesses! First, we listened to them as they performed the theme songs to their movies. Then Violet got to do an art page while Belle held her paper for her!


The smile on her face shows how much Violet enjoyed her day...

Getting Your Craft Groove On

I have a wonderful Aunt (hi Kathy!) who is a teacher. As we all know, teachers have to use some of their personal paychecks on school supplies. Well, my Aunt bought a craft book for her class only to find that the projects were a little below her student's age level. Thankfully, she thought of her great-niece and put it in the mail and sent it our way.


This book is great! I'm the worst when it comes to coming up with craft projects for Violet. No more will I have this problem! This book has great instructions for each project. It also tells you what you'll need for each craft project. Kind of like a craft project recipe!



For our first project I decided a little butterfly would be a great starting point! My photo isn't the best (but it was the best out of the several I took). I'm very proud of the end project and Violet had a wonderful time doing this.



This is the perfect book to help you get your craft groove on!

I've Been Bitten!

By the craft bug, I mean! Here is my feeble attempt to turn some wonderful stickers and paper doilies into an art project. It was so simple it's rather embarrassing to actually call this a craft/art project. My friend Jenni included some fabulous stickers and paper doilies in the goodie bag she gave me the other day. As soon I as I saw them I knew I wanted to try this. All I did was whip out my box of crayons and colored the white paper doilies. (Yes, they're my crayons and not Violet's; mine are the regular crayons, not the water washable kind that Violet uses. It may be just me who thinks this, but I think the regular crayons have a better saturation of color than the new washable kind.) Next, I placed the sticker as close to the center of the doilies as possible. Viola! Simple, yes. Enjoyable, I think so.


I'm thinking though that I want to buy some crafting chalk and try that for coloring the next doilies. I don't know why, but I think the color will be softer and truer to the colors I'm imagining in my mind's eye. We'll see what I come up with. Right now I'm wanting to go to my local Michael's store and buy a Tinker Bell pillowcase for Violet and work on it for her Valentine's day present. It's really cute. It comes with special fabric crayons and so it should be a nice soothing project to work on while Violet's sleeping soundly in her room.

Oh, the crafting bug has definately bitten me!

A Great Day

[photo courtesy of Jenni Simmons]

Friday was a great day for me. I spent the afternoon with my friend Jenni enjoying great conversation, chili, pie and coffee. Yum! After we finished our leisurely meal I had the privilege of teaching Jenni how to cross-stitch. She mentioned that she wanted to learn this craft and it is one of the few creative things I actually know how to do. My wonderful Mother-In-Law taught me how to cross-stitch several years ago when my dear husband and I were actually dating (which seems like forever ago, but in a good way). Teaching Jenni how to cross-stitch is a way for me to "pay it forward" the creative process that was taught to me all those years ago.

Jenni was an excellent student. She was patient with me as I tried to figure out the best way to show her things, which was alot of trial and error. I created a pattern for her to start with, something very similar in style to one she motioned she liked. I enjoyed the whole creative process of designing the pattern and then teaching Jenni how to use the needle and thread. This has inspired me to create more things and incorporate them into our home.

Jenni was a kind and generous hostess and gave me a great bag of goodies as I left for home. I was even allowed to "tea shop" through her amazing collection of teas in her pantry. She also threw in a sweet little bottle of all-natural honey and some amazing bird related stickers. I have a craft idea ruminating around in my head on how to use these beautiful stickers and some pretty doilies that were also included in the goodie bag. We'll see how well they turn out. I just never know. Sometimes a project looks great in my mind but not so great once done.


Jenni, Thank you for an incredible day of great conversation and wonderful food. I'm fortunate and blessed to be able to count you as a friend. May God bless you greatly today and always!

Art Display

Violet loves to paint. Seriously LOVES it! So, we needed a creative way to display all the artwork that naturally flows in our home. I wanted something better than the refrigerator door and came up with this idea after seeing something similar on my friend Jenni's blog. It's simple really. Hemp craft rope and miniature clothes line clips all bought at our local Michale's craft supply store for under seven dollars. I set this line up in a hallway leading to Violet's room. She gets to see her artwork each time she walks in and out of her room and it makes her happy. It makes us happy to have a way to display the never ending artwork and show it off to whomever visits.

Literary Jack

I love fall and everything that comes with it... beautifully colored leaves in hues of orange, yellow and red. Cooler weather with chimney smoke in the air. Halloween, Thanksgiving, My Birthday, pecan pie, turkey, etc. etc. And, knowing that Christmas is just around the corner.

While I have an abundance of Christmas decorations I have nothing for fall and Halloween. So, I decided to get a little creative with what I have around the house and Violet and I made "Literary Jack" (a craft project that I saw on this blog, one of my new favorites).

This was such an easy craft project. I pulled out an old paperback book (one that I was going to resell at my favorite book shop and therefore didn't care about) and folded back each page and its covering pages. That was the most difficult part of the project and even then it wasn't very difficult, just time consuming. Then, I cut out the face shapes and Violet glued them on. She decided that "Literary Jack" needed some hair and so she cut scraps of paper and just poked it in on the top. I think he has character although he may want to go to the men's hair club about his thin hair.

Before we decorated "Literary Jack", I had him sitting in a corner on our bookshelf. The folded book looked good sitting there and so I plan to put it back (minus the added face and hair) once Halloween is over. Two decorations for the price of one craft, you can't beat that!

Note: I apologize for the photo quality that I've been posting lately. My camera is being very temperamental. I think this one has seen its last days and it's time for a new camera.

Water Colors

Today's project was water colors. Violet had a wonderful time making her artwork. We're now waiting on it to dry so we can display it properly.

Concentration...


Fruits of her labor...


We sprinkled salt on the wet paint to see what the effect would be...

Good Clean Fun

If you need an idea to keep a preschooler busy then you should try this ~ washing your coins by hand! It may sound utterly silly but it kept Violet busy for over an hour. The concentration that she put into this task was surprising and she enjoyed what she was doing. Not to mention, it’s good clean fun! By the way, if you come across a nice shiny penny, it might be one that Violet worked hard on cleaning.

That's Sew Crafty

[photo courtesy of Sew Crafty's web site]

The 5 o'clock news had a sweet little segment last night. In the Heights area of Houston there is a wonderful little shop called Sew Crafty. I love the name and the concept of this place. It's a place where you can gather with other, like-minded, people who wish to either learn a new craft or just to chew the fat while working on a project. The classes range anywhere from $20 to $100, depending on what you've signed up for.

I've got a sewing machine that is just begging to be taken out of the closet and actually put to use. (Hi Mom!) I need to learn how to sew before I attempt to use my machine and Sew Crafty sounds like a great place to start! Hmmm, a couple of sewing courses as a Christmas (or birthday) gift would be lovely. (Hint, hint.)

I've got a crafty side to me, as in the arts kind, and have always wanted to learn to sew. I never took home-economics when I was in High School because there were so many other things I was involved in. I've always regretted that. Thankfully, I'm of the mind-set that it's never too late to learn something new.

My interest in sewing has been a growing one. I requested a sewing machine for Christmas a few years ago and was blessed with one. In all honesty though, the machine frightens me. I'm afraid of breaking it and therefore haven't used it. (I'm telling on myself and likely to get into trouble for this confession. Sorry Mom.) But now that I have a daughter this is a craft that I would like for her to learn. What better way to teach than by example?

I have visions of sitting in front of the sewing machine, working a cute little printed fabric into a skirt for Violet. Then, once the project is completed, watching my precious little girl twirl around in the finished product. I may be crazy in my dreams, heck most of my dreams are crazy ones, but that's what dreams are for... entertaining thoughts and visions that you have and hopefully making them a reality. I must not be the only one dreaming of sewing something on their own, otherwise Sew Crafty wouldn't have made it on the news last night.