A few pictures from the last couple months

This morning, Jamie made my bed for me--all by himself--while
I was in the bathroom. And he did a surprisingly great job! So sweet!!

Window markers--something new is always fun.

Click on this to enlarge. I helped Jamie make it for
Jason for Fathers' Day, and some of his answers
are seriously funny.

Rare moment: Luke holding still.

Picture they took and put as my phone's wallpaper for Mothers' Day. I LOVE this picture, especially of Luke!

Really Long Easter Egg Hunt Video

This is seriously eight minutes long, and I'm putting it up for the grandparents, pretty much. Jamie's first egg hunt was fun, and you can see our scrubby selves in early-morning style :) Hope everyone had a good Easter!

Last-Minute Easter Centerpiece

Plain plastic eggs: $2 for 2 pkgs, didn't use them all
Easter grass: $1
Big plastic bowl: $2.50
(all at Target)

Put the eggs in the bowl.

They were a little too boring.

Add ribbon.

What else is there to explain except "I used a hot glue gun"?

Here's a bonus: if you wait a few more days, you could get all this stuff on clearance and do this cheap project for even cheaper than I did!

I pretty much love the one with the flower.

This, btw, is one of the chairs I found for $6 last October. Jason's next project is to sand and stain them and the bench. I'm loving the green cushions I just got at Ikea--and they fit PERFECTLY! Maybe the chairs came from Ikea to begin with?

Single Awareness (a.k.a. Valentine's) Day Wreath

...two whole days before Valentine's. Ha. :) But at least I'll have it for next year, too.

(yes, it's totally hanging on a light switch for picture-taking purposes)

You like?
It makes me happy whenever I see it.

Supplies:
Wooden hearts, like 39 cents each
Acrylic paints, brushes, and clear spray sealer: on hand
Ribbon for flower: on hand (I bought it to use on the Church bag I fancied up and made a lining for, and I still have some left)
Heart ribbon: $2 (50% off at JoAnn--this is why I waited until so near to the holiday to finish this project! I was so happy to find ribbon that matched the conversation hearts I'd already painted!)
Wreath form: $3 (after JoAnn 40%-off coupon, but next time I'll check the dollar store)


Process:

• I painted the conversation hearts one evening. It was so nice, mixing colors, getting paint on my fingers, experimenting, and just having fun painting.
• I glued one end of the ribbon to the back of the wreath, and wrapped it around the whole thing until it was completely covered, then glued the other end down on the back.
• Glued the hearts on. This whole project was done with a hot glue gun.
  

It took me awhile to get the flower right. Here's what finally worked:

• Cut out a circle of cardboard about 3 inches in diameter from any old place you can. This was once part of a box of fiber bars.
• Start gluing your ribbon around the outside edge, bunching a bit as you go along.
  

Keep gluing, winding around in a spiral shape, until you've gotten to the middle of the circle and covered nearly all the cardboard.

(Hehe. You can see my iPod cord there. I was bopping along to some oldies.)

Leaving a bit extra, cut your ribbon, and glue the end of it right in the middle.
You now have a flower.

Mine turned out a bit big for my taste, so I trimmed off a bit of ribbon and cardboard to bring down the diameter a bit.

I love recycling where I can!

For a nicer finish, you could cut out a circle of felt the same size and glue it to the back. I just didn't really care at the time. You will also want to use a small dab of glue on the end of the ribbon here in the back, gluing it about halfway down on the ribbon it's next to, so you don't have a square edge poking out of the back of your flower.

Before I stuck it on the wreath, I cut a length of ribbon for the hanger, wrapped it around the top of the wreath, and glued both ends securely to the back. Then I cut a smaller length to put inside the first, chain-link-like, so that it will hang on a hook without twisting.

Then I glued on the flower, and here's the finished result:

A cheery, totally original Valentine's decoration that I love. Mission accomplished!

thoughts swimming around

I think I'm too obsessed with blogging. When I have a thought, I think too often about how I would blog it.

Some random things going through my head right now, that I just feel like putting out there for the heck of it:

I tried to buy barley at Super Wal-Mart and then Albertson's; neither carried it. Barley. I had no idea it's such an oddity.

I'm overstretching myself on "neighbor" Christmas gifts. I have so many ideas and want to do them all; yet money, time, and common sense get in the way...

Is it silly that I'll click the "Follow" button on blogs to show a friend support, yet I use my list on my sidebar to actually read them? (I hear a lot about Google Reader but I don't know anything about it.)

I love my friends. There is something endearing about reading the more honest blogs, or maybe I should say blunt, where people talk about how hard things can be. I guess it makes me love you guys even more because I see more of what you have to deal with, and how well you do it, and you give me strength and encouragement.

Well, I guess I'd better go make my hot fudge sauce. I have some jars I want to get rid of, so I'm giving away the sauce in them to some people. There are also candy cane reindeer (for the kiddos, particularly my primary class), my mom's unbeatable (try, I dare ya) fudge, and butterscotch cashew bars in the works. (Don't you wish you were my neighbor? ;)) I was going to make a few ornaments to give away, but I'm not sure that's going to happen now.

Oh, and my mother-in-law got a buy-one-get-one-free deal on her Thanksgiving turkey and gave me the free one, so we're doing another turkey dinner Monday. I've never roasted a turkey completely on my own. Between that and the sweets for giving away, my head has been spinning with ingredients...

Maybe it will make me feel a little more grounded to get the sauce done tonight. Adios.

Spooky Soap Dispensers (from Crap I've Made)

***Note: I sent this link to Char because she did a post about others who had made these soap dispensers, and she featured one of my pics on the post (link below)!

A couple weeks ago I saw this post on Crap I've Made, and fell instantly in love. As soon as I got the chance, I snuck over to Target and found the very same soap dispensers on clearance that Char used, and bought three. The only thing I had trouble with was figuring out how to put a jack-o-lantern face on mine without adhesive vinyl, much less a machine to cut it for me. After toying with ideas about sticker paper and even just freehanding with a Sharpie, I went to JoAnn and was inspired with this idea:

Foam! It may not look as crisp as vinyl from a cutting machine, but it's a heckuvalot cheaper and I love that it's glittery.

I traced and then cut out jack-o-lantern face shapes, and after failing almost comically with a glue gun (the way the foam peeled right off, it was almost like it was laughing at my stupidity for even trying), used my scary E-6000 (of the adhere-your-furniture-to-the-ceiling-if-you-want variety) glue to make that foam stick. Since it doesn't set on contact like hot glue and I didn't want to sit there holding it all night, Jason suggested this idea.

Scotch tape. Worked great!

Add some ribbon and ric rac, and here's the end result:

(Pardon the water spots. I did make three, but this pic is of the one I finished first and have actually been using at the kitchen sink for a few days now. :))

Yay for finding ways around the expensive craft equipment I can't afford!