Video Fun by My Son

Another View of Sheep

Aren't these clever sheep? I saw them last night on the Craftzine blog, more here.

It's a Webkinz World!

We went to our local Hallmark store two days in a row this week for the special give-away of a free Webkinz for every purchase of ten dollars or more. For us, that meant buy one Webkinz, get one free! This was all part of Webkinz celebrating their two year anniversary. (If you haven't heard of them yet, or don't really know what they are, check them out here.)


My kids only started collecting Webkinz about seven months ago, but there were birthdays and quite a few holidays since then. That made gift giving pretty easy for some, and the collection of Webkinz grew by leaps and bounds. This is the most recent picture of the whole gang:


These little critters have lots of adventures, on-line and in real life. They've all enjoyed bouncing on the trampoline with my kids, and in the picture above they were getting ready for their guided tour of our house. The last two days have been all about Webkinz fashion. Two of my children and their friend created many new fashions for their animals, using scrap material, tape and safety pins. A runway was constructed from a game box lid elevated by potholders, and of course there was music to accompany the models. My husband and I got to be the judges. We had a slip of paper on which we had to write our score for each constestant and then hold it, as if on a TV show. Their creativity was inspiring! They crafted ties, hats, belts, sashes, "tail veils", vests, capes, and more! Here are two of the contestants:


At first I couldn't see the appeal of Webkinz, but thanks to my kids, I now see that Webkinz are much more than just another line of cute stuffed animals. To my kids, these toys are some of the many raw materials they use in their never-ending, often surprising, creative approach to enjoying life (and coincidentally learning too!)

Friday Fill-in #58

Oooops! I'm a little late again. Do you ever think about things so much during a day, that you forget if you actually did them, or you just were planning to do them when you got the chance? Or is it just me? Anyway, here's what I composed in my head yesterday. ;)

1. I'm looking forward to a visit from my sister-in-law and her husband.

2. Italy is a place I always wanted to visit and haven't made it there yet.

3. I've fallen in love with making Art Trading Cards.

4. Six of one, 2x3 of another.

5. Addiction is a frequently misused term for passionate pursuit and frequent enjoyment of activities that are not truly harmful, ie. video games.

6. The videos my kids create crack me up!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having my sister-in-law and her husband at our house, tomorrow my plans include going to the county fair and Sunday, I want to just enjoy my husband's only day off with him and the kids, doing whatever!

Breakfeast-0 Day

Yesterday, we celebrated the newly created holiday, "Breakfeast-o Day". According to my daughter, almost every holiday is celebrated with a dinner feast of some sort. She felt that breakfast was being shortchanged, especially since, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." (Stated by my daughter, after hearing the same from me too many times. ;P) The "official" date will be on January 2nd, my father-in-law's birthday, in honor of his appreciation for all things breakfast-y, but this being the first one was just celebrated yesterday.

First, there was the menu planning.

Breakfast: breakfast - pancakes and bacon

Lunch: breakfast - ham and cheese omelet and fresh baked bread

Afternoon snack: breakfast - cinnamon buns

Dinner: breakfast - homemade beef hash with poached eggs

Dessert: breakfast - homemade waffles with fresh strawberry topping

Then there was the shopping, completed by my dear husband and children. Next, of course came the cooking, also done by husband and kids. And lastly, but not least, time to feast!

If you enjoy breakfast foods as much as we do, mark your calendar for next January 2nd and celebrate Breakfeast-o Day with us!

Who Knew......

that needle felting was so "magical" and fun? Apparently, quite a few people before me, but I just discovered it. It was easier than I expected, and provided the quick reward of a completed project. I was amazed at how a puff of wool could turn into something more solid in such a simple fashion (since my prior experience with felting involved crochet first, then wash, then shape and dry). Anyway.....this is my first of many felted goodies, I'm sure.

I'm Becoming a Bag Lady

It all started last may, when I decided to try and sew myself a new handbag for spring. Using a pattern from this book, I made the bag above. It was so much fun, that I decided to make another on with a different pattern, which became a gift.Then I was inspired to try my hand at felting a bag for the fall, and created this.

My mother really liked the felted look and asked me to make one for her for Christmas. I was thrilled. Here's what I came up with for my mom.
I also made 8 of these tote bags for Christmas gifts.
I have no good reason to make another bag, but today I bought some more wool yarn (on sale-yay!) for yet another bag. I saw a design that I just HAVE to try out. I love the idea of creating something pretty, and so useful too! I anticipate that 2008 is going to be "the year of the bag" for me. ;)

Thirteen Holiday Handmade Goodies From Our Home (TT#6)

(A little late due to trying to find a place to put our ever growing assortment of Chrismas decorations. I can't help but make a few more every year!)

I Love Creating Things - Thursday Thirteen #5

Thirteen arts and crafts that I've dabbled in:

1. Crochet

2. Knitting

3. Cross-stitch

4. Embroidery

5. Making wire and bead jewelry

6. Embellishing clothing with fabric paint

7. Encaustic painting (wax painting)

8. Watercolor painting

9. Tie dye and batik

10. Candle making

11. Stamping & Scrapbooking

12. Henna tattoo

13. Leather tooling

Update to last week's thirteen: I completed #2 and #8, and #12-13 are well underway. ;)

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My Son's Collections

My eight year old son loves to collect things and display them for all to see. I'm not sure if he is leaning toward museum curator or window display artist. (I know; there is so much more he can do with these talents!) I'm just impressed by how he has done this from a very young age. It's clearly a part of who he is. Anyway, here's a little tour of just a few of his collections. The pet rock friends - displayed on a spice rack, on a bookshelf so to increase the available display area.

All the wooden toys my son has built or assembled (puzzles), plus the model motorcycle he and my husband put together.
Most of the Z-card models are displayed on this corner shelf (also built by my son).
My son's shark tooth collection has special display "stands", which he crafted out of Fimo clay. (Notice the biggest tooth has a place of honor.)
This is a close-up of some of the Z-cards.

Now we just have to find more room to display the rock collection, the shell collection, the miniature alien collection, the coin collection, and probably a few more I'm forgetting! I'm thinking maybe we should have rotating exhibits.

I Love Playing In the Snow! (Like This....)

Re-creating Myself

(Crocheted and shrink art jewelry by me.)

One of the best things I've discovered, or re-discovered, since having children is my own creativity. I spent so many years working to be "professional" in my field, to be taken seriously as an "adult", and making "work" out of being the best parent I could be. I'm only recently coming to realize that to be my best at any of these things requires me to honor and accept all parts of myself. That especially includes the parts of myself that I tucked away in order to be more "mature" and adult.

The part of me that LOVES arts and crafts, and enjoys appreciating others art and creativity, is making a strong resurgence. This is what brought me joy when I was younger, and it is no less joyful now! Thanks to all the wonderful resources at my fingertips (via the computer), I am able to nurture this part of me and be inspired by countless others. It feels like a whole new world has opened up to me. But in reality, it is re-visiting of a part of myself that has been fallow for some time. Now, I am definitely enjoying the harvest, and looking to further cultivate my joy in creating.

Today's Daily Om spoke so eloquently about this that I wanted to share it. Here's an excerpt:

In certain times and places, developing a creative ability was considered an important part of being a well-rounded human being. It was not necessary to be a professional or a masterly genius, because the act of creativity was valued in and of itself. It gifts are manifold—from the sheer pleasure of allowing our imaginations free reign to sharing and enjoying the fruits of our labor. Children share drawings and songs freely, without self-consciousness, and there is no reason why we cannot do the same thing. (Read the entire piece here.)

This has been so true for me! Why not see if there's a part of you longing to create? You can find instructions for just about anything right here on the Internet. ;) Try something new and you might find something old and familiar inside that's been dieing to get out. Let me know about it too. I'd love to hear about it!

My First Sock Monkey

Here he is!

I think he still needs a little embellishment, but my son already swiped him to sleep with. This was fun, but next time I'm definitely using the sewing machine. You can find a really good tutorial to make your own here.

Mud Play

Yesterday we started our first attempts at making a dorodango, or shiny mud ball. I'm not sure if we have the "right" type of dirt, but it's been fun trying to make one. This is about as far as we get before throwing the ball becomes too appealing to resist. If we ever get a shiny one completed, I'll certainly be sharing pictures. In the meantime you can see some really beautiful ones here, and read more about them here. If anyone else has tried making them, and has any advice about what type of dirt is best, we'd love to hear from you.

Don't Leave Home Without It (Your Multi-purpose Magnifying Glass)

Who needs a fancy schmancy wood burning kit when you have a magnifying glass and sunshine?

The magnifying glass also comes in handy at the park when someone asks you for some matches to start their barbecue.

And, of course, magnifying glasses are great for getting a really good look at bugs, leaves, flowers and facial pores.

I "Felt" Impatient

When I saw Diana's beautiful knitted and felted bag, I knew I had to have one. Lucky for me, I learned to knit at the Live&Learn conference this year, so I could make my own. The only problem was, knitting takes too long for me. I NEEDED a fall purse right away! So....I figured I would try my hand at felting a crocheted bag, since I could whip that up in a matter of days.

I found a pattern for a great market bag, and purchased some pretty wool, and this is what I created.

Then after the magic of felting, and the addition of a pin (yes, all those buttons are a pin I had purchased a while ago just because) and a loop to close it, my market bag turned into this awesome purse!

I love it, and I love the wonderful on-line communities of crafters who joyfully share their ideas, inspiration, tutorials, and patterns. Thanks to you I can create beautifully satisfying goodies in no time at all, which is good for an impatient crafter like me! ;)