greetingarts

special day, indeed

We've been reading this book every night for the past week,  so it was inevitable that Rebecca declared today "Fancy Rebecca Day" the moment she got out of bed.  She donned pink and purple tights with sparkly hearts, a purple ankle-length skirt, pink sequined shirt, purple lace cardigan and some Mardi Gras beads, and headed downstairs for her delectable breakfast at Chez Michelle.



This takes me such a small amount of extra effort, and makes her indescribably happy.  There was not a crumb left of her peanut butter and jam pancake stack, two cups of milk were consumed, and I earned some brownie points.

Today also marks one year since I wrote my first blog entry,  when I barely knew how to turn on the digital camera, and had no idea what HTML codes were (well, I suppose some things never change).  I still get a thrill whenever I see a comment on one of my posts, and when I realize that those blog stats aren't rising just because I'm clicking on my own page.  Thank you so much for coming here, checking in on me every once in a while, and sometimes leaving a comment or two.  I've made so many friends,  learned so much, accomplished more than I imagined.  So, a new year, a new look.  I think it's like a new haircut, I have to wear it for a while, get used to seeing it in the mirror, and then I'll decide whether I like it or not.  What do you think? 

blue

I couldn't pick just one this week.



Sob!  July, 2006.  It was a lifetime ago.  Tonight, at dinner, she told me she had a boo boo on her hand.  She can tell me she's "hep-py" (happy).  She knows a cow moos and a cat goes "miaouw."



Ack!  Double sob!  That can not have been August, 2006!  She doesn't even look like that anymore.  How did this happen right in front of my eyes? 



And just a couple of weeks ago, in a shark cage.  I suppose every stage, every day has its cuteness, its "new," its moments to remember.

I'm going to go upstairs and kiss the babes again before they fall asleep.  Quickly, before this evening passes, too.

now you see it...

...and now you don't.  I had that sinking feeling, when I picked up my spool of thread.



Where did that needle go?  I know, I know, I know I stuck it in the top of that spool of thread, even though I have three perfectly good (no, wonderful) pincushions lying around.  So where did it go?  I started getting a little panic attack, and then I happened to shake the spool.

Hmmmm.  Rattle, rattle, rattle.



Peel back the sticker on top.



And the big reveal.  Whew!  The funniest thing is, there wasn't just one lost needle in there!  Am I the only one who has ever done this?

So, with the needle back in hand, I was able to complete a few more projects for Made for China.

This time, barrettes using some new clips from the 99 cent store, and felt.   

Spaghetti-Face Becca was upset when she had to take these off, so now I'm set to task making a few more - in pink, of course.  Is she ever going to grow out of pink?

happy new year (again)

Oh, I give up.  I was trying to take a decent photo, as requested by my mother, with the girls' hair all properly barretted (that should be a word, since it's such a time-consuming task every day) out of their faces, standing next to each other, smiling, in their outfits from China.



But, oh well.  I guess I'd rather have two laughing and happy girls than a good photograph.

plum

Last weekend, while it rained outside, we were inside the Birch Aquarium with two of our favorite people watching the fishies go by.

happy valentine

Hope your day is filled with love.

scarlet

I've been working on making some items for Carol's Made for China project, and this little girl is one of them.  I'm not quite sure if she's done or not.  Should I make her features out of felt rather than embroider them?  Add a little band of decorative ribbon, put some barrettes in her hair?  But while I'm pondering all of that, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to put on any limbs (sorry, Becca!).  I was going for that Fisher Price Little People look, those dolls I loved so much when I was a kid.  I went to five different places, and couldn't find any of the wooden blanks that Carol painted (so cute!), so I just started crocheting and Scarlet is what I came up with.   She's about 5 inches tall, and I like the way she fits in my hand, the simplicity of her.  I'm going to make at least a few more for the project, but after that, I just might not be able to stop.

matchbook notebooks

These make great party favors, stocking stuffers, little things to tuck in with a birthday card, whatever.  Make them bigger and you can use them as journals.



Gather your supplies:

2" x 5" cardstock (dark red)
2" x 5" decorative paper (this is optional, I used a pink swirl)
several sheets of 2" x   1 ¾" paper for the inside pages of your book (my stapler could handle about 15)
ruler
scoring tool (I used a steel crochet hook because it was handy)
glue stick
stapler



From one end, score your cardstock at ½".  From the other end, score at 2" and 2 ¼". Fold up at the ½" mark, nestle your inside pages there, and staple.

Yeah, I gotta get a new stapler.  The stapler is the easiest, fastest way I can think of (if you have a stapler that works, that is), but there are many alternatives.  You could do two eyelets with a ribbon, you could do a Japanese bookbinding technique, whatever will hold all those pages in.  Just depends how fancy you want to get, and how much time you want to take.

Apply glue along the flap with the staple, then stick on your decorative paper.  You can skip this step if you don't mind the staple showing, I just felt compulsive that day, and the kiddies were glueing and sticking right beside me, so I didn't feel rushed.

Turn the whole thing over, apply glue all along the back, and finish making it look pretty. 

Don't really know if I'm explaining this well in words, it's not at all complicated, just look at the pictures and hopefully it makes sense.

Flip it back over, fold on the remaining two lines, and ta-dah, you're done.

Well, wait, not yet.  You've got to embellish!

They're really fun to make, what are you going to put on the front of yours?

valentine ATCs

I've been admiring the beautiful artist trading cards that Kristin has been making,  and finally decided to try my hand at it.  I joined Amy's  Valentine ATC swap and finished everything up this afternoon.  At first, I was going to make them with felt and embroidery too, but I had a sudden idea one night and decided to go in a completely different direction.



I crocheted the base with tea-stained cotton crochet thread, and a US #7 steel crochet hook (1.5 mm).  Just single crochet, then a scalloped border.  I didn't try to make two the same, I thought it would be nicer to just see what I got.  I made some freeform flowers, some hearts, and found various bits that kind of "fit," and sewed them on with thread.

I hope they're okay, they aren't exactly like I'd imagined, but pretty close.  This swap had a quick turnaround, so I didn't get to fuss with them as much as I'd have liked, or crochet as many embellishments.  But maybe that's for the better.

Part of the swap was to include little goodies with the ATCs, so I made these matchbook notebooks, inspired by one of my rubber stamping magazines that I was attempting to organize the other day.  And guess what?  I actually managed to take some photos of each step, and I'll be posting a little tutorial soon.  Stay tuned.