Earth Day Party

Little {L} turned two year old last week. Over the weekend we had an Earth Day themed birthday party. The kids had SO much fun! We had decorations made from natural & recycled items. An earth cake, including an earth colored inside! Seedling cupcakes made with chocolate frosting and green jelly beans, "sprouting" from the dirt.

The backdrop is made from upcycled paint chips. I had a whole bunch of paint sample books from the last time we painted. A quick circle punch job, and then they were glued to yarn. Mr. {D} was proud to say all day that he picked the stick they were hung from.

I made these little journals to give to the children at the party.

Peek a boo!

Go Green!!

I WON!

I'm the kind of person who never wins...anything. As a child, I entered contests, already planning what I'm going to do with my prize, as I wrote my name. Each time I was SURE this would be the time. This time, I would finally win...

After 28 years of not winning, I've just gotten used to it. It doesn't really bother me anymore, I still enter contest and blog giveaways, but I think less and less about the chance of actually winning over the years. I let the dreams of grandeur lie with my husband, who still thinks we are going to hit the lottery-every week.

Well, I am HAPPY to say, my losing streak is over. HAHA-Hurray! I won this super cool journal over on Cathe Holden's blog, Just Something I Made. It's a super cool journal and a great blog for anyone creative or crafty! The journals are made with repurposed book covers and pages. Check out some other cool books at the Ex Libris Anonymous site.

Check it out! Meanwhile I will be writing in my new book. Thanks to Cathe & Ex Libris Anonymous-you guys rock! :D

Garden Wish Flags

Lately I have been really inspired by Tibetan Prayer Flags. They seem to wander into my mind at the strangest of times recently. I enjoy reading the Maya Made blog and she made some for her family garden.

We had been talking about a few different things to spruce up the garden, and I knew this would be it. We had to put up a large piece of lattice to block the dog from the garden. We tried several other things last year and with a dog that jumps and Bowie would just charge anything....this was our final solution! It works great, but it's ugly.

I used upcycled sheets cut into squares and had the children decorate them with fabric markers. There is a flag for rain, sun, growing, no bugs and some flower ones. After each square was completed, they were sewn together with a strip of bias tape. Quick, fun and meaningful to both the kids and parents!

I love looking out the window and watching the children's artwork dance in the breeze. Whenever I am in a grumpy mood I stare at them and realize how much I have to be joyful about. I love the creativity and love that is always present in our home.

Presents for Daddy

Over the weekend, my lovely husband turned 30!! He was totally not into his birthday this year. Hitting 30 was a milestone, he would have rather skipped-haha.

I tried to make it special by making all his gifts. The kids made these cool pen holders for him. They are always asking what he has on his desk at work and if he thinks about them while gone. It was a super easy, fun project! The base is empty soup cans that would have gone into the recycle bin. They use a very small amount of fabric and you could even use repurposed fabric with great results and minimal $!

I found the tutorial while browsing through flick a few months back. My children had been playing in the room with me. They happened to look over my shoulder an see the pen holders. {M} immediately said, "I wanna make that for Daddy!! Pleeeease."

So we started saving cans, much to the dismay of family and my husband. He asked several times, "Just how many cans do you think you guys need...to...make stuff?"
He was excited about the finished product when he saw them.
Want to make your own? Check out the easy tutorial "here".

Happy Birthday Mike!! May the next year hold great things for you!

Time Spent

This is what I have been working on! Brooch after Brooch. They are so fun to make, use up small pieces of fabric I cannot bear to get rid of and have tons of uses:
They can be pinned onto hairband and used to add some color to your daily do. Added to a plain bag to spice it up. Fun accent to a scarf, jacket or shirt. Add one to a belt for a fresh look. I like to use them when wrapping gifts-It makes the package look pretty and it's functional too.

Since each piece is hand cut, no two are exactly alike. Most don't even look similar to any others. I love the texture and colors. Feeling extroverted, add a colorful, loud pin. Shy quite day? A nice neutral pin made from organic, undyed cottons and upcycled buttons will do the trick.

Theses will make their official debut at the Eco-Chic Craftacular. Come early[first 50 people] and you might just score a free one in the cool swag bags. I will be adding whatever I have left after the show to my Etsy shop starting May 18th. So, if your not local-they can travel to your home town also.

Tons of zipper pouches too. I have become somewhat obsessed with cutting the fabric squares and have a HUGE pile waiting for nap time to be sewn. Look for all the typical, fun, bright prints that I love. There will also be some quieter handprinted. organic versions. I can't decide if I love loud color, or calm serenity more.

Hope to see you at the show!!

Happy Friday!

After a L-O-N-G week, I was struck this afternoon with the need to create something for me. I've been putting off so many projects that I want, and started feeling uninspired to do the others. I've had plans to make a few new throw pillows for awhile. The pillows our couch came with were SO hideous! They have been stored in the attic for 2 years now. I started thinking that they would make a perfect pillow form, for some washable, removable covers.

The last time I made pillows, I cut, sewed, stuffed and sealed them....cut to a week later and the kids had food, marker and god only knows all over them. I decided then, it was the last time I make pillows that cannot be washed-for a house with 3 kids under 5!!

These are paired with upcycled sheets for backing, making the total cost only a few dollars for each!!! They only take about 15 minutes to make also [a good thing because that's about the only time I can find lately]. Below is the back of the larger pillow. When I get a chance, I'll add a few button closures.

Here is one of my brooch's shown by the new pillow and my purse.