Life is busy....

Life is busy...really busy!  Over the last month, Micah got his cast off and is running around like a crazy person, Jesse celebrated his 6th birthday (and had a kicking Star Wars party...details to follow shortly) school is winding down, we're planning a huge vacation with extended family, and I have been feverishly attempting to get enough inventory and a display together to have a table at a local festival.

Well, that festival came and went this Saturday, and after the initial anxiety passed when we finally got set up, and the people started to trickle into my tent, I fell into a happy rhythm of demonstrating and educating about needle felting and slowly selling bits of crafty goodness.  Overall, I am quite pleased with the day.  I got to meet and talk to a bunch of awesome people, including some of my amazing friends, and I had the opportunity to share my passion for fiber arts with some folks who didn't know needle felting existed.  I'll leave you with a few photos of my set up....

The whole tent

Boys snacking on cheesy popcorn from a booth across from us 

Vintage suitcase goodness, filled with super fun composition books 

A bit of the bunting 

I used an oatmeal container, covered with pretty paper for a headband display

Cupcakes of the non-edible variety

Felted gnomes

Rock and shell collecting bags

My favorite part of the display....felted flower bobby pins hung on vintage lace

Jess and me, right before the onslaught of people.  (Notice Jess's cheesy fingers?!)  LOVE him! (Micah's in the wagon, watching "The Lion King.")

OH!  And how could I forget!?  I want to shout out a big "THANK YOU!!!!" to all of my friends who came out to visit and support me Saturday!!!  I am so blessed!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

I am one blessed girl!

First of all, I get to be Mommy.  Mother's Day makes me remember how just a few short years ago, motherhood was what I wanted more than life itself...and it looked like it was never going to happen.  And now, I have TWO of the most amazing little boys in the whole world, who by God's amazingly crazy plan, call me their Mommy.  Aren't they sweet?

Splashing in the kiddie pool, Spring 2012

And..... my Mom is such an amazing woman!  She is one hard-working, loving, sacrificing, Proverbs 31 woman of God, and I am so grateful for every minute we got to spend together (even if it is mostly on the phone).  Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Gramby and Jesse with the new lambs

And then, I also get to have other mothers in my life.... I'm thankful for my mother-in-law.  I love her and how much she loves my little family, and how she loves God and raised an awesome son.  I know she really cares about us, and I feel so blessed to have her in our life.  And Betty, Jared's grandmother... My kids are so lucky to have a another godly woman who loves them so much in their lives.    Happy Mother's Day, Jean and Betty!

Making cookies with Gigi

Great Grandma with the boys

I'm humbled and just so darn grateful to have these amazing Moms in my life!!!!!

Spring Breaking

Spring break is in full force!  Woo Hoo!  I have lots of craft projects and Easter fun planned for the boys this week.  For now, we'll just start with chocolate chip silver dollar pancakes, hanging out with a really cool toddler, tracing Star Wars characters, and gathering "flowers" from the yard.

Sprouting!

 There are some promising things sprouting!  I hope you're having a great day in your part of the world!

Etsy Shop and Bluffton Village Fest

Good afternoon, friends!

My etsy shop is (FINALLY!) up and running again.  I love making things, but truth be told, I have a really hard time getting my act together to take pictures, write descriptions and post it all in my etsy store.  I'd much rather spend my time creating!  But, after weeks of making, I finally did get said act together, and here are the results (if you're so inclined to check them out).

One of my little owls

I am super excited about a new project I've been working on - creating felted objects out of children's drawings (namely Jesse's drawings, for the time being).  I love taking 2-D art and turning it into a special keepsake.  They're perfect for parents, grandparents, or boosting a kid's artistic self esteem!  (Available here in my etsy shop.)

Jesse's rendition of "Plants vs. Zomies" in felt 

Wool felt butterfly, original drawing also by Jesse

"A Scary Alligator on a Leash" by Jesse Plew, made into a felted figure

I have also been sewing quite a bit, and there are some fun sewn things coming up in my shop (HOPEFULLY by next week.)  Please stop by and take a look.

Also.....We have this adorable street in the historic part of Bluffton called Calhoun Street.  There are a bunch of galleries that sell local artists' work, antique and eclectic shops, restaurants, new and vintage clothing stores.... The street hosts a weekly farmers' market, as well as a number of festivals and special events.  By far, my favorite event is the Bluffton Village Festival.  Thousands of people roam the streets sampling the area's best local foods and wares from a number of talented artists.  I have wanted to set up a table here for years!  Something has always stopped me.... not enough inventory, being on bed rest with Micah, fear of failure (I know that sounds silly, since I've been selling my crafty things since I was little, but I'm really nervous about going out there on my own!).... But this year, I'm just going to do it!  Wish me luck and come out and visit - Saturday, May 12th from 10:00-4:00, Calhoun Street in Bluffton, SC!

gardening with the boys, part 3 (seed-starting pot tutorial)

In order to start our plethora of tomato seeds, I needed little pots or seed starting trays.  Everything around here is so ridiculously expensive (and I'm cheap) so I started looking for alternatives.  I saw this adorable little gadget that helps you make pots out of newspaper.  But you don't need that little gadget!  You can make your own newspaper pots!  They're biodegradable and free.  You can't get much better than that!  Here's how....

1.  Put a shoe on the good foot, a slipper on the casted foot, and park on the step so you can play with mulch.

2.  Continue to play with mulch.

3.  Try to wrestle the jar away from Mommy when she's trying to use it.

4.  Use really cute face to try to get my way, but eventually give up and go back to mulch.

OK....really....back to business.  All you need is newspaper and a pint mason jar.

Tear newspaper into a single, half sheet, and fold in half lengthwise.  

Lay the jar on the folded edge, and roll up.

Flip the jar so the jar sticks out of the bottom.

Fold in the excess paper where the paper ends first.

Fold down another third. 

Fold down the last third.  (Notice the boy has lost interest in mulch again.)

Tuck the last fold under the other folds.

Turn the cup over and remove the jar.

Fold in upper edge so the top doesn't unravel.

Ta-da!  Seed-starting cup!  Add your potting mix and plant seeds as directed on the seed package.

I put all my seed cups in a heavy-duty cardboard box so I can bring them inside if they get cold.  

I hope this helps other frugal gardeners out there!  Happy planting, y'all!

gardening with the boys, part 2

The sun has been very busy warming our corner of the world.  Temperatures are slowly climbing, and with the warmer weather, come hopes of a fruitful growing season.  Oh!  I have big plans for this little garden of ours this year!!!  This year we're trying some square-foot gardening, to pack in enough veggies to eat, share, and can for later on in the year when a garden-fresh tomato is a sweet, distant memory.

I love gardening all kinds of vegetables, but tomatoes are by far my favorite!  There's nothing quite like the taste of fresh-picked tomato, ripe and sun-warmed.  YUM!  I knew I wanted to plant a bunch of the little darlings this year, but after checking the cost of plants, I almost choked!  Six bucks for one tomato plant?!   Really?!  No thank you.  So, we decided to start from seeds.  Jesse and I picked out all of the veggie seeds we wanted to try and a brick of condensed seed-starter soil, and got to work.  We started by digging out the herbs (particularly the oregano) that had taken over the box during the winter.  We had to add a little dirt and manure to the box since the soil depletes a bit every year.  Jared took some pictures for us while we prepared the bed and planted our row of peas.

Micah getting in on the pea-planting action

Besides the veggie patch, Jared also dug out a small bed next to the garage for Jesse.  Jesse wants to plant his own flower garden.  He picked out one yellow snapdragon, a package of giant sunflower seeds, and a seed mix for butterflies.  He's so excited to have a little patch of garden that is all his own!  I love seeing how happy this makes him.