Lasso The Moon

The Rest of the Seal Grey Paint

It didn't take us long to start up another project.

Donnie has built me the most gorgeous raised vegetable bed.

The entire thing is 8'x10', but it has nice, wide pathways, big enough to fit a lawn mower.  Or a tea party.

The entire thing is situated on a hill, but he managed to make the beds perfectly level.  That's how he does things.

He let everyone chip in. That's also how he does things.

Next step, paint it with the left over paint from the shutters, fill with healthy, living dirt, and pick out our crops!

Each side bed is 2'x6', and the one along the back is 1.5'x8'.  Perfect for a square-foot-garden style venture.  I have a habit of killing plants--especially vegetables--but this is just so pretty I want to come out and look at it all day long.  I hope I still feel like this when the sun starts raging with it's Texas summer attitude.  But, Donnie built this garden for me as an anniversary gift, so I'm pretty sure that means he's willing to take up the slack on the watering duties when the heat gets severe. 

What a great guy!

Oops...how did that get in there?

Follow you? Anywhere.

Friday's project...and some mail

As we head into the weekend, I have a big organization project I'm working on.  I can't wait to share it with you.  It's making me giddy.  Hopefully it'll be done by early next week so I can let you in on it.

Until then, I want to show you these darling necklaces I just got from The Adopt Shoppe.  I've shared their work before, but this is my first time to see it in person. 

They came neatly wrapped with those cute "moo" business cards.  Each one has a Scripture verse on it that pertains to God's love for the orphaned.  And the best part is that all of the profits go toward funding their own overseas adoption.  As fun as it is to buy presents, it's even more fun when it helps someone out, don't you think? 

Whether you know someone who's adopting, or just like to help a great cause, a trip to The Adopt Shoppe is in order.  (Please not that they are not paying me for advertising--I just really like the shop.)

 

Birthday Trip to NYC

My 32nd birthday is this Saturday, but Donnie treated me to an early gift.

He took me (and the littlest E) to the big city--totally on a whim!

My friend Amanda lives there, so we had a great place to stay.  For three days we saw the sights, explored the neighborhoods, and ate the food of New York City.

What a fun time we had!  It's a little tricky navigating the city with a baby, but I felt like I was getting the hang of it by the time we left! I would go back any time.  If you are thinking of taking a baby to New York, it might be worth your time to research restaurants that have highchairs.  Most do not.

This was the first trip Donnie and I have taken together (outside ministry) since our honeymoon, almost 9 years ago.  Now that I have a taste for it, we will not be waiting so long before the next one.

Thank you, Donnie!  I feel so spoiled!

 

 

 

 

Monogram Stamp Kit

 Here's a quick, fun gift for a dad that he can use again and again.

We made Donnie a custom stamp, along with some stationery to get him started.

We printed out his initials in a cool many font.  This one is "Octin Vintage Free" and you can download it here.  Then we transferred the letters to some stamp rubber and carved away.

We used block printing ink to stamp a half-dozen cards with matching envelopes.

But the real gift was the stamp itself.  I found this cool vintage block in the kids' toy box.  Remember to stamp the image onto the top of the block BEFORE you glue the rubber to the block! We glued it on using some jewelry glue I already had.  (Be sure to use industrial adhesives in a well-ventilated place, or you will get a headache.)

We gave Donnie the stamp, the cards, and some inkpads as a little "I love you" gift.  Writing notes to kids in his youth group is a huge part of his ministry, so this kit should get plenty of use.  Don't you remember how great it felt to get an encouraging note from an adult in your life?  I do.  I still have some of them.

It's not easy to come up with a handmade gift that's suitable for men, but this one works, I think.  It would be great for Father's Day, a birthday, or for just because, like this one.

A Handy Grandparents Gift

Here's a sweet gift for Grandma that can be whipped up in just a couple hours.

You'll need:

paper and pencil

dark colored marker

rick rack (approx. 1 yd per towel)

plain dishtowel - I like the flour-sack kind.

fabric paint

*****

Start by sewing down the rick rack along the entire bottom edge of the towel.

Next, use some scrap paper to trace your kids' hands with a pencil.  You may be tempted to make actual hand-prints, but trust me--this turns out better.  You only need one tracing for each child.  You can just flip it over if you want two on the towel.

On a 8 1/2 x 11 inch sheet of paper, arrange the hands so that they look balanced.  Write the child's name and age next to his hand.  Choose a place for the year, too.  If you don't like your writing, print out the info in a nice simple font, and trace it onto this sheet in the right place.  When you are happy with the composition, trace over everything with your marker, using a thick, smooth line.  This is your template for painting.

Fold the towel into thirds long-wise, so that the rick rack is along the bottom and the middle third is showing.  Now fold the towel in half, short-wise.  The exposed surface should be a little bigger than your template paper.  Slip it under the top layer of towel.

Choose the color you want for the writing and carefully trace over that first.  Start at the top and work down so you don't drag your arm through it!

If possible, wait for this color to dry before you do the next one.  If not, be super careful with your next color.  It's so easy to forget and rest your arm in the wet paint!

Trace over the hand prints using your next color.  Slip out the template while the paint is still wet.

Let dry for a couple hours before wrapping.

We have been making these dish towels every year since Emma was tiny.  We make them for Christmas, but they would also work for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, and Grandparent's Day.  Don't forget to make one for yourself, too!

linked to:TDC

 

Working. Working. Working.

A progress shot of something I'm working on.

Burlap + Black wool strips + White hand-spun wool yarn + Rug hook

= Rug-hooked ornaments for some special people in our lives.

 

More Stamping with Emma

While we still had the stamp out from the art project for school, we decided to get some handmade gifts crossed off the list. 

We used the stamp from Emma's drawing, block print ink, and a set of precut cards with matching envelopes that I'd bought a couple years ago for another project.

In just a couple hours we had almost 200 cards made.

These will make great gifts for teachers, pastors, grandparents, and others in our lives who need a little something to say "thank you" for all they do.

Emma's Dolly-and-Me Birthday Party

This year, since Emma was getting her first American Girl Doll for her birthday, we couldn't help but throw her a tea party for all of her friends and their dolls.

For the invitations, we found these wonderful printables from Mom & Wife.  They are in picture format, so just drop one into a publisher document to add your own details.

Using the invitation as a starting point, we used the same color scheme for the rest of the party: pink, orange, turquoise, and lime.

The pom poms are a tutorial from martha.  They are really simple to make, and each big pom costs about $1 when you by the tissue paper in single-color packs.

The food table was a blast to put together.  We scheduled our party from 2-4 so we wouldn't be tied to a meal, but instead could focus on the fun food:

::french vanilla cupcakes, made by a friend

::tropical mike n ikes

::mandarin oranges

::cheese cubes (buy the square string cheese and make this super-easy)

::pixie stix

::cheesy popcorn

::Crush and Mexican Jarritos sodas in the right colors (I use Jarritos at every party!)

Activities:

::When each girl arrived we introduced her dolls to the others at the tables.  We left them at their own table so they could get acquainted.

Hey! That's not a doll.  It's baby Esther!

::Then we made these fancy hats out of headbands, paper plates, coffee filters (dyed with Easter Egg dye from last year), feathers and doilies. 

I showed them how to scrunch up the coffee filters to look like flowers.  Everything was glued together with school glue, so there was very little mess.

::After they were finished with the craft, they had a little free time to play with the dolls and change their clothes.  Emma's Aunt Emily brought her collection of American Girl dolls and clothes.  She had a lot!

This was Daddy's favorite part.  He was right in the middle of them all during the dress up.

I think this is Emma's 6th pixie stick. 

::Next came the cupcakes and snacks.  I had my baker friend leave a dozen cupcakes un-frosted, and she sent the extra icing in a container.  The girls loved designing their own cupcakes with all kinds of sprinkles and candies.

I made some mini cupcakes so the dolls had something to munch on, too.

::After tummies were full, we opened presents. Each girl got her picture taken with her doll and with Emma.

Again, this is Esther, not Emma's new doll.

Grandma V. looks darling in this picture!

A decoupaged train case full of art supplies from Grammie.

A hug for Aunt Emily.

::After gifts, we played a few games until parents arrived.  The first was to walk around balancing a book on their heads.  As a generalization, 6- and 7-year-olds are not good at this.  The game did not last long.  We also made up a toss game with some nesting bowls and flower beanbags.  We gave each bowl a point value from 1-5 and kept score.  This game was better.

::Don't forget the party bags!

Each girl got to pick out a green bag, a pair of sunglasses, a ring, a candy necklace, and some more pixie stix.

Sources:

::cupcake papers and straws from HeyYoYo on etsy

::favors from the dollar store

::Emma's and Esther's dresses from Gap

::favor bags from Lasso the Moon

 

When it hurts to say it aloud, say it in pancakes.

It's here.

It's today.

I can't bring myself to say it.

What?!

Our girl woke up a little older and a little wiser today.  We have a funny family rule that you are never allowed to speak your upcoming age until the actual day of your birthday.  In fact, even adding 1/2 or 3/4 to the current age is strictly prohibited.  In our house, you are simply 6 until the day that you turn 7.

But when that day rolls around, you are free to shout it from the rooftops.  And that's just what she did.

She chose pancakes and bacon as her special birthday breakfast.  She LOVES pancakes and syrup.  I swear the girl is part elf.

I don't want to spend too much time talking about presents and materialism and stuff...but we decided that this was the year of the American Girl doll.  We thought it would be extra special this year since she has seen so many big changes in life.  First grade, more responsibility, and a baby sister to watch out for are just a few of them.  It seemed an appropriate time to give her something that was only hers, and that would require a little extra care.

She picked "Emily" in case any of you AG fans were wondering.  The glasses were too good to resist.

As I look at the above picture, I realize that every other gift on the table was pre-owned!  Ha!  I guess I won't worry about the one commercial item in the mix. Ethan was so fun to watch during the present-opening time.  He didn't show a speck of jealousy.  I've never known a kid to be so sincerely happy about another person's joy.  Plus, how great is it that his arm fits into that Barbie condo window?!

This was how we spent our Black Friday morning.  So much better than tug-of-war at Walmart, right?  Happy Birthday, Emma!

*****

Party photos tomorrow.

A Gift for My Sister (with free label download)

My sister had a birthday last month, and I never shared what I gave her.

I'm sure some of you have seen this on pintrest.  It's so simple and pretty, I couldn't resist.  And my sister is a genius cupcake baker, so this totally made sense.

The jar is from WalMart, the papers are from HeyYoYo (I've used them a couple times now. LOVE!), and the labels are from me!  Download your own for yourself or a friend below.  Print it out as many times as you want!  It's a happy birthday gift to you from me!