in the moment

happy valentine's day

we're sharing lots of love today.... 

starting with gifts for the teachers.  

ever since alex was in kindergarten, the kids have given handmade cards to their teachers -- made with care from their heart.  so this year, the kids chose to paint their cards with colorful hearts on the outside and handwritten messages on the inside.  they worked so carefully painting big hearts, little hearts, layered hearts and polka dots too.  some of the artwork was cut apart to make small cards and some were just folded in half  but each one was made with care.  and each one had a thoughtful message inside. aren't they so very cheerful.

couldn't help but photograph the bright colorful packages-- didn't they turn out great.

so on this tuesday afternoon, we are sending you big, bright pink n' red and purple painted hearts full of love.

wishing you -- a Happy Valentine's Day!

handmade

each year, the kids and i work on handmade gifts for family n' friends.  and this was the year for polar fleece.  not only did the kids work on these pillow projects but they also made polar fleece scarves for all the relatives.  (so bummed i didn't snap a photo of them).

i always look forward to these projects...  during this hectic woosh of a month i value slowing down and working with the kids, crafting together.  and it is all about the process.

this past summer alex came home with one of these pillows he made at camp.  and back then, we talked about making these as gifts for the holidays.  so recently we went to the fabric store to look at all the patterns and colors. we talked about our friends/cousins and which polar fleece would be best. we talked about their favorite colors.  we picked out ribbons. we choose fringe adornments too. this took thought.  and this took time.

at home we planned the size, cut the rectangles and the kids cut the fringe (although miss ally needed some help).  then, the kids tied the knots around the edge all by themselves.  and the kids stuffed each pillow all by themselves.  as we sat on the kitchen floor working together, the kids talked about the pillow at hand and the kids talked about their friend receiving it.  this took love.  and this took time.

here are the first two pillows in production...

alex helped iron on the blue M monogram while i stitched on the pink pom-poms...

the kids were very proud of their efforts as am i.  and they were so excited to give these gifts. such a joyful moment to watch their friends...

getting crafty again...

i've been making handcrafted birthday invitations well, since alex's first birthday - almost 11 years ago.  so between alex and ally, this would be birthday invitation number-- 18.  as ally says, wowie-wow-wow.  

these lil' projects just feed my creative soul.  

it all began with alex's first birthday, our first child's birthday- a big event for new parents.  one which we celebrated in first birthday style with family n' friends hosting a Winter W-One-derland party.  

that was the start.  

each birthday thereafter has centered around a theme specific for mr. or miss a.... there was the year alex lOved balls- he rolled them, bounced them, chased them all throughout the house so his party that year... Come have a Ball.  We've also had the Tickled Pink to be Two for ally, the favorite color party, the train and airplane parties for alex and the Splash/water and Art parties for ally.

so with miss ally turning 8 this year it was definitely time to celebrate and she likes to 'skate' so there you go-- we had a skating party.

here are the invites i made.  the photo along with the eight and text were created in photoshop then printed at home.  then i mounted the image on white cardstock and embellished with ribbons n' polkadots.  dark pink, orange and polkadots were the running color theme...

i found these lil' buckets in the dollar section at Target-- perfect for the color scheme and the party favors.

some more polka dots and ribbons to complete the gifts.

 

decorating for the family gathering entailed balloons left over from her skate party, tissue pom-poms hanging from the ceiling, orange polka-dot napkins and pink plates, with dark pink ribbons tied to the chairs.  I also cut out eights from orange cardstock, attached bamboo skewers and "stood" them within the snacks on the table.

and, here is the cake for our family gathering-- yellow cake with lemon butter frosting (a family tradition and requested by miss a.)  decorations were simple with ribbons, fun candles, candy sprinkles and another orange cardstock eight.  very festive and quite fun to make.

my wheels are already turning for mr. a's birthday just a few months away...

 

this makes me happy

i really enjoy the kids artwork- it makes me so happy.  the bright colors, their kid handwriting, the free abandon of their art.  in fact, i save pieces they bring home from school and each month i hang their artwork on our pantry door.  you can see part of the pantry on the right.  i like that the artwork is from both the kids and spans their pre-school thru elementary school years.

also, i have been pulling art pieces from both kiddos work to hang upstairs in one of our hallways as an art gallery, like this collage flag piece.  alex made this several years ago when he was around five years old. i just cut up pieces of cardstock n' patterned paper into random squares, then i sketched a rectangle border on art paper and alex glued it all down by himself.  the close-up image shows all the texture and shades of color.  think it turned out great.  such a simple project but very impactful- definitely makes me smile.

 

and since july is almost at an end, here's an image from our 4th of july...

we were on vacation for the week visiting friends.  we spent all day at the pool, had a b-que dinner followed up by a game of hoops and of course ice cream.  it was an all around 'all-american' day.

kids crafts

 

this father's day weekend, craig was flying so we celebrated with him a day later-- on monday morning.  this gave us the weekend to work on crafty projects together.  the kids made their own father's day cards, carefully writing messages and illustrating the inside.  we also made decorations to hang above the kitchen table as a surprise when he arrived home.

we found these pre-designed ties on a website (shindig parties) all ready to cut out.  we printed out a enough so the ties were double sided.  the kids did all the cutting and glueing themselves. we decided to add the ribbons and hang them from the ceiling for festive decorations.
 

here are the kids' father's day cards up close... aren't they sweet. 

i also found this pre-designed door hanger on a crafty website (733 blog) -- the kids thought this would be a lot of fun to work on.  so they decided what breakfast options we would make in the morning and then handwrote them on the door hanger.  we turned down the bedding, added a water bottle, the door hanger and a chocolate for his pillow--- just like turn down service in hotels.
 

the kids also decided to add this little card it reads.... night, night. sleep tight.  don't let the bed bugs bite. (with the added sound effect) chomp!  this is what craig says to ally every night when he tucks her into bed.  ally always giggles as they say "chomp" together.  each night is the same.  so it was a must to add this little card.  our father's day surprise for craig.
 

it was definitely a fun father's day project to work on together.

dying eggs

yep, i know these images are from april but i still wanted to share...

at 10 years and 7 years old these two wanted to dye eggs- i'm so happy for this. this has been an annual tradition for us and i wasn't sure if kids out grow this or not and when?? i still have fun.  i love the happy bright colors of these eggs and this activity always ensures egg salad sandwiches- yum.  so yes, i'm happy to report the kids were excited for this small event.  in fact, they hounded me all day saying "is it time yet? can we dye the eggs yet? when mom?"  

so we finally settled down in the late afternoon to work on the eggs.  i had saved some paas tablets along with the kit from last year.  it was a bit of a mystery as to what the colors would actually be -- it was hard to tell in the tablet form.

as you can see this was very suspenseful...

miss ally liked the fizzing sound...

mr. a quite focussed...

such a bright cheerful colors... 

miss a. just as focussed- does this run in the family?? 

miss ally's colored eggs...

the finished product.  aren't they beautiful together.

valentine projects

sunday evening, working on valentines for classmates and teachers.

each year the kids have made valentine cards by hand for the teachers.  so, for this valentine's day the kids worked with paint-- painting big and little hearts on the covers with handwritten messages inside.  such serious concentration from these kiddos.

we also tried a martha stewart recipe brownie hearts to give as packaged gifts for the teachers and friends too.  this was an easy and fun project for the three of us.  we made sure to leave an extra for craig-- since these chocolate treats were disappearing fast. yum!