By Sun and Candlelight

Afternoon Outing: Lovely Latte, Pretty Papers

My friends, I had such a nice afternoon! I was able to meet a very dear friend of mine for "tea" while I was out and about. We met at the most adorable cafe not far from where my boys take their art classes, and honestly I wish I had had my camera with me because I was so charmed by this sweet little shop! It was a small place, but airy and bright and there were all kinds of little treats and gifty things like local preserves, quirky wooden signs and herb-scented laundry detergent. There was even a little wine corner and some microbrews in a fridge!

(Needless to say, I'll be visiting again soon!)

Now, the menu featured all kinds of interesting brewed teas, but I actually skipped over the tea, and chose instead a quite potent and very tempting "raspberry mocha latte."

Oh my.

I may pay for indulging in such heady caffeine (especially so late in the day), but it was deliciously worth it!

Well, after catching up for a bit, Lynne and I went our separate ways (with a promise to do 'this' again soon). But as it happened, I had a few minutes to kill ... and as it also happened ... my favorite paper-craft store was right across the street!

So naturally I popped in to take a quick look around and as usual, I spied so many new and beautiful things! (This place is like a candy store, I tell you.) In under 10 minutes I had picked out some pretty pastel papers and coordinating embellishments, keeping my "new" planner and "Spring Newsletter" in mind.

Here's a peek at my purchases: 

Don't you just love all those soft, springy shades? They feel just right for this time of year ... plus I have such a weakness for "vintage" and "Victorian" things. :)

So I have some new supplies to work with, and while my planner is (once again) underway, my Newsletter is still just a bunch of notes in a notebook. ;) Speaking of the Newsletter - I'm hoping to have it ready to go sometime soon after Easter. (I'd like to say before, but I'm sure that's overestimating my time and energy, lol!) It will be loads of fun to work on it, though, and I must thank you all again for your enthusiastic response!

***

Well my friends, I must now sign off for the night ... the kitchen timer is due to ring in oh, about seven minutes. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing in my day ... I hope yours was a good one!

Have a nice night ~ I will see you again soon!

❤

A Project for 7 Sundays ...

... making a "stained glass" cross.

Some of my readers might remember this project from four years ago (though for the life of me I can't find that post, lol). Anyhoo, it was fun and pretty and I thought we might do it again this year ...

 You see, we have large glass doors in our family room that are paned, and the middle section of the middle door has just the right number of panes for this project (seven panes for seven Sundays). Now, that's not to say you couldn't do this project without window panes! It's just the design of the door was what inspired this project. :)

So each Sunday between the First Sunday of Lent and Easter Sunday itself, I will make one panel of our cross. Each panel will feature the same overall design and colors, but the center image will be different, symbolizing something from that week.

I used just a few simple materials:

Black construction paper, transparent vellum paper and multi-colored art tissue. Decoupage glue is shown above, but I ended up using a glue stick instead.

I cut a frame out of the black paper (sized to fit the both the window pane and the vellum sheet) and then I looked for an image for the center of my panel. I chose a daffodil for this week, to go along with St. David's Day.

I centered and adhered the image onto the vellum sheet and then stuck torn bits of tissue all around - this created the "stained glass" effect.

Then I placed the final results in the door ...

(I love how this project emphasizes the return of the light at this time of year.)

Six more to go and we'll have our cross for Easter!

It's not a hard craft to do, but it is time-consuming and a little bit fussy. I wouldn't want to make all of the panels at once, but making one for each Sunday is pretty do-able. In fact, I like how the cross will be built up all throughout Lent ... and to lend to the "suspense" I'm keeping the weekly images a surprise for Bill and the boys. ;)

***

Well my friends, I hope your Tuesday is off to a good start ... it's very bright and cool here this morning, but it definitely feels a little like Spring. I'll be back here again later today to share a spot of tea with you all ... until then, thanks for stopping by, and have a nice day!

Organizing Spring Crafts

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Well this afternoon I sorted through my Spring craft supplies, so I thought you all might like to see a few things I'll be working on in the upcoming weeks ... 

:)

These styrofoam eggs will be covered with colorful sequins and adorned with a golden ribbon. (Following the same idea as this Christmas project.)

They may be given as gifts, or simply hung as Easter decorations.

Below are framing mats, vellum paper, ribbon and an electric candle ...

These materials will be assembled into a small Spring lantern. My friend Kim described this craft to me the other day over the phone and I knew I just had to try it. What I will also need are images for the lantern "windows" which I will find using clipart and/or stickers. (Remember that Kate Greenaway clipart book I received for my birthday? That might work nicely here.)

But speaking of stickers, here are some pretty Spring faith-and-nature themed stickers I found:

(I'll use these in all kinds of ways ... I just love stickers.)

These tiny wooden crosses I bought at Michaels, for about $1 apiece.

I plan to paint them (one for each of my boys) and back them with bright art tissue or vellum paper. Then we will hang them in our learning room windows to catch that wonderful Spring light.

This here will be a family monogram ...

I plan to paint it and (perhaps) embellish it with stickers. I chose a deep red paint and a golden-red glitter - colors to match the sitting/learning room.

This project will be a small family "intentions" candle set.

It's hard to see, but behind the butterfly there is a small wooden dish, three glass votive candleholders and a spool of golden ribbon. I chose battery-lit votives as they are safer for children to use.

And below are the makings of some Lent & Easter banners ... 

I have here several pieces of felt in shades of purple and glittery white, as well as sequins, stick-on letters, ribbon and wooden dowels. These will be two-sided banners - Lent on one side, Easter on the other.

I've listed these craft projects in my Lenten binder and over the next several weeks I'll plug them in where I (we) have time. I can say, I plan to work on the banners with EB this week. (Ideally I'd already have them up but that nasty virus set us back a bit.)

Once I had all my supplies sorted, I tucked them in this handy storage box ...

I like to use clear bins for storing craft supplies and I usually separate materials by type (i.e. knitting crafts in one box, painting materials in another ...). But I also like to have one handy bin that is devoted to crafts that are timely or seasonal. As in the case of my "Spring Crafts" seen here. :)

***

Well, I hope you are all having a nice weekend! Have you been out and about? Or perhaps catching up on the homefront? We're doing a little of both here ... but the weather has been just crazy! Bright and blustery as all get out - wind speeds around 60 mph! It makes me realize how close we are to March 1st, which of course traditionally comes in "like a lion." With the roaring of the wind outside, I'd say he's knocking on our door already!

So enjoy your night, my friends, and your Sunday tomorrow ... I will see you again very soon.

❤

Ash Wednesday Traditions

And so Lent begins ...

If you follow my blog, then you know that seasons and traditions are a big part of my family's life. We honor and celebrate seasons (both natural and liturgical) and we include traditions (big and small) in our everyday life. Today being Ash Wednesday, we welcomed the season of Lent.

We received ashes at very early Mass, and then at home we made some ashes of our own. We just burned one of last year's palms (from Palm Sunday) until we had ash. 

This sparked lots of good questions (a little impromptu science lesson in fact), and just for the record, I kept a very close eye on this and only I handled the matches. Also, I kept a cup of water within reach, and the windows were open to air out the room.

Next I cleared off the nature shelf and set up a simple Lent corner:

Here I have a jug filled with barren branches - but I added no water, lest they bloom too soon. I also set our Lent binder here, as well as a planter pot full of dirt (with a pinch of the palm ash), our rice bowl and a plain beeswax candle. The cross hanging on the wall is made of simple grapevine.

This is pretty much how this space will look all throughout Lent ... though the cross will start to "sprout" little bits of greenery (silk ivy leaves) as we move closer to Easter. On Palm Sunday we'll plant seed in the pot and I'll add water to the jug (with fresh branches if need be). During Holy Week we'll work on "dressing up" the candle for our Easter table.

And on Easter morning there will (hopefully) be blooms on the branches and new growth in the pot ... the candle will be gilded and the cross will look something like it does in this post. But as for the tradition of the "missing alleluia" well, this year it went well and truly missing on me! 

Lol, I can't find that pretty little plaque anywhere, so I had to make up something else on the spot. I grabbed a plain cross shaped box from my craft supplies and I photocopied a page from one of the boys' song books.

I cut out the "alleluia" and placed it inside the box ...

Secured it all with twine ...

And we "buried" it in the back of a file folder drawer.

We do this because we do not say (or sing) "alleluia" at Mass until Lent is over. When we "resurrect" this tiny package on Easter morning, we'll find it all sparkly and fine, inside and out.

:)

I also packed away the Winter books this morning, and set up EB's corner with good seasonal reads:

On the sill, and in the basket ...

(I'll update my sidebar booklists asap!)

Here's a craft basket I put together last weekend, filled with materials for making various projects throughout Lent ...

... and here's the last section of our Lent binder: the "Stations of the Cross."

For this project I used 4x6 prints purchased from CHC several years ago, and I printed out station passages found at Domestic-Church.com. I adhered the images and words to folded ivory copy paper and fitted the pages inside sheet protectors. I really like how it came out, and my hope is that we'll take time each Friday afternoon to sit down and do the stations together.

*†*

And so Lent begins ...

A quiet and still season ... a time when we patiently await signs of new life. The journey can seem long, but these little traditions remind us where we're going, and keep us together on the path.

While we make fond family memories along the way!

❤

Well, have a great day, my friends ... and thanks so much for stopping by. I'm going to sign off for now, but I will see you here again very soon...

Afternoon Candle Craft

Well, the Groundhog may have been onto something ... it felt very wintry today! The air was cold, the skies were gray, and we even had a wee bit of snow. The boys and I were in and out quite a bit through the day, but once things settled down, I indulged in a little crafting. Candle crafting, that is, in honor of today's feast. :)

So I decided to try my hand at a craft my mum used to do with us when I was little - decorating candles with small bits of pretty paper napkins. This is very similar to the tissue paper candles I'm rather fond of making.

The materials were basic and few: patterned paper napkins, plain pillar candles (I chose small, electic candles, $2 apiece at the party store), mod podge (craft glue) and paint brushes. (I didn't use the scissors shown, but I found tweezers quite helpful.)

Here's where I worked - the left corner of my new desk!

(Don't let the open window fool you ... it really was quite cold. I opened it to entice the cats away from the craft zone.)

So very simply, I just tore small images from the napkin, and applied them to the candle with a small swipe of glue.

These napkins were three-ply, so I pulled the two back layers away from the printed top. This kept the images very thin and sheer.

I then brushed an area of the candle with a small amount of mod podge and pressed the napkin bit against that area. I used a second brush to smooth the edges, though my fingers worked just as well (maybe better). I also found it convenient to use tweezers when picking up and placing the napkin bits.

It didn't take too long ... but just long enough that I only had time to make one.

Final step - the top lip of the candle.

And then I was done!

I think (if I may say so) it's quite pretty as is, but maybe even prettier, lit up:

I think these candles would make lovely Valentines for moms, nanas, aunties and the like, or - thinking ahead - even Mother's Day gifts. The project is a bit fussy so if you're working with a younger or challenged child, you might want to have the napkin bits already picked apart and ready to paste onto the candle.

*❤*

So it was a very candle-centered day. We started at Mass where our tealights were blessed alongside other parishioners' candles as well as the main parish supply. And then there was my craft project, of course ... and now, as dark falls and supper is nigh, I have many candles "lit" all over the house. It makes this cold February night seem warmer, brighter ... a bit friendlier even. :)

Well my friends, I hope you all had a nice day ... and I hope this night brings you much comfort and peace. Thank so much for stopping by ... I will see you all again very soon!

Craft Night!

Well, I'm more than a little groggy this morning, but last night's Craft Circle was so much fun! In fact, as I type up this post I am enjoying my coffee along with a piece of the deep, dark gingerbread my friend Kim brought last night. It soooo delicious with a dollop of whipped cream. (Because, really - what's a Craft Night without delicious treats such as this?)

Now, my pictures are very dark because, a. I took them at night, and b. I was distracted by my "hostessing duties," so I didn't pay attention to things like flash settings and such.

Nevertheless, I'd like to share them with you!

I was expecting about eight women, but between illness and other responsibilities, only five could make it. So it was a nice cozy circle. :) Crafts included a sewing project, fashioning felt flowers, crochet and knit projects, paper crafting and as for me ... I worked in my clippings journal.

(A very little.)

So to prepare for Craft Night I set up the sitting room for tea and refreshments.  

I moved the round table into the (future) desk corner and here I set out some goodies:

And in the opposite corner I set up a tea station ...

(Inside the bear there are cocoa packets - isn't he cute?)

The family room I cleaned as best I could (of toys, clutter and whatnot) so that we'd have space to settle in and spread out. And of course I vacuumed the life out of the carpet!

And this picture really just does NOT do it justice, but on the platter below are thick pieces of that freshly baked gingebread (Kim's recipe can be found in this post):

Dear me, was it good! I only had smidge last night because I don't like to eat at night, but this morning I couldn't wait to indulge!

So we all sat and sipped and nibbled and chatted - and crafted a bit. It was a wonderful evening, the kind that relaxes you and recharges you at the same time. :)

We kept the "snow lights" on so we could see the first flakes fall, and I got to show off our flying squirrels. (They paid the feeders a visit during the meeting!) I also showed off my kitties a little (well, they showed off themselves). They were eager to be part of the group ...

Archie investigating a bag ...

... quite thoroughly.

The two of them ...

... they can be such trouble.

I think they gave the ladies a good idea of just how much trouble they can be! (Jumping on tables, knocking stuff over, scrabbling up the backs of chairs, (play)fighting, etc.) But they did it all looking incredibly cute, of course.

(Speaking of - cats, trouble, cuteness, etc. - I have a "Friday Felines" to go up later today. Probably much later today.) 

❤

And by the way, I really enjoyed reading all your responses about what you'd bring were you coming last night! (And wouldn't that have been fun? We should have a virtual "craftalong" some day ...)

What a wonderful thing it is to have a craft in your life - and some time, now and then, to spend on it. I sense a common theme among moms, though - we all try to find time for it, but as busy as we are, and as full as our lives are, it's quite hard to do that. I find when I can spend an hour or two just sitting (and sitting in itself is a treat!) and puttering over my "stuff" - I sort of reset my system. It's a way of getting in touch with something that is just me - it lifts my spirits and fires up my mind. Blogging makes me feel this way, too. :)

Ok, well I'd best be off - we're getting a late start here - I haven't even checked my email! Oh, and I jumped the gun on the desk delivery - I rearranged my day completely yesterday (even enlisting my mum to help with kid transport) because I knew I had to be here to sign for it. Unfortunately in the midafternoon I received a call from the delivery company - it will be delivered NEXT Tuesday instead. 

So those desk posts will come next week!

In the meantime, my friends, have a nice day ... I will see you again very soon!

:)

Thursday This and That

Good Thursday morning, my friends!

I hope your week's going well. I won't be online much today because I'm hosting a gathering here at the house tonight and in between the boys' lessons and activities and a quick grocery stop - there will be much neatening and setting things up! The meeting I'm hosting is our homeschool support group's monthly "support" meeting. The host gets to choose the theme of the meeting and I have chosen to make this night a "Craft Night." :)

I'm not sure what I'll be working on myself - aside from making calendars, I haven't been doing much crafting lately! I may work on my journal, or I may just look through some "idea" books and magazines. Whatever I end up doing, I'll have fun though - just setting up the tea and refreshments and getting to chat with some lovely friends of mine.

{Now, here's a quick question for you, if you have a minute to answer ~ if you were coming to my Craft Night, what would you bring to work on? I'm always curious to know what people do when they craft!}

Also, while I'm here and before the morning tide pulls me away ... I wanted to answer a couple of questions. Folks are wondering where I find out about the special "national" days that celebrate things like "Winnie the Pooh," "squirrels" and "popcorn," etc.

Well, first of all, if you google any date - along with the word "holidays" - you should come up with a few good hits ... but I like the following sites:

Holiday Insights

The Ultimate Holiday Site

I hope that helps!

Now, another bit of quick news - my new desk is being delivered today! So you can just imagine how excited I am about that. I'll share all about it once I have it set up ... lots of fun "desk" posts to come ... :)

Have a great day, everyone ... I'll see you again very soon!

❤

Our Advent Calendar is Ready to Go!

Finished just in the nick of time ... with a little a lot of help from my mum!

Remember all those months ago, when I came home from the craft store with this?

Well, I really must laugh at myself. There I was thinking I was so ahead of the game, when that tree sat on the top of my bookshelf until just after Thanksgiving! Honestly, I was thisclose to just leaving it plain! But my mother very kindly offered to take it home to paint in time for December 1st. We discussed colors and design, and off she went to the craft store ...

And just 24 hours later, she brought over the nearly finished product! (I say nearly finished only because it still needed numbers and a few embellishments which we did together while the boys ate lunch.)

And here's how it turned out!

I just love how it looks!

As you can see, we chose soft Christmas-y shades of red, gold, green and blue ... and my mum picked out lovely, silvery snowflakes and tiny bits of vintage clip art. For the countdown, we used simple black number stickers (I attached them with tweezers as they were fairly fragile).

And at the very top we placed a beautiful angel ...

Inside the drawers will be tiny treats and notes for the boys ...

And on the back of the tree is a special message:

Now, earlier today I started organizing the things for inside the drawers ...

These are strips of scrapbooking paper and some brightly wrapped chocolates. On the strips of paper I will write an activity or idea for each day (sometimes something special, often very simple) and then roll it up tightly and tuck it inside the drawer alongside a chocolate.

(Note: I write out the strips one night at a time, working off my big list of ideas. I find it hard to plan too far ahead when weather, sickness, and all kinds of other intrusions can upset our plans.)

Now, a word on the chocolates ...

I bought a couple of bags of mixed Lindt "Lindor" truffles, and they conveniently come wrapped in three different colors. So each boy gets a chocolate every third day. Bookworm's are blue (dark chocolate), Crackerjack's are red (milk chocolate) and Earlybird's are gold (white chocolate). Except that, EB can't eat these particular chocolates ...

So what we will do is this:

He will trade me his truffle for a special treat I have on hand just for him.

That's a win-win situation in my book! ;)

Now, I took the above pictures in the front room because it had such great light, but I've since moved the Advent tree to its permanent home, on top of the nature shelf:

The Tree is surrounded by favorite (nature-related) Christmas books, as well as ...

... our little Star Children ...

... and my Holiday Peace candle:

I'm just so very pleased.

So here we are on the last night of November, and our Advent Tree is ready to go! I can't wait for tomorrow ... December is such a wonderful month, because there are so many special pleasures in which to take comfort and joy. It's my hope our Tree will guide us through Advent, and help us prepare - inside and out - for the happiest day of the year.

~**❤**~

Have a lovely night, my friends, and thank you very much for stopping by. I will see you all again here very soon ...

:)

Our Little Saint Francis

Isn't he beautiful?

He arrived just the other day, a handcrafted treasure made by St. Anne's Pixies. And he now sits in a place of honor on our nature shelf.

:)

Have a wonderful weekend my friends, and a lovely Palm Sunday. I'll be catching back up very soon!

Making Ready for March

Well, I spent a little time (but not too much money) at the craft store this morning, gathering materials for March themes and plans ...

Like a Lenten Cross project ...

... a variation on an activity we've done before.

(I'll post more on this project in a few days - still hammering out a few details!)

Also, after much rumination I decided on our "March Message."

This month will be all about  ... 

The shamrock doilies and paper snowflakes will go up in the learning room windows (we'll make a big deal of taking down the snowflakes on the first day of Spring). The package of cards I just couldn't resist ... Earlybird and I are working on the concept of "mail" this month so I thought it would be fun for him to send St. Patrick's Day cards to friends and family.

The March flower is the daffodil (or its close cousin, the jonquil) so I couldn't resist the lovely (and earth-friendly) napkins seen below.

(I'll save most of them for Easter, but they'll also go nicely with the daffodil cake I'll make this week.)

I was planning to buy some potted daffodils today while running errands, but I decided instead to do that with Earlybird during our "mini marketing" on Monday. First we'll color some daffodil pictures (found in these Dover coloring books) and while he works, I'll read aloud the "Song of the Daffodil Fairy". (More for my benefit than his, lol.)

Then, when we visit the market that afternoon, I'll ask him to help me find daffodils!

I also brought up the March book basket today, and tomorrow I'll start packing away the winter decorations. I may be rushing things a bit - sure, there's still lots of snow on the ground, and the calendar stills says February - but that's ok. Our hearts can always be hopeful for Spring - preparing on the inside, no matter what the weather's doing outside! After all ...

"Once you choose hope, anything's possible." ~ Christopher Reeve

But for now, my hope is that you're all having a nice weekend ... keep warm and well, and I'll see you again sometime soon!

:)

February is for Family

"My Family Tree" is the focus of Earlybird's bulletin board this month. I worked on the board just after we got home from church today. Well, after we got home from church and after we made pancakes for the kids ... our parish breakfast was canceled due to the terribly icy conditions, and Crackerjack was just crushed! He absolutely loves attending parish breakfast each month. It's his one chance to eat "Froot Loops" and as many pancakes as he wants! (At home he has to fight his brothers for Daddy's flapjacks, lol.)

Anyhoo ... after cleaning up the pancake paraphernalia, Bill and Bookworm headed outside to shovel and I got to work on the bulletin board. I started by taking down the January decorations and leaving just the white paper behind as a "snowy" backdrop.

Then I rolled out a length of brown craft paper and googled a tree image to go by:

After drawing the tree (first in pencil, then in black marker), I cut the shape out. Truth be told, the cutting part was pretty fussy work. The paper kept curling and the smaller branches took patience and very careful cutting. Still, it looked pretty neat set against the white backdrop:

(Obviously not drawn to scale, lol.)

Next I added some seasonal embellishments ...

  

 And then I started adding some familiar faces ...

Since it's his tree, I put EB's picture smack dab in the middle. Then I started hanging more photos around him. I printed out small images and adhered them to ecru gift tags - then tied them to clear pushpins with a bit of red and white baker's string.

His brothers hang off to either side of EB ... with Bill and myself just above, and his grandparents on another branch above that. Dangling down below we have the toad and cat, too. :)

Through the next few weeks we'll add to the tree - great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, etc. 

As a final touch I moved our monthly "message" to the top of the board. January was "peace" and February is "blessed" ... and what greater blessing do we have than our family?

Well, I hope you all are having a good weekend. Today is just beautiful - it feels nearly like spring it's so mild! (Relatively speaking, of course.) Forty degrees, bright blue skies and almost-warm sunshine. Best of all - no snow in sight for the rest of the week! 

Goodness, do we need a break. Especially these guys ...

Today they shoveled the deck. Yes, the deck had mountains of snow on it! (From the snowfall itself, as well as what came off the roof.) And we still can't get out to the feeders, so the FotF weekend has been kind of a bust. Ah well ... there's always next year! (Another good message to remember on this "Superbowl Sunday." *wink*)

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday my friends ... I'll see you all again sometime soon.

:)

The Acorn Shape ~ Found!

Thanks to reader, Janell, I can share the acorn template with you all!

http://www.edupics.com/coloring-page-acorn-i15694.html

Enjoy your day! :) 

Little Lanterns for a Cool Spring Night ...

... or for any time of the year!

So, I've wanted to make these little glass jar lanterns for some time now. The original craft was found in an issue of Family Fun magazine (a clipping that went in my journal at the time) but the base was a jam jar and there were some ribbons as well as beads involved. Possibly, I saw the baby food jar variation somewhere else - or possibly I thought this up myself, I can't be sure. 

I completely winged this craft (as I couldn't find the journal page I needed - see previous post for more on that) and gave it my best shot. I started with eight empty baby food jars - soaked in a sudsy sink and stripped of their labels. 

 

(I'm only showing you three prepped jars in this picture because it became clear pretty quickly I was only going to have the time/patience/energy to make one lantern for each of my three boys. I'll save the other five jars for a future project.)

 

I also had purchased tiny beads - metallic stars, silver butterflies (a favorite subject of Earlybird's recently) and some multi-colored jewel-like beads. I picked up a spool of beading wire and Bill rustled up the wire cutters for me to use.*

 

*Strangely enough, the wire cutters did not cut the beading wire. If you can believe it, I ended up using my fabric scissors - these tiny hot pink scissors were much stronger and sharper than the cutters!

(In case you can't tell, I have very little experience with beading. Like I said, I was totally winging this craft!)

So my first step was to lasso the rim of the jar with a length of the wire, tie it on one side in a knot ...

 

... and then start stringing my beads on the long end (the end still attached to the spool) ...

 

Here is a set of beads - I actually used double this amount.

 

Half the beads rested on one end of the wire (where it attached to the jar rim) and the other half rested on the opposite side. My final step was to tie off the other side of the wire. I already had a small tea light tucked inside.

 

I kept it pretty simple - like I said, I don't have much experience with beads and I was really just trying to lend a little color and sparkle to the lanterns. the boys of course could care less what beads I put on the lanterns - they were way more interested in the fire element!

 

Done!

 

We hung the lanterns in the garden and then waited for night to fall ...

 

 

They came out pretty well, I think!

 

And they were fun - to make and certainly to look at. :) (The boys also had fun walking their lanterns around the dark back yard.) These would be neat at the Fourth of July (I'm picturing red-white-and-blue beads and stars), Halloween (autumnal colors and shapes) and of course, Christmas (I'm envisioning a possible Advent project).

So there is my lantern craft! I hope you've enjoyed seeing the steps involved and the final product. I would do this again - but I would need to have a few hours of quiet (no distractions) and someone to keep the cat off the worktable! (Lol, Smokey was intent on batting those beads and chewing that wire!)

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone! :)

A Year @ a Glance Bulletin Board

Good Monday morning, everyone! I hope your weekend was nice. They always fly by too fast, don't you think? 

Here's a little peek at a project I worked on yesterday, while Bill had the boys out and about. (Technically I was supposed to be paying bills and planning lessons, but I took a little break to putter.)

Our learning room bulletin board has been empty for well over a month now, and I was trying to decide how to use it this year. I love the idea of using it as a current events board - filling it with newspaper clippings, etc. - but that takes a lot of maintenance. And to be honest, it bores the kids silly. (Maybe this will work better when they're all a little older.)

Anyway, I bought a set of wooden numbers a few weeks ago - "2009" - and decided they would look nice, painted and set at the top of the board. I chose to paint them black - which is, generally speaking, a strange color choice for me, but I thought they would pick up the black of the appliances in the kitchen just behind the board.

It's hard to tell in the photo, but the numbers also got sprinkled with some Martha Stewart "onyx" glitter. The glitter does catch the afternoon sunlight that fills the learning room most days. 

After the pieces dried, I used a little mounting tape to secure them above the board.

 

Now, my plan is this ... As we move along through the year, we will print out a few pictures each month and attach them to the board. These photos will showcase our homeschool and family activities (field trips, nature walks, social gatherings, etc.) as well as the season at hand. So January will probably include the picture of the boys building Legos at Tufts, a family picture from my birthday party, snowstorm pics and the hanging icicle picture, etc. Each month I'll add more pictures, starting in the top left corner, and by the end of the year, we should have a whole Year@-a-Glance!

I'll post about this project again when I've added the first batch of pictures. And by the way, the sun is a wooden nursery decoration I've had since Crackerjack was little. The boys have outgrown it, but I haven't. :) I bought it here, but I don't think they carry it anymore.

So, if you have a spare bulletin board hanging around your house, consider setting up a Year @ a Glance photo display! It should be a fun and visual way to record your home- learning/family-living year! And what a great conversation piece, too.

Well, I'm off now to get this day started. Another cup of coffee is called for, I think. It is Monday morning after all. :)

Have a good one, my friends!

A Craft Store Run~

I have tried to stay away from the craft store as much as possible this summer. For one thing, I don't really need any craft supplies right now - I'm not crafting much during these hot, busy months - and for another, I still have all kinds of supplies stocked in the bins I keep stashed downstairs. (Remember the bins?) Before I go craft shopping, I really must go through the bin contents first (now somewhat depleted and rather discombobulated) and take inventory before I buy even one more package of something like hot glue gun sticks. (I have more of those than I can shake a fist at, lol.)

But there's just something about this time of year - between all the autumn and holiday planning I'm doing these days, and the fall magazines appearing in my mailbox, I'm feeling a familiar itch. I can hear the siren song of the craft store (you know the one, don't you?), and I'm eager to heed that call.

A list would be a good thing to start with, but I don't have a list just yet. However. I did have a reason for running into my local AC Moore's this weekend: Bookworm and I needed neon-green t-shirts for VBS. But, of course, while I was there, I had to take a good look around and see what was what - and, of course, I came home with a few more things than were strictly necessary.

Would you like to see? :)

1. Scrapbooking paper:

I love to have a steady supply of pretty scrapbooking paper on hand. I use it for my journal covers, card projects and the myriad binders I make up through the year. I especially love the first two patterns on the left. They are so sweet; they look as if they've been embroidered.

2. Ribbon:

Darnitall, I had a third spool and it must have gotten left behind at the store. Oh well. I like to use ribbon to trim various crafts or handmade cards and also as page markers for my journals. The alphabet ribbon will be used in my September journal and the starry-red ribbon will be used in my holiday planbook.

Yarn:

This blend is called "Crayon," and I love it! What I'd like to do with it is make "school scarves" for the boys. (You know, kind of like how the Hogwarts students all wear scarves representing their house colors, only not nearly so formally patterned?) I bought this particular yarn mainly because the colors appealed to me, but from what I understand, this yarn will yield stripes when I knit, or a pattern of some sort anyway. It will be fun to see how it knits! I don't know as I feel like knitting just now - the days are too hot - but it shouldn't take much time to knit three, possibly four (one for me), scarves once September rolls around. Generally speaking, there's no need for woolens here in New England till the first of November. (Hmmm ... scarves might make nice Martinmas gifts!)

3. Note Cards and Stamping Supplies:

I saw this adorable craft in the August issue of Martha Stewart Living. Martha always has the best ideas! I was sorely tempted to try making the blueberry Keds, but I thought the note cards might be more practical. These would make a lovely gift set - tied up with a blue gingham ribbon ... or you could make a set of recipe cards ... or a gift tag for a homemade loaf of blueberry bread. The possibilities are endless! (And how about a dark red ink pad for cranberries in the fall?) I'll try this project out sometime next week, and let you know how it goes!

4. T-shirts and iron-on paper:

The green shirts, as I mentioned, are for VBS. The yellow shirt and the transfer paper is for Crackerjack. He wants to try making a t-shirt with an image found online. His friends make shirts all the time with this method, and he loves how they come out. He'll probably go with a Star Wars or Pikman theme. (I'm not sure the image will work on yellow - maybe white would be better - but it was what he wanted. We'll see how it goes.)

5. Glue:

In my opinion, one can never have too much glue - especially when it's Martha Stewart glue. ;) It just looks so much prettier than Elmer's! (More importantly, it works really well.) Here I have glue sticks, a bottle of plain craft glue and a ballpoint-tip glue pen - which will be really neat used with glitter. (I'm envisioning homemade holiday cards this year - which is so easy to do when it's not even August, lol.)

And speaking of glitter - oh, how I wanted the Martha glitter. There were so many beautiful glass jars of glitter in the most dazzling, sumptous shades. But at $4.99 a pop, I'd better know just what I'm going to do with said glitter before I buy it. (I have a few ideas - i.e. the holiday cards - and I'm working on more.)

6. Bake Sale magazine:

I had to pop into a Michaels (yes, a second craft store) to return the t-shirts I originally bought for VBS (which were an all-wrong apple green, rather than the neon green required). I had a 50%-off one item coupon to use (burning a hole in my pocket) but by now my head was spinning and I could hardly concentrate. This particular Michaels was having a grand opening and the store was packed - with people and products. I spied this specialty baking magazine and had Bookworm (my baker's apprentice) take a look-through. Several oohs, aahs and oh-mama's! later I figured we should buy it. It only cost me $3 with the coupon. :)

Well, I think I've kept you here long enough, lol. Bill and the boys are just getting back in from an afternoon jaunt. It's time to rustle up some supper and get the boys into baths. Thanks for stopping by and letting me prattle on about my latest craft adventures. I hope you are enjoying your weekend and I'll see you all again sometime soon. :)

Making Herbal Oils and Cleaners

I've had the supplies for this project sitting on my craft shelf for some time now. With the school year at an end, and the bustle of the holiday weekend behind me, I figured it was finally time to try it out! I've always been intrigued by the idea of herbal oils and homemade cleaners ... I've read plenty about them, and taken copious notes. I've grown my own herbs, and dried them. I've envisioned container possibilities and labeling methods ... But I was surprised at how easy it was to do once I got down to doing it! (Isn't that true with most projects?)

Below you see my supplies ...

I found the little glass jars for .99 cents at the craft store; there were plenty of styles and sizes to choose from. The base oils (sweet almond) and essential oils I found at my local supermarket (in the health food section) for 50% off! A lot of mainstream grocers now carry oils, but you can be sure to find them at your local natural markets. Make sure to check expiration dates, or ask store staff about turnover time. You wouldn't want to purchase old oils. The little floral stickers I had on hand.

The project was as simple as this ~ I filled each glass bottle with the base oil and then added a few drops of essential oil for fragrance. Lastly, I added a color-coordinating sticker to denote the blend inside. As you can see in the top photo, I made up Orange-Geranium (brightening and comforting), Lavender (calming) and Lemon (renewing). Depending on my mood, or the time of day, I could pour a little oil in my bedtime bath or smooth some on my skin after a morning shower. Even just a few dabs on the pulse points would be a nice touch. I plan to store my oils in the fridge ... how refreshing would that feel on a hot summer's day?

Literally, this little project took me 15 minutes to complete, if that. These oils would make nice gifts - or party favors!

Next on my list, were some herbal homemade cleaners. These, too, were lickety split to whip up ...

In the foreground are my two favorite books for this subject area: Better Basics for the Home by Annie Berthold-Bond and Natural Beauty for All Seasons by Janice Cox. Lots of great recipes and advice in both of these books. Also pictured some ingredients (oils, tea and vinegar) and plastic spray bottles I picked up at the craft store for $1 each.

I made up the following blends, the first three from Better Basics:

Vinegar Deodorizer "Vinegar is an effective disinfectant."

• 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
• 2 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, shake and spray along the inside rim of the toilet. Leave on for 15 minutes or so before scrubbing with a toilet brush.

Tea Tree Deodorizer "Tea tree oil kills bacteria, and the strong smell of the oil will dissipate in a few days."

• 2 teaspoons tea tree oil (I used a bit less)
• 2 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, shake and spray along inside rim of the toilet. Leave on for 30 minutes or so before scrubbing with a toilet brush.

Lightly Lavender "Use this spray in the bathroom as a final rinse on the vanity countertop or after cleaning the toilet. It has a lovely scent, and lavender is highly antiseptic."

• 1 teaspoon essential oil of lavender
• 2 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle, shake to blend, then spray. There's no need to wipe off.

And this last recipe comes from Natural Beauty for All Seasons:

Fruit-Tea Freshener "The fruit teas make wonderful skin refreshers. For a quick pick-me-up on hot summer days, store the freshener in the refrigerator."

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 fruit tea bags of your choice (I used Red Zinger)
• 1 tablespoon witch hazel (optional)

Pour the boiling water over the tea bags in a ceramic, heat-resistant bowl. Allow the tea bags to steep for several hours, or until the mixture has cooled completely.

Add witch hazel to the infusion. You may want to strain the solution if you see bits of tea at the bottom of the container. Do this by pouring the liquid through a paper coffee filter.

Bottle the fruit-tea freshener and enjoy. Use a clean cotton ball to apply or use a spray bottle to splash on your skin.

(I didn't happen to have witch hazel on hand, so Bill is going to pick some up for me on his way home.)

This project was also ridiculously easy and quick. And now I have a fridge full of cool scented oils and a basket-ful of natural cleaners at my disposal ...

And on that note, I'm off to try them out! :)

Have a great week, everyone!

A Late, Lovely Evening

You all must please excuse me if I'm a bit groggy this morning; I didn't get in until eleven last night! (I know you have no way of knowing this, but believe me when I say ~ it's taking me great effort just to type in this post, lol.)

There was an excellent reason for the lateness of my evening - I attended my friend Kim's monthly crafting circle - and it was such fun! I got absolutely no crafting done, lol, but there was good conversation and plenty of delicious food ...

And speaking of which, above you see the table of goodies Kim set out ~ doesn't it look lovely? We all felt so pampered, I must say. There was freshly whipped cream with strawberries, homemade Irish soda bread, chocolate chip cookies, hot tea - and jelly beans! It was a wonderful way to spend a wet and chilly March night - in the company of good friends, discussing crafts, movies, books, kids and, of all things, fashion tips, lol!

And now it's 7:30 a.m. the next morning, and if you can believe it, I just got back in again. A half hour ago, I ran down to the grocery store to pick up a missing ingredient for our weekly tea-and-a-craft this afternoon. (And a few items for supper, while I was at it.) It is dark and very rainy, still, and there are severe thunderstorms heading our way for the morning. Such a good day to stay put.

Well, the boys are all up now, so I'd better run; I've got lessons to set out and breakfast to make. (Perhaps in the reverse order.) Thankfully the coffee is still hot and fresh ~ I'll need a cup or two more than usual, I think. ;)

Be back later with a report on our tea! Have a great day, everyone!

Spring Planning ...

... is underway.

MARCH arrives tomorrow! Now, will it come in like a LION or a LAMB?

You know, I'm so full of beans. Here I proposed a little break from blogging, and yet here I am, popping in to say hello! And with pictures, no less. (It's so hard not to post, lol!) I also wanted to let you know I hope to have my March Themes and Plans post up by early tomorrow. Also, a few people have asked if I could explain how I go about my seasonal planning, and I would be happy to, just as soon as I can. :)

And now I'm off for a bit. (Honest.) We have friends coming over for lunch and a little chemistry and then we've got Tween Night tonight, too!

So, a fine Friday morning to you (and Happy Leap Year, too)! See you all again sometime soon.

Tags of Comfort & Joy

I've had this craft, a homemade version of an Advent calendar, rattling around in my brain for a few years now. I originally envisioned it quite differently (there was to be cardstock, a craft knife and tissue paper involved) but the way I ended up doing it was much simpler and ultimately I think more satisfying. As usual, this is a very humble craft, but when it was finished, and I stood back to look it over, it was exactly how I had hoped it would be. That's such a great feeling! :)

So, do you remember a few days ago I showed you a grapevine wreath I cobbled together for the dining room? Well, my intent was not to have it just hang there prettily, nice though it looks against the windows. I knew I wanted it to serve as a base for a Christmas countdown, an Advent calendar of sorts.

Some Advent calendars open to reveal a beautiful picture, or perhaps tiny chocolates, and some hold sacred Scripture within. Some calendars - as my boys like to remind me - even reveal tiny Legos each day of the season. But this calendar is quite personal and it bears tidings (or tags) of comfort and joy. :)

In all there will be 37 tags, taking us from the first of December to the Feast of the Epiphany. But hanging 37 tags on this wreath at one time would be overwhelming - not just to behold but to make all at once! So each Sunday a week's worth of tags will appear dangling from the entwined branches of our wreath. On the outside of each tag is a number indicating the day it is to be read, and on the inside is a little surprise for the boys - a simple but special activity we'll do that day. I hope that each of these little bits of comfort and joy will enrich our path towards the most beautiful day of the year.

Now, for the specifics!

Materials:

• grapevine wreath
• berry garland to dress it up
• small bird in nest (quite optional)
• small gift bag tags
• ivory cardstock
• twine
• stickers
• scissors (regular and pinking), hole punch, glue stick, ink pen

(A quick note ~ This wreath has a rustic, woodland look to it - it fits our decor at home and is "boyish" as well. You might opt to make your wreath in a whole different style, perhaps using an evergreen base, or golden ribbons instead of twine for instance.)

I started with pre-made gift bag tags because that way half the cutting and sizing work was already done for me. I cut a gift bag tag (approximately 2x3 inches) right down the middle, thereby making two smaller tags, and trimmed the bottom edges with the pinking shears. I then punched a hole at the top of each.

Because my tags were dark, I decided to use small ivory squares inside for the text. (If you choose a light colored tag this won't be a problem. I thought about using printed scrapbook paper for this, but ultimately I wanted something thicker.) I quickly cut up strips of ivory cardstock using a ruler - a cutting board would be even faster - and on each square I wrote down a brief message describing the special activity that we'll be doing that day.

After writing my message, I just used a bit of glue stick to adhere the ivory squares. This one shown above, for Sunday, December 2nd reads:

Advent begins! New colors on the altar and new books! Nativity set! Let's buy a new Christmas book @ B&N. We'll also try a holiday "coffee."

(I should point out that my boys won't actually be getting a caffeinated beverage, but they've been begging to try one of those Starbucks flavored coffees I get all the time now and again. I'll let them order either a decaf or a cup of flavored hot chocolate.)

One of the things that first overwhelmed me about this project was the thought of having to come up with (and really committing to) so many different ideas at one time! Sure, some of the days were taken care of thanks to already scheduled festivities on the December calendar. But there were plenty of "everyday" days that needed a little something. Plus, I thought, what if our plans change, what if a new activity comes up, or what if we just need a quiet day when something "active" has been planned?

So that's when I decided to put up just a week's worth of tags at a time. First of all, the wreath will look nicer with just a few tags spread around it, and secondly, this will help me be more thoughtful and timely with our plans. I'll write the tags out as I plan the week ahead and on Sunday morning the boys will find their wreath sporting a fresh batch of tags!

Now, the tags do stay a bit open, so you could fasten the bottom (or side) edges closed with a small bit of tape or a sticker. I've left mine open, but made sure the boys know there's no peeking!

You might notice these project pictures are a bit more cluttered than usual. Typically I wait until mid-afternon to launch into projects like this - when I can clear off the table and have a lot of room (both physically and mentally, lol) in which to work. But today I just decided to jump right into it. We got our lessons done early and the boys were all busy with "crafts" of their own so I gave it a go. (Crackerjack was drawing Mario characters, Bookworm was making paper snowflakes and Earlybird was just having at it with the scissors and glue.) 

The last thing I did was to thread a bit of twine through the tag's hole and tie it tightly at the top, forming a loop. I then slipped the tag's loop onto a bit of the wreath. It's easier to remove a tag in this way, rather than tying it to a branch.

And here's the wreath as it looks now, all set for the first week of Advent!

So what's inside these first eight tags? What little surprises are in store for my boys next week? :)

• Help Daddy to set up the outdoor decorations!
• Look for new colors and books at church! A special trip to the bookstore too.
• Attend a "Holiday Cocoa Storytime" with our homeschool group. (Each family is bringing their favorite winter holiday story to share, and we're bringing the hot cocoa and marshmallows!)
• Take a winter woods walk on St. Barbara's Day (and bring home branches to force).
• Bring out the Polar Express train set (a once a year treat) and watch the movie, The Polar Express (and enjoy mugs of hot chocolate).
• Attend Book Group and bake gingerfolk on the Feast of St. Nicholas.
• Visit the nursery to see all the Christmas plants. Make poinsettia ornaments to give as presents.
• Make a gingerbread house with Nana!

If you'd like, each week, I'll share our tags with you all. (Or if I get the ideas all down on paper in advance - and most of them are aleady formed - I'll do a post with them all in one shot.)

I placed all the supplies for making up a week's worth of tags in a large ziploc bag. I'll keep that bag on my bookcase ready to go.

Wow, when I first starting planning this craft, it seemed Advent was light years away - and now it's just a few days away! I'm glad I have this project off and running, though. I think the boys are really going to enjoy it. :)

Well, I'd best be off; it's quite dark now and supper's simmering away on the stove. After a bit of mild weather, it got very cold here today. But it's clear and crisp tonight, the stars are out and it's lovely - it smells just like Christmas out there.

Keep warm and well everyone, and see you sometime tomorrow. :)

The Holiday Home ~ Preparing

The last crumb has been swept up and the wineglasses are all back on the shelf ~ another Thanksgiving has come and gone. So it shouldn't come as a shock (but somehow it always does) that Christmas is just 31 days away! It's high time we mother birds get busy - our families are depending on us! It's time for us to feather our holiday nests ...

To that end, I began my holiday preparations this weekend, and I'd like to share what I've been up to. :)

Early this morning, just before I did the grocery shopping, I ran into the bookstore and bought our Christmas cards. This is such a highlight of the year for me! I looove Christmas card shopping, and I usually mull over the decision for days (weeks?) upon end, but this year I really want to get our cards out early. So I didn't dawdle, but made up my mind on the spot (buying two kinds just to be safe) and hoped Bill would agree they were lovely. (He did!)

Tomorrow I will make up a basket in which to store the cards and all the necessities like my address book, holiday stamps, a favorite pen and pretty stickers for the envelopes. I've written up a schedule for myself, too ~ to work on a few cards a night beginning tomorrow night. As a treat I'll have a cup of tea each night while I work and maybe a little peppermint patty as well. ;)

I also made visits to my favorite craft stores to stock up on items for upcoming projects. Once home, I made up a box for these supplies. This is just a cardboard storage box that I got at the office supply store. It will hold anything I need for upcoming projects - but that's all! (I'm thinking I might need more than one box!)

I got this idea from my friend Jennifer who once described a craft-storage bureau with drawers for each season. I thought a storage box could stand in for a drawer. And since it's portable I can keep it handy in the learning room (where we do most of our crafting) and quickly whisk it away when company is coming.

Here's a peek inside:

Then I began working on our windows. If you've read my blog for a while, you know how much we love our windows! I decided to start our holiday decorating here.

I dug up an old grapevine wreath (this would be the very same one we use for the Lenten crown of thorns) and purchased a new 5 foot strand of "woodberries" at the craft store.

I didn't do anything other than wrap the berry strand around the wreath and it held. Easy as pie. I hung it on a thumbtack (which was already in place) and added the cute little bird-on-her-nest that you see in the top picture. I placed a burgundy gingham bow at the top. (I love gingham in country shades.)

I then tied up a length of twine across the windows and attached miniature clothespins (another craft store find). I remember seeing this idea somewhere (blog, magazine, I can't recall) and I thought this would be a fun way to display the Christmas cards we receive.

The twine stretches over the wreath and is held in each corner by a thumbtack and ribbon.

And as if on cue, our very first Christmas card arrived in today's mail! I don't have a picture of it in this post, but I placed a ceramic pie dish at the head of our table. Each day I will place any cards that arrive into the dish and at supper we will open them all together. We'll say a prayer for that family and hang up the card on our line. If we are so fortunate as to receive more cards than one line can hold, then we'll string another line along the front set of windows! :)

But perhaps the most exciting thing we did today (in the kids' minds anyway) was the putting up of the Christmas tree! We don't usually put it up this early, but I really wanted the lights - so lovely and warm on these dark afternoons. We won't hang ornaments for a while - for now, we'll just bask in its glorious light.

It's a good start, but there are many more feathers to add to our nest. None very grand, mind you - just those humble little things that make a family Christmas what it is - the most wonderful time of the year. :)