Rhythm of the Home is LIVE!

I am venturing into something new... maybe getting back to writing more... and of course it's about crafting! lol Rhythm of the Home is a highlight of my online reading and I am always so excited for the new edition to come out! This quarter I get to be a part of it!! :) 

What a blessing this magazine is, be sure to go and check it out and enter the giveaway on their blog!!

A great deal for gifts! :)

A dimes worth of entertainment

As I've shared with you before, the craft show season is upon us and boy have I ever been BUSY!! Sorry I've been pretty non-existent in blog land lately. My days are starting to run together big time! lol I now have two small shows and a big one under my belt with another BIG show this weekend and two small ones to finish off the season! So needless to say, I've been spending some quality time with my sewing machine and wood burner. My daughter has even been getting in on some sewing of her own but that is for another post. :)

A few weeks ago, we set up at a adult community center. It was our first time going there and the two days we were there it rained buckets pretty much the entire time the sale was going on. I don't know if it was the rain that kept people away or if they just weren't in the mood for holiday shopping yet, but let me tell you that was a looooong two day show with very little sales to show for it. I will admit, that after day one I was in a terrible mood and wondered what I had gotten myself in to. But then, on the flip side, I really enjoyed getting to visit with the older ladies (and a few gentlemen too) from within our community. DH was away hunting so I had both of the girls with me the entire time and I can't even begin to tell you how proud I was of how they acted those two days. They enjoyed flitting from one table to another visiting with people, and when it was slow, they entertained themselves (And anyone else watching) while they played with their horses out in the middle of the floor. Dispight my first day of a rotten mood, the second day came as a reminder that it's not always what it seems... looking back, my sales that weekend weren't great (ok they were pretty terrible) but the joy that we got back from visiting and making some new friends came back to us so much more... One of the things that helped to pass the time was a booth set up right near us. Our new friend was set up not for her own personal gain, but to raise money for Christmas presents for children in area hospitals. She sold bracelets and music cds and these wonderful glass bottles....

The bottles are stuffed full of birdseed, FUN little trinkets and one little ol' dime.... that you then have to try and find in the bottle... and let me tell you... it's not as easy as it seems!! But boy is it addictive trying! :)

 

The bottles that she makes to sell are made from recycled syrup bottles but I asked if she could make one in a plastic bottle so I could send it to my Gram without fear of it being dropped and broken. On day number two of the show, she brought everything to make the bottle there and helped the girls put it together with them!! They were over the moon and I was SO touched that she would put so much effort into it for my Gram. There were lots of little trinkets but there were two that were extra special.... a little red heart because we were all putting out love into that bottle  and a little cross charm so that she would always know that God is always with her. To top it off, she had us all put our hands on the bottle while she said a little prayer... that brought me to tears...I am continuously surprised by the wonderful little things that people do and think of to be thoughtful and how you can literally SEE God in some people. I could almost feel God shining down His favor on us that dark and gloomy day as we sat at the craft show. It wasn't just about selling puppets, but about making connections and friends that will last much longer than that bazaar did. :) It was definitely more than a dimes worth of entertainment! :)

And the winner is....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Sandra!!

Please contact me with your mailing address and the puppet of your choice from my shop! :)

Thankyou all so much for entering and for following me on this crafty journey!  

Forest schooling

I will forever be grateful for the times that we are able to get out of the house and go into nature for our day of schooling... The girls see it as a day "off" and probably nothing more than a fun field trip but what they don't realize is that they are always learning... and sometimes never so much as they do when they are able to be surrounded by nature...

We are part of a number of homeschool groups in our area, all offering something a bit different from the other. This particular group is more geared towards Tacoma/Seattle and rarely go in that direction but jump at the chance to go to anything in Olympia so the tour of a local mushroom farm was right up our alley! :)

Christian was GREAT with the kids and very patient with their questions or stories. I think in the end, he was very impressed with our group of kids and their knowledge of mushrooms too! I always love to just stand back and listen to homeschool kids talking and asking questions. Now, I'm not discrediting kids who are public schooled but there is just something about a group of homeschooled kids that tends to be amazing... This group of kids ranged from toddlers to probably 6th grade or so, and yet they were all learning side by side... standing out in the rainy woods of Washington state no less, and yet they all got along, were respectful and for the most part, all very interested in what what being said.

They started by sanitizing the table and all the little hands, then covering the table with straw and then adding the mushroom spores and mixing it up...

Next, the kids got to pack their own bags for having a mushroom growing kit to take home!

 

They filled the bags tightly with straw and then tied them up tight to suck the air out.

 When they were done, we got to tour the tents/greenhouses where they grow the mushrooms... the kids thought it was really cool (Ok so us adults did too!)

A definite hit of the tour was the Lions Mane mushroom! Isn't that just the coolest thing??? So, of course we had to get a kit to grow some of those at home!! The girls were just bubbly at the thought of having those at home. Some of the moms there said that they have cooked with them and that they are so yummy and have the consistancy of crab meat!! We can't wait to try it!!

I remember as a kid thinking that it must be so cool to be done with school and to know everything... little did I know just how much there is still to learn in this world!!! We are never done learning and I'm just so thankful that my girls don't have to dread school... most days they don't even realize we've done school, they just know that they love to learn... and isn't that what life is supposed to be about? 

Re-store treasure

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would walk in to our local Re-store to find a treasure like this!!

I have been wanting a new stand for our popcorn popper for some time. The one I had before was all open on the bottom and showed my mess of a cookbook collection and our newspapers for recycling... now is it all hidden away AND it has a drawer that is just perfect for out popcorn salts and my ever growing essential oil collection!! :)

WIN! WIN!

Sleepless nights

How does one spend their sleepless nights?

DH has been working crazy shifts so my sleep schedule has been messed up and I find that I am up late at night with nothing to do... oh sure, I could be cleaning, but what's the fun in that?! lol

So, instead of sleeping, I get creative! I just LOVE how this little egg turned out!! You can see my inspiration, our very large goldfish Gustaf in the background! :)

When life gives you holey jeans...

  .... make them into shorts and jean skirts!!

This summer was a trying time for finding shorts to fit my skinny girls! The shorts were either too big around the waist or too stinkin short  on their legs!! Now, I'm not a total prude but come on! Our girls don't need to be wearing shorts that barely cover their little rumps! lol So, we took to the pile of jeans that seem to be growing huge holes in the knees more and more every day.... I just cut them off above the knee and rolled them up a bit and wha la! We had new shorts that actually stayed up and the girls were thrilled...

The only problem with this solution was that now I had two perfectly good "legs" from the knee down left over! And it would be a sin to throw perfectly good fabric away right? :) So into the scrap pile they went! lol  I'm not sure when it first came to mind but I've been meaning to do something with them for weeks (ok months lol) now and just finally took them off the scrap pile the other day.



My girls were gifted these dolls from their Granny Annie and they have gradually been getting more and more into them. They love doing their hair, having tea parties and of course finding the perfect outfit to dress them up in! We just got the American Girl catalog the other day and they have been pouring over it for hours ever since! lol ( I remember doing the same thing as a kid) Unfortunately, the insane prices for these outfits have hindered how well these dolls get to dress and we've had to get creative on how to cloth them but still keep it fun for the girls.

Earlier in the spring, I used a baby blanket that I'd had given to us to create four matching night gowns for their sleep over....

 And we've been lucky enough to happen on to some in thrift stores too!  J is learning to sew and is asking for patterns for these dolls ( a great find at JoAnns when their patterns go on sale!) and now they each have matching jean skirts made with those left over jean legs! All I had to do was turn down the top, sew and add elastic! It was a win win for sure! I got something out of my scrap bin and the girls got new skirts for those dolls they love so much!! Who needs a $10 out fit from Walmart when we have our creative juices flowing!? :)

Creating Holiday Memories Giveaway

If you've been following me for very long at all, you know that I am pretty much consumed by my kids, my crafts and capturing both in pictures!  Having the right  camera to capture those special moments has a lot to do with the quality of the pictures you get so this giveaway really caught my attention!

 

 

Welcome to the Creating Holiday Memories Giveaway Event!

Hosted by Mom Blog Society

Special thanks to our lovely co-hosts Mom to Bed by 8, Shannon's View from Here, Sommerfugl Design, JadeLouise Designs and Health, Beauty, Children & Family!

The versatile and functional Fujifilm FinePix S4250 14MP Digital Camera gives a sensational shooting experience. The Fujinon lenses are used popularly in numerous situations including satellites in outer space, TV, film, surveillance and compact cameras. With the highly adept manufacture of Fujifilm, high precision optic and technology are provided for the best 24mm wide angle and 24x optical zoom. The lens elements used in the FinePix S4250 have been treated with multilayer Super EBC (Electron Beam Coating), the same process used for Fujinon broadcasting video lenses and large-format camera lenses acclaimed by professionals. Reducing ghosting and lens flare, the treatment promises clear image quality. The powered 24x zoom features smooth 42-step zoom control, giving you the ability to frame every shot with precision accuracy.

One lucky reader will receive an Fujifilm FinePix S4250 Digital Camera!

Giveaway ends October 28th at 11:59pm, open to US and Canadian residents, ages 18+. To enter please use the Rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

I hit 300 fans!!

At last count, it's actually at 333!! How cool is that?!

Awhile back I set the goal of 300 fans on my Facebook page and told everyone that I would do a giveaway for a free puppet of their choice from my shop and today we hit that goal!! :) Please feel free to enter this giveaway and tell your friends! US residents only (Unless you are willing to pay the difference in shipping.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The crafting season

What does one do when they can't sleep? lol

 

I'm sure you're getting tired of seeing all my newest creations but since I signed up for this Blogtoberfest and need to write everyday, what else would I write about!? My crafting has taken over my life for the time being and I'm sure there will be even more pictures to come. This crafting season is my biggest one by far. I am a bit nervous that I won't do as well as I hope but then again I always have a bit of jitters before a show and this year I have 4 and am hoping to get in to my 5th!! :)  So for now, you'll just have to bear with me and my crafting

Start thinking ahead!

If your kids are anything like mine, they are already starting to count down to Halloween, Thanksgiving and of course Christmas! :) I keep telling them that I really don't want to know the daily total for their count down, there is much to much to get done before then!! But, I must admit, I am starting to get excited about it all too and am starting to make my list of gifts to get or make. Most of my list is to make, but I will make a few exceptions and some new What's in the Bible dvds would definitely be making that list of exceptions!!

My girls enjoy these videos so much and we are all learning more about our Bible thru these videos!! That's what I am so excited to be able to off you this great savings!! Just click on the link to purchase these two new dvds and a great savings!! I know I will be! :) And by purchasing your dvds thru this link, you'll be helping us too! :)

Little Pumpkins and faith

Everytime we move, there is always that moment of panic.Sure, a new adventure is thrilling but there is also a level of fear too... fear of the unknown... fear that we'll never really find our place to fit in...the dread of leaving your comfort zone and the relationships you've formed with people....

It has been 2 years now, and we had thought we'd found "our place" to belong but found ourselves starting over again and feeling that lonely moment of panic once again.... but today I had a moment of calm followed by this overwhelming feeling of joy as I saw our newly founded homeschool group gathering in numbers (32+ kids) for our first field trip at our local pumpkin patch. I have met these moms thru all sorts of circumstances, and we all come from very different backgrounds, but we all agree on one thing- supporting each other on this homeschooling journey!

Once again, I am reminded how GREAT our God is... and that His plan is so much bigger than mine! :) As I looked around as this very eclectic group of moms (with a few dads mixed in there too!) I felt so very blessed and couldn't help but say a little prayer of thanks...

Between the projects we've been working on for school, the puppets and pegdolls and now the first of many fall outings.... our fall is off to a grand start! :) How is yours shaping up?

Enough said

The crafting shift

For weeks now, we in the Pacific NW have been on borrowed time with Mother Nature... we are breaking all sorts of records for the amount of days without rain. Who knew Seattle could have such a beautiful sunny fall!? lol I think it is because of this said beautiful weather that my kick off craft show of the season was a bit slow this weekend...

... all in all it was still a success... I made  just enough to order the fur I need for the next few shows, and the girls and I got to visit all day with good friends. :) Please forgive the not so great pictures, when ones alarm doesn't go off, cameras tend to get forgotten so these were taken on my phone!

   According to the weather man, our weather is about to shift... never thought I'd be wishing for a little rain! lol  I can feel a shift in my crafting coming too... I've spent weeks sewing on puppets like mad, so I think I'll take a little break while I wait for my fur to arrive...

There is just something about cooler weather that makes it so enticing to stay inside and wood burn! :) Yesterday was a great kick off to the week of wood burning!! Will be adding to my shop soon! :)