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! :)