rainbow dash birthday party!

well, i am about as pleased with myself as the birthday girl appears to be in this photo.

i baked the cake, you see.

can you believe i made that?!  wow!!!  i can hardly believe it turned out so well!  hooray!

the pink and purple layers were strawberry (purple had added blue food coloring), the yellow and orange layers were lemon (orange had added red food coloring), and the green and blue layers were white cake mix (with added green and blue food coloring, of course).

papa declared it delicious!

i was also pleased with how the cake topper came out.  i made mini bunting from scraps leftover from the full sized version that i also made.

 here is the full sized version.  so festive!

i cut triangles from felt, folded over the top and stitched it down, and then strung them on white yarn.

i also made roy g. biv fruit skewers.  note: if i make these again, i will definitely dull the skewer tips.  they look rather lethal in this picture.

this whole party came about from my persistent desire to make the aforementioned rainbow cake and skewers.  i at first thought that a st. patrick's day party for my nieces and nephews would be a good excuse and added lucky charms and green milk to my menu plan.  i then realized that my niece had just had a new baby and her older daughter just had a birthday and maybe all these stars should align in a birthday party for her (as i'm sure her mommy was still a bit tired).

it worked out perfectly as said birthday girl was longing for a rainbow dash birthday party and already had the wings to wear to the shindig.

 so, besides the requisite blowing out of candles on the birthday cake . . .

 and opening of birthday presents by the birthday girl . . .

there were my little pony tats for all the birthday guests.  uncle stephen, being a girl daddy, was able to assist the boys in picking out suitable ponies to temporarily apply to their hands . . .

then they all took a turn sticking on the "cutie mark."  the birthday girl's "cutie mark" was close, but awkwardly placed.

then they all posed for the group shot.  uncle greg called out action shots.  show us your muscles!  group hug!  ninja arms!  karate kicks!

the new mommy holding the even newer baby was not impressed by her father's last choice in poses.  oops!

and, of course, we had to pass around the new baby.  so sweet!  happy birthday!  and happy BIRTHday!

52 weeks: 104 + 4 granny squares

oh!  i have been so excited about this project ever since i discovered it back in the early summer.  i have been dusting off my crochet skills and collecting cotton yarn ever since and anxiously awaiting the new year so i could get started.  the idea is to crochet a granny square each week, choosing the colors based on the season, a holiday, or a major even that might be happening at the time.

i finally began practicing squares in earnest in mid-december.  the one on the right is a vintage granny square pattern from 1891.  i crocheted it in the lighter weight cotton-ish yarn as i thought i might make a little doll blanket for my niece.  it is lovely and delicate, but i decided i wanted to go with the traditional granny square for my 52 week design.  the cammo square to the left is my practice square for that one.  the patterns i read didn't really make sense to me, especially since i wanted to be able to make some rows continuous (without cutting my yarn and starting with a new color), so i modified it just a tiny bit.  it seems to be working well for me now.  and i guess you noticed that my 52 week project has quickly turned into three projects.  ha!  that's usually how it works with me.

next i had to think about dimensions.  in the background you see one of my grandmother's granny square afgans.  she used acrylic yarn and a larger crochet hook than the one i use.  her squares measure 9 inches across while mine measure 6.  hmmm.  ok!  so i'll make two granny squares a week!  problem solved and project made bigger!  hurrah!  and then i'll have to make four extra in the end as 52 x 2 = 104 which does not work well for aligning rows and columns of granny squares so the completed afghan turns out perfectly rectangular.  52 x 2 + 4 = 108 and 9 x 12 = 108.  yes, that will work nicely!  by my calculations, my afghan should be approximately 4.5 feet x 6 feet.

i chose my colors this week based on the weather.  we had a chance of snow.  i was thinking winter whites and blues, but then realized that pantone's color of the year would be perfect!  the finished square reminds me of my beloved pansies.  i've decided my second square each week will be an exact reversal of my original color choices.  isn't it amazing how different the two squares look, even though they were made from the exact same colors.  that seems like a lovely analogy for life in general; how the smallest decisions can effect the pattern that our life takes.  profound.

top squares are made from 4-ply 100% cotton with a size E crochet hook.  sugar n' cream cornflower, grape, and white, and bernat seaspray.  bottom left is also 4-ply 100% cotton with a size E crochet hook.  sugar n' cream renegade.  the small square is light (3) weight 55% cotton/ 45% acrylic with a size D crochet hook.  cotton-ish by bernat in cotton gin, grey t-shirt, spinning ginny, and cotton field.

traditional granny square pattern (modified by me):

round 1: chain 6, slip stitch to form ring, *chain 5, 3 double crochet in ring, chain 2, 3 double crochet in ring, chain 2, 3 double crochet in ring, chain 2, 2 double crochet in ring, slip stitch to opening formed by chain *chain 5.

round 2: (either continue with same color, or slip stitch a new color to a corner hole) chain 5, 3 double crochet in corner hole, chain 1, 3 double crochet in side hole, chain 1, 3 double crochet in corner hole, chain 2, 3 double crochet in same corner hole, chain 1 . . . continue this pattern around square.  in the end you will again just need to put two double crochet in the corner you started and slip stitch onto your chain 5 to complete that round.

rounds 3 and on:  more of the same!

and look!  my granny square forecast was correct!  we had snow flurries this morning as i was completeing the second one.  :)

nature in the home: christmas mantel

i got my christmas mantel completed on christmas eve eve.  oh i love it SO much!  i have never created a mantel-scape that felt "done," but with this one i have finally achieved that.  happiness.

and you know it takes a village to raise a mantel.  the vintage bottles are all from my mother as are the sleighing mr. and mrs. clause and several of the glass ornaments.   some of the ornaments are even from my granny.  the old frame was a salvage that my sister saved and gave me.  the metal (semi) fleur-de-lis things are from the jbs mercantile flea market.  the pine boughs and cones are from our cubmaster's yard.  the holly and nandina berries are from our front yard.  and then there are the crafty projects . . .

the pine boughs were inspired from pinterest.  the first one i put up has held out quite well, despite not having any water for weeks.  i was afraid the jugs filled with water would be too heavy on the mantel?  i'm just wasn't sure.

this is another pinterest inspired craft.  the original piece was string art.  i simple sketched it out on a canvas (i got for $7.19 at joann's (60% off on black friday/saturday).  the glittery greenery i got there as well ($1.99 at 50% off) and the flowers are vintage, gifted from jenni bowlin.

up close and in full light, so you can see the crafty details.

this garland is my pride and joy.  it is so full and lush and happy.  i had seen a burlap one at my friend sherri's house and then a felt one on elise's blog.  they must be the thing this year.  i made mine from three striped knit shirts that i found at goodwill (i went on a sunday when one color is $0.99 and another is half off.  i snagged all three shirts for just shy of $4).  i cut strips that were approximately 1.5 x 4 or 5 inches and then tied them, alternating the colors.  i would tie one or two of each color, occasionally even three together around cotton thread (the same cotton thread that i used on the deer).

the pine cones are on a separate garland.  i spray painted them with the leftovers from our valentines's day treats, then sprayed them again with a clear gloss varnish and sprinkled chunky gold glitter on them while this was still wet.  they are also strung on that same cotton thread.

then i gathered even more inspiration from the christmas nature in the home series and gathered some holly twigs and nandina berries from the front yard to fill in the white bottles.  so festive!  it's a little hard to see with the blow out here, but i also had g draw me a little christmas tree for the gold frame, since i like the one he drew for my halloween mantel so much.

and luckily, we even had house guest last night, so i could show off my deck the hall efforts.  chelle and her three came over for a little playdate.  i had the kids pose in front of my fully decked out mantel with their new build a bears.  luckily mason got two, so g had a friend to hold as well.  what a nice shot for my december daily!  i'm hoping to have some minutes to work on that this afternoon after we get all our errands run.  we have to brave the crowds at kroger to get the rest of what we need for christmas dinner.  merry christmas all!  see you on the other side.  :)

menu plan: grinch kabobs!

these were so cute and easy that i made them twice.  once for the cub scout christmas party and then again for g's party at school.  they were a big hit on both occasions.  of course, they are from pinterest.  i love my holiday foods pin board.  i believe they are visually very self explanatory.  i would advise you to buy big grapes, big bananas, and small strawberries and let you know that each grinch requires two toothpicks.  oh!  also, i ended up cutting the grape a sliver at the top just to make his hat sit on nicely.  :)

i've had no menu plan the last couple weeks.  i made too much tortilla soup and then too much pot roast.  holy moly.  i had to eat each thing five times just to make it all go away.  sigh.

i do have a somewhat non-traditional christmas menu mapped out, thanks again to pinterest.

christmas dinner:
cranberry pork loin
deviled eggs
crash hot potatoes
olive oil and sea salt baked green beans
corn on the cob with lime and sea salt
cheesy pull apart rolls
key lime pie

i've had key lime pie on my weekly menu plan so many times and it just never happens.  i've finally realized that this is because mrs. edwards makes it much better than i ever will and more cheaply with no time investment required from me.  it's a win, win, win that i can't argue with.

major whew! on my part.  school the last two weeks has been tiring to say the least.  last week was finals week.  on friday alone, i helped with ten finals in six different subjects in a three hour window of time.  i was fairly fried after that one.  the week before was state testing.  i had four read alouds that week and my schedule was a nightmare for four of the five days (thank goodness for that bonus "snow" day on tuesday!).  needless to say, i have been crafty decompressing since friday at 3:00.  my mantel is almost done, the house is almsot clean, and i am almost ready for christmas.  just in the nick of time!  (pun intended).

i will have a few very merry christmas crafties to share with you soon!  stay tuned!

and a very merry christmas to you all!  :)

nature in the home: charlie brown christmas tree

i feel so relieved today.  all my jobs seemed to coalesce this past weekend and i have struggled to keep my head above water ever since.  needless to say, december snuck in the back door for me.  but today at 1:30 my observation at school was finished and that was the last burden that i needed to unload.  now i feel caught up, at least for a while, and ready to deck the halls.  i'm thankful to lou at little green shed for the gentle nudge to go ahead and get started today.  this is a sweet native pine bough that i brought home from the cub scout meeting sunday.  the idea is from those i am hoarding on my holiday crafts pinboard.  such simple loveliness.  it makes me smile.  g must really like it too as he's commented on it several times and is fondly referring to it as his charlie brown christmas tree.  it is a start.  i have several other ideas for this mantel.  all in good time.  i refuse to be caught up in the christmas rush.  i'd rather ease into the season in my own slower pace.

get it scrapped!: pinteresting

i've shared a few of my favorite pinterest pinboards over at get it scrapped! this week.  i guess i inspired myself as choosing which boards to share motivated me to create this layout based on some cool finds on my scrappy ideas pinboard.

source

i like to pin little bits of things there that i might replicate on a layout, like this vignette inspired my use of mostly all whites and the little cream banner with hemp . . .

the subtle color scheme with the added aqua is so fresh to work with and so beachy at the same time while the banner nicely  highlights the photo and title . . .

source

i also got the idea for my handcut title fromm this adorable piece . . .

the lovely splats were created by splatting the dabber tip from tim holtz's broken china distress stain.  i'm totally loving splats created with tim holtz distress stains lately.  trust me, the splatting is effortless.

and ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . this is an early peek at the may jbs mercantile papercrafting kit.  main kit only!  and i've got a second main kit only that's all yellows and greens!  love the color palette this month!

are you a pinner?  i'm trying to use my pinboards more often!  it's such a great source of inspiration for just about everything!

valentine, you're dino-mite!

20 paper mache lidded containers from joann's - $20
20 plastic dinosaurs pilfered from g's toybox - $0
krylon indoor/outdoor banner red gloss spray paint - $6.99
beacon 527 multi-use glue - $6.99
pink shredded paper -  $2.99
2 bags hershey's kisses - $7.00
my son being mega-proud of his dino-mite valentines - priceless

how to:
1. glue dinos to lids.  let dry THOROUGHLY.
2. spray with spray paint (several coats required)
3. fill with treats and a sweet note

note:
i think i sprayed these guys five times.  they are still slightly tacky to the touch a day later, but hey, they're elementary school valentines.  i had to spray them in the light of the floodlights in our flower bed.  it was raining all day yesterday and i was too chicken to do more than these samples on the front porch.  hello if i get high gloss red spray paint on the concrete right outside my front door i will be traumatized.  i finished them up in the dark this evening, but i think if you did them in the grass in the light of day you might manage in two coats.

i got the idea off pinterest, of course.  love my pinboards and i really try to use them once in a while.

i've already told g we will be working through his plastic bugs for his 4th grade valentines and his plastic lizards for his 5th grade valentines.  he's cool with that; now to come up with the ideas.  it's going to be hard to top the 3rd grade valentines.  as it was hard to top the 2nd grade valentines.  but it sure is fun tryinng!