I have been working off and on since June to finish sewing this sling or bag for Kristi. Her birthday was in June and for some reason I just could not get this finished. It is a Heather Bailey pattern and fabric which I just adore. Because the fabric is kind of spendy I didn't want to mess it up so I really took my time and only worked on this when I was not tired. Me + tired eyes = much ripping out of seams.
But ta da! It is finally complete and ready to go. Sis, I bet your thought it was not going to happen didn't you?
So now to find a box on Monday to put this in and............
this shutter, one of four. I have several of these that were in our house and asked Kristi to paint one while we were together on our sisters vacation in August. Of course, look what she came up with for our Christmas bazaar in November.
Crafty girl she is so now off go three more. I might have to buy these all back from her at the bizarre. And Dave thought he was going to get rid of these. Ha!
I traveled to Twin Falls this last weekend to visit a very dear friend and kindred spirit. We decided to craft together and this is what we came up with:
We took cedar roofing shingles, did a little crafting madness, and made signs of our last names. We also took tin stars and covered them in coordinating scrapbooking paper. We thought it would be fun to hang the signs in a collage of pictures of our family.
I didn't think to take pictures of the process but here is a quick run-down of how the sign was done:
1. Cut your cedar shingles down to the size you desire.
2. Paint the shingles and then sand them with a sander to distress them as desired. This is one of the funnest parts - take out your stress baby!!!! =0)
3. After the paint is dry, cover tiles with a walnut stain and wipe off as desired.
4. Now, cut out your desired letters in coordinating paper. Cut out shadows of the letters in
brown. This is really easy if you own a Cricut! Take brown chalk and distress your letters to make the look old.
5. Paint a layer of good ole Modge Podge on the back of each letter, attach to the shingle and then Modge Podge over the top.
6. Attached your desired embellishments, i.e. buttons, rick rack, robbon, etc.
7. Arrange letters in the shape you want and then hot glue them in place. Add finishing nails to the corners to ensure the little devil doesn't come undone!!!
Our little Lexie Kay turned 7 yesterday! Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!!!
As you might of guessed the theme had to do with ladybugs. In the picture above she is posing with the cake I made her out of fondant and her flowers, complete with little ladybugs in them made with my handy dandy Cricut.
Lexie started out the day with our tradition of waking her up blowing bubbles and singing "Happy Birthday".
For her ladybug party, she informed me she needed a ladybug shirt - so of course, I had to make one!!!
We had a Ladybug Day Spa for her at Grandma's house because she had a hot tub! So here is Lexie arriving at the the Little Lady Bug Day Spa (note the facial beds in the background to the left =0):
The spa guests began by "relaxing" in the hot tub:
The girls then split up into stations. Here is the birthday girl getting her chocolate facial treatment! All of the girls loved this station!
Here is cousin Shelly relaxing with her facial:
The girls then got a foot scrub and went to the pedicure station where their nails were painted red with black poka dots, of course! While they were getting their nails painted, the girls tied red, black and white ribbon onto black flipflops to keep them busy so their toes could dry.
There was also a waiting room for the girls to read the latest American Girl and Family Fun magazines while they waited. Jordan was the "pool boy" and served chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling apple cider in champagne glasses to the girls at the different stations. The girls really got into ordering him around, it was pretty funny. Addie kept saying "Jordan, I need more wine!" It cracked me up! Here is a picture of the facial station on the left and the waiting room bench on the right:
This was the foot washing station and the pedicure station:
Here are Lexie and Addie at the refreshment table. I've really been having fun with my new Cricut - it helped me make the goodie bags and tags. The goodie bags were filled with "spa" things including nail polish, toe separators, hair bands, etc. Yep, I had to paint black dots on the tablecloth and napkins - easy peasy - just used a potato dipped in paint:
The goodie bags also included a lady bug hair clip that I made. They turned out pretty cute:
Yep, it may seem that I make my kids' birthdays into national holidays. I think I might enjoy it as much as they do!!! But here is a warning to you, you may turn out like this when the party is done:
Wow it's been a long time since I posted - sorry! We have been busy finishing up homeschool, playing baseball and softball and crafting! Sisters - here is our first try at salt dough ornaments. We did summer ones for our first try because, well its summer time! What do you think? Which ones do you like best? We had a fun time making them!
Here they are before they were baked:
Here are the girls hard at work making the ornaments.
In my previous homeschooling posts, I've mentioned how the Konos Curriculum teaches to all learning styles. If you immerse yourself into a subject - not just reading about it - you will retain so much more (and of course it is so much more fun!). In previous posts, you can see examples of our family immersing ourselves in the Revolutionary War last year or in the human body earlier this year.
We are continuing our studies about cooperation and states and regions. This week we have been studying the great plain states. No, we are not just learning the states and capitals. We are learning about the history, geography, economics, etc. about the different states. One of the history events we have been studying this week is the Pony Express. Yes, we have read and talked about it, but nothing will help you remember it like acting it out. So you can see the kiddos in action in a couple of videos below.
In one of the books we read, it had an advertisement for Pony Express riders that we thought was interesting and a little funny:
"YOUNG, SKINNY WIRY FELLOWS, not over eighteen. Must be expert riders willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 per week."
Once the Pony Express was in full operation, 80 or more determined riders between the ages of 11 and 45 were out riding night and day. I can't image sending an 11 year old boy to ride 75-100 miles through Indian Territory, in the dark, over snowy mountain passes! We are so spoiled now days! One fifteen-year-old rider (Nick Wilson) was shot in the forehead with an arrow. He survived, and until his death at the age of seventy-one, wore his hat pulled low to hide the scar. I think I would have worn my scar proudly!!! During the short duration of the Pony Express, horses were stolen, stations were burned to the ground and sixteen men, including an Express rider were killed. His horse carried the mail to the next relay station all by himself!
The riders only had about 2 minutes to change horses at each station. They would run the horses for about 15 miles and then change to a fresh horse. One station developed biscuits with holes in them so the riders could "stab" their food. You'll see the kiddos attempting this in the video. The riders also blew horns to alert the station that they were coming so that the next horse could be ready. You'll also see the kiddo's alerting the station of their approach. What brave riders they are - to face the dangers in our neighborhood to deliver the mail!
I made this little purse and am working on another one for two of my nieces who just had their first communion yesterday. I know, I know I am very late but I have way too much going on right now. But didn't this turn out so cute? I think Schelly and Marisa will love these. They can carry their little bibles or rosaries in them to church.
The pattern is one I found by two Australian sisters. Their line of patterns are called Melly and Me.
(photo from Melly and Me)
They make all kinds of cool things like these cute crazy birds (no I didn't make these).
(photo from Melly and Me)
And just look at these monkeys! Aren't these the most adorable things? I think maybe Barb might have found these as well because I seem to remember some that she showed me.
Go give Melly and Me a visit and see what they are up to.
When my husband and I first started thinking about homeschooling, I immediately thought: "there is no way I could do that!". I had a million reasons why not, mostly a confidence issue and yes, probably a little bit of selfishness about my time! However, I know without a doubt we were called to do it. As with most things that God is prompting me to do, I can't just jump in easily, I have to be pushed, kicking and screaming most of the way. God has to basically "kick me between the shoulders" into what I'm being called to do. That is definitely how our homeschool journey started out.
Homeschooling had been in the back of our minds for about a year. My son was four and we had "thought about it", but I had all the typical excuses: I don't have the patience, we can't afford for me quit my job, they will miss out on something ......... And then came the kick between the shoulders: I had a medically fragile infant who couldn't be exposed to lots of germs, aka kids bringing home a bug from school. So our homeschooling journey began. Talk about a hard time to start homeschooling! I had a very sick baby, having multiple brain surgeries, with lots of hospital stays . . . . and we were homeschooling with little sleep, lots of stress, and very little patience, but I had no choice!
Well with that background, I just want to encourage all of you beginning homeschoolers or those of you thinking about homeschooling. You can do it! It will be the hardest thing you've ever done, it will stretch you as a person and a parent and you will learn more than you ever imagined! And if you were like me (having no patience) you will gain some!!!! The rewards will also be amazing. You will have deeper relationships with your children that are only created with large amounts of time spent together. You will have the opportunity to teach them the most important things in life. You will be there to help them walk through challenges. Your children will become best friends....and of course, they can have an awesome education. Homeschooling is a tutorial method of teaching. This method has proven itself to be very beneficial. In fact, studies have shown that it doesn't matter whether you are a certified teacher or even if you have a college degree when it comes to homeschooling! The test results are the same ...... and homeschoolers test higher than publicly schooled kids by a wide margin. The studies have also shown your children will grow up to be more civically involved and successful! So don't worry about the socialization myth!
One of the biggest things I've learned on our journey so far (we've been homeschooling for 7 years) is that homeschooling is really a lifestyle. It is teaching your children a love for learning and that learning can take place at any time. It doesn't have to be in a desk, with cute little posters on the wall! We've had many a school lesson on the bike trail by the river, sitting on a rock! We've even done our math lesson some days with sidewalk chalk! In fact, each parent has done a lot of "homeschooling" without realizing it. You taught your children every day until they entered school!
If you are worrying about gaps in your child's education, be reassured that there are gaps in every child's education. No school teaches a child everything there is to learn. There is so much to learn!!! The important thing is to teach your child how to learn. Give them a strong foundation in the basics and a love of learning. If you teach them how to learn, they can learn anything with the tools you've given them!
So here is a typical example of what I mean by a lifestyle. My oldest child Jordan who is 12 has taken an interest in gold panning. He takes a trip to the library to check out every book he can find on gold panning and a video on gold panning. He visits the local geology office to visit with the staff. Of course, he pesters us until we buy him a gold pan!!! Then of course, we have to take a trip to go gold panning! It was a good excuse for us to get out of the house - we definitely have cabin fever in Eastern Oregon right now! So here are some pictures of our "hands on learning" for the day:
Jordan panning and the girls observing - yes, the girls can probably tell you a lot about gold panning too:
Here is a closeup of Jordan with his pan - we could actually see gold flakes in the soil - it was pretty cool:
Everybody gets in on the action - even the dog:
Now Jordan wants to build a sluice box . . . . . . I can see we're not finished with learning about this subject! It was a great afternoon for the family - here is a shot of dad, the kids and the dog just enjoying the day. We do live in a pretty place:
this shutter, one of four. I have several of these that were in our house and asked Kristi to paint one while we were together on our sisters vacation in August. Of course, look what she came up with for our Christmas bazaar in November.
Crafty girl she is so now off go three more. I might have to buy these all back from her at the bizarre. And Dave thought he was going to get rid of these. Ha!
