A Handmade Childhood

This Moment

2012-01-27T09:34:00.003-05:00

The tradition is not to add words to these friday photos…and sometimes there really are none that can be added!!!! Sweet sweet love.

Nesting 3.5 :: Hooded Car Seat Blanket

2012-01-26T14:14:00.001-05:00

And…we’re back!

There is nothing better than the first few days with a velvety soft, delicious baby. We’re still in family hibernation mode around here, but will be venturing out in this space (and to the park since winter isn’t quite “winter” around here lately!!!).

So, for a bit longer, (though the nest is already filled with a little one), we’ll be nesting!

With the car seat done over to our liking, I moved on to another of the three car seat projects I had in mind. The second project was a snuggly blanket like the one seen here. Winter in New England is no joke (usually!) so I wanted something super warm and snuggly for our little lamb. The blanket shown in the awesome tutorial is much lighter than I wanted for these winter months. Though I think I might make a light-weight version of the same blanket for spring and summer. I used a beautiful thick white fleece for the inside of the blanket and a heavier cotton…almost denim weight, but softer, for the outside. I followed the tutorial exactly…then I saw this! I loved the hood idea, so immediately cut into the completed blanket to add the hood. Love.

Here’s our little lady using the car seat blanket for the first time…heading home from the hospital and out on her first outing…a walk in the park on a 55 degree January day in New England!!!

Here’s how the blanket works….

All spread out the blanket looks like a sting-ray!

We are all thrilled to pieces with it.

Nesting 3.4

2012-01-12T22:25:00.004-05:00

*I wrote this post several days ago, and it's been sitting in line waiting to see you since then. It's a bit funny, and super super special that this post about a family picture comes on a day when our whole family is altogether for the first time, with none of us left in the womb. Welcome to the world little Emma dear. Oh we love you so! This space will be quiet for a few days as we soak in this new little spirit, but don't go far...I still have lots and lots of nesting to show you!!!*

Not all of the “nesting” projects are for the baby. Some are just for the nest! That’s the case with this project. It is purely fun, serves no purpose, and when looked at rationally really could have waited to be attempted until after this very busy time! But nothing about pregnancy and nesting is rational!!!!

I had seen a darling clothes peg family picture somewhere and had always wanted to try it out. It turns out that the time was now!!!! I took a simple frame with a unwanted image; painted the frame a delicious aqua; painted a set of clothes pegs to resemble our family; created a background for them on white cardstock; and assembled it into a darling little family picture. Yup…it had to be done now, and aren’t we happy it was!!!

Nesting 3.3

2012-01-12T22:17:00.001-05:00

The car seat. It needed a facelift. Even though I had done this sort of thing before, I took a look around the blogosphere for a bit of fresh inspiration and found the most amazing tutorial ever for redoing a car seat cover. Check it out!

With her instructions it couldn’t be easier. My seat was constructed in a different way so I was more following the process than the actual step-by-steps…but it was so helpful all the same. It was a big task off the to-do list and a fresh and beautiful “new” car seat now sits in the trunk of our car waiting for a sweet new babe to nestle down into it! After many many test runs with the beloved doll!!!

Nesting 3.2

2012-01-12T22:01:00.001-05:00

Months and months and months ago, when I was finally, finally, feeling better from the overwhelming grossness that was the first half of this pregnancy, I dragged out from the cellar a dresser that was in need of an overhaul. At that point, I was in need of an overhaul, and redoing a dresser in the beautiful sunshine while my children played was the perfect start! It’s a great little piece with shelves and sliding doors, and a deep changing table on top. It just needed a fresh look for a fresh new baby!

I painted the entire dresser a beautiful aqua blue and the doors a fresh white. I had fallen in love with this pattern and wanted something of that essence for our baby space. Something of the essence but not the price…! I drew out and painted a little flower love for my girly. I’m embarrassed to say how long it took to complete this project. I just finished the last little blue flowers the other day…and let me tell you…paint them was much much easier with a 5 month pregnant belly than with a 9 month pregnant one. Yikes! We are in love with this little girl already and are thrilled to have something darling to store her things in. The changing table pad received several fresh new pad covers in a beautiful soft flannel paisley. All ready for a little bum.

You may have noticed that the dresser is photographed directly in front of a window. That’s not where it will stay. It’s a temporary home while this beast of a chair has taken over the majority of the babies portion of the room in an effort to afford this mama a good nights sleep. I never thought I would own and be so grateful for a chair such as this…especially when living in such a small house!

Nesting 3.1

2012-01-12T21:37:00.001-05:00

The nesting phase is in full swing here. In the classic “nesting” sense closets are being torn apart and revamped, walls are being washed, and deep cleaning and organizing is happening everywhere you turn. All this cleaning and organizing is uncannily messy sometimes…but hopefully all will be settle down and in proper order when the big day arrives. And if not…oh well!

That’s just the classic nesting. “Hannah nesting” is something else entirely. On top of the compulsive need to organize, sort, discard, and clean everything in sight is the intense need to make everything that could possibly be needed or desired for a baby…sensible or not. We’ve been busy!

In our current little home our little bundle will be sharing a spot in the master bedroom with my husband and myself. She’ll have her own little nook (corner, really!) to call her own and we (I!) really want to make it special for her! A piece I’ve had in mind for quite a while is a button monogram. I found the perfect gaudy square frame at “the nun’s thrifts shop” (That’s what we call it anyway…it’s really "Our Lady Thrift” of Marlboro Ma). It was a simple and easy project. Here’s how it went:

Remove picture from frame and paint!

Cover old picture with white paper. I did this to keep the color from the original picture from showing through the white fabric backing of the new piece.

Draw a monogram letter on a piece of fabric and fill it in with buttons. The littles helped me with this part and really had a lot of fun. We used tacky glue and a bit of hot glue for last minute additions. When the monogram is done glue the fabric to the cardboard backing of the original image, folding the fabric edges to the back and securing with hot glue.

Place the picture back into the frame. (Leaving out the glass of course on account of the buttons). Set the picture in a sunny window sill and think about the little one who will take on this initial in such a short time!

Christmas Crafting: Grandkids Photo Board

2012-01-06T10:22:00.001-05:00

My Christmas gift inspiration was collected largely on pinterest. It’s a weakness of mine, that I believe I share with many of you…ahem!!! Well, that particular board of mine on pinterest reached excessive quite quickly, then of course moved on to completely ridiculous. It’s how I work. My pinterest board simply reflects my brain…totally overflowing with ideas and inspiration to fill my creating hours. It’s beautiful and terrifying at the same time!!!

I wanted to share with you today an idea that is completely “pinterest”. The idea, the process….all pinterest! I wanted to make something for my in-laws to help them show-off their pride and joy…a rapidly growing gaggle of adorable grandkids. I fell in love with this the moment I saw it, but wanted to eliminate the vinyl, mainly to cut down on cost. Painting the lettering purely freehand sounded too risky, so I used this process, also originally found on pinterest!

We were all so happy with how it turned out. I hung it up on one of my own walls to get it away from little fingers one day and loved it there. I need to make something like it…with different words of course…for our home!

Christmas Crafting: Evan’s First Shop Apron

2012-01-05T06:01:00.001-05:00

There’s a little man cub on his way into the world as I write this, and by the time you read it he’ll be snuggling next to his Mom and Dad changing their lives in ways they couldn’t have imagined. His Dad, my little brother, is a creative genius. Really…one day you’ll be using something he designed on a regular basis.

A boy like this needed a special sort of bib. A shop sort of bib. I used this pattern (love!) and covered the front with clear vinyl to make cleaning up a bit easier, and to protect the hand stitching. It was lots of fun to create for a boy when the baby crafting around here has been girly girly.

I can’t wait to meet this little man!

Christmas Crafting: The Manger

2012-01-04T18:20:00.001-05:00

Each year on Christmas Eve we act out and read the story of Christ’s birth. It is a favorite tradition that is much anticipated as Christmas draws near. Last year we began in earnest to establish costumes for this activity, with the plans to add to our collection each year. This year rather than add more costumes we decided to build a manger. We went super simple in design and construction with emphasis on child involvement instead of right angles, straight lines, and even spacing. It is a manger after all, not fine furniture! We opted for pine…because it’s cheap, and easy for littles to cut and nail into. We used some scrap boards from our stash for the end pieces, and picked up firring strips from Home Depot ($1.30ish for 8ft lengths) for the sides. Firring strips are cheap and rougher and definitely imperfect. Just the right look for our manger! The manger sits right on the floor with no legs…just a precaution as the littles are very anxious to be able to use a real baby in it one day. (They have every intention of using our own little babe next Christmas, and it took a while to tune them in to the realities of a nearly one year old!!!)

We turned our kitchen into a shop for a few hours and the remainder of the day (no joke) was spent reenacting the most beautiful story ever told. It’s moments like that that sink so deep into a mothers heart they become more than memories.

Christmas Crafting: The Train Table

2012-01-03T11:58:00.001-05:00

Months and months ago I picked up a free train table top off craigslist. I had dreams of creating a table for my little boy with it for a train set of his own. With the harsh reality of space limitations we had to adjust our plans just a bit, and the train table became a train table top on casters allowing it to slide under the bed when not in use. Perfect!!!

After priming the surface I went to work painting a simple scene for building train worlds on. Water, roads, trees…that’s about it! I used a combination of acrylic craft paint, latex paint samples (which were practically being given away at our local home depot), and latex paint from my own stash. After finishing I coated it with polyurethane to protect the surface against what I hope will be years and years of heavy use! I have to say…it was a blast to paint. I love the cheery bright colors and how it looks with the trains set up on it. We had it set up with a portion of the new train set (the rest was wrapped) and set out on Christmas morning. And that is where he could be found all day, and pretty much all the days after!

This Moment

2011-12-30T09:41:00.001-05:00

A sweet moment during the Christmas Eve dinner preparations!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-21T10:44:00.003-05:00

December's posts in the blogosphere are filled with beautiful things to make, eat, and do. It's a truly magical time of year. Before I sign off for a bit to fill my days with the Christmas joy that make us most happy I would like to share with you a short video. It's a step away from the making and doing, and instead a turning toward the why. Why we celebrate as we do in our home. Why our lives are filled with joy. May your Christmas season be filled with all the joy and happiness you can imagine.

I will, of course, be back soon after the holidays with lots more of the making and doing that filled our December!

Lumberjack Hats

2011-12-19T13:09:00.001-05:00

The workshop has been buzzing lately! Fresh off the workshop table are two of the coolest (and warmest!) and simplest hats ever! We needed some new hats with earflaps to ward off the winter weather that I assume will arrive sometime! We tried on a few different styles of hats while doing some Christmas shopping and they loved the lumberjack style. They looked simple enough to make, and after a quick search online I found a great (and free) tutorial. With a bit of tweeking for their sizing I was off and running with fabrics already in my stash. In a couple hours I went from calculating measurements to trying the hats on sleeping heads. That’s my kind of project! His hat is cotton on the outside with two layers of fleece and sherpa on the earflaps and front bill. Hers is a piece of vintage fabric I’ve been holding onto for just the right project. I think its some kind of wool blend with a polyester backing…! She has the same double layers of fleece and sherpa earflaps and bill.

This is not the kind of hat modeling that makes it into magazines…but it’s the hats in action…which is how they will live their little hat lives!

This Moment

2011-12-16T10:26:00.001-05:00

Sending you all the happiness of the season!

The Christmas Dress

2011-12-15T09:52:00.001-05:00

I came very very close to simply purchasing a holiday dress from a big box store this year. Very close. But in the end, we found the perfect fabric, a simple pattern was chosen from our stash (big puffy skirt was the main request), and it practically flew together. I have to admit, I am very glad the Christmas dress isn’t something I eliminated from the “Big List”. There is also a matching dress in miniature tucked away in the workroom…just the right size for a 18” doll friend to arrive on Christmas morning.

Now, off to the next one thousand things on my list!!

Glimpses into the Making

2011-12-13T10:15:00.001-05:00

December is tricky. Tricky for a blogger at least. Tricky for a blogger that is a maker, and is simply itching to share all the making and doing that has been happening. The thing is…of the few people who visit me here in this sweet little place of mine, many of them are on my gift list…! So here’s a few small glimpses into the makings that have been happening around these parts. So many delicious materials being transformed for those we love. Oh we love to make!

Detours: Colt Park

2011-12-09T06:38:00.000-05:00

There is a magical thing about New England…many in fact, but the one on my mind today is the way a short detour during errands can turn into a family afternoon at the coast. Recently, when we were all healthy and well we detoured and spent the afternoon at Colt State Park in Bristol RI. So beautiful! There is something indescribable about spending a bit of time where the land meets the sea. It is balancing and calming, energizing and thrilling all at once. And pure magic for children. We need more detours. A step off the main trail and a moment to pause and simply be. While our family seems to be on a different sort of detour right now…one of kleenex, vicks, cough drops, and a hefty dose of antibiotics for some, we long to return to detours such as the coast. Soon…! Where do you detour?

Advent Calendar

2011-12-08T08:28:00.001-05:00

Every year at Christmas time while I was young, my Oma (my German grandmother) would send us an advent calendar to help count down the days until Christmas. They were always the simple thin box-like ones with a picture on the front and little doors that revealed a chocolate treat for each day. Now those same advent calendars arrive in the mail for my own little ones. As simple as they are, they seem to bring in the Christmas season with fond memories and a bit of chocolate goodness.

Though we love that style of advent calendar, and want to keep up the tradition each year, I also wanted to make a decorative advent calendar to use each year and hang in our home. I scoured pinterest for ideas and was not disappointed. The challenge was to narrow down just what would work best for our family. Though I wanted something that could be used year after year, I was also looking for flexibility in what the “prizes” could be each year. In the end, I made a simple pocket advent calendar, so that each year we can put something new in the pockets if we like. I picked up the excellent idea of hanging the calendar from a wooden coat hanger during my search, and love the look.

Now…for filling the pockets. As a Christian family we work very hard to center our celebrations this season on the birth and ministry of Christ. As part of that effort we have an ever growing collection of nativities throughout our home. ‘The kids love to arrange and rearrange the pieces of several child-friendly sets and retell the story again and again day after day. This year for our advent calendar we decided to fill it with the pieces of a magnetic nativity set that could be played with at the fridge…another favorite. We went super simple with the design and construction, cutting our figures out of cracker boxes and pasting patterned papers on the fronts, and magnetic strips on the back. I coated each piece with mod-podge just to give them a bit more durability. My little man-cub gave them a test run before slipping them into their pockets on the advent calendar, and they were a roaring success. Little by little, piece by piece they are making their way out of the pockets of the advent calendar and onto the fridge, where once again, the miraculous story is told and retold in the beauty and simplicity of a child’s voice.

This Moment

2011-12-02T10:02:00.001-05:00

Spencer waiting for me to carry a “few” books to the couch and read to him. Oh we do love books!!!

Thanksgiving Pilgrims

2011-11-30T17:05:00.001-05:00

I know everybody has switched into holiday mode…but seeing as this is still November I can post one more smidgen about Thanksgiving…right?!?! Naturally we talked a lot about the Thanksgiving story and heritage in school in the weeks leading up to the holiday. As part of that we built a pilgrim home, under the direction of little minds and their recollections of Plimoth Village her in MA. We had such a great time! Honestly I’m not sure who had more fun…them or me! We’re a great team when it comes to creative mess making and project adventures. We selected a few clothespins from our collection (the kind that doesn’t hinge) and fashioned a few pilgrims, and a couple of Native Americans. The house, and it’s occupants has been a favorite discovery and imagination destination since the moment it was finished. We have big plans to add to our “village” each year. At the very least we will save it carefully and bring it out to enjoy again in the coming years.

My, my, we are so thankful for the time we spend creating together!!!

Slowing Down…Speeding Up

2011-11-29T12:32:00.001-05:00

At a time when much of the world is quickening their pace and rushing forward into a busy, albeit very exciting time, around here we have been doing all we can to slow our pace, be still, and simply be. You see, there’s a sweet little babe on her way, who is already contributing grandly to our family by insisting on a bit of a slower pace. This is not to say that we our days are not wonderfully full of holiday goodness…but there is a bit of a clearer focus on what must be done, and what is extra and can be eliminated from “to-do” lists. I’m looking forward to a simple a beautiful holiday season filled with the outdoors, yummy goodness, plenty of crafting, and the beauty of simple handmades. Oh yes, sweet holiday season, we are ready!

This Moment

2011-11-18T06:06:00.000-05:00

These moments bittersweet is making it’s cheery way into our lives helping us to welcome and enjoy the glorious season of Thanksgiving that is upon us.

Yes, my door is open! Can you believe that the same door that shut out a snowstorm a few weeks ago, was opened a few days ago to let in deliciously mild fresh air. Ahh…sweet weather and it’s inconsistencies!

Welcome.

2011-11-17T21:55:00.001-05:00

With a few minutes, a bit of goodness from the earth, and a bit of repurposing we have “welcomed” our front porch. It feels good.

Welcome glorious season of giving and thanksgiving.

Welcome blessings and joys.

Welcome holidays and all that you bring. Oh we love you so!

Yarn Trees

2011-11-08T16:24:00.001-05:00

We’ve been up to all sorts of holiday crafting around these parts lately. While Becca worked steadily and patiently with her potholder loom we needed an instant craft for littler fingers that were very intent on weaving something. With nothing more than a some cardboard and a bit of yarn we were on our way!

I drew a simple tree-like shape on a cardboard box and cut it out. Along the edges of the treetop I cut ~1/2” slits. After that it was easy peasy. Just string yarn scraps back and forth in any manner desired to create a beautiful fall yarn tree. Spencer chose mostly colors he could see when he looked outside at the trees, while Becca was a bit more “free” in her interpretation of fall colors! Simple and easy! Happy little fingers…happy Mama!!!

Beauty and Destruction from The Big Storm

2011-11-06T19:56:00.001-05:00

An early snow storm like the one that visited the New England last weekend bring so much with it.

~The sudden launch into a new season.

~Brilliant white mixed with stunning oranges, reds, and yellows.

~A much earlier than planned, massive search for the coats, hats, mittens, snowpants, etc.

~A shopping list for said items that no longer fit, or cannot be found.

~Widespread power outages that pull oh-so-much into perspective.

~Heartbreaking damage to so many thousands of the magnificent trees that make New England so beautiful this time of year.

~Sparkling beauty that reflects into the house reminding myself just how much I love our cozy home in the snowy months.

~Bundles and bundles of bittersweet vines previously way beyond reach but brought (almost) right to my door by the tree damage in our yard.

~The mental switch from end of summer/beginning of fall to Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations!!!!

********

Yes, a end of October Nor’easter certainly brings a lot with it. With the power back on, the snow gone, and the branches and trees down little by little being cleared up we are happily settling into our new reality…Thanksgiving…the Christmas Holidays we love so dearly….and rapidly followed by the arrival of a sweet little baby who has recently discovered the full strength of her legs (oh my!!!). Welcome new season! And a giant welcome to all the creating that comes with you!!!

Happy Halloween….!!!!

2011-10-30T21:10:00.001-04:00

We’ve had some camera tragedies of late that have devastated my blogging life. Soon we’ll be back on track with a new and improved family camera, but fore now we are happily relying on a oldie but goodie backup. There’s nothing like losing something that you have come to rely on so heavily…like the family camera (that really only Mom ~~is allowed to use~~ uses) to show you just how much you use something. Kind of like electricity…which we lost last night and lived without today. It’s been that kind of Halloween here. One that we will talk about and remember for years I am sure…the Halloween that it snowed, that one that brought down limbs and limbs and limbs of beautiful brightly colored trees, the one where we had no power, church was cancelled and we spent the whole day together in our home in cozy pjs. Yup, it will be a Halloween to remember!!! (And technically…all this happened before Halloween…!)

We came home from a church Halloween party on Saturday night to a snow covered yard. The kids immediately headed out into the yard and Spencer shouted his classic words ...”I have a doob ideeeya… (I have a good idea)…lets make a snowman!” So we did! I tiger, a fairy, and an up-for-anything Daddy, making a family of snowmen in the yard on October 29th!!!

Happy Halloween my friends!!

Spencer spent the entire time following Matt around and throwing snowballs at him. He was never more than a couple of feet in back of him…it was pretty funny.

The Robinson Family Snowmen!!! The kids have been including our baby in everything lately, they were choosing Halloween costumes for her and constantly counting her when we do thing together…so of course she needed snowman representation! (She is still yet to be born by the way!!!)

This Moment

2011-10-14T11:20:00.001-04:00

Out of focus…but just so perfect. What better way to spend the morning than with ones hands covered in clay. Bliss!

Making for Baby….burb cloths

2011-10-12T11:57:00.001-04:00

There are a multitude of projects for this new baby of mine in various stages all around my workroom…and the rest of the house. After all, with two littles already living their lives fully, homeschool each day, and never ending commitments and adventures outside of the house, I never know what project it will be just the right time to work on. There’s knitting and crochet projects ready for car rides, painting ready for art time (art time that doesn’t need careful supervision that is!!!), sorting and rearranging for every spare second I can find, and a miriad of sewing projects…ready for whatever brain power I happen to have left when I can dive into the workroom.

Once in a while one of these projects has just enough few minutes here and there to actually be completed. Though the process of creating for my wee ones is truly a joy I do love the act of folding things carefully and setting them away in anticipation for their sweet user to arrive. And I’m not at all ashamed to admit that I periodically get everything out and touch it and refold it and love it while thinking of and loving this sweet girl that we are so ready to welcome.

Recently making to the “ready and waiting for baby” shelf was a (the first of many I imagine) set of burp clothes. Though it is a beautiful dream that this child won’t be a spit-upper…one must be prepared!!! I made these burp clothes patterned after my favorite ones from my Spencer-boy. Super simple. Perfect. They are two layers of flannel cut in a slight hourglass shape, sewn wrong sides together, turned, and top-stitched. Easy peasy!

I had a lot of different styles of burp clothes for my little man cub and these ended up being my favorite. Being flannel they stayed on my shoulder nicely and were just the right size to be effective without bulking up the diaper bag to insanity. I found that the stains from spit-up were too hard to get out of the cloth diaper style clothes and really disliked the yellowish grossness they still held even when clean. These were the clear winner. I picked a few half yard cuts of flannel at Joann’s when there flannels were 2.99/yd, and we were good to go. I say, “I” picked them up, but really the patterns where chosen by the littles. They do so love to choose fabric after all!!!

Little by little the “nest” of things waiting for this baby is filling. Little by little time is being spent with each of my projects. Little by little my belly is growing. And little by little the reality of another sweet girl joining our family is sinking in.

A Birthday Chair

2011-10-12T09:43:00.001-04:00

There is not a holiday or birthday that passes through our home that is not accompanied by a bit of crafting. That’s just how we like it! For my little miss’s birthday I refinished a doll highchair that I snagged at a thrift sale months and months ago for just this purpose. It was a pretty simple and delightful job. Though I don’t recommend spray painting in the dark by the light of the flood lamp. It pretty much needed to be completely redone the next day…!

With said spray painting, a bit of foam, a trusty staple gun, some delightful fabric bits and a few pom poms we were in business! As anticipated the chair was met with complete adoration and has a taken a special spot in the play kitchen area. Little known to her, the chair is really waiting for it’s true occupant, who is patiently waiting on a closet shelf for her wardrobe to be completed so she can arrive in style on Christmas morning. Oh my oh my it is just too much fun to live with and make for this little joy girl of mine.

We are 6.

2011-10-11T13:28:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to drop in and say hello. It’s a been gorgeous here, and though time has been logged in the studio not much has been spent in this space…obviously.

We’ve had a birthday. There is really nothing that beats celebrating a girl such as ours. So, we’re 6 now. Though not much has changed really….

This Moment

2011-10-07T12:11:00.001-04:00

It is hard work being a boy that moves, grows, talks, builds, rides, etc., as rapidly as this boy. Sometimes…just plain too much work.

Our boy, waiting for dinner….

Around Town…at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary

2011-10-06T09:41:00.001-04:00

Recently we joined a gaggle of other homeschool families for a “hike” at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. It was a beautiful fall day sandwiched between dreary gray drizzly ones, so the opportunity to be exploring outside was extra sweet.

If you are somewhat local, and have never visited this little spot, I highly recommend it. It’s beautiful and peaceful of course, but the true gem is the rockery. Before visiting here I really wasn’t sure what a rockery was, or just what would be in store there. Well, my friends, it is simply magical. A giant hillside covered with rocks complete with tunnels, caves, “stairs”, and boulders to explore, climb all over and discover. Really it was truly awesome. I can’t wait to go back again, especially when I am not pregnant and my agility is a bit better so I can explore with my littles. We are enjoying our ever-changing classroom so very very much!

What favorite spots do you have to explore in your spot in the world?!?!

Around Town…The Wayside Inn Colonial Fair

2011-09-28T11:48:00.001-04:00

The time has arrived in this baby journey of mine, that I find myself bigger and bigger each day. Yet, with so much more Hannah around, there still does not seem to be quite enough to go around. Sadly, it is this beloved space that gets pushed to the bottom of the to do list and then onto the next days, still uncompleted. It’s a sad reality. But a better reality than the very recent past, when the only item on the “to-do” list was to make it to the end of the day with the same number of people that we started it with. Yup…the expectations were that low!!! Despite my lack of presence here, I have been very present in the studio, (and the fabric store!!!), which has been unbelievably refreshing and wonderful. There are all sorts of delicious baby goodness in the works and I am so excited to share things with you. Taking pictures also happens to be a bolded item on the “to-do” list lately! Soon my friends, soon!

This weekend we explored the Wayside Inn Colonial Fair and Fife and Drum competition. The abundance of historical events, reenactments, and celebrations are one of the things that make New England truly sparkle. To be truthful, I really knew nothing of the history and prominence of fife and drum corps in New England, and was enchanted by the variety and entertainment provided.

I have to say, though, my favorite image of the day was of three distinguished gentlemen, representing all that is truly Massachusetts. The very best of historical representation, and the very best of team loyalty! Three hats that say it all! (The cap is a Boston Red Sox cap…of course!) What I love best about this, is that no one around was the least bit phased by the juxtaposition…welcome to historical New England!

Those are fifes in his boot by the way!

Alphabet Rocks

2011-09-22T10:15:00.001-04:00

We’re just getting to the point where a bowl of pretty things put on the low table in the living room isn’t immediately emptied and its contents rapidly and expertly dispersed throughout the house. It’s so refreshing to be past that point! We’re also just getting to the point where letters are being joyfully recognized by the little man cub and the path to the infinite world of literacy is just beginning. Also a beautiful and miraculous point to be at. Being at these two points made the creation of a bowl of alphabet rocks more of a need than a little extra project to put before sweeping the kitchen floor!!

The idea isn’t original. I would love to say that it is…but it’s not! It is swimming around in the pool of pinterest genius images that fills my brain these days. The original alphabet rocks (as far as I know!!!) are found here. Admitedly hers are higher up on the cuteness scale…but then again…there was a kitchen floor desperately calling my name…! Super cute, or just plain cute, they work just the same and have been a huge hit around here. I picked up a few bags of decorative rocks from the Dollar Tree for, yup, a dollar(!), and painted them with acrylic paint. I used mod-podge to seal the deal so the letters would flake off with use. Soon to come are lower-case versions of the letters on the flip side of each rock. Soon!

As for right now, they are happily living on the living room table, often spread out in words (if played with by Rebecca), or neat orderly rows of commonalities…color of rock, color of letter, or the letter itself…(if played with by Spencer). I just love having something out that can be played with and explored without invitation or permission, and happening upon it later in the day to discover the sweet evidence of independent exploration. Love it!

The Book Nook

2011-09-21T11:45:00.001-04:00

I like nooks. Cozy little spots to be. Living in an old house has it’s down-falls….but the character and nooks more than make up for it.

As you leave the kitchen area and head toward the bedrooms there are two nooks. One holds a small school desk used by the little miss, and a bulletin board posting her most favorite “pinnable” things! She loves this bulletin board…though I have to admit she is almost as much in love with the new “pinterest” boards we’ve been creating as I am!!!

Across from the desk is a smaller nook, tucked under a built-in (one of the best things about old houses are the built-ins!!!) cabinet is the “Book Nook”. From the moment I saw this nook I knew it needed to be something cozy and special for the littles. I also knew I needed a specific place to host the massive collection of library books that circulate through our home. And the “Book Nook” was born.

For many many months it held the bare minimum for its function…a small rocker, a crate acting as a book case, and the library bags stuffed behind it. But it worked…many a time I can find a little or two tucked in there looking through books and escaping into faraway worlds when they need a break from their own. Lately however, the uninspiring look of the nook has been itching at my creative soul, and finally I had to act. I started by changing the blah color of the book crate to a cheery aqua blue that I had taken out for another project that I am so excited to share soon! What a difference that blue made! I knew I wanted something on the wall and decided on a “library book” quilt. Basically scrappy strips of all different colors between white sashing to resemble shelves full of books. It’s not an original idea…by the way!! With the quilt hung and a hook made for the library bags to hang, and a cozy friend to join the readers the Book Nook was finally fulfilling it’s potential. Now all we need is the perfect lighting solution.

We do love a good nook!

Last Days of Summer

2011-09-19T12:29:00.001-04:00

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Oh what a summer it’s been!!!

Homeschool Days

2011-09-15T22:15:00.001-04:00

I’ve blogged about Old Sturbridge Village before in this space. We spent another glorious day there this week for their “homeschool days”. The glint of fall in the air, and the laid back, take it as we go, sort of pace was magical. Does the joy of stepping back to a different time, soaking in the skills and trades, not to mention the patterns, textures, and wardrobes, fill your soul as it does mine?!?! I just love it.

Homeschool Days at Old Sturbridge Village

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

A Glimpse

2011-09-13T23:24:00.002-04:00

There are many many reasons why we decided to homeschool our kidlings. Two of them are right here.

Modern Baby Quilt

2011-09-13T21:17:00.001-04:00

I have been so anxious to create for this baby, and am thrilled to finally know who I’ll be creating for. Literally minutes after walking out of the sonogram appointment I was mentally sorting through fabrics and strategizing for my first projects.

A few months ago I snagged a few yards of amazing fabric from IKEA while exploring their massive store, and beating a mid summer extreme heat wave with my sister. Nothing like acres and acres of air conditioned, design filled, inspiration to save a sweltering day! I thought the fabric would be great for a boy or a girl with the whimsical and colorful design…but once I pulled it out to work with it it seemed not so gender neutral…! I pulled it out when I knew I’d be “making” for a girl and couldn’t imagine using it for a boy. It was just perfect for this girly of mine that’s on her way!

I love the fabric so much (not to mention the fabulous stripey wonder we found for the back…also from IKEA), so chose a simple panel quilt. I also knew that I wanted a “lofty” feeling for the quilt…a bit more like a comforter than a quilt, so went with very low profile ties versus quilting. The ties are basically undetectable on the front (animal print)…just what I was going for!

It was a super simple quilt to put together, and really “primed-the-pump” for more baby creations!!!

*I just have to say…that fabric was meticulously ironed by the OCD bit of me…but the quilt has been folded on the “creations for the baby” shelf in the studio…! I’ll toss it in a tumble dry before we use it to soften it up and take out the folded creases. …Maybe…after all…I doubt she’ll care!!!*

Here’s a simple run down of the quilt step by step.

1. Cut top and bottom layers of fabric to desired length. (I used the fabric salvage to salvage and cut it around a yard and a half ).

2. Cut batting to match fabric

3. Sandwich the fabric and batting with wrong sides together and baste or pin together.

4. Map out your tying strategy and get to work tying the three layers together. I used embroidery floss, looped it through twice and tied it securely in a double knot, then trimmed it close…but not too close!

5. Pin the three layers together along the edges and stitch three layers together ~ 1/2” from edge. This secures the layers along the edges and gives you a point to work from when trimming all the edges even.

6. Trim edges 1/4” from stitching.

7. Attach binding! I used the striped backing for my binding but arranged the stripes perpendicular to the backing. I made the binding myself cutting 2 1/2” strips, stitching them all together, ironing them in half lengthwise, stitching the raw edge side to the front of the quilt, folding the folded edge over to the back, pinning in place, and hand tacked it down…phew…it really was easier than it sounds!!

Ta da!!! A lofty, easy breezy baby quilt that is a great way to showcase awesome, large scale fabric that you just can’t bear to chop up into little pieces!!!

This Moment

2011-09-09T07:34:00.001-04:00

Though today looks like it might mark the return of dear Mr. Sun even in part, the rest of our week was filled with these moments.

The News!!!

2011-09-08T10:20:00.002-04:00

Let the joy of "nesting" Hannah-style begin!!!

*Secretly glad that it is raining and dreary outdoors making a guilt-free afternoon spent in the studio finally diving into all sorts of delicious baby project planning and doing!!! Oh the magic of "making for baby"!!!!

Survival

2011-09-07T11:10:00.001-04:00

These past few (many it seems!) months we’ve been operating on more a survival mode than anything else. Not bare bones survival that’s for sure…but just not full speed ahead, high achievement, super productive either. In fact, now that we are back home from 3 weeks adventuring in New York State, the evidence of such a long time with Mom at low productivity is a grim sight indeed. We are attempting to reclaim the house and pull things back together as I am not so morbidly exhausted anymore…simply sick. Somehow I can handle one of those things with relative grace, but both really does me in. It’s nice to be back in some form of business!

Survival this summer included lots of quesadilla’s for the kiddos made from fresh and delicious goodness…some from the garden and some not. This favorite…pinto beans, cheese, basil, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Yum!!! We made table top habitats for a collection of reptiles we have been loving, and visited the habitats (albeit transplanted habitat!) of other beloved animals. It’s been a survival summer…but a great one. We are determined to chase the last bits of summer that we can, before the fresh crisp air is here to stay. But can I say…I love fall…and am secretly anxious to embrace it full-fold. My only hesitation is the length and exuberance of the season that follows!!!

Adventuring at Watkins Glen State Park

2011-09-02T07:12:00.000-04:00

We explored Watkins Glen State Park, in Watkins Glen NY recently and had a fabulous time with cousins and grandparents in this outdoor discovery zone. Such magnificent rocks. Layers and twists and turns, cliffs and tunnels, it has everything. The rock paths and stairs are fabulous and beats spending time on the stair master at the gym that’s for sure!!! This is not the type of gorge that you hike through the water though that’s for sure…it’s more of the type where you keep a hold of your children at all times!!! It was drizzly the day we were there, so all the steps were wet…which was probably a big part of the caution…still a great place to take the family. So much to wonder at!

Adventuring at the playground

2011-09-01T07:13:00.000-04:00

In Trumansburg NY there is a fabulous playground at the Taughannock Falls State Park. If you turn away from the playground at the shore of the lake and look up at the mountain (or foothill…depending where you live and how you define a mountain!!!) there is one visible house in the sea of green. I just love it. Someday, when there is a drastic need for Actuaries in rural New York I am going to live in this house. Every day I’ll walk down the hill with my gaggle of children and play on the playground and explore the gorge that leads up to the Falls. We’ll discover the gorge like only regular visitors can, we’ll be able to identify the rocks and trees around us and live in the bliss that must surround those that live in a house in a sea of green next to one fabulous natural playground, and one fabulous manmade playground. I’m sure to live in this house I’d have to have some free range chickens and a swarm of honeybees. And I’m quite certain that one of those window-lined, sun-drenched rooms is aching to be my sewing room. I am also completely sure that the children that live in this house just love to help clean its immensity!!! Ah…to dream!

Finally

2011-08-31T11:43:00.001-04:00

So…this baby has really done a number on my blogging…and I’m really sorry about that. I’m determined to do better. But then again, I’m always determined to be doing better at something and I am still hopelessly flawed, so we’ll see how the blogging goes! Be patient my friends.

I am here today with very exciting news. No, I don’t know if it’s a boy or girl (yes, I am going to find out…and yes I could have already found out…but since we’ve been out of town for almost 3 weeks now I am forced to be patient…!). No, I am not all better…but I’m not sick all day every day, so we’re counting our blessings and loving the difference ginger tablets each morning are making. So the exciting news may not seem so exciting to you, but for me it is huge. *drumroll* I made something for the baby. I sat in front of the sewing machine and created something for the little soul that has taken over my body and my heart. It was such a little thing, trivial really, but it was something. And after the creative famine we’ve been experiencing around here it was huge. It was almost as if all I needed was to feel a little bit better, and make something, because now the itch to get busy “nesting” Hannah-style is growing and growing.

I made the simplest of burp cloths. One little burp cloth. But that is one more than I had a few days ago…! It’s two layers of simple unbleached muslin with a natural (and thin) quilt batting sandwiched between. I left the edges raw and snipped them every 1/4” so they’ll fray soften up beautifully in the wash. You can never go wrong with a couple rows of rick-rack whether boy or girl…! So simple. Love.

Chasing Summer

2011-08-22T10:58:00.001-04:00

Here's to an all out sprint to chase the last bits of summer out of each and every day! Happy summering my friends!

Doing….Taughannock Falls in Trumansburg NY

2011-08-19T21:49:00.001-04:00

I have played in plenty of rivers in my life (and thoroughly enjoyed it!), and have hiked to a fair number of waterfalls. But never have I hiked up a river to a waterfall. I have to tell you…I’m a big fan.

We’ve been in the finger lakes region of NY for the past little bit, and while it is just as vibrantly green as our home, it is spread out in delicious rolling hills of green crops and forests. So beautiful. One of the other treasures of this region that we have been loving and exploring are the gorges. Our day at Taughannock Falls in Trumansburg NY was a blast. The river that leads up to the falls is shallow (at this time of year at least), with a great deal of dry river bed, smatterings of deeper pools, and smaller waterfalls. Such an amazing place for children (and their many uncles…not to mention their moms!) to explore, discover, and be free.

The actual falls, which fall down from the center of the horseshoe shaped cliffs at the end (or beginning…however you choose to look at it!) of the gorge, are impressive to say the least. Oh the sweet summer adventures!

Doing…Out and About on the Canoe

2011-08-18T21:46:00.002-04:00

So very much of my life, as documented by long previous posts on this blog, is about making. I just love it. The planning, the gathering of supplies, and the blissful hours spent creating something just right…and sometimes disastrously wrong…but it was still creating, so all is well. With the first few sick months of pregnancy sticking around for longer than a “few months” and sapping me of all that is “Hannah”, I have not been creating at nearly the rate that is normal and healthy for me. In fact, aside from making the beds, and dinner I haven’t been making anything. I sat down at the sewing machine and fiddled in the studio a bit a few days ago just to make sure everything still remembers me.

In the meantime, in an effort to create some amount of normalcy and adventure for my children who are busily growing and demanding my attention out of the womb, we have been focusing on doing. We have been hitting the lakes and streams, parks and splash pads, and beaches in our area in effort to still feel like I’m alive and living well!!! So if this blog is a bit more weighted in the adventures and less in the creations don’t you worry, we’ll even it all out soon once I can start working on the massive “to make for the baby” project list that is amassing in my head.

For now, we are happily doing. Most recently canoeing.

3!!

2011-08-12T09:35:00.001-04:00

Oh the joy of this boy!!! Today we celebrate the birthday of the sweet little man. I wish each of you could have the chance to set and have a little talk with him while sorting and playing with toy cars, building with lego duplos, or digging in the sand…it is truly magical. He is all that a little man cub should be and we love all that he brings to our little family! Yay for 3!!!

Bowling

2011-08-08T08:23:00.001-04:00

Our venture to fill our summer with activities of all sorts brought us to the bowling lanes recently. One of my absolute favorite things about bowling with little ones is their perception of success. With gutter bumpers, and sometimes even the ramp to launch their ball they were sure to knock down something and that is really all they need! Anything knocked over at all received grand cheers and excitement. It was wonderful.

These past few months have been filled with icky sicky days for me, and paired with exhaustion and a sudden lack of ambition of any kind, I have felt defeated and pathetic more often than not. I’m assuming it will change one of these days….(this has lasted way way way longer than either of my previous pregnancies), but in the meantime I think I need to change my perspective. Give myself a few gutter bumpers, a little ramp to get myself going….and by all means cheer and get excited if anything at all gets knocked down!! It’s all about perception.

Adventuring at Plimoth Plantation

2011-08-04T20:24:00.001-04:00

We took advantage of Boston’s “Free Fun Friday’s” program and spent a (wet) great day at Plimoth Plantation and the Mayflower. Always great to adventure in a different time period with those you love most!!! It was a full day…, lost our boy for few seconds and will forever hold his terrified expression in my soul, picked up that same boy from face down on a muddy path much to the eternal dismay of his sister who doesn’t like unplanned wet and mud on herself or anyone else, watched the rapid destruction of two umbrellas when handed over to the guardianship of the littles (the above fall, and one unplanned encounter with a fence post is all it took!!), learned what it must of felt like to the pilgrims to be in the fort with a hundred people while everyone tried to escape a sudden deluge of rain, saw processes, foods, skills, living conditions, and experiences that filled us with gratitude, reverence, and amazement at those courageous early settlers. Always, always, good to take a step back in time, no matter how muddy and harried the steps my be at times. (And that was just with two little Robinsons…what crazy adventures will my future hold?!?!?!)

Bits of Fun

2011-08-02T07:36:00.001-04:00

When a break from the sun and heat is needed a bit of painting is just perfect. Nothing like a blank canvas a bin of paints and very little in the way of boundaries. (Pretty much anything goes as long as the paint stays on the canvas and off of bodies (if intentional!) and the rest of the room!)

Sweet sweet summer time art.

Adventuring at Mt Monadnock

2011-07-31T19:21:00.001-04:00

This weekend we drove up into beautiful New Hampshire to Monadnock State Park for some hiking. Twenty (!!!) years ago I hiked this mountain with my family and it was odd, and wonderful to be back with my own little ones. The whole circle of life thing you know…! Mt Monadnock has a reputation as a great hike for families and we were really excited to see how the little legs in our own family would do! We chose a trail based on this site that we thought would suit us best, packed our bags, and set out. It was an amazing day and a great hiking trail. Spencer (2) and Rebecca (5) both made it all the way up, and all the way down the mountain without being carried. They were amazing. Just amazing! They had such a great time, and just kept going and going and going pointing out every single trail marker along the way! The trail markers were very important to them and they had a lot of fun building a cairn when we were nearing the summit.

The reputation of this mountain holds true. It is a great hike for families, and obviously a popular hike for all ages as people could be seen from the summit making their way along many different trails up the mountain.

There is not much that can top a day spent in the beautiful outdoors adventuring with those you love most. With nothing to distract from each other and the pure and very real beauty around us, the day is filled with two of the things that truly matters…each other, and the goodness of the earth. Ah yes, summer days filled with adventures of this sort are just the sort of days we love. Where have your summer adventures taken you and yours?

If you look close you can see Spencer and Matt making their way across some of the final rocky climbs to the summit. Quite a view though, huh!

Believe it or not there were tadpoles in that “pond”!

You never know what will happen when you hand your camera over to someone else!!! I am thrilled that we got one of all of Rebecca’s face(!!!), though neither she or Spencer were too thrilled with the wind that threatened to blow us right off into the clouds. Whatever the quality…this is a very special picture to me…five Robinsons on top of Mt. Monadnock, each getting their on their own two feet (well…not the littlest Robinson…but we’ll let him or her slide!) …monumental!

Back in the Garden

2011-07-27T09:29:00.000-04:00

Every once in a while the hermit inside me rages out of control and I feel the need to drop off the face of the earth for a bit. Recently that also included a huge and (sadly) unexplained absence from this dear blogging world. What’s done is done though, and I am back. Back in New England, back in the studio, back in the kitchen, back in the garden.

After a fabulous jaunt across a few states with a van full of cousins we returned to our little house on the hill and the littles immediately and joyfully ran to the garden. Munching on new green beans, mourning the end of the peas, exclaiming over the expanse of the squash plants, and commiserating with their mama over the evidence of Peter Rabbits obvious delight in several of our crops!!! Clearly I underestimated the ability of rabbits to shimmy in and out of tiny holes in fences. Sneaky little things. They’ve completely done in the broccoli, carrots, swiss chard, onions, scallions, and basil. I’ve been doing my best to focus on what is left in the garden, but I must admit that seeing all those yummy foods listed in the done and gone category is a bit frustrated and totally tragic!! We are happily eating from our garden despite the colony of bunnies we are waging war with and are looking forward to many yummy fresh from the garden meals in the coming weeks.

Much to my children’s dismay the eggplants are safe and sound (!!!) and I am on the lookout for delicious eggplant recipes to grow their love of this gorgeous vegetable. Our favorite eggplant dish last year was eggplant parmesan and we plan on eating much more of that this year. I also have big intentions on slipping it into many other dishes without notice! Yes. I have become my mother!!! Though my children are quite unlikely to find lentils in their pizza sauce…but I’m still young…you never know what I’m capable of!!!

I’m not really sure who was more sad to see us return…the rabbits or the weeds!!!

We are thrilled with the red curry squash plant that has grown as a volunteer from the compost we added to the garden. I don’t know what makes the littles more excited….the fact that it is growing all on it’s own without anyone planting it…or the very enthusiastic way that it is growing…namely up and over and all around the fence in a magically jungley sort of way!!!

Out and About…at Wingaersheek Beach

2011-07-05T18:28:00.001-04:00

This weekend we explored Wingaersheek (pronounced locally Wingaahh-heek!) Beach in Gloucester MA. To say it was amazing would be an understatement! There is only one road out to the beach (which is a narrow, curvy, residential road), and only one place to park, which is wicked expensive ($25!!!)…but totally worth it. To get around it you could go after 5, when the life guards leave and they no longer charge for parking. The long beach has beautiful sand and shallow water with calm waves, which is great for little ones, especially my littlest who is still a bit shy of the oceans “roar”. There are huge boulders everywhere to swim or wade out to in high tide and walk to in low tide. So fun to explore! The most amazing thing about this beach are the natural sand bars that are everywhere creating pathways way out in to the water in lower tides. We left (read: were chased away by a rapidly approaching thunderstorm!) while the tide was still receding but still were able to walk way way out with the water below our waists. We are anxious to go back at low tide to really be able to explore all those sandy pathways.

We love the beach. We positively drink in all the richness that it fills our senses with. There is nothing that rivals a day spent at the beach! Oh, welcome, beautiful summer beach days and all the sandy, salty, sticky, sweet sweet adventures you bring!!!

This Moment

2011-07-01T06:52:00.000-04:00

Sweet sweet moments to cherish and remember, captured in my heart and through my lens forever.

My little list maker is rarely without a pencil and notepad making list of all sorts!

Out and About…at the Mass Audubon Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary

2011-06-30T06:30:00.000-04:00

The return of the sun here in MA has us out and about and soaking it in in every wonderful way we can come up with. Today while the kidlings and I were greeting the day we decided on a whim to head out to Lincoln, MA to Drumlin Farm. So fun!!! With passes checked out from the library the admission was minimal to say the least, which means many many return trips in our future!!!

It was such a peaceful and beautiful environment to spend the day in with my two little loves. The farm has lots of wonderful trails to explore, animals to visit and befriend, and so very much to spark the imagination and creativity of young minds. We took the day my favorite way to take an exploring day…no real schedule, no set plans, just following the interests and curiosity of littles. Just perfect!

Sweet sweet summer!!

2011-06-29T06:21:00.000-04:00

Although the days and days of rain that we recently struggled through were tough, I am strangely grateful for them. For after the rain, the sun…, oh the sweet sweet sun is even more brilliant and more invigorating, and fills us with more summer than week long stretches of such beautiful weather. (Though we wouldn’t say no to such weather at all!!!!)

Some of my favorite moments during the day are looking out across the yard, or out the window, or up from my work to see my children running and playing so happily in their world. They were born to run barefoot and free. And run they do (so long as they are in the tick free, poison ivy free parts of the yard…!) There are lovely growing things all throughout the yard. Some are taking off beautifully, some are struggling against the army of chipmunks that live in our rock walls, but everything is green, and growing. But far surpassing the miracle and beauty of the life springing up and thriving all around us, are the two little lives that are blooming and growing, soaking in the warmth of the sun and the nutrients of the sweet earth beneath their bare toes, forming truly truly beautiful souls. Yes, there certainly are lovely growing things in my yard!

The Big Show

2011-06-27T23:30:00.003-04:00

Last fall we decided to enroll our little twinkle toes in dance class. After our move we took our time choosing a new studio to enroll her in. We ended up choosing The Little Gym based on their philosophy toward dance education. Lots of emphasis on confidence, rhythm, coordination, and development of happy whole little dancers along with the standard dance and gymnastic skills. Becca’s classes were small and taught by a phenomenal dancer/veterinary student(!). The culminating performance at the end of The Little Gym season is called “The Big Show”, where these little performers dance their little hearts out in their own costumes and in their own studio. As the mother of this little starburst I couldn’t have been more proud and filled with joy. and as an enthusiast for pure childhood and natural learning I couldn’t think of a better place for children to soar.

Costumes were up to the creative genius of the dancers, and we had a lot of fun making Becca’s. Admittedly tame for for her regular dance attire, she was surprising specific about just what a “Big Show” dance outfit should be. Enter simple ribbon and massive pink flower tacked onto a favorite tutu. I can do that!!

In our (read: their) favorite “pose so mom can take the picture and we can go” spot with her loyal side kick close beside as always (with his supply of matchbox cars of course!!!)

And on top of the world receiving her “gold” medal after her fabulous show. Yay Big Show!!!

And for those of you who need a bit more (Mom!) check out the little photo album below.

The Big Show!

VIEW SLIDE SHOW

DOWNLOAD ALL

Baby Blanket

2011-06-21T09:06:00.001-04:00

I have three friends having summer babies this year. There’s nothing like joining with friends to welcome a new baby. A proper welcome just seems to require something homemade does it not…!?!?! I have been picking up fabric for these babies welcome here and there for several months. But boy-oh-boy did the “welcome” sneak up on me with the fabric still nicely folded in its original (but thankfully washed!) state. We whipped together a great little blanket in no time…and I say we, because this type of immediate sewing requires the help and cooperation of everyone, ~~even~~ , especially, the littlest of Robinsons. Having had my own summer baby I knew the magic of a “no-batting” blanket. Simply cotton on cotton was perfect weight for swaddling up a new babe in the heat of summer. I did add a bit of minky fleece as it is simply divine!

Here’s a quick little run through of a quick little blanket.

1. Folded down one corner of a one yard cut of fabric to make a square. Cut off the extra.

2. Laid out the minky fleece on top of the cotton to get an idea of how big of borders I needed. (I knew the fleece wasn’t big enough to be a full backing so chose a cute stripe/polka dot print for wide borders.)

3. Ripped four lengths for the borders. Tearing the fabric will give perfectly straight (and awfully quick!) strips when you’re in a hurry.

4. Pinned and stitched, and then top stitched the borders.

5. Laid the two sides on top of each other with right sides together and stitched all around the edges leaving a few inches for turning.

6. Clipped corners and turned right side out.

7. Top stitched the edges.

8. Wrapped it up in a bundle with a few other baby goodies, tied on a wide ribbon and off we went to the “welcome”!!!!

Crafty

2011-06-15T19:49:00.001-04:00

We’ve been crafty around here. Nothing astounding. Just time spent with scissors and glue, paper and sparkly bits. It is, after all, the creating that we cherish, just as much as the creations!

Weekending: Trombettas Farm

2011-06-14T10:30:00.001-04:00

Drizzly rain and gray skies kept us from out very-much-anticipated camping trip this past weekend. Instead we explored a local “farm” for their attractions…namely mini-golf and ice cream. We used a promotion from Buy With Me for four rounds of mini-golf and four soft serve ice cream cones. It was my first time using Buy With Me and we really liked it. Easy to use, and lots of great deals. Between Buy With Me, Groupon, and the amazing Highland Street Foundation, we are set for a fantastic and very economical summer of exploring our area!!!

Trombettas is a local farm with ice cream, flowers, indoor mini-golf, gift shop, and make-your-own wooden toys and crafts. It’s a great little spot to explore and has quite the reputation for excellent ice cream. Our little ones had never been mini-golfing before so we weren’t quite sure how it would go…silly us….they had a blast. Their form may not have been correct, or even close to it…but they were oh-so-happy! Spencer’s game was a bit different than everyone elses. Here’s how he played…(1) Hit the ball (2)Run as fast as you can to catch the ball (3) Drop the ball into the hole (4) Grin (5) Repeat!!!

And the ice cream….well my oh my was it delicious!!!

Here’s to a summer of happy exploring of the local attractions in your area!!

Strawberries and Popcorn

2011-06-13T09:13:00.001-04:00

We checked out Tougus Farm in Northboro, MA for a little strawberry picking recently. It was a marvelous day. We found their farm using the “pick-your-own” guide found here. I forgot both phone and camera for this trip, so was (a bit refreshingly) still on this visit, so can’t document the farm for you. Guess we’ll have to make a return trip!!! The berry picking was excellent. They kept the U-Pickers sort of bunched together which isn’t ideal, but we still had a great time. We ate ever so many berries, and were happy with more berries and popcorn for a meal when we got home! The farm has a great little playground and petting zoo (goats and turkeys mainly!) and a bakery and gift shop that we didn’t really explore.

I know that many many of you are not local to us here in MA, but you can use the pick-your-own guide linked to above to find great farms in your own area. Happy picking friends!!!

This Moment

2011-06-10T10:46:00.001-04:00

This moment...just a simple sweet moment from a full life, captured, to savor and hold dear.

In the Garden with Monster Feet and Chopped Bangs

2011-06-09T13:05:00.001-04:00

There is simply nothing like gardening with children. Though a tad bumbly and even disastrous at times, it is one of my most favorite times with my little ones. To sit in the soil (rock ridden as it is!) with a little man cub on my lap whose chubby little hands are filled with seeds, and whose little self is babbling away about everything in the world is…quite simply…bliss. Truth be told, I could do without all the seeds from a packet being dumped from chubby hands into one spot…but in the end…I would not trade those precious hands helping in the garden for anything in the world.

I am no expert, having only gardened with my own children for a few years, but I have learned a few things along the way. Maybe they’ll help you in your own gardening adventures.

Always always always remember that the people you are gardening with are so much more the purpose of the garden than the produce coming out of it.
Grow the things you would like your children to be eating…there is something magical about growing the food that makes it easier for little mouths to gobble it up at the dinner table…or straight from the garden!!
Grow radishes…even if they are not a favorite in your home…they grow so rapidly and can be replanted throughout the season and provide more of an immediate (or at least quicker) gratification for little gardeners.
Set aside a bed for your little ones to plan and plant however they like.
Make it fun…plant flowers along with the vegetables, choose unusual varieties like purple green beans, giant pumpkins, etc to spark your children's whimsy.
Remember that all living things want to grow and are very forgiving….however clumsily planted, they will do their very best, and most likely grow into strong healthy plants.
There are many great books about gardening with children…you can find a few of my own favorites featured in the sidebar. Have fun browsing!!!

Happy gardening my friends.

Weekending

2011-06-07T08:52:00.001-04:00

After the eternal winter that we survived here in New England this year we have every intention of living this summer to the fullest! We’re planning to live weekend to exciting weekend! So far we’ve been loving it.

This past weekend we went up to Seabrook Beach in Seabrook NH. We lived in a beach house there for ten months during the off season when the littles were even littler and we just love the beach there. There is no public parking so the beach is basically only open to the residents in the neighborhood, unlike the very crowded Hampton beach right across the harbor. Here’s the trick. Park across the street from the neighborhood and hike in…or better yet, have your husband drop you off and join you after he parks and hikes in…!

What we love so very much about this beach is that it has it all. Dunes, grasses, rocks, harbor views (for those little boys who love so much to watch the boats coming in and out!!), awesome tide pools and lots of great beach front. We plan on checking out lots of the area beaches this season, but it was great to start off at one that we love so dearly. And oh the sweet sticky salty feeling that only a day at the beach can leave on your skin. Heaven!

Here’s to a summer full of weekending!

A New Season

2011-06-03T12:23:00.001-04:00

I pretty much have the house to myself today as my two littles have taken up residence in “the tent”. Set up recently to air out and prepare for this new and most anxiously awaited season, it has provided hours of entertainment on a day when I could really really use such hours of independent play by the littles. It’s not often that their needs coincide so well with my own…I am very aware, and very grateful for the magic here today.

Right Now

2011-05-31T09:18:00.001-04:00

Right now we are:

::back home after a weekend with family and beloved cousins

::relishing in the nooks and crannies and favorite quiet spots in our home and yard

::attacking the house and all those bags with a vengeance in an effort to attain order as quickly as possible so we can spend every possible moment outside

::feeling the urge to purge…big time…I see a big donation to the local thrift store coming very soon!

::finding it very difficult to stick to the inside chores when the garden is calling my name so sweetly

::anxious to return to our normal diet and 7:30 bedtimes after a long weekend where those were both thrown wildly out the window!

::contemplating which beach to go to on Thursday and which hike to do this weekend with the family….don’t you just love summer recreation

::happy and content in our little yellow house on the hill.

::hoping the start of this shortened week is bright and happy!!

This Moment

2011-05-27T11:06:00.001-04:00

No words. Just the simple beauty of a simple moment of a simple childhood. Pure joy.

A Moment in the SUN!!!

2011-05-26T07:42:00.001-04:00

The sun has finally returned to New England and we are loving it! We hit the trails recently for (an impromptu) first hike of the season to test out the little legs. Nothing better than a spur of the moment hike in the sunny woods to refresh everyone! After figuring out a more effective bug repellant we are so excited to explore more and more trails in our area! Oh the joys of summer recreation!!!

Hope this weekend finds you happily busy in beautiful weather with those you love!

A New Look for the “New” Bed

2011-05-24T06:58:00.000-04:00

“Yesterday” I came home from the hospital with a bundle of baby boy in my arms that was so beautiful and precious that I could barely breath. Somehow it is today, and he is huge! Really not sure how that happened but I am forced to roll with it I guess! The white crib that he moved into when he outgrew the cradle that my father made for my children transitioned into a daybed this winter for him, but even that has begun to look comically small for such a big boy. A new bed was in order.

Becca and Spencer share a perfect cozy room and I wasn’t wanting to squeeze a second twin bed in. The answer was an IKEA toddler bed, which is bigger than a crib and still smaller than a standard twin. Plus, we were able to pick one up for free locally on craigslist. The size was just perfect…but the look was off…but that just makes it more fun…and since everything I needed to “remake” the bed we already had on hand the bed stayed in the “free” zone!

The first thing to go was those funny little elastic basket things that look messy and bizarre…though I have to say the kids loved them. Oh well! I wanted to build up the headboard/sideboard with thin slats of wood to give it the look I wanted. I cut the boards to length and used liquid nails to attach them to the board. With lots of books and weight (#10 cans of wheat and rice storage!) the slats are adhered really well and I have no worry of them coming off…ever!

After a light sanding I was ready to paint. I went with a classic white because I love the look and wanted it to coordinate with his sisters bed which I plan to paint white this summer. We are so happy with the results.

The bed looks great and he love love loves it. And just so you don’t get any misconceptions under the bed is never empty aside from this photo, but is instead used for an enormous bin of cars and trucks of all sorts of sizes, and a second bin holding our precious collection of duplo legos…a most favorite toy! Oh, and one more tender thing…the funny blue pillow is Spencer’s “Shark-friend”…a pillow made by my husband in junior high home-ec. I just love it…partly because the pillow sewing days of my husband are defnitely gone, and because the little man cub just loves it so much!

Now the only project ahead of us is what to do with the blank wall above the bed. We’re thinking of something along the lines of this…but we’ll see!

Here’s a little before and after!

Before:

After:

Map Art

2011-05-23T09:59:00.001-04:00

We picked up a United States puzzle this winter at a library materials sale that (we didn’t know it then!) was missing two edge pieces. Because the state pieces are all shaped like the states themselves the puzzle wouldn’t stay together with an incomplete border and it frustrated everyone. I couldn’t donate an incomplete puzzle, and didn’t want to throw it away, so it sat on a shelf for a bit until I came up with the perfect project for it. Here’s what I made…

and here’s how I did it…!

Throwing away all the pieces besides the states I made the puzzle and glued the pieces securely to construction paper. I spray painted the whole country white with glossy white spray paint. On a piece of masonite I mod-podged a piece of awesome paisley cotton fabric. I glued the white country to this with liquid nails, placing some heavy books and weights evenly on the puzzle to glue it evenly and securely.

I didn’t have a frame that fit the piece, but did have several lengths of distressed molding in the workshop, so I painted these a lovely green that I used previously here and here, and then cut them to length and attached them with liquid nails directly to the masonite board. The corners did not come out perfectly so I filled in the gaps with a bit of wood putty and then touched up the paint. I attached some hanging hardware and now it happily hangs on our wall.

This was a very simple project that for some reason took such a long time to pull together…but we are so happy it did. I just love the way the focus becomes the shapes and lines of the states when all color and geographic references are removed from the map. The shapes and lines are so interesting and create such beauty together. An added bonus…the littles ablility to identify states based on shape has increased as we use this map in geogrphic exploring adventures. Art to learn from…yup…I love it!

This Moment…Last Year

2011-05-20T09:52:00.001-04:00

So…this moment is rainy and drizzly and gray, with an overflowing task list and and underwhelming amount of motivation and drive (largely due to the previously mentioned rain, drizzle, and gray). So please indulge me in a peak into a moment around this time last year. Enjoy.

This Moment…Last Year

Tigers…Andrew Zuckerman style

2011-05-18T09:53:00.001-04:00

Last week, when the sun was still shining here in Eastern Massachusetts we dove into a second, and equally stunning Andrew Zuckerman book. This time Creature (yup…it’s at the sidebar!) …which, as it’s title suggests is packed with creatures of all kinds beautifully captured against a white background. After looking through it for the 115th time and remarking on the different amazing and intricate details of each animal captured in it’s pages she chose one to focus on…a tiger cub. At her sundrenched work table she drew a tiger, with as much detail and accuracy a five year old can possibly manage! On the back,in one column, we listed all the things that we know about tigers, and in a second column all the things we would like to know. From there we have been exploring some of our own wildlife books and scouring the library for everything we can find on our stripy friends. We have been swept away in the magic and wonder of these endangered creatures, and loving them close up…from the safety of our own cozy home!

Birds…Andrew Zuckerman Style

2011-05-17T08:50:00.001-04:00

We have been doing a unit on birds recently. As part of our exploration we have been spending a great deal of time in Andrew Zuckerman’s Bird book. (I’ve spoke of his books before here, and you can check the book out more at my sidebar, or learn a bit more about the artist here…and can I say that every time I say his name I think of E.B.Whites Charlotte’s Web and “Zuckerman’s Famous Pig”!!!). Shot with stunning detail against a white background the amazing selection of birds come to life in an almost supernatural way. We are big big supporters of our local library…but this is one book I need to own! Some of our favorite pages were the spreads of just feathers, where texture and variety seem to jump right off the page. If there is ever a book to show the true artistry, magnificence, and beauty of a bird…this is it!!!

Bucket Hat No.1

2011-05-16T08:37:00.001-04:00

With great great pleasure we have been dipping into this book in the studio. But not just to drool and plan…but to make make make. The first project I tackled was the bucket hat (sun hat). With the pale faced kiddlings that I call me own, hats are our friend in the summer! This one really goes together very easily and is really deceptively simple. We have plans for more….many more!

Also in progress from the book…the red riding hood cloak with just a few minutes of hand stitching left, and the messenger bag which is stalled by the search for adjustable strap hardware…! So much to sew and so much to share with you! Soon soon soon!