ode to all things peppermint-y

One of my favorite things to do this month is make peppermint bark.  It's easy, it's yummy and it is a good little gift to give away.  (Except the one year I made it and didn't give it away and I ended up eating the whole batch by myself.  Ugh. Because of that, I didn't make it the next year.  I needed time to reclaim my love of peppermint bark.)

Usually, I make it to look like this:

One bag of creme de mint baking chips, one bag of good quality white chocolate baking chips, and crushed up peppermints (I used the softer kind this year so it's not so crunchy).  Melt the creme de mint chips in microwave, spread out and let harden.  Melt white chips, stir in a few peppermints, spread on top of chocolate, top with some more peppermints, let harden.  Break and enjoy.  I like keeping it in the fridge because it tastes super yummy cold.

This year, I also made it like this:

In this batch, (that is still too soft to break apart) I melted bittersweet chocolate chips, and topped it with a layer of Hersey's Peppermint Kisses.  Topped it with peppermints.  It's pink!  And it is sooo good.  This stuff is dangerous. I need to give it away. Don't want a repeat of a few years ago...
I dare you to try it and not love it. (I am bringing this stuff with me wherever I go, so if I'm coming where you, get ready).

Oh peppermint bark.  How I love you.

Inspiration to Creation: All about Flowers

Pinterest has become my new favorite place on the internet.  Its window shopping at its easiest.  Lots of inspiration there:

Inspiration: Nestofposies.com Felt Flower Wreath

Creation: Aimee's Felt Flower Wreath

My wreath looks like it was a lot easier than the one I was inspired by.  I actually did most of it in the car in the Laser Quest parking lot while waiting for Noah to finish up at a birthday party.  I wrapped a styrofoam wreath with 3 rolls of striped black and white ribbon (to make sure it was completely covered) and then cut felt squares into spirals.  I wrapped the spirals into flowers and stuck a silver ball-headed pin into the middle.  That is all.  When I got home, I did glue the ends of the ribbon down but the flowers without glue.  Easiest wreath ever.

Inspiration: Blue Sky Confections Paper Plate Wreath

Creation: Aimee's Paper Plate Wreath

Ok, so my paper plate wreath is not as cool as the other.  But this was a lot of work and my hands still smell like coffee.  Allow me to explain.  First, you take 50 cheap paper plates, soak them in coffee (hence the reason why my hands still smell like coffee), ball them up to wrinkle and lay flat to dry.  Then you cut them into spirals.  After this step, you burn the edges with a candle and I tried, but I kept setting the plate on fire.  (I had a dish of water near by) so I decided to skip that step.  Then I ran out of hot glue sticks, which you are supposed to use to glue the flowers onto the wreath.  So I decided to just wrap ribbon around the rest.  I glued pink pearls in the middle of some of the flowers.  I may make some tiny changes before hanging it up. Hers is a halloween wreath, mine will be for winter.  I'm happy with it and that's all that matters, right?  Although hers is really, really cool but I bet it took her days. Just saying...

In keeping with the flower theme, here is one more picture.  I finally, finally like how my fireplace looks.  I arranged the dried flowers and branches and love how it looks in the room.  (The black balls in the fireplace are for halloween.  Seth was a little concerned: "Why are there black balls in the fireplace?"  Hee)  Next week, I'll show you what I hung up on my blank wall. 

Have a great day!



Inspriration to Creation: Stenciled Tree Curtains

Inspiration: 

Last spring, I bought two books about the art of printing.  One book is titled Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils and Silk Screens.  One project that the author, Lena Corwin showed was stenciled "wallpaper."  She made tree stencils and then painted them on her wall to look like wallpaper. 

Creation:

I took that idea and made curtains for my living room.  Last winter, I took a few pictures of my two trees in the front of my house.  I traced the outline of those trees, took away the many, many small branches, and then made three stencils (two big, one small) out of the tracings. 

I bought 8 yards of a natural-looking fabric (basically a thicker muslin) and cut out two rectangles and got to work with two shades of blue:

Then I sewed the rectangles onto the bottom of the hemmed curtains.  It was by far the easiest curtain project I've ever done, minus the trouble I had with my sewing machine. (Thanks to my mom and Seth for the help in getting it fixed!)

Here they are, framing my heavier, shorter curtains in the living room:

I love how they turned out!  Now onto my next project... :)

inspiration to creation: Red Fern Prints

I like to tear out pages from catalogs when I find something that I like. I either want to create something like it or hopefully buy it. I keep all these pages in a folder and go back to it when I am finally ready to do a project.  Last week, I needed ideas on what to do with one of our bedroom walls.  We had moved some things around and this one wall was completely empty.  What to do? 

I am not a patient person, so I chose something that I thought I could try to recreate.  I came across this page:

My Inspriration

from Ballard Designs (I could not find an image online, they must not sell these particular prints anymore, so I had to take a picture of the page.  These prints are made by artist Patrick Wright and were priced for around $570 for the set of three)

I had some 12x16 canvas paper, paint and brushes so I just made my own flower prints:

My Creation

It took several steps, and the lighting in my bedroom is terrible for pictures, but I hope you can get an idea of what I did.  They have been grey-washed (instead of white washed) and hopefully, when I repaint my bedroom, they'll go well with the color I have in mind.  I have a yellow and white comforter, red accents and hopefully will paint my bedroom a grey-brown.  They aren't perfect, but for now, I like them.  I only spent money on the frames (which wasn't that much), so if I go with something different later on, it won't be a big deal. 

Have a great day!

inspiration to creation: French Burlap Pillows

Several months ago, I saw some pillows that I loved.  You have probably seen them too.  They are everywhere.  Like this:

My Inspiration

from Restoration Hardware

I decided that those type of pillows would go really well with my living room.  But, I wanted a little bit of color because my couches are brown, my walls are dark brown, by floor is brown...you get the idea.  So, I did this:

My Creation

I have four, each in a different color.  The reason you just see one finished is because I finished sewing one pillow and then didn't finish the others for another two months.  But now they are all finished.  If I had to do it over, I would pick another way to iron on the No. #s.  I printed off the design onto iron-on transfer paper, but then had to painstakenly cut out the N and o and . and the number.  Because of all the curls, it was very difficult and already the 4 has come off a little.  I also didn't use burlap because I didn't think it would be very soft to lay your head, so I used a heavy cotton fabric.  But I do like them in my living room.  They add a little splash of color and also were not as expensive as the other pillows I have seen.  These are "the boys can lay on them and throw them and if they don't last a few years, its okay" pillows, which every family with growing children should have if they are going to have pillows.  :)

I have recently come across some designer knock off blogs that have many tutorials of things that you find in a catalog but can't justify spending a ton of money on it so instead they make their own.  I was inspired and did a few works of art for my bedroom that I'll show you a little later.  Our bedroom is in the middle of getting its own makeover but I need to paint and I just don't want to yet.  I'm still tired from painting all this past year! So maybe soon...

Have a great day!

3 projects, 3 pictures, 3 wishes

You really may not care at this point, but Round 2 in the Dogs vs. Me battle of the garden has begun.  I decided to try a garden fence.  I found a white garden fence (cheap, cheap, cheap!) at Wal-mart, but spray painted in black so it wouldn't be so noticeable.  And standing from afar, you can hardly see it although when you can, it doesn't look so bad.  The dogs sniffed it but then walked away.  Maybe the spray paint will be a deterrent for awhile.  I'll keep you updated because I know you really do care.  Haha.

Have I ever showed you the shark that I paper-mâchéd? I don't think I have.  So here it is in all his friendly glory:

It hangs in Noah's room and his room is officially finished.  It is painted a lovely green, has a collage of picture frames that hangs above his desk, his bed is diagonal facing, just like he asked and there is a Mario-Luigi t-shirt stretched over a canvas (easiest project ever!) that hangs by his bed.  Here is a shot:

My favorite is the framed art that hangs above his nightstand.  It reads, "You are an Original"  and that is Noah exactly. 

It is so beautiful outside right now so here is what I'm wishing for this weekend:
1. I want to play tennis with the boys
2. I want to grill something and eat outdoors
3. I want to take some pictures of my family

Have a great weekend and Happy April! 

add this project to the list

I have found fabric that makes me want to sew.  To be a seamstress.  Mom, I'm gonna need your help. 

Ruffle Fabric is exactly what it says it is.  I happened across it one day while googling "ruffle fabric" to see if I could find fabric that looks like Anthropologie's bedding that I am in love with but just can't spend the moolah for but I also know I could never sew that to save my life.  Anyway, this site has ruffles, and lots of them, ranging from cute and frilly to soft and beautiful to "hey, I'd like a casual skirt in made from that."   Wouldn't that be great in the summer?  I'm hoping I can pull this off and even more hopeful that the fabric will arrive before Spring Break so I can bring it with me when I go visit my mom. 

While I'm hoping, I will also throw in that I hope that any sewing lessons from my mom will go better than the last time we tried this.  Ha!  I vividly remember trying to make a pale blue dress and accidently cutting the fabric that was supposed to be the front of my dress.  I was so frustrated, even though Mom spent so much time trying to fix it (with a fabric overlay in the shape of a V.) If none of this makes sense, I am sorry.  I don't have any visuals but can see it perfectly in my mind. 

I can sew okay now.  And I think the skirt I have in mind will be fairly easy.  But I do want to make sure nothing goes wrong because I do so love this fabric. 

And to my family and friends that have girls, wouldn't a ruffle skirt look adorable on your daughters?  If I can do this, your girl(s) may be getting one.  I have to share the ruffle love and my boys just wouldn't appreciate it.  :)

No school Friday and other stuff

As a mom who has spent the large part of February with her children, stuck inside because of snow, and knows that Spring Break is in two weeks, I am a little confused.  Friday, the boys have no school for "optional" school conferences.  How about they use that day.  We have six days to make up!!

Ugg.

(By the way, Uggs are still my favorite shoes ever.)

But enough complaining.  Here's a highlight of what's been going on:

Me:

I bought a couple of art books last week from Amazon and I am so excited to get started on a couple of projects.  I've always wanted to learn screen printing and I've been dreaming about making curtains from fabric that isn't boring but can't find what I want.  So, I thought, why don't I make my own design?  Sounds like a big project but hopefully, these books will help.  I'm going to start small and try some pillows first.  I'll keep you updated on my progress. 

Project 365 is going...not well.  I'm going to call February a wash and hopefully in March I will prove more successful. 

Noah:

He is a mess.  And I mean that in the best possible way a mom could when talking about her child.  We went to two birthday parties in the past two weeks and he had a terrible time at both.  The first one was a bowling party and we showed up late, so that is probably one reason he didn't have fun.  The rest of the kids were halfway through the game and he likes winning.   Then we went to a roller skating party and I thought he would have a blast.  I loved roller skating parties when I was younger!!  Alas, Noah did not.  He cried.  He fell.  He cried some more.  I even laced some roller skates on and skated with him.  He didn't crack a smile once.  Other kids were falling around us and popping back up, laughing.  Noah would fall and stay there, thinking his wrist was broken.  It was awful. 
This morning, he said something about how he missed another classmate's birthday party that was this past Saturday.  "Why?" he wanted to know.  I told him because he was miserable the last two times we went to a party.  "Oh, yeah.  Sorry about that."  Yeah, me too.

He also had a research paper on Franklin D. Roosevelt that is due today.  He never had to bring it home but because he missed working on it one day last week because of a trip to the nurse (sigh), he brought it home last night.  He had to write 10 sentences.

"Do you want to know more about Franklin Rosevelt? Then keep reading." 

He wrote about his birth, who he got married to and his death.  That about covered it. I bit my tongue trying not to say anything. 

But, I do have a couple of positive things to say about him.  He has finally found a book that he loves and it is a chapter book.  His teacher wants him to read more challenging books besides the comic books he so enjoys, but he always found them boring.  Rick Riordan's Red Pyramid provides just the right amount of excitement for him, I guess.

He also has one more basketball game and then we'll be done for the season.  I think he enjoyed himself.  He has learned how to screen for his teammates (even getting a bruised lip in the process) and last week scored 4 points.  He wants to play golf next so his awesome uncle is going to give him a couple of lessons over Spring Break.  I also said that I would, gulp, try to find out if he can start drum lessons.  I know!  But he has been asking forever and that may be a good thing to do over the summer.  Yes, I am just asking for it.

This has turned into a much larger post than I thought so I think I will stop for now.  Tomorrow I will write about Rhett and who is going to be for 4th grade's Living Wax Museum.  Pretty exciting stuff!

never thought I'd be doing this*

Good September to everyone!  I love September.  Even if half the month is hot, it means Fall is only 22 days away.  And speaking of 22 days away....

hee hee.

Anyway, here is something I've been working on this morning (until it started raining, but thank God for rain...it means it is a little cooler)

These little things are GoGos.  No, not the music group or the boot.  The toy that now has captured Rhett and Noah's short attention span.  My kids love them.  Rhett lost one by catapulting one underneath our kitchen cabinets and was so sad.  They come with names and personalities and even have online games (but that must be a pre-requisite with toys nowadays. (Hey, I have spell-checker again! Yay!) These little things are my photography subject this week.  My assignment is Depth of Field.  So I am shooting these little critters in different apertures or f-stops to show depth of field changes.

Notice how the background changes?  One is softer, the other sharper?  That is depth of field.  And that is how aperture works.  Cool or what?

Here is my sky:

And our moon:

And the clouds that began raining on me...

Hope your Wednesday treats you well.  We have two more days of school and then we are off for a 4-day weekend!! 

*This meaning laying on the wet grass taking photos of my sons' colorful toys.  But I had more fun doing it! I can't wait to see where I'll take these guys next!

The Goose written by my son

*This is a short story written by Rhett.  I am changing names in this story because he used his friends names.  But everything else is exactly what he wrote and how he wrote it.

The Goose

One day a few kids named Danny, Rhett, Cole, Joshua and Diego were walking home from school and saw a goose.  David said, "hi", to the goose.  It said hello back, and Danny fainted.  We got Danny back up and the goose said, "do you have fruit?" Joshua had some fruit and gave it to the animal.  We ran away and the goose said, Me WANT more fruit! A cookie flew out of Rhett's backpack and the weird talking animal ate it.  Shoot said Rhett, I payed Diego five bucks for that! 

When the boys got home they sat down on some couch cushions. 
That was freaky.
Yeah, really. 
Ok, Who wants noodles for supper, "said Charles."
"I do" said Rhett and Danny together.
I'm going to read.  AHH! "Where's my Limited edition Chinese bookmark," said Diego.
Let's go outside!
YEAH!
Rhett opened the door and a balloon floated in.  It had a note attached to it.  I am going to get you. Also, I will be wearing a suit because I just got home from work and didn't have time to change, so look out! From Goose. 
Cole said, "On second thought, let's stay in."
Diego said (while chewing) "I have an idea"! We can seal the door with glue! 
To risky. 
On Tuesday, they day they had to use their brains.
We could put a piece of bread in a bushel.  While he's eating we can whap him with a bamboo stick and knock him out. 
The Next day...
It worked!

The End?

i, apparently, can't handle the heat...

The Pineapple Upside Down Cake that I made didn't turn out quite like I had hoped. 

It was pretty good.  Just not pretty:

Yes, my cake totally broke my cake plate

In many pieces!

What happened? 

Well, the cake was baked in a cast-iron skillet, as per instructions.

I removed the cake from the skillet and placed it on a plate, four minutes after removing it from the oven, as per instructions.

15 minutes later, I heard a loud crack, looked over at the cake and found it in two levels.

That was not in the instructions.

Let this be a warning to you in case you decide to fix that particular recipe.

***
I want to take the time and tell my mother-in-law happy birthday today.  Have a wonderful day Sandy!

This week has been full of celebrations and here is one I haven't mentioned yet:  My friend Christy delivered a heatlhy baby girl on Monday!  Congratulations!  I am so happy for you!

what to do with kids' art

Christy asked a good question yesterday in my comments.  What do we do with all the precious artwork our children make?  Do we secretly throw it away a few days later when they have forgotten about it? (Guilty).  Do we put it into an ever-growing pile of precious artwork we can't bear to throw out? (Been there).  Do we make the kids pick their favorites to save and the rest we throw away? (Done that-although I have to say that wasn't the best idea.  Rhett and Noah thought everything was their favorite).

Truth is, you have to throw it away somehow and sometime or you will be overrun with turkey craft projects and coloring pages.  But I finally have come up with something that the boys and I can live with. 

First, the artwork is displayed throughout the house.

I made a clothesline in their hallway that holds their newest art and wonderful stories:

This makes it easy to change it out and adds color to an otherwise boring hallway.

Then, a few of their favorites are displayed in frames throughout the house.  This one is in their bathroom on the counter.  One of Rhett's hangs on the wall.  These frames are cheap and easy to change once they tire of their picture.

The ones I like the best are placed on black foam board and displayed in the nook above the tv cabinet. I found the foamboard at Hobby Lobby and there is always a chance it will be on sale because it is Hobby Lobby.  I just gluesticked the picture onto the board and it makes it stand out more.

These are the pictures I can't imagine ever throwing away.  They are too beautiful.

Second, I take pictures of the rest.

I know that sounds silly, but actually it works for me.  After I change out the clothesline, I take pictures of the ones I just took down.  Then I throw (or recycle) the old art away because I still have a picture of it.  Someday, I imagine I'll want to do somesort of "coffee table" book or album or their art.  I may have to do several but I doubt they will always bring this many pictures home.  But right now, the pictures sit on my computer.  Yes, I need to save them on a cd.  As I do all my pictures. 

Anyway, that option erases all the guilt I have for throwing away anything of theirs.  If they complain, I say, "I've got a picture of it!"  And my house is less cluttered. 

I apologize if I went on and on.  But I am glad you asked, Christy.  And I hope I gave you some ideas. 

By the way, thanks for your comments about my art project.  I am glad everyone liked it!  I think I want to do that for all my mementos for New York.  That may take awhile to think up though. 

Have a great day!

memories made into art

Yesterday, while the boys went back to school...
I was wondering what to do with all of our ticket stubs and memorabilia from Washington D.C., so I was playing around and came up with this:

I made a picture of the Washington Monument out of an area map (Rhett:  Is the Washington Monument really crooked?) and then made the clouds out of the ticket stubs.  I also added the business card of Noah's dentist that we had to find on the spur of the moment. :)  Good times, now on our wall for all to see.

new year, new things

It is cold this morning.  It will be cold all week.  This is going to be a long winter, I can tell. 

That is okay, I have many things I want to do inside.  Many projects, many want-to-dos.

I have started reading Pride and Prejudice.  It is going to be slow going.  But I am determined.

I have started a new journal.  Lots of empty pages to be filled.  Hoping it will be filled by year's end.

I have a lot of work-out dvds to choose from.  I hope to start playing those and actually doing what they are instructing me to do.  Ha. ha.

I have pillows that need to be recovered and walls that need repainted.  Chairs that need to be a different color and papers that need to be organized.

It seems like I have lots to do.  Better get started...

yie! yie! yie! yie! yie!*

*

So glad it is Friday!  Long week.  So much to do, especially clean the house.  That is why I am blogging.  Don't want to begin that chore.

Wednesday, Noah had to do his monthly family project.  The "family" is supposed to do it together, but Noah really dislikes for anyone but me to do anything for him so usually it is a "Noah" project, with a little help from mom.  Rhett is doing a project of his own, so he won't be left out. 

Now, Rhett's project, with a little help from Mom, is hanging on our chandelier.  The snowflakes look neat when the sunlight is shining through.  So sparkly.

{Speaking of sun, well, weather, it is frigid today!  Early this morning, I stood outside with two other dynamo moms freezing our tails off just to collect magazines.  We love the earth so much! :) }

This is what I did yesterday:

Rhett and the 3rd Grade are doing a Christmas Music Program and I said I would help with costumes.  I made 6 soldier costumes yesterday.  It took all afternoon and evening.  The boys were basically on there own from the time they came home from school until about 8:30.  Thank God for tortillas and cheese.  Anyway, I did make it up to them by playing Beatles Rock Band with them.  I even let them stay up past bedtime to do it. 

Oh, and Rhett is the lead.  Yipee!  I am so excited for him. He is playing a janitor who doesn't like Christmas.  They are doing the play 3 times, once on his birthday, so he is so excited.  And nervous. And happy he doesn't have to sing the songs.

One last picture:

Because it is so cold, Scout has been inside at night.  (Brinkley is in the garage).  Scout decided to try out Rhett's "fossil" of a shell that he made with clay a couple of years ago.  I guess she thought it was a cookie, I don't know.  She must have liked it because this morning, it was in her mouth again! 

I know what you are thinking:  I really must not want to clean house. 

You would be correct.

Have a great weekend! And stay warm! 

*That is what Noah yells while he and Rhett are playing football in the house. Don't worry, it is not a big football. Actually, I don't know exactly what they play. All I know is that Noah gets the ball and then yells that over and over. The first picture made me think of this story. Noah looks like he is yelling that. Probably is.

what is old becomes new again

You might not have noticed in yesterday's picture but my coffee table has had a makeover.  You see, above, the green stain toward the left of the picture?  That is the sprite that someone didn't wipe off the table.  But if you look closely, you will notice that the table wasn't in the greatest shape of its life either.  (This was one of our first big furniture purchases-the coffee table and the two matching sofa tables).  So, I had a wild hair one day the week before Thanksgiving and decided to do this:

It is now red!  I may need to darken it up because this red (paint that I used in the kitchen) is almost too bright compared to the other reds in the family room, but the concept is great.  It adds a punch of color to a very brown room:

And it definitely looks better than the before picture. 

Have a great day!

inspired!

...It is Friday!  Woohoo!  I think I want to do a Be Inspired Friday post today. It has been forever since I have done one but I finally upgraded my editor on the ole blog and it has a bullet option!  Perfect for a list-maker like me.  Side note:  Being a list-maker doesn't make one organized.  Just so you know. 

• See, isn't this cool?
• And so much easier!
• Art Display and Storage Box:   Bloesem Kids blog always has such great crafts that I find myself going here first if I ever need a rainy-day craft for the boys.  This Art Display and Storage box is such a great idea that I think we'll do it next time my kids say, "I'm bored." "Let's do something together Mom!" (Yeah, I have strikethrough now.  Isn't it awesome!)
• Kim Haynes is an Oklahoma based photographer who took photos of my whole family three years ago because a friend of a friend recommneded her.  I love looking at those pictures everyday and love going to her website to look at all her work. She is so talented and I am thinking it is about time to get some new pictures.  (hint,hint Seth)
• I love this idea:  A Recycled Gift Bow!  You can make it from old magazine pages or even old map pages.  This is such a fun idea.  I hope I remember to do this for Christmas.
• On a sad note:  My favorite cooking magazine, Gourmet, is shutting down.  I really wish I had helped them out by taking a subscription.  Instead, I relied on their website for wonderful, delicious dishes that impressed all my neighbors.  I bought their magazine on occasion and plan on buying their last issue in November (or is it this month?) and found it so enjoyable to read.  I understand the reasons for it shutting down production but I will miss the inspiration--especially when the website shuts down as well.

Have a great weekend!