And Another Thing...

Stylin' Up the Kitchen :: Thrifting Beauty

I found this lovely thing at Salvation Army a couple of weeks ago and could not pass it up.  This beautiful example of craftiness was just sitting on the shelf with a $2.99 price tag.  I don't cross stitch anymore, but I once did a HUGE wedding sampler for Ben's aunt and uncle and it took me forever.  So I know that this sampler must have taken hours and hours of work to complete and for whatever reason, ended up abandoned at a second hand store.  Not only is it perfect for my kitchen, it has just the right amount of color and whimsy to make me happy, but I also instantly recognized that it needed a home where it would be admired and loved and appreciated for the work of art and heart that it is.  So, now it is lovingly hung on the wall, waiting for a calmer time when I can properly mount, mat and frame it.  And I promise that a much better kitchen update is following as soon as I can keep it clean long enough to take pictures!

A busy morning

Olivia has recently discovered a passion for embroidery.  Until this morning, she had been doing lots of free-hand stitching, but she expressed an interest in "doing a picture".  I asked her what she wanted to stitch and she told me that she thought a tiger hunting in the jungle sounded manageable.  I suggested that she start a tiny bit simpler (like with something either of us could actually draw!), perhaps a house?  This was acceptable, so I drew the house on the fabric and off she went!  She's almost done at this point and we'll be sure to feature it when it's done.

Anna has been diligently working on learning the alphabet and can frequently be seen drawing in her purple Alphabet Adventure book.  For whatever letter we are on (I think it's currently "L") we read the corresponding chapter in The Wise Enchanter and then look at the letter and drawings in the Waldorf Alphabet Book and then I draw the letter in her purple book and she draws pictures of things that start with that letter.  We only do this when she initiates it and since we started last fall and we're only on "L", you can see that we're not moving at a rapid pace.

Saragh found some chalk and a stick and was happy for almost an hour.  Her chalk and her stick both had names, distinct personalities and malicious agendas for taking over the world.  For those of you who know Saragh well, this should not surprise you.

We came inside a little while later and I was almost ready to cave in to a movie (it was quite humid and sticky) when I happened to see Hip Mountain Mama tweet about this blog post.  I flew into action and captivated the girls by keeping the end result a secret.  When we got out to the front porch, clad in bare feet and paint smocks, I gave them the paint and brushes and then didn't hear a thing from them for over an hour!

Now, that's what I call a busy, happy and successful morning!  Today, we're headed out to pick a mega-load of blueberries!  What are your plans?
 

Adventures in Art or How to Get Your Own Security Guard

We went to the art museum at the University of Michigan recently with our little group of homeschooling friends.  The kids were quite excited about being there and were expressing that emotion with gusto.  I think that kids being excited about being in an art museum is wonderful, however, the security guards were not of the same opinion.  Or rather; I am sure that they appreciated that the kids were into the experience.  They just wanted them to express it with a little more decorum.  So, the guards stayed rather close to us and observed the excitement, occasionally intervening when they thought it necessary. 

The security issues aside, we had a great time and although I can't speeak for the other moms, our family will be heading back there soon and often.

Not-so-Extreme home makeover

Since we can't sell our house and buy a new one right now, I am on a mission to give our current dwelling a little face lift.  The front part of our house is quite dark since it faces north and is under the cover of a porch.  So I wanted to do what I could to brighten up our little entryway so that it is as welcoming as it can be for our guests.

The picture quality is horrible, but like I said, it's very dark right here.  Anyway, this gives you an idea of the area.  This is our nature table and I decided to confine the nature to the blue tray because it tends to get knocked off and scattered.  Trust me, it's safer this way :o)

I've been working on this welcome display for a few days now and I am very happy with it.  I got the template for the framed work from Sew Mama Sew.  They're having a handsewing bonanza over there right now, so go check it out if you haven't already.  As you can see, my finished product differed quite a bit from the original.  I think that's okay; I like my funky, groovy house.  It matches the real one!

Let me know what you think of it. 

Not-Back-to School Blog Hop - School Room Week (late)

I just found out about this blog roll, so I am a little late with the school room week pictures.

This is our dining/craft room where we spend a big portion of the day.  Please excuse the photos, it's a cloudy day, so they're very dark.

This is the craft cabinet that my fabulous hubby put together for us.  It's an old cabinet from our kitchen that we removed when we put a pantry in.  He repainted it and put a nice new counter top on it and wha-la! We have a great storage space for our oodles on craft supplies!

This is our library/family room.  We just switched our house around so that the books would be in the bigger, brighter room.  We're loving all the space we have to spread out and read and play games.  This room is really warm in the winter when we have a fire going.  We almost never leave it. 

Since we're mostly unschoolers, we don't really "do" school.  When we do work on something, we just find the place that is the most comfortable and well suited to our project and set up shop.  Sometimes that's at the kitchen table, sometimes it's snuggling on the couch and sometimes it's sprawled out on the floor.  I think it really suits us to be flexible and respect the different work needs of each member of the family.

A line becomes art

Yesterday we talked about how a line becomes a shape and then we did a really fun art project inspired by laughpaintcreate.

I think they turned out pretty neat.  Olivia gave hers to her Daddy, so I didn't get a picture of that.  She made a "P" for pepperoni.

A new crafter is born...

Anna has, very suddenly, developed a passion for crafting.  She has been clamoring for new and better craft projects nearly everyday.  It's like she needs to craft.  I guess I can understand that :o)  Luckily, I have happened on to several new preschool craft blogs lately and they have provided a wealth of crafting ideas to satisfy Anna.  The snail above is from No Time For Flashcards, and Anna had such a great time making this one.  She was so excited when I found HUGE googly eyes.  She was also thrilled about having total control over the glue bottle.   Sorry for the really poor picture quality, the sun is non-existent right now in Michigan.

Worm Painting

The other day, I ran across a blog post about Worm Painting and decided that it was something that Anna might like to try.

I was right!  She had so much fun doing this and has since asked to do it a few more times.  I found some glitter paint in out paint stash (how lucky was that!) and cooked up a little spaghetti (though I really over estimated how much you need, you only need a teeny, tiny bit) and got the paper and paint set up.  It was super easy and kept Anna busy for a good 45 minutes which allowed me to clean up from her other endeavors that day!