Smile Rocks and the Great Outdoors

Will and I had a lot of fun painting rocks the other day with the intention of leaving them in random places around town to make someone smile when they found them.

We went to Jester Park for the morning...Will's very favorite place to go to in the summertime around Des Moines. He gets to explore and be out in nature hiking, walking in water, digging, finding rocks, climbing, and looking for bugs. We thought this would be the perfect place to spread some smiling rock  love. Along paths and walkways, ledges, and benches, we left colorful rocks with the hopes that it may brighten someones day. I know it would brighten mine. :)

Look at those cuties.

This is the Jester Park Natural Playscape. It is so cool! It is low key, low traffic, quiet, and perfect for the tiny ones. 

Look! Now we have more rocks to paint!

Oh So Pinteresting...

I know you all have heard me talk so highly about my love for Pinterest, but seriously it is the coolest website out there! Here are a few things I have recently made and a few things I want to make. There are just too many cool things discovered on there it would be a shame to not share. :)

We made this yummy sweet blackberry juice this weekend with our oatmeal. There are a ton of awesome oatmeal ideas I found here. And I knew I could rely on the Pioneer Woman's Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was awesome!...with the perfect amount of spice. I have been admiring these fun mason jar meals and hope to make some of these to stock the fridge with lunch salads. Such a brilliant idea! Speaking of brilliant, for Thanksgiving Day breakfast we made these individualbreakfasts in a muffin tin. These were such a good idea because we were able to customize our own little casseroles with eggs, bacon, green peppers, onions, etc. We made some of these delicious cinnamon maple pecans for Christmas presents. I had quite the sweet tooth this year for the holidays so I am now pinning some extra nutritious superfoods to detox all the sugar. :) I am going to make this powerhouse granola this week. The cool thing about granola is that I can just add in whatever I have on hand. I also made some almond milk in my new.....wait for it....wait for it.............................VITAMIX!! That's right! Only the best Christmas present ever! My smoothies taste amazing, I chopped cabbage in 1 second, and chopped up potatoes for fresh hash browns in 10 seconds. I have yet to grind up my whole wheat berries for some fresh ground whole wheat flour. Oh boy so many possibilities! I can not say enough good things about it. Next up...vanilla bean coconut peanut butter. Doesn't that just sound heavenly?! oh and speaking of peanut butter- we tried these peanut butter granola bars. They were scrumptious!

Ok and food isn't the only thing I have been up to. I have found way to many DIY projects onPinterest that I need to find time for. I made some of these spice rub gift sets for the dads gifts this year. This cute mason jar pin cushion for my quilting mother. And got this cool homemadefabric I-Spy book idea and made something similar for a couple of my nephews. I should have actually taken a picture of the ones I made. It was nice to use up lots of my fun narrative scraps! Next on the list- this homemade laundry detergent. I have already bought the ingredients. I have pinned a few of these and this one seems to be the winner. Does anyone else make their own detergent?

Oh, and one of my favorite websites discovered on Pinterest is theMarathonMom and her"What Mom's Need" series. If you are a mama, or even if your not...you should totally check it out! My head explodes with creativity when I am on this site. I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing. :)

DIY Chalkboard

We have had Lot's of fun this week with our new chalkboard we made and installed in our dining room! I am sure some of you might recognize this large white picture frame that we have had and decorated around in each place we have rented. I got it at a garage sale for $1 about 5 years ago when we were first married. Is all we did was get a large piece of hardboard (same material as pegboard, but without the holes) cut to fit behind the frame, spray on chalkboard paint, and install it with wood connectors on the back. Viola!! We love it!

NEW!- in shop...Back to School

It is just about back to school time and my shop is full of fun colorful accessories to jump start the year. Above is Will's "special new snack bag," as he calls it. :) We carry it everywhere!...and it is so much better, and more fun of course, then going through so many plastic baggies. I have a variety of different patterns to choose from and some fun sandwich wraps as seen below.

...and some felt crayon rolls!

There is nothing more exciting for my 2 year old than to whip this cool roll out while traveling or at a restaurant, etc...to keep him busy. He also just has fun organizing the crayons in the little pouches. :) You can check it all out over at my shop!

NEW!- in shop.

Just wanted to let you in on a couple new items in the shop! Banners, heart garland, and paper bunting...and there will be many more added soon. :) Hope you all have a splendid weekend!

The Happy Scrap...NOW OPENNED!

I have started a new Etsy store!! My goal for this shop is to use up as many of my scraps as possible and see how many beautiful things I can make with them to sell and go toward paying off some debt. I will be using up any and everything that I have including fabric, paper, wool, and really whatever has been hiding in my closets and drawers forever. :) So far I have some festive paper garland, yummy smelling lavender sachets, mini sketchbook sets, confetti, and a few bundles of scrap fabric for those of you who want to be creative yourself. I have also been working on some reusable snack bags, banners, crayon rolls, and other goodies that I will have to keep you posted about. Come check it out! Heart me if your an etsian. :)...and if you want to make a custom order or have any cool scrap ideas for me please let me know. I have been having fun with these little short projects and would also like to keep most of the costs pretty low. So far I don't think I even have anything over $4.00! Definitely worth a look. :)

I love my SERGER!

Just a few projects I have been working on this week....

fun reusable snack bags for on the go

...and some super soft cloth wipes and prefolds for the new babe. (I used an old sheet for the prefolds)

Oh boy, no one told me that serging rounded corners took some practice. Making wipes was the best thing to practice on. Each one got a little bit better than the last, but I still wouldn't look to close. :)

May GIVEAWAY Day!

Wahoo! The May Giveaway Day is back! Thanks to SewMamaSew and all the generous bloggers and crafters out there- there are a TON of possibilities to win something free and beautiful and handmade! I have participated in this giveaway in the past, but I totally missed the deadline to sign up this year...so instead I decided to tell you all about these wonderful opportunities and then do my own special giveaway here. I have been sewing and creating a bit more lately and am in the process of gradually getting some stuff up for sale in my etsy store again. So click over to SewMamaSew and start searching! There are some wonderful crafty blogs that I have come across as well...and here are my giveaways...

#1- A pair of beautiful lavender sachets to store with your linens or in your drawers to keep your clothes smelling fresh all year long. They smell SOoooo good and are made with 100% pure, true organic lavender.

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#2...and for those crafters out there I have a whole box full of scraps! I am sure you are creative enough to know what to do with scraps, but you could also click here to get some more ideas. I know how exciting it is to peak through someone elses scraps for new fabrics you have never used. :) I am kind of a dork when it comes to collecting and building up my "stash." But there always comes a time when I need to consolidate and simplify my space a little bit. I have used these fabrics many times or I have multiple scraps of them so I would like to share them with you! They come in all different sizes and colors.

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So please leave me a comment below and let me know what you may be interested in winning and I will announce the winners on Friday morning. For those of you peaking at all the giveaways at SewMamaSew hurry over there because those giveaways end tomorrow night! Oh yes and I will only be shipping with in the U.S. Happy Giveaway Day!

Photo Update...

There has been lots of stuff going on around here lately since we are moving in a couple of weeks. Lot's of packing and organizing and spending time with friends. Our place is starting to look a little different with boxes starting to pile up and bits of furniture starting to disappear.(sold on craigslist! yes!...less to move. ) Will seems too busy with life to seem to really care too much. For all he knows he has more room to run around. We visited our new nephew a couple weeks ago, went to apple orchards, Will had his first sucker (oh it killed me to see him eat that much sugar) ha!, learned to hit the ball the right way...kind of, made play dough, sidewalk chalk galore!, and spent lots of time with friends. Here are a few photos to share...

the sucker...oh my.

flour+salt+water=play dough

stacking

we make a creative team :)

Will and Lincoln- we will miss you Linc!

I tried to teach him to walk like a chicken. It was pretty hilarious. :)

...and Thad teaching him to hit the ball. Wow, he just seems so big in this video! Almost two!!

Happy Wednesday to you. :)

Colorful Scrap Pillows

A couple weeks ago I decided that I needed to sew something really colorful and fun and bright for our new place...did I mention that we are moving in a couple months? Well, we are!...Thad will be done with classes finally and we will be back in the Des Moines area. So sad to leave our good friends in the QC, but always good to be close to family and old friends! :)

I get so excited about decorating new spaces...and always with lots of color of course! We are renting again before we know for sure the area Thad will be practicing in and with most rental places they don't allow you to paint the walls. Well in this place we can! I am so excited! Contemplating a bright cheerful yellow in the living room and maybe a bright aqua blue in the kitchen...humm. I don't know yet, but I do know it will be colorful! So I decided to make some fun new pillows with scraps I had lying around. Two of the pillows I used material from old sweaters, and the other two are scraps of cotton fabric from the stash. Making it cozy for the winter to come. New pillows are always a good way to change and lighten up a room with out spending a lot of money. In fact I spend $0! Covered old pillows and used left over stuffing from the craft closet. Well enough blab...here are the pillows!

Now reading...

A new library branch opened in Davenport and it is so awesome! It is bursting with tons of amazing new books that I just could not walk by with out picking up. So naturally I overwhelm myself by checking out a huge stack of books and hope to get them read by the time they are due back. Not to mention I have a few other books I am thumbing through at home as well. Most likely they will have to be renewed at least once. :) Well anyways, here is the list from top to bottom...

The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp

So far this book has had some good advice on eliminated tantrums. I have heard lots of good stuff about this book from a few friends who have read it so I am really looking forward to digging into it more.

Mrs. Meyers Clean Home by Thelma Meyer

Lots of awesome advice on cleaning from the heart of Mrs. Meyer herself. She is a Mom of 9 and now grandma as well and from Des Moines. She is witty and wise explaining in simple detail how and when to clean and organize just about anything in your home...also with what products as well.

Softies Only a Mother Could Love by Jess Redman and Meg Leder

...fun loving little critters to sew.

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

I actually read this one first and I am pretty much done with it now. I have had this book on hold for a while now so I was super anxious to dig into it. It was full of awesome recipes some of which I will be sharing with you guys at some point. I also enjoyed reading about her experience with food and trying different diets such as vegan, raw foods, etc. and how she found that macrobiotics and listening to her body was key.

Superfoods for Healthy Kids by Lucy Berney

Has over 250 immune-boosting foods and recipes that are appealing to the kiddos. Lots of colorful pictures and faces. That is my favorite part about food/cookbooks; I am definitely drawn to the pictures first. :)

The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket

Stitching, baking, nature, art and the comforts of home...this book just looked like it was full of coolness so I snatched it.

Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori

This book is sooo cute! It shows step for step how to make several little softie friends out of old socks and gloves. I have always wanted to make Will a real homemade sock monkey. Hopefully I get around to it. :)

Apartment Therapy Design Solutions by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan

I most likely will just look at all the pictures in this book rather then really reading it. In fact I have already thumbed through it a couple of times. It is a very large book full of awesome designed apartments. I often go to apartment therapy.com for lots of inspiration so I was super excited to see this book at the library.

Spring 2010 Blogger Quilt Festival!!!

I love Moda! This specific fabric is the Hello Betty series which I fell in love with and decided that I loved the fabric so much I didn't even want to cut it! I made it with simple large squares so that I could see more of the beautiful pattern. Parts of the series reminds me of the 60's and then other parts especially the colors remind me of the 50's. Love it! I made this quilt for simply nothing else but the love of the fabric and it's cuddliness in the winter. :) Next up will be my new Moda Frolic fabric my mom bought for me. (shown below) I can't wait! I might have to get creative and challenge myself to actually using a more complicated pattern. Any ideas? Ok, now go visit all the rest of the beautiful quilts here at the Spring 2010 Blogger Quilt Festival...there are prizes... :)