Ahhhh...new stuff at last...

I finally got around to photographing some new stuff today. With 3 different play dates, running errands, watering flowers, chasing children and cleaning the garage...it was a miracle! But here are some new things to check out.

First, here are the first two parts to my new 4 seasons series. As I mentioned before, someone bought two of my first series which left me with the other two which are on my Etsy store. I have no idea if anyone will want just those. These are also just two parts but the other two will be joining soon. These are carved on repurposed wood (stair treads) and then painted. They have a great dimensional quality and are pretty substantial. I will put the measurements in the listing.And...finally...some dresses. I hope to list these tomorrow. The first one is a butterfly pillowcase dress. I have to get the measurements on this one too but it is for a little girl about 5-7 maybe. It is a polished cotton that has been prewashed so no shrinking here. The ribbons tie at the top over the shoulders. There is also a matching, unstructured bag with this one. It is sooo cute. It has a neat little ribbon and giant button closure and is sized perfectly for the little girl.

The next dress is my favorite and I really debated whether to list it. It was made from a vintage tablecloth that was never used so it is in perfect condition. It has a strawberry motif. With this one the ribbons are red satin and I have included at matching head scarf. Very summery. I will get the measurement on this one in the listing as well.

And, finally, my first bag! I have been really interested in creating some fun, unstructured bags from cool fabrics and I love this one. The two fabrics are both home decor so they will hold up well. It is fully lined and has a velcro closure.

I hope you enjoy the latest work. I will try to have it all up and listed tomorrow. My car will be in the shop so I will have no excuses...unless I make some up...which is a definite possibility!!

Here I am...

Yes...yes...I know...long time no blog. What the heck! I guess we have just been so busy lately. Check out what we have been doing...

Yes...I know...that doesn't look busy to you. But imagine that you spend most of your day chasing the full speed 2 year old and then, right smack in the middle of the day, this happens...

What would you do? Especially when said 2 year old had not been napping lately so nothing had been getting done. Man oh man...what a lucky break. And then the next day this happened...

(note that she fell asleep with her sunglasses on...stylish even when sleeping)

And I was off and running again.

And again.

But...I did have a slight blog slump. But here I am...back again. This week I plan to photograph some new work, finally show some dresses and get some more stuff listed both on Etsy and Ebay. Let's hope that this week looks a little bit like the last...

Finally...

I have something to show for my summer. Here are a few of the items I am listing on Etsy today. I have 2 pieces left from a 4 piece "Seasons" set. "Summer" and "Winter" sold to a lady who must not like "Spring" and "Fall" so I thought I would throw those out there just in case someone wanted just those two or even just one. These pieces are made from repurposed wood (in this case...stair treads) which makes them eco friendly as well as fun! The wood has been carved first and then painted so they are very dimensional and textural.
I also have a nice heart piece that reads "My heart flew to the heavens when you looked my way". Nice for an anniversary or wedding gift. All of these are about 9" x 14" and are 1" thick so they are pretty substantial. They come with a saw tooth hanger on the back for easy hanging. Check out the listings here for more info: My Etsy Store.
The next two are not necessarily a set but I photographed them together as they look so cute. They are tall skinny houses about 2.5" x 20" x 3/4". Again...repurposed wood that were carved first. All of the pieces have several layers of archival spray coating to prevent fading and protect them. Each piece is mixed media with some paper work.
And lastly...the frame is not a sale item but is something I am playing around with lately. It is also carved and has a name at the bottom. It is a gift but I am thinking about doing them custom in the future. What do you think??
I have another set of the 4 season coming soon (almost finished) as well as a pretty cool Adam and Eve plaque that I hope to finish in the next day or so. Check back soon to see those.

It's a beautiful day so I am headed out to get a little sun! Have a great day...

A camping we will go...

Here is a slideshow of the camping trip...

Enjoy!!

Tree Huggers

Well...we ventured out to the Morton Arboretum today to commune with nature, visit trees etc. As most of you already know, I am not really a nature type girl. Camping...not really, fishing...only to keep my husband happy, visiting with trees...well...yeah.

Down by the dragonfly

But...the arboretum has a wonderful new exhibit of very large bugs made from wood by an artist that truly are spectacular to see and their children's garden is a wonder in itself. Not only is the Children's garden full of wonderful things to do but it is mostly accessible which makes it a great destination for us. A lot of thought went into the building of this place to make it accessible to everyone and even fun for someone who has limited mobility. Something I really appreciate.

(note: Austin is missing because he does not like photographs...he even gave us a hard time about having an x-ray when we called it a "picture". Go figure)

So, along with the neighbors, we packed up and headed off. We didn't even let the threat of coming thunderstorms dampen our enthusiasm for the day. Luckily, the storms did not appear until we were almost finished anyway and ready for lunch.

My daughter's favorite part of the place was anything that involved getting wet. She especially loved it when her brothers pumped water on her under the windmill. What fun!
Shawn loved anything that could be climbed on or run through.

Austin loved the really cool play areas that were all ramped so he could get right in there.

And I loved being outside on this beautiful morning...even if it did involve trees.

OK...don't fall over...

but here is another post from me this week. I know, I don't have any idea what has come over me. I am determined though to be a better blogger so here we go.

We are in week 2 of our summer vacation and I think I am finally getting the hang of it. I actually slept late a few days this week along with my kids. I haven't locked anyone in the closet or anything so that is good. (just kidding you know) All of this free time has both it's benefits and it's problems. My kids must take after me in that they just seem to operate better on a schedule. Maybe it is the genetic predisposition that they have toward OCDish type behavior but they just do seem to function better if they know what is coming and what is expected of them. So, to alleviate the problem of those long days with nothing on the horizon, I have put together a basic daily list of things that we should do. I hung it on the refrigerator door as my son Shawn really wanted to be able to consult with the list regularly. So the other day I hear him in the kitchen reading the list and saying "check" after each activity that he has completed. It cracked me up just hearing him say "Get dressed...check", "Brush teeth...check". That child is definitely my son...poor guy.

And then we have the little Ella who has decided that popcycles are the food product of choice for all meals and snacks. First thing in the morning I hear "You give me a popcycle?". Of course I say no and she proceeds to ask about every 10 minutes just in case I changed my mind. And if I won't give in, she will sneak out the door and head over to "Grandma B's" house next door to beg one from her. She loves to trot back over, popcycle in hand, to inform me that she accomplished her task. My favorite is when I say no and she says, in her most persuasive voice, "Come on...come on". You just have to hear it to believe it. I think the kid is really 12 sometimes.

But other than those things, summer is going well. Shawn recently decided to ride a two wheeler. This would not seem amazing at all for a 7 year old except that he never had any inclination to ride a bike before. He never rode a tricycle, no bike with training wheels, no big wheel...I mean nothing. He showed no interest so we did not push him. Then, one day recently, we acquired a bike from my friend that her son had outgrown. It was a little bit big and only had 2 wheels but my son decided that he wanted to ride it. He doned the required helmet and got on and away he went. I still feel shocked when I look out the window and see him speeding along on his bike. He and Tim even did a 6 mile ride on the prairie path the other day with no problem. I am so happy for him.

Here is our day in pictures:

Water Sports

A little sling shot

And some pizza to finish it off...what a perfect day!!

Welcome to summer...

Yeah! Summer has finally arrived. Of course with the warm (I mean HOT) weather has also arrived the end of school, bored children, lots of outside time and summer activities. This has translated into no computer time or art time for Mom. Sniff... But, I am happy to just hang out with these guys every day...

We have been having a blast this summer spending our time doing home school activities, playing in the sprinkler, bbqing and not getting up early. While the kids are each keeping their "summer journals", I have decided to try to chronicle the summer here...in my long neglected blog. Of course it is the middle of June but better late than never I always say. Here is a little photo montage of our first few weeks...

Spending time on the playground

Showing off our new tattoos

Playing softball

A little home schooling

The fishing derby

Showing the kids that real men do eat sushi!!

Check back frequently as I hope to add to the blog all week with new photos and stuff we are doing. I hope that your weather is sunny, your tomatoes are growing and your craft projects are more successful than mine!