Congratulations card

I finally had a chance to sit at my craft table for a bit and work on a card. Things have just been so busy lately that I haven't had a moment to catch my breath. It felt great to be creative again...I have been sorely missing that. I stalk YouTube regularly, keep some cardmaking/scrapbook magazine handy all the time but just haven't had the time or the energy to sit down and create something myself. It's also been so hot, and not having central air in the house means that it has been too hot to sit in the front room for long periods of time. But that is neither here nor there at the moment - I finally made a card! :)


My plans for this card is a wedding I'll be attending in September. I bought this stamp from Rubbernecker a while ago and love the elegance of the couple. I colored it a bit with Copics, just in the hair and face. I left the dress white (it is a wedding after all) but did brush some Perfect Pearl on it. Unfortunately it doesn't show up at all in the photos, but in person its so pretty and shimmery. The cardstock is from Stampin' Up and the patterned paper is from DCWV (Lemon Flower matstack). I used a flower that I got from a flower swap last year...I've been hoarding the flowers from the swap, but this fit so perfectly that I had to use it. The frame is from Nestibilities. For the sentiment I used a bit of patterned paper from the matstack and layered a light yellow cardstock on top. I flagged the ends and stamped "Congratulations" with VersaMark before heat embossing with black powder and adhering with dimensionals. The stamp is from Hero Arts.

Inside the card I wanted something lighter than the dark gray cardstock so I pulled a piece of vellum out of my scrap stash and layered it inside. I thought white might be too stark. To hide the adhesive I cut some strips from another piece from the Lemon Flower stack and fussy cut the edges to bring out the design. It was then attached to the top and bottom of the card.
All in all I was pleased with the result. I would have liked to do something with the mat behind the couple but couldn't think of anything that was subtle enough so I left it plain beyond embossing the edges.
Enjoy!

Happy Spiderman Day!

I recently did an online search for random holidays...the kind of holidays that don't usually make it on a regular calendar, but something that would be fun to celebrate with the kids. It turns out that August 1 is Spiderman Day! I can't really find out why it falls on 8/1, but Big D is a fan of Spidey and this would be a good chance to do something silly and fun for him. Lil A would join in the fun too...she will usually happily tag along with anything that Big does.
We don't have a lot of Spiderman stuff so this was a chance to come up with something crafty to do with the kids. We decided that this was the perfect opportunity to decorate some sugar cookies. Following Alton Browns recipe on Food Network, I make the dough and popped it into the fridge to chill. Big and I went to Michaels and picked up some new art supplies for them as well as blue & red yarn. I thought perhaps we could make some kind of web in the house. Unfortunately the layout of our house is challenging for these projects, so we may have to delay that project. But the cookies were a huge hit! After baking, I tinted some leftover white frosting blue and red. I let Big & Lil spread the frosting on the cookies with their child-size knives (part of kids sized silverware sets my grandmother sent to me from Germany). I put the red frosting in a sandwich bag, snipped off a tiny corner and piped the red in a rough web design on top. I am no cake decorator, but we got the effect we wanted, and they tasted great of course! The kids had a blast!

Now I need to find some other fun random holidays! :) What random holidays do you like to celebrate?

Hot, hot, hot!!!

Summer is in full swing right now. This week temps will average in the mid 90's. Ugh. I am not someone who handles the heat gracefully. Those people who look cool no matter how hot and steamy it is outside, without sweat streaming down their face, hair & makeup still perfect...you know, the kind of people we all loathe. lol No, I get flushed cheeks, a sheen of sweat across my face, my hair is just bothersome, and I get a bit cranky. I don't want to do anything, I just want to wallow in my misery. It's pathetic really. :) And my feet get extra hot...I hate hot feet. Especially at night.
Ok, so I know that it looks like I am just writing a post to whine, and I'm really not. But I have to set the stage since I'm sharing anyway.
We spent a lovely weekend visiting my mother-in-law in Muskegon. It's on the west side of Michigan, with easy access to the lake. She actually lives just outside Muskegon, on a little farm where she has 6 horses and a few barn cats. I give her credit, keeping 6 horses all on her own. But she is happy in the little life she has for herself, despite how secluded she can be. It's always a treat for the kids to see Grams, and a good chance to live life without tv or blinky toys or video games. They just play outside for hours, generally at the expense of the cats who are very patient with all of the attention. This weekend there was an extra treat. Grams saddled one of her horses, Mr. Mitchell and both of the kids had a chance to ride him (with Grams walking with the lead in hand of course).

On the way I requested a stop in Grand Rapids to visit the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. I had never been there, and thought with the passing of Betty Ford, it would be a good thing to take the kids to. We all enjoyed ourselves very much...it's quite a nice museum. Plus is has a water feature with a towering fountain, a big plus for any kid. :)
We also took a trip to a beautiful beach along Lake Michigan on Sunday. We all had a great time...the water was freezing compared to how warm it was outside, but it was very refreshing. grams doesn't have air conditioning and without much breeze it was a bit stuffy at the house. I was the only victim of the lake...I lathered up the kids with sunblock really well, but only half-heartedly covered myself and completely missed my back. It's now very pink and tender. I'm usually so careful and even when I do get sun I have enough of an olive tone to my skin that I usually tan rather than burn. Not so much this time. So I've been putting on lots of aloe and just resigning myself to waiting for it to get better.
On Monday, our last day, we bid adieu to Grams and headed to Michigan's Adventure for the day before heading home. I'm not usually an amusement park fan...it's not that I don't like them, I am just indifferent and can skip it. We went mainly for the water park, but split the day pretty well down the middle. The kids had an absolute blast. Big D is tall enough to ride on just about everything already since he is so tall for a 6 year old, but Lil A isn't quite tall enough. So we split up pretty often, hubby with Big on roller coasters and water slides, and me with Lil on the kiddie rides and wave pool. We give her the option which parent she wants to be with and 9 times out of 10 its me. She's a momma's girl. :) I don't mind though...like I said I can skip the roller coasters.
We finally left after 6 hours, exhausted, but thankfully I was no more burned than the day before. :) We stopped for dinner outside Lansing and finally made it home after 10pm.
Being back at work today was a little tough. I was very tired and of course my burn hurt so it was a challenge to find soft clothes for work. I couldn't bear the thought of cooking tonight; just the thought of turning on the stove made me sweat. So we picked up a pizza and I made strawberry "shortcakes" for dessert. I didn't want to bake real shortcakes so I just bought a pound cake, which we sliced very thinly and layered with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream. The kids devoured the dessert, even though just a bit before they were "too full" to finish their dinner. lol
For tonight I will try to finish unpacking, at least a bit, and try to relax in the family room. It's days like this that my "vintage" house has drawbacks...having radiators means no duct work, which means central air isn't possible. The family room has an old AC unit, so at least it cools the room a bit. Otherwise we have fans running everywhere. I hope I sleep better tonight, though with hot feet & a sore back I'm not anticipating a very restful night. I really can't wait for a break in this heat. Hope you are staying cool!

Crazy week!

We are winding down a very busy week. As I mentioned before, the Emancipation Proclamation came to The Henry Ford Museum. It was a crazy event...people stood in line for as long as 8 hours to see this document - just an amazing outpouring of community around this incredible piece of history, over 21,000 people came to see it!

Following two 20 hour shifts we jumped right into the prep for my daughters first dance recital. Dress rehearsal, then 2 performances. She loved it, but she is definitely feeling it now. This morning she slept until 10:30 am! She loved dressing up in a costume and stage makeup, forgot most of her steps, and is so proud of her flowers which have a honored place on her dresser next to her bed.

Beyond that I have been working on a T-shirt quilt for a friend. The squares are cut, interfacing applied to add stability to the material and now begins the process of deciding the final layout of the shirts and the sewing. I'm enjoying the process very much and cant wait to complete it so I can give it to the family it's destined for. Even Jewel cat is enjoying the project, especially when the scraps make the most comfy impromptu kitty bed ever!



Hmmm...I'm still very tired and haing trouble putting coherent sentences together. Hope you are all well! :)

Emancipation Proclamation

We are heading into a very exciting week...starting tonight the ORIGINAL copy of the Emancipation Proclamation will be put on display in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI. The museum will run it's normal business hours until 5pm, then reopen at 6pm. At 7pm the document will be unveiled and for 36 hours straight guests will have the opportunity to view it and the rest of the museum for free. For many people it will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this incredible document. It has only been out of the National Archives twice before, so this is a very unique opportunity.
For me, it is also a unique opportunity. The museum has never been open for 36 hours straight so this has been an interesting staffing situation. Not bad at all, just different. :) Thankfully we have a very flexible staff who love these kinds of "off-hours" projects and they jumped at the chance to be able to say they worked at 4am! lol I love my team.
If you have the chance to stop by, I hope you will. It will be well worth it!
http://www.thehenryford.org/events/emancipationProclamation.aspx

Summer vacation looms

We are just a few days away from the start of Summer Vacation! Big Djust finished Kindergarten (graduation was yesterday in fact!) and today is the last full day of class. Two half days and then off until September! I am so proud of all that he has accomplished over the year and seeing him excited about school and learning just warms my heart.

I've given myself a project, that is to continue working with him over the summer to reinforce and build on the things he learned this year. I plan to focus on reading skills but he already has a pretty sharp mind about math and like all kids a natural curiosity about science.
No, I don't plan on taking away his summer vacation, but I don't want him to lose all of the skills that are so new. So I've been poking around online for resources that could help me. Big attends public school, but I've found the most resources and collaborative info on homeschool websites, particularly SecularHomeschools.com The message boards have been full of great links, info and other tidbits from parents who are homeschooling. Since I work full time and unlike my hubby dont have summers off, I'm trying to find ways to take some of these programs and links and modify them for our needs. The nice thing about homeschooling is the overall sense of "go at your pace" that will work for the summer.
I also want to work with Lil A, who will be entering Preschool in the fall. I'm not going to go crazy with her knowledge of all the letter and their sounds, but would like to work on some of them so she has a base knowledge to start with. Beyond that I plan to keep it simple, projects that encourage hands-on work (cutting, pasting, creativity), and lots of stories to develop her skills in sitting still to listen. And of course exposure to new things, museums, music, zoos, all the fun stuff that preschoolers absorb like a sponge.
Doesn't this sound like an amazing plan? Don't I sound like an awesome Mommy??? Well, this is great except that I have one small conflict in the mix. I work full time. So my grand plans will be great but I won't be there for lots of them. My darling husband, who teaches high school and loves summer vacation as much as any kid, will have to handle most of the "field trips" and I think I can do some work in the evenings when I get home. He's usually game for most things, and I think that if we coordinate what we want to accomplish over the summer it should all work out, but in all of the posts I've read so far, I haven't found anything related to how working parents juggle "homeschooling". It feels a little like unchartered territory, but I can't possibly be the only person doing this.
Am I over thinking this? Quite possibly actually. I have a bad habit of doing that and I fully admit that. But if anyone has suggestions, please let me know! I'm all ears! :)
And if anyone has suggestions of fun activities for kids I'd love to hear those too! I'm the crafty/baking/etc parent in the family, hubby is the go-to-the-movies/fishing parent.

HOT & not feeling very productive!

I thought that this weekend I would have a chance to get a few things checked off the never diminishing "to-do" list. Somewhere someone in charge of productivity is rolling around laughing histerically. I'm just feeling a bit deflated.

It has been hot. Yesterday was in the 90's. I officially shut down at 90 degrees, especially when it comes with humidity (which it always does in Michigan). My work schedule has been a little topsy turvy and I closed Thursday and Friday, which meant I wasn't home until nearly 2am. What museum do you know that has shifts like that? None? You'd be right. The museum closed at 5 but we have an IMAX and my department handles the operation of the theatre. I can't complain about the work, the staff were great and the guests were fun (you can't help having some fun with a group of Red-hatters who dress like pirates to see a movie right? I know, awesome!). But I am not a night owl so I have really been feeling the lack of sleep. Friday I was still a mommy who needed to get up and get Big D ready for kindergarten and Lil A fed & dressed. She and I had a great day together...I have to say that the best part of working a night shift is spending time with her (and Big too when he isn't in school.). But I was soooo tired. So Saturday and Sunday were sleep-in days for me, thankfully hubby was kind enough to get up with them. Both days I slept till 10am. yawn!

But we did have some fun this weekend, even if we haven't been very productive. We took a trip to a Recreational Area not too far away (nice thing about Michigan, you are always close to a lake or pond or river). Hubby was hoping to catch a trout or two from the stocked pond there. He caught a 20" rainbow trout the night before and was hoping for luck 2 days in a row. The little beach was still pretty full when we got there (around 7pm) and I took the kids down to the water to wade a bit. Next time I need to bring their suits. Then we went to the other side reserved for fishing. Long story short, no fish, but the kids dipped their toes in the water and took turns pulling out minnows for hubby to add to the hook.

Today I was determined to check out a few yard sales. I'm such a visual learner plus I was secretly hoping to find some little treasure trove, maybe some vintage goodies. I took Lil with me so the boys could have some peace and she was such a trooper. We only went to a couple, but we found a purple cone hat for dressing as a princess and a 3 wheeled Barbie scooter for a grand total of $5.50. Now she can scoot with her brother and I don't have to worry that it will tip over as she rides. I also found some fabric that I'm hoping will become some softies if I can find a simple pattern, maybe an owl or something with an easy shape. $2.00 there, not bad!

So now I'm back to housework, trying to clear up some of the toys and other random messes in just about every corner of the house. But when I feel tired I can stop for some fresh squeezed lemonade...delish! :) How has your weekend been? Productive, lazy? Whatever it was I hope you enjoyed it! :)