{this moment}

A Friday ritual started by Amanda Blake Soule, of Soule Mama

"A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week

A simple, special, extraordinary moment"

my mom's birthday gift

i'm so happy to finally be finished with my mom's birthday gift. a few years back when we were still living in idaho, she sent me a pattern for this jacket.  she didn't ask me to make it, she just said "oh, i thought this pattern was really cute and thought you might be able to do something with it."  it's her subtle way of telling me she'd like me to make it.  last april i had planned on sewing it for her birthday and had her help me pick out the fabric.  well, i started reading the directions and got totally lost in it and completely overwhelmed, for the life of me i couldn't figure it out, so i just put it all away.  a year later i thought i'd better try it again.  i don't know how many hours it took me to finally figure out the instructions, the fact that i'm a total novice to sewing didn't help, but one evening i had given up from frustration and decided to go to bed, while brushing my teeth something finally clicked and i that was when i understood what the directions were saying!  this darn jacket has 3 layers of fabric, i had to cut out over 60 pieces for it which took me over 8 hours!  just clipping all the darn seams so that they would fray took over 2 hours and i'm not sure how many hours it took to actually sew it, but yes i am finally finished with it, YEAH!  hopefully she appreciates it even though it is a little late.

froggy went a courtin'

one of my favorite springtime sounds are the chorus of spring peepers.  since we live in town, i don't get to hear them as much as when we lived in the country.  our new favorite CD to listen to in the car is The Calls of Frogs and Toads,  by Lang Elliott.  i didn't realize how different the calls were for each species.  don't all frogs say "ribbit, ribbit?"  the theme for The Three Muses this week is "music, music, music."  my spring peepers are doing their "advertisement  call" for the lucky female in the tree.

"I feel pretty"

the theme this week at Mixed Media Monday is "i feel pretty."  here's my entry which is a collage made with paper, paint and old tin on wood.  i think she still feels pretty even though her dress is old and worn and made of scraps.

bicycle bag

Fischer has a birthday party that he is going to tomorrow, so i whipped up a little bicycle bag this afternoon from some scraps that i had lying around.   a nice little bag to put all sorts of treasures in.

willows and wings

my entry  for The Three Muses is a little late this week we've been spending so much time outside playing and gardening, I haven't had time to paint, the theme this week is hats and crowns and wings and things.  i went for the easy out and painted a little goldfinch on some pussy willows, which incredibly are already leafed out.  spring came a little faster than usual around here. 

Look what I found!

i don't know how many times over the last week or so that i've heard "mom, look what i've found!"  digging in the garden and compost pile we've found lots of worms, centipedes, spiders, ants, slugs, larvae and other unidentifiable bugs which the kids love to look at and touch,  i really don't mind them as long as they don't touch me.  i just love the enthusiasm that the kids have when they find these creepy crawlies, amelia's favorite is the ladybug, fischer likes the spiders.  This is my piece for Mixed Media Monday where the theme is "look what I found."

{this moment}

A Friday ritual started by Amanda Blake Soule, of  SouleMama

"A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week

A simple, special, extraordinary moment"
 

bike ride

the theme this week at The Three Muses is maps.
there's nothing like a little cruise on a bicycle along a path, flowers in bloom, with a little friend to share the ride.

spring blooms

 

tiny, blue and beautiful blanketing my neighbors yard