to sew/craft/make.  D decorated this sock, and I sewed on the buttons.  It’s too bad she’s the only kiddo genuinely interested in making stuff (and mature enough to understand the task at hand).  Her daddy makes puppets for real.  For real.  Like, gets paid to do it.  Cool, huh?

By the way, this was all accomplished before 9 in the AM. *jittery sigh*

EDIT: Just realized that statement about D being “the only kiddo genuinely interested in making stuff” was kinda unfair.  All the kids love painting.  And Emily loves to draw and color.  She just can’t handle anything too complicated yet.   Sorry.  Felt the need to revise.

Over the weekend, I made it a priority to do a little bit of crafting. When I saw this beautiful wreath and tutorial, I knew exactly what I wanted to make. (And might I mention that JC handmade has become an instant favorite of mine?)

On a food-related note, I’m dying to try this Chocolate Cake in 5 Minutes.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday. I may be back later today with a MixTape to liven things up a bit.

Sorry for the perhaps negative vibe of yesterday’s post.  This past week has been extremely tiring, but it hasn’t been bad.  I did consume much caffeine yesterday to get through the day, but we all have days like that, right?  Today, I’m keeping it to one cup.  Promise.

And taking a nap.

The picture is a timeline of stuff I’ve knit or crocheted over the last few years to keep us warm in the winter.  My first completed knitting project is the scarf on the bottom.  You can see notes on the picture here, if you’re interested.

Thanks for all your support, dear bloggy friends.  We’re doin’ alright.

No, really. ;)

EDIT: Thanks everyone for your great ideas and thoughts!!!  I think I asked the right question for feedback this time. ;)  (Check out the comments section… There’s a wealth of information down there!)  The kids will be here any minute now, and I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers throughout the day and the rest of the week.  I’ll try to update my blog with the happenings here.

You ladies rock my socks!  

These kiddos are gonna be joined by a 4 and 6 year old for the next 2 weeks. Yep. While my husband works on the set of Pahappahooey Island, I’m babysitting one of the puppeteers’ kids. For at least 12 hours of every day. So…

I DESPERATELY NEED IDEAS!!! WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A 4 & 6 YEAR OLD? I need games, activities, music, websites, fun snack ideas, whatever.

I’ll be searching The Crafty Crow today for easy art projects. I can only assume that these kids have creative genes with a puppeteer for a parent. Hmmm… Maybe paperbag puppets would be a good place to start…

Anyway, I have to get prepared, because once we’re all here, I don’t think we’ll be popping over to the store! :o

This is the Bobble Hat by Fabled Needle.  I’ve loved this pattern for, oh, about 2 years now.  I think it may have inspired me to take up crochet in all its cuteness.  But then I remember trying to crochet it one night to no avail.  I guess I finally acquired enough skills to tackle it.

So I made it for Emily.  I used an H hook to achieve the smaller size.  Then I made an i-cord to weave around it instead of ribbon.

Now all it needs is a matching scarf.  Oh, and maybe some flowery embellishments.  Why not?  Everything looks cute on Emily.

First, a comparison.  Do these people look related?

Now, some Jake-Jake.

Sweet little cherub that he is.

How about Black Bean & Salsa Soup:

Last night (at the last minute) I stumbled across this super-easy recipe.  We had all of the, um, 4 main ingredients on hand.  So I gave it a go. And… yum.

I doubled the recipe thinking that it wouldn’t be enough.  But this is a very hearty meal! So we’re having it 2 nights in a row.  It’s so delicious that I don’t mind at all!  Great with chips, sour cream, cheese, perhaps even with extra salsa.  Oh, and next time I make it, I won’t blend all of it.

What are your favorite soup recipes?

P.S. Looks like Martha’s got a blog.  Is there anything she doesn’t do? :)

Knitting needles of all sizes, knitting patterns, and rogue balls of yarn.

In case you missed it yesterday, I’m giving away an almost-yard of fabric.  Just comment on yesterday’s post.  I’m closing comments tomorrow morning, and I’ll announce the winner. 

Happy Wednesday!

Once upon a time, Kristena won a yard of fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew. With this yard of fabric, Kristena promised to spiffy up her very 1950s (but not in a cool way) bathroom. So Kristena chose a fabric that coordinated with said pink & burgundy bathroom. One day, the magical (and also very free) yard of fabric arrived at Kristena’s doorstep. She tore her package open as quickly as her swollen, pregnant fingers would allow her and photographed her new fabric in various locations throughout her house.

Months passed and nothing happened. Kristena wondered if she had chosen the wrong fabric for her taste.

Then one day at the start of Fall, Kristena grew weary of seeing her yard of free fabric collecting dust. She cut, cut, and cut. And then she arranged several flowery octagons and diamonds on her plain white bathroom curtains.

No matter how she arranged them, they just didn’t look right.

So finally, Kristena sewed one octagon right in the middle. And she liked it.

But it needed something.

So she added two diamonds on either side of the octagon.

Then Kristena hung the curtain (only one panel this time), stood back, and admired her bathroom’s super-quick face-lift. She thought to herself, all decorating should be this easy!

And Kristena, her freshly decorated curtain, and her weird retro-contemporary bathroom lived happily ever after. Or something like that. :)

P.S. I have a lot of this fabric leftover, as you can imagine. Would anyone like what’s left? Leave a comment, and we’ll have a random drawing!