This is an easy project Emily and I did today.  Jacob enjoyed playing with the animals but had no interest in making them.  He did, however, try to cut paper with my hole punch.

All you need for this project is paper, crayons, scissors, and tiny brads.  I found a box of about 50 brads in the scrapbook supply section of Michael’s.

And we used scrapbook paper instead of construction paper because it’s much more sturdy.

I love Emily’s pig, lion, and spider family.  That pig snout was my favorite until she started drawing spider babies.

I looked at Emily one day and realized that she is no longer going to eat the acrylic paint.  On that day, I decided to buy some canvases that were just her size and set a few parameters.  This project was 100% supervised, involved limited paints, and occurred while Jacob took his afternoon nap.  Emily does not nap.  She is a Big Girl now, and she proved it by only getting a tiny bit of red paint in her hair.  And just a swoosh of magenta on her chin.

Step 1 - Prepare the canvas.  I painted the entire canvases white, let that dry, and then taped around the edges with blue painter’s tape.  Masking tape of any sort will do the trick, but it isn’t necessary.  I just thought it would be nice to have white borders framing her art. :)   If you tape it, seal the edge of the tape with a coat of white paint.

Step 2 - Paint!  I chose a limited palette of magenta, red, light blue, aqua green, and white.  Then I put a dime-sized drop of each color in a plastic lid.  I encouraged Emily to use different kinds of brushes in different sizes so she could learn how they are different (and because this makes the paintings more interesting).

Step 3 - Finish.  Allow the paint to dry a little before you remove the painter’s tape.  Once your paintings are dry, hang on the wall and enjoy!

Emily’s signature is that green “E” on the second painting.  You may want to encourage your child to sign their work too.   Just not with their tongue.  (Please do not eat the paint!)

My dear reader, Vicki K, sent me a lovely box of hand-knit dishrags (and a pretty lavender sachet!) as a housewarming gift.  They are so cheerful and welcoming in our apartment kitchen.

Thanks so much, Vicki!  You are too kind.  (And your packaging was beautiful too!)

And as a housewarming gift to myself, I bought a new clock from and furthermore.

Something I love about Etsy is that if you ask someone for what you need/want, you just might get it!  I asked Brenda for a larger clock in blue, and she made one just for me.  And I love it!  Thanks, Brenda!

All of the happy mail arriving at the new apartment is making it a happier place, of course!  I can’t wait to share more of the interior. :)

Finally, Emily and I found a craft we can do alongside one another.

I paint with Pebeo Porcelaine paints.

She paints with watercolors.

Fine modern art?  Perhaps.

This reminds me that I should do this simple watercolor project soon with my new partner in crime. :)

Our family spent the weekend traveling up to Galena, Illinois for a family reunion.  When I say family, I mean 170+ people descending from Evan’s Grandmother.

She turned 95 yesterday.

(Happy Birthday, Grandmother Eleanor!)

Every year, the family has a huge campout.  Here’s the group:

They’re so much fun!  And I feel like I really know at least a fraction of the group.  Which is definite progress. ;)

While we were there, I ventured out to beautiful downtown Galena.

And visited some antique stores.

And showed tremendous restraint.

It was a great trip.

And now it’s time to house-hunt.

And Friday, we officially set out on our journey to Virginia.  Tulsa has been a fantastic home for us for almost 5 years.  Evan made his first short film here.  I began to blog, sew, crochet, and take pictures of it all right here.

We had two babies here.

And we bought a house.

And we made some really great friends.

We are sad to leave our friends and home–but always game for new adventures!

Goodbye, Tulsa!  We heart you.

I just finished this family tree for my friend, Mandy, who lives in Maryland (and who is a very talented photographer).  Her father just got married, and she wanted a tree to represent the new family.

It’s completely handstitched with applique and embroidery, and I made it with a combination of new and vintage fabrics.

Although I might alter the design a bit, I’d like to offer custom family trees in my shop.

I’m also kinda wanting one for my own family… made with bits of our old clothing.

Maybe I’ll start one after we move. :)

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for our family.

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” -James 1:2 (NASB)

Joy (not to be confused with the emotion happy) is something we have in abundance right now.

We’ll be moving in 2 weeks to live closer to family.  (Yes, our house finally sold!)  I’ll try to update regularly in the mean time.  Thanks again for your prayers!  We are thankful for each and every one.

I’ll be out of town for a while, honoring my father-in-law, Joe Derrick, who passed away last night.

Please say a prayer for our family.  Thank you.

I find myself getting nostalgic about college as I grow farther and farther from that era of my life.  It’s been 7 years now since I graduated from Wofford College with my B.A. in English.  And now that I have real responsibilities to little, dependent human beings, I realize just how precious & carefree those college years were.

I mean, at what other time in my life could I take a nap in the afternoon on the lawn of a gorgeously green college campus, go read & discuss Shakespeare, and then lazily traipse to the dining hall to be fed by someone else?  And then someone else clean up my dinner dishes?

Dang, I miss that.

Oftentimes, dinner would be followed with a meeting.  I was a sorority girl.  Did I ever tell you that?  True story.  Nearly everyone at my school was “Greek.”  I was a Kappa Alpha Theta.  And still am.

So yesterday, I got a bit inspired and made this little homage to Theta:

I was going to share a metaphor about spools of thread being like students with all their potential or something, but it was way cheesy.  Of course, I seem to have shared it anyway. ;)  Please pardon my sentimentality.

Graduation season always makes me a bit nostalgic.