A Shirt For Tyler

 I just uploaded the pictures from my camera, all 100 of them! That means I will actually post real, live photos around here in the next week. These pictures are of the shirt I made for Tyler yesterday. I have two things to say: 1) it is totally loud, flashy and....loud, and b) I love it! It matches Tyler's little personality perfectly. He also loves it, which is even better! He actually squealed when he saw it this morning, which made me want to squeal too.

It has mis-matched buttons arranged in rainbow order. I have been wanting to do something with mismatched buttons for a while now and this seemed like the place to try it. 

I appliqued a little felt robot sticking out of the pocket which Tyler loves! He has little button eyes and free-moving rick rack arms. (Yes, I can even work rick rack into a boy's project, thankyouverymuch)

This is how most of the pictures turned out, even after bribing him with chocolate 'chippies'

And the only thing I can think of when I see this picture is the quote from Shrek "Five shillings for the possessed toy!"

VBS: It Is Finished! (At Least My End Of It!)

Here it is, folks! The thing that has been consuming my time lately. The castle went up with only minor hitches and it was still standing this morning. Check, and double check! The castle is made out of cardboard sheets and covered with what is/was supposed to be an aisle runner. A LOT of hot glue went into the making of this year's VBS decorations. 

This is the dragon that nearly killed me, and took every bit of my creative wits to complete it. Here is, for your amusement, what went into the making of this beast: at least 4 sheets of 4' by 6' cardboard, one tomato sauce box, two water bottles, a stray box, bulletin board trim, a floral vase, one string of lights, tin foil, two cans of green spray paint, one can each of dark green, purple and orange, red and green deco mesh (for wreath making), half a roll of window screen, 5 pounds of paper clay, a stack of newspapers, half a dozen stick pins and enough hot glue to hold together the Titanic. 

Having never seen a fake knight just hanging around before, I was surprised when they started turning up everywhere. This one was loaned to us by the youth pastor's family along with a smaller one also. The large one came from someone's cousin's uncle's neighbor's exterminator or some such tomfoolery. 

The eye of the dragon lights up, which necessitated several trips for me into the literal belly of the beast in order to install the light. Word to the wise: using an industrial strength hot glue gun above your head while being basically immobilized in a tight space is not advisable and requires nijna-like reflexes to (mostly) dodge falling globs of molten glue. 

The castle is attached to columns by some fancy schmancy, high-tech cardboard brackets. Shhh, don't tell my engineer husband. 

This might be my favorite part of ye olde decorations: the stained glass windows. We made one for each of the 6 large windows and the 4 front doors. They look so pretty with the light shining through.

I painted each piece of the Armor of God (from Ephesians 6) on foam board to hang around the room. The kids will be learning about each piece during VBS.

Another piece of armor, and the age group signs

We covered the doors with faux wood paper and added medieval looking hinges. 

The foyer was decorated with sparkly gold chandaliers, flaming torches and a purple runner (which may or may not hold up to a bunch of kids running over it all week)

And there you have it! It is finished!!!!

P.S. I did not accomplish this on my own! I came up with the ideas, but I did have people helping the vision become a reality!

Finished!!!!!! Did I Mention I'm Done?!

I finally finished my painting. This is the sole product of my 10 week painting class. I blame it on painting all those tiny little stones. 

Note To Self: Photographing something behind glass is not advisable

Stones! Stones! More stinkin' stones!

I painted this from a local watercolor artist's painting of a local school house. Did that even make sense?? The schoolhouse has 8 sides to maximize daylight and keep students close to the wood stove in the center. And did I mention it was made out of a zillion little tiny stones? Actually, I had a harder time painting the sky and all the stupid bushes in the background. I feel some pent up hostility toward the shrubbery. 

You can see through the windows to the windows on the opposite side of the building, which was a bit of a pain and required a brush the size of a pencil lead. Now that I am done, I need to keep the momentum going. I just need to decide what to paint next.

Bird Baths

The kids recently made these little bird baths. I saw the idea on Pinterest and thought it was cute. It is an overturned flower pot with a saucer on top. I let the kids paint them, then I sprayed them with varnish. We also made a really cute mosaic step stone, and we will be using our new projects to decorate Katie's flower garden. The kids are all dying to plant stuff in the garden and so far we have put out lettuce, broccoli and 3 kinds of kale. 

The Artist!

I have been meaning to post this drawing that Katie made a few weeks ago. It is probably my favorite she has ever drawn! The elephants are so detailed, and I love the humor of it. There are two tiny worms popping out of the ground in front of them, causing the elephants to jump up in the air. She drew their wrinkles, raggedy ears, tusks, toenails and motion/sound lines coming from their trunks. 

Pictures!

I figured out how to put pictures on the new laptop! So now I shall bombard you with random pictures and their corresponding commentary.

The Squatch takes his marshmallows very seriously. You can just see the gleam in his eye.

Katie trying to roast her marshmallow just so. Unlike James and I, she doesn't like hers burnt.

Marshmallow aftermath

Our Swedish Candle log...pretty nifty, huh? We've had two fires with it so far and there is enough left to have one more.

Eggs! The white one is a store egg, the far left is an egg from one of our new chickens that hasn't figured out how to increase the size yet. The two on the right are the monster eggs some of our champion chickens lay. The far right egg is from Big Martha, who has laid big eggs from the very beginning. No wonder she is the one to make the most noise when she lays an egg!

And here is the purse I knitted! See Grandma? I did it!

Gloves

I was helping Katie clean her room the other day. Amongst all the craft shrapnel lying about, I found the toes of two of her fluffy socks. I was not a happy camper and I asked her who cut the toes off those socks. She looked at me ever so matter of factly, and said 'I did. I was making gloves.' Of course. I tried to stay serious but I couldn't. In the end, I told her that it was very clever to try and make gloves out of fuzzy socks. (I think she was going for finger-less gloves like Grammy's) However, from now on, no cutting up clothes or sheets, etc. for craft purposes unless otherwise sanctioned.

James' Dr. Seuss Hat

James' class recently had a Dr. Seuss party in honor of Reading Day. The teacher sent a note that the kids could wear Dr. Seuss gear if they had it, but not to go out and buy it. Just a week ago, they had the 100th day of school and were supposed to dress up as 100 year olds. I had tried to find a wig or an old man hat for him to wear, but the thrift store was sadly picked over. In the end, he chose to wear Grandpa Cheyney's suspenders and a bandana in his pocket. The rest of his class went all out, and I think he wished he had a better costume. This time around, I was determined the poor kid not feel shamed! After he went to bed I made him a Dr. Seuss hat wrangled together using felt, scratch paper and his head circumference. I was happily surprised that it fit him perfectly! He woke up the next morning, saw it and was thrilled! Which is good, considering I spent an hour on something he will probably never wear again. I am sure the other two will get good use out of it when they get into school too.

Painting Class

My painting class is going well, although I feel really, really slow. This picture was my 'practice' sheet, which I am pretty sure was the teacher's attempt to a) assess my skill and b) teach me her methods of painting. I am feeling ridiculously rusty but despite that, it is really fun and relaxing but also a good brain workout. I must say that when the teacher was telling me to do cast shadows, she started sketching the shadow for the sphere to the right. I kept thinking...what is she doing?! That is on the wrong side! Am I that rusty that I can't remember what side the shadow goes on? But she is somewhat particular about certain things and I didn't want to question her method so I went with it. Once she sketched it in she said that she did it so the shadow would fit on the page. So I am not crazy after all. Now I am working on a painting of this nearby one room school house:

I had a few landscapes chosen that I thought were fairly simple, and she said no, not for my first painting. After rustling around in her avalanche of art books, she brought forth a watercolor rendering of this school house which she wants me to paint. I am not really sure why she chose this, because it is not simple, but I think I am up for the challenge. So far I have the sky nearly done, which I think is going to be the hardest part because you have to leave the white of the page for clouds. The bricks will be tedious but I enjoy tedious stuff. I will put up a picture of it when I finish, so long as I don't totally botch it! :)

Snow! Crafts! Bread!

The weathermen have been predicting snow. First 4-10 inches, then 2-4, then 4-6, and then....it didn't snow. And didn't snow. Argh! I was surprised and happy to wake up to find that it finally, really snowed! Not a ton, but about 6 inches. Tyler woke up, looked out the window and exclaimed "Ho-wee Shoe!! It 'nowed'!" You can imagine I was thinking he was going to head another direction with that and I was wondering where on earth he would have come up with that phrase. I don't know where he came up with the phrase 'Holy Shoe' either...silly kid.

The kids were out by 7:15 am, trying their hardest to work with the light, fluffy snow.

There were rosy red cheeks,

And great big grins. And warm oatmeal from the crock pot when they came in. 

And in other news, yesterday I had a Martha Stewart on 'roids kind of day. I was highly productive, which surely means I will accomplish nothing from now til next Tuesday. Yesterday morning, the kids and I did a batik watercolor project, which we let dry and cut up for a few projects. I cut hearts from the paper and hung them from a tree branch on the ceiling for a Valentine's Day mobile. Probably first and last time I decorate for a holiday other than Christmas. And with the rest of the paper I made a set of coasters for some special people who's names start with R and P.

We put clear Elmer's glue on nice watercolor paper. I dried it with a hair dryer which made those nice little scallops. Then we painted over it with watercolor and sprinkled sea salt on it while wet. The sea salt (or any salt for that matter) sucks up the paint around it and leaves a light star shaped marking. I made the coasters by modge podging the artwork onto kitchen tile. While I was in the crafty mood (ok, so I am always feeling crafty) I also cut out the pattern for James' earflap hat, a purse for Katie, and the journal cover for Rachel. And now I have successfully turned this into my craft blog. Oops!

Close up of the glue/salt design

This one was Katie's. I cut my favorite section out for this coaster.

And on to the bread...no pictures available...but yesterday I decided that I simply must use up the remainder of the ridiculously expensive beer I bought for the mustard. $13 for a pint and a half? Is that normal? But I digress...I made yeast bread with beer. Two loaves to be exact. I was completely entralled with the incredible amount of foam that beer makes. I need to get out more. Then I thought to myself, 'Self! You should make that Buttermilk Flax Bread you've been wanting to try.' So I doubled that batch, which was supposed to make 6 free form loaves but I made 4 huge ones instead. And then I thought, 'What the heck! I shall make those homemade bagels I have been wanting to try while I'm at it!' And so I did. And I doubled the batch. And I am crazy. But at least I have 6 loaves of bread and 2 dozen poppy seed bagels to feed the hungry beasts that beg for food 10 times a day!

I Finished a Quilt!!!

Long ago, in a land far away, I used to a quilter. Then I had kids. Quilting since then has been spotty at best. Then, at least a year ago...probably more, I started a quilt for James. And yesterday, I finished it! If you heard angels singing down from the heavens, that is why. The following pictures aren't fabulous. When my trusty 6' 4" quilt holder is home, I plan on getting better pictures. I kind of didn't want to give it away, but I guess I will see it everyday so it's all good. I better start Katie's next and maybe by the year 2034 I can get around to making one for Jeff and I too, after Tyler's of course. 

The fabric is mostly wild horses, but the green border in there (if you can tell from the picture) is made of farm-ish fabric.

I used some fancy stitching on my new sewing machine using variegated thread. It used a whole lot of thread. And a whole lot of time. But it looks really pretty.

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Along the bottom, I hand embroidered 'Be strong and courageous' from James' favorite verse: Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." 

The happy boy with his quilt. I was finishing it up last night (yeah, it was supposed to be done by Christmas...story of my life) and he asked me if I finished it, to put it over him when he was asleep so he could wake up with his quilt.

It passes the comfy test!

Pictures and Ramblings (Technically: Rantings)

The last couple times we have been near Target, Tyler has pointed in the direction of the Devil's Lair, also known as Toys R Us. At first, I thought he wanted to go because it bright and colorful. But he started talking about wanting to go there to buy 'Thomas' trains. What?! I really can't remember when, if ever, he has been there. It has to have been at least a year ago, if not more. I really HATE toy stores. While I have fond memories of standing in the aisles of KB Toys in Mesa Mall trying to figure out how to spend my piggy bank stash, I have yet to take my kids to a toy store for kicks. Go ahead, call CPS, but the whole commercialism of toys, and the gimme-gimme-gimme, I have to have it! thing makes me feel a bit hostile. Here at ye olde Groves homestead, our kids play with sticks and rocks. They do have toys too, lest you think I am a total scrooge. I just am not a fan of a LOT of toys. Or toys with batteries. Or toys that only do one thing. Or Tickle Me anything. Anyway, all this rant to say...how the heck does Tyler know what Toys R Us is?! Did someone take him there without my knowing?! I think I would rather him hanging out in a smoky pool hall than the Devil's Lair! I ended up telling him that we will only go there if he gets Christmas money, at which point he can buy himself whatever he can afford. Until then, you can find us sharking the regulars at the pool hall. 

Here's my little sunshine hanging the fragile ornaments. She is such a great helper! There were a few ornaments that didn't have hangers, and she asked 'is this one that needs to perch?' 

The boys snuggling before school

A dress I made for myself and finally got a picture of.

Tyler making Christmas cookies

James hard at work

Katie showing off her creation

Tyler got a knife and added a butt to his gingerbread man. Boys! And it actually looked very realistic after baking.

The doll I made for Katie for Christmas. I can't wait for her to open it! I had so much fun making it.