Fairy Houses and Acorn Babies

A coupe of weeks ago, Jana sent me the link to these fun "fairy houses".


                                                      (Source:  Filth Wizardry.com)

Knowing that I had two little people coming to visit me soon that would just love this sort of thing, I began stashing the empty water jugs before they made it to our recycling pile.   I carefully cut out doors and windows, looking forward to decorating them with colored sharpies, stickers, pipe cleaners and such.  I knew that we would fashion the most amazing fairy houses ever!!

Things took a slightly different turn when I got sick.  Yesterday, when I returned from my 4 hour episode at the Quick Care clinic, Ron greeted me, then handed me one of the jugs, explaining that they had decorated them while I was gone.



Hmmmmm, not exactly what I had envisioned, but it does look like they had fun.   Reminder to self:  it is the process that matters, not the outcome!!



Perhaps my next craft would go a little differently.    This afternoon, when M began bringing in acorns from outdoors, I did a quick check on Pinterest for ideas and both he and A decided they loved the idea of making "acorn babies".  They were making a trip to Hobby Lobby anyway, so I asked them to pick up a few squares of felt knowing that I already had some tiny wiggly eyes we could use.



While A took a nap, M and I set to work.  We cut tiny blankets and using the glue gun made a set of acorn babies for each of them.






We even used the leftover felt to make baskets to carry them in.



Next up, an acorn covered picture frame---of course, that may have to wait until after I take a nap.  All this crafting has pretty much wiped me out!

Whirlwind

Christmas has come and gone at my house and has left mostly good things behind and only one not-so-good thing.   The bad---I'm sick!  Boo!   I haven't been sick in a long time and this is no fun at all, but after spending almost 4 hours in the "Quick Care clinic" (who in the heck named it that?!), I learned that I have strep.  No sore throat, but that low-grade fever has me feeling completely worn out.   Unfortunately, it hit on Jana & Rob's last days here and I wasn't good for much fun after that! ;-(

But, the good of the holidays far out-weighs that little nuisance of an illness.  After driving down to pick up Tyler, Ron and I drove over to Kerrville the weekend before Christmas to celebrate the season with his kids and grandkids.  His oldest son, Terry, had to work until Sunday night, so our time with him was limited, but in the meantime we explored Kerrville a little bit.  We stopped by his wife Jaylynn's, boutique---Corabell's.  It was the prettiest shop, filled with fun clothes and accessories, as well as great gift items.



Tyler and Ron had a few pillow fights in the hotel---yep that's Santa watching, boys!



The three of us explored the Guadalupe River in downtown Kerrville





and the little kids played and played in the backyard.



Sunday, we loaded up the cars and drove to Fredericksburg to hike the Enchanted Rock, a huge pink, granite dome.  We picnicked on Subway sandwiches before beginning our trek.



We kept a leisurely pace since we had 2 small children and a puppy with us.





In fact, the last part of the hike up was spent carrying the little people.



But, once we reached the top, the view was really nice.



It was quite windy, too.   We posed for a group picture (as I tried to hang on to A)



then Ron asked for a picture of just the two of us.



I obliged, and should have gotten suspicious when everyone pulled out their cameras and he said he wasn't through yet.  But, I was totally shocked when he pulled a ring out of his running pack and proposed!!   (gee, I wish I'd known to wear makeup and cute clothes!!)

  
There were quite a few other people on the Rock that day, and when we turned around, I realized that several others had stopped to watch, too.  Ron shouted "She said yes!"





Most of the rest of the hike was a bit of a blur--I was still trying to process it all.

But, we did mange to get one more really fun group shot in this rock formation---we all had to plant our feet firmly against the boulders in order to keep from slipping down the steep slope.



And, since I came back to Shreveport to a full house and then got sick, I haven't even had a chance to get my ring sized to fit my fat fingers.  But, I'm so happy and can't wait for 2013----and to become a bit more regular in my blogging, I hope.

Ready?

Ready?  Good question, and the answer to it for me, is "not quite!" Ron and I leave in the morning to visit his oldest son to celebrate Christmas with his kids and grand kids.  I'm looking forward to meeting those I haven't met yet (Terry and his wife, Jaylynn), but am a bit overwhelmed with all that needs to be done before we leave town.  In fact, so overwhelmed that I took off a half-day to try to get this house whipped back into shape.  So far, I've gotten Dan's room, the sewing room and Jana's room ready----but, alas, the living room and kitchen may take the rest of the day.  (time for a lunch break)

Over the last few days, I've wrapped more Christmas gifts that I thought was humanly possible.  Right now they are all stacked up under and around the tree, and even on the table and couch nearby, but many of them will be traveling down to Kerrville with us.   (the empty tubes on the floor are to keep Emmi away from the gifts--she is terrified of those rolls!!)





I have made a few gifts--some of which I can't post on here so as not to spoil any surprises.  One of my favorites is the Tinkerbell costume that I made for Ron's granddaughter, A.   She is a HUGE fan of fairies and Tinkerbell in particular, so I think she'll enjoy this.  Since we got her a new baby doll, too, it was only fair that she have a costume of her own to wear.  I found those great wings at Wal Mart and I'm still working on some for the doll.









Yesterday, after adding the last coat of chalkboard paint to the leftover piece of MDF I've had sitting around my house, I sketched out a holiday greeting.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out and can't wait to see it hung outside my door!  (of course, there is the small matter of talking Ron into drilling into the bricks tonight to install the hangers)



And as a last minute project last night, after picking up Emmi and Tink from the groomer, I decided that they, too, needed some Christmas finery.  Any attempts to get them both in the same photo were unsuccessful, but I think they look quite festive, despite the blurriness of the iPhone photo.





So, the season is upon us and though frantic and overwhelming at times, I feel so very blessed to be getting to spend it with both my own family and with new "family".  I absolutely cannot WAIT to see Jana and Rob, as well as David and his girls, and look forward to a few lazy days with them after some of the chaos has subsided.   So, I'd better get back to cleaning--my goal is to have that part completed by the time Ron gets off work.  It's going to be really cold here tonight, and I'd love to be packing our bags and then relaxing in front of the fireplace rather than scurrying around!

Pinterest Inspiration

I have done very little in the way of decorating for the holidays this year.  I DO, however, have my Christmas tree up and decorated and the stockings are hung by the fireplace, just under the vintage nativity scene that once belonged to my parents.   This weekend, inspired by my buddy, Danette (who was inspired by Pinterest, I made a couple of door hangers.  Danette was inspired by all of the burlap door decorations seen around Pinterest these days:

Source: Uploaded by user via Rose on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Kimberly on Pinterest

to make some of her own for her double-front doors.  Unfortunately, her first attempt was using red burlap (thinking it would save her some time). However, painting white on top of red burlap turns pink--not the look she was looking for.  (and it was MUCH pinker in real life)



Her second attempt, using natural colored burlap turned out great.  She used tape to mask off areas and then did the painting.  Not only did the colors turn out bright and pretty, but it made the burlap stiffer so that it lay flat once stuffed and hung.  I helped her paint the lettering and it was ready to greet us at our office party Thursday evening.  Her loss of time, was my gain, because she gave me one of her failed attempts to re-hab.



I embroidered the word "Joy" on a scrap of burlap and sewed it in place, covering up the pink faux-pas.  After covering the top pink area with a white scallop, all I had to do was stuff it with plastic bags and sew it closed!   Mine is not as stiff, and I need to trim edges a bit more, but it looks pretty great for a 30 minute project!


My next project was a quick one.  I was inspired by this Pin:

Source: sandandsisal.com via Linda on Pinterest

to create this:



I hot-glued the wooden letters to the strip of oilcloth, but unfortunately, the glue didn't hold very long at first.  I walked into the kitchen to find this:



Not exactly a Christmas greeting, but probably an appropriate exclamation after falling apart.  
Oy--- a Yiddish exclamation of chagrin, dismay, exasperation or pain
I used lots more glue the next time and all is well.

Looking Back at Thanksgiving

My week of Thanksgiving vacation flew by.  While both of my girls and their husbands had plans of their own this year, Dan was able to join us in Shreveport for a several days.  Ron's daughter and her family also visited and Ron had to work each day except Thanksgiving--boo!  It made for a crazy break, but lots of fun!

One morning, before driving down to Cheneyville to pick up Dan, I loaded the kids in my car and we went to the duck pond, giving their parents a chance to shower and get ready for the day without two little ones underfoot.  Armed with ziploc bowls and scoops for minnows, we had a great time!!   Despite our best attempts, there were no minnows caught this time, but that didn't deter them from trying.  

We did feed the ducks and geese however.   

And played on the playground

and even posed for a few pictures.

Thanksgiving day, while we waited for the food to get ready, there were a few games of soccer in the backyard (love the pink soccer ball)

and lots of "bug-hunting."  Dan joined in the search and helped by moving heavy bricks and such.  



The lizards were too quick this time, but several roly-polies (sp?) found a temporary home in our bug boxes.  



The prized find, however, was a big old, slimy slug.  UGH!  

Imagine my excitement the next day when we discovered an empty bug box on the coffee table.  :-(   Nope, never did find that slug!

We did enjoy a great Thanksgiving dinner, too, complete with mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans, gravy and pecan pie.



My favorite images from the week also serve as a reminder of how very thankful I am for my family, for Ron and for getting to enjoy his family, too.