Hello Dolly

Needed: corn husks, fabric scraps, yarn, twine

 

Fold corn husks into a doll shape. Use twine to hold together. Decorate with fabric & yarn. Give her a special spot for the year. Next spring, plant her with your garden, returning to the earth the blessings you have been given

Independence day

I love the 4^th of July. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays. It’s the middle of summer. There are parades and fireworks. Cookouts. Family time. Red, white and blue.

 

Now that my son is older, he isn’t as willing to make crafts with me as he was a few years ago. In fact, there are times I have to bribe him into it, since he is ahem, a middle schooler.  You know, all grown up and stuff.

 

That doesn’t stop me from trying.

 

Since he was little, we make a handprint flag t-shirt every year for the 4^th.

 

Its super easy-blue handprint for the corner and red paint stripes, that’s it.

Fairies Wear Boots

Being partially Irish, the sidhe or fairies permeate the culture. To this day, roads are built around bushes or holes in the ground because they are allegedly home to the fairies. Allegedly, the wee folk were the original settlers of the British isles before the thundering hoards invaded. However, every culture worldwide have fairy legends, going as far back as ancient Greece and Rome. Fairies are traditionally a creature, most often tiny, but can also be extremely tall. In most cases, they are human like and posess magical powers. They are known for their mischief and prankster nature. Fairies have been blamed for sudden death of both people and animals, tuberculosis and other troubles. Most folklore talk about ways to avoid getting on the wrong side of a fairy-cold iron, wearing clothing inside out, even bells. There are stories about human babies being kidnapped and a changeling left in its place. The origin of the fairy is clouded by the mists of time. Some legends have them as spirits of the dead, others consider them to be elementals, even as angels.

Today, we are familiar with fairy godmothers, Tinkerbell and the Tooth Fairy, which are generally harmless, ususally helpful critters. Some other well known fairies include the banshee, which foreshadows death, and the fairies of Avalon which are interwoven into Arthurian legend. Midsummer (the solstice) is when according to legend the fairies are most active.

 

Fairy in a jar

Glow sticks

Mason jar

Glitter

Scissors

 

Cut open a glow stick and empty the contents into the jar. Add glitter. Put a lid on it and watch it sparkle and glow.

Pearly Shells

I spent most of my life in New Jersey, which meant that I spent a lot of my summers at the shore. As the summer goes on, I long for the smell of ocean air and feeling the waves on me. I also loved collecting shells along the shoreline. Now I live 1300 miles away from there, and summer reminds me being landlocked. I have tried to bring the ocean to my home over the years, decorating in oceanic colors and added nautical knick-knacks.

 

One great way I have is with shell rattle windchimes. They are super easy to make and look beachy cool.

 

You need:

A stick or dowel (if you can find driftwood, even better)

12 Clam shells

Beans or stones (I used carnelian for protection)

Twine or cord

Hot glue

 

Take shells and place a stone in one .

Cut a length of twine. Hot glue to the inside of shell

Glue another shell on top, sealing in stone and twine.

Wrap twine around shells and reinforce twine hanger

Tie to driftwood.

Hang in the breeze

Towards the Sun

I love fresh beginnings. The start of a new year. Birthdays. Back to school. New seasons. I try to have some sort of ritual to mark the start of a new season. We are moving into my favorite season, summer. The days are warm, the pools are open, and the sun doesn’t set till late. My to do list seems to shrink. I can just be lazy, which is fine by me.

 

To mark the start of summer (officially, even though the season seems to start Memorial Day) I decided to make a sun wheel for us to write our summer plans on. I took a piece of yellow poster board and cut out a circle. I added ribbon and yarn to be the rays of the sun. In the middle, my boys and I wrote our wishes for the summer, like vacation, learning to swim, going to the moonlight movies, and more.

A Forest

Today is Arbor Day. It started 135 years ago, as a special day for tree planting. It has evolved into a chance to help balance our environment visually and more. It's the last Friday in April, and coming on the heels of earth day, it can be lost in the sauce. It's more than just planting trees, it's about a sense of community. The Arbor Day Foundation (www.aborday.org) has some great tips on promoting it in your community.

Right now, Arbor Day is a welcome holiday in Sioux Falls thanks to a freak, spring ice storm and subsequent blizzard (check out some great pictures here http://mommydomchronicles.blogspot.com/2013/04/ice-ice-baby.html). Many, many trees were damaged by inches of ice. Unfortunately, due to the fact that it snowed inches as recently as Monday, it's not a good time to plant since the ground still is partially frozen!

Since we can't plant, the boys and I will celebrate it other ways. The City parks department did cancel the official event at Great Bear due to weather, but that doesn't mean we can't hike! There are amazing trails at both Blood Run and the Outdoor Campus. We can also go to a local nursery and look at trees. Best bet for bedtime-read a book on trees.

You can even make a tree out of recycled materials. Using materials from Starbucks coffee sleeves, construction paper, glue and some pinking shears you can make your own (earth day approved) tree.

There are lots of ways to celebrate Arbor Day with your family.

Cloudbusting

Last week was VBS week in my world. This year's theme was Sky! Which was tons of fun. The kiddos learned the message that everything is possible with God.
Little Man got to star in the opening skits, which made my heart soar.
Instead of crafts, this year we did science experiments. One that was a huge hit was clouds in a cup.

To make, you need:
Shaving cream
White glue
White craft paint
Different colored craft paint or food coloring
Plastic cups
Water

Mix 2 parts shaving cream and 1 part each glue & paint. Stir well, let sit 5 minutes. Fill the cup 3/4 full with water. Scoop the cloud mixture onto the top of water. Drizzle paint or food coloring through the clouds to make colorful rain.

Baubles, Bangles and Beads

http://www.bead-co.com/fingerprints.htm






Mothers Day is May 13th this year, which means time is ticking away, but you still have time to find something super for that special mom or mom figure. My motto is hand made is the best, and if you are going to shop, keep it local. One of my passions is beading, and we are fortunate in Sioux Falls to have some great options.


Our downtown shopping district is on Phillips Avenue, which hosts a myriad of fun, funky and functional stores and restaurants. One of these gems (ha, ha get it?) is the Bead Co. They may look small from the outside, but inside they have one of the best selections I’ve seen pretty much anywhere outside of a trade show. In my Etsy shop, I feature several beaded necklaces for sale, with some of the beads coming from the Bead Company. I like that I can pop into a store, on my lunch hour, and get the supplies I need from a super helpful staff.

Several Mondays ago, I was looking for a particular charm for a gift for a friend. I had tried the local craft stores, and the other bead store in town, and was ready to give up hope. The cheerful gal who answered the phone told me that yes, they did have this particular charm in several different styles, sizes and options. After I stopped doing my happy dance, I went over the next day, Tuesday. To my extraordinarily pleasant surprise, on Tuesdays most of the store is 10% off. That sealed the deal for me!

The other great thing is the wide variety of classes that they offer. One, they are affordable. Many bead stores back in NJ offered free classes, but you had to buy all the materials there, and it wound up costing a lot more in the long run. However, their classes at the Bead Company are fairly priced, and include the materials (unless otherwise noted). I’ve taken a few classes there, and have never been disappointed by the skill of the instructor and the fun projects I have left with! I have a list of the classes I want to try too-including the mother’s bracelet and the chandelier earrings classes. Both sound like they put the fun into functional.

Another fun fact-they offer beading parties. Just because I am a grown up, it doesn’t mean that I can’t have a birthday party or celebrate something else exciting! The basic class at their store is $60 for 4 people, all supplies included and you leave with a bracelet and a charm. That’s cheaper than dinner out for 4 and you have a party favor! They also offer kids classes at their location, which is $40 for 4 kids, and additional kiddos are another $10 each for a maximum of 8. I actually think this may be a fun activity to do with my children’s church program next year, to make a Mothers Day or Valentine’s Day gift.

Telling a story to me is very important, as is preserving history. The Bead Company offers one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen-fingerprint charms. They are charms featuring the fingerprint of your beloved. Due to the nature of the charm, there is a lead time of several weeks (therefore if you are reading this today, they would not be done in time for Mother’s Day, but you can certainly give an IOU). There are also small art charms that can take a piece of artwork-like your child’s masterpiece-and turn it into jewelery. That is the most awesome, precious, personal gift. Love, love LOVE that idea-and the best part? They start at $25!

In addition, the fingerprint charms may serve as a way to memorialize a lost loved one. The Bead Company will work with hospitals and funeral homes to allow that memory to made. So many times I wished I had something personal like that from my dad or Grama-what a way to remember them! For more information, click the link: http://www.bead-co.com/fingerprints.htm

The down side to the store? Its location. Parking is very hard on Phillips Avenue, so you may have to circle like a vulture-or park elsewhere and walk. They have a limited on line store, but they do offer mail order if you know what you want. However, why would you pass up an opportunity to shop there?

Gone Daddy Gone

Supplies needed:

Coffee mug with paper insert

Photo

Crayons, markers, etc

Place photo on the paper and decorate

Who's Your Daddy?

T shirt



Tempura paint

Paper towels

Fabric markers

Wash t shirt

Have your little one make hand prints all over t shirt. let them autograph it with the fabric marker

Roses

I love having a cutting garden, and being able to go out and pick my own flowers.

If the garden is out of season, then I buy them from the supermarket. To me, its affordable luxury.

In order to build a beautiful arrangement,

You need to have a few things in place.

photo from google images

Flowers

Vase

photo from google images

Frog or oasis

from google images

from google images

floral tape

picks for more delicate stems

from google images

trimmers

from google images

Put frog or soaked oasis in vase.

from google images

Tape off sections of vase with floral tape to segment out your design.

from google images

Attach any delicate flowers to a pick with floral tape.

from google images

Trim stems at an angle. Even if you don't want to cut them shorter, you need to trim the ends in order for theme to feed.

from google images

Arrange flowers.

from google images

Add 2 tbsp sugar to water for flowers.

from google images