::right now::

I wanted to have a gnome tutorial posted tonight but alas, life happened. My husband works night shifts generally, he is a sommelier and maitre'd, but tonight he actually had the night off! That was until another employee called in sick so he had to work a double. 


Oh well. So instead of having a rare family dinner- in our house we have to do family lunches- the kids and I had a picnic dinner in the park (since that was the most bearable time to be outside). I think it was about 90 degrees here today and no breeze. 


So tonight I will steal another SouleMama tradition of doing a 'right now' blog with promises of crafty goodness to come tomorrow. 

All done! 

The sleeping gnomes and owl

The flower fairies- but I might call them sprites. 

The were so much fun

From Amanda Soule's Book: The Creative Family. An art display rack. We were in desperate need of one and the best part is I found it thrifted. Then I sanded it and repainted it. Nice for $1 right? 

The Tomten Sweater and felt fairies in progress. 

And new embroidery that I cannot wait to start!!! 

right now, I am...

:: feeling hopeful and excited about our futures here in the Kleemann family. This summer will be a fun transition for all of us to a new home with lots of changes in store. 

:: cooking up ideas for the aforementioned new home. Places for thought and retreat for the entire family await us.  

:: loving my baby boy's sweet spirit and budding personality. He loves life and I wish I could remember to love life like he does more often. 

:: making a mess with paints galore. The art display rack, gnomes, fairies, and owls are all done. 

:: remembering just how much I miss living right next to the ocean on blistering peninsula summer days. 

:: marveling at my daughter's imagination and curiosity. Neither of which I can take any credit for and I like it that way. 

:: smelling the wet smell of the earth mingled with my tomato plants. That smell reminds me of my Grandfather. 

:: hearing a drove of cardinal fledglings eat the suet that we set up for them yesterday near the playroom window and being able to share that moment with Deirdre. 

:: relishing every milestone and moment at home with my kids. Seeing the world through their eyes is such a wondrous gift and I thank the Lord for allowing Craig and I to be their guide. 

:: wishing you and yours a lovely day and a beautiful start to your weekend!

Fiddler on the Roof

Ah so tonight the husband and I went to see the play 'Fiddler on the Roof"at the Chrysler Hall. It was lovely and just the respite we needed. Kid-free bliss with time to share more hopes and dreams we have for the coming months and years. I so dearly treasure my rare one on one moments with Craig. That was the best part of the night. So while I had grand plans to write more tonight, I will leave it at this and pick back up the blogging tomorrow. I also had one glass of wine and well apparently I do not hold my wine well and now I am sleeeeeepy. 


:)


Goodnight my lovely friends! 

Gnome-ville!

Tonight is a short late night post. It has been a busy holiday weekend for us with a sad teething baby. But thankfully today was Craig;s day off and I got to get the house back in order. The best part- besides having him home- was getting some crafting time in. 


This weekend I have made six gnomes. Two felt peg and four wood burned ones. I am very pleased with them all and so will my gnome obsessed daughter! Tomorrow I will post more on them and a tutorial. Until enjoy the night and morning! 

Daily Verse: (A poem I read to Deirdre tonight at bed) 

The Second Hand Shop

By Rowena Bennett

Down in the grasses

Where the grasshoppers hop

And the katydids quarrel

And the flutter-moths flop --

Down in the grasses

Where the beetle goes "plop"

An old withered fairy

Keeps a second-hand shop.

She sells lost thimbles

For Fairy milk pails

And burnt-out matches

For fence posts and rails.

She sells stray marbles

To bowl on the green,

And bright scattered beads

For the crown of the queen.

Oh, Don't feel badly

Over things that you lose

Like spin tops or whistles

Or dolls buckled shoes;

They may be things that

Fairy folk can use:

For down in the grasses

Where the grasshoppers hop

A withered old fairy

Keeps a second-hand shop.

The Stash

The Stash!

I was recently given an enormous amount of fabric and patterns by a two very dear friends Linnea and her daughter Rachael. She actually is my mother-in-law's best friend, but I claim her and Rachael as my own and as another long distance mother and sister. One can never have too many adopted mothers and sisters.  

Needless to say I have great great plans for my 'stash'. More quilts, dresses, pillows, drapes, aprons, pajamas, table runners. I can barely contain myself I am just that excited about it. It also means that my sweet hard working husband does not need to worry about me buying for fabric for a long time! Double win. 

The cowboy quilt I just made used gorgeous cowboys prints from the 'stash'. I am very happy with it and I cannot wait to get it back from the quilting shop. Its Jonas' baby quilt. I know that it is sad that it is his 'baby' quilt and he is already 1 1/2 but I did not quilt when he was a baby. :) At least he is getting his sooner that his sister got hers. Deirdre did not get her baby quilt until she was three! 

Deirdre's Strawberry Flower Fairy 'Baby' Quilt

A simple outline quilt with a double front and back panel. The back is the Alphabet Fairies. 

At any rate I have narrowed my sewing to do list to three projects for the next two weeks. 

-Oliver and S Storytime Pajamas 

-Oliver and S Seashore Sun Dress

-Summer Table Runner 

On another very positive note, Craig and I did a walk-through today of the house we hope to rent staring in August for the next 3 years. The rent is higher than we pay now so we will have to cut back..a lot. But we both absolutely love the house, the yard (its huge!!!), the neighborhood, and the school (if we go the school route eventually- not at least until 1st grade). So here is hoping it all works out. Please pray for discernment for us in the meantime. We will keep you posted!!!

Where the crafting, scrapbooking, and sewing magic happens.

I love my cricut! 

My 3rd child, my brother sewing machine! 

Daily Verse:

We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. – Psalm 33:20-21 (NIV)

PS: Yes in the first photo above the stash, that is a dagger. Its a Berber's dagger from Morocco. I did not know where else to put it! I brought it back- in my backpack- for Craig. It is still sharp too. 

{this moment}

This week I was inspired to do this by Amanda Soule. She writes a daily blog and is an author of two of my favorite books. Visit her at soulemama.com .

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

A Homemade Easter!

Dressed Up!

Yes I know, its about a month and a half late! I have a good excuse though. We recently got a new computer (yay) but all my Easter photos we on the old one, thus the delay. It is not much fun to blog about homemade Easter baskets if -well- you have no pictures of them, right? 


OK so here are the finished results! 

Jonas' (Left) and Deirdre's (Right)

Deirdre's up close

Jonas' Up Close

So happy! 

Very Excited- He knew exactly what to do! 

Bunny

Sharing the wealth

Ah so yes. Many hours of love were put into making these baskets. They both were old and ugly thrifted wicker baskets that needed a lot of TLC. I sanded and painted them yellow with a shimmer finish. Then I made matching peach and green Peter Rabbit basket liners. I stole the idea from the new pottery barn liners, which were a ridiculous $25 each, and made my own version! All together the baskets and liner cost me $15. Yes thats right $15. For the paint, fabric, baskets, and all! 

As for the contents the only things that I bought outright new were the chocolates, modeling wax, and crayons. So they are not 100% homemade, but I am sorry, I can't do that just yet and nor do I want to. I love Lindt chocolates and I am not interested in making crayons or wax. So there ;)


The books are all used that I got in a thrift store for 50 cents each. They were in brand new condition. I think my best finds were all three of the "Pat the Bunny" series books as well as two vintage Beatrix Potter hardback books. I know right, perfect for Easter time?

Now for my pride and joy, the knitted animals! For Easter I knitted 2 bunnies, 1 lamb, a chicken & chick, a duck & duckling, and a goose. I also sewed 2 tomatoes and two strawberries   It took me a few days to a week per animal to finish. I used The "Knitted Animals" book by Anne-Dorthe Grigaff. She is an awesome writer. Her instructions were clear and easy. As a beginner I really appreciated that. I also learned the rest of my basics from her gradually by using all the different patterns. Truly a must-have for knitting play animals for kids. 

So at any rate I feel it was a huge success and personal victory for me. I set out to have a handmade Easter, and I did it. My children watched me knitting all those weeks before and were so intrigued and excited. It warmed my heart to hear my daughter asking to learn to knit and requesting em to make her more "babies". All the oohs and ahhhs from her as they came alive on my needles were very encouraging! 

After the easter basket opening was all done she remarked, "Mommy, I love it when you knit things for us. They're soo "pree-cious"! 

Ah so that my friends if why I felt/feel it is important to have homemade holiday and gifts- when one can do it. They come from the heart and instill a sense of appreciation of effort as well as dissuasion of consumerism. A win-win in my book! 

Daily Verse: (Today it is a favorite quote!)

“The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.”-Pablo Cascals

Going green is hard indeed!

Ah yes going green. The phrase that haunts me at night. Not really- but I have recently been devoting a lot more time than normal on what that means for our family. I am by no means an environmentalist (but that is not because I wouldn't want to be one) and due to studying history in college, I am not well versed on the whole going green movement. However our family feels called to be good stewards of our earth and so we have recently chosen to make some practical 'green' changes in our home and daily life. And let me tell you these were not easy changes for us. I did not cloth diaper my first child and just this March switched my second over (for eco and money reasons). But now we do recycle, compost, buy organic and local when we can, donate vs. landfill, freecycle, garden, keep chickens, and cloth diaper. All of the above things we enjoy doing.

But what is the difference between going green and just being safe? I hate to be an alarmist, but the more I read about the chemicals in our plastics, toys, clothes, on/in our food, and in our mattresses even- I can't help but feel overwhelmed. The research I have to do as a consumer sometimes due to compaines' deceptive labeling amazes me. There has to be a law against that right? And then on I go...!

At any rate, I really do not want to hear the whole "well you turned out fine" argument. Sure I am 'fine' minus chronic bronchitis and starting my period way too young. But I would rather be "safe than sorry" when it comes to what goes in or near my babies and myself. I believe it is important to be an empowered consumer to make smart choices for your family. Granted not everyone feels this way and thats cool. To each his own. Every little bit counts.

Some of our awesome cloth diapers. We love them- poop and all.  

And Jonas' bum is much happier.

When a baby sleeps this close to the mattress who can't help wondering, "Is it safe?"

But if I ever see you littering on MY beach in MY hometown- you'll get an earful from this Momma!

No Daily Verse Today- Why don't you share yours with me? Quotes count too. It does not need to be religious! 

Resources for mamas to check on Safety and Green issues:

http://safemama.com/about/
A great source for quick reputable references on safe products for our kids and ways to go green. Turns out Johnson and Johnson does NOT make the cut! 


http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/
I love this site. Its a working group so there is no bias. Just plug in your cosmetics' name and you can check what is in it and how safe it is. 


http://www.saferchemicals.org/safe-chemicals-act/index.html
In their words, "the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition is working with Congress to repair our broken chemical system so that chemicals are proven safe before being added to our homes, schools, and places of work." Check them out and sign on!