I love getting holiday cards and I am so disappointed that so many people have stopped doing them. I gather them in a basket each Christmas and enjoy looking through them and thinking about friends and family near and far. It offers a better opportunity for browsing than an e-mail.
Last year, I read SIMPLICITY PARENTING by Kim John Payne and Lisa M. Ross and it completely changed my mind about a lot of things. One of the best parenting books I ever read. Payne talks about keeping holiday cards out year round and I thought that was a great idea.
We keep our basket of holiday cards near the dining table and we call it the Blessing Basket. Each night, Noodlebug randomly picks a card out of the basket. We include the family represented by the card in our blessing that night over dinner. It gives us the opportunity to think about the people in our lives each day and to send out some special love for them through prayer.
It has been such a wonderful experience so far and I'm hoping we get even MORE holiday cards next year so we can continue the tradition.
Some friends have recently gotten me reevaluating my love of Goldfish crackers. Although they taste so good and they are so convenient, I don't like the extra stuff in them such as the high salt content and (in the case of the colored ones) artificial colors. So, I decided to make my own version using a Weelicious recipe. I used the one in the Weelicious Lunches cookbook but it is also available on the website. The Weelicious recipe uses whole wheat flour, butter, seasoning and cheddar cheese. That's it.
Here they are before baking. I used some miniature cookie cutters I found at the outlet mall last weekend for $4. I probably should have rolled my dough a little thinner but they worked. I baked them for the full fifteen minutes and I probably should have taken them out after 13 minutes. Also, I thought I had a disaster when the dough wouldn't hold together. I then realized that you need to pulse the dough for a good 3-4 minutes to get it to come together. Guess I was too impatient. Overall, I am really happy with the results. I thought they were really tasty and I can't wait to make more!
I am trying very hard to keep up with both Life Book 2014 and Brave Girls Club--THE WALK and I am falling behind in both. So I haven't had much to share lately.
I did manage to finish a wreath for the front door:
I already had everything I need for it except for the wreath form. I used this tutorial I found on Pinterest. I wrapped the wreath in burlap ribbon instead of yarn and used twine for the criss-cross part.
We had a Valentine's playdate yesterday with an old friend. I came up with a craft idea. I found these little mailboxes in the dollar bins at Target. I painted the ends with chalkboard paint and filled them with stickers for decorating.
My friend Susie is a master at making cookies and made a bunch of cookies for the kids to decorate:
It was a great rainy day activity.
Noodlebug and I finished all of his valentines and we are ready to go! We always do non-candy valentines and chose to do this one this year. I'm so excited that I have the day off next Friday so I get to volunteer in his classroom on Valentine's Day!
We have been fans of Kiwi Crate for years. So much so that I became an affiliate. I have really been enjoying the seasonal mini-crates they have been releasing. Noodlebug and I did a Halloween and a Holiday one. Now, Kiwi Crate is releasing a special crate for Valentine's Day!
The set contains everything you need to make 24 handmade pop-up cards. In my experience, Kiwi Crate is serious when they says EVERYTHING you need is included. That is one of the things I love about them! As a busy mom, I don't have time to run around and gather a bunch of supplies.
This limited edition crate is available now for $14.95. Go here and find it under "Shop" and "Mini-Crates."
Noodlebug and I sometimes like to go to our local coffee shop on the weekend for warm beverages. Since it is located downtown, we tend to go for a walk afterwards and look in the shop windows. In the window of our local independent bookstore was an original painting of Pete the Cat by James Dean. Noodlebug decided that he had a burning need to paint a picture of Pete the Cat.
We grabbed our Michael's coupon and headed to the store. I let Noodle pick out colors of cheap acrylic craft paint to use. He begged me for a real canvas. And only a LARGE real canvas would do. Luckily, Michael's had a five-pack of 16 x 20 canvases on sale for $9.99. I figured a $2 canvas would be perfect for this project.
I am the type of person who gets inspiration from looking at another picture. I think Noodle is the same type of person. We went onto my computer and I showed him lots of pictures of Pete the Cat. He chose this one to copy:
We recently took a class at the Schulz Museum that taught us how to draw using shapes. I tried to get Noodle to look at the picture in terms of shapes. I had him sketch a picture of Pete with a pencil first. It was hard for him to get the scale. There was a lot of canvas to fill! Next, I set him to work painting the background. To make the paint go further, I mixed it with some basic medium. Then, we started with Pete's head. I told him to think of Pete's head as a football. Then, he put the ears. The ears were a bit narrow at first so we looked at the original and talked about whether Pete had wide ears or narrow ears. At times, Noodle would get frustrated when his painting didn't look EXACTLY like the original. When he had trouble getting the shape right, I would help him flesh out the edges or I would make a mark for width so he would know how far to paint. Then, Noodle painted the body. I helped him with placement of the feet. His first attempt at Pete's tail really frustrated him. I painted over the part he didn't like and he tried again. Then, he did the arm. I suggested making a roundish circle on the end for Pete's paw. He asked me to do the handle of the mug so I did. He did the cup and the hot chocolate and the steam. I added a little white to the top of the mug since Noodle had the beverage going all the way to the top. Next, we did the eyes. I told him to use the football shape again. Start with a frown on top and then connect it with a smile on bottom. He did the iris and pupils. He had trouble with the nose so I added one edge to make it more triangular. He did the whiskers. His first attempt got him really frustrated. It kind of reminded me of Don Music on "Sesame Street."
After some major artistic tears and tantrums, I painted over the whiskers and we took a break. After lunch, we came back to the painting and he finished the whiskers and signed his work. I would say that 80% of this painting is his work:
We have four more canvases so I think he may be inspired to make more! It was fun and frustrating and a very good learning experience for both of us.
Happy New Year!
My Christmas break was difficult. I look forward to this time with my family every year and I had hoped Noodlebug and I could do all the fun things that we never get to do while I am at work. It was not to be.
Noodlebug's stomach flu appeared on the way home from Christmas Eve services. Instead of excitedly waiting for Santa's arrival, my poor guy spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day throwing up. As he slowly began to mend, my mother fell ill. I checked on her regularly as I juggled a sick child and out-of-town guests. On Saturday morning, she didn't answer the phone and I found her on the floor with a high fever. They admitted her with pneumonia, heart episodes and a fractured shoulder. While heading back and forth to the hospital, my husband and son BOTH fell ill again. I am trying desperately to hold down the fort. Thank goodness I am still well! I keep playing Elton John's "I'm Still Standing" for inspiration.
2013 was a hard year and it went out with the worst kind of bang. I am hopeful for 2014. There is a lot I would like to accomplish including taking Noodlebug to Disneyland for the first time for his birthday. We have saved half the money so far!
I signed up for Life Book again even though I didn't make it far last year. I still love it. I also signed up for the new Brave Girls Club course called THE WALK. I'm hoping these classes will focus me on making time to be creative.
My word for 2014 is "thrive." I am hoping to thrive in all areas of my life. Most importantly, in the areas of health and finance.
Wowza! I can't believe the wonderful workshops that will be at ART IS YOU Petaluma next year! The only downer is that I waited too long to take Tracy Verdugo's SACRED MARKS class and it isn't offered this time. Still, there will be plenty to choose from!
The ART IS YOU retreats offer such a great time! 2014 will be my fourth year.
Here I am back in September with the lovely ladies who make it all possible:
Of course, I would like you all to come and join me in Petaluma. But, there are ART IS YOU retreats in Mississippi and Connecticut and Australia as well! Lots to choose from!
I keep a playlist of songs in my phone that I reserve for those moments when I need a happiness boost. One of my "happy" songs is Pharrell Williams' HAPPY. I can't listen to it without having my spirits lifted. My friend Anna shared with me that Williams has the first 24 hour music video. Drop in any time you want and see a dancer dancing along the streets of L.A. to "Happy."
