Secrets From The Sweet Peas

Rosalina

2012-02-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

This is Rosalina. I made her based on the tutorial for Black Apple Dolls on Martha Stewart.com. They are just the cutest dolls, made by crafter Emily Martin. I used the patterns on the site for the body, but added my own version of hair and braids. Rosalina is already very loved by a certain kindergartener! I think Rosalina needs a friend though....guess that will be my weekend project! Happy crafting!

Happy 2012!!

2011-12-31T19:31:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Wishing 2012 is fabulous for everyone!!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Tomorrow is the BIG day. My sweetie and I took the kidos to the park and tried to get them extra tired for tonight. Santa does NOT want anyone to wake up and catch him, that is for sure. And as an extra stroke of luck, my 7 year old just looked out the window and managed to convince himself and his 5 year old sister that the light they were seeing in the sky was Santa and his sleigh. So, they think he is close, and who am I to argue that? They are actually asking to brush their teeth and go to bed. One more hour and they should have sugar plums dancing in their heads. Happy Holidays to you all!

2011-11-27T16:12:00.001-08:00

Wow, November has been busy! I had a birthday, there were lots of leave to clean up, we made some fudge, and now we are just about ready to count down to Christmas! Now, just take a deep breath, and enjoy the season. It will all get done....it will all get done...it will all get done in time.

2011-11-23T16:10:00.001-08:00

Thankful for so so so many things! Happy Thanksgiving!

Rubber Stamps for Sale

2011-09-26T11:18:00.000-07:00

So, with one week of real vacation left, I've been cleaning out my closets! And I found a lot of rubber stamp sets just ready and waiting for a new home. These sets are all new and unmounted. That means that they require a little work on the buyer's behalf to get them ready to stamp stamp stamp away. I'm really hoping they find new homes. My closets hope so too. ;) Check them out in my ETSY shop. Happy shopping!

On my work bench

2011-09-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hi, with school in full swing, and 5 whole weeks of vacation, I've been a little busy while the kids have been learning.

Have I got a busy work bench to show you! Ok, so let's break it down.

I am working on some zipper purses! I made a bunch for my kido's teachers and wanted to keep the fun alive, so more are on the way. What I will do with them, I do not know....

Next, remember these? These are the cinnamon ornaments I made last summer! Yes, last summer! They have been sitting on a shelf in my office ever since then. And finally, finally, yesterday I had an inspiration to add some strings to them so they could be put on the tree this year. Genius, I know. Really though, I don't know why I let them sit for so long because they really do smell so yummy! Just like a cinnamon roll. Maybe it was a brief bit of gloomy weather that made me think of the holidays that got me going on these again. Don't know, but now I can put them in the ornaments box. How's that for progress?

OK, so this one was looks small, but was a medium size project that I had brewing for awhile. My sweet little miss loves to tape things to the walls. I do not love tape on the walls because when it comes down, it leaves sticky bits which get dusty then just plain dirty looking. Then I feel like I have to paint the walls, then I need new furniture to go with the new walls, and of course the carpet has to be new too. So you can see how my mind quickly snow balls just form some tape on the wall. So what is the solution you ask? A magnet strip or 2 on the wall, and of course you need some cute magnets to go with that magnet strip. Which these are.

And here are the magnet strips with cute magnets already holding up cute pictures. And no tape on the walls! These magnet strips were made using metal straps from a hardware store. I think their intended purpose is to strap wood planks together, but lucky for me, they are cheap and magnetic. I bought a few for under $10, taped them together, then covered them with fabric using my glue gun. Then I mounted them on the wall. Presto. Problem solved. Now we can keep our old furniture and old carpet, and I don't have to paint....yet.

Next up: home made rubber stamps. I made these using sheets of foam and linoleum blocks, oh and of course some glue. I hope they stamp nicely. That is a project for another day.

Also been doing a little screen printing.....don't know what to make with these yet.

And of course my little chef needed a chef hat, and it HAD to be pink.

And then, to celebrate little Miss's first full day of kindergarten, I made cake pops! Don't know if I will make them again because they were really labor intensive. But they were well received and gone in the blink of an eye. Glad I took so many pictures of them before they were gone.

And now, I have 2.5 weeks of vacation left (out of the 5) and a whole shelf or 2 full of fabric....What to do? Stay tuned!

Shrinky Dinks

2011-09-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

So, this is what my dining table looked like recently. You can tell, there was a lot of creativity going on here! We were working on Shrinky Dinks! This cute pack came with lots of jewelry findings, beads, gift tags. It was way fun. Then of course, we got to color the plastic pieces and then shrink them in the oven. So fun! I had a moment of panic just after they went into the oven, three of us staring into the hot oven....and those labored over pieces of plastic began to curl up! Oh no, will they flatten out? Was this project just a total bust? Would we be left with warped plastic pieces that no one wanted. Luckily, I held on tight, and we waited it out. I ignored the urge to pull out the cookie sheet of plastic, and let them continue to curl.....and then flatten out. Whew! That was a close one. The sound of amazement from the little ones was worth the angst I had over a possible flopped project. I am happy to say fun was had by all.

And here they are, all shrunk and happy.

Blooming Sunflowers!

2011-07-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

They are blooming! Well, two are blooming! And although short, they are wonderful!

And one may still be reaching for the sky. This one is taller than my cute husband who is 6'1" ish.

So pretty, I had to show you this amazing sunflower bloom from another angle.

Here are some more amazing garden pics. Blueberries, not quite ripe.

Raspberry flowers, don't they look so so delicate?

All these summer blooms in the garden lead to lots and lots of these little vases filled with blooms and scattered through out our house. Got to love summer.

Sunflowers of 2008....

2011-07-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

So I did some digging in the picture files. This one is from 2008. My little guy was 5 in this picture and probably just under 4 feet tall. Just look at the size of those sun flowers!! Reaching for the sky they were. This is why I was slightly disappointed by this years crop of 5 footers. They better make up for their stature with some amazing blooms!

Star Gazer Lillies

2011-07-18T19:11:00.001-07:00

So, THIS is what that big bud turned out to be. A Star Gazer Lilly. So pretty, so fragrant. It always amazes me how you put bulbs and seeds in the ground, and the most amazing things grow!

And here are the 2011 sun flowers! Not much to speak of right now, but just you wait. I have to admit, I am already a bit disappointed by them. I was hoping they would get much much taller before they started to form blooms. The tallest one is just a smidge taller than me, and at 5'2.5, that isn't near as tall as a few years ago. I'm sure these will be beautiful though! Can't wait!!

The Garden!

2011-06-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Such beautiful flowers in the garden right now!!! I just had to snap some pics of it all, right this second. Can you stand these hydrangea? Some even have some blue along with the pink.

Shasta Daisy I think.... The bloom is about 4 inches across.

Onion flowers!

And the strawberries and raspberries!!! Yum.

These will be blackberries soon!

Can't wait for this one to open!

And finally, I grew a lupin!!! I've been trying to grow these for a few years now. So happy it decided to bloom now!

Lego Land Trip

2011-05-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Lego Land for someone's 7th birthday!!!
We saw lots of legos, and were very impressed with the Star Wars creations.

And this is where the bad kids go.

But of course they weren't bad, they were excellent. And we all had a blast! After some more rides, some lego buying, some eating, and some sitting while the kids played, we were exhausted.
But we can't wait to go back again. That is the true test of a good time. When you plan the next time while you are on your way home, you know fun was had by all.

For Sure, an Artist!

2011-04-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

"This is NOT a princess, it is a FAIRY!" she said with a touch of anger in her voice. "Oh, I LOVE her!" I said, full of enthusiasm. "Don't you see the fairy dust coming from her wand?" she said, totally exasperated. "She is beautiful!" I said, trying to appease the artist. "Do you want me to show you how to draw a fairy or not?" she said, trying to make amends for her attitude. "Please yes." I said, and smiled sweetly. I do believe she is a true artist. She wears out her markers, goes through coloring books like they are a daily newspaper, and requests reams of paper every week or so. And I love it. I love all of her mess ups, all of her successes. LOVE it. So, besides appeasing the artist in the house, I have been making bread. Trying to eat less processed foods etc, so making our own bread sounds like a good idea, except we now eat a lot of bread. Maybe too much, so we will have to scale back on the bread a bit. It sure is yummy though. I use our bread machine to do all the kneading and first rise, then I either split it in to two for two loafs, or into 16 for rolls. Can't you just smell them in the last picture? Trust me, they are addictive!!

Blob of wheat dough, just out of the bread machine (dough mode).

Rising under a clean kitchen towel....almost ready....

Baked up golden and lovely. Mmmmmm, smell that???

Farm Field Trip

2011-04-06T15:31:00.001-07:00

We went to the farm on a field trip today!!! We had so much fun!! The weather could not have been better. Slightly overcast with sun after lunch. After a fun tractor wagon ride, the kids all got to pick some veggies, and let me tell you, they sure had fun doing it! We also got to see an animal demonstration which was very educational. The kids were able to pet a pig named Lucy.

Here we are, me and my fabulous 1st grader. Got to love first grade. He is very excited about learning, loves homework, even likes to work on his spelling words. I hope this enthusiasm about learning is a life long thing.

What a yummy (and colorful) bounty of fruits and veggies we have form our farm trip!

Must Find Bigger Hill!

2011-03-20T12:24:00.000-07:00

I drew this graphic for a friend recently. She knows somone who got a jeep all ready to go 4x4ing and wanted to wish them happy trails. It was fun to draw and I especially like the flames coming out of the tail pipe!

So Cal is sure wet and rainy these days. I'm sure hoping for a pretty spring!

Lovely Little Bears

2011-03-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Isn't this the cutest bear you have ever seen!!! Click on the picture and you will go to the cute shop that belongs to my creative, talented, lovely, and sweet sister. She just opened her ETSY shop and I am wishing her all the best! She is one of the most creative people I know and definitely has a talent for all things cute! Good luck Julie!!!

Welsh Cakes

2011-01-16T18:53:00.001-08:00

Made some welsh cakes recently. They were so yum. They were also so cute, that I had to photograph them. Welsh cakes are kind of like scones, but you cook them like pancakes on a skillet. The recipe I used here belonged to my Grandpa, and yes, he was Welsh. I think the recipe is actually called Welsh Currant Cakes, but we sometimes make them plain (no currants), and sometimes we make them with dried cranberries. Super yum!

There they are getting nice and toasty good.

And there they all are, cooling off after getting toasty on the stove. Too bad they are all gone now. They tend to not stick around long. I guess I will just have to make some more.

One more day!

2010-12-24T10:27:00.001-08:00

Just one day left until the BIG DAY! Lots to do around here!

Make some cookies for Santa for 1 thing.

Then when everyone is tucked nice in their bed, someone has a job to do. Hope you have a Happy Christmas!

We Made Fudge!

2010-12-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's a tradition. We make it every year. You just have to in order to feel all Christmasy don't you know. So first, you must must prep your work station. Fudge moves fast at the end, and you have to have it all there or else. Or else!

This part takes awhile. You have to stir constantly. This is a job for an adult only.

My little helper really liked to taste the ingredients. She never really knew marshmellow cream existed before this year. Opened a whole new world for her.

Stir stir stir.

Like I said, she really liked the marshmellow cream. You can just see the sugar rush starting to take effect.

It was very yum. We all thought so. Now, I have to forget all about it so my jeans will still fit.

Ceramics Time

2010-12-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

There has been a new addition to the office, yes a pottery wheel. It is a portable wheel, so it is perfect to stash in a hidy hole and then set up again when the fancy strikes. The first picture is of the wares I made while taking a ceramics class a few months ago. Boy it was fun. Love getting all messy, and actually producing something out of it! Now, if only I had a kiln.....

Apple Pie!

2010-11-07T14:32:00.001-08:00

I made and apple pie! Check out how yummy. Can you just smell how yummy?

And the crumb topping. It was very much like a cookie dough kind of crumb...

Oh yeah, we did some homework while were were apple pieing. Some lucky person even got a bowl full of sugary cinamony apples to munch on while helping with pie/doing his homework.

And it was, so so so yummy. Mmmmmmm.

Exploding Cosmos!

2010-11-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

Well, they aren't exploding, I guess I should say that the cosmos are exploding all around us in beauty. But I do like to be dramatic. A few months ago, I let the kidos throw some seeds around the garden. And oh how they love to throw seeds. One of their most favorite things really. So finally, finally, they (the cosmos) decided they were tall enough and exploded in their purple boominess. Some of them were at least 6 feet tall! And oh how lovely they all were. But saddly, the black clouds you see brewing in some of the photos, joined forces and let loose in all cats and dogginess. After the storming, we saw our poor cosmos, blown over, broken, fallen to the ground. I was so glad that I had taken their lovely pictures before the storm. Years from now we will still be talking about the cosmos of 2010. Seriously, we will.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T09:41:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to the farm.

We saw some animals.

Even rode on a horse named Marshmellow.

Posed for funny pictures.

Saw a crazy chicken show, more than a few times. Loved that chicken show.

Climbed a hay stack or two.

Braved the sea of pumpkins to find the best one.

Mom took sun flower pictures.

Posed for more silly pictures.

Chose the heaviest one we could carry.

Got to carve them last night. They didn't like the smell and wanted to be sure that Mommy and Daddy would wash their yucky hands.

Toasted some seeds. Whew. And tonight is the BIG night.

Happy Halloween!!

Thank You Notes

2010-10-27T11:06:00.001-07:00

Been working on some Thank You notes for the little one who just turned 4! I think I will use this graphic on the front, and maybe add a cute photo of her to the inside. The graphic really looks like her! I tried to make it pink (her favorite color), cute because I'm all about all things cute, and sweet because she just is so so so sweet. We have lots of people to thank for all her fabulous birthday gifts, so check your mail boxes in a week or so!

Meet Dr. Laboratory

2010-10-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

Meet Dr. Laboratory. In this photo, Dr. Laboratory has a ray gun, and some scary vampire teeth. You don't want to meet Dr. Laboratory in a dark alley. Dr. Laboratory is one of the many joys of having a six year old boy in your house. Some other benefits of six year old boys include:

Unlimited fart sounds from his arm pit, you know that thing boys do, then fall down laughing hysterically??
Hearing Day-O sung extremely loudly when ever you want.
Sounding out and spelling words can be extremely funny, for example "gerink" yeah, that is how a six year old spells drink.
And then there are the almost unlimited hug and kisses, six year olds still love their Mommy.

I am extremely lucky to have this amazing six year old around to keep me on my toes!

2010-10-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

Been messing around with some shapes and colors on the old computer lately. Just loving the idea of whimsical row houses. I think I want to live in the magenta one.
Whew, life has been busy. I guess that is just how the first month of back to school is. I think my son brings home just as much homework for me as he does for him! Emergency cards to fill out, book orders, reading logs, permission slips, volunteer forms, this release, that release. Yikes, my hand hurts already! Not to mention the magazine sale, the cookie sale, the weekly turn in dates, the PTA meetings, and back to school night. Flury of activity here! So a nice little respite in a magenta row house sounds mighty inviting. Maybe I should draw it on the beach, with a nice grassy hill or two so the kidos can run run run. And of course it needs lots of flowers on the hill so our flower child can gather to her hearts content. Can't wait to go there.

To do list...

2010-09-10T18:24:00.000-07:00

Things I so so so want to work on when I get some free time:

idye some tote bags. (Have you heard of this dye? It sounds too easy to be true!)
Sreen print dyed tote bags.
Make some adorable aprons for the ETSY shop - this one is a bit involved, not only will I make said adorable aprons, I will also photograph them, and write a cute blurb about them, then post them in the shop.
Print up some cute iron-on graphics and use that new heat press I just ordered to make some super cute Halloween t-shirts.

Well, that is all for now. That list should keep me busy for awhile!

BFF's?

2010-09-06T09:08:00.001-07:00

Best friends forever? I sure hope so! Happy last days of summer.

Christmas Already...Really???

2010-08-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

I know I know, I can't even wrap my head around the idea of Christmas yet. The summer heat finally arrived, our bathrooms are full of drying beach towels, and dripping swim suits, and yet....The smell of cinnamon is in the air here! It was me, I did it. I was looking for fun things to do to keep the kidos artsy and busy and remembered that yummy cinnamon dough that you can use to make cinnamon-y Christmas ornaments out of. We made the dough, and the smell just permeated the whole house. So of course I had to get out the Christmas cookie cutters, because it just seemed wrong to make flowers and summer items out of this cinnamon explosion. So here we are, in a heat wave with Christmas tree ornaments and the lovely smell of Christmas in the air. Now, if I could just find that rewind button so that we don't miss out on Halloween and Thanksgiving this year!

If you are brave enough to risk bringing Christmas smells to your house, here is the recipe. Consider yourself warned!

Mix together:

1 1/2 cups ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup white school glue

Kneed dough together and then wrap in plastic and let it rest for half an hour. After the dough has rested, kneed it again to make a uniform consistency. Add water if the dough is too stiff. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick between wax paper sheets, and cut into shapes. Poke holes in the shapes if you want to later hang them up with string or ribbon. Let them dry on a cookie sheet or something else that is flat. Flip the cut outs once per day for a week or so, so that they dry flat and even.

New Etsy Banner

2010-08-11T10:17:00.001-07:00

What do you think? Could I be a professional graphic designer or what??? To check out the new shop, just click on the blue flowers icon to the left and down a bit. Now, got to find some time to list some new items!!! There is lots cooking in this brain of mine!!

Hi Mom!

2010-08-09T11:20:00.001-07:00

To my most loyal and faithful follower, just wanted to say an extra special "Hi Mom!" Thanks for checking in! I will be sure to add cute new pictures, funny stories, and new creative ideas soon! Love you Mom!!

New Hair!

2009-11-05T15:35:00.000-08:00

Finally took a few hours off this morning for some me time! Had my hair brightened up, read some magazines, caught up on Top Chef, it was all wonderful.

Been super busy with all of the worries of life lately. Sweet little one turned 3! Halloween was LOTS of fun! Christmas shopping has begun! I know, it is a bit early, but for some reason, I just started early. Maybe it is the stores, which are all very well stocked right now! Maybe I just want the shopping over and done so I can bake, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy the season. Anyway, happy fall everyone!

Break Time...

2009-10-08T11:15:00.000-07:00

Been thinking for a while that I should write a formal announcement, that it is time for me to take a little blog break. It's been brewing for awhile, I think my need to take a little creative break started when I got turned down to work part time. For a couple of years I had been planning and building, just getting the creative juices flowing with the goal of turning all my creative energy into a great little home based biz. My goals were to create cute things that people would enjoy and share. The blog goal was to inform and even perhaps teach a few crafts so that others could tap into their creative energy and find that wonderful place where all time stops (or rather flies by) while you get into the creative zone, thinking and doing while feeling pleased at what you have made. My goals are the same, but I am finding that my time is not unlimited. With 2 busy little ones who have actual homework and classroom activities that keep me jumping, a full time job which I am grateful to have, and a wonderful husband who I want to stop and smell the roses with before this all whizzes by...it is just time to take a creative break. I will still be hard at work and continually daydreaming up new ideas, I mean really, a true artist never rests, do they? I do plan to post from time to time, just not on any regular basis. My plan is quality, not quantity. In the mean time, there will still be tub dyeing happening, block prints being made, cards and invitations will be lovingly created...and I hope to tell you all about it! Have a fun Halloween!!

Halloween is coming!

2009-09-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

Halloween is coming! I made this cute drawing and think I will post it in my ETSY shop as a halloween card... But of course, things always take me twice as long to accomplish as I think they will. This was never the case prior to having kids. Now, I have learned to do many of my creative things in a stepwise fashion. I think this is because my time alone, to create, is always in bits and pieces, and always somehow interrupted. So, I have learned to adjust, so that I can be interrupted by cute faces who decide right then and there that they want to paint. I am always willing to oblige, unless it is at 8pm, 10 minutes before bedtime, or right after a bath. Then...I will use my persuasive powers to redirect. I guess that is what life is like right now for me, redirecting, persuading, accomodating. I know it won't always be this way, and so for right now, it works for us.

Adventures in Block Printing!

2009-09-06T12:40:00.001-07:00

I have been discovering another fun art form, block printing! I started with a photo of some leaves that I thought were pretty. I then traced the leaves using a computer drawing tool and came up with a final image that I thought would transfer well. I sized and printed my image. I was going to transfer the image to the block using good old fashioned pencil outline, flip it over, scribble over your outline (on the wrong side of the paper) and then trace the original outline onto the block. You know, like making your own carbon paper. But that just seemed too tedious, and since I only get small blocks of time to myself without curious hands around and endless questions, I was working as efficiently as possible while sweet hubby held down the fort. So, instead of the tedious process, I just used a pin to poke holes in the block, the result was a connect the dots effect once I moved the paper. I then carved, using the dots as my guide. And carved, and carved, and carved some more. I then cleaned up and put the block away for later. My time alone was up. Then today, with one set of curious eyes watching, and only a few questions, we printed with the new block. The little one made some prints too, but mostly, she just liked using the brayer with the paint. Anything that rolls is always fun, add paint, and you have a winner on your hands! I am actually pretty pleased with the end result. The prints look very weathered and organic. Not my usual style, I am quite the perfectionist, so a distressed art work is quite new to me! I think I may be addicted! Good thing that blocks are somewhat inexpensive. Approx $2.00 to $3.00 at any craft store for 4x6 ish size. I used some acrylic paint that I had lying around. The brayer was from a previous project too. The carving tools were somewhat expensive $17, but I used my 40% off coupon to make it better. I think I need to buy some more blocks now!

Whew!

2009-09-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Where do I even begin? It has been quite a busy few weeks in our house! Hence the absence of blog entries! But here we are, a week and a half into it, and I am happy to report that KINDERGARTEN is going just fine! Whew! I am starting to finally feel better about it all, not so nervous, not so on edge. I know that sounds a bit dramatic, but really, I think I have been the most apprehensive about going to kindergarten and entering the public school system, than anyone else in our house. Of course, my outside demeanor was “kindergarten is fun” with a bit of “new places can be scary AND exciting, but I have a feeling you are going to like it”. On the inside, my stomach has been in knots! This is really a big step in life! My little boy is now mixing in with K-8th graders, and I’m not always there to protect him! And I don’t quite know if I fully trust the people who are paid to watch him yet. Trust has to be earned in my world! But, ultimately, the sane voice in my head says that this is all normal, that we are all ready for this new phase of life, and that the school that we were lucky to have chosen, IS worthy of our trust. Sigh.
All of these big life changes have also lead to a bit of creative artist block. I have been looking in my office daily, but not stepping foot inside. I’m just not in that carefree, creative, get lost in what you are doing place right now. I think this state of mind may also be due to my getting turned down for working part time at my day job. Sadly, the powers that be let me know that since our department has lost a few people, and we are on a hiring freeze right now, they just can not justify voluntarily letting someone cut their hours. So, instead, they are letting me work from home for a few hours each afternoon. Which means that I DO get to pick up my sweet boy after school, and we DO get to spend more time together, but I still have to put in my time with my work lap top. So, not an ideal situation, but for now, it is one that is workable. I have run through the list of emotions from being sad to mad, to grateful. Grateful that I still have a wonderful job, that they are so flexible, that I can work form home AND pick up my sweet boy after school. Especially with these challenging economic times, the emotion that seems to win out over all is grateful. I’m not sure what lies ahead with getting this home based biz off the ground, or if it will even get of the ground for that matter. I think right now, I am just going to take some time to settle into our new routine, and evaluate where I see us headed next. I will for sure keep you all updated!

T-shirt experiments, part 2

2009-08-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

With T-shirts becoming my new obsession....I did some shopping and bought a few t-shirts and dye-able dresses (isn't it so cute!). I also desperately want to try my silk screening experiments! But with this coming week being the first week of KINDERGARDEN, I don't think I will have much time to experiment. We are very excited about KINDERGARDEN, although, not so excited about how early we will need to leave the house to get there on time. Oh well, if I have to leave the house in slippers, I will. Really, I can't wait to have our first day behind us. I am just so on edge about how it will all go. Will we wake up in time? Will everyone have breakfast? Will everyone be okay with the new schedule? Will it all be alright? I hope my next update is a glowing report on the wonderful first day we had. Cross your fingers for us!

T-shirt experiments

2009-08-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

So I made the tub dyed t-shirts into cute shirts using some iron on transfer paper. They sure looked cute, but as a perfectionist, I already knew I wasn't entirely pleased with them. And then I washed them, and they got all crinckled and cracked looking. Now I am really not pleased. And yes, I know the word 'spiders' is upside down. That was the result of a little helper, checking out all the cut out transfers. She, who will remain nameless, was looking at all of the cut outs, and must have moved them around while I was not looking. Oh well, I figured that my 5 year old could see the word better himself as he looked down at the shirt on his bod, and since he is becoming quite the speller, I thought there was no harm.

My next experiment will definitely involve a silk screen!! I can't wait to try it, but must admit, am a little scared! One half of me envisions cute T's for every one. The other half of me envisions a pile of T's with strange images, and mess ups! Ahhh, I guess I won't know for sure until I try!! Wish me luck!

Sun Flowers!

2009-08-14T11:03:00.001-07:00

There is something about sun flowers, that is just so....other worldly. They grow so so so tall, and don't require much more than water and sun light. It is almost as though they are magical. I wasn't even going to plant them this year, but ended up putting in just a few seeds at the insistance of my son. I think he sees the magic in them too. You can almost see them growing. My son and I would measure them, and see if they were as tall as him yet. They bypassed his height in only a months time. Once they reach their full potential, and the blooms open, the seeds begin to grow. This often seems to make their pretty flower heads too heavy for them to keep up. They start to fall over, almost as if they are bowing to the ground that gave them life. Really a beautiful and magnificent flower!

Besides these beautiful flowers, we have no new garden updates. The water shortage that is affecting So Cal has prompted us to harvest what we could, and then restrict our water usage. Our garden is looking very sad at this point! But the plans for next year's garden adventures are already swimming around my head. Next year, I also hope to have some sort of grey water recycling option, so we can keep our garden growing through the summer. This year's compost experiment is going nicely. My trashcan with holes drilled in the bottom seems to be doing it's trick! Next year we will have some great nutrients from this experiment to add to the garden!

Experiments in Tub Dyeing

2009-08-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

So, I posted last week about dyeing some T-shirts and what fun that was. And it was fun...but the end results left me a little frustrated. The T's came out kind of swirly looking, some had "freckles" from undisolved dye. Sigh.... But I do still intend to make them into something cute for the kids. Gonna try and make them look home made but cute. So with that experience behind me, my analytical brain just had to do some research on tub dyeing. Turns out that there is a very cool site that sells blanks to dye, and all kinds of dye and paints for shirts etc. Dharma Trading Company sells and gives advise on all you need to know. I placed my order for some dye, some blanks, some fabric paint, and a silk screen! I am so excited and looking forward to my purchase arriving! I even emailed them some questions on how exactly to dye, even though their directions are quite clear. They were quick to respond and oh so nice. So the silk screen! I've been interested in learning how to silk screen for some time. One day, I want to learn how to do the traditional process of light reaction and emulsion etc, but for now, I am going to use the method I saw a while back using contact paper. The light reaction etc process just seems like you need a real studio with a floor you don't care about and space for a dark room. So the contact paper method is just that, you carefully cut out a design on contact paper, and you stick that to the screen. Then you tape around the edges and start inking your screen. I talk about this as if I've done it before don't I? I haven't. But what a fun experiment it will be! After researching the tub dyeing, I then found a site that sells T's at very economical prices. JiffyShirts.com is where I placed another order! They sell colored T's, goodness, you name it, they seem to have it. And their package showed up the next day! So you can see, the T-shirt madness had begun! And there is my little iron, all ready to iron on some of my original designs! Can't wait to show you the after pics!

Working Hard!

2009-08-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

Where do I start? It's been a LONG week. We started off Monday with a croupy cough. My son is now 5, but every sniffle still seems to result in a croupy cough. The kind of cough that hurts you just to listen to, not to mention the toll it takes on the cougher. A day home with Daddy, filled with super hero cartoons, video games, board games, and card games, and he was a new boy. Whew!

My day job has been taking all of my brain power lately and my boss has been very high maintenance! Turns out that submitting documentation to the FDA in hopes that your drug gets approved takes tons of time and brain power. Who knew? And after submitting the paperwork, then you are available for questions, and they do ask questions. And rightly so really, I mean, they wouldn't be doing their job of protecting us if they didn't ask.

On the creative side, I have managed to squeeze in a few projects last weekend. I can't stop making tags. The pic above is just the tip of the iceberg really. I also took a go at dyeing some T-shirts! Oh how that is addictive! I mixed up my batch of dye, and had 4 small T's to put in. Then I ran around the house to try to find more things to dye! It is just so amazing to see your white thing turned colorfull, well, teal in this case. When clean up was all done, I wanted to go online to buy tons of T's in bulk! Let's just start a T-shirt workshop! Well, let's just wait a minute here and think this through, my active, non-obsessed brain said. Ok, I agreed. Let's just see how these go first. So now that I have some dyed T's I plan to put my spin on them somehow. I have a plan, but of course, you are going to have to wait and see.

Mmmmm Banana Bread

2009-07-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

Made the best banana bread last Sunday. We just happened to have 2 brown bananas, so what better to do with them! I think this recipe was from Cooking Light magazine, many years ago. I first started using this recipe when I was on a hypoallergenic diet when my daughter was born. The hypoallergenic diet is for nursing mothers who's little one may be allergic to some of the foods Mom is eating. It is basically dairy, soy, nut, egg, berry, shellfish free. It may sound drastic, but the alternative is most cases is for the baby to be put on a very expensive amino acid based formula. My son ended up on this formula, called Neocate. And when I say expensive, I mean approximately $500 per month, depending on how much the baby loves their bottles. I know! $500 per month! But we had a drastic situation, and this was the cure. I would have paid any price really. So when I was pregnant with my daughter, I went straight to the hypoallergenic diet and cut most allergens from my menu. For this banana bread, I was able to substitue the eggs with the egg replace from EnerG foods. And might I just say that EnerG foods is a fabulous site for many allergy sufferers. Their egg substitute really helped me keep a somewhat normal diet because I love to bake. I have also used this product in my cookie dough, which allows us all to sample the dough without fear of salmonella poisioning. I haven't tried using whole wheat flour for this recipe, but I'm sure it would turn out quite well, maybe use half wheat and half white four to test it first. Wheat flour can make some baked goods quite dense, which is okay if you like dense food I guess. I've heard that whole wheat pastry flour is nice to use, but I have not purchased any yet. Got to get to Whole Foods sometime soon. Hope you like the bread! And could my little helper be any cuter!

Here is the recipe:

Easy Banana Bread
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium)
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs (or 2 equivalent portions of enerG egg replacer
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons cream of tartar
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl, beat until smooth.
Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour moisture to banana mixture, stirring until just moist. Spoon batter into an 8x4 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack, remove the pan and cool completely on rack.

This bread also freezes quite nicely if you wrap it up in freezer bag. Happy baking!

Summer Blosssoms

2009-07-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

Just loving the summer time blossoms around here! And would you just look at those hydreangea???

My rapidly growing ETSY shop!

2009-07-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

Oh Wednesday! Been adding lots of stuff to my ETSY shop! Uploading to ETSY is oh so easy! You first have to create an account which is also very easy. But be warned, the name you choose as your user ID can never change. So, be creative yet thoughtful about this unchangable piece of info. Next, you need to simply describe your item for purchase, using all of the convenient text boxes and drop down menus. Decide how to price your item, and the cost for shipping. Each item costs $0.20 cents to list, and then when and if your item sells, ETSY gets 3.5% of the sale price, so set your prices with this in mind. Next, upload some pictures, maximum of 5 pictures, and viola, you have an ETSY shop! Click HERE for the official ETSY guidelines. One last item to consider, you need to think of how you will recieve and send payments through ETSY, this may entail setting up a paypal account as well. Paypal accounts are also very easy to create, and if you have ever bought or sold using Ebay, then you probably already have one.

Happy sales, and good luck to you! I will be adding more and more to my own Sweet Pea Secrets ETSY shop in the coming weeks, it can be quite addictive!

Back to the working world.

2009-07-06T12:59:00.001-07:00

Sigh. We had a lovely week off. And as promised, here are pictures of cute kids smiling and running about happy. We visited with family, we visited an aquarium, we painted pictures, went bowling, and took naps. It was devine! Perhaps next year we will actually plan a vacation in an exotic place! Spend a whole week someplace else. I think I will start my planning now, so I have something fun to dream about.

Best of...Ventura County....

2009-06-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous time at Grandma's house! I was going to show pictures of happy grandchildren, running about smiling, but I haven't had a minute to download pictures yet. It is on my to-do list for this week of staycation though! We went to swim class today, and again, the instructor, Marjean, was using my kids as example swimmers to the new students. Sigh...they are so GOOD! Then I realized that in my previous post, I neglected to attach her website. So, if you are looking for swim lessons for your little one (or even yourself) I highly recomend Marjean's Swimland in Agoura. But be warned, she is also known as Mean Marjean. But in reality, she is only mean up to the point where non-swimmers, who are pleased as punch to stay that way, get swimming. She has a firm but loving method of getting your little one in the water and swimming before they can even say NO! I had the opportunity of watching her in action today with a new student. Her new swimmer had a previous bad experience in the water, and within 15 minutes (I'm not kidding!) she had that little one in the water, head down, blowing bubbles, kicking big kicks, and saying I Love You Marjean to boot! If that isn't magic, then I dont' know what is.
So, I was thinking as I was helping my littlest one off to dream land tonight, what other BEST OF's can I recomend. I realized that I actually have quite a few! You know, as a Mom, you often make mistakes, but you own them, you learn from them, and you move on. And that is generally how I view this whole MOM experience, but I tell you, when I nail it, I really nail it. And I have quite a few MOMMY wisdom, best of Ventura County things to tell you all about. So here it goes. I've already told you about the best swim instructor, how about the best family photographer? Her name is Michelle Dransart, and she has a wonderful blog as well. If you haven't already, please do read her blog about a chance meeting with Julia Roberts! I laugh every time I read it, it is just so honest, and true to Shell's wonderful spirit.
Another one for you is best hair cut, Adrianne Spangler at On The Boulevard Salon in Camarillo (805) 987-1275 (formerly The Holly Baker Salon and Day Spa). Anyway, Adrianne is delightful to chat with, and she is extremely talented! Pricy, but worth every penny!
Best kid's hair cut has to be Paula on Sunday's only at Kid's Cuts in Thousand Oaks. It is kind of a hole in the wall, but Paula is gentle and sweet. She always does a wonderful job on my squimy little ones!
Best bakery has to go to Bread Basket in Camarillo. Yum is all I have to say!
That about wraps it up for now. I'm sure I will come up with more as soon as I close my computer!
Pictures are coming soon!

Embelished Invitations...Coming Soon!

2009-06-26T10:53:00.000-07:00

Been working on lots of stuff! One thing (or things really) that I am very excited about is the embelished invitation line I am creating! These invitations are meant to be sent in a beautiful paper box, or puffy envelope because they have an added level of dimention to them. I will be adding these invitations to my ETSY shop in a few weeks!

Another thing in the works is a much needed vacation! Today is packing day for a trip to Grandma's house for the weekend! Then we are off from work for a week of staycation! Not really going anywhere after Grandma's house, but instead planning some trips to aquariums, zoos, museums. Should be fun!

Happy Summer!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

I don’t know about you, but I have been so so so busy! My day job is busy, my home life is busy, just busy, I even feel busy when I sleep! Perhaps it is time for a rest! The home life busy has been all fun though. The little ones are taking their summer swim lessons! And they are such good little swimmers! My sweet son took to the water as if it hadn’t been a year since he was in the pool. And by the third lesson this week, so did my sweet daughter. They were even jumping into the deep end! I must say, we do have a wonderful swim teacher. You can view her web site here. If you live in Ventura County, and are in need of some swim lessons, I highly recommend her!
Whew, so with father’s day coming up this Sunday, I thought I would give a little tribute to some of the Dad’s I know. I wish you all restful and fun Father’s Day! To my own sweet husband, I love watching you be a Dad! And I hope you love the cards we made for you! Check out our DADDY photo shoot above!

To my own amazing Dad, I did a mini photo shoot of some of the amazing things you have made for me over the years. The pictures honestly don't do the true artistry justice! Your work is an inspiration, and I am honored to own some of your amazing works!

Happy Father's Day!

Cinna Rolls!

2009-06-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh, enjoying the fruits of your labor!

Made some cinna rolls with my sweet son a few nights ago. Not the amazing, yeast dough, let it rise twice, use string to cut the individual rolls, kind. Just the quick and easy from a can kind. Not the most healthy thing in the world, I know, but they are yummy, and easy!

My camera was sitting on the counter when we started the project, and Colin asked if he could take a picture. Sure, I said, Why not? But just 1, okay? Well, he seemed to be picture happy, and so I let him keep going. You are making a documentary I said. Huh? You know, how you are taking pictures of the process, from start to finish. That is a documentary. Oh. Him, clicking away, happily. Smile Mommy! He was so thrilled to just keep snapping! Then, out they came, warm and yummy from the oven. Just a few more pictures to go....

Sometimes it is just so easy to make someone else extremely happy. Love when that happens!

Me, bathering on about sweet pea flowers, again.

2009-06-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

Can't stop taking pictues of the sweet peas growing in the garden!

Beauty at it's best.

Ohhh, the colors!

And this one!

Seriously, someone is going to have to stop me. They are just so pretty! And smell so nice! And are just the most wonderous thing. I did a bit of an experiment with them this year. I planted 2 patches of them in the yard. One was from a new packet of seeds, and one was from 2 year old seeds that I had harvested and saved from the last time I had them in my yard. I had thought that since they were 2 years old, that they may not do as well, but I was wrong. Both patches of plants are doing amazingly well. They both sprouted at the same time, and have just as many blooms. Now, if I can just keep cutting the flowers, and not allow them to go to seed, then I will be able to have blooms all summer!

Going to Kindergarten!

2009-06-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

My sweet son, having just turned 5, is off to Kindergarten in the fall. We went to Kindergarten orientation yesterday and it was fun! And scary! It is so funny how you go along thinking your kid is so big, is just getting so amazing and big, and then see them as the small fish in a big pond (K-8th grade) and blamo, you little guy is little! But I LOVE this school, the principal, and teachers. The PTA Mom President talked to us, they raised over $100,000 last year! Quite amazing for a public school in California. I am very excited to join in with them! They addressed us all as a group with our kids for a little while, one teacher told a story while all the kids (60 total to be split into 3 rooms) sat on the rug and watched. Then they took all the parents to another adjoining classroom to talk about basics like school supplies, pick up and drop off, first day, what they learn in Kindergarten these days. It was so hard to just wave goodbye to my sweet son in this new environment, but he totally took it like a champ. Some kids were screaming "Mommy, where are you going?" very desperate, but my sweetie just looked for us and waved. So good for a shy guy at heart. While the parents were getting the low down, the kids got to draw pictures and write their name, then off to play in the Kindergarten yard. I had been hyping the play structure there, so I was relieved that he got a chance to explore and play. The pictures and name writing will help the teachers to split the kids among the 3 rooms. I can't say I had a favorite teacher, they all seemed so involved and caring. Such a great quality! Big life changes ahead for us and it feels exciting!

Life, Love, and Happiness

2009-06-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Thought I would just post a little update on life love and happiness. Aside from the June gloom that Ventura County is experiencing, all seems to be going quite well. I say that knowing that I am just asking to jinx it all, but the thought of sharing my current well being is outshadowing any thoughts a possible jinx might bring! Or maybe I like to live on the edge and like to tempt fate and win! :)

My littleset sweet pea is still not sleeping past 6:00 on any regular basis, I guess the new curtians haven't really helped, but they are cute! Anyway, I really am cherishing our early mornings together, before my sweet hubby and son wake up. I get lots of sweet snuggles and lots of I Love You's in the wee hours of the morning. It really is a time to cherish.

My garden is a fabulous family event. We all seem to make our way out to the side of our house to check on what new seedlings are poking their way through the soil. And the new presence of green food in my kid's diet, is really priceless! I am still waiting for those tomatoes to get bigger and turn red. The peppers and onions are all on track for the perfect pico de gallo! I can not wait! And the sweet pea flowers are in bloom! It really was just a few months ago that I planted the soaked seeds! And now they are blooming! In fact, we had enough blooms this morning, that each of my own sweet peas could take a small bunch to their teachers this morning. They were so proud! And what a gift for them to know that they contributed to such beauty that they could share. They were out there with me, watering, planting seeds, weeding, mulching, and wishing them to grow, and they did!

The home made compost bin has been made and composting has begun! My sweet hubby bought a trash can for me, which I promptly drilled holes in. Many questions were asked during this event...Why are you drilling holes Mommy? What is that for? Can I try? All which brought up a nice discussion on how to take care of the earth, and at what age power tools can be used. So what is an appropriate age for power tools? I'm not quite sure, but 15 seems to be our go to answer for many age related questions form our son. Probably because we have a wonderful nephew, Kevin, who is 15 and quite responsible and thoughtful.

The website seems to be on hold for a month or 2 more. Sigh. But I am starting to add things to my ETSY shop! It is quite a big effort to make the items, take cute pictures of the items, and post them for sale (usually all done while my kids sleep). All while maintaing a wonderful day job working to cure cancer (really, that is what I do!). But it is also a labor of love. Something in me is driving me to continue to be creative and to share this creativity with others!

Sending you all happy thoughts from this happy place in life!
Mary Ann

More Felt Flowers!

2009-06-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

Really, how many felt flowers is too many? I just can not stop making them! And aren’t they just so cute! Don’t know what I am going to do with them all, but for sure, some will make an appearance in my ETSY shop! Maybe this is just my newest obsession!

Garden Flowers

2009-05-31T08:13:00.001-07:00

Just had to write a little tribute to the beautiful garden flowers. Least they feel overshadowed by the veggies. Because, really, the garden flowers help out the veggies by attracting pollinators, if you think about it. Who ever said that California does not have seasons, never lived in California. Everywhere you look around lately, you can just see Spring. It is as though the plants are waking up. Well, rise and shine beautiful plants! My camera is ready!

Garden Update

2009-05-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

Romane Lettuce

Don't know what lettuce this is, but it is yummy!

Corn, just starting out.

Green tomato, and yellow flower (future tomato)

Grapes

More Peas

Look at my veggie garden grow! Apparently, I am on the cutting edge of trendy with this garden. Michelle Obama has a veggie garden, and even Maria Shriver has one. I think Oprah even started one, and Of Course, Martha Stewart has one. I think hers is actually a farm. We have been enjoying our lettuce! But just when I thought all threat from our bunny friend was gone, I sighted him in our back yard again. I still haven’t figured out how he got in this time….That is one smart rabbit! He even ate all of the zucchini flowers! Who knew those were so tasty! I’m going to have to step up my game!

On my agenda for this weekend: make more felt flowers, take more garden pictures, take oodles of pictures of cute kids, drill holes in bottom of trash can that sweet husband bought (for home made compost bin). Who knows how far I will get on this list, I am generally over ambitious. But cute pics of cute kids, that is a MUST! Happy Friday, and have a great weekend!

Remembering...

2009-05-25T10:39:00.000-07:00

Two special things happened this week in May for my family. Our son was born 5 years ago, and 7 years ago, my husband and I got married. Two big life changes in May.

I really can't believe it has been 7 years, I can still remember our wedding day, every detail really. But really, it marked the continuation of an already awsome adventure. From our very first date, it was as though the universe was telling us that this was right. This was how it was supposed to be. We have had a wonderful 7 years, and an amazing 5 years as parents. I am so amazed that my baby is 5! Such a sweet little bundle he was! Not an easy baby by any stretch of the imagination, but sweetness all the same. Our little bundle nursed every hour and a half, and would not sleep unless on one of us. I can remember the incredible sleep deprivation and the shock of this new life we were all experiencing. Now, here we are 5 years later, 5 years wiser, and a happy family of 4. What an adventure! Happy Anniversary my Sweet! Happy Birthday my Baby!

Peas!

2009-05-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

My kids eat peas!!! I know, not really a news story, but in our house, it kind of is the headliner around here. I have been blessed with one very picky eater, and one somewhat adventurous eater. One will eat chicken nuggets, ham and cheese sandwiches, pizza, and hot dogs. The other will eat chicken and rice, steak and carrots, macaroni and cheese. I sneak in whole wheat where ever possible, organic food when available, and fruit, anywhere I can. Thank goodness they eat fruit! But until recently, the only green thing either of them would eat was an occasional piece of lettuce. Until the peas! Seriously, they can't grow fast enough. I have considered turning the rest of our garden into a pea garden, just to encourage this love of green veggies. They scan the vines, looking for fat pods, and shout for joy when I deem one worthy of picking. Maybe I should plant some broccoli next!!!

Rise and Shine!

2009-05-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

I made some new curtains for my littlest one's room. She has a south facing window, so her room gets a lot of light. She also happens to be quite an early riser. Too early. Sometimes 5:30. Not good. And of course, it is Mommy she calls for as she wakes up. She is super sweet, and all snuggles. But still, 5:30. So I made her some new curtains. Butterflies and black out lining. They really do block out almost all light. The only natural light is around the edges of the window now. Whew! This should do the trick, and get my early bird to catch some later worms. So far though, I'm not sure.... Saturday, first day of new curtains, up at 5:30. Sunday, second day of new curtains, up at 5:45. Monday, third day of new curtains, up at 6:10. I hope it is a trend. I hope, I hope, I hope.

Busy!

2009-05-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Been busy! Just finished 110 baby announcements for one of the most adorable babies ever. Also been working on some new stuff. More tags, cuz I just can’t stop making them, and some photo cards because, I don’t know why. These are my own photos, and I just think they look pretty cool, all prettied up with little tags. I’ve also been working on some collages. The act of cutting paper into cute shapes, gluing them all down on a painted canvas is just plain fun. I will show some pictures of that later. I am also getting very good a dragging my feet on this web site idea. I talked to my sweet Mom about it a week or 2 ago and realized that the feet dragging has a purpose. I’m just not ready yet to have a full functioning biz that is open to the public. I still have quite an involved day job, and 2 very active little ones. My oldest will soon be off to kindergarten, and with that change, I will hopefully be logging fewer hours at my day job. Just have to tell my boss. That is not going to be easy. While it is a thrilling new chapter in my family’s life, I’m sure he and my other co-workers will not quite see it the same way. However, they are very supportive and wonderful, there is just no easy way to let them know that by the way, I am only going to be half as productive. And only half as available. Gonna tell him soon. I am.

Happy Mother’s Day

2009-05-09T09:44:00.001-07:00

I became a Mom 5 years ago this month. I really can’t believe 5 years has flown by so fast. It doesn’t really feel like yesterday that we brought our son home form the hospital, but certainly it does feel like it was just a few months ago. During those 5 years, I sure have amassed a range of mommy skills. I now know how to walk and pat a baby until it drifts off to sleep. I know how to eat a nice meal while balancing a squirmy little one on my lap. I know how to make boo boos feel better. I know when to just hold and snuggle until someone feels better. I know how to be a referee between my two little ones. I know how to cure a sty, a tummy ache, leg pain… I also know how it feels to be so tired that you just want to cry. So frustrated that you just want to scream (but know that you can’t). At the end of the day, I know how amazing it feels to know that my little ones are safe, well cared for, and happy. That is really all that matters.
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Moms I know, especially my own!

Felt Flowers

2009-05-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

I can't stop making felt flowers! I wish I could just get the scissors out of my hands for a few minutes! Crazy really! And when I am sitting and cutting near the little ones, of course they want their scissors too, and then we are all just cutting like crazy. And then they want their glue, and then some paper. Goodness, it is just like the book"If you give a mouse a cookie..." But really, it is quite fun. I even bought some more buttons to go with the felt flowers. And some more felt of course! Guess this obsession will just have to run its course like the others...

Garden Update...

2009-04-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Everything is growing! Even the weeds! You can see, even some harvesting is happening in the photo above! Love those radishes, they really are instant gratification in the gardening realm. I think our bunny problem is fixed for the moment as well. I have to hand it to him though, he is one smart bunny. And quite a good little digger too. I would block one hole he made under our fence, and the next morning, there would be a new hole! And my lettuce plants were getting smaller and smaller. They are growing now! Even our neighbor's lemmon tree is in bloom! The strawberry plants are also starting to produce. The bare root strawberry plants are taking their own sweet time in starting to produce leaves, and no flowers yet on those, but the 4" plants I bought are producing 2-3 strawberries a week. Just enough to keep my little gardeners happy. We often all go outside just before the sun goes down to water and check it all out. The little ones know they can pick the red strawberries, but one night, they both came to me with a handful of green ones each. "Can we pick these Mommy?" Sigh.
The peas are climbing, the sweet peas too. Can't wait for some blooms to show up! And those hydreangea are sure taking their own sweet time. I guess we are just all holding our breath for some warmer weather. It will be here before we know it.

Spring Flowers for You!

2009-04-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

I have been having some fun making felt flowers lately. And recently, I was drawing some of my own flowers to make felt flower patterns. A recent Martha Stewart episode taught me that if you print your pattern in black lines on a laser printer, you can then just iron your pattern (printed side down) onto your fabric. Somehow the heat of the iron transfers the laser printer ink onto the fabric. How exciting I thought, you mean, I don't have to make cardboard patterns and trace every single one myself, then cut them out. Oh the time savings I am imagining! So there I was making my own flower patterns, and trying to smush them in so as not to waste fabric, and then I kept smushing, and kind of liked what I saw. A cute page full of flowers, ready to color in how ever you choose! So get your markers, or paints, print one out, and have some fun!
Flowers

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Illustrations & Maps flowers flower

Green Guilt

2009-04-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day everyone! I will be celebrating this year by planting some plants, eating some lettuce from our garden, and teaching our little ones about how valuable our earth is. I am so happy that this day is so widely recognized now. I remember becoming aware of this day 20 years ago, when it was just a trendy grass roots event. Now it is on a level that has national attention. Wickepedia says that Earth Day actually started in 1970! How far we have come!
So, in this business adventure of mine, I now purchase nearly all of my paper supplies from vendors that sell recycled paper products (30 to 100% post consumer waste) and who use renewable energy. I also recycle diligently! All paper scraps that result from my creative process are either repurposed or recycled. In fact, I will soon be placing small packs of punched flowers and tags, made from my scraps on ETSY.
Recycling, reducing, and reusing really has become a way of life for us. We are constantly looking for more ways to decrease our carbon footprint. I am in the planning stages of creating a compost bin to use for our garden. My plan is to obtain a plastic garbage can and drill holes in the bottom for drainage. This will help us decrease the amount of food waste that ends up in our trash (we already separate our green garden waste for our city to collect). A good friend of mine made a compost bin this way and swears by it. I will keep you updated on if this is truly a good option, rather than purchasing a $100 compost bin.
Even with all of the things we do, I still have green guilt. We use far too many paper towels, and I am increasingly feeling guilty about all of the water it takes to have a nice green lawn, and we have 2! We do use both of our lawns quite a bit, our back yard lawn is not really that big, and it gets well used. Our front yard lawn is a bit bigger and gets just as much use since we have 2 little ones who enjoy soccer, T-ball, chase, you name it. My husband and I were recently watching an episode of Living with Ed. This show is quite entertaining and informative. The basic story line is Ed Begley Jr and his wife Rachelle are avid environmentalists, Ed a little more so than his wife. He is constantly striving for more environmental gadgets and methods, while she is trying to maintain a normal life with a conscience. During a recent episode, Rachelle had a section of their yard replaced with fake grass. It ended up looking quite nice, and they were quite pleased. The idea of a fake grass yard is enticing, especially when you think of the water reduction, and the work reduction compared to maintaining a lawn. But we just aren't there yet.
For now, I think we will just water a little less frequently, use a few more hand towels, and start that composting project. But I will keep adding to my environmental wish list. Solar panels...grey water reuse system...wind turbine...electrical master switch... sigh.

Happy Obsessions

2009-04-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Actually, I have a few happy obsessions. This is really only 2 of them. I really can’t seem to have enough ribbon. And I seem to buy it in 10 yard bundles. I could probably circle the globe with my ribbon- well, reach across California anyway. Seriously. And scissors, how many pairs does one person really need? This is not even showing the kid scissors, the scissors in the kitchen, the scissors for outside, and if you talk about cutting implements in general, oh pe-lease! Really though, like the title says, these are happy obsessions. I don’t go over my allowed budget on such purchases, and I really can justify each item’s purchase. I think building on the items in your creative realm, is really part of the creative process. New tools, help you to expand, to experiment and have fun. That is really what it is all about anyway isn’t it?

Aprons

2009-04-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

Made these cute aprons for my little ones. I thought they turned out really cute. I set them on the small chairs they use at their art table and waited for them to notice them… Colin noticed first, “Hey, what’s this?” Me “New art aprons for you both…” “Cool” he said and proceeded to put it on. “Mommy, can you tie it?” And he watched Imaginagtion Movers wearing his new apron. Violet was a different story. She saw hers, and said “Oh…. I don’t like it.” Me “You don’t like it? I made it just for you.” Violet “I don’t want it.” I guess you win some and you loose some.

Tag!

2009-04-09T14:12:00.001-07:00

Tags! Been working on some tags! I know, I know, I need to get this web site up!!! Trust me, it is in the works! Almost ready to send to my web designer, who just had an adorable baby boy! So, while I let them adjust to life with a new born, I will keep working on building my biz. I think I might even put some 5 packs of tags on Etsy. Gonna do it, yup.

Workin’ on somthin’

2009-04-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

I’m working on something. Just not sure what it is yet…Just having a lot of fun with images, paper, scissors, glue. Been using lots of scrap paper and punches. I don’t know what to do with them all yet, but maybe something will emerge from the smattering of things. Most likely some sort of collage.

Let us have Lettuce

2009-04-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Something is eating our lettuce! If I had to guess, I would guess it was this little guy. I took his picture about a month or so ago, before planting the garden. We have all also seen him hopping around the neighborhood, sometimes with a buddy too. So the possibility of having more bunnys in our neighborhood soon just increased. I guess it is time to get a bunny fence if I have any intention at all of having some fresh grown lettuce for my family! I can just imagine how he will love the carrots that are sprouting! On the other hand, it is a good lead into stories about the Easter Bunny for the little ones. It will be here before we know it. Got to get those eggs dyed!

Yummy Yarn

2009-03-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Don't you just want to take a bite???? These yummy creations are from my amazing and talented sister Julie. See, I told you that her attention to detail was inspiring! She made these yummy creations for my littlest sweet pea. She LOVES them, and pretends to serve them, pour tea with them, eat them, and then just trows them around. She even pretends to heat them up in the pretend microwave sometimes. Then I tell her that they are too hot, so she takes them away and brings them back again announcing that they are better now. So cute!
Some of my sister's creations will be for sale soon too! More news about that to follow....

Cookies!

2009-03-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

My little ones and I made some yummy cookies to take to my Sister’s house last Sunday. They were de-lish-ous! I promised to send her the recipe, it is kind of a made up recipe form my cousin Kelly. I have been trying to use wheat flour where ever possible lately. So these cookies have some wheat. That is kind of dangerous in a cookie though, because when you eat them, you think, well they aren’t so bad for you, after all they have wheat flour, right? This thought only pops up after you have eaten one cookie. Then the thought happens, which justifies another cookie, and another, and
another.

Here is the recipe:

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter - softened
2 eggs (or egg replacer*)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions: First beat together the sugars and the butter. Add the vanilla and the eggs (or egg replacer). Then add in the dry ingredients until just mixed in. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop scoops of the batter onto a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree, preheated oven for 11 or 12 minutes. I like cookies to be kind of soft, if you like crunchy, you can cook them at a higher temp for less time.

So about the egg replacer, I buy it from EnerGfoods, it is a dairy free egg substitute made for cooking. I like using it because my little ones love cookie dough, and it just seems like a safer thing for their tummys to have. My sweet Sister actually found it for me when I was eating a dairy free diet when my littlest sweet pea was just born. And for the record, when I was on this dairy free diet, I used a margarine that was 100% canola oil from Trader Joes for these cookies, and they were just as fabulous!

http://www.ener-g.com/store/detail.aspx?section=8&cat=8&id=97

Samples

2009-03-25T21:04:00.001-07:00

Here is my box o samples. I haven’t even counted them, but I did photograph each one individually. The next few steps in this card company biz creation will be, think up the web site layout, and then talk to my fabulous web designer. I think I am almost ready to get this web site finally going! It is an exciting time, to be at this point. My goal is to have the web site up and running by summer. So, that is either oodles of time, or still not enough. No more procrastination!

Hydrengeas are coming!

2009-03-21T19:21:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness, the hydrangeas are coming! They are one of my most favorite flowers! I love how giant the blooms get, and how colorful they are. And watching them grow is quite amazing too. They kind of hibernate in the winter, and loose most all of their leaves. They really look quite sad at this point in their life cycle. Then the most amazing thing begins to happen, they ever so slowly start to grow leaves. And before you know it, they are in full bloom, with more blooms than you know what to do with. And giving them away is so much fun, because even just 3 blooms is really an armload full. My son loves giving them to teachers. Even the cut bloosoms keep for over a week when they are in water. Ohhhh, I can’t wait! Like many things in my life right now, I am just waiting patiently.

Grapes anyone?

2009-03-20T10:38:00.001-07:00

This is the first time that I have ever tired to grow grapes. I thought it would be a good idea because my kids love grapes, and I love to get them involved in things they are interested in. I have no idea how much space these plants will take up, or if they will even produce! I guess I will just plant them and watch what happens.

Lemon Tree

2009-03-13T14:38:00.001-07:00

Have I mentioned my wonderful neighbor’s lemon tree! Well I must mention it then! A couple of years ago, my sweet husband planted a sapling lime tree and sapling lemon tree, meaning, they were just a twig and some leaves. Well, fast forward 2 years, and not much has changed. They are still twigs, but with a few more leaves. Then, one day, our neighbor planted a gorgeous lemon tree. It was full grown and even had flowers on it. In no time at all, it was producing beautiful lemons. AND she mentioned that she would be happy to let us have some, whenever we wanted! Oh glorious day! So, needless to say, we have been benefiting greatly form her lemon tree. Let’s barbeque this weekend you say? Oh, can you grab a lemon for the marinade please? Want to make lemon bread? Oh, can you please grab 2 lemons for me??? Mmmmm the possibilities are endless…it is just so nice having lemons around when you need them.

Sweet Peas!

2009-03-11T14:01:00.001-07:00

It is time to plant sweet peas! Well, it is actually past the time, but we are lucky here in so cal, that the weather is pretty much conducive to planting year round. If I had been better at planning this garden-o-mine, I would have started these sweet pea seeds last fall. But, as the busy mom of 2, both still under the age of 5, I give myself creative gardening allowance, and I will plant them now. The best thing to do before planting sweet pea seeds, is to first soak them over night. Then plant them asap! Prefereably in a place where you can build some sort of growing frame, because sweet peas do love to climb! Here are my sweet peas from a few years ago. And here are this year’s seeds. In no time at all, I will have arm loads full to give to friends and family. It will be so fun!

Gardening, another creative outlet

2009-03-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

I feel like I’ve been away from my creative self for so long. With my day job as a analyst in a biotechnology company, and my sick littlest one who came down with bronchitis, times have been tough. But thank goodness for antibiotics and vacation days!

This last weekend was quite lovely in Southern California. So, I had a brainstorm…let’s get our vegetable garden going. Really, it is the perfect time to start planting. With the time change, there is now opportunity to tend the garden after we all come home from work. So off we went to OSH to purchase some seeds and pony packs. It turned out that I wasn’t the only one with a brainstorm of such magnitude! OSH was packed and their plant selection was dismal at best. However, I became resourceful and started looking at things I had not planted before. I have to mention that last summer, we had a garden as well (pictured above). We loved it, it was fun, but not too functional in terms of harvesting veggies. This year, I have a new plan. I am going to plant all the ingredients to make a yummy pico de gallo. I can’t wait to harvest the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro! And if the harvest is quite bountiful…I will attempt to make home made spaghetti sauce and jar it up for storage for future use over the long California winter. I also planted edamame, lettuce, carrots, and radish seeds. I also planted lots of bare root strawberry plants. They came in a 10 pack and I bought 2! I hope they do well, but right now, they sure don’t look like much!

2009-02-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

I just made these sweet thank you notes for a friend. They incorporate 3 elements which I find to be so cute: polka dots, scalloped edge, and ribbon! I actually think I have a bit of an obsession with ribbon. I can't seem to ever have enough. I seek it out in many stores, I price compare, to get the best quality at the best price. I save the ribbons that come on packages! I really don't know why ribbon is the it thing for me. It is just so versatile.

Kid Art

2009-02-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

I love kid art! And luckily, my kids love to make art, so I get a lot of pictures, every day. They even have a drawing table just their size, always stocked with paper, markers, and now dotters from “Do a dot art” (thanks Mom!). They also have a fabulous easel (thanks Jan!), which is never wiped clean for long. I hope that they always enjoy it as much as I do!

Sweet Lambs

2009-02-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

A friend recently told me she was in need of some baby shower invitations. She said she was looking for something with lambs. So I thought to myself…how can I draw a lamb? Then I thought about how their fur is puffy, like white clouds, with little black faces, ears, legs, and a tail. Then I thought of one of my son’s books “The Goodnight Train” by June Sobel, where there is a funny picture of sheep jumping over a fence. Add in some background, and viola! Now I am loving this little lamb!

More purses, this time, out of paper

2009-02-22T16:23:00.000-08:00

I made these cute purse cards for another friend’s baby shower almost a year ago. She was having a girl, and it was just such a fun idea to do something very girly. The purse is stitched up the sides which I think is a super fun detail. My frined loved the invitations, and so did her guests. I got tons of compliments on them! I posted them on ETSY awhile back, and actually received a few comments there as well. One lady wanted to know if I could ship them to Austrailia, and how much would that cost??? I had no clue. I calculated $14 US for shipping, with the use of the USPS web site. I estimated that 20 cards would most likely weigh 1 pound. The price sounded absurd to me. I think it did to her as well, because she didn’t write back. Shipping rates is something I HAVE to figure out. Luckily, I just purchased a postal scale to help me with such issues! Next on the list of to-dos, calculate a basic shipping table for the biz.

Sewing is sooooo... (fill in the blank).

2009-02-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

Productive. Sewing is just so productive. I have always liked to sew. I think I started sewing somewhere around the 8th grade. Prior to that, I witnessed many a garment that my Mom had sewn for my sister and I. I just love raw fabric and the possibilities that it represents. The fact that it starts as a raw ambiguous rectangle, and goes on to live a new life as something else. Will it be curtains? A new dress? A purse? The possibilities are endless. It seriously consumes all of my brain activity when I am in a fabric store. I see the fabric, but in reality, I am viewing it as something completely different in my mind's eye. Compound that with mathematical calculations along the lines of ...okay, it costs $15.99 per yard, I need 1/2 yard for a purse, and with a coupon, it is $2.oo per yard off. I have $20 in my wallet, but I will still need a zipper, thread, and something for a lining.....and the sale is only on for 3 more days....

This is the first in what is hopefully a new line of purses. Kind of tote bagish, kind of sweet. It is made from "home decor" fabric and has the flower and vines stitched onto the fabric. It is lined and even has a zippered pocket inside. I have been road testing a similar purse and hope to have the new and improved version on my web site....got to get that web site up soon!

More behind the scenes

2009-02-18T20:54:00.000-08:00

I LOVE to see where people work. I love to see what inspires them. I love to see where and how they store their supplies. I think to see an atrist’s space, is a small peek inside their head. Here is a peek at my office. It is organized, it is stocked full of creative supplies, and it is wonderful. I love being in it. I love finding things I have packed away for a project at a later date. My little ones love being in it too. I often steal away with one of them on the weekends and spend a quick half hour puttering around while they draw and play in the office. They also know that they can find Hershey kisses in the office, left over from various favor boxes. My son likes to pretend that the tripod is a relic from outer space and uses it as a space ship. My daughter likes to use all of MY markers. Perhaps she likes that they are kept in neat rubber banded bundles, perhaps she just likes them because they are not hers. I hope they will always like to spend time with me there, and that they get the creative bug too.

Baby Shower Season

2009-02-15T09:25:00.001-08:00

It must be baby shower season! I have had the honor of creating more invitations and thank you notes for another friend’s shower. I LOVE this design! I haven’t had the opportunity to fuzz out the details for the shower, but here is the thank you note. This is the second little one for this friend, and I couldn’t be more excited for her.
I hope you all had a great Valentine’s Day! My sweeties surprised me with some b-u-tiful flowers and some drawings. Nothing I like more than kid art, especially my own kids art. It is just super special.

A little something...

2009-02-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, I thought I would share the Valentine that I made for my son to give to his classmates. So, here is the PDF version, ready to print. I printed ours on 80# white cardstock, and trimmed them up with my paper cutter. He dutifully signed the back of each one, and there were 21 total for his classmates. This was no easy task for a 4.5 year old! He did a great job! His teachers also requested a shoe box that my son could decorate to use as his mail box. The teachers are tying in this holiday with learning about the mail, and learning their addresses and phone numbers. Pretty smart lesson plan if you ask me.

Valentine's Day

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Illustrations printable valentine

Valentines for the masses

2009-02-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

With this Saturday being Valentine’s Day, I have made some super cute boxes of candy for our little ones to give to loved ones as well as to their teachers. I’m not always so organized, and ahead of the game, but this year, I got it right! Let’s hope I’m on a new path, 2009 is my year to be ahead of the game (wishful thinking?). Anyway, I was even able to take some pictures of said Valentines! I really amaze myself sometimes! Here they are, picture perfect.

And the behind the scenes view.

And finally all the rest, on the workbench, all pretty and ready to be given. I hope they like them!

A Baby Shower!

2009-02-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to throw a baby shower for a dear friend. Three other girl friends and I planned and crafted, and made the day quite lovely. And of course, I jumped right in to provide the invitations and shower favors. They were very fun to make! The invitation graphic was completely designed by me. The favor graphic was created using a rubber stamp from Stampin’ Up. We are all so excited to meet the new little addition to our circle of friends!

Let’s get this party started!

2009-02-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

There are so many steps involved in getting a business going! I have my license, my business tax permit, and even filed my first year of business tax (sales tax)! My total earnings for last year were $194! Thanks so much to my fabulous clients! Not to shabby for a slow start up company if you ask me! And California got $14 in sales tax! I know, kind of silly, but it makes me feel like I am really starting a business! And helping our economy! I just have this inescapable feeling that something really BIG is going to happen in my life, I am on the edge of some major changes. All of them quite fun so far!

In the last few months, I have been drawing my little heart out. The graphic designer in me is really getting a fire under her feet. I am just loving my drawings! Here are some pictures of how it is all coming together. I printed out some of my designs and trimmed them, then just plopped them on top of some different paper and envelope colors. I am still playing around with what the final products will look like, and trying to choose the perfect printing options. My next step is to finish the final assembly of my designs, then price them, and then photograph them in all of their adorableness. After that, it is off to talk with my fabulous web designer. Whew, I am tired already!

Genesis of a Business

2009-02-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

So, I think that this blog will be the hardest one to write, it is the FIRST blog. Hopefully, one of many on my journey toward creating a new business that encompasses greeting cards, thank you notes, and invitations. My longer range plans also include purses, wedding invitations, and party favor boxes. All made by hand, from my heart, because I have a need/ desire to create. I have a LOVE of all things cute, and must contribute to the world of cute!

The business has also sprung from a desire for inner peace, because when I am working on things for the biz, I get into a Zen like state. If you’ve read A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle, you will understand what I mean when I say that crafting really brings me into the moment. It is almost like something is working through me. I know, it is kind of existential or new age, call it what you will, it is how I feel, all the way down to my toes.

So the name, it really does have a sweet origin. I have 2 adorable and amazing little ones whom I have lovingly called Sweet Pea on many occasions. When my littlest was just a new baby, I often called her Sweet Pea. My 2 year old son, at the time, quickly picked up on this term and began to call her Sweet Pea as well. It melted my heart to hear this sweet endearment from such a little one as he. At about this same time, my son also began telling me secrets. Sometimes they were funny; sometimes they were unintelligible as 2 year olds can be. Mostly, they were just sweet nothings, whispered in my ear. Sweet Pea Secrets was what my business HAD to be named. It may not make sense, but it sure is sweet.

I hope you enjoy what will no doubt sometimes be an unintelligible stream of thought rantings and ravings. I do have a tendency to literarily stomp my feet and wave my hands. Consider yourself forewarned. Thanks for reading.