Water and a Brush

Get ready for the cheapest, easiest, most fun activity that the kids did all summer. A few weekends ago I was organizing and cleaning out the garage. The kids quickly got tired of playing with their bubbles and sidewalk chalk but I had a backup plan. I ran inside and got them cups full of …

Superstar Jar

We’ve had three long weeks of school already this year. My biggest goal this year for homeschooling is to put the love back in the learning. I got pretty stressed out and overwhelmed last year and I’ve been working hard to be more patient and loving with the kids. It’s been a difficult start but …

Plum Clafouti

This summer, more than any before, we’ve picked lots of fruit. It’s so incredibly good when straight from the tree or bush. We picked cherries in June, blackberries in July, plums, apples, grapes, and peaches in August. Several friends were over blessed in their home gardens and have let us “help them out” with their …

A Box

There is one toy that I maintain is THE best toy a child can have. A cardboard box. It doesn’t have to be huge, though it certainly doesn’t hurt. My kids love to sit in smaller boxes and make cars or trains out of them or simply pull each other around in them. This particular box, though, …

A Story Jar

Not much thrills me more than to hear the imaginative wanderings of a little mind. My boy is very creative and is at a fun stage right now. He LOVES his stories and the funny ideas he comes up with. Adventures are big at our house too. While we read every day, we don’t often …

Cukes, Zukes, and Squash

It’s summer time and your garden may be overflowing with cucumbers and zucchini and squash and tomatoes! If not, you likely know someone who is over blessed by these prolific heat lovers. We were given a box full of them after picking fruit at a local u pick farm. I am going to be honest …

A Mouse

What can I say? I told my husband yesterday after making this that it was an odd talent I thought: to be able to make really adorable little creatures out of yarn. It doesn’t seem to be particularly useful and I tend to be a pretty practical person. But you know what? It is fun …

Freezing Me Some Summer

When I was a child, I did not like tomatoes at all. The love started when I tasted one grown in our own backyard and it continues today. My own plants are spitting out yummy little cherry tomatoes so far this year but this guy that sets up a good old back of his pick-up …

A Little Girl Present

One of the things I love most about making what I give is that I feel like it’s very real and true to ponder my friend and then to form for this friend something that costs my time and feeling and effort. My daughter has caught this way of thinking from me as she tends …

Footstool From a Sweater

You might recall that I like to make new things from old sweaters. I’ve shown you how to unravel sweaters to up-cycle yarn, make them into wool cloth diaper covers, convert them into dresses, and sew them into skirts. One of my favorite thrift store finds is huge sweaters because up-cycling a knit fabric from clothes …