oh, I'm so crafty! (actually I'm a copycat)

I wish I was so original that I was posting about my own creations. Since that isn't going to happen any time soon...I've been at work lately trying to recreate things I see on other people's blogs.

I bought a set of countdown blocks at Christmas and it was a nice change to a paper chain. The girls are always asking how many days until... and with all 3 birthdays coming I thought a set of countdown blocks for each of them would do nicely. I only have 2 sets done since Michael's only had 4 blocks in stock. I just sanded them lightly, painted them white and then modge podged on scrapbook paper that I had printed the numbers on (and distressed edges with pink ink). The numbers you need are:
0 1 2 3 4 5
0 1 2 6 7 8

Make sure you use a font that the 6 can be turned upside down for the 9. It was very quick and easy.

My next project was to take plastic eggs paint them and then hot glue twine on the bottom. This was much more aggravating to me. How can I, a grown woman, suck at hot gluing things? They turned out cute, despite my ineptness and if I don't look too close, I actually like them.

Twinkle in my eye

This next story stems from the girls asking where they are in pictures of us before they were born. I've always said they were twinkles in my eye. Here's what I get for explaining it like that!

Adrianne: MOM! I...HAVE...ah...TWINKLE...in my EYE!!!!!

Me: .........(long pause, what she has announced registers)... It's NOT a baby twinkle!

Adrianne: Well, then what kind of twinkle is it?

Me: A happy twinkle... (then I decide to add a moral lesson).... God wants you to get married first and then have a baby. That's God's plan. Some people don't follow God's plan and it is much harder.

Adrianne: Oh, okay. I'll do it the way you said...unless God tells me to do it the other way...

Me: (internally freaking out a bit) NO! God does not want you to have a baby without a husband. If you ever think that God is telling you to have a baby without a husband, you are wrong!

Adrianne: (shrugs) Oh, okay. Then I'll do it the other way.

Oh the little sinner...

me: Stella, how come you will go upstairs when you want something, but when I ask you to go get dressed you won't go by yourself?

Stella: Well, we all sin sometimes.

Spring Baby!

Oh my dear sweet baby! It's been tradition to sit my spring babies in the daffodils and see what they do. Adrianne wanted to eat the flowers. Stella wanted to eat the bark dust. Charlotte did both! Of course Stella had to join in the photo shoot. What a ham!

I got my craft on! Family Rules.

I have been admiring this project on other people's blogs for awhile now. I really wanted to have some way to post our family's rules and this is such a good idea. It only took me about 2 hours and the cost of the canvas and modge podge.

First I decided on my rules. I am really not fond of my handwriting and I knew that my efforts copying fonts would be crappy so I opted to print them with my computer. This proved to be slightly aggravating and took the most time, but I prevailed. I then distressed the edges of the paper with brown ink. I painted my canvas chocolate brown and sanded it when it dried to give it a distressed look. I lined out my rules and modge podged them down. I used a pampered chef stoneware tool to help them lay flat, but I still ended up with some bubbling. Then I noticed that it looked funny with so much gap around the edges so I added paper to the sides to fill it in. I did two more coats of modge podge over the whole thing to help it stay together. And Voila!
Don't look too close or you'll see all my oop-sies. Over all I am happy with my job! I'm not really going to be keeping these on the porch. I was just having trouble finding good light in the house to shoot my handiwork. It does look cute next to my watering cans!

Children's Museum

We really love to visit our friends the Doty's. We crammed all the kids in one car and headed up to the Portland Children's museum. Minus some lunch time drama, it was a great day.

go ahead, JUMP!

The luckiest

Our family is more then just where we live. This house does not make our family...it just feels like the icing on the cake to get to live here. When we drive up each time I still can't believe that this is our house. We are so blessed.
I can't wait for more Spring weather...to garden...for the girls to get to dig around more outside.