Spring! Oh, Spring!

Oh, it is that time of year again!  I don't get crazy about much but spring, oh spring!  Planting season. Play in the dirt season.  It's like I walk into the local nursery and get high from a combination of all the oxygen emitting plants and the possibility of another season of growing our food and having fresh cut flowers.  Really, I should not be aloud to go to Home Depot this time of year unchaperoned.  

And you know what's so awesome this season?  I had several plants go to seed out of pure neglect last fall at the end of the drought. Because we were still in a drought all winter I didn't think much of it but guess what?  I have around 11 basil plants--in fact way too many to manage myself so when they get a bit bigger I will be sharing them with friends!  Plus I have close to 4 dozen zinnia seedlings and a few other little surprises growing.  

Another awesome thing about this season?  I have a little helper to sit next to me, eating Cheerios, dancing to the Beach Boys and pulling leaves off my newly planted begonias.  Ah, spring is good!

DIY Kid's Felt Board

I really like this project because it's one of those awesome projects that can be as simple or as elaborate you you have skill/time/desire.  You can add and make more pieces or you can stick to the basics.  And the truth is the little is going to love it either way.

Here's what you will need:

1) An art canvas or board (I used two 14x11 canvases)

2) two paint stir sticks (if you are making a larger board using canvases

3) Felt--you will need one large piece at least 27"x19", a second smaller piece about 14x22" for the back and then a few smaller pieces in varying colors

4) fabric scraps in various prints--I used a mix of some vintage and new scraps from my stash

5) scissors 

6) staple gun

7) fabric glue (I recommend Beacons Fabritac)

I chose to use two art canvases for two simple reasons.  First I already owned them so I didn't have to spend any money. Second, the two together made the perfect size to rest on the floor in front of little bit and give her plenty of room to work her creative magic.  But mostly it's because it's what I had to work with--if you have a board left over from a project that would work great too!

I measured and cut the felt for the front of the board first. Then I turned the canvases over and using my paint stir sticks as a brace stapled them to the back of the frames.  You can see below it creates a nice, stable connection for the two canvases.

Next I wrapped the felt around the front of the board and securing it to the back with the staple gun.  After that I took a second piece of felt and glued it over the back to conceal the the staples and keep it safe for little baby hands.  

Here's a shot of the back of the felt board. after I covered it.  

And here is the front.  I added hand embroidered felt grass to the bottom to add some detail and charm.  I also wanted to make a few felt animals for the board so thought the grass would make it more fun to play pretend.  

To make the alphabet I cut out each of the letters in fabric and then in felt and glued the fabric to the felt. I had originally planned to sew them together, but When I tried one, it some of flattened and made them weird.  Plus it would have been a VERY tedious process.  So instead, glue :)

I also created a set of primary colored shapes, a few animals and a few hand sewn flowers to make it fun.  Maybe I will add of few other things as she grows--as set of numbers maybe and a few more animals.  

I am so excited for little miss to start playing and learning and enjoying this new little project.  And the best part is I can move it from room to room so we can take the entertainment with us around the house!  

Tuesday Crafties

I am so excited to share this project with you today!  I know it's a day late, but I think it's worth it.  But first with a little story.  A few weeks ago at the library we discovered the felt board.  It was nothing special, you can see it below along with a very cute baby playing on it.  

See?  Nothing too special or inspiring, right?  But after I saw how much fun she was having on it I realized I could totally make a felt board at the house. Once the idea of the felt board got in my brain, it took on a creative life of its own.  Here's what I came up with:

I made it with material I had around the house and used scrap fabric and felt to make an alphabet, made a set of shapes in primary colors and a few flowers and animals to make it special.

Want to make your own?  Stay tuned--I'll have a how to post up tomorrow!  

Some Photos of Our Recent Adventures

Here are a few pics from our recent comings and goings...

The weather has been beautiful and we have been going on play dates at the park.

I finally got a hair cut.  Won't let it go that long between cuts again.  Eek!

Our first plane ride--momma did it solo and it was a success!

Grandmas sends the silliest and cutest outfits in the mail!

New spring shoes.  Don't pay attention to the lack of polished toes.

Spring fever means bright colors.

Spent a rainy day taping up art work trying to decide what to frame and hang.

We are learning to color.  It might be this mom's dream come true. 

We are lucky to have a really nice public library.
Three whole walls of board books and a felt board.  Baby heaven.

I have been waiting 10 years for red jeans to come back in style and probably
15 years for tight roll jean to come back and all in one season!

Speaking of things looked forward to...I bought this jean skirt with little
heart buttons the day we found out we were having a girl.  Dream come true.

How has you week gone?  

A Little Trip to the Old Hood

A few weekends ago we made a quick trip to Indy to visit friends.  It was a great weekend letting little miss get to know her Indiana family and getting caught up with dear friends.  One night we spent the evening cooking and hanging out with our old next door neighbors Jack and Chels.  Chels is the amazing owner of Plundered Patina.   

In addition to being a vintage scavenger Chels happens to be the best cook I know.  She made this amazing homemade lasagna with fresh basil and roasted tomatoes from their backyard garden.

Little miss loved hanging out.  But she is pretty happy anywhere she can munch on some O's.

We had such a great time hanging out, telling stories, drinking wine and eating delicious food!  And we were so glad that A got to meet two very important people to us.

Baby Bites

We are still trying out all kinds of new table foods.  She still loses patience before she can get enough in her tummy so we usually put out a balanced spread of table food and let her work on it until she gets frustrated or bored and then we top her off with some pureed veggies.  

This is still such a fun phase!  To my surprise she really digs beans--not just green beans but black bean and lentils.  What a surprise!  She also really love white fish like cod and tilapia and could and would eat her own weight in green peas.  She also loves holding a chunk of pineapple and working little pieces off with her little teeth.  And running out of potatoes on our tray nearly caused a riot the other night at dinner.  We haven't quiet embraced spaghetti but we like mom's homemade vegetable pasta sauce.  For the most part we cut up what we are eating and she gives it a try.  

Honey garlic grilled chicken, sweet corn and strawberries

Black beans, peas and cheese

Veggie lasagna, avocado, green beans and strawberries  

Peas, cheese, blueberries and white grapes

Over the Weekend

Most of our weekend was consumed with projects around the house and elsewhere.  We were busy, busy tidying the yard, changing out the batteries in the smoke detectors, cleaning, organizing and general spring tidiness.  However after church on Sunday we took a little family outing to the flea market to check out the goods. 

There is a metal salvager that always carries new and unique finds.  This month he had these vintage red sign letters.  Of course he didn't have the letter I wanted but they were still so cool!  

There were some cool crates--they were naturally over priced but pretty none the less.  

We found a few vintage suitcases.  And I thought about picking them up and refurbing them to put on etsy, but I have to limit my projects you know :)

T really loved this set of vintage bikes.  I have to admit they were very cool but upon closer inspection needed a lot of work.  Plus in Indy I used to ride my vintage bike a mile to the gym and a mile back and those vintage bikes are a work out and not always in the best way!  

I snapped a pic of this vignette because I just really loved the pic and cards in the open box and I wanted to remember this a good way to display things you love or want to keep like little notes.  Pretty, huh?

And since there is probably a large majority of you that just tune in here at ye ol blog for baby cuteness.  Here is a picture of me and my little treasure hunter that T snapped of us.  

We didn't find anything that struck our fancy (except maybe a corn dog!) but it was fun to get out and see what was out there and get a bit of fresh spring air.  

How was your weekend?

In My Mailbox

Couple of things to round off this weekend and they all start and end at the ol mailbox.   

First, I had to honor of sending out a few gifts to a few friends this week as well as some invitations to someone special's birthday party.  In fact, all of the mail that left our house this week was part of celebrating the ups and downs of parenthood and babies.  We are lucky to be part of such an amazing community spread through out the country.  

And I am currently trying to restrain my inner child from sitting on the curb next to the mailbox in anticipation of my new prints that are coming in the mail from Roll and Tumble Press.  If you've been to our house or follow me on Instagram you know we are some pretty committed letterpress lovers.  And we've got three new beauties coming in the mail from Roll and Tumble today!  Yippee!  I don't want to share all that I have up my sleeve but I am pretty excited about this pretty that will be included in the package:

via

What are you looking forward to like a little kid this weekend?

Random Thoughts for a Wednesday

Sometimes I know what to blog about and sometimes I don't really. Lately I have been cleaning and organizing--getting the house ready for an upcoming party or two and making sure everything inside is in order so I can start to turn my attention to our yard this spring.  We have been making some investments in the house to make our home more energy efficient and globally minded and they have turned out very well.  T and I are plotting and planning some outdoor projects.  I always do a small garden and flowers.  And pulling weeds (instead of using chemicals) is a full time job around here this time of year.   But this is my favorite time of year.  I like layering clothes for the warm and cool breezy days, digging in the dirt during nap times, watching our yard and neighborhood turn from something grey and dead to something full of life.  It is good, very good.

What kind of things have you got on your mind this Wednesday?  

Out and About

T and I are both pretty physically active.  Given the option between vegging and getting out to get fresh air we will always choose fresh air.  Lately (this week not included) we have had full on spring weather so in the evening we have tried to get out int he fresh air as a family.  T loves disc golfing and I love tagging along and little miss she loves doing whatever we are doing.

From top to bottom: (1) marker disc and a one footed throw, (2) the third hole, (3) someone has always loved sports bottles more than sippy cups and (4) atop dad is the perfect place to shout at all the other people on the course  

It's cold and rainy here today.  We are snuggling with our Elmo, drinking hot tea, reading books, staying indoors.  I guess with an entire winter that felt like spring it's time for a cold rainy day.  I am trying to do a little better at carrying my camera on our adventures (thanks to a new case that's making that a little easier and less bulky to do) and to snap a few pics everyday so I can get better at this photography thing. You know, a little practice makes perfect. 

Pictures from top to bottom:

1) Our bradford pear trees in the back yard have bloomed early this spring and are creating their own sort of magic back there. 

2) Practicing with my 50mm and doing a little self portrait thing in the new mirror I hung in the guest bath earlier this week.

3) Cup of peppermint tea to sip and my favorite candle from Anthropologie burning to warm up this cool day. 

Hope you are having a lovely Wednesday.

This Weekend We...

This weekend we...

• had an impromptu pizza party
• fed the ducks
• made a big breakfast
• went to the park to sit on a blanket and enjoy the sun
• did about five loads of dishes
• painted three rooms in our house (or rather one giant room containing the kitchen, eat in area, and living room and fourteen foot ceilings)
• caught up with friends 
• had an family date night out for Mexican food
• found the perfect mirror for our guest bath--and it was waaaay under budget! 
• sang tons of songs with little miss
• went to church
• cleaned the floors and behind the refrigerator (yikes!)
• picked up a few supplies for a special trip we are taking soon
• made lasagna from scratch
• hosted family game night
• won (T) and lost (me) a game of Scrabble 
• watched a movie 

What did you do this weekend? tackle projects?  Relax?  A little of both?