Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Lost in the Pattern





When I was little I had a summer blanket with a pattern of children and kites on it. I really loved that blanket. It was like another world. I can remember being in my bed one summer afternoon, I had been crying for some reason, and I lost myself in the pattern of my blanket. I remember carefully studying all of the little children and different kite styles and wondering what it would be like to be in that blanket's little world before floating off to sleep.

These fabrics from the children's fabric section of Super Buzzy remind me of my blanket and also that I need to get a sewing machine. I could spend hours going through the Super Buzzy site, not to mention spend a fortune on all the great fabric and notions.
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The Easter Bunny Needs to Get Her Act Together



I should be using this rainy day to get my Easter Bunny act together and dye some eggs and assemble the little one's basket. I've already made a little basket of flowers for our Easter table (top two photos) which just needs an egg or two as the finishing touch.

Unfortunately, the idea of blowing out a dozen eggs right now has zero appeal. Said little one shows no sign of napping yet and I want her basket to be a surprise. It's amazing how hard it is to get anything past a two and half year old.

The beautiful red and white eggs in the bottom photo are from Hungary. I'm hoping they will inspire me to rally and take on those eggs later this afternoon. Now I'm thinking a rainy day nap may be in order.

Stuck Inside




One of my daughter's favorite words right now is "stuck". When she wants me to do something and starts pushing and pulling me she says "stuck". When she tries to steal my diet ice tea and can't take off the top she says "stuck". When she tries to unzip my makeup bag and get a hold of my lipsticks and eye shadows she says "stuck". Thank goodness for "stuck", especially when it comes to the makeup.

As I'm writing this, she just announced she is "stuck" in her bin of books. Unfortunately, it continues to pour outside and we are "stuck" inside. Rain, rain go away and take the mud with you so we can get unstuck and play outside.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Creature Love





These creatures from Donna Wilson just make me happy. It would be hard not to smile more and have lots of fun with these guys around. I want the whole lot of them. You can see more of Donna's wonderful creatures here.

Friday, March 12, 2010

123 We Love Our Numbers




My two and a half year old is suddenly very into numbers and gets excited whenever or where ever she sees them. The other day we ended up taking multiple tickets at the deli counter because of course they have numbers on them. She made me take all of the returned tickets from a little bin where you can put your number after it's been called. So we happily headed off with our cold cuts and a whole bunch of numbers. She loves her numbers and I love this origami number project by Kristen Sutcliffe and want to make a version for my daughter.


You can get how to info on how to make your own framed numbers here and find full instructions on how to fold the numbers at the Origami Club website. Origami Club is such a fun site and has easy to understand instructions. There also animations to help clarify the diagrams and lots of categories including numbers, letters, classic origami patterns and holiday related patterns. I've already tried folding a couple of the numbers and my daughter really loved them.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Grow Games Can Really Grow On You



I introduced my nieces and nephew to Grow Games a few years ago after someone at work emailed the link around. I was surprised how much they enjoyed these quirky flash games. They are not your typical kid games where characters go through an obstacle course and shoot at or get shot at. Instead you simply chose objects in various orders and see what kinds of reactions are generated. If you find the optimal order more happens or grows. They are simple yet hard to explain.

The other day my niece reminded me of them and wanted to play one on my computer. We chose Grow Cube. After her visit I found myself still playing. I took this screen capture so I could show her how far I got next time she visits.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Little Liberty of London



I can't wait to see the newest Target collaboration with Liberty of London. I've been scouting the web for previews of the line and found this little bathing suit. I'm adding it to the list of items I'll hopefully be dropping in my basket on March 14th!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Spring Starts Indoors




While we wait for winter to release its hold, we are cultivating a little spring indoors. We have two oxalis plants which now have little flowers. The purple one is about fifteen years old and the green one is new this year. They each have there own little mushrooms courtesy of Target. As much as I try and resist adding more stuff to our house, these little mushrooms found their way into my cart. I rationalized that it was okay to get them because they would live in the planters and not take up any additional space. Sketchy reasoning but I think they are pretty magical.

I'm Melting or Goodbye Snowman 2010



Here is the last little bit of our snowman of 2010. If you look closely you can see the carrot from his nose and the black rocks from his eyes and buttons. Goodbye little guy. You were an oddly shaped but excellent snowman. We'll miss you.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Two Cute Acorns



More amigurumi adorableness from PlanetJune. I must learn how to make amigurumi. I must. These little acorns are over-the-top cute and how perfect is it that they slip out of their caps? There is a free pattern to follow at PlanetJune's great site for those of you already versed in the ways of amigurumi.