"Cork Board"

I have been saving wine corks for a few years now hoping to make something out of them one day. I wasn't really using my calendar board anymore so I decided to turn it into a cork board literally.

The Opera

Last Thursday we experienced a wonderful night at the Opera thanks to Nelson and his Mom who were unable to attend. The Met is an extraordinary place and it is so beautiful. The chandeliers are amazing, you can kind of see one in the back of the picture. (Pictures are not allowed inside so this is the best we could do.) The opera was wonderful and we really enjoyed the entire experience. I would recommend it to anyone. We saw La Boheme, the perfect first time opera show, and it was opening night. Thank you so much Nelson I can't wait to go back.

Labels

I ordered these cute little labels from etsy for all of my creations. I can iron or sew them on all the little thing I make. I was so excited and already used them in the little dresses I made for Sara's twin baby girls.

Sneak Peak

So here is a sneak peak at one of the projects I have been working on. It's a felt play house. When it's all sewed together it fits over a card table. I first saw these cute houses on etsy and I couldn't believe how expensive they were but they are soooo cute. If you want to look at all the different designs here is the link:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/missprettypretty?ref=seller_info

I thought, I could make that, so I bought the basic pattern for only $25 and it has been so much fun creating this little house. I'm going to give it to Madalyn for her 3rd birthday. I have almost finished designing the four walls. The part that I have left is the back wall and then I need to add the roof and sew all the walls together. There are also lots of little pieces that velcro onto the sides. I need to finish cutting those pieces and attach all the velcro. This project has been a little on the large side because the pieces of felt are so big. I was trying to explain to Brian why I really need a craft room and after this project I think he finally gets it. I can't wait to see how it finally turns out. I'll post pics of the final project soon. If you like to sew I encourage you to make one too.

The birdhouse wall is my fave!

This is the wall I'm still working on

Some of the little detachable pieces

The fruit will go on the tree

Random Stuff

I haven't posted in a while because Brian was on call last weekend and again this weekend I have been very busy crafting. Most of my projects are gifts though so I don't want to post pics quite yet. Maybe this weekend I'll give a sneak peek of my little projects. I have a few random tips I wanted to share with everyone especially those with little ones.

1. A fun thing to do on some of these long couped up winter days is take a big bubble bath and make them extra fun, but everyone already knows that. Here is my twist on a fun bath: ADD FOOD COLORING. When I was little Sara and I use to bathe together when I would visit KY and my Meme always made us special colored baths. It doesn't stain you or the tub I promise just a few drops and I promise you child will think a pink or blue bath is too cool.

2. Everyday that you pick your child up from school do they have some sort of art project? All those projects pile up quickly but they are just so hard to let go of and you can only hang so many. This is a really great idea but it can be a little pricey but also makes for a great gift. Have one box or bag that you collect their art in for the year. At the end of the year or as the year goes by scan the art into the computer or take it somewhere that they can scan it for you. Decide to keep a few really special pieces for the scrapbook, baby book, or to hang and just throw the rest out. Then with all the scanned images you can make a shutterfly or snapfish coffee table book of your child's beautiful art. You could also make these into grandparents gifts and add a few pages of photos through the year as well. This is another site that makes the art books: http://inkubook.com/default.aspx

3. This isn't a tip but it's something funny I heard and I wanted to share. The father of the children I watch is very tall. He is the tallest person I have ever met. Through life people always asked him if he played basketball and this was his response: No, do you play miniature golf.

I just thought that was so funny.