Archive for January, 2010

smiling at braided onions

 

all of this warm weather is making me think of spring. i know, it happens every year. really, i’d love more snow, but it is nice to have a break. we’ve been cleaning, organizing, and rearranging. the fruits of these endavors?? a reading nook! loved by everyone in our house!

 

reading-nook

personally, i am loving my shelf of clean, empty jars. it reminds me of the joy i feel filling each of them through the summer. as we use up last year’s bounty, i clean them out and place them here, ready to be sterelized and reused as the garden dictates.

canning-jars

cris totally finished our closet and this afternoon i hung up our clothes. we have a small linen closet that we use for belle’s clothes so we don’t have to put another dresser in the kids’ room. and this is our only other closet. niether of them is deep enough for a hanger to go in properly, so they fit in at an angle. when cris and my father put the double chimney in (yes, now we can use oil to heat the water and use our wood stove to heat the house at the same time) we lost another 14″ of closet space. which means we have 20″ left. well, my clever husband put two dowels in so we each have our own clothes rack. and since cris doesn’t have 20″ worth of “dress” shirts, i can tuck our miniature purple vacuum into the closet as well. hurray! it feels like a victory to me!

closet

and last, but in no way least, the onions. my sweet, sweet grandfather (we share a large garden together in the summer) braided all of our onions. i keep a braid or two in the cellar and every time i pass them on my way up or down the stairs, they make me smile. i love putting things up for winter. and i love my pop-pop!

braided-onions

it’s small…but i can still get my craft on!

so, in case you didn’t know…we actually live in my great-grandparent’s old cottage on what is now my grandfather’s farm. while i adore living near him and love the story behind our situation, i don’t always love the reality. the reality, that is, of 700 square feet of living space for two adults and two children! we’re making it work (and planning the dream house cris will build) but every so often i have to remind myself to look around and appreciate the small spaces that won’t be my home forever. so…

craft_books

an old white tin cubbard that used to be my grandma bea’s pantry with a package of vanilla wafers on the thrid shelf for little visiters. now it holds something just as yummy – craft books!

his_blocks

my sweet boy’s first two blocks (at 3 years old). i helped with the carving on the “snowman with arms so long they’re reaching to the sky” (on the right), but they’re his own. i love seeing my kids take interest in my art and craft projects!

 

 

 

 

happy-corner

that snowman printed into cards…buttons…usa pottery…love. this is actually at the end of my countertop where i print my blocks. cris made a little studio space in the basement when we moved in from a kitchen counter that he took out of a customer’s home. they were going to throw it out, so he asked if he could take it home and reuse it. he built two rows of shelves above it and some shelves below. i love escaping to this space – small, but all my own. i can even set my sewing machine up on one end and stand there and sew. which is what i’ve been doing lately. i’ve made a little more progress on this and just finished something for things two’s birthday (well, birth year celebration, because this little leapling hasn’t had a birthday come around yet). since she isn’t online yet, i think its safe to post some of the things i’ve been working on for her big celebration.

summer-outfit

a fabric birthday book using sheet of paper-backed fabric you can print from the computer and inspired 100% by this post.

a smocked top with fabric i got in Ghana, West Africa 12 (can it be? was 1998 really that long ago!!!) years ago. and some matching bloomers.strawberries

and a little crocheted bag with stawberries to add to the play kitchen mix.

cris and i are also planning a project together in the wood shop, i have a knitting project or two in mind, and perhaps some other things. since she’s really into this book, i thought it would be fun to make a play set (hence the strawberries) to go with it. so i need a bear and a mouse. it could happen…

kid crafting

cutting-felthis_garland

the one crafty thing i love more than finishing a project is watching one of my kids work (and sometimes complete) their own crafty things. i was working on some valentines (i love garlands, and was inspired by this) when my sweet boy asked if he could do some sewing. of course! i gave him my big orange fabric scissors and some pieces of felt. when he was happy with the shapes he’d cut, i helped him with the sewing machine. then we found a garland-less corner in his room and – ta da! – craft bliss! what a wonderful way to spend an evening!