2.29.12

wordless wednesday 

2.28.12

daily digs : braids! 

with my hair length finally beloooooooow my shoulders, i've been gathering (aka pinning) tutorials and pictures of fun ways to braid my hair. unfortunately, for most of these styles, i'll need to wait another 6 or 12 inches. new goal: check!

happy braiding! 

2.24.12

crafty friday, velcro "glitter" craft sticks 

why, how, and because regular paint just wouldn't do! 

2.23.12

thoughts on thursday

2.22.12

wordless wednesday

2.21.12

daily digs : kids beach/travel activities 

with our family beach vacation rapidly approaching (17 days!!!), i have been gathering some fun activities for the kids to do on the beach, in our cottage and en route to and from. if you have children spaced far apart like ours (10 years), finding activities for both to participate in can be challenging, but i think brenner will have fun helping silvie with most of these. 

look for some of the following ideas with a few personalized twists coming soon to crafty friday!  

velcro craft sticks | animal footprints | beach bags | sand combs | wood hand kite | felt button snake | trip journal

2.17.12

my sweet, sweet, valentine's day dinner

first, let me just set the stage for how the day was supposed to play out.

since adam and i usually avoid going out to over-crowded and over-priced restaurants on valentine's day, we typically stay in and make a special dinner for each other. 

on monday as i was walking out of the store from where i purchased a wonderful cut of rib-eye, i received a text from adam: "do we have real butter?" and i knew right then he was planning something as well. later that night we discovered we had duplicated our dinner menu, but i figured i would let adam take the lead since he purchased bacon. i'm not stupid after all!

after silvie went to bed and while i was doing something on the computer, most likely searching for marvelous ideas on pinterest (i seriously need a pintervention!), brenner approached me and asked what i thought of the button up shirt he was wearing. i thought it was for his upcoming school dance and he was seeking my approval, but this was not the case. 

minutes later, adam took my hand and escorted me to dinner. the house was quiet and brenner was nowhere in sight which piqued my suspicion. minutes went by, adam cleared his throat louder than normal and brenner walked in with the cutest grin i will never forget, and said: "welcome to cheeese bren (omg i died), here are your menus." 

the "grin"

the list of instructions adam gave brenner to follow

(are you just melting from this level of sweetness?)  

yummy mini caprese bites

(followed by rib-eye steak & brussels sprouts roasted with bacon!) 

top of the menu

a serendipity heart in my plate 

bottom of the menu

(if you haven't melted by now you're just heartless. heart. less.)

i remember taking this picture of adam and brenner cleaning up after the most amazing dinner experience i have ever had, and thinking: 

wow. 

i'm beyond blessed.

and thankful. 

and...loved.

2.15.12

valentine advent countdown : recap

i'm thrilled to report back that our new valentine family tradition was a huge hit! brenner would go straight to his room after school to search for his heart; while silvie would randomly spot hers, point and say, "this". adam didn't have to look far and long for his hearts thanks to my instagram/twitter daily updates. whoops! 

so here are all the nooks and crannies their hearts found themselves in: 

 

 

i managed to squeeze in two additional projects from the diy valentine ideas post i put up for you last week to be part of yesterday's grand finale surprise! and speaking of surprises - oh my gosh - i can't wait to share with you what adam and brenner prepared for me last night! 

2.10.12

crafty friday, invisible ink message in a bottle

ever since brenner found a "for reals" message in a bottle (from a giiiiiiiiirrrrrrrl) on the beach in hawaii last summer, he's been totally obsessed with them. so when i came across the tutorial at minieco for writing a secret message using lemon juice - hello, valentine's day gift - done & done! 

2.9.12

crafty friday (extended week), felt heart bookmarks

if you have a child in school - this project is perfectly perfect for his/her teacher (in brenner's case, he has three that he wants to give to) for valentine's day.

and may i just say that they took longer to photograph and organize than to make. seriously! ridiculous. 

{inspiration source}

2.8.12

crafty friday (extended week), superhero valentine cards

since this will most likely be the last year brenner will take valentine cards to school (hold me), i figured it was now or never for me to actually make them instead of buying them pre-made in a box - not that there is anything wrong with that; i am, after all, a six-year-pre-made-box consumer veteran. 

i downloaded and printed the template from zakka life, then had brenner cut out the masks and capes while i assembled the masks with double-sided tape. adam and silvie were willing participants in testing samples for quality control. all and all, this was a fantastic project to work on as a family. 

 

2.7.12

crafty friday (extended week), valentine advent countdown

you're probably asking, crafty friday on a tuesday? yes and here's why. all good? fabulous. 

i'm really excited to share this project with you because the initial inspiration started with katie and ended with a few of my own ideas. i love shared creativity, don't you? 

so here's how this fun bottle of sweets works; starting tomorrow (7 days before the big day), i will hide one handmade felt heart from each color set for my lovies to find. each day after they locate their hearts they get to dive into the bottle for a treat. then, on valentine's day i will hide the special white heart for their grand finale surprise.

a fun new family tradition in the making...

2.6.12

daily digs : diy valentine ideas

...all the projects i wanted to do, but ran out of time to do them! enjoy my friends & happy monday. 

milk cubes | snow globe | heart garland | cigar gift box | toilet paper roll stamps | kitty dancing | valentine holder 

reminder: 

be sure to check back tomorrow for an extended crafty friday project!

2.3.12

crafty friday, hearts & twigs

the inspiration for this project all started with the yellow vase i picked out with the birthday money from my parents - thanks mom and dad! aren't you proud i didn't spend it on groceries this time? and look, i'm finally using the branches from your tree we harvested during our christmas visit. 

i envisioned creating a centerpiece that would coordinate with the sparkly valentine banner i made last week. 

so...here it is. 

so it seems i'm running out of fridays before valentine's day to share all the fun projects i made during my craftapalooza week, so check back {almost} daily next week for more. 

2.2.12

thoughts on thursday

so good...

2.1.12

wordless wednesday