playdate

snakes and snails and puppy dog tails

Quick gross stuff

It's been a rainy week - too wet and drippy for the kids to go out, too cold for tball or bikes or hunting imaginary critters. Rather than give in to the creeping insanity that comes over all parents that are stuck in the house with offspring for too (freaking) long, I figured we'd strike at the heart of the problem and entertain the boy.

So we made quicksand. And then we made slime.

'Moo-oom! What are you doing??' *sigh*

'C'mere and help me with this, Cass. Smoosh this together.'

-a minute, then -

'Hey, what is this stuff? This is so neat! Rosey, come see this!'

Another trashy treasure

In the same sale, I found a couple of paintings. A small watercolour, and a framed oil. I paid a dollar for both.

But in the clear light coming through my windows, it looked....dirty. Yellowed. Time for some elbow grease!

I consulted Google, who pretty much shrieked 'NOOOOO! DON'T DOOO IT! DOOOM!' so I backed away, abashed, but then....I rethought.

This wasn't an heirloom. This wasn't the old painting Great-Aunt Myrtle did the summer before she went insane and offed Uncle Norbert, and this wasn't anything I was going to mourn if it was lost.

She finds seashells at the seashore

These last two weeks will be called 'the time I found out what not to evereverever do while making things'.

Yup, disasters abounded. Candles warped, I made a very cunning lamp shade that promptly caught fire when put on the lamp, the clay beads still haven't dried, and my stained glass collection somehow disappeared. (Yes, Miss Rosey, I'm looking at you. Don't tell me....it was Barbie's idea, right?)

Blame it on the heat. And the @$%?# humidity.

she rips, she strips, she scores

Sometimes, ripping things up is fun. ESPECIALLY if you're caught inside during a summer downpour and nothing sounds fun to do anymore. (Yes, we're having those conversations already - and he won't be out of school until Friday!)

My son was tearing up newspaper into long thin strips and getting excited about paper-mache, (a good goopy/messy activity if there ever was one) and I thought…braids. What a neat texture doing paper-mache with braids would be!

(And it would. But it would take forever to dry.)

Crafting for grown-ups. Or something close.

Hi! I’m Jess.

I hate most crafting. I am the only person I know with a kid under five who doesn’t scrapbook, I couldn’t knit anything to save my life, (and just might endanger my life trying) and sometimes seeing my daughter coming with the coloring book (AGAIN) is enough to give me hives.

So since my three year old loooves doing crafts (possibly even more than Dora, which is saying a lot) and since I love my three year old, I thought I’d better find some things I could do with her and not fall asleep while doing them. But I’m a big girl and want to do big girl things, not any of which include Dora, Barbies, or fluffy bunnies. Crafting for grown-ups. Or something close.

Address 7 21600 pixelHeight"/>

Right click for SmartMenu shortcuts

Yellow

Hey! Do you remember paint-by-number kits? Retro, yes, but fun? I was in the dollar store and found a few this week. My kids jumped on them – they’ve finished them and in the interest of garnering more peace and quiet, I’ve turned to the internet. But then I made a delightful discovery - with the ease of good printers and a photo software program, you can turn anything into a paint by number. Watch this!

Look Ma, It's Handmade

She's crafty and ready to share it with you.