Doing Easter Crafts With My Daughter

One of the coolest things with my new job is some of the perks of certain days off that my daughter has off. Although it is not officially called Good Friday by the schools, we still got the day off together. This time off allowed us to have a crafty day and create a few decorations that she can take to Grandma's house for Easter this year.

I picked up this cute little book at the library, Easter Crafts by Colleen Van Blaricom. It had no photos but the artwork created by Anita Louise made the instructions easy to follow. Of course, we made plans to make more than we actually did but I let Emma choose the ones she wanted to do the most. Overall this book has great little projects that we didn't get to like making mini-baskets out of an egg carton, a bunny basket made from a milk jug, and a paper bag bunny.

This first project was simply titled A Dozen Easter Chicks. The instructions called for plain white cotton balls that were to be colored with a yellow marker. We decided buying yellow pom-poms was a much easier route to go. My daughter cut out each of the beaks but wasn't interested in getting them all the same size. I think they turned out pretty cute this way and gave each puffy chick their own personality.


The second project we collaborated on was Percival Peacock. Here the book used a real egg that you poke holes in and blow out the insides then wait for it to dry. Luckily, we just went to the local craft store and bought a wooden egg that my daughter painted. Another shortcut we used was to use craft foam for the tail feathers instead of coloring poster board. The downside of the foam is that it is thicker and was tricky to get it feathered out and keep in place while the glue dried.

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Happy New Year and Belated Holiday Wishes

Geesh! Did the year fly by or what? I didn't get as much done as I would have liked so I guess I will start (or restart) all over again this year. I've already been adding rows to an afghan that I started several years ago. I'll probably let you have a peek in the near future. I also pulled out an old cross-stitch project from my high school days. I think I remember messing up on it somewhere but can't find that mistake right now. At least now I can not be so perfect and just adjust the design somehow.

Here is a close up of the kitchen towel that I embroidered for my gingerbread pal. I am happy to report that she was very pleased with it - that and a huge Rice Krispie tree treat I sent along with it. The design is from a Tenderberry Stitches pattern pace call Home for Christmas Stitcheries T179.


The tree I made using my Wilton tree shaped pan. I had placed mini candy coated kisses in the pan before pouring in the mixture but I had to press more in by hand when I removed the tree from the pan.

Let It Snow

Just documenting a portion of my collection of snowmen. Yes, I did say portion, although this is the greater part of my collection unless you count all of the stuffed snowmen I have received over the years. The last photo is my annual gift from my friend Gail in Arkansas. (You can also see it hanging behind the tree.) Every year we give each other something. We try to make it handmade but not always. The past 2 years we've done pretty well with the handmade part. I will post what I made her later this week. I need to make sure she sees it first in person because I know she stops by here to check on me.

The basic overview above.

An okay picture of the tree. My DH bought lighthouse lights the other day and couldn't find a spot he like for them so they ended up on my "snowman" tree. Next year they will have to find another home.

A close up of the right side.

My 2007 snowman gift. Isn't he cute? With the ice and snow we've had in the Chicago area I imagine the snowmen here definitely need their overcoats.

Time for Some Holiday Cheer

The month of December is always busy and I hope to get up some holiday things I'm working on as well as receiving but in the meantime please enjoy this entertaining a cappella and untraditional version of the Twelve Days of Christmas from a group of singers from Indiana University. (If you listen closely you can find a little Hanukkah in it too.)

A Valentine's Quilt - More Than for Just One Day

Today is Valentine's Day and it's almost over. It was a very cold and wintry day here in the suburbs of Chicago and we still had to go to work and school. My project I'm showing today I technically finished it last week because I finally put the hanging sleeve on the back. But, I actually made it several years ago when I was just getting started in quilting. I can't even remember what book I got it out of. I think it was one that had nothing but heart related projects. It was one of the first quilt projects I ever did. This is the first year I actually hung it in my home to celebrate Valentine's Day and the month of February. I like to celebrate the holiday until the last day of the month. It is definitely worth more than one day especially when we are too busy to put everything we would like to do in just one day and when the day after is my daughter's birthday! She is, after all, my favorite Valentine's gift.