The Mind/Body Disconnect

Some have eyes bigger than their stomachs. I am no stranger to that group. However, walking around the house today, finding the beginnings of projects tucked away in every corner, I've discovered I have a different problem. Apparently, my mind works faster than my hands. I come up with new ideas faster than I can do the work to complete my old ones. So just what has been keeping my hands busy and my corners piled up this week?

I believe it's our fourth fort this week. Audrey has her own use for corners.

Drop-Dead Adorable

Yesterday, Audrey and I busied ourselves with a little Halloween crafting. This weekend we are taking part in a local Trunk-or-Treat. Most of these events are community or church-sponsored. The basic concept is that participants come with their cars decorated to a designated parking lot. They pop their trunks, which are filled with candy, and trick-or-treaters visit each car. The Trunk-or-Treat we're participating in is sponsored by my mom's group (and the church where we hold our meetings), with snacks, games, and a craft project for the kids. I've been brainstorming for easy ways to decorate the car. Bats seemed like an ideal choice, Audrey being the animal enthusiast she is, and recently asking me what bats are.

I had planned on using a stash of empty toilet paper rolls I've been collecting, but then ran across this post about clothespin bats. The bats were too cute to pass up (and we had almost everything on the list to make them). We made a few minor changes. The original design used construction paper to make the bats, but I noticed a comment by a reader who used felt. I thought this was a great idea for durability sake. This reader used iron-on jewels for the eyes since a hole-punch won't go through felt. I had some white sequin discs leftover from another project that worked just fine (and toddler fingers are the perfect size for this little detail work). I left the eye-gluing to Audrey and I tackled spray painting the clothespins. Together we glued the tips of the wings to form one piece. After the clothespins dried (which happened to be after Audrey had gone to bed) I glued the clothespins to the bats. This morning I attached some clear nylon jewelry cord to each bat.


Audrey grabbed 3 of the bats and very appropriately hung them from a doorknob, a kitchen window, and the stair banister. The other five I hung from the fireplace (and I think my little designer was right, 5 are all the fireplace needs). They will hang there until Saturday morning when we drape them from the top of the car for Trunk-or-Treat. I have thoughts of making black cardboard wings to attach to the sides of the car, but we'll see if I get that far. We have more important things to prepare for this week - like a certain someone turning three.

*While Audrey and I physically did this project, I must give credit where it's due. Crafting would not have happened yesterday had it not been for my friend, Elizabeth, who upon finding out in the morning that I was functioning on a mere four hours of sleep, whisked Audrey off for a play date so I could get some rest. Without her generosity, there would have been no afternoon creativity and no bats, just one zombie of a mama. (Thanks, Elizabeth)!


I suppose I should give some credit to Martha Stewart, too, since it is her design. But I'm sure she couldn't have made them, either, had it not been for enough sleep and good friends. There are some things (domestic goddess, or not) that we all need.

Getting My Party On - Domestic Goddess-Style

This weekend I attended a sewing party. Yes, such things exist. Well, at least one did this weekend. My sister, a second-grade teacher, had a large project to complete for her classroom before school starts in the fall. My mother, who knows a good socializing opportunity when she sees one, offered to get this project started (and finished, for that matter) by hosting a sewing party.



Five of us gathered, sewing machines in hand, to sit, socialize, and sew (we had to do a little work, after all).

Of course, no party would be complete without a smorgasbord of food - complete with desserts, but you'll have to take my word on those, they were nearly gone by the time I got the camera out (trust me, it's better this way, seeing those pies would have made you sad not to be there).

But the best thing about a sewing party may be seeing a finished project in the end. In our case, we had these cute chair covers to show for the hours spent sitting and chatting. (Disclaimer: I must have been high on key lime pie when I took these pictures. I slid the chair cover on backwards. The pocket should actually face the back - you'll have to use your imagination).

We managed to make 46 of these (I think that was the final count) in one day. Each student in my sister's class (as well as another teacher's) will have one in which to store notebooks, books, etc. while their chairs are pushed into tables with no other storage available. Pretty crafty, efficient, and fun. Just like a sewing party.

Chalk Walk

Yesterday, we participated in a Chalk Walk at the library. Each child is armed with a couple plastic baggies of chalk, a small carpet to protect their knees from the hot asphalt (which Audrey, of course, disregarded), a pre-drawn square "frame" (We monopolized two squares. Oops. What can we say? Sometimes our art is too big to be contained in one small box.), and their imagination. What comes next is a little chalk-meets-pavement magic.



Followed by a walk (wearing 3-D glasses, if you prefer) to admire your work and the work of your fellow chalk artists. So without further ado, we bring you some summer art (Audrey's favorite, showcasing a dog, is at the end). Enjoy!

The Days Unseen

Between Father's Day and our anniversary, I haven't spent much time this week writing about our daily adventures. So here's a little picture summary of how we've spent some of our time:

A trip with Audrey's friend Thad (and mom, Hilary) to the zoo;

Followed by a run through the sprinkler;

Sous-chef practice;


Some card art for me;

Some body art for her;

A shopping excursion to a local farmers' market;

A playground romp;

A close encounter with ducks;

A mother-daughter hike (I like how she's moving so fast the leaves look like snow);

And a banana bread baking session this morning. (The reason for the pictures in the swim cover-up? We snuck a couple swim lessons in this week, too). Oh, the busy days of summer…