Bina and I did the math and figured out with two of us on the move and at the machine, we can make an eye pillow in 3 minutes and 33 seconds. Not bad for gals who weren't classically trained to sew or grow lavender.

I am telling you that from experience -- one of these under your pillow or laying over your eyes can make your bedroom a happy place!

Want an eye pillow?  Click here to BUY ONE!

Have it delivered locally in the Kansas City area or enjoy free shipping. We also would be happy to surprise a friend by shipping them this smelly surprise from our deliciously smelly garden plot in Missouri!

 

Check out our new tool belt! The irony is that 4 of the 5 of us have worn this already. It is good for all types of things and is expandable as the closure is a simple knot.

We actually made it specifically for our iPod -- but there has been a lot of uses! As you can see here, in pure daylight, a flashlight is a critical tool to explore the outdoors. I love this picture as CR is sporting his accidental Davy Crockett look, with a flipped collar and PVC & Cork weapon.

We are seriously slow-adopters of a lot of things in our house...and we are just adopting a new family hobby and loving every minute.

Our kids have all been a little late to talk, potty train, swim and bike and we haven't lost much sleep over any of these items...figuring they don't often come up in an interview or first-date questions. But being late is really relative...as people that come late to the party often have more fun, right?

Classic quote of the year: ' I love biking, Mom. I love it because of the air we make.'

There is something magical about matchbox cars.

All three of our kids have loved, thrown them, zoomed them, hid them, found them, lost them, and washed them. I have slipped on them and almost died. We have mowed some over and they have survived. But mostly, I love them because they are the perfect-sized treasure for a kid. They are portable. They are colorful. For a child, some of them have magical memories -- i.e. the one I got at Target on a sick day. For a parent, they remind me of simplicity. Their color, their rust, their styles, their personalities, their hub caps...their endless joy. To this day, we love matchbox cars and I am fearing the day when we don't. It will mean we have moved on to a more complicated phase of parenting. One where $.97 won't provide near as much joy.

Oh the magic of matchbox cars.

I think Craft Reciprocation Rocks deserves its own acronym. Doesn't it? CRR. I love it.

Despite Reb and I being more different than we could ever document, we are a lot alike in the craft-world: 1. Keep it simple, 2. Perfection is over-rated. 3. When in doubt, let's try it. When we met for her Sewing Experiment Interview, she brought a delightful little basket filled with her fusion paper, some needles, thread and a lovely "cheater" picture of a good stitch -- which I couldn't master. She You Tubed 'applique' and was taught by a woman in the UK..we have yet to find the same video as she used. But, in summary -- here were the simple steps we took. As you can see, it was either my lack of skill or too much wine that contributed to my stitch degradation...but alas you can see it loud and clear below!

Blue Raddish Girl Instructions:

1. Find a garment or bag that needs some love.
2. Decide on what shape you would like on your garment. Take fabric fusion paper (you can find it any fabric store) and iron it on the backside of fabric.
3. Cut out your shape -- and per Reb's "fiery experiment" below, singe the edges if you feel your fabric is at risk of fraying.
4. Peel the fusion paper off.
5. Iron your design on your garment.
6. Find thread you like and start stitching. As you can clearly see, the quality of my stitch is pathetic enough that I likely shouldn't be blogging about it. But my point is that I think we could ALL CREATE OUR OWN UNIQUE STITCH patterns!

1.  

Ten Epiphanies from an Evening at the Pool

1. Gotta love 1980 bathrobes doubling as a swimsuit cover up. This is not your backyard hot tub!!
2. I love seeing cute couples in their 70s walk in for an evening swim.
3. Women with big (not so cute) boobs wearing large and long gold chains and crosses that lay in their cleavage. This is not a night club!  
4. What is it with Mom’s needing to wear Mommy swimsuits? What happened to all of our bodies? Why can’t we wear normal swimsuits? We were all trying to unsuccessfully cover something up, butts, guts, etc. It is after all a swimsuit..sort of difficult to hide fat.  
5. With a 7, 6, and 3-year old, I can’t envision the day when I can go to the pool to sleep while watching (or not) our children. I must say that napping at the pool looked heavenly.
6. Working from the pool. I saw several men with laptops and wireless cards. The concept of ‘working from home’ is evolving.
7. Seeing cute lifeguards flirting with a whistle and hand signals made me feel old. In our house flirting is going to bed at the same time (with uncertain outcomes!).
8. Squirt-guns / Water-missiles need to be outlawed from the swimming pool. There is no one in their right mind that likes these things aside from the people holding them.
9. After the 5^th time CR had to go potty, I desperately wanted to tell him to go in the water. Yes, I am going to hell.
10. Holding kids, swinging kids, giving piggy-back rides and exercising with your kids is 125% easier when in the water. Yes, I am finally admitting that swimming is an awesome family sport; something I thought I would never say!

Wonders of a hole punch, ribbon, card stock and a girl named SFC!

She said she was 'bored' one day and went down and made this purse. And then as you can see, she got the hang of it and actually measured things and made bags to fit specific items -- like my iPhone.

To be honest, I think this is one of the greatest examples of how a well-organized and art-filled space for children can really prompt the most amazing things. I didn't encourage this and wasn't even present in the house when she did her first one. You don't need a room. You need some containers and a table top. Kids need to know that you are okay with them experimenting and you need to leave them be.

Thanks to Non-Profit Auntie-A, we got to embellish some bags that she got as a donation, experimenting with what could be done to a bag with a logo!  One thing my 1953 sewing machine wouldn't do...was cut through these 'cooler-like'  bags. But, hot glue loves fleece! The kids got their hands on a Flag Book. CKC chose Sweden. CR chose Texas, but we couldn't find white fabric for th white stripe and star, so we made a 'CR Flag', and SFC chose a floral number. The moral of the story is that if you find a bag you like with a stain, logo, or patch...buy it and cover it!

Yes, we borrowed some paint samples from the local hardware store!

These one-eyed monsters are well worth their household delight if you have any type of left-over wood in your house, some spray paint and some glue. The only thing you may need to invest in is some $.50 reflectors! We did this as an activity with the kids and then liked it so much that I did it with 15 kids at the cabin last weekend. Let's just say that some kids left with more One-Eyed Monsters than their parents may want! Remember in one of my last posts....we love the SPREAD THE LOVE!

This picture is iconic....my favorite little woman chilling at a fantastic little place on Milwaukee St. in Chicago. Believe it or not, I just noticed the picture above the couch of a Mom loving up a child....something that SFC has allowed me to do more of recently.

Love someone up. Today. Now. There is a person sitting next to you that needs some attention. SPREAD LOVE.