Love of Nature

This past week has been rainy, and all sorts of little friends have ventured out within Bitty's grasp on his trips to the car and the mailbox. On Tuesday, I had to pick up several snails and a slug (argh!) and put them in his open palm. Can one love nature too much? He usually comments, "He's cute."

Only the smallest bunnies run out of sight when Bitty goes outside. Wednesday morning's small snake was pretty brave and curious, too. As we were heading to the car, I held him back and pointed out the little guy flicking his tongue at us by the passenger side door. Bitty made a move to grab him; the snake only had to think a few moments before doubling back into the bushes.

Creatures beware, he has no fear of you, and his love may squash you flat.

Other People's Crafts

Wow, it's been almost two months since I last posted. I could blame it on travel, work, or Bitty's potty training (which is going pretty well), but that would be inaccurate. There is one culprit.

The Public Broadcasting Service.

Namely, the Craft in America series. I've been gorging on episodes from my Apple TV while cross stitching. It may be close to becoming a problem. I've alternately wanted to quilt, work with wood, and buy a pottery wheel. The artisans are amazing! My husband accurately notes that I'd have to focus on just one medium if I hope to become as good. Details.

My favorite snippet so far showcased the Moulthrops in Georgia. The woodturning is fabulous, but even better, the second generation artist is an attorney! So there's hope for me yet.

http://video.pbs.org/video/2152624359/

http://www.moulthropstudios.com/index.html

And the quilting. Oh. My. Goodness. http://video.pbs.org/program/craft-in-america/

It's easy to see how I've been completely waylaid.

Springing Forward: Make the Rainbow

I'm pretty sure I heard snickers in the next Costco aisle as my husband and I debated a twenty-five pound bag of rice, but I was resolute. I had a Pinterest pin to achieve! (I think of them as Girl Scout badges.)

I think I've found rice's marketing issue- all nutrition label and no colors or characters. 

I found a Spring/Easter/St. Patrick's Day craft in which small treasures were hidden in rainbow-colored rice. I found a quick, easy way to dye the rice here: 

http://www.powerfulmothering.com/how-to-make-color-rice-for-sensory-play/

Two cups fit into a quart bag, then I gave it a couple of hours to dry, since I didn't have the room to really spread it thinly on the parchment paper.  I'm torn on whether to separate the resulting "chunks" of rice before or after pouring into the container next time. I gently broke my rice apart afterward.  

In the roasting pan, I layered two more cups of white rice on the bottom before sprinkling candy into the middle for Bitty and his friend to find. Then I curled the parchment paper into a funnel and did my best to pour the colors into a rainbow. The finished product wasn't too bad!

My babysitter took lots of great pictures; Bitty and his friend spent almost two hours playing in the rice. That's like half a day in adult-time! After all the candy was found, trucks and trains filled the void. 

Stop that Train! New Cousin Edition

This weekend we went to see my sister, brother-in-law, and new niece, the first baby in our family since Bitty. He was uninterested in the prospect of seeing a baby until they got home from the hospital and he was able to hold her.

Then he felt like this.

And this. 

As she continued to cry, he comforted the little sweetie with the songs that never fail to make him feel better: "Rock-a-bye Baby" and "Misty Island Rescue." 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1683981/

Stop the Train!

Now I realize what people mean when something is a blessing and a curse. This past Monday, we woke to a thin sheet of ice powdered with snow covering the deck and a lawn of crunchy, frozen grass. I kept my sweet Bitty with me after my day at work was cancelled, and I let him sleep in as I did some much-needed laundry.

When I went in to wake him, I told him there was snow outside. He hopped out of his toddler bed, shuffled to the window, and immediately noted, "It is wintertime on the island of Sodor."

Thus began my excursion to the smog-covered island-state. Over the course of the day, we played trains on tracks, in water, in flour, and outside (for a whopping three minutes). At nap time, he gave me a hug and called me his "little train," which I'm sure is his highest praise.

The funniest part of the evening, however, was putting him to bed. After a recent potty training breakthrough, he received some vinyl wall stickers shaped like Sodor's engines. He wanted to give his trains a hug at the end of the day, and I agreed, thinking that he meant his Pillow Pet or his die cast vehicles. But no, he hit the wall, eyes closed and smiling, splayed like a perp who just met an overzealous cop. After the stickers got kisses, as well (and all the stickers- he cannot be accused of favoritism like that Sir Topham Hat), he quit stalling and and got to sleep.  

Winding thru Winter: In Stitches

I love seeing old samplers on Antiques Roadshow and thinking about all the time it took to construct them. There's such a neat historical aspect; the medium says, "I was here."

http://www.historicnewengland.org/about-us/whats-new/museum-of-fine-arts-exhibits-sampler-from-historic-new-england2019s-collection

Almost a year ago, I picked up a copy of Jo Verso's "Picture it in Cross Stitch" at Goodwill. It sat in my shelves, and I'd bring it out and flip through it occasionally, wondering if I would ever have the time to do a family sampler of my own. Then I decided it didn't have to be a massive piece to be important!

So, with some 18 count Aida and a graph printed from StitchPoint, I designed a piece for my brother's birthday from the charts in the back of the book. 

http://www.stitchpoint.com/eng/tool/grid/_intro_graphpaper.php

It was so much fun to decide on the color scheme and accessories. I took some liberties with the caduceus to add some color and represent his time at the University of Tennessee. 

Ms. Verso's book has great instructions on finishing, ironing (because I carried it around everywhere), and framing. 

Let's get healing!

Ms. Verso's book is available at the Main Branch of the Nashville Public Library. 

http://www.library.nashville.org/

Found some beautiful, elaborate charts here- where else can you get fifteen years worth of entertainment for seven dollars?

http://www.carriagehousesamplings.com/favorites01.htm

While perfect is the enemy of the good...

Sometimes you have to know when to call it a day.

Squashed tomato house. It sits by the train tracks, but so does everything else. 

Spring up ahead- let's go!

Until today, I'd been itching to get out of town to a sunnier climate, and I'd found a list of kid-friendly towns that included San Antonio. I've been to San Antonio on a quick work-related trip, but I got to see the Riverwalk and the outside of the Alamo. I'd love to go there, or just anywhere warmer than thirty-two degrees, which thankfully now includes Nashville for the next couple of days.

http://www.parents.com/fun/vacation/10-best-cities-for-families-to-visit/?page=1

Oddly, this list doesn't include Flemington, New Jersey. What's there? Only the newest fascination at our house: Northlandz, the world's largest model railroad! My husband found a link to a video there, and we've watched it at least seven times in three days.

http://www.fastcocreate.com/3026454/see-sonys-amazing-pov-of-the-worlds-largest-model-railroad

When the photographer of miniatures guesses that you'll be "quite eccentric," odds are good he'll be right.

And there's an organ.

Since seeing the video, I've watched several others and read reviews; consensus seems to be that it's a fun place that's just this side of creepy. It's only a thirteen hour trip. It's also an hour from the Liberty Bell, so we could go there, too, if we had time.

Winding thru Winter: Love and salt dough

Bitty and I played in the snow one evening during January's crazy polar vortex weather. I'm not about to go outside in freezing temperatures, so I got around a half cup of flour, poured it on a baking sheet, and put the baking sheet on a towel in the floor.

He had fun running his trains and his snowmobile through the flour. The snowmobile was in its element and saving the trains, since they all hate their snowplows. Eventually Little Bit looked like he was breaded and about to be fried, with even his forehead covered in flour.

After his bath, I took the flour that remained on the sheet, added a bit more, and made an easy salt dough. I found a recipe from Rainy Day Mum that uses the microwave to dry- and it works! 

http://rainydaymum.co.uk/the-quickest-ever-salt-dough-recipe

I made some rustic heart ornaments, using a butter knife to cut and shape the edges. A pencil made the holes at the top; one got a little smaller in the microwave. 

I would have allowed the ornaments an additional twenty-four hours to dry, but they got a much longer drying period in my craft room with our busy schedule. When I had a chance to get back to them, I gave each piece a coat of red paint, then had some fun with different techniques and finishes. 

The hearts got a blue print with painted bubble wrap, grey in the "inset" heart, some mod podge, and a polyurethane spray finish to add shine and remove the mod podge tackiness. 

The snail shell got some grey and gold splotches before I gave it a thin coat of blue. I really like how the colors show through for a mottled look. 

Winding thru Winter: Spaghetti Bake

Until now, I've had a problem making small amounts of spaghetti. When it was just me and my husband, I could never get the sauce to noodle ratio right; we'd always have more of one than the other. Then Little Bit came along. He loves spaghetti, so I mix the entire jar with the whole pound of pasta.

That leads to leftovers. There aren't many leftover dishes less enticing than spaghetti. I realize there are some who disagree, who love the way the sauce soaks into the noodles. But just the way it comes out shaped like the container and looking like some sort of organ makes me want to order takeout.

Spaghetti was the (smallish) bane of my existence. But no longer.

I found a recipe for leftover spaghetti lasagna that has changed everything spaghetti-related.

 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/left-over-spaghetti-lasagna/

The original recipe poster over-hypes it a bit; it's solid, but you won't see it on the Palm menu anytime soon. The thing I love about this easy recipe is that you can make it as you store your leftover spaghetti. Dinner is topped with mozzarella, covered, and ready to go for the next night or two, with very little time spent in prep. Extra time is always appetizing!

Corny, I know.

Okay, I'll stop.

Winding thru Winter: Perfect is the Enemy of Good

I saved Little Bit's baby food jars in my old closet at my parent's house for this project. At first, I'm sure I couldn't recycle them- they were Bitty's, not just some wine bottle! Later, after some Pinterest-ing, I found that some crafty folks were making adorable baby shower favors with them!

The one I had picked out had a mod podge top, but I was slammed at work almost three years later when I needed to break out my skills. When I began decorating with my mom, I had some ribbons from my stash and some stickers that I ordered and had sent ahead.

The jars didn't look like any that I'd seen online. I worried, even as they were filled with Hershey kisses and packed into a box. I asked my husband what he thought about them. "Free candy," he replied.

Oh yeah! They're cute, not as I'd envisioned, but still covered in ribbon and filled with chocolate. Not too shabby (or maybe shabby chic?).

Winding thru Winter: Celebrating with friends and bacon

Yesterday was my little sister's baby shower, so I had a wonderful time with friends and family. And cake. The cake was adorable and delicious, and the games were lots of fun. We played a variation of "telephone" with index cards and drawings. It was so funny, I'm considering the board game version, Telestrations.

http://www.amazon.com/Telestrations-Telephone-Game-Sketched-Out/dp/B001SN8GF4

I also took the opportunity to make an intriguing appetizer, the bacon-wrapped cracker. Due to the sheer amount of bacon involved, I doubted it was the best thing for me and my husband to nosh as we watched a movie. There were several different variations of the recipe, but I tried the Pioneer Woman's, with sprinkled parmesan cheese between the bacon and club cracker. It was awesome!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/12/flashback_1981_-_holiday_bacon_appetizers/

And I'm sure I've mentioned that I love my knitting loom. I created a baby headband using a pattern from Caring Caps, and I knitted matching flowers for the diaper cake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu2mgnLUHeM

I covered the seam with pink and white flowers- I'm sure I'll get lots of pictures once my niece arrives!

Bitty had a great time with his grandparents while my husband and I partied. When we got back, he'd watched 2011's Little Engine that Could, loosely based on a book that he's had no interest in up to this point. The animation and the addition of the Nightmare Train got him saying, "I think I can, I think I can!" 

Winding thru Winter: Cacti and bright times

After a tough week, my parents came to get Bitty so my husband and I could celebrate our anniversary on Saturday. I knew he'd be having fun, but I didn't know I'd be getting midday pictures of him playing in the mud! Needless to say, he had a great time. 

We did, too. Our first stop was Wendell's on Charlotte. Inexplicably, it was our first visit there. The fact was obvious to everyone there as we walked in and stopped, and a waitress invited us to have a seat from across the room. We were instantly labeled as newbies, but the omelet, great home fries, and good, free-flowing coffee swept away any initial unease. 

http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/wendell-smiths/Location?oid=1206367

Some shopping and driving around, then home to relax before dinner. I took the opportunity to complete my new favorite looming project. 

Looking forward to sunny times ahead!

I knitted a ball on my blue knitting loom with a two over one e-wrap method. The ball is twenty rows, with the last few rows knit in a simple one over one e-wrap. I have found that reducing the yarn at the end produces a smoother finish.  

http://www.ehow.com/how_4692508_ewrap-knifty-knitter-loom.html

The Caron yarns in soft green and sunshine look so natural, so perfect for this project. 

I cinched up the top and stuffed the ball, then pulled it together and tied the bottom. I spread glue around the bottom and side of the flower pot. Then I attached another piece of yarn to the bottom of the ball and draped that piece of yarn inside against the adhesive. To keep that yarn in place and provide a base for the cactus, I stuffed plastic grocery bags tightly into the pot. 

I finished the look with grey eco-felt cut and spread around the cactus. I like the simple look, but rocks or little desert animal figures could be added to the pot, and the pot could be decoratively painted. 

Winding thru Winter: Citing authority milestone

I don't know if many other parents would be as impressed as I was yesterday when my babysitter called me laughing about Little Bit. It's always disconcerting to see your sitter's number at work, but this was well worth the initial worry. 

She has a stash of Dum Dums lollypops on the counter in full view (I guess kind of an "eyes on the prize" thing for the boys). My son asked for one, and she replied that he could have one after he finished his lunch. "My pah-wents want me to have one," he attested. "And they want one, too."

Cute and scary! He knew he didn't have much weight to throw around. My husband and I, both attorneys, appreciated his ability to cite authority. However, it was a tad inaccurate! Bitty is no officer of the court. 

The worst part? You know we wouldn't have seen that second lollypop.  

Winding thru Winter: Painting Springtime with this and that

I was considering a medium for an upcoming craft that has to be framed, and it occurred to me that most frames either have a cardboard back or a cardboard insert included. It's already the right size for the frame. It just needs to be primed!

I had a frame on hand but could easily have gotten one at a thrift store. Argh, I've passed on so many great wooden frames because I had no idea what to put in them!

I had to include my little salt dough bird (Bitty thinks it's Cookie Monster). I imagine him saying, "Are you sure you know what you're doing??!?"

I got out my gesso, a medium I was introduced to by Courtney Adair Johnson, who has a great blog and Facebook presence.

https://www.facebook.com/REmakeArt.

I tinted it pink and spread it on with an old gift card- an idea from one of her classes at Plaza Art.

After printing it with some painted bubble wrap, I added a flower. Georgia O'Keeffe, I am not. So I added some paint using some old cutouts that housed Bitty's Fall stickers. A little more squiggly glitter paint, a smash with some scrap paper, and I'm much happier with the result.

The purple in the corner was painted over a mesh produce bag.

I added a Mod Podge layer to seal, then reframed it. Pushing it into the frame caused a few small cracks at the corners of the painting, but I'm calling this one a success overall. 

It's now on my desk, and with some dry erase markers it will be a place for my "to-do" lists. 

I'm resolved in 2014 to keep some empty frames at hand. When Little Bit gets the painting bug, this is an easy and inexpensive way to keep his art. I hope he resolves to paint more in the new year. Not only is it more fun for me, it's easier to take pictures of him painting than when he's doing this:

Winding thru Winter: New Year's Eve

Our baby night owl (to which he replies, "whoo, whoo") made it to the end of the countdown last night. My husband interrupted our bedtime stories for the ball drop, and from our window, we could see the fireworks downtown through the bare trees. Bitty's first words of 2014 were, "I can have more fireworks?"

After the excitement, and a discussion with my little pyromaniac about the smoke from the rockets, the owl snuggled back into his reading nest and went to sleep easily.

My husband suggested that perhaps Little Bit partying with us all night was not a parenting "win." The bulk of our Facebook friends were posting that their excited kids were dropping well before midnight. However, in response, I provide proof that our son does sleep: 

And hogs the bed

Happy 2014!