Yes, I saw it on Pinterest

I didn't pin it....but it stuck in my mind after seeing it on Pinterest somewhere

For the granddaughters turning three years old this spring

I decided to make a color matching game

Lots of cutting and glueing

Smear a load of mod podge

Let it dry

Weight it between sheets of wax paper if it seems to be curling

Glue matching strips on clothespins

Ta da

When I went to Tim and Karen's for dinner, I handed off a couple of late (very) birthday gifts to Sydney

Audrey seemed to love the precision of lining up the clothespins 

in spite of the fact it was way simple for her

Sydney worked on the 2nd color game:

Potato chip tube with four slots cut in the sides

Each had a different color around the slot

There was a container of flat bear figures----in 4 colors----to put in the slots

"It's like a money bank," Kaitlyn observed

Happy birthday beautiful sweethearts: Sydney, Maliah and Daisylyn

Babes in Christmas Land . . . . Posterity Blocks

Posterity Blocks

O-o-o-o-o-ohhhhh

They are s-s-s-s-so cute

This is what the grandkids made me for a gift/game

Aunt Amber helped them at an overnighter she had at her home

One precious baby face block for each grandkid

And a block for each set of parents

(circa courting time)

It's a decor item.....it's a game.....

Can you name all the little ones....or match which babies go with which parents?

Or set them up in order of birth?

(The posterity number and birth date

are on the back of each child's block. 

The wedding date

is on the back of the parent block.)

Ah ha

Here is one set of siblings

(They are not in order....can  you figure them out?)

I got tears in my eyes as I opened block after block

Oh-h-h-h-h......you are so cute, I kept exclaiming at each one!

I feel nostalgic at how quickly

every beautiful grandchild is growing 

 . . . . and grateful for the wonder of each child

Here is another family cluster

Even little brother's NICU tubes included

Just wanna kiss those cheeks!

Love love love them

Hey you cute girleeos

Each unique and precious

Amber made some blank blocks, waiting for Clawsons to add their pictures

(Bring pictures when you come, Clawsons!)

And there are blank blocks....for Tyrel's future

Here it shows the two things on the back of the child block:

Birth date

and

Birth order number

as a grandchild in the family

Here is the back of Sterling's block, grandchild #15

Thank you, Amber and grandchildren

What a lot of love crafted into a gift

Getting Ready for a Pinterest Party

Alisha's idea for this month's Girls Night:

a Pinterest Party

That sounds like a great idea!

The "rules"

Make something from your Pinterest page

Wrap it

Bring it

Exchange it with another

Enjoy the array

and

justify our Pinterest time....ha!

So . . . . . bring on some royal accessories

 The crown-from-a-piece-of-lace on my Pinterest page

has been intriguing me for a couple of months .. . . I'll do that

My can of bronze paint came in handy as I laid lace on newspaper in the garage

Then I pinned the painted and slightly stiffened lace

around an oatmeal cylinder

and slathered on Mod Podge

Then it became REALLY stiff

Stitched on a strip of elastic at the back

I discovered the lower edge of the lace was rough with dried Mod Podge

so I added a little strip of foam

Hopefully it won't scratch any little heads

 Bonus gift:

a Kool-Aid dyed dancing scarf

in a special bag

(another Pinterest project, uh huh)

Ah hah . . . . glue still wet

Bejeweled

and royal looking

Just trying it out

Daughter of a King 

Since all my daughters have girls

and dress up bags

I figured it was a gift that could go to any of the families

Who would it be?

Dharma Silks plus Kool-Aid via Pinterest

5.

Been wrestling with these photos......failing to get them into the order I want

Drat....and oh well

I'll just write about them at the bottom

2.

4.

8.

7.

9.

1.

6.

3.

OK....Several years ago I ran onto this online source of white silk scarves (Dharma Trading Co).  I've read about dying them delicious colors.  That has intrigued me ever since. 

So why would anyone want a rainbow of scarves? 

They are magical for all kinds of make believe or dress up.  I've also used scarves as a feeling management tool for kiddos.  In the confinement of indoor space, a child can toss scarves in the air----instead of balls or beanbags----and shift a load of feelings.  Hard not to start laughing as you throw scarves in the air and then leap to grasp them before they hit the ground.

With the Pinterest inspiration of a Kool-Aid dye list, I took the plunge.  Sent in an order for white silk scarves.  Bought a load of Kool-Aid packets.  Prepared to cook up some fun.

Oh my......you should have seen those white scarves soak up the color.....fascinating.

1.  Here is an array of my Kool-Aid colors.  

2.  I've got mail!  Quick service from Dharma Trading Company.  Hemmed scarves: 30" x 30"

3.  Presoak scarves 1/2 hr in the sink with some vinegar in hot water.

4.  Pretty!  Wring the sink water out of 2  scarves and put in one dye batch.  (The dyeing batch:  3 packets of Kool-Aid, 1/2 c vinegar, 2 c Very hot water.) I would have gotten better color coverage if I'd dyed one scarf per 3 Kool-Aids.....but I wasn't willing to go buy twice as much Kool-Aid.....and I rather like the slightly mottled look.

5.  OOoo-ahhh!  I discovered that I needed to quickly  flip the fabric as soon as I got it into the colored water.  It soaked up the dye super fast.  It was fun to watch that happen.  In just moments, there was no more color left in the water!

6.  Juicy and brilliant.  After the initial stirring, I cooked the color brew in the microwave for 3 minutes.  (The online instructions said to do the 3-minute heating 3 times....which I did not do.)  I let each finished batch sit on the counter for a while, then rinsed with cold water.  I dryer tumbled the scarves one color at a time....with a big fluffy towel....til they were only damp.  Then ironed with low heat.

7.  Be.you.ti.ful.  Such pleasure for my eyes.

8.  This scarf is the best sample of the mottled/veined effect that I like so much.....essence of tie dye.

9.  Oh-h-h-h, I am rich with color.   I like!

I am very happy with this experiment. . . . . .so fun......so pretty. . . .ready for years of creative play.

Stamps, anyone?

I've read several ideas lately about making your own stamps.

One idea:  craft foam!
I want to try that . . .

I cut a circle of sticky backed foam and stuck it on the lid of a medicine bottle

Drew a design on the foam

using a ballpoint pen
The pressure indention from the pen does its magic.....voila!

How cute is that!

In lieu of an ink pad

I did a quick smear of felt tip marker

and stamped away

Whoa.....that worked so fine

I love the whimsy of the designs

The color doesn't wash totally off the foam between colors.....but good enough

I think I see some 

chat and carve 

kiddo fun ahead at school

Easy to see how this can be useful and therapeutic as I counsel with my young friends

I showed my sample to several teachers

I saw their brains start spinning about classroom art project potential

I want to try it on blocks or strips of wood

for my personal use

But in the meantime, bring me some of your milk jug lids

I think they will be my best freebie stamp  base

Gotta go try that . . .

Mickey Mouse

I haven't blogged about the staff death we had at our school

Too overwhelming

In honor of Julie, we planned a fund raising memorial dinner

Funds raised were to buy an outdoor bench in her honor

(to be placed just outside her classroom)

and extra funds were added to her family's scholarship fund for her children

We as staff were assigned to bring desserts to that spaghetti feed

Our teacher colleague and friend loved Mickey and Minnie Mouse

So in honor of Julie's love for all things Mickey .  . .

I had a brainstorm

Now these do look like mini Moose droppings

but I assure you

they are MOUSE related, instead!

See

I told you so

Mickey Mouse brownies

ready to go to the school spaghetti feed dinner

Think:

 two sizes of Tootsie Roll

slice into wafers

(which squishes them)

then

 rework them into circles

Voila!

Disney would be proud

Julie, we miss you

The Making of the Queen

 This woman knows how to put it together

to make a Star Wars Queen

Almost time for the school Halloween parade

On goes the make-up

Pretty soon we'll staple down the

posterboard bodice

Must have lips

(Do you love the hair rolls?   Hair-covered insulation tube!)

Head gear made

by one of our creative-extraodinaire staff

all hot glued to a stocking cap

There is even a filial at the top

I adore the headpiece

Put it all together

(I love the bodice curliques ....that was my creativity at work)

The skirt designs are stapled on

There's a hula hoop under there foo-fooing it out

I think she's ready to stroll among the masses

Where is the rest of the party?

Presto- - - - - Jewelry Fix!

You know how you have a necklace that doesn't

hit the "just right" length

on some blouse or shirt . . . .

and you need a temporary fix?

Well

I saw some do dad online

you could buy (no thank you)

to adjust the

chain/cord in back

That got me thinking

Hey hey!

When a grand child left this hair clip behind

it got re-purposed

for a happy solution to my

wrong-length necklace

(thank you, anonymous young posterity)

Presto!

I love it

I usually wear a jacket that covers

the back of my neck

But I wouldn't mind it showing

silver side

or

blue side

Creative solutions are for sharing!

Salsa dancin'

You know tha delicious salsa that Costco sells?

That expensive little  bucket with mango in the salsa?

You like it, right?

Me, too

But I don't like paying their price

And I don't get to Costco very often either

I've tried the "mango" salsa at Winco

Not as good

Check the label

they add peaches

A while back

it occurred to me

I could add my own mango

Oh yeah, Elementary, my dear Watson!

Open your favorite salsa . . . Pace Mild for me

Pick a tender ripe mango

Peel, slice, chop, stir

I leave it in the 'fridge overnight so the flavors get a chance to blend

Today I used some as the "dressing" on my lunch time green salad
M-m-m-m-m, just the right amount of zing and sweet

Re-purpose that

Understatement:
I own a lot of earrings

Most of them are the hook kind

In the past

I stored them in a tray

It got deep and messy

A while back

I gave my brain the assignment

of pondering a way

to hang my earrings

When I discovered this CD rack in a 2nd hand store

it gave my brain the shout out:

Pick me!  Pick me!

I do believe I will

I like its curvy dancing look

and

I like that it takes up very little

dresser top space

I can even lasso the top corners with a few bracelets

Welcome home, handy addition!

Set the hook

Last time I visited an IKEA store

I was on the hunt for

a way to hang my necklaces

These 5-hook swinging doo dahs seemed a likely solution

I got lucky

As a birthday present

Tim offered to come over and work on projects that would be helpful for me

thank you thank you

Yahoo!   A wonderful gift!

He figured out how to attach a support board

and I painted it to match the rest of the closet

He attached three sets of the swinging hooks

Br-r-riiiiing! (add a magical sound)

Choices at my fingertips

Love it