Story Time Fort Kits

 My grandsons have been hard at work making homemade gifts, they have lots of friends and wanted to make something special for them. Their mother, knowing how much they love playing "pretend", decided they would put together a "Storybook Fort" for their friends.

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My daughter involved all her children in putting together the "Story Time Fort" Kits. First was to find a twin size sheet that would serve as the "tent".  Our grandchildren have an extensive library and wanted to share some of their books. They chose several books for each kit, depending on the age of the recipient and tied them up with raffia.

                                                                                  They also made a sock puppet that corresponded to the books chosen to gift to their friends. Their mom helped with the eyes and hair. 

Mom then made a pouch and included clips to hold up the tent, glow bracelets, and a book light. The books went in the pouch as well.

They are learning about poetry in homeschooling classes; so it was their task to come up with a poem for the "Story Time Fort" and WooHoo!.....A "Story Time Fort Kit" was created. 

My guess is this might be THE hit under the Christmas Tree for those kids, better than playing with the boxes; which is what our kids did while their toys just gathered tinsel under the tree.

Homemade Knitting Loom

Check out the easy homemade knitted scarves my grandsons have made for their aunts and cousins for Christmas.

 Blessed with a big family, my daughter needed to find a homemade gift that her boys could make for their aunts. She found instructions for this cool homemade knitting loom, made from an empty toilet paper tube and craft sticks. She substituted pencils for the craft sticks and they seemed to work much better. The yarn was easy to slide off the pencils and the loom was just the right size for little hands to grasp. Following is a link to instructions to make the loom and to learn spool knitting: Spool Knitting

 

The picked their favorite colors and went to work creating "one of a kind" gifts for their aunts.  So much better than buying yet another bottle of lotion at the dollar store! What a great lesson they are learning about the true spirit of Christmas

Once they knit an appropriate length to enable them to loop a couple of times they will pass on the projects to their mother.  My daughter will then join the ends together and squish them in the suitcases for a 3000 mile plane ride home. Woo Hoo, that's my Christmas gift; she can just put bows all all their heads and I'll be a happy camper!

They are proud of their creations and their aunts will get a cozy scarf to keep them warm this winter.  They also made their mom some headbands which she loves, so soft, not those headache bands that she has always dreaded to put on.  Aren't they just the best boys ever? Of course, they are!!

Double Word Score F A M I L Y

I've been on a mission in my home to add a little color lately. My husband and I have very different styles and over the years the one thing we can meet in the middle on is the color brown. We both like chocolate brown and dark woods. Unfortunately that has left us with a very dull interior. We are realizing we need to rethink this plan, so I am out to find ways to add a touch of color in fun ways that will please everyone in our household.

This was our latest project. I saw the idea to use scrabble tiles to write your families name on pinterest, and in my effort to brighten up our home I decided that we would put them on a painted canvas.

This was a great project to do with our kids. While I mixed paints and did a first coat of paint they worked on configuring all our names into a crossword. We ran into a little trouble when we realized that scrabble doesn't come with three B's but my boys quickly rearranged the tiles so that we connected the B's and had enough.

Afterwards, I let the kids paint a second coat and we mixed a little orange and red to create textured background. Then after it dried I helped them place the letters and glue them on.

In hindsight I wish I had put a little bit of separation between the letters so that it filled the canvas better, but all in all I am happy with the way it turned out. It looks beautiful on the wall with our family pictures and brightens up that space just a bit.

If you stop by please leave a comment, We love 'em!
 

Happy to be linking up with the following parties:
Skip to my Lou
Hope Studio
Coastal Charm 
Not Just a Housewife
French Country Cottage 

Newborn Pink

Is there anything sweeter than the pink of a newborn babe? My baby had a baby, it seemed just impossible that she could be having a baby herself. We had called her our "snuggle bug" and then teased her about becoming a "snugglesaurus". Now she was giving birth before my eyes to this exquisite little pink creature. I had flown out to Monterrey, California when i heard he was going to make an early appearance and joined my very anxious daughter sitting beside a Koi pond, with waterfalls and original art by Charles Schultz. I had to pinch myself to remember this was a hospital not a resort. We had sipped on raspberry tea the night before he arrived.  Is that why he was just the hue of a fresh picked raspberry? That was 8 years ago and  he has grown so big now.  We call him our little "professor" because he is constantly inventing and is such a deep thinker. Doesn't he look deep in thought at only five minutes of age? I just couldn't resist sharing this sweet little drop of newborn pink. I've been blessed to have six of these little suger plums drop into my life, changing me forever. Just a drop of newborn pink, who knew? Linking to Pink Saturday to show off my little pink drop.

Birthday Traditions

My youngest had her 4th birthday this past week. Her birthday always creeps up on me a bit because it is right before Halloween. I am the Children's Minister at our church and so this time of year means planning a Fall Festival. With all that going on I have a hard time also planning a birthday party. One thing that helps is having a few birthday traditions. I know that no matter how much planning I do that those little things we do every year are going to make it so special.

Here are a few of our birthday traditions:
We have a special birthday tablecloth that we use for every party. Each year I use a permanent marker to trace my kids hands on the tablecloth and write their names and age on it. My children love this tablecloth and each year the look to see how big their hands have grown.

A few years ago my mom had a birthday crown and banner made by Cassie at Goldilocks Creations. She did an amazing job and the banner and crown match our tablecloth. The banner is made of felt and has clothes pins on either side so it can clip to curtains or window shades. It also has clips between each banner so you can clip pics of the past year to the banner for the kids to look at.

Another traditions we try to do most years is to having the kids make their own birthday cake. Sometimes this just isn't possible but it sure is fun when we can do it. My kids adore being in the kitchen with me and so they can't wait to make their own cake. This year it was a Rupunzel tower cake. The tower is made of donuts and we used M&M's for vines.

I would love to hear from some of you... what are some of your birthday traditions? Check out Potpourri Friday and some other memory keepers at Time Travel Thursday .

Vintage Pink Mohair

 Love this shade of pink! The pleats on the shoulder and back, the way it falls so beautifully. Pink Mohair just envelopes you in delicious warmth. Bring back pink Mohair....

 Remember Lana Turner, surely some of you are old enough to remember Lana Turner. I found this Pink Mohair Jacket in my favorite little shop Honeysuckle Hollow in Hendersonville. I can just see some tall (not me) elegant lady wearing this jacket to a symphony performance or a play like "Imitation of Life". Loved Lana Turner...

Ok, I wasn't even born yet when her reputation as a glamorous femme fatale was enhanced by her performance in the film noir The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) but my sister and I love to watch old movies together. I felt so honored that my older sister would want to spend a Saturday night with me instead of going dancing with her "honey".

Hope to have this in Sabrina's  Etsy shop soon.  She has some other things on her plate right now, like home schooling, getting a teaching degree, being children's minister for her church, and oh last but not least a Navy wife. Well, someday...

And these little shoes, found in a thrift store are that same wonderful shade of pink. Love the little button on the side. Linking this post to Pink Saturday, when you go over there check out the little pink number by Ralph Lauren.

Graceful

What a HoneyPond find in the hill country of Texas. Amongst all the cowboy paraphernalia was this delightful little shop called Graceful. Graceful it was! The owner was a master at creating vignettes that showcased her jewelry, clothing, and gifts. What creativity! It was hard to take it all in during one visit. Hope all you fans of White Wednesday enjoy this HoneyPond.

Celebrating Autumn on the Blue Ridge

My husband and I have always loved the fall and taking the kids to find "A Perfect Tree". Not a perfect Christmas tree but a perfect Autumn tree, one on fire with blazing colors. We would take photos of their pick and then when we got home let our kids vote on which really was the perfect tree. Now they are older and do their own fall traditions but my guy and I still go for drives looking for that perfect tree. Hope you enjoy our drive too, I think we may have really found the "perfect tree".

Cowboy Capital Weekend

I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting my sister, her daughter and granddaughter in Texas to attend the wedding of my neice. The wedding was unique and oh so sweet, see my Bandera Wedding post for details. That night we stayed at a Twin Elms Guest Ranch in Tarpley with along with some of the other guests attending the wedding. Relaxed in the "Hoss" room and the "Dale and Roy" room; you're never too old for a slumber party. Didn't count on bunk beds! But wouldn't have missed it, really was a part of the whole "Texas" experience, right along with that cute wrangler leaning on the fence and a Texas sunrise.  The next day we explored Bandera shops like Gunslinger Dry Goods and stopped at the Bear Moon Cafe in Boerne to have a Chipotle grill cheese sandwich at on the way to the airport. We packed in every little thing we could into this muli-generational getaway! And this is linked to What I love Wednesdays...

Bandera Wedding

I spent the last weekend in Texas at my neice's wedding. It was sweet and uniquely Texan, being in Bandera which is the Cowboy Capital. The ceremony was held in a grove of gigantic live oak trees, sitting on hay bales covered in quilts set in concentric circles. The guys and gals wore boots, groom was handsome and bride was especially beautiful, just saying...
I almost didn't go, I had just returned from trips to Oklahoma, Washington, and Tennessee; then at the last minute I decided that I just couldn't miss seeing that girl walk down the aisle on her dad's arm. Well, some times you procrastinate and miss a HoneyPond, thank goodness I threw caution to the wind and got myself to that wedding.

Reception was at the Williams Creek Depot in Tarpley, which just happens to be owned and operated by the bride's family. The food was absolutely lip-smacking good; Poblano Mac & Cheese, Sweet Potato Rolls, Cornbread and Bar-B-Que Ribs washed down with Sangria, followed by Chocolate Fudge Pecan Pie. Oh my, Oh my....Well, here I am a homesick Texan wishing I had one more helping of that Mac & Cheese. So I googled Poblano Mac & Cheese and "lo and behold" what should come up but Sweet Life featuring The Homesick Texan Cookbook with a recipe for Poblano Mac & Cheese. Now I can't be sure that it will be as good as what I ate at that Bandera wedding, 'cause the atmosphere was half the goodness, but I'm sure gonna give it a whirl. And I also whirled on over to Petite Hermine to see what other goodies I could find while I posted for the first time to their Sunday Goodies.

Rosebud Twirls

I love the idea of making a story come alive by integrating it into daily life, don't you? Sabrina, What a cute little cookbook, Once Upon a Time Recipe especially when you have a real live Tinkerbell, er. Rosebud, living right in your house. Our Rosebud begins and ends every day twirling and falling into a heap of tulle. Remember when the most important job you had was doing the perfect twirl, that falling down only meant that you had a chance to do it all again. Don't you just know that this little Rosebud will remember forever the day her Mommy made Tinker Bell's Buns and ate them sitting in a pile of pink tulle. Woo Hoo! This is my first post for Pink Saturday, so scoot over there and check out all the pink deliciousness.

Storybook Dinner

This past week I pulled out one of my favorite little recipe books and let the kids help me make dinner. My kiddo's love playing pretend and reading storybooks. I have one child that is gluten and dairy intolerant and so when it comes to recipes I feel like I had gotten stuck in a rut by not trying new recipes very often. Really though, with a little thought any recipe can be easily adapted and so on this day we decided to try some Storybook recipes and also link to Our Simple Country Life and Brambleberry Cottage . 

This whimsical and beautifully illustrated cookbook is Once Upon a Recipe by Karen Greene. We chose two recipes; Thumbelina Burgers and Tinkerbell's Buns.
My son can not have wheat or dairy so we prepared this recipe for him by baking a wheat/dairy free pizza crust until it was nice and crisp. Then we used a pizza cutter to cut the buns out of his pizza crust and for ours we used bread slices. We did not have any tofu for this recipe so used our left over bread and pizza crust for bread crumbs instead. 

For Tinkerbell's Buns we used gluten free pancake mix and almond milk for substitutes. Ours were not raspberry though... they were made with some homemade blackberry jam given to us by a friend, mmmm!

Of course, Thumbelina burgers and Tinkerbell buns are quite small so we had to add tortilla chips as a side item. This storybook dinner brought a little joy and togetherness to our evening. They have been flipping through the book trying to decide what we should make next. I decided that tonight before bedtime we will be making Winken, Blinken, and Nod Tea :)  You can find more gluten free ideas at these blogs, Every Day Tastes and at Yay for Home!

Barefoot in Lavender

What could be better than running barefoot in lavender fields? Isn't it wonderful how children so easily shed their shoes and inhibitions. Rosebud delighted in running up and down the rows of lavender. I had wanted to visit the lavender farms in Sequim, Wa. since I had heard about them. Sometimes what you expect is even better than imagined and that was the case this day. We missed the festival but enjoyed a quiet morning in the fields, our children carried baskets which they filled with lavender stems. Ferdie, our great dane, lazed under a willow tree while Sabrina and I shared a cup of lavender ice cream. Perfect HoneyPond! Thanks to the tutorial at the Dear Little Red House I learned to make a mosiac. WooHoo!

Spooky Chandelier

Found this old chandelier at a garage sale last weekend for $2 and thought it would make a great chandelier to welcome little spooks. Just spray painted it shiny black, added a witches hat with some netting, old fabric roses and ornaments, and spiders.

My grandson's girlfriend, a bit goth, dubbed it "spooktacular" and wants it for her room. Until then it will hang on our porch above the Jack-O-Lantern. Check out all the other "spooky" decorations at Polish the Stars.

Mantle Display

Honeysuckle Hollow offers lots of "feathers" for your nest. I love the old frames gathering on the mantle. Every time I visit I am charmed by the creative efforts, leaves made from the pages of old books and vintage clothing intice me stay and explore the corners. Corners always hide something not to be missed in this little store in Hendersonville, NC. You can facebook Honeysuckle Hollow so as to get in on all the upcoming special events or go to http://www.honeysucklehollow.com/

for a sneak peak.

Honeysuckle Hollow

One of my most favorite shops in the world is Honeysuckle Hollow in Hendersonville, NC. It was a real HoneyPond moment when I stepped in the door of this little shop and there were treasures in every direction.I love the dreamy whites, specialty ribbons, and vintage clothing. The Witch is In for sure at Honeysuckle hollow and that's a good thing! Check out this shop online at http://www.honeysucklehollow.com/

My Papa Presley

My grandfather, Presley, was known for always saying that there was a Honey Pond ahead. I asked my mom what he meant and laughing she said, "Papa just means he is looking and expecting to find something wonderful just ahead." I seem to have inherited that expectation and have passed it on to my children. My daughter, Sabrina, especially shares this So we decided to share some of these "treasures" that we happen upon, photographs that inspire, books both vintage and new, re-purposed retro items and sweet repeats, places that bring smiles, and sometimes just a shared thought to bring peace or joy. So we are going to try for the next year, at least, to convince you too that a Honey Pond lies just ahead.