Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Father's Day

Other than being rather frugal and well, lets face it, cheap (living on one income will make you be creative), I love no no no....LOVE the idea of home made gifts! I am not sure when it became the norm that if you have a homemade gift that you are cheap, but that seems to be the attitude I encounter the most. Anyway...back on topic.

Father's Day!

Yeah DADS!

I have decided that this year we are going to make hand impressions to follow with a poem, I also have them painting wooden hearts with their names on them and a place to hang a key. Daddy hold's the key to my heart. I will have to post pics when we have that one done. For now I wanted to share the recipe for the handimpressions (sure you can buy the stuff at your local craft store but it is so much more fun when you can mess the whole kitchen, right?) and the poem.

Handprints

What you need:

4 cups of flour
1 cup salt
Food coloring
Water to moisten
Large Bowl

What you do:

Mix all the ingredients together in large bowl. Add water to get desired dampness.
Take half of the salt dough and gently flatten with palm of your hand. Don't let it get too thin. Keep it thick.
Ask your little one to make her handprints in the dough. You can do the same for feetprints too. With a toothpick have your child write their name on the back of the mold with the date. Allow to dry for 24 hours.

Peom Idea:

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints
On furniture and walls
But everyday I'm growing up
And soon I'll be so tall
That all these little fingerprints
Will be hard to recall
So here's a special handprint
Just so that you can say
This is how my fingers looked
When I placed them here today

Find this idea and more at the link posted below
http://www.homeschoolzone.com/pp/crafts/momday.htm

Staying on track......

This is something that I will admit I am pretty horrible at. Hence all the lists. On my list still, to crochet those 3 white cloths and photo them! See, horrible. Good thing God and can forgive (and that no one had ordered them).

So what did I find so much more intersting then cloths?

I love a challenge and if I can learn something new, even better. I have come to really appreciate the internet. For example, these last two days I learned how to make a crochet and fabric dress. Something I have never done before. I do not have a serger so I learned how to finish a raw edge (I don't have pinking (sp?) shears either) with a special stitch on my machine. Then I also learned how to make ruffles with machine basting stitches......too technical? I have now decided that while I can live without the serger, I really really want a ruffler foot for my machine. Yeah internet.



Here is the finished product. It turned out so good and since I also was able to figure out how to machine sew the crochet bodice to the woven fabric skirt, it will stand the test of my friend's daughter. Here is a picture of my daughter wearing it. Yes it was in the morning and finishing the dress was more important than brushing hair this morning. At least I was able to put aside my artistic tendecies to make them breakfast. :)

And if all that wasn't enough to be proud of myself for..........my hubby was impressed! I heard a WOW hun, that looks really good. Then he had to touch it so I know he liked it. Score one for the girls back home! (my 8 year old latest phrase)

Buisness cards......Check!



Oh yes. After months of saying, " Today, I will get those buisness cards done." they are finally done. However I refuse to disclose just howmany months it took. That's my secret.I am so proud I got them done that I took pictures. Yes! I am lame, I mean cool enough and now with homeschool done for the year officially to have the time to take pictures. So here you are.......




I would love to say that I got it right the first time but it is more like the second. Oh well, I crochet, not make buisness cards.

I am doing good this morning. Out of 11 things on my to do list (you know you have one to) I only have 3 left.

1.Crochet 3 more white dish/wash cloths for etst to make a set of 4
2.Take pictures off all the others that I crocheted this weekend (2 hot pink, 1 white, 2 natural)3.Put 1 basket of laundry away

The last one will most likly not get done. I have no problem washing the laundry, after all, it stinks. But to put it away......I homeschool so there are days when wrinkled cloths are ok. :)

What else to I have to do? I am making a market bag out of all 100% cotton yarn. I made myself one already and I love it. The holes are not so big that my cell will fall out or pens and I can use it for the park (sand shakes out), I have used it to replace what would normally fit into 3 plastic grocery bags (yeah!). I love it because when I go to check out the bag girl looked at me, smiled, and under her breath asked the checker lady, "What am I suppose to do with this?", truly puzzled. I smiled and said, "Fill her up as much as she will hold".


Oh horror. My daughter just now is talking about when she buys a horse!!! I need to go and find some other educational channel other then animal planet. We have a zoo as it is, but that is another post entirely. ;)

Policies and Wisdom

So I am trying to be witty but when kids are being whinny, it can be difficult. I decided to write my store policies for my etsy shop (thought I had already but apparently that was in the same dream that I had also gotton all the laundry done, sigh) with some humor. Here is my attempt.

Welcome
Welcome to my refuge of peace! I am a SAHM/WAHM that homeschools....need I say more on the refuge of peace? I love to create and find that it keeps me sane on those days I need it most. I much prefer crochet to banging my head in the wall and my kids don't look at me as strangly.

Payment
I accept the following forms of payment and prefer that payment be made or mailed within 3 days. Failure to do so will result in my re-listing the item for someone else to have it (unless you communicate with me first)

*Paypal
*Money OrderShippingAll items are sent via First Class Mail with delivery confirmation. They are carefully packaged in a plastic bag with a thank you note and a free gift if I have them available. I then package them in an envelope to accomedate their size.

IMPORTANT
I am not responsible for items that are damaged or lost in the postal service system. Once it leaves my hands it is out of my control. If you would like to purchase insurance for you package then please let me know and I will send you a revised invoice to reflect that.

Refunds and Exchanges
At this time I am hesitant to offer refunds but if you open the package and do not like it after all please convo me immediatly (within 3 days) and mail it back. Once I have recieved it and made sure it is still in prestine condition I will refund you the cost of the item.

Additional Policies and FAQs
I am open to trades. Have never done them but don't see a harm in them. I have something you like you have something I like, lets talk!

I try to add new things once a week however it can be difficult with homeschooling and three kids so I add them as often as I am able. If you are looking for something and I do not currently have it in my shop, convo me. I will drop everything, lock myself in my room leaving the husband to fend for himself and make it for you! Truly, I will. :)**I especially enjoy the part of leaving the hubby to defend for himself. ;)

Now for the wisdom part of todays blog posting!
Drum roll please...............
Wisdom teeth are so aptly named because you realize after the dentist has PRIED them OUT of your mouth that it would have been WISER to just leave them.Had all my wisdom teeth pulled, I cried, I shook and after it all, I went and drove myself to the pharmacy to get the pain meds because it if hurt that bad still with the novicane then it was really going to hurt later on!

Now to let you know just how dedicated of an educator I am, when the dental assistant asked if I wanted my teeth (they do that for adults?) I said yes thinking that I could turn this into a really good lesson on oral health and the kids could look at them (mind you I have all girls) and we could look them up on the web. And we did.

Just a MOM?

I have read this before and it was posted on CAST team in Etsy. I think it is appropriate to start my blogging career with.



JUST A MOM?



A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk 's office, was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

'What I mean is, ' explained the recorder,'do you have a job or are you just a ?

''Of course I have a job,' snapped the woman.

'I'm a Mom.'

'We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife' covers it,'Said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myselfin the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised,efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like,'Official Interrogator' or 'Town Registrar.

''What is your occupation?' she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know.The words simply popped out.'I'm a Research Associate in the field ofChild Development and Human Relations.

'The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair andlooked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written, in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

'Might I ask,' said the clerk with new interest,'just what you do in your field?

'Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,I heard myself reply,'I have a continuing program of research,(what mother doesn't)In the laboratory and in the field,(normally I would have said indoors and out).I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family)and already have four credits (all daughters).Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?)and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.

'There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career,I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program,testing out a new vocal pattern.I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than 'just another Mom.'Motherhood!What a glorious career!Especially when there's a title on the door.Does this make grandmothers'Senior R esearch associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations'And great grandmothers'Executive Senior Research Associates?'I think so!!!I also think it makes Aunts 'Associate Research Assistants.'

Please send this to another Mom, Grandmother, Aunt,And other friends you know.May your troubles be less,Your blessing be more,And nothing but happiness come through your door!AMEN!!
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