on-hand modern

diy valentine heart rings

olivia's very cool older cousin runs an etsy shop where she sells handmade polymer clay jewelry. (check it out. a teenage artist and entrepreneur = i wish i were that awesome.) anyway, she showed olivia the ropes over the summer, and olivia's been hooked on polymer clay crafting ever since. we decided to make these heart rings as valentines that she took to a party last weekend. they turned out so well, i asked insisted she make one for me too. cute, right? you know you want one too.

as for the boy, we sadly didn't get around to making any manly valentines this year, but if we did, i'd want them to be as cool as these:

"wild about you" animal valentines by casey

"out of this world" astronaut valentines by danielle

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have a happy halloween

here's the gang all dressed up for halloween. you might recognize the chicken costume from years past, but princess buttercup and the wolf are making their handmade holiday debut. (full disclosure: i cried/cursed a little sewing that red dress. and the wolf's costume is all kinds of safety-pinned.)

have a fun and safe holiday! and, hey, if you want to leave a link to your own costume photos in the comments--i'd love to see!

p.s. halloweens 2004–2011

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diy: flannel doll blankets

i wanted to show you one of olivia's recent sewing projects--matching receiving blankets for her doll twins. sorry, no tutorial, but the finished measurements are 21" x 21" with rounded corners, and this seems to be a good fit for a 15" doll.

other kid-friendly beginning sewing projects from the archives:

- fabric bookmark

- mini felt crayon roll

- pocket belt

p.s. she wants to make doll clothes next. help!

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alert: where to buy a kids' mailbox

hullo, dahlings. it's been almost a year since i posted about installing a mailbox in the kids' bedroom. since then people have asked me where to find one, and unfortunately i had to tell them it was a seasonal item that target no longer carried. well, good news. i heard a rumor that mini mailboxes are back at target in the $1 section for valentine's day. can anyone confirm? did you get one?

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kid cards

the thing about kids is they are not so much concerned with making things perfect as they are with enjoying the process. an enviable trait, i think, and one i will try (try!) to emulate this week.

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diy: wooden learn-to-read wheel

this little wheel is a fun and gentle way for beginning readers to begin to practice sounding out words. turn the wheel to make different words (silly words are okay too) and the child will be thrilled to discover how many words he can read just by changing a single letter/sound. start with two-letter words first and move on to three-letter words when the child is ready.

to make the wheel you will need the following supplies available at your local craft and/or hardware store:

• 2 wooden disks (they should be about 1/4" thick and measure about 2" and 4" in diameter)
• 1 wooden peg (you will be cutting this down, buy a couple extra just in case)
• chalkboard paint
• wood glue

begin by painting the disks with chalkboard paint. when they are dry, drill a hole the same diameter as your wooden peg through the center of each disk. stack the disks one on top of each other and thread the peg through the disks. mark where you will need to trim the peg so the end is flush with the back of your bottom disk. cut peg with a small hand saw.

assemble the wheel by threading your shortened peg through the smaller disk first. apply wood glue to the hole of the larger disk. slide it onto the peg and allow to dry.

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houses made of cookies

over the last few weeks i've been reminded how important it is to have good people in your life. and by good people i mean friends. and by friends i mean good friends, not just friendly acquaintances but the kind of people whose presence at the right time is both comforting and comfortable. they fill a kind of void in your life--maybe one you didn't even know you had? or maybe they just really *get* you in some way.

i have this tendency sometimes, without even realizing it, to slip into "isolation" mode. do you ever do that? i don't know what it is--life i guess--but sometimes i just don't feel like i have the energy to be around people. the irony, of course, is that those are the exact times when experience has taught me i really need to be around people the most. i know this about myself and yet it doesn't seem to make doing something about it any easier.

anyway, why am i telling you this? i guess it's my long-winded way of saying that the engineer has been traveling for work these last two weeks. and that my friend michelle invited us over on a lonely sunday afternoon to make gingerbread houses. ever the forthright hostess, she did warn us that some of the candy, namely the gumdrops, was at least as old as the toddler. (authors' note: michelle is awesome--and a candy hoarder), but for some people (coughcough...SCOUT) the words "candy" and "no" just don't compute. also of note: the gingerbread outhouse.

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happy thanksgiving

i know i'm late to the party, but i hope everyone had a nice thanksgiving holiday.

oh yes i did. i spent waaaaay too much time sewing goofy pilgrim hats for the children.

back to regular posting this week, i hope. see you here tomorrow?

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playing swords

this photo doesn't do them justice, but i promised i would show you their dad-made wooden knife collection. not pictured but equally awesome: the battle ax. (commence lame wife jokes now.)

[photo by k]

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diy: mouse costume

okay, last halloween-related post of 2011. i think.

here's scout as a mouse. we kept it simple. she wore this new sweater + we added homemade ears and a tail.

she was not fond of the painted-on whiskers. (she's sitting on my lap as i type: "scout don't want those whiskers!")

or posing for photos.

biiiig fan of the lollipop, though.

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