30/30

30/30

Thank you, Orange Flower!

30 days of macro have been fun and challenging...


Learning to look and re-look at things around me has been helpful...


Looking forward to your next challenge?

Lunch in the Mail

Look what arrived on my doorstep this afternoon! A lunchbox and goodies from my swap partner, Anna, from Sew What.

Within a few moments after photographing all the goodies, my children tried each type of candy.

Anna included some beads and buttons and fabric,

A tiny fork and 'bento' lunchbox with French words (my daughter was trying to translate),

She included a zippered change purse and a narrow drawstring bag. My children said I could use it for a water bottle or napkins or... I really like the size of the lunchbox and the inside pockets and hidden zipper. Lovely.

I especially like the embroidered words on the top of the bag. I guessed perhaps it says 'lunch' on one side and 'box' on the other (because of the # of letters). And I was right (checked the meaning of the words on her site).

So thank you, Anna! And thank you, Oh Fransson! for putting on this swap. It was fun.

27-29/30

27/30
overripe

28/30
a favorite vase

29/30

red onion

Not much to say except only 1 day left! Go look and see at all the creativity.

23-26/30

23/30
Stephanie Congdon Barnes' beautiful little handmade bird
came fluttering by my house last month.

24/30
loosely woven dishtowel

25/30

26/30
A favorite pair of earrings on a dusty bureau.

Almost done with the 30-Day Macro Challenge (keep wanting to call it micro challenge), but I have to admit that I'm 'cheating' a bit because, although the pictures have been taken only during the month of April, they haven't exactly been taken every single day in April. More like a bunch taken one day and then a pause followed by another bunch and then a pause... But I figure that's okay. It's been interesting and wonderful to see everyone's contributions.

17-22/30

17/30

Nothing much to report except trying to stay on top of all the nuttiness around here! Teaching only 2 more classes for co-op, changing our winter wardrobe into a spring one, getting ready for a short camping trip, trying to declutter...

18/30

Learning that I've bitten off more than I can chew, finding that there's food stuck between my teeth! Not giving up...

19/30

Attempting to finish schooling earlier than later, realizing that I'm not as young as I used to be...

20/30

Starting to beautify our front yard, dreaming about summertime vegetables...

21/30

Enjoying the rain as long as there's not too much...

22/30

Taking time out of a crazy schedule to watch some amazing bubbles...

Poems in Our Pockets

My mom told me a few days ago that April is officially Poetry Month. Who knew? I certainly didn't. You'd think that when I pick up a poetry contest flyer at our local library that would be a great big clue. Nope. Sometimes, I am really brainless.

Well, I'm glad my mom mentioned it to me. Poetry is an often overlooked subject in our house, so I was eager to try something different and hopefully fun. In fact, today is Poem in Your Pocket Day. So in celebration, we read poetry in the morning.

I gathered the kids 'round the kitchen table and had each find a poem to share from the books gathered. I chose a lesser known Robert Frost poem, my daughter chose 3 poems by Valerie Worth, my younger sons chose some Shel Silverstein poems (figures...they love funny things) and my oldest chose 1 from Valerie Worth and 1 from Ogden Nash. It was interesting to see what everyone decided upon. I think some of the choosing of poems however, were due to how many words they were comprised of and ...

...how long it would take them to copy down the poems. Oh well. But after copying onto tiny slips of paper, cutting them out and folding them, each poem was stuffed into pocket necklaces.

My oldest is actually wearing his; of course it'll be removed as soon as he steps outside...

My mom told me how she had made a pocket to wear around the neck, a beaded one, which she gave to a poetic friend. I liked the idea, so last night I quickly sewed up some tiny pockets to wear. They sort of remind me of phylacteries or tiny amulets.

This is a good shape for poems that can be rolled into tiny scrolls...

Next time we do something like this, I'll take more time and actually sew a lining and turn under every seam, add a button or a tie enclosure. But at least for now the idea was fun; the kids enjoyed reading the poems. We're wearing our necklaces all day long (at least inside the house).

When we leave the house, I know that only mine and my daughter's will remain around our necks. And when we do this next year or at another time, I might even have them write their own poetry to share.

If you don't have any poetry books on hand, here are some good sites to peruse:

Poets.org
Poetry Writing (activities for children)
Poem Hunter (but watch the ads)
Giggle Poetry (for kids but again, there are ads)
Poetry Foundation
Library of Congress poetry pages

La boîte de déjeuner est finie!

Yeah! I finished the lunchbox for Oh Franson's Swap. I thought I'd use Alta Vista to translate something into French (since my children are studying the language, and I am trying to remember 6 years worth of study myself...) Just thought it sounded more interesting than saying, 'the lunchbox is done'. However, translating the French sentence back into English doesn't quite match up, but you get the idea.

Anyway, here it is. I hope my swap partner likes it.

The drawstring bag when open.

I re-read the list of her favorite colors and realized that I've only included some of them. Oops! That's what I get for looking at the pictures on the blog and not completely reading each post of hers.

In some ways I should have used a pattern, but in other ways it was good to stretch my (lack of) seamstress skills. A little mind boggling when it came to figuring out math measurements and 'hoping' that I measured correctly.

The bottom of the bag is an IKEA soft-form basket made of polypropylene. It was part of a 2-pack; I chose the bigger of the two for the lunchbox. My children said that it's an awfully BIG lunchbox. I guess I should call it a Picnic box instead.

The basket was semi-easy to sew with - if I had a sturdier machine and more heavy-duty needles, I could have done more machine-sewing. After breaking 1 needle, I finished the bag with hand sewing. I do hope the handles hold well - that was the hardest part.

Now I just need to fill it with a few goodies and send it off. Whew!

16/30

16/30

Today I went to a memorial service. It was both sad and sweet. Life is brief, like the pale petals of these flowers on my pear tree. Just twelve days ago the petals were mere pink buds, waiting to blossom and here they are whispering in the wind, waiting once again for another life change. Soon they'll be fluttering to the ground and letting the green leaves take their places. Among many other things said at the service, there was an encouragement of continuing on and using each day to glorify the Lord, to make amends where needed, to love our children, spouse, family, friends, neighbors, and even, I would add, our enemies.

15/30 & a Foray

15/30

Today was bright blue and sunny. It began with a frost and a chill, but it warmed up throughout the day. I am happy. And thankful for such a treat in the weather.

I bought this fabric awhile ago and washed it and dried it, folded it neatly and let is sit for too long. These are not my colors, but the colors of my lunchbox swap partner. Can't tell you who it is considering it's a secret, but I can say that I finally (last night) cut into the fabric and began my foray into lunchbox making. (It's about time since the project is due by the end of next week... sigh.)

Yes, a foray. A foray, because once again, I am not using a pattern. But! It's working so far. Hopefully my swap partner will enjoy it.

12-13-14/30

12/30

Wow! I've been so absent from crafting, but that's life I suppose.

13/30

We enjoyed a tea on Friday, my son gave his frog presentation,

14/30

we did lots of errands and cleaning on Saturday and enjoyed lunch with friends on Sunday.

We also purchased a black cabinet from our favorite store, IKEA! Finally. I will not show you the 'before' pictures, but I will tell you that now all the items that are in this cabinet are no longer waiting in bins cluttering up our dining area. One little to-do item can be checked off. Yeah!

11/30

11/30

Not enough time in the day today. Going to enjoy some tea time treats tonight and some tea...hope it's coffee, really, but it should be fun.

Enjoy the weekend!

10/30 & a Treat

10/30

Swirling, swirling, swirling.... that's the verb to describe my thoughts recently. I am looking forward to things calming down in a few weeks. A few items lifted from my shoulders. A bit of respite before the next round of 'stuff'. Very little crafting has been done because most of my time has been filled with planning for next year's school.

April is usually about the time that my mind wanders around aimlessly from curriculum to curriculum, wondering if this or that is the 'right' thing for our family to study. It's funny, really. Speaking to other homeschooling moms, I realize that I am not alone in my wandering.

Add in some spring fever, and an unusual phenomenon occurs: planning and writing out a future schedule when the present schedule is not even finished! Another mom's comment could explain why this happens... perhaps disappointment or weariness with the present workload and dreaming about how next year's work load will be so fun and creative and work out perfectly. Well, we can dream, can't we?

And my heart is singing... a treat from overmilkwood came in the mail 2 days ago all the way from London, and I am just now getting around to posting about it. I actually won it from her giveaway! This was the packaging: a handmade card with matching fabric giftwrap.

And this is my treat: a sachet heart. Thank you, Annie!