I've decided not to wear shorts this summer

I've decided to wear cool skirts (and some capris for days when I really have to get to playing wiffle ball). I figure I can make a whole bunch of cute skirts for very little money. So, that's that. I'm well on my way to getting things on my list of goals started. I just bought this book, Sew What! Skirts, a few days ago. It explains how to make a whole bunch of skirts and design your own patterns, which should be a cost savings over buying a bunch of patterns...they are quite expensive these days. I've been searching through photos of cute skirts on flickr and this book had a lot of good comments, and from the photos I saw the skirts turned out very well. I also saw these three other patterns I may try down the road. Two were on Get Crafty in this post and I also saw a lot of happy looking skirts made with this pattern from Favorite Things. I'll be reading for a few days before heading off to the store for fabric, so stay tuned. I also need to get a few other sewing projects off the list before starting my first skirt for the summer. Maybe you will want to make a skirt with me? Let's read on...

Happy boy!

This was another picture from the arbor day festival we went to last week. Eli was running through huge fields of flowers with us. It was happy in a whole new way.

I made this photo using my new favorite toy, poladroid.

Hoodie boy and his lamb

This is my entry for Moral Plush . It's suppose to convey an emotion.

I think sanguine-- cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident.

Well, at least that's how I'd feel if i had on a cozy hoodie and my favorite little guy.

What do you think?

Spring!

I spent most of the weekend outside which was wonderful. Here are a couple of the cherry blossom pictures I took while we were at an arbor day festival.

I also started working on making a patch of our yard into a garden. It is still under construction. The seedlings are planted though, and hopefully I'll be ready to transfer them in a few weeks.

Super cute moss garden

I heard about moss gardens somewhere and had it on my list of things to do with my little guy. I did a little looking on the internet and found this post by Ciao Birdie helpful. Like everything these days I wanted to do this project on the cheap and I did! I took my little helper to the thrift shop to see if we could find suitable containers and we did. We each picked our favorite container ($2 for both). The only other thing we need was something to keep the dirt from going through to the rock. Ciao birdie suggested horticultural charcoal, but fearing that something that sounded fancy might be expensive, I bought a small bag of sphagnum moss ($3.50). We found the rest of the needed supplies in our yard. I took a few containers and we started our collection. One bowl of pebbles, one of dirt, and then one of assorted moss. I was amazed at how many different kinds of moss we found in our yard. I had never looked at it that closely before. I think we found six different kinds. We brought everthing to the table and got to work putting in all the layers. First pebbles, then sphagnum moss, dirt, and finally the moss. He really enjoyed making his garden and so did I. Here is my finished product. The bowl is about the size of my palm...it's super cute. Oh, and I went with bowls that did not have a top because I knew my little guy would want to "take care" of his moss. I gave him a mister to spray it whenever he wants. It evaporates at a rate that keeps it from getting too wet with all the misting. Just right! A good project for about $5.50.

Hoodies

I drew these little guys in my sketch book the other night. Today I drew a couple on 4" x 6" matte board and added some collage. The green guy didn't scan as well, maybe that's why he looks kind of bummed out.