a celebratory give-away!!!

it took a bit of thinking to come up with the perfect something to give you.

after all, we're celebrating a 6th-month unbirthday, & a 12th-year birthday!

i think i found the perfect something - wonky birthday bunting!!!

this bunting measures 6ft, & is oh so sweet. the triangles are ivory damask, with each being a different pattern. they are pinked, & the edges left raw - over time the edges will get that wonderful fuzzy look. the ribbon is a funky magenta grosgrain (yes i still have some of that left!).

if you haven't any kids, or your kids are not of the girl-sort, or if your girl hates magenta - hang this on valentine's day! it's nearly here, you know.

***

so to win this wonderfully wonky birthday bunting, do this:

go to the comments section, & wish my boys "happy birthday". easy as pie. now i want pie. rats.

i shall draw a winner on thehobbit's birthday: next saturday, the 6th of february.

good luck to you!!!!

(the drawing is now over)

~peace.

royal proclamations!

maeve popped by to tell you that:

a) there are a few valentiney things in theshop now, with more to come asap! there shall even be things if your valentines happen to be of the children variety.

~also~

2) i am working on a give-away for one oh-so-lucky reader. in honor of the teeniest boy hitting the 6th month mark yesterday, & the bigger boy's upcoming 12th (gasp!) birthday; i am sewing a special something just for you! pop back here tomorrow to enter. (if you share my swiss cheese memory, you can sign up to receive posts in your email. that way you won't miss a thing.)

i love giving you prezzies. see you on the morrow!

~peace.

thursday things - 3

i did it! i remembered to post on a thursday. aren't you proud of me? to those of you living where 'tis already friday - it is not my fault. i didn't tell you to live so far away.

today i want to share a book that i do not want to give back to the library simply adore. i may be the last in blogland to read it, but the wait-list for it was a mile long. plus i may have forgotten to pick it up the first time it was my turn. i'm not admitting anything.


linen is far & away my favorite fabric. i have probably told you that countless times. i don't know what it is that draws me in; i just cannot get enough. you'd think that my enmity with the iron would keep me from using linen, but nope! i'm happy to go around wrinkled.

i plan to make many items from this book, most especially the house shoes. mary janes! you can see them here, at the top/left of the page. there are a handful of free patterns on that site, by the way.

linen is a good theme for today. take a look at the below links, & get linen-mad with me.

* i heart linen is a wonderful blog. i discovered her a few years back, read without cease, then, well, ceased. i don't know why, i simply forgot about her blog. i do that. swiss. cheese. brain.

* this sling! all her slings are beautiful, but i love the color of this one. plus, it's linen.

* 2 yards of vintage linen for sale in this etsy shop. all my spending cash is going to a hobbity birthday right now, so one of you head over & snap it up.

i could go on & on all day, searching for, & posting lineny things. i would too, were it not for the fact that my teeny elfing is awake. kill-joy. ;)

i hope you enjoyed this installment of thursday things. should you feel the need to thank me with a prezzie, you may send my very own copy of linen, wool, cotton to...

go linen-mad!
~peace.

how i spent my day at disneyland

yesterday was our fare-thee-well trip to disneyland. it's been a fun few years, but after talking it over, we decided to spend the annual pass money on other things.

it was a lovely day, crisp & chilly, but the skies were clear & the sun kept us warm enough. there were very few people there, which meant no lines for the menfolk, & no stress for me. i don't do well in crowded places.

elfling (we stopped calling him lemondrop long ago - figured it was better to forget he ever had that scary start in life) had such fun. he's a people watcher of the highest order, & loves being out of doors. this was the perfect place for him.

when the menfolk were on rides, elfling & i would sit on a bench to nurse, & listen to the birds singing. he would get the sweetest, milky smile each time he heard them. i wish i'd taken a picture.

i did get one of those "my view" photos we chatted about the other day, however:

i could have done a series just like this! all photos of me sitting somewhere with thebebe either in my lap, or sling. i should have, that would have been funny: how i spent my day at disneyland. this photo would have been titled riding the tram. hmm perhaps we should renew just my pass, & i could start a blog about it. ha!

have a wonderful day, do!

~peace.

crowns & drawing kits

my hope is to get a bunch of birthday crowns, & drawing kits completed (& in theshop) by the next weeks' end. they've been high on my to-do list for quite some time. of course that would be the same list my house-cleaning chores are on, so, yeah.



the crowns are half-done at least. with the exception of the blue, this bunch is made from darker hues of wool felt. they aren't colors i'm drawn to, but they were included with the stack of lighter felt i was given. seems a shame to not use them.

doesn't the blue one look a tad where-the-wild-things-are? these little starry buttons are adorable - they came from a jacket thehobbit wore when he was teeny. i get such a kick out of reusing things.



as for the drawing kits, i have enough fabric to make a dozen, but i don't know that i have enough time to complete that many. wee elflings do greatly reduce a mama's free time. still, a few is better than none :)

i've long wanted to stock theshop with these kits. the thing is, every time i've made a batch,
they have sold before i could list them. there's no show on the books, so no danger they'll be snatched up.

you can see what they'll look like here. with different buttons though, as i use ones i've saved from thrifted clothing. that was the only kit that ever made it into theshop.

the colored pencils come from my beloved japanese dollar store. they don't always carry them, so i buy them out when they do. i'd love to find this brand in bulk, so i can decrease the packaging waste. until then i'll continue cutting-up the thin boxes for thehobbit's atc (artist trading cards).

keep your fingers crossed that i find the time to get all the to-dos, to-done.

~peace.

wish i was here

right here, to be exact:


my children bring me immeasurable joy, & i love every single moment i spend with them. ok, that last bit was not altogether true. i couldn't even type it with a straight face. let's try that again, shall we?

my children bring me immeasurable joy, & i love spending time with them. every now & again. heeheehee.

as much as i love being a homeschooling, attachment parenting mama, there are days when it can wear a person out. today was such a day.

i shan't bore you with the details, suffice it to say i wish their daddy-o was home from work, they were with them at the far end of the belfry, & i was soaking (quietly) in a hot bath.

i'm just sayin'.

~peace.

thursday things - the second

it's the one week anniversary of thursday things! i decided we should celebrate this momentous occasion by holding it a day late. oops. so, without further ado...

as you know, i'm getting things ready for thehobbit's japanese birthday party. though i'd made sushi on many occasions; a few times even with children; i was feeling a bit flummoxed. lucky for me, we have an excellent public library. i was able to get 2 books i just may have to add to my own library one day.


* Vegetarian Sushi is a fabulous book! the recipes are easy to follow, & the photographs are beautiful. one recipe i think will become a regular at the belfry is sushi salad. basically you put the sweet, vinegared rice in your bowl, top that with all the finely chopped sushi bits, & use squares of nori to pick up your bites. no rolling!

that was something i dreaded; trying to help a handful of kids roll their sushi. now i won't be offering the sushi salad in place of the rolls, but (thanks to the book) i will be having them do sushi cones instead. much easier for me, & still fun for them.

* Japanese Vegetarian Cooking: From Simple Soups to Sushi may just be the most amazing japanese cookbook ever! there were only a few photos, which i did not like. without a photo, i am not likely to try a recipe. i don't know why that is, but there you have it.

even without photos, i am in love with this cookbook. i wanted to stop reading constantly, so i could rush to the kitchen to give something a go. do not read this book when hungry. trust me.

* origami club is chock-full of origami instructions. so far, my favorite page is titled useful. having creatively homeschooled for the past 8.5yrs, i can honestly say i am sick of the clutter. crafts & projects are so amazing to do, but my maude they do drive me mad!

creating little works of art that can then be used sounds perfect to me.

* obento! as usual, in searching for something specific, i have gotten sidetracked. i bookmarked the following to peruse during today's nap times. please note that i haven't done more than peek thus far, so if the sites are dreadful, or if they are covers for money laundering, i apologize.

just bento

lunch in a box

i've more japanese party things to share, but the wee elfling is no longer tolerating his big brother (& vice versa). perhaps i'll save them for next thursday. with photos even! until then, ciao! (that's me, in too much a rush to look up "bye" in japanese.)

~peace.

edited to add :: i spent a few bebe naps looking at the 2 obento sites - they are amazing!!! have fun poking about.

she has an electrifying personality, she has.

photo :: property of physics.umd.edu

it was pouring rain outside, & had been off & on for days. i was in the kitchen, making dinner when it happened. lightning lit the sky, & at the same time a thin, bright blue light came up from the stove top!

it would have been an amazing sight if not for the fact that it reached the metal spatula in my hand. painful prickings rose up from both hands, all the way to my shoulders! it was the most bizarre sensation, & didn't fade away for nearly an hour.

otherwise i was fine. ok, i was seriously a bit freaked out, but come on! i was touched by lightning!

i'd heard of it coming in through phones, computers, televisions. even one story of it coming in through the faucet of a woman washing dishes. i try to avoid those things during a thunderstorm, but it never occurred to me to be wary of the stove.

so learn from me people - do NOT cook in a storm.

~peace.

books alive!!

this is simply stunning!

~peace.

i see. you see. see?

i like the photos showing bloggers' views: out windows, down at wips, & of course views of scrumptious desserts when out on the town. i've wanted to join the fun, but my camera is never with me when i have a photo-worthy view to share here with you. until now..

that is my view, pretty much any time my eyes are open. actually the above photo was taken by thehobbit, so it was his face getting peered into. i don't know how thehobbit managed to take such a tiny photo. most likely he was messing with my camera's settings again. ah well, it would make for a very cute letterhead.

i want to see what your view is today. it can be anything: window, wip, computer screen, book you're reading, laundry, etc. take a photo, post it on your blog, then come back here to leave the link in my comments. let's spread the joy - have your readers play with us. come on, it will be fun!

we all can use a bit of frivolity.

~peace.

thoughts

i am truly blessed. i know this. now, more clearly than ever before, do i see all that i have. all that i am.

so many mamas in haiti will no longer hear their children laugh, will not get to see them grow. it is heart-wrenching. brutally so.

it saddens me that it takes another's devastation to bring me into my here & now. to get me to let go of all the little things that clutter my mind & my heart; so that i can more fully appreciate all that is before me.

i sent my money, i think of them, & i pray for them often through the day. that's all i can do for the people touched by this horror, though i wish could do more to ease their pain.

i am sure i am not alone in any of this, & that most, if not all, of you feel the same way. i've heard so many people say that they are holding their little ones more closely these days. how could we not?

today i just needed to say this. i don't know why, i just had to. thank you for listening.

~peace.

edited to add :: some more ways to help here.

winter shadows

unlike most people, i have never seen anything gloomy in a grey winter day. instead, i find the shadows simply beautiful. perhaps the shadows themselves are why i don't see the gloom?perhaps in looking for winter shadows, i see the sun.

image :: sewing nook

whatever the reason, the darker days of winter, & their shadows, make me smile. i took this photo this morning, & wanted to share it with you. what is making you smile today?

~peace.

thursday things - the launching thereof

i thought, since i'm on the internet quite a bit these days (thanks to a certain someone who still insists on napping ON me), i should share some of the cool/interesting/fabulous/odd/etc things i find. not that i don't already share some of it, but this would be done purposely. sort of a weekly feature thing.

so - drum roll please (yes i have my own live band) - i bring you the 1st installment of thursday things!

this week i'd like to feature something fabulous from one of my newer favorite blogs: just something i made. cathe holden is a talented graphic designer, & an enormously generous one at that. not only does she do tutorials, she regularly offers free graphics, buttons, & the like. for free! as in she isn't charging money for her amazing stuff! clearly she drinks.

her alcohol habits aside; you have to make her one of your regular stops. you'll see why she is our (haha i wrote 'our'. why did i do that? i'm not deleting it, let my other personality do so.) choice for this week's thursday things at the top & bottom of this post. pretty, aren't they? they are free people! you can put them, & a bunch more like them, on your blog, or website.

if you like vintage graphics - & who doesn't - get over there, & have a look. then! then come back here & tell me how to personalize them. she says you can, but i'm so hopelessly technotarded (real word).

& that brings my very first thursday things to a close! see you next week!! or, um tomorrow.

~peace.

in which she further breaks her 'no faces' rule...

sort of.

a few weeks ago i took a photo of my brand new, very own, yet-to-be-named laptop. had i known the reflective quality of her screen, i would have made sure to clean the room behind me, & get my be-jammied self out of the shot.

oh well, it's not like i hadn't told you how messy the belfry has become since the arrival of a certain teeny person. the messy reflection is proof that i wasn't exaggerating. & now you all have what you've been longing for lo these past few years: to see my face.

sort of.


but which is more glorious? more beautiful? more stunning to behold? sigh. i know. the laptop is.

you could lie to me though; tell me that the yet-to-be-named laptop doesn't hold a candle to my beauty. lie to me. i won't mind. i'll even believe you. um, you know, as a favor to you. so you can feel good that you were kind to me. i'm nice that way.

~peace.

*note ::no, i did not fail the challenge. the yet-to-be-named laptop was my xmas prezzie from manlyman & my mother-in-law. oh ye of little faith.

hello, i'm home.

i've missed visiting with you these past few weeks, but i did need a bit of a break. not from you - goodness no! - just a break to clear my head. now that the cobwebs have been cleared, i am ready to get back to things. i'll start by showing you the little teapot we chatted about; the one that i love, love, love.

it's simply perfect in every way. i had no intention of shutting it away in some dark cupboard, but as legomania has o'ertaken the dining table, i thought it best to move it from there. the only place i could be sure it would not be broken was, alas, the dark cupboard. fortunately its cups are there, so it's not too lonely.

***

though i'd not been chatting here, i had been reading others' blogs. i am so impressed with all the crafting & cooking that's been going on. wowza, you people are amazing! i had no time/energy to make things this past holiday season, so relied solely on mail-order. i'm thankful for that, but i missed creating for the people i love. next year i shall a) insist on a handmade xmas, & 2) steal many of your ideas.

the bonus for not wearing myself out the past few months means that i am rested (hahahaha) for thehobbit's birthday party next month. happily he's insisting on only 5 friends, but the theme is going to require a lot of work: japanese. don't say oh that's not too much work, because you don't yet know what i know. he wants them to make their veg sushi at the party. oh the prep work...

wait!!! i just realized that means i'll have to go to my japanese store!!!!! can you see me doing the happy dance? i still won't be able to buy anything for myself, but i will get some yayas out by getting all the fun sushi accoutrement, as well as party favors. ooh. now i'm looking forward to the party. ok, i can do this.

ooh, i can make bunting to hang all over the house - using japanese newspapers for the triangles! ok i have to go make a list now, whilst the thoughts are still in my swiss cheese brain.

have a glorious day please.

~peace.