Monarch Post

got the dirt on it.

I have been lost in a jungle of wild monkeys and gardens lately... but in a good way. This is one of about nine sets of little girl's aprons with matching sock monkey/ clothes I've been working on. I think it's time for a little haute couture for the monkey world... I mean really, how many naked sock monkeys are there running around the world? It's just not right ;)  (And then there were all those apron and dress scraps... I couldn't waste those. So I sewed baby balls, headbands, flower barrettes, etc. to match.)

Her name is Poppy (not very creative, I know, but who else could she be?) The poppy fabric came from an estate sale last summer. It looks like it's from the '60s and it reminds me of all the Marimekko fabrics and wallpapers I loved in the '80s. The fabric had been made into curtains. I bought yards of the poppy fabric and a big box of other fabrics for four dollars... love finding stuff like that!

The goal is an Etsy shop again by the beginning of summer. Well stocked and adorable is the plan. I'm also working on stocking a booth for the farmer's market this summer, and the shop I sell too, and I'm working on not feeling overwhemed by all my grand ideas :)

Last week I went hunting for a few display pieces for the farmer's market. I bought everything at my friend Brenda's shop, Just A Bed of Roses. If you're local and you're looking for lovely antiques, she is your "go to" girl. 

I found an old metal bread box, wooden hangers, doily, a pretty rose candy dish, and a gold and cream damask tablecloth.

Isn't it gorgeous? I love it. I also found fabric at a fabric store that matches this perfectly- a small golden gingham print for the display table that reminds me of warm toast and honey... don't ask me why...

The next day I found more yellow gingham at the thrift store- old curtains again. A whopping two dolla. I love the brown and cream cross-stitching pattern along the bottom.  Not sure what I'll make out of it yet though... then I went to Hobby Lobby and found this children's vintage reproduction fabric.  

I said, "monkey dresses!"

And the last best thrift store find lately... this jello mold, now hanging in the kitchen. I have been on a rolllll...

That includes sod rolling around here too. Two Saturdays ago Mike rented a sod cutter for the day, and as a family we dug up 7,500 lbs. (!) of sod from our yard and hauled it to the dumps... We needed canes and walkers on Sunday. Oh. My. Gosh. Muscles none of us knew we had hurt for days, but it's looking great. Mike and Jesse built the raised beds, installed weed cover underneath, and hauled load after load of dirt and bark to fill it all in. The sprinkling system is still being rerouted and a drip system is almost ready to go.

Tomorrow, I'm buying the veggies to plant. Tomatoes, squash, broccoli, carrots, melons, herbs, peppers, and whatever else looks intruiging. I layed in bed thinking of vegetables this morning at 5:30 am, wondering if I could make my own salsa with only our homegrown veggies this fall.

(Suburban produce fever? )

The seating spot will include a movable fire pit for now. That area needs to be clear to drive into when we build the waterfall and new deck next year. After that happens, another raised bed will probably go where the seating and firepit are now. Around the edges of the garden will be a white picket fence; it's scheduled to go up next weekend. I'm planting the front outside edges of the fence in cosmos, snapdragons, and whatever else I fall in love with at the garden center. The rounded corner edge will have a birdbath, an ornamental tree, more flowers and a beautiful St. Francis statue Mike gave me for Mother's Day yesterday.

We are all so excited about this project... and I'll keep you posted through the summer.

Aren't you so excited for vegetable slideshows ha,ha!

I think they are called Western Tanengers. They are here everyday, suddenly, along with a big blue-jay. "Need" a new birdbath for sure.

We are having the most gorgeous spring in Utah this year, and I am so glad after the great, wet, soggy, miserable, flooded April, May, and June of last year. We could not have put a garden in last year, there wasn't a dry day until mid-June. I definately think it's making it all the sweeter this year... and I am on the hunt for an awesome homemade salsa recipe.

XOK

 

 

 

blessed day

Today was the best day.

It was wonderful to have a day at home ALL day in my studio.

But last weekend was not so wonderful.

Sophey had the stomach flu all Friday night, so major sleep deprivation on my end.

Oh, and a giant snowstorm with Corbyn driving home in it from the other end of Utah.

(Just to throw in a little extra excitement for me.)

And Mike has been in Europe the last two weeks...

so it's been me pulling all the shifts around here for quite awhile.

But today... no sick kids... no Dr appts... no drama...

until homework time, but that's another story.

AND I slept nine hours straight last night!

Hoorah!

 

I had  TIME

a fresh mind

and fabric

and candles

and quiet

and new scissors,

cutting crisply.

Happy heart day.

I've almost finished seven hanging hearts for Valentine's sales.

When I found this paisley at Hobby Lobby last week I was so excited to use it.

LOVE IT!

So far I've made hearts, a sock monkey skirt, and dress with it.

And then I made another dress.

They are looking very cute (if I do say so myself :)

I looked at the quote I have glued on my sewing machine today,

and I thought ya... I am so there today.

I sewed a lot of seams

but the day felt seamless

and lovely

and can I dare say holy?

It really was somehow...

It really was.

XOK.

uh...stuff

Hey! I'm here... with yarn...

and uh... January excitement :)

The last two weeks I've been cleaning and organizing the house

and dropping off loads of stuff to the thrift store...

and... then going into the thrift store to see what "needs"  to be taken home...

'cause that's what I do :)

 

The yarn is for an afghan I AM going to make this year for THIS HOUSE.

I never finished the last one I started, didn't like it.

I decided a good way to stay organized would be to tape a piece

of  yarn to the labels so that I would know the brand if I need more

since I'm making up my own pattern.

I'm thinking of something like this one here.

 

I spent one nine hour day cleaning my craft room.

It was  scary in there...

I should have taken a picture of the before,

but I was too embarrassed,

and I didn't want to scare you. ha ha.

It's nothing fancy and I won't be in the pages of Where Women Create anytime soon...

but this is a happy place for me.

and it feels SO GOOD to be in here when it's really clean.

Not perfect, but much better.

Cute new red wicker baskets courtesy of  Michaels after Christmas sale.

(What is that fabric doing hanging down the back...hmmm.)

And cute new fabrics to round out my stash... heaven.

I've started making complete sock monkey outfits.

This is one basket of materials gathered to make a monkey and designer outfit. :)

(I'll show you the finished outfits pretty soon... getting there.)

tabletop inspiration.

shelf top inspiration.

I started prayer art journaling in the mornings too...

I'll tell you more about that later.

Clarity.

I like that.

In other news,

our warm, snowless winter finally ended.

It is FREEZING COLD today!

Soup has been on the menu around here lately.

White chicken chili from a mix last week.

I've never made white chicken chili, so I played it safe with the mix.

It was good.

Too spicy for the kids, but not me.

I like it hot.

And I've been stopping for lunch lately at my favorite fast-food Mexican place.

Heat right now in any form is good.

Lizard art, hot pink cacti, and purple booths:

It is the tackiest, craziest looking place you've ever seen-

and exactly why I like it...

 that, and the great add-on bar full of jalapenos, salsas, and killer chipotle salad dressing.

I picked Winston and Greta up from the groomers one day after lunch at the crazy Mexican diner.

And no, he did not have Mexican leftovers- this is his normal,"whoo-hoo I'm going for a ride!" look.

I was so happy when I saw their fur/color coordinatedpolka dot bandanas...

Probably weirdly happy over that.

I hope that's just the designer in me...

Or it's just the weird in me :) 

And while were on the subject of weird.

My feet win.

They are homely.

But I would be fine with homely now, if they were just working...

The left one is the normal one-

ya, the one with the big gap and the second toe heading west.

It's inherited

from my Mom's side...

the Warner toe.

(You'll see it everywhere at family reunions- serious :)

Three of our four kids have it too...

Definately a dominant gene.

(Leftover from my monkey ancestors tree-climbing days, I guess ;)

 

I have been to SIX  Dr. appointments (two podiatrists and one chiropractor) in two weeks.

Apparently, I have a predislocated second toe (the bruised one).

I woke up with it like that one day,

without injuring it.

(The bruise is from acupuncture.)

The podiatrists are telling me I will have to have surgery to correct it...

But I'm giving the chiropractor a shot at it for awhile.

If it's not better by March, I'll have the surgery.

It's slowing me down right now,

by evening I am just done

and I've got my feet up.

YUCK.

And that was probably just TMI, but it's life- right?

 

Except for the bad feet scenario,

I have the best feeling about this year...

I'm not sure why,

But I think it's going to be really great...?!

Mike woke up the other morning  feeling just the same

and I'm hearing other people say it too.

Bring on 2012!

I'm excited to grow my business and to grow as a creative person...

I think the vision thing is finally in place for me.

It's about children, gardens, life, creating, spirit,  joy...

why did it take so long for me to get it?

S.L.O.W. learner...

 

How about you?

What are you thinking/ feeling about 2012?

 

**********************************

Okay, I'm stopping here for now...

It's taking me forever to load photos for some reason,

and I need to get to work.

No Dr. appointments today-

I have the day to spend in my craft room.

(YAY!)

HAve A HappY FRIDAY,

XO!

 

(P.S. the blog is under construction... I'll have a new one in awhile, but the zinnias are kinda cute for now, aren't they?)

 

 

 

 

in the pink

 
It's March Madness in the Henderson household. Three kids birthdays in a month. Shop, wrap, bake, buy balloons, throw parties, celebrate. Repeat, repeat :) Sophey's birthday was March 1st and Jesse's is today. I only have four photos of Sophey's birthday this year. I accidentally deleted the rest when I was trying to get my new camera to download. And I am so bummed about that.

So that's why we have a sock monkey photos in first place today. She wanted a homemade hot pink sock monkey for her birthday: meet Chloe. She still needs clothes, maybe next week we'll get to a wardrobe. 
 
Sophey has been sleeping with her. It's sweet to see her cuddled up with Miss Chloe the monkey, and the blanket my Mom crocheted for her before she was born. Soph wears an orange sleeping eye mask to bed too every night. Funny kid.

 
 
 
Well, here you have the surviving birthday photos. It's hard to get everyone around here looking at me for a photo. At least Winston follows directions.

 

In between all the partying around here, I was asked to help decorate two little sister's bedrooms in a really lovely house in SLC. I'm going to be making accessories-- garlands, pillows, etc. So next week it's back to the studio. Can't wait to get busy. The place has been gathering dust bunnies...

Have a great weekend everyone. XO

 

september time

I'm still here, adjusting, sort of. Last week felt like one huge up-in-the-air readjustment phase. School for two half days, one sick day for a child already. And Mike, well he was away in Costa Rica on a business trip and got seriously sick with a really bad case of food poisoning. That was a week ago last Wednesday. What a helpless feeling to be so far away and unable to do anything but pray for him. His company has a private jet to retrieve sick employees who are doing business in foreign countries, but luckily things didn't get quite that bad. He made it home very late last Friday night. I think he coulda kissed the asphalt at the airport. I was so glad to have him home, safe and recovering.

Pulling weeds would have been good therapy last week, now that I think about it. (I see one in the photo). This week, better, much better. I feel settled in again. Glad for school routines, a well husband at home, and this time of year.

The black-eyed susans in the back yard are wowing me right now... Why do I always forget how nice it is in September?

I forget about the shadows too, and how the light changes. Almost imperceptibly, but then one day you see it, and you know summer is starting to wane. But it's really okay-- I've had my fill of summer this year. (That's a first, btw).

 
I'm missing the neighborhood ballgames in the backyard everyday though. Maybe there'll be a few more when the kids get used to school schedules.

 
Winston misses them too. Last week he walked into the kitchen and dropped a baseball on the floor and looked up at me. I told the kids what he did, so they took him out to play catch. He came in after a couple of throws and sat and stared out the front door. (We have a glass storm door.) I knew what he wanted... another neighborhood ballgame in our backyard. He likes loves to watch the kids play ball while he sits on the hillside by the trees. Perfect stadium seating. Not crowded either.

 
He sits there looking like my china terrier on the kitchen window sill-- only with his tongue hanging out and his eyes glued to a flying baseball. (Smiling too, I'm pretty sure.)

 
So this week I got back to sewing. Sometimes it's just the biggest hurdle for me to get back to making something. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I get stuck after a long break. Monkeys seemed like the safest place to get going again, so that's what I did... in the kitchen, with a cup of tea and the tv for a few days. It felt like a total luxury, since I haven't watched a thing on tv all summer. (Hannah Montana does not count).

I am so smitten with the Dena Designs fabric in the photo. I don't think fabric for sock monkey clothes can get any more perfect than a red rose cheetah stripe!

 
 
I'm also pretty smitten with my favorite summer yard sale find right now too ($2.50! Unbelievable). Admiring it all week over on the couch while I've stitched. (I've wanted one like this with the black edging for a really long time.) It's perfect for the evenings now. 

 
Looks like my naked sock monkeys on the kitchen counter could use that blanket. Well, it's time to sew clothes next.

In the meantime until I get back to better blogging and projects I've got the best cupcake frosting recipe for you. I made two dozen last Sunday and they were gone in two days. The cupcake is a mix; I just wanted to deal with the fosting recipe.

So anyway, here it is:

OREO COOKIE FROSTING

1 16 oz box powdered sugar

1 8 oz container Cool Whip

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

15 Oreo cookies, crushed

With a mixer, mix together the cream cheese, vanilla and Cool Whip. Gradually add in the powdered sugar. Stir in crushed cookies by hand. (If I had really thought about how simple this was, I probably could have handled some homemade cupcakes. Duh. Oh well.) This stuff is like clouds... clouds filled with Oreos and a choir of singing cherub angels. 

You'd like it :)

Happy Labor Day weekend!! xoKelly  

 

summerizing our weekends

 
Last Sunday we celebrated Ainsley's and Mike's birthdays. Pies and a barbeque. (If you guessed the 'over the hill candle' was in Mike's pie, you would be correct :) It was such a lovely day, in every way... Mike got a hammock for the backyard. Ainsley got impatiens for her front yard, and a promise to help plant them from me. Should I make a promise to assemble the hammock before Mike gets home on Friday... hmmm. He might like it to actually swing, nah.

 
We spent Saturday at Lagoon (our local amusement park) for Mike's company day.  

And last week finally saw some flower planting get done. I had a great helper.

 

How nice a few daisies actually came up on their own this year... 

 
Too bad the new basketball standard didn't go up by itself last week-- that was a big project for my guys.

All four of my guys... wore right out ;)

 
But good old Winston is never too tired to help oversee the sandwich making after the big basketball hoop install. (Naps are so highly overrated.)

 
Lots of cruising the neighborhood on the weekends now too.  
And Monday and Tuesday found me hot-footing the sewing machine.

I made new children's picanic baskets.

 
(Hey, BooBoo...)

And another of my new favorite things to sew-- this one is Eloise.

We've traded in our Mary Jane's over here for flip flops...

 
hope you have too :)  xoxoKelly

 

P.S. Eloise and the picnic basket are in my Etsy shop now.

P.P.S. If you're a local in the intermountain west states, and like to watch Studio 5 on KSL TV's Channel 5, some of my handmades will be spotlighted on the things we love segment. The show airs at 11:00 am. Thanks, Stephanie for the spotlight! 
  

  

Eleanor and Mabel went on a trip

 
That's Eleanor on the left-- you saw her awhile ago, I think. But Mabel on the right is her new sister. Eleanor sold last week in my Etsy shop, and then I was asked to make another sock monkey for my customer's youngest daughter, so Mabel got quickly created.

I heard yesterday that Eleanor and Mabel arrived safely in Texas, and will be soon be playmates for two cute little sisters there. Looks like they might need to ditch the Utah scarves, now that they live in toasty Texas.

But I've seen crocus and primroses here this week.... we're on our way to ditching scarves in Utah too!

Well, I'm off to make some more cupcakes and twist some more crepe paper around the kitchen for Jesse's bday party tomorrow.

Have a happy weekend. Love, Kelly

P.S. When Sophey looked at the monkey (Mabel) with the yellow scarf, she said, somehow she looks like you, Mom. No offense, because you don't look like a monkey. But somehow she looks like you. So I'm really hoping it's Mabel's big blue eyes and nice eyelashes. Otherwise, I think I really need to go find a new shade of lipstick ;) My kids crack me up.