Monarch Post

elves and more elves

 
The elves have been making elves here. How cute are these guys? I found the pinecone elves project in Martha Stewart's December magazine. Decided they would be just the perfect kid-made Christmas gift to send our Ohio grandparents. Marthas' elves are of course, pinecone perfection, but hey; we have character over here;)

The sled was something I picked up at the craft store a couple years ago, it was just waiting to be painted red and filled with elves:) Looking at the photo now, doesn't it kinda feel like that? Happy, excited, the guys on the left are looking slightly terrified... barreling along, picking up speed, every day flying by faster... Are we going to make it there for Christmas? Hope I don't sled right past!!

Do elf slippers keep shopping feet from getting so tired? I need a pair tonight. But only one or two last minute things to find, and the shopping will be finished. Yippee!

 
School finishes here on Friday for winter break. All the more time for fun. xoxoKelly 

beauty is...

 
" Beauty is..." That was the title for our kids school-wide art contest this year. We're grateful for a school that still places a strong emphasis on art education. The "Reflections" contest had categories from A-Z. All forms of visual arts-- painting, photography, 3D art. You name it. Dance, film, poetry. It was fun to see all the kids stepping on stage, grinning, and receiving their purple ribbons.

Sophey and Jesse took home three ribbons between them. And Sophey won a district level award for her 3D hand sculpted pink papier mache piggy bank. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder-- pink pigs and soccer fields, it all depends on your perspective, doesn't it?

 
Pink skirts on the dog-- that's pretty beautiful to me too. Lots of giggling here lately. The kids seem to get more creative when the weather gets cold, and there's less to do outside. And Winston doesn't seem to mind at all; he's just happy to be part of playing time.

  And my own beautiful thing last week? A fabulous local childrens'/moms' book and gift store who saw my designs, bought a whole big load of my handcrafted items--ornaments, brooches, bracelets, scarves, AND sock monkey outfits! 

 
We started talking sock monkey making, and apparently, all her store sock monkeys needed clothing. They are now stylishly dressed in my new sock monkey couture;) Clothing certainly makes the monkey:O

I'm back in my studio today-- making more goodies. I worked like crazy right till Thanksgiving. So Thanksgiving was low key and relaxing for us this year. We skipped the turkey and grilled steaks-- yep, really. No shopping yesterday either-- I avoid Black Friday like the Black Plague... Monday will be a Christmas shopping day.

Hope you're all enjoying the long holiday weekend! xoxoKelly 
 

 Our house, in the middle of our street

Our house it has a crowd

There's always something happening

And it's usually quite loud

Our mum she's so house-proud...

Our house, in the middle of our street...

I remember way back then when

We would have such a very good time

Such a fine time

And I remember how we'd play

Simply waste the day away

Then we'd say

Nothing would come between us...

 

Last night we finally got around to unpacking Sopheys' end of the school year bag of work. My favorite item was this pop-up community book she made. (I adore kid art.) She said this is our street-- our house is the yellow one.

And this is our town.

 

And this is one of the farms where we live.

 

That's a water mill, by the way. I love it... and last night that '80s song by Madness,"Our house in the middle of our street" ran through my mind. But I didn't mind. Life can be so sweet.

Hope you have a really, really lovely weekend-- in your house, on your street, in the city, the 'burbs or the farm.  There's really just no place like home, is there?

Lots of love to you,

Kelly

in the good old summer time

 

Well, I said I'd try and stop being so flowery on my posts for awhile... boys and baseball, I'd say it doesn't get less flower-y than that. Jess made our towns' All-Star team this year. Guess where I'll be spending lots more time this summer? But I love it. I marvel at these baseball-playing, hot dog eating guys of mine. I was the gym teachers' worst nightmare. And they are so very athletic, go figure.

Anyways, other than baseball, here's some of the things on our kid summer fun list. In no particular order, because who needs order in summertime:)

*June 27- is the Great American Backyard Camp out- need to participate.

* teach kids to make fruit leather.

* teach kids to make cake doughnuts.

* make a summer treasure jar.

* make some potato print fabric.

* dig out the fondue pot.

* go to the U of U art museum.

* buy a microscope-- look at stuff with kids.

* yard saleing with girls.

* make seashell candles.

* read  THE BORROWERS.

* build better boats to race in the ravine.

* finish wallpapering Sophey's dollhouse.

* make papier-mache piggy banks

* make a fairy garden behind front porch.

* make homemade fresh peach ice cream.

* eat lots of fresh peaches.

* eat more peaches...

 So that's what's on our home plate for the summer :)

How About YOU? What are YOUR plans for the SUMMER?

Let me know, I'd love to hear!

Love,

Kelly

P.S. off to work on crafting-- still have fairy-making items on the brain, even though May is over. Back soon with something cute to show.

a very nice fixer-upper opportunity

 

Here's a fun project Sophey and I made last spring. I posted about it then, but since my blog was brand new, I'm sure only about two people read that post ;) I thought I'd re-share it for PINK SATURDAY.

We found this house-shaped basket while thrift store hunting. It was seriously tacky when we bought it. But we knew it also had tons of fixer-upper potential. We removed all the wooden bric-a-brac from it. And Sophey (of course) chose to spray paint it pink.

When we lived in Suffolk England I fell in love with Suffolk cottages. Suffolk cottages are the most charming shade of pink with brown thatched roofs, and most have beautiful English cottage flower gardens.

So that's where the rest of the inspiration came from for our house-basket. I cut strips of various shades of felted wool and made a thatched roof. Added a chimney on one side. Sophey painted the shutters lavender and rummaged around a box of old silk flowers; gluing on her favorites.

All in all, lots of fun for about three or four dollars. And the perfect home for the thrift store bunny we found that day too. (Miss Pinkys' ears make the roof pitch).

 

We made Miss Pinky some clothes after we finished her cottage.

 

A very happy home for a very sweet bunny, I'd say... Although it might be hard to find a house-basket like this one, a basket shaped in a similiar way could still make a very nice bunny (dog, cat, etc.) cottage of your own.  (We know with school ending soon, we're all going to be looking for things to keep kids busy). Happy crafting to you!

Love,

xoxo Kelly

green Wednesday

   

Sorry that pink Saturday post was left up so long. Jesse and I are trying to get over the stomach flu. We're starting to feel more human today, hopefully by tomorrow we'll be recovered. Nasty stuff.

Anyway, in honor of Earth Day today, HAPPY EARTH DAY everyone! Searching around for a photo for this post, I remembered the shoebox diarama Sophey made for her animal report last week. That works-- floating clay yellow seahorses, felted wool seaweed, shells and sand from our trip to the Outer Banks in NC. a few years back, and then my creative child decided goldfish crackers swimming and nibbling along would be the perfect finishing touch. I agreed! Tomorrow at school, the endangered animal fair continues with a singing program. Can't wait to see/hear that, too.

These last two children of mine arrived on Earth, seemingly already prewired to care for the environment. It amazes me. Last week our next door neighbor cut down their huge horse chestnut tree and Jesse was furious. He told me, "trees give the Earth oxygen and every time you cut down a tree it takes oxygen away from us!" He's still talking about the tree being gone, and he's still mad! Granted the tree was a little large for the space, but I had to agree, cutting down a tree simply because you're tired of it (the neighbor said) doesn't seem justified to me either.

And that's just one example of how conscious these two are. We haven't taught them this passion, it's just who they are. I am routinely reminded to turn the water off if they think I'm wasting it while cooking or cleaning. I am praised when I buy environmentally friendly laundry soap and cleaners (seriously!) After a thrift store shopping spree last week, they remarked that this was a good way of recycling too! And so partly because of them, I find myself wanting to do a better job being "green".  I now fully realize our children will inherit the Earth I leave behind.

My Dad was green way before green became cool. He held many civic positions over the years aiding the environment. Through wetland zoning to years of being the county riverkeeper, he understood as Native Americans do, that we are the Earth also. When Jesse and Sophia were born, he told me to teach them to care for the Earth. He said, "Everyone thinks we just live on the Earth, but that's not true, we are a part of the Earth." So true, indeed.  

Lots of love,

xoxoKelly

orange you tired like me?

  

 How I'm feeling and looking today.

One Brownie scout troop tent sleepover.  Eight seven-year-old girls and one tired me.  Giggle, giggle, giggle, all night long...Why are they called sleepovers when sleep is the last thing that happens?

*Be back soon with a how-to on making the fabric roses and leaves from my last post.  And I'm working today on lots more felted wool sundaes.  I'll have those to show soon.

ORANGE JUICE CAN PUPPET ART (for last night's puppet theatre) BY MY BROWNIE, SOPHEY.

See you soon.

Love,

Kelly

 

 

seeing red: part 2

Remember the song "a few of my favorite things" from The Sound of Music?  Well, that tune was running around and around my head this morning, while I took pictures for "I saw red".  Sadieolive's call for red continues...

Here are a few of my favorite things around the house...in shades of red.

   My whistling red teakettle starts my day.  I love the homey sound of it whistling at me.  Or maybe it's just that something is still whistling at me these days? Past the big 4-0 now...

   Twinings red tagged English Breakfast tea in a red cup.  Every morning.  Several.  Then it's on to making ice tea for the day.  I think tea must run through my veins...but I love it.

   My other favorite kitchen appliance. Sleek, sexy, several cruising speeds, big motor, built to last... A burly, Harley riding friend of ours came to dinner a while ago; he asked me what this was.  I told him it was the Harley Davidson status symbol for housewives.  He laughed.  Oprah even gave away red Kitchenaid mixers on her Big Giveaway show this year.  Now I know I'm cool...

  Favorite thrift store red wooden bowl.

  Favorite thrifted red cookie jar.  Kinda weird that it's a Campbell's soup can for a cookie jar, but I still love it.

  Favorite antique store red baking powder tin.  I've never heard of Royal baking powder have you?

  Favoite new English WW11 reproduction poster.  King George commissioned several different slogans/posters to be posted around during London's bombing.  But this one was never distributed, and the original only recently found.  I'm seeing it all over blogland now, so I'm not so original anymore, but I think it's fabulous.  I read it several times a day, and tell myself  just "keep calm and carry on"...

   Favorite new display of red kid art.  My kids made the heart flowers with pipe cleaners, painted wooden hearts, and painted old string-along beads for the base.  How clever is that?

   Another new favorite piece of kid art.  Painted-spotty-red-yogurt-container-turned-petunia-planter.  How clever is that?

   Favorite new red Mary Janes' on my vintage (sounds so much nicer than antique, now doesn't it?) feet.  How do they smell Winston?

   Same favorite red-collared dog with his faithful sidekick, red-collared Miss Greta, on husband's favorite red Lazy Boy.

   Favorite new red sewing project.  Found several yards of this fabric at an antique store yard sale.  But it's been sitting around a couple of years, while I've tried to figure out what to do with it.  I decided to cut out the teapots, cups, plates, sugar bowls, and use them as appliques for tea towels.  Whadya think? Any more ideas, anyone?

   And last, my favorite homemade red silk poppy notebook, for all my project ideas. With a favorite quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson.  "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."  I love it.  On that note, I'll leave you... See you tomorrow, with one more day of red.

Take care,

Kelly