::mothers day bracelets::

I was inspired by the tutorial on my friend Katy's blog. I just loved the bracelet that she had made out of wool pebbles. I thought one of those would be a fun mother's day gift.
But I'm nothing if I'm not practical--I knew I wouldn't get it done if I tried to make my own pebbles. I'll try it some day, but for this time I ordered some from here. Isn't etsy wonderful?
Once they came (all the way from the UK), I took a bunch of beads from back when I thought I might have a knack at jewelry making, and I put them all together.

I think the pebbles are just so interesting--they've got such a cool texture, and the marbled colors are beautiful. It was fun to pick beads to play against the pebbles.

Kris was concerned they'd look like "dryer lint bracelets." He admitted they were cool once I was done.


I like them. What do you think?
Thanks for the inspiration Katy!!

::more little projects::

I had a couple of things I was working on for christmas that I had to keep secret, but now I can show them to you!
First is the project that got me crocheting in the first place.
My younger sister Charlotte loves cuttlefish.
Have you ever seen a cuttlefish?

image from here

I'm not sure if I had or not before we went to Disney World this year. Anyway, we ran across a whole tank of cuttlefish and Charlotte declared her undying love. So I knew I needed to give her one for Christmas. Then I found a really cool crochet pattern for a cuttlefish on etsy. And I knew I had to try it. So after a lot of practicing and a lot of messes I finally created a cuttlefish!!



I think he turned out really cute. I'm guessing I could make an even better one now with all my practice, but I think he turned out wonderful.
Maybe I'll try my hand at creating a sibling cuttlefish for him one of these days, maybe.
Thanks for inspiring me to start making stuff Char!

I made a little alligator for a friend's one year old a couple of weeks ago. He turned out pretty cute too.


It's fun to be able to make gifts that kids actually seem to like. And it's a good thing I have people to give these little guys to, or the house would be overrun.

Lastly here's a bird that I made in december. My mom has a traditional ornament exchange party every year, and I was thinking it would be fun to participate from afar this year. So I made this bird and sent him across the country.


Now I just need to make one for myself! At least I have the picture in case my own version never gets made.

So there are a few fun projects for you. It feels good to make stuff right now. It's so nice to have something to do with my hands that feels so productive so quickly.

::a bit of a brag::

I have to brag a little bit here. I think I have the two most talented moms in the world. And I get to enjoy the benefits of it, especially at Christmas time!
Every year my mom makes a Christmas tree ornament. It's always creative, amazing and adorable. And the best part is that I always get one, since she makes enough for all the kids to each have one.
Here is this year's ornament:

I love this bird! And yes, my mom can do stained glass, work with metal and make beaded stars.
Thanks mom, my Christmas tree just wouldn't be happy without you.

And my other mom (Kris's mom of course) is an amazing quilter. We have so many wonderful quilts that she's made and I get compliments on them all the time. People are always asking me if I made them. I'm tempted to lie and say I did, but since I'm too much like George Washington I always give Kathy the credit.
We have an adorable quilt advent calendar that Max loves. It's hanging in the dining room right now as well as a really cute little christmas quilt with scenes from the Christmas story.
And THEN the other day I got a package with this in it:

(please ignore the mess underneath it--that particular counter in my kitchen needs a little attention)
Isn't that the cutest candle rug you've ever seen? I love the style and the colors.
I just love getting these awesome gifts from my moms. I'm probably going to have to start reciprocating at some point. I better get to work!

::more mama fish::

So, as if Max didn't have enough fish already, he put in a special request that I make him a mama fish. At first I thought the request was pretty ridiculous, but then it caught my fancy and I started working on it.
I found this pattern that I figured I could start with. I found about four different colors of yarn that I thought sort of matched up with the real fish. And then I went to work.
And then:



I'm really happy with how she turned out. EXCEPT that in trying to be smart I used some rice on her insides to give her some weight. Was I thinking about how if I ever had to wash her the rice would get all gross? NO. Oh well. Too late now.
The colors worked out well though, and my pattern modifications turned out great I thought.
Want to compare New Mama Fish with the original Mama Fish?


Not exactly the same, but pretty darn close.
And the verdict?


He likes her. And I like him. Good deal.

::more little guys::

Green eyed kitty:

Little blue hippo:


These guys are fun because they're such small projects that I can actually get them done. It feels good to finish a project once in a while!

::look what i made::

Look!
Marilyn's muffins.

I made a couple of tiny adjustments. I used a "I can't believe it's not butter" stick instead of normal butter and I used Trader Joe's white whole wheat flour instead of white. They turned out delicious!
A pumpkin:


A silly fish:




I made him too. It was a while back, but I still take plenty of credit. He's the best thing I've ever made.

::Something I Did::

When Kris and I went on our trip to Rhode Island I was feeling really bad about leaving Max for so long--I've never left him for longer than a quick overnight. So I thought a lot to try to come up with something I could do that might make him (and me) feel better.
I'm posting this for two reasons. One is that I'm happy with the way it turned out, I thought it was really neat and two is that I'm thinking maybe somebody else could use this idea sometime. I think it would mean a lot more to a slightly older kid than it did to Max.
First I went and got a little 99 cent photo book from Target and filled it with photos of family--especially pictures of Max with different people. Then I decorated the outside a bit. He really liked this. We went through it together before I left and I told him he could look at it anytime he missed us or felt sad. I don't think he ended up looking at it at all, but it at least made me feel better that he had it if he needed it.


Then I wanted to make something that would help him understand how long we would be gone. I thought about how I did the advents calendar at christmas-time, and how the numbered presents helped him clue into the passing time, so I wanted to do something like that.
We were going to be gone for four nights, so I wrote up four different little notes for him.

I folded those up and numbered them one to four, and then punched holes in the corners and connected them with yarn.

I figured he could start with number four and then open one each day--then he'd have a little something for us and would be able to see how many days were still left.

I thought it turned out great. He actually didn't really care--I think he liked the notes but he was having too much fun playing with our friends' kids and he felt so at home there that he didn't need the reassurance too much I guess.
So I think that this would work great for a kid who was a little older--or something.
It was nice to feel like I made something fun! I haven't gotten to do a lot of that lately.