Week 49: Craft Madness

When the daddy's away the kiddos will play... This is what we did when Ivan was out of town during December. :D

We hand printed some wrapping paper:

And, okay, ourselves, too...

We also made a REAL gingerbread house! It's messy, but so worth it:

Isabel wanted to make sure we had a chocolate lake. The kids had lots of fun decorating it with Mommy's "fancy" decorating supplies!

Week 43: All Hallow's Eve

So, we have a bizarre little tradition in our family: every year around Halloween, we make shrunken heads. Out of apples. Macabre? Yes. But lots of fun. The kids always look forward to it (almost as much as their Mommy does!) and spend weeks watching their "heads" shrivel, waiting for the day they get to add all the creepy features. Without further ado, then, I introduce Asher's vampire, Isabel's fairy princess, and Abram's Quasimodo:

Week 17: Tea-Staining

I have an amazing teak frame that I picked up at a thrift store. The silk surround on it has seen better days, though. I've been wanting to tea stain it in hopes that that would be a way to cover the marks on the silk, but still be in keeping with the era of the frame itself. Problem: I don't drink tea. Hm. Mate cocido is kinda like tea, right...? *fingers crossed*

Week 11.5: ...Comes Order

This is the order that came from the earlier chaos that is my craft table. This is Hera, Olympian Queen of the Gods (modeled by my pretty sister-in-law--thanks, Ashley!!!). She was created from papier-mâché and then smothered in all the pretty tidbits she could glean from my piles of useless junk. I'm posting it in Week 12, but I actually took the shot last week so I could get the mask listed on Etsy. :D Hooray for finishing a mask! Now on to the several others yet unfinished... *sigh*

Week 10b: The Little Folk

Earlier in the week, looking at my big straw "outdoor" broom gave me the inspiration to create a tiny version for our fairies. I have seen some pretty incredible fairy houses (and furniture) lately on Etsy, but I especially like the ones that are totally natural--not using distinctly human things, like hot glue. ;) So, I fashioned this tiny replica out of soft yellow grass (of which, there is an abundance right now...), a forsythia twig, and a stray bit of wire (which, okay, I "found" in my craft supplies). It stands a little over 5" tall. Just because fairies are mischievous doesn't mean they can't be tidy.

Week 3b: Before.

This is another shot of something in the works. These gorgeous frames were all found at a second-hand store. I probably spent about $15 and three hours (sanding, painting, taping, RE-painting for the orange/yellow insets) to get an assorted set of frames I love. And someday they will no longer be sitting on the kitchen floor and will actually be put to their intended use. But that is for another post...

Week 3: Out of Chaos...

Thought I ought to post a tribute to the madness that overtakes our kitchen whenever we get the mask-making bug. While last week's foray into the unknown is mostly over, the remnants, well, remain. This little cardtable is shoved into a corner of the kitchen and still covered with inspiration. If you've ever wondered what goes into one of our masks, now you know what goes into at least three or four.