this week's library book

Ever since we discovered Dinosaur Bob, I've kept my eye out for other books at the library by William Joyce. Last week we spotted this one, The Leaf Men about an old woman and her beautiful garden.

The old woman falls ill, and because no one is taking care of her garden, the flowers start to wilt and die. The garden insects and bugs are devastated.

Some one must summon the Leaf Men, mythical heroes who can save the garden. They can only be called by climbing to the tallest tree and calling out "Leaf Men, Leaf Men. We are in need!" The brave doodle bugs are up to the task.

The Leaf Men come to the rescue and destroy the evil Spider Queen. Working through the night, they bring the garden back to life, sewing leaves and petals back onto their stems.

The leaf men find an old toy that the sick woman had lost in the garden when she was a little girl. Carrying the toy on their backs, they return it to the old woman who soon recovers and the garden is saved!

I love William Joyce's illustrations, so detailed and carefully composed. And although we love the Leaf Men, my kids think the Doodle Bugs are the real heroes of this story. As they start their perilous journey to the top of the tallest tree they sing "Small in size, but brave of heart! We always finish what we start!" Not a bad lesson for my own little ones to learn.

u.s.a.

For those in the states, have a lovely 4th of July!

star cupcakes

C really wanted cupcakes, and I was having a hard time thinking how to make the cupcakes special, and still fit in with our rocket ship/outer space theme. I thought of making little paper stars, but didn't really want to cut them all out, or buy a special punch. Maybe I could use sugar cookies?

Before baking some of my star cookies, I pushed in a wooden skewer (mine were three different lengths so the stars wouldn't all be at the same height). It helps to add a tiny bit of dough over the top of the skewer before you bake it so it's really in there nice and tight.

They looked so festive, and I think they would be lovely for a Fourth of July celebration as well. I can't be the first one to think of this, right?

Five candles added to the first row of cupcakes makes for a very happy birthday boy.

rocket ship party

A few more shots from C's 5th birthday party. As I mentioned before, we had to change the location of the party at the very last minute due to rain. C seemed a little sad as we drove home from the park where we had planned to have the party. My husband and I tried to sound cheerful and explain how much fun we would have indoors at our house, but C seemed a little unconvinced. We had planned an obstacle course for the kids which we couldn't really do inside, but we did have some other ideas...

Like rocket balloons. Have you seen these? You blow up the balloons with the hand pump and then they fly around and make a crazy noise. We had planned on doing this at the park, where the balloons can fly high into the sky and then the kids have fun trying to catch them when they fall, but they are surprisingly fun indoors as well. Each child got a balloon and they would line up patiently while JR blew them up, then they would let their balloon go, watch it fly all around our living room, then grab their balloon and line up again. The first hour of the party was a bit crazy with these balloons going off in every direction.. but the kids were having SO much fun.

I had not planned many decorations, but I did make a simple sign by printing each letter out an one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, rounding the corners, and stringing them together. After the party, you can snip the string and stack the letters flat to use again.

We quickly unpacked all the food we had taken to the park: (clockwise from top) peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches, star and moon cookies, potato chips, pineapple, pretzel sticks, veggies with dip, ham and cheese finger sandwiches, and some watermelon.

I love sugar cookies because you can customize them so easily to suit your theme. Blue stars and a few moons were perfect for our rocket ship party.

C wasn't so into the idea of wearing a crown, but I love having the birthday child wear something special, so we made a t-shirt with a big 5 on it. Freezer paper to the rescue.

More than anything C wanted a pinata at his birthday party. As we drove back to our house from the park, my husband was already thinking of a way to hang the pinata indoors. He is the perfect guy to have around in situations like this one. It involved a long 2x4, several clamps and carabiners, a rachet strap, and a lot of string. And looked something like this:

He hung the 2x4 from the upstairs balcony, securing it with a rachet strap, and stabilized it by putting the other end in our linen closet. The other end of the 2x4 stuck out over the balcony. The pinata was then fed through a carabiner and hung down at a height where the kids could reach it.

Then he had two strings attached to the pinata itself, one controlled the height of the pinata, and the other controlled how far out it swung from the wall. By moving both strings we could make the pinata swing out from the wall and the kids could swing to their hearts content without doing any damage to our house. (I would just like to add that I think my husband might be a genius.)

We made a little bag for each child to collect candy from the pinata. I made these the same time as the invitations, using some circle punches and more office paper.

And we added a few things to each bag: some red and white peppermints, a wind up walking robot (which for several minutes was more exciting for the children than their candy!) and some chocolate globes.

I know it wasn't the party we had planned, but kids aren't that hard to please. Friends, games, food, a little candy, and a cupcake = happy kids. Especially C, who told me it was "the best day EVER."

rocket ship invites

C has wanted a "rocket ship" party for some time now. For the invitations, I went to work building rockets using some of my office paper stash. C loved them because they had a rocket on them.. I loved them because each one was unique and different.

When C asked why there was a "V" on the card, I explained how that meant the number five. "Why not just do a five?"  Because those are a lot harder to cut out, that's why!

The main part of the rocket lifts up to show the party details which were stamped using my tiny alphabet stamps, available at most office supply stores. You need a steady hand, but I love these little stamps and use them all the time.

My favorite part of the invites was having C address the envelopes. I adore his shaky penmanship. We hand delivered the invites to his friends and cousins, a tradition I think I will continue. You should have seen how excited his friends were to see him knocking at the door holding up a little envelope.

one. two. three. four. five.

My sweet baby is now a little boy, who seems to grow taller right before my very eyes. People say that time flies, but it seems to soar by leaps and bounds now that I have children. It leaves me grateful for every photo I snapped of him when he was tiny, every little bit of blurry video, every smudged impression from his tiny hands. Because that wee thing shown above turned five last week. And each time I look at him now, I still see that sweet little baby and his big eyes looking back at me.

The birthday party we had planned for him at his favorite park, with cousins and friends and family, got rained out. We were at the pool enjoying the sunshine on Friday, but come Saturday morning as we drove to the park, the raindrops started to fall. I didn't have a rain plan (this is sunny southern California!). But we scrambled and moved the party to our house, about fifteen minutes before it began. Phone calls were made. Rooms were quickly cleaned. Food that had just been packed for the park was unpacked. Balloons were hung. And do you know what happened next?

Guests arrived. Children played. Rocket balloons went sailing in every direction. The pinata was broken open. Children spontaneously sang Happy Birthday. Candles were lit and blown out. And my boy smiled and smiled.

I did manage to snap a few photos from the party.. coming shortly.

quick and easy teacher gift

C finished preschool last week and we wanted to do a little something for his teacher Miss Laurie, who is all sunshine and smiles. Funny story: After his first week of preschool C asked me if I could be "more like Miss Laurie." And when I asked him what he meant, he replied "Well she is just happy ALL of the time." (Hmm..)

I had gone with Miss Laurie and the kids on a field trip to the fire station earlier in the year and had taken lots of photos. So we decided to pick our favorites and put together a little album. Here's how to dress up a cheap plastic album (available at craft stores and photo stores for about $2). Ridiculously easy.

You will need a plastic album that holds 4x6 photos (I think this one fit 24 prints). Two different pages of thick pretty paper (mine are from the Martha Stewart line). And a sharp x-acto knife and cutting mat.

The covers on these albums are usually pretty ugly, and they are sealed into the plastic so they can't be removed. Open your album and using your x-acto knife, cut carefully along the edge of the plastic that is holding the cover in place. You just want to cut through one of the layers of plastic if you can (it looks a little neater than if you cut through both the front and the back). Start at the top edge of the book (where it is bound) and cut neatly down to the bottom. Then you should be able to slide the ugly cover out of the book and replace it with something pretty.

One you've pulled your cover out, you can use it as a template to cut your paper. Lay it down on your pretty paper and cut two covers for the front and back (if you like you can also cut two more out of a complimentary paper for the inside front and back cover).

Carefully slide your new pretty covers into the album, taking care not to bend the corners. (I used the blue paper with white dots for the cover, and the white paper with blue dots for the inside covers.) Insert your photos into the album.

Dress things up by adding a cute label to the front (these are also from the Martha Stewart collection). And you're done.

I keep a stack of these albums on hand for all sorts of things. They make great gifts for grandparents (filled with pictures of their grandchildren, of course.) Or newlyweds (filled with photos from the wedding, and sent to the bride and groom as a surprise on their first anniversary). The next time you are at a baby shower or birthday party, and the hostess is running around too busy to take photos, grab your camera and get to work! When you hand her your album a few weeks later, she will be thrilled.

graduation gift

Two of the young girls I teach at church on Sundays are graduating high school today. In honor of this momentous occasion, I gathered a few of my favorite things from when I was in college and packed them all in a simple tote with their first initial (clearly inspired by here, which I feel badly about, but they are in England, and I needed a cute bag pronto!).

A freezer paper stencil was an easy way to transform the $3 canvas tote bag I bought at the craft store into something a little more special. And it took all of 20 minutes. I won't go into the ins and outs of freezer paper stenciling, but for this project you just need to print out one letter in a nice typeface (I used Bodoni). Trace the letter onto the papery side of your freezer paper and then cut it out carefully with an exacto knife.

Iron the freezer paper onto your bags, taking care to adhere all the edges of your stencil so the ink won't bleed. (The waxy side of the freezer paper will stick to the bag.) Lay a sheet of freezer paper inside your bag as well in case any paint bleeds through. Then paint with fabric paint and let dry overnight.

The next day, peel off your freezer paper and iron your letters to heat set the ink. Then fill with your favorite things (my list included Burt's Bee's lip balm, my favorite Uniball pens, transparent flag post-its for marking text books, thank you cards (a good habit to get into), metal binder clips, and some swedish fish for late night study sessions.

Congratulations Shelby and Ashley! Spread those little wings and fly, fly, fly!

p is for party

We're having quite the celebration week here at our house. Bee had a party for two of her playgroup friends (I took the picture above as she was heading out the door, and yes, she poses like that all on her own.) School is out on Thursday and it's my son C's birthday so we're having a little get together at the park on Saturday. And it's my good friend (and sister-in-law)'s birthday this week as well. Lots to celebrate.

I am so excited Bee finally fits into this sweet dress. It was a gift from my friend Heather Ross, who gave it to me when we were working on Weekend Sewing. It was too big for Bee at the time, so I hid it in the bottom of her dresser and now it fits perfectly. Can you see the adorable fabric? It's an underwater scene Heather designed for Munki Munki, with lobsters, whales, and an octopus or two. Bee loves it and wants to wear it every day. Thank you Heather!

happy weekend

It's been fun guest blogging over at Black Eiffel, sharing a few of my own odd little collections. (Do people think I'm completely crazy after seeing what I collect? Maybe.)

The image above is of Bee and C with their rock collections, which we keep in old shoe boxes. When we've been outside all day I inevitably find a rock or two at the bottom of my purse, stashed for safe keeping when I wasn't paying attention. I love looking back through their rocks and remembering.. this one is from our favorite playground in Brooklyn, this one we found while we were apple picking with our friends, this little round one we found at the beach, worn smooth by the waves.

People wonder why I collect things like ticket stubs and it's because those little pieces of paper take me back. Who I was with, what we saw, sometimes little details like what I was wearing or where we ate or how the sky looked when we walked back to the subway. They make me remember details I would otherwise forget.

Here's to a weekend worth remembering!