world's best

we ended up with three "world's best" teachers this year.

i realize only one can really be the world's best, 

but for each of my kids they had the very best.

and, what more can you ask for as a parent?

pen pal boxes.

we are headed to dallas in two weeks

and lucy is going to get to see her friend eva 

while we are there.

they have shared many an adventure together since they were born from california to new york and phoenix to dallas. even a day in austin.

but they are long distance friends and i am trying to instill in them the beauty of pen pals.

i gave lucy two old cigar boxes i got from her grandpa and let her decorate them however she liked (which was a little difficult for me, i might add).

we filled them with stationary and envelopes and stamps.

inside each lid, i wrote the other girls' address, so they would always have it readily available and not get held up in the actual mailing of their letters waiting around for their moms to dig up that address that is right around here somewhere...

hopefully a letter writing friendship will emerge...

cookie stands

last christmas, i gathered a basket of discarded christmas tree stems that had been trimmed from the bottom of the trees.  they all sat out back for a while (and my husband kept threatening to throw them away), but i finally made some little cookie stands out of them.  free wood, a little sanding, some white paint and glue.  and done.

so easy and they make me happy in that dorky way that crafts always seem to...

feather headbands.

as i have mentioned before, lucy is always looking for a good craft to pass the time.

we found this online and she was obsessed.

i have to say i am a little jealous of the kind of seven year old lucy is.

i would have been way too self-concious to wear this feather headband as i played by myself in the yard, painting rocks and pretending to read old books.

might have something to do with not having an older sister who makes you feel like you are childish and silly (no hard feelings to my own sister, it was my own insecurity that made me feel this way), but i totally dig her independent, imaginative, carefree ways.  

some feathers, fabric, elastic, fake jewels and an old granola box and you are good to go. 

painted rocks.

lucy and i like to play a little game where i let her click through my pinterest boards and then she picks something we can make together.  last weekend she decided on painted rocks.  considering my kids hand me an endless supply of rocks wherever we go to put in my pocket or my purse or the stroller or... you get the point.  needless to say, we had all the materials on hand for this one.  

i painted these three...

then, since i was feeling wildly outside my comfort zone (or really due to peer pressure from lucy that my rocks were boring and needed some color), i spruced one up a bit...

and i am happy to say that not only are they pretty, they can be quite useful.

bringing back the paper weight.

everyone can be expecting these for christmas...

and, one next to my bed just for good measure...

made anything fun from pinterest lately?

leg dippin.

go check out this collection of pictures 

on little green notebook. 

you are going to be craving some leg dipping 

of your own. im sure of it.

last minute happy.

i procrastinated our annual back-to-school dinner

this year and had to throw something together the day of.

i randomly decided on a camp-ish theme, mainly because

i wanted to do something with feathers...

not really sure why, just the whim of the moment.

so, i made this simple little mix of streamers 

and paper feathers to hang over our table.

i must say, it added that perfect little bit

of specialness to our evening.

and i really like when things feel special...

and for a super quick last minute

"campy" dessert, we made these

smores bars.

so easy, so good, so very bad for you...

bean bags.

lucy has been begging me to do 

"a sewing project" with her lately.  

begging and begging.

the idea of bean bags just kind of came

to me the other morning,

as it is an easy square she can cut and sew
all by herself

and she can finish it off with 

hand stitching, which she loves.
(also, a good project for anyone just learning to sew!)

so, i made us a little template,

got out all my fabric scraps and we set to work...

*our template was a 5 inch square, with a 1/4 inch inseam and i really like the size they ended up 

we made a simple paper funnel that made it really easy

 to fill the bags with beans by adjusting the opening,

 so nothing would get stuck...

and then lucy taught us all her bean bag games from kindergarden.

they are awfully fun for stacking, throwing, 

catching, balancing, attempting juggling,

using as doll pillows...
 and any other creative use you can think of.

they're lots of fun!

give 'em a try!

now jack is begging to build a board for bags.

i think he can take that one up with his dad...

pennants

so, i am a little obsessed with the blog 

scout's honor co. as of late.

i seem to love everything they post.

my favorite are the never-ending vintage pennants

they seem to find.

and so it was that i was inspired to make my own.

 *(if you wanted to skip the sewing and just go for the 

hot glue gun, it would still look super cute, i do believe)

 don't you think mini-pennants would be the cutest 

party favors? 

i just might have to plan a party around that idea...

i also think it would be fun to make

city pennants like this one.

aw, the possibilities are endless...