I have been so inspired the last few months by iHanna’s daily art cards.  She made art cards every day of last year, and you can see some of them here.  I love that they are all so different.  Some drawn, some painted, some using mixed media.  Some simple, some extravagant.  

For years I’ve had things in my mind that I’d like to create, but because I don’t really know how to make it come out, I’ve just sat back and watched what others do with their talent.  I’m now inspired to just do it anyway.  I’m not striving to make something new each day, but I have started an art journal and will add to it often (I hope).  

This morning I did my first page.

Another great idea is to have a family sketch book, where all members of the family can draw and add to it whenever they please.  Cakies has a post about it here.  I think that’s an idea any family can use.  And what a great thing to look back on at the end of the year, or whenever the book is full.  My suggestion:  date the pages and put initials next to drawings so you can remember who did what.

Copycatforest.com has recently had a makeover, thanks to Tricia over at tricia-rennea art.    I contacted her with my idea, and she was super quick to get back to me with EXACTLY what I had in mind!  I couldn’t be happier with her work!

I found her site and have been loving her generousness with free downloads.  ”Hop on over” and check it out for yourself!  She has great thank you cards, menu planning and shopping pages, really cute to do list, beautiful bird and flower notecards, and so much more!  I spent well over an hour one morning going through her posts, downloading designs and things to print and use.  Check it out… you’ll be glad you did!

That’s also her work over in the Zazzle galleries in my sidebar.  I’m telling you, this woman is talented!

I’m so excited!  I just made this super sweet cupcake pincushion from my new favorite book, Warm Fuzzies, by Betz White.  This book has lots of great projects based on things you can make from felted wool sweaters.  I love love love felt, and making things from sweaters is my new favorite.  The swirls and the cupcake wrapper are from sweaters.  The cherry on top is a felt ball that I made myself from roving (instructions found here).  I needle felted the green decoration on the wrapper using some wool yarn that my daughter graciously let me use from a scarf she’s working on.  

Next project from the book:  a sweet jumper dress for Mercy, as soon as my sewing machine is fixed.  For now, I’m going to take the arms off of the orange sweater (her favorite color, and it’s oh-so-soft), to make her some leg warmers.

Next, add ingredients. This part was fun for everyone. We added basic omelet things like cheese, ham, bacon. I also added onion and tomato to mine.

Then you get to squish it. Oh. It’s probably obvious, but just in case, I’ll say zip the bag closed first. It would get rather messy if you didn’t.
Squish, squish until everything is well mixed.
Like this.
Oops, I also forgot to say you should start a big pot of boiling water before the first step. That way the water should be boiling by the time you add the bags. We did four at a time in our pot. I guess it depends on the size of your pot.

It took longer than I expected for them to cook. I think maybe around 20 minutes. Sorry I don’t have an exact time. Just watch them. You can tell they’re done when the egg looks cooked and no longer runny at all.
Here’s our first batch, all finished!
We just opened the bags and plopped them onto a plate (or bowl in this case).
This was a fun breakfast for everyone. They took a while to cook, but it was nice that everyone got to put in their own ingredients, squish up their bags and add the bags to the water. It was also nice that as they boiled, we could do other things (like Family Fun Cranium game), and they were ready at the same time.

I’m so excited to have found this idea this morning!  I needed to make a gift for my three year old but my sewing machine is not working, so I can’t make what I was planning.  Then I found this:

It’s a sweet elf glove that you can use with toddlers/ preschoolers.  More details and the rhyme that goes with it found here.  Thanks Chrissy!

Over the years, people consistently ask me what type of camera I use. I’ve used several, from point and shoot to SLR to now digital SLR cameras. The camera that I currently use and absolutely love is the Nikon D40. I love photography and enjoy learning more about tricks and techniques. (More posts coming soon!) For now, my favorite tips to share about taking good photos are simple. 1.) The closer the better, and 2.) use natural light whenever possible instead of flash. It’s also fun to get off center and try different angles. If you have tips you’d like to share, please comment or email me. I love sharing and learning from others’ experience!

Next, I measured and marked down the sides at six inch intervals. (I started at 3 1/2 inches from the top, so there’d be some of the canvas showing at the top and bottom once cards are hung.) After measuring and marking on both sides, I stretched ribbon across and secured them into the sides of the canvas using red thumbtacks.
Next, I turned the canvas over and stapled the excess ribbon onto the frame in the back, and then trimmed off any extra ribbon that remained.
Here’s the finished product, ready to be hung when little ones wake up from their naps.
First card hung.
Side detail.
Super easy! You can do it too! If you make one, take a photo and let me know! Enjoy!

My sister Kelly had a great idea that she posted on her blog… Did you know how easy it is to sell books on amazon? Head over to Kelly’s blog to read about her experience. I’m going through my shelves today to see what I can list there!