Pink Paper Peppermints Sweet ♥ Crafty ♥ Goodness

summer crochet & such

Well hello there.  I thought I'd pull the dust covers off the furniture and open up some windows here and say hi again.  How are you all?

I've been busy, busy with wrapping up school, church activities, learning new craftiness and all sorts of fun things.

You may remember me learning to crochet awhile back. I'm completely head over heels for it now.  I want to crochet *everything*. 

I found a blog by a lovely lady named Lucy called Attic 24 that is just the most fun, eye-tingling, inspirational place you can imagine. 

The colors she chooses for her pretty crochet-y things are fabulous and she has lots of *free* patterns and tutorials!  She has such a fantastic way of explaining how to do the stitches that I feel like I can tackle the most complicated pattern now! 

I'm in the middle of finishing several of her patterns right now. The most wonderful, amazing, colorful, yarny bag (I'm not quite finished with it yet, but you can see it in the background below) and flowers and flowers and a little granny square pillow!!  It's crafty heaven, I tell you, working with all these beautiful, bright colors!

 

 

 

 

If you've never tried to crochet you have to pop over to Lucy's blog and read through her instructions you won't believe how easy (and addicting) it is once you get going!

Well, I'm busy packing for our summer trip to Wisconsin and looking forward to lots of summery, lake-y, road trip-y fun.  {I'm especially looking forward to another visit to the amazing Red Lead paper art store!)

I need to load up the ipod with lots of crafty podcasts and some good faith-building ones too as it's a long two-day drive up.  Any suggestions of favorite podcasts??  I'd love to find some new ones to listen to.

O-man & Little-O in Wisconsin last summer.

These last few months have been very busy and at times quite trying and I really need the rest.  Some time away to think and pray and visit with far away family that we love so much and see so little...it will do me well I think.

What are your plans this summer?  Have you learned any new craftiness?  I would love to hear what you're all up to.  I've missed you!

Grace & Peace in Him,

♥ Melissa~

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"Jesus said, "Come off by yourselves; let's take a break and get a little rest." For there was constant coming and going. They didn't even have time to eat. So they got in the boat and went off to a remote place by themselves." -Mark 6:31-32 (the message)

reason # 5,711 that God is so cool - Caddo Lake

As promised here are some photos of our camping trip to Caddo Lake.  If you think there are too many you should have seen them before I edited...heh-heh. (I took 464 photos this trip,a small number for me really.)

This place is so gorgeous!  In the mornings this ethereal mist rolls across the lake and you feel like you're in a movie.

Makes me think of this hymn:

How Great Thou Art (second verse)

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee;
How great Thou art!  How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee;
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Snapped a pic of an early morning canoe-er here.

 

What a way to wake up Starbucks and this view!

The fall colors this time of year are spectacular.

 

We saw lots of wildlife on our weekend adventure including this mama & baby turtle with their mossy backs.

 

I tried to use my digital zoom to get a close up of this woodpecker that we heard while having coffee around the fire one morning.

It came out a little blurry, but look at that red head!  Doesn't he look just like Woody?

 

We took a tour of the lake on this amazing steamboat called "The Graceful Ghost"

The boys loved it and learned that Caddo Lake is a protected wetland ecosystem. (yay, homeschool...uh, campschool.)

I crocheted by the campfire every night! Super crafty, campy-ness!

And of course we had s'mores.

 

All in all it was a pretty wonderful weekend. 

 

Hope your weekend is lovely and peaceful.

His Grace and Peace,

♥ Melissa~

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"We look at this Son and see the God Who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in Him and finds its purpose in Him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment."
-Colossians 1:15-16

my Big fat summer vacation

We saw lots of big things on our vacation.  It seemed to be a recurring theme.  Here are some of them:

A Big grocery basket that is actually a race car! (St. Louis Children's Museum)

A Big truck. (St. Louis Children's Museum)

A Big dino. (Wisconsin Dells, WI)

Big dino bones (Field Museum, Chicago,IL)

Big Banana (Ella's Deli, Madison, WI)

Big Little O (St. Louis Children's Museum - Optical Illusions room)

Big Lumberjack food (Paul Bunyan's - Wisconsin Dells, WI)

and my favorites:

Big Pink Globe (Museum Campus- Chicago, IL)

Big Pink Flamingo Motel (Wisconsin Dells, WI)

Big stuff....good times.

Have a great weekend guys!  I'm hoping to do some blog hopping this weekend so I will see you around!

God's Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"You're well-known as good and forgiving,  bighearted to all who ask for help. Pay attention, God, to my prayer; bend down and listen to my cry for help. Every time I'm in trouble I call on you, confident that you'll answer."
-Psalm 86:1

ten on tuesday (on wednesday) - the crafty vacation edition

ten thoughts on tuesday

(or wednesday...or...you know...whenever I can grab my laptop and hide in the closet for long enough to post something)

one

I've already told you about Red Lead, the wonderful paper art store in St. Louis owned by sisters Chris Schwartz and Sharon Wisely, but I wanted to show you more photos and say again how amazing this store is! 

If you have a minute you must go take a peek at the online shop.  They have a unique line of stamps that are all so charming.

Here are some more photos of their inspiring space (click on them to see a larger image).

I want to bring a sleeping bag and live here!

 

A tag skirt with silk ribbon ties!  I really need this in my house!

 

Every display in the store is so clever and unique.  I love the umbrellas hanging from the ceiling and do you see the ATC cards dangling in the back?  There's a close up of these later.

Sharon and Chris hand pick all the old furniture and display items at antique shows and flea markets.

I am crazy about the collaged chair and the paint-chipped red table!  The postcards are displayed in old drawers!

 

Aren't these frame shelves amazing?  What a creative and crafty idea!

 

Art in glass jars.  Breathtaking.

 

Oh, this round table and all its goodies just makes my heart sing!

Love these microscope slide necklaces. This one is made with their queen bee stamp.

 

Buttons!  The texture and colors of all these make my eyes tingle!  Don't you just love that big button frame full of buttons!!?

A display of rows and rows of beautiful ATC's pinned together and hanging from the ceiling... stunning!

In this corner of the store it's always Christmas!  How lovely! (A red Christmas tree!)

For those of you lucky enough to live in St. Louis I hope you'll visit Red Lead soon and think of me here in Texas being super jealous of you!

two

In Madison, Wisconsin we stopped for lunch at Ella's Deli.  It is such a neat place full of creativity and craftiness (not to mention delicious food) so I just had to show you some pictures!

  

three

Outside of Ellas's is a restored Parker carousel from 1927.  Little O wanted to ride, but only on the bench, not on the horses.  Apparently they looked a little wild to him.

 

The wild carousel horse.

four

Inside Ellas' is even more whimsical and fun with all kinds of handmade animated characters, displays and dioramas created by local artists and the owners themselves!

 

Everyone's favorite elephant.

Teen O found the feet faces a little creepy.

 

This ketchup bottle jumps over the hot dog and vice versa. Pure genius. heh-heh

 

This robot has a camera in his face and a monitor on his belly so when you walk up to him you can see yourself on the belly monitor.  Little O *loved* it.

five

Even the tables get in on the act at Ella's.  Each table has a glass top with a themed-shadow box underneath.  We sat at the origami table.

 

This table was filled with mini instruments.

six

The other fun and crafty thing I did on the trip was to go to a small town "Strawberry Festival" art fair.  It was really neat.

I met lots of talented crafters and artists.  I wish I could just tour around the country going to these types of shows.

seven

The first was a gentleman who owns American Forging.  He crafts beautiful pieces from recycled aluminum cans!  You really won't believe they used to be cans when you see them.

eight

Next I met Jody Avery and Tammy Mueller of Squiggles and Squares.  They make super cute collaged scrabble tiles and dominoes.

I just loved them and bought a scrabble tile necklace with a little piece of the Bible collaged on the front!  Go check out their etsy shop to see their jewelry & key chains.

nine

Finally I met Gisela Magdalena Moyer.  A paper artist that creates the most amazing paper sculptures. 

Her work is bright and beautiful and full of life. The pictures don't do it justice at all.  I just couldn't stop looking at each piece.  She also has a fascinating life story (don't all wonderful artists?) that you can read about on her website.

I'm saving up for one of her tree pieces, they just make me smile.

ten

That's it for today, I am out of computer time!  Hope you enjoy some of those websites and maybe buy some art!

More photos tomorrow!

God's Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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"Hallelujah! I give thanks to God with everything I've got...God's works are so great, worth a lifetime of study—endless enjoyment! Splendor and beauty mark His craft; His generosity never gives out. His miracles are His memorial— This God of Grace, this God of Love."
-Psalm 111:1

Back in Crafty Action!

Ack!  I'm finally back!

Vacation was wonderful and I'm relaxed and refreshed and ready to get crafty again!

{I love typing Ack!  It's so descriptive and you really can't get away with actually *saying* "Ack!" out loud can you?}

So how about some photo happiness to start the week off right?

Here are some of my faves from the trip:

St. Louis Union Station is so gorgeous.  We stayed in a hotel across the street that is a restored YMCA built in early 1900's.

Inside Union Station is even more gorgeous!  I wish they still designed buildings like this:

I love the ladies holding the globes at the top of the arch. 

And look at the stained glass:

When we arrived in Chicago this is what we saw sitting outside our hotel room:

I should have known that was a bad sign of things to come.

The rest of the Chicago leg of the trip was fabulous though! 

We visited the beautiful Shedd Aquarium.

And learned lots about dolphins and penguins and whales and lizards! 

In fact we arrived at the lizard exhibit at feeding time much to my boys delight (and my horror!). 

Lizards eat some pretty gross stuff...I'm just sayin'.

Yes, that is a big, fat, green caterpillar-wormy thing in his mouth...and he swallowed it whole (while it was still squirming!) right after I took this shot..*eww*...

After Shedd we hopped on the train to Chinatown for lunch at the Three Happiness Cafe and some shopping (sorry to mention lunch so soon after the whole caterpillar/lizard thing). 

Some students had a haiku exhibit in the station and it was fabulous! 

I also enjoyed this warning sign in the station (affixed with duct tape):

And just in case you weren't sure *how* to hold on to your children the diagram shows you with a little highlighted circle for emphasis...I guess so you don't try to hold on to them by their hair or something which would be much less effective I'm sure...

I really fell in love with Chinatown.  It just had so much charm and character. 

 

I loved the dragon lamp posts!

And this was my favorite sign in all of Chicago:

Okay lots more to show you tomorrow including a tuesday ten of crafty things I saw on my trip with more photos of the fabulous Red Lead Paperworks!

Hope you're all having a fabulous summer!

Grace and Peace,

♥ M~
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"You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.You know everything I do."
-Psalm 139:3

ten on tuesday {vacation edition}

 So it's finally time to get back to ten on tuesday!  I can't guarantee how fun this is gonna be though because it's midnight and I've been in the car for four days. (well, ok, not really but it feels like it)

one
It takes ten hours to drive from Dallas to St. Louis.  13 hours if you make your family stop at "The World's Largest Gift Shop".  

 
two

This picture is not the gift shop because I couldn't find a picture of it and didn't think to take one.  This picture is the "world's largest basket" which I thought was funny. (It's the Longaberger headquarters...isn't that funny and so super creative? I love it!)

three

We stopped in St. Louis for a night to rest before heading to Chicago.  I got to visit the coolest art paper & stamp store ever called Red Lead. 

four
I took some photos, but haven't been able to download them yet.  Here's one from their site and I'll put mine up later this week.

five
Isn't if gorgeous?  If you live in St. Louis you are *lucccckkkeeeee* to get to shop here. It is so inspiring!  Take a peek at the fabulous shop and blog for lots of yummy crafty goodness!

six
We are in Chicago now.  Our hotel "ran out" of non-smoking rooms so we are in a stinky room until tomorrow.  We have all the windows open and fans going and I'm sucking on peppermints to keep the smell from gagging me, but other than that it's great.

seven
The next couple of days we'll be headed to museums, Navy Pier, Little Italy and Chinatown!  I can't wait to take lots of pictures!

eight
After that we are on our way to Wisconsin to spend time with the O-fam.  Looking forward to a nice relaxing week of doing nothing!

nine
I will try to stop in here and post once or twice though.  Especially if anything crafty happens...heh-heh.

ten

That was my lamest ten on tuesday ever, but it's 1:12 am now and it's smokey in here!

Grace & Peace,

Melissa~
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"I said to myself, "Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings...soul..."
-Psalm 116:6-8

ten on tuesday - austin edition

ten random thoughts on tuesday - this week from austin, tx!

one

Our hotel has sleep number beds. At first I thought it would be great to be able to try them.
I was wrong. They are like giant, expensive blow up mattresses.  I'm not kidding.

When my husband gets up I sink a little.  And when you adjust the "number" it sounds like a vaccum
cleaner!  I am officially not a fan of sleep number beds.

two

We saw the bats a little bit last night.  They didn't come out until moments before it got
dark and then they were on the other side of the bridge from where we were so they were
really just tiny little black dots in the dark. 

three

But it was astonishing how many of them there were!  (In truth it made me kinda *glad* they were on the other side of the bridge from us-don't tell the boys.)  I think we're going to try and see them again tonight though so I may get up close and personal with one of the furry ones yet.

four

Our hotel has a coffee maker in the room which is nice for that first cup when you're not
ready to face the world.  They have a little tray with coffee cups, packets of
coffee and packets with stirrers, napkins and what they consider coffee condiments.

five

One thing I've never understood about hotels who have these little packets is that inside the packet there is *one* package of sugar and *one* package of powdered *gag* creamer.

ONE. 

Who uses *one* package of sugar and creamer?? 

They may as well just put a *picture* of sugar and creamer in that packet.

six

Speaking of gross packets of things (don't worry it's not as bad as it seems).  We had supper at El Arroyos yesterday.  I guess it's a "first-night-in-Austin" tradition

We sat on the patio and it was beautiful, but the birds were kind of maniacs.  They kept flying in and landing on empty tables to scavenge what was there. 

seven

One of them actually got a packet of sweet & low and *opened it* and ate it!!  (Doesn't he know how bad that stuff is for you??)  I have a photo, but I forgot to bring the card reader down here to the lobby with me. *ugh*  I'll post it later.

eight

Little-O and Daddy-O went for a swim yesterday afternoon.  Last night as we were getting
ready to go to bed (on our *awesome* sleep number pool floaties beds), Little-O tells us
he has an idea.

Little-O:  "You know how we do story time and brush teeth time and snuggle time before sweep(sleep) time at home?" 

Mama-O: Yes? 

Little-O: Well I fought of anudder thing to do while we are here.

Mama-O: Oh? What is it? 

Little-O: "Swim time! We can just go for a yittle swim before bed."

Mama *and* Daddy-O: Oh...Uh...um...

We stumbled around and came up with the fact that the pool was closed at night, "but great idea sweetie!"

nine

The April heART & Soul ezine is ready!  Lots of fun birdie links and stuff. Plus a cool birdie, spiral mobile with pattern!  I hope to get it uploaded tonight.  Go sign up so you'll be the first to get it in your inbox!

ten

Here is a little sneak peek:

Click the button in the left sidebar that says "heART & soul ezine" to subscribe and get *free* paper goodness delivered to your email box (about) once a month!

Grace and Peace,

♥ M~
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"Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds."
-Matthew 6:26

hip cool batty prize-winner

Hey Ya'll!

We're in Austin!  Just got checked in and now I'm enjoying an extra-hot mocha in the hotel lobby listening to (of course) live music as I blog! (I am so hip.) 

The band is playing a funky, acoustic guitar version of "'til there was you" right now and they are fantastic! Wish you could hear them with me.

Could it get any better?? (Having a Starbucks & live music just downstairs from your bedroom is sooooo cool!)

It'll probably be a little slow here this week, since we're out of town, although if I have time (and can figure out how to download them from my camera) I will post some photos!

{the band is now taking requests}

We're hoping to see some of these while we're here:

Bats over the Congress Ave Bridge!

This is pretty much the view from our hotel, so hopefully the creepy, little guys  will make an appearance while we're here because my boys are going crazy wanting to see them!

And now for the big announcement that I know you're all waiting to hear! 

The winner of my Bloggy Giveway drawing!

I used the Random Number Generator and got number 64!

And the winner is...

Naomi from superdumb supervillain!  Woo-hoo!

Send me your snailmail address Naomi and your goodies will be on  the way!

Little-O and his Daddy just joined me in the lobby and he's dancing around the whole lobby and making the band smile. (Little-O not his Daddy...heh-heh)

Gonna go have fun with my family now.

Grace & Peace,

♥ Melissa~
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“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."
-John 14:27

tuesday ten - mish mash

ten random thoughts on tuesday {wednesday is the new tuesday}

one

Guess what I'm working on?  My very own Bible Cover!  I found the directions to make my own pattern and let me tell you that was *the* hardest part so far. 

There was much "wailing and gnashing of teeth" if you know what I mean.  I typically don't enjoy measuring and I have learned that sewing is *all about measuring*. 

There are a lot of fractions. (1/4" seam anyone?)

There is measuring

There is actual math.

But I *still* love it!

Look how it looks so far!

More about this tomorrow and what I learned about ironing.

two

O-man is going to Austin on business at the end of the month and we all get to go!  Yippee!  We went last year with him as well and had such a good time. 

We ate lots of yummy mexican food (my favorite - I could eat it every day - forever - I can feel my yankee husband rolling his eyes right now).

They had the coolest lights & chandeliers at this restaurant. El Arroyo, in downtown Austin and the yummiest fajitas you've ever tasted!

We visited the capitol, which is always fun & interesting.

But this time there was a legislative session going on *and*...

...a protest!  Woo-hoo, a homeschool mama & daddy's dream day!

We even chatted with one of the organizers of the protest afterward about their views and why they were protesting.  She was very sweet and explained everything to Teen O (it was kinda over Little O's head) and then we had a family discussion about what we agreed and disagreed with.  The best kind of learning day.

Some pretty flowering cactus (cacti?).

Looking so forward to going to some antique-y, artsy places downtown this year! Hope the weather is better!

three

Teen O came in this morning while I was looking at etsy and asked me if he could have a pet hedgehog.  After talking to him about it for awhile, I turned back around to look at the screen and scrolled down and the next item was a painting of a hedgehog.  Weird, huh?

four

We got some pretty big bottles of bubbles in our Easter baskets around here and the other night we decided try blowing "night bubbles"...So we turned the back porch light on and were surprised by how pretty they were.

These were taken with the flash and the porch light to illuminate them.

When I turned the flash off I got this cool result:

Great conversations about light and capturing it ensued.  Gotta love impromptu homeschooling.

five

There was a very fun/funny game at Chuck E. Cheese the other day when we went for Little O's birthday.  It was a Mario Racing game and it had a little camera on it that snapped the picture of the boys and put them in the characters faces.  Look how cute:

six

I found a cool little tool to help me keep track of work time/computer time/school planning time etc.  It's called "Instant Boss" and you set up the time intervals that you want to work and take a break and little boss comes and yells at you when it's time to get back to work.  It's pretty funny.  It also tracks how much time you've spent working which is nice on some days when you feel you haven't accomplished much.

seven

Another great find is this meal planner from future girl. It's so cute the way it looks and it's set up *totally* the way I think.  I really love it.  Simple but exactly what I needed.  Her blog is pretty cool too - lots of free patterns and tutorials.  She is one talented, creative and crafty lady.

 

eight

Recently on twitter, I heard someone much younger than me call the Scooby-doo that I used to watch
as a kid "the old-awesome-vintage one".  *sigh*

nine

In my quest for what to do with junk mail I found joon - she is a genius and I am so doing this.  Yee-haw!

ten

Since I've been doing the "ten on tuesday" posts I have noticed that the weeks go by at lightening speed these days.  How can it have been a week already??

♥ M~
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"For God says, 'At just the right time I heard you; on the day of salvation I helped you.'  Indeed the "right time" is now.  Today is the day of salvation."
-2 Corinthians 6:2