Showing posts with label Drawing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drawing. Show all posts

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Make Sugar Skull Sun Catchers and Crystallized Sugar Skull Ornaments

Alright everyone... the countdown is on.  It's just a couple of days till Halloween.  Are you excited?  Or, are you over all the orange and black?

I'm in the first group and still SUPER excited for Halloween.  I just finished Chuck's costume this past weekend, so he's ready to go.  I'm not sure if he'll appreciate the idea of trick-or-treating (plus his allergies prevent him from eating a lot of the candy out there), but I think he'll enjoy seeing other kids in costumes and all the spooky decorations.

I'll upload some photos of his costume later on this week... but today I just wanted to share the last of my sugar skull crafts.

So, we already made DIY sugar skull candle holders and DIY sugar skull luminaries and Allison shared her lovely tutorial for DIY sugar skull shoes.  Today's sugar skull crafts were designed with kids in mind.  They're easy to make and the resulting products look great.

1.  Sugar Skull Window Clings

Colorful and fun, these two skulls will float happily on your window.




Materials:
  • Contact Paper (Buy the cheap stuff from the Dollar Store)
  • Black paint pen (You could also use a Sharpie marker, but the lines won't be as dark.)
  • Scissors
  • Cellophane 
  • Tape

Thursday, April 18, 2013

I can't believe I...

recently created an official Pink Stripey Socks Facebook page for my blog.

This was a pretty big deal for me.  You're probably thinking "Who cares? It's no big deal.  Everybody uses social media nowadays."

Urm... well... confession time- you're talking to the girl who's been hiding under a technology rock for the past couple of years.  I don't twit tweet.  I just got a personal Facebook page last October.  (I know, I know.)  And since we're airing dirty little secrets, I might as well let you know that I don't own a smart phone   or a texting plan.

I know.  *Gasp*  I'm a technological dinosaur.  Rawr!

But ever since I chose the word "try" as my word of the year, I figured I should try this newfangled social media thing out.  I really love blogging and crafting, so this seems like a nice way to connect with others and grow as a blogger.  I'm not going to lie.  I'm still nervous about creating the Facebook page because it means that I'm putting myself out there and I'm taking this whole blogging thing more seriously.  Will everything just end up blowing up in my face?  I don't know.  Not sure.  Hopefully not.  But I just have to try and see where this adventure leads.

Does this mean that you'll soon see me twittering twitting  tweeting?  Urm, probably not.  (Those hash tags really scare me.)  Or, does it mean that I'll start texting and get a data plan?  lol! omg no way :)   Baby steps, my friend, baby steps.

And since we're nearing the end of this post, I just wanted to upload this cactus doodle because seeing faces on cacti just makes me smile.



(Psst- Special thanks to Kira at Her New Leaf blog for providing lovely free social media buttons and clear, easy-to-follow instructions.  They were perfect for a techno-phobe like me.)

Friday, October 19, 2012

Parenting stories and tips

Did you ever have a week where you felt like everything you did was wrong?

I know I'm not a perfect parent.
And I know that I could learn a lot from other mommies.

But sometimes I find it so difficult to just smile and nod when yet another mother or nanny gives me unsolicited advice. 

It always comes about the same way.
            First, she asks The question, "How old is he?"
            I respond, "13 months."
            They seem surprised.  "Really?  But he's so small.  He only looks (insert number less than 10) months.  And he still isn't walking?"

Even though I've had this conversation several times, it always hurts like a knife to my chest.  Everyone seems to operate under the assumption that a healthy baby is big and walks around by himself.  

And then the ladies always continue with those two dreadful words, "You should..."

Stab stab.

I'm beginning to dislike those two words.  Yes, their advice comes from a good place, but sometimes I just don't want to hear it.  They don't know me and they don't know my child.

They don't know how we battled terrible eczema during his first year of life.  They don't know about all the allergy testing and sleepless nights that we went through. They don't know how we once had to change his bed crib sheets every night because he would scratch and rub until his face and head bled.  They don't know that we're doing our best to live and eat normally given (what seems like) our every-growing list of allergens:  wheat, soy, barley, nuts, and bass.   

I'm crying as I'm writing this, because it's just so frustrating.  Yes, I am a new mommy.  Yes, I have lots to learn.  Yes, I'm making lots of mistakes along the way.  But I'm sorry, sometimes I just don't want to hear your advice, well meaning or not.

Maybe my kid is small.  Maybe he should eat more.  Maybe I shouldn't carry him so much. But you know what?  Please just back off.  I'm already berating myself enough. I'm just doing the best that I can.


And lately when I've been getting like this, I always try to think back to all the parenting tips and stories that I do appreciate hearing. You know which ones I'm talking about.  They're the ones that make me laugh and remind me that all parents make mistakes, kids do crazy-funny-scary things, and we're all just trying to love our kids the best that we can.
Here's what one mommy confessed to me at the park the other day:
 


And you know what?
Her little girl looked just fine to me.

Thank you, cat food girl's mommy, for reminding me that things will be ok. 

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Bunny Halloween Coloring page 2

So my poor bunny still doesn't know what to wear for Halloween.  Perhaps he should wear one of these costumes?

(To see the previous coloring page, click here)
Halloween bunny coloring page 2


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Bunny Halloween coloring page

A couple of nights ago a bunny appeared magically on my piece of paper. 
He had a question and asked if I could help.


He certainly asked the right person.  I love Halloween!  So we spent the next hour doodling away....
Coloring page- Halloween bunny costumes 

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Hello Tulip Time!

I can't believe how time has flown by.  It's now been a month since we left Holland and moved back East.

I still miss Michigan, but we're slowly readjusting to our new life here. 

One day when Baby Chuck grows up, I'll tell him lots of stories about our time in Michigan.  I'll share about the kindness of mid-westerners.  I'll scare him with a gory recounting of his birth.  I'll make him laugh with tales about our sweet and grumpy Charlie. 

And I'll delight him with descriptions of that quirky festival called Tulip Time. 
 

Hello Tulip Time

Oh how I love that festival! If only I had learned how to dance in klompen. :)

Monday, June 25, 2012

Hubby's birthday

We celebrated hubby's birthday last week.  Baby Chuck and I woke up early to head out to the store and prepare for his birthday, but we ran into a little bit of trouble along the way. 

(1)  It was very windy that day and I had several Marilyn Monroe-esque moments.  I think I flashed everyone in the parking lot.  Luckily, it was pretty empty and I was wearing a slip.

I ended up using two grocery bags to hold my dress down.

(2) Baby Chuck really wanted to get hubby a birthday balloon.  After deliberating for what seemed like hours and hours, we finally settled on a cute airplane shaped balloon.  I gave Baby Chuck the responsibility of bringing the balloon to the car.  As we left the store, a strong gust of wind blew and our airplane took flight.

It's probably somewhere over Lake Michigan by now, wishing birds and sea creatures a happy birthday.


(3) I like to pretend like I know what I'm doing in the kitchen. But, Ina Garten, I am not.  I tried following an online recipe for a gluten free chocolate cake.   The man in the video assured me that it would be simple, foolproof, and delicious.  I don't know what he was talking about.  Here's how my poor cake turned out.
It ended up being pretty tasty... and at least it didn't blow away!





Thursday, March 29, 2012

Shoes Series 3: We've harnessed the power of ice!

If you're a follower of this blog, then you're already aware of our previous attempts to use ice to stretch shoes.  (Confused? Catch up by reading about our adventures here and then here.)
 
Figure 1:  Sandwich bags in shoes
After our initial setbacks, we put on our thinking caps.  And we thought.  And we thought some more.  What were we missing?  Why didn't it work? 

And then we took one final stab at the problem.  Instead of using shopping bags to hold the water, we used sandwich bags.  Although they held less water, they would (hopefully) allow the ice to expand in the right places. 





And you know what?  It worked!  Boy, was I surprised.  Honestly, I'm not sure why the shoes stretched this time and not the last two times.  Below, I've sketched out my best understanding of what happened on the molecular level: 

Figure 2: Arrows and dashed lines make this diagram authentically scientific.

I'm happy seeing hubby wearing some fine fitting shoes.... and knowing that we've harnessed the power of ice for good and not evil.

Will you try out this shoe stretching method?  Let me know of your results!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Baby teeth

Baby Chuck is currently teething.  We noticed the classic signs several weeks ago.  He was fussy, drooling, tugging at his ears, and biting toys.  Our suspicions were confirmed when these two pearly whites appeared not too long ago.

Since this is a pretty big developmental milestone, I figured I'd honor his accomplishment with a baby badge. 
Is it strange for a tooth to have a tooth?


And since I was drawing badges, I figured I'd also give him one to honor his foray into solids.
I'm not sure what this baby ate...

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Thirsting for sunshine*


Sorry for the lack of posts.  The weather has been beautiful here.  Everyone is going a bit crazy and we're all trying our best to drink up the sunshine.  I'm especially hoping that the sun will give my pasty vampire skin a nice golden tan.

Hopefully you are enjoying good weather too!

I promise to reveal what happened to hubby's shoes and upload more posts next week.

Have a great weekend!

*Note:  This post's title was inspired by a four-year-old boy at church who said, "Mom, my body is thirsting for sunshine."

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Sofa Series 3: Fabric arrival

After many days of internet searching,  I finally found a lovely green indoor/outdoor fabric that was cute, affordable, and easy to clean.  This past weekend, my 12 yards of upholstery fabric arrived in the mail.         

I can't help it.  I love doodling on boxes...


After oohing and ahhing for a bit, hubby and I brought it to our local vintage furniture shop.  I'm super excited to see what they do...  (Click here for the big reveal!)

New to our sofa adventure?  You can read about where we found our sofa and our decision to get it professionally reupholstered.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Tummy Times Comic- 5

(Click on image to enlarge)


To see previous comics, click here

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Tummy Times Comic- 4

(Click on image to make it larger.)


To see previous comics, click here

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Tummy Times Comic- 3

 (Just click on the image to enlarge it.)


To see previous comic strips, click here

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Tummy Times Comic-2

Here's my Thanksgiving comic strip: 
(Just click on the image to enlarge it.)


By the way- HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE!!!!

To see my first comic strip, click here

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Tummy Times Comic- 1

Hanging out with Baby Chuck every day provides some humorous inspiration.  
(Sorry the image is so small.  Just click on it to read the details.) 

Monday, August 29, 2011

Me against the machine

Even though hubby and I purchased the sewing machine awhile back, I must admit something.

I've been too scared to use it.

Sure, I helped hubby tackle sewing projects, but I always took on the non-sewing roles. I created patterns, pinned fabric together, or cut cloth.  I never used the machine.  


Ack!  Make the scary machine go away!

Why was I so scared?  Well, with ten clumsy digits and one very sharp knife needle, I was afraid of sewing through my fingers.  Plus, I didn't care for all those new-fangled knobs and handles.  (Give me an old-fashioned needle and a spool of thread and I'm set.  Really.)  Lastly, using the sewing machine required me to move my hands and feet at the same time.  Eek.  I'm terribly uncoordinated.  Ask any of my gym teachers.  (On a semi-related note- I apologize to all previous gym teachers.  I didn't mean to hit you with the basketballs, tennis balls, footballs, kick balls, badminton birdies, or soccer balls.)  

As we waited for Baby Chuck Norris's arrival this past weekend (he's still not here), I realized something monumental:  Giving birth is way scarier than sewing on a machine.

Duh.

And with this very obvious realization the heavens opened and I became inspired to sew.  Using this set of directions I set to work sewing a nursing cover.  Although the directions said that the entire project could be completed in 30 minutes, it took me a tad bit longer (2.5 hours.)  But, I'm proud to say that after a lot of ironing, measuring, re-measuring, re-ironing, cursing (silently in my head), sewing, and re-sewing I did it!  Here's the final result of my labor:

I chose this fabric because the pattern reminded me of Charlie.

Ooooh!  What lovely boning and d-ring details!

Oooh!  Look at that terry cloth corner (to wipe Baby Chuck Norris's mouth).

And so, I'm proud to say yes, I can!  Yes! I defeated my fear of the sewing  machine.  Yes!  I still have all 10 fingers.  Yes! I know how to sew three pieces of rectangular cloth together!