Love toasty hands?

With Valentine's Day less than a month away (oh golly, where does the time fly), you're probably looking around for a gift for your sweetie.  If you two enjoy long walks on cold winter nights, perhaps this gift will strike your fancy:

You can find these funny dual gloves here

Treasure map

To my squirrel readers:

Lately I've seen so many of you running around and hiding your nuts.  Will you even remember all your hiding places?  I hope so.  We're expecting a cold winter here in western Michigan, so you're going to need sustenance. Just in case you forget, I've doodled this map to help you out.

Love,
Pink Stripey Socks

PS:  Please don't come by my door asking for nuts.  I won't share my pistachios with you.  Really.  I mean it this time.  

Easter Photos

Melted Crayon Easter Eggs

Since we were away in Australia for a bit, Easter really snuck up on me this year.  I felt like I didn't have time to prepare my heart for what it meant, and I didn't have time to prepare too many Easter crafts for the kids to do.  Fortunately, the holiday still came and went with a lot of joy, fun, and crafting.  This year we attended two Easter celebrations, one with a couple of good mommy friends, and the other with family.

As a mommy (and a blogger), I always try to bring my camera whenever we attend get-togethers.  I think those events are special and I want to capture all the beautiful memories, yummy food, and funny moments that inevitable occur.  But lately, I've noticed that when I pull out the camera to snap photos, I also miss out on a bit of the moment's magic.  Sure, I've captured a memory in photograph, but I also wasn't really a part of it (probably because I'm fiddling around with camera knobs... blech technology).  Does that make sense? Does anyone feel that way too?

Anyway, I guess this was a really long intro to just explain why this year's photos were kind of lacking... and why my shots were mostly of crafts.  We loved celebrating Easter with friends and family this year.... and I was just having a bit too much fun beiing in the moment to stop and capture the moment.

String art thread and milk jug necklace

Spring is here!

I love feeling the warmer temperatures and seeing the trees bursting with delicate pink and white blooms.  And I don't know about you, but I can't wait to exchange my dark, winter wardrobe for a lighter, more colorful one.

Inspired by the warmer weather and this gorgeous necklace from Modcloth, I welcomed the new season by crapting a wearable, string art necklace out of two materials:  a milk jug and embroidery thread. 

Materials:
- empty milk jug, cleaned and dried
- scissors
- hole puncher
- 2 colors of embroidery thread
- Sharpie marker

Sparkly Ombre Popsicle Stick Star Garland (using Mod Podge)

Note:  This is a post sponsored by Plaid, but the opinions are 100% mine.

Halloween is finally out of my mind and I'm now looking forward to the next set of holidays.  Even though I don't really like winter (boo, shortened daylight hours), I do appreciate that we're entering a special season filled with cozy sweaters, yummy food, family get-togethers, yummy food, twinkly lights, yummy food and of course... holiday crafting (and yummy food)! Right now I've got an itch to add more glitter and sparkle to my life.  Luckily for me, Plaid sent me a couple of holiday-themed crafting items, including Mod Podge Sparkle, which will help me to do just that.

Psst-  If you're new to Mod Podge, here's a bit of an introduction to their line of awesome products

• Mod Podge is an excellent all-in-one glue, sealer, and finish.  It's available in a ton of different formulas, making it a perfect to use for your holiday (or everyday) gift giving projects.
• You can buy Mod Podge at tons of retailers nationwide or directly from Plaid's website as well
• Not sure how to start using the product?  No worries.  Plaid's website has a ton of great tips and tricks for using all their products:   http://www.plaidonline.com/decoupage/dept/basics.htm

So, inspired by the upcoming holiday season and my love of the nighttime sky, I made this sparkly, ombre, popsicle stick star garland. 



Wanna make this simple and sparkly garland?  Well, put on your favorite holiday song and let's get started!

 Materials:

• Mini Craft Sticks
• FolkArt Multi-Surface paint 
• Plastic Artist's Palette
• Paint Brush
• Scrap paper 
• Mod Podge Sparkle
• Mod Podge Spouncer (an easy to use sponge brush)
• Hot Glue Gun
• Parchment Paper
• String
• Scissors

Directions:

1.  Decide how many stars you want to make.  Then, take that number and multiply it by 5 to figure out how many craft sticks to paint.  (Each star will be made out of five craft sticks.)  Now it's time to paint.  To create an ombre effect, first paint five stars your darkest color.  (Be sure to paint the sides of your sticks too!)  Then, add a bit of white paint to your original color to lighten it just a bit.  Paint five more sticks with this lighter color.  Keep repeating this procedure and mixing in white paint as you paint each new set of five sticks.  Your original color will become lighter and lighter, creating an ombre effect. 

2.  Once your paint dries, use the spouncer to apply Mod Podge Sparkle to your sticks.  This will protect your paint job and add just a bit of lovely sparkle.  Lay your sticks on parchment paper to dry.  (The parchment paper prevents the sticks from sticking to your work surface.)  Try to make sure that your sticks don't touch one another as they dry

3.  Once your sticks are dry, it's time to make your stars!  (If you have a bit of excess Mod Podge around the edges, use your scissors to trim it off.)  To make sure that your stars look similar, first make a practice star and then use a pencil to trace your star's five points.  Use these pencil marks as guidelines when you hot glue your stars together.

 4.  Arrange your stars in order.

 5.  Cut out your desired length of string.  Then, tie your stars on one by one to the string, starting from your darkest color and ending with your lightest color.  To make sure that the stars don't slide off, tie your string through the center of each star and not through one of the arms.   

And voila!  A lovely star garland, just perfect for the holiday season (or really... everyday!)

(To see how I painted the star painting, click here.)

If you'd like to learn more about Plaid Products, you can always connect with them on Facebook, check out their Paint Me Plaid Blog, or sign up for their Newsletter.

And.... Happy crafting!

Frolicking in flowers

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. - Hal Borland

DIY: 5 Ways to update your old beanie

Hubby's away and Chuck and I are currently stuck at home, sick.  Boo.  We're watching the lovely fluffy flakes falling outside and I'm soooo tempted to bundle him up to play outside.  But, I'm holding myself back until he gets better. 

(Hrmm... but maybe I could bring some snow inside for us to play with.... thanks Lisa for that idea!)

Anyway, here's a short cold weather post in honor of the snow.

Do you have an old beanie just lying around? Maybe you never really wear it, but you just can't bring yourself to give it away just in case you need it one day?  Well, here are five super easy ways to update your drab head wear.   And bonus!  None of these are permanent changes, so you could potentially wear all five looks this winter! 

1. Pom Pom Beanie

This update was my favorite.  Chuck is beginning to recognize Micky Mouse.  So when I saw Eugenia Kim's Pom pom beanie (for $185- holy empty wallet!), I knew that I had to make my own cheapie version.  I followed this pom pom tutorial  from Crafted.  Then, I sewed the two semi-identical (eek!) pom poms onto the corners of my beanie.  Bam.  Instant mousekateer cool.

And here I am modelling the four other updates....

2.  "Hi" Beanie:  I cut out the letters "H" and "i" from felt.  Then, I just sewed them onto the front of the beanie for some friendly headwear.  Make sure you sew the letters closer together because they will stretch apart when you wear the hat.

3.  Polka dot Pom Pom Beanie:  I bought a pack of mini pom poms from the craft store and then sewed them onto the hat.  To help with placement, I marked the hat with chalk first so I would know where to sew.

4.  Spiked Beanie:  I poked a couple of screwback cone spikes through the front of the beanie.  I thought the hat made me look like a punky Statue of Liberty. 

5.  Sparkly heart Beanie:  I cut out a heart shape from felt.  Then, I hot glued some rhinestones onto the heart.  Then, I sewed the heart back onto the hat.   Wouldn't this version be nice for Valentine's Day?  

 Alright that's it.  Time to take a nap. Stay warm and well, friends!

Our 15+ Favorite Easy, Artsy, and Cozy Fall Kids' Crafts

Whenever fall rolls around, I find myself staying at home more, drinking hot drinks, and crafting with the kids. If you're looking for some easy, cozy, artsy, cute, and affordable kids' crafts, check out this list of my top 15+ favorite fall crafts. 

15+ Easy, Artsy, and Cozy Fall Kids Crafts

Letter from a reader

I recently received a letter from one of my many squirrel readers.  It just made my day.  Here's what the letter said:

****************************************
Dear Ms. Pink Stripey Socks,

My wife and I thoroughly appreciated your "Treasure Map" post.  During this terrible recession we've struggled to take care of our large family.  With eight mouths to feed, we're constantly searching for food.  Your map has greatly helped us.  Now we hope to make it through this winter.

Thanks very kindly,
Mr. Harold T. Squirrel

PS:  I've included a picture of my youngest daughter Matilda enjoying a recent treasure map find.

Get psyched...

it's finally Friday!  I thought the weekend would never come.  We're definitely going to enjoy the outdoors before winter sneaks up on us again...

Excitement is clearly written all over Baby Norris's face.

Welcome, December!

Today, Charlie and I were greeted by a wintry surprise.

The cold and snowy weather came at a perfect time.  Our fridge has been on the fritz and now stores everything at an ultra-mild 70º. While that temperature is great for humans and dogs, it's not so good for milk or meat.  So now we're storing our food "Little House on the Prairie" style until the fridge gets fixed.

Doesn't this remind you of an image from an airport scanner?  I can already spot three deadly weapons:  salami, margarine, and cheese.

And now, we finally get to wear our boots.  Ta da!

This picture was obviously not taken today.

 Big, clunky, and ugly, these babies are going to get us through the winter.

Hubby turns a sweater into a hat

Last winter hubby bought me a beautiful mustard yellow sweater.  I loved it so much.  Even though it was slightly too big for me, I kept it because I loved the color.

Fast forward one year later and I still had not worn it.  I tried pairing it with different things, but the fit was always slightly off.  Instead of giving the sweater away, hubby and I cut the sweater up and upcycled it into a hat.

We measured the circumference of my head, and then divided that number by 2 (a).  Then, we measured the distance from the top of my head to my ears (b*).  Using those two measurements we chalked out the outline of a hat (the width being "a" and the height being "b").  After some quick pinning, hubby sewed everything up and voila, I had a new mustard colored hat.

(Embarrassing fact: What? Is Leslie wearing a hat?  Yes, it is a strange sight.  I typically don't wear hats because my ginormous head is so large that it never fits any of the hats in the store.)

(*Side note:  I think the next time I would have made the hat a bit taller.  It just reaches my ears, so it would have been nice to have a bit more room up there.)

And since we had a bit of extra material hubby quickly whipped up another hat for a slightly smaller noggin.

Yup.  Because sometimes Baby Chuck and I like getting all matchy matchy like that.

(By the way-  Thank you all for voting for my crapty reindeer head!  I was one of the top 6 and moved onto the final round of the competition.  So, if  you have another spare moment, would you please vote for my reindeer head at the Totally Green Contest? Thanks so much for your support!)

25+ Christmas Crafts and Activities to get you through December!

Does your family start celebrating Christmas the moment Thanksgiving is over? My son insists that we put up our tree right after our Thanksgiving meal!  In case your family is like ours, I'm sharing this fun list of 25+ favorite Christmas activities and crafts.   So go ahead and peek around.  You can do an activity everyday in December- like a crafty advent of sorts!

Smiles

Oi vey, it's cold outside.  Baby Chuck and I are fighting the winter doldrums by visiting the shops and hanging out with friends at the library.  

Here are a couple of photos to cheer you on throughout the rest of the week.

Only two more days till the weekend!

Two magical ingredients

Nothing tastes better than a steamy bowl of soup on a cold winter's night.

Slurp me

This chicken and potato soup was particularly yummy because of two star ingredients:

(1)  Cilantro- The tastiest herb ever

(2)  Better than Bouillon- Chicken flavoring in a jar

With temperatures dropping, I hope you all stay warm and full-bellied.

note:  cilantro photo taken from here