a little amour for a friend.

it has admittedly been quite awhile since i have made any jewelry to speak of. it's sad too because i love making it, and rarely have any made & ready to go when i get dressed [that forever happens on sunday morning when i get dressed up for church]. maybe i just need to organize what i have a little better- i'm a person that needs to have all her options visible at one time to be able to effectively pick!

but all this week i've been thinking about one of my best childhood friends, an amazing woman who now lives in new york city and is pursing an acting career, and really missing her. and i got in the mood to make her a little something to say hello and for her to wear and be reminded of how cool i think she is. so last night i got to work down in my craft room [ahem... basement] and made her this little bit of amour:
it makes me think of a ring around the moon & reminds me of her. the top loop slides back and forth, and the little stone rotates inside the ring. and the little leaf at the clasp is just for fun. and it is tucked into my favorite little tiny brown paper bags and ready to be mailed to brooklyn.

so here's to good friends even though they're far away, and here's especially to finally getting back to making!

preschool crafts!

my little one is growing up faster than i can believe, and is not so little anymore! she is outgrowing the crafty projects i have in mind to make for her faster than i can get them made. some days i feel like a lazy mom because i want to do fun things with her like finger painting, but all i can think about is the ginormous mess there will be to clean up after probably about 5 minutes of actual painting. but she's super smart, and i do feel like she's almost to the age that she needs a little more structure [ie: learning!] to her play rather than me expecting her to entertain herself for any given amount of time with a stack of blocks or something.

so, off to google i went to see what kinds of preschool toddler-appropriate semi-educational crafts i could find. here are some things i can't wait to try with her!

sensory tubs
knowing me, i probably like this idea because you can theme- and color-coordinate them, and they look so fun! the only downside is i can see these being way more fun to dump out and walk away from than any actual sorting or "sensing."

child art quiet books
my almost-2-year old is probably a little young for this one too, but i love the idea of making a quiet book out of pictures the children have drawn themselves. you know i love me some quiet books of all kinds [i hope to one day have a little army of them] and you could even go soulemama-style on them and embroider the drawings first!

photo flashcards/word book
i think this would be a great way for a little one to learn words- by pairing them with photos you've taken yourself so that the image that goes with the word is familiar to your little one. flash cards are a great idea, and making them into a first words book would be fun too!

many of these ideas i found on a great website called the crafty crow by clicking on the category 18 months to 2 years old. seriously don't click unless you've got an afternoon to spend browsing... there are lots and lots of great ideas to be found there! the rest of the ones i liked seemed to all do with painting of one sort or another:

potato printing

magic line painting

word silhouette painting

tin foil printmaking

super sized marble painting

dot stampers

i also have a fun idea for how to display kids' artwork that i'm hoping to incorporate into a toy storage organizer i'm working on finishing up! can't wait to get that one done!

[photos in this post are thanks to each individual website. please check out their lovely blogs for more great ideas!]

beachy white.

just when i'm convinced my home is boring & colorless, i see something like this & i suddenly want to paint everything in my life white:

design*sponge

not to mention, move to the beach too. such lovely, cool pictures in the midst of back-to-school when it still feels like summer outside!

a little over a month.

... that's how long i've been away from this space. my little crafty world of projects and log of all the inspiring ideas out there. and i've missed it!

so i've been doing a little baking. a little bit of this kind of baking:
and a little bit of this kind of baking:
baby B number 2 is due in early march! we are so excited! unfortunately, i've also been super exhausted and in no mood whatsoever to do any crafting or anything at all productive for that matter. but as i'm coming out of the 1st trimester, my energy is slowly but surely coming back, and my to-make list is calling my name again...

it is so good to be back!