Healing, Helping, Heat, and Hand Made Give Away!

I am headed down to help my mother in law for the day (or two?). In my absence I am sending everyone some warmth and encouragement for springtime weather! C'mon Mother Nature, bring it on! We need some heat!

Now the Give Away!
There is a great idea floating about lately and here's the drill:

I promise to send the first 3 persons who comment in this post something hand made before the end of this year. (Thank you to whoever came up with that rule!) Yup, something fabulous from little 'ol S'mee! Maybe photo cards, maybe a painting, maybe something hand sewn, or who knows? But definitely hand made! And received before the end of this year. Oh the mystery! What will it be? (if only the neighbors dogs could be considered "home made"...you'd receive your gift, like, on Monday! But alas, no. so you'll need to wait and be surprised!)

Here's the rub: If you sign up to receive a hand made gift you need to "pay it forward" on your own blog. That is, you'll make a post similar to this and then promise and hand make a gift for three other bloggers by the end of the year! C'mon, an-y-thing home made by you by the end of the year! You can do this! How fun!

So o.k. my peeps! Comment away!

the girls

So here we are (finally) with the girls' names. Mommy wanted their names to match a certain patterned bedspread and pillow shams, also with dance and girly things put into the letters. We went shopping for paint colours and glitters and I added a bit of 'bling!', each letter dusted with glitter and lots and lots of colour. I hope the girls like their names!

Click on the photo to get a closer look at the details. Again the photo colour isn't quite the same as in real life, the green for instance is more of a kiwi and not so much acid, grrr. The pink a tad more bubble gum and less baby, and in those plaids, shades of kiwi, pink, some white and well...grrr.

Wyatt

I'm back in the letter painting mode. This time for a little boy and his two sisters. I have "Wyatt" finished and thought I'd share the outcome.

Mommy wanted a Pirate map with a bit of "jungle colour", something that will grow with him. The nursery is currently cartoon jungle, but will adapt and change to a Pirate den in a few years.

Hidden in the map are all kinds of family names, something for him to seek out when he gets older.

Now on to his sisters!

(click on the photo to enlarge and see more details)

Love is spoken here...

For a few years here in our little neck of the woods we enjoyed a small family full of the most adorable children, a talented man, and one of the most dedicated mothers I have ever met. The dad played the piano in our church pretty much for every occasion as he was one of the few who could play at all. I remember one of the first times I met his wife. We were at an "Enrichment Activity" ( a church women's only activity, usually some learning, always fun and always some kind of food involved!) This particular night we were playing games. I can't really remember the exact game but Van was supposed to know-do- or something with a hippopotamus. The trouble was that Van was brand new to the United States, fresh from Vietnam and spoke only the very basics of English. Most of the time she would just shyly smile and nod and hope she didn't look to out of place. We all took turns trying to help her understand what a hippopotamus was and I finally just drew one on the paper table cloth. She took one look and repeated "hippopotamus" only in Vietnamese, with a huge smile.

Over the few years we all watched Van as she taught herself and her children English. She would ask for words from time to time, but her concern was that her children would be left behind educationally, so she not only taught them to speak English, but to read it as well. Her oldest little girl blew us all away when as a Sunbeam (Sunday school class for three years old) she was not only able to speak so maturely, but read from the King James version of the bible, old English style - Thee, Thou, and such, and understands what she read well enough to explain what she had read.

A few more years and a few more children- and all three of them were just as bright, polite, and well mannered. Van was it and a bag of chips in the mommy department. Always quiet and shy, always soft and loving.

It broke all of us apart when they announced their house was up for sale in anticipation of a move to Michigan. Ack! What would we do without the man who would arrange all of our music and play whatever we needed? What would we do without a sweet mother and her three little ones? Carry on.

I have waited for them to settle in before sending them a small house warming (which from the weather in Michigan nowadays might better have been an electric blanket). I found a piece of tin and recycled it with the word "love" in block letters, and the words "Love is spoken here" in Vietnamese. I hope they can find a place for it in their new home, the message sure reminds me of them all.

(apologies to anyone from Vietnam if I have missed spelled the above, sources tell me it is correct, but I may have goofed it)

Click on the photo to enlarge and see more detail.

Carlton's Chocolate Log!

How cool is this? The hotel where we stayed is gearing up for the holidays. Part of their celebration is inviting the kids from the town to come into the lobby for Santa's Reading Hour. They have set out trees decorated in burnt orange, red and gold, and also set up this lovely display of chocolate sculptures.

Pastry Chef Daniel Keadle created the sculpture to depict the holiday stories from all faiths from all over the world. It took him 30 days and 300 pounds of chocolate! You could smell the wonderful scent as you walked into the lobby!

Carlton's Log: poking around the Mercado

O.k. first off: Happy Thanksgiving!
Second off: Read this then shut off the computer and go visit with your family or friends.

How much do I love this guy? But at $240.99, um, wow. Talk about being stuck! Oh well.

But still. Have you ever seen such a cool porcadillo? (I can't really see this as a porcupine, and armadillos do not have spikes, so I dub this a porcadillo)

Carlton's Log: Meeting the Artist

Can not believe my luck! I went back to Mi Tierra today to look around and on my way out I met a woman in the foyer/shrine. We had a great conversation about the artwork and design that goes on in this place. Turns out she was head designer ( I later found out she is the owner's daughter!) and how much she does to make sure the whole place is fresh and new each time people visit. I can tell she is full of enthusiasm and passion for the things she does in her job.

The place we were standing she called "The first Shrine, the shrine of the entrance." She said it was very important for the owners to keep the heritage they came from and to share it with others and inspire their costumers. She was on her way into the restaurant when I was walking out. Her arms full of bags filled with "secret" decorations that would be going up in the wee hours of the night when they -depending on the availability of the room and amount of diners- could get in and "close" just one room at a time. She said it usually goes on about 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning!

Then a gentleman came up and said hello to us, and come to find out "Robert" is the resident muralist and portrait artist! He too was passionate about his work and the way the whole restaurant begs you to stay, ponder and find new things to look at each time you come by.

I really appreciated their time and conversation, the way they stopped to talk with me, the things they explained and especially the way they were so very proud of the work they do and the feeling of their work for others. It truly was important for them to keep the "mission of heritage and culture alive for [their] customers." Seems to me, everyone I talked with really enjoyed working there and had a sense of fun, family, and pride in the whole experience.

accessories from a thrift store!

When it comes down to it, you need a place to put your feet up at the end of the day. We went in search of accessories at the local thrift stores and this is what we came up with:

2 pressed tin flower pots, turned up side down and glued (with tub caulking) to the underside of a cupboard door for a sofa table. All recycled, the pots from mom's house, the cupboard $1.00 from the Habitat For Humanity thrift in Provo. The small fish bowl (so long "Soup" we knew and loved thee well!) is filled with button cast offs.

An architectural fleur de lis adds a touch of sparkle on top of the deep brown book case. Recycled from mom.

$1.00 each buys empty frames, mirrors. A few personal photos along side a $3.00 shelf, all from Deseret Industries, Provo. (-except photos, they were gifts from a friend.)

A collection of vintage suitcases and a complete bowling bag! The suitcases were $3.00 a piece as was the bowling bag, shoes and ball inscribed with "Brownie". The suitcases and bowling bag act as a catch all by the door, the shoes and ball are accessories in the book cases. Look for them in the photos!

Doesn't everyone have one of these funky flower vases from the florist? She filled hers with more buttons and set it beside a rusted metal basket found at Urban Renewal in St. George for $5.00.

$1.50 for three antique bottles, a small paper mache globe, black with light tan lines and markings, a small silver tray, $2.00 and arranging books by colour on the shelves. (Notice the bowling ball in the right corner on the floor?)

Very difficult to see in the photo, but on top of the left book case is a pendant, a small painted piece of glass with the Eiffel Tower and "Paris!" written in script. On the other shelf are her bowling shoes, a small ceramic vase, and on top a glass bowl (recycled from mom) filled a new unnamed as yet fish, and the fleur de lis.

recycle!

#5 is an English Major with a French minor. Between you and me, she is a book snob. She has particular tastes and anyone who reads "fluff" just make her crazy. Part of her education required her to study "Romanticism" -which she abhors. She would rather sit through a Lawrence Welk revival than to ever have to read and or discuss romantic poetry again.

When I saw the state of one of her bookcases (wobbly!) I thought the best thing to do would be to try to somehow secure it. Limited tools and finances led me to recycle! She handed me a stack of poetry books and there you go! I started the project without her knowledge and got one side completely done before she came home and discovered my creative side. We needed to leave and gather some other things before the stores closed, so her best friend said she would stay behind and work on the book case. She had it almost finished by the time we got back home! I love the way it turned out, it was really cool and for an English major, well, what more could she want than book shelves full of words?

Thanks D! What a great friend!

Click on the photos for a closer look!

the Art

#5 loves contemporary and abstract art. She found some pieces that spoke to her and asked her best friend who was also visiting and myself if we would join her in making some art for the walls in the living room. The walls as shown in the post prior, were empty. The only art in the house was a poster print of Jesus and another of a temple, both green from too much sun exposer, one placed in the kitchen and the other in the hallway.

The first photo is #5's first attempt at painting. She was disappointed in it, although I really liked it. To me, it seemed somewhat cosmic and it makes me want to look at it for a while to see all the things moving in it. I liked it and so did the other girls in the house, so we talked her into keeping it and putting it up.

The second one is an abstract of the First Vision. She wanted something religious in the way of a painting, so this is what I came up with.

The third painting is just another abstract using a combination of elements that were in some of the other pieces we were doing. I wasn't sure she would like this, as I did it while she was working. Turns out she thought it was great. Who knew?

This fourth one turned out to be her favourite however, again, I wasn't sure she would like it at all. Later on I will explain how we changed/recycled/converted an old bookcase with poetry books, but with that in mind I made this collage using pieces from the books she had and also a bit of paint, a photograph from National Geographic, and ink. The quote on the base says: "de gustibus non est disputandum" or " there is no accounting for taste" in Latin, which she thought was hilarious.

The next one is based with text poetry from the books, with small pieces flying up and away into the light stream. This one got approval as well. I guess I should say there was one painting that needed to be reworked to make the cut, I thought so as well, and also one painting (ugh, that I neglected to photograph!) that she chose to hang in her room instead of the living area.

The last one was done by her best friend. It's a copy from one of #5's favourite artists, and although I do not know the artist's name the title of the painting was "Temple". Her best friend took almost two entire days copying this to almost perfection. I am sure the artist would be hugely flattered. It was amazingly close.

FHE (or whatever you need) Peg Chart

During Relief Society last month we had an Enrichment Nighta focusing on clever ways to spruce up your Family Home Eveningb. One of the gals went to the local lumber shop, bought a plank of pine, and had the Bishop's wife saw it into small 2 foot boards for us. (that Bishop's wife is pretty crafty!) So we came up with a cute way to paint the Family Home Evening jobs.

I was busy helping the ladies paint so I just paid for my boards and came home. I just got around to painting mine and this is what I came up with. I have a little family that I do work for from time to time and I thought they might like a job chart. I know she is very young and likes trendy things. Her home is decorated with burgundy and forest green. I thought she might like the Bohemian look. I was going to paint it burgundy (it has hearts and all, figured burgundy was appropriate) however my bottle of burgundy paint was dried out. Sadness and gloom.

Not to worry I just went with the green. I started out with the creamy coloured board they had at the church, then took a few rubber stamps and stamped a brocade background using a light tan. I added metallic gold swirls and blended the dark green with the gold and scrolled out some swirls and green vines, added a few medallions and there you go.

I painted the hearts green, added some stamped filigree to the edges, painted the drawer pull knobs gold and went to work embellishing. I had black wire and some beads in gold and green, a few copper, black and pewter swirl paper clips,and used that for the hangers. I painted names and jobs and then gave everything a coat of acrylic spray to protect it. They dangle and sparkle just a bit.

I think this is a great project, fairly easy and adaptable for any family. It would look adorable as a chore or helper chart, or a place to hang keys, whatever!

I hope they enjoy it as much as I did making it for them!

a. Enrichment Night (or Home, Family and Enrichment Activities) The Relief Society women get together and have all kinds of organized fun! There are few requirements; at least three ladies interested, an activity that enriches the lives of those who participate, and regularly scheduled. Some of the activities we have in our ward/stake are the "Alleluia! Breakfast" (held the first Monday after the kids go back to school at a specific restaurant!), Whine and Dine (1st Tuesday night each month), knitting, crochet, scrapbookers, "Hens without chicks" (any gal, kids stay home, and we go do something fun), cake decorating, book club, community calendar, humanitarian aide (a monthly project to help out where needed), self reliance, etc. It just goes anywhere!

b. Family Home Evening. Members of the church have, since the mid century, been setting aside Monday evening as "family night". NO meetings, a special time when the phone isn't answered, the focus is mainly on the family and being together. Many families use this time to teach various principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, sing songs, pray, play games, generally take care of family business and have a great time together. Charts are a fun way to keep track of who gets to do what job on FHE! It's an awesome program!

windows and the soul

"Mouse-a-lina" Ballerina

A thousand years ago when I had little girls I wanted a special little child sized "cookie cupboard" for the to pretend and play with. I drew up some plans and gave them to a friend of mine and he build the little cupboard you see in the photos.

He used scrap lumber and finished it off beautifully with a gorgeous stain that match all that country look we all had back then. My two girls (and yes, my boys too!) played with that little cookie cupboard for years and years.

Eventually they grew up and away from pretending and the little cupboard was placed in the garage to wait.

A couple of months ago one of the kids decided to give it another try. His wife thought it would look fresh with a new coat of paint and some frills. It was sanded and handles and hinges were removed and Gramma went a painting.

Mommy decided that a "Mouse-a-lina Ballerina" would go perfectly in a French nursery, pink, celery, creamy butter, and a few variations on those colours would do just right.

A few days work, new pewter finish hinges and hardware, rose coloured glass knobs and pulls- she's all updated! The little cookie cupboard is seeing a band new day and gearing up for new little people playtime. When all is said and done, this recycling job was well worth it!

I'll post more photos after it hs been completely reassembled and I can get to it!

TIMOTHY

Here's another set, this time for a little guy named "Timothy". He is a huge fan of the movie "Automobiles", so his parents wanted his letters to reflect that theme in his room.

Luckily for me, this was a 'freebie' job so they didn't complain about the way the cars actually came out. Yikes! I need to work on drawing cars more often...these are a tad funky.

Tomorrow: Not letters but a recycle project!