july, so far

july has been keeping us busy! here is a brief run down on what we've been up to.

i received a wonderful seasonal celebrations swap package from my partner. poems, photos, recipes (ginger beer! YUM!) and sweet little books of blank writing and coloring paper which the kids happily collected right away.

she also sent this adorable fabric neck tie for harper and a wool felt crown for esme'.

and look, harper says, reversible!
(truth be told, this photo shoot required us to play a beloved kid songs video to keep 2 year old boy stationary for a few seconds. see the hypnotic look on his face? sigh, whatever works, i guess.)

we have been visiting the BUGS produce stand every wednesday, for both the fresh veggies and the ambiance. it has become a favorite outing, for sure!

and, big, huge news in our home - this little girl lost her very first tooth on the 4th of july! she told me it was loose at the picnic we attended that afternoon, and by dinner time she emerged from the bathroom with a teeny, tiny tooth in her palm. i had these grand ideas of sewing a little pillow with a tooth pocket a few weeks ago but never did make one. so her first tooth went into a small drawstring bag under her pillow and hopefully i will have a few weeks before the next loss to make a super-special pillow/pocket/pouch.

today i am washing fabric so i can sew tank tops for the kids. we are taking a little road trip next week to camp, swim, visit family and friends, and whatever else falls in our path. of course such a trip requires new mama made clothes for the littles, no?

yours on the run,
erika

season

currently loving ::

organically grown produce from the small farm stand ran by kids up the road from us. i got the last bunch of garlic scapes! hooray! and esme' got a new painted gourd for her backyard friends.

bundles of herbs and wildflowers in jars throughout the house. i do wish we had sunflowers or daisies though. and more lavender. next year...

fresh basil for our pasta

picnic lunches made especially lovely by our new, red picnic basket and our picnic place mats and cloth napkins.

my new hat

painted faces

free concerts and movies in the park
{if you look really close you can see inspired daddy kicking back on our blanket in the center of the photo. i think you can see our bright red picnic basket in action too!}

sa-tur-day!!

today ::
diapers drying in the sun, shopping the farmer's market for local goodies for our picnic dinner at the park tonight, knitting in the shade while the littles run in the sprinklers, and a bike ride to the library to pick up the book i placed on hold.

and speaking of pedal power, look what i stumbled upon this afternoon ::

a cargo bike giveaway!! i am feeling a wee bit lucky...

summer swap swag

to my seasonal celebrations swap partner i sent a felted wool vase, a patchwork potholder, 2 organic cotton produce bags, my favorite smoothie recipes, and a little note about how my family celebrates the season. i wish i could have sent her the pretty wildflower and herb bouquet that little esme' assembled for these photos, but that stayed home with us.
the swap packages are rolling in - we are only waiting for a couple more! check out the flickr group to see more summer celebration photos!

i dig onions

my kids however, not so much. i have tried to grow onions in the past with little or no success. we planted a few sets of red onions last year and got nothing. then, just as soon as the weather warmed and it was time to plant this year's garden the onions from last year started to grow. when big blooms formed at the top of their stalks and they were ready to bolt we harvested them. here is what we got - several red onions about the size of golf balls. by far, our best onion harvest to date!

yesterday tony pulled some organic, local ground beef from the freezer. we rarely eat ground beef, so i wasn't even sure what to do with it. after doing a quick inventory of our kitchen cupboards i found some rice and a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup. these ingredients plus some frozen peas from our garden last year, baby carrots, and our tiny red onions became dinner. we also had a delicious loaf of potato-rosemary bread from a local bakery.

it was a great one skillet meal and everyone happily gobbled it down. towards the end of the meal esme' discovered a chunk of onion in her nearly empty bowl. "is this a tooth?!" she exclaimed. "no, it is one of the onions from our garden" i said. she looked it over, she hesitated, but then quickly finished her dinner, onion teeth and all! 'cause everything tastes good when it is grown in your very own dirt!

visit my friend heather at living senses for more stories about eating and living locally!

make good :: crafts+ life

the day went a little like this ::

we left the house to run a quick errand and made an impromptu stop at the bookstore to take a peek. i lifted this book off of the shelf and couldn't put it down. once it was in my hands i knew i had to have it. from the bookstore we walked to the fabric store so i could buy insul bright and twill tape.

we then headed home (after a small detour for iced coffee) where i immediately dove into my bag of fabric scraps and carefully created the patchwork pot holder from the book. it will go into my seasonal celebrations swap package.

ah yes, monday was good!

lost and found

today i had a deep desire to access the small cupboard above my refrigerator, which required the top of said appliance to be cleared off and cleaned - this is a dirty, dirty vile job, folks! everything was covered with a thick layer of dust, sequins (?) and just plain ick!

when i finally opened the cupboard i discovered this little gem ::

how have we been living our lives without the use of this handy-dandy item? and where did we even get it? and why did we decide that the cupboard above the fridge was the best place to keep it? who knows, maybe it came with the house...

i did find some cool stuff too, including old photos of both me and the hubby, and two barnes and noble gifts cards with a combined balance of $28! over all, not too shabby!

squirrel-y

this little critter has been visiting our bird feeder every evening. we can watch him dine from our dinner table. esme' has named him "chunk", which i think is very fitting. i wonder though, would he prefer something other than wild bird seed? i am happy to oblige him, just as long as he leaves my garden alone!

itty, bitty graduate

we celebrated the first day of kindergarten in august ::

and today we celebrated the last day ::

we are proud beyond words, sad to say good bye to kindergarten, missing mrs. mortin, excited for summer, and looking forward to next year all at the same time.

we said our misty eyed farewells, came home, put play clothes on, passed out popscicles and went outside to play. it is officially summertime... bring it!

welcome in, june-bug!

so far this month i have ::

• bathed 2 kiddos, taking special care to scrub black ink off of the littlest one's legs, belly, and hands
• had my very own shower while the kids watched a video
  
• made oatmeal and smoothies for breakfast
• watered the garden and bounced a few unwelcome guests (weeds)
• wished my friends kyle and aubrey a happy 1st anniversary
  
• volunteered in esme's kindergarten class (for the very last time *sniff*)
• drank a vanilla iced coffee with milk
• heated leftover black beans and rice for lunch
• held the hand of a little boy after school while we waited for his mom to come. he was crying because he had a horrible headache.
• ate banana chocolate chip bread that we baked yesterday.
• drew sidewalk chalk stick figures and pushed harper in his swing.

now it is nearing dinner time. there is still so much to do today- meals to prepare, dishes to wash, laundry to fold. but it is june, it is warm, and we still have several hours of daylight ahead. welcome back june, i've missed you!

re-fashion :: the striped sweaters

itty, bitty wool shorts made from thrifted and felted wool sweaters. i used the little comet tails crescent moon yoga pants pattern ~ it is wonderful! these came out a little bit bigger than i had hoped (this is the size small) but they will fit eventually, right? especially when worn over a cushy cloth diaper. i used the body of the sweaters for the main pieces and the bottom ribbing for the yoga waistband. there wasn't enough wool for the crescent bum panel so i cut that from another thrifted sweater. i still have the stripey sleeves from both sweaters and i am thinking they will make lovely little wool pants.

i am gifting these little knickers, but i will most defintely be sewing more!

do you have a fun and creative way to re-use felted wool sweaters? spill it!

welcome to GiVeAwAy day!!

here is what i have for you! this is a miss purl project tote made entirely from recycled materials. the bag's outer is a thrifted cotton sheet that has a nice, crisp linen feel. the lining is an organic cotton gauze - scraps from a mama who sews baby slings. the top of the tote unsnaps and opens up for easy loading and unloading. and there is a cute little pocket inside! this bag is the perfect size to hold a knitting project and notions. the miss purl project tote is just one of the exciting new items i will be stocking in my brand spankin' new etsy shop in the very near future!

i am also including this beautiful skein of handpainted single ply merino in a pale rainbow colorway. it is 3.5 ounces and approximately 218 yards.

and this adorable vintage holly hobby fat quarter.

to win the tote, the yarn, and the vintage fabric simply leave a sweet little comment on this post and make sure i have a way to contact you.
* i will choose a winner at random on sunday, may 31st.
* i am only able to ship within the US this time.

and, if you feel so inclined, please click over to my new shop and add me to your favorites so you won't miss a thing when i start listing items in a couple weeks. if you do so please leave me an additional comment!

good luck!


comments are now closed... and the lucky winner is jerri from many crafts!
ThAnK YoU for stopping by to celebrate GiVeAwAy DAY with me!!

zig zag, zig zag, zig zag, SERGE!

i have been so busy playing that i forgot to share my big mother's day gift with you all. i finally have my very own serger, and it is so much fun, folks! those are my new dining room curtains made from one of my recent thrifted fabric finds. i am totally geeking over this little machine! I LOVE IT!! and i love my sweet and generous husband even more. ThAnK YoU, inspired daddy!

birthday, birthday, BIRTHDAY!

we had another big birthday this weekend - this time it was esme's day, she turned six! to celebrate we had a big backyard bash for esme' and harper (since his birthday was just 11 days prior) that included food, friends and a huge amount of FUN!

our festivities included pinata, where our normally animal loving children beat a cute little creature with an aluminum bat until it split open and sugary treats rained down from it's broken body. the littles loved it!

seriously, i have no idea where he learned to pose like that, but it was darned cute. he stayed this way for several minutes giving all of us all a chance to grab our cameras and shoot!

esme' was indeed the princess of the party with her new furry companions, a pretty button necklace made by her friend dejah, and the wool felt crown that mama whipped up the night before. harper got a new crown too!

this is the first time that i have bought a cake for esme's birthday. it was such a busy week that i decided that $16.99 for a great big, fancy costco cake was worth it, especially when the payoff was my sanity. harper did not take part in blowing out the candles since he had just had his own cake on his actual birthday.

he did, however, eat his fair share of cake. the day ended with sticky, grimy, happy, hyper kiddos. we brought them in, soaked them in the tub, read them a few stories (new dr. seuss books received as gifts!) and tucked them into bed.

another birthday down, another year passed. but the celebration of these little lives will continue day after day...

gratefully yours,
erika

re-fashion :: the blue sweater

before :: this sad little blue sweater was destined to be donated. the sleeves were too long, the belt is lost, and one of the belt loops was torn.

after :: i added fabric covered buttons, fixed the belt loop and added a new belt, chopped the sleeves and added a cute little trim. so here it is, my new sweater, re-fashioned and ready for cool spring evenings... we might still get a couple of those, right?

i also made esme' a new little skirt with an olivia the pig fat quarter that we have been saving for something special. now we need to find a coordinating shirt, perhaps red, or black since white is out of the question for my kids.

these fabric covered headbands are so comfy - there are skinny plastic headbands inside each one! now i have the cuteness of a wide headband without the headache!

and they are harper approved!

while you are here be sure to check out the celebrate summer swap!

seasonal celebrations swap #2 SUMMER!

it is time for the celebrate summer swap!

what is the seasonal celebrations swap? the seasonal celebrations swap is an exchange that incorporates handmade crafts, nature, and family traditions. participating in this swap is a great way to celebrate the beginning of a new season as well as adopting new traditions and ideas into your family. the swap will focus on handmade, seasonal nature table and home decorations.

how do i join? simply send an e-mail to InspiredMama(at)msn.com with celebrate summer swap in the subject line and the following information::
name::
address::
e mail::
blog address::

to your partner you will send::
1. a handmade seasonal decoration. this can made from fabric, yarn, wood, pinecones, paper... the sky (and your seasonal backyard) is the limit. the decoration can be something to include in a nature table display, a table cover in spring colors, a vase to hold seasonal flowers or branches...

2. share with your partner your family's tradition to welcome summer- this can be as simple as a summer poem or a summertime craft. or maybe it is a cultural tradition that you would like to share. you could also include photos of your tradition in action or the supplies needed to create your summertime craft.

3. your favorite seasonal recipe.

sign up until friday may 29th, and then i will send an e-mail with your recipient's name the following evening. swap packages should be ready and shipped by saturday june 20th, the first weekend of summer! that will give us 3 weeks to work on this project.

please feel free to go above and beyond when creating your swap partner's package, but do not skimp- we want everyone to be thrilled when they receive their seasonal celebrations swap package! also, please, please let me know as soon as possible if something comes up and you are unable to fulfill your swap obligation. there is also a seasonal celebrations swap flickr group where we will discuss the swap and share photos, so be sure to go join! there are several photos there from the spring swap to give you some ideas and inspiration.

the fabulous thing about this swap is that there will be a brand new one with each new season! i am looking forward to celebrating summer with you all!

stitching from my stash

here i am, modeling my new reversible apron! you might remember, i blogged about it here, and again here. soon after my second apron post it was all cut out and ready to sew. then it sat at the bottom of my sewing caddy for several months... almost 2 years!

for the next 4 weeks my girl friends and i are busting stash together. this means no fabric purchases from may 15th- june 15th and we will sew as many things as possible from fabric we already own. i needed this baaaddd!!

so far i have finished my emmaline apron, and made 12 coloring wallets - one each for harper and esme' and the rest for gifts. we gifted the lizard wallet to one of esme's classmates today!

i also made esme' two reversible (i am really into reversible lately!) smocks. love these! so quick and easy and CuTe!!

right now i am off to bust some more stash... fabric covered head bands this time! wanna join me? do you think you are up to the brutal challenge of not making any fabric purchases for 4 weeks? if so leave me a comment - i would love to see photos of your stash busting creations!

oh, and i will be posting details about the seasonal celebrations summer swap tomorrow, so please stop by for a visit and sign up!