DIY Shower Favors

It has been a busy few months for me. My sister is getting married in June, we (me and my little lovebugs) are all in the wedding party. Expenses add up quick for this, dresses, shoes, hair, gifts and then the shower. A very large shower too. Raising a family of 4 on one income, in a very expensive state, meant I had to do some DIYing for the favors. Even cheap favors of a few dollars a person would add up to $200 because of the amount of people coming. Plus I hate super cheapy favors. I personally would rather get nothing than something that will just get tossed when I get home. Its a waste of this planet's resources and being the hippy I am that doesn't fly with me. So, again being the hippy that I am ;) I decided to make little window sill gardens for the guests. Garden maybe be a stretch since its just one plant, but still its so nice to have some basil, cilantro, dill or chives growing in your kitchen. I thought it would be especially appreciated since many of the guests live in city areas so won't have a backyard to garden it. And it went well with our "April Showers bring Spring Flowers" theme. First I bought 60 or so little terra-cotta pots from Home Depot. I also bought a large bag of potting soil, chalk, 60 seed packets and chalkboard spray paint. Then the fun begins. There was a bit of a learning curve to get the spray paint not streaky. But with my trusty stick and spinning it like a wheel, it got the job done. I ended up using 3 cans of spray paint. They dried out in the sun on some broken up cardboard. The final product came out amazing. They were a big hit, people were excited to take them and fought over the basil, note to self, next time just do basil. Everyone loved them. I just love that its a favor everyone can actually use.

Chalk Art

The Easter Bunny took Liv's binkies and left some wonderful gifts in return. The transition to life with out the binkies has been challenging but I'm am glad to say she is sleep okay with out them. We have some nights and naps that are not great, but it seems to be getting easier. One of the gifts the Easter bunny left was a small chalkboard with colored chalk. This has been a great source of entertainment for Liv and its great for learning. She loves coloring with it, drawing and also cleaning it. I have to say I really forgot how nice it is to color with chalk. There is something so easy about it I enjoy playing with it too.

Liv often tells me things to draw. She learns a lot from observing. She usually doesn't jump into things or just try she watches and watches over and over again till in her mind she thinks she has it then she tries it, usually with great success too. I was not to found of drawing with crayons on paper so it is nice now that I can enjoy drawing while she studies my techniques, or lack there of. But I guess it really doesn't matter much to a 2 year old. She is still working on drawing simple shapes so her watching me draw the sun or moon is teaching her about circles. She also watches me to see how I hold the chalk. Once she gets shapes down better I am planning on using a Montessori method for teaching her how to write her letters. I plan to make sandpaper cut outs of the letters and she can use those to copy the letter on the chalkboard. I am not one to push learning on my young child so I don't think we will start this till the fall, if I think she is ready now. But we do work on letter identification now. I will draw letter and she names them. For the most part our chalkboard is used for art but it amazes me how something so simple could be such a great source of learning for her. Simple really seems to be best when it comes to learning for children and most enjoyable.

A waiting my Baby

I am officially due this Friday and just waiting every day for that moment when you just go "Oh I'm in labor."
I am getting more and more excited to have a new baby in my home.
I recently learned how to knit and this was my first project.
It was a perfect beginner project and it feels so nice to make something for my baby, not just buy something.
This little cat has my heart and soul in it. I am so excited to give this to her when she is born and tell her that momma made this just for you.
I know realize why some people love knitting and crafting so much. You just feel a sense of accomplishment, which shopping for things never fills that void.
I am now going to start a lovely knit blanket for the baby. Something that I can work on while I am still waiting for baby to come and hopefully finish before the weather gets cooler so she can actually use my knit.
My first daughter has a lovely blanket and doll that she sleeps with. They bring her much comfort and I just wish I had these skills to make them for her instead of someone else.
But I am learning and growing.
Maybe I can make her some nice winter mittens, or a new doll for Christmas.
Handmade holidays are the best is they are made from the heart.

Related articles

• Knitting patterns for beginners (thriftingvignettist.wordpress.com)

The Joys of Pregnancy

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I have again become a blogging slacker, but this time I have a good excuse, carpal tunnel. Just another lovely side effect of pregnancy. With the high heat and humidity the dr told me to wear a brace at night or when it bothers me and just try to relax since it most likely won't go away till after the baby is born, which is another 6 weeks.
I am also stuck indoors with my asthma getting worse with this high heat. I just love being pregnant, haha.
So my typing now has to be limited, especially since I determined to make some knitted things for the new baby. Knitting is not the best thing if carpal tunnel is bothering your right wrist.
Since I am new to knitting my first project is this
I am almost done and am getting so excited to make something for the baby by hand.
I'm hoping that the carpal tunnel will subside more since the brace is helping so I can keep knitting gifts for my new baby.
Maybe if this heat subsides it will feel a lot better and I can post a real blog.