snow days bring out the june cleaver in me

we got dumped on yesterday...oh and it's still comin' down. tons of fluffy, perfect snow. the amount that keeps everyone on lock-down, shuts down business', schools, and any other activities. (except steph had to go to work - booo)
i, of course, love days like this!!! so cozy. so perfect. the kind of day that completely inspires me to CREATE!!


and the kind of day that inspires kids and dogs to play...






now to the june cleaver part of the day:

baking...



and crafting! i have very basic crochet skills. like scarf and blanket making skills only. but i've always wanted to learn how to make cutsie hats. so i googled "how to" and learned how to make this little beauty from youtube.

you like?


i'm kinda partial to the lovely pink flower that adorns it.
can't wait to wear this!
happy continued snow day to all my fellow snow-bound friends.
and if you are elsewhere, many happy, snowy thoughts to you!!

our first annual halloween party...

i love halloween. i think i've mentioned that before. love it. truly.
so, it would only make sense to celebrate it to full capacity with good friends, right?!
yes!
so we decided to have a halloween party. a costume party.
let me just say...it was a blast! the planning, the doing, the celebrating...tons of fun! my only regret is that i did not take more pictures (especially of the decorated house :( live and learn)
but i did get this gruesome scene that stephan set up in our yard. (i hope it didn't frighten the little ones too much!)



oh, and next year i really want my older boys to be there (they were at their dads).

so here we are in costume. truth be told, i was giddy about my costume. until i made it, and then realized it was a bit unclear about what i was. i was going for pea pod with pea. but the top part of the pod wouldn't stay put, so i think it looked more like peter pan meets mid summers nights dream-ish scenerio. oh well. it worked.
stephan was supposed to be the farmer. get it. i thought it was clever, and maybe others might have too if he looked a bit more farmer-esque, and less modern cowboy. oh well. it kind of worked too.
noah was originally a storm trooper. and he does have the costume. but about half way through the party his primary teachers came (he is so enamoured with them!) and he changed outfits approximately five times. umm...he was a cowboy, then a sort of indiana jones, then back to storm trooper, then some mystery getup, then p.j.'s. which is what he ended the night in, hence what he's wearing in our picture.


and here are some of our guests (i regret there were a few families i didn't get pictures of - dang!)
i think my favorite part was seeing the great things grown-ups came up with.
somehow when we have kids we lose that part of us that goes to costume parties. why is this? well, no more for this family. we will have a halloween party EVERY year. and costumes will be a must!!
thanks to all our friends that came and had fun with us. you are all good sports!!

halloween quilt

i am feeling quite festive with this halloween season (it is my favorite holiday). so i thought our couch needed a festive quilt.
hmm...maybe i will make one for all the holidays....

art trading cards

i started making atc's a couple of months ago, and i have to say, you get hooked! i did a swap when i was with scrap 'n art. sadly, i sent mine out, but did not receive the promised cards in return :(. huge bummer.
so, i've just been making them for my own keeping. BUT, if any of you out there would be interested in doing a swap, let me know!!!
oh, if you don't know what atc's are, basically the only rule is the size: 2.5 in x 3.5 in. other than that, play away! you can do themes, quotes, paint, draw, collage, whatever is YOU!


so this was my first atc. (the one i sent for the swap. it was based on favorite quotes) if i make one for someone else, or a swap, i always do a "series" so that i have my own to keep.






summer time theme....



halloween theme (this one was so much FUN!)...



and this is going to be a series. taken from a general conference talk on the "ity" virtues. kind of my way of journaling about a really good talk!

let me know if you want to do some swappin'! :) trust me, you'll be hooked!