kismet art

The Best of Halloween, 2009

    
 

 

Halloween Wall Hangings

Just wanted to do a quick share of a couple of Halloween wall hangings I just finished for Ben and Emma- I used a de-constructed garland from Tinkering Ink and covered them with some patterned papers.  I inked the edges with Distress Ink in Tea Dye and Walnut then ran a bead of Stickles in Frosted around the edges.  Mini-bingo cards from Jenni Bowlin and a bunch of random collected Halloween scrap supplies (on a side note I love how the ghost "mask" turned out on Ben's wall hanging- I sprayed an iridescent mist on the ghost mask then used a 3-inch scallop punch to make the circle.)

           

My favorite part about the above wall hangings is that I decorated them for Christmas on the flip side- how's that for double duty?  And they look pretty darn festive hanging on Ben and Emma's bedroom doors.

                                      

Grin

Some of my favorite Halloween decorations, a trio of jack-o-lantern faces, carved by my dad, I look at them and just can't help but grin.

Happy {1}4th of July!

OK, I know this is not timely but I still wanted to share a few photos I took during the July 3rd fireworks display at Em's Stadium (possibly the last fireworks display at the Em's Stadium.)  We didn't attend the last 2 years (Emma was an infant last year, I was pregnant the year before) and we were a little concerned that she wouldn't like the noise.  It was no problem.  The first explosion lit up the sky and a little voice beside me said "oh cool." 

And she kept it up until she fell asleep in the middle of all the noise.  

A few minutes before we left for the fireworks I looked up the best way to photograph them, next year I will bring the tripod but until then please enjoy my artsy photos:

One of our favorite 4th of July weekend traditions is enjoying a barbecue with one of my oldest (old only because we have known each other since we were 5 so that's 34+ years of friendship, not old because we are old yet) friends and her family.  Hi Jen, love ya! 

On the actual 4th of July we spent the day relaxing, then went to the barbeque/birthday party, enjoyed some swimming with Ben:

then went home to do some fireworks in front of our house.  And they did not go over well.  The noise, smoke, and bright lights brought Emma to tears, much like last year, so the two of us excused ourselves to the back of the house while Ben and Dave lit off a few more before calling it a night.  And all around us, well into July 5th, a display went on that rivaled the one we watched the night before at the baseball stadium...it was kind of a magical way to end a really nice weekend.  So here, on the 14th of July, while the festivities may be over, I wish you and yours a happy mid-summer!

Let Freedom Ring

Happy 4th of July!

Mother's Day

I had a really nice Mother's Day as I hope all you did too. Mine started on Saturday when Dave offered to stay home with the kids- I took advantage of several hours of not having to buckle and unbuckle a toddler, then coax her into her stroller, by visiting several of my favorite antique stores, craft/art supply stores, and having lunch and an iced coffee by myself with a fun book.  So I went into Sunday already having had a pretty perfect day!!!

I made this card for my mom using a new Martha Stewart butterfly punch and played around with a grungeboard butterly too (Mom has a butterfly garden full of plants to specifically attract butterflies so she really liked it!)Woke up late Sunday morning (late being 7:30 am, I know that doesn't sound like much but it felt like a dream) ate a nice breakfast with Dave and the kids and they gave me their cards: (the one on the left is by Ben, the one on the right by Dave).  He had been complaining lately about the high price of cards, so I suggested he make one, I just didn't know he was going to go all out :)  He had fun figuring out how to use my punches and printing a photo on the computer, (still don't know what the acorn has to do with Mother's Day though...)"Mom, do you like how all my circles are the O's in your card?" I sign the back of my cards, apparently this has made an impression on Ben because he now signs his with a "Your Son Cards by Ben"- love it!Emma spending some time with my mom, Grandma.Our Mother's Day dinner-green salad,shrimp cocktail,bread , and Chicken Provencal Stoup.  We ate dinner on my grandmother's dining room table using Dave's grandmother's tablecloth.  A nice touch.We ended a fun day with pound cake covered in fresh organic strawberries, blueberries, and whip cream.

This is the kind of weekend a girl could really get used to...

Happy May Day!

Happy Earth Day

Easter Day Recap

The Easter Egg Hunt was over at 7:09.  A.M.  In the morning.  Pacific Standard Time.

It took the "bunny" a lot longer to hide the eggs than it did for his helpers to find them all.

And those helpers didn't go to bed until after midnight on Saturday night (hello, we so know better than that, especially since I was the child that got up at 5 a.m. every morning and went in to wake up the entire  family and seemed to have given birth to 2 children who are just like me).  Coffee was my best friend this morning. But Ben and Emma had fun and we did too even though I had to watch the video tonight to fully remember how the egg hunt went.  Emma found one egg (because Ben gave it to her) and then promptly went over to the couch to read a book about mammals.

We took some time Saturday night after dinner to indulge in one of our favorite Easter traditions, dyeing eggs, with a good ol' batch of PAAS tablet dye.

Ben thought some of our eggs looked like eggs found in nature so he and Dave got out a bird book and looked at egg colors and sizes.  Another good day to have all those reference books available at our fingertips.

Another tradition around here is to make a "nest" out of clothes outside your bedroom door for the bunny to set your basket (we have been doing this in my family since I was a toddler).  When Ben woke up he ran out in the hall and declared "My experiment worked!"
                     

Here is the only "good" photo of the egg hunt (not a lot of natural light before 7 a.m.) and even though it is blurry it really represents how quickly the hunt was over!

And last, but not least, how to eat a chocolate bunny by Ben:

The best part of the story behind this years bunny is that I had forgotten to buy him one, and I really like to buy them from a local chocolatier, Euphoria Chocolates, went there on Saturday night, 5 minutes before closing and got the last milk chocolate bunny.  And Sunday morning Ben proclaimed "It's just not Easter without a chocolate bunny."  You are so right sweet boy, you are so right.

Happy Birthday to Me...Valentine's Day Cards

The amazing cake baking duo of Dave and Ben- with a little help from our good friend Betty Crocker.

This years cake- Ben said that it is his favorite cake of the year- but next year he thinks I should just get a bowl of frosting with some candles (boy does he ever know his mom...)

Last years cake, so good I made a layout about it.

I am rarely in the photos so I (reluctantly) handed over the camera and asked Dave to take photos of me on my birthday (this one is my favorite.)

Dave brought home red carnations, Emma approved.
 

Beautiful birthday tulips sent by my friend Kathryn- I love them (and they still look this good today, K)!

A card for my parents:

 

Dave's card:

Cards for Ben and Emma:

My Grandma's 80th birthday card:

 

A card for my friend Tasha:

 

It was a fun weekend filled with laughs, cake, candles, presents, and time to spend with family and friends, what more could a girl ask for?