skating

My failure to blog lately has not been for lack of interesting things to

talk about, but rather for a complete lack of motivation to snap a decent

photo. Maybe one of these days soon I'll strap my camera on and get to it!

 

Anyway, in search of fun, air-conditioned exercise activities for the

kids this summer, I discovered our local roller rink's summer pass.

I love to roller skate and don't especially like to swim, so this was a

no-brainer. It has, of course, taken the three of us a little time to work

the kinks out of our process, find the right skates, etc. But we're meeting

people, getting into a rhythm, learning how to keep track of our skates,

and even figuring out how to skate backwards!!

 

In my random skate-related internet research, I came across the

skate leash. This is a strap with some sort of loop at either end

to wrap around any part of each skate (the brake, wheels, etc.)

for easy towing. I figured out how to make my own rather than

shell out the $20 they want online, and I'll post a tutorial on it soon.

Maybe you need one, too!

 

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back from vacation

 

We spent last week in Carlsbad, California enjoying the

60-something degree weather, the beach, and a cutesie

little beach town with plenty of coffee and ice cream shops

(sometimes combined -- what could be better?!).

 

The week largely felt like this.

We are back now, to the 100+ heat, but fully enjoying being home.

The skating starts today, and the bumming around with friends.

Ah, summer.

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on vacation

 

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i know this is gross, but...

my first batch of kombucha molded!

Apparently adding fruit to the mix is supposed

to happen after the brewing process is complete.

storage makeover

 

As the craft closet gets more and more cramped and our household

cleaning supplies cry out for a hiding place, I have started plotting out

a storage overhaul. It requires moving things around between five

spaces in our home but will hopefully end with a nicely organized

storage system (for the first time ever) and some breathing room

for painting and sewing. I was very excited about leaping into this

before the coming of the summer heat until I got the flu last weekend

and landed flat on my face. But like the dandelion, I will rise.

Speaking of which, I just finished the 100 Cupboards trilogy, by

N. D. Wilson. I highly recommend it, but only if you have either a

great deal of discipline or some time on your hands -- it's hard to set down!

 

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journal cover completed

Here's the final version of the mother-daughter

collaboration on my journal cover.

While I think the accessories all look like acorns,

my daughter assures me that they're nuts, as in,

"I am nuts for nuts and ice skating."

So I suppose this is the winter elven nut fairy!

 

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out and about

 When I was at Target a few weeks ago, I happened upon this

Kleenex box with linework that somehow looked very familiar.

I was excited to discover that it had been designed by an artist

I follow online -- Cori Dantini. Now, how fun is that?!?

journal cover, take 2

If you recall, I started re-covering a journal a while back

with a paper collage foundation. Here's the next stage:

I've done some painting and blocked in one of my

daughter's lovely drawings. I'm using Kelly Rae Roberts'

technique from Taking Flight of coloring the skin with

oil sticks and the background with fluid acrylics.

 

Believe it or not, the oil sticks in the book looked familiar to me,

so I dug around in my mom's shed for a while and found all

the colors I needed from an art project we did when I was a kid --

in the 80's! They were barely used and still worked great.

It's not the first time my mom has come through with the right

tool for the job from her well organized shed-of-crafty-delights.

 

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redecorating: room 1

 We have been dancing our way through room redecorating 

this spring. The kids are shifting into new rooms, 

and it's been many years since the last fresh coat of paint. 

So it's up with the linoleum and down with the concrete stain.

 The kids got to pick their accent colors,

and Elliott went for teal.

We also put in a few functional accents, like hooks

for all the bags; a hamper that has a handle and wheels (!);

chalkboard paint on one of the walls; and a magnet board.

Ashton's room is up next, with pictures coming soon!

corvallis snail, take one

This colorful snail was one of our friends on sabbatical last year.

We were all captivated by the little guy.

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