ABC's

The "Jambi" is talking up a storm now. And the things that come out of her mouth prove that yes, she has heard every word we've said to her. Specifically, all the reading we have done is coming back to us now. Her favorite books are our different Alphabet variations; Chicka Chicka boom boom, Now I eat my ABC's, Richard Scarry's Car Alphabet, the very beautiful illustrations of Charlie Harper ABC...among others.

I have been working for a while now on a customized ABC book of things from her world.
And I sent it to the printer today!
Here is a little sample:


H is for happy


I is for ice cream

3 generations. I love the look of EVERYONE in that photo.

K is for Kiss

(a picture I took on our honeymoon! We were out on the back patio area at the Hogsbreath in Carmel. Very happy.)

W is for watermelon


It goes on and on. Each page more fun than the next. M is for Mama. D is for Dance and for Daddy.
It was SO much fun to make this book. I used Snapfish. For my 28 page book with a custom cover front and back, they charged $35.95. I have my pictures in Flickr, and the interface between Flickr and Snapfish was pretty easy.
They say that it will be here in 3-5 days. OOOOO I cannot wait.

vintage cartoon RV's T-shirt

It all started with this fabric.

And, of course, a t-shirt in a color that I would like.


Here is the detailed recipe:
I modified the shirt a little bit first, by making it more of a scoop neck.

I added a little home made seam tape around the neck to finish the edge off. (note here, bias tape would have been much easier. It would have gone around the curve, and laid flat more gracefully. But I did not have enough fabric to do a bias tape. And, I did not want to cut across the little campers, I wanted a 'line'. All wheels or all roofs, I didn't mind, as long as there was a line.)


I used an iron-on interfacing for the actual transfer.

And then cut the campers out.


I ironed them onto the shirt, and then did a zig zag stitch around the edges.

I wanted to keep it a little 'rustic' so I did not do a super fine satin stitch.
I am pleased with the look in the end.

I think it will be a great shirt for the summer toddler chasing.

On Mother's Day

Oh, I waited.
And waited.
And then, all my dreams came true.
I am certainly the luckiest girl this side of the Mississippi.


Here is MY Mom, holding my little person. The blanket she is wrapped in is one that my Grandmother made for me when I was born. "The Rose Bud Blanket" .

Today, one of the pictures that I took of Jambi for the 365 project is being featured by Flickr on their blog.

All kinds of people have looked at the smile that shines up at me every day.
Her little body just vibrates with happiness most of the time. And today, Flickr chose to share her sweet smile with millions.
Of course, I would stop strangers on the street to show them her picture. So Thank You Flickr, for helping me spread the joy.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you.

Crafting with a small person

Normally, for the Iron Craft Challenges, I am focused. I want to produce a lovely finished product.
This time I approached it a little differently.
I included my daughter. And we did crafts that were floral in nature.
Here I offer you "Flowers Three Ways"

We started with finger painting.

And she was very enthusiastic about that.

That was fun.


And 'we' made a flower



Then it was time to wipe hands.


We switched over to crayons.

And drew some flowers.


Then, the least "natural" craft of all, the 'foamies'. Who knew how popular these things would become? They are like the cast offs from the flip flop factory! They are sticky foam. And easier to handle than paper stickers for her little fingers.

She loves to stick them everywhere. So we wore flowers.
Flowers in Pooh Bear's hair.

And flowers in her hair.


A lovely crafting afternoon.
I was taking pictures of the whole affair. So she grabbed her camera too!

In years to come, we will focus on the end product. But for one afternoon, in her second year, it was just about the process. And we enjoyed every minute of the process.