Field of Poppies

Last night I went to Painting with a Twist with three of my girlfriends. I had a gift certificate for 4 people, so we all got to paint without minimal financial risk :)

Natalie and I had fun with the painting props. She makes a good Willie :)

They give you a tabletop easel, a blank canvas and this plate of paint.

Everyone paints the same picture and the instructor walks you through it step by step. It really is simple as she breaks it down. The key for me, is being random and relaxing. It always looks better at the end than the middle and always looks better when you aren't inspecting it from 2 feet away!

First we did the sky blending blues and then adding clouds.

Next, we added the ground with greens and browns and made a horizon line of trees.

Next came the barn and the poppies. Amazing how many colors went into these flowers- red, orange, pink, dark purple and then a darker shade to look more black. White came later. 

Finally, we outlined our barn and added some white/yellow to the grass and the flowers. My barn looked awful, so I made it into a church. My friends teased me for that- "being a good Baptist girl". ha!

Everyone was nervous and certain they would fail, but we all did great!

Here is my finished product close up. It was fun and I like my art!

When you sign up at Painting with a Twist you are picking the picture you want and hoping the date it is offered works for you. I picked this picture with this little spot in my guest bedroom in mind. It works perfectly!

Gigantic Scissors for Sale

I have decided to make some changes to my craft room and am selling a couple of items including my gigantic Pottery Barn Kids scissors. I have loved these for over 2 years- they are perfect in a craft room, play room, boys bedroom, or a classroom (at a school or home).

I know many of my friends have commented on them before. So, before I list them on Craigslist and open my inbox up to a bunch of random spam, I wanted to give my friends the chance to buy them. I am selling them for $50. From end to end, each "arm" is about 50". Yes, they are more than 4 feet long.

They are made of wood and have a very sturdy hanging system on the back. The scissors are silver/grey and dark red. I think I paid about $125 for them new.

Email me or leave a comment if you want them. I can't ship them, so you need to be local!

Round Top Adventure

Abby and I got up early this morning to meet my friend Alison and go junk shopping in Round Top. We got there a little after 9 and fed Abby breakfast before loading up for our day of fun.

Our day of fun was limited to 2 hours of fun due to lots of rain. It was the perfect day- we had front row parking, we had both found things we had discussed in the car ride as key purchases, sunglasses were not needed and a light jacket was perfect, Abby was happy riding or being held, and the conversation was flowing. Then the rain came. Then we rain refused to leave!

We stopped at the closest covered booth expecting it to pass. But, it wouldn't! We pretended to shop while devloping a game plan and then realized we were in a metal roofed booth surrounded by metal art. These garden fairies did the rain dance!

So, after 2 hours Alison walked in the rain with my little umbrella back to the car and picked Abby and I up. We had a great lunch indoors and spent an hour at Barton Creek Mall before going home.

Father's Day Present

I made Marcus a book to celebrate his first Father's Day. I wrote it in the voice of Abby thanking her Daddy for all that he does for her. Here are a couple of the pages.

Check out details on how to make a book yourself at my personal blog- www.yourlittlebirdie.blogspot.com.

Enjoy!

Your Little Birdie

Call me crazy, but I've started a new blog! Journey With The Jenks has really become so much about Abby Lu and our family, that I wanted a girlie place to talk about my favorite things- cooking, crafting, shopping, and entertaining.

I designed it the last few days and did my first post and got a comment before I ever thought it was public! Crazy! I hope my friends and family and friends-to-be enjoy reading it and it gives you ideas. I needed a new creative outlet, maybe you do too!

So, check out my new blog and grab the birdie button and add it to your blog. I need some chickadees to build up my readership! I plan to add recipes, directions for easy craft projects, and ideas to help you decorate your world.

www.yourlittlebirdie.blogspot.com

Tutu Fun

Last night I hosted a tutu making party for some of my girlfriends that have daughters, baby girls, or little girls on the way. We met at Hobby Lobby to buy our supplies and then started tutu-ing. They were super easy and cheap to make! Plus, we were done in under 2 hours!

Here are Juleah and Jessica and their tutus for Baby Madelynn (due in September) and Sydney who is 7. This is Carrie and I sporting our little tutus for Abby Lu and her Baby Addison who will be here in 70 days! Abby Lu's tutu is made for football season in her team's favorite colors! We just need a sparkly Texas Tech onesie to complete the ensemble.Finally, Natalie, Lauren and Amber modeling their beauties for Blythe, Dorothy and Ellie. I love how they all turned out. Everyone's is a little different- colors, ribbons, sparkles, lengths, poof, etc.
I'll try and schedule another night to do this as I know many of you wanted to come and your plans didn't allow it! We'll do it again because I have a million tutu making schemes now- orange and black for Halloween, tutus for presents, a Christmas tutu, etc.

For now, I'll leave you with this priceless image- our baby model Michael sporting a beautiful pink shimmering tutu! He doesn't look too pleased. I can't wait to see what his Daddy thinks!

Silver Platter for Me and Abby's Teachers

I was on a blog the other day and she made a chalkboard platter in her kitchen that I just loved. So, I ran over to my trusted friend eBay and found a large silver platter for $4.99. It arrived on Friday and my platter was made!
This can be used for notes, scriptures, or even to show a menu when entertaining. It can be hung with a plate hanger or sit on the counter with an easel. It was super easy to paint- a sponge brush and chalkboard paint. It took about 4 coats allowing them to really dry in between. I just love it!

On Friday at school there were signs up letting us know that next week was Teacher Appreciation Week. I have never participated in this before, but know apples are not cool! So, Abby and I went to Hobby Lobby and picked out 2 more silver platters and easels to make these for her teachers. These plates were only $1.99 each and are plastic. I hope they like them!

New Fleece Blanket

I love fleece blankets and homemade ones are super easy- no sewing machines, no straight lines, no fuss! I saw one online combining fleece and fur and spent the rainy afternoon (I am home sick with a cold!) making one for Abby Lu. Here are the super simple directions:

Purchase 2 pieces of fabric 1 1/4 yard each

Wash and dry fabric

Start in one corner and begin paperclipping around the fabric. If it is different sizes (due to different size bolts or from shrinage in the wash) trim fabric to make them the same size.

Using sharp scissors cut about 1.5 inches strips along the edges. Each piece of fringe should be about an inch wide. Do this around all four sides.

It absolutely doesn't have to be perfect- some will be longer or fatter than others. It all works out! This will be a great play on the floor blanket for Abby Lu. All in all, it was under $20 and took about 2 hours to complete.

Cooling Off with Ice in Round Top

Mom, Tiffany, Kyleigh, Abby and I drove to Round Top this morning for the semi-annual antiques (read JUNK) market. I came home with 3 things that I just love!

My college roommate Katy had an old milk can like this and it served as a great stool, drink holder, or table. I have it on the fireplace for now. It is a cool blue color with red coming through the peeled spots.

Love this rooster for my kitchen!

I saw one like this last weekend at the Leander High craft fair and the women was unwilling to sell and ship me one. She had already sold the one she brought.

Finally, my Mom bought me this cool green glass jar for my birthday. It is a neat antique looking glass with the metal red lid with peeling paint :)

I have it on the mantel, but don't know where it will end up or what I will put inside it. I am thinking of black beans and a big ivory candle.

We were lucky to find a covered porch to eat our BBQ sandwiches on. We took a little time there to get out of the heat and make faces with Abby. She was in the jogger and the front loader carrier for most of the day. She slept a little, ate a little and smiled a lot! All of the little ladies loved her.

While sitting on the porch, Tiffany gave her some ice to try. She made the funniest faces, but kept going back for more!

Camp Jenk- Day Three

Today was craft day and thank goodness I was prepared since it rained most of the day! My friend Johnna told me about steam-a-seam and we had fun using it.









It is an iron-on product that allows you to trace objects onto paper and then onto fabric and iron them onto shirts or onesies. Johnna even recommended the website http://www.preschoolexpress.com/ to get shapes. We used that site and played with fonts in Word to come up with our designs. I also had some left over iron-ons that we used.




Check out these cute shirts for Kyleigh and Cohen. I love the tie for Cohen. Hopefully he likes it too!







Here is Abby sporting my favorite one that we made. I love the typewriter font of the A and the pink zebra. All of these are 3-6 months, so look for more fun projects in just 3 short months.

After all of our crafting fun, I was tired! Two kids this far apart is hard work. While K is very helpful she also has a smart active mind that needs to be entertained. I tried to avoid putting on cartoons, but today she watched about an hour of TV so that I could relax with just Abby. She was missing me and just wanted to be held this afternoon.

Tomorrow, Kyleigh and I will be scrapbooking our strawberry picking adventures and go to Half Price Books for her favorite series, Junie B. Jones books. Then, we are off to the mall for Camp Granpa and Jacque to begin. Whew!

Fun with Kyleigh

Since Kyleigh was out of school for President's Day, she joined my Mom and spent yesterday and today at our house. As always, we try to come up with fun projects to do with her.

She spent some time holding and feeding Abby. She always calls her Abigayle, which is cute. The formal name coming from a little person makes me smile.

As is a tradition, we had to bake. I had bought an Almond Joy bar mix at Target last week. It was easy to do with her. No baking involved and very good!

Finally, this morning we did a little home decor. I have been wanting a set of apothecary jars for months and finally found a large affordable set. We filled them with colored beans in a fun pattern to decorate my dining room table. Love it!

Cheap and Fun Craft Project

I bought a set of 5 solid white onesies at Carters for $14 and then went to Michaels and had fun in the iron on aisle. Iron ons have become much cuter than when I was a kid and you could get a smiley face or a hippy flower. Check out these cute ones!





I also made her a special one just for the super bowl tonight. I'll post her in her special outfit tomorrow. She is going to be a cutie! In all, I bet I spent $20 for 5 onesies!

Labor Mantra Book

I am feeling crafty- really, I am bored. I have been home for days minus a few small trips here and there. So, I have spent some good time in the scrapbook room. Last night, I used the scriptures you recommended on the blog and by email and made my labor mantra book.





It includes scriptures made to help me be strong, to remember Abby is His child, to keep Marcus and I focused on the gift she is, and to let others see His love through our experience.

It was super easy to make and it helped me to use up many of my random accessories and scrap paper.

March Desktop

This month holds many exciting things for us. We hope it also bring you excitement!

February Desktop

I hope this month brings you lots of love!

Cutting and Pasting

Last night my girlfriends Brandi and Mary came over to scrapbook with me. Brandi just got married and has pages and pages of wedding stuff to capture in her book.









Mary just returned from spending Christmas in New York with her French boyfriend, so her pages were filled with holiday cold weather fun!

I am happy to report my 2007 scrapbook is almost complete. If I finish it in February, it will be a record. Stay tuned to find out who wins the 2007 Scrappy Award for the face that appears the most time in my annual book. Kyleigh is the reigning scrappy winner!

January Desktop

Enjoy! I hope this month is a good one for you and me! May we keep our resolutions and may they better us and our world.

Christmas Day Fun

Being a kid at heart, I got everyone up at 7:15 this morning. I just can't sleep imagining what is waiting for me downstairs!

As soon as Marcus came down, he found his first present, new TV trays. He always wants to eat in the living room and I'm not so confident of our balancing abilities on most foods. He got to work putting it together quickly.



While he worked on the TV trays, I popped in the monkey bread that had been rising all night. It is one of our favorite recipes and a Christmas morning tradition.







We then got to work opening presents. Marcus received a new watch, book, magazine subscription, running socks, and wallet. I got a new blowdryer, Williams and Sonoma cooking stuff, James Avery charm, pink Vans tennis shoes and a cross. I also got some great scrapbooking stuff from Marcus and Mom.


Jean Grey enjoyed the pile of paper that landed on the living room floor.

After opening presents, we got back to playing games. In all this holiday, we played Sequence, Yahtzee and Skip-Bo.







After lunch, Marcus retreated to the loft to celebrate Christmas
with a couple of World of Warcraft missions to complete. It worked out nicely as it gave Mom and I an opportunity to do my favroite hobby- cardmaking!

Mom made 12 or 13 cards in our fun afternoon. These are a couple of her favorites. It was great for me to use up some of my extra scraps and gave her a big set of free cards to use for the next few months.