Remake

Spring is a time of renewal; nature takes what was once dead and dormant and recycles it into something vibrant and alive. There is something about Spring that makes us want to shake out the dust and clean out the cobwebs. I was going through a closet and came across a top and a skirt that I had somehow clumsily torn. Unable to repair them for my use I decided they would make great clothes for a baby or small child. With a little planning, brave scissor cutting, and some basic sewing I was able to remake my torn clothes into two new dresses for Ellie as well as a skirt, and a dress for Violet too when we see her at Easter. It was exciting to see something that was once lost be found but found again in a new form.

My creative challenge for this next month is to remake something. It doesn't need to be clothes; think of a space that needs a new organization flow or a recipe that needs a modern touch. Perhaps it's time to change out a fixture or rethink how to use a furniture piece. Maybe you want to remake something about yourself. Whatever it is I can't wait to see it! Let's try to share by the end of the month if you feel thus inspired.

Happy Creating!

Ellie is working on her somber model look inspired by the blustery weather.

Keeping the FROST-ing off our clothes

In September, I borrowed a sewing machine from my aunt with the intentions of trying it out to see if I wanted to purchase one of my own.  It sat unused in our office for a couple months, and I knew I was going to return it at Thanksgiving, so in November I decided to find a project to work on.

Nora had been wanting to help out more in the kitchen and loved to wear my apron when I had one on too, but obviously my apron was huge on her.  I decided a toddler apron was the perfect project for me to try with the sewing machine.

I found a tutorial on Pinterest, and considering I hadn't ever really sewn with a machine in over ten years, I needed step-by-step instructions.  It was pretty easy to follow and the machine was a little difficult to work with, but Jere always came to my rescue and re-threaded the machine or bobbin when it got caught. (I learned that I don't have very much patience.) After much ironing, seam-ripping, and broken needles, it turned out pretty cute:

The front with a little pocket. 

Nora got a little kitchenette for Christmas this year.  It's so cute to see her "cooking" in her apron. 

Since I was already making one, I thought: Why stop there?  I decided to make one for Nora's best friend Hannah for Christmas, too.  

I tried to get a pic of them standing together, but they were very adamant about laying on the floor instead.  

Our little chefs! 

It was a fun project, and now that I got a sewing machine for Christmas, I just need to find a new project to motivate me to take it out of the box. 

"My adventure in Frost" by Debra Stevenson

FROST 

Frost is such an interesting word and one that I have been thinking about for the last couple of winter months.   My Frost adventure started out for me with going to see the movie Frozen.  What a beautiful and fun movie and how it made me realize how beautiful this frozen tundra that we live in can be.  What funner way to get started than by going to the North Pole on the Polar Express!

Our ward Christmas party was a fun adventure for the kids in all of us as we went to the North Pole by the Polar Express. The Brown's and the Baird's used their magic touch to turn the cultural hall into the  magic frozen north pole.

I got to serve up many yummy frosting treats in the North pole bakery shop with candy, gingerbread house, a north pole train and of course, jars of pickles!  It was a fun way to begin the season and make it through the cold winter nights.

 Along the Wasatch Front, we have the unfortunate inversions that come with our winter area.  One week was particularly bad and I was having a hard time seeing any good or beauty in it at all.  One night it was extremely cold and we had an unusual bank of fog along with the smuck.  It was kind of eeeiry but kind of mystical all at the same time.  I woke up in the morning and to my delight the whole scene of my back yard had literally been frosted.  Every branch, every rooftop, every tree, every fence had been literally FROSTED!  It was gorgeous!  My breath was taken away as the sun came out and hit this sugary wonderland.  I could not move until I got my senses about me and ran and got the camera to capture it the best I could.  So these are those pictures of what we think are even the worst of times and what mother nature can do with her amazing frosting abilities.  Enjoy

The view as the sun came out.

If you look really close you can see the effects of the frost as a little breeze hits the trees.  It was like the snow fairies were shaking their magical bottles of diamond like glitter.  Sometimes it is hard to capture everything on a picture but I did my best to capture the magic of the moment but it will be forever in my mind of how beautiful Frost can be.

Antithesis

Despite all of my good feelings towards snow and frost, there is still a deep desire to see spring roll around quickly (I don't care what you say Punxsutawny Phil! Spring isn't six weeks away!!!). I made a butterfly origami mobile for Ellie's crib to compensate for all of the time dedicated to snowflakes. :) 

The art of FROST-ing

Violet and I decided to take on the theme of "frost" together. Lately making cookies has been Violet's most favorite activity, one she begs me to do on a daily basis. On Christmas Eve we made a big batch of sugar cookies (thanks Katie for sending the recipe). We actually didn't have time to actually bake the cookies on Christmas Eve so the dough lived in our freezer for a month. One cold day I decided to teach Violet the art of FROSTING. We whipped up a butter cream frosting recipe and then had fun turning it bright pink, green, and of course violet. :) Violet picked a "cookie man" (as she calls them) first and had fun spreading on pink frosting. She then chose some brightly colored sprinkles to adorn this creation. I poured a little pile of sprinkles on her plate so she could put them on a few at a time by hand. She did this for a bit and once she was satisfied she started licking the sugar particles from her fingers. Soon she was more excited about the sprinkles than anything. I ended up doing most of the frosting work, although she did pick out the color of frosting and the sprinkles. Finally, after she couldn't take it any longer, I allowed her to sample a tiny frosted and sprinkled star cookie. She didn't quite get the concept of enjoying the frosting and cookie in one bite and first licked off all the frosting and then gobbled up the cookie. She was very a happy (and hyper) camper for the rest of the day. Since then, on a daily, and sometimes it feels like hourly, basis Violet will say "make cookie dough!?" followed by "put sprinkles on it!?" I think she is a fan of baking, frosting, and eating cookies. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

Frosting -- purple, pink, green, and white

Deciding the next cookie to frost...

Cookie man and stars...

One happy camper

Frosting!

I made a goal to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator and thanks to Jeremy (who gave up an entire Saturday afternoon to teach me...he's a great teacher!!), I had a blast creating this little button:

Thanks Jere!

Snowflakes in black and white

When Amy issued her challenge to capture "Frost" I wasn't sure it was the best topic for me. At first I thought that I wouldn't have anything "frosty" to capture here in NC as it is a warmer climate. With one arctic blast after another, I changed my mind about not having enough frosty events here. With my grumpy attitude, the cold didn't inspire creative thoughts but instead encouraged hibernation. As my boys had a chance to play in snow this week I was reminded how beautiful cold can be so I decided to embrace January and celebrate it indoors with my kind of snowflakes. Thanks for a fun theme Amy!