Jessica Flores Design

A Summer Sendoff and a Fall Kids' Craft

Today is the last day of summer. . . . let's allow that to sink in a minute. . . . . OK, that's enough.  It's just plain sad, and there's no use dwelling on it.  We did some things to send it off well today, though. We went to some garage sales, played at the park and even bought a treat from the creepy guy in the ice cream truck.  Does it get more summery than that?

I guess it's time to embrace the change in seasons, so this morning we did a fallish craft (before we did our hair).  It's really pretty self-explanatory.  I'm a little blue about the summer thing, so I'm not really feeling all tutorial.

That's dirt smeared on her face, not more freckles.  You just missed the carrot mustache pose.

Now we have some lovely little candy corn cards and bookmarks for Nora's Nook at the show in a couple of weeks--and some extra carrots for a nice hot soup--for tomorrow.  Tonight we eat salad! 

 

She Is Very Organized

Be forewarned. I've only got one pretty picture this post.

That's my big girl all buttoned up and cheetah printed out for her first day of kindergarten.  Last night she was telling me all about her first visit to art class.  Mrs. M. (that's what the kids call her, because her name is too long to remember) spelled her whole name out in bubble letters: E-L-N-O-R-A, and she got to sit by her friend Donovan (also in green above). . . and then she says to me in a very matter-of-fact and enamored tone,  "And she is very organized!"  Apparently Mrs. M. keeps the erasers by the pencils, and the markers and crayons all have their own containers.  

So, I'm wondering, what is it that makes this quality so admirable to my little one?  She can often be found lining up her little people, sorting her animals by color or species, or making containers for just about every little collection under her bed.  I suppose she's learned this from me--constantly making lists, trying to find a place for everything and put everything in its place in this tiny house and hollering for her to clean up her "pile" on the ottoman every night, put her clothes in the hamper, stop messing up the pillows on the couch. 

But as we move into the time of year when everyone is scrawling out the new schedule on the family calendar, regulating bed times and lining book bags up on the mud room bench, I'm feeling more scattered than ever.  I used to do the fly lady routine, for Pete's sake.  What has happened? 

Today felt all wrong from the start.  We slept in too long and watched network TV in the morning.  I didn't have a plan--other than starting a new apron once Nora was in school.  Now at the end of the day, I've got a sink full of dishes that will have to wait till tomorrow night and a mind full of regrets: shoulda put those towels in the dryer sooner, shoulda washed the dishes while I was cooking dinner instead of ripping out that seam, shoulda put that apron to rest and played more after school. . . 

Tonight I'm thinking about that woman in Proverbs.  Maybe my next list should look a little more like hers:

• get up while it is still dark
• make bed
• clothe yourself in fine linen
• set about work vigorously
• provide food for family
• extend hands to the needy
• make linen garments and sell them
• speak with wisdom
• laugh
• do not let lamp go out at night

 

summer in a nutshell

This marvelous thing called summer can really make it hard for a girl to blog!  Have you noticed?  

Our summer list is getting checked off quite nicely as we come into the home stretch.  

Among other things, we've gone to a drive in movie, enjoyed VBS, had play dates with our favorite friends, picked strawberries, taken a little vacation, tried our hands at tie dying, and even caught what Nora calls "the ominous green bug" hanging out in the garden.  

Once Nora starts kindergarten in the afternoons, I'll have a little more free time to work on products for fall markets.  My list of projects includes these cute new monogrammed keychains,

several bags, a couple of full length aprons, lots of blackboard erasers, and paintings inspired by the tomatillos growing in my garden

and this lovely specimen from the butterfly house on Mackinac Island.

Until then, I'll be squashing those tomatillos into green salsa and working on finishing the rest of our list. Only a few more weeks to try a drive-in diner, make it to the sprinkler park, have a food fight with Grandma, try mini golf and find a pet! (If you know of a good farm dog that needs a home, let me know!  We've got a brood of chickens that need a night watchman!)  

Come check out all my new goodies at a special event at the Old District 5 Schoolhouse gift shop in Woodland, IN (on 331 between Bremen and Mishawaka) on September 10 and at the return of the "All Things Handmade and Vintage Bazaar" in South Bend on October 2.  

Summer in Full Bloom

"A blog post two nights in a row?" you say?  Yes, yes it is!  The Squirt has gotten in the habit of plain tuckering herself out with swimming and digging holes and other such summer shenanigans, so she's in bed on time, the dishes are mostly finished, and I'm on a little sabbatical from sewing, so I'm here--blogging from my patio and watching the last glimmer of rose-colored sky fade into deep blue and listening to the peeper frogs in the woods and chipmunks in the shrubbery.  . . . wait, I'd better get some bug spray . . . 

ANYway--my garden is just a smidge past the height of its glory, so I wanted to post some pics before it all starts drooping.  (You've got to click on the picture for a pop up to really appreciate it.)

Hubby added the picket fence late last season, more yellow daylillies are coming in, and the roses are loaded with buds for the first time since we moved in four years ago.

EEW!  Warning to outdoor bloggers--bugs like the glow of the screen!

ANYway, my favorites are the peonies, and I think I've told you before that we have an abundance of them. Today I took a shot of each variety:

A delicious strawberry ice cream color with double ruffles. . . Please note these are not scientific nor common names, but if you know them, feel free to share!

A vibrant magenta with fancy yellow plumes of stamen. . . 

A gorgeous single variety with a huge pom pom of delicious yellow pollen 

This one has a giant bloom of layers and layers of petals.  I like to take a single head and display it in a shallow bowl.  It looks like a big ol' scoop of sherbet ice cream.  I think I've got a sweet tooth tonight. . . 

This one is a bit past its prime, but you can see that it was a lovely single creamy white with long frilly stamen, and wouldn't it look pretty among the roses it's nestled in if it could have just held out a few more days!

and finally, the good old fluffy white Lady of the garden.  What would a bouquet of peonies be if it didn't have some white to make the other colors pop?

Is that a rumble of thunder I hear? . . . 

I'd better wrap it up for the night and see how the hubby is coming on his project in the garage. I'll give you one clue about it:  It is called the "Poulet Chalet!"  I'm so excited!  Stay tuned for a post all about it!

 

 

 

The junk in my purse

After seven months of bumping around on my hip every day, my ruffly pistol messenger bag bit the dust last week.  I was in the middle of several custom craft projects, and I was feeling like the to-do list chalked up on my blackboard was written in permanent ink.  But I needed a new purse.  . . so one night I set to cutting out some of my favorite linen from a simple pattern and dreaming up a pretty embellishment.  I finished this on Tuesday

and when I tried to transfer what I'd been carrying around with me all winter in my last bag, it didn't come close to fitting.  

 

I emptied it all out and snapped a photo, thinking I'd write all about how I always carry everything I might need for any situation, like a 21st Century lady McGyver or that woman on the Seinfeld episode with the spare pantyhose.  But the more I thought about it and carried that image around with me in my mind this week, I've realized that the stuff spilled out across my desk is more like a metaphor for the clutter in my life.  

What do I need to edit out so it all fits perfectly into the life God has designed for me?  I'm pretty sure I can get rid of that tape measure I use to measure myself up to others .  . . check . . . how about that hand sanitizer that keeps the worry at bay? . . . check . . . the eyeliner and lipstick in the cosmetic bag to cover up my insecurity . . . check . . . the penny-pinching-granny coin purse where I hoard those extra minutes of time for myself and my work instead of giving it generously . . . check . . . maybe now there will be more room for the necessities:  a package of tissues to wipe away a little girl's tears shed when her Momma has to run off to work, a container of vitamins and pills that work just like Scripture does to keep our spirit healthy or offer a word of healing, and a set of keys to lock up the guilt that has gathered and settled like lint in the bottom of it all.

Tonight I'm brewing one of those Melaleuca tea bags to help soothe the cold I've developed while trying to do it all, and tomorrow I'll carry my ragged old Target bag that fits ever-so-comfortably over my shoulder and carries everything I might need to just be me (and maybe fix a run in my tights).

Collecting Eye Candy

I've always had a bulletin board in my room as a girl, in my dorm room in college, and now in my studio at home.  Once they were filled with clothing tags and amusement park tickets, then art postcards and snippets of love letters.  Now mine has been painted red and filled with magazine clippings of bags I'd like to make and selvage strips, but a bit of my "I 'heart' Bethel" sticker still peeks out from a corner. I am a collector!  

Earlier this week I had the great honor of seeing one of my Etsy items make it to the front page of the site in a fine "Earth Day" inspired treasury.  It seems like a little thing--a tiny blip on the screen, but I just about hit the ceiling on my lunch hour when I stopped in to check my account.

Treasuries are "curated lists" which Etsy members pull together from the vast expanse of well-photographed handmade and vintage items available on the site.  It's a clever way for fans of the site to showcase a cross-section of listings--from the quirky to the practical--that have a common thread.  I still haven't figured out how one of these makes it to the front page, but it is a fun past time, if you're an addicted Etsy browser. Head on over to the site and try it out yourself! I've only ever made one treasury myself, because I'm not much of a web surfer.

I'm getting there though, with the help of a nifty little tool called Pinterest.  Still in Beta, this site is like your own virtual bulletin board for gems you've found online.  For each account you can have a bunch of boards with different topics. I've had the most fun building my "style" board with spring dresses (this one's from Boden),
 a fantastic pair of red heels and accessories from Ruche (which are not formatted to post here), and pretty accessories.  I still prefer clipping from magazines, but admit that being able to store ideas and pictures on an online board is so much easier to access, and it really helps you create a vision for your personal style, a specific project or space in your home.  

I'd love to go do some pinning right now, but it's back to the drawing board for me while Nora's at school.  Today's project:  a new bark cloth wristlet to match a coordinating bag: 

Shopping Tip:  I have so many new items to list on Etsy, but I won't be putting them up until after my Junk Evolution visit.  Mark your calendars for May 12--my next Housewares showcase on Etsy.  I'll be thinking up a deal to help sweeten the pot, so watch my Facebook Page for details.  

 

Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle

Spring is less than a week away, temperatures are predicted to reach 60 degrees by Thursday, and a few little knobs of sedum have begun to poke their way through the dirt near my patio.  I can almost hear the sap surging through the maple trees outside my window and the worms creepy crawling in the thawing ground.  In honor of the slowly-emerging green around us, I bring you some new “green” products and projects!

Chances are you’ve cracked open a can of blackboard paint at least once in the last couple of years and turned a wall, door, (or perhaps a car hood, if you’re my husband) into a canvas of sorts. All the cool kids are doin’ it. So what are you swiping it with?  Don’t tell me a paper towel!  Gasp!  How about one of these little ditties made from vintage yardsticks and old felted sweaters?

This idea has been flickering in the back of my mind for months, and I finally had the chance to put it together this weekend.  Yay! (Check the Etsy site for listings soon.) I’m hoping to make some with a twine loop for hanging too.

In anticipation of my visit to Junk Evolution and in order to use some of my tablecloth scraps, I decided to whip up some simple cloth napkins.  This is a nice way to eliminate waste paper in your home and add a special touch to meal time.  Only problem is, hemming all four sides makes for super bulky corners.  If you want them to turn out really sharp, you’re going to have to master the art of mitered corners . . . and whipping them up is not going to happen.  It will probably end up taking you about 2 hours to finish a set of four and yield you about as much dough per hour, if you plan to sell them.  I don’t care.  Is it crazy that I get giddy every time I finish one of these perfectly pointy corners? It’s magic!  

I’ll tell ya what else is magic: this set of coordinating no-sew napkin rings made from a Saran wrap tube and strips of scrap fabric.
I have discovered a new non-toxic epoxy called “Liquid Fusion,” which I used for these.  Good bye glue gun!!

While I was working on the projects above, Nora was playing with this. 
I’ll bet after this long cold winter, your cocoa container is almost used up too.  Why not turn it into a sweet-smelling log cabin for your Little People?  Just wash out the container, cut a door (and maybe some windows) with your trusty utility knife, and decorate with stickers.  I stuck a push pin in the door for a handle and bent the prong back with pliers to secure.  Little miss imagination was transfixed for an hour.

I also spent the weekend working on a special birthday surprise for a special little "seester." Check back after the spring chicken turns 26 on the first day of spring! 

 

Bloom Through the Gloom

Another Mini Boden catalog came in the mail yesterday, and I found a page inside that made me smile.

I have a habit of clipping favorite (or "favourite" as it's spelled in Boden's native UK) outfits from magazines and taping them inside my closet door for inspiration.  Nora and I agreed that this was a keeper for her own closet door.  Since we can't possibly afford the $90 outfit on the page, we'll commit it to memory and shop for pieces at spring garage sales and Old Navy or Target.

As I glanced at the page lying on the kitchen table throughout the day, I thought about the words too:  "It's Time to Bloom Through the Gloom", it says.  Far off in England, even Johnnie Boden and crew are looking for the gumption to make it through this last stretch of winter.  It's like the last 45 minutes of an 8-hour car ride.  

So, how am I finding ways to "Bloom Through the Gloom?"  It hasn't been easy today.  Even though the sun is shining brightly, Nora has found her way back to the couch with a fever that's been flaring since 8pm last night, and our plans for a weekend spent with Grandma and Grandpa (Dan's traveling) and a Saturday morning Fancy Nancy tea party are squelched.  

On the bright side, while Nora snoozes and soaks up the cartoons, I've had time to work on a new custom Farm Girl card

Finish up my first pair of rosette hair pins

and spiff up the house with some elbow grease and springy pretties pulled out from here and there.

That's my grandma on the right at Girls State in 1953.

So, until the literal blooming season comes around, I'm working on another level of contentment and trying not to despise these days of small things: thinking about the little girls who might wear the dresses I stitch up from the vintage pillow cases on my sewing table,

discovering that my electric candle is flickering in the broad daylight now at 5 pm, and sharing a laugh with a feverish little kid who, feeling like poop herself, still manages to squeak out a genuine giggle when Curious George fishes out his toy from the toilet.  Here's to salvaging something precious of our own from any gloom this weekend.

 

A Valentine Lovely for my Lovely

Remember this post?  My Little Seamstress is still playing the pins game, but never got a pincushion of her own.  So, I made her this one from Sandi Henderson's Bits & Pieces book as a Valentine's Day gift. 

I will also oblige her request for a box of chocolates, but let's hope this little project lasts a bit longer--if not in her big-girl sewing collection, in her memories of playtime.  

 

 

 

Cabin Fever? Not me!

Hello my little following of friends! How is winter treating you?  Snow has been piling up in our neck of the woods for the last few days, and I find myself loving it, surprisingly.  Don't misunderstand--I don't enjoy extending a three-sock bundled pinky toe past the threshold when it's this cold outside (although I'm contemplating snow shoeing), but the picture of powdered sugar fields stretching out to a horizon of snow-capped red barns outside my window warms my heart and makes me want to sip cocoa and vanilla tea the live long day.  

I brought home a new book from the library to share with Nora called Soup Day earlier this week.
 It is a sweet, simple little book that captures the joy of spending an ordinary winter day with a preschooler.  We used the recipe in the back of the book and a leftover rotisserie chicken to make our own pot of "Snowy Day Soup" and then invited grandma over to share an extraordinary made-from-scratch lunch. Afterward, we set up the DVD player inside a little tent, and I went to work on some more knitting needle holders.

 I added a pretty pink rosette to this one after I photographed it. 

I'm telling you, I would be happy stuck in this house for a week straight if I could keep something simmering on the stovetop, magazines arriving in the mail and my sewing machine humming. 

My live Christmas tree still stands in the living room bedecked now in hearts and ribbons, a handful of my shiny brights in rosy hues and some of my antique Valentines. 

 I just couldn't bear to throw out that beautiful tree while it's still holding its green needles and warming us with its glow every evening. 

 I'm hoping its new look will inspire me to stitch up some fun new Valentine treats for my Etsy shop too.

Drop me a comment and let me know what is warming your heart this winter!