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The boys have been battling a summer cold over the last few days. We desperately need more hankies in the house, so I’m in the process of sewing some up using my flannel scraps for extra softness. I also thought I’d take a moment to make a little hankie dispenser within the boys’ reach. Shamelessly, I took my inspiration from Soulemama’s hankie holder. I am trying my best not to feel guilty for copying her design because 1.) I own all of her books and 2.) I plan to purchase her upcoming book the minute it’s released. So there, I’m absolved. 
I wanted to be sure it would hold it’s shape with the boys rummaging though it, so I used a medium weight interfacing in it.
I also omitted the zipper in the back. I didn’t have one long enough and I think it will be fine with just stuffing clean hankies in from the front.
Here’s to quick healing and handmade solutions for raw little noses.
I’ve felt quite neglectful when it comes to ‘homing’ up our space. Nary a window has curtains; there’s not a rug to be found, save the bathrooms. It all takes time, I know. Our living room is especially bare-boned with only a couch, loveseat, chair, and antique sideboard turned changing table. There’s also a fireplace, but that was there already. Imagine how thrilled I was when I finally stumbled upon some inspiration to make our living room more inviting for the boys.
We already had the rocking chairs. The one to the left was mine when I was little and passed down to Aidan. My dad made it from a kit. The one on the right is an antique rocker that was given to Oliver from his paw paw. We think it may have been homemade, but we aren’t sure.
The ’sheepskin’ rug isn’t sheep or lambskin at all. It was a 30″x48″ shaggy rug that I picked up at Target. I wanted a more organic shape than a rectangle, but things like clouds and blobs just seemed out of place. I took my scissors to it and didn’t do any sort of stitching at all. It has latex backing to make it non-slip and the boys love it! I was inspired by the folks over at YHL.
I love this print by Joel Dewberry called, ‘modern buds’ from his ginseng line.
The book sling was the perfect project to add some color to the room. It also provides a great space for the boys to be part of the conversation in the living area with their very own places to sit. Aidan loves slipping the books into the sling and Oliver enjoys slipping the books behind the sling – much to his brother’s dismay. I first noticed this sling over at Meg McElwee’s blog, Sew Liberated. (Her book is great, too.) Isn’t her whole home so warm and welcoming?! I love it!
There are two small issues with this set up. One is that this is typically where our Christmas tree goes. So, I guess we’ll have to adapt come December. Second, now I feel the need to hang a mini-quilt above the book sling. Okay, I guess that second one isn’t a big deal. I have a lot of fun projects in my queue; what’s one more?
The boys approve. Aidan quickly grabbed his favorite book : Children of the Forest. Oliver hooked up some yoga with his ‘downward dog.’ See the books Ollie relocated? 
A little peak into the boys’ play this evening. Pouring, scooping, dumping, filling, scattering. I was pleased to find the 3 year old more than happy to pick up all the stray beans so that he could have time with this project again tomorrow. Little brother helped a little, too.
I’ve got a little project in the works for those two. It’s part of my ongoing project of making our house more homey. We have a busy week, but I hope to get it finished very soon so that I can share it with you. A few certain grandparents will be happy to hear that it involves a more fitting place for the boys’ rocking chairs.
Everyone in Houston is talking about ‘Lois’ the corpse flower – Amorphophallus titanum (titan arum). The corpse flower is one of the largest flowers in the world, reaching heights of 7-10 feet and a diameter of 5-6 feet. ‘She’ is called a corpse flower because, once she blooms, she will emit an odor similar to rotting flesh to attract pollinators. I’ve read that the scent only lasts about 12 hours, so I think we may head over (again) toward the end of that time frame. I’m not sure I could handle the stench. She’s over at HMNS, where the staff, and a fair amount of Houstonians, are impatiently waiting for her to bloom. The museum has even been keeping around the clock hours for viewing!
While I realize that the simple fact that the flower is here, in a museum rather than in its natural habitat, is tampering or interfering with nature, I would really like ‘Lois’ to bloom without further interference. (After all, her natural habitat is in Sumatra and is being rapidly deforested.) The horticulturist on site felt the need to shut the exhibit down just before a friend and I had arrived to see her. We waited an hour and a half, wandering the Cockrell Butterfly Center, because we were told the plant was in ’surgery.’ As it turns out, the horticulturist thought it wise to cut into the plant to be sure her bloom was progressing along nicely. I’m no horticulturist, but this really gives rise to an eerie similarity with the state of maternal care here in Houston. It didn’t help that we overheard the horticulturist joke about giving the plant a sort of emergency c-section. In reality, he hooked her new hole up to a bag of rotting bananas to ‘induce’ her, as it were. Here’s the HMNS blog post.
Opinions of this ‘induction’ aside, there is now an ugly plastic bag hanging off of the back of this beautiful, rare gem of a plant. I’m hoping that the bloom will hide the bag. If it blooms, that is. If it does, great; we will likely go see it again. If it doesn’t, that’s okay, too. We will still visit HMNS in the future and value the chance we had to see this plant anyhow.
I’m wondering if Aidan picked up on my somber mood when we finally got to see the bud. That, or he’s thinking, “we’ve wandered around up and down the stairs over and over again, late for lunch, all for this?!”
I wish we would have gone to see the corpse flower before the surgery took place. I am really grateful to have been able to get a photo of Aidan with it, but I’m not fond of the fact that there is a plastic bag in the photo.
Here’s another pic:
Distracting, isn’t it?
Ah well, I wish the plant and the staff at HMNS all the best. Lois will bloom if and when she’s ready.
Finally! You’ll no longer hear me whine and complain about my old machine and I being at odds. I still haven’t decided if I should bury it or donate it, but I have no intentions of ever using it again.
I want to extend the warmest welcome to my new Janome MC6600. This machine should more than meet my needs for many years to come. We’ve already had a few small adventures together…
A little extra love on Aidan’s quilt. Plus, I finally but the silly thing together!
A box pouch for a friend who finally gave me the motivation and encouragement I needed to tackle zippers. This was my first ever zipper project, so it had to be for her!
A healing pillow made from a pattern in soulemama’s book. It’s filled with organic flax seeds, lavender, chamomile, and lots of love.
It was reported to me that the healing pillow was very well received and that our sweet friend had a cough free night!
Creating for others is so rewarding.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Hello!
I hope my fellow Americans had a wonderful fourth of July weekend. We stayed around the house this year, enjoying each other’s company and working on some crafty things that had been on hold for this reason or that.
The craft we completed on Independence Day is the one I want to share with you today. This was a Daddy craft. He did all the crafting and I just played with the kids outside as we watched him work.
Daddy measured Aidan’s foot, adding some space for room to grow.
Wood, rope, some drilling… Voila! Stilts!
Aidan has already mastered his, so we’ll be adding another section of wood to the bottom to make them more exciting.
Our inspiration for this project was from the awesome daddy blogger, Made by Joel. Thanks!
Please ignore that Aidan has one of his stilts and one of Oliver’s.
These are such a fun, simple, and easy to make toys. Go make some!
As the boys were getting their shoes on to start the day, Aidan has this great revelation about females.
Aubrey
“When Aubrey is a boy, she can wear shoes; but she’s a girl, so she eats dog food.”
Well said, Aidan. Well said.
Oliver has a knack for finding natural conditioners in foods…
Oatmeal, in his vegan cheeze sauce, to keep away any potential dry, flaky skin!
Avocado in his guacamole for extra moisturizing and shine!
Excuse the color and the blur. Some little explorers played with my camera settings without my noticing.
Bon Appetit!
So lately, the crafting has slowed down. In fact, it’s probably not even at a crawl. I’m bursting with ideas, don’t get me wrong, but I’m on strike. My machine and I have had words on several every occasion that we work together – or maybe I should say against each other. There’s a new machine on the horizon, but I haven’t worked out just when/where/how to get it. Once I do, though, I’m sure the joy of sewing will come back to me. Until then, I’m sticking to outings for the kids and simple projects like painting and decoupage. Oh, and getting the house in decent order.
For father’s day, we did some freezer stenciling on an apron and the boys added their handprints to it. We also made their daddy a nifty book of his firefighter training and graduation. He loved his gifts and I promise to share a pic sometime soon.
Also, we are planning a big trip for our little family of four. I don’t want to share much about it just yet, but it is taking up all of the little free time I seem to have lately. The three year old keeps toying with a nap strike and it’s rare that they boys nap in synch lately. In fact, I should be working on that right now…
We’ve been spending as much time as we can outside despite the Houston heat. This means our adventures are limited to mornings or early evening times, but that won’t last long once the mosquitoes come out in full force.
Anyhow, Aidan has been requesting a backpack for some time now. I thought it would be perfect for him to use for a nature bag. We’ve only stocked it with a ‘magic glass’ (magnifying glass) thus far, but we have plans to add a small clipboard, nature cards, moleskin notebook and coloring pencils, and maybe a bag for any found treasures. Aidan also likes to put his gardening gloves inside.
I have to say that I was very impressed with our order from imagine childhood. They have such a neat store and a wonderful blog. We bought both the backpack and the magnifying glass from there. Ollie got a set, too, but he’s not as interested in it just yet.
I’m also attaching a little nature scavenger hunt that I made for the boys. Keep in mind that it was made for the under 3 set, so the items are very simple. Just click on the thumbnail for the full version. Enjoy!
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