Thursday, March 22, 2012

Clay Egg Ornaments



I have been in the mood to work with clay ever since I saw my sister Amelia's moon mobile, which you can see here.  (Yes, it is as magical as it sounds).


I thought it should be easy enough to create my own Easter ornaments for our little Easter tree.  Growing up, my mom always had a little Easter tree in our living room.  She (or my dad) would spray paint a big branch white and that big branch would be stuck in a big Terracotta pot filled with dirt.  Pretty pastel lights were strung on those branches, bunny and egg ornaments were hung, and grass seeds were planted in the dirt.  That grass never failed to arrive just before Easter and it was lovely.

I really wanted to recreate that memory for my boys in our home.  So, here is what I did to make my own ornaments.

I shaped that clay into a little flat egg.  Then, I carefully pressed various plants into the clay.  In this picture I used some thyme.  I also used rosemary, boxwood, and fern.  I used a wooden skewer to do the polka dots. That skewer was also used to poke a hole in the top of each egg so that I could hang them onto our tree.




I baked the clay according to the directions on the package.  After they were done, I tied some thread onto each egg and hung them onto our tree.  They are by no means perfect, but I like them nonetheless!



I also decided to experiment with some color on a few of the ornaments.  I called Amelia, who happens to be a pretty amazing little artist (I can say these things because I'm her big sister) and asked her if I could borrow her supplies.  She kindly brought over some wax pastels and some tiny paint brushes.




I simply colored onto the eggs and lightly brushed them with a bit of water to soften the color a bit.






I'm not sure yet if I like the simplicity of the white ornaments or the splashes of spring color that the painted ones have.  I think I'll experiment around a little yet with both options.  I'm sure you know already that I'll keep you posted...  I'll be back soon with another Easter project I'm excited to share with you!

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Touches of Spring

Happy first day of spring to you!

Here are a few signs that spring has truly arrived in our home and we are so happy about it!












Thanks so much for stopping by!

I'm linking up to:

Monday, March 19, 2012

Monday Close-Ups

Here are a few snippets and snapshots from our weekend, which was pretty amazing!

On Friday, my mom, my sister Liesl, the boys, and I helped celebrate my sister Amelia's birthday by having lunch at her cute apartment.  Afterward, we walked to a cupcake shop for a birthday treat and made a quick stop at Anthropologie, where we took in all of their pretty things for spring.


On Saturday, Jason made the boys shamrock shakes for St. Patty's day.




On Sunday, Oliver read books until it was time for church.


After we got home, we spent the majority of the day outside.  Taking a bike ride, retrieving all of our outdoor patio furniture from the garage, and trimming bushes in such warm weather seemed very strange for the middle of March.














For dinner, we grilled barbecue chicken pizza and ate outside.








Happy spring to you tomorrow!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

More Than I Could Have Ever Wanted

There are three activities that my boys sometimes request doing that really make me search for an answer that goes something like this:  "Sure, that sounds like fun!" as I inwardly am shouting "NOOO!  ANYTHING BUT THAT!"  Those three activities are playing in the sandbox, playing with play dough, and painting.  I picture the mess that I will most certainly have to clean up and baths will have to be given and almost beg for them to do anything else.

However.

Lately, I've been aware that my little Henry will be venturing off to Kindergarten next year.  {Cue the tears and panic attacks}  Who knew that Kindergarten could sneak up on you like that?  Let me tell you, I do not want him to go.  Am I the only parent who thinks that all day every day Kindergarten is a lot of school for a five year old?  What will Oliver and I do without him?  I can barely stand to think about it.

So.

 I've been trying to ignore the mess, the piles of laundry that come out of the dryer and refuse to fold themselves, and the dishes.  Instead we've been doing all of those activities that make lots of messes and require hauling out the vacuum cleaner.  I am soaking up as much of my Henry as I can before he goes off to school this fall.  I will sit and watch these little brothers play and laugh together and marvel at the conversations the two of them have.  And I will love every minute of it, messes and all, because God has really blessed me with more than I could have ever wanted.