Coffee Filter Flowers

22 Thursday Mar 2012

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This was inspired by the new Martha Stewart issue.  We are ready for spring and Easter colors around here!  These flowers are made by gently folding painted coffee filters into petal shapes.  Ada liked using the paints and watching the colors bleed up the filters.  The finished flowers can be combined into a bouquet, tied onto gifts, or planted on the wall like we did.  You will need:

*Coffee Filters

*Watercolor Paints and/or Food Coloring (I used both, but kept the kids away from the messier food coloring)

*Bowls (for mixing the food coloring with water)

*Paper or Scrap Cloth Towels

*Green Pipe Cleaners

*Painters Tape (for wall hanging)

1. Separate filters into stacks of 4 to 6 each.

2. Fill bowls with a small amount of water and a few drops of food coloring.  We used about five drops in shallow water.

3. Dip the bottom edges of filter stacks in bowls and/or paint edges with watercolors.  More pigment and less water=brighter colors.  Filters can be dried and more colors added until you like your results.

4. Place filter stacks on towels to dry.

5. When stacks are still slightly damp, pinch the back center of the flower and twist all the filters together, (middle photo).  Secure with pipe cleaner and gently unfurl petals.  If you used food coloring, a bit may transfer onto your hands when flowers are wet but should stay put when dry.

6. When flowers are completely dry, make a loop of painter’s tape. Insert stem through loop vertically and stick onto the wall.

Treasure

21 Wednesday Mar 2012

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West Coast beach finds on the mantel.  I so wish there were sand dollars to collect on our beaches.  They are such perfect little creatures.  Chris and I were very excited to find three in good shape, but the kids were distracted by parachuters landing on the sand.  It is impossible to get a kid to slow down for more than a second on a new beach.  So much to explore!  Ada will notice the sand dollars in her room some day and be as excited as we were.

Front Stoop Plantings

20 Tuesday Mar 2012

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We are working on getting the back yard ready to use this year, but it looks like my cutting garden wish list is going to stay on paper until next year.  I am longing for flowers back there, but putting up a fence is a more practical first step.  So we decided to plant a big clay pot to brighten up the stoop instead.  We used a mix of purples and blues for our sunny spot.  You can adjust the type of plants based on your own climate and light.  This is a quick planting project with immediate results which makes it ideal for kids’ short attention spans.  If you want to do a similar arrangement you will need:

*Clay Pot.  (We used one that is 20″ high and 18″ wide at the top).

*Potting Soil

*Flowering Plants.  We used: Viola, Aubrieta, Lithodora, Columbine, and Salvia.

1. Place some rocks or broken pot shards on the bottom of the pot for drainage.  Be sure not to cover hole completely.

2. Fill 3/4 of the pot with soil.

3. Place in plants, following directions on soil tags and being careful not to overcrowd.  The top of the soil should be about 1″below pot rim so it will not spill out when watered.

4. Gently pack soil around plants and water in thoroughly.  Pick off dead flowers as they bloom to keep plants healthy and encourage more blooms.

Enjoy!

Stitch

19 Monday Mar 2012

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Gram’s Blanket.  Baking potatoes for our Saint Patrick’s Day party on Saturday reminded me of sitting in my Irish Great-Grandmother’s kitchen.  She was a child of immigrants and a mother of three during the Depression.  She saved every scrap that could be of potential use.  I remember her balls of twine – meticulously pulled, knotted and wound from the strings on teabags.  She had two pale pinkish slipcovers that she pieced together from silk WW2 parachutes.  She showed up at family gatherings with paper bags full of costume jewelry and vintage toys for us kids, (which made her by far our favorite visitor).  I loved her house and her strange and beautiful collections.

Gram darned little holes in this wool blanket thousands and thousands of times using different color threads.  She was fixing moth holes, but the effect is the look of stars, or the ocean, or handwriting.  I love the humble repetition yielding such beauty.  She would like that the blanket has been saved and used by my children as she used it for her own.

Bloom!

16 Friday Mar 2012

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We were walking along my favorite industrial area in our neighborhood yesterday and passed this tree in bloom.  It gave me a little surge of excitement about spring approaching.  I have been missing the lush greens and flowers from our San Fransisco visit.  Upon closer inspection I realized that silk blossoms had been tied on to the naked branch by a neighbor with a sense of humor.  Quite possibly the best use for fake flowers.

Happy Weekend!

Instant

15 Thursday Mar 2012

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My heart was broken when I could no longer buy Polaroid film for a reasonable price.  I love the colors and the magic of instant pictures.  I love that they came with their own built-in frame and could be handed out to watch develop right in the middle of the action.  My grandmother had a giant, noisy Polaroid that she used for family portraits.  That camera seemed so out of place in her utilitarian household, but the images that it spat out flattened and tinted the setting into something beautiful.

Thankfully I have a new love.  This Fuji camera is itself adorable and the tiny photos are even cuter.  (Thanks Japan!).  A line of these pictures along a shelf makes a great installation of family photos- no frames required.

Up!

14 Wednesday Mar 2012

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I was dreading this.  Josie decided to take some steps in the park yesterday and suddenly she can climb the stairs.  I guess it is time for some baby gates at our house.

Sister Dresses

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

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Ada requested matching sister dresses recently.  I’d already begun one for her before Josie was born and the request was a good excuse to finish.  (Not to mention the  small window of time when they still think it is cool to dress like a sibling).  These are from a 1972 McCall’s pattern- #3470.  I love vintage patterns!  Etsy and Ebay always have several.  I tweaked the pattern a bit to fit Josie and used some vintage violet print fabric that I’d been saving.  The beautiful Liberty print I cut Ada’s from was no longer available.  Ada likes to point out that they are not technically matching, but they like to wear them together anyway.

Party!

12 Monday Mar 2012

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Decorations on the fan.  The vintage lanterns are from flea markets and the large pink one is from Pearl River Mart store in Manhattan, (much better than the site).  We make the pom poms from Nashville Wraps tissue.The spread.  I scored the beautiful Jadeite pieces on Craigslist the day before the party.  They remind me of my Great Gram and they are the most perfect color to mix with hot pink and reds.  The chocolate cake is my favorite recipe.  It is a staple at our parties and inspired me to be brave about homemade cakes.  They are so worth it!  Polka dot fruit cups and stripey straws are from Shop Sweet Lulu.  She has lovely, edited, special party supplies.  Special drink.  We like to do a signature drink for our parties.  Josie’s was a sparkling berry soda.  We added a kick to the adult version.  You will need:

*2 oz.Sparkling berry drink. We used Lorina French Berry.

*1.5 oz. St. Germaine

*1.5 oz. Champagne

*Raspberry for garnish

1.Measure, mix and stir gently.  Pour into fancy glass over ice.  (Drinking champagne through a good straw makes it even more fun!)  I found the perfect vintage ‘B’ glasses for Chris at a church sale years before we had kids.  I would have gotten them even without the correct last initial and $5 price tag.  Josie-bean Ice Cream.  I love our vintage ice cream maker and any excuse to whip up a batch makes me happy.  The We are going to do custom flavors for the girls’ birthdays from now on.  For Josie-bean (Ada’s nickname for Josephine) you will need:

*3 Cups Heavy Cream.  Good quality cream is essential.  We use Ronnybrook Farm’s from our farmer’s market.

*2/3 Cups Unrefined Sugar.  I think this tastes better than white sugar.

*2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

*Seeds from 2 Vanilla Beans

*2 Cups Fresh Raspberries

1.Scrape seeds from vanilla beans and add to cream, sugar and vanilla in small saucepan.  Drop empty pods into cream and heat on low heat until all sugar dissolves.

2.Remove vanilla bean pods and pour cream mixture into bowl.  Chill in fridge for an hour.

3.Pour cooled mixture into ice cream maker, add fresh raspberries and follow directions for your maker.

4.Serve immediately or store in freezer.  Allow to soften slightly before serving.

Happy Birthday Josie!

Felt Alphabet Magnets

11 Sunday Mar 2012

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I made these felt letters for Ada when she was just learning her alphabet.  They have strong magnets sewn inside so they can be stuck on the fridge.  Spelling out the letters of a child’s name also makes a nice gift.  You will need:

*Felt.  We used various colors of wool felt from Woolfeltcentral.com

*Embroidery Floss in contrasting color

*Stuffing

*Two or three Magnets per letter.  We used Tiny Mighties

*Glue

*Paper to make the patterns

1. Type out the alphabet in a simple font and enlarge to desired size.  Our letters are 3″ tall.  Print letters and cut out.

2.Lay paper letter pattern on top of felt and carefully cut along edges of paper to make the letter.  *You will need two- front and back for each letter.

3. Glue magnets onto the inside of the back half of the letter. Space out and use more for longer letters such as ‘M’ and fewer magnets for simple letters like ‘I’.  The magnets will be stitched inside the felt, so you don’t need much glue.

4. Place a little stuffing on top of magnets, between the two felt letter halves.  You can adjust stuffing position as you sew, and the stuffing will help prevent the strong magnets from sticking to each other.

5. Blanket stitch the two letter halves together, making sure the magnets are in the back and the face of the letter is not backwards.  Push any stray stuffing inside as you sew.

6. Allow glue to dry and then put them on the fridge!

If you aren’t feeling crafty you can buy some similar magnets here on Etsy.