A few things...

Happy Wednesday! Did you know that November is nablopomo?

No?

Well, it is, and I'm going to do my best to post every.single.day. We'll see how that goes!

Today is a snow day. So far we've worked on letters, built a fort in the family room, played with the neighborhood kids in the snow, made chalk-art...and all before nap-time. I love cozy days at home with my kids!


This little man loves the bouncy seat. We pulled it out of the basement last week, much to his delight!



Why must children's toys be so cumbersome and crazy-looking? Seriously...it looks like Truett could orbit the moon in this contraption, doesn't it?



Yes, Maren is wearing shorts and a t-shirt today. She dressed herself this morning and I guess she's not going to let go of summer without a fight!
And yes, the pictures of Maren are blurry...she was a swiftly moving target this morning. I probably just need to learn how to use my camera a little better.

I made these for Life Group tonight...

{Source: via Pinterest}

They have chocolate chips and pretzels in them, and they are just as delicious as they look. Thank goodness, because the last time I tried a recipe from Pinterest, I was grossly disappointed!

A set of my notecards was featured in a fun hedgehog treasury. If you want to see some sweet little items, go check it out!

So, how about a little snow-day giveaway? Leave a comment with your favorite snow-day activity...and you might just win your choice of a set of notecards from my shop!*

*I'll announce the winner on Saturday morning!*

My tiny paper village

It's Tuesday again, which means that Amanda is hosting another little 'pin-did' party, and I was inspired to try out another one of my many pins.

This time...origami paper houses like these fabulous creations, originally seen on How About Orange.

{source: via Pinterest}

Jessica directs you to this site for the pattern to make these little houses. I was able to figure out the basics, but since the directions were a bit vague, I made a practice house from plain computer paper. For this house, I started with the same size of paper for both the top and bottom of the house. I didn't love how the two pieces fit together, so I decided to make the top piece slightly larger for my future houses.

Maren loved playing with the finished products, and she didn't mind a bit that the top and bottom didn't nest well together.

I love messy little kid hands!

For my 'designer' houses, I used scrapbook paper in different patterns. It is very important to use thin paper...no card stock for this project! I started by cutting my bottom squares to 7.5 in. square, and my top pieces to 8 in. square. These dimensions will make a finished house with a 2.5 in. square base.

Since the directions for both pieces tell you to fold the paper in thirds, I drew quick pencil marks on the backs of the paper.

The directions for the top and bottom are pretty self explanatory. Here's one of my little house bottoms...

A cute little village of paper houses...



I love that the tops and bottoms are interchangeable. I suppose you could always add some glue if you wanted to make things a bit more secure. I'm hoping to have Brett hang a shelf in my powder bath where I will make a little house display.

Have you ever tried your hand at origami? I found it to be a nice simple craft with a fun outcome. To see what other's are 'pin-doing', be sure to visit The Modern Marigold!

pin-did week 1: a tiny bird's nest and chocolate-banana-fail

I had so much fun picking out a couple of my Pinterest projects to try this week. I had one great success and one near-fail.

I loved these sweet bird's nests from the first time I saw them...

{source: via Pinterest}

...so, one evening last week I pulled out my boxes of small treasures and set to work on making my own little nests.

The wire I had on hand wasn't quite what Sarah originally recommended, so I have one chunky nest and one very petite nest. I used wire to make loops for the chain instead of using jump rings. I love how sweet and whimsical these little nests turned out. This project went together very quickly, and I think these would make lovely gifts for friends. If I get motivated enough I might make them for our youth group girls this Christmas.

My second attempt at a Pinterest recreation was not so impressive. Doesn't this look great?

{source: via Pinterest}

The instructions were simple enough: Freeze a banana, then combine with 2 tbsp cocoa powder and blend until smooth and creamy. I did exactly as instructed, with less-than-favorable results...{sorry for the disgusting photo...just keeping it real!}
I have to admit, this did taste quite delicious. I found it to be a little too cocoa-y, so I'll probably just use 1 T. of cocoa next time. I tried to use my Magic Bullet, and things didn't blend up well at all. I might attempt this again in my real blender. The problem is, with just one banana, there really isn't much substance to blend up. My sweet {nursing} boy has an aversion to dairy, so I had high hopes of this concoction being a satisfactory substitution for ice-cream. While it was yummy, it just wasn't quite as appetizing-looking as that picture I pinned.

So, there you have it! I actually get to check off 2 things from my ever-growing lists of Pinterest projects to try.

Pin-Did!

I love Pinterest. It's like having the most amazing craft, decorating, diy, style, and food magazine ever...all on your computer. And it's never-ending. Seriously, so much fun. If you're not familiar with Pinterest, it basically acts as a virtual bulletin board where you can 'pin' just about anything you'd like...decorating ideas, diy project ideas, style inspiration, funny sayings, recipes, etc.

Naturally, you can understand my excitement when I read about Amanda's little Pinterest Challenge. I admit to having a multitude of projects I'd love to try, but have not yet found the time to get around to them. Amanda's challenge is to actually attempt something you've 'pinned'. It could be a recipe, a craft, a decorating project, anything! I'm thrilled to have found some motivation to actually execute one of the many ideas I've collected over the past several months.

If you've been bitten by the Pinterest bug, join Amanda {and me!} in checking some of those projects off your 'to do' list. I'll be sharing my project next Tuesday!

September Inspiration

{all images via Pinterest}