We LOVE Whole Foods and think their produce wall is so pretty.  So pretty in fact, that we needed to take a picture of it.  We then took it a step further by taking a picture in front of it.  Oh my goodness... who does this???, haha.  Secretly, I think we would love to be organic gardeners/farmers.  About two years ago, I actually got to work on a farm!!!  It's was only for three days I think, but I loved those days!!!  My friend had a CSA farm and she would grow produce and deliver them to her subscribers.  She has moved on to bigger and better things, but hopefully one day we will be able to farm again in Maryland.  In the meantime you can read all about her farming adventure, as well as get some delicious recipes here!  Below is a picture of our humble radishes that we just pulled a few days ago.  

Warning!

This is what happens when you spray shellac boxes and lids without putting something under the items first.  I giggle every day when I walk up the porch.  And then I giggle again when I get to the door because there is another spot like this, but that one has ovals where we sprayed rocks (of course... everyone paints and sprays rocks right???).  Visually, it's good when things are grouped in odd numbers, so I'll do this one more time and from then on I'll take the proper precautions to protect the concrete for any future spraying of shellac.      

Scarves Round 3

Wait a minute... these are BEANIES, not scarves!?!  That's right!  After many years of avoiding beanies because you have count and concentrate, I finally made one!  Not the fancy cute ones (my aunt made those), but the charming and imperfect black one.  As you may know, we are making lots of scarves for people, but one of them wanted a beanine.... ahhhhh!  It was about time I learned how to make one though and thankfully my aunt let me come over for hours and hours and taught me how to make this... masterpiece?  I usually keep the first I make of anything, but I gave this one away.  Lately, I'm really just enjoying making a piece and then passing it along to someone who appreciates it.            

Scarves Round 2

Here's a few more!  Green is a very popular color and thankfully it's my favorite color, so I don't mind looking at it for the minutes... and hours... and days that it takes me to make one of these! :)  We have duplicate colors just so you know.  We're not putting the same pictures twice.  I really made all of these!  We finally got a little creative with our packaging too, instead of just wadding them up.  More to come...

Scarves!!!

We are making a lot of scarves for a lot of great people! Here are some of the finished ones. We will keep updating this as we finish more. For some reason I always end up making scarves right before summer. :)

Easter Idea!

Oh my goodness... this is a first I think! We finally posted a holdiay craft before the actually holiday! Wooohooo! Here is a super fun and fast Easter DIY. All you do is draw two ovals and cut them out. Zig zag cut one of the ovals and you have the "pouch" part of your egg holder. Set the zig zag cut piece on top of the the oval and then add some confetti or gLiTtEr. Laminate your project and then score across the zig zag to open the pocket. Fill with fun treats and enjoy! Can't wait to pass these guys out to some very special people who we are lucky enough to spend Easter with!

Mail!

Today I found the sweetest package in the mail from my dear friends Linna and Jenny. We haven't seen each other in years, but that doesn't matter because we are so good about picking up right where we left off when we talk. I wish we we were closer, but in the meantime we send fun things like this through the mail. I was seriously cracking up from the minute I saw the meat card. The best part is that it says Happy Birthday on the back!!! My birthday isn't until December 31st. I'm for sure going to write back and send them some goodies. And, I might just send Birthday cards too! ;)

I miss...

ceramics and all of my CSUB art friends.

Sigh...

Fight Nights!

Here is your analogy for today:

Sweetened condensed milk IS TO my favorite ingredient to cook with right now AS dulce de leche IS TO my favorite treat to eat right now.

I was in lala land for awhile there when it came to dulce de leche. I had heard of it before, but never really understood it until... I was getting ready for UFC 144. Of course we were rooting for Ben "Smooth" Henderson and this fight night called for something special. Since the fights were in Japan I googled Japanese candy/desserts, but didn't find anything I thought I could make. I decided to go with something Brazilian, since I was going to watch the fights with friends from Bakersfield Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I then came across the super fun Dulce Delight and her youtube channel. She introduced me to sweetened condensed milk and it changed my life. For about a month all I wanted to do was make Brigadeiros for people.

So, even though I haven't mastered a Japanese dessert yet... there was still a happy ending. I learned all about dulce de leche, Benson won, and I didn't screw up any pots or plates making this candy!!! win, Win, WIN situation!

But... the most "winning" part of all this is that we actually got to meet Ben Henderson!!! He is such a great person and definitely deserves all the success that has been coming his way.

Liebster Award!

About a month ago we were given the Libster Blog Award by our dear friend Andi over at Crazy Daze Designs! I grew up with Andi in the same church and we still go there today! Our church is actually a pretty crafty place and I love it because there are so many creative, talented, caring, loving people. I'm very lucky to have been brought up in such a warm and supportive environment. Anyway, we have been pretty busy with life and have neglected this blog for far too long, so it's time to play a little catch-up and we'll start with this award. Thank you, thank you Andi for the mention and for being so patient with us.

So... what the Liebster Award anyway?

Liebster is German and means 'dearest' or 'beloved', but it can also mean 'favorite'.

The idea behind the Liebster Award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers.

If you are selected, you need to:

Choose FIVE up and coming blogs to award the Liebster to (they must have less than 200 followers)

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
2. Post the award on your blog.
3. List the bloggers you are giving this award to with links to their sites.
4. Best of all, have fun and share the love!

#4 is our favorite because we love to share the love, so here we go:

1. Stitched with Good Intentions or Living the Creative Teen Life

If you read our blog you will already know about Kayla. She is amazing and I can't say enough good things about her. I discovered her in a magazine and we now send each other mail (ribbons, stuffed hippos, scrapbooks, stitched cards, Etsy finds... that kind of mail). I'm sure she has way more than 200 followers, but it doesn't show, so we're going to share her with all of you.

2. Parcel Posts and Other Notes

Kayla again. Love the quotes she posts and keeping up with all the exciting things in her life.

3. Carla's Studios

My aunt's blog!!! When we visit her we are usually playing with fire (glass beads), flinging paint (watercolor), or throwing pots (pottery). :)

4. Donate Life

We're breaking the rules a little with this one because they have 207 followers, but it's too important not to share. We are believes in organ donation!

5. Frazzled Five (mom + dad too)

She works, goes to school, has 5 kids, blogs, and has time to read! I can't wait to try some of her fun projects she has like this Rustic Photo Stand. We love earthy, organic projects like this.

And there you have it... our Liebster Blog Award picks. Go check them out and love them as much as we do! Thanks again to Andi and thanks for inspiring everyone to get crafty and DIYing with your blog.

Here is some of Kayla's work that I got from her Etsy a few years ago... love, Love, LOVE it!

School Craft: Valentine's Day

Or as some of my student's say... ValentiMe's Day. :) I love celebrating holidays with my students because they are the ones that make these special occasions so much fun. Each year I pass out handmade Valentines to everyone and this time my mom found the cutest tutorial for origami hearts over at Mollie Makes. Have you heard of Mollie Makes??? It's fairly new, but it's already becoming one of my favorite places for crafty ideas. They have the sweetest projects and these hearts are definitely one of them. I could not stop making these, so I didn't... until I had enough for everyone in my class (and then some).