Chip off the Old Block (?)

Noodlebug had some artwork displayed at a local Bank of America branch.

I'm not sure who was prouder....me or him.

Birthday Countdown Coloring Book

I recently saw a great idea on Etsy of a homemade Advent Calendar Coloring Book.  I love this idea.  Noodlebug is just starting to grasp the concept of time but it can be really difficult to know how long it is before certain events.

Last year, I created a paper chain where Noodlebug got to tear off one link a day until his birthday.  This year, I thought I'd try a Birthday Countdown Coloring Book. I'm not sure how it is going to work.  I'm thinking we'll start with a folder that I decorate.  Each day, I will place the new picture to color inside of the folder.  (to keep him from getting too excited and wanting to color them all at once)  Noodlebug's birthday is May 18 so I'm going to start on May 1 and go all the way through to his birthday.  At the end, I'll bind the pages together into a book. 

If I were Shelly Massey or Junelle Jacobsen, I could probably doodle something original and fantastic for each day.  But I don't have their talent.  So, I have decided to use characters from his favorite books.  I'm not much of an artist but, if I have an image to look at, I can usually freehand something reasonable.  I don't want to post 18 pictures on this one post so, starting May 1, I will post that day's picture for you to see.  I'm almost finished. I just need four more characters from well-known children's books.  Any ideas?

Revenue Streams

My friend Monique and I are toying with the idea of selling our crafty creations and the various tchotchkes we have accumulated in our lives at a local flea market. I did some recon this past weekend to find out how it all works. We have a new flea market in town at a local park and I told myself I was just going there to see how the operation worked....NOT to buy anything!

Well, you know how that goes.

I spotted this baby from across the park and made a beeline for it:

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I negotiated the lady down to $17. It felt like a lot of money but the little cart was so adorable and I thought it could also be used as a puppet theater. I need to wash the canopy and clean up a few spots but it's pretty darn cute. When I looked it up online, I saw it on Amazon for $116. Score!!!

I'm going to sign up as a vendor at the new flea market. $25 for an 18 x 18 space doesn't seem too bad. I will need to find time to dig into my workroom and start making some stuff, though!!!

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to putting Noodlebug to work this Summer selling lemonade. He's so cute I don't know how people would be able to resist him:

What I've Been Doing

Some of you heard about how I attended a Mad Hatter's Tea Party a few weeks ago. I was trying to decide on what kind of hat to wear.  All of you encouraged me to go "whimsical." 

Here I am in my patriotic pinwheel hat:

I am woefully behind on my ART OF WILD ABANDONMENT class but here are some of my sketches.  I am not an artist but it is fun to try my hand at sketching.  The first assignment was to do your family portrait as owls. I love owls but I love bluebirds even more so this is my interpretation:

Our next assignment was to sketch cupcakes.  I don't really like sketching cupcakes but I tried.  I made mine into a flower bouquet:

I need to do some sewing but I have to dig my way into my workroom again before I do anything.  Just when I think I have made progress, I find more boxes of craft items in the garage that need to be sorted and unpacked.  So, the workroom is filled with boxes again. Sigh. 

My husband is doing much better. I'm staying home with him one last day until I'm sure he can get around on his own. It will be a long haul but hopefully he'll feel much better soon.

Waiting

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I am off work today because my husband is having surgery.  He has had chronic pain in his upper back for about six months now and his right arm is always numb.  We are hoping this surgery to fuse two vertebrae will give him some relief.  I know everything will be fine but it is still nerve-wracking.  I couldn't sleep last night.   Thank goodness for the wireless internet in the waiting room or I would be climbing the walls.  It was blissfully quiet here for the last two hours but another woman just came in with me and disturbed my solitude by turning the tv on VERY LOUD. 

Thank goodness I have you all to keep me company. 

Warning: This Video May Cause Smiling

I'm feeling a bit blue this week. I'm just tired and depressed and we are preparing for my husband to have some surgery this Friday. Some days it's just hard to rally.

My husband finally downloaded all the videos from our video camera on Monday. We bought it a few months before Noodlebug was born and it was so fun to go back through all the videos and see how much he has grown. And how much our lives have changed. It was wonderful to watch the videos but it made me a bit melancholy at how quickly time passes. I sometimes wish I could shrink Noodlebug back down into his 1.5 yr old self.

Speaking of which...

I found my favorite video of Noodlebug playing with our cat Toulouse when he was about 14 months old. It is guaranteed to make you smile. Make sure you have the sound on.