JCasa *handmade

winter + white

ever since i saw this, i haven't been able to get pompoms off my mind.  enter a mama + two littles who love to craft and you can guess what we were doing this past weekend.

since we have a dark front door, i wanted it white - and every kind of white, from snow to sparkly to creamy - and white it is.  and looking especially lovely, if i do say so myself. although the tutorial is fabulous - as is her blog, oh my - we just kind of winged it using a wire wreath form + about 6 balls of misc. acrylic blend white yarns (including one of the vanna sparkly stuff - say no more). it was a bit time consuming, but so worth it - about 3 days each with several hours snipping time to give you a ballpark. i think i even have an official pompom callous.

best of all, it was SO much fun for my girlys + me.  and all winter long, as they see our front door, they'll know we made it : together.  - xoxo

happy thanks

snapshots taken throughout this most lovely day, from some early morning alone time through all the makings and happy good things, and ending with yet a few more quiet moments alone.

from me to you + from our home to yours, sending warm wishes for a most happy day of thanks.  life is good.  celebrate.  where ever + when ever + how ever you feel like it.  enjoy it.  xoxo

packing

twice a month, the girls participate in an extended day at preK which includes the very important lunch with friends.  they are always excited about having extra time at school, and are particularly fond of the additional crafting time.  wonder where they get that...

almost every day, we talk about how food fuels our bodies and how we can make sure to eat a variety of foods throughout the day that will provide us with energy and nutrition our bodies need to work and grow.  and by involving them in packing their lunches, i am hoping they each develop a sense of smart choices they can make for themselves.

we've been using these stainless bentos which i really like for many reasons - they are small, have two levels and are rectangular in shape, meaning that lunch assembly becomes a game of tetris.  hello, backhanded lesson in spatial relations + nutrition!  and the best part is that they fit perfectly alongside a milk + chill pack inside the insulated lunchboxes the girls' aunt gave them last year.

granted, they are kids and they are going to want to eat the yummy stuff.  who doesn't?  today they apparently devoured cupcakes as their snack at school (a friend's birthday), but typically it's crackers or fruit or something not too sugary.  and viva la cupcake, i say!  just try and balance out the rest of the day accordingly - this is what i'm hoping to teach.  and maybe continue to learn for myself, as well.  xoxo

a giveaway to dye for!

i am fairly certain that i was first introduced to the amazing Malka via her Flickrstream a year or so back.  seriously, how could you not be drawn in by the graphic designs and saturated colors of her fabrics - and then to see all that she creates using her original fabrics is beyond inspiring.  last winter while she was in town to film several segments for Quilting Arts TV, i was lucky enough to spend an evening with her talking fiber and fabric and quilting and kids and swimming and blogging and cameras and all that fun stuff over a seriously yummy dinner.  she told me all about her book, the writing process, the photography, and how much she learned throughout the journey - and now it's here, Color Your Cloth!

looking through the pages of Malka's book is a dream - i have never dyed fabric, yet she has me both inspired and excited about diving right in.  seriously swoonworthy.

i mean really, just the image of those brushes makes my heart pitter patter.  her instructions throughout the book are clearly written and so completely approachable.  add to that she complements all the dyeing lessons with a series of projects designed to encourage your own creativity - let's just say it's a home run of a book.

i have worked with Malka's fabrics before and can say they are so completely rich in tone and texture, and more deeply saturated than words can describe - you just need to see and feel for yourself.  at first i ordered a small bundle from her shop which i simply played with day after day, seeing new hues and lines appear right before my eyes every time.  and then i ordered some yardage of her gingko fabric last spring and kept it in full view for months awaiting just the right project, eventually using it to create the field day skirt [shown left].

so when Malka approached me about a month ago about having a look at her book and playing with her fabrics once again, you can bet i jumped at the chance!  the most recent issue of Stitch magazine featured a design of hers for a cloth baby book, and i took my inspiration from there as well as from her fabrics themselves to create a fun little project to share with you - soft counting cubes!

simply click to follow the free tutorial!

and it gets better -
i did say this is a giveaway to dye for, after all...

i am thrilled to offer THREE of my lovely blog readers some very special goodies.  winners will be chosen at random - prizes include one copy of Malka's book, Color Your Cloth, as well as two 12-piece bundles of her fabrics (which just so happens to be exactly what you need to make the soft counting cubes).  and everybody of course can follow my free tutorial as well, so i think it's your lucky day.

TO ENTER : leave a comment on this post (just one per person, please). comments will closed and the three lucky winners announced around 9am EST on Thursday, 12-November.

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED - CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!

** a copy of Malka's book goes to : ALISON!

alison said...

It's been a long while since I've dyed my own fabric. This book looks so vibrant and inspiring...a must have, definitely. Can't wait to dig in to it and your tutorial! Thanks for sharing the love!

Reply 10 November 2009 at 10:48 AM

 

** 12 of Malka's hand-dyed fabric squares go to : MELANIE!

Melanie said...

Those blocks are adorable! I'll definitely be trying them out.

Reply 10 November 2009 at 12:05 PM

** 12 of Malka's hand-dyed fabric squares go to : BRYNNE!

Brynne said...

I already have the counting book on my list, but no bright fabrics. Those colors are so sweet!

Reply 10 November 2009 at 03:30 PM

thanks to everyone for participating - what a fun giveaway!  and a special thank you to Malka for this opportunity, continued inspiration and kindness.  xoxo

a few good things

her sense of style

her sense of humor

their bond

daddy's influence on proper supergirl flying moves

other good (and great) things ::
all the neighborly love these past few weeks, my space being featured on modish, and my work featured on sewmamasew twice in the past week, and a few new + very exciting opportunities (and that's all i'll say about that).

also loving this scarf, all things tortillagirl, la fuji mama's nutella cookies, stefanie japel making t-shirt yarn, lucy and her gorgeous new design, gretelie's oh so pretty wool wristwarmers, wisecraft's brilliant removable quilt design wall, and halloween candy.  oh yes, let's share a piece with mama, please.

what's making you happy on this gorgeous first day of november?  xoxo

i love you, Fall.

crisp air.  endless skies.  blazing hues.  pumpkin goop.  hay-filled playgrounds.  corn mazes.  apple everything.  horse-drawn wagons.

togetherness.  xoxo

happiness is...

xoxo

beyond coffeecake

it started as one of those saturdays wanting to make a special breakfast to celebrate all of us being in the same place at the same time.  i knew i was on the right track as i overheard the girls whispering something about "mama's famous pancakes."  but alas, there was not a drop of syrup in the house.
what to do what to do...

as soon as i came upon the recipe card, i knew this would be well-received - the smell of the cinnamon wafting through the house is something we can all relate to, and this "breakfast cake" (as the kiddos called it) delivered on its cinnamony promise, bringing a smile to everyone's face.  i am not sure why it has taken me an entire lifetime to bake my mom's coffeecake - i remember it well from my childhood, although chances are i was finicky about it back then.   that is not the case anymore, i can assure you of that.  best part about this recipe - chances are you have the ingredients on hand.
so what are you waiting for?

irish cinnamon coffeecake (recipe from my mom)

cream the wet ingredients:

• 1/2 stick of unsalted butter*
• 1 cup sugar or 1/2 cup splenda for baking
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup non-fat greek yogurt (my mom uses sour cream)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture

• 1 + 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt

then combine 3 Tbsp. cinnamon with 1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup splenda for baking - set aside.  pour half of the batter into your greased pan and sprinkle half the cinnamon/sugar mix over it.  pour on the remaining batter and knife the batter a bit in the pan as you would when making a marble cake.  (mmm, marble cake sounds good too, doesn't it... oh sorry, got distracted.)  sprinkle the remaining cinnamon/sugar mix on top and bake for 45 minutes on 350, during which time everyone will be lured by the dreamy aroma into the kitchen and proceed to nag you about when it will be done.  once it cools a speck, let everybody dive in and watch it disappear.

i might make a few more subtle changes next time - add ground flax seed and bake them as muffins to serve as some form of portion control (ahem).  not for me, oh no - i only got one piece.  but those other three people around here ATE ALL OF IT - in two days.  one moment it was there, the next moment... poof!  maybe i'll do muffins next time and double the recipe to see how they freeze - all in the name of research, of course.  xoxo

*the recipe card says 1/4# which i misread as 1/4 cup, and although i have absolutely nothing against butter - believe me - it was super moist and i honestly didn't miss the extra butter.  i do think substituting greek yogurt for the sour cream helped, as well.

found

what are those blobs running toward the house?

while looking through the closet for something cozy yesterday afternoon, i came upon two rather large sweaters i knit a while back.  as in i cannot remember exactly when, but i am guessing over 15 years ago when my 20-something self embraced the whole oversized sweater + leggings thing.  now, not so much - it's a cute look, but i now recognize that on me, those sweaters have me looking more like the woman who hid a dozen children under her petticoat.

i am beyond pleased that both sweaters are in excellent condition and am thrilled to have found them.  more than likely, i had tucked them away to pass down to my own children someday far off in the future.  but i rather think they would do more good by passing them on right now to keep someone else warm this winter - and so, into the bag they go for Easter Seals pickup next week, along with the results of our toy purge this afternoon.  i quite like the idea of tucking these gems in there and a happy thrifter may come upon them and gasp.  

as for my kiddos, i am thrilled to have been witness to them scampering around the backyard in these sweaters - so very happy to have this memory in my mind's eye as well as photos for posterity.  there is plenty of mamamade knitting (and sewing) being done for them right now, and i highly doubt they'll hold this one against me in a few decades.  if mama raises them right, not only will they understand the concept of sharing good things, but they will also gasp when they come upon hidden thrifting treasures as well.  xoxo

an everyday

the girls' orchard field trip was cancelled today, so i took them on a treasure hunt (a.k.a. thrifting + antiquing) as a consolation prize.  we enjoyed lunching on honeycrisp apples and sandwiches with "waves" of nutella, took snapshots of the prismatic countryside out the sunroof, found treasures in the form of a keepsake box and an antique meatball-maker(picture a scissors with scoops at the end of each tip), and mama joined in on the singing of "i gotta feeling" after hearing it on the radio for the bazillionth time.

and then sweet serendipity had us arriving home just in time to be inspired and uplifted by the beautiful stephanie on oprah.  thank you, nie nie.  you - and your family and your story and the ripple you create with the words you say and write and live - are magical.

some days admittedly are better than others, for everyone i imagine.  for us, today was exceptional in its simplicity and pure pleasure of enjoying one another.  having the opportunity to spend my days with my children is a gift i shall breathe in and savor until i must breathe it out in the hopes of being able to take yet another breath.  thank you for this day, and for the reminder of everyday joys. xoxo