Spring Soaps

In the spirit of keeping busy and findnig fun things Fender and I can do together, I found these cute soap ideas over here and thought we could get a head start on decorating for Easter.  They are very simple to make and Fender had a lot of fun helping out!

I grated two different colored bars of soap into two separate bowls.  He really wanted to help, but I saw severed fingers in my mind! 

Then I let Fender add a little water (about a Tablespoon per bar) and mix it up with his hands. 

Good clean fun!  It should stick together like this:

The bunny was easiest, we just filled the cookie cutter with the shavings and pressed down until it had an even consistancy across the entire mold.

The striped egg was done the same way but in three parts. I even did a layered butterfly and a ball that basically used up the remainder of what we had left over.  Fender likes using the ball the best in the bath!  They needed to dry for a day in the mold and then they just slid right out!

Valentine's Cookies

I saw these cookies in the background of a photo shoot in my Parents magazine this month and thought it might be fun for Fender and I to try and make them!  And what a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day with some tasty cookies!  The cookies just slip onto your glass of milk of cup of coffee and just look so darned cute being there!

Before we baked the cookies, I just cut out a small triangle from the base of the heart making sure that while hanging from the cup it would still have a point.  You may have to adjust this slice based on the type of cup or glass you are going to use.

But then Fender insisted on frosting and sprinkles and I could resist!  PS ~ I tried out a new sugar cookie recipe and learned a lesson.  If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!  Grandma Miller's cut-out cookie recipe continues to reign supreme in our house.

New Crayons

mC and I did this project when she was little, so I thought Fender and I could have some fun making new crayons out of old.  You just take old broken crayons and put them in an "oven safe" silicone mold.  Notice how I used the words "oven safe" it may be from experience and let me tell you, there is nothing fun about cleaning crayon off the bottom of your stove!


Make sure to put a lot of crayons in each mold.  Too few crayons will yield in thinner shapes that tend to break when you pull them out of the mold.

Silver turns out really well and was Fender's favorite!

Then melt them at 300 degrees in the oven until they are smooth, take them out and let them cool.  Then as you color, the swirls change and make rainbows on the page!

A Splash of Love

We've been rocking the "Winter White" color all over the house since Christmas.  I felt it was time to add a splash of Valentine's Day love up in here!  And since our tree in the front of our house is covered in pussy willows, I decided to bring in some branches and create a tree of love!

I propped them inside a vase and then filled the inside of an old suitcase with lights, red books and my favorite find a quirky mason jar I found for 20 cents!  It's circular at the top and then graduates down to a smaller oval at the bottom and has a rusty heart twined around the mouth. 

Then Fender and I did a scavenger hunt for anything red to fit the occasion.  We found a felted bird that I had made years ago with little red feather wings...

A paper heart that Fender and I made last Valentine's day out of paper towels, food coloring and glue...

A coat hanger heart covered in yarn, glittered pears and other remnants of Valentine's past...

I think it turned out pretty cute and might become a tradition to "decorate the tree" each year!

All Too Brief

As I try to acclimate back into the "real world" where I am unprotected, and function as I used to, I wanted to say a few words about my mom. 

Part of me wanted to abandon this blog, since some times the grief is too great to create, but another part of me remembered back to one of the many reasons I chose to begin this - an easy way for my mom to see what Fender and I were up to.  She could no longer function on the computer - too frail for Facebook, but my dad could simply bring this up and she could see us creating, laughing, and being much the pair that her and I were when I was a kid. 

The hardest part about the loss of my mom is when Fender has his moments of clarity and understanding that there is no "Nana" at "Nana Papa's house" as he calls it.  When he gets upset that Nana is in heaven and not able to play cars with him anymore.  When I comfort him I make sure to try to listen to myself and the wisdom that Nana will live forever in our hearts, memories, and pictures.

My mom was one of the sweetest, most kind people that ever graced this earth. She made friends wherever she went. She found pleasure in the most simple, beautiful things in life - going to the maternity ward of a hospital to look at the babies, watching my countless dance performances or making Fender laugh which was her new favorite sound.

I was listening to a song the other day and one line struck a chord with me about my mom. “It’s a cruel and beautiful world.” It’s cruel because we have all lost a friend, and there is a hole in our family that forever will not be physically filled by our loss in her. But it’s beautiful because we’ve been blessed to even have had the chance for her to grace our presence. She was so positive, loving, and generous – we have all been changed for the better because of our time with her even if it was all too brief.