TAWS New Release Blog Hop - March 2015 - "Little Fella"

Hi TAWS friends!!

So glad you're here today hopping with us!!  Today you should have arrived from Marina's blog.  If you are here not by way of her blog c'mon back and start with us here so that you get to see all of the awesome blog hop goodness AND have chances to win all 3 new released sets!!

Oh and this set, Buff, is free this month with a $40 or more stamp purchase!  I promise you, it's ADORABLE!!

I've water colored Buff with my Sakura Koi watercolors.  I then cut the image out using large Spellbinder circles.  I used an eclectic mix of papers from my stashes, mostly from past Studio Calico kits, and pulled it all together using an MFT sketch.  They have the best sketches IMO.  Once I had everything where I wanted it, I did a bit of stitching and embellishing.  I used a feather and arrow die from SC and hand trimmed the flags that hold my sentiment.  The sentiment is from the new about to be released set Yappy.  (awesome and unique sentiments to come!)  I used Unicorn White pigment ink and white embossing powder and heat set my sentiment on aqua vellum.  I added lots of sequins for texture.

Thanks so much for coming by today!!  See you next time!!  Now, off you go to N@Ali's blog to see what she has in store for you!

Crafty Hugs!
Meredith

TAWS New Release Peek Day #3 - Never Stop Dreaming

Greetings Friends!!  So glad you're here today checking out Day 3 of the Sneak Peeks for this month's The Alley Way Stamps release!  This month is so totally adorable.  I'm loving this new tee pee image from the upcoming set Wigwam.

For those of you who know me IRL you know that last Christmas my husband and I made a teepee for our children.  It's full of funky patterns and colors and strung through and through with Christmas lights year round.  Our kids use it for reading, quiet time, or other somewhat solo or quiet activities.  It's heaven.

I used my new Gansai Tambi watercolors (talk about swoon!) that my darling husband got me for Valentine's Day to paint the wigwam and it's background.  I used the plethora of fun little Native American themed mini stamps that come with the set to create custom paper that I've used in the far back layer of this card.

I used papers from past Studio Calico kits and a few puffy, sparkly star stickers as my embellishments.  I added stitching to my circles, and both layers for added texture.

I so hope you get to check out everyone's peeks today and don't forget to swing by the TAWS blog to join in on the new release fun with a giveaway!!

Crafty Hugs!
Meredith

Slogging Through The Mire...

I'm trying SO hard to push through the winter doldrums - as everyone else is but man is it hard!!  I always forget this time of year how sluggish we all feel and how quickly we are to become cranky!  I'm doing lots of breath work, yoga, lots of push-ups randomly throughout the day, and doing my best to do something creative every day.  Those are the things that get me through mentally.  By the same token, I'm also realizing how much I LOVE having my children with me all.the.time.  It may seem insane to some but I feel like it's so much so the right fit for everyone.  I couldn't imagine being without them all the time now.

In terms of schooling, we're still in Ancient Greece.  I've relinquished myself to letting our unit studies go longer than a one week time span.  At the beginning of the school year I had it in my head that each unit should take exactly one week giving us lots of topics and lots of weeks of many, many units.  As it turns out, some units/time periods/topics warrant more time and I was resistant to it at the beginning but now I'm letting our units evolve into what they need to be.  Which is freeing in some ways.  I definitely get anxious as time goes on and we're not nearly as far into history as I thought we would be but I'm learning to let go and know that we'll get there when we get there.  

In other news we had a recent trip to Maine which was wonderful and the children have been taking a new science class with homeschool friends.  Last week the children had an introduction to chemistry learning the differences between compounds and mixtures.  This week they studied physics by way of paper airplanes.  They had a GREAT time.  I love the teacher and the other children in the class.  It's in a large space which allows room for Ari to run freely and tire himself out so that he can go down for nap when we get home which allows us to continue our lessons.  K & T also had a great time at STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) Club this week at our library.  They practiced doing egg drop experiments trying to figure out how and how high they could drop an egg without breaking it.  They used different materials bubble paper, foam, cloth, wood shavings, paper, cardboard and other materials to wrap the eggs in before dropping them into a baby pool (to contain the mess) to see what protected the egg and what did not.  They had a great time and I love that they offer such wonderful programs to help add to my children's education. 

fun in Maine!

she's a TERRIBLE traveler and insists on sitting on my or Kendall's lap...it gets old after 3 hours!!

snow shoeing!! 

so.much.snow!

keeping warm inside!!! 

hahahahaha...it's insane...

warming up in the hot tub after playing outside!

who doesn't love a good game of Twister!

Maine sunset

playtime!!

mmmmmmmm...Krista's hot chocolate!

cuties!

more sunsets!

always beautiful...

frozen riverview

gorgeous sky!

the trip home - she needs some anti-anxiety meds to travel!!!  

this is Katie after she gets home - she snuggles down and sleeps for days!

the children find it hysterical (fits of giggles) that the Ancient Greeks performed the Olympic events in the nude...lol....

This is days post Maine - she's still snuggled down.  She's completely commandeered this blanket that I made for Ian for Valentine's Day!

hammer hammer hammer!

love this series...

obsessed with this book!

working on spelling and handwriting at the same time!

reading about Ancient Greek fashions...

creating for Grandpa Cooper's birthday

physics class

Thank you random stranger for paying for my coffee this morning!!  I did the same for the person behind me in line!  #payitforward #kindnessofstrangers

Ari's view of Kendall getting her teeth cleaned!

he did a PHENOMENAL job at the dentist this week!!  

Until next time! 

TAWS post #15 - Love You!

Hi TAWS friends!  Can you tell I'm LOVING this month's release!?  This was for my 8 year old for Valentine's Day.  My creation today uses the ADORABLE little deer from the newly released Stumped set.  My sentiment is from the True Colors set.  I used an older sketch from MFT using a bunch of papers from a variety of Studio Calico kits that I have collected.  I embellished using some amazing wood veneer hearts, some sequins and a tiny scrap of white/gold baker's twine.

I used watercolor paint to color my image.  I have a crazy life and now that we are homeschooling our children I have very, very little time to craft - think 5-10 minutes a day if that.  So my processes regarding creating has changed a lot so now instead of spending 2-3 hours a day crafting I do my best to chip away at pieces of projects where I can.  This is one of the reasons a lot of my images are done in watercolor.  I will stamp a bunch of images in a watercolor pad and then take my watercolors and this brush with me wherever I go.  That way even if I have 5 minutes I can get something productive done!  It works for me where I'm at in my life now.

I hope you enjoy and find some time in your day to get creative!

Crafty Hugs!
Meredith

TAWS post #14 - Moosing You!

Greetings TAWS friends!  I'm here today bringing you a thank you note that I made recently for a friend.  I used the moose from the newest set "Moosing You" and I watercolored my image using my Distress Markers.

I chose a sketch from MFT (love their sketches) and picked some papers that went together to pull this eclectic grouping together.  I used some very luscious ribbon from a Studio Calico kit to create a big fluffy bow, a piece of flair (also from and SC kit), some washi tape and stitching to pull it all together.

I cut the banners in the center using my Jumbo Fishtail Flag Stax from MFT.  (they are a MUST HAVE in your crafty arsenal)

Thanks so much for popping by today!

Warmly-
Meredith

Where Does The Time Go?!??

Hi All!

A slump?  Yes, I'd say it's been a little slumpy around here lately.  Not tremendously so but enough that things like daily blogging have taken a back seat for a bit.  Besides the insane weather (so tired of talking about it! lol), school, life and whatnot, I've been heads down creating wedding shower invitations for my brother and his fiancee.  I love doing it for them (and volunteered to do so!) but it was a rather intricate invitation that took a LOT of time.  Again, I'm not complaining it's just that any "free" time I've had over the last month has been dedicated to that effort.  I'm happy to report that the invitations went out in the mail today!  YAY!

In other news, we've been very busy studying Ancient Greece.  The kids are LOVING it and we've found wonderful resources to support our studies.  The one that has sucked the kids in the most is an amazing series of lapbooks that I found.  I purchased one on teacherspayteachers.com and found another free on Pinterest.

We've been reading and reading and reading some more.  Lots of awesome books.  We've been working on fractions and multiplication.  Tyler has been practicing cursive.  Both children started a 4 week science class today with other kids.  Today's topic was on chemistry.  The kids listened and did hands on experiments learning the differences between mixtures and compounds.  So cool.

I do feel like we're all sluggish and slogging through the mire both mentally and physically but we're doing the best we can!!

#perfectforwinter, #stews

amazing storms

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library time!!

South African art history class

Kendall made this for Uncle Timmy

trying to help them grasp the enormous amount of time we're working with

starting our Ancient Greece lapbooks

I do this with him when he gets a little unruly!  

lots and LOTS of reading =)

Thank you Grandma and Popeye!!  

Heading into our homeschool Valentine's Day party

he's scrumptious if I do say so myself

I gave them a choice - iPad time or Checkers...here's what they chose (swoon)

creating with Kendall's best friend!

ty's daily drawings

scouring through our Valentine's Day party haul

awesome cards from 30 friends!

daily drawings

impromptu sleepover with Mere

rosey cheeks from snow play

valentine creating

story time over lunch

#stonesoup

we made chocolate dipped strawberries!

and watched Hercules and the Book of Life 

and had some school

and then played dressup!  (I love that they're 10 and STILL play dress up...just awesome)

this photo doesn't even do this enormous snow mountain in our local supermarket parking lot justice

hahahaha...

two words - cake.pop.

Valentine's morning breakfast - donuts, whoopie pies, sugar covered strawberries and munchkins...

little gifties!

candy, silly slime and a new snack bowl!

um...ty's birthday list - the first thing on the list is my FAVORITE!!  hahahaha - "rubber lizards with floppy chin skin"  hahahahahha....

Usborne sticker book play after a family trip to Barnes and Noble!!

Ty's learning how to make burgers

macaroni and cheese burger!!

Y.U.M.

nightly snuggles 

my Valentine's day gift from Ian - best watercolor paints ever!!  total swoon

we {heart} Eric Carle

my sweet puppy girl

from Ian for no reason - more swooning

he LOVES this book

she's SO good with Ari...he simply ADORES her

shower invites done and done!

online math

tee pee reading

group reading 

lapbook work

lapbook work

pretend play

not matching on purpose!  

This was the day when my Dad asked Tyler on the phone "what did you learn in school today?" Ty's response?  "Nothing".  Seriously?  Score one for the homeschooler!  (insert sarcastic thumbs up here)

he did manage to invent a "strawberry" car at dinner however...

#whydontwejustgetthembunkbedsandcallitaday

they LOVE being "roommates"

hahahha...sleepy chocolate face

on our way to science class today!

waiting for class to start

SO much fun!!  chemistry was today's topic - mixtures vs. compounds

can't beat having only 7 kids in class...was so totally awesome

hahaha...don't ask

working with magnets

making molecules

LOVED IT!

she totally made a new friend and was so excited

This afternoon we watched an amazing NOVA show on Petra.  The kids were COMPLETELY entranced with it.  Kendall even took it into her afternoon art and found wonderful inspiration from the concept of the Lost City.

Love - Ty's "Rainbow Tornado"

hard at work

I know she's my kid but I think it's amazing....

The Treasury in Petra made from magnets!

mmmmmmm chocolate banana swirl for snack (frozen bananas, a couple of tablespoons of milk and 2 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder) blend it up and voila...sooooooooooo good.  

Until next time!