Back on the Blog!

Happy 4th of July weekend!!

My internet has been down (up and down - very sporadic) for all this time since camp hideaway! Needless to say, I've been very frustrated by the whole inconvenience. Now, I'm a bit deflated about all my fun projects, but I'll catch up anyway {for the two -or -so people who read my blog - love ya both :)}.

Camp Hideaway was fun, fun, fun.

A different year - a transition year for my girls who are now becoming teenagers. The whole schedule was more laid back, with later nights and mornings, so we didn't do as many projects as I had planned for. It was just fine - I wanted to go with the flow (nice Mom, not Nazi Mom!). The little gnomes were our camp mascots. We set them around all over the place - hopefully they brought us good luck!

These are the camp kits for this year. It's a place mat that I made into a folded packet to be used for cards, journal, pens, anything. I called it the gratitude pack. I gave the girls a notebook for a gratitude journal, and a variety of note cards. We wrote thank you notes to parents and family, and I mailed them from Camp Hideaway. The girls got to choose fun pens and pencils to put in their packet, and we made little name tag charms to put on the front of them. We also made a neat music mix CD for each girl with songs about being happy and lucky and friends...

I bought scrubs (bottoms only) at the thrift for each girl and they wrote all over them.

Scrubs are so comfy!

Kitchen Duty - Emmalyn (on the left) and friends

Kitchen Duty - Colette (on the right) and friends

A few of our "wish" boxes. Every girl made a really cute box with a stamped message inside.

And these are some of the girl's "lucky catch" bracelets.

This year our dinner parties were all holiday themed. First, it was St. Patty's day (potato soup and corned beef sandwiches) hosted by the "grown-ups". Here they're getting ready for the 4th of July dinner party. Colette's group hosted - they decorated and prepared an all-American salad bar dinner. Emmalyn's group - wearing the Santa hats - hosted the Christmas dinner party. Honey baked ham, potato casserole and more yummies were on the menu.

After dinner we had our gift exchange. Each girl brought a small favor for all the other girls. It really was like Christmas! We had a small (cheap) tree that my little boys and Grandma were in charge of decorating. It was really fun for them to make ornaments and decorate the tree. Yes, those are Easter Peeps bunnies that you see adorning the tree. Creativity abounds! :)

I made a stocking for each girl out of thrifted jeans. I really liked them, and plan to develop that idea a little more for the holiday season! Fun...

Even really little guys can make wonderful art! Paint and glitter...arrg! Where is his smock?! This is the project that we didn't have time to make. An embellished photo hanger.

A project for a future class or party I suppose - I've got all the stuff!!

Here are all of the beautiful Camp Hideaway girls. They were all so great! It's a real joy for me to have this fun with my girls. I'm a lucky Mom.

Wow. I can't believe I don't have a picture of Chelsea, my niece who came along to help me out!!

She is the unseen hero behind the scenes for this year. I loved having Chelsea along. She is an amazing lady, and I loved getting to know her better! Thanks, Chelsea.. I heart U...

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Now, for a quick current update, we just got back from a great weekend at our cabin. The little town of Heber, AZ puts on an amazing fireworks show that we got to see, and feel, right above our heads. The explosions echoed off the canyon walls and the ashes fell in our eyes. It was awesome! Big thanks to my sweet niece, Molly, for showing us how to get the good seats. :)

I really hope to be back to normal on the internet. I do enjoy blogging!

Thanks for stopping by... after all this time...

Blarney Spoken Here

I finally did my research and found out just what the blarney stone is all about.

We have some blarney stones all ready to "kiss" - hopefully they'll promote lots of sweet
and complimentary banter among the girls at Camp Hideaway!

I think I'll keep one handy to work magic on kids' summer quarrels. You know - they're with each other so much more in the summer, and they get on each other's nerves after awhile...

"Go kiss the stone - only blarney spoken here!"

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Lucky Catch

"Darling, that bracelet! It really makes your entire look. You must have people clamoring to snatch that right off your wrist! It's fabulous! " (a little blarney...)

Here's the charm bracelet project we'll be making. Brass fishing swivels - is that what they're called? I never remember. :) I do know that I use a size 7 for this bracelet.

The first time I made these was years ago for a family beach trip project. They were a little different - we made anklets then with seed beads and one tiny jingle bell instead of all the bead charms. These fun bracelets turn out great every time, and they're perfect for every skill level. I think we'll make some little dangle earrings also...more about the crafts when we're home!

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My cabin prep. trip was mostly productive. I ended up taking projects to finish, not finishing them, and hauling the stuff back home! However, my two worker bees really put in their time and we got the cabin in fine shape - as ready as we need to be for Hideaway. Yipee!

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Speaking of worker bees, I've got lots of ideas and tips for the Queen Bee (a.k.a. Mother or Grandmother) of the home. I've been interested in home keeping (not beekeeping - I'm allergic) and parenting - and the combination of the two - for many years. I love it! So here's the latest little reward idea sitting on our kitchen counter.

Queen Bee Tip #1 - Make your candy (or cookie) jar treats count for something.

A sweet reminder or reward for sweet behavior.

Camp Hideaway fun begins tomorrow!

We're very excited...

More on the blog at the end of the week...

"May the sun smile warmly down on you, may horny toads cross your path, and may the evening clouds part so you can see the majesty of the stars."

-Camp Hideaway Irish (ish) Blessing

Loading Up

Just a peek ...we're making some fun projects at Camp Hideaway this year. I love this picture because it's a bit of history. This is the Mesa High Girls Band in about 1926, and that's my Grandmother sporting the tuba!

Dashing off to the cabin to prepare for our big fun. More on Sunday...

Summer Classes

This summer I'll be teaching some really fun classes! Here's the line-up of the projects that I'll be sharing .
First, at Mystic Paper (the blog) - my favorite paper crafting store ever - really, it is such a neat store!! I'll be teaching four classes and introducing a fun ongoing theme that I hope to continue for a long time. Don't we love books? And Art? So this is "The Literary Artification Society", a book club with a creative twist. Read a book, then make a project inspired by it. I had a lot of fun creating these projects - I hope folks will want to join in. These summer classes are actually for pre-teen girls (and older - moms and sisters maybe?), so the books are youth books. For more info, go ahead and look in at Mystic's blog. There's a recent post all about it!

First class - reading accessories

Second class - Mermaid collage tote bag (The Tail of Emily Windsnap)

Third class - Princess looking glass (Princess Academy)

The fourth class - Secret Letter box and note packet (Twilight)

(I forgot to snap a picture of my project before I took it to the store,

so I have to use theirs!)

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The other place that I'm teaching is called Blissful Living Studios (the blog). I'll be teaching things other than paper crafting there - sewing in all it's varieties, making jewelry, and many other creative living ideas.

These projects focus on re-purposing and recreating! I love to find a great deal at the junque shoppe and make it useful, clever, and elegant. :)

I have quite a bit going on with Blissful Living Studios and their store, Domestic Bliss. It's an absolutely gorgeous place, and I love it also. My exciting endeavor with them is really progressing...more later on that!

June class - Scrap Shirts

Letters from abandoned tee shirts find a new home...

July class - Button Bracelets

Vintage and modern buttons bridge the generation gap...

August class - Creative Living for the Queen Bee

How's it going in your Hive?- Making Housework Fun
These dress shirts used to go to the office - now they're helping you with your housework...

Summer Fun!

Take some classes...learn, share, enjoy!