finished. all done.

And yes I admit. I did not go all out on this one. Mostly because I know it's a passing phase with her. It looks cute and she loves it. She loves carrying it with her. I did write the combination to the locks on the bottom of the briefcase as she locks it alot.  Here are a couple photos...

 This the case closed and it looks pretty boring... but open it and...

Look at my stuff isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collections complete??

Kody playing with it this morning and another view of the mermaid brief/play case.

Now to get started on Jacob's. Hmmm. Still thinking about what to do for him. Maybe a Buzz LightYear theme. Or cars? I don't know. Maybe I'll call his mother and ask her.

and the suitcase play case mania continues....

pahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahahhahahahha!!

So while making the dino case for Isaac, Kody decided "hey I want one too. I want a mermaid castle." Umm. Okay. How do I make a mermaid castle.. errr.. here's what I got so far.

First, instead of a suitcase, I found this briefcase for 1.42$ STEAL. Only I had to figure out the combo on it. Simple enough.. to the GOOGLE Cave Robin!! (Ok, so it was only me. but whatever.)
I figured it out and ripped out the upper pocket and primed it with a white spray base coat, painted on a castle outline (on the lid/top piece because it was just for looks and it's shallow.) After that I added the "coral reefs" for the mermaids to sit and play on and take in a view of the awesome seashell castle.  I still a ways to go.. but here is what I got so far. Don't worry I'll post photographs when I am finished.
I know the shots will look a bit funny, but the shell castle wasn't dry yet so I had to take the photo upside down and flip it right side up for posting. Err. I hope that made sense. Anywho. You'll get the idea.

View into the briefcase. The top part is the castle made out of shells and it's just for looking at.

A closer view of the shell castle.

Here are the coral reefs for the mermaids to play in/on.

hats. tops off to hats!!

Ok, so I've been a bit crazy on the hats lately. I think I have purchased about 6 in the past 3 days. And last night I made two! But one was for Kody.  A link to the blog where I found the tute is below the photos. These really were quick and easy. The hardiest part was the roses/flowers. Those little buggers were a pain!

Here is the link.. her blog page is full of fun stuff:

http://atsecondstreet.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-hat.html

Valentine's Day on our house and at preschool..

St. Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays because it is all about love. It is not about flowers, candy or giant stuffed animals. As I dislike all of those things and they are cheap and played out. And lame. I have always told Monty do not send me flowers, candy or giant stuffed animals for Valentines Day. So he did this this year. Cute huh?

And for the kids they woke up to their St. Valentine's Day gifts, special popcorn bowls, playdough kits, coloring books and a few novelty toys.  They love it. For FHE we did a lesson on loving one another. It was great.

Kody's preschool class had their St. Valentine's Day party (she goes on T and Th) and it was great. I love the way our shirts turned out! We were super cute!! Here are some photos.

here is a shot of just the shirts, that I finished at 1122 pm last night! ugh. I so need to be better prepared!!

I hope everyone had a happy and loving St. Valentine's Day!!

And he turns.. 9.

Where did the time go, my precious little baby is no more. He is 9.  It feels like time is going by too quickly. Pretty soon he'll be asking for keys to the car, and can I have money for prom? What happened to my sweet boy who only wanted to build with legos and create science experiments?? WHERE DID HE GO?!  What you say? He needs a new suit for his missionary service? HUH? He met a GIRL!? Now He wants to marry HER??! Is the room spinning or just me??
Ok, maybe that was a little over the top, but it was reasonable! Back to the present day. Here is a photo of his lego cake I made him for his 9th birthday party, which is today. (sniffles and wipes away a few tears. oh why must they grow up so fast!! WHY!? ok I am back.)

I will post more photos after the party, but I just had to get this one up! I know it isn't excellent but I tried and it's close enough! RIGHT?!

And dino suitcase has come to an end....

BECAUSE IT IS FINISHED!! It was a fun little project and I hope Isaac enjoys it too!   Here are some photos of it taken from different angles! Can't wait to ship it to him!!

more dinosaur and pretzels..

so... one more step.. closer to being finished with this dinosaur playset in a suitcase. I finished painting it, and modge podged the crap out of it to seal the paint. And this morning, it looked beautiful... and I am now being to add the plants. No picture just yet, but I am working on it.

(top shot) this is before I modge podged the crud out of it... and after (bottom shot) kind of darker but ok.

In other adventures... I made another attempt at making soft pretzels. And thanks to AB (Alton Brown for those not in the know) I have succeeded. YAY ME!! And just in time for my darling husband and the super bowl.

And honestly, what is the super bowl or football without pretzels. Yummy.



dinosaur suitcase, lego pullover, tight tights, and hong kong fu!!

Just been busy with life and dealing with my husband's puppy, that he swore I wouldn't have to take care of. pfftt!! Yay right. Anywho. My main project is a playset in a suitcase. Here are some shots of my progress and then the link to the blog page where I got the idea from. Hopefully my finished project will look similiar to hers. And when I am done I am sending it off to my nephew Isaac, who shares my passion for dinosaurs.

http://atsecondstreet.blogspot.com/2010/03/dino-land-suitcase-and-tutorial.html

The super duper deal of 1.38$

ripped out the fabric, spray painted a primer coat and added the spray foam stuff.

And after a few days of not being creative.. I got to it and painted most of it! yay for me and Isaac. Just need to touch up, seal, and add all the plants. yay me!!

Here are a few other things I've quickly done.

Face painting with the kids              turned tights and ladies knee high socks into super cute tights for Kody.

iron on Lego stuff to a fleece pullover

And lastly training the next hong kong fu master!