pixiegenné

making the most of a sick day

both kids are home sick today which means i am home from work with them, which is kind of nice (not that i'm psyched that they are sick, but you know what i mean). today i'm...

• listening to this station which plays nothing but xmas music between thanksgiving and xmas which sometimes makes me want to barf, but it's nice when you are spending the day decorating or cookie making or holiday crafting or whatever
• running to the store to get "sick treats" for the kids ("the junkie popsicles, not the kind with fruit in them")
• re-doing the halloween decorations to make them more holiday-appropriate
• making stuff for upcoming fairs
• watching goofy stuff john sends me, both highbrow and lowbrow

it feels like it's going to snow today. that would be cozy.
hope you're having a good one!
xoxo

and another

low light + not so great camera = blurry picture. but you get the idea. the ribbon doesn't match but whatever. i was thinking i could skate by on ribbon i have on hand, but i was wrong. pretty ribbon makes a difference here. this one is made w/all vintage plastic buttons. i've got the pretty green + blue buttons i parceled out yesterday, some "pearly" ones and then some real mother-of-pearl all organized and ready, so it might be a button wreath kind of week here.

still easing my way into the season. no decorations up yet, but i did order my christmas cards. if you're the printed photo card type, as i am, you might like this site (which is new to me). it has lots of cool designs and isn't too pricey.

i've got a few craft shows coming up, so i need to get busy.
happy tuesday, all!
xoxo

the button wreath, revisited

i haven't made one of these in a while, and i thought this color combo might look cool. but i'm having one of those days where i repeatedly abandon half-completed projects due to minor frustrations, so these may just end up sitting in this bowl looking pretty for a while.

i checked my stats this morning and there's a lot of traffic heading my way, looking for a button wreath tutorial. and lame-o that i am, i never made one. but sally did, and she did a much better job than i could have. i noticed she used cork for a form, but really you can use anything. i usually choose cardboard and cover it with ribbon or fabric to make it pretty (not that anyone looks at the back).

if you are making one, snap some pictures and add them to the flickr group. you know you want to.

the glitterfest has begun

the glitterfest hasn't really begun quite yet. this is a wreath i made for a friend a few years back that needed repairing. i just stuck it on my wall to take a pretty picture of it before returning it to it's rightful owner.

(sorry it took so long, jen)

hope all you stateside people had a wonderful thanksgiving. ours was great. i'm still in leftover-turkey-stuffing-cranberry-sauce-sandwich heaven. that's the nice thing about hosting - there's no need to grocery shop this week.

and i am getting in holiday-mode, which for me begins with a lot of internet-window shopping. here's some stuff i'm loving from etsy these days...
eleanor grosch coaster set
japanese cat mug
nyc print
flock
vintage danish candlesticks

john just reminded me of another favorite thanksgiving clip.
(we're youtube whores around here, if you hadn't noticed)

p.s. i forgot to mention i did a small shop update today. i'm going to be adding and subtracting stuff between now and the holidays so check back!

happy thanksgiving!

i know that john is super thankful that he is spending turkey day with my side of the family yet not being subjected to "alice's restaurant" on constant rotation (because i'm hosting and don't have a record player...)

of course, i've never seen the movie.
(now he's praying the corner video store doesn't have a copy)

hope you have a wonderful day!
i'll be back next week.
xoxo

product endorsement

sometime last year, one of jane's friends told me my house smelled funny, which gave me a major complex. so now i make an effort to make the house smell pretty. i hate super-smelly scented candles but i love this one i just got from target (from the "method" line). it's smells nice but isn't overwhelming or fake smelling; plus it has a cute little mod shape. see how addicted i am to target? they are marketing geniuses over there. it's like they're in my head or something.

and have you seen this? beyond silly but my kids think it is HYsterical.

holiday inspiration

i realized last week that i don't have enough forks in my house for thanksgiving dinner so i went to goodwill yesterday. i like these patterns...

and while i was there i found an old craft book, "holiday crafts you can make". here's a few gems...

busy week (obviously). maybe just pictures here or over at flickr.
happy monday!
xoxo

too soon?

i know, it's a little early, but i've got some craft fairs to think about.
and i just realized that thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK.
and i'm hosting.
better get to it.

my friends like to re-watch this film whenever preparing for a large family holiday gathering. and now i'm dating myself, but here's my favorite thanksgiving scene. it's still so funny (to me, anyway...)
happy thursday!
xoxo

i heart william steig

(this picture has nothing to do with william steig - it's just a train case i finished last night).

if i were pressed to choose an all-time favorite children's book author, it would be william steig. today would have been his 100 birthday. among my favorites of his are doctor de soto, brave irene, and the amazing bone.

his books make the best read-alouds - i love his quirky use of language and i love how emotionally vested children become in his stories. 

he won the caldecott for sylvester and the magic pebble (john's favorite book), in 1970. here's his acceptance speech.

isn't he great?
i think so.
do you have a favorite children's book author?

what's going on...

john is out of town so i'm staying up way too late and ripping my house apart. i rearranged my craft space yet again. does everyone else like rearranging their stuff as much as i do? or am i just a freak?