Dinosaur terrarium

Dinosaur terrarium... also known as... the best time ever!

Ok... maybe not the best time EVER... but pretty darn fun for a Saturday in January.

We gathered our supplies...

... including the main cast of characters.

Big boy added one layer of rocks.

Here's the preserved sheet moss right out of the bag.

This is the preserved sheet moss after it was cut into a circle to fit inside the jar.

The sheet moss goes on top of the charcoal to keep the next layer (potting soil) from falling through into the charcoal and stones.

Big boy is placing the sheet moss on top of the charcoal...

... and adding the potting soil.

Finally, the first dinosaur was in his new home.

OH... here we have a certain boy declining to put the other two dinosaurs into the container now that Mommy told him he will not be able to play with them.  WHAT?

Luckily, big boy gladly placed the last two dinosaurs in the terrarium since Mommy reminded him that we have one trillion more dinosaurs in the house.

Home sweet home.

Now we have the top on the terrarium and it is sitting on our shelf in the living room.  More pics to follow.  I just hope it lives.  No one seems nearly as interested in it as I am.

Can you believe that I finally did it?

Sanity Update

I'm still without my moms group {{booooooo}} and I'm still doing fine – that is, I still have my sanity... as far as I can tell.

I'm still working towards my resolution of finding God's purpose for me... and generally concentrating on family and stuff... not so much baking and crafting (see New Year's Post circa January 2011).

Well, I haven't totally given up crafting.  I mean... well... um... I did get my hands on a certain large pickle jar... so that I can turn it into a dinosaur terrarium.

Pop quiz:  How long have I been planning to make a terrarium?

Answer:  Since December 2009.  True?  Yes.

Why a terrarium?  Why now?  Why include dinosaurs? 
I am a parent volunteer for the accreditation team for Bro's daycare.  As part of their accreditation (renewal) each class needs something "living" in it. It can be an animal or plant.  We decided againt an animal because they require so much upkeep and they might die and some parents don't like to talk about death to preschoolers.  Personally, I think that a regular plant might be a bit boring so my goal is to make a terrarium for Bro's class and gift it to the daycare.  I feel like terrariums are a bit more interesting and the addition of some dinosaurs in the terrarium might make it a bit more fun.  Plus, the kids can help with the maintenance of the terrarium: misting it and making sure that it is not too dry or too wet.  (See the yellowbrickhouse blog for a cute dinosaur terrarium example.)

The problem is that Bro really wants to grow something right now – I mean, he is a farmer at heart you know – and I am not quite sure that he will be open to gifting "his" terrarium to the class. 

Moving On...

Normally I read all of my books through my e-reader.  However, there are a few parenting and self-help books I have been wanting to purchase in paper form because I want to highlight in them, flag certain sections, and refer to them year after year. 

Thanks to a certain Barnes and Noble gift card I received for Christmas (thanks Grand Matriarch), I own these new books in paper form:

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson
The Five Love Languages of Teenagers: The Secret to Loving Teens Effectively by Gary Chapman



For the record... I will always treasure book giftcards... always! 

What project are you finally tackling

that has been on your mind for YEARS?

Blue or Beige?

I started the baby Jesus ornaments.

The clips come in packs of 12 so I am making 12 Jesus babies.

The template was for a light blue blanket.  The craft store was sold out of blue so I went with a beige.  Baby Jesus is never wrapped in a blue blanket anyway.  It's always beige or white.

Someone... ahem Grandma... suggested that perhaps his mother made him a blanket from the same material as her dress, which is often portrayed as blue.

Bee and I travelled to the fabric store (not the craft store this time) for some light blue felt. 

Note:  Felt is way cheaper at the fabric store than at the craft store.  Just sayin'.

I started making some babies with blue blankets and soon realized that I did not like blue blankets at all.  To me, throwing the blue blanket on baby Jesus felt like I might as well give him a Mickey Mouse print blanket.  The baby in the stable did not have a blue blanket!

I got this far and couldn't decide what to do:  keep making blue blankets or go back to making beige blankets. 

I did what any reasonable person would do... I asked my facebook friends to decide.  This is how they voted:

What?  Look at all of those blue votes! I was shocked at the number of people who voted blue.  Really?

It's a good thing I asked.  I would have finished in beige.

What is it about the blue that is so appealing?

Clearly I am in the minority.



Baby Jesus Ornament

Yay!  I am so proud of myself!

Look at the baby Jesus ornament!

Idea from:
http://jennicanknit.blogspot.com/2011/11/baby-jesus-ornament.html

Now I just need to make about 11 more.

I almost forgot to tell you.  I'm also going to make this ipod holder for Lulu too. 

You are right - I don't think I'm going to have time to make the cookies. {{sad face}}

Dear Husband and I are going to finish Christmas shopping tonight! 

How much shopping do you have left?

Hot/Cold Therapy Pack

I made my mom a hot/cold therapy pack for Mother's Day.

Well, I made one therapy pack out of fabric scraps from Brielle's Easter dress, and couldn't part with it {{emotional attachment}}, so I made another one. 

It's uses include heat therapy 9heat in microwave) and cold therapy (cool in freezer).  Ease lower back discomfort, fibromyalgia pain, restless leg syndrome, arthritic cramping, and menstrual pains. Roll up for neck support. Reduce daily stress and strain; use as an eye pillow to block out light, help ease a headache, and relax.


I made my mom's pack with bamboo and palm tree fabric.  Since I was NOT anticipating making two of these in one week, I was kinda pressed for time.  So, I took my supplies and the kids to the beach and put the finishing touches on the pack.

I ended up with this little gem.  The case for it is kinda just like a pillowcase.  The pack itself is made of one type of fabric.

Lulu has been using the pack I made for myself.  She puts it in the freezer every day and places it over her eyes each night.  I have to admit, it is soooooo very comfortable.  Simple -- and amazingly comforting!  What a way to decompress.

So, I bought the fabric so I can make a hot/cold pack for her to have as her own.  I am so excited!  She is sure to love it!

There are all kinds of tutorials on how to make these on the web.  For some reason, I cannot find the tutorial that I used.  When I do, I'll share the link with you, mkay?

Busy as "bee"

My horrible busy time at work is over.  I am now back to working part-time: leaving every day at 3:00.  This is so great for our schedule.  It gives me the free time to run an errand after work if I need to and then get the kids and have plenty of time to make a healthy dinner... and... still have time to play before going to bed.

Last night Bro and I watered our vegetable garden and then I pushed him on the swing that Dear Husband made.  Boys are so fun.  You just never know what is going to pop out of their mouths.  Last night it was, "Mommy.  Do you know what?  Girls are stinky."  So cute!


Girls are Stinky!

 After Bro went to bed (Bri was already in bed) I started on Bri's birthday dress... you know... the one that fits the "bee" theme. 

Ahem... instead of making it all yellow on one side and all black on the other, I decided to make a border for the bottom of each side.  I thought about it and thought about it... and thought some more... and decided that I could do it.  So, I cut the dress and then snipped off the bottom as a border.  I ended up with something that will go together like this.

{{My apologies for the camera phone pictures.}}

Cute, right? 

Well, then I flipped them with the 'right sides together' to sew them and ended up with something like this.

See... when you flip the border up it bends the wrong way.

Oh... so... NOT having ANY extra fabric to work with... this is when I started to panic.

I flipped the piece back and forth several times... wondering why the heck it wasn't working and... more importantly... now what was I going to do?

So, I scrunched it together like this.

And, then I started sewing... as carefully and precisely as possible.

I ended up with this.  This is the back of the dress, for illustrative purposes.  But, do you see the little bit of black fabric hanging off of the end?  Why is it there? Why doesn't this match up exactly? 

No worries.  I finished all of my borders and I can cut the ends off {{shhhhh... don't tell anyone.}}  The dress will go together perfectly -- I just know it!

p.s.  Let's just make a deal right now.  If you don't see the dress in her birthday pictures then you will know that this was a total disaster and we won't ever mention this again, mkay???