The Christmas preparations start today! At a minimum, it's time to get some ideas flowing.

Definitely on my list this year is the Fabric Dollhouse, by Lil'D a UK Lass in US.  Her blog is fantastic, and it's a great place to learn all sorts of crafty things, as well as English (UK) expressions that are fun to work into every day conversation.  Cream crackered is right now my favorite.  

This gratitude wrap from Amanda (tutorial here) is also on my gift list. I'm thinking this would be a great gift for anyone who enjoys letter writing, including a younger child who is just learning the art of thank you notes.  It is a neat little wrap that holds letter-writing supplies, including stamps, in one little place. The idea is that you can keep it with you and write notes to loved ones as they come to mind. At least, that's what I'm thinking I would use it for. 

And these...I'm thinking a great gift for the grandparents! Who wouldn't want little hands memorialized on their walls? You could do a whole family of hands. This idea is from Just a Girl, a great blog that I discovered via Today's Creative Blog.

Yes, September is nearly upon us, and the stores have begun the transformation...time to start thinking about Christmas.  Before I was a crafty person, I rejected the notion that we had to think about Christmas before fall even arrived.  I groaned as the stores moved in Christmas decorations earlier and earlier each year. I was appalled at the idea of Christmas music in November (yes, even November was too early for me).

But now, I get it.  This is a crazy holiday, friends.  Last year, I waited until December to start working on my handmade holiday gifts. Frankly, I just wasn't in the Christmas mood during November. I hosted Thanksgiving, and I was busy!  By the time I was in the Christmas mood, I didn't want to engaged in a frantic sewing marathon.  I wanted to enjoy the softer, traditional Christmas activities.

I wanted to see the Way of Lights, ride the camels, drink hot cocoa and eat kettle corn. 

I wanted to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree,  

Haul out the decorations (you thought I was going to say holly), light up the house.

I wanted to stroll around the mall and window shop. I wanted to watch Christmas movies. I wanted to bake cookies and decorate gingerbread houses.

I wanted to sew, too, but in a leisurely way. I didn't enjoy the stress to "just get it done."  I wanted to mosey, while watching Christmas memories unfold outside my window.

In order to make time for such things, I am beginning the Christmas crafting early this year. Do it with me!

I won't pretend I've thought of this on my own.  A few days ago, I stumbled upon Organized Christmas.  It's an amazing site, with all sorts of tips to walk you through getting ready for the holidays.  You can find some great tools--I've only just started exploring the site, but have already downloaded the "Gifts to Make" planning sheet and the "What's in the Gift Closet" list. 

Over the next few weeks, I'll share my Christmas ideas and reveal the things on my list.  I'm hoping there will even be some sneak peeks as things get finished (fingers crossed that things get finished).  I might have to be a bit secretive, because some of the recipients might occassionally read my blog (*cough* mom, dad *cough*).  

Of course, I won't be handcrafting it all myself.  The wonderful world of Etsy will most certainly supply a gift or two.  

Sorry for the sudden abandonment!  We took a short family vacation to Branson last weekend, and my own web paranoia prevented me from telling you about it in advance.  Didn't want some crazy stalker to find my blog and discover my house was unattended, what with all my pretty new fabric sitting on the kitchen counter.

Two of my recent projects went along on vacation with us.  One was the purse-sized first aid kit, which came in handy when a certain five year old managed to scuff both knees at Celebration City.  Alcohol wipes and bandages to the rescue. And I made everyone declare that I was an awesome mom. Seriously, made them say it out loud. Which they did. 

The other, was the reusable grocery bag (in pink butterfly print).  We grabbed it at the last minute to throw the phone chargers and make up bags in.  This bag became the most useful item on the trip.

 
Day one, I tried to bring the large, non-flexible diaper bag along to Silver Dollar City. It was too large and too non-flexible. It wouldn't fit in the awful rental stroller and it was an overall nuisance.  Day 2, the reusable bag came with us. It's straps were the perfect length (and flexibility) to tie in a loose knot (nothing fell out) and then hang over each stroller handle. 

You can see that I took along the cheesy umbrella stroller to save space in the car...I thought we'd rent a larger stroller at the amusement parks. Turns out their strollers were pretty useless, and for $10, a waste of money. So umbrella stroller made a go of it and did a fantastic job.  My reusable grocery bag was awesome.  Just like me.

If you find yourself in Branson (and I'm not necessarily recommending that you do...), head downtown and check out Pinkiedink's Cupcakes.  They have a ton of different cupcakes, all pretty and all tasty! At $2.50 a piece, my husband declared them the best deal in Branson.  Seriously, these people are a few doors down from a place that wanted to sell me a $4 hotdog. It's not even real meat, people!!

The absolute nicest thing happened to me last week at Starbucks.  I was in the drive through, having ordered my grande doubleshot on ice, and pulled up to the window to pay.  The cashier cheerfully told me it was my lucky day. I'm thinking, Hey, they accidentally made an extra drink and I get to keep it (because this sort of thing does happen to me sometimes, and it is pretty nice).

But no, turns out the lady in front of me had paid for my drink.  Just a random act of kindness, the Starbucks worker tells me.  How incredible is that? 

I'm on a bit of a Green kick the last few days.  It all started this weekend when Husband and I were bemoaning the amount of clover in our front yard. Despite our Weed and Feed session this spring (which I now know was not a good idea, please, no lectures), the clover is thriving.  I set about to do some research to figure out how we could safely get rid of the stuff.  A few articles later and I was ready to embrace my clover, regardless of how my neighbors might feel. 

In short, clover is good because it helps the grass grow (something about nitrogen), earthworms love it and earthworms are good, it provides lots of nectar for bees and things, and rabbits like it:

I'm quite pleased with our little bunny population this year (I think that's Mama Bunny, above).  They seem to be leaving my flowers alone, while peacefully nibbling on the clover and grass in the yard. Better yet, they eat their meals in full view of our windows, which keeps the girls entertained for awhile (until they bang on the windows, scaring the bunnies away, then walk around for several minutes wondering why the bunnies left).  So, I'm leaving the clover for the bunnies, earthworms and honey bees, and for us, because the stuff to kill the clover sounds pretty deadly to people, too.

Then, I picked up this book at the library the other day:

Inside are tons of great ideas for getting rid of household chemicals and other nasty things.

I'll spare you the before and after photos, but tonight I cleaned the toilet using castile soap, baking soda and vinegar.  It sparkles.  The expensive toilet bowl cleaners with all of their toxic substances have nothing on baking soda.  Incidentally, I've been using baking soda to scrub the stains from my white enamel kitchen sink for the last few years, and it does wonders. I usually squeeze a lemon into the sink for that fizzy baking soda action and because I like the smell.

I'm avoiding the chapter on how awful makeup is, because I just can't give the stuff up (I don't have the patience to search for a natural alternative that works for me).  Ignorance is bliss.  I am, however, committed to switching our handsoap away from the antibacterial, chemical stuff to something natural. I'm also considering a shampoo switch, a lotion switch and some homemade antibacterial spray. Oh, and there's a recipe for a coconut sugar scrub. I will report back on that.

I'm also doing a little repurposing. I used to really like this skirt, but it's been hanging in my closet untouched for about three years now. I've begun cutting on it and nearly have it made into a dress for the five year old.  So far I can't get the straps just right, but it will make a great sundress when it's finished.  Look for the finished dress later this week.

And finally, a big welcome to everyone stopping by from Sew, Mama, Sew. It's so nice to meet so many other people who love that blog, and I'm flattered by all of your comments!  Don't forget, the clock is ticking for Win-It Wednesday.  I'll probably cut-off entries at noon central time tomorrow.

Remember back when I wanted one of these:

 
because, I thought, how fun to have a Ladybug house.  At the time, Jamie wisely commented that ladybugs would also be quite useful in eating nasty garden pests.

Turns out, I could use a few ladybugs.  This weekend I noticed some unsightly lumps on my hibiscus buds, and upon further examination, also noticed ants.  According to my google search, that can really only mean one thing...

I have aphids.

This photo from Brisbane Insects reflects the state of my buds, sort of.  They weren't quite this bad, but they were getting close. Apparently the aphid problem can grow quite quickly.

I think I've cleared it up, though, for now.  A little soapy water in a strong sprayer dislodged most of the white round things (the aphids?) and killed most of the ants.  The helpful gardening sites out there suggest this approach will work, so we'll see. 

In the meantime, I'm thinking of ordering a couple thousand ladybugs, and a house of course.  But I just can't imagine having our lovely courtyard overrun with beetles. So I'm going to need to think about that a little more.

Lest you think I've become a gardening blog, I hope to have a few finished projects to share very soon.

I've managed to kill two computers in the past week, and last night I put another in ICU.  Fortunately, the ancient (yet functioning) guy made a quick recovery, and I am back to the blog. Nevertheless, without a working computer you'd think I would have plenty of time to craft. And I did manage to get a few things cut out and one thing sewn, but nothing has been photographed. I am knee deep in ideas, and works in progress, including an outfit (or two) for the eldest daughter, a tiny first aid kit, and the Lindie Bag.

Instead, I've been trying to fill our days with crafts and project. It seems there are a million ideas out there, but few that I manage to put to the test.

Five years into parenting, you'd think I'd be over the bean decorations. But I'm not. There are just too many pretty colors of beans and lentils out there.  I was reinvigorated by a craft we did at VBS last week, which involved decorating wooden cross magnets with various natural elements including baby pinecones, lentils, acorns and the like. It looked like so much fun I wanted to make one of my own. I didn't, but I was tempted.  The mosaic above is from Martha's Crafts for Kids section, which has some great ideas.

And I've been shopping:

This is a ring made by PoppiGirl from glass and sterling silver. I love the colors, but it looks like it would be extremely uncomfortable. I'm particular about my jewelry. It must be virtually unnoticeable. 

And just because sometimes we need a reminder:

This is Reed Seifer, and I love his stuff. 

And I'm trying to practice it, in the hope that all computers will be up and running again soon.