Next Gen Readers

Bought joke books for my two little readers.

Big hits!

And Addy's mom is very happy the knock-knock book doesn't live at her house.

Budding Artist

Found a tutorial online for a fun art project, so today Leanne and I broke out the (bleeding) tissue paper, big girl scissors and spray bottle.

I thought she would be most excited about using the scissors, but I was wrong - her favorite part was definitely the tweezers.

Her patience and persistence (and hand/eye coordination) in picking off every little piece of paper amazed me.

Pop and I both think Leanne is going to be my crafting buddy as she gets older.

This project was fast, fun and messy -

and we'll definitely be doing it again.

A Day With Leanne

A day spent with Leanne is always entertaining, but she was really on top of her game today.

She started with hide & seek and tag with Pop, then freezing us in place with her "Elsa powers".

We progressed to making cookies - and licking the beaters, of course -

multiple games of Uno, using our scariest voices to ask questions of the Magic 8 ball -

Leanne couldn't remember 'Magic 8 ball' so she called it the "Magical ball of 8", which is now its official name;

plus lots

and lots

of face painting and picture taking.

And I wonder why I'm always tired when she goes home . . .

Happy New (Fabric) Year!

What better way to start the new year than a 50% off sale at one of my two favorite quilt stores.

 Bought 4 yards of the red and 2 yards each of tan and brown in the top right corner. Came home and found several yards of the brown already in my stash . . . 

Reyna drove down from Santa Barbara and we hit the doors about 3 minutes after the shop opened.

I have some of these already. I bought the rest of both bolts since I know where I want to use them.
 
I was a moderate shopper (yeah, right) with only 9 bolts in my "cut" pile. 
 Too pretty to leave behind - no idea what I'll use it for.

Reyna outdid me with 11 (12?) bolts - and a plan for a future quilt. But her self-restraint was more evident; she limited herself to one yard cuts on most fabrics. 
 I don't normally buy toile, but this is gorgeous. Can't remember if I bought 3 or 4 yards. 

I just went with what spoke to me - and I bought in quantity. 
 Bubbles! Backing for fabric that's in my stash. 3 yards of the blue and yellow; 2+ of the orange. 

Are there any sweeter words in a fabric store than, "I'll take everything on that bolt"?
Another 1-yard cut that was too pretty to leave behind. Reindeer!
 
Most of what I purchased is destined for backing fabric. And 22 yards (at an average of $6/yard) should back a lot of quilts.