two videos

because i just figured out how to get them off my phone. and because my kids are cute.

making—random craftiness

for christmas i made a few random crafty things. i didn't get a chance to snap photos of everything, but here are two. the first is one of the sets of handwarmers (pinterest reference), and the second was a doll made out of scrap fabric i had up in my studio.
sometimes i wish i could just sit around making random, one-off crafty projects for a living. i don't really have the attention span to a lot of the same thing over and over, but i really find that i enjoy making things so much more than formatting type (which seems to be mostly what i'm doing at work these days). maybe one of these days i'll get the courage (and enough time) to do something like that (that's what sites like etsy are for afterall, right?)

making—dishwasher magnets

while i had the paints out, i painted up some clean and dirty dishwasher magnets for mike's brother's new kitchen. they've got two dishwashers, so required two sets (don't you wish you had two dishwashers? though to be honest, i just wish i had a kitchen large enough for two dishwashers...and an island work area...and an under-counter trash/recycle bin...*sigh*)
anywho, i had a good time painting these up too. it's really relaxing to sit down and paint. plus, lucy enjoys sitting in my lap and napping while i work, so it benefits the both of us.

making—alice's cafe signage

when i asked missy about what sorts of things alice would like for her birthday this year, she said that they were getting alice a melissa and doug kitchen, so food toys would be a good gift. well, knowing that the jones clan already has a pretty well stocked pantry (i got to see it in action last time we visited), i wasn't exactly sure what kinds of food toys alice might need/want. so after looking at some different options and thinking on things, i happened on a couple of blog posts here that got me inspired (post 1, post 2, post 3), and i decided that i should make something that (i was hoping) no one else would duplicate. hence, alice's cafe.
i bought a wood plaque at michael's and painted it up. it took me a while to settle on fonts, and then a longer time to decide on the tea cup (missy said that alice has been serving her lots of flavored teas, so i thought this might be appropriate), but i really like how it turned out.

i also thought a cafe wouldn't be complete without a menu board (i got to use chalkboard paint for this one—i've been dying to have an excuse to get some chalkboard paint!)

lastly, i felt the cafe would probably need a sign so that customers would know when it was open for business. i got two little wood rectangles and painted them up and then stuck them back to back with the ribbon in between. 

i hope alice enjoys them. i really had a good time painting it all, and sam really enjoyed going to the store and helping me to pick out the wood and paint colors. he was quite excited by the time we got home and is hoping to visit soon so he can help out at the cafe. in fact, he was so enthusiastic about it all that i've decided to create some "sam's diner" signage (he's quite the imaginary chef around here, in case you were unaware), so stay tuned for that post later in the month!