Crafty Corner: Cute as a Button

I was visiting with a dear family friend several years back and, as we were having a chat, immediately noticed an interesting piece of decor on her coffee table. I liked it so much that I took a picture:

A vase of buttons. A VASE of BUTTONS! I filed it away in the back of my brain as a 'someday' project and then forgot all about it as the days passed by.

A year later, I was shopping with my Aunt in Duluth and came across a jar of old buttons for sale- $5:

'I feel like I need these...but why?' I said to myself. Then the image of the button project danced through my mind and I bought them on the spot. Arg, I totally gotta try to make that thing!

Fast forward another year and there sat the jar of buttons on a shelf...longing to be repurposed and loved. But the time had not yet come.

Fast forward 6 months more and I happened upon a tiny black vase on clearance at World Market and also a spool of wire in my junk box that I had forgotten about- the stars had finally aligned for a button vase creation. I could almost hear those sad little buttons cheering with excitement to be set free! 

The supplies:

I cut a bunch of 24 gauge wire in varying lengths:

Then selected some of the cutest buttons from the jar. Through the button holes:

And twisted tight with the help of my needle nose pliers:

After preparing 4 or 5 of these button stems, I assembled them into a wire tree...some freestyle action took place here. I just followed where the creative wind blew me and twisted the wires tightly around each other until I was satisfied with the outcome:

And then repeated the 'tree making process' 5 more times:

To finish up, I added some sand to the vase to give the wire ends a home to live and stay in place:

A few minutes of arranging and tweaking the wires and voilà- a Button Vase!!

Not as many buttons as the original inspiration, but I am liking the simple look of my own interpretation. And I promptly found it a loving home on the shelf...my old buttons have finally met their destiny:

The Great Outdoors: It's FINISHED!

Oh boy, guys. My little backyard has reached its full potential in the past few days and it is soooo cute. 

My pal Linz finished up with the mulch and added a few more plants this weekend and I contributed with some equally as delightful garden accessories. Accessorizing stuff is definitely more in my wheelhouse of abilities than planting stuff, so I was excited to contribute to the final outcome in that way:

Accessory #1 (every garden needs a gnome):

Accessories #2 (tree stump art) & #3 (many giant letters):

Raspberry beds. I still need to dig those stones (Accessory #4) into the ground...in time:

And there's this:

Oh joy...that's a cute little raspberry if I've ever seen one.

To top it off, my sweet neighbor lady (with the most magical gardens in the world) had some extra tomato plants that she grew from seed and asked if I wanted some. We found a spot by the fence and she came over and dug the holes herself, planted 4 varieties, added compost enriched soil and some little popsicle stick markers. She said I should just water them and see what comes. I can do that:

Accessory #5 - a fresh coat of spray paint on the old metal furniture and a new umbrella canopy really makes the patio pop!!:

I am tickled pink with the end result. Now just to keep everything alive...I feel 97% confident that I can do it! 100,000 thanks to Linz for pouring her heart and soul into the planning, purchasing, digging, weeding, planting and mulching. It's just perfect.

Mouse in the House

Sometimes I look into Mosby's eyes and wonder if he ever gets bored with the routines of daily cat life. Sitting in the windowsill for hours at a time, waiting for mealtimes to come round, napping, grooming, napping again, stretching....did I say napping?

I try to make an effort to engage him in some kitty playtime for a few minutes each day. Most of the time, he quite enjoys pouncing on a mousie, chasing down a ball or attacking things on strings...but sometimes he is not interested in the toys I have to offer and I have to work harder to impress him. Cats.

I was feeling the need for some new ideas to capture his attention and happened upon an easy tutorial for a kitty 'peekaboo' box (I can't remember where I saw it...probs on the Facebook. I hope they don't mind the share). I had an empty box to spare....so I made one. And he LOVED it:

A box:

12 squares cut & spaced evenly on top:

A big rectangle cut out on the side:

Some 'bait'. I used one of his favorite mousie guys taped to an old 'string thing' stick:

Oh boy. The excitement was mounting.

He locked eyes with his prey:

Went after it:

Really went after it:

Dude...where did that mousie go?

Ahhh, there he is:

I'm going in:

Big cat in a little box:

Best zero dollars I ever spent. We will be playing with this for many days.

Deep Thoughts: My 38th Year

Yesterday was my birthday. The big 3-8. In the spirit of all things celebratory, I feel like today would be a good day to do some inner reflection on what I hope to experience/accomplish in this next year of life...and so why not share it with you.

Also, I like lists...so:

1. I want to practice feeling and expressing true joy in my work. Now don't get me wrong, I love my job very much. With that said, it is a very emotionally and physically challenging task to mold young lives and coach parents through the trials that come. And they come.....every hour of every day that the kids are in my care. Sometimes I don't know how I can keep it all straight in my head. One child who persistently seeks my attention thru negative behavior, another who needs me to hold them because they are new but also wants to be put down only to cry to be picked up again (copy and repeat), a third who just wants to play with me but I have to finish with some documentation first so I try to do both, special dietary needs, individual plans for toilet training (Do you need to go potty? No. Ok. Are you sure? Yes. Well, it looks like your pee just came out on the floor...so), daily individual notes to help include parents in the Toddler Room experience while they are away at work or school, working in collaboration with other teachers as a team, working in collaboration with parents as a team, conferences, emails....the list goes on.

At times, defeat and doubt of my abilities to teach win out over truth that I am doing my best. This is where the bad attitude monster can creep in and steal the joy. I am committing myself to choose truth in my training, experience and abilities to shine brighter than my doubts. That I will choose to breathe and keep calm thru a challenging behavior with a child because I know they aren't doing it to make me mad (at least I'm pretty sure this is the case...Haha). That I will wake up each morning prepared for all that the day brings, good and bad...and that I will do it with a smile. Because I am choosing joy. 

2. I want to learn how to enjoy the outdoors a little more. Nature and I have never really bonded in a meaningful way so I want to practice experiencing it more....in small doses of course. One way I plan to accomplish this is to tend to my new backyard garden (see the past few weeks of blog posts for the amazing transformation). As I water plants and pull weeds, I hope to grow an appreciation for the world that the Lord has created and see the beauty in dirt, bugs and green leafy things.

3. I will continue to love my kitty and not feel bad if I post one too many Instagram photos in a day or choose to stay home on a Friday night (after a long work week) just because I missed him. I don't think, necessarily, that the world is actively judging me in this matter. But sometimes I have feelings of 'people are probably sick of seeing my Mosie Boo on the internets' or 'maybe I shouldn't love him so much' cause I'm a single lady who is growing older and....you know what that could turn into. No matter, I choose to enjoy him and care for him as he needs (because he is just SO CUTE...for real. CUTE.)

Additionally, I will continue to delight in and buy cat themed items for myself:

4. I hope to get back into more creative projects with my sewing machine and other craft type media....it's been awhile since I have had the energy, time and passion to make stuff. But I am feeling ready to get those creative juices flowing once again. It seemed fitting to add this to a list of life goals as long as I'm making a list.

5. I commit to fighting hard for my relationship with the Lord. I have had many internal struggles on my spiritual life journey thus far. You could also read this as sneaky Satan attacks...he is a tricksy little bugger and knows just how to poke at my weaknesses.  Struggles that have caused me to wonder if I am good enough to be called His child, or if he even cares at all about the things that I am battling with, or that he truly WANTS my best and is actively working to give me just what I need- when I need it. So, I am choosing to fight back. I am setting aside 30 minutes each day to read scripture, to meditate on what I have learned and to pray- pray for those I love, my community, my kiddos and for myself. It may not seem like much...30 minutes. But I am very good at wasting the hours of the day away with silly things and want to be more intentional and focused this next year with my free time...learning again how to study the Word and for truth to be spoken into my heart. To trust Him with my life. And to fight!

6. I wanna go somewhere I have never been....like, on an airplane. Maybe not this year- but someday. I actually am not a huge fan of travel whether it be for fun or otherwise. I am happiest when I am close to home. But I want to stretch my introverted self to take chances by thinking that I am capable of seeing the world. Today, I took great strides in moving forward in this goal...I applied for my very first passport! Something I have been telling myself to do for the past 3 years. It was kind of exciting when I had to write/sign/date a little statement as to why I didn't have a middle name on my Birth Certicficate but did on my Driver's License (long story short...I picked it in 1st grade to match my Nana Jane with whom I shared a birthday and loved very much) and then raised my hand to take an oath to verify the accurateness of my application. Check it off the list of life to-do's. And my passport pic was not too shabby if I do say so myself: 

7. I want to daily take note of the blessings I have been given and to be actively thankful in word and deed. And content with where I am in my life right now. Because it is pretty much wonderful when I really stop and think. I have been given much more than I need or even deserve in this life already. To not dwell on thoughts of 'If I just had _________, life would be perfection.' To live today for today and not be anxious about tomorrow.

So there it is. 7 things on this 7th day of June that I will be working on in my 38th year.