Recently in Cuteness Category

Easter celebrations at my house may have been a bust, but I did manage to whip up a couple of Peep Bunnies:

The pink one is 10in x 5in and the yellow one is 3 1/4in x 1 3/4in. The eyes and noses are painted on with brown paint. I managed the eyes and nose for the tiny Peep Bunny by using an unused pencil eraser to paint the circles. Worked perfectly.

The pattern for the small Peep Bunny is here. I just copied and pasted the pattern into Microsoft Word and then enlarged it to make the large Peep Bunny. 

The yellow Peep Bunny is for myself, but the pink one is for my daughter who says Easter is not complete without Peeps to eat. (Yes, we made sure she had some edible Peeps, too.) I told her not to eat this one - might cause indigestion.

Yesterday, after yet another doctor visit (hip, hip, hooray), we popped over to Walmart to comb through the clearanced Easter candy. Post-holidays are when we indulge the children with sweets and it's a bit of a treasure hunt to find the good stuff in the randsacked holiday aisles.

Candy isn't the only thing clearanced after Easter is over. I also snatched up these 50% off Easter baskets. I'll probably use these in my craft cubbies in the Family Room. I really like that the handles fold down, unlike most of the baskets I acquire.

Also, if you're looking for Toy Story III and other children's theme tin buckets, Walmart had those. 

So, now is the time for inexpensive baskets and decorative buckets, as well as solid chocolate bunnies.

I've always wanted a Hobbit home. I think it has something to do with the round doors. I prefer round things, curvy things. They meander gently, without the sharpness of angles.

Knowing my fondness, my daughter made me a tiny Hobbit hill with a minusucle Hobbit house.

Isn't that so sweet? I'll completely overlook the fact that she made this whilst she was supposed to be engrossed in schoolwork. Ahem.

Really, though, who can be mad at her for long? She is such a sweet lass. And her left eyebrow always rises when she laughs. Just like her father.

He has very curly hair and promised she would too. He swore she'd have a head full of delicious baby curls.

Imagine my surprise when the midwife handed me a nearly-bald baby girl. But my husband promised me...and I've been bringing that up for fourteen years. 

Yet, the poor child still had nothing but straight hair.

Then, suddenly, these springy spirals came from nowhere. I still can't believe it and I can't stop making them go boing-boing.

What an obnoxious mother I am!

But, honestly, could you restrain yourself around such angelic ringlets?

It took quite a while, but my husband did indeed keep his promise and gave me a beautiful, curly-tressed daughter.

But I supplied the freckles.

• a clear glass compote
• a straw bunny
• silk daffodils
• green tissue paper cut into strips

There are no special instructions and you can vary the items you use according to what you have on hand, which makes this a free Easter centerpiece.

Oh, look, another Mail Call post. I must be working on that correspondence flaw of mine. Brandy, of Minivan Life, kindly noticed my lamp and vintage plate recently.

So pretty! I LOVE turquoise. Love the blue plate and that lamp... is it vintage?

Dear Brandy,

Thank you for the compliment and that you took the time to comment gives me twice the joy.

I picked the plate up from a local consignment shop. It was still in the lovely blue original box. The enclosed Avon note card reads, "1974 Avon Commemorative Plate for achievement in campaigns 1,2, and 3." This plate begged to be bought and I obliged since it was only $6. I like that the plate has blues and greens and is crowned with daisies. Best of all, it shows a mother with two children and the older child is a girl. This fits my situation perfectly. We really did sit amongst wildflowers while my daughter was little and I held her baby brother. Give me a coincidence like that and even I can overlook the hair and dress of the Seventies.

The lamp was absolutely free and spared from my neighbor's garbage. She brought it over one night, knowing that I might like that it was blue. The base is encircled by Roman numerals, as though it were a sundial. I removed the fairy swinging betwixt the lamp arms; not even I can allow for such an amount of whimsy. 

I removed the Christmas tree bows since this photo, as it is no longer winter. (I know many still have snow, but I'm naming it and claiming it.) Sorry, no bowless photo at this time.

Blessings,

Mrs. Happy Housewife

Last Friday, I ended up at the local Target with my daughter and my Father-in-Law. Not a normal shopping experience for me, but FIL needed to buy a baby shower gift and daughter and I were along to help. Daughter and I basically picked the whole purchase out, but we didn't mind. We even had a bit of fun.

Anyway, as FIL was getting his bearings, I flitted like a nesting bird with ADD over to the Dollar section. Is there shiny? What is that pretty thing over there?

I spotted something, loved it, put it in my basket, and then took it out again. With the temorary mental powers of Einstein, I realized that this item must come home with me - for the betterment of mankind.

So, what was it?

This.

Isn't it lovely? Yes, I bought four TV trays and I am just a wee bit in love with them. I might even be planning an elopement soon.

Sturdy with a nice lip around the edge and only $2.50 each.

We watch a lot of TV together in the Family Room while we eat (oh, shame upon me) and these are very helpful.

They remind of school trays, but so much better. If my school trays had looked like these, I might not have minded the mystery meat so much.

I thought it was too late in the season to revisit our Snowman in a Bottle craft, but the Snowpocalypse has changed my mind.

From December 14, 2006:

These bottle snowmen were quite easy to make. I got the idea while I was washing the bottles (which formerly contained coffee drinks - I try to reuse such things whenever I can) and thought the metal lids looked very much akin to snowmen hats. After washing the bottles and removing the labels, I used a black Sharpie to "paint"  the lids black. The kiddies and I filled the bottles with Poly-Fil for snow and used dots of Tacky glue and beads to make the faces. Bits and scraps of yarn, fabric, ribbon, and cord were used for the ties, scarves, and hats. Each snowman represents a family member.

I know it's a bit late in the season to think of snowmen, but I wanted to show you this adorable miniature that D made for me. He's only 1 3/4 inches tall!

I asked her to make him look like a traditional snowman and she did. However, this little guy is made of polymer clay and toothpicks and he's been baked in the oven so I can keep him forever. No melting in the sun for this snowman. 

In the May 2009 issue of Family Fun magazine, I found instructions for making clay mushrooms. D was kind enough to use the instructions to craft me a wee mushroom. Here it is:

I love the way it leans gently to the side. She even included gills beneath the cap.

D used Sculpey and baked it so this toadstool will never die.