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The Caron yarn company blessed us again with a free yarn sample - this time a very soft Bamboo blend.

It's so soft. I can't wait to try it out.

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.

Remember that offer from Caron for free samples of their new line of yarn? Although we understood the offer to have ended after only two days, my daughter and I sent our requests anyway.

Much thanks to all of you CafePress Shoppers!

After several years, my itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny sales commissions accrued and I used the money this week to purchase three books for the children - two American histories and one music history. The music history book is the second volume of a two-book set. We picked up Volume I at a thrift store a few years ago and now we can finally read about composers M through Z!

I appreciate your help in our homeschooling adventure and I hope you find other interesting CafePress items for purchase in the future.

Thanks again and blessings to you all.  

My recent entryway project inspired a 5-minute makeover over on my desktop, which faces the Jane Austen mirror.

I dusted.

I moved things around.

I also changed the cardstock behind my token collection from white to light blue.

This is one of my favorite collections around the house. Each transit token and the Hobo nickel were purchased about 15 years ago at a flea market. The Ts are for Tampa, Florida. The R and S are for Rochester, New York.

Transit tokens and Hobo nickels, categorized as Exonumia, are an interesting and unique art form. I wonder why more people are not collecting them. I've always collected coins, mostly foreign, and my little collection seen here is just another facet of my interest in the beauty of circular bits of metal. 

I think my bluebird looks quite fetching next to the token collection.

Prior to the unfortunate theft and vandalization of our property, I decided to give the entryway mirror a little makeover.

This mirror was gained at a yard sale - way back in 2006. Can you believe it was free? The seller had broken one of the side mirrors. Each side panel is about 8 1/2 x 11, so the whole thing is rather large. It hung in my son's room for a long time, but he never really used it. Turns out boys aren't as into mirrors as girls are. Go figure.

So, I kind of stole it from him.

But, look, the size and shape is perfect for that entryway wall.

Convinced? Okay, back to the mirror makeover.

I decided to print out a picture of Jane Austen for the left panel. My shamelessly purloined version of Dear Jane is, I believe, the 1879 engraving which was based on Cassandra's drawing.

For the right panel, I chose one of Miss Austen's witty quotations, printing it out with a downloaded Jane Austen font.

"Pictures of Perfection make me Sick and Wicked."

When we return to our normal balmy weather, I think I might use this instead:

"What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance."

The portrait and quotation are printed on turquoise paper and I have placed three turquoise glass votives from Big Lots betwixt the two panels.

So, what do you think? Would Dear Jane approve?

***More lovely transformations are linked at Between Naps on the Porch for each Metamorphosis Monday.***

I discovered The Pleated Poppy blog this weekend. It's oh-so-cute and full of crafty inspiration. The blog's subtitle is "Beautiful Imperfections of the Everyday". Lovely.

Let's have the woman behind the blog tell you about herself:

hi ! i'm lindsey cheney. i am married to an incredibly supportive husband and am mom to 3 littles, 6 and under. my days are full of sewing, home schooling, crafting, snuggling, avoiding the laundry, sneaking bites of chocolate, and wondering "is it naptime yet?".

Lindsey sews a lot (she has her own shop, too) and she throws many parties. She's also kind enough to give glimpses into her lovely home and often features guest bloggers.

I think you might enjoy:

The Family Rules Tutorial

The Pleated Poppy Shop

The Playroom Reveal

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.

Save up to $15 on books at Dover Publications through March 26th.  

One coupon per customer. Click here for more details.

I suppose I should have known, but I didn't. Obviously, I should pay better attention because I was simply shocked to find out...that the IKEA chalkboard is magnetic. This will really transform our lives. How? I have no idea, but a magnetic chalkboard is an amazing feat of technology and I must reap the benefits - whatsoever they may be.

Above you can see my overachieving chalkboard working her heart out by holding a Columbia Restaurant magnet while simultaneously displaying fractions AND guarding our clothespin doll collection. Quite the skilled kitchen helper, isn't she? She definitely deserves a gold star.