Cosmos in Watercolor

Pencil and Watercolor on Paper

Inspired by the cosmos flowers in my garden.

Pumpkin Drawing

I was inspired to draw the pumpkin I chose at the pumpkin patch on Saturday.

Ink & Colored Pencil on Bristol Board

Felt Tooth Fairy Pouch

Gracie has a loose tooth!

I found a pattern for a cute drawstring pouch on The Purl Bee and used it to make this one for her. I added the embroidered face.

We're ready for The Tooth Fairy, and in a few weeks she'll make her first visit!

Earth Day Tree Cookies

I've had this cookie cutter for a long time, and I love the shape. I thought Earth Day was the perfect opportunity to use it!

I created different variations on the simple theme.

And played with the text.

Happy Earth Day!

Be kind to our planet. It's the only one we have!

See these and more trees over at The Ginger Cookie.

A Strawberry Birthday Party

My Sweet Gracie turned 5 this month! We celebrated with a Strawberry Party at the park.

I used the beanbags I originally made for Gracie's Ladybug Birthday Party when she was 2.

The kids put the "strawberries" in a bucket during a relay game.

I also made a strawberry bingo game.

We used dried "fiori" pasta for markers.

Here's the strawberry piñata I created using paper mache and a balloon covered with tissue paper. This post was very helpful for ideas to create the piñata, and this post was useful for figuring out how to create the trap door and the pull string feature.

 

I used a strawberry drawn by Gracie to create the artwork for these personalized goody bags for the piñata prizes. I printed them on large sticker paper and cut them out with my favorite paper cutting scissors.

We baked cupcakes, strawberry and vanilla with a simple buttercream icing, decorated with sprinkles by Gracie!

Our guests were invited to add artwork and sign Gracie's birthday poster card.

The Strawberry Cookies are for favors. You can see more about these cookies in this post and over at The Ginger Cookie.

The cookies are individually wrapped in clear bags from Karen's Cookies, ready for our guests to take home.

And finally, I made thank you notes for Gracie to send. I printed them on Avery postcards, and they fit perfectly into invitation size envelopes. 

It was a great party!

Happy Birthday, Gracie!

Felt Easter Toys

I love to work with felt! For these projects I used a wool felt blend from Wool Felt Central on Prairie Point Junction.

I found the pattern for these cute bunny finger puppets on The Purl Bee. The pattern template is available as a free download.

This reversible toy is an egg on one side...

And a chick on the other! It's an Abby Glassenberg Design pattern, available here.

I made the felt eggs in the basket a few years ago, using this pattern from Lola Nova.

Happy Easter!

Egg + Flower = Strawberry (Cookie)

Gracie's birthday is coming up and she's having a Strawberry Party. Of course we will need cookies for favors.

I used an egg and a flower cookie cutter to create the shape I had in mind.

The flower is from a set of fondant cutters, and it was perfect for this! Notice that I used the complete flower and cut out part of the egg. The seam between the pieces is much more stable this way, especially when the cookie is iced with royal icing, which acts as a great stabilizer once it's dry.

The cookies are baked, decorated, individually bagged and in the freezer, awaiting the special day.

Sculpture at MFAH

We like to visit the Cullen Sculpture Garden at MFAH. This sculpture is Untitled by Joel Shapiro, although we call it Running Man.

This piece is Area Code by Jim Love.

Valentine's Day Puzzle & Tic-Tac-Toe

Felt Tic-Tac-Toe Game in a pouch I made for Gracie this year for Valentine's Day.

Love Always Wins!

Last year's gift was these puzzle cubes, painted with acrylic craft paints in six colors.