How to Make a Fairy Garden

If there's one thing I know, it's that little girls like to make little things.

This is a great outdoor project little ones can enjoy all summer long. Work together to collect small sticks, rocks and old doll house furniture. If you don't have any old doll house furniture, you can use small toys or make tiny chairs or tables out of sticks, glue and string.

Fill a pot with soil, I've found that ordinary dirt works just fine for this project because most of the plants you'll use just grow out in the yard, but you certainly can use potting soil, or a scoop of nice dirt from your vegetable garden.

Look for dark, moist areas around your house for moss. It grows on or around the base of trees, on rocks and fallen down logs. Plants like Chickens & Hens, sedum, tiny pansies can be planted within the moss. You could dig up grass from your yard and plant it inside, just "mow" it with scissors.

Take the little rocks and make rock walls or stepping stones. Use the sticks to make a fence or a swing. For our swing we used sticks with a fork in them to hold on each end, one strait stick and hung a piece of bark for the seat.

Make sure you water your garden often to keep it healthy, especially the moss. And be sure to tell your children no to pick up any mushrooms or toadstools to use in this project since most are very poisonous!

Have fun, use your imagination and watch for fairies coming to your garden!

Craft Day.....

While I was cutting out material for this stuffed ring toy for #4,

Miss #2 created a gorgeous Picasso inspired collage. It's made of an old cork board & scraps of wrapping paper. She did lots and lots of cutting with her little plastic scissors & used no less than a bottle of Elmer's glue.It's even 3D. Let me tell you, if you want some time to yourself...let 'em loose to make something like this...They have a great time being creative!

She decided it will grace our daily lives by hanging in the kitchen.

I got this fabric & pattern from a cute little quilt shop on our trip last week. I especially love the birds

More things I want to make...

I saw this wall in New York -

It's just covered in ruffles of beige, ivory & ecru material. I'd love to have a wall of this in my bedroom, or the corner of the living room.

It was so calming.

*I LOVE THESE BAGS*

I've always wanted a vintage carpet bag, I think this will be the next best thing.

NYC

Traffic

Fish for Sale

A bit of Rain

Macy's! Doesn't this just make you want to watch Miracle on 34th Street?

A Carbaholics dream come true

Night

Columbus Circle, just out of the Subway...excuse me, just after we got off the Train.

The view from our room on the 23rd floor. We stayed in the Flower and Garment Districts

There are trees in the city

Uptown

Mother, ticked off.

Uptown Ladies

eating & drinking...in New York City

Tiramisu, Little Italy

Creme Brule

Peach Champagne, Tavern on the Green

Murray's Bagels

Knish $2.00 @ a little stand outside of the Met. Mashed potatoes with mustard.

"Oz" Margarita, Tavern on the Green

We saw Martha!

We had so much fun!!!

This is the holding room. They put us there after we stood out in the rain for an hour, checked for weapons in our purses, put us through metal detectors and performed cavity searches. I imagine this was as brutal as getting into the Presidential Inauguration.

This was my mother after her cavity search.

Ok, there was NOT a cavity search.

This was just mom excited to see Martha.

It was actually kind of fun standing outside, we met lots of moms, won prizes from some guy with a big truck with coffee...I sang the Gilligans Island theme song and won a Radio City Rocketts Nutcracker. Mom got a funky lady bug cell phone cover that I hope she threw away or gives to one of my kids so no one thinks she's loony. "Hold on, my big pink lady bug is ringing...." We also lined up for a real live photo shoot for one of their magazines...

The bathrooms were gross. Like a high school. Not very Martha.

The Studio...was sparkling clean and so bright and beautiful....

The lights....

And there she was...in all her glory,

getting her makeup touched up,

talking,

talking some more...

This is the beautiful opera singer Susan Graham, the guest that day. We got lots of fun goodies, a rose bush, a booty pop,(like I need any more booty) opera tickets, passes to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and a few other things from this cute little girl from buss buss.

Turtle Soup

#2 wanted sugar cookies, so we made a batch yesterday. We made these cute little butterflies, tulips and bunnies.

Standing at the kitchen window looking out at the Mowing Maniacs* next door, I saw this thing trudging along into our yard. It was a snapping turtle that I knowledgably estimated to weigh around 50lbs. I did what I always do in any dire situation....called my brother. He always knows what to do...in this case, he suggested I trap the big beasty by tipping the wheelbarrow over it. Before taking his expert advice, I thought I'd assess the situation further by going out and taking a few pictures.
I securely placed #4 in her Rainforest Jumperoo...(this thing is sooo worth $79.99) and #2 and #3 took their places by the porch window while I bravely stepped outside. Taking pictures of anything unusual is nessesary in this family because nobody ever believes you. Last year on April 1st all my chickens got out...no one would come over to help me because it was stupid April Fools Day.

Believe me now? Its a turtle...and a big one...at least 40lbs!

Ok, so maybe not quite 40lbs...30?20?

I came inside, composed myself, gave #4 her "suckie" , consoled #3 who was freaking out, and reassured #2 who was scared it would decide to live in our yard and snap her toes off. Not me baby, I was not scared at all. I was cool, calm and collected...this is why I called for a second opinion, Papa Big AL. He gave me the confidence I needed to go out and trap the beasty with the wheelbarrow.

It was so windy outside! My sweater was whipping around my middle like a flapping flag and I was afraid I'd flash the Mowing Maniacs* before this was all said and done. But that big fella was in our yard now and looking around for a place to call home. Seriously, this is prime real estate, baby. I looked over at my peanut gallery...they grinned and waved "Go Mommy Go!" I wheeled closer and closer, that gaping pointy mouth was wide open just waiting for a taste of flesh. hee hee. I did it. I flopped the thing over it and ran. Papa Big AL...registered nuisance trapper and Grandpa of the Year picked him up a little while later. Took the beasty to clearer waters where he could roam free and find love at long last. Oh, and just as I suspected...it weighed a whopping 18 pounds!

*Mowing Maniacs - our neighbors. They mow their yard every other day in the summer time. I am not kidding. I will take pictures if you'd like proof.

Don't you wish you had an Auntie Clara?

She takes you to get your nails done

in her fancy red sportscar

buys you bubblebath

and Ice Cream.

Oh wait, I had an Aunt like that, as a matter of fact, I still do. I'ts been a while, since we were anywhere just the two of us. October 21, 2000. Honestly. We went to some restaurant for lunch that was owned by one of the three tenors or something? Help me out here Aunt Deb! It was the day I was due to have #1. She used to take me to feed the ducks at a near by lake, go to garage sales, I'd spend the night in her condo (that smelled funny) I remember spending the night with her at one of her old boyfriends houses and sitting on the counter eating my first taste of scrambled eggs with cheese. He had a pool. And a motorcycle. Driving around in her red camaro...that she used to promise me I could have one day. One time we were driving down a back road and a little dog was in the road all alone. We lured it into the car with french fries (not the burnt ones, they were our favorite) and took him to grandpa's house. Grandpa obviously did not give Aunt Deb her animal loving traits....He made us take the dog back where we got it...THEN some lady came out of her house and thought we were just dumping off a dog...I think she ended up keeping it...? When I was in 6th grade, and I got my braces off, she gave me a huge basket of GUM. She took me to plays, movies, shopping, I was her maid of honor. She bought me my first mascara and some bleaching cream for the hair on my upper lip when I was in 7th grade. She used to have a tanning bed. In her condo. How. Cool. Was. That. She let me drive her car. When I was 12. She bought me Poison perfume. Two Words. Bill. Burger. I still talk to her every day. Sometimes we fight. And have a kind of "legal separation" for a week or so. We don't see eye to eye on alot of things, but I love her. And now, she takes my girls to feed the ducks, and to candy picnics, and for rides in her red jeep. To the movies, and out to lunch. Buys them shoes, pretty dresses, and lunchables.