what a fun project this was!
a friend of mine that used to be a blogger once posted this and I finally got around to making these beauties…
cannot wait to make them with the proper kite paper… then the sun can come through them so pretty!
The girls loved helping with these!
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just some fun little odds and ends…
we have been felting so much lately… my fingers hurt!
it’s so much fun and so satisfying… I have accepted that I cannot knit but man oh man can I get into felting!
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our girls get such a kick out of these wet felted eggs we make every spring! I think it’s all the water soapy messiness! perhaps? We LOVE felting … love the handicraftness about it… love how it’s such an old craft but yet our girls are obsessed with it! We put Isabelle’s washboard to use this time around… she got it for this particular project from Santa Claus.

But this year we invited some friends over to join in on the fun! it was quite cute and all the fluffy felt was all over the place… lots of bubbles… lots of giggles.. lots of fun!

best of all at the end you get a pretty little egg… looks so nice on our spring nature table!

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we’ve been really into rainbows lately… painting them, drawing them, blending colors, seeing them in crystals… rainbows make us so happy!

just hanging out around the home… being cozy cozy… painting… decorating for Easter… little projects and crafts… it’s been so fun and so productive!

This weather that we have been given lately has been making us all so happy… enjoying every minute of the freshness fills us up!… cheers us up… makes us smile!

we have some fun weekend plans such as 2 birthday parties… a drum circle… an Eco Fest… and sitting in the garden listening to the birds. The girls are wrapping presents right now for their friends… making cards… tying ribbon… getting excited!

What things are making you happy this weekend…?
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since some of our very BEST friends have moved allllll the way to Hawaii… weep weep weep… we look forward to fun surprises in the mailbox!

our families are very close and our children have grown up together so our little ones send little notes and fun packages… it’s such a sweet surprise!

The other day a fun package came for our oldest Isabelle’s birthday… There were fun shells… a fancy skirt… notes… but for the Japanese Girl’s Day they sent these amazing little treats! They were delicious Japanese candy puffs and were so nice! not BRIGHT colored… or artificial… instead they were papaya, strawberry, leeche, lemon… oooh so tasty!

our girls LOVED these puffy sweet treats! (and so did mamma and pappa)

I think perhaps we will put together something fun to put in the mail this week… I am a big fan of the old art form of writing letters!
When I was in school I had several different pen pals… it was such a treat to help get the mail… different looking stamps… special hand writings… learning about the different states and countries. It really ties us all together… the sweetness of a letter keeps people grounded and close with their feelings for them… at least in my humble opinion. I know the world is full of facebook and emails but to just sit down and write a letter feels wonderful.
what kind of surprises do you like to get in the mail… do you still write letters?

I had a special pen pal in high school from Germany and actually we are still pen pals… when my husband and I went backpacking in Europe one year we made a plan to stay with her and her boyfriend. It was amazing… after so many years of communicating through letters to actually talk in person was unreal! I have saved all of her letters and envelopes. Yes, I do also like the envelopes. Something about the way the stamp is stamped… all over there are different symbols, dates, inks. It’s just beautiful. I have a shelf in my craft closet with nothing but paper, stickers, pens, stamps… when I feel the need to write to someone I love… I take down the boxes… find the right paper and pen… and let my heart pour onto the paper. My favorite pens are fountain pens… the ink flows perfectly! I think tomorrow a letter will be written…
]]> 324 https://catchingcaterpillars.com/2011/03/some-crafting-and-a-little-coconut-football.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=some-crafting-and-a-little-coconut-football Sat, 26 Mar 2011 19:10:00 +0000 http://catchingcaterpillars.com/index.php/2011/03/26/some-crafting-and-a-little-coconut-football/ Read more]]>

lately the weather has been just dreamy! makes us realize why we live here in paradise!

a little coconut football is so fun!

don’tcha just LOVE glitter! the sparkier the better! the way it shimmers and shines and gets lumpy when mixed with glue… puffs of glue with glitter stuck to your fingers… the more glitter the better!

a little fence climbing… I love how we let our children be children.. climb fences, play in mud, toss coconut footballs… it’s the simple things that we remember… I was reading something the other day and it said… “looking back at your childhood and remember back… the most popular things that people have for a memory is being in the nature… being a KID!” first on the list was laying in the grass looking up at the cloud formations… then come climbing trees…

what is your favorite memory of being a kid??? why not do it again!

for me a memory of my childhood is playing in the mud… being covered up to my elbows in mud… barefoot! then rinsing off in the creek… building a boat with some junk us kids found… and finishing off climbing trees and swinging from branches to branches like monkeys… My wish for my children is to have this simple carefree life of being a kid… just as I had…

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oh my oh my… what an amazing birthday party! our little Isabelle has been loving the story of Alice in Wonderland… she also loved the Johnny Depp film… so it was no surprise when she said she wanted a “wonderland” party! I was quite excited too!

some fun details… there is something so magical about this story… takes me back to my own childhood where I just LOVED the story as well!

We had SO SO SO much fun setting things so for the garden party! Isabelle got to set the linens out… tie ribbons.. put flowers out! I love how she loves to help… quite helpful!
but I know this setting looks a little like it took me weeks… but all it was, was borrowing tea cups/ pots… from my mother… fabrics… flowers… everything is so hodgepodgie and madhatterish which was a bit hard to let loose of a color theme… perfections… but that’s just how our garden is… very whimsical and eclectic… and to me.. the madhatter tea party was a perfect theme for our not-so-perfect but in our eyes perfect… garden!

for me… Alice in Wonderland… the new Tim Burton movie is a MUST see for ALL little girls!!! to start.. it’s so magical and will lift everyone’s hearts… but what stood out to me as an important film for little girls to see is it shows little girls that they can be adventure girls! in the film Alice did not want to get engaged… did not want to wear fru fru dresses… she wanted to be a strong woman.. back then it was a bit unheard of… maybe now too perhaps… but Alice is on the verge of becoming a woman and her heart is swaying toward adventure and a free spirit… not a happily ever after. In the end she sails the world… that’s her HUGE defeat… not finding a prince. THIS is a happily ever after… don’t you think so…

little Alice… Happy 5th Birthday Sweetie!
Uma made this beautiful dress for the birthday girl… look at all of the fun details… I love the different swatches of fabrics… looks truly like something Alice would wear… Isabelle LOVED it!

classic party games were played…

that’s some happy hair!

Uma & Umpa made this fantastic Cheshire Cat pinata for the party! all handmade!

Pappa Bear always makes his girl’s birthday cakes… this year it was a Queen of Hearts strawberry cake with the White Queen on it! yummy! the 3 layered cake had vanilla custard, strawberries, and bananas inside with a gelatin & strawberry top!

playing a bit with her new sweet gifts..

what a day this was.. one I know she’ll always remember

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