getting crafty

apparently,  My Savvy Boys is in the business of doing dedications these days. 

last week, it was to my sister Katie. 

today, this post is for my college roomie's husband. 

based on a random facebook conversation with Joy this week. 

sadly, Adam, it's only a semi-intentional dedication. 

i start a lot of posts around here to have extra things on deck. 

and then, sometimes, the boys just get on a roll of doing silly things. 

and the queued up posts get lost and forgotten. 

and eventually it's just too late. 

case in point, i have a few great posts about benny's birthday that i never got around to using. 

his birthday is in march. 

but, this one is only about two months old. 

so, adam, it seems it is time for me to bring this one out for you. . . 

i love crafts.

as in, i could happily spend half a day wandering around Joann Fabrics.

and then head over to Michael's for more.

most of the time, the idea of a project is best.

i discussed my chronic Craft Starting Disorder here last summer.

anth also loves crafts.

he is my new partner in crime when i want to head to Joann's.

as long as i promise he can pick two crafts to take home with him, he will dutifully follow me about the store in pursuit of the perfect sticker, the latest yarn, etc.

recently, anth and i went to Joann's to get some holiday garland for our staircase.

at the end of this project, he picked out a flat, wooden, penguin-shaped ornament to paint, as well as a little loom to weave dishcloths.

yes, his is that awesome.

and if you think that a kid who picks a loom for fun is not awesome, well then, maybe it's you, my friend, who is lacking in the awesome department.

(you can pause here to ponder this if necessary. it's going to be important for the rest of this post.)

anyway.

anth loves crafts.

i am regularly looking for new ones.

i am currently excited by a flower-from-tissue-paper craft that a colleague, Heather, taught me this week.

if time allows, we shall be making some tissue poinsettias this weekend.

but, because i have been slacking about posting, as my sister so lovingly pointed out, here is a nice long post with bonus photos.

as the last photo will reveal, this is about two months old.

but, benny decided to get in on the crafting action this particular weekend, so it was necessary to photo-document.

here you are. . .

anth loves iron beads.
they require a precision in the Land of Motor Skills that benny has not yet developed.
here is the only photo i have of benny attempting this before it was promptly decided that "dese are just no fun."

ben does love to paint.
and he loves collecting coins.
perfect craft?
make your own piggy bank.

the kid was focused.

he worked so long, he needed to prop up his own head.

that's dedication.

my poor boys.

i will declare just about anything time for a joint picture.

they are so patient with humoring me.

they must know that they rely on me for sustenance.

or something.

benny insisted his piggy have a green scarf.

i helped him a bit with the edges.

benny gave him a really good coat of paint.

really good.

perhaps more so in some places than others.

i suggested he cover up the white parts and he eventually manged to do so.

ben also made the executive decision that "piggies are always muddy."

fair enough.

he also had me help him paint eyes on his masterpiece.

"so my piggy can see me."
precious.

anth worked on a series of "stained-glass" halloween decorations.

i am a toot and did not take many pictures of these due to being distracted by ben's artwork.

he also worked on a few involving small beads that needed to be melted in the oven.

i'm pretty darn excited to have them home for a week over the holidays.

i am debating teaching anth how to knit.

which could probably warrant it's own blog. 

i'll keep you posted. . .

Labor (of love) Day

this weekend, i finally uploaded my photos to my computer.

i've been meaning to do this for a while. 

there are a lot of fun pictures to share, including some from my recent "how to use your camera you've had for 9 months lesson" with Sam Al-Khoury.

a huge portion of the photos involved my kids working on some sort of art project or another. 

anth has been on a painting/iron beading/sun-catcher kick. 

which, of course, i love. 

over Labor Day weekend, both of the boys and i had our own little creative adventures . . .

anth loves painting plaster figurines. 

this particular weekend included a monkey and a dolphin. 

this was a nice, easy, project to acquire at Michael's.

benny's?

not so much. 

as of late, the boys have been highly in love with the new version of Thundercats on Cartoon Network.

more specifically, ben loves an episode about the "Sword of Omens."

lately, he can be found brandishing pretty much anything and claiming it has the power of omen. 

or something to that effect. 

here is a visual of the sword for reference: 

note: while searching for the image above, i found a disturbing amount of photos of people who have tattoos of the same sword. 

okay, so i found like 5. 

but still. 

wow. 

i should really watch this show with bern and the boys to figure out what this sword can apparently do.

anyway. 

benny wanted a sword. 

and i was in my pajamas.  

so this is what he got. 

apparently, he was not impressed by mom's low-budget productions. 

(actually, he was upset about something entirely different and, apparently, unmemorable a few weeks later.)

but this next picture leads me to believe i offered him a reward if he stopped crying and took a picture. 

mom. 

of. 

the. 

year. 

my random little project on this day was food. 

one of my colleagues, alice, has recently turned me on to kale chips. 

i was working on these while anth was painting his dolphin. 

at some point, anth asked me to come over and help him with something, and i carried the baking sheet with the kale on it over with me. 

he took one look at it, forgot his question, and asked me what i was doing. 

i explained. 

"never mind, mom. i'm okay. i mean, that looks pretty gross already, so i really don't want to distract you and have that turn out worse. "

reality? check.

so.
if you read yesterday's post, you already know I was rather pleased with the wine cork wreath i made on tuesday.
tickled, even.
mostly because i have CSD.
Craft Starting Disorder.
i am typically fully invested in new craft projects.
until they are about 63% complete.
then they are old craft projects.
or, perhaps, more-tedious-than-fun craft projects.
then they sit in the craft cupboard.
and there they remain.
really, i should learn from this.
be more self aware.
stick to knitting and card making.
but new crafts are so shiny.
full of potential.
until I get to them.

anyway.
i was proud of my wine wreath.
anth?
he took one look at it and, clearly unaware of my severe case of CSD, asked, "so you basically took ALL of those corks and made a really big bagel?"

um.
basically.

put a cork on it

okay.

so, you can totally think i'm a hot mess for saying this.

but i really need you to read the title of this post to the tune of beyonce's Single Ladies (put a ring on it.)

because life is far too serious.

so, why not?

my boys would tell you that i regularly rewrite songs such as this.

right now they would tell you that is it moderately to very nerdy of me.

if i'm still doing it in a few years, they will avoid me altogether in public settings.

anyway...

my good friend kelly came into town last weekend to celebrate her birthday on July 3rd.

she was here for 5 days.

overall, it was a wonderful time.

except for the fact that it highlighted how much of a not-so-very-exciting-person i've become.

there were a few key things that really illustrated this point for me.

they include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. i was tired each night by 10pm.

2. seriously. twice i started to nod off on the couch while kelly and bernie were still talking.

3. we hit the mall on saturday for 5 straight hours and it just about killed me.

4. as in, when i got out of bed the next morning, the pads of my feet hurt.

5. kelly helped me catch up on what i've been missing.

6. by that, i mean, she helped me catch up on the 4 episodes of The Voice i had not yet watched.

7. and, finally, in a true testament to "i give up," we spent her last full day here crafting.

i mean.

i love to craft.

i always have.

but, given a full day off and endless options of what to do (i mean, aside from the fact that we are totally land-locked and it was far too hot outside...), we chose to get crafty.

kelly and her friend call this "Girls Gone Mild."

me? 

well. i was in junior high in 1989. 

and i loved hair bands. specifically Sebastian Bach of Skid Row. 

(and Poison's Bret Michaels. but that's an entirely different post.)

so, for me, "Youth Gone Mild" would be more appropriate.

whatever you call it, i devoted my day to gluing things together.

for the last...i don't know...2.5 years...i have been collecting wine corks.

sadly, i can't even say that i have been collecting my own.

for the most part, i have been collecting from other people.

like kelly, i wanted to assemble a wine cork wreath.
(yes. again. big ambitions.)

this was actually a bigger project than i had planned.

here is what i learned yesterday:

1.) some people have favorite brands. :)

2.) some are much more willing to test the waters. (and by waters, i mean wine. clearly.)

3.) the wine industry's shift to these cork-free corks makes for a boring looking wreath. only use these on the first layer.

4.) just because the picture online of the pretty little wreath with bells worked out perfectly, it does not mean that you (AKA, i) have the skill set to emulate it at home. note the extreme lack of bell in between two of these corks.

5.) you should never, ever, leave your camera unattended on the coffee table while intensely focused on your glue. because you might end up with a picture like this. because the photographer finds it hilarious to take a photo of her happy, sitting-on-the-couch, relaxed feet with you working away in the background. and, because when you realize this, you will probably look up at her to glare. maybe call her a buttface. and, most definitely, squirt very hot glue onto your finger. i mean...just maybe.

6.) but, in the end, you will not only get one very tender/concerningly numb finger...but also one of these. which i find to be rather fun. (though i am still curious what wine caused the purple on the bottom right there.)

7.) warning: if you choose to sit on the floor and lean over said project for, perhaps, 5 hours, you might stand up and say a particular letter. highlighted on a particular cork here. again. just maybe.

overall, aside from the fact that it makes me a goober, i am pretty darn proud of this wreath.
and i wanted to say thanks to all of the people who so diligently imbibed so that i could make this.
on my day off.
be jealous.