Well, today was the day that hubby left on TDY to Ft. Knox. We won't see him again until the end of July. It is a bittersweet start to the month, but its something we have been preparing for, so we are hanging in there and making the best of things.
A while back I posted a list of Summer Activities that we plan to use this summer to keep busy and have fun. I was absolutely blown away by the incredible responses that you all gave in the comments section, and will definitely be trying out some of those suggestions soon. You can see here that Abbi has been taking full advantage of the sprinkler in the welcome summer heat.
Talking about all of these summer activities reminds me that I didn't really get a chance to talk about our trip to Sea World last week! We had a WONDERFUL time there. Anheuser-Busch provides all military families one free entrance into their parks per year, so we have them to thank for this awesome experience. It is the first time we were able to do something like this as an entire family.
Abbi can't talk very well as you probably know from reading my posts, but she kept saying "water, more!!" She was in water-heaven I think! :) She loved floating in the water and splashing around. I think she could have stayed in the pool the entire day and been perfectly happy. (shh - I would have loved to do just that as well!)
Anna had a great time at Sea World too. She adored the animals and floating around the lazy river at the waterpark the most! Here we are at the dolphin tank - our first stop at Sea World!
Around our necks you can see the result of some last-minute sewing I did before our trip: Cool Ties. These things have got to be the best invention known to man, and I am not sure they could be done in an easier way. I made enough for all of the family members who were going with us that day and they did a lot to keep us cool in the 110* Texas heat!
I have been doing some other sewing as well, but you'll have to wait until I can photograph it to hear more about it. *tease*tease*
As you can see, I have been sticking to my creative-every-day goal, and plan to continue doing so as the summer goes on. I was totally inspired by Rachel's beautiful tile necklaces and decided to give them a try (with my own spin on things of course). I have yet to perfect the art as she has, but I am pretty happy with the results so far. This one is my favorite, made of a wooden tile and decorative paper, sealed with about 5 coats of gloss:
I made 2 others on the wood that are similar, but have other cute sayings and some sweet red hearts.
After I tried my hand at the wooden ones, i thought I would experiment with some ceramic tiles as well. These first few are hand painted, then sealed - and just under one inch square.
I have several more not pictured, and am thinking about putting some in the shop and adding a bit to this collection. What do you think? Which one is your favorite?
On that note, I have to ask... What have you all been doing for summer crafting so far? I'd love to see some pictures or hear about them!
You are so creative I just love those necklaces ! Hang in there this month ! I am praying for you !
Posted by: Laurie | July 01, 2008 at 07:45 PM
I hope the month goes by super fast.
The first tile is divine! I do think that is the sweetest little saying ever.
Posted by: Laurie - Old School Acres | July 01, 2008 at 07:54 PM
My Brady loves the water as well! I usually have to drag him away kicking/screaming/crying...boogers everywhere!
I hope you are so busy this month that it's the end of July in no time!
Posted by: Shannon O. | July 02, 2008 at 02:20 PM
So cute! I love all of the ceramic tiles :)
Posted by: Sarah | July 02, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Great pictures...
Great smiles!
Great necklaces...
Great tiles!
:)
The owl is extra darling, the woman with the wild hair is hilarious. How can you get such great expressions in such a teeny space?
Posted by: Diane | July 02, 2008 at 08:30 PM
I love the necklaces. I really like the give and give and give one. sounds like me. Lol. my handwriting is terrible i could never pull off a craft like this. I love to see what other people can create.
Posted by: misty | July 08, 2008 at 10:57 PM
Very cute necklaces! I've seen similar ones on etsy. I say go for it and add them to your shop.
Posted by: Sarah | July 09, 2008 at 09:36 PM