When Jahred has a weekday off, it seems I've always got a mission for him.  This week: make a costume rack/toy box from materials you have in the garage – don't buy anything new.

I am so happy to announce that his mission has been accomplished!  Using leftover bead-board from Axel's bedroom and the branch of an old tree, Jahred has made the most adorable, masculine, eco-toy box I could have imagined!

The finishing touches are the gold paint and the fleece liner – because I knew Axel would do exactly this – crawl inside!

I've also included a sample of my "Birch in Watercolor."  It's so interesting to see the difference between two paintings of essentially the same thing, in two different media.  I really like them both!

If you're interested in the dimensions of the costume rack, let me know and I will beg Jahred for his secrets.

Has it really been over a week since I last blogged?  Let me tell you a few of the things I've been doing in my absence.

• Managed to figure out the wireless feature on my printer – four hours well worth the effort.
• Mastered the art of adding texture to photos in Photoshop!
• Taken my birch painting to a new level by painting them in watercolor (photo perhaps tomorrow).
• Found a use for the torn "player piano rolls." (Stay tuned.)
• Polished off Axel's Halloween candy – I'm not proud of this one.
• Stayed caught up on my television shows and knit myself into sock heaven once again.

Today we drove northwest on HWY 94, a direction we rarely head.  The closer you get to Fargo, the scarier things get for urban folk, so we stopped in Alexandria for a bit of sight-seeing, anticipating adventure.

As the pictures indicate, we found mostly the familiar.  A red door/photo op and a used bookstore where Axel felt truly at home.  Not much to report from our big trip to Alex, but a worthy outing for the average Tuesday.

With the onset of daylight savings time, I'm reminded that winter is just around the corner.  Not even 24 hours in, I'm already having trouble keeping my wandering mind busy.

In the last few hours I've added a few new items to my Etsy shop in order to prepare for the Christmas rush (assuming/hoping there will be one).  One thing you'll see in common is the grey wall showcasing my new products.  In every house, I've had to find that "photo-perfect spot," and right in my dining room, here on Scenic Drive, I think I've found it.

Also on the docket today was one wedding clutch.  A friend sent an old wedding dress my way a few months back, with the idea to make a handbag from her dress.  While I didn't have to guts to cut into that vintage beauty this afternoon, I made a practice "frame clutch" from a few scraps I had laying around.  I think I'll need about 85 more practice rounds before the real deal.

Oscar and I made a few great finds today.  While Axel was peacefully resting, I cleared out unfinished projects and Oscar found a spot to bask in the south-facing window.

This afternoon I planned to pile up yarn to sell in "scrap packs."  I began by collecting the remnants from last years knits and extracting random skeins from here and there.  While reaching into a seemingly bottomless tote, I pulled out, completely by surprise, one hand-knit, scalloped cowl.  It is super gorgeous and I had completely forgotten about it as we packed up and moved last spring. 

Haha!  Score!  This decreases my Christmas knitting by one article.  A lucky recipient will be receiving this cowl come December...but it may just be me.  We'll see how soon those snowflakes begin to fly!

For your visual pleasure I've included a picture of the cowl you could be receiving, and also a pic of my earnest, old dog.  Love this guy.

It's been a Halloween weekend in our house.  As mentioned before, Axel wanted to be a Groom this year, and a groom he was (for 3 out of 4 dress-up occasions).  For the actual trick-or-treating, I forced him into a dragon costume, figuring warmth was more important than fashion.

Here are some of the highlights from Axel's 3-year-old Halloween.

Bringing one groom to preschool.

Pumpkin guts.

Trick-or-Treat!

When you're child is an exception to nearly every rule, he may want to be a "groom" for Halloween.

Forget the popular Disney characters, even something spooky, my little Axel has insisted on being a groom for months now.  I've had little success in convincing him otherwise.

Savers provided a sweet little suit for my groom and only one detail was left to my creative devices.  The boutonniere.

Here is a quick tutorial of how to make Axel's Daisy Boutonniere.

Materials:
2 - 2"x2" squares of yellow fabric
1 - cotton ball
2 - 5" pieces of wire
1 - roll of floral tape (you'll only need about 2 yards
1 - sheet of tissue paper

To make the stamen of each flower: Take the fabric, half of the cotton ball and one end of the piece of wire and make a little "package."  Seal the fabric bundle to the wire and continue to wrap the wire in floral tape.

Fold your piece of tissue paper accordion style (back and forth like you're making paper-dolls).  Cut a piece about 3" high.  Scallop the top (no need to measure, just make the scallops as small as you can with your scissors) and cut 3/4 of the way to the bottom, at the base of each scallop.

Begin wrapping your loooong strip of petals around your stamen.  You will need to pinch the base of the petals in, but just keep rolling it.  When you're finished winding it, secure with floral tape, again wrapping the wire stem.

Make two of these.  Wrap them together with the floral tape.  Trip the wire stems and wrap the tape around the bottom of them.  Arrange petals so they look pretty.

It was Merry Christmas to me last weekend as my mom surprised me with a painting class.  Jeff Boutin is a Minnesota native and accomplished painter.  His works can be seen in exhibitions throughout the country, but more locally in Hudson, WI and Minneapolis, MN.

This weekend I was lucky enough to participate in his "Fall Birch" oil painting class and was so pleased to come away with something beautiful!

Here are a few pics of what I managed to create!

Here we go!  A blank board and lots of ambition.

Was I supposed to bring my own color wheel?

This looks frightening.

I assure you, the red seemed like a good idea at the time.

I forgot to take pictures for a while.  Adding the trees was really intense.  This was the next time I paused.

My pallet looks like this now.

Leaves are so difficult.  I told Jeff (we're on a first name basis) that teaching his techniques is brilliant job security.  Right about here I was about to pop into the gallery, choose a gorgeous birch painting off the wall, pay him the several hundred/thousand dollars and be done with it.  Seriously, I was starting to think there was no hope in sight.

...and then I brightened it up a bit and started to fall in love.

This is the final picture I snapped of it before taking in home every so gingerly in my trunk.  It looks much prettier in person, and I can't wait to frame it.

I'll be sure to post a pic once it is proudly on my wall.  What a great x-mas present, from my mom, for me, by myself.

Last night we were the lucky recipients of one very cute "ding-dong-ditch."  We opened the door to find the most adorable pumpkin bucket, inside was a lighted ghost and lots of Halloween treats!  The idea of the bucket is to pass it on!  Who knows where it will head next!!!

Perhaps a few of you remember when I published a book through Blurb featuring the content of my grandfathers scrapbooks?  Although I cannot begin to take credit for the nearly half-century of collecting he did to create this wonderful symbol of Saint Paul, I will shamelessly boast about it again as Blurb has translated it into an eBook!

Currently the book price is as follows: hardcover book = $120.  The new eBook is being offered at $4.99!

I am so excited that his book, his story and his collection, can now be spread to a wider audience.  The book does receive many hits per day, but I'm sure with the printing costs of such an extensive, large picture book, it's just too much for people to buy.

The eBook format right now works with iPad, iTouch and iPhone.  Blurb is working on formatting for other devices such as computer, Nook and Kindle.  For now, I only have an iTouch (of those devices) but have downloaded it and it looks wonderful!!

I feel like technology is starting to become my friend.  To purchase a copy of Papa's eBook, click HERE!

I've only seen these a handful of places and have been looking for a set myself for years.  While I'm not entirely well-read on the subject, I have checked out a scholarly source, wikipedia, and am here to report on the reasons you should hang prayer flags in your own yard.

The flags originated from the Buddhist tradition, perhaps in India.  Although the original flags were perhaps used in battle, they have now spread throughout the world as a symbol of peace.

The five colors represent the five elements.  Blue/sky/space, white/air/wind, red/fire, green/water, yellow/earth.

The center of the flags usually features a "strong horse" carrying jewels.  The horse, or "Ta," is the symbol of speed and the transformation of bad fortune to good fortune.  (This I find particularly interesting as my fortune has this year turned the corner.)

The Tibetans believe that the flags do not carry prayers to the gods, rather that the wind blows the prayers from the flags and spreads their good will and compassion throughout the entire universe.

The prayers of the flag become a permanent part of the universe as the flag colors fade from exposure to the elements.  The Tibetans hang new flags alongside the old, welcoming life's changes, and acknowledging that all beings are part of a greater circle.