It's Official - I'm a Soccer Mom.

Zara sneaking up to the goal from behind. Photo by Seán.

Yup. I'm a soccer mom now. Which is why you probably won't be hearing much from me this week. Zara's soccer camp is just a week long, so I'm hoping to get back to our regularly scheduled programming soon. Her first day was today and she had a blast. She ran all over the place, picked flowers, and played with a puppy. Definitely a little Mia Hamm in the making! When she does play with the ball, she dribbles like a pro and has great aim. Fingers crossed that tomorrow goes a bit better. Or that at least she pays a bit of attention to the coaches.

Strawberry Thief Exposed!

Wascally Wabbit!

Not that I'm obsessed or anything (okay, I kinda am), but I think I figured out who my strawberry thief might be. This little guy's too cute for me to stay mad, though.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

Low Cal Coffee Drink (recipe)

So sweet!

I love coffee, but only if it doesn't actually taste too much like coffee. Basically, I love coffee-tinged milkshakes. Since I started calorie counting I've had to cut back on Frappucinos. Man, I miss Starbucks! Anyway, I figured out a way to have my decadent coffee fix without all of those empty calories (and hits to my budget).

QR Code Coasters

Cute conversational coasters.

Here's a weird fact about me: I love coasters. Seriously. So when Iron Craft's Scan This! challenge was issued, I thought I'd make a set. The challenge was to incorporate a QR code into a craft. I used the QR Stuff generator to make my codes.

Jammy Croissants (recipe)

Super Yum!

This is a Super Simple and super delicious treat. I'm calling them Jammy Croissants. Earlier I was calling them jam turnovers, but that wasn't exactly right. Jam-filled croissants is just too long and too hard to say. Jammy rolly thingies is...um, no. So, Jammy Croissants it is. And I'm sure I'm not the first to think of these, but I've never seen them before, so they're new to me.

Makeover Monday: Pillowcase + Socks = Superhero Costume

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Super Zara!

After I dyed my swimsuit cover-up and my wood clothespins, I threw an old pillowcase into the purple dye. Zara loves playing superhero, so she needed a cape and cuffs. I used that pillowcase to make her cape and a pair of baby socks to make her cuffs or pow-pows, as she calls them. More on that later.

Stopping to smell the roses.

I've never been a rose person. They remind me of funerals. And they smell bad. And they have thorns. They do, however, come in some spectacular colors. My husband Seán, on the other hand, loves them. So I've learned to live with them. I even got a bit excited when my favorite orange rose bloomed. So, I grabbed my camera and took a few photos. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm nuts.

Thinking of You Card

An easy way of letting someone you know you're thinking about them.

I've seriously been on a card-making kick lately. Blame all of the gorgeous Amy Butler papers that I got for cheap. Here's another one and this one's Super Simple.

A Father's Day Card...and a craft fail

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day is coming up and Iron Craft challenged us to make Something For Him. I had an awesome idea but that didn't work out so well. (More on that later.) Instead, I made a card for my husband.

Thanks A Bunch Card

Flowers galore.

This is a little thank you card that I whipped up to thank my husband's super-sweet co-worker for sending me a ton of gorgeous handbags. I made it using some yummy Amy Butler mat paper and a few new stamps.

Makeover Monday: Mannequin Makeunder

From frou-frou to streamlined.

I've had this little beauty since I was a teenager and never really knew what to do with it. It sat on a shelf, collecting dust for years (decades).  I've noticed recently that miniature mannequins seem to be popping up again. (Were they ever really in to begin with?) I decided to give my frilly mannequin a bit of a makeunder to fit in with my decor.

Recycled Bead Pendant Necklace

There are three things in this photo that are recycled. Care to guess which ones?

I'm really, really digging resin, as evidenced with my Map to the Beach Ring and Glittery Hairpin. This is my third resin project and it incorporates three recycled things. The chain you might recognize from my Makeup Bag to Wristlet Makover. The three rectangular beads are from a bracelet that broke about a decade ago (more craft hoarding). The pendant base...well...

The base.

 Can you guess what it started out life as?

Fun With Resin - A Glittery Hairpin

Ooh! Sparkly!

How much do I love resin?!? A whole bunch!  I had a lot of fun last weekend experimenting with it. I used it to make the Map to the Beach Ring, a bunch of gemstone shapes, and a pendant (more on the pendant tomorrow). I used one of the gemstone shapes to make this hairpin.

Map to the Beach Ring

Holden Beach - the happiest place on Earth!

You Are Here. Well, not here, exactly. That would be weird. You Are Here is Iron Craft's twenty-third challenge. We're supposed to incorporate a map into this week's creation. I made a map to the beach ring. More specifically, a map to  Holden Beach, NC. My family goes every year and it's my favorite place on the planet. I even bought the t-shirt.

Dyed Wood Clothespins

Cuter than plain clothespins, right?

I seem to never have enough of these little guys when I need them. And by "little guys," I mean decorated clothespins. I have tons of the plain ones, but I just can't bring myself to use them as clips. And since I had a couple of dye batches made up for my ombré swimsuit cover up, I took the opportunity to see what would happen if I dropped a few wood clothespins in.

Makeover Monday - Ombré Swimsuit Cover Up

Yeah, I really hate to iron.

I bought this cover up a few years ago, but never wore it. I don't wear white. Not even for my wedding. So why did I buy it? It needed a makeover.

Clowning Around Creative Coloring Entry

Joni Nickrent from Pop Art Minis posted a coloring contest on The Hive and I just had to get in on it. I pulled out my big box of colored pencils and got to scribbling.

Mine

Zara was inspired to break out her crayons and give it a try.

Zara's

Check out the other entries at Pop Art Minis. Thanks to Joni for the contest!

Chocolate Covered Oreos

White chocolate covered Oreos and almond bonbons.

Recently I visited a bakery shop and discovered something that'll probably be very detrimental to my waistline - chocolate covered sandwich cookie molds. Mmhmm. That's pretty much as awesome as it sounds. While at the same store, I picked up a pack of food dye markers. Of course, I had to try the two things out.

Three Ingredient Jam (recipe)

Berry jam on toast with a side of more berries. Yum!

Iron Craft's Al Fresco challenge had me stumped (again), but thanks to my genius husband and his genius idea of making my jam, I was able to participate this week. The part that I had the problem with is, well, all of it. The challenge was to do something picnic-centric. I hate picnics. I hate eating outdoors. I hate being outdoors. The whole thing seems like a bad idea. So germy...the bugs...the UV rays...not good. I do like picnic baskets, but have no idea what I'd do with one if I had one. They're just cute.

 Anyway, I made my Three Ingredient Jam.