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junkywood.

after several hours of all my children within 10 feet of me today

i shouted at my kids  "YOU HAVE CABIN FEVER!"
to which annie asked "we're sick?!"

i kicked them all outside.
i had had enough.
they played for awhile…enough to give me a slight teensy break and then i was ready to make crafts.
i brought out the box of junk we've been saving for a year.

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literally junk.
trash.
things i would find on the floor and if i remembered…i would stick it in the junk box.

soon the junk sculpture became a city.
talby made a sign and gave it a name.
junkywood…not hollywood.

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details…details…what do you see?
this is all talby's creation with me in control of the glue.

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sean ditched us and went out on his own.
he wanted his own time with the glue gun really.
do you know how much kids love glue guns?!  they do!
it's low temp and i was trying to guide him.  totally worth the risk i think.

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he made his own "world's largest _______" museum. 
largest joke (on the popsicle stick)
largest brain (made from the packaging of a watch and pink pom poms…i love it!)
largest feather (as big as the sky scraper next to it.)
good stuff.

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talby filled her bottle with goodies before capping it with a marble.  
Abby Reed…do you recognize those red marbles?  :)

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a little free advertising peter.

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the bald footless disney princess (thanks waffle) could swing around the strings to the buildings.

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such a fun project.
free.
recycling.
creative.
you definitely have the supplies right there at your house.
go for it.
we got the idea from ms. kristin of course.  

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business-y things:
thank you for all the goodies you bought from the shop yesterday.
the postman and i are nearly best friends by now.
i love all you bloggy shoppers (and bloggy readers non-shoppers too)
THANK YOU.

AND my next few weeks have opened up a bit for photos.
if you were thinking of having some pictures taken…how about now?  
we have a lot of fun.
email me for details at cdduerksen @ yahoo . com.
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lauren - you are a rockin momma. your kids have definitely been graced with your creativity and imagination! so much fun. looks like a great home to be spending long summer days at.

Kameron - I think you should do prints of some of the amazing photos you take in your etsy shop! I’d buy some for sure!

Laura Phelps - I live in Hollywood, and dare I say…it IS a bit junky!

Holly - that is such a neat idea. love junkywood!

carissa... brown eyed fox - I had to send you a “hiiiiiii… woo hooooo… wave wave” as we drive through Kansas!
smiling big & thinking of you!
hugs!

seleta - This is both precious + priceless. What a great idea. Love his title “junkywood not holleywood.”
Thank you for sharing + inspiring this mom of four.

Nicole - What an awesome idea!!

The Countess of Nassau County - You are a rockstar

Sara W - I love this idea. I am constantly throwing away ‘treasures’ like these items.
And I LOVE the sunflowers on your header! They make me smile.

Christina - I think you are one of the coolest moms ever.

Abby - Ahh, the red marbles! Glad you found a use for them, so sorry he did that!!
We will have to start a box once we get settled, I can imagine that I will have plenty of broken bits and pieces to add over time. 🙂
Can’t wait to see the pictures, thanks again for the photo shoot – you were right it was way better than “that other place”

Erica - Peter wants to know: what was that?
And thanks for the shoutout! 🙂

wendy - Great idea! So creative and green. I will file it away and start my junk collection ASAP. As always, thanks for the inspiration Meg.

misty - i missed out on the etsy treasures! =0( I am so disappointed!!! do you do custom orders?

Katherine - Hi! I just found your blog (I know, I’m so late)…i love it! Your photos are fun and I love the pillows & shirts you make. Thank you for sharing! Oh and I wish you were local ( I live in Long Island, NY)!..so you could take photos of my baby! http://www.Kariselle.blogspot.com

CherryTreeLane - Love it–great idea!

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - I wish we lived close I would have you do our pics in a heartbeat!! Love your Junkywood idea. You have so many of those;)

Rachel / cREaTe - i love the “worlds largest ______” museum. soooo creative!!! and i totally noticed the business card & thought “free advertising for someone!” before i even saw what you wrote. 🙂 ha cool cool cool. thanks for sharing.

juliann brenner - Oh how fun! My kids (I should say Luke) love to collect things to make 3-D sculptures out of…. He will love looking at these pics and will, I am sure, be inspired!

Melissa - Hahaha, this made me laugh because it’s just the kind of things my brothers and I did as kids. Love it!!!

Aubrey - That is a really awesome junk city. Your kids are so creative–it will be fun to see how that develops as they grow up (in a really long time of course).
I wish we lived closer or were doing a road trip RIGHT NOW to have you do our pictures. One day, we will take a trip through your town on purpose for a photo shoot.

adrienne - way cool kids! way cool buildings!!!

Jocelyn Stott - GREAT project. There is so much goodness going on here: creativity, recycling and innovation.

Keri ~ ForeverFoldingLaundry - Creativity at its finest – love it!!
Now if only I could find any junk laying around my house…. (ha!)

cally - genius.

Dina - what a great idea!!! thanks for sharing 🙂
love your blog (and shop)!!

danyele - how fab!!! i can’t wait to do all this stuff again soon with b and jk and s. paige use to create all the time…
my fav, by the way, is the feathers with the bottle caps…ingenious!

Courtney - I love this idea! I would totally have to hide it from my husband though, I can just see him coming home and trying to pry something off saying, “I might need this!” 🙂

Chele - You just keep giving me awesome ideas for my kids! And the junk we could use up! 🙂 Thank you for sharing once again!

Karrie - You’ve got CABIN FEVER??? I’ve got it TOOOOO!!!!
(Love this clip!!! Found it on YouTube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6lY-EQrdA4

Ashley Ann - Simply great…I totally love this idea and will store it away for a year or so until at least 2 of mine are ready for it. Super fun…

Amber - Love this! I actually have an “imagination bin” that is filled with odds and ends and “junk” as you say. It’s a big rubbermaid bin, and I’ll pull it out every now and then and let the kids go to town. They love it.
You are so inspiring, by the way! I love your blog! I’m so going to try the shaving cream thing with my kids when they get a little older. I’m not brave enough to trust my three-year-old to keep it out of her eyes!
Thanks for sharing!

robyn Beckley Vining - I have a junk box/drawer like that, too!!! We put everything in it and are waiting for our special day that we make such a city! We call it the re-purpose drawer, and one day it will find a new purpose in being our entirely recyclable city one we make it 🙂
fun!

robyn Beckley Vining - I have a junk box/drawer like that, too!!! We put everything in it and are waiting for our special day that we make such a city! We call it the re-purpose drawer, and one day it will find a new purpose in being our entirely recyclable city one we make it 🙂
fun!

kristin - oh, i love it. i need to do this. my favorite is the bottle filled and capped.

the wild raspberry - that looks like awesome fun….i love the little purple bear in junkywood and of course hello kitty~she is always a hit!
keep this ideas comin…loved this one.
chasity
sam bush will be in olathe for a free concert tonight…roadtrip!

pve - so glad you found the time to craft (cause I think your etsy shop got bought out) I wanted to buy the bubblegum shirt, darn, it is already gone.
glad your kids found something to keep them busy too, they do have a lost in space sort of look, I hear that happens in Junkywood, just beware when they start asking for “plastic surgery!”
I think you are the best Mom.
YOu make me feel like the worst Mom!
pve

Penny - Oh this makes me remember all the fun times I had with my girls when they were little. My oldest had a group of friends 3-5 grades and they formed the Sunshine Club. I let them meet at our house on Monday’s after school. They did things like this. We ordered sweatshirts with their names embroidered on them and put everyone’s hand prints on the back. They had so much fun! I would make snacks and we would do a craft. We took field trips and had camping trips. It was much like Girl Scouts but we didn’t have to sell those darn cookies. Those were some wonderful times. Thanks for making me remember that! You have some lucky kids!

Lori - I sooo wish I lived close enough to you that you could take my daughter’s senior pictures. You have spoiled me for the studio ones that look so fake to me, so overdone. So if you ever come near Richmond, VA, I will drive to meet you! I am on the lookout for someone local.
Great junk art. And it kept them busy for a while – bonus!

princesslasertron - love this! we made so much junk art when I was little…it was my favorite because it was SO FREE. None of that stuff is “for” anything like crayons are for coloring and legos are for building…
I want you to take pictures of me at silver bella!!

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the summer list.

the 2009 version.

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being intentional with our days.

or trying to be.

no one can claim boredom when there is all of this poster board of ideas to choose from…or can they?

they will anyway.

it's really a fun project to do together.

get your kids involved.  

ask what they really want to do.

it's okay to write down silly ones that may not ever happen.

who knows…last year "get a dog" was one of our never-gonna-happen things…

and now we have waffle.

i wonder what we'll check off today….

the 2008 summer list is here.

castors - There are too many to do when summer days are coming, school is out and fun is in. Sometimes you just want to earn money with these extra time.

Walid - I have MANY books on my summer adneirg list I had an especially busy spring, and I have a lot of catching up to do!In no particular order:DEAD LIKE YOU by Peter JamesTHE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES by Marcus SakeyTHE LAST CHILD by John HartLEARNING TO SWIM by Sara J. HenryTHE HELP by Kathryn StockettAnd several young adults:ROT AND RUIN by Jonathan MaberryTHE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Carrie RyanACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth RevisUNWIND by Neal ShustermanRecent reads:SPIRAL by Paul McEuenBURIED SECRETS by Joseph FinderDIVERGENT by Veronica RothAnd of course, I’ll be bringing LOTS of new titles back from ThrillerFest! Can’t wait!

Claudia - I’m glad others have ticoned this trend!! I was riding my bike the other day and it seemed there was a chipmunk every 2 or 3 feet!! I’ve never seen so many!!! and a coworker mentioned seeing many the other day .Interesting!

מאפרת - Wow.. Great list of the summer. I like planned and manage it. I like studying your posts. Stay up the good work!

Briton - I shared the link to this post with the readers at alittlegreat.com. Great post!

Jacob - This is why i visit you site daily. Great read thanks. Incidently http://www.rapidmediafire.com has a similar topic.

PS~Erin - I just put mine up for this year, using yours for inspiration. Thanks!

Alisha - I found out about your blog from A Soft Place to Land. And I am glad I did. I just wanted to let you know that we made our own list…except ours is stuff to do before my son turns two this fall (A One Year Old Bucket List) You can check it out here if you are interested:
http://www.snugasabugbaby.com/?p=1139
Thanks for the Great Idea! I love being intentional about doing fun stuff.

Jodi - What a great idea! I’m doing this for myself. ;o)

Jennifer - What a clever idea! The kind where I go… now why didn’t I think of that? I am definitely going to do this with my kids. Thanks for the fantastic idea 🙂

Kelly G in ATX - Just found you through Clover Lane and I thought “take waffles on walks” was pretty silly…until I read that your dog’s name is Waffles. Our cat’s name is Snack. Huzzah for weird pet names and fun summer lists!

marlowe@comehometoroost.blogspot.com - So cute! Gotta try this with mine.

PS~Erin - What a great idea… Even though the summer is winding down, I think we’ll make a “before the summer ends” list. Going to check out your link to the other list too. Thanks!

Nancy - Meg ~ email me direct RE: Chase Co.
3blondesandthelaw@live.com

Nancy - Meg ~ I see the Chase Co. waterfall made your list again this year. Have you gone yet? I still want you to do photos of my family at my childhood home in Chase Co. I have to be intentional…and make it happen. We’ll be in Chase Co. on Aug 30….any chance you’d be available too?

Marie - We just did our own list and the kids loved it and are looking forward to checking stuff off…thanks for sharing.

silvia - One thing that i´d like to do this summer is fly a kite!!

JOY - Gonna Start my list now! Thanks for the great idea!

deanna - Here’s my list add-on for the summer: I hope to have at least one organic bee hive thriving in my lavendar garden:-)

Sally Ann - Michelle, Quite awesome and inspiring, only a little intimidating, but yes, making goals for summer/year round inexpensive fun is very important–especially for grandmas! So my granddaughters and I spent a ‘day in the city’ riding the trolley; and the TRAM; (finally-third time was a charm–it had been closed due to weather and holiday–call before you go! But disappointment is part of life, too.) Splurged with Italian sodas at OHSU coffee cart; played in Jamison Park Fountain–in the rain. (Can’t always wait for sunshine in Portland!)
My really fun project in the summer, by myself, is recruiting, interviewing and matching AFS host families to their peace-making ambassador AFS exchange students. Peace, person by person for Peace in our World! Everyone with a heart for peace should have “Host an exchange student” on their list of things to do! You can find all you need to know about AFS by searching for “AFS USA” Happy hunting!

nisa - This is a brilliant idea, life does seem much busier in the summer although the days are longer. I shall make a list also..so many dreams that can come true in time.

turnitupmom - I love that you can use this list as a reference when you hear those little whiney voices. I’d really like to stop by on your homemade ice cream day. What a fun family!

Chaos-Jamie - We made a list this year also, though it was late enough in the summer that I listed things we’d already done. (I need to feel successful, also.)
When you come up to Deanna Rose, give me a call. I’d love to bump into you there! You don’t have to spend all day with us, I promise. 😉 My kids will drag me off to another area after four and a half minutes.

andrea - I got here through the Inspired Room. Your list caught my eye because the minute I saw “Deanna Rose” on your list, I knew where you lived! Or at least close to it! I spent 7 happy years living in Olathe and spent a lot of time at Deanna Rose. Miss it like crazy! Thanks for tipping off a memory!

Jocelyn Stott - Jumped to this site from The Inspired Room and I love it. Your photography is beautiful!
In terms of your list – great idea. I don’t have kids, but when I do, this will be a great thing to do. I noticed your number one item is “Worlds of Fun.” I am from Portland, OR but I have family in Nebraska. One summer when I was about 7 or 8, we went to visit the Nebraska family. During the trip, my grandparents rented a van and we all made the trek to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. It was a blast and I have always remembered that as one of the best vacations. Hope you guys make it there this summer! Take care.

Michelle B - I bounced over here from Inspired Room. Love the summer list – I got to do that! Love your blog – very cute. Amazing pictures 🙂

patsy - this is a fantastic idea!!
I’m putting one together TODAY
thanks for sharing 🙂

Karen B - Oh, I forgot! When I was a kid (long before you) we would ride the Zambizi Zinger! It was the best!

Kim - This is great. My husband is from Olathe, so we will be driving out to Kansas this summer and doing many of the things on your list. I really hope my kids get to see fireflies. It is so strange to me that these little bugs I grew up with are so foriegn to my children.
Anyhoo…great list!

Karen B - Such a cute idea. What caught my eye first was “World’s of Fun”! You must live close to Kansas City. Then the clincher, Royals game! Definitely. This great idea makes me wish my girls were little again. Sort of. Very fabulous and fun idea. Hope your summer is great! Karen

lauren - i LOVE this! my boyfriend and i make a summer to-do list also! it’s fun to write down all that you want to do or aim to do and then get to check them off when you do em! so fun. hope summer is treating you well!!

Rach - My favorites are – Jump in puddles (which is so hard to do in LA), outdoor movie, and catch fireflies (again, hard to do out here where they do not exist). Can’t wait to see the posts that document the completion of your list. So much fun!!

michelle allen - I LOVE your list!!! I really love lists in general but I love the way you write your list and the fun things that you include. You are an amazing woman Meg!

kasey - ha.
love it.
and look at you…i bow to you blog queen!

Traci - i just love your summer list. I remember it from last year and thought it was an awesome idea.

alicia kristine - you rock! I’ve been reading you for a while, never comment… admire the way you inspire me… and I’m going to get my old, delicious house one day;)

Kristi - I am so doing this this summer. love it.

Angi - We made a list this year…I copycatted (probably not a word) yours from last year! My girls have been having lots of fun with it. Thanks for such super ideas!

Susan - Did a list at the beginning of our summer (before Memorial Day), lost the list in the backyard somewhere discussing ideas, and am now happy to have made another list tonight that I’m going to post for safekeeping! Thanks for the much needed incentive to redo our list and refocus our summer.

Steph @ Problem Solvin Mom - I’ve been a total copycat ever since I saw your list last year – we do a much better job of making time for the important (and of course fun!) things when we have them written down and visible. I did one for Christmas last year too, made into a countdown chain with something on each link.

Aubrey - This summer I copied you (from reading other summer lists). One of our not-gonna-happens is “have Mom’s baby early”. It would be nice, but I don’t want to spend the summer in the NICU. Hopefully the rest of the list keeps ME on target.

Lori - Great ideas as usual! Is it stupid to feel that this is so much harder with teenagers? I wistfully remember the cute things they wanted to do over the summer. Now it would probably include “see boyfriend as much as I can” (bleh) and “hang out with people other than mom and dad”. Sigh…

Debby Graber - I had a coffee can when the kids were little and we wrote out ideas of “things to do” on little slips of paper and put them in the can. When the kids said “I’m bored” I would have them draw from the can. They could do what was on the list. They were not allowed to say they were bored if they chose not to do that activity.

kate - this is such a great idea. i have one for my summer on my blog, and it is a great motivator to actually do the things you enjoy.
and i’m definitely adding catching fireflies to mine now. can’t believe i forgot that one.

Gretchen - Okay, that’s it. You got me. I’ve been talking about doing something like this for the past three weeks, but I finally just pulled out the poster board!
BTW, I’m glad you mentioned that your dog is named Waffles, because I thought y’all just wanted to take a walk carrying along some waffles in your pockets or something. Which seemed odd. But who’s to judge?

Jennifer Dawn - I do this every summer! Love it! Another idea is to put each “boredom buster” in a jar and draw one out each day. Each day you wait with great anticipation…What will we do today?

simply stork - what a great idea :o) we might just need to do the same.
~simply~
ps…love your dogs name :o) so cute!

Tricia - Love this! Tomorrow is the first official day of summer break. I think we will do this.
Thanks.
*Tricia

LissyLou - love this!

Mary DeTurris Poust - Hi. I’m a new fan of your blog. On my blog today, I linked back to you. I used your summer list to illustrate the post (with a link on rollover). Hope that’s OK. Let me know if it’s not. Here’s the link: http://notstrictlyspiritual.blogspot.com/2009/06/to-do-list-worth-keeping.html

the wild raspberry - we went to deanna rose last week and the zoo yesterday {ugh it was sooo hot} but we had lots of fun!
xo
chasity

tinycandi - What an awesome idea! The girls come home in about an hour…I think we’re going to copy this idea! I hope you don’t mind! It’s such a wonderful idea!

Sheryl - I just had to share that while I was going through my favorite new preschool blogs (I am also a preschool teacher), I recognized Annie on one of them! I finally put two and two together and realized this was your Annie’s preschool! What a small world. And now I realize why you’d say that her preschool is wonderful. Wow, what an amazing blog her teacher has! Anyways, I thought it was too funny and wanted to share.
Sheryl

Patti - i’m totally copying your idea. hope you don’t mind. that’s a compliment, right? like on ni hao kailan – sing it with me… “when someone copies you, it just means that they really like it too!!” have a wonderful week! 🙂

Anne - I love reading your blog, you are such a creative and cool person/mom. I found you blog through an interior decorators and thought it was so neat, i’ve been reading all your old post. I don’t mean to sound like a stocker, but I have found myself reliving childhood almost through your daughter Annie, because my name is Annie. I was born with a heart murmur, luckily after a lot of tests throughout life (i’m 24 now) and found out it isn’t harmful. (I just have to drink twice the amount of water and stay away from unusually large amounts of caffeine) I had to go to the children’s hospital in columbus ohio and was scared like she was..so many things about your little Annie remind me of myself.. especially the independence, and the nesting thing she does in bed! I don’t know if that’s a common thing or not but I still do it.
Anyway, just wanted to say hello and tell you again that you are a very creative and cool mom, if you don’t hear it enough.
have a wonderful evening–Annie

Jo Paulino - I’m such the type of person that loves to have my goals set out in front of me, and I like this idea. I do the mini notebook, but I don’t have it out in front of me! So creatively well done 🙂

pve - What, no fishing, no making of mud pies, no fort building, no skinny-dipping…shame on you.

Jane - I’m so glad you did this because Waffle is my *favorite* blog dog!

Marjorie - great idea!

Starnes Fam - Really cute idea. Fun to see some stuff we do, too….I always think blogger friends are in another world….and then I see stuff I know!

Kelly - Brilliant! My kids are still in school. They go to year-round. But their “summer break” (6 weeks) starts Friday and my list of things to do is long. I already have a boredom busters list to hang up in the playroom. I think I need one of these too!

sassafrasanne - what a fab idea. 🙂

rachel - Such a good idea, I’m going to get cracking and organize a list on Saturday which is the first day of my holidays….. roll on weekend…. 😀

Marcie Bowman - Looks like you’ll have a great summer!! I totally stole this idea from you from last year (and gave you credit). I think I was more into the list than the kids, but they’ve had a ball marking things off. Here’s our list:
http://marcie-bowman.blogspot.com/2009/05/summer-list.html
Just an FYI, I’m a friend of Frank and Amy who are friends with Russ and Jen. That’s how I’ve hooked up to your blog. 🙂

gina - Last year, I complied and posted this list of 150+ things to do in summer:
http://unpinklife.blogspot.com/2008/06/150-ideas-for-summer-fun.html
I then printed it out and crossed things off as we did them- the girls loved having specific ideas when boredom hit. Each girl also made a top ten request list off of the master list and I am happy to report that each one got finished -there were some crossovers;)- ! Being intentional makes even a lazy day of lounging around less “boring”- if you can cross it off a list when it’s done. 🙂

pam - deanna rose…across the street from me. 😉 come visit.

Sharla - Love this idea – thanks for reminding me and the inspiration. If you guys DO make it to KC this summer, let me know if a photo session up here would be possible 🙂

angela conklin - Love me a list!!! This is such a great idea. Is your goal to get them all checked off???

emily - this is such an awesome idea!!! we are going to have to make a summer to do list too!

Kelly - What a GREAT idea. Thank you for sharing with all of us blog addicts :).

Kari - That’s a great idea… I remember summers of things I watned to do but since they didn’t get wrote down they never happened! I love that you have Worlds of Fun… I miss that place! I know live right down the road from a Six Flags but nothing will ever compare to school and summer trips to Worlds of Fun, it was always the best!!

Shelane - so if you get a chance, can i get the specifics on the chocolate paint color in the bedroom? i’m a paint-color-loser and need all the help i can get.
great pics, btw. hopped over from calico

andrea d. - I love your lists! Were you able to finish most of the list you made last Fall when the kids went back to school?

Sharri - Love it!

adrienneK - this is such a neat idea! i will have to get our girls together to make one 🙂

Laura Phelps - we tried something like this once…we failed miserably. maybe this summer? we’ll see. I need to put “make the list” on my list.

Vicki Archer - GReat idea, fabulous list…but where to start…xv

Tracy - What a great idea! I may have to incorporate this kind of list into our summer as well – of course, ours will only be done on the weekends and my kids are both 15 yo instead of little like yours, so our list will probably not consist of “catching frogs” – *sigh* I miss the days when they were younger and more fun and less whiney! HA!
And, sad but true, we do not have a Sonic close to our house – which is unheard of considering that I am from the South and we had Sonics all over our town where we used to live – New Jersey is just a weird place, I guess! LOL Oh well… enjoy your summer fun and I can’t wait to see the pictures of all of your adventures with the kiddos! :o)

Lisa - YOU MY DEAR ARE AWESOME!!! DID YOU GET YOUR HAIR CUT YET?
HUGS FROM MAINE

Heather @ Cookie Mondays - Fun! We’re doing something siimilar. All of our to-do items are folded up on tiny papers and will be randomly chosen from a hat each day.

Kelly - a dog was on our “never” list too… but I wouldn’t trade this silly beast for ANYTHING. 🙂
Happy Summer to you and yours!

Cath W - My goodness! I stumbled onto your blog late last week, and every day since have managed to grab a few minutes here and there to keep reading – and I just finished all the way back to your first blog! This is the first time I have done this with a blog – I promise I’m not some weirdo stalker! I have thoroughly enjoyed it all, and have seen a lot of your kids in mine (Josh is Sean and Lucy is Talby, though she looks more like Annie).
Truly lovely writing – thank you so much.

Dina - love this idea! will work on ours this weekend! 🙂

Lindy @ Glimpses - What an awesome idea! You might need another sheet of posterboard though!!

amber - That is a great idea. I need to make one for my husband. Thanks for the idea!

purejoy - i wanna play too!! of course, i have an 18 and a 19 year old and am afraid most of our list would have a little *.
*not accompanied by a parent.
making homemade ice cream is SOOOOOO on my list! (raspberry white chocolate)
i’m so happy about your list. and that you followed through on last years and got waffle. the most adorable dog in the world!!

Kathy - Great idea and list! My 15th year old would only have two things -SLEEP and SHOP! Well you know your teen probably has the same list! Have a great day!

joy c. tilton - What a great idea, you are a super Mommie!

ali - We went to Deanna Rose a few months ago before it got so darn hot. Hope you guys had fun, we sure did! 🙂

Trina McNeilly - Can I be your kid? What a fun idea!!!!!

Cathie - love that you are doing this again
I have already started mine and hope to post later this week :o)
thanks for the inspiration again

Anna Marie - Worlds of Fun has a new roller coaster this year.
I really want to go to a Royals game, too. I love going, even if they don’t win.
Do you guys go to the Omaha Zoo? Have you been before?

Shannan - I have thought about your ’08 list so many times as Summer approached! I guess it’s not too late to make our own. Thanks for sharing.

momnipotent - This is a great idea – I think we’ll try it this summer!

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it’s clean.

i have been on a cleaning binge.

while the little girls were gone i did a complete overhaul in their room.
4 bags to goodwill and 2 bags of trash.
that's gross.

and last week i cleaned the craft room.
it is so much happier now.
happy to sit. 
happy to dream up new projects.
happy to let the sun shine in.

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this pile of fabric…will soon become a tent for the pink bedroom…i promised it would be next.
i'll show you what i mean at the end of this post.

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i found the black tool holder at a garage sale a few weeks back…i plan to fill-it-up!
they had bunches of good stuff there.
it was hard to hold back.

and it turned out she was a blog reader…and she recognized me…HA!
hi jennie.  :)
it was crazy.
my friend and i laughed about it all day!

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that chicken lamp?  my friend Chicago Jen trashpicked it for me.
it's special because 
1. she thought of me while trash picking and 
2. she was brave enough to give me something picked from someone's trash.
so i have always loved it.
and the tall cabinet with chippy green paint is my favorite flea market find.
do you remember that julie k.?
do you still have your yellow cabinet you bought that day?
the other white cabinet was in my IL neighbor's basement…he was going to throw it away…GASP!
and my sign to inspire me…thank you julie.
those scrapbooks look sad and lonely…neglected…ignored…poor babies.

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a handmade gift that i love.
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special stuff…

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squares cut for more quilted pillows.  

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so the tent….
i want to make a tent like in The Holiday.
you'll understand why i want to make it.
but i just don't know how….
(i love this whole movie so you should rent it anyway if you haven't seen it)

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Emily - I am trying to make that tent for my two girls too! I can’t wait to see how yours turns out. I have been trying to decide whether to use PVC-type pipe to do the rectangular frame at the top, or to just do all cloth…what are your plans? Your craft room is absolutely joyful. So glad I found this blog today 🙂

michelle allen - LOVE your craft room! So bright and cheery just like you!
You make me want to collect buttons, fabric, ribbon…. i actually just bought a new sewing machine so I have been doing a little button/ribbon collecting. nothing near as fab as your collections tho. 🙂
Your blog makes me HAPPY Meg!

kat - I haven’t seen The Holiday. I just watched that clip and bawled. How sweet. I think I’ll rent it to watch tonight!

jerusalem G - good luck with the tent! that is such a great scene and tent and movie. lovin’ the craft room pics. very happy!

emily - i want that tent in my dorm room!

Julie K. - Oh how I love a studio tour … always so inspiring!!!
I do still have that cabinet! It’s in my bathroom … but I painted it green, could you kill me?

Christine - making the tent in the holiday is a magical idea 🙂

Lori - I absolutely LOVE your craftroom!! (And your blog, for that matter.) I also love The Holiday. It is currently my favorite movie. That tent is amazing! I hope you can re-create one 🙂

Kristin - Oh your craft room is so much fun. I think for your tent, you could make a frame for the top any shape and size out of 1×2’s and then upholster that from the bottom. Then make a small tent peak from the frame to the top where it will hang (maybe leave an opening for a light to hang through. Then you can attach fabric from the hoop down that can fan out to make the room. Basically making it like one of those net tent you can buy, but making your own frame so it’s larger at the top. Hope this helps, I am not always the best at putting the pictures in my head into words. : )

Wendy - Okay, I linked to this post in my post today about craft room envy. Because I’ve totally got it. Want to come make over my craft room? Pretty please with sugar on top? http://weightwhat.blogspot.com/2009/05/tell-me-again-why-coveting-is-wrong.html

Jen - Unbelievably amazing!!!!
♥ Jen

Trina McNeilly - I love your craft room… If I was there for real I would probably just stand and stare for awhile…. at all the colors and ribbons, fabric and scraps… and little knick knacks…..so inspiring…

traci - oh my goodness meg. love all the photos. i looked long and hard at them. love all your little treasures.

Donna - Hi Meg …… I was wondering if I could borrow some of your creativity? My daughter (the oldest of 6) is graduating from high school and I wanted to put together a photo album or something for her. Problem is I have like thousands of pictures in hundreds of bins – I just don’t have time to go through all of them – what would creative Meg do???? Please email me – only if you have a minute and don’t mind.
Thanks Donna bourgoinfam8@aol.com

princesslasertron - I love love love all of your fabric!!

Marisol - If you figure out the tent, PLEASE share!!! You are so crafty I know you can do it!! 🙂

Christina - Here are some more pictures of the tent in the movie:
http://hookedonhouses.net/2009/01/04/jude-laws-mill-house-in-the-holiday/

Christina - Yes! Jude Law was so adorable in this movie…
your craft room is so (sew?) beautiful. It seems so bright, colorful, inspiring, cheery-what a fabulous place.

Kelly O. - Hi Meg,
Apparently you are not the only one wanting to recreate this lovely tent…
http://theartofindecisionblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/holiday-part-2.html
After thinking on it for a moment I think I’ve got it figured out–I’m just not sure how safe it is 🙂
But do you remember those old terribly ugly hanging lamps that used to have a cane or crochet covered shade that kind of looked like the hood of a dryer at a salon? well, if you were to hang your tent over one and then use plumbing elbows and tubing to make the squared shape, sew that in and sew gauzy fabric as the “ceiling” where the stars hang down from then you would get your soft ambient lighting. then it’s a matter of draping fabric from that upper “square to form your tent down to the floor. Magic!
Good luck, however you do it!

Lisa - HEY I JUST GOT AN IDEA WHEN I WAS CHECKING OUT THIS BLOG… http://musingsofanightowl.blogspot.com/ LOOK AT HER HEADER PICTURE. IT IS A LARGE OUTDOOR UMBRELLA. WHY NOT START “THE HOLIDAY TENT” WITH THAT AS THE TOP. WATCHING THE CLIP, IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE IT IS FRAMED OUT LIKE AN UMBRELLA. FIND ONE FROM A LAWN SALE, GOODWILL, ETC… HEY YOU MIGHT ALREADY HAVE ONE YOUR NOT USING. WHAT DO YOU THINK.
HUGS FROM MAINE

Joni - DITTO on that movie, and I love your Craft/creating space…it’s so bright and cheerful and your crafting items are even fun to look at! I so love the items you create! I know you’ll do a great job on the tent and I betcha you’ll even show us your project, right?

Whitni - Can I come and live in your craft room? I want to stay in there with all the colorful happy fabrics and letters and buttons and make things until I fall asleep in piles of pillows. K, thanks.

Tess S. - the tent!!! i loooooooove the tent. i’ve watched that movie zillions of times just for the tent scene!

Suzanne - Can I come over and make something? Please.

Lazy Mom Leslie - Your room just screams! A HAPPY AND CREATIVE WONDERFUL WOMAN LIVES HERE! I want to be your friend just looking at the pictures. Thank you for always providing inspiration!

chas at the wild raspberry - love your vintage baskets and suitcases….and cabinets.
just how much does a bird love french fries? i’m in the dark on that one.
i love that scene from the holiday….very sweet.
and i adore jack black in that movie. when he starts singing in the video store—ah it is priceless.
congrats on your organizing. hope the tent works well.
chasity

Julia - thanks for the happy tour…

Ashley - Okay hands down my favorite movie EVER! YOU will be able to do the tent perfectly. You are so incredibly talented! I can’t wait to see it! I have read your blog for a very long time and love every word and picture!

Lisa - THE TENT IS SO MAGICAL. I REMEMBER IT NOW THAT I’VE SEEN THE CLIP. I DO MISS MY PEEPS BEING LITTLE. THAT TENT WOULD HAVE GONE OVER SOOOO WELL… CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IT. WISH I LIVED CLOSER, I’D COME OVER TO HELP FIGURE IT OUT.
HUGS FROM MAINE

Debbie - Oh my, I have button envy:)
Fantastic room…………

lauren - i absolutely love that movie! i could watch it on repeat. and that tent they have is incredibly fantastic and magical. your girls are so lucky to have you as a mom! ha i want one of those tents in my room!!
also love your workspace. the colors and patterns are so fun and inspiring. makes me want to have one just like it that i can escape to and make fun fun things.

Jenny - Hi Meg…good to meet you at the garage sale…thanks for the “hi”…your toolbox looks awesome!!! My friend and I laughed about you showing up at my garage sale too…I had turned her onto your blog! What fun! Maybe I’ll see you around again someday! Jenny

Jen - I HEART your craft room, all the colors and supplies make me SMILE…

Lisa-Marie - I would like to live in your craft room! Please? My husband and I live in a 2 bedroom flat, so my craft ‘area’ is a small corner of our living room. A craft room like yours is my dream. 🙂
oh, but my dream craft room would be in a turret, with bookcases filled with books lining round the walls and a cosy sofa for reading sitting under the window. I may as well dream big!

Dana D @BoysMyJoys - <3 the tent!!!
<3 the movie!!!
Can't wait to see the finished product!

Lori - I love your craft room. The pictures make me happy, and feel like I am crafty (which I am not, sad to say) and that I can sew (which I don’t). My mom made a lot of my clothes when I was young, and ALL of my Barbie clothes. Yet, I can barely sew on a button! Anyway, I look forward to seeing your tent – I have no doubt that you can fashion a super cool one. And I haven’t seen The Holiday but after that adorable clip, am putting it on our netflix list. I will have to squeeze it in somewhere among our current obsession, 24.

Ruth - what a delicious bunch of stuff!! love the pink flowers… and i have that french fry print! such a treasure.

sandy toe - Your pictures are so pretty…I am not sure why…it’s fabric and chalk but I love it!!! It’s so girly…you almost feel like “twirling”!
sandy toe

Sarah - Cleaning is the best!

heather{dot}com - I’m so inspired by your craft room. And in love with the French Fry poster.
I think for the tent you could start with something like this bed canopy from Target as a base:
http://www.target.com/Pastel-Tie-Dye-Bed-Canopy/dp/B0012LUDJ4/sr=1-1/qid=1241459896/ref=sr_1_1/188-5852103-9701152?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=0&rh=k%3Abed%20canopy&page=1
remove the original fabric and drape your own fabric from it in layers.

Jennifer - We are linked up!! Love your blog Meg!!

Sarah B - I think you could make it quite easily. Just build a frame, circular or square etc., and that will hang from the ceiling. Then create your “tent” out of fabric. I love that you use lots of quilt squares, that will be amazing. I’m planning on using easy old sheets for the drape part. The top part will either be squares or triangles of fabric. Lots of ribbon to decorate of course! You’re very talented so you probably have it all planned anyway.
Ikea has LARGE white mesh tents right now for $19.99 if you want a quickie!

Jenn Thomas - that will be perfect for the girls! When they are done with it can London have it 🙂 I will just send her over to play in it with them this summer. very special.

Kelly - oh YES! The tent!! How could one forget that tent?! You can do it, girl! Kelly

Stephanie - I LOVE that movie! I LOVE that tent! That would be SO COOL!!!!! Make sure you take lots of pictures to blog… if you get around to making it!!! :o)

Donna - I wish I could have your craft room to myself for let’s say……..ummm an hour or so!! I would totally snoop through all your stuff and I would leave very happy!!!
I am in the process of creating my own craft room………and you are my inspiration. I decided at 11:00 last night that I wanted to chalkboard paint a wall – so I did, stayed up till 1 am and I LOVE IT. Thanks for inspiring me Meg!

Heather Mattos - Do you want to switch craft rooms?

Shanna - I love that Jenn and Russ’s family is on your “special stuff” board. They all are pretty special. And from what they say of you….so are you. Enjoy the sunshine in your craft room.

Becky - i am fairly certain i have said it before. but it bears repeating after this post. i want to waller in the floor of your craft room. i have never been so completely covetous in my entire life. and i LOVE the holiday and that tent. i would totally live in iris’ cottage.

Vera - Your craft room always makes me want to run home and sew something RIGHT NOW!! I love it!

Laura - why is that a jar of buttons and a spool of ribbon makes me so darn happy?

Jill - I’m loving your craft room, how can you not just feel inspired in there?
That scene from The Holiday happens to be my favorite movie scene of all time, I sob like a baby every time I watch it!

karen - Your craft room & your photography continually inspire me. Thank you!
http://www.karengberger.blogspot.com

Mrs. Jones - Hmmmm, makes me want to go clean my craft room.
That happened to me last week! My son’s new long-term substitute stopped me in the hall and told me she was a secret admirer. I had no idea what she was talking about. Then she told me she had put 2 and 2 together a couple days after she started subbing and realized she had been readin my blog for quite a while. That totally blew me away!
~Heather

Cate O'Malley - Loved the movie – thanks for the reminder to get it back from my mom! Would love to make a tent like that, for each of my kids. I spent the first hour of my morning, taking down my son’s fort that he built in their playroom/my office. He would just about die if I could make him an uber-cool, more permanent one.

Kelly - I’m joining the ranks of Craft Room Coveters. Totally awesome!
The Holiday…that movie has a silly special meaning to me. I rented it while I was pregnant with my third son and was trying to decide whether to name him Graham or Miles. As much as my husband loves Jack Black, we went with Graham. Not that my son is named after Jude Law but that definitely didn’t hurt. We actually picked Graham to name him after my Gram who I love dearly. Anyway, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen that movie. Thanks for sharing that clip. Can’t wait to see your seriously cool tent!

Brooke - love the movie…love the tent idea…and definitely love your craft room…

Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - Love your craft area. It’s too cute to touch. Thanks for sharing:)

Angela - Oh, that is the best part of the movie! Second only to the part where Kate Winslet finds the button that closes the blinds and the room becomes pitch black. That’s my dream. 🙂

Marie - I LOVE your blog!!!….I love your Photography, do you use photoshop or any actions?… and what lens’are your favorite!
BTW, LOVE the bird with a french fry poster!
Marie

Keri - The comment from Wendy is exactly what I was going to say! I know it’s wrong to covet, but maybe God would make an exception for the craft room? I’ll bet he would. Love it!
And, Cameron Diaz was right – that tent IS seriously cool! (I wonder ow many yards of fabric will it take to make that bad boy?)

adrienneK - love all the craft room goodness! and i have never seen this movie! what an awesome tent!!! cant wait to see yours!!!

Lindsay - i love that movie! and if i had a tent like that as a little girl, i would have been happy forever!

maribeth - i so seriously love your house! oh, and the craft room! so much crafty goodness just waiting to be made into something special . . .

amy - i just saw that movie for the first time a few weeks ago (maybe on tbs or something) and loved that tent! i remember thinking, i could make that, or wouldn’t that be sweet in anna’s room. i even think i said something to my husband and he mumbled, “oh brother”.
i can’t wait to see how you do it. and your craft room looks so bright and pretty too! happy monday!

Jess - Great pics of the craft room…love the colors! I have not seen the movie, I MUST it looks like a wonderful movie. Loved the tent, now I want one too! My screened in porch is crying out for something cool.

Lori Danelle - Two things (at least, I may add more!!):
I have dreamed about the tent in The Holiday!!!! I am serious! I have mentioned to my husband over and over my plans to recreate that tent. I didn’t need to watch your movie clip, cuz I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about.
Anther tent that gives me a good vibe is the one in the playroom in the movie Hook—old, I know. Doesn’t have the magic of the tent in The Holiday, but it’s the first tent that I sort of latched on to.
Second: The receipt from Charlotte’s makes me SOOOO happy. I grew up shopping at Charlotte’s! I miss Charlotte’s so much! I loved walking in there and feeling like you were meeting up with friends—which I was, I think my Mom went to high school with Charlotte and half the staff, but you just don’t get that in a city.
Meg, thanks for making my hometown (the one I always dreamed of escaping) seem so cool! Now I actually dream of moving back, just a little. Oh, and was your house Candy Cane Corner Daycare about, um. . .20 years ago?
And! I don’t make it home often and for long when I do, but I’m coming over next time I do make it there!!!! Hahaha!!
Inksomnia

Wendy - Is it wrong for me to covet your craft room? Because I totally do. And your photography is brilliant, as always.
Love The Holiday! I hope you can make that tent! Can’t wait to see pictures of what you come up with!

Mary Elizabeth - I love that movie and forgot how sweet it was!!
I put up a tent (plain mesh) over my daughter’s bed right after we moved her to a new room recently …. have cut out triangles to attach around the top and going to add ribbon and fringe … SHE LOVES IT!!!! She loves to stay up under it and read and play more than anything we have done in awhile. Will have to post a pre picture on the blog and a finished one later.
http://www.marymarthaandco.blogspot.com

Mindy Harris - Your craft room is heaven! Oh, that tent will be so neat for your girls–I watched the clip and I just want to eat up those little girls with their accents. Precious. Thank you for the beautiful photos.

Mandi - Not The Holiday tent, but another amazing tent.
http://www.oliverk.co.za/images/girls/popups/girls_tent.jpg

Angela - I would like to live in your craft room, please.

Jeana - i want your craft room! i love the holiday, and i adore the tent. i really wish i had some girls around here, so i could make somethig that pretty. BUT God gave me 3 boys, so i guess He knows something i don’t lol.

Mandi - here is a picture of the tent…it is small, but i thought it could come in handy!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OUdpYYE5b4Q/ScXeNV502XI/AAAAAAAAAFo/UFupTLQF2NE/s320/IMG_3597.JPG

Staci - WOW!!!!! YOU!!! YOU are somethin’!!!!! I wish I was crafty like you!! Glad you got a little time to yourself! Even if it was to clean. That always makes me feel better! I’ve never seen The Holiday…guess I’ll be renting that today!!!

Lyndsey - It always feels SO nice to have a clean fresh space to start to mess up again, nice job! Can’t wait to see what you’ll make next.

meg - I just love your blog! The colors, your kind words, your creativity…it’s all very inspiring, really. Thanks for brightening my day.

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sigh….

IMG_6736 

annie said:

"mom…this is me.
and my head is HUGE.
i am wearing a green shirt and i am smiling.
and i just drank a whole bunch of water.

sigh…
i just wanted to squeeze her little face.
sometimes you feel something stronger than you can put into words…swelling from deep down.

love 
love 
love.

my husband is coming home from his man weekend.
my girls are coming back from their grandmother's.
the house will be full again.
it was nice to have the quiet and it will be just as nice to have them back again.

happy sunday.



Chasity Heck - that is a great piece of artwork right there!
kids are a blessing beyond words….
have a great week with your family.
chas

pve - Gosh darn, if I was next door, I would have come over to lend a hand, making some noise and some mess for you in all that quiet.
tee hee.
I love your photos and your space.
pve

traci - so sweet. your little annie makes me want to have another little one around here. just for a minute though. i’ll just come down and borrow her for the day.

Alyssa - awww!! i love the water on the bottom half of her face 🙂 so cute

lisa (momy4him) - i love those days- this post put a smile on my face!
happy sunday!

Jen - I always enjoy your blog. Makes me smile every time!

Kat - Priceless. I love that picture and her explanation of it. Truly adorable and precious!

Angela - I love it! I have read your blog for awhile, and just wanted to tell you that I truly enjoy it. It makes me feel at peace. 🙂

Trish - my Lainie Pie says to me today…
“Mom, you know who I love?”
“Who?”
“You, mom”
makes my heart just melt!

Jennifer - love this so much!!

Linda - Your life and your family and your house and your dog–everything just seems so cool! I know having all those kids and a dog can be chaos, but you guys just seem so relaxed, laid back. Its really nice.

Candice - That says it all, I love Annie’s art so fun and full of COLOR, the best part is that she just drank a bunch of water, thats so cute.

Wendy - Oh, please say that you are going to frame that picture and put the caption underneath! It’s just perfect!

Sophie - She is so precious!
Sophie x

callie grayson - Aren’t kids the cutest! I love her drawing and best of all the description.

brooke - so sweet….

CherryTreeLane - I LOVELOVELOVE this too! Perfection in tiny little words. You’re daughter is an Einstein. So colorful.

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7:45 pm….friday

what better time for art?

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annie was waiting the last hour before we left to go see nana.
and it seemed like it was taking forever (for us both).
we'd already played candyland and memory.
she asked "can i paint?"
i answered "sure…why not."
she seemed shocked.

IMG_7268
but thrilled.
she said "these are blocks"

and as she put each new color on…the excitement built.
adding the white paint to the colors added a whole new level to her art.
eventually she was shouting.
"LOOK LOOK LOOK!!!  PINK!!!"
then a big squeal of delight and a little jumpy dance.

IMG_7278

i know how she feels.

pve - Alright, that is so me, every day when I work, I laugh, dance and have the most fun while I work and get paid to do it too. Please never ever let them grow up.
pve

Christina - That expression is priceless-how wonderful that you, too, know that delight!

callie grayson - Annie is just so cute! and I love that her life is all about colours and mixing them all, building and creating beautiful pieces of art!
callie

jeanetta - You’re so good about letting kids do those kind of things. I’m horrible and thats worse because apparently i’m supposed to be an artist and former art teacher. LOL 🙁
Hopefully with the nice weather I’ll be more apt to let them play around with it outside. I fit would just quit raining.
And that pic of the toad on your header would have fit right in with my town this weekend. Its Toad Suck Daze!

maribeth - oh, fresh paints! that’s the best!

Sandy - I can’t tell you how much I love that your home is beautiful AND Annie is allowed to paint at the coffee table right in front of the couch. Homes that kids aren’t allowed to be kids in really bother me. Congratulations on being a great mom!!

Starnes Fam - Fun! I love her hair, btw. I love moms who will cut their girls’ hair short b/c it contradicts what most expect out of girls, it seems. I have 2 boys and then a 19 month old baby girl….lots to learn…..but I do know now that I love little girls with short hair. I’m sure I will do the same.

meaghan easterhaus - LOVE what that one mom commented…carpe diem for real!

Shannan - Beautiful! Calvin always just mixes all of the colors together until he gets brown. 🙁

Lee Ann - Love that you share something so special with her.

Christine - i’m not sure why, but i’m always hesitant when my little girl asks to paint….
sounds so silly to admit that!!!
SO I’m trying to be more relaxed about things, and realize she is my last child-gotta seize the day!!! Plus it’s great to see the creativity.
carpe diem to all of us moms!!!

chas at the wild raspberry - don’t you love when you can surprise them with a ‘yes’!?
good stuff….
have a great weekend.
chasity

Lisa - YOUR A GOOD MOM
HUGS FROM MAINE

sara's art house - Yes I know know how she feels too!!!

traci - OK…she has A LOT of paint on that papaer and her clothes look CLEEEEEAN!!!! HOW??? Love that you let her do that right before leaving I just cant figure how she stayed clean for grandma? lolol

adrienneK - LOOOOOVE it!! thats a big water color pallet! where did you get it? we only have the single row one s

traci - she definately has her mama’s creativity gene. so cute.

Sophie - Awww, Annie is SO adorable and a rather talented artist, might I say (:
Sophie x

Ruth - Love that look on her face!
Happy weekend 🙂

Sheryl @ My Joyful Home - Oh, she has the expression of my preschoolers when they mix a new color! I love it!

Meg - Looks like a fun day. Join my challenge if you want 🙂

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lists

so many things in my head and on my list today.

i found this picture in my car today…
Photboothlynette

we hopped in a photobooth while the kids were playing when we were in utah.
what a great memory to start my day.
sigh….

i am having a great day….for reals.
how about you?

i have sewage backed up in my basement.
my house smells lovely….if you like the smell of sewers.
but it will soon be fixed by a professional…so it's all good.

i got to go to a brunch this morning with my tuesday morning bible study.
we had a really nice time…lots of laughing…coffee…fellowship.

i got a call from the bank today.
she sweetly told me my account was $2 in the negative and was worried i didn't know.
and she said "don't worry, i won't charge you any fees, i just wanted to let you know."
i LOVE small towns.
(i just had money in the wrong place..my fault…duh)
but how cool to get a nice reminder instead of a big fine?

i have (FINALLY) finished my etsy orders!
i shipped my last box today.
you ladies are more than patient…THANK YOU.
and now this room needs a serious cleaning…i lost my tv remote a week ago in this mess!
IMG_7009
ok…check this out.
raising money for the cora playground…my etsy shop made 
64 pillows and 75 t-shirts…
139 items handmade in my little ol' craftroom….in 69 days.

what an honor it was making each and every one of those crafts.
the playground is in the works…paperwork for now…but they will start the real building work soon.

but now…who did i forget?
i feel pretty sure that i overlooked an order somewhere along the way.
please leave a comment to tell me if i forgot to make you something you ordered!!

i saw this shirt at julie's and i had to have it.
can you read backwards?

i promise i was not going to kiss waffle.
but it sure looks like it.
he wanted to say hello too.

well…i am going to turn on Arthur for the kids 
and go clean the craft room.
and my bathroom if they let me.

Jessica - hi – i love following your blog – your crafts and everything are always so fun to see. i notice you have a lot of scraps and i’m looking to make a colorwheel quilt- i was wondering if you’d be interested in parting with some scraps for a donation to cora’s playground? contact me if that would be possible (the scrap size i’m looking for is roughly 4″ x 12″. thanks for sharing with us!

Art Cant Hurt - i’m SOOOOOO jealous of all the sunlight you get in your craft room! who cares about the tv remote when you have SUN!
today a friend told me he and his wife would be attending a craft fair in KC and I was like MEG’S IN KANSAS!
just kinda made me laugh – what has blogging done to me?! 🙂
i guess i just think in bloggeography now!

sassafrasanne - kudo’s to YOU for rockin’ the etsy shop for a good cause!
love the shirt!
🙂 go on.. kiss waffle.. he looks like a honey of a dog!

Jeanne - Love the tshirt! I recently read something saying to never pass a photo booth without going in…I think that is good advice. Love the pics.

Jeana - i love your blog. i ‘m here ALL the time it seems lol. you inspire me. keep rockin lady! God bless.

sandy toe - I want to order the red pillow with white fuzzy background….how do I do it??
sandy toe
where is your etsy shop??

Amy - Will you open your Etsy shop again? I would love to get some pillows and shirts for my daughter. Have you ever thought of doing this as a job? You would do AWESOME!!
Amy Mumaw

Keri - Hooray for you! Congrats on being done. Was your machine smoking by the end of it all? LOVE that shirt!

dawn - Excellent job on all the projects! We loooove our little rainbow shirt. I love your blog. It’s become a daily ritual to see if you’ve updated. I also love my bank — that isn’t in a small town BUT — only charges me $5 for my “oops” and hands out coffee daily and freshly baked cookies on Fridays. Its the little things — isn’t it?!?

Kate - I got my pillow today! It is so beautiful. It goes in my whatever inspired game room! Thank you for all you do. You are amazing and a huge inspiration to me!

kat - You are seriously amazing. I can’t believe you made all those amazing things in such a short time! Truly incredible. My pillow totally rocks! Please let us know when you open up your Etsy shop again!!!

Pleasant Drive - Thank you for visiting my blog and your kind and encouraging words about my cancer battle. I must say, yours is probably my favorite blog. I just love the way that you take pictures. I’ve never left a comment, but I follow you daily. Thanks, again, for your kindness.

jamie - Can’t tell you what a Joy your Blog is to read! Thanx, Jamie

Becky - i totally love that shirt. and i’m not sure why you didn’t kiss waffle. i probably would. that is a stinkin cute pup. and i would waller in your craft room. the fabrics are delicious.

wendy - I just wish I knew where my sewing machine was!
And FYI, we tried to do a Waffle cut on our Molly OURSELVES (even though you emailed me with the tip that Waffle’s cut was done by a professional) and it did not turn out quite as adorable as Waffle’s. It needed a little fine-tuning.

Laura - Love you stuff, love your blog– So glad you take the time to post!

Amanda - Hi Meg… Great stuff as always!!
I am here because you have been nominated for an Awesome Blog 2009 Award! Stop by and see what category someone thought you rocked!!
http://awesomestblogs2009.blogspot.com/
God bless-
Amanda

Amanda - Meg, I got my hoodie and I LOVE it! It is even more adorable than I imagined! Thank you so much! You are so very talented. I love it!
Amanda Rick

Marie - cute! is that shirt for sale over there or just a gift for you? i only clean the bathroom when my son misses. hope that makes you feel better…

Heather - Sigh. Every day you inspire me. Now I just need you to move here and put firecrackers under my butt. 😀

Heather Mattos - I know, that shirt is one of my faves. Did you know Julie mentioned you here today?:
http://thirtyhandmadedays.blogspot.com/2009/04/id-like-you-to-meet.html
🙂

Stacie - Love your Blog!!! Whats your etsy shops name? How can I find you?

April Meek - Did I mention that I love my pillow and it reminds me of that sweet little Cora everytime I see it!
Thanks for all your hard work!! Once you take a break you really should list some goodies on Etsy!

CherryTreeLane - Love the shirt. and love the stool.

Sandy - I love your shirt and WISH I was a sewing machine!

Elisa - no- don’t clean the bathroom. Because then I feel like I should go clean the bathroom. And I really don’t want to.

traci - wow, that’s a lot of pillows and tshirts. so great of you. i love my pillow!!! brunch with the girls – that would make even sewage in the basement good. gotta love girlfriends!!

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she’s a rainbow….

IMG_6189 

have you seen these? 
sidewalk CRAYONS.  
they are sidewalk chalk that are super bright.
it makes chalk drawing even more fun.
i highly recommend them.

i got them at wal-mart…$5.

Julie - I love this happy picture! I bought sidewalk chalk yesterday because of it and I don’t have kids. Not sure what I’m going to do with them, but $5! There’s gotta be more than 5 bucks worth of something fun to do with them…Your blog has been a happy discovery for me. Thank you!

Michelle - Your daughter makes me smile! She is so cute.
My 7 year old daughter seems to have similar fashion sense–whatever feels good and makes her happy is what she wants to wear. My husband, who admittedly is bothered sometimes by her outrageous fashion sense, said she looks like a walking crayola box and hence nicknamed her “Crayola”. Of course, she finds this hilarious!
Anyway, after I saw your post about the sidewalk crayons, I had to get them for her as a special treat! Thanks!

Carrie K - greatest picture EVER!!
shes such a sweet kid and a fantastic dresser…the socks are my favorite part!! heeheeheee

julie - i’ve read your blog for awhile. I love it! we actually have your husband’s pancakes almost every weekend! 😉 Just had to come out of lurkerville…that picture is so stinkin ADORABLE! I love all your shots…but this one takes the cake.
Julie in Washougal, WA

Linda@ Restyled Home - That picture brings tears to my eyes, it is so adorable. You are brilliant to do it. Mine would look like a generic stick figure, but I am so inspired I just might copy you anyway. Of course, I will give you full credit…maybe they will think you did the awful drawing!! 🙂
You are such a sweet mum, even if you do yell when you get a migraine. Thank goodness for that, or else I’d just feel bad about myself…!!!!
Cheers,
Linda

gina - I did see those last Thursday a t WalMart… and now I’m going to go back and BUY them.

Tracy - Annie is just a doll, Meg! I look forward every day to seeing what you are going to have on your blog from the day before and sharing in your day to day lives. I love seeing what clothes she throws together! You may just have a future fashionista on your hands! My daughter, when she was young, did the same thing and now she looks like she just stepped out of a magazine and is only 15! She sure didn’t get it from me because I personaly prefer tshirts and jeans any day over dressing up! HA! I guess she got her taste from her friends and from the fashion magazines – which, ironically, she wants to be when she grows up – a fashion designer! Have a great day, Meg! Hugs, Trac~ :o)

Beth - Love that and gotta try that crayon/chalk. Do you have one of those spin-art chalk things from crayola?

emily :] - i lovee sidewalk chalk. is that okay for an eighteen year old? & i’m going out & buying that asap.

Aubrey - that’s cute–you made her dress, didn’t you?

Christy - Annie is so stinkin cute! I always love her outfits.
That chalk looks awesome. I will have to get some. Not pastel like the normal chalk, cool! My son loves to make houses with his chalk.

Margaret - We love sidewalk chalk around here. I may have to go get some of that. My son has a chalkboard wall in his room, and he often uses sidewalk chalk on it.

Sarah - Fantastic!
I love sidewalk chalk 🙂
And i love the self portrait!

Trina McNeilly - These look fabulous.. we love sidewalk chalk.
You lucky thing you… going to U2 in Chicago.. I was suppose to go to that very one but am not now.. it is a very sore spot so I shall leave it at that.
I am with you with the dreaming of getting pulled up on stage….maybe you should pray about it… God will give you the desires of your heart — ha ha!
Have a great week!
x Trina

Kim - Wish I had a sidewalk!

Anna - Ooooo, aaaahhhh! :o)
I am gonna have to get me some of those for my Addie (and me too)! Assuming you drew the picture…GOOD JOB!!!

Aby - Too, too cute!! I wish I was as much fun as you!! So do my kids!!!

Amanda - That is the most adorable picture…. oh neat!
God bless-
Amanda

Chasity - that little girlie has a style all her own…love it!
she seems like a fantastically fun girl to be around.
have a great week.
chasity
those dog photos….i can’t believe it’s the same dog!
he is wonderfully goofy.

a thorn among roses - those are cute…and my girlie pies love the more pattern and more colorful look too! well, so do i, for them anyway!

Erin - Meg, I really enjoy scrolling through your blog & looking at your photos. You have such a great eye for detail & composition. Thank you for sharing what you see with us!

erica - ok first of all your little girl dresses EXACTLY how i always imagined my daughter (whenever i have one LOL) will dress! i LOVE little girls with their own style! and second those sidewalk crayons look so cool! i’ll have to try them out, my 2 yr old little boy will love them!

Meredith - She is truly the most photogenic child isn’t she? I’ll be on the look out for those crayons, but I’m not sure that we’ll have them in Australia yet. (We’re usually at least six months behind in K-mart stock)

Kristen - Adorable!

N. - lol! I have a 4.5 year old who dresses very similarly…

Kate - man, i would’ve loved that as a kid, because sidewalk chalk in general is hard to hold, or was that just me? and the crayon shape seems like it’d be easier to grasp. plus the whole brighter colors. i do love me some brightness.
and she has the BEST fashion sense. i love it.
-kate

Wendy - Ooo! I need some of those! I might even let my daughter play with them…
As always, your daughter is adorable!

Joni - What a CUTE photo….LOVE IT! And I miss the days of having kids young enough to get happy about sidewalk chalk…maybe I’ll just go buy ME some! Hehehe! Your little gal has some talent!
XOXO
Joni

Courtney - I totally bought those last week and my kids are working through them FAST. They are so much more interesting than the blah colors that used to be out there. They (Crayola)also have a pack of chalk that has way more colors… like 40 or something… it’s good too! Also, I just made a video with the song “She’s a Rainbow”, so could we be more on the same page? Here’s the vid:
http://www.vimeo.com/4190456

Staci - Cooool! Gonna pick some up tomorrow when I make one of my tri-weekly stops to Target or Walmart 🙂 BTW—Love Waffles new look 🙂 We got our little Westie, Mac, his first cut last week…and when we picked him up…it took a lot of convincing to my little Jake that it REALLY was our Mac!!!!!!

Kat - I love that picture! So adorable!!!

leigh babcock - Wow! She is so cute! I’ll have to get these soon.
Thanks!
Leigh Ann

MGF - Might have to run to Walmart this evening, thanks for sharing. The normal chalk is dull colors and there are so many here.

Starnes Fam - How fun! Have not seen these, but will check them out. Thanks!

Vera - That picture is great. We HAVE TO get some of those crayons – my girls will FLIP for them!! Thanks!

CherryTreeLane - I love this!

Julia - That’s the cutest picture – her socks are adorable.
I’ve noticed that when someone compliments me on something I instantly say “Walmart $6” or just plain “Target” and nothing else. On Easter a girl at church complimented me on my dress and I just looked at her and said “Target” , nodded my head like “you heard me”, and walked away. It’s like some sort of code. So you saying “Walmart $5” means maybe “Can you believe it? I was just walking by the crayola display and I saw them and I couldn’t leave them there. And only for $5!”

sandy toe - How cute~
sandy toe

Kelly - I think I might need some of these for ME! 🙂
What a great self portrait!

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