Big News! Moving to Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

We are excited to move to Bartlesville, Oklahoma. It sounds like the area is right up our alley (tornado alley, that is) and really our speed. We love smaller towns and are so excited to be closer to Omaha. ConocoPhillips (yes, I believe it’s all one word) moved fast and hired Don very quickly. He’s really looking forward to working with his new boss and team – they sound like great people to work with. It will be a big change after thirteen years at Hewlett Packard but change is good and I know this move will be really good for him. I’m worried a bit that the move has something to do with Bartlesville being the home of the largest Colt museum in the world…it sounds like Oklahoma is an outdoor paradise for hunting, fishing, and shooting. Don + Oklahoma + a Cabela’s catalog = a midlife crisis I can live with!!!

What I Designed Today: Graphics for Educational Systems

Wednesday, March 30, 2011Wednesday, January 21, 2015 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I’ve been busy with some recent design work. It’s for kids so it’s relatively fun and kid graphics are so much easier! The teen segment, however…a little more difficult. Take a look at a few of these babies. I am not sure how they are being used, exactly, but once they’re outta my hands I don’t really care (unless, of course, it’s MY end project and I have a vested interest)!

Happy Birthday Gabe

Tuesday, March 29, 2011Tuesday, March 29, 2011 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

So today Gabe is ten (ten!) and in just a few days, Ben will be five. These are milestone years. It seems like Gabe was just the blue eyed kid eating chocolate (above) or the chubbo getting a bath in the sink (above). When Cole turned ten, I cried while he was at school thinking how quickly the time was flying by. Now that it’s Gabe, I can’t promise I’ll cry but I am equally — if not more — stunned at the speed of the years. I feel like Gabe is still just entering the nursery at church! He was such a cute baby and has grown into the cutest young man.

Brazos Bend State Park (The Alligator Park)

Monday, February 7, 2011Monday, February 7, 2011 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I think I’m going to love the new church schedule. Ahhh….Sunday afternoons spent the way they should be – with family, friends and in the outdoors! We had a nice time yesterday with the Carrs (friends from church) and their kiddos. We only saw one alligator and he was in the water which was different from our last visit when they were along the paths so you had to double back instead of crossing over them! It was a nice, sunny day. I am thankful for this beautiful world. It is good to be outside.

Cute Etsy Bows

Monday, January 31, 2011Monday, January 31, 2011 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

A very good friend from my Utah days recommended her daughter’s etsy shop HUGSANDWICH for hair bows so I’m passing the word along. I do not have any girls that need hair bows but I wish that I did!!! If this girl is half as talented as her mama, they have got to be fantastic bows. Genius runs in the family.

Knit & Crochet: Pink Camo Edged Angel Fleece Blanket

Sunday, January 23, 2011Sunday, January 23, 2011 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Knitted for Anna Prathipati’s baby girl coming in a couple of weeks. I missed the baby shower today but hope that I can still get it to her in time. I actually started a knitted dress but it is taking hours on end so I had to go back and get this white knitted blanket I had originally started for one (okay, two) of Don’s sisters and never actually got around to finishing. I decided to give it a pink crocheted camo edge and it is really, really cute. I made it at least 1 1/2 years ago and added the edge this morning. I love the Angel Fleece yarn – so soft but I must admit I still prefer wool as a natural fiber but you can’t beat the washability of something like this for babies! Here’s a link to the Ravelry page (be sure to favorite it if you like it!) and here is a link to the photos directly on our flickr account.

Cole Turns 15

Sunday, January 23, 2011 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Sigh. He’s 15. We should be getting a learner’s permit, right? He’s got some catching up to do in scouts for that to happen. He’ll do it – he’s a self-motivated kid and we don’t push like some scout parents. I wish we could have given him a bigger celebration this year because he means the world to us but finances are tight and the poor kid didn’t get anything at all present-wise from us though his grandparents on both sides came through. He does know we love him and I offered to make him his favorite dinner but he couldn’t commit to one so we had Taco Bell. He did get the traditional family chocolate cake. He is the best kid we could have ever asked for! I wouldn’t even trade him for a girl. He’s always been a good kid and here’s to hoping it lasts at least through the rest of the teenage years (one can hope, right?). So anyway, here’s a very public birthday note for Cole: We love you, Cole! You make us proud in every single thing you do. You are a great big brother. You are a smart, capable, responsible young man and you surprise us almost every day with your intelligence and witty humor. We will forgive you the antics on early morning seminary drives (that would be your antics, not ours). Love, Mom & Dad

What I Designed Today: Dorothy Keddington’s Book Cover – Finally Done!

Thursday, January 6, 2011Monday, March 9, 2015 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I haven’t worked on a book cover for a little while and I’m really enjoying working again. Good thing since I’ve been burned out for nearly a decade. Just kidding – it just has felt like that with four kids and fourteen years. Since my kids are aged 4 to 14 I guess I did have one full decade there, didn’t I?! Well, back to some creative endeavors. This book cover has only been in the works for almost a year… I finally read the book and it’s a fantastic, quick read.

Christmas Dinosaurs & Homemade Kool-Aid Play Dough

Tuesday, January 4, 2011 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I heart homemade playdough. Ben had gotten new Play-Dough of the store variety for Christmas but since we shipped the stuff from Omaha, and it has not yet arrived, I resorted to a tried and true kool-aid play dough recipe that is easy, cheap, and fantastic.

Kool-Aid Play Dough Recipe

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup salt
3 T oil
2 packets of kool aid powder (we used another brand)
glitter – optional
additional coloring such as Wilton’s – optional

Mix dry ingredients with a whisk. Add oil and blend. Pour 2 cups boiling water over all and mix. After it’s cooled, the child can help mix the dough. I mix it and then spread it out on our metal top table and finish mixing it so it cools faster.

Enjoy! I love how Ben always makes his a dinosaur land. He simply can’t conceive of anything else he’s so into dinosaurs.

The Texas Renaissance Festival

Tuesday, November 30, 2010Saturday, November 27, 2010 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Our first time at the Ren Fest was FANTASTIC! We loved it. The place is huge, the entertainment is vast and varied, and each of the kids found something interesting to make it a great night. Gabe loved the dragon items, Jack enjoyed the jousting, and Cole claims to have enjoyed just being with his family (cough, cough, I think he liked the belly dancers best). I highly recommend the place for lots of entertainment. We are glad it was a relatively colder day so that many of the girls were more covered up than usual, probably!

Thanksgiving at the Church

Saturday, November 27, 2010 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

So there were lots of people so my MIL reserved the church. It was nice to have everyone sit down to eat together but there was an awkwardness afterward with no football and no couches. Moral of the story: Thanksgiving was meant to be held at home! It WAS fun, however, to see all of the Roberts and meet Ali’s kids and Rebecca and Josh, Boyd’s new wife and baby.

Knitted Newborn Baby Boy Hat & Mitts

Friday, November 12, 2010 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

The CUTEST (and my first!) newborn baby boy hat and mitts. The hat is a variation of Susan B. Anderson’s “Go Team” hat published on her Spud & Chloe blog this past week. The mitts I made up but they seem to work well. I might try lining those with polarfleece so that the yarns don’t catch tiny, fragile, newborn fingers. More pics of the sweet baby wearing the goods at my Ravelry account. Even more pics at our flickr account.

Houston International Quilt Market Giveaway!!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

So last year I got to meet Amy Bradley at Houston’s Quilt Market 2009 and then I had a giveaway of one of her books. Let’s do it again! This year, I had something a little different in mind: giving away a bag of wool roving in the most delicious colors! I will post the giveaway soon. Quilt market was fun but, since I don’t quilt, I think two years is plenty of industry tradeshow experience for quilting.

Halloween 2010

Tuesday, November 2, 2010 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I gave birth to an entire crew of stormtroopers. The kids know their own names but I have no idea who these costumes are supposed to be. I just shelled out the money.

Crochet Baby Diaper Cover & Flower Hat

Sunday, October 17, 2010 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I used a stretchy yarn that you have to order online (even my local yarn store had only 3 balls and it only came in this tie-dye color so I had to use it – but it turned out cute). It’s called Cascade Fixation and I. Love. This. Yarn. Once you get used to working with it, there’s no problem. This is only my second “real” crochet project ever so I am going easy on myself. The bottoms turned out a little large but when I washed them they did shrink a little bit. The hat turned out perfectly. I think I’m going to try to work it in the round next time so there’s no seam on the back. It is so stretchy and soft — perfect for fitting babies. The pattern can be found in Annie’s Attic Crochet book “Diaper Covers & Caps” #871058. Hook up with me on Ravelry (name: 10cowife) if you make any of these – I’d love to see different color combinations. And if you’ve got the flower on page 18 figured out — please let me know!!!