So my smarty-pants friend is, among many things, very good with words. He compiled this testament of a book as a Christmas gift for friends and family and asked me to do the cover. I can’t wait to see the final product!
Author Archives: Sparkbark
Rocks and Raising Boys
Anybody else’s kids come home with this many pebbles in their shoes? It doesn’t matter what KIND of shoes Ben wears, either. He’s managed this with his tennis shoes as well. On another note, I had a wonderful phone conversation with a very good friend from Houston and she told me that her 9 year old girl refuses to get rid of a stick that my boys carved for her (we moved 7 months ago now). I think that’s pretty cute. Rocks. Sticks. {Sigh} Boys.
A Small Thanksgiving
So while I was sick (and clearly not in my right mind), I volunteered to cook turkey and make gravy for the Kindergarten classes. It was worth it to see all those pilgrims and Indians enjoying their meal.
The kitchen looks so nice when it’s clean. I quickly sewed a couple of muslin slipcovers to go over our blue chairs since only two of the new kitchen chairs that I ordered had arrived by Thanksgiving! Gotta make do, right…they have unfinished hems but I have a fantastic idea for hemming them. Info and pics to come. Also, I need to share the tape method Cole helped me with to make the custom pattern for them – it helped so much when it came to sewing them from scratch. And if the resident sewing newbie (me) can do it, anybody can!
Our island could fit 6 to 8 places comfortably but since we already had one bench and one stool from another home we lived in, I gave up my idea for new seating completely and just ordered another small stool to flank the bench. I think it looks pretty good for using what we’ve got!
I never thought I’d say this but I love that stupid freezer on the bottom that I resisted for so long. Now if I could just remember to not kick and shove it to close the thing!
While we were grateful for a small Thanksgiving gathering this year with new friends, we did miss being with family. We are kind of travel-ed out so I think for the holidays this year we will be staying put. Never fear, though, we ate like kings. Today (the day AFTER Thanksgiving), we all had pie for breakfast. What more could signify a successful holiday? We are thankful for many things: the gospel of Jesus Christ, jobs, home, family and friends…and technology.
Favorite Knitting Ideas
I was going through a VERY old hard drive on my computer and ran across this batch of ideas for things to knit. This was so long ago that I have completely lost the source of the images to give them credit. I am going to share them here but, please, if you find they are yours, do let me know so I can attribute them correctly and so that many others can find their way to the actual pattern or source for some of these wonderful knitting ideas!
Meadowville, Bear Lake, Laketown, Woodruff and the ’64 MGB Convertible
Hubby drove it into this barn 20 years ago — the summer before we were married. It’s about time it was rescued! Lost cattle got into the barn and used it as toilet paper and added a few dings to the body but otherwise, it’s in great condition, except for the interior. I don’t envy Don this restoration job but he sure seems to be excited by it and I hope the boys will get lots of quality time with their dad.
Staining the Fence: Round 2
The boys have stain in their newly acquired, adorable haircuts. I timed that wrong! Well, I hope they learned some sort of life-enhancing lesson through all that work! The interior of the fence is done. Hooray!
Door Ditchin’ Halloween Style
So we got “poo-ed” by a couple of skittish ghosts running from our front porch. So cute! The bag included all sorts of poo: vampire poo (hot tamales), skeleton poo (skeleton bones: mini marshmallows on pretzel sticks dipped in white bark), bat poo (chocolate covered raisins), spider poo (cotton candy), and clown poo (skittles). Very clever! A fun idea to pass along a church group and/or neighborhood.
Write It On Your Heart
Another favorite quote sign that I have hanging in my home (a Goodwill find!): “Write it on your heart that the ones you love are life’s most precious gifts.”
Trunk-or-Treat Decoration for Halloween
We created a cute vampire-fang-monster-mouth car decoration for the open back of a car at our trunk or treat. This was in 2009 – weren’t those boys so cute? They look so small to me when looking back just two years later. We had just moved to Houston in this picture and it was HOT for Halloween. The fangs were easy to create – a quick tip to make it even easier: we used an old, giant sticky note presentation board so they just stuck and we didn’t even have to tape them on anywhere to the car! Easy! Cute!
(Not So) Recent Design Work: a Book Cover for Jack Weyland’s “Cameron Meets Madison”
Hmph. I know that title should be italicized but I can’t find in my WordPress where it will allow you make it italic (there’s no place for HTML encoding or formatting of any kind). Oh well. Please forgive me, dear readers who might possibly care (cough, cough). I know I’m the only one who probably cares about such things considering I is (sic) an English major and all.
So I’ve decided to go back through some old work and post it on here so this blog can include more of the graphic design I’ve done over the years. Someday I’ll get that professional site up, but blogging is way more fun. Here’s a cover I did a year or two ago for Jack Weyland’s book entitled Cameron Meets Madison. The publisher had strict instructions to make it similar to his other bestselling works but I wanted it to look a bit fresher and I think it hits the mark. I have not read it — yet — but if you have, let me know your thoughts either here or on goodreads.
Inspiring Gardening Quote
ALL THE FLOWERS OF TOMORROW ARE IN THE SEEDS OF TODAY.
I bought this because it is one of my favorite gardening/life analogy quotes. I also love the one that says, “You can’t tell the quality of the soil until you plant the seed.” So profound. I think of my kids and friends with that one, as well as sharing the gospel. Hope you like it as much as I do!
Motivational or Inspiring Quotes
Anyone who knows me knows that I ADORE great quotes. I picked up this sign in Omaha when I bought the other sign posted about here that seems to have sparked a nerve on Pinterest and has been repinned by so many. Since that one was so popular, I thought I’d share this one as well.
Nantucket Gray Semi-Transparent Fence Stain
We are in love with our new fence stain! It is from Lowe’s and the Cabot brand. Before we moved, we stained our own deck and it lasted so much longer than those that were spray-stained. Anyway, it’s taken a ton of stain just to do the outside (about $650 worth for the whole fence) but we’ve been rolling and painting it on — and it looks great.
As we drove around the neighborhood, everyone seemed to have dark stains and we just didn’t want that look. This matches our guttering perfectly and I can’t wait to get some pretty vines over the fence in the spring. Fingers crossed it lasts for quite awhile — we’re not done staining the inside yet and we don’t want to have to redo it anytime soon. We have to hurry and get the inside done before the really cold weather sets in (yay snow!).
Making a Halloween Spider Rug (Cheap & Easy Craft!)
I saw this idea in a magazine and didn’t have access to the supplies they suggested so when I hit Lowe’s for some fence stain, I grabbed a 6′ x 8′ indoor/outdoor rug for $17 in black and cut it into two halves. One half I made into a round spider web and the other half I made into a very large oval spider web. We painted the lines on the round one with all-weather silicone caulking. I am afraid it isn’t going to stick very well or could be pulled off, so I’m going to get some white fabric paint and do the second rug (and re-do the white lines on the first one). It turned out really cute and it was cheap and easy! It’s a great way to fill a large porch with a custom sized rug and my Kindergartner enjoyed helping me draw the lines as we marked them out with a white crayon (we didn’t have any chalk on hand!) and it worked perfectly. He could easily help and follow the ruler — it was a fun, cheap, and quick family activity! Highly recommend!
Here is one of Ben — at first he held the yardstick while I drew the lines with a white crayon. Then, he begged and begged so I held the yardstick and he drew the lines perfectly fine! He’s a kindergartner, so if he can do it — anyone can! It truly is a cheap, easy family project for Halloween.
UPDATE Halloween 2012: This rug is still in silicone only and has held up really, really well! I did NOT go back over it with paint or anything else. Yay!
Just for fun, here is my all-time favorite Halloween decoration. At our house, the witch is ALWAYS in!!!
Brooks’ Run Happy Ad Campaign
I remember a couple of these signs from Brooks’ running ad campaign around 2008/2009 — when I was in Omaha and hitting the gym regularly and running on the treadmill. I love to run outdoors, too, but I don’t mind 9 miles on the treadmill at all, either. It goes so fast with an mp3 player or a tv (if you want that!). While I prefer the right kind of tunes and no television, I enjoy the treadmill because you can pace yourself. Intervals is my idea of a good time!!! I love sprints on the treadmill. Crazy, I know. But I do enjoy the perspective of running outside — and there are days in the spring and fall when I would not trade outdoors for anything. This morning was a perfect example of one of those days!! Hooray for running! Hooray for design! Any mix of the two gets an A+ in my book.