Tag Archives: everything else

We took a brief break to take the little ones to NYC to see the parade live and in-person but we’re back now and packages are flying out the door! If you haven’t ordered your Sheep Stash animals yet, there’s still time to get them and get them decorated in time for the holidays. We were planning to keep the shop up until December 15, but that’s only if we don’t run out of animals first. Get your own flock in our pop-up sheep shop on etsy and Scout will get them in the mail ASAP.

We took a brief break to take the little ones to NYC to see the parade live and in-person but we’re back now and packages are flying out the door! If you haven’t ordered your Sheep Stash animals yet, there’s still time to get them and get them decorated in time for the holidays. We were planning to keep the shop up until December 15, but that’s only if we don’t run out of animals first. Get your own flock in our pop-up sheep shop on etsy and Scout will get them in the mail ASAP.

Today’s project is easy peasy!

I painted these Sheep Stash pals with two coats of chalkboard paint (available in the craft paint section at Michael’s) and then glue a magnet to the backs. (The magnets were in the jewelry section at my Michael’s, but you can also “harvest” some magnets from your fridge.)

Gabbi loves giving the sheep different colored fleeces with chalk and the “shearing” them with an eraser and starting over.

Get your sheep and alpacas while they last here!

Everyone in my house has been down with what I now think may have been the flu for nearly two weeks. That plus all this shipping is wearing us out so we may bring the Sheep Stash fundraiser to an end on December 1st instead of the 15th. I’ll let you know.

As promised, I’m back today with some cool ideas for things to do with our Sheep Stash sheep and alpacas besides decorating your Christmas tree. This weekend was super fun for me because I got to go to the craft store and go wild!

Everything is better with glitter, right?

For my first project, I want to make a winter wonderland inspired wreath using some gorgeous handspun yarn that I’ve had in my stash for years. This skein is absolutely lovely- soft and with an incredible sheen- but at only 105 yards, I never came up with  a project for it.

Sheep Stash is a great way to actually use some of those lovely “art skeins” you bought because you loved them but haven’t used yet. And you get to see and appreciate the yarn every day.

First, I spray painted my sheep and alpacas. I did some in metallic silver and some in white. I also spray painted a grapevine wreath from Michael’s silver.

Then I wrapped the animals in the handspun.

All that was left was to attach the sheep to the wreath. You can use a glue gun if you want the sheep to be on the wreath semi-permanently or you can use twist ties like these:

I found these in the cake decorating section at Michael’s. By running them under the yarn I was able to attach the sheep and it will be a snap to remove them and change the yarn if I want to do a different color next year.

The finished wreath! I was super happy with it and it only took a couple of hours from start to finish.

Next up, another wreath, but this one is yarn-less.

Once again I spray painted a grapevine wreath, but white this time.

Then is was glitter time! (I thought these glitter trays were silly at first but they were actually really useful. You use a separate tray for each glitter color and then you can use that little spout in the upper right corner to pour the overage back into the bottle. Genius! Also from Michael’s in the Martha Stewart section.)

This is the shade of blue glitter I used. It’s called Crystal Mint (I thought it said Crystal Meth the first time I read it!) but it looks like a wintery blue to me!

For the other sheep I used a silver glitter and a white.

I bought the Martha Stewart Glitter Glue but Elmer’s and a paint brush would work just as well, I think.

I didn’t have yarn to hide the twist ties on this year so these guys are glue gunned to the wreath itself.

If you haven’t ordered you Sheep Stash yet, get on it! We will only be selling them from now through 12/15 (or when my husband collapses from making sheep all night, every night, whichever comes first.)

If you are going to Michael’s for supplies for these or any other project, don’t forget your coupon like I always do. This week’s coupon is 25% off your entire purchase (including sale items). Just put your zip code in here and it will take you to the coupon page.

A portion of your purchase price will go to Heifer International to buy real live sheep to help lift families out of poverty. In past years we’ve donated between $1500-$2000- this year our goal is $3000!

I’ll be back tomorrow with more ideas for decorating your sheep! In the meantime, we’d love to see yours. Please post your pics on our Facebook page.

Scout and I have been having a fantastic time getting to know each other.  He is– bar none– the happiest baby I have ever encountered.  From the moment he wakes up until he goes to sleep at night he is all smiles and laughs.

More soon…

The last two weeks have been such a whirlwind of change that I completely forgot to update the blog until Fran mentioned our newest lamb in the comments of Amy’s last post. It’s so hard to believe that it’s only been two weeks and one day since Scout Thomas arrived, two weeks early thanks to a wicked and fast acting case of pre-eclampsia. We are completely, utterly, hopelessly in love and nothing will ever be the same again. For those of you keeping score at home, Scout weighed 8 lbs 1.5 ozs, was 19 inches long and was born very suddenly at 9:05 p.m. on April 13th.

Mom, Dad, big sister and baby are all doing well– exhausted but very happy.

More as soon as I figure out how to juggle all this.

WHOO! Springtime!

Warmer weather!

Sunshine!

Picnics!

Days at the Beach!

Wrinkles!

Sun spots!

Skin cancer!

Okay, I’m being silly and dramatic to make a point, but it’s the same point I make every year at this time. It’s time to amp up your sunscreen routine.

I am the palest person on the planet. Seriously. I was once approached by the editor of a fetish magazine for men who are into pale women to be a model. True story. Humiliating but true.

I have spent a lifetime covering every exposed surface of my body with the highest s.p.f. sunscreen available on the market. Covering my face in the thick white glop is the very first thing I do when I get up in the morning. Sunscreen is one of the few things I’ve believed in my entire adult life.

And guess what? A couple years ago, I had a spot of skin cancer removed.

If I can get skin cancer, you can get skin cancer.

It’s time to step up your sunscreen routine, y’all. The World Health Organization has a handy list of best practices for sun protection that includes limiting your time in the midday sun, wearing protective clothing, watching the heat index and wearing sunscreen and re-applying it every two hours. Even if you are wearing sunscreen daily, you probably aren’t re-applying it every two hours, right?

A couple more tips from my own dermatologist. Be sure to get the sunscreen all the way to your hairline– most of the skin cancer docs remove is near there. It’s better to apply a couple of thin layers than one thick one.  And neglect not your neck, décolletage and the back of your hands.

Now, get out outside and enjoy the sunshine safely!

**Sarah V has the great idea to share our favorite sunscreens! I am always looking for something new. What’s your brand of choice?

Sorry for the light posting this week. Between wrapping our test knitting for the Fall/Winter  2015 collection and the nasty sore throat/chest cold virus-y thing we’re all struggling with, it’s been hard to find time to post.

I’ve heard from lots of you that you would like to see the nursery. I’m happy to say that it is finished and we are pleased to bits with it. The theme is a sort of a Wes Anderson take on a baby explorer’s nursery.

(The space is really difficult to photograph due to slanted ceilings, dormers and the fact that it’s small, but we did our best to show you the whole room.)

We started with the color palette and selected our colors from three of our favorite Wes Anderson films, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Life Aquatic and Darjeeling Limited.

  We already had a crib but Mike freshened it up by painting it a bold orange. I don’t want to tell you how many coats of paint it took. SO MANY COATS OF PAINT.

The faux antler light fixture is from The Shabby Antler on etsy.

The chest of drawers was unfinished pine from Ikea and another paint job for Mike! The animal prints above it are by Ryan and Lucy Berkley of Berkley Illustration, also on etsy.  I was trying to create the feel of a portrait gallery at the Explorers Club or the Royal Geographic Society. We put them in simple Ikea frames. I’m so happy with how it turned out.

The changing table is another Ikea piece painted orange.  (Are you starting to feel sorry for Mike yet?) The wooden boxes are recycled from a Christmas gift basket we got from Harry and David and painted yellow.  They are stocked with diapers, burp clothes and wipes.

The hand-painted oar is by HB Designs, another etsy find.

Every Wes Anderson set has something covered in gilt. We ordered this ceramic deer mount from the Land of Nod and Mike painted the antlers.

So many people told me that the glider and ottoman were the most important thing we needed for the nursery, so that’s where we spent the most money. They are actually a bit bluer than they look here and super comfy.  The constellation lamp and shade are from the Land of Nod. Our friend Sean made the lovely alpaca receiving blanket for the baby.

I know I will get lots of questions about the art so here are tight shots of all the pieces with sources.

From Inkysquidkids

From The Print Annex

From The Curators Prints

From The Wheat Field

The only thing we need now for the nursery should be arriving in 6 weeks and some change. Thank you all for your support throughout this pregnancy. I have received so many supportive, lovely emails from readers wishing us well and asking how we are doing.  I promise to post pics soon after he arrives.

*If I left out any sources that you’d like, just let me know.

I apologize for my prolonged absence from the blog- I came down with a wicked cold a couple of weeks ago, and, being pregnant, I couldn’t take anything for it. It was a pretty brutal two weeks of sore throats, stuffed-up head and exhaustion, but I am feeling much better now and I’m desperately trying to catch up on everything I missed while I was holed up under my comforter.

Before I go any further, I want to be sure and tell you that I will be speaking at Vogue Knitting Live in New York on January 17 in New York City and signing books afterwards. VKLive has turned into a super cool event (think a sheep and wool festival without the sheep.) There are so many amazing teachers and classes, and there is also a great marketplace with lots of vendors. If you can make a weekend of it you really should! But you can also just come hear me speak for the bargain price of $35, if you like.

Mike and I are making the trip to NYC for VK Live into a little romantic getaway (I can’t stand the word “baby moon”. Am I the only one?). We’re planning a trip to Mood Fabric and would like to have a couple of knock-out dinners. It’s been 10 years since I lived in Manhattan and my restaurant knowledge is a little rusty.  Do you have any suggestions for really amazing, destination restaurants? Please share!

I am happily past the half-way point in my pregnancy. To be honest with you, the second trimester has been a breeze! More on that next week.