Happy Yellow Bumblebee

Lunch Munch

2011-08-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Is summer seriously almost over? It has literally flown by. The kids are back to school, some already, some this week, and us parents are preparing, mentally and physically for the school year to begin. Food is at the top of my list: packing lunches, healthy after school snacks, quick evening meals. I have been reading a lot of food blogs with some great ideas.

I love this idea of adding a secret note onto a banana with a toothpick! Cutefoodforkids.
Here are some more lunch box ideas I borrowed from Wendelonia. I am just becoming aware of Bento Boxes, and I am very intrigued and hoping to make packing lunches for the kids more enjoyable for all of us!

Carbohydrates

whole grain crackers
pretzel sticks
mini-muffins
goldfish crackers, cheddar bunnies or other snack crackers
pretzel thins
bagel chips
mini-rice cakes or rice crackers
cooked ball of rice
leftover pasta or pasta salad — toss with some chopped veggies and vinaigrette or a little olive oil, garlic salt and parmesan.
granola bars
banana bread, zucchini bread, or other quick breads
cereal bars
dry cereal
mini-bagels
hot dog buns, hamburger buns or dinner rolls
garlic toast
pita bread — I usually toast these so they don’t get soggy. Mini pitas are fun or you can cut a big one into wedges.
leftover pancakes or toaster waffles — mini-waffles go over especially well.

Dairy

yogurt
cheese cubes
cheese slices
cottage cheese
string cheese, Laughing Cow, Babybel or other small single-serving cheeses

Vegetables

carrot sticks
sugar snap peas
red bell pepper strips
cucumber slices
celery sticks
grape tomatoes
steamed green beans
steamed broccoli spears
frozen peas — run them quickly under warm water to start them thawing
frozen corn

Protein

leftover meat from dinner cut into chunks — you can send almost anything: roast chicken, pork roast, chicken legs and carne asada leftover from tacos are all things my kids have enjoyed.
chicken or turkey sausage with bbq sauce or catsup for dipping
deli meats — turkey, ham, salami
beans
peanut butter “sandwiches” made with crackers or graham crackers
taquitos with salsa for dipping
baked tofu
quesadillas
mini-burritos
mini-pizzas — top mini-pitas with sauce, cheese and pepperoni
hard boiled eggs

Here are a few slow cooker recipes that I have tried and have been huge hits with the kids and the husband.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Seasoned Delicious Pork Chops
Chicken Stroganoff

happy valentines day

2011-02-13T18:56:00.001-08:00

happy valentines day, originally uploaded by cocomama1.

Last night was our annual sweethearts dance and rock show, and I have been a busy busy bee making and finding decoration, planning, and promoting it. We had a huge turnout and the bands were AMAZING. I love theme parties, so I had a blast making stuff to hang up and make the back room of the pizza works a little more romantic.

My sister, mom and I made the backdrop for school dance type photos. It turned out really cute. My sister bought a full size black flat sheet for the background. The numbers were cut out of felt and so were lots of the hearts. The pink animal print heart fabric was a fun added touch. Fabric glue held everything on.

I found some cute vintage cupid and heart cutouts at a local antique mall. I punched holes through them and used clear fishing line to tie them together with doilies and other heart shapes. They look quite adorable if I do say so myself. The most fun things to make were the large tissue paper pom pon flowers that we hung from the ceiling. My friend Laura tipped me off on them, they were totally easy and fun to make. Here is the link to make them- Martha Stewart tissue pom pons. I took some photos while I was making them.

Here is the finished backdrop below. It was super cute with kissing couples in front of it!

Happy Valentines day friends! XOXOXOXOXOXO

Shop, make, bake...

2010-12-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

The holidays crept up SUPER FAST this year. I can't believe there are only 10 days left until Christmas. People are almost starting to panic that their holiday shopping is not done. I am CLOSE to being done. There are just so many people to remember....Teachers, Aunts & Uncles, 2nd Cousins twice removed, your sister-in-law's boyfriend (is he even COMING to Christmas). It's overwhelming when you make a list of everyone to buy for.

If you are around the Peoria area and shopping for your mom, girlfriend, sister, friend, or other lady in your life, you have to go into my favorite shop, Relics. It is one of Peoria's best kept secrets, on Adams across from Hardees, next to Cracked Pepper. I tell everyone to go there if they like adorable housewares, vintage conversation pieces, affordable jewelry, books, and funky stuff. Crossing my fingers that my husband will go there and pick out Christmas gifts for me. Absolutely anything will do, but I love the jewelry...hint hint honey.

Homemade presents are cheaper (most of the time) and go over pretty well. I am crocheting my fingers to the bone to try and get gifts done. This site, The Crafty Crow, has great ideas for handmade ornaments and other gifts. I love the ideas for gifts that kids can make. Next week the kids are off school, and we always make some handmade ornaments to handout to relatives. I think we are going to make the bell flower ornament. Although I really love the little owl ornament from that artist woman blog. So I might have just showed some of you your presents...whoops.

Last year I made treat bags with Chocolate Chip Biscotti, a few fancy Tea Bags, and some candy, to pass out to extended family, friends, teachers, and people I worked with.
Here is the yummy Biscotti recipe I used. It was super easy, if you are good at burning chocolate chip cookies then you can make these! They are also vegetarian!

2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, semisweet or milk chocolate
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
4 squares of semisweet bakers chocolate

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together dry ingredients and chocolate chips. Add eggs and vanilla. Knead dough on a floured surface a dozen times or so. Form the dough into a long log 2 inches wide and 15-16 inches thick. Place long on baking sheet coated with nonstick spray. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from oven and let cool. Cut diagonally with a serrated knife, into 1/2" slices. Change heat to 325 a d bake for 10 more minutes, then flip the slices over and cook for 10 more minutes or until golden and crunchy. The centers may look a little soft, but will harden as they cool.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave, following directions on the package. Allow chocolate to cool but not harden before dipping one side of the biscotti into it. Place cookies on wire racks, chocolate side up, until cool. Place in airtight container to store. Dip in your tea or coffee and enjoy!

Good luck with finishing your holiday shopping, making and baking!

Costume Bonanza

2010-11-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

Halloween is my favorite time of the year. It is over and I am a little depressed, but I can look back at all the awesome photos I took and feel a little bit better. Pretty much the only time I use my sewing machine is to make Halloween costumes. This year Charlie wanted to be a mummy and Jack wanted to be a ninja. I was hyped up to make both. I know I could have bought them both, but I love the challenge of creating something from nothing. The ninja costume I sewed out of a shiny black material, added a patterned black band for a belt, and a red sash. A black set of long under-ware went under his costume. I found a simple way to make a ninja mask out of a black t-shirt. My husband helped Jack make throwing stars which we attached with hot glue. The ninja swords he broke after the first time wearing his costume...they were cheap plastic. His crotch ripped out of his pants the first time he jumped into a ninja crouch, but I was ok with that, since I have no formal training in sewing, and my sewing machine decided to stop working. I hot glued them back together.

For the Mummy I took tips from a cool website. I tore the gauze material into strips, dyed them with tea, dried them in the dryer (BAD idea. Next time lay them out to dry), and hand stiched most of them to his white long under-ware. I learned that you can NOT actually wrap the strips around the long under-ware or it will not come back off your child. So instead I draped and pinned each one and stitched it into place. Charlie was pretty patient for a 5 year old boy! He had to try the costume on about 4 times. We ended up hot gluing on the final strips and the spider on. The headpiece was pretty fun to make. My grandma recommended making a paper mache base. I measured Charlie's head, blew up a balloon to that same size, then used loads of modge podge to glue on cheesecloth. Once it dried I popped the balloon and sewed the gauze strips onto it. It turned out comfortable and awesome. Charlie got a lot of compliments at school on his awesome mummy costume, as did I!

The kids had a blast at school, at the Water Street Spooky Fiesta, where they saw the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile and ran around like spooks! Then of course there was trick or treating. There are a few houses that go ALL OUT for Halloween, decorating their entire yards and front porches. I want to be one of those people someday.

I also saw lots of great adult costumes at my work,all Halloween weekend. Below are some of the best costumes I have seen. Many are my friends. Great costumes guys! My husband and I are in there as hobo clowns. I found most of the pieces for our costumes at Goodwill. I also attached lots of patches and altered my dress to be puffier. I was pretty proud of our makeup too, especially my husband's. He won the costume contest at Rhythm Kitchen Music Cafe for his awesome costume!

Until next year, HAPPY HAUNTING!

Pumpkins and Gourds

2010-10-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

These photos are from our favorite local market, Schaer's country market. It is a family owned and run business and it is a tradition of ours to go there for pumpkins in the fall and a Christmas tree in the winter. We love it because it's in walking distance of our house, although we drove this time. It would be a little difficult to walk and haul a bunch of pumpkins. Just wanted to share these lovely fall photos from one of our favorite places.

First chili cookoff - some tasty stuff

2010-10-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Earlier this fall, we had a chili cook-off to celebrate the end of summer, beginning of fall, and my husband's 31st birthday. A few people brought chili, a few brought soup, and a few brought some other delicious creations. We had some really good entries! we had everything set up with signs and people painstakingly voted on their favorites. First place was taken by Kelly with her Polish Mistakes, neither chili or soup, but totally scrumptious. Below are some of the winning recipes.
Polish Mistakes by Kelly S
(seen on the photo to the right at the bottom left side)
I used 1lb turkey sausage (you can use regular sausage and ground beef)
1lb ground chicken meat
1 medium onion chopped
oregano
garilic salt
velvetta cheese
rye cocktail bread (small squares)

Preheat oven 350
Brown the meat with a little olive oil and add onions
Add oregano and garilic salt to taste (don't have exact measurments)
add the velvetta cheese until melted(i used about 1/2-3/4 of a block of velvetta chesse cut into cubes)
Stir together until well blended
Add a spoonful of mixture to each cocktail square and place on cookie sheet
Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes until toasted and enjoy!

Chipotle Chili by Joe H.
1 LB Ground Meat

1 Red Onion, Diced

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 Can Diced Tomatoes with Jalapeños, Drained

1 Lrg Can Tomato Sauce (~30oz)

1 Can Light Red Kidney Beans, Drained, Rinsed

1 Can Dark Red Kidney Beans, Drained, Rinsed

1 Chipotle Chili Pepper, Minced (or Chipotle Chili Pepper Powder)

1 Bay Leaf

Chili Powder, Salt & Pepper

Brown the meat and season lightly with chili powder, move meat to crock pot and leave about 3 tablespoons of fat in pan. Sauté onions and garlic in fat until soft, add to crock pot. In crock pot, add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, and chili pepper (or 2 teaspoons of chipotle chili powder, to taste). Add bay leaf, 4 tablespoons of chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low at least 5 hours. Add more spices to taste.

Chilli Mac-Attack by Me! (first photo at the top)

1 onion chopped

1 green pepper seeded, veins removed, and chopped

1 pound of ground beef or turkey

1 packet of chili spices

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 large can of tomato juice

1 can of chopped tomatoes in their juices

1 can of black beans (drained)

1 can of red kidney beans (drained)

1 can of chili beans in seasoning

1 Tbsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste & macaroni and cheese, prepared as package says.

Brown meat in a large pot, drain off grease. Add onions, garlic and green peppers. Cook for 4 minutes or until they have softened a bit. Then add spices, tomato juice, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil then turn heat back down and cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Add the beans and let them heat up for 5 minutes or so before serving. Scoop some mac and cheese into the bowl, then top with chili and add some crackers or cornbread to the side. This kid-friendly chili-mac attack, is the only way I can get my kids to eat chili, and also by crushing up the beans so they are hidden in with the meat. Its good with shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream.

Thanks for submitting recipes friends!

Summer is over TOO SOON!

2010-09-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

This summer went by entirely TOO FAST! I still am not into the swing of things: the kids' school, volunteering @ school, weekend work, puppy time, volunteering after school, soccer practice, parent club meetings, attempting to exercise and eat right, cub scouts, and attempting to keep the house semi clean. Not that I am complaining, I love my life, it's just a bit insane right now and I need to get my schedule worked out a little better.

This summer we kept the kids pretty busy, which is essential in keeping myself sane. I didn't have a lot of time to do arts or crafts, but there are a few things I made that I am pretty proud of. I made a whole slew of crochet critters for a Benefit for my friend's son earlier in the spring. They turned out quite cute, went up for auction or raffle for a great cause, and contributed to the final total of over $30,000!

My favorite is probably the robot or the beaver....maybe next time I could combine the 2?

Most of these patterns I got from 2 books by my favorite author and Amigurumi crochet guru, Ana Paula Rimoli. Her books are wonderful, that is where I learned how to do Ami, and her blog is adorable and funny http://amigurumipatterns.blogspot.com/

I have been attempting to design a few of my own Ami designs lately, I hope to put them up on my blog or Ravelry eventually.

One of my friends from high school recently started a wonderful do it yourself craft blog, howd.i.y. blog. It is a great blog, with tons of cool do it yourself projects, gift ideas, and crafts. Check it out. (:

ABC, as easy as 123.

2010-04-09T08:17:00.001-07:00

ABCs are so important for kids to learn and understand. Of course they learn at school, but at home is where you can really help them get the concepts that eventually lead to reading.

Letters have been a main focus for our 4 year old for the past year or so. He is going into kindergarten next year, as a freshly turned 5 year old, one of the young ones. 2 years of preschool have taught him a lot about how to act in a classroom setting, sharing, picking up, and of course the pledge of allegiance. He loves his friends and his teachers, who are the sweetest ladies in the world.

I had been getting a little nervous as he nears kindergarten, and has shown ZERO interest in letters, numbers, writing, or drawing. Our oldest always loved to draw, and write, where Charlie would rather set up all of his action figures into a neighborhood and then play with them,. He is a really imaginative player. He also loves to make up stories and tall tales. They are just so different, which means they become interested in things in different ways. The things that grabbed Jack's interests may not grab Charlie's. So we had to get a little creative when it came to letters and writing.

We have been reading Baby Einstein's, ABCs of Art, about 4X a week for over a year now. We did this with Jack,when he was in preschool, and he picked them up pretty quick. We read each letter and look at the picture on the page to represent it. In the last 6 months,Charlie has been remembering some of the letters, but then he would forget them and remember others. We reached a milestone last week when he read EVERY LETTER in the book. But reading that book was definitely not the only tool we used. There are so many helpful resources out there, fun and imaginative things that make learning fun.

Some friends gave us, They might be Giants, Here come the ABC's, video/cd, for one of the kids' birthdays. There are songs about different letters that are catchy, fun, and hilarious. Alphabet lost and found makes you want to dance. This was really helpful because i could remind Charlie, BIG FAT......(and he would think of that song)....W! It was probably this video that sparked his recent interest in letters and writing.

I have been sitting down a few times a week and practicing writing letters of the alphabet with charlie. This was frustrating at first, but I tried to make it fun. He could draw something that started with the letter A after writing it. This encouraged him to think creatively about letters and connect a letter with a picture. We only did a few letters at a time and then tried to repeat them the next day.

ABC cookies with Hunter & Charlie, originally uploaded by cocomama1.

Back in December I dug out my alphabet cookie cutters, surprisingly they were all there. Charlie had a playdate with his friend Hunter and we made the entire alphabet in cookies! They got to roll out the dough, pick out the letters in alphabetical order and cut them out. We never got to decorating them with frosting, but they tasted good anyway!

Now Charlie can spell and write his own name. He sees letters he recognizes everywhere, and we often play the which letter is this game (Charlie writes a letter in the air and asks me which one it is).

Jack on the other hand is reading chapter books! Reading is the next hurdle after learning letters and it is another slow going process. Repetition and patience are the things to remember when helping your child read. Every night before bed we read to the boys, then it switched to us helping Jack read an easy reader, then he read it himself with a little guidance and now he is a fairly confident reader. I remember being encouraged to SOUND it OUT, but at Jack's school they recommend not doing that. They want the kids to recognize the words and look at the pictures in the books and figure it out that way. I have to admit, I have been known to help him sound the words out, but I try to stick to the same thing they teach at school in order to be consistent. It is crazy to look back to Jack's reading level a year ago and compare it to today, he has improved so much!

Flat Stanley was the first chapter book he read. There are some big words in it, but with our help he got through it. Now he is on his fourth Flat Stanley book! We always discuss what happens in each chapter because I want him to really understand what he is reading and not just zip through the words.

It has been a long road learning ABCs and now reading, but it has been fun and interesting. Each child learns differently and it is important to find what interests them and to go in that direction.

Fun and Yum

2010-02-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

Just a quick little blog note. I somehow stumbled upon this REALLY COOL site called Humanclock.com. Super cool photography, put into a clock that changes every minute. Click on "view the clock" to watch the minutes flash by in photos. You can submit your own photos too!

Once you get done there, feel free to whip up some delicious rice pudding. My mom used to make this all of the time when we were kids, for a cheap and easy dessert. Warm up those cold bellies after an afternoon of snowball fights.

Rice pudding (for 4 or 5 chilly people.)
1 cup(or more) cooked white or brown rice (short/medium grain) Leftover from dinner?
1& 1/2 cups skim milk
1/3 cup sugar (you can use splenda too but I don't know the amount)
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup raisins or golden raisins (or I like craisins)
1 large egg beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2-1 Tbsp butter or margarine
Sprinkle of brown sugar or cinnamon.

In a medium saucepan, combine rice, milk, salt, and sugar over medium heat. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring periodically, until it's thicker and creamy. Combine the egg & 1/2 cup of milk then add to the pan along with raisins. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add vanilla, butter, and raisins. Stir it up. Sprinkle with cinnamon and enjoy warm. (:

Hopper Picture Person Project

2010-02-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Ground Swell, by Edward Hopper was the latest work of art I discussed with my 1st grader's class. The kids liked it because of the boat and the ocean, and in the middle of a harsh Illinois winter it seems almost like paradise. Hopper is a famous American realist painter, most known for his painting, Nighthawks.

Anyway, Hopper is known for painting everyday realistic themes that evoke feelings of loneliness and sadness. His use of color is an important factor in his work and for the kids' project we used color to create an emotion. We talked about Hopper's life and how his work was different than most artists at the time. He painted things to look realistic in a time when abstract art was all the rage. He loved to paint boats and the ocean and other everyday scenes.

I found the project in this AWESOME book. It is a great project that even Charlie (who is 4) loved. The finished project is totally frame worthy.

First off I mounted drawing paper (not sketch) on a board. My makeshift "boards" were made
from free USPS shipping boxes cut in half. I used thick blue artist tape to tape the edges of the paper to the board, covering about an even strip around the edge to create a border when removed. I brought a ton of black permanent markers and told the kids to draw something emotional, something that would create a feeling. I had them name some feelings and then we asked them to tell us what they could draw.
We practiced it at home, like we always do, to test the time and mess factors that will be involved in the project.

Jack drew a dog and Charlie a happy face. Once they drew their main subject, we put the permanent markers away. I then had the kids color with some washable markers, letting them know that those colors would fade and spread out. Some kids colored with crayons too.

As the kids finished up I took them back to a table where I had watered down about 5 different colors of acrylic paint. I had them pick a color to represent the emotion they were showing in their picture.

Most kids chose 2-3 colors, but it was ok since they were really watered down. If they got too much water on the paper we used paper towels to dab up some. They liked the effects the wash had on the marker areas.

The end results were so awesome. My husband actually thought that the dog Jack did was the print we were discussing!! I let the pictures dry in the hallway for a few hours and then removed the tape (carefully). There were so many cool different pieces.

My kids pictures are hanging up in our house!

A few yummy recipes

2010-01-17T16:57:00.000-08:00

Winter means lots of time indoors, which for us means stir crazy kids. I have been trying to include the kids in cooking or baking lately to keep their little hands and minds occupied. Here are a few recipes that the kids can help with and everyone can enjoy. These recipes are from my recipe box of hand me down recipes and I also consulted allrecipes.com for more great ideas.

Cranberry Almond Bread Pudding (thanks to Stephanie and Matt from the Rhythm Kitchen with help on this one).

1 loaf of bread torn into bite size pieces (KIDS are great at this part)
8 eggs beaten
4 tablespoons butter melted
4 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup craisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven 350
Fill up a 9x13 pan with torn bread. Drizzle butter over bread. Combine milk, sugar,eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla. Pour over bread until it is saturated. Toss craisins and almonds over the top of the bread. Bake for 45 minutes. Test to make sure top is firm and springs back when touched. Mix up a sauce of butter and powdered sugar (roundabouts 1 stick butter 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon) to put on top for a little extra sweetness. Serve warm for dessert or breakfast.

Yellow-jacket Cookies
1 box yellow cake mix (18.25 ounce)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat over to 375. Mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle and add eggs and melted butter. Mix well. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Drop rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. ENJOY! We took these cookies to a potluck and they were gone before we knew it! The kids loved being able to take credit for making them.

More recipes to come! Enjoy baking with your kids this winter!

Halloween Costumes

2009-10-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

How excited is everyone for halloween? cause at my house we definitely are! Halloween is like Christmas for us!

I am making costumes for my boys and my husband and I. So far they are going well, I am almost done with the kids costumes. Last year I made the boys' costumes also-Spongebob and Patrick Star. I submitted their costumes to a coolest homemade halloween costumes website. There are tons of great ideas for halloween costumes there. Homemade costumes are my favorite!
Last year our friends had some GREAT costumes. I am so excited to see what everyone comes up with this year.
So what are YOU going to be for Halloween? Are you making or buying your costume? What is the best costume you have seen?

Yo Gabba Gabba T-Shirts

2009-08-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

For Charlie's 4th birthday we decided to do a Yo Gabba Gabba theme. That should not surprise those of you who know me, I am as obsessed with that show as Charlie is (maybe more). There is nothing about that show that is NOT awesome....best kids show ever!

Anyway, I have been working on some homemade decorations for the party for a month now. I had tons of ideas for party games, a cake, decorations and so on, many which I saw on Gabba Friends. My main project was making t-shirts for all the kids attending the party.

First I looked at the characters and made rough sketches for the shirts. I bought bright colored shirts at a local craft store, once I had polled the kids' parents for their shirt sizes and favorite characters. Each shirt was a basic color of the character- yellow (Plex), green (Brobee), Blue (Toodee), Pink (Foofa), and Red/Orange (Muno). That background color was their "body" and I painted each face on the shirt! I used freezer paper to make a face stencil, referencing my sketches for help. I cut out the areas that would be painted on, eyes, mouth, ears, or other distinguishable features.

It is helpful to have a piece of cardboard or a t-shirt form (found at craft stores) to hold the shirt in place and to keep the paint from bleeding through. I used regular acrylic craft paint.
Placing the freezer paper stencil on the shirt (slick side down) where I wanted it, I ran a hot iron over the stencil to affix it to the shirt. You only have to hold down the iron for a few seconds and the paper is lightly attached, it is super cool! Next I just painted in the eyes, noses, and mouths, and let those dry. The eyes took a few coats of white before the background was covered. When doing multiple coats, I stuck a paper towel between the shirt and cardboard to prevent it from gluing itself to the cardboard and ripping off once it dries (learned this the hard way). I let the shirts dry for a few hours, or overnight, then pulled off the stencil to reveal the face. Some things I hand-painted on, once the face was dry-pupils, teeth, flower accents. It took about 1 week to plan, get supplies, and then paint all the shirts.

The birthday boy had Muno with a few extra accents!

Muno and Brobee were the most simple, and definitely the most hug-able.

Plex was the most complicated, but turned out super cool.

Lots of the girls wanted Foofa, since she is PINK!

My oldest son wanted DJ Lance, so I improvised and hand painted him without a stencil.

My husband and I had to have shirts too, so I chose Toodee and he chose Muno (well I chose for him).

I rolled up the shirts and tied them with a ribbon and name tag.

The shirts were a huge success, the kids and parents loved them. Made a great "treat" for the kids to all take home and enjoy.

RAZZLE DAZZLE!

Herb Gardens

2009-05-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

For mothers day I prepared some herb gardens for the 2 main mothers in my life, my mom and mother in law. I bought the herb plants, each pot contained 3 plants, so I separated them. I also found the cute planters. You can get herbs at most farmers markets and local farms. This is a great time of the year to start one. They you just bring it inside when the weather gets cold and you have fresh herbs all year long. Don't forget to water them!

The herb gardens turned out really cute, and I was excited to get them each something they did not already have. Each garden held basil, thyme, cilantro, and sage, which I labeled with some cardboard cutouts and permanent markers. I have been wanting an herb garden forever, so of course I made myself one too! They made great presents, I think it was probably around $20 for each garden. Here are a few more photos.

I also potted up a few aloe plants for my sister and sister in law. I figure those are pretty easy to care for and they are useful for minor scrapes and burns. They were under $8 for each plant and pot! Really affordable gifts!

Andy Warhol- Picture Person Project

2009-01-28T18:14:00.001-08:00

boys testing out my art project for picture person, originally uploaded by cocomama1.

Today I went to my son's kindergarten class as Picture Person, to talk about Andy Warhol. There were lots of artist's we could pick from, as Picture Person, and Andy Warhol was NOT one of them. I wanted to do him anyway, because he is one of my favorite artist's and my son really likes him too. So i searched around town and ended up calling our local museum, Lakeview. Even though they did not have a copy of the print I wanted, they were very nice and printed me a good color copy of the print, Grevy's Zebra, along with some info on it.

For the project, I wanted to let the kids decorate their own Zebras. I traced a simplified version of the Zebra onto a thin piece of cardboard, then using am exacto-knife, I cut out a stencil. After the stencil was done I used white acrylic gesso and painted the image onto black paper.

Once the copies were dry, I let the kids test out their some different things on the paper. They tried multi-colored chalk, bright crayons, glitter glue, and bright colored puffy paint. Everything worked well except for glitter glue. Crayons showed up best on top of the white lines. The puffy paint really added a lot to zebra, traced along some of the white lines. We made sure and did the paint last. For an added texture effect we took a comb and went over some of the lines.

Here is the end result. The kids in my son's kindergarten class really enjoyed this project!

Multiple child family portrait

2009-01-26T07:39:00.000-08:00

11 grandkids!

This past holiday I did a portrait commission for a friend of mine. She wanted a portrait of all the grandchildren in her family, for her mother. This is meant putting 11 kids from 11 different photos into one 18 x 24 sheet of paper. We went through the photos and picked out the best ones of each child. Then i scanned each one, cropped I started by lightly (almost invisibly) sketching the shape of each head onto the paper, just to get the space divided evenly, and making sure I can make them all fit proportionally.

Honestly as portraits go, this is one of the hardest thing to do, in my opinion. Taking different photos and combining them into one portrait offers many options, but also lots of challenges. Photos are often different sizes, colors, and light/dark levels. This is one reason that i scan each photo and then adjust the contrast, color, and crop them to make them each a little more similar. It is easier for me to see the drawing boundaries when the photo is cropped, otherwise I often draw too large.

The last 2 portrait commissions I have done, have both been like this. They have turned out well, though I still like a couple portrait or single child portrait, they are just simpler projects.

8 Grandkids

Mr. Panda Crochet Pattern

2009-01-15T11:51:00.000-08:00

This is the first pattern I am putting out there for people to use! Hopefully it is well written and it turns out for you, like it did for me. Feel free to add comments or questions. If you see a mistake please let me know!

It is pretty basic amigurumi style animal. The parts are all separate and you have to sew them together at the end.

1 skein white worsted weight yarn

1/2 skein black worsted weight yarn

F (3.75mm)hook, yarn needle, poly-fil stuffing, 2 safety eyes, 1 safety nose-you could also use buttons, or felt shapes and embroider those on if you are planning to give this to a baby or young child.

Head
sc 5 into magic ring
mark first stitch to indicate beginning round
2 sc in each stitch around (10)
(sc 1, 2sc into next stitch)around (15)
(sc 2, 2sc into next stitch) around (20)
(sc 3, 2sc into next stitch) around (25)
(sc 4, 2 sc into next stitch) around (30)
(sc 5, 2 sc into next stitch) around (35)
sc around
(sc 6, 2 sc into next stitch) around (40)
sc around 6 rounds
(sc 6, sc2tog) around (35)
sc around
(sc 5, sc2tog) around (30)
(sc 4, sc2tog) around (25)
(sc 3, sc2tog) around (20)
(sc 2, sc2tog) around (15)
(sc, sc2tog) around (10)
(sc2 tog) around (5)
fasten off. leave long tail for sewing head to body.

Body
sc 5 into magic ring
2 sc in each stitch around (10)
place marker to mark 1st stitch
(sc 1, 2sc into next stitch)around (15)
(sc 2, 2sc into next stitch) around (20)
(sc 3, 2sc into next stitch) around (25)
(sc 4, 2 sc into next stitch) around (30)
(sc 5, 2 sc into next stitch) around (35)
(sc 6, 2 sc into next stitch) around (40)
next 2 rounds~ sc around (40)
(sc 7, 2 sc into next stitch) around (45)
next 6 ROUNDS sc around
(sc 7, sc2tog) around (40)
next 2 rounds sc around
(sc 6, sc2tog) around (35)
(sc 5, sc2tog) around (30)
(sc 4, sc2tog) around (25)
(sc 3, sc2tog) around (20)
(sc 2, sc2tog) around (15)
(sc, sc2tog) around (10)
(sc2 tog) around (5)

Arms
with black-
sc 4 into magic ring
(sc1, 2 sc into next stitch) until you have 12 stitches
place marker to begin round
next 4 rounds sc around
(sc2, 2sc into the next stitch) around 16
sc around 12 rounds
fashion off using slip stitch. leave tail for attaching to body and sewing shut.
Stuff half full.
sew shut before attaching to body

Legs (make 2)
with black
5 sc into magic ring
2sc into each stitch around (10)
(1sc, 2sc into next stitch) around (15)
(2sc, 2sc into next stitch) around (20)
next 5 rounds sc around
(2sc, 2 sc tog) around (15)
sc around next 9 rounds
fashion off leaving a tail

Eyes (make 2)
with white-4 sc into magic ring
with black- 2sc in each stitch around (8)
(1sc, 2sc into next stitch)around (12)
(2 sc, 2sc into next stitch) around (16)
fashion off, leave tail to sew onto head
add safety eye to center of the circle
make sure it is securely attached

Ears, make 2
4 sc into magic circle
(2 sc in next stitch)around(8)
(2 sc in next stitch) around (16)
(2 sc in next stitch) around (32)
sc around
fashion off, leave long tail for sewing.
fold circle in half and using yarn needle sew together around around circle
sew straight edge to head over eyes

mouth/nose
with white
sc 4 into magic ring
2 sc in each stitch around (8)
(1 sc, 2 sc in next stitch)around (12)
(2sc, 2sc in next stitch) around (16)
(3sc, 2sc in next stitch) around (20)
attach safety nose or embroider it and mouth
stuff lightly if you want to
sew mouth to face

tail
sc 4 into magic ring
2sc in each stitch (8)
(1sc, 2sc in next stitch)around (12)
sc around next 2 rounds
fashion off, leave tail
sew to body

projects....

2008-12-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

So I hope everyone is keeping busy and warm this chilly December.

Lots going on in our house....
of course we are preparing for Christmas, which means I have been making some handmade gifts as usual. Crochet is my poision this year. So far I have 5 scarves, a few critters, & a baby doll finished. I am working on the final scarf and a guitar strap for my hubby (shhhhhhhhh).

Also I am working on a portrait commission for a girl I work with. She is giving to her mother for Christmas and there are 11 grandkids in it from 11 different photos. I have until January 2nd to get this done....and I am about 1/3 of the way done.. So I have a lot to do! I was thinking of doing a portrait for my parents, but may have to hit JC Penney's for a christmas photo of the kids instead.
One can only draw so fast!

Here are a few of the crochet patterns I have been utilizing~
one skein scarf
queen anne's lace scarf
bitty baby

And here is Charlie modeling the hat I made for Jack's birthday~

complete with earflaps

it turned out a lil big...can't remember where i found the pattern. Im sure it is on knitting pattern central under earflap hat or something.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
ps
a few of my own pattern designs coming in January!

crochet madness

2008-11-21T07:51:00.001-08:00

lurkey, originally uploaded by cocomama1.

It's been a while since I have blogged here, and the reason is that I have been crocheting my fingers to the bone. Along with the holidays I also have my son and nephew's birthdays approaching, and all of these things call for HANDMADE GIFTS!

Before this summer I called myself a knitter. I taught myself to knit a few years ago and have made a handful of hats, bags, socks, wrist-warmers, baby items and critters. I was never all that confident in my knitting skills, though I got to the point where I could knit and watch tv, without staring at my hands.

This summer I really got into AMIGURUMI style of crochet. I bought a book, and taught myself the basics of Ami crochet and crochet in general. I am really loving it. I use the website RAVELRY a lot, it has tons of patterns and links to crochet/knit tutorials. The crochet projects use a lot more yarn than knitting, but they are much faster. I like the look of the critters also. I am just starting to stray from critters to wearable crochet: scarves, hats, etc... I figure adults will like wearable crochet items as gifts this Christmas rather than a stuffed critter. So if you are in my family, or you are one of my close friends, please let me know the color of your winter coat!

The other day I ran into my grandma at the craft store. She is a crocheter. She has been crocheting for as long as I can remember. One of my favorite memories is getting all kinds of hand crocheted Barbie clothes, as a kid. She would make use the coolest little clothes and accessories. It is nice to have another thing in common with my maternal grandmother, and also someone to call when I run into an unfamiliar stitch or pattern.

Happy Thanksgiving (almost everyone!) here is the link to the crochet pattern for the cute little ami turkey~ http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2006/11/07/gobble-gobble/

The above link has tons of great free crochet and knit patterns! I also made the Bitty Baby for my niece for Christmas!

fall is in the air

2008-10-19T07:39:00.001-07:00

halloween fall display, originally uploaded by cocomama1.

I get really excited for fall mostly because of Halloween. It is great to go to the local farm and pick out some pumpkins, gourds, and mums, then throwing them into a cool little display. I am always in awe of those great fall displays in Martha Stewart magazines and other publications. So this year I put out a few pumpkins and gourds and random little spooky trinkets on this little wire rack thing. I planted my 3 little mums in these skull pirate trick or treat buckets that I had leftover from my son's Pirate Birthday party last November.

I highly advise everyone to take advantage of after Halloween sales and use whatever you find for theme parties, birthdays, kids gifts and save some stuff for halloween next year. It is the best surprise to get out your Halloween stuff and find some surprise decorations you bought and put away!

Crocheting Binge

2008-10-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

I have been crocheting my fingers to the bone the past week or 2! I taught myself the Amigurumi style of crochet in August and I have been making animals, monsters, and other huggable creatures since then. The book I learned from is called, Amigurumi World, Seriously Cute Crochet, if you click on that you can check out the authors blog. She is seriously talented! Most of my creations can be seen on my flickr set~ Knit and Crochet. I have been getting really into Amigurumi, I love the way they end up looking, they are just adorable. I am pretty much set for birthday parties, baby showers, and whatever else event I need a kid/baby present for.

Here are a few of my newest creations, including my first ORIGINAL creature, this little red monster~

I am also working on a little accessory for our families Halloween costumes which will be revealed later. (: AND I am going to attempt to sew my kids costumes, which is a first....I am open for any advice/ words of wisdom on sewing, putting together costumes.

Halloween Party Room Mother Chair

2008-09-23T06:31:00.000-07:00

Monday night was the Room Mother meeting at my son's school. I had volunteered to be a room mother, though not HEAD room mother, since it our first experience with kindergarten and class parties, etc. So I met the head room mother and the other room mothers, and I am really happy with our group. They all seem pretty laid back and fun. We started discussing the Halloween party and asked if anyone wanted to be the chairperson for it. My friend Aimee nominated me, she knows I go crazy about Halloween. I accepted and now I need to start researching some games, easy projects, and other fun ideas for the party. I am super excited, because as I said, I go bonkers for Halloween. (I am putting out my decorations this week!)

We have about an hour for the party, including the costume parade

Here is a list of things we need for the party~

candy/treats for the treat bags
supplies for games
supplies for crafts
halloween music
halloween book/story
healthy snack/drink
halloween plates and napkins
decorations?
coloring pages (someone else will have to print/copy, my printer is having issues)

I already have a few ideas on some projects~

(from Family Fun.com)

Spider Pops

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Black pipe cleaners
	Lollipops
	Googly eyes
	Glue
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. Holding all four pipe cleaners, center them at the base of the pop and wrap them around the stick once so there are four legs on each side.
2. Bend the pipe cleaner ends to form eight feet.
3. Glue on googly eyes.

Stage a spooky scene by assembling a colony of these winged creatures made from miniature pumpkins and craft foam.

BAT-O-LANTERNS CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Black acrylic paint
	Ornamental (miniature) pumpkins
	Black and white craft foam
	Hole punch
	Glue dots
	Black duct tape
	Toothpicks
	Wooden skewers
Time needed: About 1 to 2 Hours

1. Cover your work surface with a drop cloth or newspaper, then paint the pumpkins. Allow them to dry completely. (DO THIS AHEAD OF TIME!)
2. For each bat, snip two identical eyes from the white craft foam and use the hole punch to make pupils. Adhere the eyes to the pumpkin with glue dots.
3. Cut matching pairs of ears and wings from the black craft foam (our wings are about 6 inches long). Attach the ears by taping a toothpick to the back of each one, leaving about 1K inches of the toothpick exposed, then inserting it into the top of the pumpkin.
4. Finally, tape a skewer to the back of each wing, leaving a 2-inch point exposed, and push it in place.
at your child's school party or to visitors on Halloween -- fun and festive treat bags like the one below will surely do the trick.
i love this craft, but would it be dangerous to have skewers on the bus ride home? Maybe we could put the bats in a bag and place them in their bookbags.

Scarecrow-head bag/treat bag

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	colored markers
	lunch-size paper bag
	white crayon or chalk
	goodies
	stapler
	raffia
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. To make one, simply use colored markers to draw scarecrow-style facial features onto a plain brown lunch-size paper bag.
2. Use white crayon or chalk for eyes and teeth.
3. Fill the bag with goodies, then staple the top closed, adding a bundle of raffia for hair.

Mummies/spoons

Party guests are sure to get wrapped up in this activity: crafting mini mummies to take home as favors when the festivities are over.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Wire snips
	Wooden craft sticks
	Wooden craft spoons
	Glue dots
	1 square yard of muslin torn into 1-inch-wide strips (this should be enough for at least 7 mummies)
	Small googly eyes
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. With the wire snips, trim 2 craft sticks to 2 1/2 inches for the arms and 2 more to 3 inches for the legs. Attach an arm and a leg to each side of a wooden craft spoon (or plastic spoon) using 1 glue dot per limb.
2. Stick the end of a muslin strip to the skeleton with a glue dot and wrap the rest of the length around the wood, using another dot at the end. Wrap 4 or so more strips around the skeleton in this way. Use glue dots to attach googly eyes.

And a few ideas for games~

Which is Witch Game

Use this quiet game to settle the throng before refreshments at a party. The outcome will tell you which partier is the most clairvoyant.

WHAT YOU NEED:
	Cauldron (a bowl)
	Walnut shells (one fewer than the number of kids)
	Green or yellow paint
	Tally sheet
	Pen
	Witch's hat

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Halve and hollow out the walnut shells. Paint the inside green or yellow (one color inside each shell).

2. Players sit in a circle, in the center of which is a cauldron with seven walnut halves (for a party with eight children) lying flat-side down inside it so no one can see the colors. The person who is "It" wears the witch's hat for dramatic effect. All the others pick a walnut half, keeping the color a secret. From his seat in the circle, "It" tries to guess the color of each child's walnut. As he goes from player to player, he gets help from the walnut holders, who try to help him psychically "see" their color by thinking hard about it (green, green, green...). After he guesses, right or wrong, each walnut holder reveals her color to him. An adult or older child sits nearby to tally up the number of rights, and then the game starts over with the next "It." When each player has had a turn at being "It," the player who had the power to "see" the most colors correctly wins.

Mummy Wrap Game

Twist your guests into a frightening frenzy with this simple game that has kids writhing with delight.

WHAT YOU NEED:
	White crepe paper(Toilet paper)
	Spooky music

HOW TO PLAY:
1. Divide the kids into teams of two and give each pair a roll of white crepe paper. Instruct one member of each team to race to wrap his partner, mummy-style, at the sound of the music (play something devilish, such as "The Monster Mash"). Kids must use up the whole roll, avoiding the head and wrapping arms separately from the torso.

2. Once wrapped, the mummy hops to a finish line, holding his arms to his sides and trying not to break any of the wrapping.

3. Award the winning team, reverse partners' roles and then start again with fresh rolls of crepe paper.
(not sure if we have enough room in the class to do the race, but maybe we could do it in the gym.)

I Went Into a Haunted House: Students sit in a circle. Student A says "I went into the haunted house and saw a witch". Student B contines: "I went into the haunted house and saw a witch and a black cat". Continue around the circle...

Pass the Pumpkin: Ss sit in a circle. Provide a plastic pumpkin for children to pass while the teacher beats on a drum or plays some music. Children pass the pumpkin to the tempo of the music. Alternate between fast and slow. When the music stops the child who has the pumpkin stands and takes a bow. Continue.

Pass the Vampire Bat: Supplies: one straw for each child / bat shapes cut out of tissue paper. How To Play: Divide the class into 2 teams and line up each team. Sts pass the tissue bats down the line, teammate to teammate, by inhaling and exhaling on the straw to hang onto or release the ornament. No hands! The first team to successfully pass the bats up and down the line wins! (TP: V: bat, straw, line up, pass. AA: Before the game you can get the students to make the tissue bats).

Who am I Ghost?: Blindfold one student. The other Ss stand in circle around the blindfolded student. Spin the student around and then stop him/her facing another student. S says "Whooooooo (like a ghost). Who am I?". The blindfolded S must guess who that student is and call out his/her name.

Treat ideas~ (from teachnet.com)
One of my room helpers brought this treat for our Halloween party. Take an orange and cut the top off as you would a pumpkin. Scoop out the inside as best you can. Then add chunks of fresh fruit. Put the top piece back on and put a wooden stick in the middle for the stem. Draw a jack-o-lantern face on the outside. My room helper put each of these in an individual baggie with a plastic spoon. The children just loved these!!!

Witches Brew~ adorable
This activity works well in the month of October. On the first of the month, bring in a large, black pot that resembles a witches' pot. Inside the pot there is a slip of paper that reads: "I am the Witch of the West and I am out gathering ingredients for our halloween brew." On designated days, place the bags containing ingredients in the pot. The ingredients should be placed in a pot, inside a plastic bag so that no smell escaped. Place plastic bags within brown paper lunch bags and have appropriate names printed on the outside of the bag. On Halloween, empty all the bags and stir the brew.
We could do this at the party, one of the room mothers could be dressed up as a witch, and could do this all at once, and then fill each child's cup with some. healthy and FUN!
1 C. Blood Drops - Red Hots
1 C. Owl Eyes - Peanuts
1 C. Cats Eyes - Peanut M&Ms
1 C. Chicken Toenails - Corn Candy
1 C. Colored Flies - M&Ms
1 C. Butterfly Wings - Fritos
1 C. Earthworms - Corn Curls
1 C. Cat Claws - Sunflower Seeds
1 C. Ants - Raisins
1 C. Snake Eyes - Chocolate Chips
1 C. Cobwebs - Triscuits
1 C. Lizard Gizzards - Shoestring Potatoes
1 C. Bat Bones - Pretzels
Taken from Open the Door for Reading

I am totally open for ideas and suggetions! If you are an experienced room mother, let me know what has worked for you, or what hasn't! Feel free to use any of these ideas for your own parties!

Kindergarten Apple Art Project

2008-09-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went to do an art project with my son's kindergarten class. His teacher heard that I was an artist, and asked if I would come in and do a project with the class once a month, and of course I jumped at the idea! Anything to get me in his classroom, and involved! I see myself in the future being psycho, control freak, room mother, but in a GOOD, fun way!

My demo apple for the kids

I did some research to find the perfect apple themed project. There were lots of options, including apple prints, you cut an apple in half and make prints on paper with different colors of paint, to cute hanging apple cores, to Johnny Appleseed projects. I choose a project where the kids make an apple out of a paper plate, by painting them red, adding a pipe cleaner worm, green leaf and brown stem. I also decided to draw some eyes, noses, and mouths, and let the kids add those too! I had the paper plates, so I bought the pipe cleaners, and printed out copies of the sheet of facial features.

The day of the project, we passed out the plates and had the kids paint the apples red, yellow, or green. This painting process was extremely messy and took a whole lot longer than I expected (I forgot to add in dry time). I must add that it is a whole lot different doing an art project with 20 kids, rather than 2 kids! The teacher and I rushed around to help the kids with putting their pipe cleaner worms through their sopping wet apples, and to help them select facial features and get them started on cutting them out. By the time they had these cut out and glued on it was time to go home, and we did not have time to add a leaf or stem. That was ok, though I came back the next day and did that and hung up the apples in the hallway!

My son's finished project hanging on our fridge.

It seems like the kids had fun, although next time I may avoid paint, unless that is the ONLY thing we will be doing. I sort of have a better understanding now about how involved a project should be, and the time I need to add in for gluing, drying, and helping! I loved how all the apples turned out really different, sort of like the kids themselves. Next time I will take a photo of the projects hanging up all together. I want to find a really great Halloween project for the kids! Something with skeletons, I am thinking. I should start doing my research now!

Portraits for Sale

2008-09-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Portraits are my main creative outlet, and have been for the past few years. I do them on commission and also give them as gifts for weddings, birthdays, holidays.... So this is what I do for the most part, I wanted to get this blog here first!

Right now some of my work is hanging in the Peoria Symphony Guild's Show House. The one below is a study of a famous Leonardo sketch.

"Leonardo study," Charcoal and conte crayon, 2008

Here are a few examples of my portraits~

"Kristin's family," Graphite, 11x 14, 2006

"Beautiful Bargers," 8 x12, Charcoal, 2008

"Rockabye Girl", 11X14, Acrylic, 2006

"Alladin Sayne" 16x20, Oil Pastel, 2005

I have a portrait website~
http://niccolemarie.tripod.com/
and myspace~
http://www.myspace.com/niccolemariearts
You can check out more examples of my work at these links above.

MEDIA GRAPHITE, CHARCOAL, PASTELS-OIL & DRY, ACRYLIC PAINTS
SIZES
8 X 10
11 X 14
16 X 20
18 X 24
PRICES

Charcoal:$30, 55, 80, 120

Graphite:$35, 60, 85, 125
Pastels:$60, 85, 110, 150
Acrylics:$85, 110, 135, 175
*ALL INCLUDE ONE SUBJECT
*ADDITIONAL SUBJECTS $25

cocomarie80@gmail.com

Happy Yellow BumbleBLOG

2008-09-21T07:33:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Happy Yellow Bumblebee! This is my new blog for all of my artistic endeavors. I hope to share creative projects, painting and drawing tips, knitting and crochet projects, party planning ideas, kids arts and crafts, homemade gifts, home decor and holiday creations, so on and so forth. I also hope to meet other creative folks to learn from and swap ideas and maybe even art!

Here is my artist's bio~
I am a 28-year-old daytime stay at home mama, wife, artist, and rockin' music lover. I have been drawing since I was a child. Actually, the artistic touch runs in my family. My mother and grandmother are both artistically talented. For as far back as I can remember I have always wanted to draw people. I have been doing portraits for commission for about 7 years now! I love the challenge of capturing one of the hardest subjects, the human face.

In 2000 I was accepted into the Art Institute of Chicago, which was a cool accomplishment, after 2 years at community college. I did not attend the institute, as I couldn't come up with that kind of dough. Instead, I choose a college closer to home (Bradley University), and I also worked at the Peoria Art Guild for 2 years, expanding my knowledge of the local art community.

About this time I met my future husband and baby number one came. With these major life changes I became a bit distracted from school, and decided to take a break to focus on my family.
About 5 years ago, I started my own business drawing and painting portraits from snapshots. I began by doing them as gifts for friends and family. It was a great way for me to continue making art, keep my portfolio growing, while also make a little extra spending money. Baby number 2 came in 2005. I have continued to do portraits for commission consistantly, by word of mouth and online customers. I am lucky to get to stay home with my 2 boys, and create art whenever I get a chance.

Lately I have been doing a lot of knitting, crocheting, and of course lots of kids art projects, which I will also be happy to share here!

So why "Happy Yellow Bumblebee"? That is the name of a song by my favorite band, of Montreal, and I thought it was appropriate for an artsy blog! Here are the lyrics to the song.

I am a happy yellow bumble bee, I fly around the flowers and trees
and all morning long, I flutter about in the swirling breeze and the sun is yellow like me

I am a happy yellow bumble bee, everything's so much bigger than me
but I'm not afraid, for if something gets too close, I give them a sting that makes them howl and scamper away..

No I'm not afaid, though sometimes I get lonely because my parents are dead and I can't find my brothers or sisters..

At night the sky looks so black and I can't find the sun. It doesn't matter how hard i try, but when i feel like I'm covered in darkness, and that light won't touch me anymore... I hear the cardinals singing and I know who they're singing for when I see the sun......

That makes me a happy yellow bumblebee, all my friends are beetles and centipedes and all
summer long we laugh and we play, but we don't talk to spiders because they're mean and they try to trick us, because they want to eat us..
but they'll never beat us....

Happy Yellow Bumblebee

Lunch Munch

Carbohydrates

Vegetables

happy valentines day

Shop, make, bake...

Costume Bonanza

Pumpkins and Gourds

First chili cookoff - some tasty stuff

Summer is over TOO SOON!

ABC, as easy as 123.

Fun and Yum

Hopper Picture Person Project

A few yummy recipes

Halloween Costumes

Yo Gabba Gabba T-Shirts

Herb Gardens

Andy Warhol- Picture Person Project

Multiple child family portrait

Mr. Panda Crochet Pattern

projects....

crochet madness

fall is in the air

Crocheting Binge

Halloween Party Room Mother Chair

(from Family Fun.com)

CRAFT MATERIALS:

BAT-O-LANTERNS

CRAFT MATERIALS:

CRAFT MATERIALS:

CRAFT MATERIALS:

Which is Witch Game

Mummy Wrap Game

Kindergarten Apple Art Project

Portraits for Sale

Happy Yellow BumbleBLOG