• Blog

    Summer of Love ATC swap

    September 27, 2009 - By 

    These were so fun to make!!

    I started with an 8.5×11 sheet of periwinkle cardstock. With an old credit card, I spread out some orange and yellow craft paints.

    After that was dry, I used rubber stamps, more paint, markers, and stencils to create lots of background interest.

    When I was happy with it I cut 9 ATC’s from my full sheet of cardstock.

    I free handed a VW bug to make a template then cut little bugs out of discarded book pages. Paint and marker were applied in a very loose manner.

    I punched wheels from black “handmade paper” …I put that in quotes since it was actually store bought. I then used little flower sticker for some fun hubcaps.

    The part that I love the most is the genuine VW key attached to each one. I grew up with tons of Volkswagons. My dad and his friend would buy them cheap, fix them up and resell. Sometimes they would just part them out. Dad never threw out anything so I had just enough VW keys laying around to give these ATC’s just a little extra punch!

  • Blog

    A day in my life…

    September 23, 2009 - By 
    Tuesday started with the packing of 4 lunches instead of the usual 3…I was going on a field trip with the boy!

    There was only one problem. I broke my toe on Saturday. I was lucky enough to score my own seat on the bus on the way there.


    On the way to River Rendezvous we drove past the Best Buy corporate campus. I thought maybe we’d go past the Mall of America as well but it was not to be.


    For one week each year this 1800’s River Rendezvous sets up in a city park that was once land owned by a missionary. The class had various stations to visit to learn about different skills needed to survive in MN in the early 1800’s.
    There was the bow maker…


    Spear throwing!!
    That was totally fun. I got to throw a couple spears and hit the cardboard bison!!

    There was a potter. I wish I had gotten a photo of him working but there were too many kids faces all around him.
    The cooper was really great. He was interesting and funny. He had the kids put together a canteen, a rum keg and a German style bucket. Speaking of buckets! He asked the kids if they had seen the Pirates of The Caribbean movies. He made all the buckets for the second and third installments of the series. That was a cool little tidbit of info.


    My foot fared pretty well for a whole day of walking.


    Of course, there was plenty more work waiting for me after supper…


    We ended the day with a nice little fire in the chimenea, a rousing game of Uno and some roasted marshmallows.

    I am very fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom!