Olivia surprised me with an early gift for over the mantel. I love this phrase from the song, Come Thou Fount. This is my heart's plea..."never more to wander from Thee". Now I know our home is a bit different because my husband is a handyman, carpenter, and junkyard extraordinaire (a
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Last week I shared about a really cool bench. Did you know that: Approximately 40% of all hardwood harvested in the U.S. is for making shipping pallets About two-thirds of pallets are used only once before being thrown out 1/4 of all wood in landfills is from used pallets You
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It won't be long and most of us will have some fresh corn that we just husked. Turn off the TV and turn on come CREATIVITY by letting the kids make corn husk dolls, or flowers or anything else they can think of. Olivia made this one the other day. But you really need to see what and how these l
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This is a great story, a true entrepreneurial story!!! This is a story of a 13 year old boy and how he rolling in the dough! If you have any entrepreneural stories please let me know!
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Thanks again to my sweet friend Lori for sharing this GREAT site. 20 Gifts for Kids You Still Have Time to Make!
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When my kids were younger we'd usually take the month of December off from most of our book work. Between parties and holiday commitments it was just easier to set the books aside and still be learning in a more creative way. Whether it is simple crafts, holiday baking, special meals or gift givi
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This is pretty amazing. This boy built this and then plays it! Talk about creativity!
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Your door truly says "Welcome" (or not) to people. It is your visitor's first impression of your home. This is the one I have right now. I love having a wreath on the door and I change mine every season. I almost always use the same base but change out the decorations. I also use strips of fabric
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The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. ~ Thomas Moore Last Friday Olivia gave me some beautiful yellow roses for my birthday. Sunday I trimmed them down and added some fresh basil and rosemary from the herb garde
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This is the first time I have ever heard of these little gems called cake pops! How genius!!! As soon as we get back from our road trip I want to make some sort of cake pop for all my little friends. Check out Bakerella's site and all of their cake pops....LOVE IT! I have to admit, if we h
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There is some updated information about The Plants and Pillars Film Festival, you can see them HERE! Check it out!!! This is a great opportunity for young people who love the camera, whether they are behind it or in front of it!
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If you have a child that has a bend towards film making, here is a great opportunity to put their creativity into action! The Pritchett family are very dear friends of ours...and they have a house full of creative folks!!! Plants and Pillars Productions Get the video camera out, write a gre
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This is worth taking the time to listen to with an open mind! Here are a few quotes from the clip that really stuck out to me: "Creativity is as important as literacy." "If you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original." "The university has designed the system
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I LOVE THIS! Even if this is not how you would build/decorate your home, you have to appreciate his view on life! His view of teaching others skills, especially to the working poor (note he says "WORKING poor"). And if we will be completely honest, many (not all) people that live in huge, l
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A great way to get you or your kiddos some sewing practice and not spend a bunch of money on fabric would be to use what you have around the house; perhaps some old sheets or skirts that are not being used anymore. Or even better yet, how about using up those old jeans and denim shirts that
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Now that the gardening is over for the most part, and cool weather is settling in, it is time to be working on some indoor projects; perhaps some sewing projects. How about making a list of people you can make gifts for rather than buying gifts? Napkins made earlier th
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Here is a hen house on wheels that Olivia requested her dad make. Now to get the girl some chickens! He has build 4 of these for friends, using this pattern, but decided to design his own to make it easier to move.
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The majority of Americans always want more...more of everything! Perhaps having less, WANTING less, and playing more simply is what we really *need*? One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing
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I know this is making it's rounds on the net, but I just had to post about it! If you want to kill creativity (imagination, engineering, capitalism) in children just take their Legos away, all in the name of "charity and being fair". Is this reality? Is life all about bei
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Yesterday I posted about teens and low expectations. A good look at American history over the last 50-100 years and what we've done to the family can explain a lot . Last night we watched a documentary about a family that moved away from the typical American lifestyle to a simple life.
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This is a great interview with a very talented 11 year old! Because handiwork is one of my passions in life I could easily make this a VERY LONG post!!! But I will refrain for the time being and let you meet Brianna, a girl that is using her youth in a way that is productive and purposeful!! My comm
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A couple weeks ago I posted the following: Necessity + Creativity + Persistence = Resourcefulness How about creating a little necessity in your children’s lives and don’t let them give up until they find a way to fill that necessity? Train those cr
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Here is a diaper cake I made for a baby shower today for my sweet friend Kelly, who is due with baby #8. You can watch a VIDEO HERE for instructions. I made a few short cuts in mine, but you get the idea.
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We spotted a beautiful crib size dust ruffle at the thrift store! Olivia and I immediately thought APRON! All I really had to do was add the bib, straps and a pocket. I used the surger which saves a lot of time. When you see a
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As I said yesterday, sometimes we need to return to the old paths to learn how to do some things for ourselves, after all there is nothing new under the sun. Here is an old book with TONS of neat stuff in it! Let your kids look through it and find something to build that would be useful
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Here are a few easy tutorials for little girl dresses/skirt. Twirly Skirt Sunny Day Dresses The Shirt Dress (Made from a man's dress shirt) Button Shirt Toddler Dress (Also made from a man's shirt.) Pick up some dress shirts from a yard sale or the t
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This is a great project for the kids. It will help with plant identification, they could even write the scientific name on the back. :o) This gives a real visual for the plant name and leaf shape/flower every time the kiddos are in the garden. Break a clay pot, a great use for those c
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Just received this tweet back from a fellow Tweeter, this is her response to my last post, I thought it was worth passing along: Nice blog post! In fact, stealing/lying is blatantly UNcreative behavior.
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Our definition through this study of Creativity has been, Finding different ways of doing things. Most discoveries and inventions have been because people pushed the limits of the ordinary. They had the ability and incentive to look at things from a different perspective. They had th
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It is good to have a notebook to write your to-do list, but it is also good to have a place to write your ideas when they come. It never fails, my best ideas come while I am driving or trying to fall asleep! I'll think of or hear a good quote on the radio and think how that rela
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If you want your children to be intellectually challenged then you need to put them in situations that will challenge them. Don't settle with the status quo. Don't allow a lot of idle time. The same goes with encouraging creativity. If your child loves electronics g
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There is a Buddy Davis song called, It is Designed to Do What it Does Do. Now this song is a child's song about creation, but the same concept applies to God's creation of us. He designed all of us to do what we do, and with some training and practice we can 'do what we were designed to do and d
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Last night we met for our monthly meeting where we work on some sort of handiwork that will be given to the needy. We are finishing up our shawls and lap blankets to be given to the elderly. Some are beginners, some are more advanced. Mothers and Daughters The little ones enjoyed rolling
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Do your kids (or you) hit that mid-morning slump when they just can't think clearly? Let them take a 20 minute break and go for a brisk walk, a run or a bike ride; that will usually get some good oxygen to their brain and get them thinking again! Sometimes when I ge
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Listening to good classical music is a good way to get your mind in a creative mode. An exchange student once told me that the school children in Japan are required to listen to classical music before their lessons begin. Classical music engages both sides of you
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Spring is in the air here! Today was fellowship at church. I like to try to make things that appeal to the children. I made these cupcakes, using the High Ratio Icing, a few drops of red food coloring for a pretty pink, and used coconut flavoring in the icing. :o) Using
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It is wise to learn; it is God-like to create. J. Saxe Because we were made in the image of God, I whole heartily believe that God put in us a desire to create; maybe not masterpieces for a museum, but masterpieces for life. Whether it be a home of beauty, or fruit from the
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Mary sent me this reminder that Behemoth has a free download of Ten P's in a Pod, read by the author. The offer is good through Mar. 31. We read this book aloud a couple years ago as a family and just LOVED IT! It truly enforces a good work ethic and family unity. The book is written by one o
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The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. C. Jung When I read this quote I thought about how much I love to do my own thing, es
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The best way to have a good idea is to have LOTS of ideas, then to actually put them into action! What are obstacles of creativity? ~Lack of confidence (fear of failure) ~Laziness ~Complacency (just not caring) ~Being too busy to think outsi
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Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. Roosevelt
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Now that we have covered the topics of RESPONSIBILITY andDILIGENCE, we will move on to the topic of CREATIVITY! Creativity is not just about making things, it is about finding different ways of looking at a situation. ~Discover more efficient ways to complete a task w
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Our family's choice:
Taste the joy that springs from labor.
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