A little ART on Fun Friday

Greetings! Now that summer is upon us, I am instituting something called "Fun Fridays". This means we do less formal school work and more arts, crafts and games. I like games, but friends, I am not really very crafty. I know, some of you think because I have taken up sewing that surely, I have a fondness for crafts. I am learning that I do enjoy certain crafts but mostly the ones I think of as "productive, practical and useful." As far as crafts for children, you know, the ones involving goopy glue, pipe cleaners and who knows what else, I am not so great.

However, over the summer, I am going to make a real effort to do better with crafts for Ava & Jenna. We will continue with small amounts of reading, writing and arithmetic over the summer, and add in more fun, hands on activities. They already love to pick strawberries and blueberries, and in the artwork above, they are depicting berry picking. I do love the art they create and watching the bright, beeming smiles on their faces as they share it with you.

As for my summer plans, I am currently working on a custom bedskirt for our bed which I hope to follow with drapes and pillows. I would like to take down some wallpaper in both upstairs bathrooms, and do some painting in the kitchen and side entryway. I suppose we will see how all that goes.

A dear friend purchased some Bishop's dresses for us that are completed but need to be smocked. I am going to try my hand at smocking them after a lesson from a friend's mother who happens to be coming to Columbia next week and has graciously extended an offer to get me started on my smocking journey. I originally decided a while back that I was not going to pursue smocking right now, not for lack of interest, but because Ava & Jenna are getting older, and I just wasn't sure it would be the wisest use of my sewing time. Well, now plans have changed with these lovely dresses hanging in the closet all pleated but smock-less. Truthfully, I am very excited and glad to have this opportunity.

We will be around most of the summer except for a trip to Kentucky sometime in July and Wyoming in August. I hope everyone has a blessed Memorial day weekend.