i recently went to new orleans for a little business trip.  before i left the kids, i had to make something that would help me keep my sweet little gems close while i was away.  i found these cute little lockets on sale at anthropologie a couple weeks ago, and here is what i did with them.

the simple how to:

first…find a locket!  then get some paper palette, scissors, adhesive, a poker, and a mini print of the images for your locket. (i just used a index card option to do mine!)

first,  tear a piece of palette paper and press it into the lock to get the exact shape and then cut out the shape and use it as a template to trace it on to the front of your photograph.  next, cut along the inside edge of your photograph around the traced shape and use a small bit of adhesive to hold your photo in place.

finally, give it that finishing touch by adding a little something extra. i embellished mine with a feather and a bit of silk ribbon. so cute!

here are some really cute lockets i found on easy!  these amazing and artistic lockets are from: 1. weirdly cute, 2. sora desings, 3. verabel+fox, 4. mano celebrates, if you want to bring your little gems with you always…check these out!

first we went to the beach and collected egg shaped rocks.

then we painted them.

while the big girls were painting eggs, paisley was so cute…my little earth child just took off her shoes and socks and gazed out at the water…she is SO sweet!

typhoon played in the water…

next, we hid the eggs we created…

and then we had a little hunt.

this was super fun!

we are so blessed to live so close to the water!  the girls love it.  it always brings us such peace.  even at this age the girls are so drawn to the beach.   it was so fun to hang out, create some easter eggs, and be together.  happy easter gang!  i love you…my sweet little gems!

birthday?  what?  she can’t honestly be one year old???  where does the time go?  with each one of my sweet girls i have quietly tipptoed into their rooms at night and whispered in their ears, “please don’t grow.”  how come it doesn’t work?  of course it is such a joy to see them change and learn, but it is SO HARD that the time goes by so fast!

so we had a pink lemonade party for paisley’s first birthday.  it was so fun, and she is really starting to grasp things, so she was simply adorable!!!

our girls have some serious food allergies, so all of our treats were vegan and free of harsh grains!  it was so much fun, and the slightest bit stressful, to put it all together…i even made the girls lemon dresses. (well, almost all the girls.  reagan is very independent and free spirited when it comes to clothes…and actually, when it comes to just about everything else in her life.  she thought the dress i made looked silly on her, and refused to wear it.  she had a total melt down right before the party and said she would only come if she could wear all pink!!!  so we compromised and just minutes before i turned her dress into a little skirt, and all was right in her world again.)

of course every party needs activities!  we rode bikes, played ‘pin the strawberry on the vine’, i made a strawberry pinata (which was not easy to see get knocked around), and my favorite was playing ‘paisley’s sweet shoppe’.  i made cute little money, little shoppe redeemable tickets, and matching treat sacks, and the kids got to  come buy stuff from our little shoppe…paisley even took her turn running the store.

then we opened gifts.  the family got her the cutest mobile for her room.  i have had my eye on it for months!   we got her a huge fire truck that you can actually ride on!  it is so cute, i need to do a photo shoot with the girls on it.

and finally, there was her very first cupcake.  we all sang happy birthday, which she loved and then i brought her the cupcake.  she was so curious about the lit candle, and completely enthralled with the flame, she took it so seriously…maybe she will take after daddy and become a fire woman? it was so cute to see her eat her cupcake paisley is a great eater, she’ll eat anything, and the cake was no exception.  she LOVED her treat!

what  a fun party, our sweet girl is just so darn cute!!!  she was just smashing!  it has been a roller coaster of a first year for her, and if she has it her way, things won’t be slowing down anytime soon.  she is a busy little woman!  we love you baby girl!

and…breath.

so he’s been home for a couple weeks, but we have just been enjoying each other and adjusting (and dealing with some other really big news that i will share soon!)  i have been trying to gather my thoughts on what i could possible write  to express my feelings about this, and i have to be honest i am struggling.  it was just such an indescribable feeling to have him back with us. what stands out the most is how instantly relieved i felt.  i am a fairly intense person, and it seemed to me that everyday that went by was pretty wild, so things were always pretty high strung!  it was amazing though, as soon as ryan came home it was like i could instantly relax.  this all is pretty raw, and pretty special, but i really wanted to share these photos and videos.  (i only had my phone that day, so things are a bit grainy, but you’ll get the gist.)

here’s how the day went.  first off,  i dropped the girls off at school.  then me, baby paisley, and a couple fire fighters went to the airport to pick up ryan. these photos are all so blurry because we were moving so fast!!!

yes…that weird blurry mass heading towards ryan is me!

here’s the reunion part 1 and reunion part 2 if you dare…it’s a tear jerker!

then, i went and picked up the girls from school and we headed to the beach for a treasure hunt.  i had been preparing them for a few days (here’s the video of discovering the map part 1 and part 2) they were really excited!  when we got to the beach they started their big search all around our favorite beach. (search 1,search 2, search 3) and which eventually lead them to a really great treasure…daddy!

(reunion with daddy)

then we headed home.  of course, without surprise, the first thing the girls asked was if daddy could push them on the swings.  it was as if life was just the way it was!

and so…he’s home…HE’S HOME!!!

to everyone…EVERYONE who has prayed for us, and encouraged us…i truly can not express how much you mean to me.  it was your prayers, sweet words, and kind thoughts that got me through one day at a time!

to ryan, i am proud to call you my man!  as always you certainly don’t surprise me.  with your sense of duty, your crazy sneaky smarts, your effortless integrity, and your hunble loyalty to god and country…i always have known and still know that you have it in you, i am just honored to get to be a part of this journey with you!  i love you babe!

]]> http://heidigracekress.com/2011/08/hes-home/feed/ 20 http://heidigracekress.com/2010/07/lets-make-lemonade/ http://heidigracekress.com/2010/07/lets-make-lemonade/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:55:46 +0000 Heidi http://cleverfromheidigrace.com/?p=872 Continue reading →]]> i have been having lots of different cravings with this pregnancy…

here is what you need:

and here’s how to do it:

and if you want to make it cute you can download this cute little lemon paper straw topper…LEMONS TEMPLATE…enjoy!

i made these cute hanging clouds for irelands room.  she has vaulted ceilings, and i wanted her room to look like it was outside looking into a house.  i hung a banner, i am looking for a kite to hang from the ceiling, and have a picture of a hot air balloon on her dresser…cute.  then i hung an old window on the wall as if it were looking in. i still have a bit more i want to do so it’s not all finished, but i want to  be sure i don’t buy anything unless it’s perfect for the look.(just gutted the closets, garage, and  play area…no more purchases unless they are must haves!!!…and yes that comment was to reinforce myself!)

ireland loves to be outside, especially swinging,  so i am trying to make it feel like her room is nestled right outside playing under the sky.  she loves her clouds!  last night she told me her room was missing a sun…so looks like i will be adding on soon.

it is really simple to do if you are interested,  here’s how…

pick out some calico prints of your choice…(or use scraps from the stash that has gathered over the years.)

note: do not pre-wash!!!!

layer your fabrics so they are 6-8 selections stacked.  free hand sketch some basic clouds on the top with a light lead colored pencil.

cute them out.

note: do not pin them together, you want them to be slightly off cut from one another to look kinda raggy.

sew them together

note: do not pin, it looks cute to have them slightly off kilter.

leave a little unsewn area to stuff later.

wash, dry, iron…

stuff them to your desired fill.

stitch up the holes on machine,  then trim off any extra strings from the clouds.

thread the tops with fishing line and hang them at various lengths from the ceiling with tacs.

so cute!