Though the Weather Outside is Frightful

This was what my road looked like last week after 3 feet of snow fell in Connecticut.  I love the way the trees look in their winter white, but it's getting a little old. The snow, that is.  It's pretty at first, but now a week later, melting and refreezing, dirt thrown from the snowblower, the picture postcard charm is gone.

If I can't look outside for signs of spring, I'll try inside instead.  In my studio, I pulled out 50 yards of pastel and floral prints that I bought in the Garment District in New York, last year.  Why I haven't done anything with them yet, I can't imagine.  But I was very glad to have their cheery prints flung over my table. I am going to sew up a spring.

 If you can't wait for April showers or May flowers either right, now is a great time to check out these Etsykids Shops on Etsy.  Here are a few signs of early spring, delivered right to your door.

Leilas Flower Garden has everything you need to grow a garden on a bedroom wall.  You don't even need dirt or a shovel.  Never mind my daughter's room, I want these for my studio right now.

Crochet Village sells every pattern you could need to whip up your own bit of warm whimsy. The flamingos make me want to book my Florida plane tickets, right now!

A trip to  Masterpiece of Fun Art shows pages of little critters, cupcakes and cuties that will delight anyone with the winter blues.  The google eyes on these suns, made my day extra sunny.

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April Showers Umbrella Craft

By Cori of Peace, Baby! Batiks

We all know April showers bring May flowers, but too many rainy days can make you a little stir crazy. These umbrella mobiles  from Ramblings of a Crazy Woman are a fun, easy craft for a rainy day that even little kids can do.

For each umbrella you’ll need:

Paper plate
Stickers, markers, crayons, or paint for decorating
Several blue rain drops cut from blue construction paper (we used eight)
A “J” shape cut from contruction paper for the umbrella’s handle
Glitter and glue (optional)
Thread or fishing line
Hole punch
Tape or glue

Cut the paper plate in half. Cut a slit in each plate, at the top of one and from the bottom of the other. I made my slits about half the width of the plate. Don’t cut all the way through!

Set your kids to decorating their umbrellas on all sides, leaving the area around the slits clear. If necessary, let them dry. My son is going through an ocean and “Finding Nemo” phase, so he opted for sea creature and fish stickers.

Punch holes along the straight edge of your umbrella pieces. I did two on each side of the slits. Slide your umbrella pieces together at the slits to form an “X”. I taped ours together to keep the shape.

If desired, glue glitter to your raindrops to make them sparkle. When they’re dry, tie them to your thread or fishing line and then attach the opposite end to the umbrella. Tie another loop of thread at the top of your umbrella.

Hang and enjoy!

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