My Mason jar love!

As many of you have probably figured out, I hate Mason jars.

Okay, not really.

I absolutely adore them!

I've been given so many by amazing friends

(Thank you, Darlene and Carol, in particular!)

in hopes that I will be able to preserve tons of fruits and veggies this year!

Here is a top shelf photo of only two kitchen cabinets-

full of potential.

This is a lid that I won't be able to use to can,

so this one was chosen to receive a makeover!

Thanks to Carol for this particularly awesome honey jar!

I chose this one because of the measurements indicated on the side.

I read a tutorial on Easie Peasie for Mason jar soap dispensers.

You know I had to try to make one!

It will perfectly match the little Mason Jar Light that was just purchased, but hasn't arrived yet!

(Messing with electrical stuff is a little beyond my capacity at this moment in time!)

I cut a hole in the lid big enough to put a pump through.

I cut it a little small so that it would fit snugly.

Apparently, some people glue theirs down-

I didn't, since it wasn't budging once it was in there!

I filled the mason jar with my lemon Trader Joe's soap from Beatrice of Sew Bea!

(thank you, thank you!)

The pump top for the jar is from this bottle.

The original soap container was recycled!

I can refill it any time!

And this particular jar, since it was my trial run, will be put in the kid's bathroom.

I'll use a smaller Mason jar to make one that will fit easily behind my kitchen sink.

I thinned the soap out to make it easier for small hands to scrub up!

And here it is!

Please pardon the lighting on the photos- my husband was packing for a business trip, I was feeling crafty, and it was about midnight!

Thanks again to Tiffany of Easie Peasie for the great idea!

Thanks to Beatrice of Sew Bea for the fantastic giveaway that provided the soap!

Thanks to my sweet friends who pass on their canning jars!

:)

Copy-crafting!

This morning, I was catching up on my blog reading. I read one of Kory's recent entries on Live Completely and was inspired!

Jackson and I ran to the craft store and picked up some essentials and I got started making Waldorf-inspired toys for him and Keelin. I have always purchased these kinds of learning toys, but have never even considered that I might be able to successfully make them myself! You know, let's be real. I LOVE handmade toys and LOVE unique educational materials to use with my little ones, but we're on a budget! I don't have an endless supply of funds to spend on Etsy, so anything that I can do myself is a great benefit!

Bitty Man armed and ready!

He helped me put together and paint a wooden tractor model!

No pictures, though. It was "his." Nooo pictures!

$1.00 for a wooden basket!

Perfect for holding peg people!

Like these!

That fit into bean pot candle cups like these!

Kinda line this!

I made a set of 6, a rainbow!

Blue, Yellow, Red, Green, Purple, and Orange!

A Power family easter basket! :)

I also picked up a bag of recycled cardboard eggs!

The bottom left egg is unpainted for this photo.

Just thought I'd share what I spent my afternoon doing!

I did some sorting balls in the colors to match the cups,

pastels for the eggs!

All finished!

Haven't decided whether or not to give the other peg people faces...

Anyway, visit Kory and show her some love! She writes a delightful blog!

I'm planning to make these and more for favors to give guests at Keelin's 5th birthday party this summer- no plastic ickiness here!

If you're one of Keelin's friends mommies, I ruined the surprise, but I just had to share :)

Sunday, Chilly Sunday.

Saturday was spent playing and having our ultrasound done. Today, we had my 16 week appointment with our midwife (who is so amazing! and graciously comes to our house on Sundays so that Tim can be here for my appointments!) and everything looks good.

Our little one was kicking the daylights out of the fetoscope and doppler. I loved hearing that! I'm getting a bit more energy these days, now that I'm over the stomach bug and in my second trimester. Maybe I will start gaining back some of the weight I've lost.

I'm craving fresh fruits and veggies, seafood, and steak (of all things, considering I'm not a big red meat eater). So tonight, I went to Harper's (a local restaurant where my friend Kristin works) to get my second Steak House Salad in a week, since we went there last Sunday. It is a delicious salad. Like I mentioned last Sunday, lots of greens, bleu cheese, maters, portobello mushrooms, a little bit of steak on top- and tonight, I added avocado. Totally hit the spot!

Before we went out to eat, though, I went to a fabric store that I've never been to before. They had a lot of good stuff! I got 4 different kinds of fabric to make various items for the baby, a bunch of clearanced elastic (for making fitted sheets, tablecloths, pants, etc.) for $0.23/ package, and fell in love with the staff. I only spent $30, too!

Greensboro, NC people- the Hancock Fabrics on the corner of High Point Road and Groometown Road has incredible customer service, a really good selection, and wonderful prices. I haven't been to a craft store in Greensboro yet that has employees that are this cheerful, enjoyable, and on point. I highly recommend stopping by and visiting them! :)

On that note, I'm going to go take another few bites of my garlic noodles, watch the series finale of Big Love, and go to sleep. Barring chilly weather, I will be outside all day tomorrow working in the yard- because today was chilly and I wasn't about go to digging in the cold. It seemed like a much better idea to stay inside and read.

Sweet Saturday

Saturday morning cartoons with the kids, reading Hubby's resume, a little crafting <3

In a few, we're heading to a friend's little boy's 3rd birthday party. Present: check. Card: check. Which leads me to a question...

Why are eco-conscious toys always the ones so strangely shaped? I should take a picture of this terribly strange looking wrap job. I appreciate the toy maker's commitment to using less materials for packaging, hence the lack of easy to wrap corners, but man!

Alrighty, I'm off to dry my hair and try to locate my shoes. I believe I saw two year old Jackson stomping around in them earlier, so who knows where they ended up! :)