More Easter Photos

Beautiful Colors!

Crafty, huh?

Messy?  A little bit. Fun?  Oh yeah!

Wife and the boys after church on Saturday.

Happy Easter!

Like Peter Cottontail, just wanted to hop in to say Happy Easter!

We've been busy making cookies [eggs, bunnies, tulips, crosses], pickled eggs and beets [a family tradition] and other Easter goodies.

And we've been cleaning house too.  All the family members are pitching in to make this chore quick and easy.

What do you have planned for Easter?  Leave a comment, won't you?

The 2009 Crafty Dad Family Christmas Tree

At last count, there were 1,200 lights on this year's tree. This photo does not do the tree justice. I think I need to figure out how to change some settings on my camera!

It's Going to Look Like Christmas

Happy Black Friday! (Oh...I truly don't like how that sounds.)

Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. The Crafty Dad family made the annual pilgrimage (no pun intended!) to Auburn, IN for the big feast. A good time was had by all. Lots of food, fun, family and laughter. My favorite combo-package.

After we got home, Crafty Mom made her way to the basement to supervise in the traditional "carry-the-Christmas-decorations-upstairs" event. The boys helped out as we made several trips up and down the stairs -- good exercise after eating so much turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, etc., etc.,

A foyer-full of decorations.

Riley is not sure about all this!

Today is the day: decorate the house. It's become a tradition. And I enjoy bringing the house to life with all the decorations. My mom was a HUGE fan of Christmas and always make the house look so nice. She passed away 14 years ago...and I miss her. Especially during the Holidays. I'm guessing she's looking down from heaven and smiling as we do what she did for so many years. Miss you Mom!

The tree will be decorated tonight. Jennifer and the boys wait for my help on that one. I am the official tree light guy. I started wrapping each individual branch of the tree with lights a few years ago. Wow! Talk about a brightly-lit evergreen. I think it looks great and we continue to wrap lights from year to year.

I'll share some photos with you later this weekend.

In the meantime...hope you find all the bargains you were looking for today. Don't forget the ONLINE sales. Speaking of which, my Etsy store is having a 25% sale on tissue holders -- that's $1.00 off the regular price!

Have a great weekend,

The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

SUGAR COOKIES II

(Makes Approximately 40 3-inch Cookies)

4-1/2 cups sifted flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

½ cup milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter baking sheets. Sift together the dry ingredients.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the dry ingredients, 1 cup at a time, alternating with the milk and vanilla, beating well after each addition. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll 1 piece at a time on a floured board and cut with large cookie cutters.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Cool on racks.

From The Martha Stewart Cookbook -- Collected Recipes for Every Day

Wow! An Actual CRAFT Project

Yesterday was Hannah's 11th birthday party.

My latest craft project.
The Cricut and I had fun with this one!

Some scrapbook paper, cardstock, a few white buttons

and a little bit of pink thread turned into a fun project

And...(I didn't tell you, but last month, on the 22nd, was MY birthday) I used my new toy (cough, cough, I mean TOOL) to help me create a birthday card. Yep, I bought a Cricut and I LOVE it. What a fantastic little machine.

Hannah is a big, big fan on Hannah Montana and she was ECSTATIC when she tore the gift wrap off the Hanna Montana Back Stage Pass book from Disney. Wow...that girl was jumping up and down on the sofa like a kangaroo. She devoured every page.

Inside the book was a door hanger. I told my oldest son that I should have one like that for my cubicle at work. He rolled his eyes (he's 13, so that happens frequently these days) but he did assist me in the photo op. What do you think?






And a very yummy chocolate cake too:

Hannah's mom cut out a paper plate and decorated the top. Pretty nifty, huh?

I was good: only one piece of cake and one scoop of ice cream.

Hope you had a good weekend!

Buried in the Corn Box

Corn Box - Autumn 2008
Originally uploaded by crafty dad

A few weekends ago, we visited A-Mazing Acres to get our pumpkins.

And...to bury the Little Guy in corn kernels. Both seem to be traditions. And traditions can be very good.

Happy Friday!

Woo Hoo! It's Friday. And I'm lovin' it.

Last weekend was the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. It's called A-Mazing Acres because.....it is amazing and it has a corn maze and....it is several acres in size. Makes sense, right?

More photos soon.

Have a great day.

More Patio Love

More photos from the Little Guy's birthday party on Sunday. The weather was very cooperative so we spent as much time outside as possible.





A good time was had by all.

Cake Decorating 101

Yes, the old man can still wield a bag of icing. In the old days, I made frosting from scratch (with shortening, powdered sugar, etc., etc.). These days, it's store-bought. But...with a flair. In the old days, the cake came OUT of the cake pan before it was frosted and decorated. These days, the cake stays IN the pan. Damn, I'm getting lazy.

Gotta love the folks at Wilton.
They make some really great tools for decorating a cake.

The "Lego Time" was a very last minute addition.
With some help from the Birthday Boy!

Next time: I'm going to back to the 'scratch' method. Store bought is not even close to homemade. Who would have thought, huh?

Spring Break Kick-off

Saturday and Sunday was our official kickoff for Spring Break 2008. My wife is a tax accountant, so (here is the States anyhow) the few weeks leading up to April 15^th is a no-no for taking vacation time. So…we've traditionally taken the boys on a get-away weekend someplace close to home. We've found our best bang-for-the-buck is a stay at the Essenhaus Country Inn located in Middlebury, Indiana. It's in the heart of Amish country here in Northern Indiana. That means great food, lots of quaint shops and a place where you won't find 100 other people fighting for space in the swimming pool. Another plus is the fact that the Inn is only about 15 minutes from our house. Once inside the Inn, you feel like you're in the middle of a Country Living photo layout. The décor of the Inn is like no other place we've stayed. It's beautiful, and at the same time, very comfortable. You just don't want to leave. That's how comfortable it is.

Essenhaus Country Inn and Conference Center

The common area, just outside our room.

Sun room at the Inn.

Close up shot of the game table in the sun room.

Right across the parking lot from the Inn is our favorite place for breakfast – Das Dutchman Essenhaus. [This is where the great food comes in.] The breakfast buffet is the best. Belly-up to the bar get yourself a toasty-warm plate and pile on some real home-cookin'. The buffet includes scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, country sausage gravy and biscuits (yum-yum), ham, thick-cut bacon, pancakes, zucchini bread, nut bread, pumpkin bread, homemade pastries, fresh fruit and some semi-frozen concoction of orange juice and bananas. I'm sure I've forgotten about ten other things that are available, but you get the picture, right? And a great cup of coffee too. Wow! What a terrific way to start your day. Trust me: you won't want need lunch. The moral of this story is: if you go away hungry, you have serious issues.

Check-in time at the Inn was not until 3 p.m. so we decided to do some shopping. The entire downtown area is one little shop after another. Most of the shops are small houses that have been converted into retail space. They are all full of 'cute', 'quaint' and 'country' things. Also located downtown is the Davis Mercantile building. The original building burned to the ground about three (3) years ago. The new structure is a work of art. Much of it was hand-constructed by Amish craftsmen. The building is three stories tall and has several fantastic shops.

Quilt on display in the common area.

Ah, but alas! It's back to work now for the parental units. The boys will be sleeping in and watching Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies for the next few days. They're lovin' it.

Happy New Year

Blown Glass Sculpture at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis

It's not quite the same as the Time's Square, but if you ever get a chance to see this up close and personal, do it. It's amazing and 43 feet tall!. It's really stunning on a sunny day.

So many things to be thankful for in 2007. And so many new memories right around the corner.

Happy New Year.
Be safe,
Mike

A Very "Let it Snow" Kind of Weekend

The weatherman was right about this one. We got some major snowfall on Saturday and Sunday. My wife and I had a nasty drive home from my company's Christmas party that was held 25 miles from home. It was the stuff white knuckles are made of, to be sure.

I'm guessing there was about 18" of it in our driveway. Sure, some of that was from the wind making drifts of the pretty white stuff. But let me tell you that it was a TON of snow and it took us a very long time to get the driveway cleaned off.

Sunday was a great day to stay home, so we spent time making chocolate chip cookies (the best ones we've ever made). I also made up a big batch of sugar cookie dough. It's chilling in the fridge right now. Perhaps tonight we'll get out all the cookie cutters and get 'em done. The boys each have their own rolling pin. We got them at an Amish store not too far from home a few years back. So...the annual cookie cutting and baking tradition will continue at the Crafty Dad residence tonight. I promise there will be pictures.

Oh, and I've been working on my dad's stocking cap. And...I'm about 50% finished with a tote bag from my cousin who is in Swim Club. I received a request for one as a Christmas gift. Stay tuned for a photograph or two. It's my first official lined tote bag. So far so good. If you're looking for a great tutorial, go check this out. Thanks Mariko!

Tuesday :: Grey

In keeping with JC Handmade's color of the day theme this week, I humbly offer this splash of grey.

Grey. With a touch of gemstones. The boys panned for gold and gemstones during their trip to pick out pumpkins this year. Amazing Acres is just that: amazing. As part of the tradition, my dad accompanied us on the trip. We had a great time. Feeding the goats, laughing at the goats, playing in the 'cornbox' (think sandbox, but instead of sand, it's filled with kernels of dried corn).

My oldest son is making a corn-angel in the cornbox. And my little guy is jumping in to join him (upper left-hand corner). They had a great time that day.

Wow! What a Week it Was ...

Some of us had to work on the 5th and 6th, so with the Fourth of July being stuck in the middle of the week, it was like having two Mondays (ugg!) and two Fridays (woo hoo!). My wife was able to take some extra time off so she and the boys (and the dog) spent the entire week at the lake.

I stayed home and puttered around the yard -- cut grass, trimmed some overgrown bushes, watered flowers, and other fun stuff. I love the fact that it stays light outside until after 9:00 p.m. It gives me time to get so much done. I hate the fact that we've crossed over into the part of summer where the days have already started to get a tad bit shorter. And once we pass the 4th of July holiday, it seems that summer zooms by and the kids are back in school before you know it.

But let's not get all depressed about that, okay? We had a ton of fun this week. And here are some photos to document that fact.

The hazy sky over the Shipshewana flea market on the 4th. It looked like it could rain any minute ... but it never did. It was perfect 'walking around' and shopping weather.


Some patriotic posies at the campsite.



Flags, flip-flops and crocs. Three summertime staples.
The boys got all decked out for the golf cart parade and
"best decorated cart" contest on Saturday afternoon.


The bike decorating contestants. The kids did a great job!

Sometimes you feel like a nut.
(The walnut tree at the entrance of the campground is FULL of these beauties.)


Or...sometimes you feel like a chocolate cupcake with tons of frosting.
(Thank you Grandma Cook for the scrumptious treats!!)


Have yarn. Will travel.
Crafty Dad crocheting a cotton dishcloth during a spare moment.


The crochet tote. With the two WIPs.
Yes, the tote needs some handles. It came home with us this weekend and is in the 'to do' pile now.

Making good progress on the dishcloth.


Hershey Girl keeping cool in the park model. It hit 96 degrees on Sunday. A scorcher for sure!

I hope you had a great holiday week!

We're busy getting ready for the road trip to the East Coast. Blog posts may be few and far between (and what is different about that?) LOL!

Happy Independence Day!

I've been a bad blogger. Every day I say to myself, "You have just GOT to take some time to write a post. People are gonna think you're a slacker." (Yeah, sometimes I am a slacker.) It just seems like there is so much to do. (Yeah, what else is new?) The grass needs cut, the bushes around the patio are freakin' OUT OF CONTROL. There are piles of fabric that need to made into something. There's stuff to do to get ready for our camping trip to Cape Cod next week.

Yes...we're off the the East Coast for some fun and sun. We love that area of the country! So...we're packing up the travel trailer and heading East. We're planning to visit Boston, the Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower II. I think the boys will have a great time seeing some historical sites. So much better than those damned video game screens they stare at for hours on end. I swear I'm going to get rid of them all somedays. (Okay...I'm off the soapbox now.)

I'll try to do better. Much better. With the blog posts that is.

Tomorrow, we'll be spending the day at the lake. It's supposed to rain for part of the day. We'll make the most of it. There will be food and books and magazines and satellite TV. Who could ask for anything more?

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July holiday. Let freedom ring! But keep your fingers away from the firecrackers, okay? :-)

Cedar Point Weekend

Dang...it's been a long time since my last post. I've been a lazy little blogger. But...I've also been a bit busy. I won't bore you with the details, okay? Okay!

But I will give you the details on our weekend get-away trip to Cedar Point. (I was telling you about it a few weeks ago, remember?) Well...we had a EXCELLENT time. The weather was perfect: sunny and 75 degrees. A slight breeze off the lake (Lake Erie). It was wonderful. We camped at Light House Point (on the Cedar Point property) and walked and walked and took shuttle busses and walked and walked. Getting the picture? It was a darned good thing we walked all those miles. Because I had a steady diet of burgers and fries and potato chips all weekend. But it was SO worth it.

The boys had a blast. They got to ride all the rides they wanted. And the lines were very short (always a good thing) so waiting was not an issue. Here are some pics:

[One of our favorite roller-coaster rides. Even mom and dad rode this one.]

[Some little person had the pleasure of riding in this all day.]


[The entrance to Camp Snoopy.]

In addition to all the great rides, Cedar Point helps clean out your wallet by playing some games. From the ring-around-the-bottle to the water pistol race, they have it all. And I think we played them all! (Kidding of course.) They all look so easy. Just throw a bean bag at three cans and knock them off the table. Easy, peasy. NOT! But we had to try. And walk away empty handed from that one. But we were successful at the water gun game. Each boy won a stuffed animal and we were all happy campers.

[Games and food. Step right up! ]

[Another favorite ride: the Tilt-a-Whirl. Mom and Dad did not ride this one. Our old stomachs cannot handle all the spinning. We learned that last year!]




[See: a picture perfect day at the park. Not a cloud in the sky.]



[Around and around we go. I got brave and rode this one. Not as bad as I thought.]


[Are you kidding me? We skipped this one.]

[We skipped this one too.]


[Tired of walking?]


[Take a train ride. This one still runs on coal and steam power.]


[Sunset on Sandusky Bay.]

[Another shot (taken during the train ride.)]



[By the end of the day, the bunk looks pretty inviting.]


[Very, very inviting. Especially to a tuckered-out six year old.]