Lulu and Luna

Our nieces from Charlotte visit every summer with their family and I try to find time to sneak away with them for a little craft time. Ron's sisters are both very good at making time for each niece and nephew, so I've joined them in this tradition. This year I had promised Ingrid and Annika that we would make stuffed animals or dolls or something they could hold. Last year we made tote bags.
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After seeing the cute dolls on Black Apple when she appeared on Martha (thanks to Layla, who brought this to my attention!), I decided these dolls would be just perfect to make with the girls.
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The girls dug through my fabric stash and found remnants of my past projects to integrate into their dolls. As a team, we ironed, traced, cut out, sewed, turned right side out, stuffed and sewed Lulu and Luna together. Such fun!
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Ingrid and Annika got to spend time with their other auntie later that evening and made a trip to Michael's Crafts to work on making faces and accessorizing them.

Still Blooming

I planted a bunch of seeds in my cedar planters that my Dad made last year. The planters are lovely... long and custom designed for our patio. The idea was to plant enough tall beauties to slightly disguise the fact that we have a chain link fence in our back yard.

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The flowers are doing well despite me. The soil is crumbly and dry, the leaves are getting wilty and cringe when they see me. I've been a terrible flower mom this summer. I'm too lazy to pull the hose all the way around the house. Isn't that awful? (In my defense.... one of our spigots is broken and awaiting repair, the one that is closer and more convenient to the patio... but still, flowers NEED water!) Every year I make mental notes as the summer progresses.... plan more nasturtiums, fertilize, remember to water. Maybe this year is the year that I actually transcribe the reams of mental notes onto paper.

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Does anyone else out there keep a garden journal? What are your hopes for next year?