2012 David Beckham

I'm Back with Big News

Its been a little over two months since I last blogged

but I promise I have a very good excuse.

My last post was on October 28th and on October 31st

we signed the papers and bought a House !!!

It all happened so very fast !!

I felt like one day we were looking and the next

we were moving forward with our offer.

But the house was just so perfect for us,

 we didn't want to wait and risk losing it.

Its so much bigger than our last house.

Two extra rooms.

HUGE Living Room

Huge Master Bedroom and Bathroom

High Ceilings

Tons of wall space (Our last house was lacking in this department)

Perfect corner house, with only one neighbor.

Playground right behind our house.

Closer to where Taelor goes to school and

where Kasen will join him this year.

A little further out from the 'city'

And a big background, although it bare bones, its exactly what we wanted so in the end we have the backyard we want.

BUT

It is/ was a little bit of a fixer upper ... hence my absence from Blog Land.

I've spent the last two months painting every square inch of this house.. well almost, I still have to decide on a color for our Master Bathroom

but everywhere else has been painted !

Unpacking, organizing, decluttering, throwing tons of stuff away,

giving even more stuff away.

Spending hours deciding where everything should go.

Lovin' how much wall space I have, in the other house I had two big boxes of pictures, that there was no room for, Now I just need to decide where I want them .

All this while shopping and celebrating Christmas !!!

Any who, even though there is still tons of work to to, things have slowed down a bit so I plan on getting back to blogging

and a few projects I've had on the back burner.

Thanks for sticking with Simply Crafty and Me  !!!!

I  have a project planned for the weekend,

 so check back next week for the post !

Traditional Ikebana History

Worldwide, people love flowers! They bring in their homes to admire their beauty and delicious fragrance. In Japan, this love of flowers is raised to an art form called Ikebana.
Ikebana, a traditional Japanese art, is over 700 years and has flourished at the time of Muromachi (1333 to 1568). Ikebana means "the art of giving life to flowers." Also called KA-DO, or "way of flowers". An art that has its roots in offering flowers to Buddha, in the fifteenth century. However, the transformation in art took place outside the temples of Buddha.

Therefore, the first flower contest called "Hana-hawase" took place at the festival of flowers during the reign of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) and due to this fact, the palace was called "The Castle of flowers ".

Over time it has become clear Ikebana art of different styles and schools. During this time, the purpose and the idea of ​​ikebana have changed a bit: in the solemn atmosphere in the temple, to the intimate atmosphere of our house, from the philosophical and religious worship, the allure of the six senses.

In a way, Ikebana reduces life to the dimensions of a container, trying to recreate, reproduce and mimic the natural universe. It is able to make us breathe the fresh air of summer evenings and the nostalgic scent of autumn days. Its beauty is given by simple expressions that convey the splendor and the balance of nature and quiet room. "Through his work, the artist conveys a certain sense of excitement or state Ikebana to the observer. It is a great way to bring something special and interesting in our environment.

The same provision is set at three levels: the top level represents the sky, the middle level, representing the man and the lower level, which represents the earth.

The flowers that make the agreement was made with special care so special that perfectly fit the glass and create harmony when combined. Layer after layer of flowers mixed with the appropriate branches and leaves resulted in a work of art that stresses every component, in part, and expresses what every flower that is supposed to express.

Until 1850, almost all works of art were placed in jars of Ikebana and were mostly vertical. The old style was characterized by numerous restrictions and regulations that prevented him aligning and arranging the flowers in the desires of your heart.

Ohara Unshine stop these rules and began a new style called moribana. It was desirable not only to Japanese architecture, but also for Western-style buildings.

Regardless of style, brings harmony and Ikebana is an eye-candy for us. Due to its three-dimensional effect, which can be considered real floral sculpture. This is the difference between the ikebana and other floral arrangements.

They teach in schools of Ikebana in Japan and more than 3000 schools of Ikebana today. While this art has become a necessity for girls and Japanese women, which is not reserved just for them. Most samurai men have often been masters of the flowers. The men, of whom some of the greatest artists were born, to continue this tradition today.

Humans like to feel safe and have peace and harmony around you. Art is a good solution to the human need for beauty and harmony. It quenches thirst and no art inside, we would be losing a lot of shine!

The human mind is fascinating, and the only barriers are to be built. Few people have the courage to explore their ideas and express them in an art form that is consistent with his personality. An artist is in us all and all it takes is a little searching and experimentation to take outdoors, in doing so, we can bring joy and an extra touch of beauty in the world we live in and the lives of those we around them.

Happily Ever After ... {Printable}

Had a few minutes earlier while Taelor was at school and Kasen took a quick nap after a fun morning at his Fall festival so I made a simple printable perfect for anyone living in their happily ever after life, like me !

I feel very blessed lately and wanted to spread the happiness !

(I have it set to 8x10)

Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting ! ! !

Pumpkin and Ghost Oh My

Here's a quick last minute craft you can do with your

little Ghost and Goblins before Halloween.

All you need is : construction paper (white for the Ghost and orange for the Pumpkin), streamers ( white for the Ghost/ Green or Black for the Pumpkin), scissors, a glue stick, tape, a hole punch and string (not pictured).

I ended up cutting out the eyes and mouth for my little goblins. Have them glue them on the front of the construction paper, than flip the paper over and using tape (its easier) attach strips of streamers to the bottom of the paper.

Next roll the paper into a tube and tape the sides together, than using the hole punch, make two holes on opposite sides, tie a piece of string or yarn through.

And Boo !!! You've got a Ghost !

Exact same concept for the pumpkin,

either cut out the face or have the little goblins cut them out.

Attach your green (or black) streamer.

And easy as Pumpkin Pie you've got a Pumpkin !

Kasen made both also but didn't want to take the time to take pictures, he just wanted them hung up, those are his in the first picture :)

Mickey & Minnie T-Shirts

Hi Everyone !!!I'm back after a much need Vacation and after a week in Sunny California all I want to do it go back !!  We had the best time. We spent five days in Disneyland and attended Mickey's Halloween Party, if you've never been and you love Halloween as much as we do (Halloween is sometimes bigger than Christmas here at the Simply Crafty house) than I HIGHLY recommend it. It was so much fun and there was so much to do. Dancing, Trick-or-Treating, Music, and Villains galore. We will definitely be going back !

Before we even left I wanted to make shirts for our Surfs Up ! Breakfast with Mickey and Friends. Again, if you like doing the Character Breakfasts I HIGHLY recommend this one its so much fun and has double the characters as the other breakfasts. We had gone previously and loved it so much we went again this year and we will more than likely do it every time we go back !!  Any who, I wanted to make us all shirts to wear to the breakfast but nothing to matchy, matchy. So I went with a simple yet cute idea. . .

Start off with a solid color shirt of your choosing..  

Cut out a Mickey Mouse head template onto a piece of card stock,

 I used one cut from my Cricut

but there is tons of templates all over the Internet.

After its all cut out pin to a piece of black felt. And cut that out.

Spray a light layer of Spray adhesive onto the Mickey head.

and center onto the front of your shirt.

If your quick and its off centered you can readjust,

but this stuff is very sticky so be QUICK!

Next, do a light stitch using black thread around the Mickey Head.

And for the girls just add a bow to make your Mickey a Minne

When you're all done sewing, pack your Mickey-tastic shirts and enjoy at your Disneyland vacation or in our case a

 cowabunga Surfs Up Breakfast with Mickey himself.

(The only thing I would have changed after they were all done was , I would have made red shirts for both the boys. Taelor's 'Mickey' didn't show up to well in any of the pictures, but looked great in person)

Anyone have a Disney vacation coming up ? ?

We've been back less than four days and

I'm already planning our next trip !!

M.I.C.K.E.Y .

Sorry I've been MIA this week ... I've been busy painting, painting and painting some more. I'll be sharing with you soon what I've been painting! But for now I want to share with you the easy-peasy shirt I made for the boys for our Disneyland trip , which we leave for THIS Sunday !!! I'm so excited I've been planning this trip for over three months now and its finally here ! A week in California, four days in Disneyland, one Mickey's Halloween Party equals a Super excited family ! 

Now that my excitement rant is over onto the shirt !

 

First thing first you'll need a plain black shirt.

I bought each little man a shirt for $3.00 each on sale at Target.

Look around your kitchen and find your 'Mikcye'.

I found mine using a bowl and two Olive Garden cups.

Next, I traced the bowl and cups with a white crayon.

Now just follow the white crayon outline with your color choice of puffy paint. I went with orange since it will be Halloween galore when we are in Disneyland and they'll be able to wear it again the week leading up to Halloween.

After tracing with the paint, I let each shirt dry for 24 hours.

And there you have it an easy DIY Mickey Mouse shirt !!

Happy Crafting !!