I have always thought of myself as someone who likes July well enough, the weather is nice & I feel pleasantly suspended in the middle of summer (vs, say, August during which I am generally too hot & have the feeling of inexorably & untidily sliding towards the end of anything lazy for the next three seasons), but BOY does two weeks of kids being sick plus another few days of me being zombiefied by headache take a big chunk out of the summertime fun.
In between being variously ill, though, we did my favorite craft of the summer so far, which was painting a rock neighborhood for my father's birthday. It's a little hard to see in this shot, but my girl did a house, a butterfly, & a flower, my boy did a house & car, & I did a couple of houses & a tree.
I also had a good time making decorations for my dad's party -- he's our only summer birthday & this year I decided to have some fun with the summertime picnic theme. Party flags to go around our picnic umbrella (I just threaded them along the umbrella's ribs & they stayed just fine), a huge stack of big cloth napkins (21"x21", messy picnic size), matching tablecloths for all of the different tables we hauled onto the deck. Oh, plus, rocks with party flags painted on to hold down the tablecloths. I love painting rocks, turns out.
I also love having an excuse to put on an elaborate ice cream sundae bar. I made hot fudge, caramel sauce, & strawberry sauce, plus brownies to put under everything. I would recommend any of the recipes I've linked, especially the brownies, which were delicious & the exact right chewiness for a sundae.
And, in between everything, I've been getting ready for a craft show I've got coming up at the Henry on August 9. More details as it gets closer!
i love the rock neighborhood! that is a great idea. your pillows are lovely, too, daria.
Posted by: erin | July 25, 2008 at 04:53 PM
Love those pillows...beautiful work! My sons and I used to paint rocks every summer...faces mostly. I remember making rock families. I love the idea of a rock neighborhood!
Posted by: jacquie | July 26, 2008 at 06:47 AM
I love the picnic decorations! how fun! and I'll have to try painting rocks with my kids again. yours look wonderful.
Posted by: amandajean | July 26, 2008 at 07:33 AM
Wow, so many projects here to comment on! The flags are so pretty! What beautiful decorations for the party! I love the painted rocks. My son might really enjoy that, thanks for the great idea! Your pillows are fantaticly beautiful! I really truly love them!
~Emily
Posted by: Ravenhill | July 26, 2008 at 02:51 PM
The rocks! Oh, I love the rocks!
Anna
Posted by: Lasso the Moon | July 26, 2008 at 09:26 PM
I love the rocks!! I have done rock painting myself and it is so much fun!! Just wanted to say you are such an inspiration to us other mothers, you always do such fun things with your kids! I love your blog and I always check in.
Posted by: Astrid | July 26, 2008 at 10:51 PM
The rocks are so fun, what a great summer project. Sounds like a fun party, the sundaes look yummy! Love those pillows, I am sure it will be a great show.
Posted by: Kirsten | July 27, 2008 at 09:47 AM
those pillows rock!
Posted by: cyndi | July 29, 2008 at 04:04 PM
The rock neighborhood is a great idea! Sorry to hear you've been ill.
Posted by: Amy | July 30, 2008 at 03:13 PM
Going to the lake and finding rocks to paint is one of my favorite summery things to do! I love your rock neighborhood-we ususally use rocks as markers when playing checkers. I also love those pillows you are making!!! I'm staying around and reading for a while.
Posted by: jessica | August 01, 2008 at 04:12 AM
Beautiful pictures and colors (it's months later, but I had to comment... love the stones... very happy!)... Funny, I had 3 colds this summer... something must be going around and around and around...
Posted by: S | November 30, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Love those pillows, I am sure it will be a great show.
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