Happy Tuesday

 Happy Tuesday!
Are you tired from your long weekend?
Me, too! We crammed a lot in this weekend. Graduation, party, visiting the cementary to lay flowers.

 Greta, age 5, has a word to describe this feeling...dizzhausted. Yep, that about sums in up.

It was a weekend of celebration and friends and family. My daughter is happy to have graduated and is ready to work this summer and start college in the fall.

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Keeping Cool

Today was 87! A couple days ago, we were wearing coats but..  Gotta love Ohio weather.

We added some ice cubes to our water table and took it outside! Easy least keeping cool

Have a fun and playful day

Mel

Why is it?

 Why is it when I am at my busiest that I am at my most creative?  My daughter is graduating this weekend and I am in the middle of party preparations and family coming in. I am making lists, cutting veggies, making sandwiches and decorations. But, still, I have been flooded with ideas for new projects.

 I put myself in a sewing hiatus. My hands NEED a rest. But maybe I should just sew out my projects instead of sketching them all out (insert laughing crying emoji here)

 I have many mini piles of cottages walls, doors, and floors. I have a notebook in which I am compiling a stack of new ideas.

 Creating in just in me. I have to create and sew and paint. It's my happy place. I smile to know that people out there care about handmade, imaginative toys.

 Thank you for your support and encouragement and kind words.

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Tell Me A Story Tuesday - Monster Can't Sleep

It was Monster's bedtime. Mama tucked him in and gave him a kiss. She gave him his teddy monster.

Monster tried to sleep, but he tossed and turned. He stared up at the ceiling. But he could not sleep.

Monster crept out of the closet that he shared with the Boy. The Boy was sleeping in his bed. The Boy had a blanket. Monster had a blanket. The Boy had a pillow. Monster had a pillow. The Boy had a teddy BEAR.

Monster cried for his Mama. "I need a teddy BEAR like the Boy, so I can sleep, too!"

Mama fashioned him a teddy bear from random socks that she had found around the house.

Then, she tucked Monster back in bed with his new teddy BEAR. Monster hugged his BEAR and fell right to sleep.

The end

Working Not Working

 I have taken a bit of a break from sewing my playscapes for a little bit. My hands NEED the rest. But I cannot stop creating.

 I have been painting instead.

 And painting...

 And...you guessed it...painting

 My daughter is graduating this weekend and we have a lot to do. A pink luau flamingo themed party is in the works. I will post pics on that next week. Lots of preparations are underway.

Painting peg dolls when I don't really HAVE to is relaxing. I should be doing other things, but I can't stop!

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Fairytale Friday - a Pile of Gems

Once there was a dragon who guarded a pile of gems. One day, a princess paid him a visit. He roared at her.
"Why are you such a mean dragon?" She asked.
He laughed at her. "I am not a dragon. I am a VERY hungry alligator in a bad mood. I want to go back to my swamp, but I HAVE to guard these gems."
"Oh!" said the Princess. "I can help with that!" she gave him a big sandwich.
He gulped up that sandwich. To thank the Princess, he gave her the pile of gems. And he went back to his swamp where he was happy and his belly was always full.

The end

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

More Otter Play Ideas

 Have you ever watched otters? Maybe at the zoo or even in the wild? They are fun, energetic, and do the same thing over and over! They remind me of toddlers!:)

Earlier in the week, I shared an Otter Invitation to Play. Today, we are again playing with our otters but on one if my playscapes.

I added a few natural pieces, some birch straws found on Etsy, and wood pine trees from my own Etsy shop. (www.mybigworld2015.etsy.com )

Play is easy peasy but oh so important!

Have a fun and playful day

Mel

Otter Invitation to Play

 Two things happened this week that we unrelated yet related. We found a new otter book at the library AND my husband found these little otters. An invitation to play was born.

 The otter toys are blind bags at Target from the upcoming Finding Dory movie. They were sooo cute that I couldn't resist picking up several.

 A piece of blue fleece left over from a pillow project served at the river. We added rocks, faux greenery (found at Michael's), birch straws, pine trees from my Etsy shop, and goldfish from Safari Ltd. Pets toob.

We used a toilet paper roll for a mudslide, too!

The play possibilities are endless!

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Happy Mother's Day

Have a fun and playful day

Mel

Inspiration for the Little Blue Cottage

My Grandma Helen was probably one of the most influential people in my life. I will not be able to write this post without bawling, but here it goes.

She was my mother's mother. She cook and cleaned and was always in the garden. She loved the color blue and birds and flowers. But most of all, she lived God and my Grandpa. She was the epitome of a faithful Christian wife and mother.

Thank you, God, for giving Grandma Helen to me as an example of what a Christian wife and mother should look like. I miss her every day.

So, just like a writer draws on their own experiences when they write novels, I too draw on personal experience. The Blue Cottage. The garden. The sweetness of it.

That's where I draw my inspiration.

Have a fun and playful day
Mel