Granddaughter Overnight & Easter

Last night our granddaughters spent the night with us for the first time!  We made two different Easter crafts (headbands and sugar panorama eggs), shared two meals, played with the ducks and the chickens, read bedtime stories, and watched a Shirley Temple movie.  Today we finished the fun with our Easter Egg hunt (their brother and parents came over for that).

We used to spend the night at their house when we'd visit, but since we've moved near them we never see them at bedtime anymore!  Yesterday was the first day of their spring break so Rhiannon & I planned an overnight.  Declan, 3, wanted to stay also - he was disgruntled when he was told not to bring his blanket.  He's ready to spend the night, but not ready to do some of the intensive crafts I did with the girls.  Declan did stay for dinner while Mom & Dad went out for sushi.  We had grilled salmon, asparagus, cheesy macaroni & cheese, grapes, and sugar snap peas.  Eliora had thirds of mac & cheese, Nayeli had seconds of salmon, Declan ate lots of grapes.  While Marty and I were finishing getting dinner ready they checked on the ducklings new accommodations  - they've been moved out of the terrarium and into the bathtub!

After dinner we started making Easter headbands.  Declan wanted to make one, also (so sorry, Declan!)  Here are pictures of the process, and their creations.  We used ribbon that will match their Easter dresses (their flower girl dresses from Amanda & Mac's wedding last October), and they added flowers, eggs, chicks, and beads.

After we created the headbands the girls got ready for bed quickly.  I read them two stories, and Marty joined us for bedtime prayers.  Nayeli & Eliora slept in the library guest room, and Brielle slept in the playroom.  She plays in there so much since we babysit her that she is very comfortable in that room.  I wondered how it would go, whether they'd be up all night, but we didn't hear a peep from them until early the next morning (6:45).

For breakfast I made raisin bread french toast with berries, ham and orange juice.

Then we were fueled and ready to start our big project!  When I was a little girl, my next door neighbor, Marge Hamlin, taught me to make sugar panorama Easter Eggs.  I've made them a few times in my life - a couple times when Rhiannon & Calvin were little; and once about 15 years ago to give away for presents.  I also used them as a sermon illustration when I was preaching about Children's Outreach, giving the example of my neighbor who befriended me, taught me crafts, and prayed for me.

Friday I prepared the sugar shells.  3-1/2 C granulated sugar, 1/2 C powdered sugar, 1 egg white.  Beat the egg white frothy, add food coloring, pour the egg white on top of the combined sugars and mix until it feels like damp sand.  I use the beater to finish mixing the sugar.  Pack them into the molds, cut off the end with a piece of string, cover that end with foil, put them in the oven for 25 minutes at 200°.  Hollow them out and let them harden for 4 hours.  I made a blue shell, a pink shell, then combined the hollowed out sugars and made a purple shell.

When the girls and I were ready to start our panorama eggs I had them look inside the ones I had made - one from 15 years ago, one from 30 years ago (or more)!   I explained they'd be making a scene on the bottom half of the egg.  I had them pick from little figures, fuzzy chicks, eggs and other items to make their scenes. 

In the meantime I started making royal icing.  I made it with Wilton's meringue.  I never quite got the consistency right.  At first it was too thick, and I couldn't squeeze it through the icing tip.  Then it was too thin and wouldn't hold the shape right.  I think I'll go back to egg whites for my next effort.  However, it didn't matter to the girls!  I put green leafy nests in the bottom of their eggs and they arranged the scenes.  Then I added vines and leaves to the ceilings and they added flowers.   I glued them together.  They watched Shirley Temple in "Curly Top" while I finished decorating the outside.

The three new eggs in the middle.  30+ year old egg on the left, 15-year-old egg on the right

That was a big project, but so much fun!  Great memories!  Next time I'll figure out the icing better, and I told Nayeli I'll let her help me make the sugar eggs.

Then it was time to get their shoes on so they could go on a walk with Grandpa and Sandy while the Easter Bunny hid their eggs and baskets!  Jason, Rhiannon and Declan got here just as they were returning from their walk.  A few eggs were in the front yard and on the patio.  Many more eggs were scattered on the back patio and porch.  A few items were in the chicken coop, of course.  One basket for each grandchild was hidden in the house (they each had their own room to search).  A total of 40 plastic eggs, one dozen hard boiled eggs, 8 other items and 4 baskets.

And the hunt was on!  Declan spotted the one in the tree immediately.  I only hid 14 eggs in the front yard, to keep chocolate out of the sun.

Soon after we started looking in the backyard we had to take an emergency break to treat Eliora's hand.  She plunged her hand into a hairy cactus plant.  We had to pluck the tiny spines out of hand.  A soaking of the hand in the spa seemed to improve her spirits.

By the time we got to the coop, two hens were occupying the nesting box where Declan's prize was!  He was very brave with Nayeli's encouragement, and got his treat away from the hens.

Success!  Two hens in one nesting box with one Easter treat!

When we were done outside (only one plastic egg short), we moved inside.  First Declan looked in the garage for his basket.  He had to get through his own bungee cord trap to get to his basket.  Brielle had to look hard for her basket in the corner of the playroom.   Eliora's was pretty easy to find in the   living room.  Nayeli's was the hardest to find in the library.  Baskets included science items or special toys, pens and/or pencils, necklace charms, character socks, hair things for the girls, crackers, fruit snacks, apple sauce, granola bars, and some candy.

One basket for gathering eggs, and one loaded basket each.

I thoroughly enjoyed having the girls spend the night.  When they said their goodnight prayers they eached thanked God for spending the night at Grandma's house and for making Easter headbands.

We had plenty of time for our art projects, and we also had some good quiet times. 

This was a great kick-off to Easter.  After we recover a little bit, straighten up some and pack, we are off to Visalia for Easter with our littlest grandchild!

Transforming Our Bedroom Wall

Marty went to Illinois to give his sister some respite and help his Mom recovery from a small stroke.  This was our longest separation in many years.  He Facetimed with me every day to tell me about taking walks in the snow, answering his Mom's questions, driving by our old homes, and hanging out with family and friends.

I knew I had to clean our house from our ant invasion, and I wandered the neighborhood with Sandy.  I did some flower arranging and photography with containers that Marty and my sister gave me for Christmas.  But I also had a special, secret project in mind.

Our bedroom came with a dark brown (reddish? orange?) wall.  At first I liked the wall because it went well with our woodland birds decor, our bedding and curtains.   The former owners left us two jars of Martha Stewart copper glitter paint that she had intended to dab over the flat dark-color copper color.  But after awhile it felt oppressive, and the only decoration that looked good on it was a copper enamel (Bovano) bird.

 When I asked my friend, an interior decorator, Shelli, about it she said, “No matter how you look at it, it is an orange wall.” So while Marty was in Illinois I transformed our wall from this

to this….

I had painted successfully once before:  Our cement floor in Tehachapi.  I painted a background color, stamped leaves, and rag rolled two colors on top of that (with plastic bags).

Marty left for Illinois on Friday, January 9.  I first had to deal with dead ants – we had had a major ant invasion and I decided to hire help to thoroughly clean the house (ants were pouring out of the walls onto the floors and windowsills).  During that week I psyched myself up for the project, planned it, and selected colors. I couldn’t start painting until Friday night or Saturday (January 15 or16), because of house cleaning on Thursday and hosting Girl Scouts on Friday. I had to have it done by Monday night, January 19 because I was babysitting on Tuesday.

I had three days to get it done!

On my first trip to Home Depot I got paint chips in the colors I thought I wanted.  I also purchased lots of plastic drop cloths,  TSP for cleaning the walls, and a small roller and pan.  I compared the chips to the color of the wall (I didn’t want to cover the wall, I wanted the copper color to show through).  the bedding, the furniture. I ordered rubber stamps of leaves.   

Here are the colors I used:  

Firebrick represents the original color, and is also similar to the Martha Stewart Copper glitter paint I used at the end.

Wild Porcini muslin-dabbed or wiped over the entire wall.

Blanket brown muslin dabbed over bits of the wall (to darken, bring in the browns of the room, and calm down the brightness of the first two colors).

Glorious Gold was an accent color – usually used as a background of a leaf, or for a bit of a flower.   Sometimes I stenciled a flower in gold or copperleaf, then went over it in with the copper glitter paint.  I also used the gold to accent some leaves.

Copperleaf was another accent color.  The birds, pinecones, and some flowers were stenciled with this, and then stenciled with the metallic copper.

Leaves and vines were painted with Scotland Isle, Mountain Forest, and Thermal Spring.  Thermal Spring I used mainly for ferns and spruce twigs.  I often dabbed  my paintbrush in two different colors to blend paints for variegated leaf colors.  

I decided halfway through I needed purple (I’ve got purple in the bedding and elsewhere in the room) so I added Roman Minerals and Acai Berry, which looked different in the store but looked the same in the store.  They were used for accent flowers, and some accents on leaves.

I removed the decorations from the wall Friday before Girl Scouts.  Jason helped me move furniture after Girl Scouts.  I taped drop cloths along the molding, moved and draped tables that I could work from.  I cleaned the walls with TSP.  I set up fans for ventilation and drying.  I felt like a klutz, because I kept tripping on the drop cloths and ripping them from the wall.  I was determined not to spill any paint on the carpet, so I decided to buy a canvas drop cloth (I had no idea where Marty kept his).  I set up a work station in the bathroom.  I brought in two buckets, one with water for wet cloths, and one for trash.

Saturday morning was my second trip to Home Depot.  I ordered the paint, bought a drop cloth, and some flower bulbs while I was waiting for the order.  I laid down the hallway canvas drop cloth, started listening to my audiobook, and applied the muslin Wild Porcini.  I took a break while it dried, then I added some Blanket brown with muslin.  I tried a few leaf stamps and found they wouldn’t work on the textured wall.  I knew I had to buy stencils.  

First stop for Stencils:  JoAnns.  Strike-out.  Second stop for Stencils:  Home Depot:  Strike-out.  Third stop for stencils:  Michaels.  Home-run!  Michaels has dozens of stencils, brushes for applying paint, lots of tips and ideas.  I bought six packages of various leaves, ferns, butterflies, flowers, pine cones, vines.  I also bought a couple painbrushes.  Hooray for 30% off the entire order coupon ending that day!

I set up my step ladder with plastic wrap.  I set a tall patio table next to it, covered with plastic wrap, to hold my paints and brushes.   I used a crate lid as a paint staging station in the bathroom.  I was determined not to make a mess!  I tied a roll of paper towels around my neck for me to dab my brush on.  Gloves on my hands, audiobook in my ears, and I started!  I started with a bird in the center of the drop,  leaves and vines branching out from there.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday I continued.  The paint dries fairly quickly, I’d give it an hour break in between so that I wouldn’t smear paint.  I added sponge dabs of the copper metallic paint in some spots, smeared some on across some stenciled leaves. I got more bold as I went along, adding copper metallic maple leaves.  There was a yellow Queen Anne’s Lace stencil.  I’d do that in yellow, and then a couple hours later I’d go it with the stencil again in green.  

As I painted leaves I’d switch up the colors on the brush to give a two-tone look.  After leaves dried I’d sometimes put the stencil back on and add a copper or yellow accent.

At some point I realized I needed purple, so I went to Miner’s Ace Hardware and got some purple paint.  Violets, small flowers, purple bodies on the butterflies.  I’d stencil butterflies in yellow or copperleaf, then go over it later with copper glitter and/or purple.

I’d work until 12:30 then sleep in the guest room.  Sunday  morning was church, then back to work.  A long walk in the afternoon, then back to it. 

 I did the entrance walls differently, pine cone cluster in the middle over the doorway.  A scattering of leaves on the entry wall.
 

Monday I knew I needed to get it done.  I was babysitting on Tuesday and I didn’t want paint sitting out in the kids’ bathroom.  I did the cascade of leaves down one wall.  I crawled on the floor adding detail to the lower edges.  I climbed back up to add some accents to existing leaves.  I’d rub copper metallic paint, step back.  Does it look good or does it look terrible?  After awhile you lose perspective…

At some point late on Monday I decided I was done.  Time to clean up.  I was loving my audio book, “All the Light We Cannot See”, so I persevered.  I cleaned the brushes, threw away the stir sticks.  I hammered close all the paint cans (and screwed shut up the sample jars), loaded them up in a bucket and carried them outside.  I rolled up the cloth drop cloth.  I tore the painters tape away from the wall, gathered up all the plastic drop cloths and discarded them.  I put all the cleaned, dried stencils into a bucket.  I put most of Marty’s tools away in the garage (except one paint-covered screwdriver).  I moved the two tables and step stool out of the bedroom.  I did find one mess I had to clean up – somehow there was a spray of purple paint droplets across the wall and mirror in the bathroom.  I cleaned the wall with TSP, and scraped the paint off the mirror.  I went to sleep about 1:30 with a 6:45 alarm.

Tuesday I went to Rhiannon’s.  It was her first time subbing in two months (following a hand accident and surgery).  It was my first time watching the kids since Declan stopped napping.  I decided to keep them busy.  After feeding kitchen scraps to the hens, we headed to Santa Maria where I had to stop at the mall to get a new water filter.  We ate lunch at Round Robin, looked at the pet stores, got anxious about the escalators.  We drove to Target, where they both got to pick one toy.  When we got back we gathered eggs and let the hens out for the afternoon, then played at the pirate playhouse awhile. I didn’t take a walk that day but when I checked my health app I had my average number of steps (when I usually take a 2-3 mile walk a day).  The kids keep me busy!  Rhiannon came by after subbing, and the four kids gathered tangerines.  Jason arrived to help me move the furniture back.  I sent the Schmidts home with three dozen eggs and lots of fruit.  They gave me reassurances that the wall looked good.

Tuesday evening and Wednesday I put the room back together.   I put most of the decorations that were on that wall (bird plates and pictures) on other walls around the room.  I did put a couple of my dried flower arrangements on the wall.  Marty’s dresser, one of our Peacock chairs, and the collapsible shelf that we use for wedding fairs went back against the painted wall.

At 7:00 I headed to Santa Barbara to pick up Marty.  His flight was delayed for an hour from San Francisco (Chicago to Las Vegas to San Francisco to Santa Barbara).  With an hour to kill, instead of playing Trivia Crack or reading my Kindle I listened to music and walked around that airport for a half hour. 

I was feeling really happy and good.  I got a big creative project done, and I really thought it looked pretty.  I had also ended an excellent audiobook ("All the Light...") and listened to music from that book (Clair de Lune).  I was still on the “high” from watching Boyhood and listened to music from that soundtrack.  Also, on my earphones - "The Last Goodbye" from Billy Boyd (The Hobbit, Battle of the Five Armies).  My husband was on his way from our longest separation in many years.  I looked forward to seeing him.  I knew Sandy, our dog, would be so thrilled to see him!  And I was so excited to show him my project!  So, I walked up and down the beautiful, tiled steps of Santa Monica Airport, listening to my music, and feeling pretty happy and satisfied. 

Anticipation.  Satisfaction.  Excitement.  
Good things. 

And yes, Marty liked it.  When he walked in, he said, “Wow, this is really neat, I really like it.”   He wants to add crown molding at the top, and help with the bottom.  I didn’t paint all the way to the edge because I wanted the original color to show through at the edges, but I probably was too conservative at the bottom edge.  He wants to put a different molding at the bottom edge, also.

So, what do you think of my project?