Paper Watermelon Windsock

Supplies:
Construction paper (red and black)
Green crepe paper streamers
Scissors
Glue
Hole punch
String
Dowel (optional)

Directions:
Cut out watermelon seeds from the black construction paper, and glue onto the red construction paper. Glue the short ends of the red construction paper together (creating a cylinder shape with the paper). Cut 5 streamers (about 12″ long each) and glue to the inside bottom of the watermelon cylinder. Punch two holes on opposite ends on the top. Cut out a 8″ strand of string and knot it through each hole on top of the windsock. If you want to add a dowel, cut another 8″ piece of string and attach the windsock to the dowel.  The summer crafting is winding down over here. I have a couple back to school craft projects we plan to work on, and we are all stick working on our tapestry weaving, but I think we are done with summer crafting. Let’s be honest though, even when school starts we will still be doing plenty of crafting and art projects. Oh the joys of homeschooling… it leaves plenty of room for art!

Our church family is hosting a community picnic this Saturday (you’re invited, so see info here), and we will be making these watermelon windsocks with the children who show up. It’s a picnic and I think no summer picnic is complete without some watermelon.

Summer’s been great and I don’t want it to end, but I am looking forward to a routine again. We have lots of playing, crafting, and relaxing going on here. There are some unknowns and new adventures up ahead, but lots of prayers for all of it. Most of the curriculum has been ordered, and this year I will have third, fourth, kinder, and pre-k (so nervous about all of this!) in my home. We will see how this multi-age classroom goes, but if you have any tips, I’m all ears. But until school officially kicks off on August 25th, we will keep soaking in these last bits of summer.

We have harvested the first figs and apples from our garden. The apples are Molly’s Delicious and were the perfect blend of crisp and sweet (seriously delicious!). The figs are Kadota and Peter’s Honey, but when Ben planted them in a rush, so he’s not sure which is which. They are the best figs I ever tasted; it was kind of like eating candy because they were so sweet. A lot of figs got chomped on by some beetles, so we don’t have that many this year.

Soon, I’ll share another look at what our garden looks like now. All the trees are doing really well and there’s so much green out there. Ben’s labor of love is paying off and we are getting to enjoy the benefits of having an edible garden. We always joke that gardening is quite an expensive hobby, but when you pick it, it’s free!

Roasted Broccoli
4-6 servings 

Ingredients
1 lb broccoli florets
spray oil
1/4 tsp kosher Salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425°F. On a standard baking sheet (we line it with foil or parchment paper for ease in cleaning), spray with oil. Evenly distribute florets and season with salt and pepper. Spray tops of florets with oil. Roast for 16-20 minutes or until the broccoli is tender and the tips of the florets are crisply browned. Scrape and serve.

Vegetables and sweet aren’t two words that we associate with one another unless it involves carrot cake or candied yams. Roasting highlights the natural sweetness in vegetables as they caramelize. This recipe is about as straightforward as you can get with roasted broccoli. There are ways of enhancing the flavor without too much added prep (fresh lemon juice, garlic, or parmesan cheese to name a few), but since time is always so tight, we appreciate just being able to open a bag of pre-washed florets; add spray oil, salt, and pepper; roast them and done!

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of joining about 40 other Michaels Makers bloggers (learn about all of us here) for a Michaels Makers Summit in Sonoma. I didn’t know what to expect, and while I hadn’t met anyone before, I was looking forward to the creative workshops Michaels had planned for us through their education partner Creativebug. After an eventful day of travel (even though I was just coming from SoCal), I finally found myself in wine country with lots of sweet and creative ladies. The first night started off with making floral crowns, dinner at Farmstead, and ending the night eating s’mores with homemade marshmallows. Seriously, it’s tough going back to store bought marshmallows.

The next day started bright and early, with a few shuttles taking us through windy mountain roads to the summit location. When we arrived at the destination, we were all blown away by all the details of the estate. Everything was absolutely gorgeous. Then, when you get bloggers together at a place like this, the cameras come out and everyone goes crazy. We are definitely a weird bunch, but we could all relate to one another. We had a few moments to soak it all in, then we got to hear from one of the founders of Creativebug, and a little introduction to the classes we were going to take: watercolor with Yao Cheng, weaving with Annabel Wrigley, image transfer with Courtney Cerruti, and paper flowers with Livia Cetti.

I loved each and every class, and especially our talented instructors. Watercolor was super relaxing; I was mesmerized by watching the watercolor move across the paper (see here). Weaving is addicting, and I totally get why it’s all the craze right now (I’m crazy for it and getting my girls to love it too!). Image transfers was pretty mind-blowing (I have already taught my girls how to do it!). With paper flowers, I knew I would love it, since working with flowers and felt flowers is my thing. Of course, between the classes, we were treated to delicious food, popsicles, and lots of moments to enjoy the beautiful scenery and being able to chat with new friends (new for me, most people already knew each other).

I’m thankful for another year as a Michaels Maker, and if you want to experience the summit for yourself, Creativebug and Michaels partnered together to provide all the classes here for free until August 22! You can learn how to watercolor, weave, make paper flowers, and image transfer too! I came home so inspired and itching to put all my new skills to practice. The Michaels Makers challenges will continue throughout the year and feel free to create your own projects with us by sharing on Instagram using #MadeWithMichaels.

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This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

I’m looking for a small chandelier like this.

I made these lobster tacos with green onion cilantro sauce and it was delicious. I’ll probably make this sauce again when I make fish tacos.

We could easily make this since we have lots of mint growing in our garden.

We have some bed frames we are considering… a couple from west elm (this and this), and this one from Design Within Reach. We are still far from choosing a natural mattress though, but we do know we want a king size bed this time around. That’s progress considering we started bed shopping about two year ago. HA!

It’s been wonderful to see our whole gang back together, all the crazy messes and yelling is back, but we will gladly take it.

Thankful to hear about all the wonderful memories the older girls shared with their grandma. They cried for an hour at the airport on our way home.

I have completed my second weaving and I think I am addicted.

I needed to read “No Grace for Your Imagination.”

Enjoy your weekend friends!