Z. Daisy Blog

Spring Break in Chicago

Spring Break is officially here.  I was asking my oldest son what he wanted to do during his week off and these were the top 2 things on his list:

First on his list was to visit the Robie House.  Never wanting my children to know that they know something that I don't I pretended to know exactly what he was talking about.  Fortunately, he provided me with all kinds of unsolicited info so I could continue my image of "all knowing mother".  Apparently, it is a very famous building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright - oh yeah, Frank Lloyd Wright... I've heard of him.  So this will be our first stop.
Next he wants to go to the Art Institute of Chicago to see all the painting of the artists he's been studying in his art class.  Really though, what 9.5 year old boy wants to do these things!  I was thinking he would suggest going to the arcade, going bowling, maybe visiting a water park... I would have never guessed he would pick the Robie House and Art Institute of Chicago!  Remind me later to write a letter to his teacher thanking her for successfully engaging his mind and curiosity into the arts.  Thanks to her, this will be our second stop.  I'll let you know how it all goes.

Happy Birthday Benji!

Yesterday was Benji's 3rd birthday.  We had so much fun celebrating his precious little life.  We adopted Benji in January of 2007 and have been so blessed to have him as part of our family.  His birthday was a good time to reflect back on the past year and be thankful for all of it.  When he joined our family last year he was severely malnourished - only weighing 15 pounds at almost 2 years of age.  Since then he has transformed into this energetic, happy, fun-loving little boy who is living life in a healthy body. So, we have A LOT to celebrate.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJI!

Girl Stuff is More Fun (Sometimes)

When it comes to Easter, the girls in the house always win out.  For some reason I am always less inspired to create something for the boys.  I mean, seriously, won't a polo shirt and pair of khakis from Target work just fine?  Plus, there are 2 girls and 3 boys and making 2 things always seems more doable than making 3 or 5.  Maybe one day I'll wake up and discover there have been more hours added to my days or I have sprouted extra hands... until then, I'm sticking with the fun girl stuff.... at least when it comes to sewing.  Here are the girls in their new Easter styles.  The dress was my first attempt at making my own pattern.  It is actually reversible.... but I didn't get any pictures of that.  Maybe next post.  Enjoy! 

Happy Spring??

For days my kids have been counting down until the first day of Spring.  So, when it finally arrived on Thursday we were so excited!  We were welcomed into Spring with a beautiful, sunny 50+ degree day here in Chicago.  Unfortunately, the second day of spring was not so cheery....
This is my porch this morning ...
Tomorrow the kids will be filling these same stairs in their Easter attire....they will certainly cheer up this slow start to Spring. =)

Whatcha Making?

I don't know how many times my girls have asked me that in last 24 hours!  Little do they know that this sweet cupcake applique will soon be a beach bag for our treks to the pool this summer.  My younger daughter kept saying, "Mommy, I love cupcakes."  Me too!  Hopefully the finished product will be coming soon! 

Country Living - Women Entrepreneurs Event

Wow, what a great weekend!  Brooke and I had the pleasure of attending the 2008 Country Living Women Entrepeneurs Event in downtown Chicago and it was fabulous!  We heard many inspiring stories from some of our favorite women entrepreneurs, including Heather Bailey, Polly Wilson of Barn Dandys, Mia Galison of Eeboo, Anna Griffin of Anna Griffin Inc., and many, many more.  Be sure to check them all out at the Country Living link above, they truly are an inspiration to us all. 

Absolutely loved all the pink signs.  I'm pretty sure my husband didn't have those at his coaching football conference a few weeks back. =) The spectacular gift bags were great too!  Check out all the goodies from our featured women's product lines.

The 2009 event is scheduled to be in Chicago again - yeah!  We can't wait!

March Contest: Win a FREE Binkie Bungee!

Entering to win is so easy!  All you have to do is contact us with the name of your favorite local children's or gift boutique and you're automatically entered to win!  That's it!  Can't wait to hear from you!

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Easy Easter Pails

At Z. Daisy we've always loved our pails!  Here's a quick way to dress up an ordinary galvanized pail to make it absolutely adorable. 
Here's a list of supplies for the projects shown:
1. Galvanized Pail
2. Crop-A-Dile Punch
3. Circle Cutter
4. Scrapbooking Paper
5. Mod Podge  or other decoupage glue
6. Emblishments of your choice: brads, grommets, ribbon, pictures, tags, stickers, the list is endless!

Once you've gathered up all you supplies, you're ready to get started!  I started these at the top and worked my way down.  So, first I used the Crop-A-Dile punch to makes holes around the top of the pail.  Then, I cut circles out of scrapbook paper to fit the size of pail I was using and attached it with Mod Podge glue.   Once the paper circles were dry, I applied two light coats over the top of the paper for durability.   I tried pictures this time and they worked great too!  Once the holes are punched and the paper is attached it's time for the fun!  Embellish away!  I tried several things and really liked how they all turned out.  You can see more pictures in our Flickr  photo stream in the sidebar.  Good luck and have fun being creative!

March of the Tools: Crop-A-Dile Punch

 

I thought I would join in the March of the Tools and showcase my latest tool find.  Absolutely love this Crop-A-Dile Punch! If you're into paper crafts and do any kind of projects with eyelets or grommets, this tool is for you!  The  best feature is that it cuts through metal too!  I've been using it this week to make some Easter pails for my kids.  Once the holes are made you can add grommets, eyelets, brads, thread ribbon, or whatever else you can think of!  Have fun!