CraftSanity with Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood

Happy Saturday, everyone! Things might be a little wonkie with the website this weekend because Jeff is going to be converting this site to a new blog tool. I'm going to continue posting, but you may notice some funkiness (more than usual) as we make the switch. Thanks in advance for your patience. In light of the site construction, I'm planning to get my next podcast ready for a Monday release because I don't want to post a show in the midst of a website overhaul.

In case you're wondering about the cuckoo clock in the photo, we just put it on the wall today. The tick-tock of the wooden leaf pendulum and the mechanical cuckoo of the little bird was part of the soundtrack of every visit to Grammy B's house. She had it hanging on the wall of her home for my whole childhood it seems. She died more than a year ago and her house has yet to sell. My uncle took the clock down recently and offered it to me.

We brought the German clock home from metro Detroit last weekend. It's not something I would have bought for my home, but I love it because that beautifully annoying "cuckoo" takes me back to the days of sleepover parties at Grammy's house with my sisters and holiday celebrations eaten around at the big wooden table in her dining room. We got so used to that clock that it became background noise as we went about our visits.

It was surreal to watch Jeff put the clock on our wall. Seeing it takes me back so quickly. Memories of Grammy laughing and telling us to eat more during family meals swirl around the ornate wooden clock. Plenty of great times were had in its midst when it hung on Grammy's wall and I'm honored to have it keeping time for the memories that will be made in our home.

Aren't these little handprints great? They were made by the 3-year-old artists in Abby's preschool class. Today was the big Valentine's Day party. I had the day off work, so I took Amelia along and served as the unofficial party photographer. It was fun to watch the kids get so excited about making crowns with pipe cleaner and heart antennas, decorating sugar cookies with candy sprinkles and throwing bean bags through a cardboard heart.

I wish we could bottle the enthusiasm kids have for making things at this age. They love cutting paper and using giant glue sticks and doodling with crayons. Boy do they love the crayons. But who doesn't love crayons? I still love crayons and secretly wish they made coloring books for big people. Hmm... maybe I should do something about that.



The girl's got some great mail today from Nana & Papa Ackerman, (My mom fills up the space inside the cards she sends with handwritten notes and lots of stickers) and Great Grandma Haywood sent along some great valentines and temporary tatoos, (Thanks to her, I have a zebra on my right bicep. I look crazy at the gym, but the kids think it's great so I will continue to adorn with temporary tattoos and look crazy at the gym.)

So we had a good time after school. Jeff brought home red roses for me and butterfly balloons for the girls, so we thought we'd be nice and give him time to take a much-needed nap. I'm sure he may have liked a giant flat screen TV or a new mac laptop, but he got a nap instead. Sleep is priceless, right?

Today my daughters hosted their cousin Sophia and her baby sister, Penny, for an early Valentine's Day celebration. The older girls made valentines with paper doilies, crayons and stickers and decorated these cute metal mailboxes we bought from the dollar bin at Target. My sister, Jacquie, and I helped them glue their names on each box, then they went to town decorating their boxes with a bunch of stickers from my childhood stash. They had fun and we did, too.

The best part of the day was when Aunt Jacquie gave Abby a fabulous new haircut to officially repair the damage of the self-inflicted mullet Abby gave herself last week. Thanks, sis. Amazing job!

I wasn't going to blog today. I almost chucked the daily blogging routine because it's been a long day, the wind is whipping something fierce outside my window and I just want to curl up under a warm blanket and go to sleep.

Seriously, I thought I was too tired to comment on the world today, but then I checked my e-mail. I got a message from a woman named Amy who is friends with one of the organizers of the "Girlie Show," a rockin' art show in Oklahoma City that promotes female artists and crafters.

Amy, how did you know I've been obsessing the last few days over my not-so-secret-dream to throw the biggest rockin' art show West Michigan has ever seen? Seriously, your timing is excellent.

So I clicked the link and was amused to see the classic pin-up girl graphics used to promote the show. There was a time when I probably would have been offended by the concept of using cartoon cleavage to promote art and craft (high school), but now I consider it clever marketing. (What do you think?)

Okay, so now that I feel like my art show-planning mojo has been restored (Well, at least until I've had the benefit of sleep and able to think clearly and wake up to the realization that I don't know the first thing about planning a successful art show.) I think you should check out the mini-documentary about the show and let me know if you're interested in hearing more from these ladies.