My favorite plaid fabric is called "homespun." It is a plaid that is woven, not printed. It usually comes in a muted palette which gives it a vintage look and feel. And if you have been paying ANY attention you know that I LOVE vintage! If you can't find homespun plaid fabric at your local fabric store there's a great selection at www.jubileehomespun.com. I just ordered two of their scrap packs. I can't wait till they arrive!

I have been in love with the tissue paper at www.acornspring.com for years. I have paired their tartan and checked tissue papers with plaid fabrics to create some adorable gift bags. I have also had much success using their tissue papers to cover kraft gift boxes from www.papermart.com. Their tissue paper can be used for so much more that just wrapping gifts.

You can't go wrong with plaid. It's warm, cheery, versatile, and easy-going. The more plaid, the better!

Have you noticed the cover of Woman's Day Magazine this month? There are easter eggs pictured that made me grab the magazine off the rack for a closer look. I stood there holding up the line in the grocery store in a daze that only crafty people experience when they've just been hit with a massive dose of inspiration and have to take a few minutes to process it. I was helpless.

Needless to say, I will be making lots of easter eggs this year with glitter and sequins. My favorite place to find the exact sequin and the perfect color of glitter is www.ccartwright.com. Check out the selection before you decorate. You'll be glad you did!

Another thing I think about this time of year is Earth Day. Earth Day happens every year on April 22nd. This day ranks up there with Thanksgiving for me in terms of how deeply I feel about it's significance. And like gratitude, global awareness should be a year-round endeavor. You can go to www.earthday.org to learn more about what's happing in your area and around the globe.

Some ideas for Earth Day...

1. Read "Growing Vegetable Soup" by Lois Ehlert. You and your child will be excited about growing things after reading this colorful and sweet book.

2. Print out the "Earth Day Booklet" project on the main page of artsymommy. Load two sheets of card stock into your printer, print, then cut the pages into quarters. Talk with your child about what you can do as a family to help the environment.

3. Create a Shrinky Dink earth charm. Get some blank sheets of clear shrinky dink film. Use a large (2") circular paper punch to create some circles from the film. Use the "Earth Images" (main page) as a guide while coloring in your earth using colored sharpies. Don't forget to punch a single hole in the top of your shrinky dink BEFORE baking them! With a pair of needle-nosed pliers attach a small split-ring to your shrinky dink. Attach a lanyard hook to make a zipper-pull for your child's jacket or clip the charm to your child's sneakers or backback.

4. Get some blue and green fusion beads and create an earth ornament to hang in a window.

5. Organize a few friends and neighbors and do a neighborhood trash pick-up. Spring is a great time to collect litter. Start small and see what happens!

Have a wonderful sunshine-filled spring!

Happy Labor Day, Everyone!  School starts tommorrow...I'm sad and happy when I think about school starting.  Sad because I've just had one of the best summers I've had in a long time, and happy because, well, let's face it, the kids will be out of the house.  Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not shy about admitting that.  :-)

I spent three weeks this summer teaching craft classes to kids ages 4-10.  We had a blast!  Some of the project we did were Sidewalk Chalk, Tied Paper Bundles, Sculpey Pigs, Mini Notebooks, Dot and Ink Pictures, Patchwork Pillows, Sunflower Journals, and much more!  Instructions are available for all of these projects.

My latest posting "Sunflower Projects" calls for some nice quality tissue paper.  I found a website (www.acornspring.com) that has a great selection of country-inspired tissue papers.  I have ordered the red bandana, denim, black/white check, and yellow/white check tissue papers.  These are perfect for a that "little touch of country" in your early fall craft projects. 

I hope you are enjoying this time of year as much as I am.  The school busses, the backpacks, the pumpkins, the crisp air, the soccer games, and the apple-picking are all things that I love about September.  May you have a minute or two to sit back and cherish it.