Carrie Spritzer – Page 4 – The Creative Salad

Repurposed Photo Wreath Frame

Remember our holiday wreath that we made using an embroidery hoop and clothespins?

We decided to repurpose it for the rest of the year, until next December when we’ll fill it with holiday cards again down in our living room.

For the time being we’ve decided to place it in our daughter’s new big girl room, in the last bit of free wall space, next to a nerdy baby poster, her embroidered portrait and toddler artwork, and above our photo banner with glittery clothespins.

We intend to place photos from our recent travels (to New Mexico and New York) in the frame, but in the meantime we’ve clipped some older favorite family photos to the wreath for now.

A perfect fit for the space!

Now I need to work on updating her linens. Perhaps some embroidered pillowcases are in order or a tie dye project for the sheets. What do you think?

Mother’s Day Bouquet

Every year for Mother’s Day we visit our local nursery and I get to pick out flowers for the garden.

By doing this…

we get more bang for our buck — sixteen plants for the price of one bouquet,

we support local, organic farmers, plus our independently owned garden center,

I receive a gift that I enjoy year after year as each plant continues to grow, spread, and bloom in our garden,

we share this gift with the creatures living in our yard and our neighbors in our community,

and we enjoy a family activity that I look forward to each year.

Buddha Boards Paint With Water Fun

Buddha Boards make for an easy, kid-friendly painting activity.

Simply paint on the surface with water. Then the water evaporates leaving you with a clean slate, so you can do it all over again! No messy clean up and endless art opportunities!

We’ve been leaving our Buddha Board (with a jar of water) out in the living room so our daughter can easily paint any time she wants without any assistance from mom. How empowering! She LOVES it!

Thanks to Patty and Ron for the super fun gift!

Getting Her Cheer On (Postcards from New Mexico)

How often in our lives are we able to scream at the top of our lungs?!

To just let go of our inhibitions and societal norms, and cheer with no one hushing us or telling us to take it outside?!

We enjoyed a whole afternoon of screaming, ringing bells, and dancing around cheering on the cyclists in the Tour of the Gila.

Yes, the toddler is ringing her bell directly in David’s ear. He’s such a patient dad.

It’s a nice reminder for the whole family to find more opportunities to scream at the top of our lungs every now and then.

Where It All Began (Postcards From New Mexico Circa 2003)

A trip down memory lane…

My husband and I met eight years ago at Thanksgiving Dinner in New Mexico at his parents place. Yes, I’ve known my in-laws longer than I’ve known my husband.

My mother-in-law jokes that it was an arranged marriage.

A return to New Mexico always sets my heart aflutter as I remember the days we met and fell in love there.

A nice place to return to…