A Tea Party with My Girls and a Pretty Flower Craft

Earlier this year, Jamie and I took a 21st anniversary trip to England. It was so fun to show him around some of my favorite places. We visited Bath and Winchester---which you all know are old favorites of mine; and Salisbury, which was new to us both. Along the way, I picked up a few fun things to enjoy in a summertime tea party with my girls. God has blessed us with five fabulous daughters---I'm so thankful! 

I'd been saving this pretty jar of Sarahbeth's Orange Apricot Marmalade since receiving it from a dear family friend in the Spring. My name is Sarah Elizabeth so this was a special gift in a couple of ways. I'd also saved out three pretty tea cup and saucer sets from some things my Mom gave me and passed them down to my three youngest girls who'd not yet received their own set from me. This one with the pretty wild blossoms went to Brenna, my six year old.

Our party gave me the chance to use some gifts I'd received over the year, like this hot air balloon teapot and wildflower pot from Jamie. My mom gave me the flowered dish, and Jamie picked up this delicious summer tea blend from Gillards in Bath. It smells just like a strawberry Starburst---ha!

I made several  yummy tea treats like this Victoria Sponge and some small scones and sandwiches. Jamie had bought me a tin of shortbread cookies at Marks and Spencer in Winchester so I served them from the top of the tier. I also took the opportunity to use some of the vintage cutlery my great grandmother saved for me and shared some of my memories of her with the girls during our chat time. 

I also made my signature Cucumber Flowers---a family favorite! 

After we snacked and chatted, I shared a little flower craft with the girls. 

After cutting tissue paper squares, I showed them out to wrap them around the end of a pencil to form a flower bud.

We drew branches on a sheet of cardstock paper and glued the buds to the branches.

I made a special memory branch and had each of the girls write their names on it. Now it's hanging in my library. I love it!

The season is changing and summer will probably be gone by this time next week. (Oh Lord, please!! Ha!) I'm happy we made some fun memories over the season!

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Slowing Down a Little...Finally!

 

Hello friends! Welcome to The Homemaking Party! It's roasty, toasty, hot and humid in NW Arkansas today but I'm hanging out in our well air conditioned library tonight and feelin' fine! Ha! Life is finally slowing down a bit for me and I feel like I want to stay close to home and do homey things. We are starting school July 9, since we've been off since April, and I'm just feeling really excited to be back in our comfortable routine of home life. I traveled to Oregon in April and England in May (I know, still no photos up...sorry!) and then there's been summer camps and missions trips and...whew!

These three guys are in Honduras this week, ministering at an orphanage and at a school. From the pictures I'm seeing come over Facebook and IG, they're having a great time and really enjoying those sweet Honduran kids!

Lynzie has been house sitting for the youth pastors who took the kids to Honduras and Selah stayed with a friend last night so it was just me and the four littles this morning. We decided to have a little adventure. We went to Walmart to buy lunch (my kids think Lunchables are gold since I buy them so rarely!) and then made a library stop.

After library time, we headed for the park. They rode bikes, took walks (hikes!), played baseball, and laid around panting from the heat. We had an early picnic lunch and then went home for a long nap!

My kids love an opportunity to use a lunch box...one of those cool things like riding on a school bus that public schoolers get to do. Ha! Here Brenna is dreaming about what's inside her box. We were out so early but I wouldn't let them eat until 11. Next time we'll pack breakfast instead!

Our Rose of Sharon bush is in full bloom and hosting all kinds of neat insects and birds. We mainly have these orange not-actually-ladybugs, hummingbirds, zillions of bees, and several kinds of butterflies. Our road is so quiet so I love to stand out on the porch and just listen to the bush buzzing. It's at least nine feet tall and at least that wide and just full of probably a hundred or more different creatures at a time. I think I'll make it the focus of a nature study when we start back to school.

Well friends, hope all is well in your worlds! Thanks for stopping by The Homemaking Party!

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A Band-Aid Box Story Craft

Hello Friends! Welcome to the Homemaking Party! 

This week, Lynzie is away from home until Friday and the teens are at teen camp---which means it's just me and the four littles during the days! Wow, such a different dynamic! 

We're doing some fun crafts and things this week and I thought I'd share one with you all.

 

Years ago, (like 15 or more) I was at a yard sale and found all these metal Band-Aid boxes for sale. I instantly remembered a craft I did as a four year old in Kindergarten and knew I had to grab them so I could do this project with my littles. Those littles are now almost grown but, thankfully, I've got another group of littles who are still little enough to enjoy this!

My mom had some rolls of register tape at a later yard sale so I snatched them up and all these supplies have been hiding away for a really long time. Today was their day!

When I was in Kindergarten at Heppner Elementary School in Heppner, Oregon, my teacher, Ms. Webber, led us in making Band-Aid box stories. This was about 1984 and Johnson & Johnson was still selling Band-Aids in metal boxes in "those days". I posted a teaser on my social media today and a friend joked that those lethal metal boxes were designed to sell more Band-Aids. That cracked me up...but really, now they're in paper boxes, so there's always the risk of a nasty paper cut! Genius moves on their part...hahaha!

Anyway, back to the story... So, as you can see, super trendy tiny me wrote a story about Rainbow Brite and her horse, Starlight. 

The kids loved seeing and hearing my story and thought I was just as adorable as I really was... But then they were ready to get started on their own stories!

Some of the kids chose to cover the outside of their boxes first. I had a huge box of decorative paper to choose from, but everyone went with solid colors and decided to decorate them on their own with drawings and coloring.

Some of the kids chose to write out their stories on register tape first. These two wrote stories about Doctor Who, their newest obsession.

Kynthia wrote a story about Leia from Star Wars. Once they were done with their stories, they rolled them up and fit them perfectly into the little boxes.

Here's Avalon's finished story, along with a matching TARDIS box. Very cool.

This was a super fun, easy, and creative craft. I'm so glad we recreated one of my favorite Kindergarten memories! Perhaps you'll find some vintage Band-Aid boxes at a yard sale and make one of your own, too!

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party! Have a great week!

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