This is the cake that my husband would probably like for me to make for his birthday, which is today. Unfortunately, I didn't. In fact, I haven't been very crafty at all for his big day... probably because I'm frantically working to get my dissertation proposal finished and preparing for our upcoming trip to Mongolia. But I don't think he really minds-- I did make him a cake, and I also got him The Office (U.S. version-- we watched the British version when it came out but haven't yet seen the U.S. one, and by all accounts it's really good) and Heroes on DVD.

Oh, and I went to the movies and watched a really creepy Kevin Bacon movie with him (the name of which I've already forgotten). At one point I said, "I think I'd rather just be sitting in the lobby than watching this," to which he responded, "Now you know how I felt when we went to see Mamma Mia." Fair enough. Happy Birthday, buster!

Extra-Cute Hair Clip Tutorial

Magda at Little Thing has a tutorial for really, really cute hair clips. Like them but don't feel like working with felt yourself? You can also buy felt key chains and other crafty goods from her Etsy store, Craft Pudding Handmade Goods.

Montessori By Hand

As the graduate of a public Montessori school and the daughter of the principal of aforementioned public Montessori school, I am a huge fan of the Montessori philosophy, and am particularly fond of the public school variety.

Montessori by Hand is a wonderful blog written by a Montessori teacher who writes,

"I have always been fascinated with making materials for my classroom. I have an on-going love affair with beautiful fabrics and nature photos. The sewing machine and I enjoy a symbiotic relationship. At night, visions of felted, child-size meditation mats and handmade books dance in my head."

Check out this great blog... many crafty Montessori ideas abound!

Bottle caps!

My friend Lara is working in Kibondo, Tanzania right now. She has an interesting post about bottle caps on her blog. Check it out, and feel free to give her ideas about what to do with her new collection.

Another Baby Hat

I made this little cotton baby hat for my friend John's impending arrival in Manila. I made it from cotton because frankly, being from Buffalo, I know little about head covering practices for tropical babies! Does anyone out there know what kinds of hats (if any) babies wear in tropical weather? Up here in the cold climes, we definitely are a hat-donning culture. But what about the Philippines?

Proof of Monkeys

As mely pointed out in her comment, it is difficult to see the monkeys in the curtains I made. Here, then, is a close-up of the fabric I used. This poor monkey had part of his head cut off, but you get the idea.

Monkey Curtains, Completed

Ta da! The monkey curtains I made for our dining room have been completed. I was torn about the fabric (I'm not usually a fan of huge flowers) but it's actually quite nice because the yellow background color helps to keep the curtains from darkening the room too much.

On another crafty note, I also made the seat cushion for the window bench a long time ago. I love that it's velvet but unfortunately so do my cats (and their many, many hairs).