Did you know....about NF?

Did you know that Neurofibromatosis affects 1 out of every 3,000 births? That's 1 too many.
Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a progressive disorder that causes tumors to grow on any nerve cell inside or outside of the body. There is no cure nor is there a treatment. Blindness, brain tumors, deafness, learning disabilities, facial disfigurement, cancer, bone deformity and chronic pain are all complications that NF can cause. 

About a week ago I met a very tender, sweet and resilient little girl. Her name is Lauren she is 4 years old. When she was 3 years old she was diagnosed with this nasty and progressive disorder. They've performed an MRI and unfortunately discovered she has a tumor on her brain. After meeting Lauren and her mother Debbie I couldn't get her contagious smile and happiness of for life off my mind. She's such a tiny person with some much life to live and she is taking each step with her head held high, a smile from ear to ear and without skipping a beat will tell you about her walk. 

What walk you ask? Every May is NF Awareness month. The Children's Tumor Foundation  will hold a walk in Cincinnati on May 21st 2011. My husband, myself and some friends will be walking for Lauren. To donate/register or  find out more information about Lauren CLICK HERE.


In addition to the wonderful walk.  I make and sell flower barrettes...."fleur-ettes". They are knit flowers sewn to french barrettes. Check out PaintedLadyCollective for other knitty up-dates and more fleur-ettes! 

I wanted to find a way to help Lauren.  So I made a NF fleur-ette. For each NF "fleur-ette" I am asking a donation of $10 or more. These fleur-ettes are easy care and can be washed on a hand wash cycle and dried flat. Fleur-ettes aren't just for young girls but ladies too! As my friend demonstrates below....

Lauren would appreciate the love and support as she faces this truly unfortunate disease. Let's all do our part and make everyone we can aware of  NF.


If you'd like a NF fleur-ette please message me...                             (The Painted Lady/Sarah) at paintedladycollective@yahoo.com or paintedladylew@yahoo.com

Spring is HERE!!!

I'm so ecstatic that the spring season is here. The temperatures are raising and the flowers are showing their brilliance of color. Everything is fresh and new. It's been a great opportunity to add to our Knotty Tree. (This is a tree in front of our home that has become a creation of bright, artistic whimsy. Jacob and I can't take all the credit. Much thanks to many of our "Knotty Neighbors") We're super excited to extend this through South Milford.

Here I am adding this fun spring garter stitch piece. This tree is next to the Bradford Pear tree and this is it's first bombing. Yarn Bombing is a non damaging for of graffiti. As for our neighborhood. It adds a little bit of color and lots of looks and smiles. If my trees brighten someone's day than it has served its purpose. 

Jacob is adding his first loomed piece here. A Thick & Quick wool/acrylic blend-super soft and fun to work with. Our tree is full of a variety of fibers. All the fiber is recycled; bits or scraps left over from many projects and thanks to many family and friends for scrap donations! 

Matches: Jacob's good old Parson's Jack Russell Terrier. This is before a major de-shedding. His winter cotton mohawk has since fallen out. He's a little grumpy due to arthritis and old age, however he's the sweetest old man. But here is enjoying the sun.

Una my giant baby. She's a blue doberman with a terrible coat. therefore she spends her days in cotton shirts. She's a clumsy horse of a dog with the gentlest spirit. She is certainly happy for the warmer temperatures because sunning herself is what she loves about spring and summer days.

Mogwai: Holden's Peke-Pom is our latest and youngest addition. She's just like having a live teddy-bear or a small cat. Holden and her are the best of friends and she has been the perfect pup for our odd-ball crew.

Spring has also stirred up Mother Nature's garden critters. Our resident garden snake Enid. She's out to sun herself. 

My husband, Jacob, picked up slack-lining as a form of physical fitness and simple fascination with funambulism. Once he has a curiosity for figuring something out...He WILL! ......He's gotten quite good at it. Here (about a week ago) his line is about 3'.....though right now his one inch line is about 6'2" from the ground.

And lastly what's a better way to start spring as a young boy.....but with the success of mastering a two wheel bicycle!!!! We couldn't be more proud!

Happy Spring Everybody!

Mission 1: 5 Minute Transplant

So here's mission. Pick up extra little projects here and there to add to the decorating of our home or bring happiness to my family or someone else. All while working and starting a business and running my household. Here and there I will make a mission post, this being the first. This quick 5 minutes of time is bringing a good neighbor wonderful herbs.

Last summer Jacob and I planted our herb garden in our front flower bed. Edible landscaping being the idea.  Also great access to the kitchen to run out for a quick snip of sage or snip or dill. However the neighborhood groundhog liked to munch our parsley...never had fresh leaves just ratty stems.

Once the weather broke the year and the perennial plants begin to emerge from the earth the parsley I never got to enjoy returned and then some.

            The plant became three four! 

Earlier in the week I came home from work to find a chunk of chewed Christmas cactus in the floor. Holden's dog is definitely an ornery little puppy. I saw the small pot on the end table was now without plant and dirt was sort of all over. After a quick sweep I decided to repurpose the pot and dirt rather than just letting it sit empty in the corner of the basement collecting dust. 

These are my supplies. A kitchen soup spoon, the pot of recycled soil, (the plant to be moved or divided of course) and pitcher of tap water.*

*I chose to do this on a morning after it had rained over night. The moist soil makes it easy to use a kitchen spoon. If your soil is very dry you might want to wet down the area...that is if you are using the spoon....or use a spade or trowel.

Use the spoon as a small trowel and carefully dig into the soil. Loosen the roots gently.*

Some of the roots will break but you want to get the main root as much in tact as possible. Shake off the excess dirt.

*If dividing a plant be very careful of the other plants main roots. Sometimes they are slightly tangled and simply close together.

In the pot of dirt I used the spoon to create a relatively deep hole to allow the roots to have ample room.

Next place the parsley in the hole and add a little water move in the dirt gently around the roots on up to where the dirt was before transplanting. Give some more water to moist the rest of the soil. It's now complete and ready to enjoy!

PB&B....Peanut Butter and Brows.

I know quirky title, but I'm that kinda gal. Last week Jacob's co-worker came over to our lovely little home and worked her waxing magic with this AMAZING chocolate wax. It smelled good enough to eat....



...naturally the scene from Friends where Joey goes to get his brows done for his new headshots and he ends up putting his hand in the wax comes to mind. Makes me chuckle just typing it!

That being said for giggles....Click the picture of Joey to see the video clip.










Back on track.....as a thank you for shaping our brows up I made some Peanut Butter Cookies and a Hot Pink hand knit facial cloth by the PaintedLadyCollective, my home business I just began running with my husband.

Here's the jazz on these rad peanut butter cookies. I decided the kitchen decided that these had to be all butter cookies. Since my laparoscopy surgery at the end of February we are WAY behind on a grocery run. Been relying on picking up the basics not the things that keep for some time....shortening!

For this recipe I went for easy. I was in a pinch for time and just did a search for 'peanut butter cookies made with butter'. BANG! the blue link above will take you to what I used. I can't take the credit for their greatness.

Creamed sugar and butter. Usually I see shortening used as the fat for peanut butter cookies.....

Next are the eggs.

Last is the flour. Remember to use the "stir"or low setting on your stand mixer. You've already creamed the butter, sugar and eggs so you don't need to do it again. 

Make 1 to 1.5" balls. A portion scoop can be your best friend when it comes to drop cookies. No more trying to scrape teaspoons of sticky dough to spherical shapes. However if you don't have a portion scoop...you're in luck! This dough isn't overly tacky and you can easily roll them by hand. If you have little ones this is a great opportunity to get them involved in the kitchen! Once your balls of dough are finished, place them 2" apart on a slightly greased (quick spray with non-stick cooking spray) cookie sheet. Grab a fork and make a crisscross pattern with the tines. 

Slip these delicious trays of goodness into the oven and bake as directions say, reduce or increase bake time as needed. Everyone's oven is a little different.*

*Speed Bake My oven has a setting for "Speed Bake". 

This allowed me to bake all the cookies in 20 minutes time.

Once you've pulled them out of the oven make sure to let them carry over bake on the cookie sheets for a few minutes before moving to cooling rack. 

Enjoy this tasty treat! My friend and family sure did!!!