[dreaming of dreamcatchers]

What do you do when you're sick? I pin stuff. Today I figured out I'd like to start collecting dreamcatchers. Love the doily ones. Who knew I was such a hippie?

S T U F F

[every possible minute]

I don't think I've shared these ones with you yet. Perfect for all those Valentine's Day photos.

How to use my freebies.

[the power of a parent]

Love this story about the power of a parent:

Ben Carson said of himself, “I was the worst student in my whole fifth-grade class.” One day Ben took a math test with 30 problems. The student behind him corrected it and handed it back. The teacher, Mrs. Williamson, started calling each student’s name for the score. Finally, she got to Ben. Out of embarrassment, he mumbled the answer. Mrs. Williamson, thinking he had said “9,” replied that for Ben to score 9 out of 30 was a wonderful improvement. The student behind Ben then yelled out, “Not nine! … He got none … right.” Ben said he wanted to drop through the floor.

At the same time, Ben’s mother, Sonya, faced obstacles of her own. She was one of 24 children, had only a third-grade education, and could not read. She was married at age 13, was divorced, had two sons, and was raising them in the ghettos of Detroit. Nonetheless, she was fiercely self-reliant and had a firm belief that God would help her and her sons if they did their part.

One day a turning point came in her life and that of her sons. It dawned on her that successful people for whom she cleaned homes had libraries—they read. After work she went home and turned off the television that Ben and his brother were watching. She said in essence: You boys are watching too much television. From now on you can watch three programs a week. In your free time you will go to the library—read two books a week and give me a report.

The boys were shocked. Ben said he had never read a book in his entire life except when required to do so at school. They protested, they complained, they argued, but it was to no avail. Then Ben reflected, “She laid down the law. I didn’t like the rule, but her determination to see us improve changed the course of my life.”

And what a change it made. By the seventh grade he was at the top of his class. He went on to attend Yale University on a scholarship, then Johns Hopkins medical school, where at age 33 he became its chief of pediatric neurosurgery and a world-renowned surgeon. How was that possible? Largely because of a mother who, without many of the advantages of life, magnified her calling as a parent.

You can read Ben Carson's biography here.

[I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!]

We are going to have a Valentine's Day Ice Cream Party and I thought I'd share the invitations I made in case someone else is in the mood for an ice cream party.

Just print this on cardstock and use scallop scissors for the edges if you'd like. 

[ F.U.N. ]

[one fine land]

Yesterday I was thinking about how wonderful it is to have the Internet. I'm so grateful that I can keep in touch with my family so easily. I can chat with them online, hear their news instantly and don't have to wait for snail mail. It is also wonderful to stay in touch with Finland by reading Finnish news, watching Finnish TV and even just enjoying photos of Finland. I follow ourfinland (the first five photos in this blog post are from ourfinland) and livelovehelsinki (the last two photos), for instance, on Instagram. It's amazing how just seeing some photos of Finland can ease that homesickness sometimes. Mind you, if I lived in Finland again, I would miss Canada just as much. Joy of dual home countries.

ps. Almost forgot about Finnish music! So many good ones but recently I discovered Selja Sini. Lovely music!

[stitchin' time!]

Check out this cute needle-craft kit gift I'm working on for our daughter. So far: embroidery hoop, fabric, embroidery needles, stitch ripper, cute buttons, pins and super cute dachshund embroidery floss holders.

The plain dachshund ones are from SMALL GOOD THINGS. The real looking ones I made myself using a photo I found via Google image search. I printed both on cardstock, then glued scrapbook paper on the back. I wrote the floss number at the back as sometimes you need a particular color for a certain pattern.

Still need to figure out a cute container for the kit. I might add more things to the kit too: cute sewing scissors, felt...

I hope she'll get excited about making things.

Here are some ideas what to make with this kind of kit:

A felt pincushion - pattern and instructions.

A felt owl - pattern from Typing With Tea/Etsy

More ideas: my E M B R O I D E R Y Pinterest board.