My Favorite Handmade Things, Volume Two

After my first installment of Favorite Handmade Things, I realized that I left off some pretty cool things and felt guilty about it for days. You see, not being a particularly crafty person has also made me someone who fiercely guards her most awesome crafts by others. I am no longer feeling too guilty, because the weather has gotten nicer and the light a little better, which means only-slightly blurry pictures!

A speech bubble chalkboard by Rachel Denbow

I wish I could remember the date that I saw the first iteration of this chalkboard on the Red Velvet site. I loved the idea of taking pictures with my babies, having them write messages to their grandmas and grandpas. November 2009 was the time I decided to bite the bullet and get one; there are only so many times one can look at a website each day before pulling the trigger. While I haven't used this chalkboard like I thought I would, it has been a nice addition to my home and has given me some confidence in my drawing skills. This particular picture illustrates how easily chalk smudges when a certain two-year-old assistant demands on carrying the chalkboard. No matter, I love spring anyway.

A gingham teddy bear made by Caleb's grandma

My husband owns more stuffed animals than any non-Flanagan I know. I can admit to being a bit annoyed that boxes and boxes of stuffed animals filled our closets when we were newlyweds; what kind of guy had I married? But when he pulled out this teddy, complete with a "Specially hand made by Grandma" tag on the bum, I was smitten. That isn't to say that the bear came out of the boxes -- it didn't. I had hoped that the kids would play with it; it didn't make a blip on Jack's radar, but Lucy is finding this teddy bear the perfect companion for her current banshee squealing.

A hand-drawn road made by Caleb's father

My father-in-law is an outrageously brilliant geophysicist who has spent most of his career making maps -- pockets of oil in far-off places for oil companies, driving directions for his wife and family, and roads on which to drive Hot Wheels and trains. Apparently, the roads when my husband was a child consisted of squares and circles colored in with fabric pens. This next-generation road is a far cry from that. When Jack began to show interest in cars, Caleb's father asked us what landmarks Jack would like on his road; we listed his favorite stores, favorite restaurants, and favorite places to visit. The road arrived a little before Christmas, and I was agog at how detailed each building was. The size of a regular kitchen table, this road was first drawn in pencil and then colored with Sharpie markers. My favorite detail, however, is that Caleb's dad insisted on laying it out on the floor and doing all of this on his hands and knees. The road was opened on Jack's birthday and did not leave our living room floor until months later. Each night, it was dutifully folded up and placed under the car bucket for easy access. This is one of our only toys that now has a "No Food, No Shoes, No Breathing" rule that comes with it. I learned my lesson when the cows on the farm were covered in Valentine's chocolate.

Jack's favorite store -- Target!

The spitting image of Caleb's office building

A ceramic pirate pig mug made by high school Holly

The tale of this illustrious mug can be found on my old blog, but I want to make it explicitly clear that I treasure this more than almost anything I own. My wedding ring, my pig mug, and my Steve Madden heels are all getting grabbed when the house burns down. Caleb's got the children under control.

A close-up of the imperfections -- who knew pink glaze wouldn't cover a mistakenly painted black ear.