and forgot to post about it. last summer was a hot one.. and i’m not looking forward to this summer either. two things summer is worth.. ONE the drought provides me a relief from allergies and TWO texas summers are the best for waterparks! other than that.. texan summers BLOWWWWWWwww. so last summer i made these book sheleves. i might have mentioned i was working on them. i complained a lot and i know i was cursing the entire time i made them because it was literally 104F outside while i worked on them.. but who doesn’t love ana white.. she’s worth it imo. we own a TON of kid books, so many (and counting) i wasn’t sure what i was going to do about it. when i told david how i wanted to build these shelves for the closet doors in the playroom (at the time ashton’s real room) he gave me the “yeah good luck with that” face.. guess i showed him lol. i love our book shelves. they are the best things ever. they hold twice the amount you see in the images.. you just can’t see it all because of the angle. by the way, if the images look distorted it’s because i don’t have a wide angle lens and had to combine several images to create one large one. the shelves are anchored into the hollow door with proper anchor screws (for hollow doors) and can HOLD a TON of weight! so no worry about ashton getting hurt. though i don’t really let him climb up them anyway! HE did try the first day they were installed. since he hasn’t had any interest. whew.

and i pretty much did it all by myself. i had david cut the wood for me since the jigsaw kinda sorta freaks me out.

then i went on a collect a bunch of puzzles spaz out during christmas.. they ended up in a bin in the closet and though ashton played with them they were often forgotten because of how packed his closet had become, (it looks much better now that we’ve installed more shelves). plus the puzzles are SO ADORABLE! i just knew they had to be displayed somehow. of course i went to ana white and came across these shelves and thought they would be AWESOME for puzzles. IKEA sells them too but for $15 for 3feet of shelf didn’t seem like a great deal to me. i made all four shelves,(at 4 feet long each) for $20!! much better deal. i had david cut the wood again. i screwed them together, (love that kreg jig) but got lazy and never finished them. so for mother’s day david made it a goal to get them sanded and painted so they could finally be put to good use. i’m so glad david did it. though it was my project and hate it when he butts in, i am fully appreciative because i can’t stop going into the playroom to admire them.. otherwise i don’t know when they would have been finished. i’m so busy with my felt food biz, (building up sets in time for a hopeful christmas rush ::crosses fingers::) that i rarely have any free time to do anything else.. on the plus side to letting david finish my wood projects he is now way more interested in building more furniture.. score for me!

and can i just say how much i loooooove these holland made vintage puzzles.. LOVE THEM!

right now i want to apologize to anyone who has ever asked me a question on my blog regarding the toys we have. especially to jennifer who asked me around christmas which toys we were getting ashton this year (well last year eh) several times. i never responded. i had PLANNED too. i had planned on writing up a blog post about what toys we loved and what we got.. it just never happened. i don’t get a lot of inquiries but i have gotten them from at least 6 different people and not once have i ever really responded.. not because i didn’t want to, but because i completely forgot or didn’t have time to sit down and write it all out, (holidays are busy).. and i still don’t have time but i figured i should blog about it as i go and just tag the post with TOYS that way when someone DOES ask i have something to send them too.. again i’m so sorry for anyone who has ever asked a question! i don’t have a lot of readers so it makes me feel kinda bad that i don’t respond to the ones who have read it. with that said.. I LOVE our puzzles.. ashton has others but they are now in storage until the second child arrives.. ashton mastered the peg puzzles that have the same image or shape on the board.. and they are great but as i said ashton mastered them and they became boring. so i had to look for harder puzzles, (that weren’t jigsaw.. though i did find a beautiful vintage one i just LOVE LOVE LOVE too..). here is what i found.. chelona! CHELONA! omygoodness.. cutest puzzles ever. they are clever.. well made and just beautiful to look at! ashton LOVES them. and even though he has mastered them he still plays with them.. unlike the other ones that were just too boring for his taste..

as you can tell the story underneath the puzzle is what is so great about it.. not just that.. they have to figure out how the pieces go together.. kinda like a jigsaw but kinda like a easy peg puzzle. we have a couple of these and I WISH we could get more.. david won’t let me.. cheapbutt.
ashton really likes the city one with the trucks..


ashton likes to tell us what is going on with each car..

then chelona makes these layer puzzles.. they tell a story too. how frogs become frogs.. where chickens come from.. and how a house is built.

we have several of the layer ones.. i really want this one someday soon. they are made by beleduc. don’t have any of their puzzles but i do have some of their toys and if they are anything like their toys they will be good quality. i also want this one.. i could do some major damage.. again.. buying more puzzles.. lol..

then if those are way too easy for your kids.. let me introduce you to SIMPLEX.. simplex is a company based in holland.. or at least was.. i’ve seen some newer puzzles that say simplex on them but they are offered by a different company and are not the traditional simplex puzzles. not sure what that is all about. i do know a bit about the orig company. based in holland, they made their puzzles out of wood remnants from philips radio receivers, (which is why all the older simplex puzzles are ROUND). made in the 40′s to the 70′s. then they were bought out by fisher price, (coincidentally i found several vintage wooden fisher price puzzles on ebay and thought they looked like simplex.. that explains why ha). any ho. david HATES it when ashton wants to play with them.. “its too hard” he says.. i know he can do it.. he just doesn’t want too. but they are challenging. the first few times i played with them it took me awhile.. even tonight when i pulled them down from the top of the closet, (i don’t want ashton getting into them by himself.. which is why they are on the top shelf on the wall) it took me a bit longer than normal to put together. hadn’t played with them in awhile.

(shhh don’t tell david but i bought two more simplex puzzles.. i couldn’t contain myself lol)…… ehem.. sorry hunny. maybe someone ::wink wink to all your strangers with money to blow on some wool felt food:: will buy my breakfast felt food set.. DONE with it FINALLLLLY! omgoodness i thought i would never get it. it takes me forever because i have to try every technique before i make up my mind what will be “the set”.. i really loved how it turned out. and i realllly hope someone buys it so i can survive david’s wrath when my puzzles arrive.. pretty please?! i’m excited what’s coming up with my felt food. i have discovered a new technique that i just CAN’T wait to try. i really hope it’s as easy as it looks. cuz if it is.. be ready for the prettiest felt food EVER. lots of desserts and breads. i hope i didn’t just jinx myself but i am SUPER duper excited about it! until the supplies get here (all the way from japan!) i will work on another item i’ve been working on since OCTOBER. strawberry tart! whoo.

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