T-t-t-tick, t-t-t-tock.

Well, I see Blogger finally made good on its threats to switch to a new format, and I am still figuring it all out. Serves me right for not posting in such a long time. Seeing as my younger son, "Middle," is out on his first date, and I'm waiting up for him, I've got a while to noodle around with the new format.

Our older son, "Big," turned 20 this past week. 20. 20!  And, the younger, as I mentioned, is on his first date tonight, which happens to be prom.

And suddenly, I am 108 years old. Really. How does this happen? Of course, when I am in my rational mind, I realize that I have acknowledged for quite some time that I am getting older. A few gray hairs were the harbingers of my transformation. Suddenly (okay, more like insidiously), my chin is lower, my reading glasses are never farther than arms' length away, and people seem to mumble more than they used to. Well, so what? Didn't I just say that I knew I was getting older? Here's the deal, though, it's one thing to know it and quite another to see it.

I remember the first time I heard that a child I once babysat was getting married. I was probably 25 at the time. Click went my brain: I'm getting older. Time is passing. Soon, I had my own children sleeping through the night, walking, making sentences, kicking balls, working on science projects, studying for AP courses, filling out college applications. Click.Click.Click. Now, I'm the one giving encouraging smiles when I see young mothers struggling to get chubby toddler legs through the openings on the child seat in the grocery cart. A few days ago I was in Target, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd been asked if we could go to the toy department--just to look, Mama. For a minute or two, my throat hurt hard and my eyes filled, not with regret but with such. deep. longing.

And now, the younger son, a sophomore in high school taking a junior to prom. Prom!

What a huge event that has become! Nowadays, Prom begins with "the ask" sometimes months ahead of time. Then, there are pictures beforehand, dinner at a restaurant or club, a rented bus to the prom site, a rented bus to an amusement center for the "after Prom" and then back to the club and to homes for "after after" parties.

Really, I can't even think what it will be like when it's Little's turn. Thankfully, that's years away. Click. Years and years. Click.

So, I'm up late tonight. The one who gave me most of my laugh lines has already turned in and is softly snoring.

Me? I'll stay up a while later. I need to figure out how the new Blogger works. And, maybe my throat hurts a little.

Besides, it's raining here.


 Even to your old age and gray hairs 
 I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
 I have made you and I will carry you;   
 I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
                          --Isaiah 46:4

Eggs-asperated!

I love silhouettes. I collect them in a small way, and when I saw these eggs pinned on that tool of the Devil that we call Pinterest, I knew that they would be the perfect complement to my Easter table. I envisioned painting the eggs a soft navy, revealing an ivory rabbit or duck. 

So, I found some classic (and free) springtime silhouettes and downloaded them. I bought some adhesive stencil paper, and I bought a sharp cutting tool. I painstakingly traced and cut my silhouettes and carefully adhered them to the eggs. Then I painted and waited. When the paint was dry, I carefully peeled off the silhouettes--and most of the surrounding paint, leaving me with silhouettes that more closely resembled a Rorschach example than anything else. Drat. Wasted time and disappointment. I'm not giving up, of course. I plan to find some wooden eggs on sale after Easter, and try again next year. In the meantime, I'm happily using the blue-and-white eggs that I made last year. So, here's a post that explains how to make these delights, in case you missed it. It's not too late!

  

I don't particularly think of myself as the crafty type.  I gave up using a hot glue gun more than 20 years ago.  I needlepoint, but only on car trips or while at the beach.  Still, every now and then--usually around a holiday,  I find myself inspired to make something.  This spring while noodling around at my friend's,acquaintance's, er, design guru Eddie Ross's blog, I found the directions for making some simple, yet elegant, Easter eggs.

The eggs featured on Eddie's blog are lovely green-and-white graphic orbs, reminiscent of a Jonathan Adler print.  Of course, I didn't want to copy Eddie, so since  I collect Blue Willow, Canton, and blue Staffordshire, I decided to make my eggs blue and white.

This project is easy peasy, however, if you are a perfectionist, it can get a bit tedious.  After about the third egg, I decided I was not a perfectionist, and that made the whole project a lot more fun!

You will need some Mod Podge, a small soft paintbrush, and some plastic eggs.  I found some white ones at Hobby Lobby, a dozen on sale for 35 cents!  If you can't find white eggs, then I think pale pastels would work fine.

You will also need some sharp scissors and some beautiful paper cocktail napkins.  As I am rather a fiend about cocktail napkins, I found what I needed in my napkin drawer.  (Please, it's not hurting anyone.)

Gather your supplies and cover your work space with some newspaper or other protective covering.

Begin by separating the napkins.  Then cut the printed napkin into small (about one by one inch) diamond shapes.  I found the easiest and quickest way to do this was to fold the napkin, cut a zig zag line, and then cut back again in the opposite direction. You will also want to cut a few triangles.  I was able to complete three eggs from a single napkin this way.

Once your napkin is cut into diamonds, thinly apply the Mod Podge to the egg in sections.

Then, attach the diamond of paper to the egg and lightly coat the top of the paper with Mod Podge, smoothing out any wrinkles.

Tap down the edges, and apply the next diamond.  I used the straight sides of triangles to edge the rims of the eggs.  It would be easier to close the egg and do it as a solid form, but for some reason, I thought I wanted to be able to open my eggs.  If you are using a toile or similar type design, I strongly recommend not trying to match up the design. Once the egg is covered in paper, lightly coat the entire egg (or the halves) in Mod Podge.  This will provide a smoother finish.  Set the egg aside to dry and begin the next egg or pour a glass of wine and watch Selling New York on HGTV. 

Seriously, I finished a dozen eggs in about two hours.  I love that they are a bit of a riff on transferware dishes, and I plan on using them in my Easter table setting.

I'm thinking of giving these a try, too.

Have you made any Easter crafts this spring?