Work in Progress

Thought I would share with you my most recent project... I am working on a parade banner for the Karate School, William is my assistant of course! I don't know where I get these ideas in my head - but sometimes I just can see it in my head and basically - with no experience whatsoever, just will it into existence.

Have I mentioned recently how much I love felt? Felt is amazing! You can make almost anything out of felt - it is incredibly versatile and cheap and just fantastic. If you use a sewing machine to finish it actually has a bit of a high-end sort of appearance to it. My goal with THIS banner is to ensure it does not look home made.

Incidentally - the logo is designed to appear as handwriting. You will be able to tell that a bit more once the word "institute: is added under "karate" as well as the phone number. I am pleased with the project so far and am hoping that we can use it, if not at the Waterford Township Days in September - at least in the Halloween parade in October!

Pretty Pink Birthday Gift

William and I are invited to his friend's house this evening for cake and ice cream for his little sister's birthday. We had made a little "Playing School Kit" for William's friend back in May and I wanted to do something along a similar vein for his little sister. So I bought a canvas bag, ironed on a design and personalized it with paint. Inside is a tiara and wand to be decorated with sparkles and bows and then two larger foam pieces to be used with Princess Tea foam stick ons. Hope she likes it!

Birthday gift was a HUGE success...

Or so I am told... His mom said he loved it and will get a ton of use out of it - I thought I would share it here with you...











Special thanks to Ron for helping me spray on the blackboard finish... and to the "little bird" who pointed me in the right direction!

Cute Idea...

If I must say so myself! William is going to a birthday party tomorrow for a classmate. I thought it would be cute to make him some bookplates since he has four siblings - I figure he would like to have something to identify his books - he is a reader, I am told... So I went to the Avery Website and found a handy little label designer! I selected 5164/6164 and used some of their clip art (which isn't fantastic - but it is okay) and tweaked the font - and voila! a sheet of custom bookplates for an eight-year old!

Oh - and no. This isn't the ONLY thing we are giving this child in case you are wondering. I am told that he likes to play school with his sister so I am going to buy him some school supplies and stickers and stuff like that... I think he will love it!

Grace Lin Interview

I don't know if I ever blogged this and I am not sure why I didn't so I shall mention it now - in March I went in to my son's classroom on the last day before spring break. I read a wonderful book, played a little game and taught them how to make an Origami dog and swan - they loved it! The book I read was Lissy's Friends and it is just delightful! The author, Grace Lin, has a blog and is featured in an interview on jama rattigan's alphabet soup... you can enter to win an autographed copy of her book Year of the Rat! Sorry - but I hope I win - I know a special young lady who will be awarded her black belt in June - I would love to give this to her! Anyway - check it out - have a look at some of Grace Lin's work and by all means - enter the contest!

---> UPDATE: I just knew I had posted about this before... Found it! Here it is!

Nearly Instant Gratification

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with William's second grade class. I was asked to do a spring craft - heaven forbid I just have them make spring chicks out of paper plates - nope - not me.

WE talked about the history of origami - and I read Lissy's Friends by Grace Lin to the class. The I taught them how to make a dog and a swan. I wasn't really sure what to expect - would the oh-so-sophisticated youth of today turn their noses up at the simple joys of making an animal out of a piece of paper? Would they thing the story too childish?

They loved it! I gave out so many extra pieces of paper and showed them how to make a square out of a regular sheet of notebook paper. It was so much fun. (BTW - I purchase my paper from Kim's Crane. I highly recommend it! Shipping was prompt, but they are moving across the country now and will be closed until the end of April.)

Are we coming up on the nearly instant gratification part yet??? Yeah - we're there - chill...



Today my dear friend and fellow room-mom called me to tell me that her son has not stopped making swans since yesterday afternoon! This morning she woke to a room full of beautiful colored swans. This made my heart happy! I wonder what it is about the mind of a child that they will make a bazilllion of the origami animal that they have learned - adults usually make a few until we master the folds, but then grow weary of it - children will just keep on making them - I love that about them. They are not afraid of excess...

Family Bingo Night

Hi from bingo

Sent this from family Bingo night - William and Grandma getting ready for the game to start... We had fun - WIlliam won a styrofoam airplane - actually Grandma won for him. I have retained my all-time losing streak in Bingo, but mad a legion of Origami Swans out of the discarded Bingo papers! :)

A Few More Eggs

Four more from this year - one is a repeat, with just a color change...

Some Early '08 Eggs

Just thought I would share some early pysanky eggs of the 2008 season. The first one shows my three early designs and the second picture shows William's first effort of the season.

We each had one casualty last night during the emptying proccess. That is so heart breaking. Sometimes it happens that the egg shells have cracks that we can not see so after all that work, when you empty the eggs (using this (clicky) german-engineered egg blower) the shells can not take the pressure and they crack - very difficult to throw out all that work - but it is all part of pysanky.

This part never gets old...

The final step in crafting a pysanky egg is melting the wax off. It is one of the finest examples of instant gratification one can experience. In the first picture you see the egg after it's final dye bath in the darkest color - in this case, black. Next I show how the egg looks in the middle of the process, and finally - the finished egg.

I remember why I love to do this now...

It's that time already!

Do you know how my family knows Spring is just around the corner? They see me regularly poised at the kitchen counter, egg in hand, candle lit and a rainbow of colored dyes in little mason jars nearby. It is Pysanky Egg time! Easter is early this year and I have quite a few to make, so I best get moving... If you want to learn more about this Ukranian Folk Art you can read at Wikipedia (clicky). If you are local to me and want me to share what I know, I would be happy to do so - just say the word! I am by no means an expert - but I can show you the basics...

If you want to order supplies I can tell you that the folks at All Things Ukranian (clicky) are great - they ship fast and are very friendly... I have ordered from them for two years now.

Spring is coming!!!