SouleMama

Keep Drawing!

I heard artist Mo Willems on NPR last night (Getting Adults to Draw). He observes that "people stop drawing when they decide they're not good at it...[but] Nobody stops playing basketball once they realize they're not going to be a professional."

Hear, Hear! Keep drawing!

He says, and I firmly believe, that in order for children to want to draw and to continue that into adulthood, they need to see the adults around them draw. They need adults to draw with them. No matter what our "skill-level" or whatever hang ups we may have about being - or not being - "an artist," if we want our children to draw/paint/knit/sew/make, we must be doing it too. And really - what a wonderful assignment for us as parents, you know? Of benefit to us all...

He talks about Family Draw, which mirrors a bit of what we do here with our Family Drawing Time (that I wrote about in The Creative Family). Though, Mo's version of Family Draw involves a big piece of paper (or chalkboard), and a theme on which everyone draws - adults and children alike.

Inspired by his words, we had a Family Draw last night in the time between dinner and bedtime. I rolled out our butcher block paper onto the dining table (These rolls are great for so many things. Mine's leftover from my mom's teaching days. I have seen the rolls available here, though I've never purchased from them.) We used the most basic and easy of supplies (it was the end of the day, after all) - just crayons, pencils, and colored pencils. And then we each took turns choosing a 'theme' for all to draw for five minutes or so:

Mama - Your favorite bird
Calvin - The back of your favorite baseball jersey
Ezra -Something that reminds you of Leonardo Da Vinci
Adelaide - Draw the sun
Papa - Rain on new leaves

...and round and round it went.

 

 A very good, loud, silly, fun, art-filled time was had by all. I know I've said it a million times before, but there is something truly magical that happens when a group of people - and especially a family - creates together.  On equal playing field, the essence of who each of us are truly shines, and a connection happens that is unlike any other.

And I dare say that after putting all the kids to bed, that table full of art was awfully tempting to both Steve and I....especially when compared with the alternative of end-of-day kitchen cleanup. Hmnn, which to choose?

my princess and our pea

Lately, Adelaide has become quite fond of The Princess and The Pea by Lauren Child. It really is a beautifully-made book. And I so love the way the classic fairy tale has been adapted in a way that the 'princess' is quite secondary to a strong, smart and clever girl who lives in a treehouse and loves adventure.

I love how favorite books like this weave their way into our daily lives - in the language ("fascinating" and "mesmerizing" are new favorite words of hers); in our conversations ("is everybody a princess, Mama?"); and in our play. With animals and dolls and dress up, the stories come to life in each child's own special way. It really is one of my favorite things to watch happen with little ones. 

Playing the Princess and the Pea is lots of fun. But, truth be told, the pile of "12 mattresses" (our pillows) being dragged about the house - and outside of the house - wasn't really working for me anymore (picture laying your head upon a pillow that's been dragged through a wet spring ground. Or, alternatively, the pile of laundry that washing said pillowcases would create. Exactly). So we needed ourselves a clever, fun and crafty solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Steve and the boys away on an all-day adventure this week, Adelaide and I (and Harper too) spent the day making this little play set for her. (In mind were Manda's beautiful Princess and the Pea sets from several years ago, the Haba game of the same tale, and the paper aspect of the Lauren Child book.) {update: Manda currently has some available in her shop!}

We first made some paper dolls (on watercolor paper, and later adhered to mat board). I drew and painted as Adelaide directed - "Purple flowers on her skirt!" There's a 'daytime' princess and a 'pajama princess,' as you can see. Then we moved onto some sewing. Adelaide chose all the fabrics, counted pieces and 'sewed' with me - 'guiding' the fabric through the machine while sitting on my lap, and 'thread-snipping' each mattress. (She's quickly baby-stepping her way to using that machine herself, I tell you.) A needle-felted pea was in order. And then, of course, the whole thing needed a bag to keep all the pieces together.

After all of that making, there was nothing left to do but play. All afternoon long, that princess (the real life version and the paper one) made tree houses, rode bicycles, and often stopped to rest upon those mattresses. We played, she played, and we chatted (the conversation never stops with this sweet one). When her brothers came home, they declared a ladder was needed to climb all those mattresses, and then promptly built one for her with love (and the last garbage ties in the house. Oops).

Oh my, these are the days. The days that have the power to balance out a months' worth of sleepless nights, of laundry and bills and too much time in the kitchen, of squabbling siblings, of my patience being stretched so very thin, of breastmilk and peanut butter stained everything.

These are the kinds of days in which I am quite certain I have the best job in the whole wide world. A fascinating job in which I'm surrounded by some mesmerizing little people.

A fairy tale, indeed.

An Art Party!

 

"Six" might be one of my favorite ages for birthday parties (remember the medieval party?). Six is such a great combination of imagination, innocence, and ability, I think - so great for doing fun things at parties.  Ezra decided - oh, back in November - that he wanted an Art Party for his birthday this year. An art party? Oh goodness. Yes, please! (said his Mama). Every surface in this little house was covered in some kind of art-making. There was space for collage onto wood boards, air-dry clay, and acrylic painting on canvas (including the big canvas that everyone worked on for the birthday guy). Merriment and making happened by the artists of all ages here.

The crafting you saw in progress yesterday were the apron gifts for our child guests, complete with an artist mannequin in the pocket (or a "Dude Man" as they're affectionately called around these parts). I used rubber stamps with a fabric-safe ink pad. I tried a few test rounds in the wash and it seemed to hold up okay. It was fun - and a great way for Ezra to be involved in the process with me.

He was overheard telling a friend while painting, "Oh! I'm so interested in making art, I almost forgot this was my birthday party!" It felt like the perfect way to celebrate this art-making, ukulele-loving, tap-dancing, comic book-reading sweet boy of ours.

My sink still looks exactly like it does in that last photo (with the addition of breakfast dishes), and we've got a few more days of good fullness in front of us. I'm guessing some of you do too with the holiday coming up, so I'm going to wish you well and sign off until Monday. See you then!

sewing with help

There's been a wonderful little pocket of time that's emerged in the rhythm of our afternoons lately. With Harper down for his long nap of the day, and the boys outside making Flip videos of each other crashing off their handmade jumps and into mud with their bikes (good times)...Adelaide and I have found ourselves "alone" together. Wanting that time to be special one-on-one connection with her, and doing my very best to ignore the clean up I could be doing (or the laundry, or the dinner that could be started), I ask her what she'd like to do.

"Mama, I want to sew."

Well, twist my arm, sweet baby girl. We can do that.

 

 

"Sewing" for Adelaide means any number of things. She's a big fan of moving pins from one pincushion to another. Sorting through buttons is always a favorite (as is just sticking your face in a bowl full of them. It's cool. I get it.). Measuring - with every single ruler and tape measure I have - is super fun. Lately, she's been digging tracing her own patterns onto tracing paper. And of course, there's always sorting safety pins by size into vintage teacups (ah, now there's my fellow Virgo girl).There's plenty to do in Mama's little sewing space.

While she's busy with her sewing, she stops periodically to give instruction on exactly what I should be doing. Namely, telling me what to make her and what, exactly, to make it with. Ahem. (The girl knows what she wants, I tell you.) On this day, she had found the newly arrived Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross on the coffee table and requested the Flower Girl Dress. A quick and easy pattern, it was perfect for one of our little sewing sessions. (Though, a word of warning: check the sizing/measurements on this one if you're going to make it! It runs quite small - I made the largest size for Adelaide, who's an average sized 3 and a half year old). She was quite clear about the fabric choice too - this print from Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks line (she has good taste - I loooove that fabric too!).

 

We both worked together, with a constant stream of fabulous chatter the whole time (oh, I do love the way three year olds think...and talk). And when her dress was finished, it was deemed quite suitable for twirling and dancing, which, of course, we all know is what dresses are all about. I still think so, anyway.

(Later that night, this Mama snuck out for a little peaceful sewing of my own and made this second dress - repurposed from an old dress of mine. And yes...she's wearing a headband from the same book and same fabric in one of the photos above - I just cut an inch off everything in the pattern to make it fit her head.)

Like any rhythm in a family of six, I fully expect that this special little pocket of time of ours might shift soon: Harper will soon be awake more; the weather will be warmer and we'll want to be outside then too; the boys might tire of the mud (what?) and want to join us; she might actually want to do something else. Whatever it may be, eventually this little afternoon sewing session with my girl will shift into something else. And that's okay too.

But for now...well, for now, I'm loving it (and her) up. And treasuring our little afternoon sewing sessions dearly.

in the morning

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, the wonderfulness of a blank piece of paper.

Every so often, I remember to do this little thing that we love - laying out a simple project at night, after the kids have gone to bed so that it's there - waiting and ready - when we wake. It may be something new or rare, or it may just be something that we do in the everyday. Like watercolors. Either way, I think it's a nice way to wake up. And it seems my little ones agree. Without mention of it's presence, I watch them ever so slowly  make their way to the table one at a time. And slowly - just as they themselves are waking up - the white of the paper fills with color and life.

There's something about that morning energy that's - dare I say - calmer. And with the open dreaminess of watercolors, well...it's a nice way to start a day.

Have you seen this? It will send you to the paint brushes, I promise.

we're all superheroes

It's true. I'm a superhero. My boys told me so - in their super-fabulous, totally surprising, handmade gifts to me this year - Comic books (their new obsession, led by Tin Tin and Calvin and Hobbes).

Calvin made me the subject of his book Mama of Knit Knit, in which I knit our way out of trouble. Need an escape from this tall, tall building that's crumbling down around us? Let me knit you a ladder! Pow! Bam! The other resounding theme through the tale is baseball...and all the baseball gear that I knit. A handknit baseball bat? I don't think so. But Mama of Knit Knit does!

And from Ezra, I got Amanda Sew-Sew, though he's my little phonetic speller, so it's really, Amanda So-So. (Ahem.) And in this tale, each story starts with him asking me to make him something, always followed by a resounding, "Yes!" from me (though this may not be the case in reality, I'm sooo glad this is how he imagines it to be). Then...he goes to sleep (with pages full of the comic book "zzzzzzz's"), and wakes up with whatever he asks for...finished. Presto! Voila!

{The books, by the way, are blank Bare Books. A household essential around here.}

These books are by far my favorite holiday gifts ever, and also? They're definitely among my favorite 'things' ever. If - heaven forbid - our house caught on fire, I'd surely be going for these books among the first things to grab. Followed by my knitting needles and some yarn, because according to my two favorite writers, surely I could just knit our way out of that kind of trouble.

** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **

A real-life superhero of my own will be popping in to say hello tomorrow. I'm so excited to tell you that Steve will be sharing this space with me a bit more this year. Yay!!

Also sharing this space...are January's newest Sponsors - Shivaya Naturals, Chest of Fairy Tales, Crafternoon, and Mad Maggie Designs. Welcome & Thank You!
 

holiday rewind :: the handmades

There's nothing like having a baby (um, the fourth baby, I might add) born just weeks before the holidays, to get a good ole lesson in 'letting go.' Yup, there was a lot of that this year. Letting go of all the things that just didn't fit into our need and desire for new-baby-mellow for the holidays.

I must admit that the letting go wasn't always so graceful on my part. There were a few evenings, after a long and full day, with three little ones in bed and the house finally clean-ish and quiet-ish, when I'd get a crazy notion in my head to get the sewing machine out and start a gift...at 10pm. You know...just something little....like a quilt. There may - possibly - have even been some whining on my part. Ahem.

But thankfully, each time, Steve talked me down off the Handmade Holiday ledge with the gentle reminder of how little sleep I was already getting. And that a sleepy, grouchy, tired, cranky Mama? Well, that's a recipe for a bummer of a holiday...no matter how much handmade goodness you surround it in.
And so the sewing machine sat quietly. And so did I. The matching Christmas dresses for Adelaide and I? Didn't happen. The quilt top I was hoping to back, quilt and bind for Calvin? It can wait. A stocking for Harper? Next year. A family gift like our bird calendars of last year? Not this year.

Letting Go. Tricky...but oh, so good. It leaves a lot more room for sitting. And staring. And breathing in all those good new baby smells (yummy).

{edited to add: The very life-like rabbit is from Imagine Childhood. And the pajama pants weren't made from a pattern, but using the tracing method I describe in The Creative Family.}

But wait! You didn't think I'd have a totally handmade-free holiday, did you? I did sneak one sleepless night in. I decided to spend it on the semi-matching annual Solstice Jammies for the kids. The ones wrapped up under the tree when we come in from a sunset bonfire...with the house all lit by candles and a 'feast' prepared on the table. The kids change out of their cold wet clothes and into the warm jammies before we eat and do our tree. It's one of my favorite moments of the year and it just wouldn't be the same without the pajamas. So the pajamas? They made the cut.

As did the gazillion (alright, just a dozen) pair of Toasties that I knit. Most of these were actually knit in the pre-Harper knitting frenzy. It seems as these were the go-to gift knit for so many this holiday season - and with good reason: they're super easy and fast to knit, and they're fabulously fun and cozy to wear.

So it appears that "simple", 'warm' and 'cozy' was the theme of the few gifts I did make this year. I guess that's pretty fitting, as it seemed to be the theme of our holidays this year. Simple, warm and cozy. Just right.

Portrait of Mama & Baby

Ah, so that's what I look like right now.

(By Adelaide.)

birthday crafting

This was the scene last night at about 9:00 pm. Ezra and I holed up alone on his bed - both 'inspired' by the crunch of a deadline - working away till the very last minute on our birthday gifts for Adelaide. The rest of the family? Waiting patiently for the delayed bedtime to begin. Long ago they had their presents finished, wrapped up, and tucked away. Oh, but we all do things so differently, don't we? Indeed we do. I love the flurry of activity that happens the day, the night before a family celebration. Much sneaking about in a hurry, lots of baking and cleaning, and plenty of anticipation by all ("It's almost my birthday!" she shouted all day in her sing-song voice).

Ezra's last-minute inspired project was - a book for his sister. And with no Bare Books in the house, and the latest of our staplers missing (how do you lose a stapler, I ask?), I had to improvise a bit to get the 'blank book' for him to create on. We found an old board book, used a bit of sandpaper to 'rough' up the glossy pages, and applied a layer of Gesso throughout the book, leaving it open (fan-like) overnight to dry. He then had a blank (and free!) slate on which to work his collage and storytelling magic.

Which is just what he did, in his wonderful way. Wrote a little story for his sister about some more adventures of Winnie The Pooh (a big favorite book of Adelaide's at the moment). He made up some of his own Pooh adventures - that A.A.Milne might just get a chuckle out of. And adventures that Adelaide will surely love.

More birthday crafting, and celebration-reporting coming up. For now, though, I have a tea party to prepare. For my three year old baby girl. Oh my.

Week of Spring :: Wednesday

Art in the spring sun. I'm not sure that it gets much better than painting outside in the warm sun in your pajamas. Maybe we should all try that.

Polaroid Love

Did you see that last week was 'Roid Week 2008 on Flickr (I'm always at least a week behind on these things). Check it out.  Above are some of my favorites from the week (click on the photo for credits). There's also the upcoming For the Love of Light: A Tribute to the art of Polaroid, which I'm excited to see.

In a chapter on kids and cameras in my book, there's a bit about Polaroids - which was written, of course, before the sad news that Poloroid would stop producting it's film (check out Save Polaroid). Since hearing the news, I've been a little stingy with the film we have left. Though, admittedly, at $1 a pop, I was pretty stingy before. But up until now, I haven't been ready to deal with kids digital cameras, and I'm not a fan of all the disposableness with the disposable cameras. I keep intending to pick up a couple of point and shoot film cameras for the kids, and I suppose now with the Polaroid news that will be happening sooner rather than later.

But we do love our "one a day" Polaroid action so much. The kids really think about the shot they want to take, and the 'instant' result of watching the photograph develop in front of their eyes is quite magical. They rotate their photos in and out of display (above), and eventually they land in each of their own photo albums.

One thing I really love that they do with the Polaroids is create new art with them. Ezra often will take a picture of something, and then come inside to 'recreate' it on paper.

Can you read that? It says, "This is hard to make". I guess that was an important declaration for him to make about this one. It makes me smile.

Are your childhood albums full of Polaroids too? The camera the kids use was my grandfather's. And I remember my grandmother with hers in hand often - and her photo albums full of the little squares with - more often than not - her handwritten notes on the white strip below. Ah, Polaroid.

So, I'm curious. What are your children doing with cameras? Have you found "kids" digital cameras that you're pleased with? Is there a designated kids camera in your family? Or is film the answer for you/them? I'm all ears, as we think about expanding our options here!

stencils for tv

It's been a while since I've done any freezer paper stenciling. There was a little stretch there - way back in the day - when I could hardly stop. Originally led to it by the ever-inspiring Chicken, and then all the gobs of photos in the Flickr pool Hannah started. Was that really all two years ago? Oh my.

I included instructions for freezer paper stenciling in The Creative Family, with a couple of stencils by Betsy Thompson. (It's fun to see some of that already popping up in The Creative Family Flickr group!)

A few weeks ago, as part of a local TV spot for the book, I needed some samples to do a quick tutorial with. Searching through our drawers and closets, I found LOTS of freezer paper stenciled things, and am happy to say that after two years of wearing and washing, the paint had held up pretty well (I use the Jacquard Textile Color, found here). But the rest of the shirts/skirts/totes? Uh, yeah...I guess we're pretty hard on our clothing around here. So these new things were worked up. I had almost forgotten how easy it really is. And fun. And yes, quite addictive.

(an aside: Bandage on elbow and mud on shirt - a direct result of yesterday's top photo. "Ah, it's part of the job, Mom" he said as I bandaged it up.)

So yeah, there was that little TV thing. I'm not really sure exactly why I'm admitting to this link, except that it's already out there (it aired last week), and it's over (thank goodness) and why not extend the humiliation a little bit longer?  It was a piece for our local WCSH 6 207 show, and I'm pretty sure I don't actually talk like that (confirmed by my friends, thank goodness, who all answer correctly when I've asked in the past week, "do I really sound like that?"). I do know one thing for certain now, though I do think I could have told you this before as well: In front of the camera? Sooo not for me. Behind the camera and crafting? Yes. In fact, I think there's some freezer paper calling my name right now...

Welcome, Spring!

On the last day of winter, after a trip to the beach, we had ourselves a little Welcome Spring painting party. Celebrating the winter that was. Welcoming the spring that is to be. A lovely evening - with the lingering sun - full of music, dreaming, wishing and feasting. Spring has come. (The calendar says so.)

"Listen! The air is alive with flight. Robins descend and descend and descend. Wasps scrape away wood to build new hives. The wind stirs new leaves and transparent light shines through the green energy. Sap flows fast. Hearts pound. Colors explode in yellows, pinks, purples and reds. Petals open wide to all you bring. Everyone participates in the pollination. Honeybees welcome each pea blossom and every day there is a new birth to celebrate. Feel the pulsing life in every tree, in every heart. Release the stirring energy. Sing your own songs to wake up the birds."

-- Nikki McClure, from the beautiful Collect Raindrops: The Seasons Gathered

Wishing you a wonderful Equinox!

a year of birds

There are a handful of these still needing to be gifted, but I think they're all non-blog readers so I'm safe in sharing this now. This was our little gift for the holidays - a calendar of birds!

This project began in the spring, with the arrival of our first robins of the year. The pile of bird drawings starting growing...and the boys started dreaming up what they wanted to make with all of their bird love. Publish a book, make a movie - oh, the list went on and on. And they set to work - creating bird drawings, learning about birds, writing the names, and mostly - thinking, dreaming and watching the birds. Oh yeah, and there was a lot of screaming for me and my camera whenever a new one came by that we didn't yet have a photograph of.

By September, I had gently talked them into chanelling the book ideas (for now ...I'm fully anticipating the "bird book" idea being resurrected in the spring by these ambitious little ones) into a calendar, which thankfully, they loved the idea of as well. Each month's page features a photograph by Steve or I, drawings of the birds, lettering of the birds, and little commentary by the babes.

The piles of stuff floating around here for this were plentiful - hundreds of drawings, folders everywhere. At one point, Calvin was using an Excel spreadsheet to keep it all organized. Love that.

I created the images for each month in Photoshop, and then uploaded it all to Lulu.com for publishing. That end of the process was smooth and easy. I am so thrilled with the quality of the calendars - it was even better than I expected. We printed these on the over-sized (13 X 19") premium calendars - the size is perfect for this kind of project.

I seriously don't think any project has caused me so much frustration (okay...boredom is really the word - I scanned no less than 58 images), nor nail biting (as we waited for UPS to deliver it ... on the 21st!). But I can also say that few projects have been such a joy to be a part of. The kids worked SO hard on dreaming this up, putting it all together, and sharing it with those they love - watching them see it through to fruition was pretty awesome. It felt like a wonderful way to share something 'handmade' with those we love, as well as serve as a little record of how very much of our year was spent with the birds.

Calvin Blogs :: twistie ties for my tree

{photo by calvin}

"First, you cut a really long string. Then you cut a really long string in another color. Or you can use the same color, but then it's hard to see. You put the two strings together, and one person holds one end and the other person holds the other end. And you start twisting, but in opposite directions. So if one person goes one way the other person goes the other way. And you twist for a really long time until it's tight. Then you very very carefully bring the two ends together, and the string will get all twisted up. Quick, you have to tie a knot on both ends of the string. And then it's done! A twistie tie! You can put it on your tree, or you can hang it on the walls, or you could keep it in your car for when you need rope to pull you out of the mud and snow and stuff. Just kidding. Bye!"

making books

- - "Amy [Amanda] my lazy sister is thirteen years old. She talks on the phone for an hour or two at a time. She has her own room and it is a mess. She always keeps it messy. When she goes places with her friends she always dresses nice and leaves her clothes on the floor."

- - "When Calvin was about to climb up the swing, he saw something. A turkey! Then he showed the turkey how to do flips. They were both wearing clown ties."

- - "Then he went home. Then he played soccer. Then he went home. Then he ate corn on the cob. Then he played soccer again"

Excerpts from my three favorite books - My Lazy Sister by my sister written many years ago when she was 8; a collection called Stories By Calvin, written by Calvin two years ago; and Mr. Soccerball, written by Ezra just this summer (the sequel for that one is in progress at the moment-I can't wait). These books are so very dear to me - I read them over and over and over and smile, and I will most assuredly treasure them forever. These were the first, but there are piles of these books now - in various stages of completion - among our things.

I keep a supply of these simple little handmade books accessible and at the ready for when the kids' book-writing inspiration strikes. The construction - on my end - is basic - heavy card stock folded in half, with 10-20 pages or lightweight paper on the inside pages, all stapled together on the fold. I started making them this way after receiving some similarly made and loved books from the Grecos. They're quick and easy, and yet, an absolute favorite thing for the kids to work on.

Our bookmaking has been fueled in recent weeks by the arrival of two wonderful bookmaking books.The first - How to Make Books: Fold, Cut and Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book is a guide to basic bookmaking, containing step-by-step instructions on a variety of methods. It's got me itching to take the needle and thread to some paper. Calvin's often asked about the construction of books, and this has given me lots of answers on the different ways it can be done. Though I think it's really geared towards an adult reader, the kids have been really interested in what's inside it too - I see some fun collaborations happening.

The second book that's being fought over explored daily around here is The Book Book, by Sophie Benini Pietromarchi. This book is really hard to explain - it's such eye candy and poetry and instruction and inspiration all rolled into one. It's written for children and covers not only the how of bookmaking, but the what to include in your book - characters, themes, ideas for inspiration. Really really good stuff, and put together so creatively. It's got everyone around here thinking differently about our bookmaking - and including things like fabrics, found objects, and food (!). The Book Book is published by Tara Publishing - a small and amazing (I'm in love with nearly their whole catalog now) independent publisher out of India. In addition to Amazon, it's also available on the their website here (where there's free worldwide shipping and screen printed gift wrap - ah! - before the holidays), and of course - also available by request from your local independent bookstore. 

Ah...new fresh inspiration for the little and big writers / illustrators / poets / bookmakers in the house. We're going to have fun with these...

acorns are fun

I placed an order a few weeks back with what has become a favorite local wood shop. I first learned about this place, ironically, through Siri - halfway across the country - when she posted her source for wooden acorns in this post (which I still refer to often for all of its acorn goodness).

We were running low on our wooden acorns - they are often given away, lost, and otherwise disappear. Which means they're played with. A lot. They become little people, pieces in homemade games, treasure, tokens, money, food, and so many more things. Sometimes - like with most good toys - they're put away and forgotten about for a time, but they always reappear in the play eventually. So we replenished our stock - a fresh bowl full of dozens of them. Sometimes we mix them in with bowls of 'real' acorns. Ah. I will admit to just running my fingers through the bowl often, turning them upside down. Like a salad. A mixed acorn salad.

With this order, I got a few wooden beads too, for a project Calvin's been asking me about. And some wooden people, as well. Though I made an error in ordering the wrong size - these are super tiny at just 2 inches tall, which makes painting features a little tricky (Ezra declared on many of them, 'this one doesn't need any eyes!') But still - the kids thought they were fab - to paint, dress, and decorate. Adelaide thought they all needed a hat - a pink (all the colors are 'pink' by the way) button hat. And now - a bowl of these 'people' become another tool for what will amount to - in the end - hours of creative play. What I love about them is that they're blank canvases, really. Blank canvases for imaginations to run wild with, and that they do.

I've been reading some of the news accounts about the mass toy recalls, and I get a little bummed when the story ends with the bit about wooden toys all being so expensive as an alternative to plastic. If you're really looking to have less plastic and more natural materials, it really needn't be so. Sometimes, we do chose to spend a little bit extra to have the toys/tools we like best - those that come from natural materials, those that leave room for imagination, and those that are made in a way that fits our values - but that also means we buy less, evening the cost in the end. Buying less also means we have less - which I believe is always more when it comes to toys and imagination and the growth of our little ones.

But there's also all this other stuff - this 'free' - and yet incredibly valuable - stuff out in the world - rocks, leaves, acorns. Cardboard, newspaper and wood. And all the incredibly inexpensive stuff - paper and crayons and paint. And wooden acorns and beads and cubes and eggs and hearts. I mean, really, all of the above cost me less than $12. What would I get walking into a big toy store for $12?

I'm just sayin'. Acorns are fun.

art interpretation

We've hit this incredible milestone in the ages of our children and the growth of our family, in which craft projects have become so much easier than they were just a year ago. Beads are no longer eaten, paint is no longer ingested, and as a general rule - markers stay at the table. Generally speaking. It's heavenly, really. The result is days worth of craft projects and piles worth of finished projects. This mama is very happy, and so are the little ones.

I consider myself a fairly mindful, sorta crafty mama. I know well enough to never insert my own interpretation of childrens' art before they have. I never do. And yet - every once in a while - I find myself so very convinced and so very sure that I know the subject of the art, that I dare presume an interpretation. On this particular day, we had just returned from a long walk in the woods when the painting began. The table was covered in inspiration brought in from the outside -  leaves, pine cones, acorns. I had just finished reading an autumn poem, and we had even been talking about the foliage through the whole painting process. So when Adelaide finished her painting and proudly handed it over, I quite confidently said, "It's fall! The trees! The leaves!".

I was met with an icy chill and a stare from my sweet little one. Followed by an emphatic, "No, Mama!!! Milkey! Me Milkey one side. Me Milkey other side."

Oh, right. What was I thinking? It's a painting of my breasts.

showering the world in costumes

As the babes get a little bit older they've become even more involved in the birthday gift-making and giving that happens around here. Often, it involves some kind of costume play. I'm thrilled that - at least for now - they get really excited about dreaming up ideas, planning, and executing the gifts we make for their friends. The past few weeks they've been planning this little project to give to a special four year old, who loves to visit the dress up rack whenever he's here. The boys instantly had grand plans of construction an entire dress up rack from wood, constructing him a pair of shoes, and sewing him a lion's costume. We compromised on this.

It's a vintage red suitcase I thrifted and cleaned up a bit.The boys each drew a few pictures of this little ones favorite costumes, which I mod-podged (yes, that's a verb) right onto the front, using Rick Rack as the 'frame'. And then we got a little nutty with the glue gun adding ribbon and buttons all over. Fun.

Inside is a start to his own dress up collection. A couple of pieces thrifted, a few from their own plethora of dress up, and a couple that we made just for Simon.  You know, the essentials the boys thought he would need to get started: a construction helmet, a boa, some scarves, a sherrif's badge, cape, safety goggles Santa hat and cat ears. The essentials.

Showering the world in costumes - one vintage suitcase at a time. I think that's their plan.

Calvin Blogs :: Super Rack

I thought about making my own superhero. Super Rack. Super Rack is a good kind of superhero. He can fly. He can climb up buildings and trees. He can swim underwater for a really long time. He is very very very very powerful. He helps people. That's how I thought about making Super Rack.

Before we made the costume, I  made this poster with all the clothes of Super Rack that I needed to make. I changed them a lot, like at first I thought Super Rack was wearing a red shirt and pants. But then I thought it should be black. And the belt in the picture is brown, but I made a red one. The poster helped me make the costume.

When I was making the mask I did not know yet about Super Rack and who he would really be. I thought I wanted him to wear a mask, but I didn't want to wear a headband AND the mask. So I'll save the mask for another time. Maybe another halloween.

I got some of the costume from my dress up - like the cape that mama made a long time ago. And the pants I sewed to be wetsuit pants in the summertime. I went to Salvation Army with Papa to get the black shirt. And I made the belt and the headband on the sewing machine.

This is Super Rack in his full costume. And today is Halloween! Happy Halloween!

Focus

Just two photographs I'm really loving right now. I'm hoping I can carry some of the concentration and focus that these convey to me - what little ones are so natural at - into the writing work I have ahead of me today.

And then...knocking on wood, and crossing all fingers and toes, Steve and I will have a solo getaway this weekend to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We're there to catch a movie tour, but I'm thinking all that extreme sports watching is going to need some balance added with thrifting, gallery visiting, shopping, and eating good food, don't you think? Oh yes. I know nothing in Portsmouth - any ideas out there?

Have a wonderful weekend!

made with little hands

The sibling gift making that happens before a birthday is so very dear to me. It's such fun to watch them dream up what they could make each other, the way they plan it out with such excitement and enthusiasm, and oh - the attempts at keeping it all a surprise (which usually entails a lot of REALLY LOUD whispering next to the birthday person). The gift-making and presentation is full of super proud-parenting moments that you remember, tuck away, and pull out when needed in the less-than beautiful moments of sibling life.

Calvin worked on this tote bag for her, making a picture on both sides of the bag with scraps of felt. I love the careful and thoughtful choices of color and design - a bird on there, of course. He started with handstitching the pieces down, but quickly - like his mama - grew tired of that and opted for the machine (he's totally rocking the machine these days). Which is why he tells everyone that this was not, in fact, handmade, but machine made. Right. She loves her bag, of course. She fills it with shoes.

Ezra's gift to Adelaide was a song he 'wrote' and played (foot stomps and all) on his fiddle just before she had her cake. I know. I melted. I really and truly melted from it all. She adored her song - she literally sat smiling with her hands clasped and ready to clap. Ack! In the days before the party, in addition to practicing his song, he told me he also wanted to 'make a pillow for her that looks like the way her birthday fiddle song sounds." Right. Okay. Ezra's always good for a curve ball, puzzler like that. BUT! We came up with this: a doll pillow he stitched - curduroy on one side and linen on the other. On the linen, he wrote (with a fabric marker) the "words" to her fiddle song. He added a button and trim, because, well, who doesn't want to play with buttons and trim?

I know without a doubt that I will completely forget about the xylophone that we got for her second birthday. Or any of the other little gifts we purchased or fretted over. But oh - these extra special, oozing-with-love gifts from her brothers are sure to be remembered by every one of us as the best gifts of all. They always are.

another kind of handmade

This was the 'other kind of handmade' beauty that I referred to a few weeks back. A gorgeous cedar-strip canoe, built by Steve's father and his partner twenty years ago, and just recently gifted to us. To say that we're happy to have this is a huge understatement - we're thrilled, honored and much more. And at a full 18 feet in length, it's just perfect for our family of five. This past weekend was it's first trip in the water in years - a short little trip in which we confirmed that the youngest among us is not such a fan of the water - not this year, anyway. (And I can now add paddling to the list of odd times and places in which breastfeeding has proved to be a lifesaver). Nevertheless, we were happy to be in this special boat and on the water, and are greatly looking forward to next weekend when we can get back out there (and Adelaide can have a very special solo date with her grammie).

Naturally, all this talk of how it was made and by whom has greatly inspired the 'makers' around here. Once I talked Calvin down from his grand plan of a canoe big enough for all of us (at least for this year), he shifted to a little bit of a smaller scale. After a visit to the woods, and then our art cabinet, we now have a little birch-bark canoe production happening. 

The future for these little handmade beauties? Inspired by the fabulous 2000 mile adventure in one of our very favorite children's books - Paddle-to-the-Sea - these boats be headed down-river soon. We can only imagine what kind of adventures they'll have on their journey out to sea. All three miles of it.

what i love :: family art

instead of dinner ...
snacks and family art night outside, with the day's beach treasures as inspiration.

Oh, Summer...

Surf's Up

There's a serious surfing vibe around here this summer. (Does being a mom of surfers mean I get to hang at the beach everyday? I'm in.) While the boys are still a few parental-induced swimming requirements away from really and truly surfing on their own (yeah, that doggie paddle isn't going to get you far when you're upside down in your boat, guys. sorry.), they're doing their best to prepare for the role of 'surfer' (which they define as both the traditional surfboard, as well as whitewater kayak in the surf - Papa's gig). They've had enough of Papa and his paddler friends around in their lives to think they fully get the role of the 'boater/surfer', uh...character.

As always, the costume is key. Last week, after some mild grumpiness about me not buying him a new wetsuit, he marched to his room to sew his own. How much do I love that he did this in defiance ("Fine! I'll make my own!")? A lot. He was disappointed to discover no capilene or lycra in my stash, but like any good tailor, he made do with what he had - cotton knit. I showed him how to trace his pants (he used his long johns to get the fit he wanted), gave him a little help on the elastic casing, and then he was off. Wetsuit pants complete. They fit, they cling when wet, they're black. All requirements are met and he's happy.

(Um, love that photo). The next day Calvin wanted a wetsuit top. He caught me in a moment when I had absolutely zip, zero, nada energy to 'help' him sew. "No problem, Mama, I can do it all on my own", he says. The result was this top (which is adorable, though I'm afraid it won't survive it's first washing) for his Little Dude (yes, that's what he calls him and Ezra sarcastically calls him 'Captain'). Truth be told, Calvin tried to make it for himself, but it didn't fit, so he 'gifted' it to Ezra, who was thrilled to be the recipient of Calvin's sewing. Heck - I'll take sibling kindness however it comes.

Next on their surf sewing plan is a gear bag for their wetsuits and other surf 'accessories' - my babes looooove their accessories. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm raising a bunch of gear-heads - but thankfully it doesn't look like they're headed for the 'expensive, brand new gear I only use once a year" kind of gearhead, but more towards the "duct -taped, ripped shorts, everyday use, DIY" kind of gearhead. I'm cool with that.

He Blogs!

HI. This is CALVIN. This is a butterfly. I made this for my first ever friend Caroline because she had a butterfly party. First, I drew it. And then I drew it on fabric. Then I cut it out. Then I sewed it. Then I put the patches on. Then I put the ears on, or whatever they are. Then I put the eyes on. And you probably know how I drew the card. Oh, and I used glue to glue the ears on.

These are our Wilburs. Do you know who WIlbur is? Wilbur is the pig in Charlotte's Web. I made the one on the bottom. First things first, I drew it. Then I drew it on fabric. Then I cut it out. Then I sewed it. And stuffed it. It took a loooooooooot of stuffing to stuff it. Then I sewed the top up.
After that, Ezra wanted one too, so Mama made him one like mine. That's the one on the top. I like the tail better on mine.

This is a cradleboard. I made it with the sewing machine mostly but I forgot how I did it. But it took a loooooooong time. I used fabric, cardboard, string and beads, and more fabric. The beads are for the baby to play with so they don't get bored. Oh, and rope for the shoulder straps.

I made this chainsaw because Mama says I can't use the real one. In this picture, I'm cutting a piece of wood up. I used cardboard, and plastic, and stickers, and duct tape and string. Oh, and I drew on it with wax crayons. I found some of the things in the recycling bin and the rest of it was in the art cabinet, except the plastic soda cap was in Grampie's recycling. You can't see the bead, though, in this picture, but it's right by my foot on the end of the pull - cord. It says ECHO because that's what Grampie's chainsaw says.

That's all I have to say. Goodbye.
CALVIN

 

I've been waiting for this

I've been expecting this for a while now. But like many other things in parenting, home education and life, I knew all I could do was to 'leave the door open,' wait for him to come to me, and then guide ever-so slowly and patiently. And let him to take the lead. So, earlier this week, when Calvin came to me with a drawing of a costume (in the foreground of the photo), and said, "I want to make this," I was rather caught off guard. Half-thinking, and half on parenting auto-pilot, I said, 'Well, lets eat breakfast first. And then I told Ezra we'd paint. And then..(blah blah blah)...and so maybe tonight when you go to sleep I could work on it, or Saturday afternoon might be better."

"No, Mama. I want to make this. I want to sew it. I drew a picture of it, and I looked at the costume book, and I know I can do it."

"Oh. Oh! YOU want to sew it! Oh! Well, you could do that. I could get you set up for that this morning", I sputtered out as I quickly gathered my wits and slowed down my excitement before it turned him off from the idea completely.

So that's what we did. I brought down my old sewing machine, and plopped it right down on the same table where it had lived for years before I had my studio, where I sewed with it day in and day out of his early years as a babe. The same machine that my grandmother gave to me, and on the same table that my great grandmother - a seamstress herself - sewed every single day. His great - great grandmother.

And then before I got swept up in a sentimental ride of it all, I was brought right back down to reality by a six year old learning something new. Needles to thread. And rethread. A baby to keep occupied (by 'helping' with scissors and pins, naturally). And as little explaining as I could manage to give from my corner of the room where I chewed my fingers like a nervous mother, where I worried that clothing might not be the best 'first' sewing project. But I know this little guy well enough to know that too much instruction will completely turn him off (hmmn...I don't know where he gets that), and that he wouldn't begin to attempt something until he'd studied, watched and thought about it a good deal already. Which apparently is just what he's been doing, because he really did know just what to do. He traced a tunic he wanted for the shape, pinned it together, and asked me to 'draw a line' where the sewing should be (a brilliant idea, I thought), and then...he had a costume.

But, being that one tunic does not a theatre troupe make, he went right to work on one for his brother (Tiger Lily and Wendy, in case you're wondering).

And then back to the machine to make one for his sister, with excitement, pride, and creative energy pouring out of him. And so it appears that this sewing machine is going to have a home in this little corner of our home once again. Oh, this could be fun...

crafting essentials

Inside:

and outside:

There are three essential supplies that seem to be needed for nearly every child  'project' in our home: scissors, string, and of course, duct tape. And with just those three things? Well, it's pretty amazing what can be done, I do now believe. Today? A working drawbridge. And later, a slingshot (It's a very good thing we're outside again).

Thanks for visiting through my silence this week. I lost my voice a week ago (I'm feeling much better now, thank you!), and I always take that as a sign that I need to be quiet - to do more listening and watching. So that's just what I tried to do this week. I couldn't have picked a better week to do so, either - welcoming Spring, listening for the return of the birds, staying outside for hours on end for the first time in months, soaking up the sun, watching my babes rediscover their sacred outside spots and favorite projects....well, it was all wonderfully invigorating and spirit-filling. Beauty and inspiration really are all around us.

Back to 'normal' posting will resume on Monday, with some crafting to report, and a shop update on Tuesday Thursday! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

weekend art

Written and then handed off with much pride, it says "Mama".
(And then my heart grew three sizes that day.)

the puppet peeps

 
Have you met our puppet peeps? It's quite possible that I've posted them before, but a quick search by me turned up nothing. So I figured if I can't find them on my own site, then probably no one else has either, if they're even here. So let me introduce them to you.

From left to right, we have: The Princess, The Sorceress, Josef, The Farmer, The Captain, and The Song and DanceMan (who's round rim glasses have gone missing). Josef was our first - made by local artist and puppeteer Nance Parker. Inspired by that one, I made the rest a few years ago. Ezra was just a babe at the time, and when he napped, Calvin would dream up these characters and we'd both go to work making them. Being a lover of the details (even at 3 years old) he loved the process of making these puppets almost as much as I did. They were quite time-consuming, especially considering how 'folk' and simple they are in style, but I remember being nearly consumed by each one until it was finished. The heads are all papier mache - we used a variety of trial and error paper/paste combinations, and techniques, which got more elaborate and improved with each one (The Farmer was our first, and Song and DanceMan our last).  Once the face shape was complete, the 'dressing' of the puppets was enormous fun with both knitting and sewing, as was painting on the faces (I used gesso, then gauche, and then a sealant). The process was great fun for me in that it was a little bit of a lot of different mediums - perfect for my crafty short attention span with not a ton of skill in any one area.

For a while after making them, I kept them in a basket on the floor amidst all the other toys. I wanted to be all cool and chill with them being played with, dragged around, stuffed under the couch, and eventually trashed by the kids. But, um, I wasn't cool. I got a little attached to them. They're my toys too, you know. And so now they sit here atop our craft cabinet - safe from the random stepping-on, but always in sight, and always at hand for a puppet show whenever anyone gets the urge. Our puppet peeps have told many a story in the past few years through the minds and voices of my littles, and I think they have many more to tell. And I also think they're ready for a few new characters to join the troupe. We're working on it - there's a fierce debate around here between King Arthur as a boy, and Agustus Gloop. Together, I think they could make for quite the interesting puppet show.