LOVE :: Making Valentines

Always a wrench to be thrown into the works .. now we are dealing with a fevered ear-aching really sad little boy (with another one on his heels, I am quite sure). Ah, sick season. I should learn not to declare anything any more. But I can still muster up a little LOVE.



A few months ago I was sucked into the vortex that is Pinterest. If you are not there yet, I do apologize for enabling you. It is super good but a super time suck so I have tried to limit my time there. The best thing about it is the sheer amount of wonderful and doable stuff that crops up among my group of people. I found a simple Valentine idea a few months ago and because I could see the visual 'pin', I actually went back and did them.


The project is a felt fortune cookie packed with little goodies. We had all the needed bits on hand :: felt, glue gun, ribbon and floral wire.


The idea came from the always spot on Martha Stewart website and took no more than an hour. It was fun because the boys were able to help quite a bit, they cut out sticker treats, wrote on the tags and helped quite a bit with the tootsie roll placement (and consumption).

And I enjoyed it which is an important component when crafting with kids. If you are looking for a handmade Valentine for the littles (or even for a few of your most special friends) I recommend this one.


You still have a day or two to git her done. Happy crafting, friends.

Write It Out

It is always wonderful and a bit strange to arrive at a new point with the boys, a place I had hoped we would be someday. That happened this weekend with the start of what I hope will become a weekly tradition and practice, that of Journaling.


I recall reading a post over a year ago, cannot remember where. It was about the joy of journaling with small children. At the time the boys were so young, able to scribble and scrabble and have fun with pen and ink, but also very into using lots and lots of pages. We have always tried to incorporate drawing/writing/coloring etc, but never in a truly focused way.

Then I read a post over at Chookooloonks about starting a journal for the new year. A real written journal with pages and stuff. That needs a hand and pen and stuff. And it sounded good. (The link came from my new muse, Erica, who is rocking my 365 world and making it a pleasure to play on Flickr more)(She blogs here with her cool sister-who-is-also a-mama-of-beautiful-twin-girls Jill).

I headed out to Target with gift cards in hand (I've been very good at work apparently) and perused the notebook section until I spotted one that called to me. Something about faux leather and graph paper that I cannot resist.


Anyway, I thought I would pick up two extra for the boys to attempt a weekly journal practice with them. They are really into storytelling and letters and writing, their new school setting is so wonderful about prompting this without forcing and we are watching them reap the benefits.


We sat down Sunday at the table with the notebooks turned to the first page and the date marked on the top.

Their journals are really just spiral bound pages that lay flat and are made from banana which is pretty cool. I thought I would prep the area a bit and had some magazine pages featuring winter in Nova Scotia (brrr) and pencils, pens and a few Sharpies (man, those kids love Sharpies).

And I let them go to town.

It was an interesting experience.



I was pleasantly surprised that they understood and agreed to use just one page and it was fascinating to watch their 'process'. First it was oral with scribbles, then they got into the pictures, cutting and pasting and telling me all about what was happening. I journaled with them in my little book and we finished with a few notes by me on their pages and their names traced.

I loved that they also gave me the books without any freak outs and helped me put them away until next week with the instructions that I take care of their journal. We sat at the table for about 30 minutes altogether and ended up finding a new place/space to share with each other. This is one of the things that I love about their growing. Always finding new places and spaces together.


If you have little people I would encourage you to do this with them. Seeing how proud they were of their creations and knowing I will look back over them someday down the line have made me commit to following through. If you do play along, let me know.

2011 is shaping up to be a year of projects and doing and making and I am getting more and more excited about it. So, come join in the with us. Even if you do not have littles you can journal, just read that link to get excited and inspired. Happy hand writing, friends

Cookie Maker (get it, Em, get it?)

Now that the sick has gone, I am more than ready to focus on the upcoming holiday. Yay for recovery and the realization post-ick than my normal level of daily energy is more than enough to get things done.

The season of cookie making is upon us and so far this year it has gone quite well. Last year we made sugar cookies, but the recipe was off in some way and less than satisfactory to roll, cut and eat. This year we have had two spot on recipes that have been prepped, rolled and baked with help of some worker elves.



I am loving the simplicity of the sugar cookie recipe from MS magazine this year and it comes with some great ideas to alter the basic recipe. We made the vanilla and chocolate version yesterday. With three under the age of 4. And it actually went well. I think it was due to some pre-planning and a lot of designating.



Things I learned ::

- Set up stations, we had a dry measure station and a mixer station that we moved between. I let the kids measure from a big container of flour and it stayed fun that way. Plus they even helped me clean up.



- Do not let them handle the soft butter. Enough said.

- Also do not let them flip the Kitchenaid switch after adding the flour. Big mess.

- My one Must Do :: Let them taste the dough (Samonella be damned).



- Make the dough, chill it and leave the whole roll out thing until the next day. The attention span of the littles is good for only one step at a time.

The recipes for the vanilla dough is here. It is a Martha recipe, but that is the first link I found. Plus, I am trying not to frequent the MS website too often as it just makes me confused and distracted as to the holiday crafting/creating in my life. Waaaay too many options over there.

The other cookies we made were pre-plague cookies, up at the Cabin actually. Gingerbread cookies. They are again a MS favorite and they are really really good. They also make a load of cookies. The recipe calls for 6 cups of flour. That is a lot of cookies, people. But I never halve the recipe because we always end up eating the first few trays that come out of the oven.


(He looks a little gansta' here, right?)

We had a blast cutting letters into the dough and making some free form snowmen, etc. I have found this dough tastes great at any thickness, the thinner you roll it, the crisper the cookie. Thicker leaves them dense and chewy. And delicious all around.



Come Sunday, all the cookies are to be laid out on a table with frosting and sprinkles and candies and such for the littles to decorate. While the adults curse me for the mess their children will become. Sunday we are having are annual Indonesian lumpia holiday fest. Can I get a what what for fried traditional feast food?

Here is to your healthy cookie-fied deep fried beautiful holiday season. And I am looking to bring a bit of the holiday posting here sooner than later. Wish me luck.

Hallow'Een

The boys did not don home made Mama costumes this year. There was no luxury of time for that. I did manage to squeeze in a quick sewing session to make caps for their respective chosen costumes. The Buzz was a hand-me-down from their Auntie Libby and cousins. The Spidey guy came for 1.59 from the thrift store.


They spent the month in a frenzy of Creating ... at home, in school, avidly talking about spiders that live in our home and pumpkin pie that we still have to make.

They spent the actual day with their beloved neighbor girls ... all of them dressed and giddy and demanding the continuing of candy getting until all at once, they all decided they were done.



Owen even handed a piece back to the little old man and told him "No sanks, me no meed any more candy today."

We spent a good part of the night with good friends, I assumed candy passing to the hordes of children (literally hordes, think Disneyland-like lines) that come to the old town part of our city.

It felt good, right, fun, even though I feel more weary than I can ever remember.


This month held a lame attempt at disclosure, a return to full time work, a law suit, a birthday and birthday party (dude, my best friend gifted me with 4 bras, all awesome and cute and told me to try harder. I love my best friend), a visit from their Gramma and Halloween. I am still reeling.

But I am so glad in the chaos we remembered to catch them as they move through yet another round of holiday love. And next year one of them is going to wear my brilliant (and as of yet un-made) costume idea. I swear it.

(One thing I am proud of, though, is that they are using their homemade cloth spider bags for candy gathering... a little nod to tradition and making).


Now if only they would stop asking for the candy that I told them I threw away. Wink wink.

Stitch Stitch Stitch

Lately, I feel a bit like the only things I can accomplish are those of the simplest nature. Twisty complicated patterns have not called me for some time and I find myself most comfortable when the making I am making is centered around simple, clean, simple, small .... simple.

There is something about rounds of st-st that soothe the hand and mind without requiring conscious thought, conscious tracking or action. Those seem to be beyond me of late and so I keep turning to the simplest of knit stitches, stockinette in the round. In the last two weeks I have knit no less than three st-st hats for the upcoming cold weather. The first is soft and blue and was meant for a small head but grew and grew. So I then made sure to make the next two smaller and tighter and perfectly simply clean.

And another is almost done, black and (okay, okay, i will stop with the s word) warm.

I think this is when the making of things pulls me through. Things have been rough in a new way; ends not meeting, trying to find time and space to not just survive but thrive and enjoy and worry less and think less and create more and clean ... oh, yes, that is being put on the priority list. The effort it all takes sometimes seems insurmountable. But then I take the time to let the st-st move through my fingers and I take the time to grab the camera for a few shots of recently finished knits worn by very reluctant models and I look at that ... the culmination of the making.





And I feel better. I think I need to listen to the knits though and keep it very simple.

Making on Thursday

Today after I dropped the boys off at school, I did something I really needed to do. I turned off the computer and the ringer, turned up some NPR and started sewing.

I spent the last few days clearing the recesses of the house while listening to the Adicts (that is one way to psych yourself up to clean a bathroom used by two semi-potty trained boys), ignoring craft for cleaning, focusing on finding some clarity in a home that was starting to feel overwhelmingly cluttered. Once a semblance of order was restored, I gave myself permission to play and it felt oh so good.

I have always meant to quilt something for our room, our bed, and I decided to just go to my stash, cut 4 inch squares from any fabric in the stash and start chain piecing them without rhyme or reason.


I always hesitate to quilt as it seems too intimidating; color and pattern, theory and tone. So I just said, pa-shaw. It is for my eyes only, it cannot be all bad as I love all the bits and pieces that comprise my fabric stash. So far I have had fun learning (or maybe just making up?) my chain piecing, pressing and leaving the duos aside until I make enough.





The quilt will be based loosely onthis lovely one I found on FLickr. If my math serves me right, I need about 900 squares. Well, at least I am one third there. I intend for it to be a lightly batted summer quilt.

And then, I do not know if you noticed on the side bar, but this month has been declared the month of the BOY. The very first tutorial was a sweet little shirt with fold over shoulders. It is perfect for using up all those t-shirts I cannot convince Tim to donate. Today I sewed my first knit shirt for the boys.




And I can say it was fun. I just finished and they have yet to try it on as they are fast asleep, but it sure looks cute. I love that it is made from a t-shirt Tim bought on our last Canada trip where the boys were (um) made, let's say. (Oh, how I wish we were in Canada for the Olympics). I see many more of these coming off the needle. And I did it all on the regular old sewing machine. I tried a serger, but was immediately confused so I switched to a stretch stitch on my machine and it seems to work just fine.

And last but not least, I finally ditched my terrible knitting mojo and find myself with an almost complete set of hand warmers. I tried and tried last week, and failed and failed. I ripped out whole lace sections of this pattern, not pleased with the look. I neglected swatching and came away with a ridiculous paw of a mitt, not suitable for my friend's delicate hand. But now, ah, I have this.



The softest warm simple design with a motif from this pattern. And I can rest, happy with a day that brought some new skills, a new shirt and a nice knit.

Thanks, Thursday, I really needed that.

Ornamental Efforts

I think I mentioned something about an ornament post, right? This year has been a great one for trying out new projects. The boys are 'helping' in many ways and I am 'learning' how to let them help. There is a lot of effort on my part to get out of the way (when I can) and try to plan the craft in a way that will be fun for them. I want them to learn that they can be involved and that making things is fun and shall be the fabric of their lives. I declare it so.

This tree is housing the hand making this year. ..it is slowly coming together. And apart as the boys just love taking all the hung ornaments off of the tree and into other rooms.

There are a few things to consider when working with 2.5 year old twins. First, they love making messes. Second, they have an attention span of 2.5 seconds. Third, they have very little interest in following directions. So, where to go with this?

I tried a few different things. The first was the Cinnamon Ornaments we started at the Cabin. These have been a two part process. The first part is mixing and rolling and cutting. The ornaments take a few days to totally dry out so I packed them out of sight and we let them be for some time. The second part has been 'decorating' them with glitter. Ah, glitter. And 2 year olds. I have devised a brilliant plan to let them be free but curb the total glittering of the home.


Give them the cap. We used a bottle of puffy paint with a fine tip, squirted it in all directions, (I directed it sometimes). And then they go to town. Well, Mace went to town. Owen was having some alone time with Omi. Which brings me to another tip. Separate if at all possible. One on one time is great for crafting. So that is Ornament One.


Next up was a quick package deal from Michael's bargain bin. These little snowflakes came pre-cut with sequins and baubles. I handed them the glue stick and put out the bits. I found it really interesting that Mace referred to the picture on the package and tried to copy it.

Owen did his own thing, the kid lives by his own rules.

I think these were a great idea and could be easily done with scrap felt or construction paper, just make sure the bits are all really shiny. It seems to catch and hold their attention when the bits are shiny.

The last thing we have tried (so far) is painting. Again, at Michael's, they have a section of wooden ornaments, unpainted and unfinished. I grabbed quite a few for an ornament party we are having in a few weeks. The boys have been painting at school a lot and I wanted to see what they would do. Again, Mace wanted to follow the depicted Santa and became really obsessed with filling in the beard. And Owen took a little of this color and a little of that and spent most of the time swirling it all together. I find it fascinating to watch the differences even within the same medium. Tips here...uh, it is toddlers with paint so none, except protective paper on the table and expectations of some mess. (I pretty much expect the mess form the get-go with all projects and I am never disappointed).

This ornament is mine. This was not a 'boys helping' project, but a 'boys watching' project.

They have recently become enamored of a show called Noddy (any other Noddy followers out there? Let me hear a Woot.). He is an adorable elf who lives in Toyland and drives a car and lives alone (though he looks about 5 years of age). I actually really like Noddy and when I found this elf pine cone project in the latest Martha (I know, I know) I knew they would love them. They helped gather the cones from our neighbor's tree and I sewed the little mitts and stuff (you could easily just glue the felt mittens and shoes, but we all know I am cracked when it comes to this stuff)
and they freaked out when the heads had no face yet. And they totally supervised the hat placement as the hat makes the elf, you know?

They still keep asking for a mouth. But they love these little guys and so do I. Super fun but fiddly...

And there you have it so far. I have plans for a few more, probably an owl pine cone (as described by Kat...hey, upload a picture of that little one, Kat, pretty please) and a few pom-pom snow men.

Speaking of pom-poms, (and, ahem, Martha) I have a dirty little secret...you know the store Big Lots (forever Pick n' Save in my mind)? They carry close out Martha craft sets. For 2$.

So, get thee there and gather a pack of glitter that sells for 15$ next door...for 2$. Yikes. These leetle pom pom birdies came from the Lot. 2$.



I tried to resist but I couldn't. Not when it was such a good deal. I have an extra pack of the birdie project that I would love to send out to a reader. It is super simple, glue and pom poms included and would be fun with or without kids. Leave a comment about your latest craft (or just a comment saying Hi) and I will draw names and send you your very own 2$ project package. Just sharing the Holiday (bargain and making) spirit. :)