I Can Explain?

See, I told you I didn't have time for a blog! Alas the main time suck lately has been crafting but of a different variety than usual. I fell in love with making two gifty crafts that are super simple to make and just violently cute. First I just made them for my daughter but then I decided to make some for a few friends of hers celebrating birthdays this month and then it all snowballed into this late night mass production factory at my desk. At that point I had to justify my rather outlandish trips to the craft store for supplies and suggested to the hub that I might sell them. The next thing you know I have business cards on the way. what the...? I don't think this is how other people start businesses is it? We'll see how that goes. I know it's obnoxious that after making you read this paragraph I'm not going to share the nature of the craft-in-question but I shall. Just need to get a few more things in order. I'll even share with you how to make them and you can start your own little business! Or you know, you can buy one from me at a discount? You like? You buy 3?

What else? Oh a whole week of fun has transpired. There are so many things I want to share on my blog that I get overcome and post nothing. Shall I do a post first featuring all the simple recipes for amazing, revolutionary all-natural household cleaners and hair and skin care products? Or should the link-o-rama list come first of internet links to make your life easier, more inspiring and hilarious? Should I do the birthday party post now or later? In that one I hope to share photos and creative ideas from the kids birthday parties we've hosted or been part of. With Halloween approaching I am craving an entry on ideas revolving around that holiday and don't get me started on the winter holidays! Then there's my fixation on all things shabby kitsch for home decor. I have a whole google document devoted to photos and ideas I want to integrate into my house someday, as well as photos of projects I've actually applied to my present home. I can do an entry of tips and projects for beginner sewers from a fellow beginner sewer (can that be right? Sewer is spelled the same as sewer? ew. ewer.) Also, if you're local I have compiled a good list of places to go and things to see in the area, which are categorized based on cost. If you like camping I have a spreadsheet we can't live without that lists everything you could possibly need to pack, including if you have children and a dog, categorized as well. Well? I'm sincerely asking because my site meter tells me people are reading even if they aren't commenting. Get your lazy butt an account (it takes like 4 seconds) and tell me what I should post next. Perhaps you have a suggestion having nothing to do with any of this? Do tell.

Meanwhile, I have a question for you. Do you have a Cricut machine? Do you like it? Do you have the deep cut blade and do you know if it will cut felt? Thanks in advance scrappy people.

I have a lot of pictures and stories about the past week but my memory card is giving me problems and I have wasted too much time on OTHER people's blogs this morning so I may have to post another entry later today. Promise it won't be another week this time!

bugs and fishes!

Troopleader Jen

More park fun and fairy fashion

I know, I know. Fairies, nature, blah blah blah. I was just telling a friend the other day. People are always labeling me "hippie" and I honestly in those moments don't understand why. Then sometimes I hear myself say something and I'm just... woah. What a hippie. Anyway I happen to have a lot of little hippie girls (through no coersion of my own, I swear. Kids are born hippies) in my life so we do a lot of fairy-and-nature-related stuffs. Sue us. Class action suit us. faux leather moccasin shoe us. We won't even notice because we're too busy being hippie dippy.

So, today was another girl fest, with ducklings Sunny, Ruby and Nora waddling everywhere in my wake. I was thumbing through some books with them this morning while imbibing my (and the continent of Asia's) morning dose of caffeine when this one inspired me toward today's craft. I mean I am far from a fashion girl but get back Loretta! Fairy couture? Where do I sign? I decided we would head to the girls' favorite neighborhood park and collect some "fairy fabric" for our afternoon craft.

Of course this park is an adventure in itself. There's playground equipment and picnics to eat and a train that passes by complete with a friendly, waving engineer.

Sunny begins construction on a fairy house

we built a bridge so the fairies can get to a little nook high up in a tree

there's an old hedge maze in this park- the girls like to play hide and seek. Here Ruby and Sunny are counting while Nora hides.

oh heero butterfly!

So now we're back home and a nap has been had and our assortment of fairy clothes are spread out and I've riffled through a few magazines to find "fairies" for us to clothe. As previously stated, I'm not much for fashion so head-to-toe girl photos were few and far between in my Real Simple and WV Living mags. I found one in a Marie Claire my mom left here to use for my "sample fairy" (I secretly couldn't wait to do this craft!) so I could show the girls what was intended with the project. Below is the before:

And then after:

ooh I want to dress like a fairy in real life! But as you can see making sleeves was dumb and tedious. Fairies don't wear black polka-dots so it had to be done. Luckily, I found an old Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue for the girls' fairies.

Maybe I should have saved this craft for when the girls were older. Maybe I should consider that fairies would be more free spirited in their attire and who's to say they'd mimic the shape of human clothes anyway? But I blame the results on Jared (the husband) who played Minor Threat loudly while this craft was being carried out, for the results.

Below is Ruby's before picture. A bit provocative perhaps but I pictured her adorned in flower petals and sitting on the edge of a little fairy pond.

I think Ruby was thinking along the same lines anyway. But wait til you see Nora's.

Before:

And after:

I highly suggest you click on the pic to see it bigger. When we collected the sprouted seeds in the park Nora said they'd make great fairy hair and I praised her so profusely on her creativity I think maybe she went a bit overboard in execution. Is this a fairy or chewbacca? I can't even believe there was enough leftover for the nether regions but lo and behold; fairy pubes! omg. Let us not even broach the boots.

Sunny took the opposite extreme. Her "fairy" had a painted elephant at her photo shoot and my daughter insisted the beast be included in her craft, then vowed not to mar the photo with nature bits and declared it done, proudly showing it to her father, who approved of her creative work.

Before and after.


So. A fun project but if you're going to attempt it, I would recommend doing this with 10-year-olds unless you like laughing.

Hickory Dickory Dock

Mommy's off the clock!

We do have Ruby with us today but I've been enjoying working on my own projects, making some yummy chicken soup, dumpster diving and catching up on housework while they occupy themselves and each other. We did improvise when we were left twiddling our thumbs during a long wait in the car today by playing surreptitious spelling games. We have to be sneaky because if Sunny thinks she might be learning something she'll revolt. It simply pleases us to much and she can't have that.

"I spy" is pretty difficult when you're flying down the freeway or sitting in one place too long but by the time 4 people take turns thinking of words that start with every letter of the alphabet, you're home!

I would love to share my personal projects here too (mostly sewing and junk revival) but I hesitate to branch out from the kids/crafty niche because then I'll end up really hodge podging it. I never know when to stop. So I was thinking about the pages widget and I wondered if any other bloggers could explain it to me. I tried to use it but couldn't figure it out. If it is a way to attach pages of non-related information to the blog you can click on from my main page I would be very interested in using it.

Hope everyone is enjoying a nice, relaxing Sunday!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country...

An add-on to yesterday's post, my twin brother was featured on the news this week for his efforts to help the youth in his Columbus, OH community. Check it out!

WSYX ABC6 On Your Side Top Story - Coaches Team Up to Help West Side Youth

Teaching Kids About Giving Back

Oh my sweet strawberry goodness, my new blog background is SO cute! Check out the link in my upper left to snag one for yours!

So, what about the adorable kid in that video up there? Today I am so happy to share with you something so very special you can do with your child and that is giving back. We have a friend named Jonas who is 7. Jonas' mom Renee started taking him on her monthly trips to feed the homeless when he was small and last year he was saddened and inspired by some children he witnessed come through the line. The next thing you know, Jonas had started his own charity organization called Love In The Mirror, through which he has gathered and dispensed food, clothing, blankets, toiletries and other necessities to youth and adults in need ever since. We have been honored to be a part of some of his efforts, including the hosting of 2 super fun parties at our house in the past year to gather donations and educate the youth in our lives.

The first party we did was at Christmas so we did a cookie decorating party. Eliza made cookies and lots of different frosting, my aunt donated pizzas and we had other snacks and fun set up in our yard. We asked everyone to bring a new or used toy to donate to needy children. The thing to remember about hosting a charity party is that not only is it unnecessary to go overboard on decorations, food or entertainment, it's downright ridiculous. You could give that money and time to someone in need instead! So what you get is a great reason to gather your friends for a fun time together everyone can feel good about at the end of the day. And there's no stress included!

Here are a few photos from our cookie party:

The man and founder of LITM, Jonas Corona!

The messy, fun cookie table

Eliza wrapped this box to collect the donations for Jonas- it was definitely not a big enough box! :)

Fun, fun, fun!

The second time we did a similar set up but this time Jonas thought we should make sock puppets! How fun! We supplied craft supplies and snacks and everyone brought new socks for needy kids. I wish I had photos of that event but can't seem to find them... I'll add them later if I do.

This morning my family went to help Jonas' family feed and clothe the homeless downtown for the first time. People who want to give gather early in the morning on the first Saturday of every month to give those who line up hot food, blankets, clothing, whatever they can gather. I could see right away why Jonas was so inspired. I was too. I wasn't sure if Sunny was too young for that experience yet but she did very well and was a great little helper, handing out water bottles and entertaining those in line. It is a great thing to expose children to, as it is easy to spoil a little one- they require so little, and yet there are those out there who have nothing. We're not sure she fully understands yet but she knew why we were there and was happy to help and that's a great start. Before they open the line everyone gathers to hold hands and say a prayer. I'm not particularly religious but I felt a surge of warm, positive power in that chain of hands. You can't save the world but you can feel better about your place in it if you just try even a little to set things right. It also made me feel wonderful to see my own small child participating in that chain.

Jonas is currently doing a school supply drive so I've got some ideas percolating in my upstairs for a fun party to help collect those things, as well as putting my feelers out to anyone willing to donate blankets, socks, toiletries or clothing for our next trip downtown next month.

If you are still reading (is anyone reading?), please comment if you have any experiences with or helpful tips regarding the things I post about. Please share! I would love to see my blog become an interactive space for fellow parents, crafters and lovers of life!

Felt doll family, hair clippies, and night vision binoculars!

Happy Friday all! Who gets a 3 day weekend? I'm super jelly of all who do. But life's a weekend for the ol' troopleader isn't it? Today is a rare "what shall we do with today" day, as most of our days are pretty structured. Friday is normally Sunny's day at her BFF Ruby's house but Ruby and her mom are out of town this week. Mommy has a bit of work today then we can play!

For now, an assortment of fun.

First, the silly binoculars. Last night I was cleaning up and stopped to peer through the bright red cellophane wrapping of a discarded mini babybel cheese. You know the ones, the little round cheese wheels our kids love to open themselves and pretend the wax is pac-man (ok that's me, my kid has no idea who pac-man is). Lately I have been discarding a lot of babybel trash and was thinking I should come up with something to do with the wax and bits of pretty wrapping (it's a disease). The next thing you know,



I know, I know. Even the cat is like what the... but Sunny loves them. It changes the whole world! Now what to do with the pac-man wax? Hmmm...

Meanwhile, wanna see our family of felt dolls?



Heeheeheeeeeee.

I salvaged a shallow cardboard box (a box lid would work great) and lined it with felt, then cut figures out of thin cardboard and glued oatmeal-hued felt to them (because apparently that is our skin tone) and then the fun part- making outfits! Sunny has the most. She has swimsuits and dresses and play shorts and we're working on a princess dress! Daddy has a few hats and mommy has dress up clothes too. I glued a bit of sandpaper on the back of each piece of clothing so it will stick to our porridge epidermi and voila! Oh the scenes we could do! We could do a beach or a forest or a grocery store! Have you noticed yet that I love felt?

Speaking of, you can use the leftover bits to make hair clippies!



This I have only tried once so far but it's really easy. I was inspired by a hair clip Ruby wears sometimes. It looks handmade and it's really cute. I thought, how easy that could be! So I used Ava's 3rd birthday as an excuse to try some out. I also made a couple of bow clips out of ribbon but I'm not satisfied with those yet. I couldn't find my hot glue gun so I actually sewed these onto the clips but once I find my gun, oh, it's on.



Clip a few to a handmade card and you've got an inexpensive but personal gift for the wee lasses in your life.

Ooh! I just thought of what we're doing today. Miniature shop, here we come! squeeee!

Contact Paper Collages and more fun outdoors.

Today is a school day for Sunny, and I have no children so will therefore be working, not crafting or having other mom fun. boo! (Is it ok that I secretly relish these days? Just me and the cats and my coffee and the clickety clickety clickety of my craptop?)... So today's post will be retroactive.

Aside: Last night I dreamed of putting out wildfires with my old neighborhood friends in Pleasantdale (yes that is where I grew up- eerily fantastic, eh?) Shelby, Amanda, Danny, Megan, all of you were there! Anyway I woke up and realized it was probably due to my wearing to bed the same sweater I wore to a bonfire gathering at Stacy and Heidi's last weekend, the woodfire smell triggering both memories and alarm bells. Nutso. Anyhoodle, this reminded me to mention that if you can remember, is really cool to ask your kids immediately upon waking what they dreamed of. Often they will remember and recall cool visions and stories their little heads would otherwise have soon forgotten. I will never forget the first time Sunny came clambering into my warm morning blanket burrito to tell me about her first dream. "Mommy I had a blue bird in my hand and it flewed away!"

So, today's post is handy for very little children because it is easy for small hands and extremely low mess or fuss. (Muss is not a word. I just refuse.)

Lay a sheet of contact paper sticky side up on a small table, taping down the corners. Provide your child with colorful scraps of paper, bits of nature like leaves and flowers, dry pasta or anything else small and light. Let them go nuts arranging the small items on the sticky paper. Most things can be lifted and placed again and again. My daughter loved this beginning age 1 and still does. We used this method to learn our shapes too, and how you can arrange them together to make pictures (how some squares and rectangles can make a house, or 3 circles make a snowman, etc.) The same sheet can be used and reused until no longer sticky, then you can start all over again. I used to keep a sheet taped low on our refrigerator and a basket of media in the kitchen for times when Sunny wanted to be with me while cooking or cleaning in there. She was entertained and I was rewarded with an ever-changing work of art on my fridge!

Following are some pictures from a year ago when I took Sunny and Nora to their favorite neighborhood park to play and collect bits of nature, then we came home and made nature collages.


Play, play, play.


snack, snack, snack.


gather, gather, gather.


create, create, create!


repeat, repeat, repeat to hearts' content.


And here's one of wee Sunny in front of her fridge collage installation.

Fun outdoors, fairy houses, and mini cupcakes with beet frosting!

Poking through my pic folders I found another fun day worth sharing. On this spring day I had Sunny and Ruby (2 and 3 then) to keep occupied. For our outing we chose a walk to a neighborhood "park" that really just consists of a long stretch of grass edged by trees. We had a picnic and built a fairy house. Fairy houses are SO much fun and we make them wherever we go. Seriously. Fairy houses deserve their own entry. They are just little habitats made of bits of nature found in the immediate environment where you are building them. If you leave them there fairies will come and inhabit them at night. In return for the shelter, fairies gift us with good weather on days of parties and other important events.


Here's Sunny picnic'n on edamame, with the day's fairy house under construction in the background.


Ruby collects some good building materials.


The out-of-house DJ (ok ok Jared our daughter does need a haircut. I don't think I've posted a photo of her here yet where her poor little face is visible.)


After our time in the park we came home, had lunch and set about making a batch of mini cupcakes (is it apparent in this blog yet that we love wee things? We really do). The girls loved helping me make the cupcakes then iced themselves with frosting we made from confectioner's sugar, water and beet juice for color. We topped each one with a little candy ball. Cute! Days fly by with fun projects like this.


Back at home, frosting the cupcakes.


yum!

Terrariums!

Oh sweet cathexis! I am currently crushing hard on terrariums. Sunny (3), Ruby (4) and I recently made some sweet little mini gardens. It was so fun and so easy! I can't wait to make another.

Here are the items needed to make your own.

Container - Glass is great because you can easily see into your garden and whether it needs water or not. You can get creative here. From mason jars to aquariums, there are many options. The containers can have lids or not, it's up to you. Since my obsession began I can't pass by the glassware section of any thrift store without checking for the perfect min-garden container.

Pebbles- After you clean your container thoroughly, the first thing that goes in is a layer of small rocks or pebbles. This is so water can drain and collect in the bottom. (Again, put your noggin to use. In place of pebbles you can use sea glass, marbles or any other small, water-proof item you want to use.)

Activated charcoal (optional)- You can find this at nurseries and pet stores. Put a half inch or so on top of your drainage layer to keep your garden aerated if you're working in a container with a lid. If your container is open it is, in my opinion, not necessary, though I believe some people do use it regardless.

Moss- Moss is one of my favorite things on earth. The texture, the vivid color, the loamy smell. I love it all. Add a layer of moss at this stage to keep soil from settling into your drainage layer. This is not bad for your terrarium, just an aesthetic issue. I love to be able to look into the side of my terrarium and see the distinct layers at work.

Potting soil- Now it's time to add your potting soil. Keep in mind how big your plants are to allow adequate room.

Plants- Now it's time to plant! Little ferns, ground cover, and any small plant that likes a humid environment is good for a terrarium. Give them space between to grow.

Charms- I love to add some whimsy to my mini gardens with little charms such as fairies, gnomes, etc. AGAIN with the endless possibilities! Oh I just want a terrarium in my pocket everywhere I go!

This is the one that currently sits on my desk. It makes me grin every time I look at it.

Purse Craft and Candy Store

Hello! Today in my charge are girl scouts Sunny (3) and Nora (5). After lunch they asked to make a craft. They know I'm a sucker for craft hour. I didn't have anything on deck for once though, so I asked them to think of anything they might want to make. Sunny requested a real live elephant. Nora, ever the more practical of the two, suggested we make purses. Ah and just after I picked up a stack of felt on sale at Joann's last week! What a simple project! I decided I might make a fancier attempt at felt purses when I don't have two little girls climbing my legs with excitement.

As it is, each little clutch took me about 5 minutes to complete. I just folded a sheet of felt twice, sewed up the sides, turned inside out, sewed a button on the flap and cut a slit for the button hole. Voila!

Sunny's:


Nora's:


I let them decorate them with stickers (but ain't the possibilities just endless??) then I set up a candy shop with Sunny's toy cash register, a bucket of plastic lollipops, marbles for jaw breakers, craft puffs for gumdrops, etc. and gave them each some change to keep in their purses for candy shopping. Obviously this day's activity is not for kids under 3 and these 2 know better than to put anything in their mouths. Every kid is different so always use your best judgement about these things. Don't sue the troopleader if your kid has a Curious George moment with a nickel or a marble!





Stay tuned, as I plan to post a lot of photos and info about fun projects and outings of the past, then post a new one every day to inspire you and your little ones!