simple Analogy

Painting with Children

I sure have gotten a lot of mileage out of our rain painting project from this month's Kid's Craft Along project.  Rain painting turned out to be a hit!  I personally had a great time with it, not to mention being able to use it with several groups of children.

I used the process to "paint" Fiji soft coral with 30 children during AWANA.  Turns out that telling children to scribble with markers on their paper is so foreign to them that they just look at you like you're crazy! "You want me to scribble?  Are you nuts?"  I could hear it going through their heads.  I guess that's because the minute they can hold a crayon or marker, we teach them to "stay in the lines".  Then I turn around and tell them to let loose and make a mess on their paper.  After a few of them tried it, it was quite freeing.  Anyway, the process worked fine, but the execution was not as stellar as I had hoped.  I bought a cheaper brand of watercolor paper for the AWANA group, and the colors just didn't spread quite like I wanted them to.

Note:  The more "toothed" (or textured for you non-watercolor people) the paper, the better the result.

Lesson learned for round two... I bought good watercolor paper for my next painting adventure.  Once a month our church cooks a meal for the Ronald McDonald House.  After making banana pudding (and leaving Landon, my banana pudding cooking partner, to whip up three quarts of whipping cream) I set up a craft table for the children staying there to rain paint.  We started out doing a Fiji soft coral painting, and then I let them do whatever they wanted.  And they wanted!  Their little shaved heads bent close over their work, the children kept asking to do another and another.  Toward the end we were cutting up the little bit of watercolor paper I had left into smaller pieces so that we could keep painting.  It's such a surprise to watch what each squirt of the water bottle brings.

I was hoping to be a blessing to these children, but I was the one who was blessed!

It's Shoebox Time

A few weeks ago I participated in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing party at church.  We got to hear the story of a full circle Christmas Child.  This young lady' was in an orphanage in Russia... colorless, crammed together, rampant lice and the accompanying head shavings, sharing toothbrushes, bed linen never changed.  Heart breaking.  She said that one day some of the children started talking about shoeboxes.  Not even knowing what a shoebox was because she had never had a new pair of shoes, she asked them what it was.  The children told her about receiving their very own toys and candy in a shoebox at Christmas time.  She started to look forward to the day she might receive a shoebox.

On Christmas Day, she sat with three hundred children waiting for hours as they were called one by one to get their box.  When she opened it up she couldn't believe her eyes!  There was her OWN toothbrush/paste, lots of candy, a colorful slinky, and other gifts.  She said that it meant so much to have that boxful of gifts.  At the age of ten she was adopted and brought to the United States.  Today she speaks for Operation Christmas Child events and encourages people to get involved by packing a shoebox for children just like her.

At the end of her presentation, there wasn't a dry eye in the place! 

My family has been packing shoeboxes every year for years.  The boys and I worked on our Operation Christmas Child boxes last weekend.  They boys were so fun to watch hunting through Walmart for things to fill their boxes, which were of course for boys. They were like kids in a candy store... duct tape, notebooks, pens, CANDY, balls, cars, playdough, flashlights, gum, harmonica.  I had just as much fun shopping for my girl box - hairbrush, headbands, chapstick, a pink shirt, colorful pens, gum.  These were just a few of the things we included in our boxes.

I want to encourage you to pack a box this year.  It's so easy to bring joy to a child!  For more information on how to pack a shoebox box go to Operation Christmas Child.

A New Kind of Fruit Basket

Isn't it exciting to come across a tutorial that you feel you MUST make immediately?  Isn't it even better when you don't have to run to JoAnn's to get the supplies but are able to use your scrap stash?  In other words, you can make it for absolutely free! Then isn't it even better if it's something you actually need at the moment?   All of these were the case with Freshly Pickled's Baby Hats!

 I saw them on Thursday at noon.

In about 45 minutes I had an apple.

About an hour later I had a strawberry.  Could have been shorter if I would have had pinking sheers.  I had to snip my leaves by hand.  Ugh!  Can I borrow yours next time, Mom?

The next morning I had a pineapple.

To tell you the truth, the pineapple is my favorite.  I L-O-V-E the texture.  The only thing I'm not happy about with mine, is that the green at the top is a little too short and skinny.  Next time I'll use a longer strip of fabric and cut chunkier leaves.

With such a cute hat on their noggin', a mom might not even mind if someone calls her baby a "pineapple head"!  Well, maybe...

***Disclaimer:  No, I didn't make these because I have NEWS to share.  Actually the ladies at church have been sharing a lot of NEWS lately, and I'm trying to get my stash up.  Also, I think they'd be great for the littlest of warrior heads over on Craft Hope. 

Piggy Bank Bash

On July 2, 2011, a tragic car accident in West Texas changed one family forever. Robin and Joshua Berry were killed in a head-on collision when an automobile veered into their lane as they traveled home to Houston from a family vacation in Colorado. Two of their children, 9-year-old Peter and 8-year-old Aaron, suffered spinal injuries in the accident and are paralyzed from the waist down. Willa, the Berry’s 6-year old daughter is recovering from a broken arm and leg.

News of this accident quickly traveled through the community, across the nation, and around the world! There have been countless fundraisers and outreach to support this family, as the cost to provide physical and emotional rehabilitation for these three children is unfathomable.

Those of you in the Houston/Clear Lake/Bay Area are invited to the Piggy Bank Bash 4 the Berry Kids.  Two of my necklaces will be auctioned at the event, along with lots of other great items.  There will be music, food, fun, and best of all 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Berry children.

I've learned that the blogging community is such a generous and caring group of people.  If this has touched your heart, you can read more about the event, sponsorship, and donations at the Piggy Bank Bash website!

Fleece Blanket Round-Up

 
The Craft Hope project this time was just a little beyond what I was comfortable with.  I just couldn't get past the word "razor".  Instead I made no sew fleece blankets as a part of my church group.  The fleece was provided, so all I had to do was cut and tie.  A snap!

 
Then I got to thinking about some other possibilities for these.  What about reverse applique?  

 
image from Noodlehead

This scarf is very simple, but I can imagine a more sophisticated design for a blanket.  Hmmm...  

 
image from craftstylish

Or an argyle? 

 
image from Purl Bee

How about a shot cotton/rick rack one? 

 
image from Make It Snappy

Then I saw Megan's patchwork bound blanket.  That does it!  I'm putting fleece blankets on my Christmas list for the nieces/nephews.

That's a Wrap

Are we there yet?  Yes!  We're done with our Craft Hope Project 10!!!!!!! 

Megan and I dyed these on Thursday, and tied all of our hats and onesies into sets on Friday.  Delivery takes place as soon as we can find a spare moment in our schedules. 

Thirty-six sets in all.  No more onesies or hats for quite a while!!!

Meet Angie

 
Angie is helping Megan and I with our Craft Hope Project 10 hats and onesies.  Aren't these hats adorable!  The flower is a barrett that clips onto the cord on the front.  Clever!

 
 
She made several plain hats and I added leftover fabric from them to make matching onesies.

 
And a few of my fabric flowers to some of the hats.

 
Her little boy onesie with a tie is precious.  There was a vagrant blue hat in my stash that didn't have a onesie to go with it.  I just happened to have a scrap of the same fabric she used for the tie to add a little tag on the hat so that these two could make a set.

You've got to go take a look at her shop, The Sparkle Baby!  The diaper wipes cases are the cutest I've seen!  Plus there are tutus, diaper bags, wipes wristlets, burp cloths...  Perfect gifts for a baby shower!

Thanks for helping us, Angie!

More of the Same

Yep, more girl onesies!  Each combo has a story of it's own.  These came from a toddler size dress from Target with a scalloped hem.  I didn't know how that would work for a hat, so I just cut strips, ruffled, and bannered.  Can you tell I'm really liking the banner for the girls?  I just "happened" to have a mint green shirt in the donation pile to use for the hat and, so it wouldn't look odd, added a patch of the same ruffle to it. 

If you're getting tired of seeing these, there's a new variation in the works.  I have a stack of whitey tighty onesies and hats that are awaiting the dye bath whenever Megan and I can re-schedule.  And tomorrow's post will have nothing to do with onesies or hats.  I promise!!!

Days of the Week (tsh, tsh)

 
My niece is in kindergarten this year.  Every now and then she busts out in a song they are learning at school to see if I know it as well.  I knew this one (sung to the Adam's Family tune only instead of snapping they make a "tsh, tsh" sound)...

Days of the week! (tsh, tsh)

Days of the week! (tsh, tsh)

It's Sunday and it's Monday,

It's Tuesday and it's Wednesday.

It's Thursday and it's Friday,

And last is Saturday.

Days of the week! (tsh, tsh)

Days of the week! (tsh, tsh)

 
My favorite day of the week is Thursday.  It's more relaxed than any other day and the day I sew.  Yes, I try to fit sewing time in other nooks and crannies during the other days of the week, but Thursday is my only really long stretch of sewing time.  Uninterrupted sewing is how I can make seven hat/onesie sets in an afternoon.  Plus the fact that I have older children who don't have to have an eye on them every waking moment.

 
 
 
Most of the shirts gleaned from the donations at church so far have been boy stuff, but this girly one turned out mighty cute.  The girl sets take more time because I have to want to add a few extra things to them - like ruffles and a little hand stitching.  Maybe that's why God blessed me with boys.   He knew I'd go overboard if I had a girl of my own.

P.S.  I like Friday too!  Have a good one!  And take a peek at Megan's robot set.  So cute!

Kisses for the Girls

Doesn't that look like a Hershey's Kiss?  Originally I thought the brown hats would be for boys, but when I saw the "kisses" in them I opted for making them into a girl version.

 
I immediately cut white tags and wrote "KISSES..." on them.  I added a little pink garnish to the tag and tacked them on by hand.

Now for the matching onsie-

 
 
A little ruffle on the front and adorable brown and pink ruffles on the bum.  It pretty much screams of girly chocolate!