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Felted Bird House / Fairy House

2010-01-17T16:34:00.003-05:00

This Fiber Trends pattern for a felted bird house was begging to be made into a fairy house, if you ask me. That said, I dove into my first knitted felting project, and found it to be pretty easy. It knits fast, and then into the washing machine it went.

Luckily we had a birthday party coming up so we all set about fashioning it into a fairy house for a lovely four-year-old girl. We were nearly done with wrapping when I realized I had not taken a photo, so in a rush we got this:

Some helpful tips for felting in the washing machine:

Throw in a pair of jeans you don't mind washing a lot. It helps with the agitation.
Place each knitted piece in its own zipped pillowcase. Bits of wool chunk off and you don't want them clogging up your machine or felting onto the other piece.
Don't worry about weaving in any ends. They will magically felt like everything else.
Go between very hot water/agitation, and very cold water/agitation. This makes it go faster.
It might take three or four times of agitating to get it small. Basically keep doing cycles of it until it won't shrink anymore.

On top of the finished piece I needle felted different wooly bits to make some grass, flowers and windows, as well as the polka dotted roof. After the felting, you can cut into the piece without it fraying, so I used an exacto knife to cut the door shape. I needle felted a ball for the doorknob.

Miss Six and my Other Half whipped up the popsicle stick weathervane and needle felted rooster while I finished up the details on the house. While that was going on, LEB (3.5 y) made the two people to be the first inhabitants. We tied them to the outside of the packaging and set off to the party with minutes to spare.

This was our first family collaboration and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. No doubt more of these will be in our gift giving future.

Softie from a Child's Drawing: take 2

2009-11-27T11:25:00.003-05:00

I had done some transferring of children's drawings to embroidery at one point with pretty results. In the Spring I tried my hand at making a softie from a child's drawing. I used felting wool for that project, but had really been wanting to make a really soft softie. The opportunity presented itself recently when a very lovely four year old who I will call GB, kept making these gorgeous drawings of girls. I could see how it would translate to a softie in a fun way, so I asked her if I could take her drawing and quietly set about making it in 3D.

With the help of Miss Six (formerly known as Miss Kinder) we chose fabrics and got out the embroidery thread. I started with the legs, figuring if they came out cute I'd go on to the body and face. The project was really fun, and pretty quick. I spent about three hours on her and gave her to the mother of GB just before Thanksgiving. It was well received, and I can't wait to do more of these.

Now it's time to focus on Christmas gifts!

Giving Thanks

2009-11-26T20:11:00.003-05:00

Today I had a delicious day. Food, friends and family here in this cozy town that we like best. I also had the opportunity today to wield a glue gun, a curling iron and a champagne glass (at different times). I've got projects to share with you and some etsy to round up, so stand by. And Happy Thanksgiving.

Teacher Gift Idea

2009-09-01T09:04:00.005-04:00

It was last minute, but I put together a small reusable container full of little things for our new first graders teacher. Which gets me thinking, Should Miss Kinder now be Miss Firster? Not as cute at all. I'm going to have to think on that one.

I used a small plastic container with a lid from IKEA and filled it with a selection of teas, vitamin drink mixes, some great hand cream and a small sized hand sanitizer. I tied it up with a simple ribbon and a note to the teacher wishing her a great year and letting her know I'm available to help in the classroom with anything she needs.

My hope is it helps her know she is important to us and we wish her well with the year, as well as to let her know we are here to help.

Good luck to all of your schoolchildren. These days are very bittersweet.

Wrapping up Summer

2009-08-30T19:43:00.004-04:00

Just two more days before school begins, and we're making the most of it. Hang tight friends, I'll be back to you when my six year old is tucked safely into first grade.

Giveaway Winner

2009-08-21T13:48:00.003-04:00

The winner of my 100th post giveaway is:

I would love to take a chance on the Take a Chance bowl!

Lovely picks!
XO
Iris

Congratulations, Iris! If you don't know Iris be sure to check out her lovely blog, Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life. As soon as I get a mailing address, I'll be sending her this beautiful bowl...

And thank you to everyone for all your support since I started this little blog. Keep coming!

Treading Lightly - Drawing on Rocks

2009-08-19T20:55:00.015-04:00

It turns out that both my girls are huge camping fans. This is great news to me, because you never know what your kids will run fast away from that you'd hoped to share with them. Some of my greatest memories from childhood are from camping trips. It was music to my ears when Miss Kinder asked me this weekend, "Am I dreaming, or is it really real that we are camping?" Her favorite part of this two-day stay, hands down, was kayaking.

LEB's favorite part of camping was the same as her favorite part of everyday: marveling at and trying to keep up with her big sister.

On one of our walks around the campsite, Miss Kinder found a feather. She tucked it into her pocket and brought it back to the site and proceeded to do some rock drawings, using the feather as a pen. It was her idea to use juice, "So it would be like the real older times, except we don't have ink."

If you want to give this a try, I'd suggest using grape juice so that your work comes out a bit darker. Miss Kinder only had cranberry juice to work with, so they dried on the lighter side.

After a dewy night, the drawings were gone, which was perfect, because we were heading home and didn't want to leave anything behind that would take away from the natural landscape for the next lucky campers. Maybe next time we go camping we'll look for berries or leaves to crush up and see if we can get create some natural paints. Leave a comment if you have tips on that for us.

Etsy Giveaway! 100th post & Power Animal of the Month: Pets!

2009-08-13T20:35:00.020-04:00

What better way to celebrate my 100th post than with an Etsy giveaway! And can I just tell you that I'm super excited that this very 100th post happens to be a Power Animal of the Month one?

To celebrate I am treating one lucky visitor with the Etsy item of their choice from this PAOTM montage. This collection serves as my July and August Power Animal of the Month and celebrates various pets I had growing up. As I write this, old lady Peaches sits snoring at my hip and I'm reminded of the solace pets provide us in difficult times. And I've selected items from sellers that I really, really love. I hope you do, too.

1.Girl and Bunny Print by theblackapple 2. henny penny upcycled plush by moseyhandmade 3. Wooden Star House Bird Folk - Yellow by urastarhouse 4. Take a Chance bowl by elmstudio 5. 8 Pirate Party Invitations by belleandboo 6. Cat and Dog Love Pillow by Juliapott 7. Airedale Terrier at the Coffee Shop art prin t by lulunjay 8. Ginger Tabby Print 8 x 10 by johnwgolden 9. Cat Jam by ohmycavalier 10. mermaid with fishes gocco print by katep

To be eligible to win, leave a comment here on this post before midnight, August 20th. Be sure to say which Etsy item you'd like to win. I'll post the winner on August 21st!

Explanation and hello again

2009-08-13T18:19:00.008-04:00

Hopefully you have missed me since June when my blogging life got put rather abruptly on hold. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that my whole life got put rather abruptly on hold. In mid-June my mother suffered a massive stroke and passed away ten days later. It was a shock for all of us, and I have been really grateful to everyone who knows me and who as reached out to me since this happened. It's meant a lot.

Peaches, my mothers 12 year old dog. Now, Peaches, my 12 year old dog

Three days after that, a good friend became suddenly and unexpectedly very ill after giving birth to her first baby. She bravely endured three surgeries within ten days (many of those spent without being able to see her baby). Without hesitation I went from my mother's funeral to my friends home, where I spent the next three weeks helping take care of the baby while she recovered in the hospital and got home and settled. Six and a half weeks later I am super happy to say that she has recovered, her baby is (and always was) perfect and she and her husband are as tired and blissed-out as any new parents would be.

LEB and Miss Kinder soothing baby Nugget

I have looked longingly at my knitting needles and attempted a pair of socks which are coming along. I've purchased tons of fabric from my favorite shop for a slipcover project which I am excited and terrified to start, and I've felt really sad that I missed July's Power Animal of the Month.

June and July were spent in two different states, in two different ICUs, at one gravesite saying goodbye and at a newborn bassinet saying hello. Life is different for me now, but I'm back. And I've really missed you all.

Power Animal of the Month: Unicorn

2009-06-02T08:06:00.010-04:00

Because it is Miss Kinder's birthday this month, and this is an important animal in her world, behold the unicorn.

1. Magical Journey Women's Small T-Shirt by SirMitchell 2. you are just like me by jessgonacha 3. U is for Unicorn by sheridesthelion 4. Unicorn Screen Printed Long Sleeve Tee or Onsie 5. Shiny Holidays by stephlaberis 6. Unicorn vinyl graphics Decal wall art 7. Unicorns T-shirt by pechdino 8. Dungeons and Dragons Nerd by laurengregg 9. Lovicorn the Recycled Tea Towel Unicorn by handmadepretties 10. I'm magic unicorn t-shirt by teeandtoast

Early birds

2009-05-27T17:59:00.002-04:00

We had a yard sale over the weekend, which Miss Kinder used as a good reason for selling lemonade and cupcakes. The sale went very well, and the yard sale early birds were no match for our early birds. [They got us up at 5:30, allowing us to be fully set up by 7. I think only one or two cars had done a drive by.]

It was a lot of fun for the girls, who managed to sell nearly fifty cupcakes and half as much lemonade. At one point during the morning I had to run out for more eggs to make another batch because they were running out.

We've had the most amazing stretch of days, and have been outside for most all of them. I'm sort of excited by today's rain and the gloomy forecast because I've been wanting to have a good excuse to hole up and craft indoors.

Juxtapose

2009-05-18T08:02:00.003-04:00

It's really hard to keep up with all I want to do that looks like this

When it looks like this

As the days get longer and longer, the indoor craftiness time seems to get shorter and shorter. This is great, but the blog suffers! We'll be moving our crafts outside to the garden in the coming weeks. The plan is to make a fairy house and an herb spiral. Stay tuned!

Campground Fever

2009-05-12T10:14:00.019-04:00

The camping trip was fantastic. It was rainy sometimes, and cloudy the rest, but we all had huge fun. Our campsite had a perfect view of Penobscot Bay and was steps from the beach. We could sit at the campfire and watch the girls walk down to the shoreline in their boots and fleece jackets and did our best to keep their feet dry between stompings.

The view from our campsite (site #2) from Searsport Shores Ocean Camping flickr site

The owners are the most committed and friendly couple, Steve and Astrig, who have created a really special place. I learned about it from stumbling on Astr ig's blog where she talks about living in Midcoast Maine in a place where her home sits among 100+ campsites. As hosts go, these two are tops. Every Saturday in the summertime they host a lobster bake, once a week they have a family movie night in the lodge, and while we were there we had the chance to enjoy homemade donuts and hot cocoa complete with homemade marshmallows covered in toasted coconut. Astrig's small touches made the place super sensational. The girls favorite was the iced water, which Astrig dropped violets in just to make everyone happy.

For our part of the cleanup, my other half dusted off his carpentry skills while the girls and I spruced up the dressup area of the lodge, going through a huge trunk of gowns and costumes and selecting their favorite 15 to hang up for the season. You can imagine how much they enjoyed this "chore."

Photo of the lodge from Searsport Shores Ocean Camping flickr site

Camping events the girls loved most were using glow sticks and flashlights, and helping gather wood for the fire. They also loved beach combing for sand dollars, beach glass and smooth stones, staying up extra late, being in the rain at night in the tent, getting as dirty as they wanted, and meeting the goats that live on the property. Oh, didn't I tell you they have two goats? This place is paradise.

Photo of Lollipop the goat, from Searsport Shores Ocean Camping website

One packing note: I remembered from my old days as a scout to pack your clothes by day and seal each day in a gallon-sized ziplock bag. This prevents overpacking and most importantly, it keeps everything dry. This was really helpful because it was wet most of the time, and when we got home I didn't have to wash the clothes we didn't wear since they were sealed up and didn't smell like a campfire.

Happy Campers

2009-05-08T09:37:00.008-04:00

In a couple hours we leave for our first family camping trip. The car is packed, the hobo packs are ready, and I hope I've remembered just about everything. Here's to my girls loving it as much as I did as a kid!

This End Up

2009-05-07T09:03:00.005-04:00

Miss Kinder insisted that her best friend receive a riding pony-on-a-stick, a request I couldn't deny her since the pair of ponies-on-sticks are the favorite pretend play item of choice by her and V. when they are at our house.

picture from amazon

I have managed to keep my handmade pledge all year, and I wasn't sure this one infraction was all that bad. I eased my mind on this front in two ways: I bought the pony locally, and then I set my mind to making a box for it that would conceal its identity and allow me to make something as well.

So, what kind of box can you make to hide a stick pony? And it came to me. Ta da!

Softie from a Child's Drawing

2009-05-06T08:54:00.005-04:00

For V's birthday, I took one of her imaginary animal drawings to make a softie. Using some colored wool, I needle felted it into shape and then did a blanket stitch to make a small pillowy animal for her.

This animal is named Stripey. It eats stripes, drinks polka dots, and is the protector of all jungles. How could I not try and bring it to life a bit?

Power Animal of the Month: Honeybee!

2009-05-04T19:08:00.012-04:00

Here in Maine, the dandelions, tulips and daffodils are alive with the buzzing of honeybees. It's such a welcome sound after six months of crunching through snow and ice. No bees were harmed in the making of this power animal roundup, though my sensibilities were offended often from really awful bee-based puns [see: bee mine, bee kind, you're bee-u-ti-ful!]

I also included a lovely bee box (#1) for bees of the real-life variety. Like Miss Kinder says, "Without bees LEB, you know what!? We'd be so poor and starving, we would even have no food for a million years!"

1. Mason Bee Box, Orchard Bee Box by andrewsreclaimed 2. Bumblina Bee girl print by thepoppytree 3. One Little Woollen Egg Bee Girl by asherjasper 4. Bee Scientific by bianarywinter 5. Baby Bumblebee PDF ePattern by bitofwhimsyprims 6. Honey ring by EllePdesigns 7. Eco Friendly Produce Bags set of 3 with Case-Bee Skep by sewingamity 8. the bee girl by jessgonacha 9. Linocut Honeybee Belt Buckle by blockheadpress 10. Busy Bumble Bee Bobbin Shaped Japanese Rubber Stamp by JapanKawaiiYa

Twirling into Spring

2009-05-04T18:30:00.004-04:00

I've been wanting to make twirly skirts for both Miss Kinder and LEB, because they like them and because it's a good way to practice on my sewing machine. I found two tutorials online that inspired me to cut into the IKEA hippo fabric and polka dots that I'd been saving for something special.

I approached the project carefully. I got all my materials out, read and re-read the instructions, and dutifully used my seam ripper when I did something wrong. The resulting skirt has me prouder than all get out. It's been very well received.

I'm the kind of mom who likes to indulge the dancer in both her girls, and who also demands that they not be precious about dresses and skirts. I've always maintained that they should play in their clothes, and that getting dirty is a pretty important part of most days. That said, there is no reason that the dirty clothes piled up next to the bathtub shouldn't be as girly as a girl might like.

I love how Miss Kinder immediately began to dance in this skirt. I also love that she remembered to put good shoes on her feet in case of a quick game of tag or if she needed to scale some big rocks on the beach.

Happy Birthday, V

2009-04-29T10:14:00.008-04:00

Today, we're celebrating Miss Kinder's best friend's birthday.

After school there is cake planned, and before school there were popsicles for breakfast. After all, V is six!

The View From Here

2009-04-25T10:12:00.004-04:00

I found my camera. The culprit was a pile of crafty things I stashed away, of course. Works in progress. Under the felt was some fabric, which had some embroidery under it, which had some origami under it, which was covering the camera. Tsk, tsk.

Here were some pictures I found on the camera of what we'd been up to on the day leading up to our visitors.

New journals for the girls to write in. LEB chose blue, Miss Kinder went with pink, and Miss Kinder's best friend V went with red.

Socks for my own two feet. Miss Kinder took this picture, and about ten others of me in various places in the living room, knitting socks.

Early morning bubbles on the porch.

DIY Kits I Need

2009-04-24T17:59:00.013-04:00

There is no end to the ways to DIY. Every angle of my life now seems focused through this lens, and I have mountains of enthusiasm, good doses of patience and moderate skills in some of the areas. Here is a roundup of what's on my hope-to-do list. Do any of you have experience in any of these? Am I biting off way more than I can chew? Wait, don't answer that last one!

Don't forget, any of these would make lovely Mother's Day gifts for those crafty mamas we all know and love. Happy weekend, everyone. We're sailing into the 70 degree area here in coastal Maine, with plenty of sunshine to go around.

1. DIY Pettiskirt Kit includes Pattern Fabric Notions, by DreamSpunKids, $24.50 2. Baby Shoes DIY Kit, Torquoise Felt by creakit, $30 3. ATC Kit, Gobs of Goodies for Artist Trading Cards by kitsandcaboodles, $19.50 4. Intro Starter stamp jewelry Kit 1.5mm letters and numbers plus tons more by Romazone, $75 5. Do-It-Yourself Notepad Kit by thesmallobject, $30 6. Design Your Own Nesting Doll Kit (set of 5) by themercshop, $13 7. Petite Party Pack. Create 20 glass and scrabble tile pendants, magnets and rings, by AnnieHowes $28 8. Speedball Deluxe Screen Printing Kit by ShipsInBottles

Celebrate Etsy Day Today

2009-04-24T08:09:00.004-04:00

Today is Etsy day! Support a local crafter/artist, or a faraway one who makes something really lovely.

You don't need a reason, but there is always someone's birthday or Mother's Day, or a spring skirt that needs making. If you need more ideas, here's a link to all my Etsy posts.

Missing camera

2009-04-24T07:44:00.004-04:00

When you are having guests, sometimes that dash of cleaning leads to problems. Like how my camera is completely lost. I've issued a reward to all children in the house. Even that has not managed to help the camera surface. So this explains my lack of blog posts. Hopefully it worms its way out from wherever it is and I can post again with abandon. I have lots to share!

Where are you? by labellepomme

Hedgies, take two

2009-04-20T19:23:00.016-04:00

Lots of my friendly visitors arrive here on skipthechips via my February Power Animal of the Month post on that wonderful animal that is the hedgehog. I looked back at that post and found it a little lackluster, so here is a proper PAOTM roundup on that snuzzly-but-pokey furball.

1. Mr. Hedgie archival quality print by picturebookstudios 2. Good Day Hedgehog Print by MarmeeCraft 3. Happy Birthday Hoggle Hedgehog Postcard by rhymeswithtwee 4. what page are you on by tollipop 5. Rainy Day Hedgehog on Sky Blue by raincloudstudio 6. Hedgehogs and mushrooms - hand stamped linen tape by craftpudding 7. The Woodland Pals Rubber Stamp Set by thesmallobject 8. Hedge Hog Spinning Ring - Dizzy by joykruse 9. Hedgehog Cereal Bowl by agatka 10. The Hirsute Hedgehog Print by johnwgolden

Knitting, Sewing and Dusting Off the Blog

2009-04-20T08:12:00.009-04:00

Holy cow, what a week! We had two sets of old friends visit, back-to-back, and did a lot of catching up and making meals and drinking wine. One set came all the way from London, and the other from our old stomping grounds, NYC.

While they were here, three of them learned how to knit! It was fun to show them some of the very basic basics, and then make a trip to Belfast's local yarn shop [where all of April the sock yarn is 20% off! This picture is from their website]

Everyone did some knitting and playing around, and the star pupil cast on 48 stitches, divided them onto three double pointed needles, and did the first inch of a 2x2 rib for a socks. How amazing are you when your first knitted project is a sock?

I also learned about a new-to-me website, ravelry.com, which came up randomly three different times. It is a knitting community site, I gather, and I hear it's addictive. Nothing can be worse than my sock addiction, which at sock number 10 is nearing intervention time.

I have a yard of Alexander Henry Juicy Lemon fabric and have in mind to have Miss Kinder whip up Angry Chicken's 5-minute skirt. I think it will take slightly longer by her five year old hands, but the end result should be well worth it.

It feels good to be back! I missed you!

Swap-CHOO! Results

2009-04-13T20:17:00.007-04:00

I am fairly certain my hankie has landed in Vancouver, so I'm going to unveil what I sent for our Swap-CHOO handmade hankie swap. It was such a fun exchange, and I loved thinking about the 14 of us stitching up a tiny and sweet handmade item. A hankie seems both practical and romantic, and I'm hard-pressed to come up with another item you can say that about.

I embroidered a dandy red bike on it for my swap partner, Holly, who I learned from her blog has a lovely red bike that gets her all around. And, of course, the fabric came from Alewives (check out their site, because it's all redone and so beautiful!)

On the poem front, I considered ignoring the fact that I write poetry because I felt sort of shy about it. When it came time to put pen to paper, it felt super genuine to go ahead. I chose one from last year, one I wrote for a Valentine's Day poetry contest here in Belfast which landed me 3rd prize.

Check out our Swap-CHOO! Flickr pool for pictures of all the great hankies swapped so far.

Needle Felted Weekend

2009-04-13T08:47:00.005-04:00

Someone suggested that the girls use a chopstick to hold the felt down while poking with a needle into the felt, and it was brilliant!

We had a wooly weekend, making little animals and jewelry with the roving wool.

To make the ring, I cut a small strip of felt that would fit around the ring finger and poked a small tuft of roving wool at the seam to join it.

But the little nest/bowl is my favorite, because it reminds me of these sweet nesting bowls on Etsy. I think I will make a couple more in larger sizes to go with this one that is being used temporarily as a nest.

With Easter behind us we are on to planting and cleaning up in preparation for spring, learning to ride without training wheels, and having friends come stay for the week. I will try to keep posting, but there is a chance I get spotty as the week goes on and people arrive from Tuesday through Saturday. Rest assured, I am staying crafty and snapping photos all the while!

Needle Felting Kids Drawings

2009-04-09T08:41:00.005-04:00

Inspired again by Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes, Miss Kinder and I decided to make felt bracelets from two recent animal drawings. We followed Lisa's tutorial with one exception -- we used roving wool for the insides and did some needle felting!

Disclaimer: The felting needle is super duper sharp. This activity involves poking a sharp needle in and out of the roving wool and requires concentration. Probably you shouldn't let your nearly six year old do this. But I did. I watched her like a hawk and her temperament has always been careful and not impulsive. I know I wasn't much older than six before I was using a pocketknife and learning to whittle sticks. I'm done with my disclaiming now.

We cut the felt bracelet shape out and I embroidered the outline of her animal onto the felt. Then she chose the colors and we pulled out small tufts of dyed wool and began to poke the needle through them and into the felt. The fibers of the wool poke through the felt and sort of hook onto each other, and you get a lovely wooly color block.

The more you poke, the more the wool flattens down and takes shape. You can use the needle to shape the wool, being sure to go carefully. Once I got the basic color down, I let Miss Kinder take over the poking, so she could do some.

They came out really cute, and were sent out as small gifts to some loved ones. In a couple of years, she'll be needle felting without supervision and who knows what she'll come up with!

Drawing with Kids: Still Life

2009-04-06T07:29:00.005-04:00

Miss Kinder tried her hand at drawing a still life. Even at five years old she was able to sit for a good amount of time and concentrate on her lines and trying to make the picture the way she wanted it. She loved picking out objects for her picture and arranging them on the table.

At first she thought it would be better to choose items she thought would be "easy" so she picked a green mug, a rubber ball and a penny -- but then she spied the shell and the cactus and swapped them. After she finished her drawing she realized the mug wasn't so easy after all.

Setting up a still life couldn't be more easy. Have your child pick out a few interesting objects and arrange them on a flat surface. Set up your child with paper and a pencil. I tried playing some soft music for her, but she immediately told me that she couldn't concentrate, so maybe quiet is better. Then, let them do the rest!

In other news, Belfast, Maine appears to be officially unsnowy! We have mud! No more of this beautiful stuff, hopefully, for seven months!

Many Millions of Free Sock Patterns

2009-04-03T18:24:00.005-04:00

I just found this and have to share. Of course I'm already holding the skein for my next pair of socks, and I'm looking for a new pattern. And look what I found!

Boogie Knits Free Patterns for Socks

She has links to every kind of sock you could think of. I'm already bookmarking these three for next projects. Can you tell which one is for me, Miss Kinder and LEB?

Children's Slipper Socks

Little Shell Socks

Cut Your Teeth Socks

Half a Pair

2009-04-02T21:22:00.011-04:00

One sock, done! My Other Half tried it on and said it actually feels like a sock! On to the match!

In addition to all the tips I gave you in this post, I highly recommend that any of you starting your first pair of socks watch this series of YouTube videos. She has a very soothing voice which she uses to give you careful explanations of each step, and I watched these several times when I got to a new part of the sock that I couldn't quite be sure about from reading only the pattern.

The most exciting part, as I'd heard from many others, was turning the heel. That's where the sock formally began to look like one, and it was thoroughly encouraging to go on from there. I had a couple parts where I could see that I had clearly made some sort of mistake in counting stitches, and I dutifully undid my work and redid it. The thing about knitting a sock is that you want it to feel good, and you want it to look good. Both these points make fixing mistakes important.

Which reminds me that one of the greatest lessons I had on knitting was from the blazingly talented fiber artist Linda LaBelle. Three hours on how to fix mistakes and how to differentiate between ones that can be fixed without undoing your work from the ones that cannot.

If you want to brush up on your mistake-fixing skills, CrazyAuntPurl has a great post on fixing knitting mistakes of all kinds. And good old YouTube has a great set of videos on fixing mistakes, which is my best way of learning just about anything.

Please post a comment and let me know if you are working on a sock, and show me how it's going!

Power Animal of the Month: Octopus!

2009-04-01T16:36:00.019-04:00

I don't want you to miss a moment of April Octopus Fever so I'll get right to it.

Some octopus facts:

* These invertebrates have the incredible ability to hide in plain sight

* They can also detach an arm if need be, and it will regrow in 6-8 weeks

* Studies have shown that they have both a short-term and long-term memory

* A baby octopus is pretty darn small. Newly born ones are the size of a flea

* The octopus has three hearts, which sounds both complicated and romantic.

1. Octopus 8 x 10 print 2. Gocco Print (Alive HotPink/Green) 3. I Thought We Were Friends 4. Takobotos Favorite Season 5. RODOZOO Yum YUM Octopus 6. Madame and Monsieur 7. Two Octopus Pint Glasses 8. Self Portrait Octopet Girl and Octopus

Drawing with Kids: Contour Drawing

2009-03-31T18:59:00.008-04:00

We checked this book out of the library and have been reading about artist materials and working on all kinds of drawing. Miss Kinder, age 5, particularly enjoyed the section on contour drawing, which happens to be the first exercise in the book.

Contour drawing, if you aren't familiar with the term, is basically drawing the outline of your picture. (My favorite contour drawing artist/illustrator, as a side note, is the lovely Leanne Shapton.) The exercise in the book is to create a contour montage, which involves tracing the outlines of a few interesting pictures of your choice.

We taped the magazine pictures she chose to the back of her paper (dancing woman, stack of money with eyes and cat face) and then taped the paper to a window so she could see the outlines most easily. After tracing the images, she spent some time tracing her pencil lines with a black pen and erasing any extra pencil marks she didn't want. Then she used oil crayons to color it in.

One of the rules the book emphasizes is that tracing isn't cheating, which I loved sharing with her. She and her peers seem to think that copying in any form means you are not interesting, or that you are trying to ruin the game or their drawing. She was very excited to see that this exercise specifically required tracing which allowed her to feel that her picture would have more of a resemblance to what she wanted it to look like, yet the end result is very different from the initial image so it's not merely a copy.

I foresee more of these in our future.

The First Sock

2009-03-30T09:33:00.004-04:00

I am trying my hand at knitting a pair of socks. I will keep you posted on my progress, but here is what I did last night:

The tips I've gathered on this type of project have all been really helpful at keeping me from being frustrated or bored.

* Use self-striping yarn. This will keep things interesting and make the socks beautiful.

* Cast on the double pointed needles loosely. This will keep you from going nutty when getting started.

* Ignore as best you can all the extra needles you are not using. This gets easier as you go, but is helpful at first when things don't look very sock-like and there are lots of points everywhere.

* If you find yourself sort of lost or confused or annoyed at first, stick with it. After a few rows, it will be ok. Hang in there.

My local knitting shop is filled with beautiful sock yarn choices, and I got tips, encouragement and a free pattern when I bought the yarn. Your store is probably this nice, too!

Before starting, I looked for some encouragement on the internet. My two favorite and best links for beginning sock knitters are here:

The Sock Knitter's Companion: Step-by-Step Help: This explains what goes into knitting a sock and is helpful as you follow any pattern for clearing up exactly what you are doing.

Silver's Sock Class: This one uses photos and explanations for beginner knitters and no pattern. It's very helpful if you are not familiar with reading patterns, or just want extra clear help in plain English.

ATC workshop by Miss Kinder

2009-03-28T18:08:00.008-04:00

Friday was Miss Kinder's big day to teach some local kids all about Artist Trading Cards. We arrived for the big event on time, to see we were being welcomed with great enthusiasm!

I had recommended to her that we approach the Starrett Center in Belfast to see if they might be interested in having her come in to share her ATC's and make some with the kids, and they were super excited. She was nervous, but settled in and helped me to explain a little about them and pass out lots of examples from her collection.

Everyone was eager to start. We passed out lots of blank precut cards and they got out the markers and pencils to give it a try. After they got comfortable, we cut out more paper and they brought out the really fun supplies: stickers, dried flowers, gluesticks, ribbon, fabric scraps, origami paper and watercolors.

We told them all about the Rockport Library and the binder you can swap your card into and take one of your choosing, which generated a lot of happiness. We had participants from age 3 to age 58 -- one of the greatest things of doing ATCs!

This one above is called Duck Village, and I was coveting it. The clever eight-year-old who made it wasn't ready to trade. But one of the teachers, Linda, kindly traded this beautiful ATC with Miss Kinder for one she brought to show everyone of the NYC skyline. Miss Kinder loved Linda's ATC, and was tickled by its name: Eggrise over Fingers.

Sunrise Surprise

2009-03-26T06:36:00.010-04:00

Most of the time I don't respond well when my girls bounce out of bed at 5 am. Both parents in this house are certifiable night owls, a fact that matters very little to young persons. Every once in a while, something wonderful happens. My girls wake up early, and I am not grumpy. I get up, get my coffee, and just enjoy the sunrise. Really.

Miss Kinder got out some markers and drew the colors she saw, noting that all of the rainbow except violet was represented.

I went outside to capture a photo to go with her drawing, but got some video instead. So if you are an early bird, or if you are a city bird, watch a little movie clip of my backyard during sunrise time and listen to what a sunrise sounds like here in Belfast, Maine.

Last Day to Sign Up for Swap--CHOO!

2009-03-25T09:50:00.002-04:00

We've got a healthy crop of swappers, but you can still sign up today if you want to join us and create a hand rolled hem hankie! We'll be organizing the swap pairs tonight and sending email out on Thursday.
This swap honors spring sneezes, the beauty of a handcrafted item, simpler times, romance, allergies and long goodbyes at the train station.

Leave a comment here or at Iris' blog, Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life. More details here.

Quilt Making: a Metaphor for Parenting

2009-03-24T15:39:00.013-04:00

Over the weekend Miss Kinder, who is nearly six, took a keen interest in the sewing machine. We took out a practice piece of fabric and got the basics down. Raising and lowering the arm, pressing the pedal with different amounts of pressure, and backing up.

It shouldn't have surprised me that after fifteen minutes of practicing she boldly announced that she was ready to make a quilt. I am the Exact Same Way. Even so, my first response was, "well, that's a big project." I started suggesting to her that we try something small like a pillow or a coaster. She looked at me-- or should I say-- she looked through me.

I then actually heard what I was saying to her. It sounded a lot like, "I know you'll never finish this project and don't think you can really do it." I wondered what the real harm would be in starting a quilt that never gets finished. I have about five pair of knitting needles with blankets, scarves and other sundries attached and in progress. I won't tell you about the shelves of other starters, in many crafty mediums. If she never finished the quilt, what of it?

It was an energizing feeling to acknowledge that I feel most comfortable when my parenting is focused on encouraging her actual interests and not, as an example, trying to cultivate an appetite for making coasters. And, big projects start the same as little ones.

I retracted my let's-scale-back-your-thinking comment, and announced, "Hey! I've got precut squares we can use!" And so she began.

In the first session, she completed three strips of five pre-cut squares and sewed them together. Yesterday she did another two strips. She did the work of facing the squares together, putting them in the machine, and feeding the fabric through. My job was to cut additional squares as needed, and cut the thread for her. That is how this 5x5 square came to be.

The next part of the quilt, she informed me, was going to be a larger purple square going around the rim of this patchwork one. She showed me the fabric she wanted. I agreed to cut the squares, but only if she told me how many I had to do. So I drew a grid and she counted and gave me my orders.

I'm completely impressed by her focus and her assuredness on what she wants this quilt to look like. The ball is in my court, and I'm game!

Signs of Spring

2009-03-23T16:38:00.003-04:00

The girls and I went outside today, desperate to find signs of spring. Keep in mind that it is 27 degrees outside, but in our hearts and on our calendars we know it is spring and spring is what we wanted to see. Here is what we found:

I promise to share mud season with you in all its glory. But this is how it starts.

Spring Promise

2009-03-23T08:40:00.002-04:00

It may be cold, the ground may be frozen, there may be snow still. But, it's coming. And we'll be ready.

Birthday garland

2009-03-21T10:03:00.026-04:00

A friend from my days in Inwood has kindly allowed me to share her lovely birthday tradition with you. In lieu of gifts for her girls, she makes a simple request: bring a flower. She uses these offerings to create a beautiful garland for the birthday girl.

I love how this simple garland marks the celebration of friends and the birthday girl herself. I loved watching Shannon create the garland while the kids played. Once worn, the garland really makes the photos of the birthday girl shine. The garland can be dried and used as a decorative wreath afterward, which I think is all kinds of terrific.

Creating a Birthday Garland

Gather your supplies:

* florist wire

* wire cutters

* scissors

* flowers!

Instructions:

Wind the flowers around the florist wire going in the same direction. Because guests are bringing the flowers, you will be dealing with many stem types. Start with the sturdiest stem (usually the sunflower) by poking the wire into the stem and then wrapping the wire around the next flower stem. Repeat. To connect the beginning stem to the last one, wrap the remaining florist wire to the initial wire at the start of the garland.

Pencil and Sketchbook Holder

2009-03-19T18:39:00.006-04:00

Miss Kinder and I have been going over ideas for what to make for a certain six-year-old girl's birthday this Saturday. Originally, she was all fired up for some more nesting dolls, but then reconsidered and wanted something different. We looked and looked, and looked some more, and her eyes lit up when she saw this pencil and sketchbook holder.

Now, a better person would have carefully followed either the detailed step-by-step tutorial on Skip to my Lou or the one on one red robin. I got antsy, and decided I had the gist of it. I think I should consider matching my thread when I am going to wing it, so that my mistakes don't show up so, well, yellowy.

For the clasp/closure, I borrowed an idea from another great project. It's a coffe e cozy from Erin at House on Hill Road who ingeniously uses a button and a ponytail holder. McGyver crafts!

Now we are ready to put on our bowling shoes for the party and fill up on cake!

Power Animal of the Month: Hippopotamus

2009-03-18T20:37:00.013-04:00

I know, I know, we're half-way through March, but I had completely forgotten about this regular feature of mine: Power Animal of the Month! You might recall that February was alive with my love of hedgies and all things hedgehog.

I dedicate March to the hippopotamus because they are faster than they look and they can walk underwater. I like that in a power animal.

1. Hippo Queen 2. Henry the Hippo Double Print 3. Animal Print (H for Hippo) 4. Hippa a Lover of Flowers 5. Hippo Mask Print 6. Purple and Pink Hippo Shirt 7. Needle Felted Hippo Pincushion 8. Hippo at the Martini Bar with Cell Phone 9. Make Your Own Pinafore Kit 10. Hippo Love Notes

Swap-CHOO!

2009-03-18T08:05:00.010-04:00

I'm excited to announce my first collaborative swap for all of you with a scrap of pretty fabric, a needle and spool of thread and an hour to make something beautiful. The first ever Hankie Swap, Swap-CHOO!, presented to you by me (Peggy) and Iris at Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life.

This swap honors spring sneezes, the beauty of a handcrafted item, simpler times, romance, allergies and long goodbyes at the train station.

Hand rolled hems are not hard, though they are somewhat time consuming as compared to running them through the machine. But they turn out beautifully and whether you've tried this technique before, or are terrified of the pressure of a swap I hope you'll give it a whirl.

As a bonus, April is National Poetry Month, and for this we've added some extra fun. We'd love you to include with your hankie a poem, handwritten by you for added loveliness. This does not need to be one of your own making. A old favorite, or a new one would be really dandy.

We'll match you with a partner, and you'll have three weeks to make a hankie and write out a poem of your choice and get them in the mail. Anything else you choose to send is up to you and is by no means required. Simply post a comment here or on Iris' blog with your email so we can add to to the list.

Feel free to use the swap button on your blog if you like, and we have also set up a flickr group for the hankies to be uploaded to, so we can all see the amazing results.

Easy, well-photographed and clear step-by-steps can be found at Purl Bee. You can also check out Iris' post on her first attempt, and mine, for more tips and inspiration.

For some poetry inspiration here are some links here, here and here.
For some hankie'spiration, beauties to be found here, here and here.

Lemony Goodness

2009-03-16T21:39:00.008-04:00

I am finally getting around to blogging a thank you to Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes for the sweet Lemonade Award, which she nominated me for in February. This is especially great because I find her blog such an inspiration as a crafter and mother of two girls. I mean that in the most modern, carefree, hipster-hippie coolest way!

The "official" rules look like this:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link this post to the person from whom you received your award.

Thusly and herein I further nominate some other fine bloggers!

Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life: Most inspiring and knowledgeable on matters of knitting, cooking, chicken-raising, child-rearing, and all things Artist Trading Card. Gorgeous photos in every post as a bonus.

Handmade Homeschool: A new blog in my must-reads, terrific posts about relaxing your inner perfectionist streak and just being real.

Way Up High in the Monkey Bread Tree: Sometimes when reading posts on this blog, I think, did I write that? The more I read, the more I want to have her over for coffee.

The Toby Show: I enjoy when anyone blogs about life where there is more snow than we have here. I also have a few things in common like living in NYC pre and post 9/11, adjusting to life in the countryside and loving the name Huckleberry with fierceness.

Wintery Lix

2009-03-16T10:09:00.007-04:00

At least a foot of snow has melted in the last week, and there is no doubt that we are headed away from winter and right toward spring. This year, despite all the snow and cold, I've really never had that feeling that winter just won't quit, or that I need spring and summer to get here. I think this has more to do with being well outside the grip of PPD and finally, firmly rooted into my own skin again.

Just before the warmer temperatures took over, we made this lovely, lick-able sun catcher as seen on Way up High in the Monkey Bread Tree. The beads, elephant, and painted Buddha got plunked down in a cake tin and then we filled it with water and left it overnight on the porch, resulting in this icy magical delight. It was amazing how magical they found it, staring at each object through the ice with new eyes, waiting for the ice to melt away.

In other news, much crafting has been happening behind the blog curtain. Much of it is for the purposes of gifting or swapping, so no pictures just yet. Also, last night I finished the honkin' biography of Charles Schulz, Shultz and Peanuts, which was incredible. (image from the Charles Schulz Museum)

In particular, I was really drawn to the parts focused on his lifelong immersion in anxiety and sadness and how resistant he was to treatment for fear of losing his talents. In my daughters' lives, this is one myth I'd love to see shattered.

Swaphopadoowop

2009-03-12T18:35:00.008-04:00

The Kids ATC Swap was very exciting and was my first foray into swappy craft blog land. The biggest issue with it was that in the end I realized that I actually wanted to be the swapper and swappee. Lucky for me there are tons of these around, and I have gotten myself hooked in a way that keeps me making things (which I love) and getting mail (which I love almost just as much.)

Two new swaps are on my to-do list, and I promise there will be exciting photos forthcoming!

One is We Wilson's tea towel swap, which has been fun. I am swapping one recipe and two tea towels with one person and I've been trying some new things for me, trying to make them really beautiful. I can't say more just now about this because I don't want to spoil it for my partner who might get really bored one day and poke on over to this here blog.

The other I just signed up for is an Easter Bunny Children's Swap at Wee Pereas. I stumbled on it while adding a comment to 5 orange potatoes. It's an Easter/Spring swap for mamas and their little ones. This is great because I can pretend that I'm excited mostly for Miss Kinder, but really I'm just as eager, if not more so.

There's still a few days to sign up, so what do you say?

All Dressed Up

2009-03-11T11:07:00.005-04:00

LEB has a favorite dress. It was a hand-me-down from big sister, Miss Kinder, who got it from her Grammy three or four years ago. It came from Hanna Anderson, and has been through a million washings, spaghetti massacres, and off season wearings. Though meant to be a summer dress, LEB prefers to wear it year-round, baring her arms all through the Maine winter. The most often heard question in LEB's presence is, "Aren't you cold?" to which she proudly replies, "No! I'm a beautiful princess ballerina!"

Because she loves to dance and twirl in this dress, as well as go bowling and sleep in it, I knew I couldn't cut it up to make a pattern. Since it was only four pieces, I took my chances by tracing it the best I could onto newspaper in an effort to recreate it in a new fabric.

Once again, Alewives to the rescue with a lovely peacock-like print in a

light corduroy. I used some light blue bias tape for the hem and took my time, knowing that my beginner sewing skills would be tested. And, ta da! --

She decided that the Camper shoes were the best accessory for this outfit, and has worn them more in the last 48 hours than I have since we left NYC for Maine. It's hard to think of where I might wear these shoes here in Belfast. Perhaps to the theatre?

Lessons learned: I think the seams aren't super strong, and I need to look up how to make them stronger. Also, the dress I used as a template had two buttons in the back and I have no idea how to do that, so I cut a simple V in the back and BARELY got it over her head. I should probably think about how to do some type of closure, or my dresses are going to be pretty limited. Considering that LEB can wear a dress for three days straight, including sleeping in it, what if she has a growth spurt and her head grows so much that the dress won't come off!?

Lunch Sack for Miss Kinder

2009-03-09T14:12:00.003-04:00

This weekend it all started when I went poking around downtown and saw some very cute reusable sandwich bags at the Green Store in Belfast. I took a long look at them and thought, I can do this! I decided to use some of the oilcloth I had bought over a year ago from Yo Mammas Home.

I drew a template on a manilla folder, and stitched up two of the bags just like the ones I saw. By this time, Miss Kinder had some ideas of her own, which included making a bag for them to go inside as well as another shape. Her ideas were either a heart or a star, but I nixed those figuring they would just store crumbs, so I went with a half circle. But the real victory for me was the owl-looking hard boiled egg holder, since she eats these pretty regularly. This required me to get my spatially thoughtful Other Half to help draw a template that would work, but we did it.

Miss Kinder also decided she should have a cloth napkin for her lunch sack. She's been coveting the two fabrics I used since I brought them home from Alewives Fabrics and her love of them was reason enough for me to cut into them.

I used this tutorial from Jumilla Stories for the lunch sack, which was really easy. The only advice I'd offer if you try this would be to loosen the tension on your machine a bit so it moves through the oil cloth easily. I learned this the hard way.

Mouse Soup for me!

2009-03-07T08:53:00.003-05:00

Normally I don't post on the weekend, so I can just hang with the family, but I had to share this.

I won my first blog giveaway, and it's a great one! Jonah Lisa at The Toby Show had a book giveaway for Mouse Soup and Mouse Tales, two books that LEB keeps pointing to in the back flap of our Frog and Toad books and asking for. When I saw the giveaway I immediately thought of LEBs excitement about these books and crossed my fingers. And it worked!

The snow is melting in big drips, too, making me a tiny bit more hopeful about springtime. Have a great weekend!

So Now We're Living Second Lives

2009-03-06T09:07:00.009-05:00

I have that Phil Collins song stuck in my head, which I now remember is actually "Separate Lives" but I've been singing "second lives." I've somehow turned a song about infidelity into a song about Buddhism and recycling, isn't that fantastic?

We can't go on just holding on to time

Now that we're living second lives

Perfect.

from the Second Lives exhibition at Waterfall Arts, by Ethan Andrews

Instructions for assembly:

1. Assemble the rack as it was made to be assembled.

2. Start taking it apart from the top, reattaching the pieces as you go in such a way that it tends to overbalance in one direction.

3. When it finally falls, leave it.

Lots of items in our home are enjoying second lives these days. This is not limited to glass jars and old clothes, which seem perfect for holding buttons or making handkerchiefs. My Other Half, who reports by day and is a painter and public art maker by night finds the most interesting things to do with items that are lying around.

Waterfall Arts here in Belfast has an opening tonight focusing on just this concept. And to boot, my Other Half is prominently featured alongside some of the areas dandy other artists who do similar work. The whole family will shine our shoes and head over tonight for the show's opening and if you are anywhere near us, please stop by and say hello.

Waterfall Arts

SECOND LIVES

Friday March 6, Reception from 6 to 8 pm

Group Exhibit of artists using re-purposed and recycled materials - artists Ben Potter, Karen MacDonald, Ethan Andrews, Mark Kelly, Beth Henderson and David McLaughlin

Spring, Ahead

2009-03-05T18:57:00.007-05:00

Lisa at 5 orange potatoes had a post the other day about the view from her window. It made me take a look outside and suss up if spring really was on its way. The photo says no, but the truth is that this is how it goes every March.

Accounts vary on how much snow we've actually had here in Belfast this year. I'd heard we were at 75" before the 10" or so that came this past Monday. My Other Half, who writes for the local paper, was told it might be higher than that. I'm no meteorologist, nor am I a ruler, but I can tell you that we have had so much snow that we no longer shovel it very well. Our pathway to the door has become more and more narrow with each storm. This reflects both laziness on our part and a lack of creative storage places for each shovel-full.

It's been sunny since Monday's storm though, and warm enough to melt pretty decent piles away. The banked snow against the house is melted, and in the two or three inches of ground that revealed itself I can see hearty little crocus bulbs coming up. I wouldn't agree to arm wrestle them if I were you. They seem pretty tough.

Belfast is already preparing for the spring and summer. The co-op is chock full of seed packets, and the city council just put funding toward an expanded public art project for the downtown that will feature altered bicycles. We've had some of these in summer's past, but this year we'll see eight more beauties. I can't wait! Even more exciting is a redesigned and thoroughly considered Tot Lot in Belfast City Park, which will be a natural playground. I'd never heard of these before, but they make use of the natural landscape, rolling hills, grass, trees, water, and make a real exploratory place for kids to climb and play in. I look forward to pouring my morning iced coffee and walking the kids over there. They are aiming for a Father's Day grand opening. Hot Damn!

Oh, I almost forgot. The local middle school has a class with a teacher who let the kids design a project that would benefit the city in lieu of the standard research paper. The kids were inspired by hearing about green bicycle programs around other cities and universities, where people have free bicycles available at a centralized location. They approached the City Council for permission to set up a the bikes and bike rack downtown. Not only did they get approval, but they were encouraged by the City Council to consider adding additional bike racks outside of town for alternative pick up/drop off locations. The kids have gotten together all the bikes they'll need and will be painting them bright green and tuning them up in time for the summer season.

I love when good ideas + kid energy gets respected and supported like this. Have I told you how much I love this place?

Mailbox Euphoria

2009-03-03T09:57:00.005-05:00

The Kids ATC Swap is in it's last phase: mailbox watch. On Saturday we mailed the cards that Miss Kinder and her best buddy made to addresses from Kentucky to California to Australia. To date, we have received three of the ten that are coming our way. Each day is Christmas when the mailman approaches.

This was such a fun project to do with my 5 1/2 year old. We've now got a permanent ATC station in the kitchen with precut cards, pencils, markers, pens and glue sticks. She continues to make these at a great clip.

For the swap, she tried many techniques including watercolor, collage, pen and marker, colored pencil and even cutting out functional doors, cabinets and mailboxes with tiny letters. I think the size of the cards gives her a feeling of security to be experimental that larger paper doesn't. The same is true of me, too, I think.

The flickr group for this project is chock full of cards from many of the 900+ children who participated. A huge thank you to Erin and Blair for organizing this wonderful swap.

Hidden Treasures

2009-03-02T11:39:00.004-05:00

Here's another spin on the scavenger hunt theme. Fill a small jar with sugar, and put little things inside for your young one to find. Screw the lid on tight and give them a checklist they can cross off as they find each thing. This is a good one for a restaurant, a car ride, airport, or any other place where you'd love to have them sit sorta still. And for scientific reasons that continue to elude me, putting a penny inside is fun and impossible to find. I don't quite understand where it goes, but it never comes out of the middle of the sugar for a peek.

Long Weekend

2009-02-27T08:38:00.004-05:00

This little family is headed out for a long weekend. We need a little recharging with friends and time outside our chilly routine. I have a bag of crafty things ready to be whipped up in the car or wherever we happen to be. And tune in Monday for a fresh update from yours truly. Be kind to yourselves.

A Gift for the Jetsetter

2009-02-26T09:53:00.010-05:00

I stitched up a very simple luggage tag for my sister's birthday and dropped it in the mail this week. It was a wee bit past her birthday, but I'm hoping my tardiness will be forgiven. She travels lots and lots for her job, which requires her to talk wind.

I am still pretty happy with Maize Hutton's nesting dolls, because the kids love them and they look so sleepy and pleasant, so that's exactly what I stitched up.

In other news, my hankies were well received! Rumor has it that one of them is in the front pocket of the birthday boy right now. I'm excited to do more of these when I think of the just right person.

Tagged: Sixth Picture, Sixth Folder

2009-02-24T16:41:00.011-05:00

My favorite Midwestern craftastic mama, Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes, tagged me for this, which is another reason for me to like her. I am consistently blown away by her knowledge of the natural world, and the ways she explores nature with her two girls. She also creates the cutest things with felt that I wish would come to life and be my pets.

This is the picture I found in the sixth folder, in the number six position. It shows Miss Kinder, at age 2.5, walking just outside our front stoop and past the Carrot Top Bakery in Inwood, NYC. This bakery has great carrot cake as you might imagine, but my memory of it is the giant cookies that lined the case inside, and of Madeline who worked there. This wonderful woman would wave Miss Kinder inside and tell her to point to any cookie she wanted. And each year on Miss Kinder's birthday, this same lovely woman would have Miss Kinder decide what color flowers she'd like on a small carrot cake which she would then decorate as a gift to her.

The main thing about this picture is that it makes me miss our old neighborhood and all the amazing people who live there. My friend MaryElizabeth takes pictures of these very people and has a great flickr set, right here.

I'm new to the blog world and don't know many of the wonderful people whose blogs I frequent. I will tag a few anyhow, because I'd love to see what picture lurks in their 6th folder, 6th picture.

Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life

Way up High in the Monkey Bread Tree

Between Hitching Posts

Smiling Frogs

Built for Comfort

How To: Rolled Hem Hankies

2009-02-24T09:17:00.007-05:00

I've been wanting to make hand rolled handkerchiefs for a while, because they are lovely and really handy. I used the Purl Bee tutorial which has great step-by-step photos. Each handkerchief took about an hour to hem, and the result was well worth it. I am gifting these to the friend in my life who I know uses hankies everyday, in the hopes they will be most appreciated.

I also made some for the girls, but ran a quick zigzag stitch on the machine instead since I didn't know how much they would use them. They are a huge hit. They loved choosing their own fabric, and then tucking them into their coat pockets as we head out in the cold. But make no mistake, the hand rolled hem is where it's at.

Hand rolled handkerchief

9" x 9" cotton squares in the fabric of your choice
thread -- match well for a hidden hem look, or a contrasting one if you prefer
size 9 or 10 needle
make sure you are hydrated. The hem requires you licking your thumb and index finger to roll the hem tightly as you go along. You could use a wet sponge too, but where's the fun in that?
Lick your finger and thumb and roll the fabric toward you, with the wrong side of the fabric facing you.
Slip stitch the rolled hem. Every 1/4 inch you'll catch a few of the threads from the backside just under the roll. This is the thread that will show on the front of the hankie if you choose a contrasting thread. See the Purl Bee tutorial for great pictures of this.
Take your time on the corners. They are a little tricky, as you are going to roll the next edge into the one you are finishing and tucking it together. It's hard to explain, but when you get to the edge it should make sense. My first corner was a bit wonky, but I got the hang of it as I kept going.
When you finish the edges, embroider a little design or initials if you like.
Iron the hankie, but not the hem. You want it to be rolled and stay that way.

Have fun!

A Cure for February

2009-02-23T11:34:00.006-05:00

One surefire way to cheer yourself up when holed up in late February is to make some gifts. Fortunately for me, I have three really big birthdays this time of year, so I spent the weekend getting these gifts together and packaging them up for today's mail. I'm excited to share them with you, and will, just as soon as I locate the missing cord that connects my little camera to this dandy macbook.

I also had the fortune of getting to attend my very first ATC meetup and make, at the Rockport Public Library. I learned how to needlefelt and am looking forward to doing much more of this. My card came out pretty neato (my fuzzy red bird, right, linked from Iris' blog), and was promptly snatched up by Miss Kinder for her growing collection.

And, I got to meet blogging mama librarian and fellow ATC fan Iris E! I had stumbled on Iris E's blog, Creative Endeavors in a Busy Life, in some internet act of random fate, and was super excited to meet her in real life. Check out her blog for more ATC love, and some real badass knitting. Don't even get me started on how jealous I am of her chickens.

10 of my favorite craft supplies for kids

2009-02-21T18:34:00.016-05:00

So you've got your origami, card stock, plain paper, construction paper and various lined paper. You're stocked up on scissors, glue sticks, pompoms, pipe cleaners, feathers and beads. You have glitter, if you are insane and enjoy being glittery wherever and whenever the glitter wants. Markers, crayons, colored pencils and paints are on the shelf, if not in the couch cushions.

But you crave more! Or, they do at least. If you are ready for the craft version of the iTunes Essentials "Deep Cuts" here are some craft supplies that make life enjoyable here with Miss Kinder and the ever fickle two-year-old LEB.

mod podge - this is fun and easy to use. kids can make collages on paper, cardboard forts, tins for their treasures and just about anything else there is. I prefer the glossy, but they sell a matte version as well. You can find it in any craft shop.
tape - I've talked about this before, so I'll be brief and simply say that you can never have enough tape. Feel free to check out the tape roundup I did, here.
embroidery floss - another easy to find item (any craft or fabric store will carry this) it makes a great first thread for tiny hands. We use it for embroidery work as well as for beading necklaces and bracelets.
silver ball chains - these are inexpensive and make great chains for lots of different pendants.
alphabet stamps - we have a few sets of these, and they are great for my new reader & writer. She likes spelling out words with them and embellishing letters and just about any other project.
postage stamps - it's always a good idea to ask at the post office what kinds of pretty stamps they have on hand. That said, I love the idea of buying up older stamps and using them in combination to get the postage just right.
bakers twine - a simple and pretty way to gift-wrap. Use tissue paper for the gift and then wind around like you would with ribbon and tie a nice bow.
wooden doll bodies - kids can paint their own characters and use ribbon, cloth or ricrac to decorate the bodies.
stickers - great for letters, affixing to best friends, and for countless other uses your kids will think up. I love these sweet faces from thesmallobject.
oil cloth - Use it as a dropcloth on the floor for finger painting or cover a craft table, or countless craft projects. Here's a list to get you thinking.

10 indoor activities to do with kids

2009-02-19T10:02:00.030-05:00

When you are stuck indoors with kids, coming up with ideas can be hard. Here are some that we've had luck with, even in the longest winter.

Scavenger Hunt. Make a list of things to find and give a basket to your kids to gather them in. For toddlers, draw shapes or simple items (a ball, something green, something fuzzy, etc) Older kids like more of a challenge (something noisy, something smaller than your pinky nail, something with buttons). You can also hide clues around the house and draw a map to where they can be found, like this. Don't forget the prize at the end!
Use an old shoebox or packing box to make a dollhouse. You can cut your own dolls out of paper, or download some from this list and have fun decorating the room with origami paper or pages from magazines. Use fabric scraps for rugs and blankets.
Build a fort. These are always a hit, but adding some height can make for more excitement. Three plastic stacking bins in a closet make a great perch, with a kitchen step-stool as the way up. The shelf above them in the closet is perfect spot for keeping a notebook and crayons, a snack, and a flashlight.
Encourage your budding photographer. With some instruction on being gentle, and using the strap on the camera so they don't drop it, let them take your digital camera around the house and document their favorite things. Ask them to set up photoshoots, or make a well-lit area for them. Import the pictures and make a memory book, or have them write a story to go with their photos.
Swap ATC's with your kids. I've gushed about this before, but we've had a great time making these using markers, magazines, scissors and glue. But the possiblities are endless. Try a new technique like crayon resist painting, or drawing from real-life.
Play a game of crab soccer. The rules are simple, and it's great when the kids get squirrely. Sit on the floor and then lift yourself up with your hands and feet, like a crab would. Using only your feet, you try to get the ball past the other team and into their goal.
Have a picnic or elegant lunch. Set up a blanket on the floor or a short table with cushions. Ask them to design the menu for the occasion, and set the table as they would like.
Make a magic potion. Dig out the mixing bowls, wooden spoons and measuring cups, and give your kids an assortment of potion ingredients: water colored with drops of food coloring, spices, sprinkles, flour, jello, ice cubes, dry pasta, couscous and a few goldfish or soup crackers are some ideas.
Bring the outdoors indoors. Take an underbed storage bin, fill it with snow and bring it inside. Give them some spoons, scoops, cups and some little people, animals or cars. Or, fill the bin with water or sand-- the same rules apply.
Do something silly. Kids get stir-crazy, too, and sometimes it's great to let them "get away" with something they couldn't normally do. Give them a skein of yarn and see how long they can make it go around the house. Encourage them to wrap it around the legs of tables and go up and down stairs to make it even longer. Also in this category are pillow fights, jumping on the bed and lining up all the stuffies on the staircase.
Bonus! Newspaper sculptures. I haven't tried this one yet, but rolling newspaper into tubes makes a great medium for sculptures of all shapes and sizes. I've seen these tubes used for making the frame of a fort or teepee, which could be a really fun way to make a fort (see #3!).

Please leave me a comment with your ideas, because I could use more!

Etsy finds: Wintery Mix

2009-02-18T08:43:00.008-05:00

It's the time of year when winter can start to feel long. It hasn't happened to me yet, but surely it will. I'll wish I were somewhere warm, where every step doesn't need steadying. For now I'm still enjoying winter's grip. Here are some beautiful etsy finds that feel very wintery and very wonderful.

ATC's and the Story Behind the Blog Name

2009-02-17T08:13:00.009-05:00

Artist Trading Cards are keeping me up at night. The very simple rule/parameter in size (they MUST be 2 1/2" x 3 1/2") is giving me one million ideas. If you don't know about ATCs or you want to know more, check out this website.

Miss Kinder and I spent a good part of the weekend working on these. We are doing work related to the Kids ATC swap that was organized by these crafty women in the blogosphere. We got out the pens, markers, watercolors, magazines and gluesticks. She woke up this morning asking if we could go do some more. It was 6:15. Can you tell which of these was done by me, and which were her handiwork? I put the answer at the end of the post.

I think now is as good of a time as any to give you the story behind the blog name. I like words, a lot. So much that I owe tens of thousands of dollars in student loans from my MFA in creative writing. Weren't the 90's hilarious?

Anyhow, skipthechips makes me think a little of skipping to my lou, or skipping rocks -- fun activities which I do a lot of these days. Then there is the healthy angle of skipping the chips that it could conjure. You might think I'm the kind of girl who would say, "would you please substitute the chips/fries for a side salad?" I like that you might think that of me. I sometimes wish I were that girl. She's really got it together.

But here's the truth: when I was pregnant with my second daughter I had these cravings for Subway sandwiches. I knew well the risks of eating lunchmeat during pregnancy, and I believed they were important. But these were cravings, and these things defy rational thinking. So, I asked my Other Half (OH! as I will refer to him) if he would please pick me up a Subway sandwich on his way home. The insanity line was crossed when I phoned OH! on the cell and shouted, "skip the chips and get the footlong!"

He didn't even laugh at me. That's how crazy he'd gotten used to life with me being. I guess it wasn't much different than the first pregnancy, when he presented a gorgeous broiled salmon and steamed veggie dinner to me and I barked "That's NOT gravy!" Which gives me a terrific name for another blog come to think of it.

Answer: top row, Miss Kinder; bottom row, me

Kids Artist Trading Card Swap

Hard Boiled

2009-02-16T10:31:00.003-05:00

Making hard boiled eggs is one of those things that used to be pretty frustrating. They came out with grey edges, a sign of overboiling, or the shells were so sticky that it was nearly impossible to peel them. They are a popular snack here with the kids, and really shouldn't be hard to make. My other half has it down to a science, and now I will share that science with you:

Fail safe hard boiled eggs:

Fill a pot with enough water to cover the eggs by a couple inches.
Put the eggs in the cold water and turn the range on high.
After 12 minutes, take the pot off the burner and let sit for 5 minutes.
Pour out the hot water and fill the pot with cold water (a few ice cubes won't hurt).
Add a big splash of white vinegar to the water. This is what makes the shells come off easily.
Dry and mark with a permanent pen.

Forever 21 to Forever 5

2009-02-13T10:58:00.003-05:00

I found this Forever 21 shirt in the local thrift shop and thought it might be a good one to try altering into a dress for Miss Kinder.

Before

After

It was super easy. I cut up the back of the shirt and took it in, measuring Miss Kinder and being sure not to skimp on pinning. I also cut the seams of the arms and took them in as well. The neck was easy to take in without too much trouble, by pulling the fabric in under the buttons on either side, since the buttons were big enough to cover up my work.

Next time, I want to try one with long sleeves, so I can make the cute leg warmer like Amy Karol did over here on the inspirational angrychicken.

Trial and Error: My First Sewing Project

Tucked Away

2009-02-12T15:18:00.009-05:00

These are the envelopes I made for Miss Kinder to address and tuck the felt love nuggets into for tomorrow's Valentines Day party. I settled on "hugs" and I think they look pretty, but somewhere in the back of my mind I am wondering if I could have thought of some other words to change them up a bit. At the end of the day, hugs are always great in the five-year-old world.

I made the envelopes from origami paper, folding them up sort of like this, but making them a little more square. And the labels are cut with fancy scissors from, yup, paper plates. Perfect.

Kinder Love Nuggets

Chewy on the Inside, Crunchy on the Edges

2009-02-12T11:20:00.008-05:00

For years, we ate entirely too many chocolate chip cookies from The Read Cafe in Williamsburg. Since moving from Brooklyn, it's been a quiet obsession of mine to figure out how to replicate their most delicious chewy-middle-crispy-edged cookies. With a little tweaking of a couple recipes, I have come pretty close. Here is where my recipe stands. If I get it even better (I'd love for them to spread out a little bit more) I will update you promptly. These things matter!

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c white sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs, room temperature

2 1/3 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp hot water

1/2 tsp salt

2 c chocolate chips

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl. stir in the vanilla and eggs. mix the baking soda in the hot water and then add to the mix. in another bowl mix together the flour and salt. stir the flour and salt into the wet mixture. stir in chocolate chips. chill for 30 minutes at least.

get a heaping tablespoon (or more, if you are like me) and flatten them on the pan. they don't spread out much, so you should press them pretty flat. bake for 13 minutes, or until they are good and brown on the edges. let them cool on the sheet for a few minutes, then place on a cooling rack.

I made a few, and put the rest of the dough in the refrigerator. Three days later, the dough bakes up even better. A friend tells me this lets all the wet ingredients mingle.

On Being Brave

2009-02-11T09:16:00.011-05:00

I interrupt the making of crafts to mention how the birth of my second daughter brought me to my knees with postpartum depression. It's related to the crafty blog contained herein because the happiness I am immersed in as of late was hard earned. The first two years of LEB's life, coinciding with the 3rd and 4th years of Miss Kinders, were full of darkness. PPD is really cruel; it doesn't care that you are smart, that you love your husband and children, that you wish you didn't feel the way you do. It just keeps coming at you, making everything harder. Even simple things like taking a shower, making a phone call, kissing a scraped knee. Crafts? Forget about it.

There were strangers along the way who really helped. Not just the doctors. I'm talking about the woman from a PPD support group who walked me to the subway and rode it with me, to my neighborhood so far out of her way. This was wonderful because one of the symptoms I had was feeling disoriented, and not exactly knowing where I was going or sometimes not being sure of where I was. She told me that being able to help someone else showed her how far she had come with her own struggle. I understand this now.

I keep an eye on PPD research and recovery, especially through the wonderful blog, Postpartum Progress. She recently linked to this entry on a blog called Magpie Days, where a woman shows two photos of her and her son on his birthday. The first, when she is deep in the clutches of PPD, and the second, when she's back to herself. I know this well. Speaking up is brave.

Kinder Love Nuggets

2009-02-11T08:41:00.005-05:00

I had quite a bit of yellow felt leftover from the nesting doll project, even after making 2 sets of them. I decided to spice up the valentine scene by making these puffy little love nuggets for Miss Kinder's class. She has been agonizing over which friend will get which one. These couldn't have been easier to make: I made a template out of a manilla folder, cut out 30 of them (for the 15 children in the class) and then got out the dark pink, light pink and red embroidery thread. I stitched the fronts up, lined up the back with a little puffy stuffing between them, and stitched them up with the trusty blanket stitch.

Etsy Finds: The Way Life Should Be

2009-02-11T07:42:00.018-05:00

Here are some really pretty handmades, all from Maine. It's great to buy something made by hand, but even better when it comes from one of your neighbors, or one of mine!

I Carry Your Heart - 5 x 7 print

My Sweet Love Baby Hat

Fox Chubbikin

Flower Fun

Wool Felt Paper Doll

Teeny Tiny Heart Studs

Granny Square Headband

Red Seastar Earrings

Rainbow Stacked Felt Pendant

Fire

2009-02-10T18:17:00.005-05:00

Poor Victoria. I don't even know what to say. If you would like to do something to help people who have lost everything in the bushfires, visit Handmade Help and buy something. Proceeds will go to help victims of this awfulness as they try to rebuild their lives.

or:

make a donation to the Red Cross, Australia

The Universe Sensing my February Power Animal

2009-02-10T16:28:00.005-05:00

It should be noted that this very lovely and free embroidery pattern was posted today on lollychops blog. It's embroidery week; she said so! Fun and hedgie, to boot.

Antarctica

2009-02-10T16:18:00.002-05:00

I don't think I could give you a very good rational for why the first continent on the Kinder-Curriculum is Antarctica. Maybe it's easy because it doesn't have many inhabitants, seasons, cuisines or languages. The good news is that the wrap-up of the work on said continent was a dandy art project with clay and paint, and now we are the proud owners of a map sculpture complete with a gigantic penguin nest, fortress wall and mama penguin at the end of the peninsula trying to find her way back to her babies.

Mandate

2009-02-09T11:31:00.002-05:00

mandate, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

I found this in the kitchen this morning. My other half clearly had something in mind for me today. I hope I can live up to it.

Music for a Winter Monday

2009-02-09T09:56:00.009-05:00

Cash, the Caufield Sisters

Evolution, Gloria Deluxe

Pennywhistle, Augie March

Is There a Ghost, Band of Horses

Symphony Number 4 America's Mercy War, Emily Wells Trio

The Guy that Says Goodbye to You is Out of His Mind, Griffin House
Come On Up To The House, Tom Waits
Elephant Gun, Beirut
Seven Days of the Week, They Might Be Giants
Boy With A Coin, Iron & Wine
Needle in the Hay, Elliot Smith
Ease Down The Road, Bonnie "Prince" Billy

All Things Hedgehog

2009-02-07T21:50:00.012-05:00

I'm having a thing lately where the hedgehog keeps finding its way to me. From pictures to jewelry and this most amazing project that Miss Kinder and friend have been working on every morning before school. I'll take photos of that for you soon, but I will tell you it's the most beautiful animal world you've ever seen. In the meantime, have a look at hedgehogs you can arm yourself with. They are my February power animal.

Tiny baby ones, rescued.

Hedgehog art print by boygirlparty

Hedgehog friend print by theblackapple

Silver hedgehog pendant by boygirlparty

Valentine Fever

2009-02-06T09:46:00.003-05:00

We are gearing up for the weekend, and this one promises to be filled with kinderthings. Next week marks the 100th day of kindergarden, which is a great reason for celebration and reflection. Miss Kinder has her 100 things picked out, and has settled on the design. Of course you will be seeing the finished project. The other item on the weekend agenda is making the 15 valentines for her classmates and teacher. We've done lots of practicing -- cutting out paper hearts, writing names, gluing beads and buttons, and even some fabric hearts stitched to paper. None of these seems quite right, and since the felt doll project yesterday, I am thinking it might be nice to stitch up something tiny, lovely and puffy for her friends.

Nesting Doll Love

2009-02-05T13:15:00.008-05:00

The littlest member of this Belfast crew, the one we shall refer to here as LEB, recently discovered the joy of matryoshka dolls and has been requesting some of her own. I found this great pattern for a felt version, and figured it would give me a chance to make her happy as well as figure out how to do a blanket stitch (that's the one on the edge that looks really pretty when done properly.) I used yellow felt and lots of different embroidery thread, mostly letting her pick the colors. She hasn't let go of them yet, and won't let anyone hold them. So that makes me feel pretty darn good.

Maize Hutton, who designed the dolls, has the free pattern for download on her site if you want to give it a go .

I used this video tutorial to learn how to make the blanket stitch. I did get pretty good at it, by the time I got to the tiniest doll.

Bagel Experiment, Take One

2009-02-04T09:48:00.003-05:00

Bagel experiment, take one, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

Cliche, yes, but so real: I miss the bagels from the city. I even miss the ones from the donut carts; it's that bad. Luckily, we have the internet and a lot of energy for this kind of thing. I set out to find some recipe that sounded promising, and settled on this. The hard part about making bagels is not the boiling, which is the part that kept me from trying it sooner. It is the kneading -- this is some tough dough. We don't have a mixer to do the work, and I'm not exaggerating when I tell you we kneaded the dough for about an hour before it came together. In hindsight, this was probably the fatal flaw. And I think next time I'd add another tablespoon of water or two and try to get the kneading to 30 minutes. The boiling was easy (just drop them in for a few minutes per side) and then into the oven they go. We all gave them high marks when they were warm. The issue with these was the next morning, when they were rock hard in the ziplock bag I had stored them in. Again, I think they were kneaded to death. But, aren't they pretty?

Reworking Crayons

2009-02-04T09:40:00.004-05:00

Reworking crayons, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

With a string of cold, grey and snowy days, the craft scene here seems to have blossomed. Here are some crayons the girls made with about 40 crayons hand selected from their box of roughly 1,000,000 crayons. They liked peeling the wrappers off, but their favorite part seemed to be snapping them into tiny pieces. We sorted them by color and then I gave them a muffin tin to fill however they wanted. To melt them, just heat the oven to about 150 degrees, then turn it off. Put them in the warmed up oven for 15 minutes and take them out. They will be really soft, but not totally melted. Let them dry and pop them out of the muffin tin. Presto.

Sneaky Little Elephant

2009-02-03T11:40:00.003-05:00

elephants, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

Little 2.5 snuck off to the my photo taking area, and set this up. I had to snap a picture because it was so pretty, I wish I'd done it myself.

kid artist trading card swap

2009-02-02T21:16:00.003-05:00

This project has all the elements that bring joy to my five year old. Sending mail, receiving mail, and drawing/painting/gluing paper. Read the specifics here, but know this: if you have a child age 4 or older, you can sign them up to participate in this swap, easy peasy. They will create five small artist trading cards of their own fancy (they have to be 2.5" x 3.5" and no bigger or smaller). They will receive five cards from five other kids in exchange. I can't wait to see what is made here, and what lands in the mailbox.

eco tawashi

2009-02-02T13:58:00.006-05:00

eco tawashi, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

Maybe you already know this, but you can wash dishes really well with a simple scrubber made from acrylic yarn. It's called an eco tawashi.

I found a set of acrylic crocheted coasters at the thrift store (pictured) and repurposed them as our first eco tawashi experiment. The review: they are like soft scouring pads that do a great job on nearly everything. I've read that you don't need to use soap, but the jury is still out for me on this one.The best part for me, aside from how cute they can be, is that they can be washed with the laundry. Never face that stinky sponge smell again.

Instructions on how to make your own eco tawashi are available here, if you already know how to crochet. I am not ready for this tutorial, though, because the last time I crocheted anything it was for a badge in girl scouts around the fifth grade.

I am going to give it a go, using this youtube video on how to crochet in a circle. Perhaps this is insanity, but I'll show you how I do.

If you have the eco tawashi itch, but don't want to make them, etsy.com has some really cute ones you could buy, or keep your eye out for something at your local thrifty shop.

scavenger hunt

2009-02-02T12:02:00.006-05:00

scavenger hunt, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

Finding things always makes the girls happy. Easy-to-follow maps, like this one Ethan drew, give you time to reheat a cup of coffee and almost read a whole article in the newspaper. The longer you make it, the more Sunday funtime you get.

Rainy Day Woman

2009-02-02T09:54:00.004-05:00

If you haven't had a chance to see Jean Shin's work before, you are in for a treat. With an eye for making lovely what many of us simply toss away, Shin creates absolute magic. From stitching together abandoned umbrellas in NYC after storms (pictured above), to creating a house of cards from discarded lottery cards, your eyes will be just a little more wide open as you go to throw out a prescription bottle, hemmed pant leg, or take out chopsticks.

A listing of upcoming shows can be found at her website.

peek-a-boo, sourdoo

2009-02-02T09:21:00.004-05:00

peek-a-boo, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

Did you know that to make sourdough bread, you need a starter? And did you know that this starter takes time to cultivate, and you keep adding to it, using it, adding more...It's good to date the starter, so you know its birthday. There are starters dating back to the civil war, passed down generations. Ethan started ours sometime in January, 2009, and we've had 4 loaves of it so far. I hope he can pass it down to our girls when they get start their own families. This idea is so sweet, it makes my heart hurt.

Trial and error: my first sewing project

2009-02-01T17:22:00.006-05:00

My first sewing machine project, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

As promised, here is a photo of the first dress I sewed on the machine using the men's-shirt-to-girls-dress tutorial. I learned a lot during this project. The straps from the tutorial didn't work for me. They were way too short for 5 year old shoulders. So I took the collar from the shirt scraps pile, cut it exactly in half and voila! I also reused the pocket that I had to seamrip from the shirt and stuck it on the front of the dress because a girl needs a place for stowing treasures.

scarf hat

2009-02-01T16:18:00.003-05:00

scarf hat, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

Each week, many pieces of paper come home from kindergarden. This one is my favorite of the bunch I unstuffed from underneath the snowpants in the backpack this week. I would very much like this hat.

change chores

2009-02-01T12:42:00.003-05:00

change chores, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

On the weekends we do change chores. I write up a few things that need doing on some paper, fold them up and put them in a dish (or bowl, if things are really out of hand) and we all draw one. If you are five years old, once you are finished, you get all the change that mama and daddy have kicking around.

thrifty finds

2009-02-01T12:40:00.005-05:00

thrifty finds, originally uploaded by skipthechips.

Yesterday's thrift finds included this gwonky copy of Raggedy Ann, an origami-a-day calendar, and a $2 bag stuffed with lace, ric rac and embroidery hoops. Also, I love this list that my daughter made and it goes so nicely with all these valentiny things.

Cupid strikes again

2009-02-01T10:03:00.013-05:00

Be a sneaky valentine with Tamara Shopsin's "The Best." And then buy this for yourself, as a reward for your sneakiness:

This five year diary designed by Tamara Shopsin was my favorite Christmas gift. Start any day of the year you like and write a sentence or two. Repeat. At the end of five years, each page is a day of your life over five years. You don't have to be too literal on the diary front -- paste a picture that inspires you, the song that's stuck your head, a sentence from something you read, or something else equally sweet.

See more of Tamara's work at her website, or Shopsin's General Store, or poke around the New York Times.

Mosaic work from a warm weather friend

2009-01-31T09:44:00.005-05:00

The temperature here in Belfast, Maine, has not sauntered above freezing even once during the month of January. We've had record lows, record snowfall, and even an ice storm. It's encouraging to look at the pretty mosaic work of K. Elisabeth Loring, owner of a custom mosaic and tile studio in Albuquerque called The Hands of Man. Just looking at her work makes me long for warmer days, and makes me wish I could place my hands on these outdoor pieces which I bet are super warm to the touch.

View more of her work here.

Valentines Day: handsome finds for big man and little man

2009-01-30T20:08:00.028-05:00

I think Valentine's Day is just about off the radar for most guys, but gifts are so fun to give. It's also fun to tackle the challenge of finding gifts for the allegedly more difficult to shop for gender.

I can't help it. I'm posting another print from theblackapple. Curious Birdplane Boy would be really nice in the kids room. Or just get it for yourself.

My paper crane makes sweet softies. I think this fortune cookie is perfect, especially because it comes with a little fortune, too.

I just discovered L.L.Bean's Moonbeam Alarm Clock in a post by the whip-smart angrychicken, and I'm smitten. It glows brighter as the sun rises and then beeps if the glowing isn't enough.

History Shots sells all kinds of information graphics that are beautiful and really interesting to look at. I'm partial to the Genealogy of Pop/Rock, but check out their site for sports, politics, military and more.

moxieandoliver's stainless steel flask with tooled leather is super handsome. I know that the man in this house has wished to have such a vessel, and always appreciates when someone pulls one out on a cold winter night after stacking bonfire wood or marching until your fingers freeze.

Thrift Store find: now what?

2009-01-30T19:46:00.004-05:00

I snapped up these two french fairy tale books from the free bin at the thrift shop. The were published in 1978, and seem to be screaming out for me to do something with all the deer and fairy illustrations. So far, I've cut one photo out and wrapped a can with it, and it's filled with all the different decorative edge scissors that the girls use, but what can I do with the rest of it? I need ideas, and so I ask you. What would you suggest?

Tonight's creatin'-time playlist

2009-01-30T15:22:00.019-05:00

One Crowded Hour, Augie March

Be OK, Ingrid Michaelson

Set Me Up High, Martha Scanlan

All I Want Is You, Barry Louis Polisar

Seventeen Years, Ratatat

Shambala, Three Dog Night

Gotta Have You, The Weepies

Lay Your Heartbreak, Winterpills

I'm Holding You, Ween

Chick Habit, April March

Postcards From Italy, Beruit

Bullet and a Target, Citizen Cope

Clemintine, The Decemberists

I Feel Just Like a Child, Devendra Banhart

Barrett's Privateers, Stan Rogers

Was She Pretty? Leanne Shapton's most amazing words and illustrations

2009-01-30T14:41:00.012-05:00

Leanne Shapton makes beautiful illustrations, and wrote this fabulous book that stands out in the relationship section of your local behemoth bookshop. I've read, reread, and then reread Was She Pretty? I have photocopied pages of it and wrapped gifts with it, I look to it again and again. Something about how the ex's in our men's lives is super intriguing. But how interesting is that to say? Better to let Leanne walk you through it with dreamy illustrations and snippets of who they were. They were sexy, smart, creative, alluring, odd, us. Maybe you knew them, maybe you imagined them, but curious they remain, and they are a tie that binds. A good one, too. Without them, where might those men be instead?

Tutorial: button down shirt to girl's dress

2009-01-30T12:28:00.011-05:00

This is the mens-shirt-to-pretty-dress that made me finally learn how to use my sewing machine. The tutorial is really easy to follow, and even if you are terrified of the sewing machine, you can do this. I know it, because I did. I will post pictures of the three dresses I've made so far from this tutorial, but this picture is hopefully enough to dare you to try it for yourself. I had a great time at our local thrift store during their $5/bag of clothes sale, picking out lots of men's cotton shirts for playing around with.

pretty, yummy, twirly cookie

2009-01-30T11:28:00.005-05:00

How will I keep my girls from eating these cookies before they are baked? These are the times that try (wo)men's souls. Visit Sassy Priscilla for her Lovin' Color Playdough Cookie recipe.

Valentines Day: pretty things for big and little girls

2009-01-30T08:39:00.027-05:00

Valentines Day may be silly, but giving pretty things to the girls in your life never is. Here are just a few lovely options from Etsy.com. I will do another one of handsome treasures, too. Ladies first!

Like chocolate and peanut butter these two things go together perfectly -- matroyshka doll+ locket by SeaUnicorn.

belleandboo has many lovely things to choose from. But, Eskimo Kisses!!

I have a crush on everything theblackapple makes. The Little Hedgehog Goes Fishing print is really sweet. I really need these shiny story time drop earrings by hottoffee.

tape: roundup

2009-01-29T21:08:00.016-05:00

Tape is great for making art, sending cute packages, and nerding out on crafts. Here are some of my favorites.

1. Green painters tape

2. Paper packaging tape

3. Heart tape

4. Graphic tape

5. Sushi tape

6. Electrical tape, rainbow colors

7. Transparent Duct Tape

8. Blue painters tape

9. Purple painters tape

10. Electrical tape, striped