Recycling and Repurposing

I'm showing this picture for Sassy Pricilla because she wanted to see the secret compartment books I made. They're in the right of the picture, and the open one has some trinkets we put in for my nephew. The dress was made from an old men's polo shirt, and the little totebag was my rescue of a pajama pants pattern gone bad.



I made this little tree from Martha's tutorial with the papers cut out for the secret compartment book.



We still have lots of papers left from the books (I made the books for two nephews), and I was inspired by Sassy Pricilla's post on a Valentine's bunting and Maya*Made's bunting tutorial. I used watercolor crayons to give it some color.



Yessir, I do believe we have the ugliest curtains and windows on the internet.Do your best to ignore them. And ignore the fact that the bunting is not centered over the window. I love it anyway.

Maya*Made had a tutorial on making a fall newspaper bunting, and we made one in the fall. Here it is after I took it down.

Love Thursday

Jen Lemen posted about a new photo blog/website starting up. Some wonderful photographers are involved, and I was eager to check it out (besides the fact that I just might do anything that Jen Lemen recommends. I *heart* her). Today is Love Thursday on Shutter Sisters.



I took this picture of my nephew over the winter break. We were all down at grandma and grandpa's on the beach. He'd left this cape at their house over Columbus Day weekend, and was so thrilled to be reunited with it. He's an amazing little guy. He knew no English in March, when he was adopted by my sil and bil--you should hear him now. He's full of joy, and it has been a joy and a blessing to watch him grow and learn this year.

Some other things I loved today

• seeing a Bald Eagle soaring overhead on my lakeside walk this morning
• walking this morning :)
• watching Cattle Egrets and Tree Swallow on a bug-eating feeding frenzy on the lake shore
  
• my son hollering- come here mom, I need you- so that I'd hear a Maroon 5 song on the radio in his room
  

Thanks for your good thoughts in response to yesterday's post. I had a decent night's sleep, exercised, and have eaten well today. And now I see it is already midnight, so off to bed I go. If you are on the west coast or suffering from insomnia, do go check out the beautiful photos and posts on Shutter Sisters. You won't regret it.

A wee bit of crafting

I bought this book a while ago. After being delighted by it for many months, I finally sat down and started embroidering on a few onsies I picked up on clearance. There are so many cute ideas for using felt and thread, it is so much fun to look through the book.


I also made a sweet little bunny onsie, but she's wrapped up for a special little girl already.

I made a sweet apron for my sil's birthday from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. Alas, no photos of that either. The fabric was a really awesome Swedish kitchen print from Superbuzzy. My sister sent me her Rowenta iron since she wouldn't be able to use it in Slovakia; lemme tell ya, grandma is right. A good iron makes all the difference in sewing. It was a pleasure to sew the apron because of the crisp ironing. My iron stinks! I might try to give that one to my sister when they come back to the states! j/k!

I've started sketching in my pad again, and have some ideas for a few little projects. It's nice to have short bits of time, as well as the mental space, in which to create again.

****

I've been thinking about resilience the past few days. I'm trying to get my thoughts together enough to post something. I'm trying to figure out what is disorder, what is pattern/habit/skill, what's the so-called norm for bouncing back.

On Writing

Growing up, my parents often proofread my written homework. As I got older, these critique sessions turned into a daily dose of verbal sparring. They would point out incorrect grammar, I'd insist it was correct. Oi vey. (although if this was my idea of teenaged rebellion I think they got off easy!) Sometimes I'd make the changes they suggested, usually after I'd gone back to my room lest they think I was a pushover. I generally thought of myself as someone who struggled with writing.

My first semester required writing seminar at NYU didn't dissuade me of this. That class felt like pulling fingernails. Luckily I had a much better experience in the second semester; Glynnis was an amazing teacher, and our group of 15 or so students did some wonderful work together. For the first time I wrote a piece that just flowed out of me in fifteen minutes. I still feel proud of it when I reread it today. A few years ago I served as newsletter editor for a volunteer organization I work with. I was constantly writing, experiencing that wonderful flow of words. I realized, hey, I like writing! And I'm not bad at it! When I was through as newsletter editor, I didn't have the impetus to write as frequently, and that is what motivated me to start blogging.

Now that I've bored you with The History of Jennifer's Writing, I'm amazed and proud to share that BipolarLawyerCook awarded me with an award for Powerful Words. Thank you BLC!


According to the rules, I need to list three things that I feel make writing powerful and list five people I would like to give this award to.

1. honesty
2. an understanding of the rules of language, combined with the flexibility to work outside of the box of grammar
   
3. a feeling that the writer is pushing themselves, or going outside of their comfort zone
   

1. Stuntmother
2. Jen Lemen
3. Moonflower at Real Mental
4. Thordora
5. Therese at Beyond Blue
   

Dreams

Recently in my blog surfing I came across this post from Andrea of Superherodesigns. I've written about dreams before, and as you can see I had a hard time really letting go and dreaming wildly. [side note: I'm tickled that I did take and pass the lactation exam, am losing weight, and have begun exercising regularly and enjoying it! I'm thinking that was more of a goal list than a dream list. hmm. ]

However, Andrea's question introduces the idea of knowing you wouldn't fail. With that suggestion, I let my mind free.

If I knew I couldn't fail, I would open a bakery/cafe that had room for people, especially children, to come and create art. I would decorate our home boldly. I would somehow, someway, help to effect change in Burma, so that Aung San Suu Kyi and the entire Burmese people would be free. I would spend a year or more living in Italy, learning to speak Italian fluently, and enjoy la dolce vita.

I've been reading Jen Lemen's blog for a few months now. She is never short on beauty or inspiration. At the beginning of October she posted about dreaming as well. I've started a life list here; I'm only up to 38 so far, but I'm sure I will continue to think of both delicious and practical dreams to fill it up with. How 'bout you?

Quest

When I saw the theme at Mama Says Om, I first thought of those delicious moments overhearing the kids plan some great adventure. Then I thought of my own quests.



Quest for Inner Peace. I've been seeking this for some time now--my holy grail. It is a three steps forward, two steps back kind of journey. This week has had advances and setbacks galore.



My next quest is for peace in parenting. This quest is closely linked to the quest for inner peace. I wonder if you can have one without the other, or if one must come before the other by necessity.



The quest for time for creativity suffers at the hand of the other two. The projects and ideas pile up, and whirl around my head. I know what I need to do to have peace in parenting, but often my desperate grasping after time for creativity causes me to lose my tentative grasp. But if I don't get to express myself, will I ever achieve inner peace?

Seeds of inspiration

About a month ago, Susan at West Coast Crafty posted about a book that inspired her in childhood. I too had a set of Childcraft's How and Why Library, and like Susan, the Make and Do volume stole my heart. After Susan posted about it I looked on ebay for a copy, but abstained from purchasing because I couldn't find the Make and Do volume for sale on it's own in the edition that I had as a child. I didn't buy one in April, but knew I'd keep looking.

On Friday I had a few minutes before I needed to pick up the children from school. I went to the local Salvation Army thrift shop. I'm always envious of folks who seem to find the most amazing things when they go thrifting. I've never been so lucky, until last week. I slowly made my way around the store. When I got to the book corner I looked down into a box...which held the Childcraft How and Why Library! It wasn't the edition I had as a kid, but I didn't care. I eagerly snatched up the Make and Do volume. Reader, I paid 50 cents for it! I took it home and looked through it- despite being about ten years younger than the one I had as a kid it is exactly the same.

My heart stopped a second when I got to this page



I stared at this photo for hours as a kid. My mother was not crafty--oh how I yearned to sew this outfit for my dolls! When I told my mother and sister about my book find and my reaction to this page, they both said the same thing "now you can!" And I will ; )

When I was a little girl I always had my nose in a book. Make and Do was one I looked at for hours on end. Another was Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cook Book. Just this afternoon I was reflecting on the impact that these two books had on my childhood and my life. I love cooking, baking, and crafting. And I love doing those things with my children. These two late 1960s books were hand-me-downs from my dad's cousin. I wonder if I would be a different person if these books were not given to me? Who knows. Right now I'm just enjoying my books, and loving sharing these books with my kids.

Small Things to smile about on a Monday

• While getting my journal ready for the CAC swap, my son kept walking by and told me "Mom, it is getting more beautiful and more beautiful." Awww. I hope Pauline thinks so!
• I figured out how to crochet the squares for the Babette blanket! I have a hard time understanding crochet patterns with directions inside of parentheses and brackets. Yup, that is pretty much all crochet patterns. I did a traditional granny square last night, looked more closely at the photos in the Flickr group, and figured out what I needed to do. Now that I know I can do it I can plan what colors I'm going to use. I'm very excited.
• I have two more forms to fill out for my lactation conultant certification exam; I'll be able to have it postmarked by the April 30th deadline. I've signed up for an exam prep course online and also have an exam prep book. Yeah!
• I think I'm mentally caught up from five days away from home. I went to a conference in Georgia, and even co-presented a session without falling ill from nerves :) I got to meet the Fly Lady. I even hugged her because of a story she told. Mind you, I've never done Fly Lady, and have often wondered about her legions of fans. However, I think she's what I've been wishing for. I need someone to tell me what to do, what small steps to take to care for our home. And she will do that. Somehow meeting her and hearing her stories personally has really gotten through to me. I know that there is no magic pill; if I want to change our home, I need to do it one step at a time. Instead of crying about how overwhelmed I am, I need to put one baby step after another.
• I hate asking for help in stores. Hate it. But this morning I was shopping for milk and didn't see what I wanted. I did see a man behind the milk case working to restock. So...I asked for what I was looking for. My heart didn't pound. I didn't hem and haw, wondering if I should bother, I just did it. Yay!

I had a tough weekend, mostly of my own making I'm sad to say. But today is starting the week off on a good note. Even though I was cranky all weekend, I think I've learned more about myself. I can see through my exam prep and work on crocheting that I can take things one step at a time and make them happen.

Look out, here I come. And I'm turning out great.

You, Me, and Creativity

Wednesday is Getting to Know You Day, and Jana, is the host for the month of March!

Let's get started!
YOU choose what to tell me:
List 3 random facts about you, that we will be entertained by:

1. I met my husband living and working on an island with no electricity or running water
2. I was almost arrested outside of St. Patrick's in NYC for civil disobedience
3. In the fall of 1986 the Mets were in the playoffs (on the way to winning the World Series). One night the Giants were on Monday Night Football, at the same time as a Mets vs. Astros game. My dad made it so we could see both: the downstairs tv had the Mets, the upstairs tv was brought downstairs, and had the football game. And because we're totally nutty, we had the sound off and listened to the baseball via the radio and the Mets' regular announcers : )
   

List 2 things about you, that are important for us to know:

1. I'm very sensitive
2. I'm an introvert, and need time alone to recharge
   

ME! My turn to ask questions!

Do you like board games? What are some favorites? I'm not a big fan of games. I definitely prefer a book, however my kids like games. So I do play Candyland, Monopoly, and lots of games by Cranium. One of theirs that I enjoy a lot is called The Scrambled States of America. I also like some non-competitive games that we have, like Harvest Time and The Secret Door. Ooh, just remembered, as a kid I loved playing Careers and Clue.

What are your non-artistic hobbies? Reading, baking (which is sort of artistic/creative in my mind), cooking.

Do you collect anything? I try not to : ) I suppose you could say I collect books, though I'm pretty good at going through my stash and getting rid of what I don't use anymore. Except cookbooks- I don't give those away LOL. So yeah, I collect cookbooks.

And now, our Creativity:
What types of art do you enjoy creating the most? Scrapbooking and other paper crafting give me a great deal of satisfaction. I did loads of it after my first child turned one, but have not done as much as I'd like since my daughter was born (and she's 5 now!). I do enjoy the creation, the item, but I think I have to say I love the act of creating most of all. So despite not having much to show for it, in the past five years I've done a lot of creating! I do tons of crafty things with my kids. Now that I'm creating things because I want to I'm finding that they are interested in what I'm doing and want to follow my lead as well. Errr, I think I answered the question : ) and then some.

Do you have a type of art that you've always wanted to try, but never done? What is it? I don't consider myself a risk taker per se (like bungee jumping or something) but I do love trying crafts and other things that pose a challenge. I'm learning crochet, though I don't have any completed projects just yet. I think after crochet I'd really like to give quilting a try. I've always thought it involved a lot of rules and things, but I'm seeing so many quilters making postcards, small doll-sized quilts, that I think I've always had the wrong impression about quilting.

Do you have any art "how to" sites that you would recommend to us? What are they? I don't have one particular go-to site for this. I have many crafty/creative blogs on my feed reader, and the posts that interest me are starred and listed on the google reader doohicky in the sidebar. Two blogs I love are Whipup and Craftzine. They both gather links from all over the web- loads and loads of tutorials.

Create a Connection Dream Dinner Party

Dream Dinner Party
1. Guest one must be someone who is/was creative with words - a novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, journalist, etc. Who would you invite? This is a toughie! Now that my son is reading chapter books, I am thinking about some of the children's authors who meant a lot to me as a kid. From Louise Fitzhugh, Madeleine L'Engle, and E.L. Konigsburg, I would have to choose Madeleine L'Engle.

2. Guest two must be someone who is/was creative with images - a painter, photographer, sculptor, fabric artist, collage artist, etc. Who would you invite?
Michelangelo- ever since I read the Agony and the Ecstasy in high school I've wished to meet him.

3. Guest three must be someone who is/was a performer - an actor, singer, musician, comedian, acrobat, etc. Who would you invite? Bono- It is hard for me to put into words how much this man's music, words, and actions have meant to me since I was a teen.

4. Guest four must be someone who is charting/charted new territory - either in the physical sense, like an explorer, adventurer, or astronaut, or someone like a groundbreaking scientist or inventor. Who would you invite? Anna Coutsoudis- a professor of pediatrics and child health, who researches breastfeeding and HIV transmission.


5. Guest five must be someone who is/was a leader of other people - perhaps in the area of politics, like the literal leader of a country, or perhaps a leader in the area of religion, military, business, or even a great philosopher or teacher, or an inspiring athlete. Who would you invite? Aung San Suu Kyi

6. Guest six must be someone from any field who you believe is/was underrated and under-appreciated by most people, but whom you admire. Who would you invite? I would invite my husband, because he is most underappreciated by me; this is something I'm working on- he's a great dad and husband!


7. Guest seven is a wild card - your choice! Is there someone you'd like to invite who didn't seem to quite fit into any category, or was there a category where you'd have really liked to invite two different people? Then this is your chance to add the person you missed to the table. Who would you invite?
Martin Luther King Jr.

Bonus: Uh Oh! The dinner party is just about to end, and all your guests are about to disappear, and you realize that you've forgotten to ask one important question of one of your guests. You just barely have time to squeeze in that last question, so quick! - what was the question and who did you ask? I would ask Aung San Suu Kyi how she has coped with missing out on her children's lives, and with her husband's death while being under house arrest in Burma.

Goodness, it's been a while

I think about this blog a lot. Still not sure what I want it will be--just for me, or for others as well. I'm trying just to say 'evs' and just make it for me.

I'm doing a lot of crafting lately. My felt bag still awaits its handles, and the scarf I started crocheting is lying dormant. But, I've made one doll for my nephew who just turned one, have almost finished a cape for my niece, and am starting on a spacegirl doll for my daughter. The fabric for my son's spaceboy is cut out. If I have time I will also make one for my aunt's grandson, so I have something to give him when we go to NY. And I'd love to make a waldorf style mermaid for my daughter. We'll see; if I keep going like I have tonight I can finish everything.

Blogs-a-million

I happened to be looking for something in my Firefox history the other day. I noticed that almost every website I've looked at in the past month has been a blog.

My obsession right now is craft blogs. I love making things, and I'm so inspired by seeing what other people are making. While perusing who knows how many sites, I came across these great felted sweater bags: Wee Wonderfuls, Whipup.net, Knitty, and Craftzine. I remembered that I have a felted sweater in my fabric stash, and stopped by a thrift store today to pickup two more sweaters to felt. The new ones are drying in my garage, and I'm hoping to piece a bag together in the next few days.

I didn't come across any colorful striped sweaters as I'd hoped, but I think I can put together two cute bags with what I found. Not too many wool sweaters at the store I stopped at, afterall, this is Florida.

So. Many. Thoughts

My mind is just swimming with ideas for posting- it has just paralyzed me today. I've been on the verge of starting to write and then more ideas have come flooding. I'm trying to jot them down so that I'll have a list to refer to on days when I'm stumped. I always do have ideas for articles and things in my head, my problem is that I don't take the time to write them down. So I'm glad to have NaBloPoMo to give me some discipline in that direction.

So, today I'll write about bread and bread making. And creativity. I baked some lovely bread yesterday. I wasn't sure it was going to come together, it was very sticky, very loose. I poured it out on my counter with a bunch more flour and it started to take shape. I was still a bit skeptical; the dough was nothing like the challah I've been baking lately. Yet it rose beautifully; I divided it and put it in pans. When it was ready the whole family got together for the warm bread and melting butter (well, melting Smart Balance). It was delicious! It was a really wonderful bread, I only hope I can come close to duplicating it.

I did not learn bread making from my mother (I don't think she's ever used yeast at all), and my first attempts at challah were just awful; nothing like the soft yellowy goodness of my childhood. I decided to try again after my children were born. I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but I can do it. It is delicious, and actually resembles challah! *gasp*

I love when the dough transforms. The moment the raw goods transform into bread dough- just miraculous. The soft, baby's bottom feel of the dough. Watching it rise, and turn into bread in the oven. I love turning 'nothing' into 'something.' I was thinking about this recently and realized that this is true of many of the activities that make me feel the best- baking, sewing, scrapbooking, and even writing.

In addition to creating something from nothing, I think these creative acts make me feel good because they are also acts of love.