Nesting or Just Crazy?

It's almost 1AM and I'm still awake. Not that it's abnormal.

Sophia's birthday party is tomorrow. Her actual birthday isn't until next week, but I thought it'd be safer to celebrate it early.

So instead of laying in bed chilling out, I'm waiting for water to boil so I can make some sesame noodles for the adults to eat tomorrow. That's the only cooking I'm doing for the birthday party. I think everyone will understand that it'll be crackers & cheese and a veggie tray.

I spent the evening painting a banner of a biracial colored mermaid so the kids can play Pin the Tail on the Mermaid tomorrow. I'll post picture on my new craft blog soon, I promise. (Shameless plug alert: Don't forget to subscribe to the new blog.) Unless the baby decides to arrive early. Then you'll just have to deal.

Right now the mermaid banner as well as 6 extra tails are hanging in my bathroom drying. My sad little bathroom smells like cheap acrylic paint right now. I don't think they tails will dry in time for me to cut them out tonight.

I'm really excited about her party! I only have 1 organized game planned--the mermaid game mentioned above. The rest of the party will be food and free play. The kids are 3 and 4 years old. Free play will be perfect for them.

Oh and I haven't even ordered the cake because I'm worried that baby boy might decide to arrive early. So let's hope there's some sort of pink cake at the store tomorrow. Bonus if there's mermaids on it!

Only 2 weeks till D-Day (due date)!

Three is Too Young for Raccoon Eyes

Anyone have a princess obsessed preschooler? Sophia is as girly as you can get. Princesses, pink, and now, make-up. I've bought her those 99cents sparkly clear flavored lip gloss from the local Target, but never anything else. And yes, I've even painted her nails for her.

I'm not a make-up kind of gal. Yes, I do own some. If I remember, I'll wear make-up to my Passion Parties. I have to throw most of my make-up away because it's too old.

But no real make-up. Not even kids play make-up. I mean, 3 is too young for make-up. Tonight she didn't want to go to sleep. Hubby checked in on her and instead of seeing our beautiful sleeping child, he saw a raccoon.


Thank God for washable Crayola markers. She thought she was pretty clever until I told her to look in a mirror. "Oh, it's horrible!" with the drama only a 3 year old can give.

Then, I remembered a very timely tip on Parent Hacks. Use old make-up cases and nail polish to make fake make-up. Unfortunately I purged my make-up collection back in March so all I had left was this clinic eye shadow case. Since I know I've owned it for waaaay too long, I scraped out all the eye shadow and filled it in with obnoxious nail polish colors.


Hopefully it'll dry by tomorrow and my little princess will have some pretend make-up. Keep your fingers crossed that she likes it.

To Sell or Not to Sell

Since I've been a sewing maniac the last couple of weeks, some of my friends have been telling me I need to sell the clothes I make. Or I should make and bunch of and sell them. I've had many people tell me I should sell my crafts.

It's something I've debated myself. My main question is, will people be willing the pay the prices befitting a handmade product? Not just any handmade product. As a seamstress, I charge $20+ an hour for custom clothing orders, plus materials. I have 5+ years of profession costume construction experience. I know I'm worth it. Will others think so too?

Will making mass quantities of any item take the joy out of creating for me? I get bored making multiples of items. Depending on what I'm making that could be copy #2 or copy #5. I've always defended my position on not selling mainly for this reason. I'm a Passion Consultant, and earn my income that way. The profits are great, and I don't have to manufacture any of the products.

Has that reason become my crutch? I've been enjoying sewing and crafting so much lately, why not get paid to do what I love? Or is it the pressure of society to be validated by money? It would be nice to make enough money to pay for the craft.

So far I have no answer. My girlfriend suggested that I teach a sewing class, like one on how to make the girl's drawstring top dress. I kind of like the idea of teaching others how to sew. I like teaching. My brain doesn't want to deal with the logistics of finding a space (my apt is too small), enough sewing machines, and trying to find enough people to take the class.

What's your take on it? How much would you want to pay for a high quality handmade children's clothes? Do you want to learn how to sew?

Stay Sane and Not Too Messy With Kid Crafts

This summer Sophia & I are staying busy by going to the park, meeting up at friends' homes, watching videos (while I hopefully nap), and CRAFTING!

I've been trying to keep Sophia busy all day. If she naps or falls asleep in the car, she won't go to sleep until 11pm. That usually means no time for me and hub to veg out together on the couch. For a while I felt bad because I hadn't been doing a lot of crafts with her. Monday, I vowed to start again!

We made cute little egg carton ants. First we painted. While the paint dried we snuck in a bit of lunch. I found some glue on jewels from Target's $1 section, so of course all the pink ones ended up on Sophia's bugs. After the jewels and eyes dried, we added pipe cleaner legs and antennae.

I know a lot of parents shy away from crafting because of the potential mess, but I'll share with you the ways I contain the mess.

How to keep kids crafts from becoming too messy:

1. To keep things from being too messy, I usually let her do things one step at a time. I only pull out the supplies necessary for that step. With kids' short attention spans, if the supplies for the next step are in sight, they want to get ahead of themselves.
2. Cover your work surface. Sometimes I use newspaper. Usually I use a large plastic tray (the blue thing in the pictures) It has a lip so it should catch major spills. I just wash the tray after we're done.
3. Use an egg carton to hold paint. Cut the egg carton in half. I just pour a little bit of paint into each well. If you're worried about colors mixing together, you can use every other well. Sophia eventually mixes up all the colors anyway so I don't bother. I give her between 4-6 colors at a time. Egg cartons are great short term storage for paints. Just close the lid, and the paint might be good tomorrow (depends on your paint).
4. Let the kids craft naked. Or without a shirt. I don't have a smock for Sophia. Sometimes I strip her naked and let her paint the walls of the tub. After you're done, the kids get a bath! It's a two-fer!
5. Let your child help clean up! It's Sophia's job to wash out her paint brushes while she washes her hand. Of course this would depend on your child. If she splashes a litte, no big deal. We play "Let's clean the sink" afterwards.
6. Don't be afraid to get messy!

As you can see, our craft project today was air dry clay. We use the Crayola brand, but I'm sure there's a recipe out there you can make your own. I love the quality of Crayola products and they don't smell funny. (They didn't pay me to say any of this). The clay is a bit hard right out of the bucket, but just knead it and mash it for a few minutes to soften it up (you the adult-might be a bit tough for little kids)

I love air dry clay! The first time we used it, we just used it like playdough. I explained to her that it would get hard if we let it sit out a couple of days. After it dries, we paint it. It's 2 projects in one! I always ask her at the beginning what she wants to make. Sometimes she makes it; sometimes it's some completely different. Other times she just plays with the clay. I'm ok with that. I don't want to limit her creativity.

Today, I also gave her a small cup of water and a brush with the clay. She loves using the water to mold the clay. As you can see, she also loves rubbing the wet clay on her arms. Today she made a worm and some lollipops (with craft sticks). I'm sure the huge balls will take several days to dry, but we have a busy weekend of blueberry picking and 4th of July festivities. We can paint it next week.

What are your kid crafting tips?

Handmade Mart Report

I'm so lucky that I live in an area where there's so many great things to do, especially in the summer. Today, Sophia & I met my sister and a visiting friend at Handmade Mart. I wished that I had realized my camera was at the bottom of my backpack. Alas no pictures.

The weather was just beautiful! Sophia eagerly check out all the cool vendors with me. Her favorite vendors included anyone with pink jewelry. LOL. My girly girl. Luckily, my sister gifted her with one of Isabel's Rose oh so cute lampworked cupcake beads. Of course Sophia's had much more pink on it than the picture here. (Pic shameless borrowed from Loriola's etsy shop.) She was very sweet too!

As we went to each booth, if they weren't too busy, I introduced us to the artist/crafter. Sophia was awed as I told her that this was the artist that created the items in the booth. I think it was really cool to see her connect the art of handmade items with a real person.

Eventually, she would ask herself whenever we went in a different booth. "Are you the artist that made these things?" or "You made all of these?" Screw the craft versus art debate. These wonderful vendors are artists. I want Sophia to know that being an artist doesn't mean you have to create with canvas and paint or other traditional media. She's super creative and artistic, I'm going to encourage it as much as possible!

We then shared a delicious Italian ice while enjoying the live music. I love downtown Silver Spring! I can't believe I've never had Italian ices before. It was perfect as the afternoon got warmer.

Of course I had to browse the Pyramid Atlantic Store. In addition to the great art made my local artists, they had great demos. You could silkscreen your own shirt wit the Handmade Mart logo or make some jewelry. Guess what my darling opted to do? She made a totally sparkly pink stretchy bracelet. Totally worth the $5 as I hope she'll stop wearing my jewelry.

Also kudos to blockpartypress who had a kids table at her booth. Most of the booths weren't necessarily kid friendly (even if they sold kids items). I was worried that Sophia would jumble up the displays and such. But she covered a small table with brown paper, put out a bowl of markers, as well as some polymer clay. Sophia did not want to leave her booth. The clay was a bit harder than playdough, but she still had a blast. (Pic also from blockpartypress's etsy shop)

We ended the afternoon with a yummy lunch at Lebanese Taverna, where Sophia actually ate the hummus this time. She loves hummus but sometimes decides it's a yucky food. Maybe it's a texture thing.

Seeing all of these wonderful handmade art really makes me want to create something! So I ordered some elastic thread and making a cute Heather Ross faux smocked sundress for Sophia. I thrifted a fugly dress last year. It's fuchsia and 100 % linen. I think it'll make the perfect summer dress.

Big News & A Bit of Daydreaming

Now that it's spring--okay in DC it's more like summer since it's been in the 90s for 3 days-- I've been doing a bit of daydreaming. When the weather gets warm, I start looking at pattern catalogs. Dream about all the cool new clothes I can make.

When in reality I don't have time or the energy to sew something that will take over an hour from start to finish. I'm not being lazy. I'm pregnant! I'm in my first trimester so it means lots of naps and nausea. Mmmm, aren't you jealous?

I did sit down and do a bit of crafting yesterday. I got a short new haircut right before I left for Vegas in March. Now it's grown out and I have bangs again. I haven't had bangs since, I don't know, middle school. So I've been wearing those elastic head bands to keep them out of my eyes.

I started to make started to make a flower that I could attach to the headband (store bought plain black elastic headbands), but I got ambitious and it turned into a hair clip. While I watched House, I did a bit of beading on it. I think it's fun and it has a vintage button on it. Sorry about the bad self-portrait. I have bad lighting in my bedroom, where the only big mirror is.

So if I had time to sew, here are some fun things I'd make for me and Sophia. Plus it seems silly for me to make clothes that won't fit me in 2 or 3 months when that baby bump gets big. Or that's my excuse anyway.

I'm a sucker for dresses.

And of course this totally cute skirt for Sophia!

My Word of the Year: Focus

True to my Libran self, I've been rather indecisive about my word for the year. I settled on the word mastery for a few days, but it just didn't feel right. Tonight as I was soaking on the tub, the word focus came to me.

Why focus? I've always been a self-professed ADD (attention deficit disorder) crafter. I love learning new things so I'm always trying new crafts. It's fun, but that means lots of unfinished projects and wasted money. Heck sometimes, I'll even buy supplies for a new craft and never touch it. Maybe decluttering my craft supplies will help too.

This past year, I've been meandering back to sewing. I'm going to pick a few areas I enjoy crafting and focus on mastering the skills in them. I want to be really good at a few crafts instead of a beginner in many. Sewing is definitely one of these. I'm not going to pick what other crafts I want to focus in. I think they'll present themselves to me.

Focus will be a good intention for my Passion Parties business too. I'm ready to take it to the next level. I just need to be consistent and to stay on task. I'm going to keep doing my mantras since they worked really well for me this past fall.

Other than that, I haven't really thought about what I want to accomplish in 2009. Setting my business goals are on the to-do list.

What about you? What's on your list?

photo by ihtatho via Flicker

Five Minute Headband Tutorial

Sophia has great hair. Sometimes it's a bit unruly. Headbands are the easiest way to keep it out of her face. I bought some ribbon & elastic headbands at the dollar store, but of course, the pink one is missing. The world is not right in Sophialand if everything isn't pink.

Luckily, I scored some pink grosgrain ribbon at a Joann's that was closing. (As well as some corset and underwear patterns! Woohoo). I just used the dollar store headband as a model to make the new ones. It's super easy. I recommend making one straight through and then you can just make the rest assembly line.

You'll need:

• ribbon long enough to go around your head- I recommend grosgrain as it's stronger. But you can use anything. Just don't use anything slippery as it'll slide out of your hair.
• thin elastic- I used elastic 1/4" but you can go up to 1/2" without being to obtrusive. It doesn't even have to match the ribbon. I used white because that's what I had. Black would've blended in with Sophia's hair better
• thread
• a sewing machine isn't necessary to make these. You can hand sew them but it might take longer than 5 minutes

First, measure your head (or whoever you're making the headband for) just like how you're going to wear it. Measure all the way around your head. Subtract 2" from that number. Cut your elastic 4" long. Whatever measurement is left, cut the ribbon at that length.

Line up your elastic to one end of your ribbon. Place the elastic on the right side of the ribbon (if there is one). Fold the sides of the ribbon over the elastic and pin. Like this:


Do the same to the other end, making sure the elastic isn't twisted.


Place your pinned ribbon and elastic under your presser foot, with the pin still in. Once I lower the presser foot, then I'll pull the pin out. When it's folded, it's too small for me to put it under the foot the way I want it. I don't recommend sewing over the pin in this case. Since my elastic isn't very wide, I put my machine on a smaller stitch setting.


Stitch over the folded ribbon and elastic. Back stitch and go over back and forth a 3-5 times. Sometimes, my vintage sewing machine doesn't like elastic, so the back of my stitching looks like a bad hair day.


All you do is take your trusty snips and trim it all off. Like a haircut. Go ahead. No one has to know. Besides it'll take way too long to take the stitches out. Then it won't take 5 minutes to make right? I know, it's not pretty, but no one will see it when you're done.

Go ahead and stitch the other end the same way. Hopefully your stitches will come out better this time around. Mine did. Thank goodness. After it's all stitched, grab the elastic and pull so that it turns inside out. The ribbon might need a bit of help to turn inside out. Do the same to the other side.


This is what it'll look like after you turn your seam inside out. The folded part of the ribbon hides your stitching.


Voila, now you have a ribbon headband! Or in my case, a lot of headbands! (Don't you love my new ironing board cover?)


You can also embellish your ribbon with buttons, fabric or silk flowers, beads, whatever your want! Pull out the hot glue gun or needle and thread. Go to town! If Sophia wasn't at my side pulling on the headbands, I might have done that.

So for about 15 minutes of my time (including Sophia's help cutting down the ribbon), I now have 8 new headbands! Thankfully she didn't mind that I sneaked in a lavender one.

Let me if you make one! I'd love to see some pictures.

Day 21: Flames of Creativity

photo via enggul

Incredible creative life force flows through my entire being. (today's affirmation)

I have always believed that everyone is creative. It might not manifest itself into what is conventionally creative. If you think outside the box, you're creative. Without creativity we'd be pretty unhappy people don't you think?

My husband for example doesn't think he's creative. His creativity isn't the same as mine. Did you know he used to be an actor? His energy on stage is amazing! He knows how to entertain a crowd. And he makes up his own songs! Sometimes they don't make any sense, but he's enjoying himself.

Just because what you create isn't physically tangible, doesn't mean it's not valuable. The best thing about his creativity is that he's passed it on to our daughter. She has fun making up songs and singing them over and over. She doesn't worry whether it's "good." She just has fun. I'm not going to discourage her because she might make up a song with nonsense words or the same line over and over. Heck no!

The funny thing about my creativity was I never thought I was creative. My sister's artistic talent was "discovered" when she was in 2nd grade. She was able to take special art classes. She receive lots of special attention. Teachers told my parents what talent/potential she had. From then on, she was the artistic. I was the smart one. Not to say that my sister isn't smart (she's very smart). But that was my label.

I didn't realize how much I enjoyed creating art until senior year in college. (Story for another post.) Have you been given a label that's stopped from trying something new? What's stopping you now?

It was sooo cold today at the parade. Poor Sophia couldn't move. We stuck it out for an our and then went to lunch. Did I tell you she eats sushi now? Okay, she really just eats the fish and the nori. But it's a good start. Especially when she says, "I love sushi. It's my favorite!"

Day 3: Book Hoarding

photo by Dawn Endico

I didn't curl up with a book yesterday. However, I did make me a cup of tea, took a hot bath, and indulged: I listened to the latest podcast of CraftSanity, an interview with the talented Amy Butler. I think that counts right? I didn't have the energy to search for a book that fit my mood--especially since I didn't know what that mood was.

I almost didn't do Day 3's assignment. Between a very sick hubby (I'm dragging him to the doctor this afternoon), and a 3 year old, it was a long night. After being called out my hot bath by the little one, I just felt like crawling into bed. Denise Linn asks you to clear the clutter from one part of your bedroom, bathroom, or bedroom closet. I thought, I can do just one drawer, just one part.

I've mentioned it on the blog before, I hoard books. I haven't even read half the books hanging around my place. I have piles and stacks everywhere. It's hard to give them up sometimes. Each book holds so much potential. Each story that could touch me, make me think or make me laugh out loud. So they wait patiently for me to pick them up. Wait for me to be in the right mood for their genre or topic. They offer their stories unconditionally.

I decided to tackle my dresser--no not the one I keep my socks and undergarment in. The one that I use as my nightstand. It has become a depository for books. Not to mention the stacks and piles (and the piles that fell over) on the floor. I said good-bye to books I hadn't read yet, to books I'd read but might want to read again, and to books I have no idea why I picked them up. They all went on my bookshelf at Paperbackswap, 8 of them have already been requested, and will be on their way to new owners who will appreciate them.

You can actually see the top of my dresser now. I even found my lavender neckwrap I received as a gift from my BeautiControl party. (It's fabulous, you heat it up in the microwave and set it on your neck and shoulders. Say it with me, "aaaaahhhh"). I even found my sketchbook, under the bed!

Now to find a fun book for my daily cup of tea. I do admit that I'm not following my intention to get more rest. I did take a nap yesterday while Sophia napped, but I then stayed up until 3 am. No use feeling guilty. I'll try to get a nap in today. After I go vote of course!

Ready for some late nights?

A big HI to all you visitors from Jessica's blog. I hope you come back to visit.

Instead of complaining that I can't find cute big girl clothes (=plus sized) when I'm clothes shopping, I'm going to make myself a new dress! I think. I'm joining BurdaStyle's new mini challenge. It's pretty easy. You just take the Anda pattern (which is a free!) and make it your own. I'm printing it out as I type this. The only caveat to a free pattern is that you have to print it out and tape the pages together. But how's that for instant gratification? I don't have to drive to fabric store, drag around Sophia (who wants to see everything) and fight traffic to come back home and then find time to cut out my pattern pieces. I'll get back to you later on that after I tape all 30 pages together. :)




What do you think? Give it a try. It's an easy to sew pattern (there's only 4 seams, shoulders and side seams. If you can sew a straight line on your sewing machine (or not so straight, this pattern is forgiving), give it a go. I'm not really sure how I'm going to alter it yet, but look at the cute things other BurdaStyle members have done with it.

I'm melting! I'm melting!

Remember how I said to be careful when ironing your sequined applique? I was doing laundry (and I could be caught up if we would stop wearing and dirtying more clothtes--but that's a whole other post) and in my haste threw my new cool owl t-shirt in the dryer. Yep, in the dryer. My old dryer in my apartment that has only 2 settings: air dry and Sahara Desert hot. Yep.

My poor owl is now blind. Let's take a moment of silence. His eyes melted. I should be happy the rest of him didn't melt. This was also the day after I told hubby, "If you wash my owl shirt, don't put him in the dryer."

Lesson learned. Now I need a new non-sequined applique to throw in the dryer!

Hoooo's there? And a tutorial

I've been itching to craft something but everything I want to work on seems to take too much time and setup. Or I'm just being lazy. Sophia was rummaging through my catch-all box of sewing supplies and found this cute owl I bought from the thrift store ages ago. It was in a bag of random seiwng supplies. (It's a bit washed out from the camera's flash.)

As she ran around the house with it, yelling "Owl! Owl!" inspiration hit me. My daughter, my muse. Instead of complaining of how I can't find cute, non-grandma-looking plus sized clothes, I could applique this guy to a t-shirt! It took me not even 10 minute including taking pics as I went along.

I'll show you how I appliqued this cutie on my shirt. Now I have another excuse to go thrifting. Especially since my muse wants one!

***************************************

You'll need a t-shirt (or whatever you want to embellish), applique, scissors, thread (color can match, complement or highlight your applique), hand sewing needle, straight pins (or safety pins work too), and an embroidery hoop (optional but very helpful). I also recommend that you wash your t-shirt before you begin. That will take the sizing out of it and help it finish shrinking. That way, there won't be any surprises later.

Next position where the applique onto your t-shirt. Pin it to your shirt after you've decided where you want it. The next step is very important. If you pin the applique over your lady lumps area, try the shirt on before moving on to the next step! (Don't ask me how I know to do this). You don't want the applique to, ah, accentuate your nipples or anything like that! Be careful of the pins! Keep the pins in until you're done stitching.

I put my shirt in an embroidery hoop. This part is optional, but if you're using stretchy material, I highly recommend it. Just make sure you're not stretching the shirt when you put it in. Just make sure the fabric is taut. Thread your needle. Here I opted to go with the light blue thread--not a match at all but I thought it worked.

Decide what stitch you want to use. I used a blanket stitch because it's pretty secure. This stitch is visible so make sure you're happy with your thread color. Neatness won't matter as much since everyone will be blinded by the sequins. The split stitch is also a good one. Handsewing tip: Don't cut your thread too long. It will tangle and make you say *(&$%^#, especially when you're almost finished with your work. To use the right length of thread, , hold the end of the thread in your sewing hand between your thumb and forefingers and unwind it until it reaches your elbow. If you're doubling your thread over, do it again. There, wasn't that easy. Repeat after me: I will not thread my needle with thread longer than I am tall. Even if you're not tall, like me.

Pick a place to start and stitch! Here's me trying to take an action shot by myself. Let's just say these lady lumps come in quite handy. You might have to undo your hoop and reposition the t-shirt so the fabric stays taut. If you notice your hoop is leaving impressions in your shirt (only be scared if it's a Mary or Jesus impression--or you can just stop where you are and put it on eBay).

Once your stitching is complete, take the hoop out. You'll notice that the hoop might have left impressions in your shirt. Mine left several as I moved the hoop a few times. I forgot to take a picture of it. With a warm (not hot!) iron, carefully, I do mean carefully, iron around your applique. If your applique is looking a bit funny, put a presscloth (or in my case, hubby's clean t-shirt was the first thing I saw) over it and quickly iron it. Here's what my stitching looked like in the back. Usually I'm a bit anal retentive with my hand stitching but I just wanted to get it done so I could wear it today. If you are usiing something heavy, I would recommend interfacing your shirt so it doesn't sag.




Then you can proudly show it off! This picture I got hubby to take. Thank goodness you can't see the cat hairs! Okay, there's ONE! Just one. Ignore it.


I hope you decide to give this a try. It's a good way to embellish some fun clothes that's all you! Heck once you get good, you can make your own applique instead of thrifting it!

Somebody save me!

It's rainy and icky outside. Your toddler is running around the house making a mess. She asks you read the SAME Dora book for the 4th time today. She won't nap. She says she's hungry and won't eat the 6 different things you've offered her. And you're still in your pajamas. Don't you wish the babysitting fairy would come take your child away? Don't pull your hair out!

Quick, strip that toddler naked. Grab the kid paints and put her/him in the dry tub. On the way in, don't forget to grab your favorite magazine that's sitting in your to be read stack of magazines. Your child gets to paint the tub walls (and herself) and you finally get to read your March Cosmo! (Disclaimer, I don't actually read Cosmo). When they're tired of painting, grab a washcloth and she gets to be a "window washer". And if you're feeling really productive, you can give them a bath afterwards.

Try it. I actually got flip through an entire issue of Marie Claire with minimal interruptions.

Tags: Crafting, kids

Powered by Qumana

Toddler Art

I wish I was the kind of mom that could pull out the paints everyday for Sophia. But I guess I'm just too lazy to clear off the table, lay down newspaper, etc, etc. But she sure does have fun! Look at fingers! When did we lose the desire to get messy with our art? Watching kids create art is so fun. They don't care if they get messy. They love it. They don't care if the colors mix a little--they encourage it. And they don't always care how it looks in the end--they love the process.

Here's some tips when painting with toddlers.

• Use good washable paints. I use Crayola Washable Kid Paints. They are mostly washable. And they don't smell funny like some tempera paints do. They are on the pricey side. I'll have to save one of my Michaels coupons and buy a big box. We're almost out of orange. Some washable paints don't always wash out, especially the cheap ones


• Instead of investing in those expensive paint cups, just use an empty egg carton. Since I only have 6 colors of paints, I cut the cartons in half. I just fill each section with a little paint and when she needs more, I'll add more so there isn't a lot of waste. Especially when she's tired of painting and just wants to mix all the colors with her hands


• Make sure you brushes with thick handles for those toddlers. It makes it easier to grip. I also like those foam brushes like the one in the picture above. They are super expensive and she can pick up lots of paint with it


• HAVE FUN! Don't worry about the outcome--it's the process that's important

For a great blog about creating art with your kids, check out The Artful Parent.

Fa-la-la

It never feels like Christmas until the tree is up and trimmed. Last year Sophia didn't really understand the tree trimming. But she had a blast this time! As we listened to Barenaked Ladies Christmas music (If you haven't heard this, I highly recommend it! Green Christmas & Elf's Lament are two of my faves), we unwrapped our ornaments. Since Larry and I got married, we started to buy each other an ornament every year. It sounds hokey, but when we unwrap them, it does bring back memories. We haven't gotten this year's ornaments yet, but I'm inspired to get wood cutouts and paint them.

This year instead of having friends over just to trim the tree, we also decorated gingerbread houses. I'm waaaay to busy to bake gingerbread so we used graham crackers! This is a really good way to kids to make their own. I made the royal icing (the house glue or spackle)--which takes FOREVER with a hand mixer. I've drooled over a stand mixer but can't justify it nor do I have the space. Larry picked up some graham crackers and everyone else brought their fave candies. I think more candy ended up in our stomachs than our gingerbread houses. But that's what it's all about!

Sophia had a blast decorating, but I think the adults had the most fun. I don't remember the last time I laughed so much I almost wet my pants. Decorating the houses brought the child out of everyone. Why don't we do that more often? I mean as adults, we're always so serious. Just to sit down and do a fun, no pressure project.

BTW, I knew Sophia was going to eat a lot of candy; I mean, how could she resist with it all in front of her. She spent the evening literally running in circles! Out the living room, through the kitchen and back around! LOL.