Zouri sandals

I made it!

I had some serious doubts for a while, but here I am, on letter Z of the challenge. Phew.

I have to say, sticking with it did me some good. It forced me to stretch my creativity (and my time management skills) and make more of an effort to keep up with the blog, as well as with the other bloggers.

That actually has been my favorite part of this challenge. Getting visits from and visiting other bloggers out there, making new and wonderful connections, and strengthening others. So, before I get to my craft today, here's a shout out to some of my favorite bloggers and blogs who participated in this challenge. You guys rock:

Blue, Purple, and Scarlett
My Child is Very Advanced
Pocketful of Playdough
Catherine Denton
Fur Will Fly
the Writing Nut
Angela Felsted

Back to crafting. In today's schedule - traditional Japanese zouri sandals (but in this case, made of fleece).

These look more complicated than they are. I've been wanting to try them out for a while, and since they started with Z... Ta-da!

Well the beginning of one anyway. They are going to take some time to finish because of the never ending finals. I actually found the tutorial from the Etsy blog - they share all kinds of wonderful things over there. You can make these sandals with scrap materials you can find around the house, like old t-shirts, bedsheets, etc. They make a nice pair of slippers, very different from ones you might find around these parts and super soft depending on the materials you choose. I say, give it a try!

For all my fellow A-Zers, this has been a fun trip. Thank you all for stopping by!

Yes to yellow?

Remember how I mentioned I need a little color around here? 

I decided to be brave and go with some yellow. As the lovely Catherine Denton said in her latest post: yellow is not the color of cowards!  It's a hard color to match in my opinion, which is why I don't go for it. Besides it looks terrible with my skin tone.

So, to try it out in a small dose, I got out some yellow and some red tissue paper to make flowers, put them on a yellow bowl and plate I had around, and plopped them on top of my kitchen table. By the way, if you'd like to try and make these flowers, I found the tutorial (and all the other amazing tutorials) over at Creative Jewish Mom. Hers look so much more beautiful than mine, so you should definitely check them out!

Hmmm, still not sure if I can go for yellow. Maybe if I use a different color plate? Maybe this is too much yellow?

What colors are you skeptical of?

Xoxo (xicara)

Is it cheating that I'm using some Portuguese words in the a-z challenge?

Well, really, Xoxo is an American expression I believe. But I know xicara is not. It means cup - specifically coffee or tea cup.

I wanted a cute coffee cup to use as a small flower vase, but I didn't want to take one of the cups we actually use. Solution: go to the dollar store, buy a white cup, and paint it.

I first sanded down the cup to help the paint stay better. Then I picked/mixed the colors I wanted and used a sponge to apply (for texture). Finally, I wrote the Xoxo with a brush and voila. Now I really need some flowers for my sad and lonely vases.

Do you have any unusual uses for coffee cups? In what different ways do you use household staples?

Worms!

Spring has finally arrived, I'm happy to say. April showers drench the grooves and nooks in my garden as I sit here in the musty, moody, and moldy library along with so many others in our tunnels, little scholarly moles that we are. Still, outside the apple tree's showing white buds wrestling their way out, and the blueberry bushes with a hint of green blush on their branches no longer look so lifeless.

And the worms have come out to play.

N. made this herself (with a tiny bit of help from me). She chose the pompom balls, glued them together one by one, and then the eyes and antennae (I helped with that one). She even chose the button for a mouth. This little one will rock the craft as she gets older.

What signs of Spring do you see around you?

Vroom vroom

Move over Barbie convertible, we have a new pink hot rod rider in town. Errr. Sort of.

In my quest for quick projects I can pull off during finals and still complete this blogging challenge, I decided to do this:

A pink convertible car for N.'s peg dolls, made out of a box o' butter. Yeah, totally ghettolicious!

Don't hate, you know you want this baby.

Will my readers ever forgive me for all this insanity I'm making you endure this week?!?

Urubu

This is an urubu. It's a type of Cathartidae, or vulture.

I'm in the middle of the home stretch for this academic semester, so the A-Z challenge gets what it gets. And today it gets a sketch of a bird whose name starts with a U. Yep.

But you know what? Every creature has its reason and its place. His place may not be pretty or "cute," but it's no less important. So, here's the my urubu sketch, even if he's not cute and seems out of place in this blog.

And just so that today's post isn't so random - go check out my new post at the caffeine coquette, where I talk about making unique cards for Mother's Day.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Actually, no, not really. My post today has nothing to do with Buzz Lightyear. I just like to say that in a deep voice and arms stretched out.

The last few days have been insanely busy, and today was... unbelievable. I didn't know you could fit all that into one day. So, I actually had choices for my title:

• Trouble in paradise: N. and papa fight over how to set up the garden. Well, actually N. had her heart set on making the garden one way that was practically impossible. She didn't take it very well when papa insisted on making his box for the vegetables.

• Tragedy in the oven: I baked some pink cookies, and they looked delicious... until they burned in the oven. 

• Tasty Treats: still, the above mentioned burned pink cookies turned out very tasty, especially since we added a bit of frosting and sprinkles. Sprinkles make everything better. 

Happy East everyone!

Sewing skirts

Wanna know a secret? I'm terrified of sewing patterns.  They always make things harder for me. Whenever I can find projects online or figure out ways to sew something cute without patterns, I jump at the opportunity. 

Neither this skirt nor this lion followed a pattern. I just tried to figure things out in my mind. 

A while back a had found this sewing tutorial where you make a skirt out of a dish towel in the wonderful Grace Violet blog, and oh boy, I wanted to try it out so badly. Then yesterday, I was at the fabric store getting some basic supplies (elastic, etc) and saw this adorable dish towel. Hooray! I grabbed it  right way (for less than $5 - it was on sale), so I could finally try out the skirt. 

Check out how cute! And the fabric that I cut off the sides, I used to make a matching headband. I can't wait for the little one to try it out. 

Cheap, easy, and cute sewing project - what else could I ask for?

Would you sew clothing out of home decor items? How do you channel your inner Maria VonTrapp?

Recyclables

I'm a big fan of using materials that I can find around the house to do crafts. It lends itself to spontaneous creating, it's cheaper and quicker than constantly running to the craft store. And it's "green."

With a tip from the lovely Shona, I got this book on crafting with recyclables:  Make It! by Jane Bull

Yeah, it's fun. We love it! Some of the crafts are a bit difficult for N. at this age, but with a bit of preparation it can be done. These are a couple of the things we've done out of the book.

Cans: kept a couple of cans after cooking; cleaned them out well, made sure nothing was sharp. Got some glittery stickers ready and let her stick them up. She loved doing it and she loves them! Seriously, it was one of the most excited I've ever seen her and she still proudly talks about her marker cans.

Junk mail bowl: She ripped paper and helped apply the home made glue I had previously done in preparation.

What do you do with your recyclables? 

Quick tutorial

Of course I had to do something "quick" for the letter Q. It's my favorite type of craft - something I can whip up in just an hour or less.

It's Spring (in the northern hemisphere) and we should have lots of flowers, right? Well, we just had two days of snow. Spring snow just isn't as attractive as flowers, so I'm taking matters into my own hands and growing some colorful flowers. Out of felt and ribbon!

You can really do whatever you want with any of these felt flowers: create a bouquet or an arrangement, a headband, a garland, etc. But enough talking, let me show you how to do a couple of flowers.

Ribbon flower
I've been doing this one since I was a wee kid, and it's so easy! It sounds more complicated then it is, so I'm giving you some pictures to go along with the explanations.

1. Fold the ribbon in half.
2. Separate the ends so that they are at a 90 degree angle (or close)
3. Fold the bottom end over the top one, so that it's now on top.
4. Repeat until you have almost no ribbon left.
5. Let the ribbon go, holding only the ends that are left.
6. Holding both ends loosely, pull the one that's inside (not the one you folded last)
7. Secure ends with fabric glue or hand sew it.

step 2

step 3

step 4

step 5

step 6

step 7

Felt flower 
Another super easy flower.

1. Cut felt into petal shapes (use whatever colors/combinations you want). Use different sizes with outer petals  a bit bigger than the ones in the middle. You can play around with different sizes to see what you like best.
2. Glue each petal at a time on the stem forming a flower shape. You can use different things for stems - sticks, pipe cleaners, etc. I like to use these sticks that come with wire at the end because I use the wires to help me secure the flower in place while the glue dries. It's quicker.
3. Use watercolor paint/glue and glitter for embellishment (optional)

Put them all together and:

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions on adding color. I'll definitely share whatever I end up doing.

Pillow covers, not painting

I need to change the decor around here. Really.

And I want to use color on my walls so badly, but for now I'm holding my horses. Instead, I'm going to make some pillow covers to make things look a bit fresher and new.

Seriously, pillows and accessories are one of the easiest and quickest ways to add some new elements to your house when painting the walls isn't a possibility.

Still, how can you get any more boring and neutral than I did?!? I didn't realize how much I need color until I took this picture of the pillow cover I made on my couch.

So, next project on my list - some brightly colored pillow covers!

Do you have a secret weapon to quickly, easily, and cheaply change the look of your decor? Share them, I beg you! :)

Origami

I love playing with paper.

And have you seen some of the things you can do with it? A-mazing!

So yeah, I'm not anywhere near being anything more than an amateur, but it's so much fun. And I love making boxes to put snacks or candy for the little one or my friends.

And, since it's *almost* full on Spring (it snowed here yesterday........), I decided to make a little birdie with eggs in its nest. 

And if you want to check out more origami, including easy ones, some for kids, etc, check out this site: origami-fun.com.

Memory Keeping

I know. Yesterday was M day. Today is supposed to me N day, but here I am, past 11 pm, making another M entry.

I had something happen today that reminded me of what I really wanted to blog about for M and totally forgot. My mind isn't fully committed to this challenge - it's finals time.

In any case, here it goes.

Everyday together we make memories. When our babies are little, every memory seems so important, and at least I feel this urge to preserve all the little things so I can share them with her later.

There's something else too. I'll get these sudden *wise* moments, where something pops into my head that I think will help her later, some lesson on life, or just something I learned along the way. It can be as silly as a tasty recipe, or something more somber. Whatever they are, I don't want to forget it; I want to save it for when she needs it.

I started keeping these memories, or snippets of experience in a box. My plan is to give it to her when she turns 15, but that may not work. She found it today! Of course, I put it back into its place later, but I'm thinking, if she wants to see it as she grows up, why not? I'll just keep adding things into it, but there's no real reason she can't see them.

I sometimes draw pictures to illustrate what I mean. The one with the woman talks about how I think she'll inherit the easy tears from me. She already shows that tendency, and I want her to be ok with it. There's nothing wrong with feelings and emotions, and its ok to show them. The one with the owl says "sometimes things don't come out the way we planned or wanted them to, but that's ok. We can try to find what we like about them anyway," and that thought came because the owl didn't look anything like I wanted it too, haha. But I still think it illustrates a good point.

Do you plan on sharing your memories or life experiences with your children? How?

Love notes and Little feet

Today's post is really about love. Things I like to create for the people I love.

Ok, ok, I know. Mushy, right? It must be Spring.

I made a couple of love notes for my husband, but now I can't decide which to give him. He's not a big "cute" or "pretty" card sort of person. He gets a bit embarrassed when he gets cards from me too. So now I'm thinking both of these might be too girly for him. Eenie meenie miney mo...

And then, there's the little girl... She's adorable all over, but just look at these little feet! 

They absolutely inspire me to sketch some shoes for them.

How do you express your love?

Kitchen fun

N. and I love to bake together.

Muffins, cakes, cupcakes, anything sweet and fun.

She helps me with the eggs, mixing, and decorating (her favorite part).

Yes, it gets messy, but the memories we make around the kitchen table are so worth it.


Do you have special "grown up" activities that you do with little ones? 

Junk mail jewelry

I love to craft with garbage.

Ok, not quite. But I love to use materials that I would otherwise just throw out, like egg cartons, junk mail, cardboard, old magazines, newspaper, etc. It's amazing all you can do with stuff that you find around the house that otherwise is just junk.

Today, N. and I took a bunch of junk mail catalogues and decided to create some jewelry. Then of course, we played princess. But for that part she told me "no, mama, no camera." This princess would not deal well with the paparazzi.

Sometimes you just have to remind yourself that with kids it's all about the process, not the product.

Do you repurpose, revamp, or recycle old or unwanted things? What do you usually do with it?

Infamous (I)

Today's letter is I, and I'm pretty happy with I. I is the first letter of my first *and* last names. My initials then are IMI, and in Japanese that means, well, meaning. So am I meaning? Meaning of what?

I (me, not the letter) love language. How in+credible it is that we can take pieces of sounds and symbols, add them together to make more sounds and symbols. How in+genious of us to create a multitude of meanings and uses, forms and functions, out of air and vibration of our vocal cords. Whoa.

Nothing wrong with having fun with the in prefix, eh? Some other favorites:

incommunicable (so much of art comes out of our need to communicate the incommunicable)
incomplete (I have too many projects like this)
insinuate (ah, the subtleties of language)
instability (= life)
inextinguishable (true love, and yes, I believe it exists)

Do you ever have fun with language? What are some favorite words, morphemes, sentences?

Today is my first post over at The Caffeine Coquette. Do check it out, won't you? I shared a step by step tutorial to make a cute little candy container for Easter. Here's a teaser picture of the final product.

N. has already devoured the candy, but I'll fill it up again for Easter....

Heart

Today was the first Spring day that felt like Spring. It. felt. so. nice......

We went to the park, then ice cream, then out with friends for dinner.

I cuddled my little one to sleep.

But before that I made this with her (she helped with the tearing and gluing).

Glass

Not many words today.

Someone I've never met in person, but greatly admire, is going through a difficult time to say the least. My heart is breaking for her.

Like glass.

I made this candle holder in her honor and I'll be lighting a candle in it later.

The heart you see is a mother's heart - beautiful, delicate, stronger than you think. But still, if something hits it too hard, it can break.



Dear S., I wish I could make it better.

Feathered friends and flowers

I got my tombow pen in the mail last night, so today I decided to go back and try out Carla Sonheim's technique again. Last time I tried it, I ended up with some cute watercolor bunnies that N. and I made together. Still, I wanted to try out the real thing.

So I did it with my little feathered friend below.

I'm pretty happy with the results. I'll definitely be using this technique again.

Moving right along...

My copy of this month's Do It Yourself magazine came in the mail a couple of days ago. I always browse through it for inspiration, and this month I loved the article about making garlands with old book pages. Of course I got to work on it right away.

I painted them with a light watercolor wash to add some fun colors but still get the writing and page textures to come through.

Then I made the garland:

I liked this project, but it's not something I could do with the little one. She doesn't yet have the patience and the fine motor skills for folding the paper. But if you have older kids, this might be perfect.

Where have you found your inspiration lately?