penny carnival

Story starters

The WWW feels smaller than ever these days. I keep "bumping into" people I know online, or people are bumping into me.

My cousin lives in Rhode Island and couldn't sleep one night so she was dinking around looking at craft blogs. She somehow landed on Buttercuppity, which is written by a Ari, a gal here in town that I've gotten to know over the last few months through crafting and blogging. My cousin didn't realize Ari lived in Spokane, so imagine her surprise when she scrolled down and saw a picture of me and my girls at Ari's fabric store opening party. 

And then today I was on Sew Mama Sew checking out a post they'd kindly written Sunday about my Julie & Julia heart badges. Well, it was my turn to be surprised to see a post there today about the duffel bag patterns by Spokane sewing guru Cherie Killilea, who I wrote about just last week on Dwell Well--and whose duffel bag pattern I bought a few days ago. 

I can't wait to sew this baby up:

So either the Internet is getting smaller or Spokane is the center of the crafting universe. Hmm ...

On a separate note, here's an activity for your kiddles and bits. 

This might be especially helpful to the snowbound among you on the East Coast. 2008 and 2009 were rough winters here, so I know all about being stuck at home with little kids and nothing to do.

Like any parent/child, we're pretty much constantly coming up with goofy things to do. Ninety percent of it never makes the blog because I either think it will bore everyone to tears or because my idea for the day fails miserably and we end up watching Sesame Street.

This one--STORY STARTERS--is a keeper, though. The girls can't get enough of this new little game we've been playing.

The concept is old and simple. Tell the kids the start of a story and then have them make up the rest. Of course, since my kids aren't old enough to write their own stories, they have to act them out.

I have to admit, playing pretend is not one of my favorite things to do as a parent. There are only so many times I can be the bad witch or the evil queen. 

These story starters have somehow freed me from my pretend responsibilities. The girls still want me to watch their show, but they don't need me to be a part of it anymore. The two or so sentences I provide are enough to get the game going.

The instructions here are simple:

1. Download the story starters and print--or create your own. 

2. Cut them out. 

3. Place each story starter inside an envelope (I used tiny coin envelopes from Office Depot). 

4. Stamp a number on the front of each envelope. 

(Those last two steps are optional, but I think they make it more fun for the kids.) 

5. Place all the envelopes in a bowl. Have the kids draw one, read it aloud and tell them to start pretending. 

6. Let them carry on for as long as they like or set an egg timer for five minutes and have them draw a new story starter after the buzzer rings.

 

Here are the girls pretending they're ballerinas about to go on stage and perform in The Nutcracker. What you don't see is me getting a load of dishes washed during the "ballet."

Halfway through they retrieved their Nutcracker book so Bo could imitate the Sugar Plum Fairy's exact pose with the help of Magpie, the director.

Happy pretending ... and happy dishwashing.  

Bits 'n' pieces

Just a few quickies tonight:

*I'm working on a tutorial for a fabric flower corsage for Dwell Well--sort of a last-minute Valentine's Day project. Here's how it looks so far:

The color scheme was inspired by Emerson Made (and by the fabric scraps I happened to have on hand), but I wanted to use a flower that would be easy for folks to make, especially at the last minute. After much trial and error, I think I have a fabric rose anyone could handle. 

Or does it look like just a bunch of mushed up fabric? Back to the drawing board or get on with the toot, already? Here's a closer look:

 

*You probably all know about this already, but just in case ... The Uniform Project. In a nutshell: woman in New York wants to raise money for kids who can't afford to go to school in India (where 7.5 million kids don't get an education). Her friend/designer sews up a dress--a "uniform"--that she'll wear every day for a year to raise awareness and dough. The dress is simple black cotton little number, and every day for the last months, she has accessorized it in some creative way (linking to designers who send her accessories to wear). So far--$52,000+ raised for kids. Brilliant. And so much fun to look through the "dailies" to see what she has done with a little black dress. (Doesn't hurt that she's adorable to begin with.)

*Breakfast at Etta's in Seattle. As delicious as this crab eggs Benedict was ...

... the French toast from the kids' menu was to die for:

The server said the secret is to:

a) use Half and Half instead of milk in the batter

b) add orange juice to the batter

c) after frying the French toast, pop it in a warm oven for a few minutes to give it a crunch on the outside (but not so long that the inside doesn't retain its custardy goodness).

She had me at Half and Half.  

Etta's was nice, but my favorite Tom Douglas restaurants are Serious Pie and Palace Kitchen. Bo ate a whole trout at PK when she was 3, pretty much all by herself. Except the face. She just thought that part was kind of funny.

Speaking of fish, what trip to Seattle is complete without watching the guys throw fish at Pike Place Market?

Magpie was not a fan:

My funny Valentines (in their Valentine's Day dresses)

We're on our way to Nana and Papa's. A one-night stop in Seattle and then up north to get our fix.

Allow me to relay a conversation between J and me in the car on the four-hour drive over:

It was my turn to d.j., so on comes one of my favorite songs, "There is a Light that Never Goes Out," by the Smiths. I drift to my happy place, humming along, wondering if Morrissey is still holding out for me. (If you don't know who Morrissey is--or the Smiths, for that matter--where's your self respect? Just skip to the damn photos.)

I turn to Jay (whose favorite band in high school was Bel Biv Devoe or something equally horrid) and say, "Did you listen to the Smiths much when you were a kid?"

"What mix?" he responds.

"The SMITHS," I repeat.

"WHAT MIX?" he replies.

"THE SMITHS!!! Oh, forget."

That, my friends, is my lot in life. In lieu of flowers, please send Morrissey.

Anyhow, here are the Valentine's Day dresses I sewed the girls. We'll start with Bo, who wanted something plain and--you guessed it--twirly:

   

And now Magpie:

If Magpie's looks a little wonky, it's because I originally made this one for Bo, who then declared she doesn't like ruffles or hearts or "twirly skirts that start under my bum" (read: drop waist). So I sized it down for Magpie, who will wear anything as long as she gets to put it on herself. 

And I bet when she's 13, she'll shut her bedroom door and play the "Meat is Murder" album over and over and over just like her mama did. God bless her.

P.S. Here are a few things I'm loving right now:

This beautiful book Brooke over at Inchmark made for her grandmother's 90th birthday.

This free printable calendar from Something's Hiding in Here.

These dinner plates from the Sundance catalog.

Serena's blog post all about cake, over at The Farm Chicks.

The Heidi & Finn sewing patterns for children's clothes on Etsy, especially this coat.

A neat fundraiser for Haiti ... Tuesday(!)

Oh, goodness. I meant to say this three days ago. There's still time, though ...

My friend Stacey, the witty and talented woman behind Is There Any Mommy Out There, is hosting a fundraiser tomorrow (Tuesday--so probably "today" unless you're an insomniac like me) to benefit the orphanage in Haiti where her daughter Saige spent the first year of her life.

It's going to be a great way for kids to help kids, since the theme (hArt for Haiti) revolves around children selling their own art to raise money for the orphanage. 

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kids Sports. You can read more about it here. 

If you're in Spokane, go, go, go! What a great way to teach our kids compassion and a great way to help children--children who already were in such need!--who are suffering because of the earthquake. Thanks. Best of luck with it, Stacey!

More coming soon, including two Valentine's dresses I sewed tonight for my sweet peas. Here are three words to whet your appetite: ruffled heart pocket. Squeal!!!