August 27, 2008

You'll pardon my lack of wordiness. :)

Or at least I hope you would! I did just have a baby for god's sake. lol While I am starting to get my vocabulary back and the ability to form sentences that make some sort of sense (did anyone else have that problem when pregnant?  Whole chunks of my brain just atrophied, I'm sure of it) how much I will be able to write is completely up to Mr. Snoozers in the other room. ;)


I will say this though....I am in love.  Just absolutely in love with this little man that has taken over my life.  All he does is poo and pee and eat and sleep and makes silly uncontolled faces but he's the most fascinating thing ever. When he actually smiles at me and talks??? Oh I will be done for. lol

He loves his hands, loves to grab his ears and hold a hand flat against his paci and wave them about in the air...he looks like he's conducting an orchestra sometimes or playing piano in the air. lol His fingers are long and beautiful, just like his namesake's were.

He loves the sound of running water. Everytime he cries and we turn on the faucet, he stops.  I am going to tape record the sound so as to not deplete all of St. Louis of its H2O supply. :)

He evidently also loves to sleep because I have to wake him up for night time feedings.  Please note: THAT IS NOT A COMPLAINT. lol  I do not mind WHATSOEVER setting the alarm clock to feed him every few hours rather than the alternative "Up all night" issue some struggle with.  All I am saying is that Jake, like his mommy....loves to get his sleep on. 

Here's some new pics. :)

Jake first bath and storytime day016

Jake first bath and storytime day030
These were from the day of his first bath and first storytime.  He and I both highly recommend the book in the picture...an excellent read. :)


P8202438 
I love it when he stretches like this. Pretty much each time I unwrap him from his little baby burrito bundle (some call it swaddling, I like to call it the baby burrito bundle) he does a series of fiercely adorable stretches and face making.  I gotta remember to record him doing it.

IMG_5759Sigh....He's already changing and growing so fast!



August 15, 2008

More Pictures

Jake August birth053

Jake August birth043

Jake_August-2008 370

Jake_August-2008 358
Jake_August-2008 313

Jake_August-2008 335

Jake_August-2008 332

Hello Everyone!

Jake_August-2008 393

My name is Jake Silas Rhoads and I was born at 9:50 am on Saturday, August 9, 2008.  I weighed 7lb 4.9 oz. and I was 21 and 1/2" long.  Right now I am ready for some chow time so I'll have to make this brief but maybe I'll let my Moms post a few more pics later.  See ya!


August 03, 2008

There is just something about jabbing a needle into something repeatedly

that appeals to me. lol.  It is great stress relief for me.  I started out by trying wet felting and I still do that sometimes but it dries out the hands and just is not my favorite.  So I just decided one day that I was going to teach myself how to needlefelt and it was surprisingly easy.  I bought the needles and foam pad, some wool roving and a Japanese craft book on the topic.  Even though I don't read Japanese, they show you step by step pictures of most things.  I started out with some cupcakes and cookies and pretty soon I was hooked (HA! So Punny....get it, cause the needles have little barbs on the end that "hook" the wool and get it all matted together? Anyone? *crickets chirping*.....hello?). 

For the last few months I haven't been able to really do much of it because my stiff, swollen fingers make it none too easy to hold on to the needle.  However I did manage to finish this simple mobile to hang on Jake's door.  I photographed it against a lighter background so it would show up a little better, however I am no Cindy Sherman...my photog skills leave a lot to be desired but here it be..

P7232054
P7232064

Mr. Gnome has my heart.  Oh and the top one is a snail, its a little hard to tell in the photo.  I am planning on making a couple of these for the shop at some point and also some other items with my pal the Gnome.  One might say I am just itching to get back to the wool and needle. (Whoo! On a roll...."itching"...somebody got a hose cause I'm on FIRE!....Huh?  What up!....Hello?...*more crickets*.  I am so alone in the Land of Puns.)

I think I need a nap.

August 01, 2008

Now to remind you and me that this is a CRAFT blog

well, kind of.  It's still pregnancy related material but with a crafting twist.  Oh balls. Whatever... I digress.

This is the mobile I made for The Jakester..
P7232047

Hard to get a good angle to photograph, but you get the idea.  The deer, caterpillar and hedgehog were patterns from a Japanese craft book. The fox is based on a print I saw somewhere online and the blue jay is my design. They are all made out of wool felt.

P7232033
P7232035
P7232039
P7232037
P7232044


Nature Gets a Performance Review

It is 7:11 in the morn dear readers.  A time that I have rarely seen, even when I had a job outside of the home (I've always been a champ at getting ready in 15 minutes flat so as to enjoy the snuggly surface of my pillow for just a few minutes more).  What's more?  I've been up for nearly two hours.  As is becoming the norm in the shackles of late pregnancy.  I don't mind it so much really, the sketchy sleep patterns....its the reasons for them right now at this moment. 

HA! Just now, one of my very best friends IM'd me with "Are you really up?".  How well my peeps know me.

Anywho....reasons as I was saying...the bladder, the heartburn, the swollen itchy feet/cankles and my newest friend...a lovely rash all over my sides and thighs and even down my calves.  I mean really.  I've heard the whole "Nature's way of preparing you for not getting much sleep when the baby comes." or "Nature's way of making you so ready to give birth that you fear it no more." 

That's nice, truly...thank you Nature for thinking of me.  Nature can suck it (Kathy Griffin fan here...reporting for duty).  Seriously, this logic..while logical...just serves to piss me off more.  How does Nature know this will help me? To itch and burn and ache and swell and go without sleep? Why can't Nature just trust that I was once an 18 year old college student with sketchy sleep patterns and if I could do it for the sake of beer and parties and cute boys...I most certainly can do it for my precious offspring??  Why can't Nature just trust that I don't need the added incentive of misery to instill a desire to PUSH THIS BABY OUT?  Believe me....I am not interested in renting out the uterus long term...this is a single person unit we are talking about here.  Plus...doesn't Nature think I might actually LONG to meet this little miracle?  Nature is just masochistic is what I think.  It's all going in my book which I am entitling "Pregnancy is F'd Up and Ridiculous:  A First Time Breeder's Guide". 

Now before I get slapped with a label of being a TOTAL crabass. I want you to know that I wanted this baby more than anything I have ever wanted in my entire life. I have thought about him and dreamed about him and planned for him for 20 years.  AND, just to throw Nature a bone, I will say that I have enjoyed the following about being pregnant.
1. When he moves it is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. Ever. I won't forget that feeling.
2. In the end, I made a little person who I already love fiercely.
3. Eating ice cream nearly everyday as medicine for heartburn did not suck.

That would be it. The rest of it needs a total re-vamp.  Nature is flawed.

Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go eat some ice cream...ice down my feet and bathe in some Lanacane.  Thanks for the vent session. 

July 24, 2008

Last Chance! Closing Shop!

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day my shop will be open on etsy until after Baby Jake is born and I get into the swing of new mommyhood!  I think that I will probably reopen it within a couple of months but the $10 collages will not be on there! So if you are interested in taking advantage of that sale, please do so by tomorrow. Saturday I will be shutting it down! Thanks!



Collage-panda-pinkblack-det

July 19, 2008

Randomness

So I am a bad bad blogger.  I just have had a million different things going on and have been feeling the pressure of less than a month left until my little man gets here.  But today Stephen and I decided to take the day off and we aren't doing crappola that we don't wanna. :)

I thought I'd just give you a hodge podge of recent goings ons, thought and some general randomness.

Firstly and most recently...as in like a half an hour ago...I became a Firefox convert.  Friends and hubby have been tellin me for a while now...but I just don't listen. (psst....don't tell anybody...but I'm kind of a stubborn asshole.)  Well FINALLY I got sick of not being able to get the current Flash player to work on my 'puter, so Stephen says, "Let's try Firefox" and it worked.  And everything is faster.  And I can admit when I was wrong.  Firefox....I love you. mwah  Internet Explorer...you and Microsoft can suck it.

Let's see what else... Oh I got something way cute for my Little Bunny.  I know, he will not be happy if I call him that when he's in jr.high...so I will refrain but for right now he just hops around in my belly and he's my little bunny so he's gonna have to deal.  But how cute is this gonna be on his little head??

Bunny hat

It's from Etsy seller BabbidgePatch.  Too cute.

I had my baby shower last week and it was terrific.  Don't have the pictures uploaded yet but I had the best time and we were so overwhelmed with how loving and generous our friends and family are.  Vivian and Aiko, my two bestest ladies....you rock, thank you for showering us with so much love. 

The room is almost there and I will have some pics of that soon.

Let's see...what else... Oh! Can I rant a moment? Will you allow me a small tantrum?  Okay let's talk salmonella and tomatoes and peppers shall we?  Look, I am not anti-trade and I think some trade is a very good thing.  However....what is the number one piece of advice you get when traveling south of the border?? Don't drink the water and don't eat things that touch the ground.  Their sewer systems are not what they should be...this is not to disparage the good people of Mexico and Guatemala and such.  HOWEVER...is it really a good idea to be getting so much of our produce from these countries?  First of all...no because of the issues with their groundwater and secondly...no because its forever freaking away! We have GOT to start as a country, eating more locally and remembering that things are better in season.  Now I'm not perfect...I don't always follow that rule. I like kiwis for example and I have yet to find a kiwi that is not from New Zealand.  So I am not a die hard...but what I am saying is that we are perfectly capable of growing, finding and purchasing tomatoes and peppers right here in America.  Importing food from so many other countries, in the quantities that we are doing it....well "It's bullshit and it's bad for you." (Thank you George Carlin for my new favorite phrase. RIP my hero).  It's not just produce either.  Did you know that when you go to eat a hamburger at some fast food places, the meat that makes up one single patty might be from three different sources/countries?  That's right folks.  Kind of hard to track where the disease is coming from when your burger has cows hailing from China, Mexico AND the U.S..  Same thing with the salsa.  So here's my two cents and you do with it what you will....start looking at the label and find out where your food is coming from.  Then make up your mind about how you feel about it. 

Which leads me to my final topic.  A garden.  We are lucky to have a beautiful side yard that has room enough for a garden that could quite possibly feed the entire neighborhood.  We hate grass. We hate mowing. Solution?  Next spring...you can call me Farmer Jan.  I have books and catalogs and a notebook ready to go for some wintertime research.  My parents always had a garden and as I get older, I miss it more and more.  I work from home, so I'm lucky enough to have the time to put into it. Plus it will be good exercise to help me lose baby weight, I want to stop giving so much money to other people to feed me and my family, gardening is GOOD for kids, and its good for the planet.  I do love a project. lol  Plus I've been watching Jamie Oliver at Home on the FN and I am inspired. (and oooo that boy is FINE. tee hee hee)

Well folks, that concludes today's rambles. I hope you are having a lovely weekend!  TTFN

July 05, 2008

Crib Organizer

As part of my series "80,000 Things I've Been Making For My Baby"...I present the Wool Felt Crib Organizer....

P7041929

I am very happy with how this turned out.  I used 100% wool felt in an orangey-red color, teal blue embroidery thread, some lovely Japanese linen ribbon with gold and teal birdies. I sewed all of it by hand. I have really discovered that the sewing machine and I aren't friends yet.  We've always had a snarly sort of relationship (oh the days of Jr. High Home Ec...I got in trouble for yelling at my machine). I just enjoy handsewing so much more. I can sit in any position I find comfy, watch tv, talk on the phone, etc....AND sew at the same time.  The machine and I will make amends....that is a goal of mine...but I digress.  This project took some time but I loved every minute of making it.

Making things for baby has sort of become "product development" for the shop too! lol  I plan to make a couple of these to sell when the shop reopens in the Fall. (Don't forget...I'm closing up on July 25, so go visit and take advantage of the $10 collage sale!).  I need to make a few tweaks to the design....none of which you can see in the picture so I'll just keep that to meself...shhh. lol

P7041930

This handy little organizer can hold pacis, rattles (like Mr. Nibbles here), teethers, spit up cloths, lotion, mommy's whiskey flask...okay just kidding about that one.

The nursery is just about together so in the coming weeks I will be sharing more things I've made, things I've purchased from lovely talented Etsians or received from friends and family and such. 

Have a fantastic weekend!

July 04, 2008

playing catch up here...

I meant to post these a few weeks back when I was actually 31 weeks pregnant, regular pics and some answers to some common statements/questions...

P6151692 

P6151694  

P6151697

P6151698

P6151704

June 30, 2008

sale in my etsy shop!

Please come visit and spread the word!  I've decided to put all of the old style of collages on sale for only $10...it's the "I'm Having a Baby" Sale!!

After July 25th I will be closing up the shop for a short while until after my son is born and I get back on my feet.  When I reopen, this style of collage will no longer be available so if you are interested in them....buy now! 

Collage-2bird-pdot

Before they fly away!!!!

June 06, 2008

And speaking of bunnies...

Looky who we found in our yard today! The first babies we've seen so far this year. Oh so, so cute!

P6061684

P6061685

Gettin' It Together

It's been awhile since I've posted much other than my rants about Typepad (which all seem to be resolved now).  In part that is because I have been unable to find the doomahickey that you attach between the camera and computer to get your pics off the camera.  Considering the fact that over the last couple of weeks the house has been torn apart like baboons had a dance party in here....it is no surprise. Closets have been reorganized. Stuff moved. A whole lotta nesting. Best of all, the putting together of all of Baby's new pad. In just 10 weeks he'll be here.  Ack!! :) Well anyway, I found the cord and now I have pictures to show ...

P5211590

Isn't he cute? That's Stephen, my awesome hubby, hard at work putting together shelves for Jakey's room.

P5211587

Meanwhile, I "help" by being the goofball sideshow...sporting a fabulous cowboy hat I picked up recently for our little man.

P6011665

And then a few days later....the glorious task of setting up the crib and dresser. As you can see, an extraordinarily neat process. But look at those awesome shelves! Go Stephen!

P6011666

And whilst I could provide little help in the actual assembly...I tried to contribute by acting out/modeling our angst in facing this task.  

P6011673

Then began all the sorting and putting things away.  I have been hoarding things for this child for years!  Lucky for me I have a terrific friend Vivian, who saves alot of Connor's clothes for me too.  This one I bought a while back for my little bunny.  I swear I won't call him that in jr. high, but for right now...that's his nickname.

P6011679  

Practicing shushing Lily.  She's a Siamese.  She talks A LOT.  I mean earpiercing "meows" that sound more like duck quacks than anything else.  We are practicing "inside cat voice" for when baby is sleeping.  Yeah right.  Lily does as Lily pleases. She, by the way, thinks Stephen is the best thing ever.  She has incredibly good taste.

I have gotten even farther setting things up in the past week.  I probably will wait to show more pics of the nursery once its all done. Every day it just gets more and more real...this little person who I have wanted for SO LONG is going to be here soon.  I can't wait to meet him and see what he looks like and know who he is...what his personality is like.

Alright....off to tackle another part of this mess. :) Have a great weekend!

May 31, 2008

Let's try this again, shall we?

P5251644

I think I figured it out!!  Turning off pop up blocker, enabling cookies for the typepad site, spinning around three times and sacrificing a live chicken....got the job done.  Now let's hope these pictures turn out right when I actually hit save.

P5251630 

Alright Typepad...I am appeased.

May 30, 2008

Wingin' It

On a whole lot of report cards of mine as I was growing up was something along the lines of "Janet tends to overlook directions and assume that she knows how the problem should be worked. She needs to pay closer attention to the written instructions."  Yeah that hasn't changed.  I COULD take the half hour to actually read the typepad directions for how to work this new composing contraption....but no.  I'm wingin' it. 

I will say that nearly every blog I read that uses Typepad is bitchin' up a storm about it so I hold not a lot of hope that this post will ever see the light of day.  Mostly what I hear people having problems with are the pictures....so here goes.  I'm just gonna post a few recent pregnancy pics as a test to see how this newfangled contraption gets along...

Alright...clicked the "insert image" button three times. Nothing has happened yet. Fourth time nada...Let's try making a word bold.  bold.  Um....not so bold. Spellcheck....nothing.  I'm beginning to wake up and smell the coffee...methinks my pretty new toolbar is just for show. 

Sigh....dangit now I actually have to read directions and possibly put in yet another ticket for help.  Typepad you are losing some points here people.  Don't push the patience level of a pregnant lady!

May 16, 2008

27 weeks today!

P5051573

But the picture is from week 25. Haven't gotten to picture taking today.

So yeah, there's only like 12 weekends left before I'm due to give birth and that is freaking me out a little cause we have a list a mile long of things to do.  Sweet Baby Buddha do I have things to do!!!!  I know, I know...it will all come together. I'm not freaking out that hard or anything but I'm just sayin'.....if you don't see many posts on here in the next few weeks, you know why.

My lovely friend Reham got me that shirt I'm wearing in the pic.  She's such a doll. I'm mad for plaid.

All in all I am feeling pretty good.  Last weekend we went to visit my step-mom Dee in Savanna, IL.  Dee is one of my favorite people on this planet, she's so open-minded and caring.  She shares my love of a good thrift store. She's an amazing cook....she made the best bbq beef I have ever tasted in my life for this last visit. She almost always makes me potato salad when I visit 'cause she knows its one of my faves. She gives great advice. She's crafty, she's cool and I love her dearly.

Savanna is amongst several little rivertowns along the Mississippi.  On one side is Illinois and on the other, Iowa.  It is just beautiful around there. I swear there must be 50 varieties of trees in just a ten minute drive. It's all rolling and green.  My daddy loved it there.  When he was young he worked the barge lines and was stationed in DeKalb, just north of there.  I'm glad his last years were spent in a place he loved so much.

On the way back we detoured to go to IKEA in a suburb near Chicago. Which KILLED me to not just go all the way to Chicago.  I A-D-O-R-E Chicago.  There will be more on that in an upcoming post.  Anyways, I got the Expedit bookshelves in white for Little Man's nursery and Stephen is all giddy about his new filing cabinets.  Why oh why can't IKEA build a store in St. Lou?  I just don't understand.

Hope your weekend is wonderful!! Ours includes moving a bed out of the baby room and over to my friend Viv's, picking up the crib and dresser, new computer installation and as many other things from The List as we can stuff into 48 hours. :)

May 07, 2008

tee-hee-hee

P5071579

This one just makes me giggle everytime I look at it.  I'm SO excited about these new designs. I have three more, all cut out and ready to glue down, to complete for Jake's room and then I will start making some for the shop.  All in all, I have about 10 new designs...plus I will be using some of the older designs (giraffe, elephant, owl, etc....) in this new format on wood.  I found some hangers to nail in the back of them as well!

Here are a couple more of the new designs...

P5071578_2 P5071581

Just FYI...all the ones I've been making are on red, green and yellow backgrounds for Jake's room. The one's that will be available for sale will come in all different colors.  I will also be doing some on unfinished wood.  I have also found a few other shapes of plaques that I will work with.  Again, if you have any suggestions of animals/designs you would like to see....I'm all ears!!  Well...in this case eyes...cause I'm reading...but you know what I mean...I'm open to your ideas!

May 03, 2008

Sherman Hemsley why must you haunt my dreams?

220pxjeffersons

Possibly the weirdest dream I've had in a long time....

So I'm driving down the interstate (I-70 for all my St. Louis peeps) and its horrible traffic. People are swooping in and out of lanes and I am having to be very watchful of where I'm going.  Then all of a sudden there is an El Camino (you know the car with the open back like a truck?) that appears in front of me and it's whole back end is filled with black trash bags.  The bags are flying all over the place and hitting people's windshields and making it even more of an obstacle course.  Then I hit a bump and I go flying over a gigantic lake of a mud puddle.  When I land, my gas pedal gets stuck and I'm just flying down the road trying to keep the car under control.  I finally get it stopped and pull over to the side of the road by some construction equipment.

There on the right side of the road, next to a dumptruck are two preachers.  One of them is Sherman Hemsley (Mr. Jefferson from The Jeffersons) and the other is some white dude with swoopy bangs.  They are wearing light colored, polyester plaid leisure suits circling each other like they are having a showdown and "preaching".  But all of their words are nonsense "Gabba Gabba Gabba. Yar yar yar. blooopity blah."  Then I see that Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler are on the opposite side of the street, dressed exactly like the preacher guys and imitating them.  The construction crew is all sitting up on an embankment by the road, eating sandwiches and pointing and laughing.  And I am standing in the middle of it raising my hands going "WTF?".  And that's when I woke up, but I'm still standing with my hands up going "WTF?".

Analyze that one why dontcha!  Seriously. Why is my dream world being invaded by the 1970's? Where's Weezie when I need her??

May 02, 2008

I work messy...

P4261552

Here's the thing.  I so wish that I was one of those people who worked nice and neat and put things up as I was done with them and picked up every dropped scrap as soon as it happens....but I'm just not.  I work like a drunk person, constantly dropping things, forgetting where I put the thing I just had in my hand, and arguing with my materials sometimes.  I pile things, I knock things off the workspace, I litter every surface near me including the floor with remnants of whatever I am making.  This is not to say that I am a slob (though I would certainly never get Martha's award for cleanest house in all the land) and actually I am a very organized person (this comes from my mom...we had containers for containers in my house. lol).  However, when I'm in the middle of a project I cannot be bothered with things like straightening up. I was telling a friend of mine today that I become like the crafty version of Pigpen. A duststorm of paper clippings, strings, fabric bits and woolen dust bunnies follow me like a cloud around my house. That is until I finish the latest round, clean it all up, organize it and enjoy it for about 2 days before I wreck it all again....ah the circle of life.

P4241536

OH but how I do LOVE my art studio! I feel so so blessed to have such a great space to work in.  Windows all around. :)  Once it's cleaned up I'll take some more pics to share.  I'm also in the middle of a massive reorganizing in there.

Happy Friday everyone!!!

May 01, 2008

Thriftin' Finds

Latest goodies...

P4261553_2

Vintage 1968 plastic smooshy toy blocks from the Dolly Toy Company.  SCORE! $6. 

P4261556_2 

P4261559

Stephen collects advertising characters and products and such.  Found the JIF jar for a buck! The squishy Pillsbury Dough Boy was $6.  He's so cute. Whee-Hee! I got these items and the blocks from an antique mall.

P5011568

This I can't even believe I got for $1.50!!!! I don't know what you call this thing but its for toddlers, you know...follow the wire to the end, use it for counting kind of manipulative.  I freakin' love Value Village.

April 30, 2008

Green is SUCH a lovely color on you!

Hello friends.  I know, I know....supposedly there is a "green backlash" building. Which I guess means that people are so sick of hearing Mother Earth whine on and on about her troubles...."My back hurts, my pleursy is flarin up, I'm hot all the time, I can't breathe, I'm all backed up with junk, my landfills are constipated, I have a sore on the top of my head that won't heal, and on and on and on."                         
                                                                                                                              
Do we really think most people have the mindset of...." Yeah, stupid people trying to make her feel better.  What's wrong with these people trying to get me to help my Mama out!!??  Fools!  Quit shoving your eco friendly,sustainable lifestyle on me! I just wanna hug my vat of poisonous cleaner, throw my plastics in ditches, merrily sprinkle pesticides on my lawn like fairy dust and do my part in pumping toxic petroleum by-products into the atmosphere!!" ? Really?? People are SO tired of hearing about strategies to change the way we treat our home that they are tuning out and are ready to revolt against Green products?  I don't think so. 
                                                                                                               
Perhaps some will never care, perhaps some are cynical about the dozens of companies who are just trying to cash in on the movement with products that are sorely lacking in "green-ness".  Or maybe the media just needs something to latch on to. You know how they love to build up a star and then tear her down?   Perhaps there was a little Earth Day overload?  Whatever.  I don't buy it.  I think that MOST people would like to do something, anything they can that reduces waste, benefits their own health and the health of the planet and would like to support companies that do the same.  See I'm a nasty little cynic alot of the time when it comes to people and their motivations. But let me paraphrase one of my heroes, Lewis Black, and say that most people who are wildly sarcastic pessmists...are actually huge optimists.  We believe that there are better ways and that people are actually capable of acting on their better natures. I believe that it takes us a while.  Human beings have INCREDIBLY slow learning curves and society's as a whole....SNAIL LIKE.  However, I think that when we get it...we usually GET IT and we slowly but surely try to incorporate our change in thinking into our lifestyles.  I also think that capitalism, for all its evils.....can work harmoniously and in this case beneficially with environmentalism.  We can make money, save money, create jobs, innovate and at the same time invigorate our economy AND change the way we treat the planet for the better.  So they can take their so called "green backlash" and suck it.  I don't buy it for a second.
                                                                                                                        
So with that said, I thought today I would share some of my favorite products I've discovered over the past few years.
Dish_pwdr_32_web_2  Bac_spray_32_web Soy_liq_32_web
Biokleen!  I use three of their products right now and I love them.  They make the only environmentally friendly automatic dishwashing powder that ACTUALLY works.  I have tried many others and they all leave residues or don't clean properly.  But the Biokleen is awesome. Plus, it's about $7 for a vat that does 64 loads.  If you compare that to most traditional dishwashing cleaners you are going to find that the price is comparable or even cheaper.
Biokleen also makes a Stain and Odor remover that I love (mmm lime!) and a brilliant soy cream cleanser!  No harsh odors and they do the job.  Keep in mind that you aren't just watching out for Mama Earth's health here...you are looking out for your own! I'm planning on trying more of their products soon.
Bon_ami
Bon Ami, mon frere! Bon Ami...j'adore!  Okay first, how can you not love a product that makes you want to go around speaking to ze area you are cleaning with ze french accent? It works like a charm on pans and baked on gook.  This is the scrubby scrub of choice.  Plus it gets the Old Timer award.  See, we didn't ALWAYS make household cleaners that slowly poisoned us. 
Preserve_toothbrush
Preserve toothbrushes.  Made out of recycled yogurt cups.  The exact same price as most traditional brands, maybe a few cents more.  Plus you can recycle them using your own service or you can mail them back to the company and they pay for postage!  Plus they are pretty. The company does not feel the need to emblazon their product name down the side.  I hate that.
                                                                                                                     
Vinegar.  Oh get over it. It smells for all of about 5 minutes and then it goes away.  It cleans and deodorizes. If you wipe down your counters with it, it will keep bugs away.  It's jolly good at cleaning glass.  Google vinegar for God's sake, there's like a thousand uses for it!
                                                                                                                     
Clorox Greenworks All Purpose Spray Cleaner.  So far this is the only product in the line that I would really recommend. Supposedly, according to other reviews I have read, some of the other products in the line aren't really as great or as green as they could be. However this spray meets the mark nicely. I like the nice light smell and it works really well. Plus the price is terrific at $3.00. BUT.  There is a double edged sword here.  First of all, will that drive companies like BioKleen or Seventh Generation out of business?  I lean on the side of no.  First of all you take into consideration higher quality level, ingredients, etc.  Plus the fact that product lines typically last for no other reason than they are GOOD. I don't think there is much need to worry about Clorox taking over the market on environmentally friendly products as long as these companies keep making high quality products and offering new items.  The second conundrum is this....do you support a company like Clorox, known for mostly VERY UNGREEN products, by giving them money for the few that are Green?  Well I understand this arguement, but I would say yes.  Yes (only in the case of this one product that is actually good) because the message you are sending to the company is "Make more of THIS kind of product".  Eventually that will hopefully lead to the company stopping the production of some of the nasty products to replace them with better, earth friendly versions.  That may be very Polly Positive of me....but I choose to go with the idea that everyone likes to make money. If you like to make money, you offer products your customers want.  Plus for people who live in rural areas or on very tight budgets....these greener choices are a huge step in getting people who might not otherwise use environmentally friendly products to try them.  Time will tell, I guess.
                                                                                                                  
Well I've rambled on long enough, but to conclude I also want to sing the praises of my new washer and dryer.  The Fisher Paykel brand gets high marks for energy efficiency and are a dream to use.  I love them as much as one can love an appliance without being creepy.
So what are your favorite green products?  Do share! :)

April 26, 2008

Sleepy Bear Collage

Dreamin' about what every bear dreams about....the making of lunch!

P4241548

I am seriously loving him.  The blue I used for his body is one of my favorite papers ever.

April 24, 2008

Warm and Cool

So I've had a few requests to post some of the art lessons I used in my classroom when I taught.  I'd actually been thinking about doing this for quite some time but hadn't gotten around to it and also had to think about how I wanted to set it up.  I'm just going to be honest with myself, lol...I don't do well with "once a week" or timelines like that. So I will probably just post them as I fancy, higgledypiggledy and whatnot. ;)  I also thought about doing them in some sort of age appropriate order or developmental order but then I decided that it would probably be better to do it sort of randomly.  That way a reader who has a pre-teen could get a useable activity as often as someone who has a preschooler.  Then I realized that I am probably overthinking this entire thing, like five people actually read my blog lol and that I can probably just do it any old way I want. :) 

So I'll start today with a lesson on Warm and Cool Colors.  This lesson can be adapted for someone as young as 4 and up. 

P4241546 P4241545

Warm and Cool Simple Mobile

Materials Needed: Decorative and plain papers in varying hues of the following colors: Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Green, and Purple. Small paper plate or circle (or any other shape really) cut from cardboard (old cereal boxes work great!), glue of your liking.

Pre-Project Discussion/Activity:  Spend some time talking about warm and cool colors.  Warm Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow. Cool Colors: Green, Blue and Purple.

Discuss how warm colors remind us of warmer things such as fire and the sun and cool colors remind us of cooler things like lakes and grass.  Younger children will often get confused and say "hot and cold", remind them that while they aren't really wrong...in art we use specific words to describe things and in this case it is "warm" not "hot" and "cool" not "cold".

When learning about warm and cool colors, some of the colors can confuse kids. One that tends to confuse alot of kids is Purple.  I used the example of crisp, cool purple grapes straight from the fridge.  Ask you child to come up with more examples of things that are cool and warm and how they relate to the colors. (Examples: Lush, cool green forests with shade.  Icy blue glaciers, a clear turquoise swimming pool, cinnamon red hots, Orange pumpkin pie right from the oven, the fiery yellow sun). Of course not EVERYTHING that is that color matches its warm or cool status (like cold orange juice) but we are talking about the feeling that color most often evokes. With younger students I stick to the primary and secondary colors (Primary:Red, Yellow, Blue...Secondary:Orange, Green, Purple). With older children you can get into the complexities of how some colors, depending on their hue can be more warm or more cool. For example...forest green or blue-green are cooler hues of "green" and yellow-green is a warmer hue of "green" because of the amount of yellow.

So once you've started discussing the differences in warm and cool colors you can incorporate it into daily activities and make games out of it.  For example at dinner you can ask your child to take a bite of something that is cool colored and then something that is a warm color.  At the grocery store you can play this game very easily in both the produce section and with the packaging of items.  Also you can make a Warm bucket and a Cool bucket and collect small items from your house and outdoors to sort into those buckets.

For the actual project, I recommend dividing it into two separate days. Have a Warm Day and then a Cool Day.  For each day, you will have the appropriate colors of paper out on the table to work with and do that side. (As an alternative, if you want to use this lesson as an assessment of what they've learned about warm/cool colors, you could put all the colors on the table and ask them to do both sides. One warm and one cool.) Rip the paper up into smaller shapes and collage them on to the plate or cardboard shape.  Write the word "warm or cool" depending on the side on one of the slips of paper and glue it in the middle. When both sides are finished you can punch a hole in the top and hang it in the special place of your choice!

P4241538 P4241539

After this lesson, the next time your child sits down to color or paint you can discuss why artists choose warm or cool colors and the emotions they evoke.  Warm colors are exciting and vibrant. They are full of energy and grab peoples attention and jump off the paper! They symbolize joy, happiness, anger, passion.  Cool colors are quieter and calmer. They make people feel relaxed. They represent sadness, stillness, reflection, quiet and peace.  You can discuss with your child how the color choices we make as artists help to create a mood and show others what we were feeling and thinking when we made the piece of art or the mood or feeling the artist wanted the viewer to have as they view it.

I hope you enjoy this! Please let me know if you have any questions! :)

April 23, 2008

In the works

So I admit that pretty much everything I've been working on and making lately is for the baby and this has delayed any kind of shop update. However it's given me all kinds of new ideas for things I want to make and sell in the shop.  I've shown you the Sleepy Bear (some of these are in production right now) and the simple wood blocks that I decoupaged with the circles.  I have also come up with a new format for my collages!

P4091478

These two are new designs in an unfinished state, deer and hedgehog! The paper background collages in my shop just aren't selling despite 100+ people marking me as a favorite and the average $15 price point AND the fact that I get tons of compliments on them (unless people are just trying to make me feel good).  So my thought is that maybe it's the lack of a frame or the hassle of the 12x12 size in finding a frame?  Well in any case, I decided to try gluing them on wood plaques and I am so glad I did because I am LOVING it!

I am using acrylic paint thinned out with water so that it's more of a stain and lets the woodgrain show through. Then after the paper is glued on I use mod podge over top.  Right now I am making 9 of them to hang in Jake's room...deer, hedgehog, fox, bunny, cricket (maybe, still workin that one out), owl, bear, beaver and birds with birdhouse.  After I get those done I will be making some for the shop.  I am going to be using some of the same designs I was using before...just slightly smaller. Still trying to figure out my price point on these and I need to go get some hangers to nail into the backs.

So what do you think? What kind of animals would you like to see in the collection?

April 21, 2008

ah.......

Sweet, sweet spring.  I took these photos the other day when I went to the Botanical Gardens (a must-see if you are ever in St. Louis).  It's a Saucer Magnolia Tree and I have decided that I must have one in my yard someday. :)

P4171532

P4171529

April 19, 2008

Toy Week:The End

Play food and kitchen/grocery store type toys are amongst my favorites for kids.  I have played around a little with making some felt foods and will definitely be making more in the future.  There's so many great kitchen sets out there now but this is the one I have my eye on!

Play_kitchen_2 

It's from www.fatbraintoys.com and comes with all the accessories you see!

I've really enjoyed taking part in this theme week! Thanks Anne for getting it going!

April 17, 2008

Toy Week:Day Four

Sitnspin

File this under "They Do Not Make Them Like They Used To".  This is a 1973 Playskool Sit-n-Spin. Mine was blue and like all of them back then, heavy as a wagon of bricks, thick plastic, sturdy enough to give a ride to a Yeti, and ready to take a beating.  I loved that thing. I spun and I spun and I spun and I spun. I like being dizzy...wheeeeeee. :)

Today's model?  Pathetic.  Flimsy little hunk of junk. I can lift it with a finger. If you got up enough speed it would probably fly through the air with your child clinging to it (which come to think of it, would be a blast! but I digress...).  I bet the top part would crack after about 10 turns of the wheel. Stupids...don't they know you don't "fix" what ain't broke???  Done gone and messed with a classic and screwed up the lives of today's children, stole the true Sit-n-Spin experience, ripped it right from their tiny hands is what they've done! I'm sure they cut costs and yada yada yada. Well they can keep it.  I'll be tracking down the old school Sit-n-Spin on ebay for my boy! 

Anne over at Green Jello started this theme of Toy Week, which I have really enjoyed! I've met some cool new people too! If you'd like to join in the last couple of days, be sure to visit her blog.

April 16, 2008

Toy Week:Day Three

P4161519_2  P4161518

P4161516 P4161517

Yes. These are toys. They are also tools and they are instruments of learning but in my opinion, they are amongst the most important toys we ever play with.  Creating as you get older sometimes becomes serious stuff. It becomes a business or a way to make a statement on the world you live in.  Unfortunately sometimes it even becomes the stuff of snobbery and elitism.  However at its truest heart...all creation is play.

I was an art teacher,k-8, for five years and I can tell you first hand that most children aren't given enough opportunities to create.  Which is sad because even when its silly and fun...art is a way of communicating and telling people about you and how you see the world.  When that gets cut off, well we might as well be slapping duct tape across their mouths and yanking away their writing utensils. Luckily I was at a different kind of school where I had the freedom to build a program that hinged on open expression and discovery and worked in conjunction with classroom teachers who strived to bring art into the grade level classroom as well.  That is becoming a rarity in a lot of schools these days.

The artist, Alexander Calder said "I want to make things that are fun to look at."  I think that sometimes even the most well intentioned of art supporters can forget that there doesn't always have to be a project.  There doesn't always have to be a purpose to why you are making what you are making or a plan or a theme.  Sometimes the best experience of art is just sitting in front of some really fun materials and letting your imagination go wild.  P-L-A-Y-I-N-G.  Heck we don't even do enough of it as adults.

So here are my suggestions of a few things I think every good craft corner should have....the toys you need. :) 

First of all, I think two things are really important. Color choice and quality level. When you get the crayon box...get the one with the most color choices. When you get the watercolor set, spring for the 24 or 48...not the 12.  Yes I know that kids can mix colors and that's part of learning. However I think you are going to see an excitement in your kid when you offer them a larger spectrum of colors to choose from.  I can't say enough about it. I believe it is hugely important.

Secondly, let them use the NICE stuff sometimes.  No you don't have to spend $62.50 every time you buy a set of markers and yes its fine to get some cheap stuff from the dollar store.  However, if and when you can afford it...let them use your stuff or buy them a little higher quality treat.  For example, most children's cheap paintbrushes just SUCK. There is nothing nice to be said about those crappy little plastic pieces of junk that come in watercolor sets.  All you are doing is setting your child up for frustration.  Is play FUN when it's frustrating? I think you see my point.

Okay so here's what I think every house should have.

- a place to be messy and a person who doesn't mind a mess.

- watercolors, gouache and tempera paint (gouache is a more opaque type of watercolor in case you did not know). As they get older, introduce acrylic and oil.

- colored pencils, thick and thin markers and China markers (who doesn't love peeling those things?!). Also, real drawing pencils for sketching and shading and the kneadable erasers (these two things make them feel like "real, grown up, artists in a way that no other material can. Trust me, I saw it in my students).

- chalk pastels and oil pastels.

- a variety of colored papers, decorative papers, construction paper, magazines and things to cut up.

- a sketchbook, I prefer ringbound so that it lies flat.

- good scissors, glue pens ( I like O'Glue. Please just ignore that they even sell glue sticks, those things are worthless), tape..TAPE and more TAPE (in different colors too, that's fun).

- beads, baubles and doodads, fabrics, lace, trims, pom poms and whatever other little doohickeys you so desire.

- modeling clay

- items from nature, acorns, leaves, grass, flowers,etc.

- glitter! I don't even want to hear it! Suck it up and get some glitter. Take it outside if you have to but don't deny your child the magic of glitter. That's just cruel.

-most importantly...you. Not directing anything, suggesting anything (unless asked), drawing anything for them or patting them on the back every five seconds for their every move...preferably making something yourself.

I hope this didn't come off preachy but instead inspires you to sit down with your kiddo, in front of a bunch of supplies and just say "Let's play". :)

April 15, 2008

Toy Week:Day Two

P4151506

This friend is most special to me.  This is "Koala" (yes I know, WILDLY creative name) and I got him when I was eight years old.  At that time I was just obsessed with Koala bears. I had an Australian pen pal, I was head over freakin' heels for Rick Springfield and I swore I was going to live along the beach by the Great Barrier Reef. Kangaroos were cool but Koalas were the BOMB...so I begged for a stuffed Koala bear of my own.

My how times have changed, because now you could find a thousand different kinds of koala bears with absolutely no problem.  For my mom in the early 1980's though...it was a different story.  Apparantly she looked all over for this guy and there he was under the Christmas tree for me.  I have loved him above all other stuffed friends ever since.  This has been the cuddly who helped me fall asleep and the one who caught many tears in his fur throughout the years. He also was the honored guest at tea parties, the wrapped up pretend baby, the adventurer of the woods behind my house and even sat on my desk in college.  Now he lives in my art studio and sports this jolly little ribbon around his neck.  I will have him always.  With every other toy I saved from my childhood, I will happily share with kiddo and grandkiddos. However, Koala is mine until the day I die.  Because sometimes, when I'm sad...I still kind of need him and I'm not ashamed of it.  Everyone needs a stuffie sometimes.

April 14, 2008

Toy Week:Day One

It is my dream to own this again.  It was my favorite toy as a kid and like almost everything else I had...it was the victim of a yard sale.  Mothers....please listen to me right now. I implore you.  While you can't hold on to every toy....hold some back for them and even when they tell you as high schoolers that they don't care about it and they won't ever want it, do not believe them. They will.  Someday.

Treehouse2_2 

The 1973 Kenner Tree Tots Pop Up Treehouse. The top of the tree...pops up, hence the name.  Such a good toy!

I had lots of these little playsets when I was little. The Fisher Price ones mostly...the farm, the schoolhouse, the gas station/garage, the castle. I had a McDonald's and several houses.  My cousin Stephanie had others that I didn't have and when she would come stay at my house, she'd bring a couple and we would set up "Little People Town" in my basement. Complete with streets and hot wheels cars. One time my Cher barbie doll was an evil giantess who came crashing through the town, kicking the little people around. Good times.

I'll be talking more about these playsets later in the week of toys.  It amazes me how much they are going for on ebay. That price tag has kept my dream at bay (ha!...at bay/ebay....dumb things like that strike me funny) but someday....IT WILL BE MINE!!! Oh and Jake's....I'll let Jake play with it too. ;)

April 11, 2008

Freakin' Fabulous Friday

Farmer_and_his_chicks_3   Produce_stand_2