Little Elephants: Kids Crafts and Fun Activities

Something sweet: mini swap(s)

After all the sadness, I thought it would be good and healing to post about something that made me very happy.

I've recently had two blog swaps, one planned, and one completely unexpected. My unexpected swap was with Outi who writes one of my favorite blogs White Country. Outi has a lovely design aesthetic, one I don't think I'll ever achieve, but I do so enjoy it when I see a new post pop up from her on my bloglines. Anyway... months ago, Outi posted a shot of some sweet spoons that I immediately fell in love with and said so in a comment. She wrote back to say she had an extra set I was welcomed to! So we made a swap -- I sent her some magazines she'd been coveting, and she (she!) sent me the spoons, and some adorable Marimekko cocktail napkins (did I mentions she lives in Finland?), and a beautifully embroidered and stuffed heart she had made. Needless to say I was overwhelmed by her generosity!

My second swap was with Amy who blogs at Taitai knits. This was a planned swap organized by Molly of mollycoddle. I have to say we were incredibly well matched because we both sent our swaps over a month late!! Amy and her kids put together such a fun batch of goodies for us. She lives in Beijing so sent Chinese craft books, candies, paper, pens, pencils... and the sweetest hand knit stuffed elephant you have ever seen.

She's gone.

Nutmeg wasn't able to get get up this morning so we brought her to the Vet's after dropping the kids off at school. We put her to sleep.

Years ago, Tomas and I watched Jimmy Stewart read his poem "Beau" on the Tonight Show. We cried, and made a joke of it with our friends, daring them to read the poem without being affected -- we never could.

We are going to miss our Nut so very much.

Beau
By Jimmy Stewart
1908-1997

He never came to me when I would call
Unless I had a tennis ball,
Or he felt like it,
But mostly he didn't come at all.

When he was young
He never learned to heel
Or sit or stay,
He did things his way.

Discipline was not his bag
But when you were with him things sure didn't drag.
He'd dig up a rosebush just to spite me,
And when I'd grab him, he'd turn and bite me.

He bit lots of folks from day to day,
The delivery boy was his favorite prey.
The gas man wouldn't read our meter,
He said we owned a real man-eater.

He set the house on fire
But the story's long to tell.
Suffice it to say that he survived
And the house survived as well.

On the evening walks, and Gloria took him,
He was always first out the door.
The Old One and I brought up the rear
Because our bones were sore.

He would charge up the street with Mom hanging on,
What a beautiful pair they were!
And if it was still light and the tourists were out,
They created a bit of a stir.

But every once in a while, he would stop in his tracks
And with a frown on his face look around.
It was just to make sure that the Old One was there
And would follow him where he was bound.

We are early-to-bedders at our house--
I guess I'm the first to retire.
And as I'd leave the room he'd look at me
And get up from his place by the fire.

He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs,
And I'd give him one for a while.
He would push it under the bed with his nose
And I'd fish it out with a smile.

And before very long
He'd tire of the ball
And be asleep in his corner
In no time at all.

And there were nights when I'd feel him
Climb upon our bed
And lie between us,
And I'd pat his head.

And there were nights when I'd feel this stare
And I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there
And I'd reach out my hand and stroke his hair.
And sometimes I'd feel him sigh
and I think I know the reason why.

He would wake up at night
And he would have this fear
Of the dark, of life, of lots of things,
And he'd be glad to have me near.

And now he's dead.
And there are nights when I think I feel him
Climb upon our bed and lie between us,
And I pat his head.

And there are nights when I think
I feel that stare
And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair,
But he's not there.

Oh, how I wish that wasn't so,
I'll always love a dog named Beau.

[From Jimmy Stewart and His Poems, 1989]

Tomas' art school: finish this...

For their second assignment, Tomas cut pictures in half from a magazine, glued them to plain paper, and had the kids complete the image. [I'd include my boy's drawing, but either he didn't do one, or it's been lost -- sorry!]

This is Dad's entry:

And this is Miss M's:

Pure friggin' genius, I tell you.

Tomas' art school (at home)

While I was out at a meeting one night last week, Tomas and the kids decided that they wanted to have an Art School at home. This was their first assignment:

Tomas put one of his pens in the middle of the table and had the kids just draw what they saw, not think about what it should look like. Just the shapes, and shadows. I can't tell you how excited and proud they were to show me their drawings when I got home. Miss M even gave me a mini lecture on negative space, proving that they really do absorb everything we tell them.

When they were done he asked them if they would like to have art class on an on-going basis. They said yes, and the discussion and debate around how often and how long ensued. B wanted art class every day of the week. The settled on twice a week -- Tuesdays and Thursdays after dinner.

What I love about this is that his assignments are simple and clear, and we have time as a family to chat and catch up while we work on our pieces. We also all get to benefit from that BFA Tomas earned oh so many years ago ;-)

First signs of Spring

We are still basking in those first warm rays of Spring, and not spending as much time crafting indoors.

In our house these are the first signs of it's arrival; Mr. and Mrs. Duck arrive for their annual week-long visit, and the kids take their first dip in the barely-heated pool.

Funny how these pictures make me feel warm inside, but chilled at the thought of that water -- brrr!

And so our garden grows

About a month or so ago we planted seeds.

... we kept them safe and moist.

... and waited patiently.

Finally! They are big enough for a small flower-pot!

Welcome, Spring!

Orange you glad to see me?

Carrots, originally uploaded by VeroC.

My little theme of colorful mouths felt incomplete without the addition of this Fourth of July shot from last summer.

Don't those carrots look delish?

Blue braces

blue braces, originally uploaded by VeroC.

Now I'm really starting to feel old(er).

"When I was your age kids didn't get to choose what color braces they wanted..."

She's literally had several of her friends say that they wished they could get braces too because hers are so pretty (!).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Last year the children in B's class drank a magic potion to make 'em Irish for the day. This was the brain-child of uber-crafty-mom Doree -- who consitently comes up with the BEST ideas that always trump anything the rest of us schlubs can imagine.

It did eventually wear off.

I had a poster made of the kids with their green tongues all hanging out, and gave it to their teacher. She gave it back 'cause it freaked her out so :-)

My Flickr Favorites

My Flickr Favorites, originally uploaded by VeroC.
PHOTO CREDITS: 1. Nicola The Flutist, 2. inspiration wall 1, 3. I'm Gonna Do The Whole Ranch!, 4. Moo matching game, 5. working space, 6. new bag - old fabrics, 7. Elephant Cake, 8. my elephant garden, 9. Encomenda... Order..., 10. elephant, 11. Pendurado, 12. 3, 13. floral linoleum, 14. The stars above, 15. when they dress themselves to match they are allowed in here, 16. feet, 17. Homemade Flag Garland, 18. plush you II

What a flippin cool way to look back and see where you've been. I was playing around with fd's flickr toys and made this mosaic of photos I've "favorited."

I had to laugh a bit at all the elephants, and my obvious love for vibrant colors. I get a kick out of how playful it all ends up looking.

What do your favorites look like?