Is this the funniest Valentine or what? I just adore how it turned out. Many thanks go out to Craft Monkey, who featured a tutorial on her blog, using Picnik. Picnik is apparently going to cease to exist in April, joining with Google+, BUT until then the premium features are free. Darn, just when I discovered something cool.
It started with a Hearthsong catalog just before her 8th birthday last November. She had circled something from just about every page, but put stars and hearts next to the things she REALLY wanted. Right next to a bright pink and purple child-sized sewing machine were three stars and four hearts.
"Really??" I was kind of shocked. She never approached me about learning to sew, and it was one of the things I didn't really think about teaching her yet, weirdly enough. Then we had a conference with her teacher, and the wheels started turning. One of the things we were concerned about was her handwriting. It's pretty atrocious. She does not hold her pencil correctly, and her hand fatigues quickly. We have tried the special pencil holders that are supposed to guide her fingers into place, but she hates them. Her teacher suggested doing fine motor activities to help strengthen her fingers, and sewing was one of them. She had heard that sewing with a needle and thread was good practice for holding a pencil correctly.
A-HAAAA!!!!
But, no, we didn't buy the little sewing machine. Instead, I bought her a beginning sewing book, a brand new pair of grown up scissors, just for her, and filled a pretty little flowered box with needles, craft thread, flower headed pins, measuring tape, a pincushion...everything you need to begin sewing. She was pretty excited to get started, especially after looking through her new book, which I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone who would like to teach a child how to sew. It's called Sewing School: Hand-Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make.
To read a great review and to see pics of what is inside, check out CraftyPod's post on this book. I love this book because you see things that REAL kids made! And you can tell that they made them because there is usually a pic of the child with their work. The stitches are all wonky, there is original artwork, things are not cut straight...and that is what makes this book great to me. My girl saw the pictures and said, "I CAN DO THIS!"
I bought another beginner book soon after with some really cute, really easy projects. Unfortunately, she was not as thrilled about it as I thought she would be, and we have yet to start a project from it. I finally figured out what it was. She was intimidated by the projects because they look perfect. They were made by a skilled adult with perfect, even stitches, perfect alignment, straight cuts, etc. Sigh. I am hoping to move her beyond the perfectionist expectation and get her to try something from the other book, but for now, we are sticking with Sewing School projects.
The first project was a needle book. You have to have somewhere to stick those things, right?
That little button gave her a huge amount of pride. She told everyone she knew that she can now sew on buttons! (By the way, the pics are from my Droid phone, using the "Man With Camera" app. I envy the Instagramers out there with their cool pics, so I'm trying out some new apps)
The next project she wanted to try was to make a "stuffie".
You draw a picture of a creature or animal, outline it with dark marker, so when you place a piece of muslin on top of your drawing, you can see through the fabric to trace it. We used Crayola Fabric Markers to permanently trace and color the image so it won't wash out or bleed. We have also used crayons and ironed the fabric with a sheet of paper on top to set the colors.
Of course, as soon as he saw what we were doing, Little Man wanted in on the fun of learning how to sew, so he jumped right in and started creating with us.
His first stuffie: a cat!
And here's our partial cast of characters! (Some are missing in action -- they are definitely a favorite toy these days!) Little Man made the caterpillar, I made the mouse, and Eleanor made the others. I think there is some great talent there!
I've got to include the latest: Kirby and Prince Fluff from Kirby's Epic Yarn.
Have you seen that game?? Total eye candy for crafters, you can't die, you just unravel your enemies, the kids adore it, and the music in many levels is actually nice and soothing.
I went to a HUGE consignment sale a few months ago and picked up some amazing bargains, but my favorite one:
These "Hardware Store Alphabet Cards" are HUGE 8x10 individual cards that you can use for wall art. They remind me of the old children's book illustrations from the Dick and Jane era, or even those vintage textbooks that you can find once in a while. They sell for around $25 new, but I got a boxed set for FIVE BUCKS. I am dying to use these somehow. String them up, banner-like? Frame each one and sell them on etsy?
Last month I was hard at work getting my preschool fundraiser orders filled. I absolutely ADORE doing preschool events. The kids are always so sweet and excited to get their hand or footprint made in clay. I bring two at a time in the room so one can watch while the other gets it done.
Glazing the bisque ornaments before the final firing:
The finished product. Not one flaw or breakage...whew!
Orchard House School is no more. We have decided to send Eleanor back to public school and officially terminate the homeschool. It's the right decision for her this year. She has grown a lot this year in many ways and I believe she will do great.
But I must admit, I am sad that it has come to an end.
To those who donated: From the bottom of my heart, thank you for giving Nicholas a chance at a new life. I believe his family is out there somewhere.
Here's the deep breath part. I just found out that all the children who were on the 5/5/5 program, like Nicholas, will be able to keep their grants until January. After that, children who have turned 6 already, like Nicholas will this month, will be put into an "older child" category on the Reece's Rainbow website. If I am understanding correctly, the funds from those children will then get put into a general grant for the next older child who is being adopted. Because older children (6+) do not get adopted as easily as younger ones, by gathering the older child funds into one larger one, this is a way to make it easier for a family to adopt an older child. Unfortunately, this means that after that grant fund has been used for one child in that category, it takes a while to build up the funds again for another child in that category.
I'll speak plainly: If you have seen Nicholas and have been thinking and praying about adopting him, the time has come to seriously consider moving ahead. Contact Reece's Rainbow. See what you need to do to get your paperwork in order. Like, NOW.
I was told recently that he is just one out of many children. I can't save them all. That is true, unfortunately. But he is an individual, not a mass of children. He is one little child, who cries in his sleep at night. Who likes to dance to music. Who loves to play with adults. Who cries in his sleep at night.
He is just one little boy.
***UPDATE!***
I have learned that Reece's Rainbow has changed the policy regarding older children grants. They are now able to keep individual accounts until they are 10! This means that Nicholas will keep his grant, not until only January, as was the case until recently, but for another several years! That is wonderful news! But let's not let him be parentless all that time. Let's find a home for Nicholas before he lives another year alone. The danger of transfer is still very real.
Posts
