Thirty-four
As you know, I’ve been featuring my husband “A’s ” creativity this week. The reasons are many, but he celebrated a birthday the other day, too, and this was my way of shining the spotlight on him. Here’s how we celebrated his turning thirty-four: His gift was this crazy little bonsai tree. Coupled with origami, [...]
Paper Creations, Part II
After seeing Between the Folds, the PBS film about origami, “A” tried a few new kinds of paper forms, like this mushroom. This paper is twisted, flattened, and crinkled rather than folded, and the resulting fungi are whimsical and delicate. He worked this up fast and it is actually quite simple to make. There is [...]
Paper Creations, Part I
Origami. One more of A’s seemingly endless talents and hobbies. Yet another skill he spends his time honing, along with playing piano, creating in his wood shop, or whipping up homemade candies. Over the years has folded scores of tiny animals—penguins, giraffes, chickens, humming birds, kangaroos, each one more amazing than the last. Recently, he [...]
Dino Factory and Turtle Love
I have been living in a prehistoric world for the past week and a half, and it’s not such a bad thing. Last summer I was contacted by Adrianne, the owner of a very cool online shop called Turtle Love Committee. She had seen my Triceratops charm necklace, loved it, and asked to see if [...]
The Birthday Box
I wrote about celebrating a certain little girl’s sixth birthday last week, but I didn’t show you everything that was made especially for her. “A” makes boxes for the girls on their birthday each year, and it has become their favorite tradition. The birthday box is a much anticipated gift—how big is it going to [...]
Craft Hope for Haiti
It’s amazing, the generosity and swell of support. Craft Hope has opened up an Etsy shop to help the efforts in Haiti, and in two short days they have sold a whopping 111 items (and counting, fast!). Some might call it a bandwagon, but I choose to see it differently. It is a way to [...]
One Small Change
Hip Mountain Mama has organized a challenge for anyone interested in making a positive impact on the environment. The program, One Small Change, calls for participants to make one adjustment, big or small, each month leading up to Earth Day. The first small change my family will be making is to be more conscious about [...]
Six
She’s six now. Her special day comes so close after the holidays, our projects just keep on keepin’ on as we put together special things for the baby of the family, Ruby Jane (aka Janie-wa, the rubster…). Her recent fascination with a certain dog breed called for a pug-themed celebration, complete with a, uh, frog [...]
Henna Art
Santa brought the girls henna this year, and school vacation gave us lots of time to learn about the ancient art form and have fun with it. We started by researching online and found so many inspiring images, like this amazing work of art. The elaborate designs were striking and the detail is insane. We [...]
Charming
Gifts I made and gave aside, I still have a few things to show from the holidays. Today I’m sharing a commissioned work, personalized for a very special Nana. A friend of mine had the brilliant idea to make a few custom gifts from the Remembery tokens. The first request was a bookmark with a [...]
