Block Printing with the Kiddos

    I dont know if it needs to be said again- but we do a lot of art around here! Not just me with the making or the Mr. with the drawing but these kiddos of ours are what some classify as Craftaholics! Keeping them engaged with fresh art projects can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, I often worry they will be bored when they hit school as we do things well above what is considered "appropriate" for their age.

   I remember my own parents encouraging me as a kid- I was sent to the Kelowna Art Gallery's summer art classes- this was when the K.A.G was still in the same building the Kelowna Museum. Our  classes were held downstairs in the basement of the museum. It was dark and cool and smelled amazing down there; I felt like I was part of some sort of secret club. Catching glimpses of the stuffed bob cat from the taxidermy collection getting cleaned, racks of vintage clothing that no one ever got to see and shelves of native artifacts. I had back stage access AND got to learn about drawing positive and negative space-I was 8.

      I feel that if I turned out OK (if not a little precocious) with such an early introduction to art then these Littles of ours will be just fine as well. In that spirit today we tried doing a bit of block printing; a pal of the boy's is having a birthday party this weekend and we needed a bit of wrapping paper. So we set up out on the deck- a lot of living goes on out there- and the kids drew out their designs onto soft Safety Cut blocks.

     Of course I did the dirty work as I often do- wielding the Lino knife and cutting out the designs as best that I could.  There was quite a bit of tiny detail that I found difficult to get cleanly cut out so we compromised and a select few areas were what made the cut( bwahaha- insert lame art joke here)!

                     Miss Lo is really into faces lately- so of course she made this funny little guy!

     The boy is a lot more abstract in his style but was pretty addement that the blue stamp in a rocket ship- of course! Once we got everything cut out( I trimmed away the excess rubber with scissors- time is always of the essence when working with toddlers) I handed over a few stamp pads and off the went- stamping to their hearts content. Usually we would use ink and roll it on with a brayer but it is really warm out today and I felt the ink would dry too quickly.

   The key I find to mixing toddlers and art is to have everything you need on hand and all set up, things can quickly go awry if you have to step away to grab a wash cloth. The other thing is to set the kids up themselves to succeed at the project- don't give them something they will get frustrated with and mad about. Kids often hear "No" so often - why not let art be a place where "No" doesn't exist? With that in mind I feel it is important to still challenge them and help them down their road of exploration.

     I feel I should mention our kids are always kept safe- we never give them art supplies that would be toxic or harm-full to them in any way. People occasionally think that kids art supplies should be cheap- often these cheap products from the dollar store, for example, are not up to standard and not non toxic.

      When buying art supplies for children look for it to specifically say Non Toxic as well as having that "AP" or Approved Product seal posted clearly on the label. Supplies bought through a reputable retailer such as Opus Framing and Art Supplies have been carefully picked by the company and usually give the best results. All the art supplies we used today, with the exception of the stamp pads, came from Opus- they are a wonderful resource and always happy to help!

A Trip to the Market

We woke up Sunday morning to grey,grey thunder clouds looming about the shoulders of our mountains, down in the harbour it felt more September that July. Needless to say our plans to hit the beach again this weekend had to be put on hold. Now what does a family with a suddenly empty day do? Well we do what we do best- took the day as a gift or sign if you will and slowed it way down. The rushed smoothies that were planned as a pre- beach breakfast turned into a sit down pancake breakfast, complete with real Maple Syrup- Im spoiled perhaps - I have a direct import line of Maple Syrup from the East.

   
     Our family is not the sort to rush about or spend hours commuting- we feel that although we live in a huge city we have, to a degree, avoided the rat race. We live where we work- literally the Mr's office is right around the corner! We walk almost everywhere during the week, saving the car for weekend adventures. Most importantly - I think anyways- is we eat almost every meal together as a family. We have a table cloth, cloth napkins, and the kids are learning to set a table properly. No elbows on the table please!

      Multipul studies have shown the importance of eating together as a family, those studies aside it is just what feels right for us as a family. To gather and share; talking, laughing, sopping up spilled whatever! In both the Mr's family and my own food has always been an important part of family ritual, something that bonds us all together. We feel that with our boy starting school in the fall we are on the verge of our entire lives shifting and so to continue as long as we can with this family tradition is paramount.

    At any rate food is important to all of us- weather we like it or not we all rely on it.  It is a necessity of life and so why not enjoy it? And what joy, if I may ask, comes from opening a frozen dinner and popping it in the microwave? Whole foods, unencumbered and free of sprays and other chemicals is a joyous thing to eat! We are so lucky to live in a place with such easy access to organic and locally grown food- during the growing season we take advantage of this as much as we can!

      The health benefits of eating locally and organic are really only topped by my own desire for our kids to know where their food comes from. City kids it has been said are increasingly out of touch as to where their food is grown and produced. Educating kids about food supply can be an easy and magical thing. At our house we have a small balcony garden where we grow salad greens, tomatoes, herbs and   the king of the crop- strawberries! We also have a larger garden at my parents house- the kids with their own plot where they are all waiting breathlessly for the pumpkins!

   One does not need to have a green thumb to teach their children about food, an easy way is a trip to the local Farmer's Market. Not only does one get to eat what is in season but you also support farmers when you buy directly from them- the middle men are all cut out and your money goes directly into the farmer's pocket. This brings me back to our Sunday afternoon spent lazing around picking up a few groceries here and there. No rushing, no losing kids in the grocery store, just wondering around and buying what looked and smelt good!

    I feel like this tale of food and slow Sundays needs some sort of moral at the end. You are what you eat? Cliche. How about What goes around comes around? Whatever the moral  you take from this story is I know for sure that this morning finds me cleaning and freezing berries so in the depths of winter we an open our freezer and still enjoy summer!

 
     

Took a walk in my neighbourhood...

        When ever I go for a walk in our neighbourhood I have The Junkie Song by The Be Good Tanyas running through my head. It's off their album Chinatown. I love that it starts out "took a walk in my neighbourhood, it was two in the morning, by the skytrain station" 

     I feel the Be Good Tanyas have walked down these streets before- in fact I am pretty sure they have- Hey wait don't they live around here?Anyways like them I know that behind the word junkie and homeless there is so much more- a person with a story. You can't live in this neighbourhood and not know that.

     Since moving to Vancouver 10 years ago I always felt something was lacking, a sense of community and acceptance where ever we lived. The Mr. and I tried several areas of town and even ventured out to the burbs for what felt like the longest year lease ever! It wasn't until we moved into one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada that I started feeling that sense of being welcome and accepted.

      It is with this soul-full song and this amazing feeling we explore our neighbourhood; the one where our children's friends live, the one where we meet people we know on the side walk, the one where we buy yarn for knitting and art supplies for creating, every day.The neighbourhood we are a part of. This neighbourhood of ours is changing every day, yoga studios are popping up, a posh baby store, a little less gritty but still beautiful.

     This is where Vancouver started, glimpses of the past abound- Gassy Jack is just up the street. And while Florists and boutiques are taking over the tourist shops and rug stores, a current of independence and freedom is easily paliable. A distinct creative spirit that is all encompassing and welcoming- I feel I have wondered long enough and have finally found my neighbourhood.
     

A Fishy Project

    Afternoons are always the most difficult time for me, keeping our kids entertained while not allowing them to run my life or just turn into zombies in front of the TV. The mornings are easy what with all the routine a morning brings- topped off by a walk around the neighbourhood or a visit to the park before it gets scorching hot. But oh those afternoons! Left to their own devices these wee ones of mine will and have wrecked havoc on our tiny apartment.

    Enter in the afternoon crafting sessions, everything from markers and crayons to more elaborate painted works on canvas have happened on or around our kitchen table and out on the deck. The kids have a great time exploring and learning about different mark making- and lets face it getting messy!

    And so I present to you an easy peasy afternoon fishing project. All you need is some heavy cardstock paper - the kids picked white so you can see the colours better, twine, a chop stick( because doesn't everyone have a million of these floating around in the back of the utensil drawer?) or other stick to use as the fishing pole- do you see where this is going? How easy is this? In our house the hole puncher and scissors are mom's part of the project- that is only because the fish would get riddled with holes( the boy) or turned to confetti ( Miss Lo).

   All you do is draw a funny fish- here I wielded the marker and was art directed by the kids- older kids can obviously draw their own fish. Have the kids colour or decorate the fish how they want- we just went for crayons yesterday as this project was on the fly & they wanted to get to the good part! Punch a hold near the mouth of the fish- tie one end of the twine to the fish and the other end to the fishing pole- Et Voila!

 
     And now for the good part! The actual project took only about 20 minutes but the "fishing" went on for hours! I did end up eating more than my fill of imaginary fish and I'm sure I put on a few pounds but the shrieks and giggles were music to my ears and meant that I could bake buns for dinner. Art projects are always better when you can play with them!

                                                                         P.S.

   Our fish were heavily influenced by one of our favourite colouring books- My Beastly Book Of Monsters. This is possibly one of the best activity books I have ever come across and at $13.95 (Canadian) it was worth every penny!

Peanut butter heaven

    Today I was going to share one of my stand by recipes, an oldie but one of my kitchen work horses- the good old reliable Banana Bread. Then the following happened. I was on Pinterest- yes you can follow me, I Pin often and usually only the highest quality of stuff that I like, did I mention I Pin often? I may have a problem.Anyways the kids are making forts and one is napping so I am on Pinterest and I come across the most tempting looking goodie. I followed the link to the Bakerlady's website. And then this happened...

A few hours later I  regained consciousness and this is what I saw...

-melt 1 cup of butter and blend together with 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs,2 cups of confectioners sugar and 1 cup of peanut butter

- once blended spread evenly on the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan( ungreased)

- melt together 1.5 cups of chocolate chips with 4 tbsp peanut butter

- spread this on top of bottom crust

- chill in the fridge for an hour- the squares not you

- cut up or just dig in with a spoon

- yah that just happened!

It's a table runner! A.K.A. something for Mamma

    This past Saturday I got to do something that I never get to do, I haven't done this in months- possibly in years. I went shopping by myself! I didn't really need anything in particular although I had the vague idea that since my Birkenstocks had cracked in half I should look for some new sandals. At any rate 10:00 am on Saturday morning found me getting dropped off on the side of the road in the middle of my favourite shopping street- South Granville! Eeee! thats right I squealed!

    The Mr. had taken the kids for a hair cut and a movie so I felt like I was in no rush to get home, I tried on clothes till my little hearts content. And didn't buy anything. I hit all my favourite interior's stores looking for inspiration to freshen up our space. I am in our home a great deal- I would say I am often home 20 hours a day. So I am constantly looking for ways to spruce the place up and make it interesting, similar to our nature collection our home is a constantly evolving exhibition.

     A wonder through Restoration Hardware was a breading ground of ideas for me. Also known as inspiration or appropriation in the arts world but more commonly known by the rest as stealing of ideas. Thats right folks I get my ideas from other places, things I see and love then change to make my own! I don't come up with this stuff on my own!

     At Restoration Hardware there was a plethora of "hand made" quilts and throws on sale, lots of linen, and loads of neutral tones. I let all this inspiration ferment for a few days and yesterday while my babes were chilling out in the shade on a hot afternoon I came up with this little table runner. I had a whole bunch of left over grey linen from a top I made a while ago, I pieced it together in a fun way- part of the goal was to use up as much scrap as possible. I backed the whole thing with a piece of sturdy Belgian Artists Linen.

      My last stop of the day on Saturday was one of my favourite stores- The Cross Decor & Design- on the corner of Davie and Homer in Yaletown. I love this store and if I could just sit one of their chairs and smell the candles and look at beautiful books and people all day I surely would! The cute little succulent pictured above came home with me as did some John Robshaw tea towels. The lantern pictured is also from there but from last summer.

    Now our deck is almost the oasis I am dreaming of- the final step is to sand and paint the coffee table, maybe put some new castors on it, paint the planters, get a new run, sew some cushions.... "Love Where You Live"!

These kids- they are growing like weeds!

     My babies are growing up- figuratively and literally. I know this is what everyone one wants is for growing healthy kids, but all this growing does come with a modicum of sadness for me as I see my little ones growing out of wee little baby clothing into massive big kid clothing. I pack away their cute little clothes, I remember when I bought them and sigh, I give them a final sniff and put them into the box of things I can not bear to part with.

   These babes of mine are no longer babies hey are full on kids, something my 2 year old has been telling me since she started talking; " I no baby, I big kid" was and still is Lo's favourite saying. This one in particular is growing like a weed, clothes that I bought too big last year in anticipation of getting more than one season out of have gone into that box. That brings me to my decision to garb these babes of mine(for really they will always be wee babes to me) in as many home sewn garments as I possibly can.

   






















    It just makes sense economically, at this size a pair of shorts is half a meter of fabric and an hours worth of time. At this age is makes sense to take advantage of dressing them in home sewn goodness as they are not remotely aware of the mega giant retail industry who is out there lurking waiting to convince some hormonal mother to spend $78 on baby jeans- yes I briefly considered them, they were very cute!

    I love Oliver + S patterns, once figured out they are very straight forward and easy, plus insanely cute! I have made the Puppet Show Tunic only once but am planning a few more for the fall. There are a heck of a lot of steps and tailors tacks but it all comes together beautifully. Plus the length is perfect for a gal on the go!

   The bottoms that go with the Puppet Show Tunic are the easiest shorts I have ever made! They have cute little gathered pockets and are really more bloomer than short. Lo paired them here with a vintage chemise that I found at Community Thrift and Vintage. Her hat was found on sale at the Gap- some things are necessarily a justified purchase!

ps- the benefits of home sewing are enormous and political, I could go into depth all my reasons behind home sewing but I chose to focus for the moment on the pretty details like my Grandmother's vintage buttons that grace the back of the Puppet Show Tunic