Crafty Lady

Say it isn't so.

i just finished my first, and perhaps my last, scrapbook. Does this mean I am officially and squarely in the "crafty" camp?

I have numerous ideas as to how to celebrate the end of Turner's commitment with Little League. He has had seven glorious years and I want to celebrate it in ways he will treasure. I intend to frame one of his all star jerseys and make a quilt out of all his uniform t-shirts. I also made a scrapbook to commemorate his 12-year-old year.

And today I finished it. I feel very accomplished.

Sunday's Creation

Starting to make some new creations in preparation for the show on Nov. 13 at my church. This one is part lasso, part necklace! It can be worn short or long. All proceeds will be used to support my family's upcoming service trip to the Dominican Republic. If you need a one of a kind hostess, teacher, or thank you gift, I am also happy to give you a private show at my house!

Ugly Dolls, Part II

As promised (see the original post here), here is Samantha's finished original Ugly Doll. She named hers Eeedos. At left, she makes the same face as her new friend.

Homemade Ugly Dolls

My son Hayden loves to do projects. Over the years we have made bird feeders out of soda bottles, bird houses and wind chimes out of found objects, designed and beaded myriad necklaces and bracelets, and have painted, sculpted, and drawn countless creations. Today we tackled sewing.

Hayden loves Ugly Dolls and wanted to design his own. His friend Samantha thought that sounded like fun so she joined us. They drew their prototypes, then made the patterns. I think the most fun part was devising the face. Samantha had to leave early to go to her guitar concert so hers isn't assembled yet, but Hayden's is finished and is shown below (the red checkered one) sitting with two of the Ugly Dolls he already owned.

Like Cindy, But More So

Like the “Lost In Space” robot,
short circuited,
arms flailing,
I am confused.
Tight-chested,
my lungs are so tense
that the air won’t
come.

Feeling like the 21st-century, female version of Atlas,
overwhelmed,
yet simultaneously underwhelmed,
I am tired.
Reality hasn’t met expectations,
but when do they,
ever.

Desiring to be special,
a treasure,
someone’s beauty,
like a well-worn baseball glove or
a coveted pair of pumps,
flats—shoes of any kind really—
I am not.

Like the fabled Cinderella,
cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking, dishes
some more laundry, yard work….
and if Cindy had kids, add in disciplining.
I am Mom.

(written winter 1996, never published anywhere until now.)

Snow Day Creations

My boys wanted to do projects today. Hayden decided to use iron-on fabric crayons to draw the logo for his spy society: the Society for Integrity Defenses, which he then ironed onto a t-shirt. Turner applied fabric paints on a t-shirt to draw a new logo for one of his baseball teams: the CT Cobras. And I decided to create new pieces of jewelry. We spread everything out on the dining room table, cranked up the iPod (Beastie Boys and Coldplay were today's playlists of choice) and set about making stuff. So fun.