crafts for kids

Farewell Arts Focus for another year!

| poppypeach

Last week it was our final week of Arts Focus with some very talented sewers from our school. I was really impressed with this owl fleece hat – I think this student has set the bar high for the next session! The quilt we made was given to our school principal as a gift for her baby, here is a detail of it – embroidered by one of the students.

This 2017-2018 session we brought in some new projects such as the yarn octopus and felt emoji. For the second session, we introduced the button tree to fill in some time as we had a lot of older grade kids (5th grade choose what class they would like to do as their final class). My co-lead also made the kids get fancy with their pillow making which is always a plus to see the kids stretch their creativity. The pipe cleaner doll and embroidery on the bottom left was made by a kinder girl who sewed such beautiful stitches. A favourite of mine is the platypus embroidery sewn by one of the 5th-grade girls in the class.

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At the school where I work the students have been busy making a dollhouse for the auction coming up this weekend. The kids started with making little dolls of themselves and in true Reggio fashion, it evolved into something magical – this dollhouse. With some help from their science and art specialists, this all came together. I am helping them with pipe cleaner dolls this week to give away with the house when it goes up for auction this Saturday evening. Tomorrow we will wrap the yarn around the pipe cleaners and define the bodies of all these dolls lazing around in the playroom of the house 😀

It was back to University over the weekend and what better way to get the brain going on this clean eating diet I am currently on is to have grilled sardines over sauteed kale and roasted garlic topped with watermelon radish and tomato – very tasty with a dash of sriracha.

The annual Holi celebration my friend celebrates each year was a lot of fun on Sunday. We were very lucky to have the sunshine and warm weather after our all out splash of colour followed by buckets of water.

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To add to this weeks collection of food I am looking at lentils as a high protein food so I needed to discover new recipes to eat them and this came to mind after enjoying lentils in Melbourne last year.

Black Lentils with Grilled Asparagus topped with watercress and goat cheese salad

1 cup black lentils (cooked)
1 small onion (cut finely)
Olive oil
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon Smoked paprika
1 tablespoon miso mixed in a small amount of stock (a thick consistency)
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Bunch of watercress
Tomato
Goat cheese (as much as you would like!)

Method

  1. While waiting for the lentils put the asparagus in some oil on the grill.
  2. Simmer onion on a skillet in a little oil until transparent, add lentils.
  3. Mix onions and lentils and add diced tomatoes.
  4. Mix through miso and stock through the lentils and add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Finish with watercress, tomato and goat cheese.

Viewing the arts

| poppypeach

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A week of art and craft happened last week with a field trip to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco on Friday with the 2nd graders.

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The kids had exploration one day of the week and created many fun objects, this doll was inspired by the pipe cleaner dolls.

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At the volunteer sewing teaching, we were working on LED cuffs, and these are examples of the Kinder and 1st-grade students.

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I was teaching the 2nd graders to make Gods eyes in their exploration time – so much fun yarn to make holiday decorations.

Friday came, and it was time for the field trip to San Francisco! The kids were very excited, and we drove up in the morning for a 10am Storytelling throughout the museum with volunteers. They told us many stories beginning with the story of Lakshmi and Diwali the festival of lights then we travelled to Indonesia to view Kris (daggers) and listen to a folk story and the last story was about Ganesh riding on a rat with his love of laddoos. Our storyteller Monique was so full of character and brought the stories to life!

After lunch and no running around the kids and their chaperones and teachers went wandering around the museum. We found many beautiful textiles, which I love plus little tiny colourful snuff bottles and this nephrite shepherd with his goats. The Asian Art Museum has something for everyone, though our 2nd-grade class maybe could enjoy it more if there were more Pokemon!

Couture Korea was an exhibit the kids really enjoyed with many kimono to view and also to touch with fabric samples on the information panel – the interactive was a plus with these guys! Of course, I really enjoyed it too being a textile lover and always wanting to touch interesting fabrics and seeing detailed clothing design. The majority of the pieces were silk and felt beautiful.

Come the weekend I enjoyed a white elephant exchange with my work friends and a tasty dinner of savoury crepes and potluck appetisers. Saturday was a bike ride day and catching up on study and Sunday the house needed a bit of sprucing up after I enjoyed a fabulous Thai massage at Sawadee down the road, it was well needed and has enlivened my soul, namaste.

 

Fall Finalé

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I am into a knitting groove obviously because the weather has a lot to do with it but I have really been inspired by the UK television series ‘Outlander’ with all the amazing knitwear in the costumes. This big cowl capelet was inspired by the main character and knitted flat and double stranded so it is super warm. It can be worn bundled up or as a capelet around the shoulders. As I was wandering outside with it the other day I managed to catch a Japanese Maple leaf.

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One thing I love about this year is the Fall colours the leaves of the gingko fallen to the ground are like moth wings.

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This week it was the finale of teaching the Arts Focus Sewing class and we finished with the kids making pipe cleaner dolls. I love the creativity of the kids when they make this project, some just want to make a naked superhero with a cape or others want to dress up their doll and even braid their hair. 12 out of the 26 kids I had in the class were K and 1st grade and having to sew with all the fine motor and focus these kids did a wonderful job and were so enthusiastic!

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Friday we enjoyed our holiday boutique at school from 3pm to 5:30pm – the turnout was fabulous! I really enjoyed chatting with friends I never see anymore and the focus this year was on kid vendors. The adults were there to inspire the kids and it was so good to hear that one of my sewing students had her table sewing scarves and accessories inspired by the scarf she purchased from me last year. It is so good to see sewing skills passed on and the kids create their own little ventures.

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Yes Bella just say what I mean – I have been preparing packages for Christmas to send to Australia and yes it is always a mission to do but once it is done, party! Here is Bella ready to go on a priority mail trip somewhere fun! Well, we will be too when we head on over to Whidbey Island this Friday, looking forward to some rest and relaxation and looking after 3 kitties but we will be missing out little fur babies 😦

Riding into the Holidays

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This weekend was a bike celebration weekend starting with a SVBC (Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition) party on Friday night and then our own Safe Mountain View holiday party on Sunday. I found this great poster from when I was in Australia where “A metre matters”  when driving by a cyclist that is 0.09 less than a yard so maybe here in the US they can start creating posters where ‘A Yard Matters’ and have a picture of a SUV next to a cyclist to promote bicycle safety on the road. First we need to see more green paint and some protected bike lanes which leads me to….

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Safe Mountain View (who I vounteer with) who is an independent pedestrian and bicycle advocacy where “We envision a network of safe trails, and bike boulevards that enable children and families to get anywhere in Mountain View and beyond by cycling or walking. This network will connect neighbourhoods to schools, parks, the public library, nearby shops and restaurants, and public transit”. I joined my friends Cherie and John on this mission and we are trying to make this a reality in the future. In fact our night ride the other night to the party was loads of fun and I suggested we have our board meetings on the bike 🙂

We had our party on Sunday at a friends house (who were generous enough to offer their house for the event). We had about 30 or so people come and chat about the dream of having protected bike lanes in Mountain View and to have 35 miles of connected trails by 2025. We have a council member chatting to a founding member of Safe Mountain View, Pat on the left and John on the right is chatting to my hubby about the future on the roads with protected bike lanes. So many European countries have this in place so to have protected bike lanes on the road is possible – let’s make it happen!

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Thursday we had our LED Cuff making day in the Arts Focus class and the kids absolutely love it. We always need extra volunteers with this project as it is really important to follow the directions carefully so the light comes on and the project works. This green LED cuff is by one of the kinder kids who embellished it with a little heart – he was so happy!

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I have been sharing making skills with my friend Cristiana from Pebble and Fire we have been sharing ceramics and sewing tricks. This time Cristiana wanted to make a table runner with a little pocket for a napkin and the cutlery out of this super beautiful fabric from Harts Fabrics in Santa Cruz. It looks fabulous with this setting and it came out so well, to be honest I did not know how it would look or sit on the table until I saw the pic and it’s perfect.

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Saturday was another holiday show over at Graham Middle School with friends of mine from the community who make these super cool craft kits – check them out at Kraft Kaboodle. I wanted to buy a gift for one of my sewing students who had a birthday party on the weekend. The added bonus was that I bought their next kit which is a beautful flower petal ball that is perfect for the holidays, I think I will take it with us on our winter break and make it for the tree. The excellent thing about it is that it teaches the running stitch by using pins to pin the petals on the stryfoam ball and it is such a beautiful finished product. As for my booth down the end of the aisle with my textile bags, hairbands, glasses pouch, coin purses and clothes with $5 infinity scarves and 20% off still could not draw in the crowds – it was a quiet day but the fact that my product was not in the stocking filler bracket of $5 and under it was a tough sell. Still each show I will learn from my experiences and with my plate full of study at the moment as soon as this stock is done so am I. It is nice to be walking a different path – time to sew just for fun!

 

Hunting high and low

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A week of peace and contemplation and I managed to clear my mind to enjoy some creative endeavours. I had a pile of my husband’s jeans ready to be repurposed into something fun, so I created these tote bags. The fabric is from a sample from Designer’s Republic in the UK I love the colours and so did a friend of mine in Melbourne and purchased it as a gift for her niece in New Zealand.

The first prototype was sold and take two is with the black and white print with an interesting vintage fabric lining and red details on one strap going across. I still have 4 to work, though – as I design them they take a life on their own.

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Cute kitten picture from swimming class with the kiddos this week – so much fun to have kittens by the pool!

The weekend was a good mix of relaxation and fun with the Mini Maker Faire on Sunday at History San Jose. I highly recommend this event as an alternative to Maker Faire. The location is perfect for the Makers and space is the perfect size for a family so you don’t feel so overwhelmed to keep your eyes on the kiddos and their activities constantly. There’s plenty of shady trees and cool redwoods to enjoy and the bonus is that with the activities all kids can create, take away and learn some new skills in the process.

At one of the tables was a hexagonal quilt making project which was very insightful to how a hexagonal quilt is put together. It is a cute little hand sewing project and the perfect project for an 8-year-old and for me too! Still, to make a quilt with so many hexagons it will take forever, we can always do a small portion as a detail for a skirt or something! As an introduction to hexagon quilt making, you can make a group of 7 and form a flower with your colours or patterns of choice.

As we were on our way out we had the chance to look at a letterpress and as my background is in printing – the commercial type of lithographic printing on a printing press, I was intrigued to see the traditional wood type letterpress in action. Missy had the chance to sweep the press across the print that had a coating of gold studio quality printing ink. This was such a treat to see!

This Mini Maker Faire was the 2nd annual and I hope to see more in the future as there are many vendors scattered throughout the activity tables and it is such a pleasant day out with the family as a lot of local museums from San Jose and surrounds are presenting projects and crafts such as the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, the Lace Museum and an Embroidery guild – yay for the inspiration.

Sunday we were hiking on a 2.5-mile hike through the dry oak woodland forest with our friends from Oakland. Hikes up in the hills are beautiful in the rainy season but as there has been zero rain for months the marsh is non-existent and the grasses are brown, this is  very normal for summer. The hike was on the San Andreas fault line and offers the opportunity to learn about the area’s geology. Unfortunately, the kids were on a mission to complete the hike and eat as soon as possible. Off one of the trails, we had the chance to hang out with a buddha hidden in a rock formation.

Still, the peace of hiking with no one else around was a pleasurable experience and the colors of the leaves are starting to change to their fall colours as you can see with this poison oak trio – leaves of three let them be! Soon with some luck the rains will come and make the grasses green again and the forests lush with moss, though it is hard to imagine with this last blast of summer this week.

A piece a Week – A Spring Tunic Top and some Silk Dyed Easter Eggs

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A whole outfit with the top and cute vegan shoes from Vegan Wares in Melbourne

This week somehow just flew by yet again! Still I managed to finish another tunic in rayon from the book I am Cute Dresses. This time the store had just over a yard of fabric left so I just worked with that so it became a top as I cannot get away with wearing skirts just below my butt anymore! I love the way this fabric drapes as a top and I would definitely choose this type of fabric as an alternative to silk – it is way cheaper and easier to care for as well.

Above is a shot with an outfit ready for a very hot day, it is super cute with a short skirt and I just bought some red pants that would go nicely as well from Betabrand in San Francisco – once I rock out in that outfit I will have to post some pics here! They were having a great sale on the weekend where my hubby scored this awesome hoodie for just under $100. Shop Local I say!

With buttons of three this week 

A close up of the fabric 

I managed to get an easter activity in at the last minute as a friend of mine did this fabulous trick with silk ties and eggs. I found a tutorial and made some eggs with some silk scraps from my fabric bin. They came out looking beautiful and I know for future reference to wrap fully not quickly but time was not my friend on Friday.

Silk dyed easter eggs in a ceramic bowl I made

Yay!! Happy to have found eggs left by the easter bunny in the garden!

25 days of posts #11 the gingerbread house

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Short but sweet – this is the kids latest creation, the gingerbread house. It was such a creative project for them 🙂 complete with a guy in a ball pit! Thought I had not realised when I bought the kit that there was a process involved. We started Saturday afternoon and finished Monday afternoon. The whole project has to be planned and the icing had to dry in between. It was a great incentive for the kids to do their homework as they wanted to work on the gingerbread house. So I highly recommend this kit by Wilton, though I do not think it is edible even though the gingerbread did smell very nice.