A bit of fundraising

Later this Summer I'll be leading a small group of students on a service learning trip to Jamaica where we'll be helping run a camp for at-risk youth in a small rural town in the mountains.

My students are really amazing and they are doing everything they can to help cover the costs of the trip. I thought I'd help out by putting a button here on this blog. Any donation, even as low as $15 will make a difference. We want to help the community purchase some new sporting equipment that is safe -- little things we often take for granted in our own cities.

If you're viewing this on a reader or through a feed, just click over. The button is on the left. Thanks!

Horses and girls

I've never been a horse girl. Never. I've ridden horses a couple of times in my life and I would be happy to again. As a girl, however, I never played with plastic horses (except for a few My Little Ponies, if that counts). It just wasn't my thing. I was more into other things (and I'll post on those next week).

So why I bought this fabric from Spoonflower, I will never know. But it's gorgeous. I splurged and chose the voile. It is soft and lovely. I was bummed at first when I saw that Heather Ross' Far Far Away III line included some of these same prints but they are on totally different fabric so it's all good. I am loving, loving, loving the ochre and browns. This palette reminds me of my early childhood before the '80s got all bright.

A mini challenge

Just before we left for Berlin, Call of the Small posted about what, for her, was involved in making a scene.  This was one of my favorite posts and I was inspired to tackle the challenge. I do my scenes in much the same way and I'll stick with her post format for this one.

Unfortunately, I don't have a dollhouse. I designed and created a roombox but there are a couple of flaws in the construction so I can't use it yet. So I'm still left with only this Petite Princess roombox. Usually I'll wallpaper it with scrapbook paper and do something with the floor. But when I started placing the red and orange in the space, the turquoise blue seemed just right so I didn't change my background.

Motivation: I picked up a few really cool pieces in Berlin and I have been dying to use them (but crazy busy!). I started with the orange and white chair and was planning on doing something totally different but after I put the credenza in there and then the red lounge chair, it all started to work.

The accessories: My favorite part of making a scene is adding all the stuff. The TV was first, of course. It is a fairy tale viewfinder of Hansel and Gretel from Berlin. There is a crazy image of the kids shoving the witch's fat ass into the oven. It's hilarious. I didn't think the aqua would work but I think it really does. Of course I had to use the "ball tower" (the fernsehturm) souvenir and that thermos (a recent eBay find). My mom bought me a box of mostly trashed dollhouse furniture at a flea market and that bird cage was right on top. I didn't think it would work either but it did. (I think it must be a Christmas ornament). Next I went with a vintage Sylvanian families cabinet and the TOMY planter. The pillows I made came next and then the mostly Playmobil dishes (check out that sausage! I am not into fake food much but that is too funny). Oh, the red shoes are from my childhood Skipper doll. Ah, the teeth marks...

The dinosaur was a last-minute find (I share a space with the toddler and husband so their toys often come in handy).

I definitely like to play around with color and I care little for realism. I like to have fun with spaces that appear realistic on first glance and then smack you with something ridiculous (like the bright green sword from some appetizer or mixed drink).

Time: It took 15 minutes to set everything up.  Everything was out and on hand so I didn't have to dig through any bins. I usually spend much longer because I often have a toddler around. I took 22 photos for 5 minutes. I spent 10 minutes with them in Photoshop (basically resizing a cropping a bit). Then it too me about 3 days to actually have a few minutes to write this post.

Finally, I would LOVE to know more about the new pieces I acquired, especially the lounge chair. It has real upholstery, it's not molded plastic. I have an identical one with brown "leather." I don't know anything about the orange and cream chair or the credenza (the only piece with a marking -- W Germany). They are all flea market or secondhand finds. Anyone?

Thanks so much to Call of the Small for such an inspiring and informative post. 

Crafts for Kids

The other day, a friend of mine posted on Facebook, "took the kids to buy crafts to get us through June, and they blew through half of them yesterday. It might be cheaper to put them in camp." I posted these links on her wall and realized that I need to spend some time with them myself as yesterday Zadie tells me, "after nap I wanna make a craft, a gluing craft."

These are my three favorite sites.

Made by Joel:

I've posted links to his blog before but now there is a categories bar on the right that makes it really easy to access the projects.

The Crafty Crow:

I've had this button in the sidebar for a really long time now. I actually haven't looked at it in ages but The Crafty Crow is such an amazing resource. Now that Zadie knows her way around a pair of scissors, it's time.

Kids Craft Weekly:

Lots of great ideas and fun projects are at Kids Craft Weekly and you can sign up to have an email sent to you so you don't forget.

Anybody have any good resources for kids crafts aside from loading up on pre-packaged kits from the store?

We're back

We took a family trip to Berlin. It was amazing. I have lots of new travel tips to add to that section but a very busy month ahead. Remind me never to go away in May again. It is too much work!

Anyway, above is the photo of the bag in action. I am reading our guidebook while we stopped for a snack.

The bag!

I finished the bag and I've been trying it out. I just now realized that I didn't take any "action" shots so I'll do that soon. It's the perfect size and I'm quite happy with it. Two bold box pleats on each side and no box pleats on the inside. I made a pattern for that shape so there wouldn't be all that fabric to dirty up.

Inside is Amy Butler and a print I can't remember the name of (anyone?). The straps are solid yellow home dec. fabric from Ikea on the outside and a secret bit of the matching Heather Ross moons. I just love the sleeping beauty fabric more than anything.

There are definitely a few things I'd change if I make this bag again. I didn't add interfacing to the top panel and that was a big mistake. The pocket on the inside is a bit small. But I enjoyed making something for myself for once -- and actually using it.

Making some progress

Here is the pocket sewn into the lining. I stitched it on after I ironed the interfacing so it would be stronger.