Tote-ally Cool

My brother and his girls came over this weekend. These two showed up after being at a birthday party...

Why didn't they have parties like that when I was a kid? It sure beats "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"...

The girls came over to embellish the canvas tote bags I gave them for Christmas.

Since their parents have gotten divorced, they spend lots of time going between Mom and Dad so I thought they needed totes to keep all their important stuff ie. hair bands, games, books, pencil rolls, Cozies, iPods...

Honestly, when I first gave them to them they were thinking...."Why is Aunt Susan giving us these dorky looking canvas bags?" But their good parental training kicked in and they knew better than to say it out loud...

Well, I think I redeemed myself on Saturday when I pulled out the stash and they got to spend all day embellishing their bags.

I know I enjoyed it at least as much as they did...I love to see what they create and how their minds work while they're doing it.

I've learned a few things over the years working with the girls...

First thing....They enjoy the present so much more if they have had a hand in designing and creating it.

And second, if you happen to have a child who tends towards perfectionism and gets stuck often because of her inability to make her vision come out perfectly...

Drawing the design on paper ahead of time versus launching directly into the process works much better.

The two older girls mentioned how much they loved getting to spend the whole day making something.

See the Cozy tucked under her legs? Makes me smile...

In these days of overscheduling and busy-ness, it made me think that children might yearn for creative retreats as much as we do.

Which leads me to an idea for next year...

Picture Books Where Creativity Saves the Day

A while back, I posted about my secret habit of reading Martha Stewart Weddings even though I won't be hosting or attending a wedding any time in the near future.

Well, here's secret habit #2...

I spend a lot of time in the Children's section of the bookstore reading picture books...even though Jack, at age 14, is no longer reading at the 4-6 yr old level. *sigh

I look for books with great stories, great illustrations...and, if a needle and thread appear in the story, then I am absolutely giddy.

Well, check out this book I just found this past Saturday when Jack and I went to the store...

It's wonderful. The story is about a mouse named Noodle who finds a ball of yarn...

And she teaches herself to knit. The illustrations are captivating...

But the greatest thing is that the yarn is flocked on every page so little hands (or big ones) can rub the yarn as you read the story...

You might want to check it out for the little one in your life. Or for you...*wink

I have lots of favorite children's books but today I'll focus on a few where Creativity Saves the Day.

The Quiltmaker's Gift by Jeff Brumbeau is my absolute fave of all time but I've talked about that one before and I know many of you love that one too.

The Orange Shoes by Trinka Hakes Noble is another fave.

Delly needs new shoes but her family can't afford them. When she finally gets a pair, it's just in time for a fundraiser at school...the Shoebox Social. Before the big day, her shoes are ruined by her nasty classmates but Delly uses her talent to overcome her sadness...

Cinderella's Dress by Nancy Willard is a new take on the old fairy tale told from the perspective of two magpies who nest in the tree outside Cinderella's window. It's not the fairy godmother that gives Cinderella her dress for the ball...it's the two magpies who use all of the treasures they've stashed in their nest to sew her a beautifully be-ribboned gown with feathers, and beads, and all sorts of shiny things...The rhyming could be a lot better but it's still a sweet story...check it out before you buy this one...

The Lost Ears by Phillida Gili is about a beloved teddy bear who loses his ears when he mistakenly gets thrown in the washing machine. A clever girl who can sew saves the day and, not only fixes the bears ears...but makes him a scarf, coat and hat to boot...

Phew! That's enough to wet your whistle for today.

I'd love to hear about your children's favorites where creativity saves the day...

Happy Reading.

Mouse in the House

See this guy...


He showed up on my doorstep yesterday from Charlotte Lyons and I'm so glad he's here. He has a special role to play in my family this week.

His job is to sit on Jack's computer first thing Saturday morning and deliver Jack his Valentine. Jack is twelve and, believe it or not, a valentine from me seems really important this year.

He's at that adolescent age where he likes to be a kid sometimes and delights in all things kid-ish but just doesn't want anyone to know about it. Enter me. His safe haven. He'll love this mouse; he'll just never want any of his friends to know about it.

Lately, his relationship with me seems to have become very important. It used to be when I told him he looked handsome, he'd blow me off and say "yea, yea, yea..." Now, he looks hopefully at me and says..."Really? Do you think so?"


I can sense in him all the angst of liking girls, wanting girls to like him, hearing all the talk on the bus about girls...

That's where my mouse friend comes in this Saturday morning.

My Dad used to always buy me a Valentine from the time I was about 12 until I graduated from college. It made me feel beautiful and special and loved.

And isn't that the point of a Valentine?

It's doesn't get any better than...

when you're picking your child up from the bus and, for the umpty-millionth time, you have to come up with something for dinner and your mind is blank. In fact, the mere thought of having to find something for dinner makes me lose my appetite. And then, you have this conversation...

Me: "Hey Jack, I have to swing by the grocery store on the way home. I have no ideas for dinner so why don't we have whatever YOU want. What do you feel like having?"

Jack: "Hey Mom. I don't have any homework tonight. How about if I cook dinner?"

OMG! The seraphim and cherubim are singing in my ears -- Hallelujah! I'm pinching myself...OK, Susan, don't blow it...he just might cook dinner...

Jack: "But Mom, I have ideas that I want to try. If that's OK? I mean I really want to cook the whole dinner. What do you feel like eating?"

Me: "I'm not picky, big guy. I am so grateful that I wont' be cooking that you are free to set the menu yourself. After all, you're the chef."

Jack: "You sure you don't feel like anything?"

Me: "Nope. No way. You have a blank slate. I'm just over-the-moon excited that I'm not cooking!"

Jack: "OK, then. We're going to have three courses, OK? And, if it's OK, I'm going to use three different plates and serve them at three different times and..." And the conversation went on and on and the creative juices were flowin'!

Suddenly, a drudgery-trip to the grocery store had turned into a fun outing where I got to watch Jack who, having decided to cook dinner for the first time, had to evaluate and select all his ingredients. I was impressed! Two kinds of pasta (angel hair and mostaccioli!), shrimp AND scallops, he wanted asparagus but it didn't look good...some butter lettuce and asiago cheese....hmmmm. I didn't say a WORD about his selection other than to help him make quality selections. I was really trying not to mess this up...

After we got home, I helped unpack and then I got lost and let him alone. He only had one question..."Do you think Dad will mind helping with the dessert?" "Not at all." Check out what happened about an hour later when I was called to the dinner table...

Jack was just finishing plating our main course...


Note that he had placed the angel hair pasta in the center of the plate, then hand placed each of the pasta tubes around the edge of the angel hair like a volcano and then placed the scallops and shrimp in the center. Ladies and Gentelman, I was actually going to have an edible meal! Who would have thought?


After finishing his work, it was into the oven to wait until it was time to be served.



Don't worry the oven wasn't on...he was just using it as a staging area. Huh. I never had thought to do that either...."Mom and Dad, please have a seat. Did you wash your hands?" *giggle. I went and washed my hands and sat.

First course was a butter lettuce salad, with sliced olives and grated asiago cheese...you can tell by Jack's face that he was evaluating whether he liked it or not.


After that, he cleared the plates and brought the main course... I love this shot... Jack saying to Jim... "Here we have two kinds of pasta...angel hair and mostacola ! with sauteed scallops and shrimp drizzled with the chef's special sauce of olive oil, soy sauce and special spices..."


Note that he'd also gotten down the nice glassware to go with our special meal which was absolutely delicious -- in every way. As soon as we were done, it was time for dessert...POPCORN!


Cracks me up! I've never had popcorn for dessert in my life but this was my husband's special recipe that he makes on the stove with oil and butter and salt...but this time Jack had made it with supervision. yum.


I'm not usually one to eat dessert after dinner but you better believe I did this night... Here's how much I liked it...


And here's what you get when you tell your son that it was the most AWEsome, wonderfully-delicious meal that you've EVER eaten on this PLANET and that you're inCREDibly IMpressed with him!


Let's just say that I highly recommend that you let your child watch Top Chef on Wednesday nights and the Food Channel anytime he wants. Who said TV is so bad for kids??

It just doesn't get any better...

PPR -- The Finale

Finally! Yesterday we had our Pants Pants Revolution revelation...


Let me tell you, it was so nice to finally see them on their bodies after spending so much time on them.


They were a big hit -- and I think their parents were the most surprised to find out that it was the girls themselves who had cut out their own fabrics and designed their own jeans.


You should have seen their chests puff out with pride; that was the best part for me.


I struggled with the photos because of the bright sun, ice on the ground and inside light...


This is the littlest one, Meghan. She loves the camera so I have a million pictures of her.


She went and grabbed this little stool, sat down, lifted her chin, smiled and said, "OK, I'm ready." Cracked me up.


It's no wonder that one of the fabrics she picked out for jeans, was El Diablito


And this is Katie, the quiet one who doesn't smile too much. She and the Mona Lisa have a lot in common.


She did want you to see her favorite part of her pants though...


And just so you didn't think he wasn't around for this whole thing, Jack jumped in for his cameo appearance...


So today, I think I'm gonna rest. And take down the Christmas tree and the train --


Yes, it's true. My secret's out. I still haven't taken down my Christmas decorations. But if I had taken them down, then the kids wouldn't have enjoyed the train so much. That's the story I'm sticking with...


If you're interested, there are more pics here on Flickr. Have a beautiful day!

Creative Jean-ius

I've got two more pairs of pants to finish for our PPR Party tomorrow!


I'm taking a quick break to show you some highlights of the girls' designs.


As I've sewn each one, I can really see how each of the girls' personalities have come through.


Like Moe, for instance,


Moe is ten years old and our budding author.


Moe understands the power of words.


And then there's Shannon. Shannon didn't seem constrained and was able to think outside the box. This "measuring tape" was in a straight line and Shannon chose to "bend" it -- to great effect, I think.

She also took this "zipper" and made a little three dimensional "brooch" with fabric scraps -- too cute!


But, I'll never forget how we all couldn't stop giggling when Shannon decided to put fireworks on the back of her pants -- you know, like, coming out of her butt.... *giggle


This has been such a fun project, but if I ever want to create NINE of something again-- shoot me. Production is not my thing. But visions of tomorrow keep me charging forward...


Speaking of vision, I'm beginning to have vision problems...


I'm seeing Peace Signs everywhere I look...



Peace out!