Flower Power

I have two girly-girls.  One much more so than the other, but both LOVE to wear fancy flower clips and headbands in their hair each day.  I came across some beautiful hair accessories made from fabric rosettes, and I wanted see what I could come up with.  I found a great tutorial on YouTube HERE.  The Little Birdie Secrets blog also has some great ideas, instructions, and photos.

Here are the accessories that I created.  I used needle and thread and hot glue for most of the construction.  I covered the back with felt, hand-sewing the felt on some, and others I just used to secure the clip to the flower.  Notice that a couple of these are simply made from silk flowers that I removed the stems and extra  bulk from, and glued onto clips.  The girls are thrilled with the results!

Sharpie Tie-Dying

I just LOVE this one!  I friend had posted her Sharpie Tie-Dyed shirts on Facebook and I couldn't wait to try it for myself.  Not only that, I had wanted to do a tie-dye project with my Brownie Girl Scout troop, but thought it would be a big undertaking.  This was it!  Who would have thought you could do something so cool with a few Sharpie markers?

I found a great website that, not only shares the directions for the Sharpie Tie-Dye Shirts, but also explains the science behind it.  A fun art project and science lesson in one!  Check out the link at Steve Spangler's Science site HERE.  We have made several shirts, and tried a couple different techniques.  It is very important to remember to heat set the color before washing, otherwise, your colors will fade.

Supplies Needed

- Variety of Colorful Sharpie Permanent Markers

- Rubbing Alcohol

- Something to "Tie" Dye, such as a white shirt

- Plastic Cups

- Dropper

- Rubber Bands

I purchased a kit of Sharpies like this one... 

I can't tell you HOW many projects I have used them for!

Directions

Before you start, make sure you protect your work surface.  I didn't do so here, but I was careful not to place damp colors onto my counter top ;)

Step 1:  Preparing the Shirt

Place cups, open-side up, underneath, securing with a rubber band.  We placed as many as we could at one time.

Step 2:  Decorate!

Use your favorite Sharpie colors to make designs on each 'circle'.  We loved the way dots of color would look in the end, so we added lots of those.  You might want to test different colors, as some spread nicer then others too.

That's Tatum, my 3 year old, adding her artistic touch.

Step: 3:  Add Alcohol
Use a dropper to add a little alcohol at a time to the center of each 'circle'.  Don't over-do it!  The alcohol will continue to spread for a while after it is added.

Step 4:  Wait
And here is what one side of our shirt looked like after alcohol had been added to the designs.  Now you need to wait a bit to allow the alcohol to dry (so not to spread on parts of your shirt you don't want it to).

Step 4:  Dry

Once it is dry, you can remove the cups and rubber bands.  You may want to add designs on the opposite side of the shirt.  Here is the finished back-side of the shirt we were working on above.

And... if you want to try the more traditional tie-dying method...

Step 1:  Tie

Grab sections of your shirt and wrap with several rubber bands.

Step 2:  Color

Add color to each section you have tied off.  We found the best results when we completely colored each section.

Step 3:  Add Alcohol

Use a dropper to add a little alcohol at a time to each tied section.  You'll want to add just enough to spread the color.  Don't over-do it.

Step 4:  Dry

Allow the shirt to dry for a while before you take out the rubber bands.  This will keep the color from spreading to where the rubber bands are - which gives it that cool, traditional tie-dyed look.

Here is our finished shirt, though I'm thinking we'll go back and fill in some of the empty spots.  I love the look.

***UPDATE***  

Many of you have asked about the colors bleeding or fading.  We have done it several times now. One time we had some bleeding/and colors were washed away. What I have learned is that you need to do a really good job of heat setting it. I don't think the iron does a good enough job. I would recommend you first wash the clothing separately in very hot water.  After doing that, your colors should be safe from bleeding/fading.

And there you have it!  A fun and educational project that you can share with your kids!  Enjoy!!!

Mother Inspirational Sayings

Here is  some beautiful mother inspirational sayings and quotes for this Mother's Day.

A mother understands what a child does not say.

Jewish Proverb

What the mother sings to the cradle goes all the way down to the coffin.

Henry Ward Beecher

Mother – that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries.

T. DeWitt Talmage




Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Anonymous

A mother is a mother still – the holiest thing alive.

Hartley Coleridge

A mother’s arms are more comforting than anyone else’s.

Diana, Princess of Wales

All Better Bags

Here is one of my latest projects.  While visiting family over the holidays, my sister-in-law shared with me what I considered a fabulous idea!  She had a little pouch filled with all of the "boo-boo" essentials that she kept in her purse.  I just had to make my own!  Of course, I had to come up with my own name (not wanting to steal someone else's), so I'm calling my version the "All Better Bag".

I plan to make a few more, and when I do, I will post the instructions if you want to try to tackle your own.  Inside my baggie, I've included various band-aids, some alcohol pads, a sterile pad, pain-relieving spray, and of course... a couple of suckers to help ease the pain.

These were quick to put together, and make great gifts for your mommy friends.  I'm thinking I may even whip up some to sell through my Sun Scholars Shop if you think this is too much for you to handle.

Welcome to my blog!

I am many things, but mostly, I am a busy mom of three wild and wonderful children.  After my second child was born, I went back to school to get my degree in Primary Education.  With that, and my constant desire to express my creativity, I thought that there HAS to be a way I can share these things with my children.... but it has be be simple!  It has to be fun!  And if it is educational, that's two or three birds with the same stone, right?

So here is my attempt to share our journey together.  That, as well as a fabulous program I've created which I have named Sun Scholars - a summer program designed specifically for busy parents and caregivers to add some educational value to the summer months in a fun and easy way.

As I am searching for ideas to use in my own home, with my own children, I will share them here with you.  I'll share photos along the way, and let you know what we're up to... what works for us, and what doesn't.  My hope is that this will become a fabulous resource for busy mom's, like myself, that are wanting to make the most of their time with their children... and I, knowing how precious that time is to come by!

So follow my blog!  Share it with your friends, and stay tuned!  I might not be a writer... and as busy as I usually am, I will likely not have lengthy posts to share... but I'll have lots of ideas and pictures!  I'm more of a visual person anyway!  On top of that, I'd say I'm a bit of an idea snob... I am pretty picky when it comes to selecting projects that I do and share with my kids.  It has to be cool... it has to be useful... it has to be fun!  So stop by often and see what we are up to.  And, while you're at it, stop by my site SunScholars.com to check out my Summer Program!

Here's to a great year ahead!

Waste Not, Want Not

Happy New Year!

I stopped making resolutions a number of years ago and instead have just tried to look at each new year as a fresh beginning to just do better all around.

This year I would especially like to follow the theme of "waste not".

It always bothers me to throw food away or to buy so much fresh produce because it's so healthy and looks so luscious in all it's colorful healthy splendor, only to pick up the dripping carcass muttering something like "what on earth???" as I throw it into the trashcan.

Impulse buying tends to lead to a lot of waste so I will try to cut back on that as well.

Wish me luck.

Time. I don't want to waste or fritter away precious time. I want to glean as much out of every minute as I possibly can.

Effort. I want to be more directed in my efforts.

Opportunity. I want to seize more opportunities this year and not be complacent.

Finally the other "waist" I want not! I hope to get back in better shape.

 I would like to thank everyone who has visited my little blog and maybe commented or written to me privately, for welcoming me here in blogland! The new friendships that have been forged this year are especially dear to my heart! Thank you for being here!

African Women: Proverbs, Poetry and Art

In keeping with the spirit of the New Year I decided to go back to my roots for some words of wisdom. Here are some African proverbs , poetry and art about women, friendship and motherhood.


     Three Flirts: Abstract African Art by Injete Chesoni

African Friendship Quotes
1. The friends of our friends are our friends. - Congo
2. A friend is someone you share the path with. - African proverb
3. To be without a friend is to be poor indeed. - Tanzania
4. Because friendship is pleasant, we partake of our friend's entertainment; not because we have not enough to eat in our own house. - African proverb
5. Hold a true friend with both hands. - African proverb
6. A friend is someone you share the path with. - African proverb
7. Show me your friend and I will show you your character. - African proverb
8. Sorrow is like a precious treasure, shown only to friends. - African proverb
9. Return to old watering holes for more than water; friends and dreams are there to meet you. - African proverb
10. Between true friends even water drunk together is sweet enough. - African proverb
11. A small house will hold a hundred friends. - African proverb
12. A close friend can become a close enemy. - African proverb
13. Bad friends will prevent you from having good friends. - Gabon

Seeds of Life: Abstract African Art by Injete

African Mother Quotes
1. The good mother knows what her children will eat. - Akan Proverb
2. Parents give birth to the body of their children, but not always to their characters. - Ganda Proverb
3. Only a mother would carry the child that bites. - Nigerian Proverb
4. Even though the baby monkey appears so ugly it's mother loves it anyway. - African proverb
5. The mother hen does not break its own eggs. - Swahili Saying, Eastern Africa
6. He that has never traveled thinks that his mother is the only good cook in the world. - Kenya
7. Every beetle is a gazelle in the eyes of its mother. - African proverb
8. A child does not laugh at the ugliness of his mother. - African proverb
9. A mother cannot give birth to something bigger than herself. - African Proverb
10. Give birth to children and you will be pregnant with worries. - Namibian Proverb

    Sunset Dreams: African Art Piece by Injete

African Women Quotes
1. If men swear that they want to harm you when you are asleep, you can go to sleep. If women say so, stay awake. - African proverb
2. A woman can hide her love for 40 years, but her disgust and anger not for one day. - Arab Proverb
3. If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation)." - Ghana
4. A home without a woman is like a barn without cattle. - African proverb
5. An old woman  is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb. - African proverb
6. A woman is a flower in a garden; her husband is the fence around it. - Ghana
7. You are beautiful, but learn to work, for you cannot eat your beauty. - Congolese
8. Do not desire a woman with beautiful breasts, if you have no money. - South African

     Friends: African Women Art Piece by Injete

On the way to the river  

African Womens' Poetry by Injete Chesoni
On the way to the river
We stop and catch up
On the latest village gossip
Two sisters, two girlfriends having a chat
We talk of Amadou
And how he has married wife number two
And of Seydou
And how he flew into a rage over
His wife Paige
And her horrendous cooking
He is now thinking about
kicking her out
All over cooking
We chuckle
Maybe we will give her a lesson or two
On how to prepare a meal for two
That’s sure to please and appease her man
Into letting her stay
If she wants to that is
We chat about Mama Lucy
And her cheating ways
Yesterday she was caught
In Chief Malay’s
Boat
In a compromising position
We whisper and blush
At the thought
Wishing we were as daring and free as she
But as for us
We are tied up by the chains of domesticity
And we must return to our chores
Of fetching water
And washing clothes
And all those other never-ending tasks
The daily life of a wife
Interrupted for a moment
As we live other people's lives
In our daily gossip on the way to the river