Enough is enough and some fun too

I am so done being sick! I'm currently sniffling through my second cold, maybe even my 3rd cold of the season. Done, I tell you. Finito. Enough said.

Yesterday, I manged to have some fun finishing up an audiobook. I'll tell you more about that when my head clears. I've also read a few other books along with crocheting for the the holidays, visiting with family, and buying a yule tree.

This is what I had fun doing Thursday between coughs an sneezes:



The star in front, I made with xmas cards I found at the thrift store. The star the farther back, I used pages from a flower arranging book.



I found the pattern for it here from a way cool craftezine found here. I see lots of possibilities in the future.

I used double sided tape to put the points together and most of the base. I finished off the base with hot glue. I used hot glue to glue the points to the base.


Corbin insisted I take a picture of him holding the stars. The first one he is practicing what I think is his punk look. Below a smile for me.

what we've been up to wednesday

Yesterday we hung out with our local homeschool group. I missed last time 'cause Corbin and I were sick. It was good to be back. T he kids had fun playing pool, air hockey, dolls, and building with legs. I really wish I had brought my camera 'cause all the kids came up with some really great lego creations.

Jade made brownies then we ate them of course. Here's what's left:


Earlier this week the kids made a family of royal puppets out of toilet paper tubes.



and played dress up



and made tents in the family room

Sorry about the blurriness but I didn't want to retake the pic. Yes, I did pick up some before I took the picture.

I introduced the kids to hangman. Jade enjoyed it but Corbin just isn't as reading well enough to enjoy it. He was pretty frustrated.

Jade made some melt and pour soap for gifts. We are almost finished with that. We made some holiday cards. I'm almost finished with my gift crafting this year. Just one or two more things to make and a few more loose ends to weave in. Then I'm done. Phew!

I whipped this up over the last few days. It's for my sister, hope she likes it. It's my own design and I plan to write a up a pattern for it eventually.



Right now the kids are watching Astroboy.

Mask Making

It's true (just in case you didn't believe me.) Our dinning room usually looks something like this:


Note the trash on the floor and the plaster dust on the chairs.




Corbin finishing up his mask. Jade is working on her mask right now.


A Chinese is Rain Mask - or so Corbin says. He wants to encourage rain this summer which is a good thing as long as it doesn't rain out homeschool group.

Stitch Markers

I'm having fun with beads and earring findings to make stitch markers when I crochet. Many of these markers I will send out as surprise gifts for the wishing well on Crochetville. Some I will keep for myself.

Postcard Art - Maybe

I'm trying my hand at making my own handmade postcards to take part in handmade card swaps on the postcrossing forum. I 'm feeling a bit creatively challenged but it's likely my perfectionism creeping in.

I like what I am creating "okay" but I really want to make a wow statement or something. For some reason I feel like I am cheating using others peoples photography to make cards. I think I need to find some unique way to use the materials.

Are there any artists (or lovers of art) out there reading my blog? I'd love some constructive criticism, inspiration or even just some plain old reassurance. Beauty is in the the eye of the beholder anyway. I might hate it but maybe you just LOVE it! If you do love something you see and I still have it I might just mail it too you!

This one I like and my receiver liked it too. She said he was going to frame it and hang it in her kitchen! So now I my art is hanging on wall in Austria. Cool!





This bountiful garden card I like it "okay" I think there is something missing here. I'm not sure the composition is very pleasing. I also feel like I am cheating on this card because the card is made of a gift box lid cut to size with seed packet pictures glued to the the top.




This one I like more than "okay" mostly because I like the photos of the happy smiles and the silliness of it. It makes me smile. Again, it feels like cheating because I am using others photos.



Maybe I am going to far with this flower and photo theme?




Here I am seeing what happens when I add words.


This one I love the colors but the composition I'm not sold on.


Have some suggestions?

I have added more cards to my art card set in my flickr account to take a look if you want. Just click on the link in my sidebar.

Belly Mask

Corbin put this belly mask on yesterday and I took some pictures :)

The belly mask is the one I did when I was pregnant with him. There are some more picture of him wearing it on my flickr pages if you want to take a look.

Life is just fun and learning happens

Recently, I read on an unschooling blog that to get unschooling you need to stop thinking about learning and focus on living. I realize I do think about unschooling and learning alot. Part of why I do is that it helps some that are new to unschooling get unschooling a little better to see how to unearth the learning that happens without teaching or school.

Yet, I can see that gets in the way of me posting here because I want to share how I see what they are doing as learning and sometimes I don't see it. I want to get away from that and just celebrate what they love to do and what they do.

So here's my practice at just sharing without trying to translate it into what they MIGHT be learning.

Corbin and I played a the park for a bit today and we did tricks on the swings. We also talked about his desire to jump off the slide platform with a rope tied around him. I told him I was afraid he might hit his head on the metal bars. He thinks it will fun :) We are still in the talking stages about this.

He's now in the living room playing with some pattern blocks and telling a story as he lays them out.

Jade is in her room listening to Harry Potter and playing with her dolls. She's come in every few minutes to share some insight she has about the book or something that she finds interesting.

Corbin also played in the Fort he built last night and that Jade helped him make improvements on this morning. He got out some sciencey typoe things we had and played with the magnets and also made a potion.

They both watched a few morning cartoons but the TV has been off for the rest of the day. Corbin did play some of the gamecube games we rented friday night.

I did some weeding in in the garden and watered in the some of the seeds the kids planted a week or so ago. We should have some home grown lettuce soon.

I spent a good portion of my day emailing on my local homeschooling list too Oop! on how or better what can help kids learn to read.

I set out the Art Trading Card Craft supplies to make some cards. Jade made some note cards instead. I made one card and Corbin made a few too.

Here's Butterfly Blue my ATC :


One of Jade's collage cards she made:


Here's Corbin's Drgon Card:



I LOVE having a scanner.

Creativity

Creativity, I value it almost above other things. It tickles me the creativity and the imagination my children have, even when it pushes some of my boundaries.
















Yesterday, my son made this gun. I especially like it because he made something out of what could be trash. It pushes my boundaries because it's a gun. If you look around my flickr photos you will find cool pics of his lego creations he wouldn't let me blog about.
















Jade puts interesting things together for her dolls just by wrapping fabric around them for clothing. If she wants pillow or toy for her doll she hunts down the fabric in the house and finds a needle and thread and just makes it!

Here's a pillow she made for one of her dolls. I'm using to show off some amigurumi crochet I've been doing.














She made this little elfin doll for a craft at homeschool group.

I have had to get past my desire for things to look beautiful or more polished to see value in my children's creativity. The things they make are not always works of art but it's still so cool.
















Here's a picture that doesn't really capture what the kids were doing. They "dressed up" the playmobil then brought them into the kitchen for a toy buffet. They wanted some kind of tickets for the buffet and asked their dad to write up 10 or so "Toy Buffet" tickets.

My computer has been hijacked

I haven't been able to post recently because my computer has been hijacked by the kids to watch dvds. Jade bought (with her own money !) a set of Astro Boy Anime. She was a bit disappointed to find out they were we not the 1960's Japanese black and white originals but they were the original 1980's versions done in color. We did learn that Astro Boy was the precursor to all Japanese animation and why most Japanime has the surprise eyed look. Jade hopes we will be able to get the 1960's originals eventually and do some comparisons. For now they are only available in Australia.

Later today we will be watching Star Wars because we are doing a Star Wars theme day. I came up with Star Wars day because I have been feeling a bit guilty not finding things to do with Corbin. Jade likes to take part in lots of what I like to do so we get connection time and talking time. Corbin likes more active and action figure type play that I just don't have the patience for but I can get into some imaginery play for a day.

We started the day coloring some Star Wars pictures and Corbin dressed up. We may get to making some TIE fighter ornaments. We are taking a break to play Monopoly. Too bad we don't have a Star Wars Version. (Just in case you were wondering...I won.)

We have been playing more games recently. I have been enjoying that especially when I am in a game playing mood. The kids most of the time enjoy playing for playing sake rather than for winning. And it's fun to see what they know from games like how they add and subtract large numbers.

We have also been busy doing things for the holidays too. I have finished my holiday cards. I need to get some mailed off soon. Jade and I made some snow flakes and some other paper ornaments. I made some paper cranes and some Santa Boots from Paper Gifts And Jewelry (The Paper Magic Series) by Florence Tomenko. I just found some more snowflakes ideas and some you can make with coffee filters.

Now on to Star Wars and doing our best to stay warm in bitter cold Kansas.

Yuletide

The kids had fun with the bit of snow we had yesterday. They got all bundled up and even got out their bikes. When they got cold they came inside and made some homemade cocoa.

I got some organizing and cleaning done then got out our craft supplies to get started on our holiday cards. I am so glad I like to thrift store shop because some of my past finds have come in handy this year: old stamps, old Christmas cards, gold and silver fabric paint, ribbon and more.

I am having so much fun this year making cards for friends and family, maybe even more fun than the kids. I just didn't want to stop. I started making cards around 11am and Jade made some with me for a few hours. Jade made a list of all our family getting gifts from us and made gift cards for each person. She wrote the list with ease (last year this would have been frustrating for her.) I kept making cards with breaks in between to help Corbin make brownies, eat some lunch, and play a few games of Go Fish until Stephen got home around 7pm. I took a break for some dinner and to connect with Stephen then got out some Shrinky Dinks to make some stars for some of the cards.

I am really pleased with what I have created so far that I'm tempted to keep all of them. I think I understand why my kids want to keep many things they create.

The kids are ready for more doing and creating today. Jade wants to make some melt and pour soaps. I want to make more cards.

A great day, creating, playing, listening to music, talking, and making plans. Today looks like much of the same.