My Mommy Makes It

Chinese New Year Crafts for The Year of The Horse

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 04:42:00 +0000

Happy New Year

恭贺新禧 Gōnghèxīnx

My eldest has been waiting a long time for The Year of The Horse. Everyday she asks to do a horse themed craft and I always struggle to come up with a good idea. Well she finally got her wish. These were just cheap unicorn masks from a local store that I altered and painted. My girls decorated them with glitter and sequins. There are now sparkly "things''all over my house, Once glitter is released into the environment I don't think it truly ever goes away.

We have a lot of horse coloring books in my house. To be honest the only thing my kids will play with comes from the equine family. I xeroxed a "front" and "back" image onto some red construction paper and my daughters cut the images out and decorated them. I accordion folded a body. By adding some popsicle sticks we were able to make some really fun puppets that would make festive party favors. Able to twist, dance, and jump as well as any dragon

May your wealth come to fill a hall.

金玉滿堂 Jīnyùmǎntáng

It was my goal to buy the least amount of supplies and use things I already had in the house. That was the inspiration for many of these craft projects including this felt "red envelope". I used a cookie cutter as the stencil and a sewing machine on stiff felt. The girls were excited to get a new variation of the traditional New Year's gift for children.

We started doing lantern walks for the Mid Autumn Moon Festival and it has become a popular request for all other Chinese holidays. I had these red paper gift bags left over from my trip to China. They make perfect lanterns. Again I used an image from a coloring book for the template to do the paper cut. Of course we will use tea lights one of these evenings when the snow melts and it is a bit warmer. I think they will look quite magical.

This is one of our favorite book to read around the Chinese New Year. I always try to make a traditional Chinese dish and this year it was Nian-Gao, a cake made of rice flour and dried fruit. This book has a great recipe. I decided to do the baked version as I feared a steamed rice cake would stick and that my family would not really eat it. Normally I would write the recipe for you but I think that you really have to read the book and then make the cake with your kids. Otherwise it has no meaning for them and there are certainly better tasting cakes. I was pretty impressed with how well the cake turned out. Nice texture and pleasing taste. I halved the recipe as I think a whole cake is too much for a smaller family.

Happiness, Prosperity, Longevity

福禄寿 fú lù shòu

Really simple napkin rings made with, pipe cleaners, air hardening clay and rubber stamps. My four and six year olds were able to do most of the craft themselves.

Place cards made with card stock and painted clothespins. I am sure a bit of glitter was an unplanned ingredient in our take out Chinese dinner.

Too much snow for firecrackers this year, so we will be making a lot of noise with this horse gong made of an aluminum pie tin and cardboard paper towel roll. For something scrounged from the recycling bin it has a pretty authentic sound. Loud enough to certainly scare away bad luck and spirits.

Some more ideas for celebrating The Year of The Horse with your children...

Visit a horse rescue center and make a donation

Go horse back riding on a nice day

Visit your local library and check out books on Chinese culture, traditions and history

Attend your community's Chinese New Year celebration

Learn a new thing this year like Mandarin, bamboo brush painting, or cooking a Chinese dish

Try out acupuncture

Enroll your family in a martial art like Tai Chi or Kung Fu

Oh and here are some crafts we did last Chinese New Year that could be done this year as well

More Crafts

Well there had to be a lion dance...

Best wishes for the Year of the Horse

马年大吉 Mǎ nián dàjí

from our family to yours!

Mid Autumn Moon Festival 2013

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 03:49:00 +0000

The Mid Autumn Moon Festival is September 19th

This post will be short and sweet because I have more than my hands full right now. This is one of my favorite celebrations. If you want a full description of the festival and more ideas on how to celebrate it go to my post from last year LINK: http://mymommymakesit.blogspot.com/2012/09/mid-autumn-moon-festival-crafts-and.html .
This will explain all the symbolism around the Jade Rabbit, the moon, and round fruits.

This lovely lantern with a Jade Rabbit and full autumn moon was made by decoupaging small squares of white tissue paper onto an empty jar. We always do a lantern walk on the night of the Moon Festival.

You can use a battery powered tea light instead of a candle.

Hand drum with Jade Rabbit and Moons

Decorate two small paper plate.

Paint a few wooden beads.

Paint two popsicle sticks

Punch two holes into each paper plate, making sure they match and line up.

Line up your holes and glue your paper plates together.

Thread your beads onto one length of ribbon, insert end into one set of holes and knot both ends. You want the ribbon to be long enough so that the beads hit the center of the plate. Repeat on the other side and with the other plate.

Glue one popsicle stick to the bottom of the plate. Repeat on the other plate making sure to match up the sticks so that you can glue them together later.

By rotating the wrist back n forth quickly you can make the beads play the drum.

Paper Orange

Cut about 15 1/2 inch strips from colored paper. Each one should be about 4 inches long.

Align and stack all the strips together in order to punch a hole at the top and bottom of each one.

Keeping the strips stacked thread a pipe cleaner into the holes like the picture shown above.

Cut some leaves from colored paper and thread them onto the pipe cleaner at the top.

Twist the excess pipe cleaner into a "stem" at the top and a knot at the bottom.

Separate out the strips of paper into a fan shaped ball.

Several oranges can be used to decorate a table or strung as a garland.

Our family hopes you enjoy making these few art activities and that you have a very special evening celebrating the end of summer and blessings of home. CND

Where is Kazakhstan

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 03:35:00 +0000

I came across this video clip today. I thought I would post it because many of my readers have no familiarity with Kazakhstan, the country where my eldest was born. I just feel the tears come to my eyes when I watch this and think about those 9 weeks. This advertisement is enough to make me want to sell everything we own and move to Kazakhstan. Such an amazing place!

It's All About Apples, Crafts and Recipe for Nauryz

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:44:00 +0000

March 21st is Nauryz.

Let's cook and create with our kids!

It is the time of year when new baby animals are born,

Chicks are cuddled by children,

Honey Bees take cleansing flights,

Shoots struggle to break through the earth,

And apple blossoms appear on the trees.

A celebration of the end of Winter's isolation and the appearance of Spring with all that it symbolizes. Birth, Hope, Growth and New Beginnings. Like the animals around us we bring forth, clean, and gather once again with our community. We prepare and check in with our environment to insure the survival of future generations of children.

Apples were first cultivated in Kazakhstan. So in honor of this countries gift to the world we focused solely on this simple fruit for our family's version of the holiday this year.

An apple garland that even a preschooler can help make.

Cut an apple in half making sure the cut surface is as flat and level as possible.

Coat the cut surface with a thin layer of paint.

Press your "stamp"onto a piece of white paper.

Add details like a stem and seeds.

Cut out the apple shape.

Punch out two holes.

String onto a length of pretty ribbon.

Apple napkin ring

Use a cookie cutter to cut an apple shape from air dry clay.

Make a leaf and attach it to the stem.

Punch a hole in the center with the end of a pencil.

Let dry overnight.

Paint.

Knot the center of and thread both ends of a pipe cleaner into the hole and twist around your napkin.

Apple Sun Catcher

Coat the clear lid of a takeout container with glue.

Cut about 2 dozen small squares of tissue paper.

Layer the squares on top of the glue.

When dry punch a hole in the top.

Insert and twist a pipe cleaner to make the stem, create and glue on the leaf.

Tape to a window.

Apple tree place card for the table

Make a treetop template

Fold a piece of construction paper in half.

Place your template as shown above and trace the shape.

Cut out as shown above.

Leave about an inch uncut along the fold at the top.

Draw on some branches.

Cut out about 2 dozen small squares from tissue paper.

Place the end of a pencil eraser in the center of one square and crush the paper around it to form a flower bud. Glue it on to the tree. Make and glue more buds.

Write the name of your guest on a toliet paper tube.

Cut slits in the top of your tube.

Insert your tree top into the trunk.

Every holiday needs a homemade present if you have a child.

Kazakh sewing cards-girl in traditional dress, camel, yurt.

I used colored Sharpie markers to trace simple shapes onto the plastic mesh used for cross stitch.

The colored thread with plastic on the ends found in bead stringing kits is perfect for small hands to use.

The thread is used to match with and color code the design so that the child knows how to create the image independently.

I saved dessert for last.

Walnut Filled Apples (a traditional Uzbek recipe)

Peel and core four apples

Cut out a good portion of the center of each apple without puncturing the bottom

Place 1/2 tsp of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of honey in each apple

Place in a steamer and cook for twenty minutes

Chop 1/2 cup of walnuts

Soften in hot water 1/3 cup of dried currants. Remove from liquid and set aside.

Mix currants and nuts with 2 TBSP of sugar, 1/8 tsp of ground cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp of ground star anise.

Take the hot apples out of the steamer.

Remove some liquid from each apple making sure to leave them only half full.

Stuff and fill to the top with the nut and currant mixture.

Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream.

Video of Nauryz in Kazakhstan

If you want a more detailed explanation about the holiday of Nauryz you can click on the label marked "Nauryz" on my sidebar. There you will find all the past posts that discuss how it is traditionally celebrated in Central Asia. You can also find more recipes under the label "Silk Road Recipes". Our family wishes you all the best for the seasons to come and I hope you enjoyed this post.

Crafts and Recipes for the Year of the Snake

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 05:03:00 +0000

Happy Chinese New Year!

Dressed in her New Year's Outfit and sporting her big "owie"

I have always celebrated Chinese New Year but this year it took on a special significance since we now have our own Chinese Empress at home. You may not have any Chinese family members but this holiday is so much fun for children that you might want to try a few traditions out and learn about a new culture.

Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar. It can vary from the end of January beginning of February depending on the year. For 2012 the date falls on February 10th.

Examples of typical Chinese family housing-apartments (background), townhouses (middle), farm with fields (foreground)

What is Chinese New Year? Well only the biggest holiday in most of Asia. EVERYBODY takes two weeks off from work, often traveling hundreds of miles back to their "home", to celebrate with family and community. It is a time to honor the coming of spring and reunion with those we love. All traces of the old year are removed as homes are cleaned and repaired, debts paid, relationships mended, new clothes bought, and there are lots of very special traditions like.....

The Red and Gold Door Banner

This tradition is probably as old as paper and writing in China.

Our family banner was made of joss, scrapbook and origami papers.

I carved the backside of styrofoam meat trays with pencils.

I rolled on black acrylic paint.

I stamped the symbols on the paper.

Dragons, horoscope animals, melons, bats, butterflies, the kitchen god and chubby toddlers are all commom symbols found on door banners. Chinese characters are done in caligraphy for good luck and

blessings in the new year.

Door Banners stay up all year only to be replaced by new ones when the next New Year comes.

Red Envelopes

are given out as gifts especially to children. They contain real or chocolate coins and are thought to bring good luck and prosperity to the person who receives them. They are also used to "feed" the lion and dragon dancers.

Firecrackers

I picked these firecracker decorations up on my trip to China. They came in handy since we had a ban on firecrackers in our city this year. Normally we would have set off real ones near our front door.You can make your own string of firecrackers with painted and decorated toliet paper tubes strung together. Hundreds of firecrackers go off in January or February in Asia to scare away evil spirits and welcome the

.....dragon and lion dancers.

Drums, cymbals and the Buddha leads a team of martial arts practitioners dressed in costume through a loud,colorful, parade down all the streets in a community. The dragon can be up to 40 feet long and require several people to lift and move gracefully.

I also bought this mini lion in China so the girls could do their own lion dances.

Maybe snakes are more to your taste for a dance partner.

Using glasses or jars- trace and then cut out lots of circles in a variety of sizes

Create scales by coating bubble wrap in gold paint and then pressing it onto the paper

Here is the head and tale.

Glue the head, tail, and spinal segments on a long piece of ribbon.

Attach 3-4 dowels or sticks to the ribbon so that the snake can be carried by several children and made to dance.

We made lots of snakes

since it is this animal's year on the Chinese horoscope.

This one is made from red and gold paint, paper, and egg cartons

This one is made from cardboard toliet paper tubes.

By cutting the ends into triangles and attaching overlapping tubes together with brads, you can make the sections articulate and your snake slither along.

Goldfish

are considered to be just as lucky for the New Year as the color red. A guest or traveling family member might grab a few in the street market as a gift for the hostess. Most families will have a least one special bowl on hand just for goldfish.

Our goldfish was made by melting shaved crayons between two sheets of wax paper to make a sun and wind catcher.

Here is the template I used to cut the fish shape after an iron was used to melt the wax paper together.

I used tissue paper to make the lips and fins.

Dumplings

are the most popular dish served on the first day of the New Year. It is considered very lucky to stay up until midnight and have dumplings as the first thing you eat.

Dumplings with Peanut Sauce Recipe

Dumpling Filling

In a large pan saute

2 -4 cups of ground meat of your choice (beef, pork, turkey or vegetarian protein like Korn)

1 bunch of green onion finely chopped

3 gloves of garlic finely chopped

1 inch of fresh ginger finely chopped

1tsp of Chinese Five Spice (if you can find it)

Salt to taste

Set aside

Saute

2-4 cups of napa cabbage

1/4 -1/2 cup of herbs of your choice (basil,mint,cilantro, etc.)

Mix in what you set aside

You could also add mushrooms, bean sprouts and other vegetables

How to shape the dumplings

Take a circle of wonton or gyoza skin (you will need to buy 2-3 packages)

Lightly wet the entire circle with water

Place 1 TBSP of filling in the middle

Fold into a half moon shape, pinch the edges together tightly, and pleat.

Boil or steam until done. Steamed dumplings are less likely to fall apart

Children love shape dumplings!

This recipe makes about 100 dumplings which is just right for a family of four.

Peanut Dipping Sauce

In a food processor combine

1 cup of chunky peanut butter

2 TBSP of soy sauce

2 TBSP of Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar Dressing

1 TBSP of Worcestershire sauce

2 TBSP of sugar

2 TBSP of toasted sesame oil

1 TBSP of fresh minced ginger

2 minced garlic gloves

1 tsp of red chile flakes

Blend until smooth adding a small amount of water to thin into desired consistency

Enjoy!

Here are some great books for reference and fun reading

Moonbeams, Dumplings and Dragon Boats by Nina Simonds and Leslie Swartz

Holidays and Festivals-Chinese New Year by Nancy Dickmann

A New Year's Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong

Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan

A Gift by Yong Chen

You can find all of these at the library or through the inter-library loan system

Lanterns

The New Year holiday ends on the last day with the Lantern Festival.

On the 15 day of the first moon which is actually the first full moon of the year, everybody takes to the streets for a big party full of fun and entertainment. Lanterns can be made of any kind of material from paper to glass. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Imagine hundreds of these lighting up the streets for one special night.

Fold a piece of red paper in half.

Starting at the fold, mark and measure some lines about one inch apart.

Leave 1-2 inches of space at the edge of the paper

A large sheet of scrapbook paper seems to be the best size and is more sturdy than construction paper.

Cut along all of your lines.

Reverse you paper so your marks don't show.

Decorate.

Roll your paper into a cylinder.

Staple, tape, or glue both edges to form a tube.

Push the ends together to get the middle to flair out along the folds.

Decorate with streamers or tassels.

Punch two holes at the top.

Hang with pipe cleaner or string.

Here is another lantern style that is quick and easy to make.

Cut a large circle from scrapbook paper.

Use stamps and gold ink to decorate.

Use a plate to draw some curved lines to create the illusion of it being round and three dimentional.

Using glue add some gold rectangles on the top and bottom.

Punch two holes in the top rectangle.

Thread a string or pipe cleaner into the holes for hanging.

This would look so pretty as several lanterns hung together in a long line.

Happy New Year. May it be full of health, happiness, and prosperity for you and your family!

(I will be adding a few more photos to this post as our family celebrates over the next few days)

Exploring History At Home. The Pilgrims-activities, crafts and recipes Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 17:34:00 +0000

The library must have been hiding a few books away. These are worth searching for and reading if you can find them. Leonard Weisgard is one of my favorite illustrators of children's books, so I was more than pleased to find one written by him that I was not familiar with. I wanted to get beyond turkeys and other standard symbols we associate with Pilgrims and I found more than expected here.

This Is Why I Homeschool

How many five year olds would be excited to play with a homemade doll that has a spoon for a head and looks like a Pilgrim instead of a TV character? What a perfect craft activity to do with my eldest daughter. Each step allowed us to talk about the different types and purposes of the various articles of clothing that women and girls wore long ago.

Pilgrims brought very little with them to America. If it was not a tool or needed for food it was left behind.

Children would have made their own toys, with what little free time they had, from any materials not needed for something else. These would have been quite crude looking and dependent on a child's imagination to give them life.

Now for a very easy doll for any little girl to make. There is very little sewing involved and she can do most of the cutting and assembly with a little adult help. You probably have many of the supplies needed already at home. Constructing the doll in this way allows the child to easily remove the clothes and redress the doll later on. (a bit like putting together a puzzle)

I bought a package of spoons at the dollar store and we drew faces on them with magic markers. I suggest you use waterproof ones.

Next I took a green branch and angled the ends to make hands.

I cut a notch in the center to add more stability for the "body" .

Add glue to the notch and set the spoon on it.

Let it dry and tie it down with string for added strength.

Make hair from yarn and glue it to the spoon.

The Shift

Using an old pillow case I cut a rectangle. Really it is two rectangles attached at the top where there was a fold in the fabric. Cut a slit in the fold and slip it over the spoon. Gather it around the arms and use a strip of fabric to tie it and make a waste. Pull out a bit of the fabric to make sleeves.

The Bodice/Stomacher

Cut a rectangle from felt. Cut two slits in it for armholes. Slip it over the arms with the opening towards the back.

Cut two large rectangles from felt, one slightly bigger than the other. Place one on top of the other and line the edges up. Punch a line of small holes across the top and through both layers of felt. Allow your child to thread a ribbon through the holes as if sewing with a large needle. Pull both ends of the ribbon to cinch tight and gather the top into folds. This forms the waist of the skirt.

The Skirt/Petticoats

Place this just over the bodice and wrap the ribbon twice around the waist before tying a bow. Cut the ends of ribbon shorter if you wish.

Despite any images you have seen of pilgrims, they did not dress all in black like Puritans. Clothes were dyed with plants in all manner of bright or deep earth tones. Clothes were layered depending on the season and rarely washed like laundry.

The Apron
Cut a square from the pillow case and glue a small strip of ribbon to the top. Tie it around the waist.

Kerchief

Cut a triangle from felt. Wrap it around the shoulders of the doll and sew the ends together with one small stitch.

The Cap

Using part of the pillow case with a seam/folded edge cut a double triangle.

Fold the bottom corner of the triangle up and tack down with one small stitch. This will be placed and against the hair. Glue the other two corners down along the side of the face. When dry bring the two new corners back behind the head and tack down with a small knot to form the traditional Pilgrim cap.

The Cape/Cloak and Pocket

Cut a semi-circle from felt and glue a piece of ribbon along the straight edge.

Tie around the neck of the doll when the glue has dried.

The pocket is just a square of fabric with a cotton ball inside. Gather the fabric to form a bag and tie the top with a piece of ribbon. Use a longer piece of ribbon to form the strap.

Your doll is done!

We Made A Cranberry Tart

Cranberries were one of the few fruits, other than berries, native to the New World. They are high in nutrition and have medicinal qualities that would have been crucial to a healthy diet. Pilgrims would have used them to make tarts and preserves.

Recipe

Start with a store bought premade pie crust (you are cooking with little kids right?)

Place it in a pie or tart pan, pinch or form the edges if necessary.

Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork to create holes for the steam to escape and prevent bubbles.

Pre-bake the crust for 15 minutes at 350 degrees

Remove and add filling.

Filling

3-4 cups of clean and sorted cranberries (basically one small package)

1 cup of sugar

1TBSP of flour

Coarsely grated rind of one orange ( The Pilgrims would have used marmalade brought from England)

1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

Pinch of salt

1 tsp of melted butter

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and pour into your pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until the filling is bubbling and set.

As the filling cools it will thicken

We Tried to Make Beeswax Soap..

but it turned out more like salve for washing hands because I tried to avoid using beef tallow and lye by using a whole list of oils. Beeswax would have been available in the form of recycled candles from England. I felt that using melted glycerin blocks for soap making would have been totally cheating and too easy on my part. I wanted my girls to see that making soap from scratch is complicated (yes it can result in failure if the chemistry is not right).

We Tried to Make Horehound Cough Drops...

but ended up with a lovely cough syrup instead. Pilgrims would have brought seeds from Europe to grow the medicinal plants they were familiar with. They also would have learned about native medicinal plants from the American Indians. With few doctors in the New World, women needed to know how to provide medical care in their communities. At least I finally did something with the horehound that I have been growing for 20 years. The girls liked the taste enough that it might actually get used this winter.

The Girls Helped Me To Make A Seafood Chowder

Chopping vegetable is a great activity to build strength and dexterity in little hands.

Recipe

Coarsely chop

2 large potatoes

2 large carrots

2 stalks of celery

1 large onion

Finely chop

1 red bell peper

2 cloves of garlic

1 leak white and green parts

1 jalepeno pepper

1 inch chunk of ginger root

Dump in a crock pot and add

5 cups of vegetable or chicken broth

1 tsp of ground coriander seed

1 tsp of paprika

1 splash of liquid smoke

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp of oregano

1/2 tsp of thyme

3/4 cup of quinoa

Cook on high for two hours and add

1 cup of chopped green beans

1 small package of frozen corn

Whatever amount of seafood you prefer

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook for two more hours

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve

Obviously this is not a traditional Pilgrim recipe (which probably would not have been very tasty). BUT seafood chowders made of vegetables, shellfish, eel, wild onions and green herbs were introduced to the Pilgrims by the American Indians. It was an important combination when other types of foods were scarce. Seafood chowders got the Pilgrims through those first two years in the New World. They were just as present at that first Thanksgiving as the wild turkey. Plus how else would my kids get to learn about mussles as a food source, not to mention see what bivalves look like inside.

Here is my eldest picking herbs in the garden. I created her Pilgrim costume from pillow cases and a skirt from my closet.

And Finally The Mayflower!

(because no voyage to the New World could be complete without it)

I made some paper templates that were inspired from some I saw in a book.

(yes, one of these days I might have the time to figure out a way to make all of my paper patterns designed for this blog downloadable for my readers to use)

I traced them onto scrapbook paper and cut them out.

Made some sails with paper and bamboo skewers

Assembled the ship with glue and tape

Gave the girls a bit of a history and geography lesson

In my attempt to make history more alive and real to the girls I bought these period doll clothes. There is a professional seamstress on Ebay who sews high quality and cheap Colonial clothes for 18 inch dolls (our is a Madame Alexander). This is only a simple work dress but her dresses for tea and parties are stunning. We leave in a few days for a very special "school" field trip and vacation. I thought the doll needed to dress for the occasion. My eldest is so into aspects of Colonial life since I came up with this idea and have been reading bits and pieces of the American Girl books (Felicity) to her. I can't wait to post photographs of our special homeschool day as soon as we return. Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to your family this week-CND

Colonial Life (crafts and activities) for Homeschooling, Week #2

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 06:26:00 +0000

This Week...

We focused on Colonial life as none of us had much interest in learning about the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving in greater depth. We will be revisiting Plymouth Rock again next week. I have some new ideas and inspiration for exploring that time period with preschoolers that is beyond turkeys, Puritan clothing, pumpkin pie and Indian headdresses (none of which are historically accurate).

We made a rustic style bread. Breadmaking is a great activity for teaching chidren about fractions. Kneading the dough builds muscles in the hands, arms and upper body in preparation for handwriting. I have not included a recipe in this post. I really struggle with making bread and I am not sure if the one I used to make our loaf is a good choice, especially for those new to the art. The recipe I chose read like a novel so I decided not to take up space typing it all out. I suggest that you find one that you like to use or which sounds interesting if you are experimenting.

Grindstone in the grain mill at Sturbridge Villiage.

We strung apples from our 60 year old apple trees on string and hung them to dry in the kitchen.

This is a great activity for building fine motor skills.

Colonists hung fruits and vegetables over the hearth and in the attic to dry them for storage and later use during the winter. (photo from Sturbridge)

Here my eldest child hung strings of carrots and bunches of dried herbs from our garden in her toy kitchen.

We had a tea party using apple cider pressed from our apples and a pumkin spice quick bread. Tea parties were the equivalent of a Home Economic's class to girls growing up in colonial America. A specially chosen woman of the community instructed a small group of girls on a regular basis in the arts of being a hostess, sewing, homemaking skills, conversation, etiquette, dress, cultural expectations and other social graces pertinent to the time period. During Colonial America tea, beer, and cider were the beverages of choice Hard cider and beer were more of a fermented drink than alcoholic in nature. Fermented drinks are found in all cultures worldwide and are enjoyed by the very young and old alike. They were considered safer to drink than water, provided an important source of nutrients, had medcinal properties, and kept intestinal illnesses at bay by providing benficial gut bacteria.

Colonial tea service in Sturbridge.

(nothing like the warm glow of beeswax on a cold fall night))

We made these simple but charming "Betty Lights".

You will need 100% beeswax

(neither honeybees nor fruit trees were present in the Americas until the Colonists brought them by ship. Honeybees were crucial to the survival and comfort of Europeans in the New World for several reasons)

plus some seashells and candle wicks.

Melt the wax in a double broiler.

While waiting for it to melt, prep your shells.

Pour the melted wax into the shells and let harden.

Colonists floated "Betty Lights" in large shallow bowls of water. Since the shells I used were so deep, they ended up sinking from the weight of the wax. So I improvised this centerpiece for our table from a piece of lumber and leaves gathered on a walk.

On one rare of a rainy and dreary autumn day we had to stay busy while indoors so we found some....

Colonial Coloring Pages (link)

and listened to some

Music From the 17th Century (link)

all down loaded from the web.

I was able to find pictures of the harpsicord, violin, fiddle, hammer dulcimer, drum, tabor pipe, and recorder on-line too. I did not expect to be learning about musical instruments this week. Funny where the homeschool jouney suddenly takes you some days. That is what I like about it. Everyday is a bit like an adventure that I take with my girls. I can't imagine giving that up because they reach a certain age and have to leave my home for education.

We made pinner caps.

These are so easy to make from any material including paper doilies and scrapbook paper. I used a vintage lace doilie from France and some materials I found in my craft room.

Cut a circle from the material of your choice.

Glue or sew it onto your doilie.

Add decorative ribbon and flowers.

Ready for tea mommy!

Oh but the best part was making fancy pockets to wear...

Draw a paper template that looks something like this

Use it to cut two identical shapes from a pretty piece of fabric.

(yes, you could use scrapbook paper too. Imagine all the pretty possibilities!)

Glue a strap made of ribbon or trim to the back side of one piece.

Place a chopstick or pencil at the top edge of one side of your pocket.

Fold down the edge and glue in place without adhering the chopstick to your material. Repeat with the other side

When dry , place a line of glue (Tacky Glue works best, but is not always easy for young children to use) around the entire outer rim of your circle and place the other side on top.

Press down firmly.

You can also use a bit of glue on the very edges of fabric to prevent them from fraying with lots of loose threads.

When dry remove the chopstick from your creation.

Thread some ribbon in the opening at the top of both sides of the pocket to gather it closed.

Use more glue to decorate your pocket with lace, trim or flowers.

Children can participate in making both the cap and pocket as much as they are willing and able. You just have to find a way to include them in the steps where appropriate. Using glue vs. sewing is one way to make these projects easier and less time consuming where a short attention span or frustration is likely

Lucy Locket lost her pocket

Kitty Fisher found it.

Not a penny was there in it.

Only ribbon round it.

(English Nursery Rhyme that shares it's tune with "Yankee Doodle")

Enjoy the height of the fall season (and your child/dren) in all its/their glory-CND

Pilgrims (crafts, activities, and recipes) for Homeschooling Week #1

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 18:25:00 +0000

It is fall and time to take homeschooling seriously, get my life back to some sense of normalcy after going to China, and get this blog active again. Over the next few weeks the girls and I will be learning about life in early America. I really have no clue on how to teach history at home so I will start with what I do know how to do-cook and create. The following posts were also inspired by a visit our family made to Old Sturbridge Villiage over the Thanksgiving holiday.

To get inspiration, ideas, and direction-I began by going to our local library. I was very disappointed by the lack of books on American history (unless it had to do with some war). I suppose this is only a symptom of of the future demise of the printed book and lack of funding for community services. I remember our local library as being an unexpected source of resources in the past. That is how I discovered many Central Asian fairy tales. I wonder if they even have those books anymore. My favorite finds for this curriculum were

Sarah Morton's Day by Kate Waters

Colonial Kids (for art projects and activities) by Laura Carlson

Thanksgiving on Thursday (a Magic Tree House book) by Mary Pope Osborne

The most obvious symbol of Pilgrim life is....

The Turkey

My girls made handprints and decorated them with feathers. Details can be added with markers to bring these noble birds to life. One has to wonder what our culture would be like if the Turkey had won the nomination for our national symbol instead of the Bald Eagle.

My eldest and I spend some time reading about turkeys and I even found this unexpected page in her Audubon's Birds of America Coloring Book by Dover.

Churning Butter

There are many aspects of life in early America that are fun and appropriate to explore with young children. Food, Dress, Homemaking skills are all perfect themes that can teach history at home. Here we are making butter in our food processor. It works very much like a butter churn but at a much faster speed. I think the pulse button works best. I used one large carton of whipping cream, a pinch of salt and some dry calendula petals for color to make two patties. The leftover whey can be used to feed chickens (ours are coming in the spring) or to bake bread. You can also shake the cream in a jar but you will be waiting a long time for the butter curds to form. Small bowls are the perfect tool to form the butter into a nice shape.

We visited a cornfield and bought some Indian Corn. There are lots of ways to pound and grind it into flour. My Montessori minded youngest really liked this activity.

Cornbread

We made some cornbread with store bought blue corn flour I aready had. I suggst you use a recipe you really like as an authenic period "receit" is almost inedible.

At our visit to Sturbridge we got to see actors in historical dress removing corn from the cobs.

Corn was the most important crop for settlers in the New World. Many new dishes unfamiliar in Europe were created to make use of this grain originally cultivated by the Native Americans.

I hope that you will try some of these activities with your kids even if you do not homeschool. My eldest keeps begging me to dress her up as a Pilgrim, so we will see if I can pull that off with what we have at home.-CamelsNDragons

Mid Autumn Moon Festival -Crafts and Ideas for Celebrating with Children

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 05:40:00 +0000

Almost a year ago today I saw our youngest daughter's face for the first time. Now she has been home with us for three weeks. If you know this blog well, you know I love celebrating festivals from around the world. Time to add one more country to the mix.

China

To introduce the most popular holiday in China to my children we began by reading a few books.

Moonbeams, Dumplings, and Dragon Boats by Nina Simonds and Leslie Swartz has a full chapter on the Moon Festival including recipes, craft ideas and details about how the day is celebrated. There is also an excellent retelling of the legend the Jade Rabbit, Chang E the moon goddess, and the Hou Yi her husband who all struggle with the consequences of immortality.

Thank you, Meiling by Linda Talley has gorgeous illustrations by ItokoMaeno. It explains all the minute details of the festival while showing the importance of manners when interacting with family and the community.

Next we colored some great pages found on this site

http://resources.childbook.com_coloring/moon_festival_coloring_pages.

I picked one of the Jade Rabbit grinding the pill of immortality in his mortar and pestle plus one of a moon cake but there are many more to choose from that depict scenes from the legend.

My eldest and I took advantage of nap time to have some much needed one on one time together. We made Jade Rabbit in the moon cookies. Mooncakes are usually consumed at the festival but I find the ones sold in my city inedible. The ones I had in China were much better. Mooncakes can be found at any Oriental Market year round. The top of each cake is stamped with a good wish of some kind and also indicates it's inner contents (savory or sweet). I recommend you stick with dried apricots. Next year I hope to have an actual mold and make them myself.

Recipe

Simple Sugar Cookies

In a medium bowl sift together

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of ground cardamon

Set aside

In a large bowl beat together

6 TBSP of butter

1/3 cup of shortening

3/4 cup of sugar

1 egg

1 TBSP of milk

1 tsp of vanilla

Add the dry ingredients and beat on low speed until well mixed.

Separate out about 1/3 of the dough into another bowl and beat in a small amount of green food coloring and lime flavoring.

Chill dough for at least 3 hours

Roll out the uncolored dough and cut out circles. Place on a cookie sheet. Brush the top of each one with a bit of egg white.

Roll out the green dough and cut out rabbit shapes. Place on top of the circles

Bake at 350 until just done. You don't want them to be raw nor starting to brown on the tops or bottoms. Let cool before removing from the cookie sheet.

She also enjoyed pretending to be the Jade Rabbit mixing ingredients for the pill of immortality.

Full Moon Banner

We did a simple craft activity appropriate for all ages. My girls are currently 3 and 5 years old. I cut open a large paper grocery bag and laid it flat on a cookie sheet. Next we dipped marbles in yellow, orange, and gold acrylic paint. Tilting the sheet we rolled the marbles around on the paper to create a pretty design. I used raw potatoes to make stamps of stars and moon. I traced a circle onto the bag and cut it out. The kids helped to apply glue and we atached it to a large rectangle of newsprint paper. I rolled and glued the top edge to a dowel. The full moon banner can be hung on a wall or outside.

Moonlight Picnic Table

Families in China typically have a picnic under the full moon. Tables, chairs, food and other necessities are toted to the nearest open space and set up to be bathed in moonlight. Typical items on the table are mooncakes, a candle, round fruit, incense, bowls of tea, an image of a rabbit or moon goddess. I don't have a clue what I am going to make to eat for the picnic. Maybe we will just order takeout Chinese food.

We also plan to go on a full moon walk around the neighborhood once the sun sets. I bought these sweet lanterns in China. I will put a battery powered tealight in them and the girls can use them to light the path.

I hope this post has inspired you to create your own Mid Autumn Moon Festival this Sunday night. Enjoy, CND

"Let's Go Fly an Eagle"-Craft for Kazakh Nauryz

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:42:00 +0000

A Super Easy and Fun Craft and Toy

There has been a bit of an eagle obsession this month at our house. We have been hunting and hatching imaginary eagles, downloading color pages and reading books. I just found out that both golden eagles and the American bald have made a comeback about 15 minutes from our house. Next month we can go observe their nests.

Eagles are one of the national symbols of Kazakhstan and using them to hunt is an ancient tradition. Only in the last few years have organized eagle hunting competitions had a revival in Kazakhstan since it was occupied by the Soviets. With a renewed passion in this cultural tradition has come the first female berkutchi (eagle hunter). Her name is Makpal and she is quite a famous and skilled role model for girls. I have been creating fairy tales about her at home.

Stunning Photos of Eagle Hunting (link)

To make our flying eagle I first searched on line for eagle silhouettes. I enlarged one with our copier and used it as a template to cut out an eagle from brown paper.

I stapled this to a paper toliet paper tube

We decorated it with some feathers (from the dollar store)

Next glue a straw to the side of the tube closest to the eagle

Without the straw the eagle will flip over due to gravity.

Feed two long pieces of string through the straw. You want something that is pretty slick and smooth.

You need two partners to make the eagle fly. Partner A holds an end of string in each hand and keeps his fists together in a closed position thumbs touching. Partner B also holds an end of string in each fist but has her arms open as wide as they can go. The bird is suspended in the center of the strings. Partner A then opens his arms at the same time as Partner B closes hers, this causes the eagle to shoot to one end. Then partners coordinate to do the opposite movement and the eagle goes back to the other end. This is repeated over and over. It takes some concentration and verbal communication to get the timing just right but it is easy for even preschoolers to do together with a little practice and coaching.

Experiment with how long to make the string. If it is too short, opening the arms wide will not create enough force for it to fly all the way to the end. If it is too long, you can't open the arms wide enough to get the bird to the end. Both partners need to keep their arms at about the same level and coordinate their movements into a smooth rythmn. If you follow my suggestions your eagle will fly quickly and easily from one person to the other. What a fun way to teach kids about eagles!

I found this gorgeous eagle kite at Cost Plus World Market.

We plan to fly it on Nauryz after our picnic. Hopefully I won't be too burnt out from getting our dossier to China. We are having hudge issues with our homestudy. The agency that did it had their license expire and they have been giving us the run around as to when the new one will be ready for weeks. Meanwhile the rest of our dossier is gathering dust as it is ready to be sent. So if I have the mental energy I will do one more Nauryz post with recipes this month. Lesley

Camel Craft for Nauryz

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:25:00 +0000

March means one thing in our house -Nauryz

The one traditional holiday left in the Kazakh calendar. Our pending adoption from China has really reminded me how jipped KP is regarding access to her own ethnic culture here in the US. There are no Central Asian restaurants in our city nor a native population with its neighborhood and shops. There will be no yearly Kazakh festivals downtown and no classes in that language or its performing arts for her. So I have to work extra hard at home to expose her to any aspect of her heritage. That is working out surprising well because we homeschool. KP sets up full on yurts in the kitchen and hunts with her pretend eagle in the backyard. But it is not a world she can share with other children, only me.

This month I bought her a great book on camels and we have watched a few videos on U-Tube of people riding bactrians in Central Asia.

Here is a very simple camel craft for preschoolers.

Start with a paper pulp egg carton and four clothespins

Cut the egg carton to form two "humps" and paint

Cut a felt saddle

Tie a knot in the end of three strands of yarn and braid a tail

Insert the tail in the end of one cup and paint your clothespins brown

Make a camel head out of paper

Decorate your felt saddle and camel head

Cut a slit in the front cup and install the head

Add your legs and you are done!

All you need is a Mongolian warrior made by Playmobil or Fisher Price Little People's Sonya Lee as a Wiseman to complete your authenic scene of life on the steppe.

Well after months of silence I did manage a short and sweet post. Amazing given that I am getting our dossier ready to go to China next week. There will be at least one more Nauryz craft post this month and I will go into the holiday in more detail then. If you want Nauryz meal ideas check out the posts in March 2011 and 2010 as well as those listed under the label Silk Road Recipes on my sidebar. There are also craft ideas and suggestions for celebrating the holiday in those places too. This year we will be adding some new traditions to what we have done in the past, focusing on eagles and planting our garden. Spring blessings-Lesley

No November Toy Post

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 04:03:00 +0000

Workshop Temporarily Closed!

Well the unfinished toys are piling up everywhere. Hidden away as we finish our adoption homestudy. The last six months have been crazy and stressful as we searched for a little sister from China. We have been matched with an adorable two year old and now brings months of paperwork and waiting to get her home by fall 2012. We are very excited. Of course there are homemade toys for our new addition to make, the winter fairy bower, and holiday presents. So there will be at least one post for December. Stay warm and creative in the meantime, Lesley

Upcyled Fairy Dress for Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:13:00 +0000

We have a serious fairy obsession going on in our house. I can't keep track of what is the pixie name of the hour, there are so many of them. Every five minutes I am changing costumes and hairstyles so that the Kaz. Princess can get into character. Try explaining to a four year old why you don't possess enough magic dust to create volumes of long, flowing tresses. So the choice of Halloween costumes this year was a no brainer.

I began with wings, a headband, and artificial flower-all purchased from the dollar store.

Simple tulle bows

A cheap dress from the thrift store...

got a complete makeover.

(with brightly colored ribbon)

Wings and Wand all jazzed up

The headband

A ten dollar costume beats $40.00 or more at the Halloween Store. The quality is better and will provide a years worth of imaginary play. Beware of pookas tonight my friends and Happy Haunting, Lesley

Autumn Fairy Bower

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 01:30:00 +0000

Easily be taken apart and used for the next season

This toy is so simple and cheap to make. Similar fairy dwellings can be quite expensive if purchased new. All you need besides a few common tools and some creativity is….

The metal support recycled from a lampshade
(or similar ring)

A BASE

(upcycled from a wooden toilet seat, just drill a tiny hole through the center. Beats having to manufacture it myself from raw wood)

Central Pole

Drill a 1cm long hole in both ends of a dowel. Thread a wooden bead onto the dowel and glue in place. Measure the length of the BASE hole add 1cm plus 3mm to the number. Cut a wooden bamboo BBQ skewer according to your estimate. Glue it into the dowel at its end. Cut a 2cm length of skewer to fit the dowel hole at the top and glue one end into a pre-drilled wooden cup. This will be your TOPPER. Set it aside. Be sure to carefully measure the length of the dowel, your "pegs" and the placement of your bead. Your measurements will all depend on how high you want the top of the bower to be, and how tall the crown. Don't glue the bottom end of the dowel/peg into the BASE! Instead insert it into another pre-drilled cup and glue it in place. This will serve to hold down your seasonal RUG. The peg should still be long enough to go into the base and be easily removed for storage.

Topper

Just artificial flowers, the top of a dried mullein plant, a wooden cup and glue gun. It is not glued into place at the top of the central pole.You can remove it later and replace it with another one for the next season.

Garland and rug

For the garland you need just a few supplies and a glue gun.

acorns, floral wire, dried flower heads, chestnuts and artificial flowers are layered and glued
You will measure the circumference of the ring to know how large to make your garland.

Crown

Tulle wrapped around the wire lampshade support that rests on the wooden bead

The Canopy

No swewing required! Cut and fold a length of larger mesh tulle into a double layer and tie onto the crown with long ribbons of several colors. It wraps around enough of the circular support to enclose the bower but leaves an opening large enough for easy access to play.

Slip the garland over the crown and it should rest over the ring. You can sew it to the tulle if it is a little loose.

Summer Fairy invites Autumn Fairy to tea and says goodbye for the year

Notice the rug at the base of the dowel and its cup. You can furnish your bower with artificial or real leaves, minature goards and pumpkins, small baskets of nuts, and stools made of branches.

Front view of the autumn fairy

Back view of the autumn fairy

(I will do a tutorial on making fairies in December)

We left the fairies some treats.

The next morning they furnished the bower and left a book.

We have been using the Flower Fairies books by Cicely Mary Barker to learn botany and plant identification. Associating lovely pictures and personalities to particular local plants, makes them easy for a preschooler to remember.

Happy Fall Equinox, Lesley

Wooden Garden Activity and Story Box

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:51:00 +0000

OOH What Is this?

Look at all the things inside!

Let's create!

Let's tell a story!

This was easy to make but it took me over a month to put it all together. I did it in time periods of 15 minutes over numerous days. I was inspired by designs found in the toy store and on a blog. Of course I always upscale the design with my own special creativity.

I started out with a cheap book box bought from the thrift store.

I drew out my design and drilled several holes for the dowels.

I partially filled in the holes on the front side with wood putty.

Sanded everything flat and glued a wooden "mushroom" knob onto the top.

I inserted a short dowel and glued it into place for propping the lid open when in use.

Maybe I will glue on a handle and strap so it can be carried. It is the perfect size and design for resting on a tray in the car to occupy a child on a long road trip. Might work well on a airplane too.

I carefully measured and cut several dowels (the lid has to close).

Painted the leaves and stems with an acrylic wash.

Glued the pegs into place and filled the gaps with wood putty.

Sanded everything flat and nice.

Corrected any mistakes.

Found these precut shapes at the art supply store.

Cut the hearts into halves for leaves.

Drilled very small guide holes into each piece.

Drilled the larger holes (a bit of an art to keep the wood from spintering).

Filled any mistakes in with wood putty.

Sanded the sides, surfaces, and holes smooth.

Painted the shapes and a few wooden beads with an acrylic wash.

Applied a mixture of melted beeswax mixed with oil to each shape with a brush.

Polished smooth with a cloth to make each piece silky smooth and kid friendly.

This fairy is easily made with a unfinished wooden "doll body", Tacky glue, wool roving, small wooden beads, pipe cleaners, tulle and fake flowers.

(she likes to visit all the flowers in the garden and paint them with her magic wand)

Back view of the wings.

I left one hole without a peg so that a fiew items could be inserted into the board. I had to alter the lady bugs and mushroom so that the right sized dowel would fit into the hole. I was reusing various components from past projects ( the ladybugs are knobs removed from wooden butterfly plaques) and the odds and ends from that box used to make the dollhouse furniture. I never thow anything away as it could prove useful for future inspiration.

Cloud with a silver lining made from flet sheets and polyfill.

Needle felted magic wand, bird, and bee.

Let's Play!

Design flaws

I should have used bigger dowels but I did not have a large enough drill bit. I worry the pegs will break. I wish they were closer in size to the holes on the shapes as the leaves swing and rotate. Dowels only come in so many sizes and if much larger, I could see the shapes getting forced and jammed onto the pegs. I would make the pegs removable instead of permanent so that there is more room in the box and it closes flat everytime. As it is not everything fits and I could see some child trying to unsuccessfully force the box closed. I think this is my best and favorite toy project so far. I hope you like it too, Lesley

Sensory and Story Glove Toy

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:15:00 +0000

Something That Appeals To All The Senses

I had this idea over the summer while we were working on our China Special Needs adoption.(WHEN I naively thought we could bring home a little sister less than two years old). Even now I still remember those three weeks in Kazakhstan ,three years ago, trying to entertain an active baby with very few resources and 120 degree temperatures outside.This toy travels well and is very versatile. It is great for teaching language and doing some sensory stimulation. A perfect addition to your suitcase.

I found these gloves at the Dollar Store with a perfect garden theme already printed on the fabric.

I sewed on a bell (sound) ,pompom (soft), plastic netting (scratchy), bright ribbons (visual and light brushing), fine sandpaper (rough) and inside the thumb a toy squeaker (sound). The underside of the glove is also coated with lots of small raised rubber dots. Of course you would not allow a young child to put this in his/her mouth or play with it unsupervised. It is rare to see these homemade activities anymore in the US. They are still common in Germany which has playgroups full of naked babies exploring all kinds of things that we Americans would see as a potential lawsuit or choking hazards.

I had several needle felted critters that needed a useful job to do.

Store bought finger puppets, small stuffed animals, or something made from felt sheets would also work if you do not have the time.

I sewed some snaps on the front of the gloves

Then again on the critters

for easy removal and flexibility in story telling.

You can make up any number of tales, here is an example...

Once upon a time there was a small grey mouse. While exploring in the garden she came across a tiny brown seed. "What is this she exclaimed, I will bury it deep in the soil and dig it up later in the winter when I am hungry". (pretend to dig and bury the seed on the child's body). Many years went by and the mouse forgot to about the seed that waited for her in the ground. Afternoons of rain and snow came and went. The seed burst open and a tiny green shoot began the journey upwards in search of the sun. One day a ladybug was looking for the perfect place to lay her eggs. She crawled all over the growing tree looking for highest branch (pretend to creep the lady bug from the toes to the top of the head) "Ah here is the right spot". The following spring a mother bird landed on the tree and started to build a nest (bend child's arm to form a V and pretend to make a nest) "My babies will be safe and warm here". Another season passed and a busy bee came to the tree to sip nectar and spread the pollen from flower to flower (fly the bee around and pretend to find flowers all over the body) "Buzz buzz so many beautiful blossoms to choose from, I must tell the hive about the treasure I have found". The following year a butterfly flew by the tree which was now loaded with fruit. She landed on a branch and laid her eggs. These soon hatched into tiny caterpillars which bored into the apples. "Oh I am so full from eating today. I'll just curl up in this dark safe place and take a very long nap" (crawl the caterpillar up into the child's armpit). One day a little boy picked one of the apples and asked his father "How did this apple come to be". Was it the mouse who planted the seed? Was it the ladybug who ate the aphids that otherwise would have have eaten the leaves and harmed the tree?" Was it the bird who also helped to eat the harmful bugs? Was it the bee who pollinated each and every flower so that they could become tiny apples? Was it the caterpillar soon to become a butterfly that would also help with pollination the following year. Was it the sun and wind and rain and snow? So many helpers needed to create just one apple for us to eat.

Fortunatley the Kaz. Princess is still young enough to appreciate this homemade creation. She is my sensory seaker and could listen to stories all day long. Hopefully the glove will travel with me to an orphanage far away-some day. Lesley

Russian Easter Bread, Kulich

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 03:20:00 +0000

A Stunning Dessert and Centerpiece for Easter

This sweet yeast risen bread is very traditional and rich in symbolism.

No Russian Easter is complete without this tall cylindrical bread.

Kulich

In a medium saucepan scald

1/2 cup of milk

Cool to 110 degrees

In a large bowl combine

1 package of active dry yeast, dissolved in

1/4 cup of warm water, then add

1/4 cup of sugar

The cooled milk

1 cup of all purpose flour

Mix well, cover with a damp towel and set aside in a warm place for one hour

In a mixer (Kitchen Aide) add to another bowl

1/2 cup of sugar

8 TBSP of softened butter

Cream together then add

8 large egg yolks

The yeast flour mixture

1 tsp of almond extract

2 tsp of ground cardamon

1/2 tsp of salt

3-3 1/2 cups of flour until you have a nice soft dough

In a small bowl beat

2 egg whites until stiff peaks form

Fold into your dough

Add

1/4 cup slivered or coarsely chopped almonds

2 TBSP of ground orange peel

1/4 cup of dried fruit coarsely chopped (golden raisins, currants, cranberries, apricots etc)

Use a big spoon to mix well

Use your hands or the bread hook on your mixer to knead for five minutes until you have a soft but workable dough that is not sticky or dense.

Place in a greased bowl, rolling to cover all sides with oil , then cover with plastic wrap and let rise at least two hours until it has doubled in size.

Coat the inside of a large coffee or baby formula (remove all paper labels) can with vegetable oil. Line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. This recipe is really meant for two formula sized cans

Knead the risen dough a few times and stuff it into your can. Make a domed lid of tinfoil and let rise until it reaches the top of the can. If dough rises beyond the top of the can, cut that part off evenly and save for later , bake separately in another can or as a small loaf.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place the rack in the lowest postion. Set the can on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for ten minutes then lower the temperature to 350 degrees. Bake another 30-60 minutes. If the dough rises above the lip of the can, oozes and falls off that is ok. As you get near the time of taking it out of the oven you can remove any excess dough with a bread knife and bake the new top a few minutes until it is lightly browned. How long you bake the bread depends on the size of your can. Insert a wooden probe, when it comes out clean take the can out of the oven. Bread may appear a little underdone and moist but as it cools it gets a nice texture.

Cool for ten minutes before removing it from the can. You may need to run a knife around the inside of the can to loosen or use a can opener to open up the bottom of the can to push it loose and out.

Juice

1 lemon

Add enough water and powdered sugar to make a glaze.

Drizzle over the top and down the sides of the bread

Garnish with edible flowers and colored sprinkles.

Slice into rounds and serve with black tea.

This is a lovely idea for any spring celebration.

Russian Recipes For An Easter Meal

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:21:00 +0000

A Delicious Light Dinner For Spring.

Boiled Beets with...

chopped hard boiled eggs mixed with capers, dill weed, horse radish, and mayonnaise.

Salmon with Sorrel Sauce

Poach or bake four salmon fillets

For the sauce add to a large saucepan and cook over medium heat

2 cups of chopped fresh sorrel leaves

1 TBSP of ground fennel seeds

1 cup of stock

2 TBSP of butter

1/2 cup of whipping cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Once the sauce has thickened and the leaves are soft and falling apart, remove from heat and spoon a large amount over each fillet. Serve immediately.

Kartoflianki (potato balls/patties)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Boil

6 medium, peeled, red potatoes

When just done cool and shred with a cheese grater

Add to a large bowl

2 beaten eggs

Potatoes

Salt and peppe to taste

2 TBSP of all purpose flour

3 slices of toasted bread made into bread crumbs

1 tsp of thyme

Form into several generous balls or patties

Place on a heavily greased cookie sheet

Bake for 10 minutes, flip and bake for 10 minutes more OR lighly fry in oil until brown on all sides

Garnish with warmed sour cream and fried onions

I know this is a bit late for Easter Dinner but you can still use these recipes for inspiration next Sunday or for Mother's Day. Enjoy Lesley

Recycling Kid's Art Into Spring Decor

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 04:50:00 +0000

Plant A Flower Garden Indoors

Easily made from odds and ends we had around the house.

I made a cardboard template.

I used it to trace and cut flowers from several of KP's paintings.

I used a cookie cutter as a template to recyle an old wax paper and melted crayon banner into lovely stained glass flowers. Wax Papper Banner Tutorial

We painted some egg cartons

and cut them into lovely flowers.

After punching holes into all of our flower parts we were able to string them together to make our garden.

I just love using my daughter's creations to make something unique and unexpected.

The flowers can be used to make a banner OR as a single element on a wreath or other project.

So go through that pile of artwork you have yet to file and find some inspiration for the weekend.

Lesley

A Traditional Nauryz Feast. Cultural Information and Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:54:00 +0000

The Dastarkhan

A traditional Kazakh "tablecloth" that symbolizes hospitality, abundance, family and community.

It can be on a Tapshan with friends

at the baby house where tea is waiting to be served for toddlers

or on tables at a Kazakh wedding feast.

The presentation and order of the meal is pretty much the same

1) plates of light cookies, chocolates, chopped apples and fresh fruit

2) bowls of cold and pickled vegetables. Cucumbers, tomatoes, chile peppers, carrots, and green olives

3) a selection of dried fruits and nuts

4)Irimshik- wet curds/large cottage cheese

Kurt/Kazy-dried and salted curd balls

6) drinks of Kumys-fermented mares mlik, shubat-fermented camel milk

or ashygan kozhe/boza-fermented grains

(photos taken by me in Kazakhstan)

6) soups of broth, mutton, noodles, and dumplings

Laghman Recipe Link

7) black and green tea

8) cold salads made of fish, vegetables or meat

Cold Fish Salad Recipe Link

(all links are from previous blog posts)

9)Samsa and other pastries filled with fish, meat, or squash

Pumpkin Samsa Recipe Link

10)Grilled horse, sheep, or goat. As well as sausages, boiled meat, the organs and fat.

11) rice Plov or millet

For women a special Nauryz cereal called Sumalyak-flour, spices, and sprouted wheat

Khatem was served only to men

12)bread/Nan (Liposhka)

13) A selection of cultured dairy products

Airan-yogurt/kefir

Kaimak-sour cream

Sary mai-butter

Suzbe-sour milk

Sut-milk

panir style cheeses

14)Desert is a selection of stuffed pastries and fried dough in various forms

Our 2011 Nauryz Menu

Uzbek Mung Bean Salad

Recipe Link

Carrot and Radish Salad

2-4 cups of large carrots julienned

1-2 bunches of large radishes julienned

1/8 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

1 TBSP of brown sugar

1/2 tsp of ground black pepper

1/8 tsp of cayenne or 1/2 tsp of red chile flakes

1 tsp of ground star anise

salt to taste

Mix everything together and refrigerate 24 hours before serving at room temperature

Siberian Fish Pelmeni

How To Make and Fold Pelmeni Link

Fish Filling Recipe

Bake and flake

1.5 pounds of white fish

Add

1/4 cup of chopped fresh dill weed

1/2 finely diced medium onion

1/2 tsp of salt

1 tsp ground coriander powder

1/2 tsp of black pepper

Mix well

Use round wonton or gyoza wrappers to make the dumplings

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook for five minutes before removing with a slotted spoon

Serve in a bowl with a bit of broth , garnished with chopped green herbs and sour cream

Uzbek Peach and Squash Braise

recipe link here

Vegetarian Plov

2 cups of cooked batsmati rice

2 garlic cloves finely diced

1/4 cup of chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup of dried cranberries or pomegranate seeds

1/4 cup of golden raisins

1/2 cup of green peas

1/2 cup of grated carrot

All heated in a large skillet with about 2 TBSP of oil on high heat until hot and crispy

New Family Traditions

Yurt cookies with spring bug chocolates and English crackers filled with goodies

I cut a yurt from chipboard and used it to trace and cut out the shapes on the chilled and rolled dough.

Yurt Sugar Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Using an electric mixer and a large bowl, cream together for one minute

6 TBSP of butter softened at room temperature

and

1/3 cup of vegetable shortening

then add and continue to mix until fluffy

1 egg

1 TBSP of milk

1/2 tsp of orange extract

3/4 cup of sugar

Set aside

In a small bowl mix together

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/8 tsp of powdered cardamon

1 TBSP powdered orange peel

Mix your dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth

Chill for two hours

Using a lightly floured surface roll your dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut out your shapes.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 minutes until the outer edges just start to color.

Check at 5 minutes, if you get air bubbles pop them and press them down lightly with a fork

It is better to underbake than overbake these cookies.

Cool one hour before icing

Icing

In a large pan combine

3 cups of white granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups of hot water

1/4 tsp of cream of tartar

Over medium high heat bring mixture to a boil and cook for 7 minutes

Reduce temperature to medium low heat and cook for 18 minutes. Stir only as necessary to keep it from sticking to the sides and bottom of the pan.

Remove pan from heat and cool without stirring for 45 minutes.

Stir in 3-4 cups of powdered sugar to create a spreading consistency.

If too thick add a little hot water and stir until the lumps are gone.

Mixture should be thick/not runny and opaque, spreading easily with a rubber spatula.

It will smooth out as it "dries".

You can use tubes of store bought icing to add decorative details with your kids.

On Nauryz every family, from the Middle East to Central Asia, displays a selection of seven symbolic items.

This year our family chose

1) Candle-light, moon, sun, stars, warmth

2)Millet (or other grain)-food

3)Water (needed for crops,cooking, and drinking)

4)Milk-(a staple of Kazakh cuisine, survival, hospitality, and culture)

5)Flower-spring and NewYear

6)Goat/sheep/camel/horse-(needed for food, wool, transportation, and work)

7)Wool Roving (needed for making clothes,yurts, blankets, rugs and shoes)

A yurt candy tin from Kazakhstan to symbolize shelter, family and community

(filled with small presents and goodies)

This is such a fun secular holiday. I hope this post inspires you to celebrate it with your family too. It does not matter if you read this a bit late as you can still choose any day this month for the tradition.

Happy Nauryz Toi, Lesley

Dont' forget to check the posts from last March for more ideas and the archives under Silk Road Recipes or Russian Recipes too.

Crafts with Kazakh Kid's Idea for Nauryz

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:42:00 +0000

A Child of the 1970's Celebrates Her Kazakh Child's Heritage

It's time to for the best holiday of the whole year!

Nauryz Toi
(also known as ulys kuni or "the first day of the new year")

Say goodbye to a harsh winter on the steppes and hello to signs of spring

Baby animals are born

New clothes are purchased at the bazaar

Contests and hearts are won

(whips from kyz kuu "catch the girl" your reward is a kiss or a lashing)

Families gather in yurtas or the town square. Food, valuable goods, and wishes of prosperity and happiness are shared while greeting eachother "Are Your Livestock and Soul Still Healthy".

(our cake from last year's Nauryz potluck)

Nauryz is an ancient celebration of the spring equinox. It originated in Persia long before the arrival of Islam. When the Soviets occupied Kazakhstan this holiday almost disappeared there. Today it is a tradition that unites many ethnic groups, cultures and countries. On this special day festivities happen in much of the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

Long, hard winters forced families to isolate themselves in yurts while pastures dried out. The arrival of cranes announced the warm weather. The birth of new livestock was essential for work, food, transportaion, clothing, and shelter. Bactrian camels are only born every two years and take a full 12 months to gestate.

As the last snow melts women rise early to repair yurts and prepare for the move to summer pastures. Men gather together to greet the dawn and prepare fields for planting and ditches for irrigation. Precious winter stores are cooked in large Kazans (pots) and donated to a feast for the entire Aul (community).

The holiday starts with a lot of spring cleaning. The yurt is swept and cleaned from top to bottom. Festive clothes, that have been specially purchased for the day, are unpacked and worn for the very first time. All the best linens and material goods of a household are brought out to decorate the yurt and symbolize the joy everyone feels with the departure of winter. It is an opportunity to wish all of your neighbors good luck and put old grievances behind.

Dancer and Akyns (poet bards) of both genders travel from afar to provide entertainment all day and night. Elders, matchmakers, and storytellers sit on magestic carpets around large bonfires and samovars with their Pialas (bowls) sipping black tea, Boza (alcoholic millet drink) or Kumyz (alcoholic fermented mares milk). Warriors (Dzhigits) and wrestlers would compete in contest of strength and skill, often on horseback. Women competed against eachother in horseracing and singing.

In the evening there would be games of gambling and courtship. Similar to Valentine's Day, Nauryz was a time to honor your sweetheart. Girls would prepare a special dish to bring strength to their boyfriends and men would bestow small gifts. Young well dressed couples would all pile onto a large swing called a Altybakan for fun and gossip

In modern times folks gather in the big cities to see performers on large stages who dance, sing, and play traditional music. Bands play both Kazakh and modern pop songs from the US. Children enjoy carnivals full of rides and stands that sell sweets and snacks.

Kazakhs believe that how you behave on Nauryz determines the way the rest of the year goes

for you.

A yurt, dried beans and grains were all essential to spring survival on the steppe.

They are perfect creative elements for making this craft to celebrate and talk about Nauryz with your child.

This activity provides a great opportunity to discuss many aspects of traditional Kazakh life with your child.

If you grew up in the 60's and & 70's then this concept will look very familiar to you. It will remind you of something you did in school or had hanging on the walls of you childhood home. It is a very easy, quick and cheap craft to do with kids of all ages.

You will need

Dried beans and grains of all sizes and colors

1/2 yard of burlap

Cardboard or chipboard

Embellishments to make words and details

Floral wire or ribbon

Wooden beads

Acrylic paint

Draw and cut out a paper template (children can help with this)

Use it to draw and cut out your shape

Poke two holes, for hanging later, in your yurt

If yurts are not your bowl of tea you could also try a simple flower or egg shape

Children can help you paint any letters or embellishments

Apply a thick coat of paint to the yurt (kids love to do this part)

Cut your burlap into a rough yurt shape, leave about an inch of extra fabric all the way around. Wrap the burlap around the yurt, apply a little glue to the back, and clamp it down to hold it in place. Let it dry for a few hours. Of course a glue gun would make the process quicker and easier.

Flip it over, add your embellishments, and draw out your pattern

Paint or squeeze a thin line of glue along your lines and apply the beans or grains. Let dry for at least two hours before proceeding with the next step.

This is a great hand eye coordination activity for young kids (don't expect they are going to have a long attention span for it). You can ask older kids to use tweezers to make it really fun and challenging. We did this project in small steps over a course of several days.

Paint the shapes inside of the lines with a thick layer of glue. Place your project on a cookie sheet and allow your child to sprinkle piles of the smaller grains and beans onto the glue. Let dry two hours and shake off the excess. Use any leftover edible materials to make a nice Central Asian stew or plov.

Lastly you can add a few decorative details and wire.

Your project is now ready to display on your front door to welcome all friends to your home.

I hope you will try this simple craft with a child or two over the next few days. Even heavy paper will work as a base to hold the beans. It does not have to be as elaborate as my yurt. It is really all about the process for kids anyway. Please check back on Sunday for my Nauryz Toi feast menu and recipes. I will also be writing quite a bit about Kazakh food and share with you a few fun traditions we have made up to celebrate the holiday. Enjoy, Lesley

"Crafts and Activities" with Kids To Explore Spring Planting

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:56:00 +0000

It's Time To Plan Your Garden!

Salad Greens Can Be Started in Cold Frames, in Hot Houses and On Window Sills.

Recently I went to a seed planting party to get those vegetable starts going indoors.

Along with my fellow radical homemakers and urban farmgirls we traded seeds and gardening advice.

The kids got involved too!

It is great for them to see the whole process from seed to harvest.

Each child had the opportunity to make a window greenhouse.

Ziplock bags are filled with soil, seeds, glitter, beads, jewels, and other fancy stuff.

You can also stick things on the outside of the bags too.

Punch two holes in the top of the bag.

Just hang in a window, water, and watch your vegetables grow.

Beans, peas, and squash all make good candidates for this activity.

(ours have failed to germinate so far even though the broccoli sprouts came up in just a few days. I must have chosen the wrong moon phase to plant them or the seeds were bad)

Want something a bit more beautiful?

Make a template

Trace it onto clear vinyl

Cut out your shapes (back and front)

Sew them together to make a pocket

Decorate it with colored tissue paper adhered with decoupage glue

Punch your holes and add a lovely ribbon

A stained glass hot house for your window

What a great way to grow those sprouts for my sandwich!!

I love that we can see the roots and stems from the backside.

And Now For the Garden Sensory Box

Because we won't be planting a real one this year

Fill a tub with black beans of various sizes

Add seeds, toy vegetables, plastic critters,small pots, and plant labels

plus garden tools, a watering can, and fake flowers.

If you want the flowers to stand up make a little base of playdough and let it dry.

Now let your child explore and make a big mess.

First signs of spring, record it in your almanac and breathe it all in deeply to celebrate, Lesley

Inspiration For A Simple Russian Brunch

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:49:00 +0000

Beet Salad, Baked Eggs and Kartoshnik

If you have the good fortune to enjoy a Sunday with a lovely Russian hostess the culinary

delights might look something like the following

On the table would be a selection of fresh and dried fruit along with a least one type of pickled vegetable.

Next you would be served a light vegetable soup.

To follow would come several kinds of cold salads created from some combination of beets, carrots, cucumbers and onions mixed with with lots of mayonnaise or sour cream.

The main course would probably be baked fish or chicken accompanied by some form of potatoes.

This time of year dessert would include a fruit compote and pastries.

Beet Salad

Roast at 400 degrees until tender enough to accept a fork to their centers

6 medium beets

Cool, peel, finely chop and set aside

Mix in a bowl

3 TBSP of apple cider vinegar

1 lemon peel finely grated

1 orange peel finely grated

Juice of one orange

4 TBSP of olive oil

1 tsp of caraway seeds

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the dressing with your chopped beets and chill for several hours

Garnish each individual serving with sour cream and finely chopped parsley or chives

Stuffed and Baked Eggs

Hardboil

8 eggs

Cool, peel and cut in them in half as if to make deviled eggs

Finely chop and saute in lots of butter

1 onion

Remove the cooked egg yolks and mix in the onions

Add dill weed, salt and pepper to taste

Add a little mayonnaise or milk and mash with a fork to make a creamy paste

Fill the egg cavities with the mixture

Oil a casserole dish and bake the eggs at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until they are hot and lightly browned on top but not drying out.

Kartoshnik (egg and potato souffle)

Peel, chop and boil

3 large potatoes

Cook until tender

Make into mashed potatoes and set aside

Mix in a bowl

4 eggs

1/4 cup of cream, yogurt, or milk

1cup of cheddar cheese

1 finely chopped onion

1 TBSP of freshly chopped dill

3 tsp of baking powder

salt and pepper to taste

Mix in the mashed potatoes and blend until very smoothe

Oil 4-6 baking ramekins and fill with your mixture, leave some space at the top for expansion

Bake at 375 degrees for at least 30 minutes until the souffle fully sets and is lightly browned on top

Cool for 5 minutes and then serve

Garnish with sour cream

Enjoy, Lesley

DIY Wooden Caterpillar and Butterfly Preschool Games

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:05:00 +0000

I often look through toy catalogues for inspiration.

These two games are based on expensive German made toys.

I always get as secret thrill when I can make it myself for a quarter of the "retail" price.

Each game cost me way less than $10.00 to make.

I like knowing that these were not made in China under who knows what working conditions.

I feel I have reduced the toxic load on mother earth and the human manufacturer.

This summer KP discovered caterpillars, frogs, snakes and a whole host of other creepy crawlies.

At first she was absolutely terrified of them.

Now she gets as excited as I do to hold one in her hand in complete wonder.

We found these one morning on our dill plants.

Sure one can study biology and life cycles from books and models.

Nothing beats taking care of a living thing and witnessing a miracle unfold in real time.

I never knew that when a caterpillar becomes a crystalis it sheds the old skin like a small black husk and underneath is an entirely new creature.

Butterfly Game

I found these wall hangers at a craft store for $1.00 each.

I removed the "knobs" and hanging hardware, filling in the unsightly holes with wood putty.

Next I sanded the butterflies, painted the bodies, traced some hearts and painted them with my secret stain formula (oil, water, and acrylic paint).

I removed the unwanted "extras" from some "on sale" dragonflies, sanded and painted the bodies.

I sanded and painted some wooden hearts.

Lastly I painted the backs.

I was not able to get a smooth repair over the holes this time so I used some fabric hearts as a solution.

I covered all the game pieces in acrylic semi-gloss varnish for durability.

In hindsight I should have used tape to mask off areas as I painted them. This would have saved me time a lot of time and "mistakes". Oh well, live and learn. Projects like these games leave me with a greater appreciation for those who manufacture and paint small items. I can't imagine doing it hour after after for days on end without being left with failing vision and good humor.

How to play the game

Each player gets one butterfly, one body , and 4 hearts of each color.

Individuals take turns rolling the die and placing the selected color heart onto their butterfly.

(the die is just a wooden cube with painted circles on it)

The black circle indicates that a body is to be played.

Where as the white circle can require the player to skip a turn or trade hearts with a friend.

The game ends non-competitively when all butterflies are completed.

Feel free to come up with your own creative rules to adjust the challenge level to the age of the players.

This game teaches color recognition, hand/eye coordination, and the concept of turn taking/following rules.

Caterpillar Game

Drill two holes near the top of an unpainted wooden "bead".

(use a very small drill bit to create a guide hole first)

Paint your beads with matt acrylic varnish so you can paint details on them later without causing bleeding.

Paint two pegs, insert them into your holes and glue.

Paint faces onto your drilled "beads".

Insert and glue shoelaces into the ends of your "beads".

Paint legs and decorations onto a few true beads.

I "recycled" some beads from my Bead Stacker/Counter/Patterner Toy to save time and space.

Make sure to find a dowl that will fit through your beads including space for the knot/lace.

Cut your dowl into the desired "needle" lengths and drill a small hole in one end.

Thread your shoelace into the hole, knot, and cut off the excess.

How To Play The Game

The die indicates which color bead to string onto the needle.

You can decide how long to make the caterpillar's body (number of beads) in order for the game to be over.

A white circle can indicate a skipped turn or removed/traded bead.

A black circle requires the player to thread a "foot" bead onto the lace.

This game is great for teaching fine motor skills to young children.

Here is our caterpillar "surprise" a rare black swallowtail.

There is the moment when a butterfly hatches and you can watch the wings fill with green fluid and expand like the lungs of a human newborn taking its first breath. It is the same physiology.

If you disturb the natural process you risk permanently harming or causing the organism to struggle more than necessary to make the transition.

The Kaz. Princess and I really enjoyed the insect theme this summer and I hope this post inspires you to both explore the world of butterflies and make a game for you child, LESLEY

We Have A OWOH Winner!!

noreply@blogger.com (CamelsNDragons) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:05:00 +0000

And the prize goes to Janice at Cheeky Rose Boutique

Please check out her unique and folk art style handmade dolls.

Many of you don't know it yet but I have been collecting books on doll making and history. I'm not talking about anything modern made with petroleum based "clays" or something "primitive" or "gothic" in style that would appeal to adults.

No, what I am interested in is the type of dolls one would make for a child or which children make for themselves out of natural or found materials. Think apples, sticks, corn husks, corn cobs, wooden spoons etc. I may even begin to explore rag dolls with with molded heads. I hope in the next few months to be packed, moved and settled in our new home. When the studio is fully functional I will be able to offer my readers a series of lovely and simple doll making tutorials. So please continue to check back after the the toymaking workshop closes for remodeling.

Janice's dolls remind me of what I saw at the Museum Of International Folk Art in Albuquerque, New Mexico in their international toy collection. Be sure to visit Cheeky Rose, leave a comment and be inspired.

I want to thank everyone who participated in the One World One Heart Event. Please know that this event has not truly ended as we all thought but has morphed into a new butterfly of sorts called Our World Our Heart. Please check out Lisa's blog A Whimsical Bohemian for details on how to participate next year. I appreciate everyone who left a comment on my blog and joined as a new follower. I was able to visit every one of the over 800 bloggers and artists who participated in this worldwide creative party.

The reality of our upcoming relocation is setting in. It is an overwhelming undertaking for me. I will do my best to connect with all of you who left comment in hopes of winning my door prize. It will just take some time. Sorry to be so short and sweet but we are in another state and our computer setup is less than ideal. I am also dealing with a bored, non-napping child.

Have an amazing weekend, Lesley