Work of Creation

Winter projects

2016-03-08T13:49:00.001-05:00

At my little home studio it's just too cold to work at in the winter -- really I'm out of there in late fall and don't return until early spring ... during that time I get to enjoy the people and classes at a local arts center. I LOVE being there, but it's not a good idea for my business plan (which basically is the plan to not LOSE money each year on what I spend on clay, glazes and classes) --

Wonderful things about being at the arts center ... my fellow potters is the top of my list! I love these people so much. I also love the glazes, I don't have to mix them, buy them, test them or worry over them -- they're done by the talented teacher and are just lovely and do as they're supposed to do. The other thing I love about the arts center is the glorious feeling of putting a piece on a shelf -- and having it magically move through the firing process safely and without me having to watch, watch the kilns, fret over what might not have worked, etc. -- perhaps if I participate in a lot more sales, I can take more opportunities to be there.

In any case -- I have had such a nice winter at the arts center -- I still have a few more weeks of classes, but with the lovely weather this week I think it's time to dust off my little studio and get it back in working order for the spring!

cream colored Octomug from the arts center, trying out a new glaze

Some candle sticks I'm working on for a special order -- even at the arts center I can keep up with my requests on Etsy

Pitcher from the arts center ...

Star Wars (and other) Christmas Ornaments

2015-11-21T13:33:00.000-05:00

So this is a pretty common idea -- using cookie cutters to create Christmas ornaments -- with the new Star Wars movie coming out soon I thought I'd make a few -- my usual sugar cookie recipe never seems to hold up to very detailed cookie cutter shapes, so while I love these cutters -- they just look like mushy humanoids when they're baked ... BUT -- clay -- clay will not do that to me.

I also think these might make a fun way to test glazes ...

All I've done is pick out cookie cutters I won't be using on food ... the trees and angels I chose because I already have other shapes like these ...

Then I rolled out my clay on my slab-mat ... I should have bought the bigger one ... cut out my shapes and press in the details or textures -- (for trees, I did the textures first -- but for the Star Wars shapes, they have the textures on the back sides (for the people) or as a plunger style cutter (for the ships) -- I also made a few zombies because I got a box of cookie mix with free cutters (didn't want the mix, wanted the cutters!) in a post-Halloween sale --

Then I peeled them out of the rolled out slab, poked their hanging holes out and placed them on my small bit of plaster that I dry very wet recycled clay on ... I took them off the plaster when they were stronger so they wouldn't dry unevenly ...

Here is where they are right now:

Star Wars Characters

Star Wars vehicles

zombies

other stuff

I was working on a few more today -- so they have to dry for a few days -- then we'll fire the kiln -- perhaps THIS will be the last firing of the season!

I'll post an update with how I fire them safely in a glaze kiln while not having them stick -- but also having them glazed on both sides. I have a plan.

How to fix an under-glaze error

2015-11-16T08:52:00.001-05:00

So this is one example of an under-glaze error that I have made -- I painted this piggy with black eyes, but I went over the edges a little and then cleaned it up with water. It looked clean when I glazed it and fired it -- but when it came out of the glaze kiln, it had this gray smeary business on its face. Ugh. Well that was my fault -- but I am going to solve it.

This is my Doctor Who piggy bank -- you see the two hearts on this side -- he also has a bow tie, because bow ties are cool -- and on the other side -- a fez ... so what I'm thinking I will do is either paint his eye to look like a cyberman ... or um -- maybe Van Gogh's starry night ... I think a cyber-man though.

Here is the product I use to paint repairs on my pieces ... It's a bit expensive to use to correct big problems -- that's what re-glazing is for ... but for small things, like this piggy -- or if I hadn't used under glaze and wanted piggy here to have more decorations -- this is a good deal ... the paints need to dry for at least 24 hours before you put them in your home oven (follow the directions on the bottles) to set them -- they are NOT as color fast as under glazes, so I do not recommend them for items you plan to wash often ... like dishes.

After I finish making Doctor Who piggy a new face, I'll post an update!

_______________________________________________

Robot eye ... no ... no. too dark ... and not robot enough ...

Update -- so I tried a few things -- and I didn't like any of them ... they looked false with the underglaze being so ... mossy ... is the best word I can think of. Here is the failed attempts ... and mind you this is a problem with ME and not the product ... On the bright side -- this stuff cleans off easily before you bake it on ... I just soaked him in a little warm water and then peeled the paint off like plastic ... or cheap nail polish ...

Starry Night eye? No -- this just ... well it looked even worse as it dried.

So this is my solution -- I've written the words (to the best of my ability and use of space) 'Victory' and 'Stars' around his eye in Gallifreyan ... I like it. I want to do this on purpose now!

Piggy banks and cork stoppers ...

2015-11-16T08:39:00.005-05:00

Many years ago I had the idea to make piggy banks ... they're simple, they're not just my idea (clearly) even the cork for the snout is not original -- it's been done by many, many people. When I initially made the piggies I had a problem finding corks in the right sizes for stoppers. At my local craft store you could get a bag of assorted stoppers, or a bag of all one size (but too small) stoppers ... they were a good price ... but not what I wanted -- I'd have to keep buying the assorted size bag -- and just use the largest stopper -- why do that?

Look it up on Amazon.com and you'll find the same issue ... you can't just buy cork easily in the size for a standard piggy bank ... to complicate matters -- I don't have an exact SIZE that I aim for when making piggy bank openings -- some are small, some are large ... I just do my best ... this go around I have made one piggy with an opening that is much too big for the corks that I have on hand -- so I'll be making another order.

Where do I order them from? These folk here ... Since I have a variety of sizes of banks, as well as openings ... I order a variety of sizes of corks -- they sit in a box in my studio and I try them out until I find the right one, if there isn't a cork the right size -- I make a new order and, since I'm ordering, I'll also pick up a few more of the most common sizes that I use. I never get just one, though, always 5 or 10 because -- if I've made something that needs a cork *this* size -- I'll do it again.

On the website they sell corks giving you the small end measurement and the large end measurement -- if you're unsure of your cork needs -- just pick one that fits in that range -- I've also bought, from this company -- plastic stoppers for salt and pepper shakers, but they tend to not be what I want -- they're that hard plastic that is difficult to remove and then gets marred by the butter knife you use to try to take it out ... instead for those I buy stoppers from a pottery supply shop ... can't always cut corners ;)

Here are this week's piggy banks:

Observe the different sized corks -- and someone with her face wide open ... she'll get her cork soon

Octomugs, fresh and new

2015-11-15T22:33:00.002-05:00

These are my successful Octomugs -- they are mostly awesome -- I am not totally crazy about ALL of the glazes, but things that I like, will not always be things that others are looking for when shopping for pottery, right?

Aren't they cute?

These 6 mugs and one pitcher represent hours of work -- I roll out each tentacle -- I roll out each suction cup -- I poke each sucker in with a blunt pencil type tool and attach each tentacle with care ... I can't do too many at one time or I start to go a bit cross eyed. Also because I use vinegar to attach them (pottery trick -- use vinegar instead of water to make your slip when attaching one piece to another -- the vinegar dries slower, so the handle/tentacle will have a better chance of attaching properly) -- and then by the end of the night my hands smell like salad dressing.

When I first looked at them I liked the light blue one least -- but she's growing on me. Navy, though, Navy is awesome. If you want to see a closer photo of each come see them on my pottery shop facebook page ... they'll be on Etsy at some point -- but that will require much better pictures and proper measurements. No time right now!

Soap Dishes

2015-11-15T22:26:00.001-05:00

Soap dish - test tiles

So I talked about this before ... but I also made a few soap dishes, I'm mostly happy with these and I think they're so simple to make that they would make excellent test tiles -- I can take photos and notes about glazes I liked -- and then they don't have to take up space in my studio.

Here are some simple to make soap dishes -- you can throw these off the hump -- it's a lot faster than centering each tiny bit of clay -- but it's basically a very thick plate or lid shape -- flatten it out, put in some deep ridges, and then cut it off the wheel or hump of clay ... I trimmed them up a bit, but not much. The ridges give me a chance to try glaze combinations, see how they will run (or not run) together -- and be sure that any mistakes won't stick to my kiln shelves.

Refiring pottery

2015-11-15T22:19:00.002-05:00

See her sad glaze issue?

I don't like to take the risk of re-firing in my own kiln -- but my goal for this round will be to see who we can save. Some of these pieces might run onto the kiln shelf, so I will make sure to apply an extra thick layer of kiln wash, just in case. Some might look worse than they do now -- so I would not re-fire a piece that I was even a little happy with ... if it's too sad the way it is, the worst that can happen with a re-fire is that I ruin it all the way. If that is ok with you, then you might have some nominees for a re-fire!

Specifically this go-round I need to refire a growler I made for my husband where the glaze is SO NICE but shivered off the front in a spot about the size of a quarter ... I know there was no wax resist there -- it was just mean ... so mean.

This was just a bad idea

I also have a bowl and a cup that I used the same glazes for, thinking they would run nicely into each other -- but they stayed still ... and it is not pretty ... so I'll give these a healthy coating of another glaze and won't mind if they are still ugly when they come out.

I'll update with my progress, but I want to make a few things to bisque fire as well before I run this glaze kiln. I have an idea for some wind chimes -- and there was one larger bowl that didn't make it into the bisque fire from before ... although in this case, on purpose, not on accident.

Kiln unloading

2015-11-15T22:10:00.004-05:00

Today, after a firing on Friday and then a too busy weekend -- I finally got to open my little kiln ... this is what it looks like when you first open it ...

Now -- I'm not entirely happy with everything here -- so I'm going to try to reglaze, and refire some items. I also forgot one of the octo-mugs -- I set it on a low shelf because there wasn't room on the shelf I was staging things on ... and there it stayed ...

This means, although I thought that might be my last firing of the year (I take a class in the winter because working in a little back yard studio is quite chilly as the season changes!) -- I think instead I'll eek out one more -- it might not be a full load, but I can try to fix some things, and I can remember to fire some little folk who were left out. I mean, look at that top shelf. There was clearly room.

Octomugs ...

2015-11-12T21:26:00.002-05:00

So I have a claim on these little fellas -- I sold my first 'Octo' piece of pottery in 2008 -- that one went quickly -- then there was the octo-platter ... in 2009 ... and my first online sale of an octo-mug was in 2011 ... I'd been making them to sell at the farmer's market -- and this one hadn't found a home as quickly as the others ... I'd gotten into the habit of only posting things on Etsy that hadn't sold for a few weeks of farmer's markets because ... hey, the market is easier ...

Once in a while I go on Etsy -- and I search for octopus mugs -- and there are a few people making things that look something like mine ... but I know, when I first made these -- I scoured the internet for them ... just to see if my idea was original ... and it was. This ... this is mine.

Now that I've whined about that a little ...

I've been working on some new Octos :)

They're coming along nicely -- they're in the kiln right now hoping to be fired tomorrow. I have, I have 8 mugs -- most larger -- and 1 pitcher ...

Here are a few of them on level 3 of my little kiln as I was filling it up tonight. Don't they look cozy?

Glazing after a long slow summer ...

2015-11-12T21:13:00.001-05:00

I've been working at a pretty slow pace this summer -- none the less I have a kiln full of items I've been long meaning to get finished with.

I was asked by a customer at the farmer's market to make some soap dishes -- I'd tried this before, but only once and I didn't like how my attempt turned out ... I used the same idea this time, but many years later my skills are better able to make what I meant to make!

They've been bisque fired and today I was working on glazing ... so here they are being glazed ... there are 2 square ones and something like 6 round ones (not all pictured) -- it's a pretty simple design, I just made small thick 'plates' and then made very deep ridges in those plates so that the soap will both cling to the dish and not slide all over, and will also not sit in water, and thus become all squishy and gross.

The two square ones were made a little larger and I squared them off while they were starting to dry a little --

These little soap dishes are now in the kiln and I'm trying to figure out what time I have to wake up in the morning in order to actually fire it and still have time to do my Friday afternoon activities ... I totally still, after all these years, babysit my kiln -- I watch it -- or at least go out every hour and check on it ... if it had a problem -- I don't even know what I'd do besides cut the power supply and wait ... but none the less, I can't stop myself -- I must be here to watch!

Blogger restart ... the pottery blog

2015-11-12T21:04:00.001-05:00

Re-vamping this dusty old blog, excuse my unlinked photos or other outdated things in months and years past please ...

I want to restart this old thing with some of my pottery work so that I can keep track of how things change ... and why ... and when ... I also want to make sure that when I make something new, it's clearly mine! I can document it here!

So with that in mind ... let us begin again.

Pottery Update

2013-06-06T10:43:00.004-04:00

It's been a SLOW start this year for being in the studio -- but I'm finally back in the swing of things. I ended up making way too much for the green kiln this time around and so I have a second load almost ready to go in once I do a little more altering on the pieces -- I over estimated the size of my little kiln! On the bright side I DO have 7 new Octomugs (4 of which are really terribly huge, since I get so many requests for bigger ones) and a collection of mouth mugs since big E's Orthodontist wants one.

I SHOULD be able to fire the glaze kiln tomorrow and unload it on Sunday if it's cool enough. YEAH!

three layers of pottery in the green kiln

Saint Arnold of Metz statues

2013-06-06T10:40:00.000-04:00

So I was on a hunt for a Saint Arnold statue for my husband for Father's Day and it appears that NO ONE makes these to sell, at least not in the US -- I think if I were IN Belgium or Austria and AT a monastery, I might be able to scrounge something up -- but not here.

Alas.

Fortunately my husband married a potter, so I thought I can totally make these -- they might not be as nice as a real stone or cast one -- but I can totally do it. I've shown these to him so that if they don't turn out, for whatever reason, the thought that counts is still there! Right?!

Here are my two sample Saint Arnolds:

Saint Arnold(s) (green, still to be glazed & fired!)

Saint Arnold is the patron Saint of beer brewers and hops growers, my husband has a little hops garden and loves to brew his own beer -- so I thought, he needs these for his hops garden! They're in the kiln right now. Since this picture was taken I made each of them a little magic beer mug (read the story of Saint Arnold to see why) and when they're done I'll make them each a little hops rake out of some soft metal wire I have laying around the studio.

Garden Update from late May

2013-06-06T10:28:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I posted the mid-May pictures -- here are the late May pictures from our little garden:

Potatoes, Cucumbers and Peas

Peas, Beans, Squash, Peppers and Tomatoes

This week we had our first veggies in our dinners from our little garden -- one big zucchini and 2 small yellow squash. The strawberries are just about done, so we'll have to start buying them at the store again like normal people -- and the peas are having a great time, but they never make it in for dinner because the kids pick them and eat them in the yard.

Spring garden update

2013-05-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

We have a LONG, but not very wide, garden in our yard -- it was done this way, initially, because we had so many maple trees -- along that fence was the only place we could reliably count on sunlight for an extended portion of the day. Every year the garden grows a little longer and wider -- it meanders a little -- this year, we bought some inexpensive landscaping timbers to box it in more -- as the years go by and we add more compost and soil it will act more like a raised bed -- but this is working better than the old system of using scalloped garden markers and old bricks that we found around the yard when we moved in. (that system was FREE, though -- so it worked nicely for what it cost!)

This is the garden before planting -- and before I was quite done with the timbers:

We took down the maple trees (they were all dying of the same rot, so sad -- but necessary) and now we have all kinds of sun in the yard. But we're just keeping the garden where it has always been. It's out of the way, the kids and animals are used to avoiding it -- all good.

Here we are at the beginning of April with just about 90% of the plants in the ground:

Within a few weeks we were booming -- my little seedlings seem to prefer to be outside to being inside on the kitchen table under a grow light ...

Here we are at the very beginning of May:

Potatoes up front -- peas and beans in the middle

Peas and beans again -- peppers and squash -- peanuts (no action) & tomatoes in the back

I'll have to take a few pictures today -- Now we've got some rather good sized potato plants, the peas are starting to climb well (but no flowers yet) and the squashes are getting their big yellow flowers and first baby squash. There are a few tiny tomatoes -- but not much -- still the promise of summer veggies is in the air!

Geography topic and craft of the week (Norway)

2013-05-07T07:25:00.000-04:00

Our second Scandinavian nation was Norway -- the critter of the week was the Basking Shark, which may have been my favorite part -- they are just super cool! For the craft the kids made swords out of slices of foam board, sparkles and glitter glue. Those who remembered to bring their shields from the week before had a small -- rather gentle -- battle -- didn't want to mess up the art work.

Here's your quiz on Norway:

1. What is the capital of Norway?
A. Copenhagen
B. Stockholm
C. Oslo

2. What is a Fjord?
A. It's a valley between two icy mountains
B. It's another word for big ol' glacier
C. It's the river valley formed by the movement and melting of a big ol' glacier

3. What are the Aurora Borealis made from?
A. Star dust
B. a reaction between light particles from the sun hitting gases in the earth's atmosphere where it is thinnest, at the poles
C. it's magic

4. How does the Norse goddess Freyja get around?
A. She rides a chariot pulled by two goats
B. She rides a chariot pulled by a dragon
C. she rides a chariot pulled by two cats

5. What does the Basking Shark eat?
A. Microscopic sea critters, much like a whale eats
B. Whatever it wants
C. Small mammals

6. How can you easily tell a Basking Shark from a Great White Shark?
A. The Great White Shark has fins that stick up out of the water
B. The Basking Shark is much bigger
C. The mouth on the Basking Shark is a giant mouth cave

7. For about 100 years, until 1905 Norway was under the control of which government?
A. Sweden
B. Finland
C. Denmark

8. How did most of the Vikings spend their time?
A. Stealing things and smashing up houses
B. Farming
C. Writing epic poems about their gods

Geography topic and Craft of the week (Denmark)

2013-05-06T21:45:00.000-04:00

We covered all the Scandinavian nations over the last few weeks -- beginning with Denmark. For our craft we made Viking shields out of paper plates (heavy duty ones) -- pretty simple, but it went with the next week's craft of Viking swords out or foam board!

Here is your quiz:

1. What is the capital of Denmark?
A. Copenhagen
B. Scandinavia
C. Norway

2. What does "Norse" mean?
A. It's Scandinavian for Nurse
B. It's a Germanic word meaning 'from the North'
C. It's the name of one of the Viking gods

3. What is that big blob on the beluga's forehead?
A. That's its skull
B. That's its nose
C. That's its melon

4. What was Hans Christian Andersen famous for?
A. He was a king of Denmark
B. He designed the Danish flag
C. He was a famous writer of fairy tales

5. How does the Norse god Thor get around?
A. He uses his big old hammer
B. He's pulled in a chariot by two billy goats
C. He's pulled in a chariot by a fire breathing dragon

6. Why is the Beluga whale white?
A. Camouflage!
B. The white ones are albinos
C. They were playing in the bleach. Bad whales.

7. What is the tallest mountain in Denmark?
A. Mount Copenhagen
B. Mount Thor
C. There aren't any mountains in Denmark.

8. What are most of the Kings of Denmark named? (pick two)
A. Thor
B. Frederik
C. Henri
D. Henrik
E. Hans
F. Christian

On having 5 daughters

2013-05-06T16:34:00.001-04:00

Every day -- or so it seems -- when we are out and about someone asks me if we were 'trying for a boy' or they express 'sadness' for my husband because he is the father of 5 daughters. I have a series of pat answers that I go through -- like ...

Oh no, we never try for a gender, we just try for a baby, or
He's never been so adored by so many women! or
At this point it's easier if we just keep having girls ...

Sometimes I try to blow it off with a 'yes we have 5 kids, yes, all 5 are girls -- aren't we so blessed?!' I just hope that people understand that this -- gender balance -- thing -- isn't always a thing. I know most of the time folk just want to have something to say. It IS odd to have 5 kids in this day and age, and it's more odd to have them all be the same gender. It's not like we regret any of this, though, who regrets their children??

I ask that -- because I just finished reading a Huffington Post article from a man who expresses all kinds of remorse about his wife's pregnancy -- I guess there were a few moments when we were expecting our twins when I was worried it would be so so hard -- that we would have sick babies (after all, I'd been on bedrest from 18 weeks until they were delivered, and it was rather risky for a while there!) -- that they would have hardships in life that we would be ill equipped to deal with -- but also I remember the first thing I thought when I saw their two little blips on the u/s screen -- I thought, "There's no way I'm lucky enough to keep both of them" and for weeks I prepared myself mentally to lose one, or both -- I was just sure it wouldn't turn out. Twin pregnancies are naturally higher risk -- I didn't want to count on them being ok, and then be heart broken -- so I counted on them not being ok.

There wasn't a second, though, that I regretted them -- I feel just ... awful ... for the way some people air their terrible inner thoughts on the internet. As if this isn't readable in 15 years when those children are looking things up -- Kids ... 15 years from now, if you read this -- I'm DELIGHTED that I have 5 children -- I'm ECSTATIC that you are all girls. I am so very, richly blessed. Thank you.

Communicating with a 14 month old

2013-04-15T08:16:00.001-04:00

Tiny T still has a week or so to be 14 months old, she's JUST turned the corner in walking and instead of giving up after 2-3 steps, she'll walk clear across a room with glee! That's new enough that the bigger girls alert me excitedly every time she does it, which is about 30 times a day. Thanks guys.

Walking walking

We started out, as with all the girls, with a little sign language -- but we seem to stall out at 'More' and 'All Done' -- this is the same for Tiny T -- she's got those two signs down and uses them pretty regularly, but she doesn't try any others even if I show her how regularly -- I guess meal times offer an undivided attention that other times of the day she can't muster.

The girls have been keeping count of the words Tiny T can say, I think some of their submissions are parroting, so -- the ones I feel like she would say even IF they didn't say it first are (sounds like, in parenthesis when needed):

Mama
Dada
Dog (Dah, and that's just about all animals)
Kitty (Ki-teh)
More (with or without the sign, she says it for EVERYTHING she wants)
All Done (AHHH duh)
Ball (bah)
Elmo (Emo)
Baby (beh beh)
Belly Button (Bey Buhh)

Yes. Belly Button.

She's obsessed with HER belly buttons and the belly buttons of her sisters -- My belly button, is off limits. I've had 5 kids. It's not cute anymore.

That's a pretty limited vocabulary, it's surprising how much she can say with just those words!

Kid loves her baby!

Geography topic & craft of the week (catch up) Poland!

2013-04-12T17:27:00.000-04:00

Ahh I totally got too busy with Lent, Easter and late winter school work for the kids to keep up with things -- so catch up time! We've gone through a few weeks at co-op moving around Europe -- the week after Lichtenstein, we covered Poland!

For Poland our craft was to make pisankas, which are little brightly decorated eggs (the precursors to Easter eggs) for our pisankas, I brought in some paints and little wooden ovals pre-painted in white so they would all have the same starting out point -- the kids had a lot of fun decorating them.

Here is your quiz of the week:

Your Quiz of the WEEK!
1. What is the capital of Poland?
A. Russia
B. Warsaw
C. Belarus

2. What is a primordial forest?
A. It's a forest where there are fairies and wizards and stuff
B. It's a forest where there are endangered animals
C. It's an ancient forest where humans don't cause any changes

3. What is Nicolaus Copernicus famous for?
A. He was the first person to come up with the idea of the sun being the center of the solar system
B. He was a Pope (leader in the Catholic church)
C. He was a president of Poland

4. What was Karol Wojtyla famous for?
A. He was the first person to come up with the idea of the sun being the center of the solar system
B. He was a Pope (leader in the Catholic church)
C. He was a president of Poland

5. Are American Bison and European Bison the same genetically?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Blue!

6. How was Poland doing after WWII?
A. Great! They were barely bothered at all
B. Eh, so so – some things were broken – but most things were ok
C. Crummy, over 85% of the buildings were destroyed

7. What does Heliocentric mean?
A. It means the sun is the center of the solar system
B. It means the earth is the center of the solar system
C. It means Helium is the main element in the solar system

8. How close were the European Bison to being extinct before Poland reintroduced them to the Bialowieza Forest?
A. They only had 4 left in the world
B. They only had about 50 left in the world
C. They only had 800 left in the world

Geography Topic of the week -- this week Liechtenstein and Luxembourg

2013-02-18T13:05:00.001-05:00

This week we're studying two smaller nations in Europe -- Liechtenstein and Luxembourg -- For our craft of the week we'll be doing Roy Lichtenstein portraits (yes, I know he's American -- but it's funny, so I'm doing it!) The critter of the week is the European, or black bellied, hamster.

This is the quiz of the week!

1. What is the Capital of Luxembourg?

A. Luxembourg
B. Liechtenstein
C. Vaduz

2. What is the Capital of Liechtenstein?

A. Luxembourg
B. Liechtenstein
C. Vaduz

3. Which is a bigger nation?

A. Luxembourg
B. Liechtenstein
C. Vatican City

4. What art form was Roy Lichtenstein famous for?

A. Pop Art
B. Comic Art
C. Abstract Art

5. What is a Grand Duchy?

A. When only the Grand Duchess rules
B. When the Grand Duke of Duchess rules
C. It's a kind of castle

6. Where did the National Gallery of Art in DC get that awesome Da Vinci?

A. It was given to them by Roy Lichtenstein
B. It was purchased from Luxembourg
C. It was purchased from Liechtenstein

7. Match the official languages to the nation ...
(some may be used more than once, some not at all)

German Luxembourgish French English

LUXEMBOURG LIECHTENSTEIN

8. Which is true of hamsters?

A. Hamsters are native to the United States
B. Hamsters are as common as field mice in Europe
C. Most pet hamsters descend from a brother and sister pair
D. Hamsters are vegetarians
E. Only B & C
F. All of the above

Family Traditions: Kid friendly Chinese New Year!

2013-02-10T15:15:00.001-05:00

We love Chinese New Year around here, really any opportunity to have a celebration and learn about another culture is totally embraced -- so this year, like most, we'll attend the Chinese New Year festival at the art museum, but at home we'll also celebrate!

Every year we go to the local Asian Market and buy some of our favorite ingredients, and every year we buy those little red envelopes and then fret about what to put in them -- I don't want to give the girls too much candy, I don't want to give them actual money -- so this year I had a great idea (great in my opinion anyway!) I decided to make up some 'Chinese New Year Dollars' I looked up some pictures of Chinese New Year icons, snakes and 2013s -- pasted them into a document with a table so they'd make little 'dollars' and on those, rewards the kids can claim like: "Mom will make the dinner of your choice" or "Stay up a half hour late with Mom and Dad" --

They'll each get the same amount -- except little T, she'll get some that say 'Mommy picks me up' and such - because really, she doesn't have requests yet!

Tonight after dinner the girls will get their red envelopes and they'll get 'dollars' and they can spend them as they see fit -- I think they'll like it, and it won't cost us anything -- but it will be an opportunity for the girls to express themselves, get a treat and have some extended fun for Chinese New Year!

Crocheted Baby Dress - part II

2013-02-10T15:14:00.002-05:00

The vague directions are here ...

But I got a shot of T in her dress so you can see it on a tall-ish 12 month old!

Crocheted baby dress ...

2013-02-07T12:05:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine introduced me to a yarn store that I hadn't heard of before, the prices were so reasonable that I went ahead and bought ... a lot ... of pretty pretty yarn ... for from the first 3 skeins I made this baby dress for tiny T ... I'll give a basic pattern, but I find that we all have differently sized stitches -- you might use a different kind of yarn or prefer something bigger or smaller for your baby -- so the first thing I did when measuring, was to keep one of T's dresses handy so that I was sure it would be big enough in the middle and long enough in the skirt.

Completed dress

The basic pattern is to double crochet the skirt with two increase rows (I increased every 6 inches on one row and every 7 on the next) on the row just after the waist then I double crocheted down until I used up my first skein of yarn. Next I started on the top. I decided to use a moss stitch for the top (1dc, 1ch (skipping a stitch), repeat -- on the next row you dc into the hole from the ch from the row below ... if that makes sense ...). My thinking is that I wanted the top to be SOLID so no skin would show through when she wears this dress in the summer without a top under it. I found that when I moved from the double crochet shirt to the moss stitch top I didn't have to decrease rows at all (took me three tries to figure that out!) because the moss stitch just turned out smaller.

Moss stitch

Once I got to the top of the neckline I did some simple single crochet shoulder straps and attached them to the top. I filled in a little at the neckline (no low tops!) so that the dress would be summer appropriate ...

Belt ...

I still had a bit of yarn left from my second skein, so I started working on a belt -- then I saved the rest (ended up becoming flowers for the bottom!)

Flowers

and started back on the skirt -- double crochet all the way down until it was as long as I wanted it -- and then a simple scalloped edge for the bottom (I chain 5 and attach it back to the bottom of the skirt every 3 stitches -- chain 5, attach at 3, repeat all the way around. Then double crochet through those little loops 5 dc each one ... sc into the attachment stitch, 5 dc, repeat). Attach the flowers, tie the belt -- and baby dress is done!

Scalloped edge

Finished dress

Geography topic & craft of the week Greece, Cyprus and Malta

2013-02-07T08:05:00.000-05:00

This week we covered three nations in one class, it was a little crazy, but I want to be able to fit the "little" nations in too -- so Greece shared with Cyprus and Malta. For our craft we made Grecian Urns which turned out pretty cute.

1. What is the capital of Greece?
A. Athens
B. Olympus
C. Crete

2. Which is a bigger island?
A. Crete
B. Cyprus
C. Malta

3. Who participated in the first Olympics?
A. Only men
B. Men and women, but only from Greece
C. Men and women from all over the known world

4. Why is the St. George's cross on the flag of Malta?
A. It's always been a symbol for Malta
B. It's because Saint George is particularly important in Malta
C. It's because Malta was awarded the cross for bravery in WWII

5. Which of these is TRUE about the Phoenix?
A. The Phoenix is a real creature
B. The Phoenix is always on fire
C. The Phoenix regenerates, or is reborn, out of the ashes of its former self

6. Which groups of people are struggling to get along in Cyprus? (pick 2)
A. People from Greece
B. People from Turkey
C. People from England
D. People from France
E. People from Italy
F. People from Malta

7. What does 'Universal Suffrage' mean?
A. everyone pays the same amount of taxes
B. everyone has to vote
C. everyone has to get a flu shot

8. What is an archipelago?
A. a group or cluster of islands
B. a large island with a volcano in the center
C. an island with no one living on it

For our craft we made Grecian Urns -- I cut some basic 'Urn' shapes from orange construction paper) fold in half ... draw half of an urn with the fold at the center ... cut ... I could do three at a time) -- In class the kids drew a basic picture (I said to try to draw something that tells a story) I gave them white and black crayons, black markers and black paint so they could fill in the urns as they wished. When they were done, we glued them to a fresh piece of construction paper to give them stability and a back ground -- and then left them to dry -- which is how I got such nice pictures! They weren't squirreled away into bags as soon as class was over!