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Welcome to the next installment of my Book-Jumper Summer Reading Series! This is my way of inspiring parents who are looking for creative ways to keep their kids reading this summer. All of our protagonists are girls or women and most of our showcased authors are women as well. I will be offering up a combination of themed weeks, great novels, booklist giveaways, and blog post recaps so be sure and stop by to discover more wonderful ways have A Book-jumper Summer while Exploring Our World and Beyond!
This week we’ve been celebrating the planet we live on, Earth. On Earth Day I created a very fun booklist which honors amazing people preserving and restoring areas on our planet as well as others reusing items to accomplish great feats.
Every library should have these inspiring stories from Wangari Mathai who planted an entire forest saving her country, to William Kamkwamba who created a windmill to end a drought in his town, to Isatou Ceesay who started with just one plastic bag. On this list you’ll also find entertaining chapter books with a environmentalist theme to them as well. Each person can contribute something.
One of the more amazing things about this booklist is that we’re giving it away. Have a look below and get inspired.
Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts to lead women in a nonviolent struggle to bring peace and democracy to Africa through its reforestation. Her organization planted over thirty million trees in thirty years. This beautiful picture book tells the story of an amazing woman and an inspiring idea.
A book for young readers. It involves new kids, bullies, alligators, eco-warriors, pancakes, and pint-sized owls. A hilarious Floridian adventure!
One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia
Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.
The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change.
Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person’s actions really can make a difference in our world.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
When a terrible drought struck William Kamkwamba’s tiny village in Malawi, his family lost all of the season’s crops, leaving them with nothing to eat and nothing to sell. William began to explore science books in his village library, looking for a solution. There, he came up with the idea that would change his family’s life forever: he could build a windmill. Made out of scrap metal and old bicycle parts, William’s windmill brought electricity to his home and helped his family pump the water they needed to farm the land.
Retold for a younger audience, this exciting memoir shows how, even in a desperate situation, one boy’s brilliant idea can light up the world. Complete with photographs, illustrations, and an epilogue that will bring readers up to date on William’s story, this is the perfect edition to read and share with the whole family.
A vacant lot looks like no place for a garden. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise.
This inspiring book presents the true stories of 12 people from across North America who have done great things for the environment. Heroes include a teenage girl who figured out how to remove an industrial pollutant from the Ohio River, a Mexican superstar wrestler who works to protect turtles and whales, and a teenage boy from Rhode Island who helped his community and his state develop effective e-waste recycling programs. Plenty of photographs and illustrations bring each compelling story vividly to life.
Written mostly in the words of Muir, it brims with his spirit and adventures. The text was selected and retold by naturalist Joseph Cornell, author of Sharing Nature with Children, who is well known for his inspiring nature games. The result is a book with an aliveness, a presence of goodness, adventure, enthusiasm, and sensitive love of each animal and plant that will give young adults an experience of a true champion of nature. It is a book that expands your sense of hope, adventure, and awareness. Adults will be just as fond of this book as young readers. Cornell includes numerous explore more activities that help the reader to understand and appreciate the many wonderful qualities of Muir.
This “vividly imagined and well-written novel” (Booklist, starred review) tells a gripping story about a boy from Scotland and a girl from West Africa who join together to save a migrating Osprey—and end up saving each other.
When Callum spots crazy Iona McNair on his family’s sprawling property, she’s catching a fish with her bare hands. She won’t share the fish, but does share something else: a secret. She’s discovered a rare endangered bird, an Osprey, and it’s clear to both her and Callum that if anyone finds out about the bird, it, and its species, is likely doomed. Poachers, egg thieves, and wild weather are just some of the threats, so Iona and Callum vow to keep track of the bird and check her migratory progress using the code a preservationist tagged on her ankle, no matter what.
But when one of them can no longer keep the promise, it’s up to the other to do it for them both. No matter what. Set against the dramatic landscapes of Scotland and West Africa, this is a story of unlikely friendships, the wonders of the wild—and the everyday leaps of faith that set our souls to flight.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
ONE winner will receive one copy of each of the books above. Giveaway begins July 1,2015
Prizing & samples courtesy of Authors of the above books
Giveaway open to US addresses only
ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books.
Residents of USA only please.
Must be 18 years or older to enter
One entry per household.
Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on July 13th, 2015
“BOOM! CRASH! CRUMBLE! Lift flaps and pull tabs to make buildings explode!
“CLUNK! CRUNCH! SMASH! Lift flaps, pull tabs, and move levers to crush those cars flat!
“SMACK! WHACK! BASH! Lift flaps, pull tabs, and move levers to knock that building down!
“RIP! CRUNCH! SHRED! Lift flaps, pull tabs, and move levers to shred tires into tiny pieces!”
Opening
“An old building is crumbling and unsafe.” [Pull the tab down and bring the building to its knees, or the ground, if you prefer.”
Review
Collectively, these four books (Blow It Up!, Shred It!, Crush It!, and Knock ItDown!), are called the Destruction Group. And what destruction your child can imagine causing—all in the name of safety, not hoodlumism.
Today is best called “Boys Day.” Girls can enjoy these interesting activity books, as I did, but it is mostly boys who receive these books. Little boys will love bringing down a building, bridge, and sports arena with dynamite. In the process, the book gives your child, or you, the chance read with unabashed enthusiasm, “Boom, Kah-Pow, and Kaboom,” when your young child makes rubble out of the structure on the spread.
When the kids have exploded structures to their heart’s content, it will be time to Crush It! Let’s start with that beautiful car. Pull up the tab and, “Oh, no! The beautiful car! It is a piece of rusty junk.”
Yep, that car is a goner and it is up to the reader to pick up the car with a forklift and dump it into the crusher. That red sports car will soon become a square of steel. I am not sure where the plastic goes (my car is practically all plastic). Never mind that, here comes car number two. This car is ratty, but the engine looks pretty good. Let’s save that engine. Pull it up and out of the car. And the tires, too. We are going to salvage everything possible. Reuse is the motto!
Maybe plastic cars are shredded. Those tires shredded. So open up Shred It! One of those tires from that car has a hole in it. Go ahead, shred pick it up and all the other bad tires with your forklift. Drive over and dump those bad tires into the shredder. “Thunk, thunk!” Listen as the rubber is pulverized, “Whirl! Crunch!” Look out, here comes the pieces of rubber ready to be made into all sorts of things. The mat you mom stands on in the kitchen, or the mat she makes you wipe your feet on before coming in the house, is most likely recycled rubber tire. How, cool! You’re not done yet.
It is time to Knock It Down! There is a building you can knock down. That big steel ball is called a wrecking ball. When you swings it into the building you will wreck it. Slide the tab and make that ball ram into the building. “Whack!” Pieces are falling, so watch your head. Get that yellow construction hat on, if you got one, or use your bike helmet. Pull the next tab down and whack the lower part of the building with a loader, pulling down what remains.
True story, when my building caught fire a few years back—no, I did not start the fire—the fire department used a loader, with the pick-up container held upside down, just like it Knock It Down! The firemen pulled everything out of the apartments and the rest of the wall, too. It was horrible watching neighbors’ possessions fall to the ground. Okay, back to the job at hand. Swing the tab once more and whack the wall with another wrecker ball. The bricks crumble away. Nice Job!
Kids will love these four “destruction” books. In addition to pulling, pushing, swiping, and opening tabs, kids will read. It is truly fun to read these books aloud to your child. A couple of times reading to them and they will be reading on their own, even if it is only memorizing what you read—it is a start, a good start. The books are sturdy board books, all with nicely thick pages that will withstand some tugging pulling and pushing. The pages are easily cleaned. Jelly will wipe right off the page. I checked.
Your active little boy—and girl—will love Blow It Up!, Crush It!, Shred It!, and Knock It Down! The books can be purchased separately, but as a bundled set Capstone has a special price that will save you a bundle (pun intended). These 8 x 8 thick board books are waiting for little hands to have fun pulling, pushing, swiping, and opening up tabs so they can have fun destroying imaginary buildings and crushing imaginary red sports cars. I had fun so I know your child will, too.
Happy New Year! Did you survive the holidays? Ours started out low key and then sped up after Christmas with the Colorado wedding of a dear friend, a couple of days of skiing, and 3 stitches in my lower lip after a minor fall.
Don’t worry, I’m fine! Luckily, nothing was broken, so I could go right back to skiing. Actually I can only find 2 stitches now. They are not the dissolvable kind, so I don’t know if I misplaced a stitch or if I just miscounted. Hmmm…
I’m finding, unexpectedly, that I kind of love January. Not for the weather. Who could love January weather, even in the South? But I love getting back into the routine and not having a bajillion outside actitivities to distract and exhaust me. And the days are getting just a tiny bit longer. So I’m told.
Currently I’m back to work on my nonfiction book for elementary-aged students. I’d taken several weeks away from it while focusing on my novel, and the break has really helped clarify things. It still needs a lot of work, but I’m excited to see how far it’s come since my initial brainstorm. I’ve been getting some feedback on both projects from writer friends, which is so invigorating!
The above picture is a sneak peek of a quilt I’m working on. It finally seems to be coming together, though it’s looking like spaghetti to me right now. For more sewing and quilting projects, click here.
What about you? What’s inspiring you this month? Reading anything fantastic? Stay warm, folks!
2 Comments on New Year, New (ish) Projects, last added: 1/13/2014
Sorry for being away so long! I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. Ours was nice and low-key, and featured some gluten-free apple pie. There was a big to-do about who got the last pieces, and not just among the GF folks. It’s that good.
The hubs and I also took a trip just before Thanksgiving, which I’ll have to tell you more about in another post.
Here I wanted to show you a little holiday craft we did. Last year I made gift cloths with Christmas fabric and existing Christmas linens, but this year I decided to add to the collection by decorating and sewing up scraps of fabric I already had in my stash.
The red and green stripe in the back left corner was made with watercolor-type fabric paints by Deka. I’ve had that paint forEVER. I tried to find a link to a place you can buy it, but it’s looking like it’s not sold in the US anymore. Bummer. It’s good stuff.
We decorated the fabric for the center red-ribboned present with Target brand “slick” fabric paints (you squeeze the bottles to draw with them). My least favorite fabric paint ever. Really poor quality, but we made the best of it.
The blue-ribboned gift cloth is pale pink, and we drew on it with Tee Juice markers, which are great for quick and easy projects, especially with kids. They are totally permanent, though, so, as with all of these supplies, dress accordingly.
Lastly, on the red-spotted cloth with the dark green ribbon, we used stamps with cheap acrylic paints from Michaels mixed with textile medium. This is one of my favorite ways to paint on fabric, because mixing it yourself gives you a wide range of choices. And in the end you aren’t left with a bunch of fabric paint you may never use again.
Below are some pre-decorated and hemmed gift cloths: a thrifted plaid tablecloth and two tea towels from Target marked down to 88¢!
The kids loved trying to guess what all these fake presents were, the favorite by far being the pink one below that’s wrapped like candy. It’s a sack of corn meal.
Loving this free printable nativity the kids can color themselves at Made by Joel.
Hope to be back soon with some details of our trip.
I think this is a great project. I’d been thinking the same thing for awhile but haven’t done anything ….I’m glad to see you got some nice looking results.
Emily Smith Pearce said, on 12/4/2013 12:15:00 PM
Thanks! It’s one of those things I’d been thinking about for years but never tried it until last year. Thanks for stopping by.
Sometime in the last few months I got it in my head that I wanted a cashmere blanket. Like, really wanted one. I think maybe I started obsessing when I was paging through Handmade Homeand saw all the cozy, cozy stacks of blankets. I just wanted to curl up with them. I didn’t want to fork over the money for cashmere, though, so I started scheming. Could I possibly find enough thrifted cashmere to make a blanket?
Sometimes it’s hard to come by, but lo and behold, there was a bumper crop of cashmere at Goodwill this fall. Some of it was in perfect condition, in my size, with classic lines. What?! I washed those and put them in my closet.
The rest of it, the out-of-fashion, the holey, the wrong sizes, I cut into rectangles (excluding the holey bits) after washing it. I added in a few washed and shrunken merino sweaters, too, to round things out and make the blanket a little bigger.
In all I used six sweaters for the blanket. It went together pretty quickly, and the kids were very excited to help place the pieces. Everyone was already fighting over it before it was even done.
I had planned to lap the edges, but kind of forgot that plan until midway through. Oh well. Next blanket, maybe. I already have some cashmere pieces waiting.
Personally I like all the little weirdnesses of sweater pieces, the rolled edges, the seams and ribbing here and there. And it’s kind of nice to have a “smooth” side and a “wrong side.” I like them both.
For sewing the pieces together, I used (I think) a regular machine needle and upped the stitch length a bit. I had no problems with it. If you want specific instructions for sewing a cashmere sweater blanket, check out Betz White’s book Warm Fuzzies.
Random: love loved this fire and ice birthday party over at elsie marley. Almost makes me want to live in a frozen place again.
Also, has anyone been watching Parade’s End on HBO? I can’t fully follow the storyline, but wow, the clothes are incredible!
And lastly, next week I’ll be introducing you to a friend of mine, artist/ photographer Dawn Hanna. So excited! Her work is drop-dead gorgeous.
Okay, folks. Have a great weekend.
2 Comments on Cashmere Patchwork Blanket, last added: 3/4/2013
Enjoy your blog. I am your moms cousin and got your blog from her. Love your crafts and books. My girls also have websites you might want check out. Kennedys is Explore A World.com. and Sharon’s is Plugged in Parent .com love your second cousin kathi .
Emily Smith Pearce said, on 3/4/2013 6:19:00 PM
Hi Kathi! Thanks for stopping by and looking around. I look forward to reading your daughters’ blogs, too.
I’d been wanting to do this for ages and finally tried it. There are lots of ways it’s been done—-most notably, of course, Japanese furoshiki. And there’s lots of ways I’d like to try making wrapping cloths, but this time, I just made a simple rolled hem on rectangles of fabric. Directions for “cheater” rolled hemming here. Thank you, Pinterest for that great tutorial via Meg of elsiemarley.com.
The Santa and angel fabrics are thrifted linens (already hemmed) from my favorite thrift shop in Hannover, Germany where we lived the last couple of years. And the new green and red stripey fabric is from Joann’s.
To wrap, I just folded the fabric and held it in place with the ribbon. Easy peasy. They wouldn’t hold up to a toddler’s inspection, but they’ll work fine for us.
0 Comments on Cloth Gift Wrap as of 12/23/2012 8:27:00 PM
It is my great pleasure to welcome fellow G.A.P. author, and writing companion in arms,
KATHY STEMKE
Let's give the 4th day of her Book Tour a rousing reception
TROUBLE ON EARTH DAY!
Her charming picture book, which doubles as an activity book, teaches kids how to rethink, reuse and recycle our Earth’s precious resources. Shelby squirrel, the main character, after winning an Earth Day poster contest finds things around the house to re-purpose. When she meets a bluebird in distress on Earth Day, she comes to the rescue. With Earth Day drawing near, join me in celebrating our beautiful Earth with…..
"Trouble on Earth Day
8 Comments on Squirrels That Celebrate EARTH DAY!, last added: 3/29/2012
For over 40 years, Earth Day—April 22—has inspired and mobilized individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. Take small steps to save our earth!
0 Comments on Cynthia's Attic Celebrates Earth Day! as of 1/1/1900
For a mom from a warm climate, learning to dress the kids for northern Germany has been an education. Luckily, my son’s dear kindergarten teacher is more than willing to educate me. You may remember the story about the silk-wool undershirts. In addition to undershirts and of course a jacket, he is expected to wear (until it’s absolutely hot) leggings under his pants, a scarf, mittens, and a hat. Every day, even when it seems a little overkill. Rainpants are a whole other story.
Overdressing is the preferred mode, and with Hannover’s weather as changeable as it is, it does make sense. A common refrain around the kindergarten: “Wo ist deine muetze?” Where is your hat? Meaning: put it on!
This has become so much a part of our morning routine that the other day, when we were in a hurry, my daughter (6) scolded me for not having mittens and a hat for our 3-year-old. “Mommy, what will Frau X say?” she said.
The only problem with all this gear is that it’s hard to keep up with and easy to get lost. I decided to take matters into my own hands and whip up several spring-weight hats from his old t-shirts. These take literally about five minutes to make. Maybe less. This way, if we lose a few hats, it’s no big deal.
There are plenty of more sophisticated hat patterns out there on the web. For these I basically traced a hat he already had which is made from just two pieces shaped like little hills. I stitched them together with a zigzag stitch.
My favorite t-shirts to use are his old pajama tops, since those are not only super-soft but also stretchy.
I had a bit of a dilemma with this one because I wanted to use both the cute little applique at the top and the nice finished hem. So the hat is a little long and funky, but it can scrunched or folded, and really, who cares? He’s three.
Bonus: He’s been proudly showing off his hats and (in German) bragging that his mother made them. I know this kind of pride in mommy-made items probably won’t last, so I’m just going to savor it.
I hadn’t planned to share from this work-in-progress until it was done, but then I was inspired by this post, which challenges bloggers (quilting bloggers in particular) to share more of their process, not just finished projects.
So, here I am, showing you a strip from a large patchwork I’m working on. When I do patchwork, I’m not usually interested in following a traditional pattern or in measuring. Some people call this “liberated quilting.” For me it’s about being able to enjoy the process (I hate measuring) and also something we used to talk about it in art class called “showing the artist’s hand.” In painting this often means that the artist has let the brushstrokes show. I enjoy having my patchwork look handmade at first glance. If you’re familiar with the Gee’s Bend quilts, it’s that kind of aesthetic I’m going for.
I also prefer to work with mostly used or scrap fabrics in my patchwork (I keep saying patchwork rather than quilting because this piece is not actually going to be quilted). I think it’s because historically that’s what quilts were made from, and that thriftiness and ingenuity is part of what attracts me to patchwork in the first place. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a beautiful quilt made from new fabrics—-this is just a rule I give myself (and sometimes break, of course). The history of the fabric creates a story behind the project, and it also provides an extra challenge, kind of like painting a still life using only four tubes of paint.
This patchwork is for my son’s duvet cover, and it’s made from his crib sheets, most of which I hand-dyed, and also from the fabric I used in a failed attempt at making a shopping cart cover. You can see one of his crib sheets in this blog post. There’s also a bit of fabric left from making the curtains in his room.
When I was pregnant with my son, I went snorkeling for the first time and was inspired to create a nursery mural of a very simple school of white fish on a grayish-teal backdrop—blogged here. Now that he’s in a big-boy bed, I wanted to make him a new bedcover with a similar theme. I didn’t want to make literal fish but wanted to keep the feeling of simple white shapes moving over the space. Here’s my sketch for the piece—although I didn’t color it all in so you really can’t tell at this point which parts are going to be white. That part’s in my head. I may or may not follow the sketch entirely.
In addition to the Gee’s Bend quilters, another influence is the work of Malka Dubrawksy, a fiber artist, quilting blogger, and author I admire. Check out her gorgeous work made with fabrics she batiks and dyes herself.
Can’t wait to get some more done so I can show you my progress. Hopefully I’ll finish this before the little man goes to college. And if he doesn’t like it, I’ll hang it on the wall!
As we are busy blaming “BP” for messing up the Gulf of mexico I would suggest a solution for oil barriers along the beautiful beaches there and in fact all along our coastlines. First I will direct you to search floating “debris in the gulf of Mexico”.
There are enough objects floating there that if gathered and strung along the beaches could cover all the coastlines of our country I believe. It is floating so we would not have to buy new floating barriers, all we need is nets, which could be made from shredding more of the junk out in the ocean. “BP” didn’t put it there, it came from the cities along the waterways that feed into the gulf.
Though much of it is oil byproducts washed out from storm drains, a lot came from the “Beautiful” beaches and those “Valuable tourists” that are so afraid of getting a tar ball on their tootsies visited and left behind. They should come back and volunteer to help clean it if they really care!
I also propose instead of dredging sand that will destroy animal habitat we build berms of the garbage that came from those beaches in the first place. It may be ugly, to say the least, but it would do more for the fish and birds in the region that get trapped in it than any other thing I can think of, just cover it with a small portion of sand from the tourist beaches.
The wild life doesn’t want it and it’s only fare that the people that made it take it back and recycle it or something. They need to pay for every bit of the pollution just like “BP”, all of us who let that junk float out to sea should pay for it to be cleaned up!
If an honest look at what is in the ocean was taken “BP” would look like small potatoes or in this case oil byproduct pollution.
0 Comments on Devil’s in the details ! as of 1/1/1900
It starts with a napkin? Okay, let me explain. For years, my husband and I used paper napkins with every meal. Six paper napkins a day doesn't sound like much, but consider this. How does 2,190 paper napkins sound? 25 years worth? 53,750! (Give or take a napkin or two)
That's why we decided to take a small step and switch to cloth napkins. One little gesture and we've eliminated something from the world trash heap. And, if you're wondering, throwing a few small napkins in a weekly load of laundry adds nothing to our utility bills. We've also switched to select-a-size paper towels but use cloth towels for clean-up whenever possible.
We recycle our grass clippings around trees and shrubs instead of filling plastic bags for the town pick up. Much easier on us and it also saves a lot of plastic trash bags! Even better.
We still have a long way to go. It's not easy to give up on conveniences, but, like us, you can start with the small stuff.
I've been doing the cloth napkin thing for awhile, despite the teasing I get from relatives. It's a great solution and you're right, Mary - every little bit helps!
The big picture seems so overwhelming, which is why I started small.
Forgot to mention cloth grocery bags. I'm a fanatic when it comes to that and give people dirty looks at the checkout when they use plastic. Well, I really don't, but I want to!
Great post on an important issue. I try to recycle whatever I can and be more mindful of buying products in larger containers so there isn't too much waste.
However, I noticed a new commercial on TV where they're hawking a fresh paper towel for use in the bathroom rather than the good old tried and true cloth ones. That had me wondering if any of this "green stuff" is getting through to big corporations!
Well, it is a tricky subject. Re-using cloth as kitchen hand towels carry germs. Then there's the water issue, soap, and electricity for cleansing, and paper does biodegrade. You could drive yourself crazy trying to keep up with the most appropriate way to live your life. Personally, I'm a tree person, so I opt for the cloth to save the trees.
Today we are all looking for ways to save money and I love this one. If you have a cat of any age, or especially if you have multiple cats, as I do, you will love this too. Cat toys are expensive but cats and kittens need to be able to entertain themselves so I am offering some tips today on how you can make lots of playthings from things you have around the house.
#1. Make paper mice...fold a sheet of paper in half, and half again (computer paper is perfect).Cut or tear on fold lines into 4 pieces. Roll each quarter sheet of paper into a small tight wad or ball. Hold in the open palm of your hand and with the fingers of your other hand flick it across the room while saying "Get the mouse!" Flicking it is important because it gets the cats excited. Cats love to retrieve things and they love paper mice. (If you see your cat trying to chew up the mouse, take it away and say,"No!".) You will find yourself making a lot of these. Cats and kittens especially love to play with these under chair rungs in the kitchen or dining room.
#2. Save paper towel or toilet tissue tubes...kittens love to pounce and wrestle with things. Be careful not to offer your fingers or toes for this purpose, because kittens have sharp teeth and claws. Cardboard tubes are perfect for wrestling. Rolled up socks are also good wrestling toys. You can also insert a paper mouse inside to make the tube more interesting.
#3. A brown paper grocery bag...can be a wonderful place to hide. Open the bag and stand it up so that you can roll the top down an inch or so making a cuff. When you lay the bag on its side it will help hold it open for play. Toss a paper mouse inside and watch the fun. Kitty will run in and out and bat the mouse around.
#4. Kitty House or Kitty City(drawing at left)...You will need a cardboard box big enough for the cat to move around in. Tape one long flap closed. and one or two short flaps closed. The other long flap can be left loose and used as an awning. (Not shown in drawing) This should leave an opening big enough for the cat/kitten to jump in the box when it is laid on its side. Have an adult carve a door on the opposite side of the box just big enough for the cat to go in and out. The house now has a front door and a back door. Holes a little larger than paw-size can be carved on either end. If you have the space you can put a group of these houses together and watch as your cats go in and out with their toys and have great fu
7 Comments on SAVE YOUR PENNIES - KITTIES PLAY FOR FREE!, last added: 2/2/2010
As an owner of two cats I must agree. But,like children, you find the cats would rather play with the packaging. LOL.
They love it. We have a whole cat city in our family room. We are entertained every morning as we drink our morning coffee. If you rearrange them a bit each day they are excited about the new arrangement and really have a field day.
When I had a cat we made it a wood cat tree. A cheap way (FREE)to get carpet to cover the tree is to visit your local carpet store. Ask for the old carpet squares or remnants. Happy Valentines Day, J. Aday Kennedy The Differently-Abled Children's Author www.jadaykennedy.com
Years ago I had a cat was fascinated watching me use SOS pads to scrub the dirt off of pots. Whenever I wasn't home she would steal and hide the pads - in my bed! When I climbed in my feet would discover the wet things between the sheets.
You are very talented! That is a wonderful suggestion. Often places like wallpaper stores and carpet stores will let you have their samples for free. Great for craft projects.
So with two boys birthdays coming up (and my darling Mum's). I've been thinking a lot about presents and wrappings, Here is an easy recycled gift box - you could paint/stamp/sticker/decorate the outside or use some pretty ribbon. Basically you are turning a box inside-out.
1. Cut off top to size you need. try to open the box at the adhesive to keep the flaps rather than tearing it or cutting it.
Cut new closing flaps at the end of the box you had to cut and angle corners in slights. Mirror the flaps on the bottom of the box.
Fold inward, it is helpful to crease the fold with a bone folder but not completely necessary. Tape up the sides.
Add gift and seal top shut.
2 Comments on Make your own gift box, last added: 1/29/2010
I have been doing well cutting down my carbon footprint in the shopping bag sector. I "remember" to bring my reusable totes and bags by leaving them on the passengers side floor of my car and after a grocery trip, I unload the food, then take them back to the car. So now I'm ready for the next reduce plastic and reusable bag stage - produce bags. I think there are some options out there, but I found an easy DIY way to do it.
What I came up with is lightweight, Easy to sew, fairly sturdy and VERY inexpensive.
Step 1: Cut a piece of tulle into several rectangles, measurements aren't important, but you want a decent size to fit a few oranges for example.
Step 2: The casing for the ribbon or sting to tie the bag closed. On a long side, fold over a 1/2' -1' of fabric and sew down, using a zig zag stitch (I set my stitch width to 2.5).
Step 3: Fold the entire fabric in half (like closing a book), with casing at the top, and casing seam edge outward. Sew down the side and across the bottom of the bag. Sew only to the seam on the casing as not to sew it closed.
Step 4: Turn the bag inside out so raw edges are inside. Thread ribbon into casing I used a large safety pin on one end of the ribbon, tie ribbon edges together outside.
Happy produce shopping, be sure to get in a few last farmer's markets where they last!
3 Comments on Easy Tulle Produce bags, last added: 10/8/2009
Those are awesome. What do you use them for? kids snacks in their lunch boxes? I love the canvas bags for groceries and am, too, looking for ways to reduce the ziplock addiction. I wash mine out and use them at least a dozen times before they fall apart, but every time I throw a piece of one away, I cringe. Thanks for the inspiration!
Jon and I were just talking about the plastic produce bags today while shopping!! We just didn't use any... and I hated not having everything together. I LOVE this idea and I will definately be making some of my very own!! Thanks for sharing!
i have the funniest nephew who loves to find "treasures" everywhere. i don't envy my sister-in-law having to clean out his pockets in the laundry room. while out for dinner last week, he collected straws, cocktail stirrers, tourist's maps and corks. he loves to make "art" with his finds and since they aren't really recycled since they have not yet been used, it's a new kind of project (see "ONE MAN'S TRASH" post below for making a recycle sculpture).
when i found TRASH FOR TEACHING it made me think of him immediately. i know he isn't the only kid who loves this, so here is more info: "Trash for Teaching collects clean and safe cast-off materials from manufacturing processes (that would otherwise become trash) and re-purposes them as educational resources. With those materials we provide a comprehensive arts education program in local school districts."
*but you don't have to be a classroom to benefit. you can order your own box of treasures for T4T by going to their website.
We have been collecting trash for years. We keep this trash (all tiny trash) in a bin in a cupboard. we collect all things tiny (caps, springs, tubes, plastic pieces, lids, corks) As the bin gets full we pull it out and the kids start to build. all of the little trash bits turn into amazing things - a toothpaste cap (a lamp shade) a champange cork (a kitchen stool)a dental floss container (a computer) a shampoo cap (a chandelier) - my daughter built an entire dolls house using shoe boxes and stuff from the bin. She even entered in the LA county fair crafts contest and won first place.
Our bin is never empty. As the kids pull stuff out to make things with, new trash is always filling the bin. One man's trash really is another man's treasure.
We have been having a lot of fun with wristbands - they are so easy and you can make whatever size and style you want - my boys are thinking it is great to be the designers and they like to mix-and-match wristbands depending what superpowers they need at the moment. They can be spotted wearing them at the store, post-office, Grandma's, the park, play dates and it took some bribing to remove them for church.
Here are some of ours (besides the superhero ones in the last post) -
This one makes the wearer invisible - the amazing power of orange stripes:
These are to strengthen my mommy superpower - LOVE of course, ahh shucks! (these are a shorter cuff, with only one TP roll cut in half) There is no good without evil and these are our "venom" version.
And of course Spiderman powers like web-slinging, crawling on the ceiling and spidey-sense, always come in handy. I took these two shots so you could see different angles on the cuff.
Slit the paper roll lengthwise and cut to the length you want.
I found it easiest to use felt to cut out the designs and I glued them all on a felt square measured to fit the paper roll. I used hot glue, for instant play, but felt is great to work with various adhesives.
I added all embellishments and brads to the felt before I attached the felt to the paper roll backing (again with hot glue).
I used four eyelets, two eyelets per side punched through the paper and felt. then I laced it with elastic string and a square knot to allow for easy on/off without having to re-tie.
These are excellent. We regularly decorate tubes with pen, but these look very exciting. Older boy will be pleased to be able to fit his hands in again - elastic, good idea ;-) Thanks :-)
Here is something to do with those grocery store flyers - cut them up and collage, vegetable people are always interesting.
We have been reading The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate Dicamillo (Author), Timothy B. Ering (Illustrator). One the the characters is a soup genie - made of vegetables, so the boys wanted to make their own "soup genies".
3 Comments on You are what you eat - a grocery flyer collage, last added: 7/15/2009
These days recycling is a necessity. We have so much packaging that we are drowning in it. But some of this stuff is really worth saving and reusing..several or MANY times over. This is the ultimate in recycling. From the book" THE ADVENTURES OF CALI" written by Michele Lallouz Fisher that I illustrated, Zachary is smuggling his pet caterpillar (tomato worm) across country on an airplane. He has his "friend" nestled in an airport salad container.
But I was thinking that since I have been saving a lot of packaging lately, all of you must be as well. Here's what I am using primarily for my art and our garden.
For my painting I save the plastic containers from eggs, cookies and other items to use for paint containers, mixing colors and holding water. There is a double sided plastic egg container that I love for my water colors and acrylics. It opens up so that there are 24 "holes" to put paint and the top folds out to become a large mixing tray.
Cardboard egg cartons?... I am saving these for my youngest visitors. They make great stacking toys and can be a "quiet" kind of noise when the buildings get knocked down. I also use them as planters. A seed can go into each egg holder with some dirt ... once it begins to grow I just plant the whole box in the garden. The cardboard dissolves over time and the roots of the new seedlings just go right into the ground. The separations keep the plants from competing with one another too.
I also love to use these light weight egg cartons for the armatures of paper mache sculptures.
Old cereal boxes and laundry detergent boxes can be reinforced and used upright or on the side with one side cut away as book or magazine holders. I cover mine with fabric and tape over that with heavy duty clear packing tape. Works great and keeps my smaller books and study guides in order. Did you know you can make a great little terrarium from a plastic cookie container or cake or pie container. Put a little dirt, some small plants, a bit of water and a few pebbles or rocks into the bottom and then tape the top back on tightly.
I wash and keep all kinds of containers from yogurt, cottage cheese, and mayonaise bottles. The Mayo containers with the snap lid and a hole in it are great for paint projects for kids. Just fill with paint, store and when you need a color just squeeze enough out onto a small plastic lid or other small container you have saved.
Meat trays from large quantity purchases make great storage containers.
My efforts are puny compared to some others. Do you have great ideas for recycled items... that make a difference and might also create art, or give beauty to something or someone?
Post your ideas here...
8 Comments on Recycling can be ~ Contagious..., last added: 5/25/2009
what great ideas, ginger and a very sweet illio! i love all the veggies! my recycling idea...hmmm. oh yes! old sweat socks. when they get holes to big to wear, you use them to polish and dust...great on banisters! "))
I started cutting about magazines and brochures lying around the art department and crafting them into handmade envelopes. That way I can send a letter and a piece of artwork. You can see a few sets in my Etsy shop at http://www.studiomme.etsy.com.
Great illustration Ginger! Love your "kids". And what a terrific and timely idea for this weeks challenge. Love it!!! Always enjoy a trip to Ginger Blogland.
as usual, wonderful illustration and wonderful lesson- I'm grateful for all the tips and tricks you have taught me and here is another one- using the egg cartons for paints- will be using it down at Battlerock teaching the kiddos!
Your image is so timely and your colours are beautiful! I recycle and upcycle so many things like you do. I use candy tins and boxs to make gifts and gift items. I reuse glass jars to make candles. I use the lids of coffee cans as paint palettes when I am doing handwork. All my plastic containers become soaking tubs for my airbrush parts. Love this idea and image and you have been quite prolific this week as I looked at your new posts. Great work :)
A great weight lifted off my shoulders when I listened to the announcement that the United States has finally agreed to a change in direction on global climate agreements.
Born and raised in Germany comes with a completely different outlook on our environment. Growing up, I was taught in school not to litter. We actually had classes on the subject.
I immigrated from Germany to the United States back in 1991, and remember driving down an Interstate when suddenly, a trash-filled bag from a well known fast food chain, came flying out from the car in front of me. I grabbed pencil and paper and wrote down the license plate number. When I later proudly presented the evidence to a policeman I was laughed at. When you toss as much as a cigarette butt in the country I was raised in, you end up with a hefty fine.
Throughout the years I've made extra efforts to stop some abuse against Mother Earth. I remember a friend asking me to assist him changing the oil and filter on his automobile. When all was finished, my friend carried a plastic bowl with five quarts of used motor oil to his bathroom.
No way! I thought, as he was about to unload the substance into his toilet. I explained to him that one drop of oil renders a bathtub full of drinking water useless, and I volunteered to take the used oil to the local parts store for recycling. Do the math; if my education changed how this person recycled his used motor oil, I saved many bathtubs worth of drinking water.
I'm grateful for the new policy concerning our environment and for a new, more global geared administration. I must say however, an educational process must be in place along with the changes. I'm not sure how it's asked that we protect the earth, when it seems some people can't take care of their problems at home. Animals build soft nests, why can’t we!
Mary, You're absolutely correct, but it makes me mad when I see how some have no regards whatsoever. Thanks for stopping by Regan and Marlis. I hope others will make it here as the sun goes down.
Are you part of the Green Generation? I’ve been a member since the day I was born. You guessed it, because I’m a green worm!
Oh, but I’m part of the Green Generation in other ways, too. I conserve energy and recycle. Plant trees and pick up litter. I bet you do whatever you can to keep our beautiful world healthy, too.
And how fun to have a special day set aside to remind us of all we can do to “green up” America. Every little thing makes a BIG difference.
The website EarthDay.nethas a lot of “green” tips for students like you and me. Here are just a few things we can all do at school:
Flip the Switch! • Make signs or stickers as reminders to turn off lights in classrooms or other spaces when they are not in use. • Request that energy saving light bulbs be used.
The Hot & Cold of It! • Ask that room doors be closed to trap heat during winter months. • Report windows that leak air.
Monitor Monitors! • Check that computers are turned off at the end of each day. • When not in use, set computers to “sleep mode.”
Recycle! • Start a school recycling program. • Conserve paper by using both sides.
Won’t you write in and tell us what special things you did on Earth Day? Do you have a “green” idea not mentioned here? Let us know!
What a great blog! It's so important to conserve and protect our environment! I'm know that I'm known as the 'Recycle Queen'. Another great idea to help the environment that I do is to use recyclable batteries. I've had my current set of rechargeable batteries for at least a year and a half, and they're still going strong!!
our new first-lady-to-be is a girl after my own heart. she's a mom of two, supports her busy husband, has understated style and wants everyone to give back. come on, we're 2 peas in a pod!
this monday, january 19th is DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR day and MICHELLE OBAMA'S day to "call to service" the entire country.
the m.o. for M.O. is to get everyone to do ANY kind of community service on monday, (which is also a school holiday, so we'll be looking for things to do). the idea is to "renew america together, one community at a time. it will take ordinary citizens working together with a common purpose to get this country back on track. this national day of service is an important first step in our continuing commitment."
this is an exciting project and one i hope you will consider doing with your families. to find local activities and to learn more about this national day of service, check out the website:
if you can't find anything that speaks to you, please browse the acme sharing archives with over 70 ideas for community service projects to do with your kids.
***extra credit - i would LOVE to hear from you. please let me know how you spent the day, how it affected your kids and what did or didn't work in teaching them the most important aspect of humanity: SHARING.
now that our kids have so much "bright new shiny" with which to play, what better time to clean out the "dark old dull" ?
it is SO hard for most kids (mine especially) to part with even the smallest bit of broken lego. now, with all the new holiday loot, finding an organized place is a real chore. help them clean out the toys, books and even winter clothes that they barely notice hanging around.
make piles of (or use colored post-its) for;
MAYBE KEEP, GIVE AWAY and TRASH.
it will be hard to get them excited about the "give away" pile, but once you put on some music, eat some leftover xmas cookies or channukah gelt, they might get into the groove.
OR
you can tell them that for every new item they got, they need to give one away.
the lesson: abundance is the road to ungratefulness ? (ok, i think i just made that up, but it seems right, doesn't it?). plus, talk to your families about how lucky we are to get new things while explaining that not all families have the same luxuries or something like that, only more eloquent. then go back to the MAYBE KEEP pile and start again.
***added bonus: more organization means less likely chance of stepping on an errant action figure with bare feet - youch!
now you can thank your kids for, not only appreciating the things they have and keeping their toys organized, BUT MOSTLY for making a difference in another child's day.
About This Painting: This little guy thinks that recycling an old boot into a doggy toy is a wonderful idea. A terrific example of how to reduce clutter. Just make sure you don't recycle something someone is still using or you could end up in the dog house!
10% of this sale will go to support the good works of True Blue Animal Rescue in Texas.
Media: Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas Size: 10 in X 8 in (25.4 cm X 20.3 cm)
as the end of summer arrives, there is no shortage of sunshine (thanks in part to global warming) and although we are still clinging desperately to our sunglasses, this is an easy activity.
lenscrafters has a program called GIVE THE GIFT OF SIGHT. if you drop off any reading or sunglasses to a local lenscrafters, they will use them to make a new pair of glasses for someone who otherwise couldn't afford some. so far, they have been able to help 6 million people see the world more clearly.
this is a great project for a DRIVE. get your kids to solicite glasses from friends and neighbors or even put up flyers at camp, school, church, temple, gymnastics class - whatever. there is so much power in a drive. i love a drive. i love the idea of the kids getting glasses (or whatever item your drive is about) and filling up a box. the pride they feel when they have so much more than they hoped for. the idea that a community can come together with SUCH LITTLE EFFORT and make a real difference. jeez, can you tell i am a fan of a DRIVE?
the lesson: talking to your kids about what it would be like to not see clearly and how that would effect your life. not be able to afford the medical care you need. not be able to participate in life the way you want. how difficult all of those things would be and how if we CAN help, why WOULDN'T we help?
0 Comments on For (four) Eyes as of 8/27/2008 1:17:00 PM
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Today is best called “Boys Day.” Girls can enjoy these interesting activity books, as I did, but it is mostly boys who receive these books. Little boys will love bringing down a building, bridge, and sports arena with dynamite. In the process, the book gives your child, or you, the chance read with unabashed enthusiasm, “Boom, Kah-Pow, and Kaboom,” when your young child makes rubble out of the structure on the spread.
Yep, that car is a goner and it is up to the reader to pick up the car with a forklift and dump it into the crusher. That red sports car will soon become a square of steel. I am not sure where the plastic goes (my car is practically all plastic). Never mind that, here comes car number two. This car is ratty, but the engine looks pretty good. Let’s save that engine. Pull it up and out of the car. And the tires, too. We are going to salvage everything possible. Reuse is the motto!
Maybe plastic cars are shredded. Those tires shredded. So open up Shred It! One of those tires from that car has a hole in it. Go ahead, shred pick it up and all the other bad tires with your forklift. Drive over and dump those bad tires into the shredder. “Thunk, thunk!” Listen as the rubber is pulverized, “Whirl! Crunch!” Look out, here comes the pieces of rubber ready to be made into all sorts of things. The mat you mom stands on in the kitchen, or the mat she makes you wipe your feet on before coming in the house, is most likely recycled rubber tire. How, cool! You’re not done yet.
It is time to Knock It Down! There is a building you can knock down. That big steel ball is called a wrecking ball. When you swings it into the building you will wreck it. Slide the tab and make that ball ram into the building. “Whack!” Pieces are falling, so watch your head. Get that yellow construction hat on, if you got one, or use your bike helmet. Pull the next tab down and whack the lower part of the building with a loader, pulling down what remains.
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0 Comments on Simple Kid’s Hat from T-Shirt as of 1/1/1900
I think blogging may actually help me finish things—definitely the encouragement is great.
Spaghetti! I agree. Pretty. though. I know you’ll make it work.
Thanks, Joyce!