Christmas in the Making

We've begun to trim the tree, a few ornaments at a time. With a little guy determined to walk before Christmas and a climber-extraordinaire eager to get her hands on anything we place in the tree's branches, we've decided to go simple with the ornaments this year. Think paper. Paper and other extremely light objects that won't shatter or knock anyone out on their way back to earth.



We got the idea for these ornaments from a picture in Pottery Barn Kids. Then, I found this craft tutorial, which taught us how to fold the paper. Several folds (and playful designs by the ornament artist) later, and we had a handful of ornaments to hang.

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A few notes: Ours came undone in several places and had to be retaped a bit. We used cardstock and double-stick tape to make the ornaments. I think they would have stayed a bit better with some paper that wasn't quite so stiff or some stronger tape. To fix ours, I'm just going to use a bit more tape tucked over the tops of the folds.

Paper Pushers

My parents gave me an Origami Page-A-Day calendar by Margaret Van Sicklen for Christmas - the perfect accessory for a creative mama's desk, but apparently, an even more perfect gift for my crafty three-year-old whose daily attempts to swipe it prompted its removal from the desk to higher (ahem, safer) ground. The swipe attempts turned to daily inquiries as to its whereabouts and if we could get it out.




Today, we did just that. We pulled down the calendar and grabbed a stack of origami books. Audrey had already been introduced to origami through one of her favorite books, Lissy's Friends by Grace Lin, a sweet story about a girl who takes comfort in the origami friends she creates when she has trouble meeting friends at her new school (you can see just the corner of it in the top of the first picture). After what might have been our six hundredth reading of Lissy's Friends, along with reading a couple other origami-inspired picture books we found at the library, we pulled out our bone folder and got down to some serious creasing.

With the exception of a few origami facts thrown into the mix, each day of the Origami One-A-Day calendar features instructions to make a paper animal or object. The calendar is made of beautifully printed origami paper. The instructions appear on the front of each calendar entry while the backs are nice patterned prints. Essentially, you use the backside of yesterday's discarded paper to make today's object or animal. Not ones to burden ourselves with dates, we skipped straight to the handy index to pick our projects. First, I chose the Kimono Heart. It looked simple and sweet (notice the green in the photo above creates a heart shape with pieces that cross each other like the sides of a kimono, hence the name).

Masters of the Kimono Heart, and Audrey sold on this new art form (especially her new found power tool, I mean, bone folder), we decided to try our luck at another. I asked if Audrey wanted to make an animal like Lissy (all of Lissy's origami friends being animals). I had in mind a crane or a dove, thinking that these might be simpler since they seem to be the equivalent of an origami cliche. So, it should come to no surprise that Audrey answered without hesitation (and in no uncertain terms), "Yes. An elephant."

For my part, I was able to morph the "Oh my," forming in the back of my throat to "Let me see what I can find," before it hit open air. Luckily, the index had four elephants to choose from, and the cute little guy you see above was the second one we found. We made this one out of excess card stock. He looks a little like a dog with an accordion snout. Hmm...there's a breed you don't see everyday.

Let the Party Commence

After several stamping and coloring sessions (intent on keeping little fingers busy),



and a demonstration on double-fisted drawing,

this weekend I finished Audrey's birthday invitations. We tend to keep our parties simple, family and a few friends (we aim for not more than one same-age friend for each year of the age she's turning, so 3 this year) at home. Still, I find myself a bit preoccupied with birthday-buzz each October as I try to think of creative ways to ring in the beginning of a new year of Audrey adventures and celebrate this vibrant little one who has made each day since her arrival a day to celebrate.

Let the circus, I mean, party planning begin.

Easter on Its Way

We have been in Easter production mode this week. Easter season, like so many things this year (the first buds of Spring, our dog's annual round of shots, Preschool Registration!!!) has come steadily upon us in plain sight, and yet, taken me completely by surprise. My fingers can't move fast enough, the day doesn't move slow enough, and the laundry and clutter seem to magically be reproducing themselves.




Ironically, even as I adopt the mantra "less than one week, less than one week," it is the work - finding a quiet half hour in the morning to sew and use the washing machine as a quick-to-reach makeshift ironing board (not advised in the owner's manual, I'm sure) or cutting out pieces of paper to assemble Easter cards one-by-one - that allows me a moment to stop, to rest, to rewrite that mantra.





Luckily, my little one is happy to help this week, busying herself with her own artwork and even sleeping in an extra twenty minutes this morning. Even so, there is no guarantee that the gifts with be finished on time, or the cards written in by Easter (and, I'm sure that the next holiday will come on looking like a slow-moving steam engine from afar until it barrels by me, knocking the wind out of me again); but for now I am convincing myself that the best gifts are the late ones that extend the celebration just a little longer and I'm putting gifts on hold to go use the washing machine, you know, for it's intended purpose.