Crafty Kids & Cheese Wax

For a snack I set out a bowl of cherries and some of those little cheeses that come wrapped in red wax. About 1/2 hour later when I passed through the kitchen I was surprised to see that my daughter had made a slew of these tiny wax figures. I was shocked that they were not only adorable, but they are TINY. Creativity just pours out of children as easily as their tears. I remember being like that too, as a child. What happened? Four years of art school happened followed by a couple of artistic careers. I learned the “rules” of art, but lost the passion and spontaneous fun of it. Since leaving my career and spending so much time with children I find those rules are loosening up. I have been slowly regaining a love of making things, but I still have a long way to go. As for my children, I try very hard not inflict my mold on them. Which is difficult for someone who has such strong opinions of what is good.

I put a kernel of corn there to show you how small these guys are. She used the stems from the cherries to make these little plants and the snow people's arms. I love them.

The snow baby is half the size of the corn kernel! It's crazy, I would have just thrown the wax away. She made the base out of a game chip and a bottle top. We adults would call this recycled or repurposed because we need reasons for doing this, right? But children just do it.

Just Peachy

We went peach picking and I thought I would have plenty of peaches left over from our initial feasting to make some ginger/peach jam, but we ate them all. There were a lot of peaches too, but they are all gone.

What did I do with all those peaches? Most we just ate as they were. I did manage a few peachy dishes though. Here are a couple of really good ones.

Chilled Fruit Soup

I had this at a restaurant in Mystic, Conn. a few weeks ago and loved it. I have craved it ever since. I think this is why I wanted to go peach picking in the first place, to get really fresh peaches for this soup.

Chicken with Peaches

This one was my own invention. I cooked it with Vidalia Onions and wrapped it up in warm tortillas with sharp white cheddar. A really tasty concoction.

Educating Souls

As summer winds down my thoughts turn to the coming homeschool season. This is the time I finalize my ideas and collect whatever books and resources that will most benefit my family. What I am realizing more and more is that my task is not to educate minds only, but souls. Whether you school or homeschool, you will agree that academics take a back seat to the more important thing- the relationships we have with our children. You can always catch up with your studies, but mending a bruised parent/child relationship is not easy or simple. This year as we learn all we can about this amazing world, I will be ever mindful to allow them to grow in the way that they should grow, not in the way that suits me. I will come alongside them in their struggles and not crush their spirits.

Having just read Hilda Van Stockum’s ‘Canadian Summer’ to the girls I am drawn to this quote. I am making it my own:

When asked if she has any special wish for her children the mother replied “Yes I do. I want you to become men and women who are easily  moved by God’s inspiration. I think there is nothing more beautiful in the world than a soul who is sensitive to the language of God, whether He speaks in nature or in art, or through people, or whispers directly into our hearts. I think we are happy and alive just so much as our ears are open to His voice and our eyes to His handiwork. That is what I wish for you and that alone. Then I know you will choose the right way of life for yourselves.”

As I endeavor to teach my children I will revisit this post again and again, to refocus on what is truly important.

To see last year’s Back to School post click here.

Too Old Lady?

While out sifting through some clearance fabrics I spotted this floral. The unusual color combination is the dull blue of blueberries and a very warm yellow. I said “Is this too ‘old lady’?”. “Too Old Lady!?”, my friends said incredulously. The looks on their faces told me that there in no such thing in their eyes. It’s a good thing for me that I happened to be with two people who agree that grandma’s florals are to be coveted, or I wouldn’t have my favorite summer tablecloth now. Thank you ladies.

hot days...cold food

While on the phone with my dear friend who lives on the other coast she said, “Hey! What’s going on with your blog? I want to know what you’re cooking.”  Cooking...ugh.The weather has been consistently hot and humid here in NY. Who wants to stand over a hot stove? You can forget about using the oven until September. One of my favorite summer things to make are these cold wraps. Raw vegetables, lettuce, cold chicken, herbs and thin mung bean noodles. The beauty of this noodle is that you don’t have to cook them. Just soak in warm water for 20 minutes.

This time the toppings were salted cashews, mango and peanut sauce.

All wrapped up in a rice spring roll wrapper. Again, you don’t cook these wrappers, just soak in warm water a couple of minutes to soften. I buy my noodles and rice wrappers at an Asian grocery store but some health food stores carry them. Of course you can get everything online. 

Curtain to Cover-up

I used a thrifted curtain to make this cover-up for the beach. I really like the combination of orange and pink. I also like red and pink together. The curtain was made up of panels of very sheer Indian cotton with lines of pink square sequins. This is a glamourous change from my usual bathing suit cover-up...an old towel. I lined the top for stability and a better fit. 

Mad Alice & White Rabbit Alice

Yes, more Alice in Wonderland dolls! I can’t resist a chance to get involved where Alice is concerned. Here are two new Alice dolls I made for the

Art Dolls Only Wonderland Blog Event.

I call this doll ‘Mad Alice’ because while I was sewing up the dress my six year old said “That doesn’t look like Alice, it looks more like The Mad Hatter”.  So I said, “all right, I’ll make Mad Alice”. I painted her eyes up to look mad (as in angry). My original inspiration was Alice Liddell, the “real” Alice, the girl that Lewis Carroll wrote his Wonderland stories for. She wore ruffled Victorian dresses and always had a somber face in the photographs that Carroll took of her. Blue hair just seemed to fit the mood.

There she goes showing off her stripy bloomers, very inappropriate!

This one I call “Alice the White Rabbit”.

 If Alice can shrink and grow, playing cards and cats can turn into queens, isn’t it also possible that Alice can become the white rabbit? Remember, it’s a dream after all. 
Here she is just starting to change, still mostly girl but her hair and face are on their way to becoming bunny.

I also made a White Rabbit toy for Alice.

Fabric covered with white rabbits was the obvious choice for her dress. She has lace trimmed bloomers and painted on black mary janes.


Last year I made a "Growing Alice" doll and a Queen of Hearts doll for the Go Ask Alice Doll and Plush Show. If you would like to see them they are HERE on my Flickr.