Make a Muppet Face (tutorial)

This isn't really a formal tutorial.  It's more of an easy play idea I wanted to pass on.

I took my 3.5 yr old to see THE MUPPETS when it came out and he really enjoyed it. (although probably not as much as I did)  He is already a big Sesame Street fan.  I have always loved the Muppets because they are all shapes and sizes.  There isn't really ethnicity about them. They are all different shapes and sizes and colors. It's wonderful!  I love their diversity. 


I thought it would be a fun activity for my son to mix and match his own Muppet faces.  I cut up a cardboard box and covered some square pieces with black felt using a glue gun. I then cut out 4-5 typical Muppet face shapes and glued them onto the boards.  I then covered one large piece of cardboard with black felt that would be the holder for all of the features.  Finally, I cut out an array of Muppet features.  Eyes. Noses.  Hair.  Eyebrows. Glasses. Anything I could think of.  I ended up drawing the mouths onto the faces.  I may make some interchangeable mouths in the future.

Here are some sample faces he came up with:

I based this one on Bert but he has endless options:

I have been pleasantly surprised at how occupied this activity keeps my son.  He really enjoys making the faces although he seems really concerned about making them look exactly like his Sesame Street friends.  The best part is that you can make this using materials you most likely already have on hand.  The possibilities are endless!

Team Ashley Auction

I have mentioned Lil Blue Boo many times on my blog.  I absolutely love Ashley. She makes me laugh every single time I read her blog.  Ashley is fighting a very difficult and invasive kind of cancer right now. The amazing thing about her is that she maintains her sense of humor and hope and works very hard to help the people around her. Every time I get a case of the "woe is mes," I head over to Ashley's blog to remind myself how good I have it and how blessed I am. If I had an ounce of Ashley's hope, joy and sense of humor, I would be a very lucky woman indeed.

Some of Ashley's friends will be putting on an auction to help raise money to cover Ashey's medical bills.  In spite of the profound and difficult treatments she is going through, Ashley has fought to keep her online store open not only to earn money but also to keep her employees employed in jobs they so greatly need. A little extra money would take some of the pressure off so she can focus on healing.

I have gotten so much out of Ashley's story, creative inspiration and daily dose of humor that I want to give back.

Read more about her story and the auction here.  I'll be there.  How about you?

GIVEAWAY

I'm giving away a new edition of the KAMA SUTRA (just in time for Valentine's Day!) on my book blog.  If you thought this was a dirty book filled with erotica....think again.  The KAMA SUTRA is an often humorous historical work that looks at right and proper conduct in love and relationships.

Find information on the giveaway here.

(This book is text only.)

Create Club

(I chose the chicks because Petaluma is known for its chickens)

Some of my friends are naturally crafty. My friend Monique does everything from mixed media to knitting. My friend Danielle is a wonderful quilter.  My friend Kim is also a very talented multi-crafter. 

Some of my friends come VERY reluctantly to the worktable.

I believe that everyone needs time to do something creative.  It can be extremely freeing and relaxing. 

So, I decided to reinstitute our crafty get-togethers here in Petaluma. 

Our first meeting of the newly minted CREATE CLUB will happen this weekend.  I work in a library and we often have to discard and recycle books that are too beat up or out of date. I have been fishing some of the older hardcover ones out of the bin in order to repurpose them as journals.  So, this weekend we will be pulling apart old dusty books in order to turn them into new lovely journals.  The perfect craft to kick off the new year, don't you think?

Check back here for photos after the weekend!

Poster Girl

 

It's coming back!!!  Don't you want to come to Sonoma County this Fall and get your craft on?

Registration opens soon!   Go here for details.

Life Chronicles and a Secret

I have been addicted to journal-making lately.  In Jeanne Oliver's course that I have been taking, the first week focused on making journals from everything from vintage books to catalogs.  I haven't made any yet but I am going to. 

In the Brave Girls Club classes, you always make some type of book or journal. I have about four now in various states of completion.

I have a weekly Life Journal we are working on in Stephanie Ackerman's class where we get weekly prompts to work on.

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT encouraged me to write something down every day. I think I often feel I have to write down grandiose thoughts on each day and this prevents me from doing anything at all. I grabbed an inexpensive journal at Michael's recently and have made it a point to jot down a few sentences every day. I don't beat myself up if I miss a day or two. I try to pick out a few interesting things about the day or somethign funny Noodlebug said or did.

Journals everywhere!!!
I think this new obsession is growing out of my new biggest fear.



(deep breath)



Every since Noodlebug was born three and a half years ago, I have developed a fear of dying.  I need to be clear right now. I am not afraid of death in and of itself.  First of all, I am a Christian. (a Lutheran if that matters)  We are promised eternal life in Christ.  And I'm betting all my chips on that being true.  I hope and pray to be reunited someday with loved ones that have gone before me.   And even if I am wrong, I don't remember my life before I was born so I don't think there is much to fear about passing to the other side.

What I am afraid of is leaving behind my loved ones.  I am most afraid of something happening to me before Noodlebug is grown. I want my child to grow up with a mother.  There are things that only I can give him.

Lately, inspiring women with cancer have been crossing my path.  Especially Ashley of Lil Blue Boo who makes me laugh every single day when I read her blog and reminds me (again!!!) not to take anything in my life for granted. And to "choose joy" every single day.   I also watched this video today which got me thinking about a lot of things in my spiritual life. God is definitely trying to get my attention.

I think part of my fascination with journals lately has been a deep-seated need to chronicle who I am.  You never know when your time is up. It could be tomorrow. It could be 20 years from now.  I would like to leave these journals for my loved ones so that they have a record of who I was and what I believed. 

Hopefully, they won't need them for about fifty years or so. But they will be there.  Just in case.

Bad Blogger and January Goals

I am so behind with my blogging! I think it is because I am currently taking three online classes.  It's hard to keep up.  Since I listen to the videos on my breaks at work, I have to wait and get home to my art supplies before actually starting any of the projects. Then, I walk into my workroom, look at the boxes piled up around the room, and turn around and walk back out.  I'm so behind!!!

I am looking forward to my Valentine-making class at Paper Source next week. Maybe I'll get some inspiration there and I will actually have a photo or two to post! 

As for my three classes, I am loving them all. Stephanie Ackerman's class is easy to keep up with and fun to do.  Jeanne Oliver's class is filled with instruction on mixed-media technique. I'm learning on a lot but I'm not sure I'm ready to invest in all those materials. I'm loving Brave Girls Club BODY RESTORATION class.  Really fun so far.

For the month of January, I set myself a few goals based on the classes I'm taking and the HAPPINESS PROJECT book.  January is my "Boosting Energy and Body Care" month.   Here are my goals for this month:

1. Get more exercise. At least three times a week in the gym.  (So far, I'm doing pretty well with this)

2. Get organized.  (not doing very well in this department but I am donating and selling lots of stuff!)

3. Get plenty of sleep.  Don't stay up and watch tv when you don't really care about the show.  (working on this one)

4. Drink more water.  (check!!!)

5. Make better food choices. (no comment)

6. Take daily vitamin. (hit or miss)

7. Floss teeth daily. (doing better with this one!)

8. Wear sunscreen every day. (check!!!)

A lot to work on but so far so good!

Too soon?

I have Valentine's Day on the brain.  My sweet friend Kim and I are going to go to a Valentine-making class at Paper Source in a few weeks and I can't wait!!!

I always try to do cute gifts and treats for Noodle to give to his classmates. I am the only parent who do this.  No one else have ever given out gifts at Christmas or Valentines or anything else. That kind of surprises me but we are only in preschool.

Anyway, I have decided to use this adorable tutorial from Crap I've Made:

(image source)

She includes a free printable that you can customize in Picnik. Perfect for a busy work-outside-the-home mom!!!

What will you be doing for Valentine's Day?

What's in Store for 2012

I have decided to make 2012 my life work year!  I am kicking off the year with three different online classes:

1. Brave Girls Club BODY RESTORATION

2. Jeanne Oliver's CREATIVELY MADE  (four weeks....$48)

3. Stephanie Ackerman's SCRAPBOOK LIFE JOURNAL class  (12 months...$40.24...signups open until Jan. 31)

I have already started Stephanie's class and I am loving it.  You don't need many supplies.  In fact, Stephanie encourages you to use what you have!  You get weekly e-mails with journaling prompts along with fun things like monthly doodles to color. Very easy to keep up with.  Plus, she works from a Christian perspective which helps with my faith work.

My friend Genevieve also gave me THE HAPPINESS PROJECT for Christmas and I am enjoying that as well. I am employing many of Gretchen Rubin's ideas in my Scrapbook Life Journal.  

It's time to get control of my life and figure out what really makes me happy and how to be a better wife, mother and daughter.
 
Here we go!!!

Awesome

Most of you know that I am a huge fan of Brave Girls Club.  I have taken three online classes with them and I am about to start their new Body Restoration class. Every year, they put together a video of Awesome Things.  It is so fun to watch and be reminded of all the wonderful things in our lives. Take a moment and watch it and you may recognize a familiar face at 48 seconds.