Ears... and tears

Yves Velter, Sussurro, 2011, Watou



Little H. had her ears pierced today. I still remember how bad I felt when we finally agreed on big girl M. having her ears pierced. What kind of a mom was I to let someone make holes in her perfect little earlobes! But I also remember how happy she'd been and how she would keep on looking in the mirror, feeling big, proud, happy.



Big girl M. was seven, back then - little H. just turned 8 last month. So telling her she was still too young for it no longer worked. She'd been asking about it, on and off, for quite a while, but we managed to keep it off - until now, that is. Since she seemed really serious about it this time, we decided to just go ahead - just get it over with - before school and sports activities - swimming! - start again.



So, today was the big day. And all went well



- eventually!



For a moment it looked like she'd go home with just one ear pierced, and a tiny black dot on the other, totally in shock as she was about how painful it was. I sort of expected that to happen, my own experience as a kid in mind, but had given her the benefit of the doubt. I had my ears done at age 11 at a fair, and the store keeper saw his sales figures plummet considerably that afternoon, thanks to all the noise I made. Unmistakeably, little H. takes after her mom...  It took us a lot of effort, pep talk and even more to convince her to do the other ear as well, the poor little thing. And she did - eventually.

And as it goes, half an hour later she just felt big and proud and happy with her little lady bug earrings... She forgot about the tears: she had her ears pierced! (No) big deal!

Action Pack: Issue 5 {Chalk & Cheese}

One of the posts I really wanted to have up on my blog sooner, but which didn't make it due to an impossibly slow internet connection was the announcement of the latest issue of Action Pack, the online kids magazine by the amazing Kathreen Ricketson (Yes! Kathreen's also the person behind Whip Up and the Crafternoon books).

Action Pack Issue 5 is all about chalk and cheese, with lots of fun projects kids can do themselves, recipes , crafts, and fun facts ... You can buy your very own Action Pack here , as well as order back issues.

And when you scroll down to page 22-23 in the latest issue, you'll find a project my girls and I put together - we had the hardest time getting everything photographed in between rain showers, but we made it and it was lots of fun!!

So, make sure to check out the Action Packs  - you won't be disappointed, nor will your kids!!



Cheers!

xo, P.

Reconnected

It may have looked like I disappeared from this planet, however, my absence here is mainly due to a very bad internet connection while on vacation. I packed everything: laptop, camera, loaders,... I even had a story or two to tell.

Things didn't work out the way I intended, but the good thing is that I'm well rested now!



The girls have one more week of vacation and then it's back to school time,

back to the usual routine,

back to our usual busy lives...

Herringbone

Wet and grey, this summer feels more like autumn.

It made me pick up the knitting needles.

It's supposed to become a herringbone collar scarf like this one, unless summer makes its appearance after all.



Work in progress: summer or scarf...

Echafaudage

or scaffolding: a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. (Wikipedia)

And they make a great subject for the abstract or not so abstract photograph...

Kids' Crafternoon Blog Tour!

This is a very special post to me and I'm really excited about it.
Excited as in EXCITED, that is!

About a year ago I was contacted by Kathreen Ricketson, from Whip Up - if I'd be interested in contributing to a series of craft books for children? YES! Absolutely!

Well, this week the first two books in a series of four, all of them compiled and edited by Kathreen Ricketson, arrived in the mail: Kids' Crafternoon Papercraft and Kids' Crafternoon Sewing. There was a lot of oohing and aahing going on, I can tell you, when I opened the package and sat down with my girls to take a first look! And not just because mommy got a project in one of them (which made them very proud, by the way)! They went like 'I want to make this! And I want to make that!'

The books aim at children aged 7-12, but to be honest I think the books appeal to any age. Each book contains 25 really cool - and relevant - projects by contributors from all over the planet. The format is great (spiral bound), the photography and presentation of the projects outstanding, the instructions are clear and all the templates needed are made available in a nice pocket in the front-cover. This is a must-have book for the young (and not-so-young) crafter.

As a matter of fact we couldn't wait to get started. M. immediately fell for the Pocket Cushion (p.94) by Sharon Baldwin. Good thing I didn't throw out our old jeans when we moved a little while ago but kept them in a big box in the back of my closet. They saved our day...

So, here is the result of our first project from the book! Cute isn't it?! Everything's kept handy in those pockets and she uses the pillow as a book rest while reading, seated in her favorite sofa.
I think I want one, too!





And now, little H. can't wait to make the paper kite (p.32, Kids' Crafternoon Papercraft) by Rob Shugg...

For more details about the Crafternoon books head over to the Hardie Grant site, here and here.
Or check out one of the blogs participating to the Crafternoon Blog Tour.

1. 22 July Poppytalk
2. 23 July Picklebums
3. 24 July Little Eco Footprints
4. 25 July Beaspoke quilts
5. 26 July Maya Made
6. 27 July Checkout girl
7. 28 July The red thread
8. 29 July We Wilsons
9. 30 July Maggie Makes
10. 31 July Mmm Crafts
11. 1 August Domesticali
12. 2 August Floating Ink
13. 3 August Elizabeth Abernathy
14. 4 August Mommy Coddle
15. 5 August The Long Thread
16. 6 August Hannah Fletcher
17. 7 August Between the lines
18. 8 August Go Make Me

DIY earband

What to do when it turns out the - I'm sure very effective - Aqua Earband received from the doctor isn't the right size and your child want's to take a little swim in the outdoor pool? Fake one! 

We were given an Aqua Earband by our doctor to keep M.'s ear plugs securely into place, which she needs to wear after having had tubes placed in both her ears. Unfortunately, when we finally ended up at the pool, the band didn't fit (too small). I could see her disappointment, so I had to come up with something really quick. Turned out I had packed my incredibly sexy bathing cap (which you need to wear in French public pools and which are incredibly uncomfortable because they come in one-size fits all and make me feel like my skull will pop off any minute whenever I wear it, which is only when I'm at the pool, let this be clear!). With a mighty snip from the incredibly dull scissors found in our first aid kit, I fixed her a fancy homemade ear band which also happened to fit.

So, in case you'd like to replicate, this is how it goes:

1. Take a silicone bathing cap.
2. Take a pair of scissors.
3. Cut off the top part of said bathing cap.
4. If your child likes to wear a pony tail or braid for swimming cut away a small triangle at the top of the back part of the ear band. This will make sure the band will stay into place and won't start pulling (extensively tested!). Et voila! C'est tout!

A week in pictures...

We got back last Sunday from a short trip in the Lot department, or le Quercy as they also call this part of France. We went back to the same region as last year because we loved it so much back then and that feeling hasn't changed. It's a beautiful region - quaint, lush, a bit dramatic, too, on a cloudy day (and we had more than a few of those, unfortunately). This year, we stayed at the lovely Domaine Lapèze in Montcuq, a 200 year old farm turned into gite and run by Caroline and Knud Kristoffersen where we had a very nice, little cottage at our disposal. The view from the domaine, which is located on a hill, was simply stunning, with its sunflower fields, plum orchards, vineyards, and little winding roads, the Montcuq tower... The girls fell in love with the owners' two dogs, three horses, and two cats living on the premises, and the - very loud at some times - donkey a bit further down the road. The weather wasn't great - the sun was a no-show until the second part of the week - but we've enjoyed every minute of our little break...
Our week in pictures...


the stunning view from our cottage







I fell in love with these delicate queen anne's lace (thanks, Ana!) - did you see the cute little red heart?!


apples for the horses...


This young lady turned 8 during our stay!





The girls' creativity at its best - they made a very nice summer garland with plenty of summer goodness found around the yard...



... we called him the asthmatic donkey because of the weird noise he made - the girls were convinced he felt lonely which made them sad so they would bring him carrots and apples too


Montcuq market on Sunday morning





Undoubtedly, the most adventurous part of our stay - it took us forever to get to the Accro-Liane site in Figeac (thanks to our ever-outperforming GPS), but it sure was worth the long ride...