Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Nutcracker Crafts

Nutcracker time is swiftly approaching...and much crafting is going on!

Here is a little something that I put together for some headpieces...

I used these in combination with some silk flowers to make headpieces for our Spanish Chocolate dancers (they have red velour/velvet dresses with black accents and scarves and  this orangey/red should be a great accent!) - but I think they would be cute alone to pin on a scarf or hat or even your purse or jacket collar.

To make them yourself gather two types of fabric - I used a shear one and a shiny one with sparkles.

I noticed that you can't see the sparklies in these pics, but they are there!

 First I cut the fabric into strips about 3" wide...




and then I cut squiggly circles from the strips.  (Well, they kind of look like squiggly squares don't they?)

I used six circles of each fabric for each flower.

I folded each circle in half....


 and in half again - so that a sort of triangle is created...


now you just string them all onto a needle and thread alternating the fabrics.

Scrunch them all close together and you are going to secure them by taking your needle back through the first one that you put on.

Pull your thread tight and turn your flower over and adjust the petals by pulling them here and there so they make a pretty arrangement...

Now flip the flower back over and secure with a few knots...

Can you see my pumpkin seed snack back there?  Madison made the best pumpkins seeds this year - and she doesn't even like them!
I like to put a little Fray Check on my knots to make sure they stay secure...and I also flipped the flower back over and put Fray Check along the edges of the petals to keep them from - guess what? - fraying!

You could make a big pile of these and put them back to back on a garland...

Or to make a pin or hair clip put a little piece of felt on the back and secure you pin, bobby pin, or clip to that.

How ever you use them - they are simple to do and the colour combinations and fabric variations are endless.

So - go and make some fluffy flowers and then show me what yours look like!

With Nutcracker tunes in my head....

xoxo     Elizabeth




Sunday, November 21, 2010

An Evening With Greg Mortenson

'When it is dark enough... 
  You can see the stars.'
Persian Proverb

Do you remember this little book I talked to you about?

 This Saturday I was lucky enough to get to hear it's author, Greg Mortenson,  speak.  I was very much looking forward to hearing him in person...but what I experienced went way beyond what I expected.

Greg's life work started with a failed attempt to climb K2 - he was climbing to honour his sister, Christa, who had passed away -and he felt that his failure to summit had let her down.  Not by a long shot...that failed climb led him to meet a group of people in Pakistan and to make a promise to  build them a school.  The rest, as they say, is history...

It seems to me that in all the work he does Greg honours his sister, Christa.

"This is my life’s vocation...The rest of my life, I’ll probably be doing this; I feel great joy and empathy in it."
Source:  Buffalo News


It is hard to believe that some one can stand and just talk for about an hour and in that hour make you laugh, cry, ache with empathy, hope, want to do more, be thankful, feel great love...so many emotions.

Greg speaks from such a place of love.  His message is full of hope.  He tells us that he knows that we all have this desire to help others inside of us - I don't think there is a better way to elicit good behavior than to give praise for goodness that he believes is already there within all of us.

Even if the end of the world comes tomorrow...
I will plant my seed today.
(origin of this quote is debatable, but it was used by Martin Luther King Jr.)

Greg used the above quote in his talk - very appropriate in these difficult times - it is good to remember that there is never a time that we should stop planting seeds.


"Through education there can be peace...If you really want to help people you have to empower them."
Greg Mortenson

 
"Educate a boy, and you educate an individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community."
African proverb via Greg Mortenson

The respect and sincerity with which Greg operates is so apparent even when listening to him for one short hour.   There are many lessons offered up in his books and in listening to him talk.  How fortunate we are to be able to benefit from all that he has learned.


"When you take the time to actually listen, with humility, to what people have to say, it's amazing what you can learn. Especially if the people who are doing the talking also happen to be children." 
Greg Mortenson


I was happy to share this experience with my dad - and thank you Daddy for making it possible for us to see him.  Greg tells a story about some of the military leaders that have read his book - he said that most of them were introduced to the book by their wives.  My mom is the one who introduced us to Three Cups of Tea.  She read it and said to my dad - 'I think you might like this.'  That was kind of an under-statement!   I wish she could have been with us to see Greg - her influence introduced us to such an amazing man and his amazing accomplishments.  Thank you Mom.

Here is Greg Mortenson's website:   http://www.gregmortenson.com/

As-salaam Alaaikum (Peace be with you)


xoxo    Elizabeth

Thursday, November 18, 2010

It's That Time Again!!!!!!!!

No...not Christmas - Nutcracker!!!!!!!!!!

Time to get out that Mother Ginger dress and see if it still works...

 There are boxes of costumes to be ironed...


The car looks like a costume factory...

and the glittering contraption has come out!  (This is the greatest thing - some of the other ballet moms helped me invent it - umbrella in plaster of paris - open the umbrella, put the costume over the top and Ta Da you can easily glitter all sides at once!)

It is a crazy time at the Toel House during Nutcracker - as the Toel's (that's us) are in charge of making sure that all the costumes and a lot of the props are at their best for the production. 

I have been sewing on rick rack...


and putting together headpieces (with Lane's help!)...

and tending to the petals on various tutus!

We are rounding up craft materials to repair props here and there...

and creating various items to be sold at the Sweet Shoppe!

It is a crazy time - and tons of fun!  So if you stop by don't be surprised if you are covered in glitter when you leave the house...or you are given a costume or two to sew on!

The Merced Academy of Dance's production of the Nutcracker is one that shouldn't be missed.  Our dancers have been rehearsing non-stop and our director - Jane Vann Bryan is working like a mad-woman really hard to make this year's show spectacular.

So come on down and see the show....December 3 @ 7pm and December 4 @ 2pm and 7pm at the Buhach High School Theatre - you won't be sorry!

And tell them Elizabeth sent you.

xoxo     Elizabeth

Monday, November 15, 2010

A Quaint Little Place...

When we were in Capitola (in the village) we had a little scavenger hunt...


My sister, the Auntie Jenny, made the cutest little purses and everyone ran around Capitola and filled those bags up with funny things...


A menu, a feather, a bit of sand - some driftwood, a penny, a fall leaf in your hand.

Along the way...


the cutest little shops...


hand painted tiles....



 funny trees...


beautiful pots...

the Palm trees...

the beach houses....

a gull or two...

or six or twenty...and of course...

our unbelievable coast!

Next time we're in the area....


I'm gonna buy me one of these bikes!!!!  Ok maybe rent one!

xoxo    Elizabeth