Thing One Thing Two & the Christmas Tree Crayons

Yesterday I sat with two of my five grandchildren, while my daughter ran some errands. The first thing the little ones do is to dig through my purse and tote bag, while they ask, "What do you have for us, Grandma? What are we going to do today?" If I don't bring a simple, fun craft to make, they want to count out my change, take out every picture from my wallet, pop out every square of gum from the foil packet, squirt my hand sanitizer on every visible part of their bodies (plus the dog), make happy faces on every page of my miniature address book, try on lipstick, and generally run amok. Keira is almost five, and Lukie is three. My daughter lovingly calls them 'Thing One' and 'Thing Two.' I find it in my best interest to come prepared to entertain. You can never go wrong with an easy art or craft project. Children love to make something with their own hands.

I've stumbled upon many websites with great ideas for recycling coloring crayons. I love this fun way to use up all those broken pieces of crayons. The kids were very excited to sit at the table and peel the paper off a can of old crayons. I love Lukie's face as he used all his might to break the crayons and lay them into the tree molds.

I use a silicone baking pan to make recycled crayons. If you don't have one yet ~ I'll tell you ~ they're the slickest invention. They can be baked in your oven up to 500*. They're flexible, dishwasher safe, and you don't need to grease them. I set my silicone mold on a cookie sheet to keep it stable during baking. The cookie pan was confusing Lukie a little bit. He was sure we could eat the crayons when they were finished. I kept telling him, "Nope! They will always be crayons for coloring when we're done, even though we're making them in a cookie pan." I explained the process that we would be using to the kids.

We peeled all our crayons, and made sure there were no paper scraps on them. We broke the crayons into small pieces, and laid them in the Christmas tree molds. I wanted to make some crayons with different shades of one color, but the kids were too excited. We ended up with dazzling rainbows.

I preheated the oven to 350* for this project. When our tree molds were filled, I put the pan in the oven for about ten minutes. You will want to check your molds after five minutes. It won't take long to melt your crayons. When they're melted, take them out of the oven and let them cool.

We wanted to hurry up the process, so that we could finish before Lukie's nap. I set the hot cookie sheet on the deck, in the cold snow. I covered it up with a baking sheet, as it was snowing heavily outside. Within 15 minutes, they were solid, and popped out of the tree molds easily.

Lukie didn't make it until the end. He fell asleep as we were finishing, so I only had a chance to snap Keira's picture with the finished product. She has a birthday coming up in March, and she wanted to know if we could make more crayons for her friends. I think we will experiment with sprinkling some 'fairy glitter' on her birthday crayons, before baking.

Silicone molds can be expensive, but you know how much I love them already! I picked up this one for 75% off, after Christmas, at our Michael's Craft Store. I'll be looking for a heart shaped pan on sale after Valentine's Day. Maybe the kids and I can make heart shaped crayons for St. Patrick's Day. You know the old saying ~ A day late, a dollar short, a holiday behind ... yep. That would be me. It's a fun project, no matter what shaped pan you use. The Christmas tree molds are always in fashion around here. We live and love in the great Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and are surrounded by forests. It was another cold, snowy, cozy day in the UP, cooking crayons, watching the snow fall, and appreciating each other.

Yours Truly Tia

Things That Disappear

Last night I was looking at the beautiful card my sister Vicki made for my birthday with my name on it. I know she has a Cricut (?) machine that cuts letters and numbers and shapes. I think I asked her if she can cut on fabric, and she said no.

I've thought about fabric letters so many times, just for different projects. I've had a package of very cheap alphabet letters that I punched out the other day. They're not made of cardboard, and the paper isn't even poster board thick, but I wanted to play with them, and maybe put one of the kids' name on a sweatshirt or tee shirt.

I was looking at the letters last night, and I took out the 'B' for Brian. The two holes in that letter are very small, and I was wondering how I would actually cut it out of fabric, make it stiff enough to handle, and then machine applique it onto something.

The phone rang a couple times last night, and I talked to Brian's group home, Jenny's group home and my friend Glenda. Then I sat down again with my shoe box of letters. Where that 'B' went is driving me nutty. I looked and looked, and it's nowhere to be found. Yes I looked in the garbage can and even in the refrigerator. Aye ye ye.

I am convinced that I really do have a family of gnomes ~ and certainly some mischievous fairies ~ who borrow my interesting things and hoard them away for themselves. I know that my letter 'B' is somewhere with my pink Jilly Zhu Zhu pet. I opened her on Christmas morning and had her for most of the day, and then VOOOP! She was gone. I've torn this place apart, looking for Jilly. And what they do with all my socks from the dryer are beyond me. More on this mystery later.

Yours Truly Tia

Another Snowy Day, Baby Boom & Country Life in the UP of Michigan

Good morning from the cold and snowy Upper Peninsula of Michigan ~ the UP. The sky is gray, the snow has been coming down for days and days (and months), and the wind chill is below zero. Again. I have a small, open field next to my house, that allows the wind to blow and swirl and drift up my door. I've been having to push hard on the door to open it enough in the morning to get outside and shovel. That might not sound too cozy to people who don't love fur-lined boots, wool mittens and icicles hanging from their cars, but that's life in the UP.

I was so happy to find that one of my favorite movies, 'Baby Boom,' was on television this morning. It's a feel-good movie that has so many elements of my life and dreams in it. I love Diane Keaton, and sure wouldn't mind meeting an adorable country vet like Sam Shepard. I dream about visiting New York City. I love watching movies that give me a glimpse of a life that I know nothing about: skyscrapers, men in business suits with leather briefcases, crowded streets, fancy restaurants, movies stars ...

But I love the country life, too. This movie happens to take you from NYC to Vermont, but much of that little New England town resembles my life in the UP. I love the change of heart and perspectives in the movie. It makes me want to get into my flannel pajamas and celebrate the snow and cold, the wonderful friends and family I have, and the quaint,charming life I lead here.

I walked on the treadmill as I watched the movie. I miss walking outside, through the woods that wind around my home, and around the little school and playground I come to on the other side of the trail. By this time of winter I long for tulips poking out of melting snow. I want more sunshine. I want to see the waves of Lake Superior dancing on our sandy beaches. I want to see the fat squirrel playing on the tree outside the window where I sew. I've seen him every summer for three years now. I'm almost positive he sits on a branch and watches me, as I wave to him. He spends the summer and fall filling his pudgy cheeks with acorns ~ and every flower seed I've tried to plant right outside my door ~ and then cuddles up in a hollow tree for the long winter. I haven't seen him since late October.

But for today, I'm enjoying the ferocious snow and biting cold. I picked blueberries, raspberries and blackberries during the summer, as they came into season. I washed and packed them in small snack baggies ~ ten of each kind of berry ~ and then froze them. Those baggies of handpicked frozen berries are like gold in the winter. I put one berry baggy in a clear glass of ice water for today. The water will pick up the berry flavors, and I can enjoy a tiny part of summer while I sip my water all day. I refill it as I drink it, and make it last all day.

I'll work on my sewing and wool felting today. It's a good day to be inside. I don't get as much art work done when everything is green and my squirrel is frolicking out my window, as I want to do things and go places that I can't do on days like today. This is definitely a stay-warm-in-the-house-and-make-something-special day. I have my peppermint candle burning, sugar-free hot chocolate waiting to be made, and a sidewalk to shovel. I wish you a sparkly snowflake, flannel pajama day, too! God bless you with all good things.

Yours Truly Tia