Have you met Maggie?

I know I have mentioned her, but I am not sure I have introduced you to Maggie Donoso.  She is one of my dearest friends in the whole world but also works for my scrapbooking/ photo archiving business, Jilliene Designs.

Because my scrapbooking and photo archiving projects were so massive, I depended on Maggie to double check all of the work, help research faces and locations for the databases, coordinate the various phases in processing the photos and overseeing a bulk of the administrative responsibilities.  She has truly been my right arm for more than 4 years.

Additionally, when I transformed the art program I had been teaching into the Create and Innovate program back in 2009, Maggie was right there helping me lead the classes.  She is amazingly gifted with children and has a vast amount of experience with hands-on, creative learning.  Let me put it this way- her house is the house on the block that all the kids congregate to.  She has 2 boys, 18 and 10, but regardless of ages or genders, the neighborhood children flock to the Donoso house to look for bugs in the backyard, set up a lemonade stand on the sidewalk, play football in the front yard, or do some crafting with Maggie on the patio. 

I feel so blessed to have Maggie as my new business partner for Create and Innovate.  Officially sharing this growing enterprise with her makes it even more remarkable.  You will be hearing more about her as time goes on so I thought I should formally introduce you.  Everyone, this is Maggie... Maggie, this is everyone.

August Art with the Tiny Humans

I was really surprised to see that it has been a week since I last put up a post.  August arrived with a thump.  "Hello Jill, I'm here and have I a lot in store for you."

The last couple of days I have been preparing the Create and Innovate 2013-14 school year schedule and last weekend we spent 2 days stocking up on our project supplies from RAFT.

Maggie is now my Create and Innovate business partner which is so exciting!  The last few years Maggie has been a huge part of the Create and Innovate program and since it continues to grow, it was a natural step that we work together as a team.  She is the Ying to my Yang but we also share a brain.  We were working on program details today and I realized the point to my statement after I had already started talking so my words were a scattering of nonsense, but she knew just what I meant.  A bonus to our new partnership will be sharing all of the behind the scenes work which will allow me time to also focus on my blog and my work as the Product Rep and as a DT member for Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog.

This week we did a lot of fun projects at camp- I can't believe there is only one week left!  For our first activity, I used one of the projects from my last blog post.

It was an incredible undertaking but a ton of fun!

Confetti Bowls

To start, I had the kids cover the bottom of their balloons with tissue paper and Modge Podge so that the interior of the bowl would be protected.

Then we put out a tub of watered down Modge Podge, several boxes of confetti and dollar store cookie sheets.  

 

The kids held their balloon over the tub while I scooped Modge Podge all over the bottom of their balloon.  They let the excess drip off and then set their balloon on the cookie sheet.  

Then they showered their balloons with confetti, gently patting the coat so that it soaked into adhesive solution.  

They brought their balloons back to me for a second coat of Modge Podge and they repeated the confetti process.  

 

When we were done with the project Jessica (a fabulous camp councilor) and I were practically tarred and feathered!

Then we hung the balloons out to dry.  We had one clothes line collapse from the weight because surprisingly, they became quite heavy after they were coated.

I can't wait to see what they look like when they are dry!

We also made treasure jars to put out in the garden.  These jars are so beautiful to look at and the best part is that you can put treasures inside of them. 

 

We used mason jars and the glass pebbles you can get at the dollar store or Michael's. 

The only adhesive that seems to work for this project is E5000 so you really need to do the project outside because of the fumes. 

 

The best way to apply the stones so that they stay put rather than slipping down the glass is to apply a coat of glue to an area, wait 90 seconds, then place the stones. Repeat the process until the entire side is complete.  If you wait 10 minutes before you turn your jar to work on the next side, the stones should stay in place. 

The kids took their time and enjoyed one another's company which was so sweet.

Introduction to a Handmade Christmas

Christmas has not always been a time of delight and joy for me. When I was younger and less able to appreciate my blessings in life, I thought Christmas was just a big fat reminder of everything I DID NOT have. I wallowed in my prediction that there would not be enough love, gifts, generosity, money, invitations, etc. and recruited others to do the same.

I worked hard to make "Bah Humbug" fashionable. My ridiculous self-centeredness made every flippin' Christmas carol feel like a giant raspberry from the universe.

Before the season was over, I would end up flush with all kind of gifts and blessings but I would be unable to enjoy them. I was pretty certain that the only reason I got what I got was because I sustained a level of prepared disappointment and experiencing any sort of joy or gratitude might jeopardize the possibility of getting more...

In other words, I was a spoiled young woman and no matter how much I got, it would never be enough.

But being a mom has totally changed this pattern of behavior for me- thank God! I work very hard each year to shelter my children from the commercialism and the emphasis on "getting" by doing a Handmade Christmas.

Last year baking Christmas Cookies

Last year, I was blessed to discover a whole like-minded movement which has made this tradition even more exciting. I have found so much inspiration from bloggers like One Crafty Mumma and Me and My Thoughts where there are tons of great ideas and dozens of tutorials.


This practice of a Homemade Christmas focuses on the joy of giving and encourages creativity. I can not tell you how much my kids thrive on making gifts for others. Maybe this story will... Aidan came home from school a week ago with a huge list of toys he wanted from Santa. There were well over $1,000 worth of gifts written in his cute 1st grade handwriting and he seemed pretty sure that if he sent the list to Santa, he would get each and every one of them. I explained that Santa might bring one item on his list but not all of it.

He said, "but lots of the kids at school get everything on their list and I get in less trouble than a lot of them."

Every year we make a homemade Chicken Pot Pie together

I told him that Santa brings gifts to match the traditions in each house and at our house we focus on the giving, not the receiving. He was not thrilled with that answer, but I went on to explain how in our family we may only get one or two big presents from Santa but we spend the whole month of December doing things to celebrate Christmas like decorating, making gifts, ornaments, cookies and most of all, spending time together. Other families may get lots of "stuff" but their Christmas is just a morning. They wait, wait, wait, until Christmas arrives; rip through the presents and then it is all over for another 365 days.

"Hmmmmmm" he replied. He was clearly analyzing the data.

The next day we started getting our Christmas groove on by drinking gingerbread tea, listening to Christmas carols and doing Christmas crafts. The kids made all kinds of ornaments and paper chains and not once did I hear someone say "I'm bored!"- (a Christmas miracle!) While we were cleaning up, Aidan said "I like the way we do Christmas mommy. I LOVE doing crafts with you. When can we do it again?"

"Next weekend, and every weekend after until Christmas" I replied. He smiled huge and yelled "Yeah!" while he jumped up and down. "I don't need all those toys mommy... just the Lego's"

So here are a few of the goodies I have started on for gifts this year (just to wet your whistle). Tutorials and more pictures will follow. Subscribe to my feed so you know when new articles are posted because I have a lot of fun and easy crafts that are earth friendly, easy to do and inexpensive too. Welcome to Homemade Christmas everyone!

The handles on this bag are made from an old scarf


Burlap and cotton reversible shopping bag

This is a ring

This is a pendant with a tiny spool of thread, pin and button

Christmas crafts with the kids

Doing crafts with my kids has been an amazing way to get in the Christmas spirit. One of my most treasured memories from my childhood was making an ornament with my mother. I couldn't have been older than 5 or 6 because we had to wait until my sister went down for her nap to work on it. Mom had purchased a kit at the grocery store. It included a ball most likely made of Styrofoam that was covered with white silk threads (we called it angel hair) plus velvet and silky ribbon, decorative stick pins with crystal heads and an assortment of loose beads. We quietly constructed this ornament together sitting at our kitchen table- I'll never forget how I felt so close to my mom.

I wanted to have the same kind of experience with my kids this year, so I hunted to find a similar kit but it seems they don't make them anymore. Since Aidan (4) and Eva (2) are so little, I decided to improvise with age appropriate materials.

We started out with the glass ball ornament - Aidan punched snow flakes out of white bazzill bling and put it in his orb along with a little clear glitter. Eva helped by placing a few snowflake stickers on the outside.

The next ornament swe did together was an impromptu creation that we will treasure for years to come. First, I had the kids color pictures. Then I punched out sections of the pictures with a large circle punch. I also punched out circles of thick clear plastic (part of a product package that I saved just in case I needed it) and placed the plastic over his drawings. I used the small hole punch on my crop-o-dile around the edge of the circle and hand stitched the plastic coverings over the drawings with embroidery thread. I attached a ribbon. at the top and viola- Aidan is so proud of his ornament- I often catch him taking it off the tree, staring at it and then placing it in a more visible location.

Our ;last Christmas ornament adventure was last Sunday. I put out an assortment of materials so the kids could invent their own project. There were jingle bells, pom poms, craft sticks, shiny covered wire and a bin full of craft foam shapes I've collected over the years. The kids saw the foam people cut outs and immediately decided to make our family. I had a bag full of foam hair style, clothing and even shoes which they explored thoroughly. When they finally decided on outfits, we glued it all down and punched holes through the head for the ribbon so they could be hung on the tree. Aidan decided that girls should be on one side of the tree and boys on the other and he loves the idea that he is as tall as his dad. :-) These are the memories that make Christmas so special.

The colors of Autumn

When I was younger, I never thought of Autumn as a season to be enjoyed. Instead, it meant going back to school, farewell to summer , shorter days, colder weather and loads of sports on TV.
How things change... this year I officially declared Fall my favorite season. I love the way the air smells, the changing colors, the crisp cool mornings, the anticipation of the holidays. People say that California doesn't have a Fall, but I disagree. It is just a Californian Fall... Our backyard is alive with color and our grass is completely covered with leaves (just a day after raking). The kids and I had a wonderful time gathering foliage to make collages. They each had their own bag to collect all of Fall's treasures. Aidan thoughtfully looked for the most exciting leaves with interesting patterns and bold colors while Eva found joy in each and every leaf she picked up.
Like Halloween candy, the kids dumped their goodies on the table and selected their favorites. I gave them each a large puddle of glue on a plastic plate so they could enjoy the sticky, gooey sensations to the fullest. I felt so happy watching them dip their various bits into glue and randomly place them on sheets of chipboard. How easily they slip into the "creative zone".
Once the globs of Elmer glue are completely dry, I will go back with craft dots to secure the heavier items and then put them in a dark closet to thoroughly dry out. In a few weeks, we'll frame their artwork in shadow boxes so we can have a bit of fall all year round.