Flower Child

On a recent trip to the Potomac River, Dani got to see a swan.  It got pretty close too, which rocked!  Honestly, I'm not to fond of swans myself...they are MEAN.  Don't mess with them, they will attack you...and those suckers are BIG!

Dani enjoyed the wind in her hair.  She loves the boat...but not having to wear a lifejacket!  

My favorite part of the day was spent in my mother's flower garden.  It's a large circle in their sideyard full of roses, purple cone flowers, daisies, herbs, etc.  My mother has a greenhouse and gardening is one of her few remaining hobbies. 

Dani picked several bouquets of flowers!  She is now obsessed with flowers...she brought them in the car with us on the way home and plucked most of the petals.

I need to find my flower press...or make another one!  (a tutorial to make perhaps???)

At home we had a frozen limeade cup.  What a lovely day!

A Quiet Week

It's looking to be a quiet week here on Not Twins. Amanda is doing a 3-day potty learning program with Ella which requires they go hermit for the duration (from what I hear via text, so far so good!)....and I am without a working camera (due to another bout of the dread "lens-error"). I also fail at being particularly creative at the moment. Boo! Hiss! Dani, however, is creative as ever. I snapped a rather poor-quality photo with my Droid while she was enthralled with a bit of marker-carnage. I looked away for a moment only to find she has given herself dual half-sleeves. My budding tattoo artist perhaps? It looked like fun, so I joined her.

This weekend the Children's Museum of Richmond had a poorly advertised "breastfeeding celebration" in honor of World Breastfeeding Week. Sadly I didn't have Dani's "I LIKE TO NURSE" shirt ready in time for it...but she still had a wonderful time playing outside in the waterplay area. I also got a new hospital mug out of it...which I was THRILLED with.

I'm quite thrilled with the outcome of the glue batik process...mind you this is the second attempt on a shirt that has been sitting almost-done for over a month! The first time it came out way too light and was difficult to read.

And just another random shot of my little hippie-child. <3

Magical Playsilks

 

There's nothing quite like a line full of playsilks blowing in the breeze.  Silks have to be one of the most versatile playthings in our homes!  They become blankets, skirts, scarves, capes, the walls of a fort, an ocean, a meadow, or simply something to play peekaboo with.

Buying silks predyed can be a bit pricey, but dying your own is cheap, easy, and a lot of fun!

Undyed silk scarves can be purchased cheaply from Dharma Trading and can be dyed easily using Kool-Aid or food coloring, hot water, and some vinegar.

The Process

 

First we soaked the silks in bowls of hot water and vinegar.

 

 In a separate pan we mixed warm/hot water, vinegar, and 8 packets of Koolaid (for 2 regular sized silks and 3 or 4 hankie sized silks).

Pretty swirls...it reminds me of the planet Neptune...

 

Now add the silks...

Stir and squish it around till the silk is evenly saturated with color.

 

Let the silks soak in the dye for 2 minutes.  You'll know they're done when the liquid loses most of its color and takes on a milky appearance.

In the case of purple it did NOT lose much color...so we eyeballed it.

Rinse the silks in cold water to remove any excess dye.  This was a good step to involve the kids in...

...at least till they lose interest!  We finished up the rest.

 

Meanwhile, Dani and Ella decided to do some finger painting in the yard.  Gotta love the country!

Dani was her own canvas.

Hanging them out to dry

Aren't they lovely!

It was a nice breezy day...perfect for photos!

Now for some play...

The Ragamuffin Witch/Fairy Skirt - Now with photos!

Edit - Now with pics! 

On a recent trip to the Children's Museum of Richmond the girls came across these amazing dress up props.  They were a sheer stretchy nylon fabric with 2 layers split in opposite places...which made them very versatile as playthings!  They made great skirts when worn around the waist and equally wonderful "jackets" when worn around the arms in a backpack-ish fashion.  They had an amazing time running around...behind the curtain and out the sides in surprising ways.  They looked very much like a pair of raggedy witchlings!  It was adorable!

Because they both enjoyed them so much I decided that I had to make my own version...as usual!  The problem was finding the fabric....and then actually SEWING it.

Yeah...they really aren't twins...

Choosing Fabric

It's a good call to go with a knit on this project so you don't have to worry about it raveling...a big part of their charm is the little runs and tears that appear through use so you kinda want it to go a little nuts and ragged on the edges.  Any knit would work...even old t-shirts could be Frankensteined into a skirt...but the closest thing I could find to the fabric of the originals was "athletic mesh".  I found it at Joann's for $10 a yard...and of course I forgot my coupon.  Doh!  No clue what it's used for.  Perhaps for skating outfits or something?  Anyway...the one downside is it is a bitch in a half to sew!  Seriously....next time I may go with a normal cotton knit just to avoid sewing on the mesh.

Although...please note that I am LAZY.  I don't like changing needles, thread, or presser feet...so I probably could have avoided all the trouble by looking at my manual and changing some stuff around!  Don't be lazy and cause yourself headaches like I do....just a word of advice!  Ha!

The Ragamuffin Witch/Fairy Dress-Up Skirt Written Tutorial

You will need:

1 and 1/4 yards of fabric that does NOT ravel
Elastic for the waist

~~~

1) Cut your fabric piece into 4ths.

2) Pin 2 pieces together and sew 5 inches down the short sides to for a tube.  Do this with the other 2 pieces as well.

3) Put the 2 tubes into one another so the seams are at 4 separate points.

4) Fold over both layers to make a casing that will accommodate the size of your elastic.

5) Thread elastic through the casing in an appropriate length for your child's waist.

6) Close the casing and you're done!

If you wish, you can use 2 different pieces of fabric for a multicolored skirt...or even 4 or more pieces for something really wild!

 ~~~

Dani wasn't having anything to do with trying this thing on tonight...but I will update with pictures as soon as I have them!

I got pictures!  FINALLY!

 

She is wearing a turquoise mesh playskirt (which is slightly too big in the waist so I tied it up with a kool-aid dyed playsilk), a funky star/moon skirt from some old fabric that used to hang in my doorway as a teen, and a knitted calorimetry.

 

What a happy girl. <3

-Kim