The Return of Little Twig

I'm so glad to be back in stock in Little Twig. Well almost back in stock - the shipment left sunny California today and I should have it in a week or so. I became a LT fan three years ago when the paraben boogey man arrived and I started scrutinizing shampoo and baby wash labels a little more closely. Little Twig's wholesome bath products smell nice and delivered the goods: hair is left shiny, bubbles are bubbly, and my eczema-prone daughter remained itch-free. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but generally the things in my shop are there because I've used them - and liked them - before I stock them in the shop. I think that is an important distinction.

But then our dollar went south and the price of Twig, which was already premium, reached Holt Renfrew cosmetic counter levels. Thinking about the cost of every capful kind of takes the fun out of bath time. I stopped stocking it for a time, and tried, without much success, to find something wholesome at Shoppers Drug Mart to use at home.

But with the loonie somewhere near parity and new lower prices from Little Twig, I am delighted to have this superb line of shampoo, wash and bath bubbles back in stock. Yay.

haunting the house

Despite Stella's complaints that our house isn't scary enough, I like it just fine.

Is organization overrated?

If I haven't already introduced you to the lovely home of Oh My! Handmade Goodness, I hope you will excuse my tardiness. OMHG is an online community for and about independent children's retailers, parents and makers of handcrafted goods. It launched earlier this year in Chicago and I was approached to be a contributor by then-editor (and one of my favourite people) and graphic designer Sara Tams. Oh My is now based in Canada - Halifax to be exact - which means there is a growing amount of quality Can-Con related to running a small business.

As evidenced from the header above (which I suspect is from July or August but most certainly is not from September) I am a lackadaisical blogger. Don't get me wrong: I like the idea of blogging but I like the idea of a quality posts more and I find the effort required to think, write, format, proof and post daily a most daunting task. Which is why I am quite happy to be a monthly contributor over at Oh My. I can manage 500 coherent words a month. I skipped August due to summer malaise. What's a lazy blogger to do? Repost! Write once, publish twice. This month the editor of Oh My, Jessika, asked the monthly contribs for tips and thoughts on how we work-from-home folks organize our lives and spaces. Oh dear, I immediately thought. I wouldn't go as far to say it's a nightmare on par with, say, posing for the camera in a two-piece bathing suit. But it's close. It's close. Read on and you'll understand. The original post, Is organization overrated?, ran yesterday at Oh My Handmade Goodness. Here's the repost:

(photo credit http://sewingstars.typepad.com/puppylove/minioptimus/)

Full disclosure: on the subject of time management and organization I am in no way qualified to offer advice. My business GST/HST is generally filed on the last minute of the last day it’s due. I routinely chase my kids down the street waving permission slips or mittens or lunch. And I waste an unforgivable amount of time looking for files, receipts and vendor catalogues – things that I need daily to run my business. I realized how chronic the situation was earlier this year when I lost a library copy of Eliminate Chaos: The 10 Step Process to Organize Your Home And Life (the best organizing book I’ve ever read, ironically) and had to pay $24.95 for a well-thumbed paperback that to this day has not surfaced. What can I say? Disorganization is in my DNA. Procrastination is my natural state. I’ve been that way since I was a daydreaming-missed-the-bus kid and I don’t think it’s going to change even though I now run a business, a house and a family.

Like those people who love to watch the Food Network but who don’t actually cook I have an attraction to the trappings of an orderly and well-managed life. I would rather shop for daytimers, calendars, digital tools, notebooks, pretty to-do list pads, lovely pens, bunny-shaped paper clips, and Rubbermaid bins than shoes. Indeed I have bought it all. Some stuff worked but most didn’t. I have reluctantly come to accept that my desire to run a smooth operation is just one more thing that I kind of admire but have no real intention of mastering. Like baking my own bread or figuring out Quick Books. My methods may not be business school-approved but I do manage to get things done in my own way. I’ve never analyzed it (indeed, writing this post is  as much analysis as I’ve ever given it) but I suppose I could boil my approach down to one central business practice and one guiding principle. I find that as long as I keep these two things front of mind then I am taking care of business.

1. A Map Is All I Need: The Essential Marketing Calendar
As a retail business owner I have to plan ahead three to six months. This means buying, advertising, editorial, budgets and sales forecasts. It is no good to sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and notepad as the first snow flies and contemplate how I am going to drum up holiday business. Neither should I order sand pails and watering cans in June. My calendar follows a traditional quarterly schedule, so it is straightforward for me to plan what products I need to have and when I need to have them. From there it’s simple to plot out events, newsletter themes, advertising plans and editorial pushes for the quarter and then the year.  Your business might be dictated by a key trade show, wholesale buying season or some other factor, but the point is, a marketing calendar is a good discipline for keeping the big picture in mind. My calendar forces me to spend time working “on” my business ( planning, strategizing, analysis) when much of my day is spent working “in” my business (answering emails, phone calls, shipping orders, updating the website).

2. Right now, am I doing what I should be doing?
My seven-year old daughter will finish breakfast, wander down to her room to get dressed for school and while navigating those 30 or so steps she might stop in front of a mirror and make silly faces at herself. Which leads to the discovery of a loose tooth. Which prompts her to make sure there are no apples in her lunchbox. And while unpacking her lunch she discovers there is butter on the sandwich bread and she didn’t want butter today. Oh, and can she bring popcorn to share with the class? And now ten minutes have passed and she is no closer to getting dressed. I occasionally get sucked into her digressions, but I will try catch myself and ask “Stella, is this what you should be doing right now?” It’s usually enough to get her back to the task at hand. Working from home can be incredibly distracting and with precious few quiet hours during the school day I need to frequently check in with myself by asking “Is this what I should be doing?” It forces me to be mindful and purposeful with my time.

And that’s it folks. I roll with the punches. I get stuff done some days and next to nothing on others. Since making the decision to close my brick and mortar shop to focus on the online business, I’ve greeted each day with fresh coffee, my laptop and a good dose of gratitude that I am able to choose how I spend my day. It’s pretty great, but messy.

Owl Party

Say what you will about the everywhereness of owls - I still think they're tops. I'm not alone in my appreciation for wide-eyed owlets: a customer planning an owl-themed party for her daughter's fourth birthday got me thinking...and looking. You can find owlish things in any colour to suit your fancy or time of year. The autumn colour scheme shown here is especially nice for fall birthday parties.

Of course the birthday boy-or-girl will want to greet guests in full owl costume. Directions to make the adorable headdress are at Parenting; and there is a pretty fantastic owl cape to be made over at TLC.

I've never met a kid who eats fondant, so enjoy the inspiration shot but save the fancy cakes for adults (who probably won't eat fondant either, but at least they won't take a lick and abandon their cupcake in your sofa cushions) and try your hand at the show-stopping chocolate cupcakes that feature the oh-so-good combination of buttercream icing and Oreo cookie halves (for eyes). Directions at Ezra Poundcake.

Handmade felt pencil toppers from Whimsy Love do double duty as cupcake toppers. Make them ahead or set up a craft table with pre-cut the felt - or use paper - shapes, glue and fabric paint pens. Paper bag crafts are another craftivity idea. Paper bag owl puppet instructions from DLTK's.

Clear cello envelope bags could be filled with candy or other small treats. This candy corn-filled one features layers of punched shapes (full instructions at 2stampis2b.com) but if you didn't have access to all of the various punches and papers, I think you could also colour copy a, cute owl onto basic cardstock and cut it out. Martha Stewart's standing owl treat boxes are wonderful, but they used "egg-shaped pressed paper boxes" and three colours of crepe paper and are, therefore, not for the craft faint of heart.

Ahoy! Pirate Party

Henry, like some other four-year olds I've known, is lately besotted with pirates. I couldn't say for certain, but I think it started with a screening of Hook a few weeks ago. If you can get past Robin Williams as a defeated, amnesiac and middle-aged Peter Pan, Dustin Hoffman's turn as Captain James Hook really is quite exciting. Don't get me started on Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell. Oh Hollywood. So back to parties. Pirate parties. Henry's little summer camp did a terrific job with this week's theme of Treasure Island and I thought some of their ideas would easily work for a birthday party. Avast ye little mateys! Time to board the good ship Bearded Squid as we sail the high seas in search of treasure. (Get your own pirate ship name here.)

Top: Pirate Ship, Pirate, Pirate table

Bottom: Cupcake, Mask, Treasures

Get everyone in the pirate spirit with costumes and props. Kids were given black bandanas that had been stamped with pirate-themed designs (skulls, swords, treasure chests) using white fabric paint. The bandanas can be tied around heads, necks or wrists. Use cheap-o black broadcloth (or a remnant) and be sure to trim with pinking shears to prevent fraying. The triangle-shaped bandanas to fit 3 to 8 year olds measures 33" along one edge and 22" along the other two. Eye patches, cardboard swords, tattoos or face-painting cool moustaches are other ideas.

Activities. I always like having a craft table on the go. It's a good place for guests to gather and keep busy while you're waiting for others to arrive. If things get cuckoo, as they sometimes do at these things, a craft table is a good way to focus and bring the energy back down. It could be as simple as pirate colouring pages that you print out and have a bucket or two of markers, crayons and glitter pens at the ready. Or something more involved like the painted pirate masks mounted on a stick, and which the kids decorated using glitter glue pens and stick-on jewels. Little kids might enjoy making a hidden treasure bottle using an empty water bottle filled with sand. They can add glitter and jewels or secret messages before sealing the lid.

Main Event. Bake or simply decorate pre-made buried treasure cupcakes. After the batter is poured, add a Smartie or M&M to the top of each; the candy will sink and kind of melt as it bakes, making "hidden treasure". Kids can mix their own small bowls of frosting to get the right colour. Or, have candy and licorice on hand to make something like this Betty Crocker special:

                                   

If there is cake too, have some cello or small boxes on hand so guests can bring their cupcake home to eat. It all becomes part of the loot bag in the end!

Part Two: What pirate party would be complete without a treasure hunt? Gold coins, mardi gras bead necklaces, chocolates, and other small treasures can be found using written clues for older kids, or, like they did at summer camp, using coloured paper footprints to create a trail. 

Flag Day

One thing leads to another...a mission for a strawberry rhubarb pie from the farmer's market lead to a chance encounter with the local MP, who was handing out miniature Canada flags. I should have asked for two, but I was lugging a pair of cantaloupes and a dozen ears of corn on one arm while holding the pie aloft. It was hot. I wanted to go home. Henry claimed the flag for his room and Stella sulked, briefly, before deciding to outdo him and create a personal United Nations of paper flags. Using kebab skewers, scrap paper, tape and crayons, she made flags of countries we've visited and flags of the grandparents' places of birth. Pretty clever I thought.

It kept her busy for a good hour while I put the kebab sticks to another use: threading veggie and chicken skewers for the barbeque. I was completely taken with August's Martha. It's hit and miss for me with that magazine, but I thought this issue was great. I made the chimichurri recipe - which called for just 5 or 6 ingredients, all of which I had on hand, miraculously. Chimichurri is as good a reason as any to give the herb pot a much-needed trim, and it elevated simple kebabs into something finger-licking good and guest-worthy.

This could very well be some sort of copyright infringement, but the recipe is too good not to share and I cannot find it on the MS website. So with accreditation but no link here is the chimichurri recipe from the August 2010 issue of Martha Stewart:

Whisk together chopped:

1/2 cup parsley (Martha calls for flat leaf, but I used curly)

1/2 cup fresh oregano

2 minced garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

3/4 tsp coarse salt

Drizzle over kebabs. Bon appetit.

All Aflutter: Butterfly Crafts!

It's butterfly season 'round here. Fluttery, plentiful and definitely not shy black and orange butterflies have been gracing our garden for the last week, delighting us by landing - ever so briefly - on a shoulder or tabletop or a book. I've never understood why I have a mortal fear of moths but butterflies make me smile.

We are a crafty family. Not everything turns out photo perfect. Not every project is worth sharing. I've learned that it's the process of creating and crafting, together and independently, that counts far more than the actual thing that's created. I don't mind white glue on the dining table or watercolours on clothes and hands. I don't worry too much if I don't have it all down pat. We make do and substitute. I do keep a basket of crafty basics at the ready so we are prepared to make stuff when the mood hits. To non-crafters it all seems a bit much, I suspect, but if you're wondering what's in our craft cupboard these are my must-haves:

white glue
tape (regular translucent, masking, packing)
paint brushes (cheap, abundant, all sizes, bristle and foam)
pompoms
google eyes
pipe cleaners
paper (construction, scrapbook/patterned, plain white copy paper)
wood clothes pins
watercolour palette

On that note, a round-up of butterfly-themed crafts for you to enjoy.

The classic paper coffee filter, three ways:

1. This coffee filter butterfly project uses mere three supplies (watercolours, a pipecleaner and coffee filter) and can be done by preschoolers on up:

2. Same basic idea, but using painted clothespins and crowd-pleasing googly eyes:

3. No paint? No problem. Markers work just fine too: 

 

Everyone loves handprint crafts:

                              

Wonderful felt butterfly mobile would be a good craft for two or three to work on together. You'll find a great tutorial (and printable butterfly template) here. The project will work with heavy paper if felt isn't on hand:

A simple hand-sewing project with lots of possibilities. The tutorial specifies a safety pin or brooch pin, but I immediately thought magnet, hair clip or head band. If sewing the buttons is too advanced for younger crafters, glue would be OK too. Cute tied to a gift.

Wondertime (how I miss you!) has a nice little activity/craft that lets kids drink like a butterfly. Henry tickled my funny bone when he came home from preschool one day telling me all about the butterfly's proboscis and how they use it to sip from flowers. Printable butterfly colouring pages are simple and fun.

For parties, Martha has this  butterfly-themed loot bag tutorial. If you can't find the little butterflies, a commenter wisely suggested printing and cutting out butterfly images as an alternative.