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Making A Halloween Treat Bag
October 14, 2008
Yesterday, my daughter and I made a Halloween Treat Bag, which she calls her, "Boo! Bag" and decorated it with potato stamp decorations. I cut a piece of cotton canvas into a rectangle shape (a little unevenly, which added difficulty in the sewing stage!) And then we chose a fairly large potato to use as a stamp. I cut the tater in half. It's important to use a sharp knife if you want a smooth, even surface. It's also a good idea to use an organically grown potato, for obvious reasons.
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Lily decided that she wanted the potato to be a BOO stamp, so I used a knife and carved the word (backwards, because that's the way stamps work, although BOO happens to be one of those lucky words that works whether you remember to write it backwards or not!), while she got the paint ready. We used classic Halloween black & orange tole paint colours because it's inexpensive and permanent on fabric.
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When the stamp was ready, Lily dipped it into a thin layer of paint and then decided where she wanted it on the fabric and pressed the stamp firmly and evenly onto the area. She continued this process until she decided there were enough Boo's and then chose to use the other side of the potato, that I hadn't carved yet, just as it was, to make black & orange circle shapes. She has carved potato stamps before using forks and dull knives and made really interesting stamps. But yesterday, she was too excited about the bag to be bothered with any carving. She did decide to paint freehand the word, BOO, so that it was bigger than the stamped Boo's.
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When that was done, we let the paint dry.
And then it was time to get sewing! Lily turned down the top edges and I helped her pin them. We actually forgot to add the ribbon handles at this point and had to sew them in later. It would be a good idea to pin the ribbon in at this stage so that you can sew them at the same time that you sew the top edges
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After that we folded and pinned the side edges together, inside out, and sewed them. Lily controlled the foot pedal while I steered the fabric through the machine.  |
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And then voila! We turned the bag right side out and saw our great little treat bag for collecting candy on Halloween night! It was a fun and easy project to do together.
I always try to remember to let Lily make her own creative choices. If I were making the bag myself, I would have chosen to do things a little differently. But I think it's so important to let kids have the freedom and responsibility to make decisions on their own while making arts & crafts. It teaches self esteem, and that their choices matter. They can then also learn from any mistakes.
Now I'm totally excited about making more canvas bags, I do have to practice my sewing skills as well! |
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A Reading of The Lorax at Owls Hollow
October 19, 2008
| On Saturday, my daughter, two of her friends and I put on a little event at Owls Hollow. We had a reading/performance of Dr. Seuss', The Lorax. They acted, while I read. It was quite a show! Dr. Seuss' tells a story about a boy who comes to a deserted, dreary old town and meets a strange fellow called, the Onceler, who tells him how the town was destroyed. It turns out that when the Onceler first came to the town it was gorgeous and full of life and beauty. He saw opportunity in using the tufts from the Truffula Trees and ended up manufacturing Thneeds "which everyone needs" to sell, ignoring warnings from a wise little creature called, The Lorax, who took care of the trees and creatures who lived among them. The Onceler continued taking advantage of the habitat where he lived until it could no longer support life, or business. And he was left alone. |
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The girls and I made some props from cardboard boxes and paint and they decorated masks to look like fish. I gathered up some bear masks for the "Brown Barbaloot" characters and bird masks for the "Swamee Swans". We only had one rehearsal before the actual "performance", so it was fairly dysfunctional and they weren't too interested in my backstage tips of, "Quiet backstage, keep your front to the audience - no backs to the audience, and LISTEN to the story, so you will feel how to react."
My Mom was the stage manager and helped the girls with their quick costume changes, while my brother, Scott, did a stealthy job lowering and raising the pail that the Onceler lets down to collect his payment of, "fifteen cents, a nail and the shell of a great great great grandfather snail."
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We also sold handmade pottery necklaces with environmental messages on them (and the word, UNLESS, in ode to the book!) and all proceeds are going to be donated to MacPhail Woods in Belfast P.E.I. MacPhail Woods is a wonderful organization whose goals deal with, "Combining protection of the natural area along the streams with wildlife enhancement, forest stewardship, watershed protection, environmental education and ecological research."
I think, The Lorax, is a great story not only because it is discussing environmental issues but because Dr Seuss conveys a powerful and serious message with humour, imagination and hope that appeals to both children and adults. It was written in the 1970's and is ever more pertinent today. It inspires me to get active politically and environmentally and to care about what is going on in our country and the world. I want to ask more questions and demand a higher quality of life for our children and the world, starting now. Are we ready to catch the truffula seed?
I'll leave you with wise words from Dr. Seuss, as the Onceler finds some hope for the future as he throws the last truffula seed to a child:
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UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better.
It's not.
"SO...
Catch!"
He lets something fall.
"It's a Truffula Seed.
It's the last one of all!
You're in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.
And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.
Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back." |
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