humming, buzzing, spinning
March 9, 2011
Rose and I feel like we are in the circus ring with 10 spinning plates in the air. And it’s all good.
Rose is working away on our new official website for The Little Bits workshop which we hope to launch in a just a few days. I’m planning our first Green Makers Spring Camp which will be March 28 – April 1. Each day will be self-contained like it’s own unit. So if kids can’t make it for the whole week, they won’t have half a project.
Birthdays are a-buzz and After School Workshops are getting fuller and fuller. Last week we hosted an extremely fun birthday party for nine beautiful four-year-olds who went home with “Mini-Me” collages of themselves as Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road.
There’s nothing as thrilling as seeing how excited kids get when they see what they have accomplished!
Our First Anniversary was on President’s Day and we had 60 guests! What a blast!! We had about four projects for guests to choose from. Nobody went away empty-handed.
Every day, someone new calls or comes to visit. This is all a dream come true!
birthday palooza
February 5, 2011
We’ve had two birthday parties in two days—one for my daughter and one for our friend Heidi….a “grown-up.”
Yesterday was my daughter, Miika’s 8th birthday party. The party project? A needle felted Owl Pillow.
The kids REALLY loved creating these. It was so thrilling to see how proud they were of their own work.
Whalah! And they were so excited and wiggly that I couldn’t get a clear picture!!!!
As each child left, they were squeezing their owls so tightly.
Today was Heidi’s birthday. What a blast! Her friends gathered and made little purses for phones, a laptop, a book and what-nots…
Here’s a closeup of Vanessa’s little phone purse.
a little tour
February 2, 2011
For my faraway friends and family and those who’ve been meaning to stop by, here’s a little tour of The Little Bits Workshop.
Upcoming special events are:
Anniversary Open House: Monday, February 21, 10am – 3pm
Green Makers Spring Camp: March 28 – April 1, 9:30am – 2:30pm
hospital workshops
January 26, 2011
Last Friday Rose and I did our monthly workshop at Children’s Hospital in Maywood. Our project was tag banners. The goal: to perk up hospital rooms with a simple message that would help kids think ahead. I was amazed at how fast each child came up with their words. Jayla’s word was “PEACE.”
Whala!
Our friend here is a Bears fan, but all he really wants when he goes home is a CHINCHILLA!
This star basketball is missing the end of her season, but had a good attitude and kept her focus on next year.
Rose and I always leave the hospital with our hearts full. These kids give us so much more than we give them.
We’ve discovered that our projects not only benefit the children who are patients, but also their parents who are feeling a little stir crazy in the hospital rooms. One mom told us how depressed she was just sitting around in the hospital and thanked us for bringing her something to do that kept her mind busy for a few hours.
We never know what ages the children will be, so we design projects that can be done by anyone. These tag banners were made by upcycling wall paper samples as well as paper donated by Graphix Products in West Chicago.
Our goal is to simply bring positive, productive ideas that point kids and their parents to a healthy future.
altered couture
January 11, 2011
In the weeks and days before Christmas, sweaters became texting gloves, hats, and even little sweaters for little people. Here are a few of my favorite project results from moms who came to sew on Thursday nights at The Little Bits Workshop, upcycling sweaters into gifts. Thank you Gretchen and Jill for sending photos of the recipients of your handiwork!!
Identical twins, but not sweaters. Jill, they are SOOOOO adorable!
Margo in her Little Red Ridinghood sweater made by her mom Gretchen. Lovely!! Looks like it came from Anthropologie for kids!
snapshots of a buzzing December
December 26, 2010
December 10 Trunk Show for Little Bits Workshops benefitting workshops at The Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital, Maywood, IL.
Birthday party project making snow man kits
A needle felted scarf is inside a homemade gift box—a handmade gift from one Little Bits regular to another. What a rewarding gift on so many other levels!
Fast forward to Christmas Day and run down the street to our home….Nathan’s little dreams of a train table came true!
And today Nathan is five!! He made his own yummy brownie cake topped with coconut!
Give a gift that gives twice!
December 2, 2010
American Artworks Gallery 7314 W. Madison Street, Forest Park, IL 60130, 708-557-1761, americanartworksgallery.com
These vintage brooch necklaces, inspired by Anthropologie, are among many one-of-a-kind gifts that Rose and I produced to raise funds for workshops at the Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital in Maywood.
so thankful….
November 27, 2010
I think Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday. And the more guests the merrier! The R.S.V.P.s just kept rolling in and then 5 strangers knocked on the door. Our final headcount was around 28!
Miika rolled up the sets of silverware… Good job!
Everyone started arriving promptly at 5pm.
It was the most wonderful day! Our students were from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Turkey, China, Japan, Korea, Venesuela and Brazil.
the workshop is buzzing!
November 14, 2010
These past 2 weeks have been a blast! On November 4, we had 14 ladies at our evening workshop making fingerless gloves, hats, legwarmers and so much more. We were so busy I only took 2 photos! And I can’t show them because our female Muslim students took off their head coverings which they wouldn’t want anyone to see them without…
This past week there were 8 of us including a couple from Libya—Makram and Nada (students who live with us at the building we manage). My friend Rose helped Nada make a beautiful cashmere baby bunting for their little boy who is due in January—repurposing sweaters of course.
Mary (below) transformed her husband’s old sweater into 2 Christmas stockings for her children. The snowman and tree are needle felted on.
Everyone created, laughed, shared and went away happy with a sense of accomplishment! Plus a few items were checked off Christmas lists.
Nathan & Ming
November 9, 2010
On any given Saturday, if we are home doing chores, we are also tuned in to PBS watching cooking shows. Miika is a little ambivalent but not Nathan. He is a cook. If I’m folding laundry, he’ll pull the socks out of the basket and start chopping (pretend) and stirring them with his eyes glued to the TV cook, imitating their actions. Nathan knows all their names: Jacque, Lida, Steve….MING. When Ming comes on, Nathan is star struck.
So, when Paul read in the Trib that Ming was going to be in town, Nathan got to play hooky last Tuesday to meet him at Macy’s on State Street. He wouldn’t eat what Ming cooked (I gladly ate Nathan’s portion!!), but he was mesmerized. We bought Ming’s new book, stood in line for an autograph and captured the magic memory with the camera. It was worth skipping school for! We had a blast and I learned a few tricks!
