Freezer Paper Stencils

The same day we worked on the potato prints, I did a couple of other tees for Fiona. I had recently read online about freezer paper stencils. I've used freezer paper before for various things, but this never occurred to me. It's really easy. Freezer paper has a dull side and a shiny side. If you iron the paper, shiny side down, on low, it will temporarily stick to fabric. I found this post on The Paperseed that had directions and templates for freezer paper stencils.



You could hand-draw and cut out your stencils, but I opted for the easier way: feed the freezer paper into the printer and print the designs straight onto the freezer paper, cut and iron. I used an x-acto knife to cut. So quick and easy! Then simply fill the space with fabric paint using a sponge. By the way, these have now been washed several times, and the paint is still looking perfect. I just turn them inside out before washing.





I removed the freezer paper after the paint set a little, but before it really dried. I didn't want the paint to peel off the shirt. Then I did added a few details free-hand. Voila! An adorable little tee that would cost 4 times as much from a boutique. After the bird, I did one last design- I just couldn't resist.

Potato Printing

I've been wondering where my time is going, when actually, we've been really busy doing fun stuff. So this week is hereby designated as Craft Week, and I will spend it sharing the things we've been making. First stop: potato prints.

These are standard kids art fare., but I don't ever remember making them. I can see why it's so popular, because they are super fun and easy. I also think it's a great way to get the kids practicing with color and design without worrying too much about drawing shapes or naturalistic representation.







This time, we went the simple route. Just slice off the end of a potato- ours were covered with "eyes" but it doesn't matter for this. We used washable tempera paint, but you could use whatever you have on hand. Pool some paint on a paper plate, dip the sliced potato into the paint and blot off the excess. Press onto art paper, and voila! Repeat!



They really did have a great time trying out different color combinations and making texture with different amounts of paint. While they were working, I was working as well. I bought some little tee shirts for Fiona to wear to bed. (Regular PJs don't fit over her fatty cloth nighttime diapers.) I love the Under the Nile brand because they are so soft and well made- they last forever. Even after two boys, their clothes still look great. The fact that they are organic is a bonus in my book.

For the first one, I cut and shaped a slice for the petals and a slice for the center of the flowers. The second one is just a slice, au natural, like the boys used. I think I like that better. It's very simple and organic. Of course, Baby Girl looks adorable in either one!

Times A-Changin'

I got a little caught up in my UK pictures. I've also been busy on a bunch of projects that I will share over the next few posts. But I realize that it has been a little while since you've seen pics of the little squish. She's still squishy, but she's not so little. Her newest role around here is as the local King Kong.

"I will destroy your puny, miserable train track! And then I will eat this bridge!"



The repair crews hurried out to replace the bridge so that train traffic could get in and out and around the city. But the giant attacked relentlessly.



And this is only the beginning of the story.

UK Part IV- London

I've been dragging this out long enough. This is going to be a whirlwind tour of our two days in London. Beginning with first impressions. The things which always catch my eye are the things that I can't/haven't see anywhere else.





We either walked or rode the tube everywhere. Mind the gap. We even got ourselves crammed on a train car like sardines at rush hour and climbed up these ridiculous stairs at the Russel Square station. 177 steps. No escalators. I couldn't figure out why there was a line for the elevator.





Of course, we walked past Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. Insert tour director voice here. Incidentally, did you know that Big Ben is actually the bell, not the clock? As we were standing on this bridge, Big Ben tolled three, while a bagpiper played across the bridge.





Everyone said, "You have to go to Harrods." So we went to Harrods. But it was so much more than I was expecting. Where else can you buy a yacht and LEGOS, and find Laduree next to a Krispy Kreme??





We saw As You Like It at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. That may have been one of the most enjoyable things we did. It turns out, that if you put together fantastic actors in a wonderful theatre, we like Shakespeare!





We went to the British Library to see the Magna Carta and other amazing historical documents. Then we breezed through the British Museum to see the sarcophagi. I think you could go there everyday for a month and not see everything.



Another highlight of London was the Tower of London. AMAZING! And we just happened to be there on the anniversary of death of Anne Boleyn. There were flowers over her grave site and by her name on the memorial where she was beheaded.





Wonderful trip! I'm so glad we got to do it. It wasn't necessarily how we planned it, and that was great. We saw lots of amazing things, and left lots more to be seen next time.



Oh, and I almost forgot...we ate black pudding! Anyone know where to get that in the States??!

UK Part III- Blenheim & Clapton-on-the-Hill

Our second B&B was Clapton Manor. Our hostess, Karin, was a wonderful, cheery, down-to-earth woman who was full of suggestions for what to see, where to eat and anything else. This was great, because we hadn't fully planned what we would do there. This is the gateway into their lovely side yard. We had tea outside in the courtyard our first afternoon. Clapton Manor sits in a tiny little village of Clapton-on-the-Hill. Don't you just love all those descriptive names? As I'm sure you can guess- the village sits on the top of a hill. Everett came to the full realization of this when he went running- every route had him going uphill on the way back.









Our room looked out on one side to the couryard, and on the other side, to the village church here. Karin suggested a drive our first evening that would take us through some of the picturesque surrounding villages, and then a great little pub called the Fox Inn for dinner. By the way, just try searching by the name of a pub in your GPS. You will realize how many pubs are called The Fox, The Horse and Groom, The Horse and Hound, The Horse and Coach, The Coachman, and so forth!

We spent the next day at Blenheim Palace. It is the current home of the Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. So, besides being a beautiful home and garden, it is full of fascinating history. I wish we could have taken pictures inside because it was really spectacular. Though I doubt my pictures would have done it justice.















We toured the palace, which included some very interesting displays about Winston Churchill, walked the gardens and had lunch in the garden. After our late lunch, we finished the gardens with a walk through the hedge maze. Everett is being a human sundial, as his shadow tells us the time.





We headed back to the B&B where Karin had a fire waiting for us in the sitting room and tea and cake! Just what we needed after a long day. We were so refreshed, we did some walking around the village before dinner and came across this red telephone booth. We had passed many like this, and I was so sure I wouldn't get a picture if we didn't stop. But we stumbled upon this one- they really do put them in the most extraordinary places! After our walk we went to dinner at another nearby pub- The King's Head! Too funny!

UK Part II- Wiltshire, Bath & The Cotswolds

I realized after my last post, that I never shared about our last-minute changes of plans. This trip was planned as a piggy-back onto a work trip for Ev. He was scheduled to speak at a conference in London, so we booked a ticket for me, and reserved a few extra days at the hotel so we could do some sight-seeing together. Less than two weeks before we were due to leave for our trip, the conference was cancelled. Crazy, huh? So they did some scrambling and tried to find some other reasons for a work trip, like visiting British air bases to talk with their British counterparts. We changed all of our accommodation reservations and I went to work re-planning our trip and researching what there was to see in the countryside. After about a week, it became evident that we were not able to do both work and pleasure in one trip. So we bought Ev a ticket and turned it into a vacation. It made for a very stressful pre-trip week, but in the end it worked out really well. We were able to see things that we would not have seen, and meet some very nice people along the way.

Which brings us to our second day. We headed first to Stourhead. It is a beautiful house, though we didn't go inside. I wanted to see the famous landscape garden. I was not disappointed. It was a beautiful time of year to be there, as the garden is filled with rhododendrons and azaleas which were all in bloom.











Eighteenth century landscape gardens are known for their "follies," such as the Greek-inspired temples and hidden grottoes that we explored. However, Stourhead has a magnificent folly of a different sort, named King Alfred's Tower. Maybe they wouldn't classify it as a folly in the strictest sense, because it was built partially to commemorate a historical event. Nonetheless, it was built primarily to impress the visitors to Stourhead. And it is impressive. We climbed the 205 steps to the top of the 160 ft tower, and we were rewarded with breathtaking views of the Wiltshire countryside.









The next stop on our trip was the city of Bath. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived in Bath, I wasn't feeling very well. Over-tired and under-nourished, I think. We only stayed a few hours, and saw a fraction of what we had planned, but I just wore myself out earlier in the day. It was also very, very crowded. We did see the Roman baths and walked around a little bit in the city center.





Despite feeling "rather moldy," as one of our b&b hosts put it, I did get a kick out of seeing this music man in the square. I also had to have a picture of this crazy pig sitting at the base of the Bath Abbey. What a crazy juxtaposition!





We left Bath early, and began our drive up to the northern part of the Cotswolds where we had reservations for the next two nights. I admit, I slept most of the way, while Everett drove and the GPS navigated. I'm disappointed that I missed so much of that drive, but my body demanded that I give in and sleep eventually. Here is a sneak peek at the Cotswolds.