book review: Meet the Artist! {Picasso and Calder}

 

Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! Have you seen these wonderfully fantastic interactive books by Patricia Geis from Princeton Architectural Press? They are tremendously informative and fun (I had no idea Picasso's father was a painter or that Alexander Calder painted up a BMW). When Princeton Architectural Press contacted me to see if I would like to review a copy of each, I barely finished reading the email before I replied with a hearty YES! I'm a mad art fan however you want to spell it. Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder are always favorites in my book so how could I say no?

I am delighted, delighted that I did. The Meet the Artist series is ever-so-lovely, well thought-out, and put together. I teach three-year-olds and already I can imagine what wonderful tools these titles will be for me in class. You can bet we are going to Calder it up with stabiles, mobiles, wire sculptures, and recycled art. As for Picasso, we will be pulling out our scissors-skills and glue sticks to make artastic collages all in his name.

 

I think my favorite parts are all the little flaps with biographic information behind them. With the information tucked behind the flaps, you could easily read the words featured on the pages as a story. With older children you can have them flip the flaps and read you the information. With even older children you can sit back and discuss what you read so really, these books are for ALL ages!

 

Both titles stand alone are beautiful to look at on the shelf. The covers are sturdy and engaging and once you open each book up you are immediately welcomed with interesting facts before your eyes hit the title page .

 

And if the subject matter doesn't reel you in, or the flaps, or the pull-outs...did I mention the pull-outs...well check out the very very back of each title to find a little bit of interactive fun that encourages you to build your own art a-la Picasso or art a-la Calder. I really, really hope to see more from this series! For now I need to order up a few copies of each...these will be dandy gifts for almost everyone in my family.

Sewing School 2: review and a giveaway

 

I am thrilled to be a part of the Sewing School 2 by Amie Petronis Plumley and Andria Lisle blog tour! **To be included with such inspiring blogs such as Red Bird Crafts, The Crafty Crow, and maya*made has me doing a happy dance and the timing couldn't have been more perfect as I had a crafty day all set up with Miss Za of the adventures of ander and zaza.

Sewing School 2 is a delightful book. The projects within are simple and adaptable with instructions that greatly helped even me (I am a wonky sewer at best). The envelope of patterns in the back keeps all the pieces within reach and the photos by Justin Fox Burns are so eye catching that Za and I peered through the book many times over making grand plans as to what would be created on our crafty date. 

Miss Za has her own sewing machine at home so we skipped over the basics covered in the first few chapters (though I did go back and read on my own and found them to be super helpful for beginning sewers; zippers now seem doable!) and went straight to the projects. Though many caught our eye (the Sleepy Bear, and Stripy Quilt to name two),  Za decided she wanted to stitch up her very own bag and so we turned to the ehold project and gave it a read through.

Our main fabric had a pattern going  in a direction that would not work with the pattern and so I quickly stitched up a larger swath of fabric for Za to use in her bag making. Because we only had a half yard of the owl fabric Miss Za really wanted to use and because direction the owls faced on the half yard prevented up from creating the bag as described, we sat down and did another read through and some strategic planning.

Za was going to use her bag for everyday use and so we opted out of the batting but we did find a large piece of fabric in my stash that would work as a lining and so after a good pressing of seams on the larger patchwork piece we were good to go.

After cutting out the pattern, Za pinned it to her fabrics (we had a long talk about why we face the right sides together) and cut them out. The sewing machine was mostly ready, all we needed to do was select the thread. Za placed one corner of her soon-to-be bag under the needle and foot and got to sewing, remembering to do a back stitch and keeping her needle down for turning corners (the colored TIP boxes on each page  were super helpful ). 

After stitching, Za removed all her pins and turned her fabric right side out. She was able to refer to the book for each step. We closed up the open seam and decided on where the top part of the bag would fold over the bottom and it was back to the sewing machine. Though we did not do an exact ehold, we made use of the instructions, design, and pattern that were all there. From start to finish this bag took us a little over two hours including a trip back to the craft store to pick up ribbon for the strap. We even had some time to create a few Tag Alongs!

 

Back home, Miss Za has been using her bag daily and is quite proud of all the work she put in it. I really enjoyed having my basic sewing needs answered in one lovely book. I also see quite a few plush microphones and guitars in my future (the children at the preschool are gonna love them!)

If you are in the U.S. and would like an opportunity to win your very own copy of Sewing School 2 please leave me a comment here with your contact info or leave a message and like scrumdilly-do's facebook page and I will choose a winner on Wednesday, July 31st. Happy sewing and don't forget to visit each blog on the tour!

Don't miss the rest of the tour for more chances of winning your own copy:

July 7:  Our Busy Homeschool

July 8:  scrumdilly-do!

July 9:  Crafty Moms Share

July 10: Jane of All Trades

July 11: Windy Lou

July 12: Adventures of a DIYMom

July 13: Improv Diary

July 16: He Sowed She Sewed

July 17: Teach Beside Me

July 18: All Things withPurpose

July 19: The Crafty Crow

July 20: Family Style School

July 21: Such Designs

July 22: Red Bird Crafts

July 23: The Long Thread

July 25: maya*made

**{For this post, I received a copy of Sewing School 2 to review and a copy to offer in a giveaway.  All opinions  and photos other than the cover presented in this post are my own.}

Show Me a Story; book love and giveaway

Happy October, friends! Today I am delighted to be a part of a wonderful book tour promoting the book Show Me a Story by Emily K. Neuburger of red bird crafts. Emily has packity-packed her book full of inspiring ideas, projects and activities to get you and your wee one’s literary juices flowing. Forty craft projects and activities fill the pages to spark children’s (and your own) storytelling.

Show Me a Story is a published by Storey Publishing and is a fantastic specimen to add to your library. As an educator and all around literacy enthusiast I found Show Me a Story enticingly creative. Emily has not only written a wonderful introduction explaining the benefits of storytelling with children but she has given you a basketful of encouragement to share your own stories.

I spend much of my work time hanging out with toddlers. While their language is not quite up to a storyteller’s caliber I found many of the projects in the book to be adaptable for them and their older schoolmates to manipulate and play with. I have pretty much bookmarked all of the projects for future use and decided to create a few sets of the Magic Pebbles found in chapter four. Magic Pebbles are less a tool to get children writing and more an object for exploration and imagination.

Each pebble got a couple of coats of paint, a dash of glitter and a bit of mod podge to seal it all in. I presented their cheerfulness in a trio of strawberry baskets placed on a table out in our courtyard. The toddlers headed straight for them and the soon were scattered, lined up, horded, carried and dumped into our water table. One youngster attempted to stack them up like blocks. I couldn’t have been more pleased.

I did not get to observe our three year olds or pre-k students play with them but each time I passed the table those pebbles appeared to be in a new arrangement. From lining up, to stacking and even color sorted, I think these pebbles were a hit. My next batch however will include a water resistant sealant of some sort. At the end of the day, most of my pebbles had lost their color but I am certain they had quite an adventure.

I also whipped up a small bag for each set of pebbles following this tutorial. After a bit of stitched whimsy and an adventure in stamping the bags to read magic stones, I think they will make a great gift for any young person in your life.

If you are in the United States and would like to have a chance at winning your own copy of Show Me a Story, please leave a comment here, along with your email sharing with me your absolute all time favorite picture book. I will select a winner Friday so be sure to return to the ‘do! You can also enter to win a copy by visiting the Storey Publishing blog. I hope you get a chance to view the book. Happy reading, friends!

Schooling for Sustainability

Smart by Nature: Schooling for Sustainability by Michael K Stone

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Here is the most inspirational book I have read all year. Whether you or a teacher, parent, or person who is simply concerned for the world around you this is a must read. You will learn from it and your children will learn from it. My head is spinning with all the new books and schools I need to research. Where do I start? I will start small and that will be okay.



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