365 Days With Kiddos - #27 - Make Paper Puppets from a Children's Book

My kids don't watch a lot of TV. I try to make sure they have lots of opportunities to use their imaginations. They have been to a couple of puppet shows, thanks to the Banff Public Library and preschool. They also own more books than most children I know.

Recently, on a snowy day, I was going through these books, trying to cull a few from the collection. There is no shortage of things I could do with the ones that are in good shape; some could be passed on to friends, some could be sold to the second hand book store, and some could go to the thrift store. But what to do with the ones that are in bad shape? My toddler and I volunteer at a local thrift store a few times a week while my eldest is at preschool. We organize their books. I know for certain they do not need anymore damaged books that people could not bear to get rid of but that the store has to ultimately throw away. My kids are pretty respectful of their books, but some books I find at rummage sales and thrift stores I bring home unaware of the full extent of damage inside. We read around crayon and marker scribbles, bent pages, and stickers. We try to repair ripped pages and loose covers. But some books, namely pop up books and books that contain flaps can be a bit of a bummer when they are wrecked.

On this day, I was specifically inspired to find a use for a Spot book that was missing important pieces that conceal part of the page until you lift them up. More than half of these pieces were ripped out when it came to us. I mulled it over and remembered a cookie tin full of colored Popsicle sticks that I have also been wanting to use. The Spot book had heavy weight card stock pages, which once glued to Popsicle sticks could make great... PUPPETS! I also grabbed a heavy weight Kindermusik song book with simple illustrations that I had repaired on a couple of occasions but that refused to staying together. Voila! Time to get crafty with the cooped up kids... what a fun project for a winter storm day!

Make Puppets from Old Books
By Tiffany Teske

Materials
~ Books with card stock pages (or as a variation on this craft you can use thinner book pages glued to poster board or card stock and then cut out)
~ Scissors
~ Popsicle sticks
~ White glue (PVA is better than school glue because it won't wrinkle the paper)

Directions
1) Select the images you want to cut out of your book, remembering that you can probably only cut out an image from one side of the page.
2) Rip out the pages you will use.
3) Cut out the images. For young children who are learning to cut it is not important for them to be precise. For older kids, they can cut on the lines that are provided around the images. We didn't stick to a plan, some of the images we used are cut out on the lines and for some of them we cut out a whole scene rather than just a piece. We also cut out the title of the books so we could use them as the titles when we started out puppet show.
4) Glue your Popsicle sticks to your pieces. I am out of PVA glue so we used school glue which has more water in it and it will wrinkle even card stock if used too heavily, which is normal for young children. If you only have school glue you can minimize wrinkling by using a brush to apply the glue, sparingly. The point here is fun for your kids, not professional puppets. We didn't put Popsicle sticks on all of our pieces because my daughter wanted to use some of them like paper dolls.
5) Throw a blanket over a table and have a puppet show!

I am always happy to hear from readers who have made this craft, either on their own, or because they were inspired here. Please leave a comment if you have something to share!

New Snow & New Books

First Snow of the Year in Banff September 2010

I grew up in Minnesota where cold and snowy winters are typical and people talk about storms they have weathered with pride. The largest one I can remember was on Halloween in 1992, when 30 inches of snow dumped in one day, just two months before I moved to Phoenix, Arizona for a year and a half. I had had enough of winter. But, I learned while in Arizona that I could not stand to have the sun shine everyday and to not have any seasons to look forward to. I moved back to Minnesota briefly before heading off to Florida for one winter, which really woke me up to the fact that I am from the North and that I love winter. After a few more moves around the Northern US and Canada, I now live in the Canadian Rockies. I love everything about it, well, almost everything...

...everything except winter driving. I used to be good at winter driving. I had nerves of steel and I felt immortal. I didn't know any different. I remember that after that Halloween storm I drove an hour from my house to see a friend. I was the only compact car on the road with a bunch of seasoned truckers. I was young, I was kid free... in fact, the most winter driving I ever did was when I lived in Maine and my future husband lived in Ottawa, Ontario. I drove a 12 hour round trip to see him for 3 years. It was 6 hours on a good day or night. In a winter storm it could be an 8 - 9 hour white knuckled journey through a white out. It started with two lane windy mountain roads, then two lane highways through tiny Quebec towns, then finally a highway. I was in love. I was trying to insure offspring. NOW? You can't get me out the door and into my car if it is snowing.

Silly? Yes! I hate to admit it. With all of my experience I should only gotten better at it. But, I remember every time I have slid into a snow bank, done a 360 degree turn, and narrowly missed accidents. Our family was in a bad one when I was in the second grade. Now my nerves are shot. My family laughs at me. My friends laugh at me. My husband, with his big four wheel drive truck, laughs at me (partially because I am kind of cute when I am throwing a tantrum). He manages a ski hill that just happens to be at the top of seven switch backs on a narrow, crazy road, that only last year had guard rails put in. I do realize that if I would only get over it, it would be better. I am a huge advocate of the phrase "Be Brave". I love the idea of being "Fearless". I pretty much am in every other aspect of my life. I have traveled the world (and I don't mean luxury travel), moved from place to place, started businesses, immigrated to a new country, had a baby in my own home... I know that worrying about something is useless until there is something to worry about. And that if you don't resolve something that you will be faced with it again and again. Hence the reason I must have wound up in the Rockies, why I have to drive my daughter to French preschool in a town that is 30 minutes away three times a week, and why when I am not doing that I am driving her to a ski hill at the top of seven switchbacks. I should really get a grip.

It is the trek to preschool today that started this rant. I usually look out the window when my husband wakes me up, but today I didn't. I just got up and ready and it was only after he had put both kids in my car that I looked out the window and saw the snow. I only had the same amount of time I have on a good day to get to school but for some reason, I was feeling brave. And for the most part, things went well (when 18 wheelers weren't passing me and turning the drifting snow into zero visibility). We made it to preschool, almost on time! And after dropping Quin off, Emmanuelle and I were treated to these elk, up on a hill, enjoying the snow. I am not a wildlife photographer but I am in awe EVERY TIME is see wildlife (which is pretty much everyday) and I wanted to share it with you.

Around here it can be one thing to get where you are going but another thing to get home. The snow continued to fall for two and a half hours before we headed back. The drive went faster than I expected, Emmanuelle fell asleep, Quin & I had a nice lunch, and two packages from Amazon were waiting! If you know me, you know I am a book worm. I am just as happy with used books as with new ones and I rarely splurge but when I get holiday money I do. I have been waiting for these books and it was such a nice reward to have made it through a stressful morning to be able to find these lovelies waiting for me. I will share my opinions on these books soon... off to read!

365 Days with Kiddos - #16 - Get Your Child a Library Card and Watch Their Imaginations Grow

Ok, ok, for those of you who know me, you are probably saying, ok already, Tiffany LOVES the library. Yes, yes, it is true. I can't imagine a week going by without going to the library. It is a regular activity for us. We have TONS of books in our home but we still go to the library each week to check out books. Why? Because it is fun to get out in our community, to meet friends there, and to get to pick whatever strikes our fancy and bring it home. Where else can you do that? Where else do you have access to so many wonderful opportunities to explore materials that aid in better imagination? My oldest daughter watches about 2 hours of television a week but she "reads" several books a day on her own and 3-4 with my husband and I at bedtime. She actually turns the TV off to read a book. This may just be her personality, but I believe it is because she has always been surrounded by books, has been taken to the library, and she sees me reading all the time. If your child has not been read to or has not shown an interest in books it is never too late to start. Children just love to spend time with their parents so if you suggest sitting down and reading a book, they are almost sure to respond favorably. And the more you do it, they may start to request it. Reading is something that takes a little bit of time but is time well spent. Even if you are not much of a reader, your child will not care or judge you. They will appreciate your attention. A good way to get a child to participate in reading time is to allow them to pick the books you will read. This is where the library comes in. You don't need to purchase tons of books, you can borrow them from the library. Our library is free but we also have a card for the library in the next town, which costs $12 a year. It is money well invested. Most libraries have day and evening hours so if you have not been to your local library why not make a plan to visit soon?

365 Days with Kiddos - #13 - "Read" Your Child a Book Without Words - Book Recommendation - Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu

My husband and I read three to four bedtime stories to our children each night. My husband is bilingual French and English. His family is French Canadian and he was raised in French. He is a Francophone which means "French-speaking, typically as a primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person" (according to Wikipedia). He reads most of our French books. I have studied a lot of French in my life, most of it since meeting him. While it doesn't come easy to me, I continue to learn and can read to my children, at this point, in French. I am a Francophile, "a person who has a strong positive predisposition or interest toward the government, culture, history, or people of France. This could include France itself and its history, the French language, French cuisine, literature, etc." I am very supportive of my children and our family being part of the French Canadian culture and we are lucky enough to have a French preschool and school in the next town. Our oldest daughter attends preschool three times a week and will continue on to full time kindergarten next year. I am sure I will be posting about her school a lot. But for now, where I was going with this, is bedtime stories.

We read books in French and English, and I know that there are people all over who read to their children in two or more languages. Recently I came across a very unique book. It is a gorgeous picture book that doesn't have any text called Wonder Bear by illustrator Tao Nyeu. Wonder Bear is about two children who climb a hill to plant a garden. They have two envelopes of seeds, one that has a pumpkin on it, and one that had a top hat. The children go to sleep and wake up to seedlings in the pumpkin row and an amazing flowering vine in the top hat row. In a large flower at the top of the vine is Wonder Bear, introducing himself. From here on the story grows with additional characters that will delight your child.

I think it is important to spend time with our children and books. While most books have text that we read to them, it is a great opportunity when a book doesn't have text. Some people will shy away from this type of book, for fear they are not good story tellers, but you don't have to tell the story. The illustrations are so vivid and engaging in Wonder Bear that your child will tell you the story. You can ask them to do this before you start or you can just see what unfolds. I told Quin that her book didn't have words and we discussed what was happening in the first few pages and then she ran with it. Her imagination kicked in and took over. It was delightful! And the next night it was different, and the next a bit different. By the time it was time to return the book to the library we decided to renew it because we were having so much fun. I am sure that from now on we will be seeking out additional books without text, to go along with our other stories, so we can let our imaginations run wild.

If you know of any books that don't have text and you would like to recommend them, please leave the titles and authors in the comments below. Thank you et Merci!

Female Photographers of Etsy Release Their First Book, "She's a Rainbow"

Photo Mosaic by Amy Longberry

I have a shop on the popular handmade site, Etsy. I started selling on Etsy in 2007 and I am a member of several teams there. Teams do many things together like have group sales, hold member chats, write group blogs, and promote team members. Teams are usually formed around a theme or shared interest. One of my teams is Female Photographers of Etsy or fPOE, formed by fellow photographer, Elle Moss. The team was formed in 2009 and has over 200 members. As an admin on fPOE I have been working with team members Myan, Meganzii, Ligeia, Lililly,Shannonblue, Ena and the Swan, and Elle Moss, on our first group book, She's a Rainbow. We started the process back at the end of October. The book features four photographs from each of 58 talented members who chose to participate. The cover was designed by Myan, the cover photo is by ravencolours, and the intro was written by Futurowoman. The book is available through Blurb and can be viewed and purchased here. It has been wonderful to work on this colorful project with so many incredible female photographers.

Here are my images from the book:


Stairway to Heaven (Iceland) by Tiffany Teske


Kamibayashi by Tiffany Teske (Polaroid Transfer)


Carrotss by Tiffany Teske (Polaroid Transfer)


Deflowered by Tiffany Teske (Polaroid Transfer)

AlterNation - Wicked Book Deal

Ok, so it just dawned on me that I could write the next four posts on current books I am reading, and I just wrote the last post about a book. This blog could be called Art Food Books & Motherhood... but that would just be getting too long wouldn't it?


I wanted to bring to your attention a wicked deal on a book that I have not read but will soon have in my hands. I opened my Craft Daily Newsletter yesterday, and the first blurb was about the book Alter Nation by Shannon Okey and Alexandra Underhill. It is a must have for anyone who likes to "transform, embellish, and customize" their clothes. This is something I used to do, way back when, and something I would like to do again, now that my sewing machine and I are back on speaking terms. Now that I am a mom, the ultimate goal would be to do this with kids clothes, but I am getting ahead of myself... This book presents 30+ project ideas for you to try. Shannon and Alexandra are currently offering signed copies of their book for $8.00!! BUT WAIT! Use the code, craftzine, at check out (Paypal or Google) and you will received $1.50 off! AND SHIPPING IS FREE!!!!!!! So, of course, being a DIY book junkie, I had bought a copy of this book before I even knew what happened. I have received a nice email from Shannon, and the book will be on the way soon. I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands, and to let you know more about it.


Have I peaked your curiousity? You can check out the Alternation Blog for more info as well as Stitch Cleveland, where Shannon has a studio. This post about the book has some great images from the book, which illustrate how you can transform your thrift store finds.

AlterNation - Wicked Book Deal

Ok, so it just dawned on me that I could write the next four posts on current books I am reading, and I just wrote the last post about a book. This blog could be called Art Food Books & Motherhood... but that would just be getting too long wouldn't it?


I wanted to bring to your attention a wicked deal on a book that I have not read but will soon have in my hands. I opened my Craft Daily Newsletter yesterday, and the first blurb was about the book Alter Nation by Shannon Okey and Alexandra Underhill. It is a must have for anyone who likes to "transform, embellish, and customize" their clothes. This is something I used to do, way back when, and something I would like to do again, now that my sewing machine and I are back on speaking terms. Now that I am a mom, the ultimate goal would be to do this with kids clothes, but I am getting ahead of myself... This book presents 30+ project ideas for you to try. Shannon and Alexandra are currently offering signed copies of their book for $8.00!! BUT WAIT! Use the code, craftzine, at check out (Paypal or Google) and you will received $1.50 off! AND SHIPPING IS FREE!!!!!!! So, of course, being a DIY book junkie, I had bought a copy of this book before I even knew what happened. I have received a nice email from Shannon, and the book will be on the way soon. I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands, and to let you know more about it.


Have I peaked your curiousity? You can check out the Alternation Blog for more info as well as Stitch Cleveland, where Shannon has a studio. This post about the book has some great images from the book, which illustrate how you can transform your thrift store finds.

Book Recommendation - Lotta Prints by Lotta Jansdotter

Image from Lotta Jandotter's website

One of my favorite things about the library is the fact that I can request books I want to read, and then they order them! I have a huge addiction to non-fiction books of all kinds, but how-to crafts and art technique books are amongst my favorites. I would have to live three lifetimes to be able to actually use all the techniques I have collected from reading. This is part of the reason (that and the recent closing of our town's independent bookstore) have caused me to curb my habit, and look to the library. The first requested book I picked up from them was Lotta Prints by Lotta Jansdotter. I was thrilled to be the first person to read this book, aside from the librarians who had been drooling over it and told me so when I picked it up. Crisp, clean, almost like buying new at the bookstore. Not that I only like new, I have long loved the smell of old books. In fact, I laughed out loud in recognition when Carrie, on the Sex in the City Movie, talked about her love of smelly old books...


Cushion cover available at Jansdotter.com

This book is a design feast for the eyes. Jansdotter, originally from Sweden (like my grandmother), was always drawn to the creative arts but was not sure how to parlay that into a living. After taking a screen printing class at a community college, she quit school and moved to San Francisco. Ten years later she is a well known surface designer who writes books.


Address book available at Jansdotter.com

In this book, Lotta (whom I feel I can call by her first name) warmly shares her expertise in several areas of printmaking. The techniques covered include:
~ Iron-on Transfers
~ Rubber Stamping
~ Leaf Printing
~ Stencil Art
~ Potato Printing
~ Lino-Block Printing
~ Screen Printing


Linen remnant bag available at Jansdotter.com

The short how-tos are simply written and easy to follow. This may not be a book for those who have never tried any of these techniques, as they rely on the reader to just dive in and get started when some people need a little hand holding to take a technique and just start doing it. There are many pages of ideas and inspiration but there are not any specific step by step projects, just start to finish overviews of the general techniques and a photo gallery of ways to use them.


Image from Jansdotter.com

I have taken several classes in printing, from printing making with a press to mono printing, and I am excited to take what I learned in this book and to incorporate it in future mixed media pieces, as well as to try some basic surface printing on textiles. I wish I could take a class from Lotta, she does offer them. Howeverm this book is the next best thing to actually learning in her presence. Thanks, Lotta!

Dad and Sis Visit

I love it when my dad and little sister, Tillie, visit us. Quin is old enough now that she knows who they are and she gets very excited to see them. She won't let them out of her sight while they are staying with us. It is so heart warming.

One of the things I love most about having Dad and Tillie around is that we have about 3 days to just hang out and enjoy each other. They request that I make crepes for breakfast, which I love to make and eat. We had banana and pecan crepes the first morning, strawberry and raspberry crepes the second, and old fashioned thick buttermilk pancakes on the last morning, which Andre made. We are kind of the king and queen of breakfast foods. We rarely eat cereal or toast for breakfast, we tend to make the kind of foods that most people reserve for the weekends. It almost always involves cooking, except for our fresh fruit smoothies.


Dad and Tillie like to go for walks, to watch cartoons with Quin, to read books, oooohhhh books! My Aunt Helen, my dad's sis, introduced me to wonderful books as a child and thus began my love of books. Especially old vintage books with amazing illustrations. Naturally as a photographer, I loves spend time looking at photographs, but I most love books that have illustrations. Tillie, also has a love of books, thanks in part to Helen, and I am sure my Dad and her Mom. She is much more scientific than I am, so when her books are not fiction they are how things work and joke books, where as I being naturally curious about most things, also like the how things work titles and, of course, art books.


Dad, Tillie, Quin, and I all love to hunt for treasures. This means, we like the antique store, the thrift store, and any other sort of opportunity to rummage. The day they arrive was the last day of the very large and awesome annual church rummage sale at a church on Banff Avenue. Before teaching an art course at the library that day (see next post) I had gone and scored TONS of old books no one wants for like $10. The weekend turned out to be a lot about books...

On Friday, after I taught my morning ballet class, we went to Canmore to the thrift store, where I found an amazing beaded antique purse, and I bumped into Maureen, who went in the back to Wendy's station and came back with gifts for me! A French book for Quin, an old Polaroid camera, and an old movie camera. Thank you, thank you!! Then, we went to the antique store, which was basically a bust. The last three times we went there, a very kind and generous old gentleman was working. He loved the fact that my dad, myself, Tillie, and Quin, were all enjoying going out to look at historic things together. Dad would keep Quin on his shoulders, and look around with her, while Tillie, who is very outgoing, would ask the man about each and every little item that struck her fancy. He would tell her about it, then offer her deals on everything. It was so much fun, we could stay for well over an hour with no crabbiness or damage. Well, this time, a woman was working, and the minute she saw Tillie and Quin she just about freaked out. Quin was safe on Dad's shoulder's, but every time Tillie looked like she might touch something the woman would fly towards her and speak down to her in a screeching voice. She would look over to Dad and I like we should tell her to stop whatever she was doing but we pretended not to notice. Tillie is 10 years old, very conscientious, and respectful. She did nothing to make this woman become so suspicious and rude. And mind you this is not a high end antique shop with expenses items. I know when a child should be somewhere and when they should not. Anyway, we left, and had much more fun buying little birds on sticks that you put in plant pots from the florist next door.

On Saturday, Dad wanted to help us out with picking up a pillow top mattress for Quin and a double jogger stroller from Keleigh, who is moving. Dad bought the mattress for Quin's Christmas gift, and it is awesome! She still sleeps with us a lot but she is starting to enjoy her room and bed. Afterward, we went to the Canmore Friends of the Library Used Book Sale (just to continue our book theme). It was soooooo great that we had to leave after a half an hour or I would have brought home tons of books. Quin and Tillie picked some items, and I was thrilled to find tons of French books and some French videos for Quin. After a treat at Beamer's Coffee Shop we headed home with our spoils.


Andre was busy at work during their visit, he manages a ski area that opened for the season the same weekend, but he was able to join us for dinner out every night, which is also a nice luxury we enjoy with Dad. Thanks so much Dad for coming to see us! See you next month in Minnesota...

Renew Your Library Card

I have loved the library since I was a small child. I can't remember a time when I didn't know what the library was. My most clear childhood memories of the library

involve checking out the baby names books while the librarian looked at me sideways (I used to write name books and I still collect names), looking up the addresses to send away for my favorite stars autographs, shelving books (yes, I was a bit of a strange child), and just spending time with the books. Every Wednesday for awhile, I would take the bus after school to the public library across from the office where my mom worked one day a week. I had a bit over two hours to spend there and the time would fly by. I remember that place vividly, and I get giddy when I see it while in town on holiday. I also remember all the libraries in each school I went to. I can thank my Aunt Helen for my love of books. And I can thank taking a good look at my lifestyle and trying to make environmentally sounds choices for getting me back to the library. That and having a baby, whom I want to expose to the library on a regular basis. So far, so good. The Banff Public Library is a place we go at least once a week. We can walk there, hang out with the books, check some out, and go to the town park and sprawl in the grass with our new stories (well, not in the winter...). Our daughter already has a voracious appetite for books, both in French and English. And our library can keep her stocked in both. Recently, I even submitted my resume to the library. Nothing would make me happier than to be surrounded by books, to help people find and check out books, and to shelve books (yes, I continue to be a bit strange, I like to think it makes me unique...). Even my husband, who doesn't read for pleasure, sings the praises of the library. While moving into our new home he cursed my boxes upon boxes of books, but I think he realised that if it weren't for our return to the hallowed walls of the library, his back and my book collection would eventually becoming a growing concern.

Sew What?!

Oh geez, I would be a sewing fiend if I would just trust myself. I learned how to sew in high school, and have paid two different sewing diva friends to teach me since, and I have still never made anything more than a simple sheath dress, a tank, and a couple of skirts. I have so many ideas... and I have a sewing machine... come on already! I can be one of those people who trusts myself to learn from a book or the total opposite and need to be shown by someone step by step... for the machine I feel I need the step by step. I can hand stitch with out any problem ;) Anyway, I asked Maureen, at Victory, for some lessons. She can't do it for a month or more but suggested I find a good book in the meantime. So, today, while in Calgary picking up our good friend, Jean Marc, who is visiting from Ottawa, I checked out the titles in Chapters and I think I found the one. It is called Sew Subversive and it pretty much starts right at the beginning and seems easy to follow. Now I just need an Etsy sale or two so I can buy it. Can't wait!!

Almost February...

Wow! Where did the month go? Crazy! Today it continued to be freezing and we finally left the house. Had to go to Canmore to see our chiropractor, Dr. Dorothy. She helps us to help ourselves to stay healthy!

We also stopped by the Second Chance shop, which is a shop set up to raise funds for the Bow Valley SPCA, which is a No-Kill, No-Cage Adoption Centre that shelters and cares for stray or abandoned dogs and cats in our area. The shop is run by our former landlord, who has been bringing abandoned animals up from New Orleans for adoption. Quin, my little one, is a bit afraid of dogs at the moment but maybe we will be in the market for a kitty at some point. At any rate, I found some awesome silverware and a clock that I plan to revamp into art.

On the way home I dropped off my paperwork for the International Women's Day local art exhibit at the Banff Library. They always have two carts of books for sale in the lobby. Some are withdrawn from the library, others are donations. Usually they are a dollar or two a piece but today they were $2 a bag! Everyone who knows me knows that I love the library, and I love books. I secretly wish I were a librarian... all the piece and quiet, surrounded by books, books, and more books! I ended up with a bag full, mostly for collage images. There were several wonderful old nature books. The older the better for me!



Last week I made my THIRD submission to Shots photography magazine. It is my FAVORITE photography magazine in that there is no advertising, one interview, and the rest is a gallery of images submitted by readers based on a theme. It is a quarterly magazine published in my home town of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I never knew about it when I lived there but then again I have not lived there since 1993. It has been in publication for 21 years. I am a huge fan. The theme for the upcoming issue is Portraits. One of the things that I love about Shots is that usually the theme is not taken too literally. There are many surprises in the chosen images. I can't wait to see the issue. And I hope the third time is a charm for my submission. Here are a few of the 12 images I submitted...