Ella's Corner, Activities and Such...

This previous post was about the inspiration on creating a little play area for Ella. I've been working on it little by little each day.  Here's a little bit of what I've done.  Her little corner is probably about 4'x5', so it's not very big.  

Bird's eye view, the little corner between the bookcase and the wall was changed - the mirror boxes were moved to right side instead of along the wall and pillows were added for sitting on.  

The pillows

Magnets!  Found the little lamp at a consignment store and used christmas lights in it.  Ella is playing with a little drop box I made out of a cardboard box (original inspiration from Play at Home Mom)

These Crayola White Board Crayons are fantastic and easy for Ella to use.  Best part, they wipe off the board, counters, and floors in a cinch. :)  Velcro was put on the back of the cup so she can pull it off.  Which happens every time I put it up, go figure. The white board is a little activity cube found at a consignment shop, it was Ella's 1st birthday gift

Drawing area.  It's not much interest to her right now, but I'm sure it will be soon enough. Same "velcro-on-cup" thing going on here

The back of the activity cube has a felt wall.  I cut out some felt shapes to put on it :)

The drop box.  I may have formed a painful blister making this, but it was so worth it.  Ella loves it! She's been having fun exploring the different objects that fit into the various holes.  Parts of it, of course, are much more advanced.  The stones have the letters and numbers written on them.  I also have a container of marbles that have been fun to put in the holes, along with little pom poms.

Finger painting with raspberry juice (and Ella's white board coloring...well...I helped a little)

Water-time on the porch!

Playing with the drop box and cups

Putting marbles and pom poms in cups

Mama Poncho

My friend Rebecca over at Osborne Fiber helped me in my babywearing endeavors: she made a "mamaponcho" for me.  I just received it in the mail today and am in love.  I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I can't wait for Fall (yes, even a Seattle fall!) so I can wear it everyday.  I'm pretty sure it'll be the talk of my neighborhood.  I wore it out today because it was on the chillier side (it is only the end of July, you know) and got so many comments and compliments from people.  The public agrees, Rebecca, it's beautiful!

The Sisterhood Series III

"Sister, Show Me How"

Oil Pastel on Canvas

10"x10"

Original photo courtesy of Jen Q. It stood out to me because of the generations captured in it.  The midwife helping Jen nurse her youngest, while Jen's older two daughters look on.  Those daughters, though young still, are being taught how to breastfeed any future children they might have - not only because they were nursed for a biologically normal length of time - but more importantly because they witnessed their mother breastfeed.  

Creativeness

Recently, I fell in love with a new blog: Play At Home Mom.  It's filled with some fantastic ideas for crafts and play with littles.  Well, it also inspired me to make some of my own gadgets to assist with that kind of play, since Ella is getting to that stage where play is becoming a fun thing. :)  Today I hit up Good Will, and these were my finds:

Little cups! perfect for holding all kinds of crafty things.  Ella is also very much likes putting things in cups and taking them back out.  She's been playing with the cups since we got home with them.

A mirror, for sensory play!  I imagine this will be fun to do things on. Paint with watercolors? Play with shaving cream?  The options are endless...

Or she can just look at herself in the mirror :)

But here's the cool part.  It's actually a medicine cabinet - so open it up, and it has these nice little cubbies for organizing playthings!

Another medicine cabinet.  It was too cute to pass up.  I am going to turn this into a light table.  I found a glass cutting board (nice and tempered so it won't shatter!) that will fit over this.  Looking forward to putting that together.

I'll just take the mirror out, replace it with the glass, put the light fixture on the inside, and there we go!

A metal tray for magnetic play

Aaaannnnd....then I went all out and reorganized our living room to give Boo her own little play area.  I'm in love with it.  I think I'll hang some little pictures on the wall that will be her height.  I need to go through things and simplify them.  I like the montessori way of keeping things simple.  But that will take more effort than I care to expend right now. :)

  Oh, and I only spent $22.  To buy a new children's play light table that I was looking at cost $179.  

The Sisterhood Series II

"Modes of Birth"

Oil Pastel on Canvas

10"x10"

Original image* of Dr. Agnes Gereb of Hungary, who was imprisoned in 2010 for assisting homebirths

 *taken from pg. 217 of Birth Matters by Ina May Gaskin

The Sisterhood Series: part I, part II

The Sisterhood Series I

 "And let the older women teach the younger women to be good house keepers. "

While reading Ina May's newest book, Birth Matters, I was inspired to do a new art series entitled The Sisterhood.  This series is about women.  More and more I realize how little "real life" is carried down from one generation to another.  Women should be learning about their menses, breasts, sex, birth and menopause from one another.  There should be great joy in passing down wisdom and in approaching a new phase in life.  Instead, it seems like things are met with fear.  Girls are taught to suppress their menses by artificial means, instead of embracing the wonder that comes from that sacrificial blood flow.  Women should understand birth as the amazing, wonderful experience that it is, instead of dreading it with fear and anguish.  They should not fear it because they have grown up witnessing it as a normal part of life.  Women should have support from their mothers, their aunts, their sisters, their grandmothers.  In this series I hope to capture this essence of generational teaching and learning, focused mostly on birth.  Following is a poem written as my first inspiration of the series:

Sister, Teach Me

Sister, teach me please

Teach me how these buds become

Blooming into juicy pomegranates 

That will feed a little one

Sister, teach me please

Teach me about this flow in me

That begins this amazing spiral

From which life becomes a possibility 

Sister, teach me please

Teach me about my womb

About the way a child becomes

And grows as in a safe cocoon

Sister, teach me please

Teach me about my power

About the waves that rush over me

In my birthing hour

Sister, teach my please

Teach me about my breasts

And how they nurse a suckling babe

And soothes itself to rest

Sister, teach me please

Teach me how to mother

So my children are secure and attached

A form deep relationships with eachother

Sister, teach me please

Teach me about when the cycles terminate

And how a new phase begins its course

And I join the elder sisters to educate

The Sisterhood Series: part I, part II

New Painting

There is no title yet, but this is the latest painting.  Quite obviously inspired by Ella.  It's about breast milk and the breastfeeding relationship.  The words not only describe feelings I had/have about nursing, but also specific things *in* breast milk that make it so amazing.

The Base

I made a word cloud to help with the text that had been picked out

Then transferred said word cloud (with some alterations) onto the painting

And then I did some more painting! :)  Though the background could probably have benefited from being less busy.  O well.