giant bubbles

If you've never tried these giant bubbles, you just MUST before the summer's out. They are mesmerizing and so much fun.

My mom made a big batch of the solution for a family reunion, but you can make it in small batches too.

Magic Bubble Solution

Small recipe:

1/2 cup Dawn dish soap

2 1/2 cups water

1 T glycerin (you can find this at a drug store)

1 1/2 t sugar

Place all the ingredients into a container. Stir well. 

Crowd recipe:

4 cups dish soap

20 cups water

1/2 cup glycerin

1/4 cup sugar

Put it in a pail and stir well.

You can get the giant wands - the plastic version - at some toy stores. You can also make your own.

Giant Bubble Wands

Supplies:

• 3/8" dowel
• 2 washers, approx. 2" diameter
• 4 feet of cording that has a bit of a weave to it (to absorb more bubble solution)
• duct tape 

1. After cutting your cording, measure down about 12 inches and make a loop. Put the loop through one washer, bend the loop back over the ring, then pull both ends of the cording through the loop so it's snug.

2. Slide this washer onto the dowel.

3. Put the second washer onto the long end of the cording.

4. Bring both ends of yarn together and line them up with the end of the dowel. Use a piece of duct tape to secure these ends onto the dowel. Feel free to use several pieces to make a bulky end so that the washer on the dowel doesn't easily slide off.

Then dip the wand into the solution. Lift the wand. When you lean it back, the ring will slide towards you. This will make a V-shaped loop of yarn. Slowly move your arm to create a giant bubble. To close the bubble off, slide the washer that is on the dowel towards the duct tape end. Or try to make the longest bubble you can before it breaks (or someone breaks it). Have fun!

blueberry dye

Wondering about a craft that combines blueberries and bandanas? Well, look no further.

A clever aunt put together a box of cottage fun which included some natural dye experiments. We tried three dyes: blueberry, onion, and beet.

Blueberry dye: Mash 2 cups of blueberries and add about 4 cups warm water. Set in the sun for the morning. Strain and reserve the dark liquid. Dissolve 3/4 cup salt in hot water and add it to the blueberry mixture to help set the dye.

Onion dye: Peel 3 onions. Place the peels in 2 cups water. Bring to a boil. Strain the liquid, then add 3/4 cup salt and stir to dissolve.

Beet dye: Chop and soak beets. Cook for about 20 minutes or set in the sun for the morning. Strain the liquid. Dissolve 3/4 cup salt in hot water and add it to the beet liquid.

1. Find white things like bandanas, t-shirt, onesies, underwear, pillow cases, etc.

2. Tie little knots all over the fabric, or use elastic bands to make twists by grabbing a small section of the fabric, twisting it as tightly as possible and then fastening an elastic band tightly around the twist. Make these twists all over the fabric.

3. Dip the little twists or knots into the dye, holding the fabric in the dye for several minutes. The longer it soaks, the darker the dye.

4. Place it in a plastic bag to set overnight.

5. Rinse the fabric the next day, starting with warm water, then cool, until the water runs clear. Remove elastic bands while rinsing.

6. Hang up the fabric to dry.

7. Wash and dry these items separately just in case the dye is not completely rinsed out.

We found that the blueberry one worked best, followed by the onion, then beet. If you've tried other natural dyes, I'm all ears.

something from nothing

It wasn't exactly nothing - it was two 25¢ pillowcases. And pillowcase dresses are definitely not my original idea. But fun and quick. Much more fun than anything on my "to do" list for the week. Sewing and creating something from nothing feels so much more productive than the chores that so quickly become undone.

They've worn them for 2 days straight now, in this 30+ degree summer heat. Perfect for both daytime galavanting and nighttime sleeping. What could be better?

See -- I am making all things new. (Revelation 21:5)

note the dead grass underfoot that needs to be made new

2 little monkeys wearing pillowcases

I love it when the old can become new again. I loved seeing my grandma, mom, and aunts do this. Crafting vintage fabrics into new quilts. Old woolen garments into new rugs. And seeing ingenuity in places where people use what they have to make something new. Pop cans into toys. Plastic bags into sleeping mats or homemade soccer balls.

See, I am making all things new! 

This text from the book of Revelation was one of the themes at the Mennonite Church Canada Kids' Assembly where I volunteered 2 weeks ago. We had a great time dreaming of a new world filled with joy and thousands of kindnesses, and devoid of sorrow. It's so refreshing to hear kids' perspectives about the way the world should or could be. They just seem to make sense.

One kid's dream was of a world where bombs were made of bubblegum. Another wanted everyone to be able to smell fresh flowers. Someone else wanted the rich people to feed the poor and give them a place to sleep at night. Where heaven and earth will meet.

See! I am making all things new.

"Heaven is born on earth in a thousand invisible kindnesses offered every day." 

- Wayne Muller

Today I'm grateful for this new day. Even though it's stinking hot outside.

What something will become of this (so far) nothing day?

creation cruelty??

We spent a wonderful few hours at the Waterloo Earth Day celebrations today. Lovely day, perfect weather for planting trees, holding snakes, watching owls and falcons, building birdhouses, eating hotdogs. It was terrific.

There was, however, a moment that totally caught me off guard. Eden was making a cool bookmark craft. There was a piece of fabric set on the table. She was told to put violet and forsythia flowers onto the fabric, cover them with waxed paper, then hammer the heck out of them. Here's what it looked like when she was done:

Neat, eh? I'd never seen this craft before. The colours from the flowers and leaves are dyed onto the fabric in neat designs. She was proud, and so was the 3 year old hammering next to her. The 3 year old's mother, on the other hand, was a different story. Here's how that story went:

3 year old: (hammering away at the flowers, but the waxed paper keeps slipping away on her)
Craft leader to 3 year old's mom: Do you mind just holding the waxed paper for her?
3 year old's mom: No, I can't.
3 year old: (continues to hammer away, waxed paper continues to slide)
Craft leader to 3 year old's mom: Do you mind helping? If you just hold the paper for her, it'd be much easier.
3 year old's mom: No, I'm actually against this activity. I don't think it's nature friendly. I think it's actually quite cruel.

The 3 year old finished her craft and showed it proudly to her mom. Her mom said, "Hm."

I looked down at the mom's leather shoes. And the plastic container of Huggies disposable wipes in her hand. And the juice box in her other hand. And wondered about the rest of her wardrobe, and the rest of her life. If this craft is considered cruelty, what else was I doing on a daily basis that could fit into this cruel category?

A few things came to mind quite quickly:

1. We drive a car at least once a day. This qualifies as cruelty to all of creation because of the fumes and the use of a non-renewable resource.
2. I wear leather shoes. No idea how those cows were treated, or how environmentally friendly the chemicals used in dying the leather or creating the rubber soles were.
3. I kill mosquitoes any chance I can get. Ants on the counter top? Them too.
4. I loathe mice. If I found one in our house, I would find a way to do away with it.
5. I eat vegetables. Is that being cruel to the vegetable to eat it?
6. I eat meat. Obviously cruel.

Where does the cruel line start and where does it end? Seems like a pretty sad life, to see a flower craft as cruel. But maybe I'm wrong. When I think about an average day, I can list more things that are creation cruel than creation care.

What do you see as creation cruelty? Have you changed anything about your lifestyle to care for creation in better ways?