another busy weekend....

chaos still reins in the Ebi household that and coughs and flem! Urgh. Saturday we did the usual weekly shop, rushed back for lunch and then the boys went off to footie practice and I headed into town to get some new stamp ink and machine needles. I failed miserably, the store didn't have the ink I wanted and the queue to pay was so long that I really couldn't be bothered to buy needles. I also had a free voucher for Starbucks but it was also really busy so I didn't even get to have a nice cuppa. Grumble, grumble.

 After the football/shopping we went round to a friends house for a 4th birthday party (little boy with the blond hair and blue shirt in the picture above). The kids had a great time, I sat in the corner dying! When ever we have a party we do pot luck, this time I took sticky chicken wings and alphabet cookies which disappeared within seconds.

Sunday we went to the clinic, Ebi-kun had also started coughing and sneezing so we thought we should nip it in the bud. I don't usually go to the doctors for a cold but I have so much on the next couple of weeks so I decided drugs are the way to go. Of course we were stuck in the clinic forever, there is money to be made out of sick people, that clinic is always packed. Then we went over to the craft store and karma was with me, not only did they have all the ink pads and needles I needed but they also had 20% off - yeeehaaaa. Then, it was off for lunch, back home and we collapsed on the sofa to watch How to train a dragon - again. Ebi-kun loves this film, it is rather cute! I managed to get a bit of work done between sneezes and nose blowing, we had dinner and I crashed and went to bed early.

Happy Birthday Baa-chan

Yesterday was Baa-chan's birthday (his Japanese grandmother) so Ebi-kun decided to make a card but then he asked for the roll of paper, he wanted to make a big card. I suggested I drew around him and then he could paint it however he likes, he was up for that idea and painted himself as a knight.

 We only had a little bit of gold paint so he used that for the details, I'm not sure where Baa-chan is going to hang this masterpiece, I would put it in the tokonoma (an alcove where a lovely painting or piece of poetry is hung) but I am not sure Baa-chan would be up for that!

Happy Birthday Baa-chan!

Dress rehearsal...

Yesterday I spent the day the yochien for the end of year show dress rehearsal. I think this rehearsal is as much for the moms as it is for the kids since we have several jobs to do. Ebi-kun did really well, loves being on the stage and it doesn't phase him at all that he has to go out on the stage by himself (doesn't take after his mother in that respect).

Here he is with his best friend, it is a shame we don't live closer, when it gets to school they will go to different places, not even in the same city so I imagine the friendship will quickly fizzle out.

a new bum....

At Ebi-kuns yochien the kids wear these revolting blue shorts, by the end of the year many of them are developing a hole in the bum, the head sensei is a practical man who doesn't believe in wasting money and tells parents to stick a patch on it. I couldn't find a patch big enough to cover the developing hole in Ebi-kuns shorts so I used some iron on felt and made a BIG patch, he thinks it's really funny to have a big robot on his bum LOL.

bead pyramid

Recently we have been working with the short bead chains but before we got them out I wanted Ebi-kun to review the colours of the bead pyramid, the trouble with not doing Montessori every day is that it is maybe weeks between using the same materials and often he has forgotten how to do it or in this case he had forgotten the value of the colours. He started off by building the pyramid and colouring the worksheet that goes with it. Then I used the same principle that I used when I was teaching English, use the same target (in this case to remember the colour values of the bead pyramid) with several different games and activities.

combining the short beads to make 10
 the challenge was to find as many different combinations as possible.

The beauty of doing it this was is that the child doesn't get bored doing the same thing over and over and we all have different ways of learning, by having the target presented in several different ways chances are, one of those methods will sink in - so the theory goes.

using the number cards, gold beads and short beads to make numbers

I attended a lecture one time where we were asked to fill in a questionnaire, I don't remember the specifics but the outcome told you what kind of learner you are, I had the lowest score possible for auditory and my visual and kinesthetic levels were the same. The lecturer explained that the point of the exercise was to help improve your teaching method, as teachers tend to prefer teaching in the style of their learning strengths. This was so true for me, up until then, I rarely used a tape in class (yes, it was a long time ago) and most of my teaching was very visual. 

in the bag are the short beads, he takes out two,
makes a note of what they are and then does the maths

By mixing it up, it made the classes more interesting and I was able to reach all the students not just those who had a similar learning style to my own.

I think the Montessori method does well on this score, there are several exercises which in theory are teaching the same point but the presentation and the method are different, I think a Montessori classroom is a good way to reach all the children, no matter what their preferred learning style is.

treasure hunts are popular in this house just now,
so I hid post it notes with numbers on them, he would
find the note then come back to the mat and make the number.

To get the auditory bit in, I  have also been quizzing him, I'll ask 'what colour is 3' and so on, it didn't take that long for him to remember them all so we were able to move onto the short bead chains and skip counting.

If you are interested in finding out your learning style, there in a on online quiz HERE.

I have just done it and got 8 for visual, 7 for kinesthetic and 1 for auditory, never try and tell me directions, just give me a map! Chances are if I have been their once I will remember the way the second time. So, what kind of learner are you?

It's not a Broadway Production!

Although one might assume that it is with all the ridiculous, excessive amount of non organisation going on. Be warned, this post is likely to turn into a bit of a rant... I am talking about yochien (kindergarten), it is coming to the end of the school year here and so there is a lot of things going on, for starters there is the play, each class has two plays (dances) to perform, Ebi-kuns class is doing Yuki no ko san (snow children) and Kamo tori Gonbei (the duck catcher) and Ebi-kun has landed himself the lead role as the duck catcher.

For the last 4 weeks I have had to go into the yochien at least once a week, OK to be honest, I was supposed to go in more than once but put my foot down and only went in once a week at most. Not only is there the play things to organise there is also the graduation party but lets starts with me moaning about the play..... The yochien has been going for a long time, they have a hall with a proper stage and all the props and costumes are made, last week we went for costume fitting and instructions to adjust/repair anything that needed it and we were also told that we need to sew two cloth bags with their names and name of the act on it plus 2 coat hangers with names. The mom that translated this for me told me to give in in this Friday, when we are at the yochien for the dress rehearsal, I find out 10pm last night that he was supposed to take them today agghhhhh not only that, he is to have EVERYTHING he uses in the plays labelled with sewn in name tags.

Ebi-kun on the left with two of his 'posse' and a rogue sister

 That is... head scarf, jacket, top, pants, socks, straw boots, duck hat, duck body, snow hat, snow top, snow bloomers, tights, pom-poms x 2.

I have worked in a theatre and it was much easier than all this!

After watching the plays in the class we have to go to the stage and watch them again and then go to one of the classrooms to make 300 paper flowers.

performing for the moms in the classroom

So, back to the graduation ceremony and party, for that I was put in the party committee - not sure how but that doesn't matter. The first meeting, we sat around doing nothing for the first hour then made about 300 origami fish for a game where they will be ripped off a pole, just cutting 300 fish from paper would have been SO much quicker. Before we leave the committee chairperson asks if I am any good artistically (knowing that I am) then asks if I can make the front cover for the end of year album, I say yes, at least I can contribute that way. The next meeting starts at 9.30am and I decided that if they spend the first hour arsing around then I am out of there. We need to pick some photos, cut them out and stick them to 3 pieces of paper, simple huh. Aghhhhh I left early, otherwise there might have been a massacre, no one was prepared to make a decision, it needs to be a group decision or we might upset the 'waa'. A number of photos had been put in the 'well we may use these if everyone agrees' pile so I just picked them up and started cutting, gasp, shock, wait for the ground to swallow me up. Pah!

They liked my album cover, so much that I get a text asking me to design the back too, sure! and then I accidentally booked my dentist appointment on the same day as a 'go to yochien and waste the whole morning meeting' oops, silly me. I don't mind helping out now and then and I don't mind going it to the yochien to organise things, I do mind wasting my time and being surrounded by a bunch of faffers who couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. If they had given me all the stuff to do for the album I could have easily got it all finished in a couple of hours. I am sure I am not the only teacher who has pulled off 15 parties in a week including preparing all the games and decorations by myself, seriously, it drives my crazy, I dread to think what would happen if these people actually had jobs! The word delegation means nothing here!

Just to add to the stress of it all, I need to get the next Sew Hip sample in the mail today, just waiting for some paperwork info and I have a pile of things to organise for the art show.

I have to go again to yochien on Friday, hubby has translated 7 pages of stuff all to do with how the graduation ceremony/play has to run, I don't understand most of it, so I will poddle along and play the stupid foreigner, a part I play quite well, even if I do say so myself. If you have made it this far to the end of my rant then you obviously have the stamina to make it as a yochien mom! Good luck with that :o)

Japanese style MTD

A typical Japanese meal consists of several small dishes, usually a bowl of rice, some pickled vegetables, miso soup, a fish or meat dish and then a fifth bowl which is often some more carbs in the form of some kind of noodle. I personally feel there is a lack of veg in the typical meal set up, for me 3 slices of picked cucumber do not count as one of my 5 a day lol. Anyway, the Japanese style of many small dishes make it really easy to put together a MTD, instead of small bowls, pop the food in muffin cases and taa-daa...

From the top left: inari sushi (rice in a deep fried tofu pocket), salad, inari sushi

Bottom: yellow pepper, chicken stuffed with cheese and spinach, daigakoimo (sweet potatoes)

and a selection of dips/dressings

Want to know more about Muffin Tin Dinners? Pop over to...

and the winners are.....

Remember to click on the image above to visit more great Celebrate the Boy posts

Well, first thank you to everyone who left comments. I haven't actually counted the entries for the most popular dinosaurs but I reckon T-Rex is the winner from reasons for being cute in Toy Story and for having cute little forearms! Triceratops, the long neck (whatever it's real name is these days), pteranodon and stegosaurus were also very popular. There were a few in there I had never heard of, I will have to get my little dino expert to bring me up to speed on them.

And so, bought to you by random.org

the first out of the hat is...

the second winner out of the cyber hat is...

*just to note that I have post numbers but blogger can only cope with 200 at a time so Lesley's post was on the second page for posts 201- 400

and the final winner is....

*same as above Stephanie was 25 on page 401-474

CONGRATULATIONS 

to all the winners, I will be in touch soon

for those who didn't win, the pattern is available in my Etsy shop.

trinominal cube

Ebi-kun had been working with the trinominal cube this week, he hasn't shown much interest in it for quite a while so I was surprised that he took it out. I gave him the presentation again then left him to it. I was busy cutting out and I could hear him talking to himself, he was rather amusing. "I love doing this, this is fun" and a bit later "this is stupid, I am not doing this again" but he wouldn't give up and later still "I did it! I can do it, it isn't so difficult really". He didn't know I could hear him so he came over to give me a hug and tell me he had finished.

If you want to know what the trinominal cube is all about, there is a lecture here, the video quality is pretty poor though.

And cookies were ninja fighting.....

Still have chance to enter for the steggie back pack giveaway

Ebi-kun got given a set of ninja cookie cutters for Christmas so since we are having a bit of a ninja thing at the moment we decided it was time to make mean ninja cookies. We used the sugar cookie and icing recipes from gaijin wife. The cookies were easy enough to make, rolling it on parchment paper and chilling  it in the fridge made the cutting out much easier. I had black food colouring but no matter how much I added I couldn't get the icing to turn back so we ended up with grey ninjas. I read on The Decorated Cookie that food gel colour is the way to go, I will have to look into that I think.

This is only the second time I have made sugar cookies and we all agreed that they are too sweet - I think they are only getting eaten because they are ninjas!

I'm not sure the best way to store these, I put them in a tupperware box but by the next day they had gone soft and a couple had lost limbs or they could have been kicking off in box overnight. 

Ninja Cushion - tutorial

Still time to enter the giveaway HERE

Yes, Ebi-kun has moved into the realm of ninjas, as if knights, dinosaurs and samurai were not enough. So, I thought I would combine his new found love with a little tutorial, this one is for all those novice fibre artists out there and for anyone who wants to whip up a quick gift or change their room a bit. Scatter cushions are great for that! All it needs is for you to sew one piece of fabric to another piece of fabric and then 3 pieces of fabric together - sounds easy enough doesn't it? If you use the formula below you can make a cover for any size cushion.

Requirements:
cushion form
fabric
black felt or fabric
black thread for applique
thread to match cushion fabric
bond-a-web or similar

Measure your cushion form and add 1.5cm for the seam allowance.
That will be size of your cushion front

Cut out the fabric.....
For the back you need 2 pieces of fabric, the height needs to be approximatley 2/3's of the height of the front piece plus 1cm for the hem, the width is the same as the front piece.

For example, my cushion form is 36cm x 36cm
My front piece therefore will be 37.5cm x 37.5cm

The back pieces will be
height of the front piece/3 x 2 then add 1cm for the hem.
37.5cm/3 x 2 which is 25cm + 1cm for the hem.

so I cut out
37.5cm x 37.5cm
37.5cm x 26cm (cut 2)

Applique the design....
Print out the ninja from the file at the bottom of this post.
Put your bond-a-web over the top of the ninja and trace around it.
Iron the bond-a-web onto the back of the black felt.
Cut out the ninja.
Peel off the backing paper and iron the ninja to the centre of the front piece of fabric.
Use an applique stitch if you have one or a small zig-zag and sew around the edge of the ninja, at some points you may need to turn the fabric, to do this lower the needle so that it is in the fabric, lift the presser foot and gently move the fabric round. Lower the presser foot and continue sewing.

Prepare the back pieces...

Fold over the long edge by 1cm and press.

Then turn it over another 1cm and press again so that the raw edges are hidden. Sew along the edge to make a hem.

Sew the cushion together....

Lay the front piece on the table, right side up.

Now lay one of the back pieces right side down on top of the front piece with the hemmed edge towards the centre and the outer edges aligned with the front piece.

Lay the second back piece, right side down with the hemmed edge towards the centre and and the bottom edges aligned. Pin to hold all the layers together.

Sew all the way around the edge with a 1cm seam allowance. It is preferable to use an overlock stitch but it will work fine with a straight stitch. If the fabric is prone to fraying then trim the edges with pinking shears. Trim the corners, by cutting the tip of the corner off.

Turn right side out and press. Put in your cushion form, stand back and admire your handwork.

If you are looking for more cushion and pillow inspiration, pop over to Sew Mama Sew, they are having a Pillow Month!

Ninja Outline for Cushion Jojoebi Designs

linked to

Why don't you....

Click HERE for the Giveaway

make them to sell in your shop?

I thought I should explain why selling the patterns suits me better than making the Steggie back packs/Mermaid dolls/Space Cadet dolls/cute dogs etc.

Firstly and probably most sensibly, I can't afford to, to make make one of the items takes me a long time, I am painfully slow when it comes to cutting out, the sewing I am quite quick at but then all the little details, hand sewing etc. also takes me a long time, so realistically I would have to charge a small fortune for a kids backpack and I can't see anyone wanting to pay the amount I would have to charge. Sad but true.

Secondly, and for me, equally important - it would drive me insane. I derive no pleasure from reproducing the same thing over and over again. What I enjoy is the process, the figuring out how parts go together, the design aspect, the thought of making more than 5 of anything fills me with dread. I know some people are totally happy to make the same design again and again with odd tweaks here and there, maybe a change of fabric or a different colour combo but not me, as soon as one pattern is complete I am already working on my next idea.

So there is still time to sign up for the GIVEAWAY and there is a lot more other Celebrate The Boy goodness going on over at Dana and Rae's blogs, go check it out.

And a final note about the Steggie back pack pattern, I don't think it is suitable for an absolute beginner but for a beginner who is looking to step up their level they should be fine. 

Yes, it uses a zip - agghhhh scary, scary zips! 

Now, let me tell you a secret - zips are not scary, if fact they are fairly easy and once you have mastered it non sewers will think you are dead clever! Shhh don't be telling anyone else that.

NEW The Steggie Back Pack and Giveaway- CLOSED

NOW CLOSED

Just in time to join the Celebrate The Boy festival, here is the Steggie Back Pack.

It is a cute pattern and include the all important Steggie Spikes, two small side pockets, two loops so important things such as compasses and fossil finding tools can be attached and a roomy main compartment which is big enough to fit in a pair of PJ's, toothbrush, clean undies, a book and a couple of small toys.

It is just the right size to use as a day pack when you are off out exploring or as an overnight bag.

Also, hidden under the paws are phone number and name tags, hidden out of public view but handy if your little explorer gets lost.

The straps are adjustable and so it should comfortably fit 3 - 6 year olds, Ebi-kun is now 5 and it will last him quite a bit longer.

Ebi-kun has received a lot of attention when wearing his bag out and about,

and one of our friends fathers wants one for himself!

To make your own you will need intermediate sewing skills, the pattern is broken down into bite sized steps so that you can do a couple of steps at a time (I know what it is like sewing with a child under foot)

And so to celebrate the release of the new pattern and Celebrate the Boy, I will be giving away 3 of the Steggie Back Pack paper patterns, to enter leave a comment telling me which is your favourite dinosaur. You must leave a contact email address too either in the comment entry field or in the comment itself. I am happy to post worldwide.

A winner will be picked by random generator Monday 21st Feb. 9.00am JST.

good luck!

***UPDATE***

Due to a dental appointment I will have to close this a bit later than planned so I will draw a winner at 12.00pm JST.

I also want to thank my lovely testers Aunt LoLo and Gabriel, this is the biggest pattern I have done so far so they had their work cut out for them but they did a fantastic job

I am Jo and I am addicted....

...to the Etsy treasury!

This one combines too of my favourite things, the treasury and Montessori!

Have you....

...ever made anything from one on my patterns or tutorials?

If so, would you like to share the pictures on Flickr?

I have just started a group and I feel a bit silly there on my own, 

it would be lovely to see other peoples versions of my patterns so please come and join me

 You can find the group HERE

valentines and snow

I felt a bit of a valentines grump this year, I think it was to do with the overload of heart inspired crafts that have been floating around the web this time, it got to the point where I didn't want to see another red heart - bahh humbug! In Japan, on Feb 14th the girls give the boys chocolates or homemade cakes then on March the 14th the boys are supposed to return a gift of marshmallows. Now as much as I like marshmallows they do not compete with a nice box of chocks now do they?

Anyway, daddy-ebi isn't much of a chocolate scoffing type of guy so I thought I'd make something he would appreciate much more - pasta! Heart shaped ravioli to be precise (dough made in the bread maker), and here is my assistant chef busy at work....

 We had it with sun dried tomato pesto and organic tomatoes from Yasuyo's farm and yes, I buckled and made some dino chocolates for the boys in my life!

 Daddy-ebi actually made it home at a reasonable hour armed with a bottle of pink bubbly so we ate dinner together - a rare midweek treat! We opened the curtains of the window over looking the yard, the snow was coming down thick and fast, how exciting. I was sorely tempted to go and get Ebi-kun out of bed. Instead, when daddy-ebi went to take a bath I decided it would be a really good idea to go out and build a snowman in the yard. Daddy-ebi got out of the bath to find me busy scraping snow off the car and just to prove that he hasn't turned into a grumpy old man, he put his clothes on over his PJ's and joined me - such a romantic date lol.

 We got a phone call around 10pm to say that yochien would be cancelled so Ebi-kun was up bright and early and out in the snow before breakfast.

 He decided to decorate the snowman at the front of the house but with yellow food colour it looks like one of the local dogs has stopped for a pee!

 Then we scraped some more snow together to make a yukisaurus before heading in to get some breakfast.

The sun is out snow and it looks like the snow won't be staying for long, I might kick him out to play in it a bit more before it turns to slush.

So, that was our romantic night, what did you do?

oh son of mine....

At lunch at the Montessori farm, A-kun was talking about their new ipad and that he had discovered the game 'angry birds' but he then went on to say that his mommy said that he wasn't allowed to play it. Ebi-kun in his wisdom advised A-kun to wait until him mommy was asleep then he could sneak downstairs and play it!

I was shocked!

My son is a devious little sneak!

I wonder where he gets that from?