Make Family Prayer Flags for 2014

 Try this easy family craft to get your family creating, thinking positively and connected. It's a positive twist on new year's resolutions.

Ask your family what good things they would like in their life in 2014. It's a great way to hear what your children value, as well as find out more their inside world.

My three year old would like: more snowman making and lots of animals in her life, especially cats.

My six-year-old thought it would be great to have buckets and bucket loads of money. As well wanted to have good times at school, including good friendships, and lots of fun and laughing. He'd also like a real-live cat.

For me, I want more yoga in my life in 2014. For me this means, a stronger commitment to self-practice to grow, learn and discover. As well as sustaining the connections and students I have already made, whilel finding more families, adults and children to teach.

To round out the flags we have "lots of happiness, joy and laughing" and " family time".

May your 2014 be full of connection, discovery, joy and spirit.

Namaste

Rainsticks: make rain, create stillness

Kids love music. They also love to be creative and express themselves. Why not give them the opportunity to use their hands and their imaginations to create something sacred, beautiful and soothing.

I had the pleasure of watching four children, aged 2 - 4, for a day who were up for the challenge of making their own rainsticks. 

THEME OF THE DAY: RAIN!

While we made our sticks, we listened to meditative "rain" music.  For inspiration, we also watched some YouTube videos of people making music with rainsticks. 

We talked about rain:  how we feel when it rains and why it is beneficial. We talked about storms: how they can be scary; why they happen; and how powerful it is. 

We added feathers and rainbows to our rainstick because they are other beautiful things that are found in the sky.

HOW WE MADE THEM

1)  CARDBOARD TUBE: We used a short mailing tube, (18" long x 2" wide).

2) SPIRAL: draw a staircase-style spiral from one end to the other of the tube.

3) NAILS: Each kid hammered in 1.5" nails along the spiral line. 

The kids had a great time doing this in fact. The younger one practiced nailing into a spare piece of Styrofoam, while the older kids got to work. Each tube had about 30 - 40 nails in it. Our tube was a bit hard to get the nail through the cardboard initially, so after they tired of doing it themselves, I started the nail and they just had to finish it off. 

4) FILL UP THE INSIDES: Beans, lentils, rice and lavender (we cut from our bush outside).

Eight little hands scooped up their selection and had fun funneling it into their rain stick. We filled the tube until almost 2/3rds full.

5) DECORATE: cloth fabric, ribbons, feathers, beads, rainbow ribbon.

Each kid choose one or two pieces of fabric to wrap around their stick. I glued it on for them. Then they all chose one ribbon which was tied on along with a feather, beads. Each one also had a rainbow ribbon glued on, and a hawk feather, to help give the stick more "sky power". 

6) PLAY!

Now each child has their own unique rainstick to play and dance and dream with. It has a nice soothing sounds if tilted slowly. Unfortunately, the "rain" does go a tad quick. But it is peaceful to sit and tilt and listen. Or, as children tend to do when around each other, we had fun dancing and playing energetically with them. Another way to express our true spirit!

SIMPLE VARIATIONS

You can also use a papertowel tube, and poke it with toothpicks or straight pins. Then tape up the ends.

For older children or teens, I would of spent more time talking about using the rainstick as a way to bring them back to their own sacred peaceful place. It is so important to teach children and teens ways to find a moment or two of inner peace. Using a rainstick, decorated guided by their inner self, and listening to its soothing power, is a way for them to calm their mind, and reconnect back to their inner self.

Each stick as unique as each child

RAINSTICK ORIGINS

Rainsticks are musical and ceremonial instruments used from ancient times to the present day. Their name describes the soothing rain-like sound that these instruments produce. Although rainsticks were used by many different cultures, they were primarily used in Chili where there is a legend that rainsticks were created to remind the spirits that rain was needed. 

Rainsticks are made from the wood skeleton of a dead cactus plant. The cactus needles are collected and poured back into the skeleton, along with tiny stones and pebbles. Other historic tubular rattles are made of either whole reeds (such as bamboo) or plaited reed strips. They have palm needles stuck into the walls of the tube, and are filled with pebbles or hard seeds.

Traditional-style cactus rainstick

How To Make an Eye Pillow

Eye pillows are great for relaxing in savasana. Along with the aromatherapy benefits, eye pillows help calm facial muscles and relax tired eyes. The weight of the pillow presses on acupressure points around the eyes, helping to alleviate tension and relieve headaches.

Making your own eye pillow is easy and fun. You don't need anything fancier than an old (clean!) sock or t-shirt, and white rice. You can make it as fancy as you wish though. Experiment by adding your favorite essential oil or dried herb.

Plus, I believe you can actually feel the love that went into making the pillow when you use it.  

1. Measure and cut out a 8.5 x 4.5 inch rectangle of your selected material. 
I suggest using material that has a stretch to it and can breathe, like jersey. Natural fabrics breathe and feel better.  If you don't have new fabric, you can always use an old t-shirt, or a  sock.

2. Sew around the edges leaving a half inch "hole" at the end.

3. Open the "hole" and stuff the material through, turning the pillow inside out.
All the stitching should be tucked in on the inside.

4. Fill the pillow with your desired filling. 
I used white rice because it is inexpensive and I know it will keep well. Use can also use lavender, flax seeds, beans, millet hulls, or buckwheat. To add a scent to the filling, you can use 15 - 20 drops of an essential oil. You can also add a sprig of lavender or sage, or your favorite herb.

We used a straw to help push the rice through

5. Sew up the hole.

6. You can make a little pillowcase for your eye pillow.  This way you can wash the cover if the pillow gets soiled.

Why Should I Make My Own Valentine?

Making your own Valentine, no matter what age, is an easy and fun February craft.

As an adult, I have always made a Valentine's card for my sweetheart. It is a nice excuse to be creative, and express myself visually and verbally. Not to mention, why give Hallmark my five dollars!

As a parent, having your kids make their own Valentines will encourage your them to be more creative, and instead of encouraging them to be consumers. The end result will be more unique, made from the heart, and something they can take joy in.

What if your kid has 30+ people in their class?
Great! What better way to teach your child how to focus on a big project. You can break it down into decorating five cards a night. They reap the rewards of accomplishing a big project.

Challenge yourself - add an environmental twist
See if you can make your Valentines all out of recycled, trashed or let over materials!

Use making your own Valentine's an excuse to:

- practice focusing on one task single-mindedly, parents and children (no checking emails!)

- nurture one-on-one quality connections with you and your spirit, and/or you and your child.

- practice expressing gratitude for the important things in life: love and friendship.

- talk to your child about the importance of expressing feelings of love, joy and gratitude.

- teach your kids about why it is important to create things from the heart instead of just buying something mass-produced.

Save your money!

Use it on more important things, like chocolates and candy!

Oozing Pure Joy!

When I was growing up, I loved to sew. I especially loved sewing things for others.

My first solo sewing project was a bikini for my mom. I was five. I remember sitting outside in our backyard on a sunny summer day, blissfully sewing together scraps of white fabric with red apples on them.

I can still feel the needle flowing in my hand, and see my big white stitches running down the fabric like a yellow line dotting the road. I was proud of those stitches darn it. It took all my concentration to get them just so. As I sewed away I thought, Oh how lovely my beautiful mom would be when she wears this bikini I made for her. (Funny, but I never got to finish that project. I wonder who could of sabotaged it?)

When I was older, I loved to get my creative juices flowing at Christmas time. My crafty Aunt and Godmother was the special recipient of my sewing projects. She always encouraged my craft skills and gave me something for Christmas, so I started a tradition of making her little dolls each year. I would spend hours upon hours immersed in intricate, serious doll-making work. I loved.every.minute.

There is nothing like the joy of being immersed in one's creative work. Combine that with the joy of giving, and the love I feel for the person I make it for, and it about blows my mind.

I found myself reliving a little childhood bliss this year. I decided to make my new baby daughter something special for Christmas.

HABA's cotti lamb

I really wanted to buy this adorable HABA lamb stuffed with spelt seeds from our local green store, Barefoot Kids/the Green Nursery. My little one is always cold, so the added function of warming it up seemed perfect for her.

I also love the oh-so-vibrant Blabla dolls. I mean, how could you not! But at $46 for the full-size, and $36 for the mini - ouch, it hurts your bank account.

I got thinking, it would be even more green (and definitely more special) to make something for my daughter.

So, I used some of our extra cute receiving blankets, and filled it with white rice so I could warm it up in the *gasp* microwave for her. For added scent, I added some of our homemade lavender oil, from lavender picked from our garden.

The shape was a no-brainer. Ever since our ghost experience, I have a heightened need to protect my baby. So the shape of my creation became an angel. Not to mention my daughter's name has to do with becoming like an angel.

The angelic sewing creation

I suppose the final product functions like a blanket, and less like a doll. With each side having double flannel it is super cozy and warm. It is so cute to see the angel wings wrapped around her like it is really protecting her. I think the extra weight of it makes her feel secure too.

See, she loves it!

Not only did it bring me such joy making it, but every time I see it on her I get a little fluttery in the belly. I can't really explain it. It feels so good. Like I said in my last post about the essence of creativity, being creative connects me to my spirit. I am so happy I took the time to make her something unique that came from the inner me.

The poor girl is going to be bombarded with crazy little dolls and odd sewing assortments for the rest of her life. I can see her rolling her eyes at me in no time. The thing is...I don't care!

The Essence of Creativity: Why being creative is so important

There is a reason they call it "creative spirit."

When in the "creative spirit," I feel like I am plugged into my inner self. Once engrossed in the creative task at hand, I am zoned.

We live in this day and age of industrialization (and thus commercialization) where the corporates rule. There is so much pressure to conform to societies standards. Sometimes I feel a little bit like a cog in the wheel of the machine. The mass-produced man-made world around us lacks originality. Information is spoon fed to us, to the point where I wonder if my thoughts are my own, or did "they" shape my thinking.

Creativity is the one thing that I can count on to makes me feel like a unique human being. Creativity reminds me that I have a vibrant unique spirit that likes to stand up and express itself.

Also, as a mother with young children, I deeply appreciate 'zone moments' that I get when being creative. Seemingly bombarded with never-ending interruptions each day, time spent deeply engrossed in any task feels few and far between. While serving the young ones needs, staying organized, crossing things off the to do list, it is so easy to loose a sense of connection to the inner Self.

Creation time feels like a kind of meditation. I suppose it is like the Buddhist tradition of walking meditation. However, when in the creative spirit, it is so easy to be zoned. So, it feels a little like cheating!

Not to mention, the certain element of joy that arises when I am creating, or gazing upon the final product.

To me, being creative means connecting to spirit. Connecting to spirit means knowing myself... and thereby growing into my highest self. So if I want to live the path, I have to let my creativity out, and let it rain down every day.

I notice that the days I able to be even a little creative, my mood is chipper, and I think my family and my life are golden.

Sometimes it is scary to let it out. A lot of the times I am scared to fail, or frustrated at the outcome. Painting is a perfect example. I have a deep appreciation of art, especially painting. I have a deep burning desire to paint, but whenever I do, I want to burn it. My painting never turn out as I think they should. Perhaps I should just relish in the zone moment of painting and forget about the product.

Lately, my solution is to stick to the creative things that I feel good about: sewing projects, cooking, paper crafts, mixed media art, writing, decorating/beautifying my surroundings, and making up silly games/activities for my son.

Reflecting on how joyful and connected being creative feels, and how important it is for my spiritual development, I am going to have to make a concerted effort to be more creative.

Tag blanket and turtle I made for baby nephew "W"

Tag blanket I made for baby nephew "C"