Arts & Crafts: Hand Dyed Play Silks

My son attends a wonderful Waldorf Oriented School, in South West Miami that is simply a Little Heaven on Earth. They have so much fun learning while "playing among beautiful things". One of those beautiful things are Play Silks in different sizes and colors. It is so amazing to see how their imagination simply explodes in fabulous games, from pirates to princesses, from Kings to farmers. An infinite amount of possibilities.

Trying to find cool things to do this summer, we decided to get some blank silks from Dharma Trading Co. Got some supplies and started a new branch of our learning and our family business.

If you are crafty and want to give it a try, follow this How Make Play Silks  Tutorial. 

You will need the following:

1. Blank Silks in desired size. Usually 35"x 35", or 21"x 21". The larger ones can be used as canopies.
2. Different flavor Kool Aid, or food coloring (I prefer food coloring).
3. White Vinager (especially if you used food coloring. This would be the acid that helps the color set in.
4. Big deep pots and/or a disposable aluminum baking tray. If you want to do a rainbow silk, 3 or 4 glass or plastic jars would help.
5. Hot water. Here is where Parents' supervision is crucial.
6. Disposable gloves.

You can either watch this video to get the steps and some idea of the process or, if you prefer to see step by step picture instructions, this momma has it down to a T, www.raisingolives.com

Hope you enjoy it, have fun and get creative having fun with your kids.

PS. If you are not in the crafty clan, I made some play silks to sell at my CHIC MOMMY USA ETSY SHOP They are made at home filled with love and tons of laughs.

Summer Camp or Not?

Lately for many Americans, budget restrictions have come into effect. As resourceful moms we have had to make important calls as far of our spending. Many of us have cut on eating out, movie going, and other sorts of entertainment.

In my case, it has been tough lately, lots of changes in my life that had force me to minimize and simplify in many ways. All for good I think, but there are still those Special Requests made by our children that simply leave us with a hard choice to make.

Summer has come, School is out but in my case, there is still the crave for something fun to do. My 5 year old son asked me to send him to Summer Camp. He is so active, creative and energetic that I could not bare the thought of keeping him away from his little dream.

There were a few choices: Camp at the Pinecrest Gardens, Church Camp, Nature Camp, or Karate Camp. All of them vary in prices but after all was said and done, we both had to make a decision.

The question! How to choose the right option for you and your child? Here is were the budget issue clashes with your kids' desires. Personally, I had to sit and first realize How Much Money could I spend before being able to open the discussion. I cut here and there and came up with an amount. Then sat down with my son and we review our options. He thought about it for a while because he could not make his mind, and finally chose Nature Camp.

It was going to be immediately after his school ended but due our schedules, it had to be as soon as possible. We came to an agreement and stuck to it. The time and money sacrificed in this, WAS WAAAAY WORTH IT!

He attended last week the Magical Heart Summer Day Camp. It is located here in Florida, in a beautiful farm area called "The Redlands" (Homestead, Florida). My friend DeAnna Carlile runs it out of her beautiful 5 acre Estate and it could have not been any better. She is a wonderful person filled with so much knowledge. The best part is that she has been homeschooling her kids for the longest time with amazing results. We know for sure that the Camp experience would be backed up by years of practice and experience on all kinds of educational matters.

My son was able to explore Nature at his maximum. He learned about how to care for it and most importantly how to live in harmony with it. He also, learned to use his hands and mind to express while dancing, crafting, painting, and doing yoga. He even learned how to cope with the sudden death of our host's beloved pet. He had so much fun, that the excitement did not fit his tiny body. Every day was an adventure that was accompanied but beautiful friendships and wisdom way beyond his short life.





My Point in this Story: Times are rough financially for many of us, but if you prepare, budget, and choose wisely, we can still give our children Great Options to learn, enjoy and grow wisely. It does not have to be something big, but we can help our kids achieve at least one of their dreams this summer by working together!

If you are in the South Florida area, you can contact Magical Heart Summer Camp for more information at: deanna@magicalheartyoga.com, otherwise search in your neighborhood websites or Community Papers, I'm sure will find what you are looking for this Summer.

Blessings to all and great Warm wishes!