Valentine Cards
Romantical snake-themed Valentine's Day cards designed by Erin.
- Attaching dum-dums is one cute way to spice up the cards.
Here is a treat for you, just in time for February 14th: beautiful watercolor V-day cards free to print and hand out to all your friends.
The inspiration for these cards came from an old picture encyclopedia of boas and pythons that Luc wanted me to read to him one night. There was an awesome photo of two emerald tree boas coiled up and hanging in a tree together. Combining the idea of snuggling snakes with the ancient use of the snake as a symbol of eternity, wisdom, fertility, and indulgence, I kind of let my imagination run away, ending up with the selection presented here.
This is my first time making printables like this, but I think they came out well. You can access the cards and print them here. For detailed instructions, see below.
Have fun!
Instructions for Printing:
1) Click this link: Printable Valentine Cards
2) Select File and Print in your browser
3) Select only page 1 to print
4) Enter the number of copies, click print
5) Place the printed pages back in the printer (which way their facing depends on your printer)
6) Repeat as above, except choose page 2 only to print
7) Cut out cards, embellish with candy (Yum!)
Handmade Responsibility
Seasons greetings, fellow web-mongers and craft-fanatics!
The time for spreading holiday cheer is at hand. In this time of last minute shopping sprees, I want to bring up the subject of the handmade gift and what really makes “handmade” so special. Many people think of handmade gifts, whether made by the giver or bought from an artisan, as having a heartfelt quality. A great deal of time, effort, thought, and usually skill goes into creating a gift-worthy object from scratch. The feeling of uniqueness, that this particular item was made for that particular person, is something that mass-manufactured products cannot compare with.
Though producing, buying, and giving handmade products is greatly appealing for its individualized nature, handcrafted gifts represent something even more: responsibility. Oftentimes, people fail to realize the social and environmental impact that shopping choices can have. The major deterrent to purchasing handmade is price, but what is the cost of mass production? Where a consumer may see a really good deal on a toy car for her 4-year-old nephew, the truth behind the cheap toy is child exploitation in a developing nation, local unemployment, pollution from the manufacturing and shipping process, and heavy metal poisoning for the nephew. Is this a gift we want to give our children for the holidays?
This season, we should remember the true, unmatchable value of the handmade gift and share the spirit of the holidays with items we can take pride in giving, whether we buy these gifts, or make them ourselves.
Word of the Month: REALITY
Last month’s word was POETRY. Strangely enough, this word had a profound significance in my personal life this month. I consider poetry to be extremely important in my life, as it links me spiritually to the universe. I got married last month, and the wedding and preparation into the wedding forced me to remind myself of the inherent relativity and shortcomings of poetry. My husband has little to no interest in poetry, and it made writing our vows a very difficult experience for me. I even began to think- is it a good idea to spend your life with someone who doesn’t have the same ability to define their emotions as you do? How can you even be sure that what you feel for each other is real when they can’t describe it out of greeting card terms? And how do you deal with your life partner having no interest in the very anchor of your worldview? I had many dark moments leading up to the wedding, but in the end I had to come to terms with the reality of things- that life and love are by nature undefinable. “since feeling is first/ whoever pays attention to the syntax of things / will never wholly kiss you”, e.e. cummings wrote. Ironically my favorite poem expresses how ”the best gesture of my brain/is less than your eyelids’ flutter.” e.e. cummings also once wrote, in prose, that as a poet he was competing with the indomitable beauty of nature- how could he compete with the rose? And so, I surrendered to my love for my husband and let it overpower my brain. We forget that the soul, and thus poetry, is only product of our brain. The brain is limited. Existence is infinite. This makes me question the relationship between reality and art. Reality is more powerful, more true, than art. So why should we have art? I feel that it is important, and since feeling is first, I trust that I am right. But the answer to why still eludes me. Perhaps by reflecting on reality I will find that answer. And so, for the month of November, I give you the word REALITY.
Word of the Month: Poetry
Hello, I am Krista. The youngest of the Moonsprouts sisters. I have not posted any of my work yet. This does not help you to know what kind of an artist I am. To fix that I have posted an old poem that expresses the way I feel about art, poetry, and what they mean to both the audience and the creator. Enjoy.
I am not good at many things
Except at telling stories
I am full of them
Normally they are exaggerated
Thats why I want to become things like
A history teacher or a writing professor
I’ll let go of salaries for God on words
Love is always the moral
You can never have a good story without lose
So there is always tragedy
And you can’t have a good tragedy without love
Like in Fried Green Tomatoes
Iggie’s best friend, Ruth dies
And her son looses his arm the same way the love of her life dies
They never end
The same characters revisited
Almost exactly where they left off
Like Leon’s Country store
I don’t even know where to begin
All my life I have imagined this place
Even tried to remember it
Knowing that the memory was delicate and like smoke
Like love
Knowing that you can loose it
So tell me a story
Give me something that I can never touch
Give me a place to dream about
A face to remember that I have never seen
I want something that will light up the wrinkles in my face when I remember the story you told me
I want you
I want your hue of the world
What colors do you see?
What new God do you have to bring?
Make it bitter sweet
I want your version of love
Word of the Month: Change
It is September, and a new month means a new word. Last month, L.E. gave us the word “identity” to contemplate. This word has driven me and my sisters in the process of discovering our own identities as individual creators, as a collective, and as citizens of the world.
My own personal discovery was this: I am Erin Joslin. Most people call me “Erin,” even my five year old son, Luc. My three year old son, Connor calls me “Mama” and my husband, Chris calls me “Babe.” I am a nursing student at WNMU, where I’m known as “Josline.” I worked at a daycare center this summer, and the children said “Ms. Erin.” My mom calls me “Erin-ah!” sometimes. My father-in-law (may he rest in peace) had the most nicknames for me, though, with “Arwen”, “Lil Bit,” and “Mother Nature.” A person’s nicknames reflect different facets of their personality and a person’s actions are dependent on which role they are playing at that moment. So when I am “Mama,” I sew diapers, when I am “Ms. Erin,” I make apples out of construction paper, and when I am “Babe,” I draw mermaids.
While we are still actively in search of our own identities, we did make considerable progress in identifying ourselves to others. Who are we? We are Moonsprouts, an entity with the goal of providing for the everyday spiritual and practical needs of the modern, freethinking female philosopher.
Now I give you the word for September: CHANGE.
SugarButt All-in-one Cloth Diapers
A few years ago, I began selling cloth diapers, but was distracted by other life events and business was put on the back burner (happens to everyone, right?) Now, I have a little bit more experience and a little bit more confidence, and I would like to re-introduce my line of cloth diapers and accessories: SugarButt.
Pictured are SugarButt All-in-Ones. They consist of a water-resistant, yet breathable shell made of polyester fleece, and an inner absorbent liner made from upcycled old t-shirts. The liner is sewn to the shell and folds out for quicker drying time. There are no fasteners on the diapers, but when used with pins or snappies, these diapers are highly adjustable, fitting babies 10-35 pounds.
I must give credit to the Rita’s Rump Pocket Diaper pattern for the design inspiration for these. This pattern is available for free on the Internet for anyone interested in sewing their own diapers. Google “handmade by Rita”.
Quilted Smartphone Pouch
So I joined the iPhone bandwagon this summer and, compared with the Pantech I used to drop in my back pocket, the iPhone seems worthy of a more sophisticated method of transport. I myself am not fond of purses, especially since I’m usually lugging a giant diaper bag. Thus, I created a simple solution of flannel and fleece that can hold a phone, as well as credit cards and ID, yet is small enough to be tossed into a larger purse, or in my case, a diaper bag.
