Some things I made, and stuff

I feel like kind of a goofball, but I think I'll share some things I made today. Might help you out for the Christmas or other gifting extravagnaza you have in your future. I don't make that much, but I'm always trawling for new ideas on the internets, so here's a few:

I just made this baby toy today for my little girl and I think she's going to dig it. It's just wooden balls and jingle bells, you can find these at Hobby Lobby. It's pretty awesome if you'd like to gift a young 'un with a nice wooden toy but don't want to shell out the 13, 14, 15, or 20 bucks most of them cost. And then your kid really just wants to play with your cellphone. I know, it's a bummer. Anyway, I also sealed these with melted beeswax and that made them smell deliciously of the wax of bees. You could also add this to your basket of musical instruments.

I also made this sweet little barette... takes a mere two seconds and they're pretty effin' cute. Here's how.

Take that, Soulemama!

I made a bristlebot yesterday and I'm feeling very very pleased with myself. It's looking very ghetto but that's a motor and battery and switch taped onto a scrub brush. Kind of ridiculous but good for a few laughs and the kids enjoyed it. If you want to build one yourself, go here.
It's amazing how much you learn from doing something yourself, not reading about it, not talking to someone else about it.

The title of this post is a tad rude but I get semi-obsessed with Soulemama sometimes and wonder how she manages to write books, homeschool, knit, sew, blog, and never slip up and buy something at Target or have a kid who was obsessed with superheroes or who chomped on a pthalate-laden toy or anything like that. She is practically perfect in every way, but I don't think she ever built a robot, however primitive, for her kids, so I got her there.

East Austin Studio Tour

Oh Austin, why is it that every two seconds you have to delight me with some new wonder that makes me weak at the knees? East Austin Studio Tour was just yet another one of those moments that found me melting into a pool of mush for not only this town we call our home, but also for the amazingness of all those peops out there making art just for the pure sake of making it. Not making money necessarily (in fact in most cases most definitely not) but are just compelled to make stuff, stuff that amazes, confuses, bemuses, befuddles us... delights inspires or lights a fire... I felt so moved that there are SO many people out there who could have been watching TV but instead, made something.

Some of my faves:
and...
Fisterra Studio
Utility Research Garden (which unfortunately doesn't really contain a picture of one of the most magical gardens I've ever strolled through...)
Esquina Tango (What the heck? I was mad they shut down Church of the Friendly Ghost, I didn't know it morphed into a totally cool local tango dance hall).
Co lab

Advent calendar

I made this advent calendar over at Future Craft Collective last weekend.... if you know not of what I speak, then check it out pronto, and if you have any interest in a class like this for yourself, then jump on it dear sister (or brother).... I think they might be up for another one, just need a healthy handful of eager participants. I can't recommend it highly enough... for me no afternoon could be better spent than chatting with some cool women, getting in the zone, and actually having the room to pursue a project to it's timely end... no distractions, no children, not even your email...pure paradise. This is what I came up with, and it's pretty much wonky, strange, the color scheme is pretty much; "Color scheme? What color scheme?", but in knowing myself better and better each year (or day, or minute?) I knew I just had to bust it out, not second guess myself, and just go fast and furious until it was done, or it never would be. So there you go. Most importantly, my kids are going to dig it. Which is why when Bernadette whipped out the He-man sheets, I couldn't not include He-man and She-ra. I'm not planning on telling the kids that those are who they actually are... I'm interested to hear what they come up with, if anything... a Grubb Family Christmas Mythology all our own.

Coop comes for a visit and doesn't stay long

Come back and see us real soon now, y'hear?

(If you could see inside the baby carrier you would see Henny also was screaming her head off... good times!)

Comedienne

Skateboarding class

On top of spaghetti...

Outdoor sculpture at the Blanton museum... check it out! My kids could have played there for at least an hour, easy.

Fit for a king

My brother Cooper was in town and we just had to take him to some of the finest places in Austin...

Hot plate art

My mom taught me this lo those many years gone by. Put a piece of paper on one of those hot plates, draw on them wax crayons and the crayons glide all melty-like and the picture comes out all vivid and intense... kind of like painting with crayons... it's really fun.

Not photoshopped!

It's not a wig, either.

The fort

Matt just busted out this new fort and we are really psyched. This little movie doesn't really contribute that much to that information but I am also really psyched to discover that it's mad easy to upload video onto here... ok, Future, we have really arrived. Anyway, back to the fort:



It's not really for the faint of heart... or people who might be inclined to faint, either one. I don't know what kind of mother I am to not be fainting when I see them do this kind of thing... I've resigned myself to the fact that there'll probably be a few more ER visits and broken bones in our future either way... our friend and fellow climber Oliver fell off the couch recently and broke his arm... so my plan is to just embrace the fact I've got three thrill-seeking children and well, just keep my fingers crossed.

Dia de Los Muertos

I've always wanted to decorate sugar skulls for Day of the Dead and I finally got to do it. Martha made a huge batch of skulls for us... I wish I had a picture of them all lined up, bare and white... it really was kind of chilling. Soon enough we all had at them with the frosting tubes and they got all festive.

I think the dead were very pleased.


Some from the party scampered off to dance the Thriller dance (http://www.thrilltheworld.com/) in the awesome Day of the Dead parade they've been having over here on the East side for the last twenty years or so... a goodly mix of tradicionale and Keep Austin Wierd-ness... oh and a healthy shake of zombies, don't forget.

BIG FIVE, the way we like it

Jack's birthday... so simple yet so divine. If I dare to tell the real honest truth... and only three months on the late side! Not too shabby. (Hey we DID just have a baby, y'all...) (Oh yeah, what was that, a whole...almost five months ago now? Guess that excuse is about wrung dry by now...).

Decorated their own cupcakes, worked out quite well, especially for the child found off by himself chowing on the bag of red-hots.

Then on to the main attraction...


BOX SLEDDING! Sledding, Texas style... all you need is a broken down box or big piece of cardboard and a steep, grassy hill. Quite good for the boundless energy of these young folk... nothing like full on RUNNING back up a steep hill ten million times to put at least a tiny dent in that relentless vigor.

Happy 5, sweetie boy.