New classes for fall!

THE DANGEROUSLY DARING CLASS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS Ages 5-10 Thursdays 4-5:30 Oct. 16th through Nov. 20th $150

WANTED: Adventure-seeking kids ages 5-10 for zombie-movie making, water balloon catapult building, miniature golf course design, and more. If you're an innovative free spirit with a flair for tinkering and creating, this is the class for you.

GIFTMAKING FOR THE HOLIDAYS Ages 2-5, Wednesdays 10-12, Nov. 4th through Dec. 9th, $150

Replace acquisitional zeal with the joy of making and giving. With an emphasis on creative reuse and natural materials, we'll be making fizzy bath bombs, homemade bath salts, delectable peppermint candies and cocoa mix, hand-dyed play silks, beeswax candles, and many more useful and delightful little items.

BUILD YOUR OWN DOLLHOUSE: Four hour workshop Ages 5-12 Saturday 1-5 October 24th $50

Build a simple four room doll house and decorate it to your heart's content. Build furniture, create your own dolls, paint the walls blazing chartreuse if you want to... it's your chance to create the tiny house of your dreams.

CARPENTRY: THREE SIMPLE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Ages 5-10 Fridays Nov. 6th through Dec. 11th $150

Build a handheld thumb piano, a band box, and a glockenspiel.
Carpentry classes are co- taught with Doerte Fimke of The Montessori Center.

CARPENTRY WORKSHOPS

Build a hand held labyrinth game. Ages 5-10 Saturday Oct. 17th 2-5 October 17th $50

Build a birdhouse-- design and create the birdhouse of your dreams. Ages 5-10 Saturday Nov. 14th $50

To register, contact Kami at kwilt@hotmail.com
More about me at www.kamiwilt.com

Labyrinthine

Ooh I just think this idea is SO exciting and fun! I found it in a book that my friend Doerte brought back from Germany. It's the perfect open ended and satisfying project that you can make as elaborate or as simple as you want.

If you'd like to participate in a little wedding-lust with me...

*Swoon*, *sigh*, *stars-in-my-eyes*....



Matt and I got married like, all on our owners, took a picnic with us to the banks of the Blanco River and said our vows to each other and then rode bikes over to the Blanco County Courthouse and got married by the...uh... is it possible it was the sheriff? It was a guy in a cowboy hat. It was all VERY fun and adorable but maybe just someday maybe we'll have a big ol' wedding re-do with family and friends. We wouldn't be quite as cute and perfect as these people here. But maybe almost.

El chiquito librito

I made this book for my friend's birthday and it seriously took 15 minutes... for some reason it is very empowering to me to be able to just sit down and whip out a wee bookie. Probably because I've spent my whole life in thrall of The Book... I used to sit down and 'write' long stories with made-up letters before I learned this whole alphabet biz... Come to think of it, I used to make tons of books back then, too. Then I gave it up for the last twenty, twenty five years or so... nice to be back on the production line.

By the by, just get yourself a nice big tapestry needle, it's like the biggest needle you can get. It really pierces through the paper quite easily. I've also been using this really sturdy hemp twine that I found a whole lot of at a thrift store this summer. Just use something really strong that can stand up to a little wear and tear...for all that raucous readin' and writin' you're going to be doing with it....

WOWZA!!

Oh my golly gee... these newfangled contraptions will never fail to astonish and amaze. I've been weeping and wailing over the fact that, although I have a beautiful new camera all full of beautiful new photos just ripe to be uploaded, I didn't think I could do that on this little borrowed laptop. As it turns out it is in fact as easy if not in fact easier than pie, if pie is in fact as easy as they say. Now without further ado... some of our adventures over the past few weeks that I haven't been able to blog about (OH the HORROR!)

Carpentry is awesome...

...or, as Jack asked me yesterday, "Would you rather be a carpenter OR build robots when you grow up?" Good question, kid. Lucky for me, I grew up to do a little bit of both!

I just met with my friend Doerte about our plans for carpentry classes this fall and winter. She is German and is just back from spending the summer over there... she came back with these absolutely wonderful hand drills that are so simple and so sturdy,all metal, so perfect for children to use. In our class last spring we used these Fiskar hand drills, partially plastic, which were neat but we really put them to the test, and they were not up to the task, oh no they were not. It is SO not fun frustrating kids who are trying to learn an exciting new skill, not our intention at all.

Anyway, we got all jazzed about this wonderful new projects we are going to do in our classes... one of those hand held wooden labyrinth games that you fuss around with to get the tiny little marble or ball bearing through the maze... real wooden puzzles... maybe one of those wooden pull-toys so popular with toddlers... all sorts of really groovy ideas are in the mix. It is one of my favorite things in the world... talking with a friend and getting all exciting about making and creating and doing. I love it!

Now on Friday we will get together and start building the prototypes. It's been a while since I've hammered and sawed and drilled... let the making commence. Hooray!

I've seen the future, and it will be...

...to quote Prince...

I am completely and utterly overjoyed by this discovery I made last night... earthships. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the direction we are going in! These houses are completely sustainable, they are built out of old tires and cans but look AMAZING, this really gives me hope that the future is not grim and Mad Max but instead just this whole other phase where we really raise our consciousness and live in tune with the earth.

I want to build one of these immediately, like right now, TODAY! Got any tires to give me?