March Favorites: Dragons and Dollhouses and What My High School Sex Ed Class Didn't Teach Me

Our February favorites are here.

Syd doesn't want to share her March reading list, but Will and I LOOOOOOOOVE to talk about what we've been reading, so it's just us two blathering on about our books this month.

Somehow our Will managed to read 35 books in 31 days. I don't even know. Once again, she was Jane Yolen's biggest fangirl. Two of Yolen's books count in her favorites:



Our girl loves herself some dragons. Here's another of her March favorites, also dragon-themed:



Will is much more likely to recommend books to me these days than I am to recommend books to her, but I'm especially pleased when I see that she's read and loved something that I, too, have read and loved. I think I was in graduate school when I first started the His Dark Materials series, and I remember it gutting me. Will is only one book in so far, but she reports that it's one of her favorite March books, so I'm sure the rest are coming:



Oh, and she read this pre-Harry Potter boy wizard book! I LOVE this one!



Will says that I should read some reviews before I read this book, however, because it is, in her words, "surprisingly dark":



Here are the rest of Will's favorite books of March:



And here's some of the rest of what she read:



Not all of these were winners, of course; I'm cracking up that Will included her AP Euro textbook in her March reading log, although to be fair, she DID finish it! She also reports that Dress Codes for Small Towns "had no discernible plot, and when I finished it I didn't even know what had happened in it." Will hasn't ever really picked up the trick of dropping a book when she doesn't like it...

And that Dog Magic book Will read basically as a joke, although a few minutes ago I was laughingly reading one of the negative Amazon reviews for it to the girls, the one that criticized the book for teaching witches how to "enslave" animals as their familiars, and when Syd said, "Ooh, I'm going to go try that on Luna," Will immediately shouted, "NO! She's MY dog!"

It's never really boring around here...

I read a lot more in March than I usually do, likely because I was so happy and relaxed and relieved when I finally got done with cookie season! I read these two books that Will recommended to me--



--and oh, my goodness, I LOVED them. LOVED THEM! The kid was spot-on with what she thought I would like. I don't want to tell you too much because I don't want to spoil the books for you, but I'll just tell you that at the beginning of the first book you're going to hate the main character. Ugh, he's horrible! And you're going to hate him for a while, but by the end of the book you are not going to be able to love him more. He remains flawed, but... okay, no. I cannot tell you more. Read it yourself. Seriously. And then come talk to me about it, because I SUPER want to talk to you about it!

I noticed that Will had one of Karen Walker Thompson's books in her March log, and funnily enough, I had another one of hers in mine!



I really enjoyed this one; it was compelling, even as much of its plot revolves around waiting and ennui and futility and such--reading it, it's like you're always anticipating the next terrible thing that you're always building up to. It was so good that I didn't even really mind that the plot just sort of piddles out in the end. It was realistic that way, I guess, as realistic as a sci-fi novel about a localized pandemic can be. I mean, it's not like we had a big, climactic ending to ebola, you know?

I did read Dragon Teeth, although unlike Syd, I didn't super love it. It got me on a Michael Crichton kick, however, and I managed to read THREE of his books in March!



I first read Sphere way back before they made a movie of it, and I think the movie ruined the book for me big-time, because I had completely forgotten how good the book actually is. If you've seen the movie, try to forget it, because the book is actually good! Like, sci-fi thriller good, if you like that sort of thing. I had never read A Case of Need, and it's even better. Like, legitimately good, not just sci-fi thriller good. I really liked the voice in this one, and the matter of fact way that the main character goes about some pretty extraordinary business. It's historically interesting, too, and politically charged, especially these days.

So this book comes from an NPR story that the kids and I listened to while out and about one day. Syd immediately put her headphones on and zoned out, but Will and I were charmed and fascinated by the experts interviewed, and as soon as I got home I put Emily Nagoski's book on hold for me at the library:



You guys, it's SO GOOD! The subtitle is disingenuous, in my opinion, as I don't need to have my sex life transformed, and yet it had me riveted. Think of it more as what your sex ed class should have been like. Y'all, I thought that my sex ed class was great and super informative, and yet apparently there was SO MUCH that I never knew about my own body, just, like, biologically.

Seriously. Am I the only person who didn't already know that the HYMEN IS A LIE?!?

And the psychological stuff that she talks about would have been so helpful to know for, geez, the first half of my sexual history, at least? You can skip the self-help stuff and still get so much from this book. I'm passing it on to Will next.

Here are a couple of other random books that I read in March. I promise there's nothing else overtly sexually charged on the list!



Okay, you know I can't let you get away without telling you about our random YouTube favorites of the month. We don't have antenna or cable TV, or Netflix or Hulu, so when we sit around and watch a screen together, it's a DVD or it's YouTube.

This art restoration guy is my main obsession these days. I am absolutely fascinated at his process and all the little details involved in his work, and at the end, when he does his before/after comparison, I want to stand up and cheer. But I don't, because his other major awesome quality is that the kids think that they like his videos, too, but they nearly always put them to sleep.

Shh, don't tell them!



When it's Syd's turn to choose a video for us to watch, this woman is nearly always her go-to. It's another detailed process tutorial, so I think we have a family theme going on here:



Syd also introduced us to this guy, and we've now watched a ton of his tutorials. He's very silly, but his work is astounding--creative and unusual and very, very professional-looking:



Syd is really our YouTube expert; she knows all the best tutorial videos. She and Matt watch a lot of these digital art tutorials; she's really invested in improving her digital art lately, and even I, who barely know what I'm supposed to be looking at in the best of circumstances, can tell how much more detailed and realistic her work is looking lately:



Okay, this next one is all me and Matt. Did you know that there are a ton of YouTube videos consisting of people building weensy little dollhouses and modifying them and decorating them?

Reader, there ARE. And THEY ARE ENTRANCING:



Oh, my gosh, here's another one of Syd's finds. I swear that she does more than just scroll YouTube! This series is often what she and I watch when I ask her if she wants to hang out and watch TV with me:



Let me know if there's something YOU read or watch that we should be reading or watching, too!

Guest Post: A Little Bit of Rock Painting

I'm featuring a guest writer on Craft Knife today. Syd is here to share with you her photos and review of The Little Book of Rock Painting (which we received free from a publicist). Please don't tell her that this was also her grammar and rhetoric lesson for today, as during the editing stage many, many comma splices met sad ends, and Syd still mourns them because apparently breathless writing is the BEST writing. 

To start with rock painting you need some ROCKS. Who would have guessed?

You could, of course, go and find some rocks in the rock wilderness. Beware, some may bite! I used some bagged rocks, which are nice because they are much flatter and smoother than rocks you would find outside.

The rock painting book that will be the guide in this journey is The Little Book of Rock Painting, full of cute and kinda strange ideas.

Once you have your hands on a rock you should open the book and choose a design. I chose a feather for my first one.

 Bellow you see the instruction page for the feather--it is very straightforward and simple!

I choose a medium squarish rock, perfect for an oval feather shape? Maybe not but it worked despite my poor planning, which was a relief.

Here are the paint pens that I used on the rocks. The more colors you use the better and more vibrant the rock!

 
Here is the beginning phase of the feather. The book was very helpful for making it look like a feather and not a corn dog.

Here is the design for the feather. If the pen was thinner it might have worked better.
The book had nothing to do with this, though. I should have made the feather larger to compensate for the pen size.

Next I followed the owl pattern. It was slightly more difficult then the feather but came out pretty cute!

Here is how the owl came out. You should most likely sketch out the design beforehand so that one of the eyes doesn't hang off the rock.

I followed the raindrop one next. It kind of looks like firecrackers, which is a cute idea for a rock design!

This is how the raindrop came out--super cute!

Next, I chose the fish. Their fish came out super cute but it doesn't have a fin for some reason  so I chose to add a fin to my fish.

A nice square rock, yet again the wrong shape but it turned out nice!

                         

I sketched a fish... cause I am doing the fish... nice!

Here is the fish all done. I added the googly eyes cause why not?

This one is if you don't have a rock that fits rock painting standards. I used a nice wooden egg to show you can pretty much use anything.

I chose the fox for this one. It turned out pretty cool on the egg.

It wasn't as hard as I feared to draw on a round object. But it was kind of cool to draw on a wooden egg!

I found that this book was full of nice ideas and tips that you could expand on to improve your rock painting knowledge and skill. I enjoyed the simple steps making it easy and fun to use.

Syd is a fashion designer, author of two previous blogs (Syd the Craft Kid and My My Little Ponies), and slime expert.

Spring Sale for Pumpkin+Bear

Looking through the Sold archives of my Pumpkin+Bear etsy shop is one of those activities that's chock-full of nostalgia. The dinosaur stuffies and quilted blankets remind me of Will's obsession with dinosaurs. The T-shirt dresses and buntings for every occasion used to delight at tiny Syd.

There are crayon rolls from when I used to keep one in every pocket and every bag, moveable alphabets of all sizes and sorts from when I was focused on providing a language-rich hands-on environment, felt sets and bean bags and remade crayons and all kinds of things that little ones love.

We're beyond much of that now. These days my girls mostly ask me for custom clothing and novelty blankets, and many of the handmade items that they want they're fully capable of making for themselves--and they do!

I let all my listings for little ones linger in Pumpkin+Bear for years longer than I needed to, violating my original principle that I made things for sale as I made things for myself and my children, a side hustle that was more an extension of crafting for my family than a business--if I ever quit my day job, it's never to be a full-time artisan!

Anyway, my Girl Scout troop is preparing for a big garage sale fundraiser next month, which means that of course I'm on the hook to go through all my stuff and see what I can stand to get rid of. I was crouching down, digging through crafting supplies and thinking about what I needed for what, and out of the blue I thought, "Huh. I don't actually need felt play set materials or crayon roll materials or play silk materials anymore, other than for Pumpkin+Bear. And what if I didn't actually even need them for Pumpkin+Bear anymore, either?"

Well, I'd have more space, that's for sure. I might have more time to invent creations that I'm more passionate about. I might have time to make and sell some things that are better suited to the tween and teen that I've got now.

So deep breath, because I'm putting everything that I'm no longer going to make on BIG SALE--like 50% off big! When it's gone, it's gone. Here's what's going:

30"x30" Play Silks--Originally $16, Now $8

To be fair, Syd DOES still use her vast collection of play silks once in a while, and whenever we're going through our possessions and I ask her if she wants to keep them out or move them into keepsakes, she always wants to keep them out!

Still, it's been years, probably, since she's asked for a new size or different color...

Duck and Cat Wall Quilt on Recycled Denim--Originally $15, Now $7.50

You can tell the things that I've been making so long that I didn't know how to properly photograph them when I started. Also, how long has it been since I've made my children some nursery decor?!? The last thing that I made for the kids' bedroom was embellished picture frames for their Comic Con art purchases...

Fairy Tale Flannel Christmas Stocking--Originally $16.25, Now $8.12

I actually will probably continue making the odd Christmas stocking, particular as the kids' interest change, but regardless, there's no need to buy more fairy tale fabric, not with kids who are much more into Greek myths and post-apocalyptic literature and European history memes.

Star Wars Flannel Christmas Stocking--Originally $16.25, Now $8.12

Since I'm on a roll, I might as well clear out all of my Christmas stocking flannel altogether...

Felt Cake Puzzle Play Set, Originally $9.00, Now $4.50

The preschool years really are over, if the kids are no longer playing with their felt boards and asking me for new felt pieces and making and embellishing their very own felt pieces for all of their pretend play.

I love the felt play sets the most, because they're all based on something specific that a kid asked me to create for her at one time.

Felt Paper Doll Set--Originally $9.00, Now $4.50

Felt Rainbow Play Mat with Felt Rainbow Play Set--Originally $18, Now $9

Do you guys remember when Syd was OBSESSED with rainbows?

Felt Rainbow Play Set--Originally $10, Now $5

Horse Lover's Travel Felt Mat

My Little Pony American Girl Doll Skirt--Originally $11, Now $5.50

Sydney is outgrowing her American Girl dolls WAY faster than I am!

Pink Skulls American Girl Doll Skirt--Originally $11, Now $5.50

 Upholstery Fabric Crayon Rolls--Originally $8.00, Now $4.00

I should have suspected what an artist Syd was growing to be back when she was a toddler and I had to pack crayons and paper or chalk or markers or play dough every time we left the house. I still do that, or rather Syd does it for herself, but now it's generally fashion design notebooks or comic book templates and Prismacolor pencils.

Vintage Superman Colored Pencil Roll--Originally $18, Now $9

I've tentatively set my sale to run for a full month, and I'll still have most of my supplies through then, so let me know if you've got a custom request.

Right now, though, I've got to get back to sorting stuff for that Girl Scout garage sale...

Homeschool European Geography: Zooming In On Ukraine

I haven't written much about our European Geography study, but I assure you that we have been steadily working on it for several months now.

Our spine for European Geography is Draw Europe, supplemented with lots of fiction and non-fiction, YouTube and DVDs, hands-on activities, live radio...

...and an international snacks subscription box that I bought for Will's last birthday! I bought her a year's subscription to Universal Yums, and it has been SO FUN. Each month she gets a box from a different country, and when her box if from a European country we treat it as a bonus chance to dive deep into that country.

This month's Yum Box was from Ukraine:

Here are some of the snacks that she received:

Ukraine is VERY into potatoes.

These boxes are a LOT of fun for adventurous eaters, and they're how I know that I super love smoked plum candy. NOM!

Anyway, although we've already covered Ukraine in our study, spring is an especially good time to revisit the country, because one of the traditionally Ukrainian crafts is the making of pysanky eggs for Easter. We don't make pysanky eggs every single year, but it is a surprisingly accessible kid craft, and I do recommend it. Don't they turn out cool?

Here are some other great projects to add into your study:

• Print, color, and label a map of Ukraine. We use the free Owl and Mouse maps for all of our geography studies--I love them SO MUCH because you can print them up to several feet across. Color and label the printouts, or use them as templates to make salt dough or cookie maps. 
• Print and color Ukraine's flag. The kids really loved coloring flags when they were early elementary, but even now, we still get out the pin flags and maps sometimes. 
• Make and memorize fact flash cards. Even if you're focusing on history, politics, or culture, it is useful to have some basic facts memorized. I like the templates here because kids learn more when they have to research the facts themselves.
• Learn a little of the language. Some languages have fun flash cards that are easily found via Google search, but I didn't have a lot of luck with Ukrainian. Nevertheless, one or two lessons through Mango Languages is enough to give a kid a glimpse at what speaking Ukrainian is like--it will at least teach them how to say hello!
• Read about Chernobyl. This is a good way to get a science-focused kid interested in geography. Here, for example, is a quite readable explanation both of nuclear fission and the chain of events that led to the Chernobyl accident.
• Study Sevastopol. There were important sieges there during both the Crimean War and World War 2--which gives you opportunities to also delve into studying both of those wars, too.
• Listen to Ukrainian music. We like CDs of folk music from the library, but currently our favorite ways to experience a country's music are by streaming live, local radio stations on Radio Garden and by searching the playlists on Spotify--seriously, don't you want to listen to Ukrainian rap?

When the kids and I are searching YouTube for resources on a country, we always look for Geography Now, Eurovision, and Rick Steves videos. Geography Now and Rick Steves haven't covered Ukraine yet, alas, but Ukraine does participate in Eurovision, and they have some great performances. This one is our favorite, sort of because of the costumes and the dancing, but mostly because the lead singer has the best hair EVER, and every time we watch this video we mostly just spend the time talking about how nice her hair is and wondering how she got it so nice and shiny and tangle-free:

It's REALLY nice hair, right?

Although we didn't find many YouTube resources on Ukraine (please let me know if there's something that you love that we should know about!), we found loads and loads and LOADS of great books. I'm extra happy that Will's Yum Box led us to this review, because there are so many good books that we didn't get nearly through them the first time:



Now that we've experienced a few snacks from Ukraine, I'm longing to hit up the giant international grocery up in Indianapolis to see if they have any of our favorites, or something new to try. 

The Weirdest Puzzle

I wrote several years ago about our family Thrift Store Puzzle Philosophy, and we still hold to it. I can't tell you the number of puzzles that have come and gone over the years--certainly more than our house could hold if we'd had our hearts set on keeping them all!

This puzzle, though, is something special. First of all, it's round, which is unusual:

Primarily, though, this puzzle is just very, very strange:

Okay, yes, it's all cats. That is very, VERY weird.

But these cats? They're also all consecrated religious, and they are acting VERY irreverently:

Yeah, that's a feline nun. Dancing. With a feline monk.

DANCING.

Dancing while TOUCHING.

Very irreverent, indeed!

The entire puzzle represents male and female consecrated religious have a giant party. I can't imagine what on earth the artist was thinking. There are SO many weird things going on here.

For instance, check out this act of charity:

So those are anthropomorphized consecrated religious cats, sitting on the steps eating from a plate, and there are non-anthropomorphized cats around them begging for food.

Are the non-anthropomorphized cats meant to represent the laity? Are they begging for the fruit of salvation? Or... did the artist just think that it would be cute to have cats begging from cats?

It's all so deeply suspect, yet presented so lightheartedly, that I can't figure it out. It's as if Martin Luther, instead of writing his 95 Theses, decided to draw an adorable cartoon and never tell anyone whether or not he was being ironic.

Because OMG look at this!!!

Was the artist trying to make a statement about sexual impropriety between nuns and monks, or is it just supposed to be cute? Is that non-anthropomorphized black cat next to the cat nun meant to symbolize witchcraft, or is it just... there?

Because the implications make a VERY troubling set of statements, but the whole thing is so cute! Does anyone really make a set of statements this troubling by means of a cartoon this cute? I mean, normally when you want to draw worldly sin, you channel your inner Hieronymus Bosch, you know? Not your inner Charles Shulz.

Here are another couple of weird excerpts. We've got a feline Mary and Jesus (but an avian dove)--

--and a domestic cat Adam but a lion God, but domestic cat angels, and there are more non-anthropomorphized cats:

So in this reality, God did not make his creatures in his image, or is the artist making a broader statement about species identification and implying that we should respect monkeys and apes as also containing the divine spark?

If I was still an academic, I would write SO MANY PAPERS about this puzzle.

I'm not, though, so when we were done, I flipped it over and painted a new puzzle for the kids on the back. That was only because there were a few pieces, though--if this puzzle had been intact, I would be hoarding it as-is forever, probably painted with one of those Puzzle Saver solutions and hung on my study wall with all my other weird things.