unexpected FEELING

Tell about a moment that surprised you with an unexpected flood of feeling and how this has affected you.       page 21  7000 Ways to Listen
 
Strange, finding this journal prompt today.  Astonished by the WOOSH! of joy  felt this morning, freed to call out - close to 50 years after first knowing it - something spiritually ludicrous as the ABSURD thing it is.  

The rush of feeling swept me with surprise, both its strength & its tangible nature.  Felt a weight lifted off me.  

joy honor bliss! 

Am transformed – by the feeling more than actions.  Connected & entwined, the actions producing the emotions; the emotions – strangely, not the actions – transforming my self.   

An unexpected, brimming-over-with-new-possibilities sensation.

great listeners - a morning meditation

Close your eyes.

Breathe slowly.  Imagine the lineage of great listeners through out time.

Inhale deeply and feel their living presence.

Exhaled deeply and feel how such listening connects us all.

Open your eyes and inhale deeply, honoring what you know to be true about your life.

Exhale slowly, honoring what you know to be true about those you love.

Enter your day committed to keeping all you are aware of in view. 


from 7000 Ways to Listen
Keeping What is True Before You, page 20-21

LISTENING - 7000 Ways to Listen

Describe your center point of listening.

I am only just beginning to discover that there is one waiting to be discovered. 

LEARNING - 7000 ways to listen

Describe a learning you were born with and how you came to discover this.

The power & importance of relationships - that was a first-breath knowledge.  Always part of my awareness.  Hard to say how I came to discover it.  Like most people born with a sense of something, whether how to conjugate verbs or grasp the intricacies of math or beat fluffy egg whites even at high altitudes, never dawned on me that others weren't equally (or way better) versed in the ins & outs & 'round abouts of relationship.  

My forever knowledge - learning - was never about any & all relationships, but more specialized.  From the very start, it focused on promoting & supporting healthy relationships.  An interesting irony, given how my family was & still pretty united in having no sense of relationship with me.  Perhaps Ian did, he died too young for me to hazard a guess.  But certainly the rest were & are fairly unanimous in their sense of...  no sure what.  But certainly not any sense of healthy relationship with the youngest born.  

Praise be, was also born with an awareness that how they felt about ME had no bearing on my feelings for them.  Not once did I chauffeur Mim from Girard College (or wherever she happened to be) out to Bryn Athyn with the underlying thought, "And now she'll like me."  I did it because she needed a ride & I could provide it.  Ditto with Peter staying with us for weeks, months on end, or stopping by for meals, or...  Never thought, "I'll do this & it will change their feelings toward me."  Not once.  I did it because we were related, both genetically & because everyone is related to everyone.  

When did I discover that my innate appreciation & celebration of relationship was a special gift?  Hard to say.  I guess it was when Nita Holmes answered my request to friends & acquaintances for words that came to mind thinking about me ~ she answered "intrusive."   That made me sit up & take notice.  And realize that a lot of people experience me that way.  And naturally so, since a lot, maybe most, people carefully build a protective hierarchy of relationships.  

Since it took until I was 37 years old to become part of the sort of relationship held dear in my heart, never had any sense of relating to others.  Most people either don't have a clue what it's like to be part of a family where not one face looks back at you with a sense of deep connection & acceptance or they know all too well & don't want to be reminded.  Like the dry drunk child of an alcoholic who longs for normalcy but doesn't know what it is, I spent a lifetime longing for relationship & messing things up because of not knowing the least thing about them.  How can anyone develop strong friendships when she keeps waiting to get The Look that separates?

But even having my love for John reciprocated, even sensing what it feels to belong without fear of The Look didn't make me realize that I was born with a love of promoting & supporting healthy relationships.  I first discovered that when Mim brushed off having any family conferences on more effective communication - something dangled in front of me for years - with the comment, "The past is the past" and "The family no longer exists as a unit."  

Her comment didn't shock me.  It was what I'd expected.  Ever since she started her masters program at Rutgers, I'd warn Mom, "Be prepared that once Mim gets her masters, she's going to be out of our lives."  No clue how I knew that, but I did.  And there it was.  Once she no longer had need for family support, it no longer existed to her.  It's only reason for being as a unit was to get her to independence.  Once that was achieved, the family went pouf in her heart.  And I could see it coming.

What I never saw coming, what totally blindsided me, was Mom being okay with that.  And she was. When Mim dismissed Mom's plea that I was at least owed loyalty for all I'd done for her over the years - "She offered, but I never accepted." - Mom was okay with that.  Not happy, but okay - "If that's what she thinks, that's what she thinks."  

It was at THAT point, realizing my MOTHER didn't share the same sense of  relationship so dear to my heart, that it hit me - maybe, just maybe, my forever view of nurturing relationship might be different from how others viewed experienced revered it.

Where does this learning live in me now?

My hope is that it lives in my every breath, my every action.  Everything reflects relationship, for good or ill.  My hope is that I continue to nurture & support healthy ones, realizing that all relationships begin, end & center around our own relationship with the Oneness within everything.

elder craft

Trust me, elder craft is anything but as fuddy duddy as it might sound.  It's my first foray into actually DOING something to help families & friends have a ball with older loved ones & friends.

Hmmm....  Working on ways to give families & friends creative ways to connect in enriching & rewarding ways with their olders.  What a fun project!

Perhaps THE greatest challenge in working with the aged - especially ones who are, by necessity, in a senior care residence - is getting them past a deadening sense of having little to no purpose.  

My inner elder care anarchist cries out to move beyond painting & other traditional forms to find ways that we can work with olders to craft new views & fresh perspectives.  Not all drenched in sunshine & rainbows, but a grounded look at where they are, what are their interests & loves, what is their purpose in this present moment.  

Impossible to convey the excitement that's building in my heart soul spirit as this project latches more & more onto my imagination & energies.  Have pondered for a couple years about doing something that encourages an expansive older age, to do it in ways that can be easily shared with youngers, in ways that gets youngers involved & more strongly connected to aging loved ones.  

For whatever reason, my mind goes back to when my American niece & her husband brought their 3-year old & baby daughter over to our house for a visit.  They were used to visits with Mom, which always revolved around some sort of foodie spread.  I wanted something different, something that forged a different sort of connection.  When the four of them arrived, I'd set up the island as a craft station.  My niece was a bit thrown - wasn't it expecting more of my great-niece than the 3-year old could deliver?  I didn't think so.  The projects were actually very simple, they just had snazzy results.  The things that would have been complicated - like decorating snowflake cookies - were a snap because the prep work (including baking the cookies) had been done ahead of time.  

Campbell did a beautiful job decorating the cookies, which we tied up for giving in cellophane bags with ribbons that she selected from my collection.  We shaved dark chocolate & added it to cocoa mix, which we then layered in a baby jar with mini marshmallows, sealed it with a lid that she decorated & added the label Campbell's Snowman Soup.  I don't remember the 3rd craft, but I will never forget the looks of delight on her parents faces watching their little girl & older aunt having great fun or the glee in my brother's voice when he called to say, "Wow!"  Today, Campbell is a "tween" & far off in Melbourne, Australia.  But our time together all those years ago is still fresh in my mind.

We crafted a connection along with gifts.  We both expanded because of that short hour on a December afternoon.

The dynamics that made that such a joyful, enriching occasion are also present in the best creative opportunities with our olders - keep it simple, keep it short, keep it meaningful.  Families & friends want ways to connect and older people need ways to... feel more.  

Creativity projects - ones that leave everyone feeling GREAT, like Campbell & her parents & me.  An idea whose time has come!!     

yoga IS for inflexible folks - like me!

My  WHY behind starting a regular yoga practice ~  ~ 

Through yoga we start seeing the effect of our lifestyle in our body, we start seeing the habits that the body has picked up and we learn to undo those habits. As we work on opening and strengthening the body and freeing it from its tendencies, our mind is affected. 

As we feel more freedom inside, we start projecting this outwards and see the world as a better place to live in. As we feel more space in the body and the mind, our attitude changes, the world around us seems like a friendlier place and we start tuning into the wisdom of the universe; hence our life is enriched with more bliss than we could previously experience.

Open and expand the body and see for yourself how the world opens in front of your eyes. What you feel inside, is outside. What you see outside, is inside. If you want freedom and peace start by removing tension of the most tangible place you live in!!!

Danish Bakers

What better way to celebrate what would have been Dad's BIG 103 than a link to the utterly decadent DANISH BAKERS bake shop!  Oh, the butter cake!  The sticky buns!  The strudel!  The cakes & cookies & brownies!  Hands down, the BEST bakery around!!  And just 20 minutes down the Pike, in Rockledge!

Beyond decadence... 

Blessings to "Aunt" Joyce!

Aunt-of-the-heart Joyce Cooper introduced me to Song to the Evening Star, from Wagner's Tannhauser.  Still takes the heart right out of me!

Puts me in mind of a cousin's wedding.  Her pastor refused to let her use The Wedding March on the grounds it came from a "pagan opera."  The minister confused the story of Lohengrin, a knight of the Holy Grail - can't get more Christian than that! - with Wagner's Ring cycle.  What he should have protested on the grounds of is that the music is NOT the wedding processional, but was used as the newlyweds headed to their bridal chamber.    

Brownie-mania!!!

Hmmm...  Wednesday goodies for the college & Theological School.  Thursday (last day of school before the long-weekend Easter break), goodies for the sophomore guys.  

So, MASSIVE brownie baking today!!  

A nice little dollop of chocolate frosting, a mini pastel-shelled chocolate Cadbury egg & we are good to go with an appropriately Easter amuse bouche!

Starting to get a hand on doing things for multiple groups in an effective, competent yet totally tasty way!!  

Now, transfer those skills & graces to other chomping-at-the-bit parts of my life.  Can do!

C'est BUNNY day!

Confession - have always & forever been intimidated by chocolate molds.  Yes, I could do molds using all melted chocolate, but DECORATE them using other colors for eyes & other features?  Way outside my comfort zone.  

With a tap of a magic candy stick, Bakerella liberated me!  Going straight to A.C. Moore tomorrow (blessings on 50% off coupons!) & picking up a bunny mold; already have a bag of Wilton's "high end" dark chocolate wafers, along with pink & blue "chocolate" wafers.   Will invest in the considerably superior chocolate from KP Kitchen Crafts (will have to wait - closed on Mondays!). 

Blissfully wallowing in Beatrix Potter!

Stop reading my blog & head immediately over to A Quiet Life!!!

Happy BEATRIX POTTER Week!

As ordained by the Novel Bakers!  Lovely posts yesterday on Rattlebridge Farm, Home is Where the Boat Is & A Quiet Life.  

Rattlebridge Farm is my hands-down favorite ~ the ornaments have me melting into a puddle of primrose jelly!

Fire Pit Friday

Perfect surprise for a Fire Pit Friday gathering - a pirated version of Red Lobster's  Cheddar Bay Biscuits!  Whip 'em up & bake them right there, so they're piping hot from the oven. 

Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs

Mere coincidence?  Home is Where the Boat Is features Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs and - Voila! - the same recipe is featured in today's Philadelphia Inquirer (or was it the New York Times?).  Put 'em on next month's Baking Bucket List.

(It was Parade magazine!)

Baking Bucket List

What a terrific idea - put together a monthly Baking Bucket List, with recipes to try out that month.  Working on May's list.  My April "list" will consist of making & eating VEGETARIAN dishes, which means NO meat-based or even -whispered dishes.  And sugar - reduce my sugar intake.  Either it makes sense to be smart or it's just dumb to pretend.  In my heart of hearts, I believe it is smart.  There is no middle ground, hard as that is to admit. 

First up on my May list - the  mocha cupcakes with coffee buttercream I mentioned in my last posting. 

Mocha Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream

Gonna make me some of these little darlin's, from Baking Bites!

Clever paper plate cookie holder - One Good Thing by Jillee

One Good Thing by Jillee has directions for a mega clever, easy-to-make paper plate cookie holder. 

Keep it super simple, just following the step-by-step instructions, or take it up a notch or two by embellishing it & adding ribbons.  (She also has instructions for a paper plate muffin holder!)

As someone who loves to bake cookies & is challenged at an economical way to present just a 
handful, this is the answer to my prayers.  And fun to make!

Fav Creative Cake Blogs

Let Them Eat Cake & Other Yummy Things    http://ak.pinterest.com/razorbackchik04/let-them-eat-cake-and-other-yummy-things/

Everything Cupcakes!     http://www.pinterest.com/katiesheadesign/cupcakes-everything-cupcake-share-your-favorite-cu/

One Good Thing      http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/03/diy-cookie-basket-made-from-a-paper-plate.html

It's Always Autumn    http://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/

Cake Crazed

Am certifiably cake crazed!  

Gotta fit in more than one craft workshop a month with the pseudo-nephs ~ one baked & one non.  For max ease & fun, have cake components ready to roll, let the boys mix the colors, then enjoying putting them together.  

My head is filled with cakes!

Oh bliss! Fuddrucker cookies & dipped Peeps

My first monthly craft session with four young lads (just past toddler to 3rd grade) was an utter joy.  Kept the prep to simple simple simple & the projects fun.  In & out of their house in an hour.  Perfect!

When an equally young friend dropped by to see if the oldest was available to play, we included him in on the fun.  Having a blast with five fine fellows (& one mom, who took stride her messed-up kitchen) - what a wondrous way to spend a rainy afternoon!

On a miserable day like this...

... it is sooo tempting to just curl up & skip clearing out a corner of the kitchen.  Takes more than will power & stern fortitude to kick butt - it takes IMAGINATION.  That is the secret ingredient left out by most "self help" best sellers & gurus.  

The message about imagination powering our life was taught to me by Chief Detective Inspector Charles Parker, in Dorothy Sayers' Clouds of Witness.  Talking with Lord Peter Wimsey, his best chum & future brother-in-law, he asks if his lordship's brother, the Duke of Denver, understands the seriousness of the charge of murder that has been made against him.  

Peter explains that both he & his brother's solicitor (family lawyer) have made it clear & that Gerry seems to understand.  

And Charles asks, "But does he really understand it?  I mean, imaginatively?" (or words to that extent).  

To which, Peter shoots him a look that says, "No."

Have always remembered hearing Mark Eden's Charles deliver that line to Ian Carmichael's Peter.  I was still in college when that mega-watt light bulb went on in my head - information needs to be powered by imagination to be fully empowering.

The truly successful people in my life can SEE their end as soon - before - they set out to reach it, who seem to brush away whatever obstructs the view of what's to them an already existing whatever.

If I'd remained true to simply here & now reality, I'd still be in my cozy bed, taking a languid nap instead of dashing off a post before heading down to clear off a counter.  But I can sense feel see how empty I'd feel tonight if I let it slide.  I've given a tip of my hat to DLS for such an insightful line, am about to put the final period on this post & then it's off to the kitchen!

A - crafting I will go!

My first craft session with my first "nephlings" - Stella & Mike's boys - is less than four hours away!  Perfect afternoon for it - grey & damp.  Ideal for baking Fuddrucker cookies (refrigerated choc chip cookie dough baked in mini-cupcake tins & plugged with a mini-Reese's cup), then dipping yellow Peeps chicks & cream puffs (purchased for today's Bryn Athyn College "campus clean-up" that was called on account of rain).  

Future crafting will feature a little baking & a lot of non-foodie fun.   Waxing creative with all boys - what a wonderful new adventure! 

Blissed!

Countdown

Five weeks from tomorrow - 05/03/14 - is the start of Bryn Athyn Bounty!  To get ready, am in countdown mode to get myself & my environment ready to bake up a storm & do so with ease.  In other words, in a neat, clean & orderly kitchen.

03/29 - Day One.  The challenge begins!

Tussie Mussie Easter Napkins (from HISTHI)

Totally melted when I spotted these beyond charming tussie mussie Easter napkins at Home is Where the Boat Is!!  They wouldn't even be all that much work, especially this year with such a late spring by both calendar & winter.  Sort of thing I envision Erica C. or LynnEllen using on their Easter dinner tables! 

Life style blogs I love...

Gotta love a blog titled "Home is Where the Boat Is" - http://homeiswheretheboatis.net/

ahhhh...  A quiet life...  http://aquietlifeblog.blogspot.com/


Between Naps on the Porch...  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Love the Pineapple Pie with chick vent at  Happier Than a Pig in Mud...  http://happierthanapiginmud.blogspot.com

It's Always Autumn is stunning & often surprisingly simple;  I've never ever liked the idea of babies messing themselves up with birthday can, but I love how she set up the shoot;  also liked her other birthday photo shoot ideas A LOT!      http://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/2014/03/19/fun-mini-photo-shoot-ideas-kids-birthdays.html 

Autumn lead me to Capturing Joy with Kristen Duke  http://www.kristendukephotography.com/

Napkin or Serviette?

What I call a napkin, my English & Canadian friends refer to as a serviette ("Napkins are what you put on a baby!").  Whatever you call it, this past brute of a winter has me thinking about making a bevy of butterfly napkin rings, 'cause one of these days we ARE going to be released from our shivering cocoon into glorious springtime!

There are so many ways to whip up a veritable kaleidoscope of beautiful butterfly napkin rings:

• Pleat a pretty napkin into wings, bend a colorful pipe clear in half, wrap it around the pinched together napkin with the two open ends coming up through the bent center, fashion the two ends into antennae.  Behold - a butterfly!
• Cut up a paper towel tube to the desired length;  paint each section - can be the same or different, regular acrylic craft paint or sparkly - and let it dry;  hot glue down a silk butterfly (available at craft stores) or cut out a paper butterfly from pretty paper or color it yourself.  Voila!  (If you want to keep it super simple, you can use the wire that comes attached to most silk butterflies to create the ring.)
• Or hot glue a pin backing to each butterfly & attach it to the painted paper towel ring with a piece of tape - it is a favor each guest can put on & wear home
• Personally, I am a total sucker for washi tape butterflies!   Imagining a buffet table with colorful napkins featuring a flock of butterflies crafted from a variety of washi tape - breath taking!  

I am just dotty over the idea of butterfly napkin rings!  An immediate antidote to the winter doldrums that seem to keep hanging on, almost a week after spring supposed arrival.
What variations can you think of?  Let me know!

Mother's Day - Family Tree

Natural progression from head filled with grandbabies - thoughts filled with Mother's Day!

First thought - probably 'cause it's first in my own heart - would be a simple yet very cool family tree, with pictures of kids & parents in the branches, photos of grandparents at the roots!  On the back, include some favorite things of each one.  Bit of a time capsule!  

Alas, no picture or link to add - idea came out of my own head  (trying to get away from the grandbabies, I guess)! 

My head is filled with grandbabies!

Alas, none of them are mine.  But they give me joy, even if they are far far away, a bevy of photos on Facebook with wrapped-around-their-little-fingers commentary from blissed-out grandparents.

But let's face it - most of those grandparents are to busy busy busy to spend time sewing or crafting.  So, am the hunt for darlin' baby treasures as readily available as plunking down cold hard cash.

This bunny ears (uni-sex) hair clip from WunWay makes me think of Candace Frazee!

Easter Coconut Cake, from Today's Mama

Gotta LOVE specialty cakes that are especially easy!  Like the too-adorable-for-words & fabulously-easy-to-do Peeps sugar cookies, this cake ~ from Lindsay Johnson at Today's Mama ~ knocks my bunny socks off!  Hardest thing is toasting the coconut for the little nests.  Or use one nest & eggs atop cupcakes.

 

easy AND stunning chick cookies

Fabulous AND no-bake Easter cookies ~ ~ what busy parent could ask for more?  Christi at www.lovefromtheoven.com is a brilliant creative!  Gotta pledge undying devotion to anyone who shows how to turn your own OR store-bought sugar cookies into a stunner of a dessert.   Dye buttercream (homemade or Betty Crocker) frosting green, ice the cookie (or pipe, using a "grass" tip), place a Peep chick in the center, then surround the "grass" with jelly beans, the smaller the better.  Dandy for a Welcome Spring party or as an Easter dinner center piece.  

It's always especially grand when something looks so swell & takes so little time to put together.  Christi - thanks, thanks & more thanks!

   

Tiny taps

seems 11:45ish is prime time for tucking a small weekly something into bacnc mail boxes.  way too many students to do something for them all - how we have grown since the mom squad baked goodies for pendleton hallites - but at least i can deliver a tiny tap on the heart and/or mind each week to the seniors.  

food is too iffy, so have opted for photocopies of print whatevers that i love.  this week, it was a print-out of a quote, last week it was a cool cover of what is enlightennext? magazine (is it even published anymore?).  means keeping my eyes peeled for sales on color printing & maintaining a sane balance between b&w prints & $$ colored, but so worth it.  they can trash it or keep it or pass it on - it's about extending loving energy, not stuff.  

less than half the class were part of the kindergarten i adopted (oops - a politically incorrect word, these days)...  EMBRACED - was it 17 years ago?  the majority of the class didn't attend bacs, while a large number never attended anc.  how times have changed!

it's been 48 years since i first baked a goodie for an ancc (now bacnc) student - college women lived in the stucco'd wing off glenn hall, with high school boarding students in the original building.  seems the blink of an eye that i - a mere h.s. freshman - would visit college friends for a gab & a smoke (yes, it was ok waaay back then).   glenn hall was a place where i was always welcomed, whether i was toting a goodie or not.  maybe i continue to do what i can for anc & bacnc students as a sign of gratitude.  i didn't strike up any deep friendships, which was fine - i was totally unschooled back then on how to move from light touch to connection to integration - because what i needed was a place to at least connect.  

blessings on all the people who made me feel visible & even valued.   i pledge to continue paying forward all you gave me, far more than i gave you.   

Meyer Lemon Tart with Gingersnap Crust

Oh, my!  What a scrumptious springtime dessert!  Will report back after I make it - with pictures & reviews.
  

PEEPS!

Who knew, back in the distant past, when Mom would nestle marshmallow Peeps in our Easter baskets, that in the 21st century (okay, late 20th century, too) they would put the chic in CHICkens!

Each Christmas (CHRISTMAS!), Peeps' calendars are huge sellers. We have two large stuffed yellow Peeps chicks.  There are a variety of flavored Peeps.  Even a book on Peeps' craft!

This is my favorite Peeps' project.  It is very easy & can be done with either the bunny or the classic chicken.  I prefer the chick (yellow, of course), but the bunny is an easier fit & stays flat.  Great for teachers or friends or holiday party favors.  

Personally, I don't include the prayer, which seems a bit of a stretch.  Some things should just be left secular.

Picture Perfect

What a wonderful dream, last night.  A typically jumbly experience, all about Karen - in her teens - coming for an unannounced solo visit.  Filled with high jinks & smiles & one particularly sweet stretch with Karen and an unexpected, totally out-of-context Kerry.  Can see them still, arms around each other's shoulder, blissed out over being mother & daughter.  

Awoke feeling mellow.

And thinking a how much family means to me.  Which jogged my memory about an utterly dandy web site specializing in photo jewelry.  There's one dangly bracelet that I long to make, using pictures of Mom from early childhood to later life.  There are square beads for folks who adore the currently most popular charm bracelet style.  Even software for resizing photos! 

Hmmm...  A starter set could make a special present for Karen, 

when the opportunity next arises.

Or for Whitney - Peter's man enough to wear a bracelet

with his beloveds!

This is RIDICULOUS!

I have GOT to learn how to post pictures online!

Tin Pan Elly

Many, many moons ago, I was honored to put on a show at Orchard Artworks.  Boxologie featured all sorts of decorated boxes, including my personal favorites - altered mint boxes.  I love those small yet sturdy little boxes & used the name "Tin Pan Elly" (a twist on my birth name, Elsa) on the final pieces. 

Here's a link to get even the most obstreperous "I can't do that" doubter's creative juices flowing!

Personally, I love using them for my Book of Uncommon Prayer - a collection of prayers from around the world - and as photo albums. The photo albums are especially nice for people who don't have a lot of space - if giving to older friends/family, make sure it's easy to open the lid.   

FYI - it appears that the Moving Ballerina tin, from Zakka Life, uses Trader Joe's Green Tea lozenge box.  Unlike T.J's Gingermint tin, it has a see-through lid.  How lucky for me that I prefer the ginger lozenges, while John prefers the green tea, so I get a supply of both.

a GRAND chain reaction

Confession:  Ever since an elementary school teacher had us make a wonderful, HUGE Christmas tree out of hundreds & hundreds of green paper links, hung from the center of our class room & attached between every couple desks (arranged for the season in a circle, rather than traditional rows) - well, I've been a sucker for paper chain crafting.  (There's an great story about my ancient mother, a hospital stay & stint in rehab, and the power of a paper healing chain - but more about that later.)

For now, imagine children with a beloved grandparent other older relative/close friend.  Something a "grand" is sure to cherish as a true treasure is a Love Chain - a paper chain made up of links in whatever colors the child/ren wishes.  

On light-colored pieces of paper (I use about 1" x 8"), their names are written on one end, with a loving word or small drawing on the other end, on the same side.  Each should take up no more than 1/4 of the total space.  

When they are stapled or clear taped, both the word & the name should be clearly visible, albeit on opposite sides.  

Forge a brilliant (in more ways than one!) chain of words/drawings, linking each with a plain, dark-colored spacer link.  

Small Suggestion:  Double check the first few links to make sure the drawings aren't taking up more than 1/4 of the total link.  Connect them with a few spacer links to make sure that neither the word/drawing nor the name are obscured.
 
The chain can be as short or long as you like.  When it is hung, all the words will be facing forward, with the name of a beloved child ~ of any age ~ on the back of each one.  (Sometimes, duplication is a WONDERFUL thing!)

Discipline & Creativity

Interesting, the great number of people who think of creatives as inherently disciplined.  In my experience, artists writers singers et al who live by a regular routine tend to be significantly - vastly - more creative than ones who just wing it.  The Muse seems to feel more welcome when she knows when it's time for tea and when she should be departing because slumbers beckon.