Kleines Künstlern

Martha, Frieda, and I spend a lot of time together. And a good portion of that time is spent drawing, painting, and craft making. I love this bonding time. It's so great to color alongside them, help them when they need it, and spark their creativity. Art was a really big part of my childhood, and I'm always glad to pass it on to others. Especially in an electronic age when it's more exciting to color on your touch screen than it is to actually get paint on your hands. I love electronics, don't get me wrong, but when it comes down to it... I would rather have a pencil and paper any day. But I'm rambling. Point is, I love all this creativity that the three of us make together. It's been so cool to see how their artistic talent has grown over the months I've been here. I hope even after I go home they continue their desire to be creative. If I could leave one impression on these girls, that would be it. Use that imagination. It's there for a reason.

Now like any proud parent/sibling/etc, I feel the need to show off my favorites of the kiddos ever so awesome artwork. Which you will "ooo" and "ahh" at like the good people I know you are. Or else. (haha).

Martha. First drawing we ever did together. (crayon, marker, and colored pencil)

Frieda. Can you guess what her favorite color is? (watercolor)

Martha. This was during her Harry Potter craze. (marker)

Frieda. "Das ist ein Straße!"(marker)

Martha. She and her friend dressed up as witches trick-or-treating. (colored pencil)

Frieda. (watercolor)

Martha. Part of my Christmas present. (colored pencil)

Frieda. I spy a hand print! (watercolor)

Martha and Frieda. This is a Christmas cat... whatever that is haha. (marker and pencil)

Martha. The Easter bunny on his rounds. (colored pencil and marker)

Frieda. One of my favorites of her drawings. (pen and colored pencil)

Martha. A rainbow! (marker)

Frieda. (colored pencil)

Martha. This is my absolute favorite of Martha's. (watercolor)

Frieda. Reminds me of the world. (watercolor)

Martha. Self portrait of her kayaking. (watercolor and colored pencil)

It's a little ridiculous how proud I am of Martha and Frieda. My little art proteges, aww. Doesn't matter if they never pursue art later in life, I'm glad I was here to nurture love of art early on. Because life without art (or a love of it) would be a dreary place.

Dinosaurs, Bunnies, and Eggs, Oh My!

The idea that bunnies lay eggs is pretty hilarious. But for some reason we as a society have come up with an idea that a bunny hops around on Easter hiding eggs for children to find. I mean, if you think about it, it's a pretty hilariously crazy idea. But it's a big part of Easter celebrations in the States (and here in Germany as well). Of course the main reason for Easter is Jesus rising from the dead, buuut bunnies are much more fluffy and adorable that a crown of thorns, so society focuses on the bunny and his egg deliveries.

Bunnies are of course adorable, but I don't have a bunny. So when it comes to Easter I focus on eggs (and Jesus duhh. But this post shall be all about eggs). I love and hate them. They can be so delicious, but often if I eat too many within a couple months I can't eat them for several months after. Obviously Easter is a time were my belly sees a lot of eggs. And this year was no different. My friend Nacha and I did two different egg related crafts this Easter weekend, so we ate around 30 eggs collectively (with help from friends). But needless to say, I will be happy to not see any eggs for quite some time.

A very typical craft in the U.S. (and in Germany from what I've seen) is the dying and decorating of eggs. I can't remember an Easter that didn't involve said tradition of hard boiling eggs, dying them, and then adding various decorations like stickers. I loved getting dye all over my fingers and creating strange hybrid colors and patterns. I still do. So Nacha and I decided to dye 10 eggs one afternoon. She was super excited because she had never dyed eggs back home in Chile. Her boyfriend Bernie on the other hand, who is also from Chile, had dyed eggs before. So we set out the typical tools of the trade: hard boiled eggs, bowls filled with water, vinegar, and food dye tablets. Then we began dipping the eggs in the bowls; Nacha going for the tradition colors (yellow, green, blue, purple, pink/red), and I mixing and matching as usual. We set our newly dyed eggs on paper towels to dry. Once they were completely dry, we proceeded to draw on them with Sharpies. Which is something I have never done before, but it was extremely fun. We made designs, wrote things, drew pretty pictures; I even made one a dinosaur egg. Once finished, we decided that we had so much fun that we needed to decorate more eggs. So we decided to meet up the next day to be even more creative and try a craft that I've always done with my grandma for Easter.

Nacha dying an egg pink.

Me drawing on an egg while Nacha shows off another of my creations.

Nacha and her finished eggs!

Nacha's polka dot egg.

Me and my finished eggs.

My dinosaur egg.

Our egg-tastic creations!

 My grandma is a creative genius. She is the one who fostered my love for all things artsy. So it's no surprise that she has a craft that we have done every Easter since I can remember. It involves eggs (surprise, surprise) and is quite simple, yet requires some skill for it turn out beautiful. Nacha and I felt up to the challenge, so we gathered the needed supplies and got to work.

Supplies:
1. Various types of paper napkins with cute patterns cut into medium sized squares (we got three different types)
2. Watered down white glue
3. White glitter (make sure it isn't too fine)
4. Ribbons (optional)
5. Something sharp to poke holes in eggs (we used a thumb tack)
6. Bowls to hold napkin pieces, glitter, and glue
7. As many eggs as you desire (just make sure to get proportional amount of other supplies, we made 20 eggs)

Our work station.

Directions:
1. Poke small hole in each end of egg.

Nacha poking holes in egg.

Eggs with holes.

 2. Blow egg white and egg yoke out of egg shell. Then rinse off with water and pat dry with paper towel.

Me blowing the egg white and egg yolk out of egg shell.

3. Apply watered down glue onto the egg with your finger. Then take a piece of napkin and gently place the napkin on the egg, smoothing it to be flush with the egg. Then repeat until the whole egg is covered with napkin.

Applying napkin squares onto egg.

 4. Once egg is covered, roll egg around in the bowl full of glitter. You can also just sprinkle the glitter on.

Our now very glittery eggs.

 5. Let egg dry. Once dry you have two options. With a hot glue gun you can add on a bow and create a little ribbon loop so you are able to hang the egg, or you can just leave it as is. Since we didn't have a hot glue gun, we opted for the second option.

A great place to let them dry is in their original egg carton.

 6. Display in a bowl somewhere (preferably with fake grass) so that all your friends will see your awesome craft skills.

See how awesome a basket makes these lil guys look?!

Ta-da! You have just created one of my favorite Easter memories. Yes, it's slightly a gluey glittery mess of a craft, but what's a good craft without a little mess? Nacha and I are very proud of our eggs. Of course they come no where near to how awesome my grandma makes them look, but that's okay. Hopefully someday I will be just as awesome, telling my grandkiddos how to make these eggs.

So that is all I have to say about eggs. I am egged out. My dear reader, I hope that you and your family and friends had a wonderful Easter. Frohe Ostern!

And remember... He is risen! He is risen indeed.

Sankt Martins Tag

I love holidays. If there is a holiday to celebrate, no matter what it is, I am so there! So when I heard that I would be celebrating my first truly German holiday, you can imagine my excitement.

Sankt Martins Tag (or in English... Saint Martin's Day), is a day where little kids make lanterns and then parade around in groups (usually you go in a group from your school or church) singing songs. The parades usually end up at big outdoor bonfires where you have bread and drinks. This day is to remember Sankt Martin, a kind and generous man, who was a Roman solider, monk, and then Bishop (against his wishes). He is best known for the legend that he (while a solider) on a cold Winter's night, cut his cloak in half to give it to a beggar. I never really got how the lantern's became a part of the tradition of the day, but I am sure there is a very good explanation somewhere. You will have to investigate that one on your own folks.

This holiday is celebrated on November 11th. Which is strange to me because all my life I have know that day by a different holiday: Veteran's Day (It was also a cool day because it was 11/11/11, but that's besides the point). So, as weird as it was not celebrating Veteran's Day, I enjoyed a very fun Sankt Martins Tag!

So for Sankt Martins you need one thing: a lantern. I was the one who went out to find pre-made lanterns. Which wasn't a difficult task. I found them at Papier Fischer (the coolest paper store everrr). I stood there a good fifteen minutes debating on colors and sizes of the lanterns. Finally I picked two big ones, one red and the other yellow.

The next day the girls, Christiane, Oma (Christiane's mom), and I sat down at kitchen table to make the lanterns. Even though they are "pre-made" you still have to assemble and decorate them. Martha chose the yellow lantern and got right to work. Frieda on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with lantern making. She was supposed to go to her school's parade that day but ended up not going because she was so upset by the whole thing. So I made the red lantern for her because she could use it in Martha's school's parade the next day.

The next evening we went to Martha's school for the parade. A colorful crowd had assembled in the schoolyard: kids in bright colored jackets running around with beautiful lanterns, while their parents chatted and kept an eye on them. After a quick set of instructions from the principle, everyone started lighting their lanterns and heading out into the twilight.

The parade sets out into the twilight.

The parade in motion.

Oma pushed Frieda in the stroller, who was clingy tightly to her unlit lantern. We didn't light it because we didn't want her burning up the lantern on accident. Christiane and I stayed near the stroller while trying to keep an eye on Martha who had bounded ahead of us to walk with her friends.

I, being a total kid, got to carry a lantern! I was quite pleased. I hadn't wanted to miss out on the fun just because I was a "grown up". The lantern that I used was one that Frieda made in Kindergarten. Which of course she never used since she didn't go to her school's parade. And Frieda was carrying the one that I made her the day before. So it was the extra lantern that became mine.

My lantern.

Our parade route was a walk through the park behind the school. Which was a really pretty walk, especially as the darkness fell all around us. We stopped at certain places to sing songs. My favorite song of the night is called, "Ich geh' mit meiner Laterne." It's has quite the catchy tune. In fact, it was stuck in my head for several days after. Another song that we sang was appropriately called, "Sankt Martin."

"Ich ge' mit meiner Laterne" lyrics and notes.

"Sankt Martin" lyrics and notes.

 So, after a good fifteen minutes we found ourselves at a big bonfire. Everyone circled up around it and began to sing again. This was my favorite part of the whole night. It was utterly dark except the fire; and completely silent except for the voices of children and grown ups alike that pierced the night air. I almost felt like I had taken a step back in time. There was something so primitive, yet so beautiful about the whole scene. I wanted to linger in this moment. I was caught up in it's magic.

The bonfire.

Once the last note was sung, everyone converged on the snack and drink table. Martha grabbed everyone rolls, and we munched on them for a few minutes before deciding to go home.

The whole way home I found myself singing "Ich geh' mit meiner Laterne." I didn't want the night to end. It was too magical. Yet, the night slipped through my fingers and I found myself waking up to just a normal Saturday morning.

Die drei Hexen

As an American, if you take a step back from our culture you will find that Halloween is a pretty strange holiday. I mean, come on, think about it. We dress up and go door to door asking strangers for candy, we create creepy houses that are meant to scare us on purpose, and we aren't really celebrating anything in particular. Weird? Most definitely. But fun? You bet.

I was really sad that I couldn't celebrate Halloween here in Germany. People have tried to start it up here, but it hasn't really caught on. Christiane told me that it is such a unique American tradition that it would have a hard time really catching on in other cultures. Which totally makes sense. But even though I couldn't really celebrate like usual, I was determined to celebrate in my own way.

I woke up on Halloween morning really excited. As I styled my hair and makeup crazily, I formulated a plan for the day. It was to be a day full of crafts, dress up, and pumpkin carving.

Martha was on Fall holidays (Yeah. They get a week off just because it's Fall. Why didn't they have this when I was in school?!). And because of the holidays she had her best friend Carlotta (from Freiburg) over for a couple days. The house was full of a lot of energy and happiness, perfect atmosphere for a holiday!

When I walked in the apartment the girls pronounced that I looked like a witch (we talk of nothing in this house but Harry Potter these days). I personally was going for the 80's vibe, but I was totally stoked to be a witch if that's what the girls wanted. They liked my hair and makeup so much that they begged me to do the same for them. I obliged of course. I got the biggest giggle out of the finished product. Big, ratted, poofy hair. Dark brown eyeshadow and some mascara (Johannes thought they looked like vampires haha). Martha got the idea to dress themselves up in "witch costumes." They ended up looking much more wild than I did. But utterly adorable of course.

My 1980's/witch "costume"

The morning and early afternoon consisted of lots of playing pretend. The house was not just anyplace, it was Hogwarts. Martha was Professor McGongall and Carlotta was Hermione. I was not allowed to join in, but I got the biggest kick out of watching them. While they played, I set up different crafts. When they needed a break from playing they would come and do a craft with me. We made ghost windchimes, mason jar lanterns, halloween themed pictures, and paper plate monster masks. Both Martha and Carlotta did an amazing job! I love how all the crafts turned out.

Our ghost wind chimes.

My ghost lantern.

Martha's pumpkin lantern.

Carlotta's lantern.

Martha's drawing of her and Carlotta as witches.

Our paper plate monster masks.

In mid afternoon Frieda came home from Kindergarten with Johannes in tow. She, unlike Martha, didn't have Fall holidays. All five of us spent the rest of the afternoon outside soaking up the nice crisp Fall weather. Frieda scooted up and down the street on her "bike" (it doesn't have pedals), while Martha whizzed around on her unicycle, and Carlotta tailed behind on roller blades. Johannes and I were pretty much just there for moral support (and to make sure they didn't get run over). For awhile I held Carlotta's hand to help her with her balance, but soon she was zooming around without my assistance. And gosh, I must say I am so impressed with Martha. She has balance I will never have. My disastrous self will not be riding a unicycle anytime soon. But she on the other hand, can fly down the street and turn around and come back without falling. Martha did take a couple spills, but she knows how to fall properly. She definitely did get frustrated towards the end of the afternoon when her falls became more frequent, but with some encouragement from Johannes and I she kept at it. Totally proud of her!

After our romps outside, my little witches and I decided to go buy ourselves a pumpkin. We tromped down to the local supermarket with the girls chattering away the whole walk there. We searched the store but came up empty handed. All the big pumpkins were gone! So the next best thing was to pick out three mini pumpkins and hope that we would be able to carve them. While we were in the check out line, I realized we were garnering quite a bit of attention. I mean, it must be a rare thing two have three witches walk into a supermarket (haha). The checkout guy looked up when he took my money and his mouth just hung open. It was all I could do to not bust up laughing right then and there.

Once we got home we went straight to work. Carving pumpkins is of course serious business. I covered three areas of the kitchen table with newspaper and got out the knives. Yes, I let seven-year-olds handle knives. I (along with Christiane and Johannes) helped them of course! We don't need missing fingers thank you very much! Frieda then decided that she wanted to join in on the fun. Thankfully we just happened to have a extra mini pumpkin lying around the house.

Bernard the pumpkin (my creation).

After some serious carving time, the pumpkins were complete. I got the votive candles and all three girls set the pumpkins out on the balcony and lit them. They took out our lanterns too. As it grew darker and darker the lights became more and more distinct. It was so pretty and eery all at once.

Our creations!

After dinner Martha and Carlotta came to my room to tell me they were going trick-or-treating. I laughed. I figured that was going to be something I missed out on this year. Well, I figured wrong. Christiane, myself, and the two girls headed out into the night to go to Christiane's office. Two of her co-workers were still there so that's were we were we would get our treats.

It was a chilly night and I was thankful I had thrown on a scarf and sweater. We walked for a good fifteen minutes and actually ran across a few other trick-or-treaters. When we arrived at the office, the excitement was running high. The girls rang the doorbell and announced "treat-or-treat!" to Christiane's co-workers. Lots of smiles and laughter followed. We stayed and talked for a few minutes and then we were off again. The girls of course got candy and were utterly happy. Christiane surprised me with a Twix bar. So even I got candy. Which made me really happy too!

Me, ridiculously excited that I got to go trick-or-treating.

Over all it was a great, very eventful day. It may not have been the usual Halloween for me, but I enjoyed myself all the same. Halloween with a German twist... what a treat!