Crafting - Old Tshirts

Skylar was out last Monday for a teacher workday, so I decided to pull out the sewing machine and get crafty.  My kids from time to time will ask for me to get it out, so I gave in.
I have been seeing DIY bracelets and headbands on Pinterest.  They are made from old T-shirts and this "re-purposing" was right up my alley.  I didn't have to go out and get any supplies - WINNER!

While I was gathering old T-shirts (which I had already saved some, just knowing this occasion would arise), the kids dug into the fabric stack and wanted to "do something" with it.
So before the T-shirts could get used, I had to make numerous "sleeping bags" for the stuffed animals.

Both of my kids have a thing for stuffed animals.  They love them. Sean and I particularly do NOT like them and that's probably why they love them, isn't that always the case?
Anywho......
They both have these small ones called "Whimsys" so Jaden wanted to sew a multiple sleeping bag for his:

Skylar's thing is WebKinz stuffed animals, so we fixed them up:

 

Jaden decided that he wanted individual ones:

So now on to the T-shirts:

There are a ton of tutorials out there, but I kind of just went with it:

I cut strips of the shirts out - started out with smaller strips maybe 1 1/2 inches wide and about 12 - 18 inches long.  

This was my first:  an old purple shirt turned into a bracelet for skylar.

Since the fabric is stretchy, I just sewed the ends together and she just doubles it and slides it on.  She says it is VERY comfy and loves to wear it and tell that it came from a T-shirt.

You just take 3 strips, pin together with a safety pin at the top, leaving about an inch at top and then braid all the way down.

For Skylar's I just sewed the ends together to make one big loop.  She twists it one time to double it on her wrist.

So I made one for myself - This first one I cut wider strips. 

For mine, I made a loop on one end, hand sewed, it was too thick to go under the needle on the machine.  On the other I attached an extra button that I had.  

This one is thicker with a bigger button and only doubled on my wrist. 

This one is with skinnier strips and is tripled on my wrist with a smaller button.  This one is my fav.

The loop just goes over the button.  They are indeed very comfortable.

So I went on to make a headband.  Longer strips and I just machine sewed over the ends, leaving a few inches of the 3 strips hanging down at the ends.

So then i got REALLY crafty and made flowers.  

But that's where it ended - ha.  My creativity was draining out, my house was a wreck, stings everywhere, fabric scraps, thread stuck in the carpet and my kids long had lost their interest.  So these flowers are just that, fabric flowers.  They are not adhered or attached to anything.  

Oh, I did attach one thing:  a pom-pom ball onto a headband for skylar.

So here is a peek at a very slow, ongoing project of mine.  Hopefully I'll be able to post the process and the finish product soon.

Honduras Part 5

On our last full day in Puerto Lempira, after working and visiting Mama Tara's we traveled over to another orphanage.  I hesitate to call it an orphanage, b/c they are all family.  A tragedy struck, 2 moms that were sisters died with cancer leaving all their children.  So the other sisters took all them on and they live, all 18 of them, in a one room home.

18 people live in this one room house!  Look at it! At one point they were all sleeping on the floor, but a team came down and built them 2 sets of bunk beds that are 3 high and hold the equivalent of 2 doubles per level.  When we visited, the place was spotless and kempt. Can you imagine yourself living in this house with you aunts and cousins galore?  And be happy?

Well they are some of the happiest people I've ever met and dreams......they have them, big ones!

They are mostly older kids, in their teens, and they put on a presentation for us.  They told about their dreams and aspirations they hope to achieve "only with God’s help".  Two of them were leaving shortly to attend medical school!! [update - they have already left]  They wanted to be lawyers, system engineers, math teachers etc.
It may look little and disheartening from the outside, but there is much love, joy and it’s just bursting with hope. 
They are also resourceful in that they make baskets with natural items that they find right around their house and sell them to support their daily needs.
Such as:

This basket was made out of pine needles and found trash.  They make many different size baskets some with handles and many other things.  So resourceful it's inspiring.  I make so many trips to Hobby Lobby and AC Moore just to "create" something and yet, this.......

You can see one set of bunk beds in the back corner.  They do have one wall outlet, as you see the keyboard was plugged in, we saw really no other modern convenience. 
They too, were fitted with TOMS shoes and were so excited to have them.  They said they were going to keep them clean and use them as "Sunday church shoes". 

I borrowed these pictures from a teammate of mine, but I wanted to show how clean and neat they were and how they utilized the tiny space that they had. 
Behind them were their clothes neatly folded and stacked.  You can also see right behind of our worhsip leader, Adam, the pots and baskets that they make. 


Here they are with their TOMS:

Legos

I'm going to take a break from the Honduras posts for today to bring you another Lego creation by Jaden.
This little fellow can't get enough. 
I regret not taking a picture of the zoo that he had up, it was quite cute.  We tore it down and built a campsite.

Jaden aka Smiley Bruce aka Sparkle Eyes aka JJ

Notice the white "marshmallows" on the black "stick" next to the campfire.  Also, skylar came in and found a red "hotdog" and put it on a stick.

yes there is a fish on a grill next to campfire and a ranger.  Skylar taught Jaden about rangers and it took him a while not to call them "strangers".

Everyone on their sleeping bags.  Yes, there had to be police for some sort of rescue mission.  There is no way those lego men could just kick back around that campfire and relax.
A couple of times the ranger said, "I'm going to under arrest you".

"Wait mom" Jaden turns out the lights and then said, "okay now take the picture, it's dark for them to sleep".

Honduras Part 4

MAMA TARA'S Orphanage -
As I wrote in my beginning blog post, Mama Tara's is the main orphanage that I (we) have been supporting and that we came down for.  They are the most in need.  We knew of a handful of projects that we would be doing there, we were told about the situation, but it's nothing in your head until you actually see it with you own eyes and are standing right in the midst of it.  It really is something hard to swallow for someone who is Americanized. 
The majority of our time was spent at Mama Tara’s.  It was a 20 minute dirt road walk (across the runway) and to be honest the walk was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  We were completely submersed in the culture during this time.  You were able to see the women washing the clothes by hand and hanging them out to dry, see the naked babies running around with the chickens, view the vast landscape of Moskito housing, etc. It was a great time to prepare your mind for the work and time at Mama Tara’s.  There, just a short distance away, is no power, no indoor plumbing, at best 2 meals a day, outdoor kitchen, trash everywhere - just your bare necessities. 

We saw this little girl holding an infant in this window everyday.  She would always smile and wave.

The landscape on our walk.

Our team on the walk to Mama Tara's

The outhouses to the left and the chicken coop.  The path from our walk is to the right of the chicken coop.

The cook houses.  They build fires inside.

The front of Mama Tara's.  The building is in great shape, just no electricity to utilize it.

Meeting Mama Tara was an honor.  You can tell she truly knows sacrifice,  abounding love and grace, such traits of our Lord, with whom she loves.  She was so thankful and humbled that we were there.  I was humbled to just be around her.  I had just met and learned about another level of love, sacrifice and devotion.  It's amazing what we think is the meaning and extent of such words as love, sacrifice and devotion in our culture and then you visit people like Mama Tara and your mind is instantly expanded in ways you never imagined and the definintion of words are forever changed.

Mama Tara

We started with introductions and tours, then we all were ready to work to make this place a better home to live in.  First order of business was to pick up the trash that littered the entire pathway leading to the house and all around the site.  The kids were equipped with old feed sacs and bags and instructed to follow suit.  We then started a burn pile. 

What we saw as we walked up to meet everyone.

We equipped the children and ourselves with bags and headed out to tackle the trash.

Our burn pile of the trash.

Others split up and we tackled several projects over the next couple of days. 
•Painted all the bars protecting the windows with rustproof paint. 
•Drove in posts and installed fencing around an area for a garden.
•Painted beautiful murals in the kids' rooms with scripture of their choice.
•Fitted every orphan and worker with TOMS shoes.
•Went shopping and purchased items from a list that Mama Tara created.
•Secured some very swaying bunk beds with crossbeams.
•Installed door knobs and locks.
•Repaired the main screen door.
•Supplied 20 kits of lice medicine.

painting the window bars

Painting murals.

 

 

Another mural.

The bunk beds. 

Drove in post and secured fencing around the entire garden area.

Fixing the main door to the inside.

We worked hard, but we played hard as well.  Our worship leader was part of the team and he got out his guitar one day and started singing a worship song in Spanish (a very simple one, so we could join in).  You could tell the kids were interested but very shy.  He then begin to play Feliz Navidad, so I felt the urge to dance and the kids begin to laugh hysterically.  I would grab a couple and dance and they would just beam.  They felt embarrassed to dance, but you knew they liked it.  I hope to go back and teach more dance and free movement to them. I wish upon anyone to have so much happiness that you can’t contain it, you have to dance!

Adam also started a conga line.  They LOVED this.  I wish I could bottle up those big smiles and laughter while they were doing this.

After the dancing and singing.  Mama Tara told us, with tears in her eyes, that a few nights before we got there, God gave her a dream while sleeping, that “the Gringos came and we all had a fiesta!” She repeatedly thanked us, but I felt as if I needed to thank them.  Oh, how God wants us to dance and sing and be His happy children! Praise Him!

I am invested now in these lives.  How can you not be, after spending days with them, loving on them and wanting the best for them?  It has been placed upon my heart to return and to be an advocate for them, because if not me, who then?  I never want to impress upon them my American ways, culture or ideals.  I just want opportunity for them, 3 meals a day, cleanliness, to know God personally, affection and schooling. 

Honduras Part 3

Everyone on this trip touched me, but there were a few that really tugged on my heart.  The first was a young girl, Stephanie, at House of Hope, where we stayed, that came over the first night holding her infant sister, something very common that I saw.  Stephanie was extremely shy, but I could tell she wanted to be around us and observe.  I said ‘hola’ and she just gave me a shy smile. I asked her name in Spanish and she again just smiled.  So I just sat with them and played with the baby.  Something about Stephanie’s eyes really had me intrigued. Later I learned that she did not speak Spanish, but only Moskito, so one of the orphans asked her name for me in Moskito.  I learned of her horrible life story through the local missionary. This girl has seen and be through a LOT.  She was around one evening during our worship and I was able to motion for her to be on my lap, which I could tell she liked the attention.  I haven’t stopped thinking of her since we left.  I commit to praying for her and her family situation.

The second was Romi.  

At Mama Tara’s there are workers and helpers that aid the 80-something Mama Tara.  One is Romi.  She came to the orphanage with her 4 children because it’s the only way they would be fed, so she works in order for that to happen.  And from what I observed, she works hard.  She cooks, cleans, helped us paint the bars on the windows, she’s still nursing her youngest and has 3 others, while assisting the other 30 something kids there.  She has nothing.  She has been robbed upwards of 3 times of everything and yet still marches on.  The last day I was there I pulled her aside and asked (well motioned) would she like my shoes?  Her face just lit up and she cried.  These were my “old pair”, as I have 2 others at home an as you can see I had a backup, I felt guilty.  She beamed non-stop and repeatedly thanked me.  I hope these shoes supernaturally last many  more miles through her hard efforts.  I will never take my running shoes or any shoes for granted again and I will think and pray for her as I put them on. 

Honduras Part 2

As I mentioned the first night we stayed at a B&B, which is not the B&B in American standards.  It was clean, simple, had some AC and warm water.  They fed us breakfast, which was delicious, and it was a nice place for a good night's rest.  The veranda, which was right off the house was an awesome place where we all congregated as a team and just rocked in the rocking chairs in our little down time we had.  The hospitality was amazing and it was a pleasure getting to know our hosts, Saundra and Jimmy.

The next morning we rented a van and traveled 3 hours to La Ceiba where there was a tiny airport with tee tiny airplanes.  Our team basically was the flight.  It was a 19 passenger plane that we flew to Puerto Lempira, our final destination.  Puerto Lempira is really only accessible by boat or plane.  This is apparent when you land on the dirt runway!  Albeit, a very nicely maintained, but dirt no less.  Of course there is no airport, just a souvenir shop and food place.

This souvenir shop is made my locals and supports the Hogar Esperanza orphanage.

We had a short walk to the orphanage where we were staying, Hogar Esperanza (House of Hope).   Some of the team joked that they were already learning Honduran time and meaning is different than ours and yes we did learn that.
The "short walk" was not.  However, I thoroughly enjoyed it especially after traveling ALL day.

Next up was House of Hope (Hogar Esperanza).  One-half of our Young Adult Sunday School class sponsors this orphanage.  This is actually where we stayed while in Puerto Lempira.  They have a mission bunk house on the premises, it’s also fenced in and has a night and day watchman.  This orphanage was very different than that of which we experienced at Mama Tara’s.  The kids were bathed everyday and had a change of clothes and 3 meals a day.  The cooks there did an excellent job of cooking for the “gringo’s” (white people) bellies. There was no AC nor warm water, but we had fans throughout the night until the expected 6 am power outage, that lasted until noon.   That was enough to wake you out of your slumber, but we had our loud wake up call from the resident rooster and all the other local roosters echoing his call, over and over and over and over.

 I literally would laugh out loud in the mornings waking up, "welcome to 3rd world Honduras Joy!" I felt like this rooster was yelling at me.

House of Hope had 4 little boys around the age of 4, they are very small for their age, most likely due to malnutrition, but they would meet us everyday the moment we stepped on the grounds back from Mama Tara's, with up-stretched arms just wanting to be held.  They then would just cling on, wrap their legs around and hug tight!  They were a welcome sight every night and joined us for our time of team dinner, worship and devotions.  You could always find one of our team members snuggling with them at any given point.   I will NEVER forget one night one little was on the lap of another teammate, Becca who sat in a chair and I looked up and here comes another little one across the big courtyard pulling/dragging a chair behind him.  He maneuvered it onto the concrete and pointed down at and reached his arms up to me.  He wanted to be held the exact same way.  Precious is all I can say.  I would have sat there all night if he would have let me.