towels

Do you think a person can become physically ill from lack of creative expression? My thought - definitely yes.

It has been slightly over a year with almost no opportunity for creativity. Well, okay, that is not quite true. I have purposely stifled myself to some degree because I wanted to focus on learning Spanish. And secondarily, I didn't want to make a bunch of stuff that I couldn't (shouldn't) take with me. To some degree it is a bit of an expression of discipline too.

But looking back, I'm thinking that maybe I would have done better in Spanish had I given my brain something else to feed on - a diversion - and something that makes it sing, so to speak.

Not that I didn't do anything creative. There were the costumes that I got to sew for the play our oldest was in. That was fun. And I showed the kids how to design and make their own "stuffies".... some version of a stuffed animal. They want to do it every week now but we are running out of materials. I sketched out lots of possibilities (see the picture??) And, of course, we created the towels.

We brought old white towels with us that we will just leave here (we've got our nicer ones coming to Ecuador). I'm all about having my own towel and not mixing it up with someone else's so, we label. It also is handy when one delightful child leaves their towel on the floor instead of hanging it up. No question as to whom it is. Hmmm, maybe I should label everything.

The process is simple.

1. Take a water soluble fabric marker and have the kids write their name on a towel (They would, of course, look nicer if there were all the same, nice, new towels. Ours are a little "unphotogenic", shall we say.)
2. Let them pick their color thread/floss (Or, of course, if you want to stick with color theme, just choose the color yourself. That is what I did with our good towels).
3. Embroider over their markings (google embroidering stitches if you don't know how).
4. Rinse the area with water so that any visible marker disappears.

Now the kids have their own towel. They are responsible for it. They are proud of it. And everyone is happy.

When we get to Quito, no more reigning in creativity. Well, okay, I might need to, to some degree. I tend to get a little carried away. But I know that my creative brain is a gift from God. He has allowed me the privilege of using it in ministry in the past and I pray that He will again. That's my favorite.... when He does that.