Author: Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Gina Munsey is a Mexico-born, Eastern Europe-raised missionary kid who ended up being a Californian by way of Florida outside of Nashville, Tennessee. She lives her days full of coffee and adventures while her 12-year-old learns Mandarin Chinese and Greek, her 3-year-old uses all the markers, and her artist-husband creates worlds from pixels and light. A blogger since the turn of the century (ouch!) she's an editor, co-op teacher, and writer who has only completed four chapters of her languishing manuscript. You can find Gina right here at oaxacaborn.com, or in the middle of [home]school surrounded by stacks and stacks of books.
Life in Photos, Poetry & Words

LIFE IN PHOTOS :: It’s all (mostly) black and white

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Aveline - January 2013 - Aveline on couch in black and white - Photo via Oaxacaborn dot com

Top of the bookshelf - photo via Oaxacaborn dot com

Colander, calendar, and stars on white kitchen wall - photo via Oaxaacborn dot com

Inside the closet, with a paper star and a painting - photo via Oaxacaborn dot com

Black and white Kawaii Panda Bear plate - photo via Oaxacaborn dot com

Aveline - January 2013 - Aveline reclining on couch in black and white - Photo via Oaxacaborn dot com

“In returning and rest shall you be saved;
in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)

These words keep coming back to me. In the midst of frantically getting this and that done, in the midst of the bowl of macaroni & cheese dumped on the carpet, in the midst of the screaming fits which two-year-olds are wont to do from time to time, in the midst of lists and laundry…in the midst of it all, these words echo.

And I know I need to stop, and truly listen.

In rest. In quietness. In confidence — a kind of calm assurance, free from anxiety.

This same Lord also whispers in my ear,
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)

How foolish I am to refuse!

Poetry & Words

POETRY & WORDS :: On Creative Burnout, or, Sometimes, I miss life before the Internet

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Silencio del Mar - Watercolor by Oaxacaborn
Sometimes, I miss life before the internet, when a girl could just get lost in an old National Geographic, without knowing it was trendy to like Reykjavik.

Or geometric shapes, or the colors coral and mint, or hand-drawn arrows, or chevrons.

A girl can get swallowed by this handmade world. There is talent and inspiration yes, but there is so much repetition so much repetition.

I want to get back to reading The Joy of Cooking, not the “OMG. Need recipe.” comments on pictures of a stranger’s lunch.

I need more actual fabric swatches, and fewer repins of photos of fabric swatches. I need fewer “One gazillion places to go in 2013” websites and more discovering the sidewalks around my own house.

I want to stitch together more projects for my daughter and our home, and not as many for listings on Etsy. I need more torn paper and splashes of watercolor, and fewer Pinterest boards. More dirt under my fingernails, more glue on the palms of my hands, more paint  on the table around the edges of the canvas, more spontaneous midnight cookie-baking.

I’m tired. And I don’t think I’m going to find my lost creativity if I just keep looking inside this screen.

Do any of you ever feel like this?

Life in Photos

LIFE IN PHOTOS :: Letters and Numbers

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Aveline - January 2013 - Aveline's attempt to make 8's - Photo via Oaxacaborn dot com

Aveline - January 2013 - Coloring on Worksheets - Photo via Oaxacaborn dot com

We’re both sitting here this morning working on letters (well, she’s working on numbers, too.) I push little square plastic buttons on the keyboard and the letters appear, black and sans-serif, perfectly aligned; yet still I rearrange them endlessly.

She chooses from among sixty-four colors like marigold and cerulean and orchid, and fills in the centers of her O’s and 8’s and sings her version of the alphabet, which currently sounds like “O-O-B-O-E-E-E-O.”

I open another blank document; she runs to the printer for another worksheet.

We’re not that different, she and I.

(Thanks to Marie of A Sea Apart for the link to these great printable worksheets.)

Monday's Pretty Things

MONDAY’S PRETTY THINGS :: Foxes

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

Foxes are absolutely and completely EVERYWHERE. What do you think of this trend — love it or hate it?

fox mask via her flying horses on etsy
Fox Mask via Her Flying Horses on Etsy

Fox illustration via Nan Lawson on Etsy
Fox illustration via Nan Lawson on Etsy

Scion Mr Fox via John Lewis
Scion Mr Fox via John Lewis

Fleet Foxes poster by Alvin Diec
Fleet Foxes poster by Alvin Diec

Children's Play tent with Fox via Snail Candy on Etsy
Children’s Play Tent with Fox via Snail Candy on Etsy

P.S. Even more pretty things.

Handmade

HANDMADE :: DIY Large Felt Numbers Tutorial

Gina @ Oaxacaborn

TUTORIAL - DIY Large Felt Numbers on the Oaxacaborn blog

TUTORIAL - Make your Own DIY Large Felt Numbers on the Oaxacaborn blog

This is a nice, simple project. Depending how long your little person naps (and how many numbers you choose to make) it just might qualify as a single-afternoon-project.

Since all the examples of felt letters and numbers I found elsewhere were tiny, I made my own template, especially designed for the 8.5×11” sheets of felt that are so cheap at the craft store. Not only are these large items easier to sew than microscopic ones, the resulting numbers are easy to hold, can double as decor, and won’t get lost in the toy box. And, you can print out the template on standard printer paper, without worrying about scale.

Aveline is just learning her numbers (two! free! five! nine!), so I wanted to lessen any confusion about backwards numbers. This was easily accomplished by using a different color for the back of each number. I used charcoal grey felt for the front and off-white for the back, because I really really love when toys match my living room. ;)

The seams are a simple blanket stitch, sewn with various colors of six-strand embroidery floss. I didn’t divide the strands, just used it straight out of the package.

It helps if you have extra-sharp scissors (the secret to cutting felt neatly and crisply.) Because felt dulls scissors quickly, I use these 3/$1.99 Ikea scissors and just replace them whenever I need to.

Make your Own DIY Large Felt Numbers - Tutorial on the Oaxacaborn blog

The project is extremely self explanatory, so I feel a little (a lot!) silly writing a step-by-step tutorial. :-P But here it is:

MATERIALS NEEDED

2 pieces of standard 8.5×11″ felt per number
Embroidery needle
Embroidery floss/thread
Polyfill for stuffing
PDF template (numbers 0-9)

1. Print out the template (numbers 0-9), and cut out the numbers you wish to make. Lest you inaccurately think I’m overly ambitious, I only made 1, 2 and 3.
2. Lay two layers of felt on top of each other, top color first and back color second, then pin the cut-out pattern to the felt.
3. Using extra-sharp scissors, carefully cut out the felt numbers. Take the paper pattern off, then without moving the felt, pin the two pieces together again.
4. Sew the two pieces together with a blanket stitch. When you have about two inches to go, stuff the number with polyfill, then complete the seam.

Voilá! If any of you are crazy enough to make 0-9, you have to send me pictures ;) And if you’re interested in seeing a similar template for large A-Z felt letters, let me know in the comments!