Melon Ball Lollipops!

I don’t know about yours, but my kid has eaten about 10 times more sugar these past two weeks than he usually does.  Fed up with the countless cookies and candy canes that people sprinkle on children this time of year (teachers, grandmas, Santa, parties, etc.), I was determined to bring something to my son’s preschool holiday potluck that was fun, tasty and felt like a treat while still being good for the body.  I was channeling Gandhi here by “being the change I want to see in the world,” which is sort of my mantra of late.

Anyhoo – I recently picked up a melon baller at the store and from there, an idea was born – melon ball lollipops!  Kids were sure to be lured by them.  Insert villain cackle here.

I got some lollipop sticks at a local chef store, but you can also find them at craft stores (Jo-Ann and Michaels) and I would imagine Target – great provider of all things necessary and awesome – would also have them in the baking aisle.  Being frugal, I cut each stick in half as to make twice as many and also to make them easier for small hands to hold.  In a perfect world, my grocery store would’ve had something smaller than a 15 lb. watermelon, but it didn’t and so I went with honeydew melon and cantaloupe.  But I really think the watermelon would’ve added a beautiful (and delicious) touch and I long to see the trifecta of melon sometime in the future when smaller watermelons are aplenty.

Using the big end of the melon baller, scoop out as many balls as you want lollipops.  Once they’ve all been balled, make sure to cut off the tippy top of each ball, giving them a flat top – a very slight amount, but enough so that when they are placed upside down on a tray, the balls will stay flat and not roll over.  Insert sticks into balls (jeez, how can I resist an off color joke here…must…keep…typing…).  Only go halfway up so that the stick doesn’t come out of the top.  That was like those common sense warnings where they tell you not to blowdry your hair while showering.

Put the lollipops head down in a dish or on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze overnight or at least for a few hours.  Freezing them overnight helps if and when you’re transporting them somewhere because by the time they are ready to be eaten, they are still slightly frozen (which is perfect) and not mushy.  But you can also choose to not freeze at all!

Almost all of the kids were excited about these and of course, they had lots of fun picking which color they wanted (damn you again lack of ruby red watermelon!).  And I was happily surprised that even after a first lick and raised eyebrow, the kids kept eating them knowing full well they’re weren’t the real thing.  I had one myself and loved taking a bite of the half frozen melon, whilst my son kept to the rules of lollipops and licked his.

A Sign of the Times

This weekend, we met another craftsperson at a boutique event in the Pacific Palisades and I have to say, I fell in love.  Meet Julio Wahl, he hand makes ALL of these amazing, fun, weathered signs and it doesn’t hurt that he’s adorable inside and out, as is his wife, Esther.  These are people who you want to buy from and support – think Santa and Mrs. Claus.  They are good people, doing what they have a natural talent for and smiling all the way.  And I learned that each sign has 11 steps to completion.  Sometimes we so take for granted the amount of effort, time and hard work simple-looking things can take.  Seeing people buy his signs (myself included) made me overjoyed to know that quality, small business craftsmanship still has a place in people’s hearts.  His signs are wonderful and unique and they really capture that vintage, worn, homey feel and the icing on the cake is that they’re affordable.  I just wanted to pass along this gem to you as his signs make treasured gifts, or so I hope as I bought a bunch for Christmas gifts and know I will be back for more.

http://www.weatheredsigns.com/

Oh yeah and there’s a picture of the Violet Riot booth sporting our new banner!

Pumpkin Painting!

This one might fall under the category of obvious craft projects, but I’ll share it nonetheless because sometimes the busy-ness of our everyday lives can cast shadows on the seemingly apparent.  How many times have you been trying to make dinner with a whiny toddler under your feet and it’s not until dinner’s almost served that you realize you could’ve entertained said whiny toddler with a bowl, measuring spoons and some grainy matter such as salt, if you’d just had a moment to stop and think about it?

So, I give you… painting mini (or large) pumpkins!  One of the best parts of this activity was shopping for the supplies.  It meant we got to go to our local preschool store, Lakeshore, and got to choose from the ginormous wall of paint!  I was almost hyperventilating – my two favorite things – crafts and meticulous organization, together at last!  (Notice how there is no mention of my son or which colors he wanted?  I was too enthralled with “the wall” that I have no idea what my son was saying/thinking/feeling.)  We also took a risk and decided to get some no-spill paint cups, which turned out to be great and not just a waste of money.  And don’t forget the brushes!

I’m not going to insult you with a step by step explanation of how to paint a pumpkin, but I will say that in the spirit of recycling, it’s a great idea to use those annoying ads that wind up in your house, on your counter and in your car as a free cover for your table.  Nevermind that you have to stare at ads for Spam and Easy Mac – it’s for the Earth!

What I think was so fun about this project and what my son seemed to love was painting something other than flat paper.  Painting an object opens your brain a little more, not to mention that your finished product can serve as a centerpiece.  My son was on a roll with painting objects, so I went into our recycling bin and pulled out some other stuff to paint, such as a Ziploc box.  Milk and egg cartons and other various-sized boxes would’ve also been perfect.  Oooh, which gives me an idea – next time we’ll paint the boxes like they’re buildings and make a city!  You know what that means… another trip to the “wall of paint” – yessssssssssssssss!

Work Time and Kid Time All At the Same Time

I’m pretty sure the reason that I frequently have a thought one second and then it completely vanishes a nano-second later is because I am constantly multi-tasking and my brain is trying to tell me that I don’t have enough RAM to complete all these tasks at once.  (Has anyone else ever tried to check their email while brushing their teeth only to find that neither tasks are getting accomplished very well?)  I frequently feel like a sluggish computer.  Note to self – I should probably be more understanding of my own sluggish computer.

One of the requirements of motherhood is the ability to feed a baby, hold a conversation (coherent or not) AND cook dinner (healthy or not).  And one of the endless requirements of working with a child in tow is having to clean up spilled snacks off many less-than-clean floors as your “colleagues” look on – as I found out today.

When I wake up every morning, I categorize my chores (including work) into two groups – things I can do WITH my son and things I can’t. He will not allow me to sit at a sewing machine and concentrate, so the stitching happens when he’s not around, but one of the things he will do is come with me to American Apparel in downtown LA.  There are railroad crossing signs and big trucks down there, so he’s sold.  I do feel a bit out of place bringing my son to these places of business and I do get stared at – to which I want to say, “I’m a working mom trying to make it work PEOPLE!” but I’m fine with it as long as no one is offended by my son picking his nose (which he did today right as I got to the counter to pick up shirts, a perfect greeting, don’t you think?)

So, those of us with kids know that the worst words we can hear are something to the effect of, “Your food, flight, shirt order, etc. isn’t ready yet and it will be another 30 minutes or more.”  When I heard these words today, I stifled my urge to have my own tantrum and instead took a deep breath and then immediately took inventory of my purse to see what would possibly make these next 30+ minutes pleasant for everyone.  My son is pretty easy-going, but the words toddler and wait are sort of an oxymoron.  Somehow I had a calculator in my bag of tricks, but sursprisingly that only bought us about 3 minutes. That will all change once he learns to spell “hello” and “boobless.”  Snacks!  I brought snacks – perfect – until they accidentally got dumped on the floor immediately following their unveiling (blame it on the most hideous orange Crocs – not mine, for the record).  Alright, onto mints from a tin – his favorite. Just a half of one. I was praying he didn’t find the ancient lollipop that was still in my purse from the last time he got his hair cut.  Then we moved onto Mama’s sunglasses – a familiar favorite.  Then more nose picking and before we knew it, 30+ minutes was up.

As I sit there looking at everyone else doing their jobs – whether it be waiting for on order, working behind the counter, driving a truck – it truly dawns on me how different my day is from the rest. On one hand, I don’t get luxuries like time to stare off into space in between tasks or to the chance to take a quiet lunch break or even use the bathroom alone.  But, I realize how amazing it is that my son and I get to share this time together. He’s getting to see first hand what goes into making the shirts that Mama puts all her blood, sweat and tears into (note: shirts do not contain blood, sweat nor tear stains).  I get to see his bright blue eyes and dirty face while I’m on the clock (he scarfed down Veggie Booty right before we got there and then I realized I brought no wipes for all the Booty dust).  He’s like my intern (although more demanding and truly, less helpful).   It’s a melding of work time and kid time – wonderful and multi-tasking at its best -  but also the reason that I just forgot what else I was going to say.

A Flawless Photo Shoot!

Just last weekend, my friend and brilliant photographer, Marc Lemoine, photographed some adorable kids wearing Violet Riot gear.  We are in the process of creating a legit online store and we were in need of some quality photos.  Like most things involving kids, we weren’t sure how this day was going to go, but by a stroke of luck, it went off without a hitch and was a blast!  A favorite memory of mine is when I pretended to be a butterfly hatching out of its cocoon and flying free in order to elicit a smile from one of our models.

One of the other best parts of the day was discovering that my business partner Beth’s daughter was MADE for modeling.  Seriously, you’ve never seen anything like this.  She is only three years old and was posing and smiling and mugging like a pro, not to mention taking direction (with a smile).  We were all completely blown away!  Here she is tearing it up…

My son followed her (lucky him, huh?) and he needed some coaxing, to say the least.  Marc was so amazing with the kids – not that Ava needed any bait, but he was asking her, “Who’s your favorite princess…  Ariel?  Belle?”  And then he knew to switch it to Thomas the Train mode for my son.  Here he is showing my son how his camera works…

We thought this day was going to serve as birth control for Marc, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect!  But mind you, this was around 9am and the shoot went until 4pm.

One thing we learned from the shoot was that the hardest age to fly with is also the hardest age to photograph – around 18-months.  They’re everywhere except for where you need them to be!  But they are cute as heck.  The other thing we learned is that babies love laying in things that resemble a nest.

We are so thankful to all the families and their little models that came out to help us – you guys are the best!  We SO appreciate everyone’s support

You will be able to see some of the professional pics in all their glory when our website is finished, which should be sometime in November (these things take time, people!), but here are some to tide you over…

Birdie Wearing A Violet Riot Shirt!

I had the pleasure of meeting Michele Moreno (aka Birdie) in a children’s class that my son was taking up in the beautiful Pacific Palisades mountains – Bee Planet with Laura Berk.  Birdie came and sang at one of our classes and her music was such a breath of fresh air – soulful, earthy and so catchy that I sang her tunes for days after wards (you know when you even wake up in the middle of the night singing a song?!)  My son kept requesting “The Elephant Song!  The Elephant Song!” and I think I wanted, okay NEEDED, to hear it again even more than he did.

Lucky for my son and I, Birdie and I formed not only a bond, but a working relationship.  She needed some unique, fun shirts to perform in and I needed to hear the “Elephant in the Congo” song again.  We were a match made in Heaven!

Her CD is done and is FANTASTIC!  Again, it’s earthy and soulful and fun – think Corrine Bailey Rae meets Carmen Miranda – and a hit with the kids.  Birdie even did an private, impromptu rendition of “Elephant in the Congo” at my house for my son and I think his mind was officially blown and now it is his favorite song ever.

If you do one thing today, listen to a clip of Birdie’s “Elephant in the Congo” but don’t come crying/typing to me when you’re up at 3am singing, “Living on the savannah in Africa!” – I warned you!

Here is Birdie’s website…

http://www.birdiesplayhouse.com

And audio clips page (you know you wanna hear it!)…

http://www.birdiesplayhouse.com/MusicCD.html

Awesome Meal Planner or A Deep Look Into Brandy’s Psyche

As I prepare to send my little guy (insert Marge Simpson saying, “My special little guuuuy!”) to preschool this week, I am also preparing to become a better family cook – or should I say, more frequent family cook.  My son attending preschool will not only give me an opportunity to keep working hard on Violet Riot, but also a chance to shop for groceries without having to manage another human being while also comparing ingredients on labels.  So what better time than now to get back into the swing of making fresh, home-cooked meals?

Before my son was born, I made a conscious effort to cook more often and I knew this would only happen if I had a system in place to make it happen.  Those that know me well know that I love to formulate systems for things – ways to make things run smoothly and efficiently (or at least have the illusion of feeling these ways).  If I could choose to max out my credit card anywhere, it would have to be at the Container Store, where I am surrounded by items designed to help my life run more smoothly – bins, baskets, labels, sorters, little jars – heaven.  If the Container Store had a perfume – Organized – I’d buy it.  How does this relate to cooking, you say?  Well, I invented a system to help me grocery shop and cook more efficiently.

One of my biggest pet peeves is going to the grocery store for only one night’s dinner.  As much as I can’t stand doing that, I also can help myself.  Most of the time, I am lucky to even be getting to the store at all and there is not an ounce of energy left to think as far ahead as tomorrow’s dinner.  So, the next day, I return to the store for night two’s ingredients, kicking myself for why I didn’t pick these items up the day before. If I had just stopped to put together a meal plan!  Behold (insert sounds of angels harmonizing)…

Let me explain a few things… first of all, I swear I’m not a lunatic.  Second – here’s the way this system works: the first column has days and dinners listed out.  Underneath that and on the second column are the ingredient lists for each of the meals.  The third column is the shopping list column.  What you do, is you take all the ingredients from ingredient lists and you put them into shopping lists – trying to minimize your trips to the store.  The more fresh meals you want to eat, the more frequently you need to go shopping.  What I do is I list as many items as I can (non-perishables) under Day 1’s shopping trip.  That way, I can do one big trip at the beginning of the week and then the other two trips can be for just a few fresh items (perfect for a Farmer’s Market), which is way more do-able with a baby or toddler (or even husband) in tow.  You can add other items (toilet paper, wine, etc.) either under each day’s shopping list or in the right margin.  It does take commitment to sit down on a Sunday (or whenever) night and go through your recipes and pick what you’re going to want that week and figure out if you need the ingredients on day 1, 4, or 6, but I guarantee you, it’s worth it.  No more sinking feeling as the evening creeps up and you have nothing to make for dinner.  Six o’clock will roll by and you’ll laugh in its face!

The World’s Easiest (and Cheapest) Homemade Gift Bag

Just last weekend, I needed a gift bag, quick!  I have a love hate relationship with gift bags and packaging in general – getting pretty gifts is fun for the split second before you dig in and unwrap it, but are the money and resources worth that nano-second?  Just for the record, my mom would wash my mouth out with soap for even questioning the awesomeness of a quality wrapping job.  We had a “wrapping table” in the basement of my house growing up and my mom handmade all of her own bows (while scoffing at those who use those, ick, prepackaged stick on bows).  Clearly the brainwashing didn’t totally work on me because I bring you, the World’s Easiest (and Cheapest) Homemade Gift Bag!  Let me just note that I got this idea from a talented woman at a recent boutique party who made beautiful stationary and this is what she sent her customers home with (thank you Tina!)  Okay, here’s how to do it…

1.)  Take a clean paper bag with handles (Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s…) and cut it to the height that you need it (depending on what gift you’re giving).

2.) Neatly rip the handles off the unused part of the bag or if you are a stickler for perfection (read: my mom), cut the handles off.

3.) Attach the handles on the inside of your new bag and staple them from the oustide.

Viola!  Not only do you have a unique, handmade, FREE gift bag, but you’ve made something with your very own hands (such a satisfying feeling, eh?).  This must be what the Settlers felt like when they discovered how to make gift bags out of animal carcasses.  I kid, I kid.

Let the Riot Begin!

Welcome to our Blog!  We are delighted to invite you to take a peek into our growing little world!

Beth and myself (Brandy) started Violet Riot not only out of a love for all things crafty, but also out of a serious need for some radical, unique, handmade baby and kids’ clothes that are not only affordable, but come from a mama-owned company with a soul.  We understand our customers because we are our customers!  We too want awesome clothing for our kids that is fun, deliciously soft, comfortable, washes well and that our kids beg to wear instead of running away from us.  When making decisions about designs and styles, we always ask ourselves, “Would we buy this?”  And we always make sure the answer is “yes” or we don’t do it.  So you always know you have two concerned mamas looking out for you at Violet Riot!

Using recycled t-shirts as our applique fabric is our favorite aspect of the business.  When we shop for shirts, we both get this giddy feeling – not knowing what gems lie ahead in the hundreds of beckoning racks.  It’s these shirts that make our wonderful designs what they are.  And we can never plan for what we might find which makes every shopping experience feel like Christmas morning!  Except for the fact that on Christmas you usually don’t get an extreme arm ache from sliding hangers down a rack for hours, but you get my point.  The recycled t-shirt fabric is also what makes all of our designs genuinely one-of-a-kind and a wearable work of art.  And we think it’s cool that these recycled shirts are getting a second chance at life!  If they could say thank you, they would.

The clothing that we sew our applique designs onto is from American Apparel, an LA-based company (yay, local!) that is “sweatshop-free” and offers their workers a living wage (more than twice the federal minimum), among many other benefits (including on site weekly massages, ahhhhhh).  You can’t be a company with a soul unless the companies you work with have one too.

We invite you to follow us as we keep you up to date with what’s going on with us, what we’re working on next, what we like from other fab companies, instructions and tips on crafty projects that you can do yourself (Beth is currently upholstering her daughter’s headboard with fabric) and more, so check back often!

We are in the process of building a super duper online store that will make shopping a breeze – you will be able to buy off the rack or customize your very own shirt.  It’s like a salad bar, but shirts!

You can check out more about us, our stuff and browse through our Etsy store at…

www.violetriot.com

P.S. The name Violet Riot comes from my personal love of all things violet-colored and the word “riot” not only rhymes with “violet” (er… sort of), but violet is probably the least riotous color out there and who doesn’t love a good oxymoron?