I'm a bad parent....

Or really, I'm trying to be a good parent.

Both my husband and I were really rebellious as teenagers. Some of his horror stories include shaving off all of his curly, curly hair and going completely bald for quite some time (this was before 'bald is beautiful'... and he was 19 at the time... and not black), and refusing to wear shoes for over a year (in a part of the world were we it rains more than 10 feet/3.5 meters a year).

I on the other hand, shaved the sides of my head, had my hair temporarily colored purple and was the first girl that I knew of in my neighborhood to have the top of my ear pierced.

All of these things seem to be so tame now, compared to lip rings (you choose your bodily location on that one), plugs, facial tattoos, and piercings that make even me quiver in disgust. And I can tolerate almost anything.

But now my husband and I can see our children already following in our footsteps.

My son, at the age of 7 has started creating his own sense of fashion. He is no doubt paving the way for his little sister to follow right behind him.

It started with blue hair gel. This was actually pretty cool..... I do remember how my mother responded when I came home with my hair shaved at the sides and purple. Not only was I not going to act like that, I actually think blue hair is really, really neat.



I wish I was young enough to dye my hair blue.... or had the figure to pull it off.

But now my son is pulling it one step further. While out shopping for some shoes for a formal day coming up, he saw some blue, sparkly nail polish. He wanted to have this.

For the first time I hesitated. Do I want my son wearing nail polish? What if he gets teased at school? Do I want others to be mean to him? I tried to talk him out of it, without actually telling him he wasn't allowed to wear it. (My husband and I have sworn we will never tell our kids that they can never do opposite-gendered-related things. My son has two dolls along with his lego and muscle cars, my daughter has two mechanical excavators along side of her barbies).

But he was insistant. He was going *TO HAVE* that nail polish.

And then I thought of me and my purple, shaved hair. I looked really awful with it. This is true. From a fashion stand point, it was something I should have never, never done.

But you know what? The world did not stop. Nothing bad happened. It didn't even hurt.

I dared to do it. I dared to do it in a long line of things I have dared to do. Not all of them turned out great (purple hair one example, a couple boyfriends another example) but some of them turned out better than I could have ever dreamed (that I dared to move to a foreign country where I couldn't even speak the language is the best example).

Suddenly I was really proud of my son. We bought the nail polish. We put on some nail polish just before he ate his bedtime snack.

While I am a little nervous of what his friends will think of his fingers tomorrow at school, at the same time, I'm amazed at the inner strength he is already showing. He has the courage at 7 that I did not have until I was 17. I needed to have angry, chaotic, teenage hormones rushing through me to help me have courage. He does it all on his own.

Good for you, N. You're really awesome.

[As an afterword, I came home to find two of his friends home for dinner.... N. had painted their nails already. And a third mother sent me an SMS to find out if the story was true. Then a second message to ask me where I bought the nail polish.]

Working Partnerships with VKNO

I have begun to establish a good working relationship with another Etsy seller who lives on the east side of Norway. While we have only met once for coffee, we have spoken often through email and SMS. And it seems that our personalities fit perfectly together.

At the moment I love making scarves. And I have plans to make all different types, all sorts of variations. One of the ideas that has been coming back to me again and again is to make a 'Viking Princess' Scarf. While the details of how I will make it and what it will look like are under wraps for a while, I discovered that I was going to need a special pin.

Secondly, I like to reuse materials, encorporating 'upcycling' as often as possible. VKno also encorporates themes of 'upcycling' in many of her products, some of which include aluminium. So I approached her with my idea, asking if one could make a strong enough pin for me and my plans. The thought had never occured to her before, but she was willing to take on the task of at least trying to find some artistic solutions to this problem.

Last weekend I recieved this package:


A variety of different pins made from aluminium wire and folded, upcycled aluminium. My job was to critique them, and then send them back to her so that she can work futher on this project.

However, I found that each of these pins had so much potential that I had to share them with my friends and with the world.

Pin 1 - Is an upcycled aluminium frame that is encircled in copper wire, and has a wire needle. It's a rougher style, and while I have no immediate plans for this style, it is somethikng that would go well with what I make - tiny, fine stitches are not usually the way I do things.

Pin 2 - Is a flat, hammered copper circle encircled with wire. I actually do like this particular style, but wonder what other decorations can be used instead of the copper crown that was used here. VKno, in her personal letter that she included with this package, has already told me that a number of different decorations can be used.

This basic style, in my opinion, can be appropriate to a number of different articles that I make, and I might end up ordering a number of these in similar styles in the future.

Pin 3 - This is one of my favorites. It's another upcycled, aluminium frame tightly wound with wire. While it might be a bit difficult to see in this picture, VKno has added many seed beads on the outer edge of the frame. She herself has said that the corners are not to her satisfaction and that she plans to make them look more professional. This in my mind, is a very nice, classic pin that could possibly be used for more formal occasions.

Pin 4 - A heart shaped pin. What could be more perfect for Valentine's Day? Or for a special birthday or anniversary? I absolutely love this pin, though I do have some questions for VKno on its strength. This however, if it is a flaw, would be a very minor flaw in my opinion and can no doubt be corrected quickly. (She's so smart!) I see this pin being popular, both for me, but also for other Esty Buyers out there.

Pin 5 - The whale. Silly me. When I came home on Friday evening from work and opened the package, I didn't even see it was a whale until I read her letter. On the other hand, my husband immediately exclaimed 'Wow - Cool whale!' when he saw it, as did my four-year-old daughter. It is now of course very obvious to me, and I admire VKno's creativity. She says that this is her favorite, and for someone who lives on the sea-shore, I can understand why this is.

I love her use of beads in this piece. This would be perfect for many 'Norwegian pieces' I have thought of, or have thought of since I have seen the pin.

Pin 6 - This is my least favorite pin of all that have been sent to me. However, it is more the shape that doesn't feel right. I'm not sure if it's the shape, or the size, or a combination of the two, but I just don't like it.

Having said this, I really like that she combined two colors/materials. I see this as a good starting point for something much better in the future.

Pin 7 - This is nice pin, but for me the beads take away from the pin itself. I much prefer the styles of square pins seen in Pin 1 and Pin 3. In my opinion, the square would have to be much larger to support large beads such as these.

And now a personal thank you from me! Thank you so much VKno for taking on this project. I will send you further personal comments via email, and your package will be sent back to you later this week. :) As always, my opinions and comments are only my own. I hope that you will have great success with this idea, with many other customers other than myself.

You're a true pal!