Q & A with Ms. Stewart...

Whoda' thunk it...Here is a whole NEW use for my blog...I can take reader questions and provide answers...(quick prayer: Dear Lord, PLEASE help me give out good, quality and useful information, PLEASE let me not lead anyone astray. The road to craft utopia is narrow and few there be who find it...amen).

OK...so Anonymous (see comments) emailed me with the following question:

Greetings to you, Ms. Stewart.
I am far from crafty.
HELP me with this one idea.
My daughters girl scout troop is studying India.
The girls will dress up in attire (homemade saris),
experience the cuisine (fix a homemade dish),
and use body art (bindis).
We are planning to watch the Cheetah Girls movie, too.
Do you have any ideas or know websites I can to visit? Yep!!
Also, could I have asked this on your blog? Yep!!

Is there a place for questions/ crafty help ideas? Not Yet...But one day!!(quick prayer: Please Lord, help me find a way to add a Q & A section...It took me almost a week to add email subscriptions am I up for the challenge??)

I will interject here that Anonymous and I are home girls from WAY back when...and, although she does not think she is "crafty," she came up with the following (read below) without my help...You go gurrrrllll:

Event…
Thinking Day Preparations:

-Make a flag for the flag ceremony (2' x 3') We need to have a 6' pole for the ceremony. I was thinking since our girls are still very small we could make the flag out of paper and put it on some lightweight dowel rod (would need to be thick enough not to wobble). It needs to be as light as possible for our girl to carry. When planning a craft/activity ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS take into account the age/size/abilities of those participating. Here is a picture of the Flag of India.

-Do a name drawing for the girl to be in the flag ceremony. I think it's really the fairest way to do it. SMART, SMART, SMART. This is the fairest way possible. This way will eliminate all of the Mama and Lil' Girl drama that these events breed. My only suggestion would be that you remove your child's name from the drawing and that someone NOT related and/or not a friend of you or your child do the drawing. It may seem unfair to the divine Miss H...so don't tell her!!

-Prepare our costumes. (bright fabrics needed) Keep it CRAFTY by also looking for some cheap ribbon and trims (applied with fabric glue) to allow the kiddo's to personalize them. Depending on how much time you have, you might also want to provide some gold and/or silver fabric paint and let them embellish their saris. Some glue on rhinestones might be in order here. There are seven steps to tying a sari and saris come in many styles and colors. Check out this link for pictures of many beautiful saris. Roll your mouse over the picture and a larger view will appear on the right.

-Prepare a posterboard for the display of information from India (general info, role of females, music, dance) Good idea! Keep it CRAFTY and academic!! Perhaps when they first arrive/have finished dressing (in their saris), you can get a digital pic of them. Then while they are working on another project, you can print them off and add them to the display board. Or better yet, make completing the board a group project and have each child bring in one type written fact about India that can be added to the board. For those who WILL forget, already have several facts ready to go should you need them. You might also want to include some fun facts. For example, did you know that Parcheesi is the national game of India? Whoda' thunk it??

-Plan the table decorations/decorations for our India Theme (home decorations you may have might be helpful) Don't be afraid to ask for help...Ask for table decorations, ask for fabric, ask for food, ask for volunteers, ask for a mortgage payment...DO NOT be afraid to ask for help!! And, ask EARLY and be VERY specific about what you need/want. If you know that you want red material from the Walmart on 123 East Parkway Blvd. North West (if you have ever lived in Memphis, you know where this is) next door to Chicken on a Stick...tell them exactly where to go and what to get. See if Walmart will hold your color choices so that the mamas can come in and ask for them specifically. You will not know until you ask...So ASK!!

-Decide on a recipe for the tasting event. The KISS principle applies here...Keep It Super Simple...these are kids. Here is a recipe for Easy Tandoori Chicken which you could server with Basmati Rice. You could make a Mango Lassie (you could also use raspberries, strawberries or blueberries) to drink. For dessert, how about super quick and easy Indian Pudding. For a quicker and easier alternative, make Hummus and serve it with toasted pita chips. To save even more time, you can buy Hummus in almost any grocery store.

The girls need to be involved in the planning of Thinking Day as much as possible. I agree 1,000,000,000% this is for them to learn more about India. Make those lil' mamas work too.

If anyone has any items/supplies for any of the things we need that you can donate or let the girls borrow let me know. If you have not heard from anyone 3 days before the event...Call Them!!

And last, but not least...

1. The dining customs of India should also be taken into account. Traditional dining involves sitting on the floor or very low stools or cushions. Unlike western countries, no cutlery is used for eating food and the fingers of the right hand are used for eating. Also, in many South Indian families and in some restaurants food is served in banana leaves or lotus leaves (See Below).

2. Your greatest and most accurate resource for ALL things India is going to be your yellow pages. Look in the phone book and find a listing for an Indian (India) Market/Grocery, call them for directions and then GO and see them. DO NOT attempt to have this conversation over the phone!! YOU WILL REGRET IT IF YOU DO!! They will also have food already prepared for you to purchase as well as insight into table directions.

THANKS in advance

Hope this helped...If not, you know how to get in touch with me...

~Marquita