Belle Isle Aquarium: Behind the Scenes

This weekend I got a rare opportunity to play around in a 650 gallon fish tank in an aquarium that is over 100 year old!  What a treat!  I like old buildings and old stuff.  I like snooping around and going places that most people normally don't get to see.  When I travel, I enjoy off the beaten path kind of spots.  So, hanging out in a fish tank is just the place for me.

In case you did not read Thursday's post about 715 Pillows decorating and empty tank, here is where you can check out the back story.  Late Friday afternoon, pretty much immediately after my husband returned home from Seattle, I packed the family up to pick out my fish tank at the Belle Isle Aquarium.  There were fish, turtles, an eel, a few volunteers, and the Pewabic Pottery folks hanging around the old aquarium.  I just love the green tiled ceiling.  You really do feel like you are underwater.  A volunteer showed me my choices of empty tanks and I chose a medium sized tank that had fake coral ledges.  My thought was that it might make it easier to stack pillows.  We walked through a narrow corridor, behind the tanks to get to my tank.  I climbed down into the tank, got a feel for how much space I had, and arranged a few of bins I brought.  I also let the girls get in so they could imagine they were fishes.  Unfortunately, as we were walking out I found out that the aquarium was not going to be open on Mother's Day due to unforeseen circumstances.  However, the Grand Prix is still a go!

Me in a fish tank!

Mimi and Vi decided to take the plunge!

Very fun evening!

I had a very bizarre dream Friday night.  I went to the aquarium to set up my tank and guess what?  My tank was set up like a tidal pool and filled with critters such as lobsters and crabs.  I was told I need to share the tank with the animals.  Yikes!

Saturday morning we loaded the car with lighting, a chair, and pillows.  We were ready to go.  But, we were bringing someone else with us, my friend's son who is a four year old fish enthusiast.  On the car ride to Belle Isle, my husband and I chuckled as we listened to a three year old, four year old, and five year old bond over poop jokes.  It was very entertaining.  When we arrived at the tank, we unloaded and started to get an idea of what we needed to do.  First, we had to lower the kids into the tank and then I got to work

Putting my husband and three little kids to work!

All the kids made it safely into the tank.

Kids out, time for me to work.  It was not easy.  Small space,
lights were shining down, no ventilation.  I was very warm. 

I'm a very funny looking fish.

See my lower extremities?  

Almost done...

...oops, I knocked over some pillows trying to get out.

Grrr

Putting everything back in place.

My sign.

Voila!

I am really happy with how the exhibit turned out.  The glass is cloudy but, it does look nice.  It is hard to take photos in the aquarium so hope you enjoy the gritty quality of the photography.  After we got our work done, we walked over to the conservatory to play.

The three musketeers ready to play.  

Conservatory - we actually saw a raccoon inside!

A fantastic outing!

It would be really nice if this little display resulted in a few sales.  But, as far as I am concerned, playing around in a 100 year old aquarium after hours was worth all the work.

Swimming With Pillows: A Mother's Day Dream Come True!

I dedicate this post first to my grandpa!  He was a Cass Tech grad, WWII veteran, Detroit Mounted Police Office, Harper Hospital Security Guard, and an all round good guy.  Second, to my parents who often took me to Belle Isle as a kid to see the fish swim in America's oldest aquarium.  

Michigan Central Station
(took this picture from Wikipedia)

I love the history that just spills out of Detroit.  It is rich, it is powerful, it is gritty.  I loved going to Fort Wayne, the DIA, and the Historical Museum when I was a kid.  I can't begin to tell you how many birthdays were spent watching plays at the Youth Theater.  Mickey Miners was my hero!!!  I love that my parents took my brother and I on a day trip to Ann Arbor on a train that left out of Michigan Central Station.  Listing to my mom talk about the old Hudson's Building made it seem more like a magical castle than a department store.  She was always telling me about taking the bus downtown with Grandma Warrick and going up to the Notions Floor.  A whole floor dedicate to sewing.  My grandfather was a Detroit Mounted Police Officer.  He spent most of his career on a horse, patrolling the streets, riding in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and making friends.  I loved listening to his stories about Detroit.  I still think about him when I am downtown.  Right now, I think he might be just a little bit proud of me because now it is my turn to contribute.  Now I have the opportunity to share my pillows and a little bit of myself with the City of Detroit.   

Belle Isle Aquarium (this picture is from their Facebook page)

The Belle Isle Aquarium is an absolute treasure in Detroit.  It opened on August 18, 1904 and closed on April 3, 2005.  The building was designed by Albert Kahn and the park itself was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead.  It was the oldest continually operating aquarium in America until it closed.  While looking into the specifics on building, I just discovered that it was a speakeasy during Prohibition.  (Thanks you, Wikipedia!)  My parents took my brother and I to Belle Isle a lot when we were growing up.  We spent time at the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, the Dossin Museum, and the Aquarium.  As a parent, I have been able to take my own kids everywhere, except for the aquarium.  Well that all is going to change this Sunday!

Celebrate mom, see some fish, see some art, and check out my pillows!

Fabric I am going to buy from Spoonflower

This Mother's Day (Sunday, May 13th), the Belle Isle Aquarium will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and it is free.  Some of the tanks have fish, some are empty (but not for long.)  I am so excited!  First, because I have not been there for a really, really long time. Second, because I am going to display about 20 to 30 my pillows in one of the empty tanks.  That's right!!! 715 Pillows is going to fill a fish tank full of pillows for Mother's Day and for the Grand Prix events.  I have a lot of work to do before Saturday afternoon.  I know which pillows I am going to display but I have to figure out how to display them and figure out lighting.  This all came about so fast.  The Belle Isle Conservancy announced on Facebook a couple days ago that they were looking for crafty people to create a dry exhibit - aquatic exhibits favored.  So, I e-mailed them a proposal and got myself a tank!  I am beyond excited!  I am over the moon!  Right now, I am going to stock the tank with pillows I already have.  In the next couple weeks, I am going to make some aquatic and Detroit themed pillows and will swap out my stock for the Grand Prix party on May 31st.  Tickets will are $50 and I am poor.  However, I just may need to convince my husband that we need to get dressed up and spend some money so that we can stare at my fish tank full of pillows.  

So, I am excited.  My parents are in Europe so they have not heard the good news quite yet.  My children are thrilled and want to help out. My husband will be returning home from Seattle tomorrow afternoon just in time for me to put him to work. I also asked for help from a grad school friend who comes from a very artsy family.  Would my grandpa be proud?  Hell, yeah!  I just hear his voice right now, "It's a damn shame that place closed in the first place.  I am proud of you honey baby.  Really proud."  

John Christopher, Belle Isle, 1952

Fly, Fly, Fly, Fly

When I woke up at 5:45 a.m. on Saturday morning, I felt strange.  Not really nervous, not really apprehensive, just strange.  It was weird for me to know that I was going back to my old school.  Last year when I went back to Grand Valley State University to look around, a feeling of misery came back to me.  Two cold miserable years made tolerable by a handful of really nice friends.  When I visit Michigan State, I feel generally happy as the memories come flooding back.  But high school....  High school was a strange time.  It was better than middle school, that's for sure.  But, nevertheless, strange.  I was an average student, with average looks, with below average date-ability and popularity.  I was known for being kind of goofy (in an endearing way - I did have lots of friends), I wasn't really part of a clique or group, I fell down and ran into poles often, my first day of freshman year was so embarrassing I still cringe when thinking about it.  But even though I had fun and had a friends, upon graduation I never really looked back.  So why the hell was I getting up early on a Saturday morning to head back to my old school????

Chippewa Valley High School

Not mine, but similar.  Mine was a hand-me-down from my grandmother.  

I pulled up to my old high school in my overly stuffed, sub compact car and thought, this does not feel right.  I should be pulling up in my baby blue Buick Regal listing to a tape playing R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" or the Cure singing, "Friday I'm in Love."  The craft show was HUGE!!!!  There were close to 200 crafters setting up their wares in the gym, the cafeteria (oh, the dreaded cafeteria), and in hallways.  HUGE!!!  I set up my pillows and took a little walk.  I found the picture of my track team in the showcase.  That was kind of cool.  I also ran into some fellow crafters from the Troy craft show.  I thought, "Hey, I am making friends and bonding with crafters.  Coooool!!!!"  Eventually, I made my way back to my table to wait for the throngs of shoppers who were going to bust into the school and buy up every single one of my pillows.  

At about 10:45 a.m. the woman behind me says, "It is going to be a really long day.  Hope you brought your book!"  I was still optimistic.  Then my back started to hurt.  Then, my feeling started to get hurt because one person after another would walk past my booth, look at me, and not even crack a smile when I said, "Good morning!"  I was started to wonder if maybe I was just a ghost.  The day went on fairly fast.  I had visits from Kevin and the girls, the Troy crafters, and I spent a lot of time guessing in my head which instruments the band kids played.  Okay, you want to know if I sold anything?  Do you want to know if the CVHS craft show was in fact my swan song?  Yes, I am fly, fly, fly, flying away from craft shows.  I did this one because I had already committed to it but I will not do another.   It is so much work for so little return, even if I did sell and I did not.  Clearly I was not alone because everyone I spoke to was unsuccessful.  I even got an e-mail today from the organizer reassuring that promotion of the event was properly done and that vendor placement was done so that we would not be in direct competition with one another.  It was a well run show.  But I make more money on Etsy and I don't have to load, unload, and give up a Saturday to sell pillows.  It is okay!

I guess what I don't understand is why people actually do these sorts of craft shows.  Art fairs, yes, I get it.  I love art fairs.  But, as a matter of even general accounting, why?  I am not even good at math and as I walk around I just don't understand how anyone really makes money.  For example, there was a woman selling little bags that hold crayons for kids.  Very cute.  The bags included crayons and were sold for $5.  No one can put that craft together for $5.  Even if she sold bunches she would need to look at her material costs and time to make the craft, then add in the time preparing for the shows, sitting at the show, and packing up after the show.  She would be lucky to break even and the point is not to break even, it is to make a living or at least some spending money.  

So...I did not lose my religion while I was at CVHS, I did not fall down while I was at CVHS, I did however have some pretty horrible flashbacks to my days in Mr. Horton's gym class since I spent the day in the gym.  But, the craft show was a swan song.  But, I am okay!  Towards the end of the day one of the band boosters walked up to my table and said, "Do you need anything?"  Kevin was standing next to me, Violet was on my lap, and Mimi was sitting next to me and I said, "Nope, I am good, thanks."  And the woman smiles and says, "Yes, it looks to me like you have everyone you need with you right now."  And you know what?  She was right!      

Everyone I need!

Craft Show Swan Song

Tomorrow is a big day for me:  Craft show number three!!!!  It will be held at Chippewa Valley High School from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow.  The high school is located on 19 Mile Road in Clinton Township, east of Garfield.  My first show was Candy Cane Lane Craft Show in Berkley.  I considered it a success.  My second craft show, in Troy was an abysmal disappointment.  Basically, I have come to this conclusion about craft shows:

1. I am picking the wrong craft shows.
2. Craft shows may not be a good fit for my perceived demographic.
3. Craft shows are a lot of work.
4. Tomorrow may very well be my last craft show.

I signed up for tomorrow's craft show a couple months ago.  I don't want to back out - I never really know what might happen.  Plus, I have some hopes for success but I am not setting any goals.  What is the point?  Without goals I can't disappoint myself.  But, why do I have hopes for this show?  What makes this one different?  Who knows really. But, this is what is currently going through my mind:

1992 - My senior picture!

1. I am a CVHS grad.  It is not like I have never been humiliated on the grounds of Chippewa Valley High School.  Tomorrow can't be any worse than any other day I spent in school.
2. I am a CVHS grad.  I might see people I know.  This is terrifying and exciting because I have not stepped foot in my old high school since my brother graduated in 1996.
3. The craft show is organized by the Band Boosters.  The Band Boosters organize two craft shows a year.  According to all information I can find on this show, it has been growing and they are expecting a large turnout. 
4. The Band Boosters know how to bring people in are good at fundraising.  The band needs uniforms and they take trips, go to festivals, etc.  Maybe people will come tomorrow.
5. If this does go well.  IF this does go well, I will sign up for their fall craft show.  
6. If tomorrow does not go well, no more craft shows.  I will stick with Etsy as I just recently sold six pillows.  
7. I need to pick up something to pack for lunch.  Pickings are slim in my pantry right now.  
8. I need to pack up some pillows.  

Anyway, I have not put an ounce of pressure on myself.  I am going to have fun.  Maybe I will sell enough pillows to cover the cost of the exterminator who came to my house to free us of a honey bee colony this week.  I will be happy if I sell enough pillows and I can personally take my family out to dinner after the show.  If you are looking for something to do tomorrow or if you are in need of a throw pillow, come on out to Chippewa Valley High School tomorrow.  I actually lied, I do have one goal for tomorrow:  Not to fall down as an adult at Chippewa Valley High School!

Twenty years later...me!  

    

Pillowcases Dresses: Sew Simple!

Looking at patterns and reading directions is somewhat of a daunting task when it comes to sewing.  The diagrams and lines on a pattern can be really confusing to me.  Even the language boggles my mind.  Selvage, anyone?  Ugh!  Therefore, after opening the envelope and glancing at the directions on how to make a pillowcase dress, I simply dismissed the project until my parents returned from their month long adventure in Florida.

Last week, my mom and I decided to give the pillowcase dresses a shot.  My mom came over two times to work on the dresses and when she returned home, she continued sewing two more dresses for Mimi and Vi.  Only my mom was busy combining two dress patterns, sewing in a lining, a contrast band on Mimi's dress, and a ruffle on Vi's.  Needless to say, these dresses are fantastic and the girls look super cute in them!  But back to the pillowcase dresses.  The girls had picked out two different fabrics:  mermaids and butterflies.  Of course, Violet changed her mind and decided butterflies are not for her and decided she must have mermaids.  Mom and I were able to cut out the material so both girls could have mermaids.  Now, I can either make two more pillowcase dresses out of butterfly material or attempt something different.

I did not take pictures while my mom and I were working on Mimi's dress and Kevin was not home to stalk us with the camera.  I made Mimi's dress with help.  Violet's dress as made completely on my own.  I am pretty proud of how they both turned out.  I do not have a picture of Violet in her dress because she and I are living in a precarious time when it comes to getting dresses.  Remember, we live in Michigan and the weather has been changeable lately.  Also, when I want Vi to try the dress on, she does not want to.  When I don't need her to try it on, she very much wants to try on the dress.  She and I are at odds when it comes to getting dressed lately.  Plus, when I finished sewing the dress, this was how I found Miss Vi:

It is hard to be three!

Anyway, here is Mimi in her mermaid pillowcase dress:

Yes, Mimi is posing for this picture.  

 After Mimi's photo shoot, this was how I found Miss Vi:

How is that even comfortable???

All in all, if you want to make a pillowcase dress, give it a try.  Mimi's dress took a about five hours with my mom.  Violet dress took about four hours since it was my second try.  Basically, you cut out a front and a back and sew the seams.  Piece of cake!!!!  

How to Take a Five Day Vacation on a $500 Budget!

I am a stay-at-home mom who has occasional part-time jobs and a burgeoning small pillow business.  Monday through Friday, my husband goes to the office.  He also travels around to interesting cities on a regular basis for work.  We have two children and live in an inner ring Detroit suburb. (How's that for throwing out urban planning terms in my blog!)  Anyway, in order for me to be a stay-at-home mom, we have to make sacrifices.  There, now you know why my hair is always a mess and I sometimes wear strange clothes.  I blame it all on the budget.  Well, I guess I may have looked a little strange even before kids, so..... Anyway, we have not flown to a sunny, sandy and tropical family vacation since Mimi was eleven months old.  Now those are good memories.

Happiness!!!!

But, as someone who loves to travel I really need to get away fairly regularly.  We spend a lot of time in the summer at my parent's vacation home in the Michigan's U.P.  Heavenly and cheap!!!!  However, you sometimes need to get out of your home state.  We visit Chicago about two to three times a year to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and niece.  About once a year, Kevin and I cash in frequent flier miles and we meet up in a city where he is attending a conference.  Most importantly, we try to take our little girls on some super cool vacations while clinging to our budget.

Basics on how to go away for five days on $500

1.  Find hotel deals that offers buy one night, get one night free.  Sometimes you have to go off season.  There are advantages to travelling off season such as fewer people.  Check out lodges at state parks - cheap rates off season and affordable rates in season

2.  Camp - although I would like to do this, I need to work at getting my family on board.

3.  Get a credit card that awards you with points for travel.  Be it one that gives you frequent flier miles or one that gives free hotel nights.  We have a Marriott card and we have reaped more benefits that I could have ever imagined.  It helps that Kevin travels a lot of work.  He puts all of his work related travel expenses on this card.  It is paid off every month with his reimbursement checks and we get oodles of free hotel nights.

4.  Find a hotel with free breakfast and a mini fridge in the room.  Bring some of your own snacks, fruit, or breakfast if not included in the hotel.  If you are really cutting costs then bring bread, peanut butter, etc. for picnic lunches.

5.  Buy a fuel efficient car if you will be driving long distances regularly.  All four of us travel comfortably in my Scion xD.  It is actually shocks me every single time we load up my car that we can do it.  

6.  Take advantage of AAA discounts.

How we went on vacation to Louisville, Kentucky for $500


When planning our trip, we knew we wanted to go somewhere warmer than Michigan but within about a six hour drive.  We also needed to stay at a Marriott since we had oodles of points to cash in on. We have all been to Louisville before on day trips but thought it might be fun spend a few days.  We stayed at the Spring Hill Suites by Marriott in Hurstbourne for four nights, five days for free.  We had a suite, access to the swimming pool, workout room, and free breakfast.  Lodging is really the biggest cost of travelling and we had that covered.  Kevin's birthday was also just a couple days before we left.  He signed up to be on e-mail lists for restaurants and he earned a couple free birthday dinners which were redeemed in Louisville.  Now, here is how we spent our fun money:

Day One

$6 on breakfast bagels from Einstein - it is much easier to eat on the road.
$17 for lunch at McDonalds - when did the Ronald start charging so much for happy meals?
$33 for gas
$14 for admission to Locust Grove.  This is an historic home where George Roger Clark lived.  http://www.locustgrove.org/
$30 for dinner at Ruby Tuesday (Kevin ate for free.)

Total $110

Locust Grove

My offspring

Violet was sick and tired of being on the tour of Locust Grove!

Day Two


$22 lunch at Subway - seriously pricey subs
$14 admission to the Yew Dell Botanical Gardens - run, don't walk to this place as it is seriously lovely.  http://www.yewdellgardens.org/
$34 dinner at Mimi's Cafe (Kevin ate for free)
We also went to Tom Sawyer State Park that day for free!

Total $70

Beautiful barn at the gardens - great place for an event.

Love these flowers.

Castle on the grounds - used to be a pool house.

Uh - that's me!

Day Three


$17 for lunch at Panera
$30 for Admission to Pleasant Hill Shaker Village http://www.shakervillageky.org/
$4 for bottles of water because we forgot ours in the hotel room
$28 for gas
$5 for a flashlight
$14 for pizza
$22 for my ghost tour of Waverly Hills http://www.therealwaverlyhills.com/
$4 for two small milkshakes

Total $124

Kids can dress up like a Shaker.

The yarn there was awesome!
Made me wish I had talent when it comes to knitting.

Shaker farm.

Me at Waverly Hills - I like ghost stories a lot!

Day Four


$20 admission to the Louisville Zoo - we have a reciprocal membership thanks to the Detroit Zoo so we paid 50%  to get in.  http://www.louisvillezoo.org/
$17 for lunch at Jason's Deli.
$40 for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory (I am estimating because I don't remember for sure and Kevin is in Vegas earning us some Marriott rewards.)

Total $77

Baby polar bear - Mimi took this photo

Louisville has elephants - this was real treat because Detroit no longer has elephants.

Happy girls!

Day Five 


$33 for Easter lunch at a pizza place somewhere in rural Kentucky - what a rip off.
$50 for gas - I think we filed up twice
We got back to Michigan in time for me to make pasta for dinner.

Total $88

Easter morning family picture before church!

Grand Total of the Trip $469.00 - give or take $25 in case I forgot to write something in the log.


There it is!  A vacation on $500.  This is not the first time we have planned a vacation on $500.  We try to take two of these types of trips a year.  We do not sacrifice fun or comfort.  The girls are happy, we are happy.  It is a challenge but it is also kind of like a game.  Can we do it?  Sure we can!  Give it a try and happy travelling.


Oh, and in case you need more reasons to travel, check out the last two photos.

You never know who you might kiss on vacation....

....or who will kiss you!

Buddy Pillows for Kids With Chronic Illness: Parents, I Need Your Input!

I am pretty lucky that I can honestly say that my friends have some of the cutest kids around.  I mean that seriously and with my whole heart - I love these little people.  I have made some pillows for my friends kids.  Some pillows were made for free as thank you gifts, some were paid custom orders.  But, I enjoyed these projects so much since the pillows were going to people I care about.

Back in December, an old high school and college friend asked me to be a Santa's Helper and make a few pillows.  How could I say no?  We worked together to pick fabrics and we ended up with a set of Dora and kitty cat pillows.

Dora for a "little girl."

Kitty cats for a "big girl."

Fortunately, when Christmas morning arrived and both girls received their pillows, they were happy girls.  I in turn was a happy seamstress.  I know that as time has gone on, the pillows are still in use and the girls are still enjoying them.  That makes me happy.  However, there is more to this story than just decorative throw pillows.  The kitty cat pillow has become much more.  This is where I need some help and input.

The "big girl" that received the kitty cat pillow suffers from a pretty horrible case of asthma.  It is scary and dangerous for the poor kid.  It is also pretty stressful and worrisome for her family.  And from what I understand, her own cat plays a role in her asthma - he doesn't make it worse but he often knows when an attack is coming.  Late night trips to the doctor/ER (any trip to the doctor) and breathing treatments are no fun.  But, for some reason, the kitty cat pillow has become her buddy and she swears the pillow helps her with her asthma.  It gives her comfort and something she can hold onto when she is sick.  This started a conversation between my friend and I - how about marketing pillows from kids who are sick a lot.  Asthma buddies?  But then again, kids have diabetes, cancer, all kinds of unpleasant stuff.  The kitty cat pillow I made is a 16 x 16 pillow.  But maybe the pillow should be smaller, rectangular.  Easy and comforting to hold but also small enough to fit in a backpack to transport back and forth from doctors and hospital visits.  These pillows could be made in bright, soft, and fun fabrics.  I would make them at covers (just need to find the right insert size) so they can be easily washed.

Now, this is where you come in.  I know a decent number of people read this blog.  I know a lot of you either have kids or know kids who might benefit from something like this  So give me your input.  Anything!  Let me know what you think of size, design, or any ideas you might have for this project.  Leave a comment on here, Facebook, or even message me privately.  I really want to know what YOU think.