Friday, June 24, 2011

Ten-minute no-sew recycled t-shirt bag!

Here is a very cool craft.   Cool because it's simple, makes use of something everyone has hanging the house, AND the end product is a very useful item.  Kids will love to make their own special T-Shirt Bag.  And I'm thinking this might even be a fun actvitiy for a moms' night out.  I can't wait to suggest it.

Lee Meredith at leethal.net has a great tutorial that will walk you through making your own bags.  Here are my first attempts at making my own cool t-shirt bags:






I can't wait to make some more!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

UNSINKABLE by Abby Sunderland and Lynn Vincent



Unsinkable is a story co-authored by Abby Sunderland and Lynn Vincent about Abby's attempt to be the youngest female to sail solo around the world.  The attempt failed, but success was measured in other ways.

Unsinkable gives the reader an inside glimpse into the Sunderland family starting with the earliest days when the family (which included the four oldest Sunderland children) sailed for three years in and out of exotic places - living and learning about worlds few of us even have the opportunity to read about. This background, as well as Lawrence Sunderland's background as a seasoned sailor and shipwright, is essential to understanding how and why setting a goal of doing a solo sail around the world would even occur to his16 year-old daughter.

I will admit, this land-lover had a hard time comprehending how any modern 16 year-old could be capable (physically, mentally and emotionally) of making such goal a reality, but before I was half-way through the book I began to understand that this was no average 16 year-old - no average modern-day girl, for that matter. And the Sunderlands are no average family. On the other hand, I have a feeling they are very comfortable people and, in a sense, just every day folk that I'd enjoy getting to know.

Unsinkable is an engaging book filled with adventure and information about the sailing world as well as answers to why Lawrence and Marianne Sunderland not only allowed, but made provision for their daughter to attempt her goal of sailing solo around the world. While knowing nothing of sailing and the kind of life the Sunderlands lead, I came away from my reading of this book with an appreciation of their lifestyle, certainly; and at least a modicum of understanding how and why Abby entertained such a dream.

I wholeheartedly recommend Unsinkable to anyone who is curious about this story.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.