Did you know it's okay to talk about baby poop, but not menstruation? Since the day the school nurse took us girls behind a curtained stage, I have resented the secrecy and shame that surrounds the period. Through the therapeutic powers of craft, I have learned to defiantly (and jokingly) exorcise the negativity.
Let them bleed cake! Menstrual Celebration Cake
So many insignificant occurrences are celebrated, yet the bigger events aren’t. Secretary’s Day, for example, has its own lunch special. But what of the special day that secretary got her first period as a young girl?
Hallmark doesn’t have a card for that.
Our collective mouths are plugged with tampons of societal guilt. So many stories related to menstruation are both horrific and mortifying. The recurring themes of shame and embarrassment are heartbreaking. These menarche mishaps are suffered in silence and surrounded by secrecy because society deems menstruation a taboo subject.
Our collective mouths are plugged with tampons of societal guilt. So many stories related to menstruation are both horrific and mortifying. The recurring themes of shame and embarrassment are heartbreaking. These menarche mishaps are suffered in silence and surrounded by secrecy because society deems menstruation a taboo subject.
We need to learn to laugh about it and open the lines of communication so that another young woman doesn’t have to be scarred by the humiliation of something so natural and normal and exciting.
A young girl’s entry into womanhood is a big deal that deserves to be celebrated. It’s a powerful thing that signifies womanhood, reproduction and the stuff of life.
So let them eat cake. This fun craft project is a multi-tiered fake cake constructed from tampons and pads. And chocolate. It’s a parody on diaper cakes because we live in a society where we can openly embrace the idea of baby poop, but not menstruation.
Working on this project should help to desensitize the issue, and even poke fun and inject much-needed humor. It’s time to talk openly and not liken menstruation to disease. It takes away its negative power over us and replaces it with positive ownership.
A young girl’s entry into womanhood is a big deal that deserves to be celebrated. It’s a powerful thing that signifies womanhood, reproduction and the stuff of life.
So let them eat cake. This fun craft project is a multi-tiered fake cake constructed from tampons and pads. And chocolate. It’s a parody on diaper cakes because we live in a society where we can openly embrace the idea of baby poop, but not menstruation.
Working on this project should help to desensitize the issue, and even poke fun and inject much-needed humor. It’s time to talk openly and not liken menstruation to disease. It takes away its negative power over us and replaces it with positive ownership.
Supplies
- approximately 18 overnight maxi pads, individually wrapped in plastic
- approximately 12 regular pads, individually wrapped in plastic
- approximately 11 pantie liners, individually wrapped in elastic
- approximately 8 tampons
- scissors
- scotch tape
- at least 4 standard-sized rubber bands
- a package of small, clear rubber bands
- thick, red ribbon
- round piece of cardboard for the base (an old album cover works well)
- small chocolates
- 16-oz. bottle of water
- black marker
- bag of red strips of paper
Assemblage
Place the bottle of water at the center of the cardboard base.
Roll up each pad like a little Barbie-sized sleeping bags and secure each roll with a small rubber band. A small piece of tape on each one will help maintain a tight roll.
Roll up each pad like a little Barbie-sized sleeping bags and secure each roll with a small rubber band. A small piece of tape on each one will help maintain a tight roll.
Use a regular rubber band to surround the bottle with a layer of the largest pads. Use another rubber band to add a second layer of sanitary napkins to form the base of the cake.
Create a second tier around the water bottle with a single layer of regular-sized pads.
Use a single layer of pantie liners to create a third tier.
Use a single layer of pantie liners to create a third tier.
Top with tampons, creating a fourth tampon tier.
Decorating
Start by decorating each layer with a ribbon thick enough to cover the rubber bands.
Measure out the ribbon to wrap around each layer, then cut. Using a black marker, write different slang words for menstruation on the ribbon. Fasten ribbon to cake layer with tape or simply tie a bow in the back.
Place small chocolates inside the center of each rolled up pad.
Add crimped paper strips to the top so that it resembles blood gushing off of the top of the cake. Nestle Hershey’s kisses to the top of the first tier.
other ideas:
Create a smaller, one-tiered version to commemorate a happy ending to a pregnancy scare.
Decorating
Start by decorating each layer with a ribbon thick enough to cover the rubber bands.
Measure out the ribbon to wrap around each layer, then cut. Using a black marker, write different slang words for menstruation on the ribbon. Fasten ribbon to cake layer with tape or simply tie a bow in the back.
Place small chocolates inside the center of each rolled up pad.
Add crimped paper strips to the top so that it resembles blood gushing off of the top of the cake. Nestle Hershey’s kisses to the top of the first tier.
other ideas:
Create a smaller, one-tiered version to commemorate a happy ending to a pregnancy scare.
In this dystopian society, even adults need security blankets...
Waterproof blanket for an uncertain future
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy, Douglas Adams asserts that a towel is the must-have item a traveller should always keep on hand while traipsing through space.
In Adams’ universe, where the least probable scenario is the most likely outcome, it becomes necessary to prepare for the most improbable future by arming oneself with the least probable armor. The single best go-to object, therefore, is a towel. As Adams writes, “any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with."
If one can wax poetic about a towel, imagine what could be said of a blanket. Blankets are, after all, the cornerstone of civilization. Without them, it would be necessary to sleep in padded pajamas to avoid sleep-othermia. In addition to keeping us warm, blankets are an architectural wonder unparalleled by any other building material known to man in the construction of forts. Still, the blanket’s biggest contribution to humankind is its ability to help hide and protect us from closet monsters.
Of course, there are more likely scenarios that would require the aid of a blanket. You never know when you’ll have to spend the night in your car during a blizzard or be called upon to perform an impression of Count Dracula. Also, life is dotted with the occasional picnic, outdoor music festival, and the ever-impending threat of a rogue comet and/or nuclear winter.
Of course, there are more likely scenarios that would require the aid of a blanket. You never know when you’ll have to spend the night in your car during a blizzard or be called upon to perform an impression of Count Dracula. Also, life is dotted with the occasional picnic, outdoor music festival, and the ever-impending threat of a rogue comet and/or nuclear winter.
The blanket also possesses the potential for less conventional uses. For example, you may find yourself having to use it to barter for food and water after a zombie apocalypse. A blanket could earn a delicious half-chicken on a particularly beneficial post-apocalyptic barter, whereas a towel might only yield two slices of bread and a half-bottle of lukewarm water of questionable purity.
Given the plethora of different scenarios the future holds, it is therefore recommended that you create a blanket with many different scenarios in mind. It’s almost like creating your own insurance plan, planning for future blanket scenarios, both fortuitous and disastrous. The proper approach to life is to plan for both future picnics and apocalypses alike. Because life is unpredictable.
Given the plethora of different scenarios the future holds, it is therefore recommended that you create a blanket with many different scenarios in mind. It’s almost like creating your own insurance plan, planning for future blanket scenarios, both fortuitous and disastrous. The proper approach to life is to plan for both future picnics and apocalypses alike. Because life is unpredictable.
Materials:
3 yds thick fabric
3 yds waterproof Utilitycloth
Package of 90 square inches of batting
3 packages double-sided bias tape
Sewing machine
Scissors
Marker
Measuring tape
Pins
3 yds waterproof Utilitycloth
Package of 90 square inches of batting
3 packages double-sided bias tape
Sewing machine
Scissors
Marker
Measuring tape
Pins
Directions:
1. Cut 90” by 90” square of fabric (this will be between 2 and 3 yards).
2. Lay the utility cloth on a flat surface, wrong side up. Place the batting on top of the utility cloth. Next, layer the fabric cloth on top, right side up.
3. Pin the three layers together, then pin the double-biased tape around all four edges of the blanket.
4. Sew a ¼-inch seam onto the inner edge of the bias tape.
Now you’re better prepared for anything the future brings.
2. Lay the utility cloth on a flat surface, wrong side up. Place the batting on top of the utility cloth. Next, layer the fabric cloth on top, right side up.
3. Pin the three layers together, then pin the double-biased tape around all four edges of the blanket.
4. Sew a ¼-inch seam onto the inner edge of the bias tape.
Now you’re better prepared for anything the future brings.
No comments:
Post a Comment