Paper Flowers: A Lesson from my Nana

Three days before I went home to Arizona for Christmas, my Nana died.

One of my favorite memories of her was during the time of my 15th birthday.

I had the privilege to celebrate my fifteenth year with a Quincenera.

This is a big celebration in the life a young Latina girl, and its a big deal.

My color theme was yellow. Its my mom's favorite color, and it was perfect for a fall September day in Southern Arizona.

I don't remember the details, but I do remember my Nana coming to the house with tissue paper and white chenille stems (aka - pipe cleaners.)

I remember sitting at our large dining room table and putting our hands to work.

We made a plethora of paper flowers that day, her and I.

I've been making these flowers ever since.

Twenty-three years later the tradition continues...

Grab some supplies and join me around my big (cyber) table...there's plenty of room here...

How to make a Tissue Paper Flowers

Supplies needed:
Tissue paper
Pipe Cleaner (or if you are completely out of pipe cleaners, steal a twisty-tie from the loaf of bread in an act of desperation.)
Scissors
Tape (to affix to present, optional)
Directions:

Take several pieces of tissues paper, and stack them on top of each other. It doesn't matter what size...bigger for large flowers, small for petite flowers. (I used three pieces of a large rectangle and cut them in quarters)

My flower started with a 12 layer stack.

Fold your paper accordion style, starting from the longest side.

Use your twisty-tie, or chenille stem, and place it in the middle.

Fold the sides up toward the middle just a bit.

If you like, you can cut the edges to give your flower a little more personality.

I did a little wave, which will make my flower look a little peony-esque.

Carefully start to pull the tissue, sheet by sheet, toward the middle. Gently twisting and folding paper into place.

Soon it will look like this...

Stick some tape onto the bottom and stick it to a present, or ti anything you want to add some happiness too.

Below is a picture of my Nana, who was probably not much older than I was when she taught me to make these flowers.

For these things, I will always be grateful.

Veggie Straw Monster

I'll admit it... At first I was skeptical.

I had seen these Sensible Portion Veggie Straws, and assumed they were a fad-snack meant to make vegetables palatable for those who don't like them.

Today I do believe I could be classified as an official Veggie Straw Monster, made worse by the finding of a companion snack of the sweet kind.

Last summer, while having snacks at the pool, my friend Elisa, whipped out a bag of Veggie Straws and offered me some.

I had seen these before, but thought they were some kind of foodie trend. I mean, I actually like veggies, but come on, Veggie Straws? The name just turned me off.

However, being of the snack-y kind, (and not wanting to be rude), I did what any good eater would do: I tried them anyway. 

And was immediately hooked.

As a matter of fact, I kept reaching for more, and soon had to remove myself from the picnic bench for fear of embarrassing myself. After-all, my kids were off swimming so I couldn't even blame the near-empty bag on them.

I've pretty much kept a bag in my cupboard ever since.

Don't get me wrong. I know this is a snack food, not meant to be eaten as a vegetable replacement. I highly doubt they would even count as a veggie serving, but they're tasty...very tasty.

Its a sickness, my enjoyment of the Veggie Straws...they are light and crunchy, and potato-y...its like eating lightly salted air. It's replaced microwave popcorn, because you don't have to wait 3.5 minutes for it to cook.

But now, its ten-times worse.

Two days ago I was in my favorite buy-in-bulk-warehouse store and I spotted a new product by the makers of Veggie Straws: Apple Straws.

Seriously, its like eating a crunchy, lightly-sweet apple pie, but without all that unpalatable cooked fruit.

Sensible portions? I don't think so.

Don't let that modest handful of veggie straw trick you in the picture above (for heaven's sake, look at the size of that sandwich.) I ate one or fifty before the camera starting rolling.

So tell me...what is your favorite snack these days?