Earth Day pillows and a conversation

So I saw these pillows ages ago on Land Of Nod and didn’t actually end up buying them before they sold out but I totally wish I did.  But they looked pretty simple to try and re-create and I always thought it might be fun to make something with a world map on it, so last night, on Earth Day eve, I decided to become an epic crafter.

Of course mine was done in sparkly gold and I took some liberty with the design.  (Like some countries might actually be a little missing and the bodies of water might be wider where I thought it might look better that way.  Small things, really, right?)  Now, a lot of people talk about using freezer paper to make stencils and that is a really good idea because it doesn’t disintegrate when you paint over them like regular paper does.  But I was just making a one time stencil so I printed out a world map and cut it into a stencil.  And the stencil became totally mushy, but it lasted long enough to get the job done.

I taped it onto a blue pillow I bought at Ikea ages ago.   In some ways this might have been a more earth-friendly option than buying the other pillows online due to saving packaging plastic and cardboard.  And if I don’t like this pillow in a few months, I can always re-purpose it by giving it a new cover.  The paint was also left-over from another project so I’m pretty proud of myself for not rushing out to buy anything specific for this craft last night.

I liked how the map turned out but I thought it needed something more.  And then it hit me.  (Thank you Earth Day epiphany!) You have the whole world in your hands, kid.  Right now the idea of handing over any kind of decision making power to a 4-year old just sounds crazy but one day this guy and his brother are going to grow up and then it’s totally up to them and all their little friends as to decide what’s going to happen on our planet.  How are they going to help it out? Are they going to be kind and resourceful citizens?   Are they going to care about how their actions affect others as they grow?  And right now, how can I guide them as a mother to see how huge an impact they can make over time?

We started earth day with a painted pillow and some words and talked about how we could take care of the little things that we know about.   I hope over time this grows into a beautiful conversation but maybe it’s the small starting steps that are the most important.

(PS. Then we walked to school.)

PPS. While walking they reminded me that I had forgotten Hawaii on my map.  And maybe there’s a little glimmer of hope for the world right there.)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)