When a spider leads to a pumpkin

Inspiration is a funny thing. It begins as a spark and catches quick if you let it (kind of like a certain flu you may have heard is going around.) In the case of inspiration, it's a good thing (the other, not so much.) I 'll admit that when I'm asked to help with 5th grade math I don't jump quite as fast as when my 7-year-old son (or any child for that matter) comes to me asking for help with a craft idea. Brendan thought the spider pincushion I made earlier this week was pretty cool. He told me he had another idea for a pumpkin pincushion and wondered if I could help him make it. Let me tell you, when my sports driven-nintendo playing-legoite-son asks to make a pin cushion you had better believe it gets my attention.

We quickly gathered our supplies which consisted of orange fabric, orange thread, a bottle cap, fiberfill, black felt and a green chenille pipe cleaner. Then using the exact same technique as with the spider body, I guided him in the making of his one-of-a-kind creation. After Brendan had the pumpkin all sewn up, he cut the eyes and a mouth out of the black felt and attached with liquid stitch. Then, he cut a bit of the chenille pipe cleaner for a stem and inserted it in the top of the pumpkin. Finally, Brendan added a few pins to top off his completed pincushion. He was so proud he even brought it to school to show the class.

While this cute pumpkin is smile-inducing on its own, it's the fact that it was created from a tiny spark of inspiration by a 7-year-old boy that makes me smile the most.