Do You Remember Your Little Red Riding Hood Visits to Loving Grandma?

certainly do! Spending the weekends with my Grandma Laura Elena was the best treat I could ever imagine. Unfortunately, she went to heaven when I was six. Colon cancer was her Big Bad Wolf. I wished I could have been the huntsman, able to pry out the malignant tumor that ate her inside painfully slowly. Not even my aunt Elenita, the surgeon, had special fingers or magical suture thread for a miracle. And so, my dear Grandma went to heaven and has been watching over me ever since.

Saying that my grandmother and I had a unique connection is an understatement. My grandmother, Laura Elena, was also my godmother. Mom told me that between me and my twin sister, Claudia, she had chosen me as her goddaughter. I’m not sure what special quality she saw in me. All I know is that I have always felt privileged by her choice. Regardless of the limited time she was with us, my memories of our moments together have a special place in my heart. And my visits to Grandma Laura Elena were certainly unforgettable.

Just like I envisioned Little Red Cap preparing her basket of treats for her travels through the Enchanted Forest, my twin sister Claudia and I paid close attention to our packing. Warm pajamas, a couple of changing outfits, colored pencils, a handful of books, and toiletries. As you can see, the list did not include cupcakes or cookies. This is because part of the adventure was baking treats with Grandma. Our enchanted forest was the bustling streets of Caracas, which we traversed in Grandma’s black Lincoln Continental. Unlike Little Red Riding Hood, we weren’t distracted by fields of pretty flowers and songbirds singing in the forest. Our distractions came from the newsstand near Grandma’s house, which sold fresh flowers, magazines, and candy. Our distractions were the honking horns of the city and the anticipation of what was to come.

Grandma’s kitchen was a magical place where sounds of whisks against enamel bowls, the tick-tock of the clock, and the insatiable laughter that inundated the air magically melded with the intoxicating perfumes of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and fresh baked goods. As I close my eyes today, I imagine Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother’s hearth blazing fire as the house fills with the delicious smell of cooked sausages, onions, and collard green stew. Then, I realized that despite the differences between the savory and sweet aromas, the essence of the scents is the same: love.

Our visits to Grandma were filled with coloring, reading, and sewing lessons. Sitting on her rocking chair, with each of us on her lap, she read to us. One of our favorite stories was Little Red Riding Hood. Not necessarily because of the story per se but because of her acting. We couldn’t wait until her hands would tickle our tummies when she read aloud the sentence, “The better to eat you with!” We rarely got to the end of the story, as we would clamor for a reprise in between laughs while tears ran down our cheeks. Grandma would repeatedly reread the passages about the big ears, eyes, hands, and terrible big mouth, stopping only when our bellies would start to hurt from so much laughter.
And so, our lazy afternoons at grandma’s home were filled with endless activities, each with its magical memory. All these countless memories deserve their ornament to immortalize them. But for now, this Little Red Riding Hood ornament celebrates those magical visits to Grandma, where my twin sister and I let our imagination soar enveloped by Grandma’s love.

How Little Red Riding Hood Ornament Was Designed from Repurposed Materials

Whether you prefer the more uplifting Grimm Brothers’ version of this tale or Charles Perrault’s darker version, there are no differences in their protagonist. Two unique elements make Little Red Riding Hood recognizable. The first and the most obvious one is her little red cap. The Grimm brothers described it as a “little red cap of velvet.” Velvet is a luxurious fabric that frays easily when not hemmed. Given the small size of these ornaments, hemming velvet is quite impossible. So, I chose red felt, which gave the hood a thick and warm feeling. The felt came from remnants I had left over from a Christmas tree skirt I made for the first Christmas my husband, and I were together. I tied her red hood with red ribbons under her chin. For her hair, I used light brown yarn I had found at a garage sale. Her light brown hair peeks playfully from under her little red cap.

The second element that makes Little Red Riding Hood distinguishable is her basket. Making a miniature basket presented a problem, given its diminutive size. Sorting through my collected materials, I found a bag of wooden beads painted with cross-hatched designs. I immediately knew these beads would make perfect tiny baskets so Little Red Riding Hood could bring cake and wine to her ill grandmother. To make the basket, I cut off a thin slice at one end of the bead. This flattened end became the bottom of the basket. Next, I drilled tiny holes on both sides of the bead. Then, I threaded miniature wooden beads from a necklace onto a thin wire. The threaded beads became the basket handle. With a larger drill bit, I enlarged the bead’s main hole to make room for a doily. I made the doily from a white ribbon. Finally, I cut circles of brown paper to cover the bottom of the basket.

Fairy tales usually leave out detailed descriptions. They leave it up to our imagination to fill in the blanks. As I imagined Little Red Riding Hood frolicking around the enchanted forest, I envisioned her wearing a bright-colored skirt. For her dress, I used lime green and periwinkle ribbons. I adorned the skirt with lace to represent her petticoat. And that is how my Little Red Riding Hood stick puppet came to be.

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