Crafting for Kids

In most instances 'crafting' in my world has been for the amusement of adults, but on rare occasions crafting can actually be for kids. I made these little guys for baby Nathan to celebrate his very first birthday. 

They are finger puppets that resemble the characters from Oliver Jeffers wonderful book The Way Back Home. I don't know a lot about children, but the moms I know claim I have great taste in children's books;  Oliver Jeffers is one of my favourite authors.The puppets were inspired by a recent etsy find -  Hello Clementine's and her beautiful finger puppet designs. They were a lot of fun to make, and I especially enjoyed attempting embroidery on their little faces.  

It's a Craft-in! Crafting with other People

Crafting with other people (COP) can be a wonderful way to spend your time. It's a great way to bring the people you love together, and allows them to leave your home with more than just the feeling of overstaying their welcome.

Rules for a Successful Craft-in:

• Be a good host - prepare something tasty for people to eat and drink. If this is in January make sure there are some healthy options, as some of your friends will likely be on diets, or off gluten, or only eating lemons or whatever. By having these things available they will feel less guilty when later in the evening they start to wander over to the cheese plate.

• Have a craft for people to do and the supplies for them to do it. This is especially important for the 'nervous' or 'tentative' crafter. This is the friend that always loves what you make, but finishes every praise of your work, with "I could never do that." Don't be discouraged, these are great people for crafting parties, but make sure the activity you have planned is staged for success. This will build their confidence, and ensure they will want to attend the next gathering.

• Don't boss people around. if they want to make your project - that's great - but give them the option to bring their own projects. Crafting should be an ego-less practice, and you must consider the possibility that your crafting idea is not necessarily the best craft project, and that you may not be the most talented crafter in the room. This is something I will be working on in 2012.

• Make it a week night. This is especially true for hesitant crafters and for single friends, the last thing you want is for someone to get a sweeter offer on a Friday night and have to cancel last minute. For example, a single friend get's asked out on a dinner date and then they have to make the tough choice between, sitting with a bunch of ladies adding glitter to projects, or the possibility of coitous. Coitous for the single friend will always win. Also a craft-in can bring up images of a sad spinster future for some people, so don't be angry with your single friends if they would rather go out than craft-in. 

This post was inspired by Amy Sedaris' hilarious book Simple Times Crafts for Poor People. I highly recommed it!

Oh gee....it's a Christmas Tree!

 Despite a lack of posting, there has been a flurry of crafting activity in my house for the last few weeks! My mom reminded me that some of these things were quite seasonal so I better got on it and share them - this little guy is one of my favourites.

 Earlier in the year, my dear friend Krista pointed out all of the lovely paper crafts - made from old books and sheet music that seemed to be popping up in stores across town - and we figured we should give this type of craft a try. This was surprisingly easy to create, and with the basic form you could make any number of decorations.

How to:

• Find an old book with some decent quality paper - but one you don't mind chopping up - I got an old music book at the used book store.
• Cut about 9 strips of paper (about 1inch wide)
• Staple the 9 stacked strips in the middle
• Fold a strip and glue close to the staple repeat until you have a nice little pin wheel. 

I made progressively smaller pinwheels stacked them, and glued them...see easy peasy! I think an entire forest of these would be just lovely on a mantel, or just the pinwheel would make a great bow on top of a Christmas present.

My word...it's a glitter bird!

It is officially the most wonderful time of the year! In honour of this, I have started some winter crafting (read procrastination from thesis writing). One of my recent projects was a Martha Stewart special - a glitter bird centerpiece.

These little birds were really fun to decorate, and required very few supplies; 

• dollar store birds (they are the kind used for floral arranging)
• clear glue
• glitter that will be picked up by socks for the rest of the season 
• a paint brush 
• and two 'borrowed' branches from the yard trimmings of a neighbour. 

Dear Deer II

Dear Deer, 

Thanks for showing Mr.Rabbit around the place. You two seem to be getting along well, and I am sure you will have lots of laughs together.

I was very glad to see you two finished your Halloween costumes - considering you both left it to the last minute - I think they turned out nicely.

Have fun tonight, but be cautious with zombies.
They can be quite nasty.

Courtnay

Tea Time got Fancy

Here is a little something that I made recently for my sister's bridal shower. They were given out as favours to the guests along with some yummy cookies made by the bridesmaids. The inspiration for these little guys came from the charming Bridal Shower Tea Favours  on the website of the 'Goddess of Crafting' herself -  Ms.Martha Stewart. To make - I removed the teabags original tags and replaced them with a heart punch with the bride and grooms initials, then added a little flair to the mini brown bags in the colours of the wedding. 

Sewing with Katie

My friend Katie gives the best gifts, and many of them are what she has termed 'experiential'. These gifts are often tickets to a music or art show, and always something you would never take the time to buy for yourself - as mentioned the best gifts. Last night was no exception, Katie gave me the gift of Sewing 101 at the lovely Spool of Thread. This gift really knocked it out of the park, not only was it a crafty experience, but it also built on our mutual interest of improving our 'life skills'.

Confession Time - I do not know how to use a sewing machine. The only experience I have had with a sewing machine is a two week stint in junior high were I ended up paying $10 to a girl brimming with 'life skills' to turn my cowboy boot patterned fabric into a pair of radical shorts. Sew:), I was a little nervous about sewing 101, but as it turned out there was nothing to fear - our fun and patient instructor Lili encouraged us each step of the way.

In the end Katie and I conquered our sewing machine fears and walked away with a huge sense of accomplishment, two handsome throw pillows each, and crafty plans for future projects. I urge anyone who likes buying beautiful and unique fabric from friendly and helpful people to check out Spool of Thread. You are in for a real treat!