Craft Blog|all things crafty & creative

Toddlers love to create things with their hands.  It’s part of their personality and what makes being a toddler so much fun. These five crafts are perfect for toddlers. Try one or more so they can create artistic masterpieces.

1.  Noodle necklaces are so easy a toddler can make them.  Of course, Mom may have to color the noodles beforehand, but the results will be worth it.

• Mix together ½ cup vinegar and a few drops of food coloring for each color you would like.
• Soak various kinds of noodles in the various colors.  Allow them to dry on pieces of wax paper.
• When dry, your child can string the noodles onto pieces of yarn.  Tape one end to make stringing easier.
• Tie the ends together to close the necklace and let your child wear it with pride.

If you don’t feel like coloring the noodles, you could use colored cereal between the noodles to give it some pizzazz, or just make cereal necklaces, instead.

2.  Paper plate maracas are easy and fun for toddlers, particularly if they like to make noise, and almost all toddlers are experts at that.

• Have your child decorate the bottom of two paper plates with whatever items you feel like giving them.
• Mom, help with this step: Staple the edges of the two paper plates, insides facing together.  Leave a small opening for the beans.
• Place 5-6 dried beans or rice into the opening and then close it up.
• Put tape over the pointy side of the staples to be sure no one gets snagged on them.
• Turn on some music and let the kids join in!

3.  Let your budding artist create by making edible finger paints with sweetened condensed milk and food coloring.

• Mix together small amounts of the condensed milk with a couple of drops of food coloring.
• Give the child a sheet of paper on which to create their work of art.
• Don’t worry if they put the paint in their mouth, it’s yummy.
• Wash their hands quickly to keep the food coloring from staining their hands.

4.  Pompom caterpillars are furry friends you won’t mind finding in your toddler’s pocket.

• Get three pompoms, the same size, in varying colors.
• Glue the pompoms together in a line.
• Glue on the wiggly eyes.
• Mom, you may want to hot glue the caterpillars onto a clothes pin with a magnet and use them to show off your child’s other artwork.

5.  T-shirts with painted handprints are more than just a craft.  They are a snapshot to help you remember your child when they were little.

• Get a new t-shirt in your child’s favorite color.
• With fabric paint in a shallow bowl, allow your child to place their hands into the paint. Immediately help them put their hands on the t-shirt.
• As an alternative, they could place their thumbs or fingers in the paint and place several prints together to form a caterpillar.
• Help your child wash their hands thoroughly with soap.
• When the paint has dried, use paint markers to write the date and name on their t-shirt.  Finish off the caterpillar by drawing on a face, feet, and antennae.

Making crafts with your toddler can be a highlight of your day.  These five crafts, perfect for toddlers, may be enough to spark new creativity in your toddler, and in you.

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People enjoy crafts of all kinds.  Some take up little space; some take up a lot.  Some crafts need very few supplies, and some require enough to fill a cabinet or more.  Whatever the crafts, if there is more than one person in the family, creating the perfect craft area in your home is probably something you all only dream about.

Crafts like sewing require quite a bit of space.  You need to have a sewing machine, ironing board and iron, an easily accessible space for notions, and space to store fabric and patterns.  Dad and the kids have their own crafts.  Wouldn’t it be great to have one room where all of this could be located?

Begin by deciding which room you will turn into a craft room or if you will have to add one to your home.  If you have a room to use, measure it and draw the room to scale on graph paper.  Measure each piece of furniture that will go into the room and transfer those to the same scale size; cut out each piece so you can try different room arrangements without having to move heavy furniture.

One recommendation would be to divide the room into zones.  If someone is interested in painting, they will want to have access to direct sunlight.  Sunlight wouldn’t be so important to someone who was scrapbooking or putting together models. Create a painting zone nearest the windows.

Be sure to have plenty of overhead as well as task lighting in the room.  Each task requires lighting for close tasks as well as something more general.  Lamps that can be adjusted for specific tasks would be a good idea.  Do you have enough wall outlets or do you need to add more?

Work space will probably be a premium concern.  Someone who sews would need a place for the machine as well as space to spread out fabric when cutting out patterns.  Of course, that area could be used by someone scrapbooking, as long as they weren’t trying to do so at the same time.  The longer the flat surface, the better it would be.  If it were long enough, it might be able to accommodate two crafts at one time.

Seating would be another area to consider.  Comfortable chairs are a must, especially if you’re sitting for long periods of time.  However, you don’t want to get lounge chairs.  Something that is ergonomic and practical would be best.  You want to be comfortable while working on your craft, but not so comfortable you fall asleep.  Good quality office-style chairs will probably do nicely.

The final component is where to store everything.  How much of the supplies needed for each craft can be stored on shelves rather than in cabinets on the floor?  Peg boards, wall-mounted organizers, and multiple shelved units could store a good amount of things.  What about putting strips of metal along the walls near each work area?  These would be a handy place to hold scissors, little jars to hold beads or buttons, and more.  The options are limitless if you think about it.

Crafts are an important part of our lives.  They help us relax and give us a creative outlet.  They help us to dream.  If they’re so important to us, why is it we don’t enjoy doing them more often?  Having a great space designated just for crafts might be the answer your whole family is looking for.  Think about the benefits, and then create the perfect craft area for your home.

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Grandmas adore handmade gifts from their grandchildren, even if they don’t have a use for the gift. They know just how to fawn over present given in love.  The following are five ideas that children may like to make for Grandma this year.  (Mom, be prepared to help, just in case.)

1.  What woman doesn’t love jewelry?  Make Grandma a perler bead necklace.  Perler beads are short pieces of plastic that are specially made to fuse together when heated with an ordinary household iron.  You can buy kits at any craft store; the kits come in a variety of colors and sizes to make multiple patterns.  After you have fused the beads together in whatever shape you desire (a heart would be great), why not hot glue some ribbon, sequins, or plastic gems on to make each a one-of-a-kind gift.

2.  Potpourri pies are popular in gift stores.  Here’s how your little one can create a similar experience.  Create this pie with a disposable pie shell.  Make a bottom pie crust out of flour/salt dough.  Add a potpourri that smells like your grandmother’s favorite scent, and then create a lattice pattern out of the dough.  Cover the potpourri and allow the dough to harden overnight. To enjoy the potpourri, “bake” the pie in a warm oven.

3.  Help your child make Grandma a great pillow without having to sew.  Purchase a floral polar fleece large enough to make a pillow from and some fiberfill to stuff it.  Cut this out into two pieces in the shape of a heart, about two and a half inches larger than the finished project should be.  Mom, carefully cut a fringe about an inch apart all around the fabric. Line up the fabric wrong sides together and then double knot each fringe, leaving a few pieces untied so you can fill the pillow.  Fill the pillow and then finish filling it up, making it as fluffy as you would like.  You can leave the pillow as is or decorate with paint markers, or any way your child would like to decorate it.

4.  This is another gift that Mom will have to help make, but it could be a lot of fun for both of you.  Buy at least 8 ounces of clear glycerin (you should be able to find this at a major craft store), a soap mold, and a very small bottle of lemon essential oil (or Grandma’s favorite scent).  You will also need yellow food coloring, 6 tablespoons of corn meal, and 2 teaspoons of poppy seeds.  Melt the glycerin according to directions, then add 2 drops of food coloring and 2 drops of lemon oil.  Add the corn meal and poppy seeds and stir very well.  Pour the mixture into the mold and allow it to sit until firm.  Remove it from the mold and place into a small basket.

5.  If you really want to tug on Grandma’s heart strings, find photos with your children and Grandma in them.  Create a small memory book with the pictures in it.  Have the children write the descriptions for each one, explaining what they remember about that particular time.  Pre-made scrapbooks would be great for this, and your child could decorate it they like, as well.

Mother’s Day is a time to let mothers and grandmothers know that we love them.  Each of the above five gifts made by your children will make Grandma’s day.  Not only will she know that your child loves her, but she’ll treasure each gift that was made especially for her.

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So, I was just sitting in the office typing away at some things that I needed to do for work. I heard the mail carrier deliver the mail. I figured it was time to take a quick stretch anyway and give my eyes a break so I went and got the mail. Fortunately there was no bad news this time -lol- However, there was a new Oriental Trading Company most recent catalog all full of summery craft and party goodies!

So, yes that distracted me for a good half hour or so. But, I did get the dishes done and it took my mind off more stressful things this weekend too, so perhaps it was a mail blessing in disguise! If you get a chance browse through the book, or go onto the website and poke around. There’s some really great ideas for kids crafts. If we weren’t moving in a few weeks I’d definitely be buying some goodies for the summer. I’ve still got a few projects left from last summer that we didn’t do yet, so those will just have to hold us over until July!

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April is Autism Awareness month and I came across these wahm-made bracelets today. There are several for sale by this ebay seller starting at $2.99 opening bid, and shipping is listed at $3.00.

If you want to learn more about Autism you can check out great sites like Autism is Beautiful. There is so much about autism that goes unsaid and ignored. Being aware is the first step in a better understanding.

Technorati Tags: autism, autism awareness, april autism, autism jewelry

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If you’re name is Lucas and you’ll be turning 10 in May you would probably think that this is the coolest cake ever made. I came across it searching for something else completely, and upon further investigation it looks like it was made by Mike’s Amazing Cakes.

Now, we’re having a bowling party for Lucas, and last year with Dylan’s big “10″ party we did cupcakes since it was easy and we had a small crowd. So I’ll probably go the cupcake route again this year. Now if only I could figure out how to turn cupcakes into legos and make a wicked cool display for the table ….

Speaking of cupcakes. I am in love with these silicone cupcake cups. They’re fun and colorful, and useful for more than just cupcakes. I use them in the kids lunch boxes and for snack cups and sides. I can fill one up with goldfish crackers for each kid if we’re having soup, or if they want a handful of crackers while they’re doing their homework. Easy to clean, and no fighting over the big bowl in the middle of the table. Anything that reduces fighting is gooooood. Okay … that was a little random, I think I need a nap.

MIU 24-pc. Cupcake Liners, Multi
Price: $14.95
These silicone mini cupcake liners are reusable and great for making muffins, cupcakes and caramels. Each set comes in 4-Red, 4-Orange, 4-Yellow, 4-Green, 4-Light blue and 4-Royal blue. Heat resistant up to 650 degrees Fahrenheit, the food grade silicone is FDA approved and will not retain the taste, color or odor of food. These are dishwasher safe on the top shelf.

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I love the Jo-Ann.com after Christmas Sale!! Lots of good deals to be had here. All Christmas designs are marked down 40 to 50 % off! That’s a huge savings and you can get some fun projects to work on for next year, or the year after, or you know maybe even a few years from now. Like a tree skirt, or a stocking, or a tablecloth! I have been seriously considering making stockings for the boys, ones that they can take with them when they are all grown up and moving away from home. So, check out Jo-Ann.com and see what sparks your creative side and gets you motivated. Enjoy the great prices.

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You all already know that one of my favorite ways to finish a small cross stitch piece is into a pillow. They are easy to make, don’t require extensive sewing and finishing skills and you can put them pretty much anywhere in your house. The bedroom, the dining room chairs, the living room, the office, you can even put them on the bookshelf if you want to.

I came across this new site piloh.com that has a nice selection of insert pillow forms. Who wants to mess with a bag full of stuffing? Certainly not me. I hardly ever have time to sew so I almost always use pillow forms to make things go faster. You can even get a fluffy feather pillow form, but I won’t be using that option because I’m allergic to feathers. One touch of a feather pillow insert and I’ll be covered in hives in a matter of minutes. We use hypoallergenic fiber pillows, ah fluffy nothingness.

If you do decide to use a bag full of stuffing remember to use a layer of interfacing to keep the fluff from poking out the holes in your aida or evenweave. And have some fun with the embellishments! Add colorful buttons, ribbon, pipping and ruffles. Make it your own and have fun with it.

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I’ve only ever made one gingerbread house and I admit that I cheated and bought one of those little holiday kits at the craft shop. It was easy enough to make one and the kids helped. The only thing I didn’t like about using the “kit” was that I had to dig up some extras. There definitely wasn’t enough in the box for decorating the roof top and making it a candy filled winter wonderland. Next time we’ll probably grab a mold pan and pick our own decorations out. At least you don’t need a real estate agent to get this house sold! Surely the kids will take dibs on it, although stale gingerbread doesn’t really taste that great LOL

Technorati Tags: gingerbread house, gingerbread

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When it comes to holiday shopping we usually can’t afford to buy things for extended family. But, the kids really get into making things for everyone. And not just at the holidays but all year round too. They have big hearts and they like to give presents. One of the things we’ve done in the past is make melt and pour soaps in pretty colors and shapes to include with a card and tree ornament that the kids also made. Those and candles they made in random baby food jars and jelly jars seemed to be pretty well received. If you shop around early you can usually find discount bath and body supplies in a big variety online. Don’t forget to grab some pretty packaging for your creations too. Once you get started the project tends to overtake the kitchen area so plan a weekend of crafting and order some pizza!

Technorati Tags: soap making, soap making supplies, holiday gifts, holiday soap

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