Crafting Together

I was so pleased yesterday when two little budding creatives joined me at work in my craft room. They brought their own chairs, and Miss A set up a little table beside me.

I was busy die cutting butterflies from pink card, and as I worked Miss A happily collected the scraps and began making butterfly bookmarks for us all.

Master R discovered some new punches on my desk, and it was serious business for him as he worked out how to use them to punch decorative borders around his pictures...one for each of us.

I love that they love to make things. I love that we make things together!

xx

Time

I have always loved making things, but in the past I haven't always allowed myself to spend as much time doing craft as I would have liked. There were always other seemingly more important things to do like work, study, cook or clean. I would tell myself that when these jobs were done there would be time to make something, but of course these jobs are never really 'done' are they?

Becoming a mum several years ago gave me more time at home, but of course I was busier than ever and still had no spare time for craft...and if there was time, I was far too tired!

But as my kids have grown, their love of craft and making has grown too, and I have found that craft has effortlessly become a part of our every day lives. 

And for me, starting my Etsy shop has taken this one step further by giving me the excuse I needed to finally put my craft ahead of all of those other jobs! I have more drive and motivation and a real purpose for my making, and I am happy!

 

All of the above photos are of a birthday card and gift I made a couple of days ago for my son's friend, who has just turned six.

I used a technique called tea bag folding to make the medallion on the card. The pink flower is made from felt, with a little pink bead stitched into its centre, and attached to a hair elastic.

It is always nice to see the things we make loved and enjoyed by others. I hope you have time to make something for someone...or something for yourself  :)

Father's Day

The best gifts are often the handmade kind...

A gorgeous hand painted coffee mug...

A couple of portraits of Dad (isn't he handsome?)...

And nothing like a bit of Christmas sticky tape!

The moment of inspiration

I love the way kids get stuck into craft the minute inspiration strikes. It might be an episode of Mister Maker that inspires them, an activity in a book, or a prop needed for a game they are playing, but whatever it is they have absolute faith in themselves to make it, and they don't hesitate to get started.

I on the other hand, tend to mentally file away my ideas many times throughout the day, planning and visualising in my mind what I will do...full of motivation, inspiration and excitement...only to find that days or even weeks later, when I finally have an opportunity to get started that most of my initial inspiration has been lost, and I can't quite remember what I wanted to make, or why!

Wouldn't it be great to just drop everything, scatter the contents of a craft box across the floor and start making, the very moment you have an idea, just as kids do? Maybe you do this...how great! Or do you have a way of recording ideas that allows you to recall them just as clearly days or even weeks later?

The next time inspiration strikes, I am going to 'seize the moment' and make something! I hope you can too!

Crafty Kids

There is never a shortage of kids craft in our household. We have numerous boxes, tubs and drawers (far too many in fact) dedicated to kids craft. And not just the craft supplies (the paper, glue, scissors, wiggly eyes, textas, crayons, card, glitter, felt etc) but also the completed (or in-progress) craft projects. And of course we never manage to sort any of it and reduce the amount we have, because my children want to keep every little cut-out, scribbled on paper or glued together 'thing'. Do your children do this too? Do you have any solutions for keeping kids craft organised?

I'm also a pretty good hoarder of all things crafty...pretty fabrics, card in colours that have inspired me on a particular craft shop visit, pieces of felt, jars full of buttons, thread in every possible colour...not to mention the many half finished projects tucked away in drawers, or on my desk, eagerly awaiting my return!

It was my stash of craft that I turned to for help one day during the recent school holidays. The boredom was setting in, the bickering was beginning, and I needed a quick distraction before it escalated. After a quick rummage through my craft supplies I managed to fill a couple of cellophane bags with a selection of paper and card offcuts, stickers, ribbons, cards and envelopes. As quickly as I had filled the bags, the kids had scattered the contents of theirs across the dining table. The textas, glue and scissors were next, and their projects were underway.

It did lead to quite a bit of mess, as kids craft always does, but at least I got to listen to their happy banter rather than the bickering...always worth the mess, isn't it?