Crafting for Kids

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Here’s an update to this post. I’m adding .pdf files of the un-personalized craft can labels. Here they are:

craftcan.pdf

makecreate.pdf

I’m sharing the birthday gift that we gave to a five-year-old today. My husband brought home paint cans with some kind of promotional materials in them, so they’ve been sitting on my shelf waiting for a good use. I created a personalized label and filled the can with craft supplies. The outside of the can reads “miss paddy’s craftcan” and the top says “make. create.” I filled it with felt, embroidery needle and floss, glue, beads, buttons, stamps, stickers, etc.

I also made this cute little crayon travel case with Kaffe Fassett fat quarters that I bought a few weeks ago. I came up with a pretty easy pattern that you can make from start to finish in under an hour. I will post the pattern soon. The case holds 12 or 24 crayons securely.

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Not at my house, but definitely everywhere I look these days.  So today, thanks to Melissa, I’ve been thinking about crafty wreaths.  Here are a few nice ones that I’ve seen.  This recycled sweater wreath (pictured above) from Viva Terra got me thinking about fabric wreaths.

This wreath from Syd and Goose would be great re-interpreted for the holidays.  Just some stuffed fabric tubes braided? 
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Or this one from Jane and the Ducks:

Fabric Wreath

And I especially love this Mayan Worry Doll Wreath from Mayan Traditions:


Holiday Dresses

Holiday Traditions Dress - Custom Size 18M 2 3 4 5 6
Since I have two little girls who will wear nothing but dresses, I’m always looking for inspiration for new designs. I love these holiday dresses. Here’s a very stylish one from willarie. I love the fact that it looks like something your grandmother might have worn to a cocktail party.

Fun Jumper, Blue Snowflakes
Check out this sweet snowflake jumper from adornique. Precious and looks like it will really twirl!


And this one from birdsong is modern and looks comfortable, too!

How about this fun peppermint swirls jumper? From Originals by Mary Elizabeth.

What’s for Dinner?

What to do with all this beautiful squash around the house?  I’m going to try a variation of this recipe from Whole Foods Market’s site.  I love butternut squash and it’s much easier to prepare than I had imagined.  Any squash can be baked in an oven at 375 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (depending on the size).  Just be sure to poke some vent holes and place on a baking sheet. 

Cleaning Out the Attic Crafts

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About a year ago I mentioned to my husband that I’d like to make a quilt from his old tees after we saw one at a friend’s house.  Justin had several large bags full of unnecessary tees dating from high school!  So for our anniversary I surprised him with this quilt.  It was only a little bit painful for him to see his tees disassembled and I think he liked the fact that he can see them all the time.  This might not make a pretty quilt, but it allowed me to recycle 24 t-shirts and it’s really warm and soft.  I backed it with a sheet and used an old throw blanket for the batting.  I did not quilt it because I think I would have made the knit fabric pucker all over the place.  I also made a couple of sweater pillows while I was at it.