I’m turning this blog over to the kids. This post was created by the kids for the kids. My children are always making things, usually shunning my ideas in favor of their own (as well they should). So I’ll be featuring some of their original ideas from time to time. This week:
A belt made from a broken plastic necklace brought to you by my four-year-old!
And a shirt made from a paper bag from my six-year-old!
That concludes this installment of KIDCRAFT! Go make stuff, kids!
I have some favorite gifts that I like to make for kids’ birthdays that could make nice holiday gifts. So I’ll be sharing some of my entries from the past.
Here are some gift ideas for the little artist, and even those who would rather play with light sabers sometimes like to have time for artistic reflection. Pictured here are the sketch box, doodle bag and craft can. The posts for the sketch box and craft can include printable templates for a quick and easy gift.
This year I bought nice art boxes for my kids and plan to do a wood-burning design with their names and fill them with art supplies of their very own (that they don’t have to share). A sewing set is another great gift for a child or teenager — you can make a drawstring bag, tote or box to keep the supplies.
How cute are these? I just received these custom designed dolls made by Project Grab Bag. I ordered these from Craftsbury Kids, but it looks like you can also buy them directly from Project Grab Bag’s Etsy shop here. Made from new and upcycled fabrics, these dolls are super cute. Hope they can compete with the American Girl dolls for the affection of my children. I think they can!
I just made another set of placemats and napkins for my younger daughter to use at her Montessori school. She is starting to have lunch at school and on her way to becoming an “afternoon child”, so she’ll stay in the afternoons and do some more serious learning. This is a big step for her!
Anyway, since I made some more of these, I thought I’d share again. This is such a simple project and a great one for beginners. You can use the same instructions for adult-sized placemats and napkins as well. I think it would also be nice to sew in some ribbon or twill tape to tie the placemat into a roll. And these are reversible! This time I made my version a bit larger from the original instructions, which really make some pint-sized linens. I used 16″x16″ uncut dimensions for the napkins and 12″x16″ uncut dimensions for the placemats. This turned out to be just the right size. You can find the instructions here from my post last year.
I made the placemats pictured above with some cute kokka fabrics (deer and pandas) with a gingham and a stripe on the reverse side.
Finished up the cape gift that went with the crown from earlier this week.
And made the last-minute cowgirl costume for my four-year-old (skirt and vest), which she turned into a superhero cowgirl by adding a cape, then ditched altogether in favor of a tutu and some plastic high heels when it was time for trick or treating. But she can wear the skirt anytime, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
