Category Archives: Kids

Liesl Gibson Crafternoon!

Posted in Brooklyn, Kids, Sewing, Stuff to make by

The New York Public Library (42nd Street) hosts a crafternoon one Saturday each month. The program draws some luminaries of the crafting world, and fills the room with interesting crafty people. I went to one last year with Denyse Schmidt, Heather Ross, and Liesl Gibson. Liesl taught us how to make little sail boat ornaments out of walnut shells, provided the supplies, and set us loose. On April 2nd from 2 to 4, Liesl Gibson will be hosting again and talking about her new book Little Things to Sew. I would have already bought this book if my daughter did not have a “secret” plan to buy it for my birthday.  I think she really wants the paper doll accessories from the dust jacket (pictured above), but she is genuinely pleased as punch with her birthday surprise (as am I).

There will be supplies on hand for participants to make something. The event is free, but be sure to arrive early as the events are really popular. I bet there might just be a raffle, too. (As a side note, I enter more giveaways and online contests than I care to mention. Ask me to comment for a chance to win some buttons and I do it. My compulsion has a sort of scary sweepstakes, coupon cutting, green stamps aspect to it. Does anyone else suffer from giveaway-itis?)

Little presidents from Heidi Kenney

Posted in Holiday, Kids, Stuff to make by

I’ve never given much thought to crafting for President’s Day, but it does fall at a good time for some indoor fun. These are so adorable, and look like fun to make. I can imagine making all kinds of little people! Maybe a chess set! The idea comes from Heidi Kenney’s new book Every Day’s a Holiday: Year-Round Crafting With Kids, which I definitely plan to check out, and Etsy has a how-to for this project on their blog here. You can find plain pegs at Caseys Wood or on Etsy.

Please let us know if you give this a try!

Heart Crayons

Posted in Holiday, Kids, Recycled materials, Stuff to make by

I’m squeezing in one last post before Monday for those of you who

1.) enjoy the smell of melting wax emanating from your toaster oven.

2.) own crayons so ancient they are growing a fur of mold.

3.) like to celebrate Valentine’s Day by smashing things with a hammer.

You will need crayons (pink, red, white, purple), the aforementioned hammer and toaster oven, a heart-shaped candy mold, and fingernails long enough to tear at the crayons’ very resistant paper wrappers. I used a silicone heart mold from Ikea, meant for making ice cubes. Not a good idea, but it worked. I have definitely destoyed the mold from ever being used again for its original purpose.

I smashed the crayons to smithereens (inside a paper bag), divided the colored bits into the molds, and placed the tray in the oven at 250F.  Watch out: the crayon wax melts quickly (in less than a minute), and if you wait too long, the colors blend together and look like purple soup.

 Cooling on the counter (note those uneaten clementines).

 Voila.

postscript:

The mailman brought this little package . . .

and inside were pink & gray striped mittens!

My five-year-old cracked up when I tried them on and my fingers poked through.

Thank you, Brig! They are absolutely beautiful.

Little purse

Posted in Holiday, Kids, Sewing, Stuff to make by

Last year, I went on a business trip for two weeks–to Los Angeles, in February. I have to confess it was pretty fantastic, but I missed Valentine’s Day, my wedding anniversary, and two major snowstorms. I left this little purse and some felt barrettes behind as a present to make up for missing Valentine’s Day (to one of my loved ones, at least). There wasn’t much I could do about the snowstorms, except not gloat about the sunshine.

The idea for the purse came from a linen basket in the wonderfully cute book Zakka Sewing. I changed the square shape to the old-lady-purse shape, but the pattern was very helpful in figuring out how to attach the straps neatly.

The felt barrettes were adapted from the purl bee pattern for rose barrettes.

You might want to try making one of these projects for your own sweetheart!

Paper Rollercosters

Posted in Boston, Kids, Paper, Stuff to make, Things to see by

This paper craft for kids comes straight from one of my favorite museums: the Peabody Essex in Salem, Mass. Yes, it has an amazing Asian art and Maritime art collection (including a room-size model of the S.S. Queen Elizabeth, which never fails to impress us). But sometimes we go just to hang out in the sunny atrium designed by architect Moshe Safdie, admire the sky, and pretend it’s not 4 degrees outside.

The paper rollercoaster craft (offered as part of the PEM’s “Eye Spy, Playing with Perception” exhibit through May) had the qualities of a good kids’ project: simple enough for little guys to enjoy and interesting enough to engage bigger kids. Plus you probably have all the stuff you need right in your house: glue sticks, strips of colored paper, and a piece of paper for a base.

Dab one end of a paper strip and press to the base. Twist, bend, or loop–then glue the other end and press. 

    My 10-year-old made his rollercoaster a continuous circuit. My five-year-old’s design defied the laws of physics, but he thought it looked really cool.

 

 On the way home, we drove by the Salem harbor,

 and it was winter again.